Northwestern University Athletics
#15 Northwestern Begins B1G Dual Action This Weekend
1/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 4, 2012
No. 15 Northwestern (4-0-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten)
vs. No. 7 Michigan (2-1-0, 1-0-0 Big Ten)
Fri., Jan. 6, 2012 • 7 p.m.
Site: Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, Ill.
Webstream: Big Ten Digital Network on Wildcats All-Access
Twitter Updates: @NU_SportsLive
Live Scoring: TrackWrestling.com
No. 15 Northwestern (4-0-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten)
at Wisconsin (5-2-0, 0-1-0 Big Ten)
Sun., Jan. 8, 2012 • 2 p.m.
Site: UW Field House, Madison, Wis.
TV: Big Ten Network (Tape-delay at 8 p.m.)
Twitter Updates: @NU_SportsLive
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern begins the always-competitive Big Ten dual slate with two matches scheduled for this weekend. The Wildcats host No. 7 Michigan at 7 p.m. Friday in Welsh-Ryan Arena and then visit Madison, Wis., for a 2 p.m. dual vs. the Badgers Sunday, Jan. 8.
Northwestern and Nebraska are the only two teams that have yet to wrestle a conference match and the Wildcats will have plenty of Big Ten action in the month of January with seven conference duals, including three at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Friday Night is Team Night at Welsh-Ryan Arena
The NU wrestling team is excited to invite all local wrestling teams to Friday's dual vs. Michigan for Team Night. Expect a loud and exciting atmosphere as local teams pack the arena for this big match between the No. 15 Wildcats and No. 7 Wolverines. All groups of 15 or more that buy tickets will be admitted for just $3 per person, and will receive a Northwestern hat to help pack the arena with purple. Tickets are available for purchase at the door.
B1G Season Brings Big Competition
The Wildcats have a challenging start to the Big Ten dual season, facing three teams ranked in the top 10 in their first four matches. After this weekend, the Wildcats host defending NCAA champions, and currently top-ranked by InterMat, Penn State, Friday, Jan. 13 and then visit Iowa City for a dual against the No. 2 Hawkeyes less than 48 hours later at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 15. InterMat ranks nine Big Ten teams in the top-25 of its latest poll and five of those teams are on the Wildcats' dual schedule this season.
Northwestern at Midlands
After 49 years of competing in the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, Northwestern had its best finish in school history in the 2011 edition, placing second out of 43 teams. The Wildcats finished with 105.5 team points, crowned two new champions and placed three others on the medal stand. Top-seeded Jason Welch won the title at 157 lbs. and as the No. 5 seed at 174 lbs., Lee Munster was the lowest-seeded wrestler to win a title. The last time NU had two champions in the same year was in 2008 when Jake Herbert (184 lbs.) and Brandon Precin (125) both finished first. In the last five years, Northwestern wrestlers have won six Midlands titles at various weight classes.
No. 4 Levi Mele wrestled to his seed at 125 lbs. with a fourth place finish and No. 10 Mike McMullan placed fourth, an improvement from his eighth place finish at heavyweight at last year's Midlands. Unseeded John Schoen placed for the first time in his Northwestern career, finishing eighth at 197 lbs.
Latest Rankings
Below are links to the latest wrestling rankings. Northwestern has five wrestlers ranked in the most-recent InterMat poll, including No. 20 John Schoen and No. 19 Mike McMullan, who entered the poll at 197 lbs. and heavyweight, respectively. InterMat also moved Levi Mele up to No. 7 for 125 lbs., Lee Munster up to No. 8 at 174 lbs. and Jason Welch remains in third at 157 lbs.
Scouting the Wolverines
The Wolverines crowned five individual champions en route to the team title at the Mat Town Invitational last Thursday (Dec. 29). Michigan claimed five of its six championship matches as Zac Stevens (133 pounds), Kellen Russell (141), Dan Yates (165), Justin Zeerip (174) and Ben Apland (Hwt) earned shutout victories to complete their perfect tournament showings. Michigan boasted 11 total placewinners and accumulated 141 points, finishing 15 points ahead of runner-up Pittsburgh. Earlier this year, second-ranked Russell was in the midst of a 46-match win streak, the second longest in school history, but saw his streak come to an end in the quarterfinals at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December.
Scouting the Badgers
Wisconsin also competed at the 49th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships and finished 18th with three wrestlers on the medal stand. Senior Ben Jordan took third at 165 lbs., redshirt junior Cole Schmitt finished seventh at 149 lbs. and freshman Connor Medbery, who wrestled unattached, took seventh at heavyweight. The Badgers are 5-2 in dual action so far this year.
Probable Starters
| NORTHWESTERN | MICHIGAN | WISCONSIN | |
| 125 | #7 Levi Mele | Grant Pizzo | Austin Hietpas |
| 133 | Jameson Oster | #17 Zac Stevens | Shane McQuade |
| 141 | Colin Shober or Pat Greco | #2 Kellen Russell | Tommy Glenn |
| 149 | Kaleb Friedley | #4 Eric Grajales or Mike Hillock | #13 Cole Schmitt |
| 157 | #3 Jason Welch | Brandon Zeerip | Shawn Perry |
| 165 | Pierce Harger | #18 Dan Yates | #8 Ben Jordan |
| 174 | #8 Lee Munster | #6 Justin Zeerip | Frank Cousins |
| 184 | Marcus Shrewsbury or Robert Kellogg | Hunter Collins or Chris Heald | Timmy McCall |
| 197 | #20 John Schoen | #18 Max Huntley | Jackson Hein |
| Hwt | #19 Mike McMullan | #15 Ben Apland | Cole Tobin |
More on Munster
Redshirt freshman Lee Munster had a breakout tournament at Midlands, going 5-0 to win the 174 lbs. title. Munster upset second-seeded/No. 8 Ethen Lofthouse of Iowa in the finals 7-3 to win the title and he was the only redshirt freshman to take first at this year's tournament. Munster's strong performance at Midlands helped him move up from No. 13 and into the top-10 at No. 8 in the latest InterMat rankings. This year's top contenders at 174 lbs. are predominantly upperclassmen as Munster is one of two freshmen in the top 20 at 174 lbs. This weekend, he faces familiar competition as he has already wrestled Michigan's Justin Zeerip and Wisconsin's Frank Cousins. Munster only has three losses on the year, all coming against ranked opponents, including a loss to Zeerip at the Michigan State Open. Munster registered a 10-0 major decision against Cousins en route to his Midlands title.
Sudden Victory Schoen
Senior John Schoen had one of the toughest roads to the medal stand at this year's Midlands before placing for the first time in his NU career. The 197-pounder wrestled in three-straight matches that went to sudden victory and a total of four overtime bouts at Midlands, with three of those overtime matches wrestled against ranked opponents. Schoen's first overtime bout came in the championship round against No. 2 seed and 10th-ranked Joe Kennedy from Lehigh. After a 1-1 tie, Kennedy advanced with the winning takedown in sudden victory but Schoen stayed alive in the wrestlebacks, defeating Iowa State's Cole Shafer 3-1 in sudden victory. In his next bout, he met eighth-seeded and 14th-ranked Mario Gonzalez from Illinois and again, scored the winning takedown in SV for the 7-5 win to ensure he placed in the top eight at 197 lbs. Schoen then endured one more extra period in the eighth place match against No. 7 seed and seventh-ranked Grant Gambrall of Iowa and after another 1-1 tie, Gambrall managed to takedown Schoen in the OT.
Strong Start
After winning six-consecutive matches at Midlands, junior Jason Welch is out to a perfect 10-0 start. Welch is the only defeated Northwestern wrestler (that has competed in at least five bouts) left on this year's roster, but junior Levi Mele also got out to a strong start at 125 lbs. Mele was perfect through his first 16 matches and dropped his first bout of the year on riding time (4-3) in his Midlands semifinal match against Virginia Tech's Jarrod Garnett. Mele is currently 17-2 on the season.
NU to Auction 16 Mat-Side Seats to Dual vs. No. 1 Penn State
Northwestern is offering wrestling fans an opportunity to catch a Big Ten wrestling meet up close and personal this season. Sixteen total seats are up for auction when the Wildcats host the defending Big Ten and NCAA champion Penn State Nittany Lions at 7 p.m., Jan. 13.
Winners will experience the match in a prime location: down on mat-level, as close to the action as fans can get. The 16 seats are to be auctioned off in groups, as four sets of two seats and two sets of four seats. The minimum bid for two seats together starts at $25, while the minimum bid for four seats together is $40. Proceeds from the auction will go towards the Wildcat Fund, benefiting Northwestern student-athletes. The highest bidders of each auctioned seat also will receive a Northwestern wrestling cup, a voucher for free a Coca-Cola and hot dog to enjoy during the meet.
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