Northwestern University Athletics
Schoen and Welch Named Captains for 2011-12 Season
10/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Oct. 7, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. – Members of the Northwestern wrestling team voted on captains for the 2011-12 season and redshirt senior John Schoen (Homer Glenn, Ill./Lockport) and redshirt junior Jason Welch (Walnut Creek, Calif./Las Lomas) were elected to lead the squad. The two upperclassmen have wrestled in more than 150 matches combined for Northwestern.
"We had a very successful season last year and much of that was due to our leadership from the 2010-11 captains,” Northwestern head coach Drew Pariano said. “Andrew Nadhir, Bobby Joyce and Brandon Precin served that purpose well. This season, the team has selected John Schoen and Jason Welch to represent them as their captains."
A three-year starter at 197, Schoen begins his final season with the Wildcats. He posted a 16-12 overall record last year, the best overall mark of his career, and went 10-7 in dual action.
"Schoen will be a dominating presence in the upper-weights for us,” Pariano said. “He has much-needed experience, and will be called upon to provide senior leadership to our core of upper-weights."
Welch returns for his junior year after posting a 29-7 overall record and 18-1 dual mark as a sophomore at 157 lbs. Welch achieved All-American status last year as he placed sixth at the 2011 NCAA Championships and finished third at the Big Ten Championships. In two seasons with the Wildcats, Welch has amassed records of 55-17 overall and 31-4 in dual meets.
"Welch was one takedown away from wresting for a national championship last season,” Pariano said. “That experience drives him every day in practice and it will enable him to lead this Northwestern team to great heights this season."
Northwestern begins the 2011-12 campaign at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, hosting Stanford at Marist High School in Chicago, Ill. This season, the Wildcats host six duals at Welsh-Ryan Arena, the NU Duals on Dec. 11 and the 49th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. Tickets are on sale NOW for Midlands and fans can purchase tickets by calling 1-888-GO-PURPLE or by visiting the Midlands Tournament Info section on NUSports.com.
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