Northwestern University Athletics
Two Wildcats Go For Automatic NCAA Bids Tomorrow
3/4/2017 8:41:00 PM | Wrestling
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — After the first day of the Big Ten Championships, sophomore Johnny Sebastian and junior Mitch Sliga are in the running for automatic qualifications to the 2017 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Missouri.
Sebastian, unseeded at 165 pounds, matched up with Illinois' Isaiah Martinez, the nation's top-ranked wrestler, in the first round. Sebastian wrestled tough and the score remained tight, 9-6, after the first period. In a high-scoring and entertaining bout, Martinez pulled away, 24-13.
In wrestlebacks, Sebastian remained aggressive and competitive. He took an early lead and combined that with a commanding riding time advantage to defeat Dylan Painton of Rutgers, 8-4. In the next round, he put on a point-scoring frenzy over Nebraska's Dustin Williams, the seventh-seeded wrestler in the tournament, winning by a 15-5 major decision.
In his last bout of the day, Sebastian fell in a 4-1 decision to sixth-seeded Nick Wanzek of Minnesota. Despite the setback, he qualified to wrestle in the seventh-place match Sunday against unseeded Cody Burcher of Ohio State. The winner of the contest will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.
Sliga, who dropped his first two matches of the day, used a 9-2 decision over No. 11-seed Tanner Lynde of Purdue to put himself into position to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Sliga battled with Lynde to determine who would wrestle in Sunday's ninth-place bout, the winner of which earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships (the Big Ten's 184-pound weight class receives nine qualifying allocations from the NCAA).
Conan Jennings picked up two wins on day one, highlighted by a fall over fifth-seeded (and No. 13 ranked) Collin Jensen of Nebraska in the first round at heavyweight. Jennings jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and after a lengthy scramble, stuck Jensen on his back to advance to the quarterfinals.
There, he faced the four-seed Michael Kroells of Minnesota, who is ranked eighth in the country. A grind-it-out match resulted in a 3-1 win for Kroells.
Jennings continued undeterred. Facing off against Michigan's Dan Perry in Session II, the Northwestern heavyweight picked up a point via escape early in the second period and held on to win, 3-0.
Other Wildcats notched victories in the consolation rounds. After falling in the first round, Jason Ipsarides bounced back with a clean, 4-2 decision over 14th-seeded Triston Law of Penn State. Competing in his first Big Ten Championships, true freshman Shayne Oster recuperated from a first-round setback to top Michigan State's Nick Trimble by decision, 8-5.
Session III — which will feature Sebastian, Oster and Jennings competing for seventh place and Sliga vying for ninth — will begin at 11 a.m. CT inside Assembly Hall. The live broadcast can be found on BTN Plus on BTN2Go and live stats on TrackWrestling.com.
Session I Results
First Round
125: (6) Johnny Jimenez (WIS) Tech Fall Anthony Rubinetti (NU), 16-0
133: (6) Bill Rappo (MD) maj. dec. (11) Jason Ipsarides (NU), 12-3
141: (7) Javier Gasca III (MSU) Tech Fall (10) Alec McKenna (NU), 16-1 (3:43)
149: (2) Brandon Sorensen (IOWA) Fall Shayne Oster (NU), 1:44
157: (3) Tyler Berger (NEB) Tech Fall Ben Sullivan (NU), 16-1 (7:00)
165: (1) Isaiah Martinez (ILL) maj. dec. Johnny Sebastian (NU), 24-13
174: (3) Zach Brunson (ILL) Fall Braxton Cody (NU), 0:16
184: (8) Hunter Ritter (WIS) Fall (9) Mitch Sliga (NU), 4:39
197: (6) Jacob Berkowitz (NU) received a bye
285: Conan Jennings (NU) Fall (5) Collin Jensen (NEB), 2:03
Quarterfinals
197: (3) Aaron Studebaker (NEB) dec. (6) Jacob Berkowitz (NU), 10-4
285: (4) Michael Kroells (MINN) dec. Conan Jennings (NU), 3-1
First Round Consolations
133: (11) Jason Ipsarides (NU) dec. (14) Triston Law (PSU), 4-2
157: (11) Jake Ryan (OSU) Fall (14) Ben Sullivan (NU), 1:48
165: Johnny Sebastian (NU) dec. Dylan Painton (RUT), 8-4
174: (7) Jacob Morrissey (PUR) Fall (14) Braxton Cody (NU), 1:14
Session II Results
Consolations Quarterfinals
125: (4) Ethan Lizak (MINN) Fall Anthony Rubinetti (NU), 1:32
133: (4) Zane Richards (ILL) Tech Fall (11) Jason Ipsarides, 20-4 (3:10)
141: (8) Cole Martin (WIS) dec. (10) Alec McKenna (NU), 8-2
149: Shayne Oster (NU) dec. Nick Trimble (MSU), 8-5
165: Johnny Sebastian (NU) maj. dec. (7) Dustin Williams (NEB), 15-5
184: (10) Bobby Steveson (MINN) dec. (9) Mitch Sliga (NU), 4-3
197: (5) Ricky Robertson (WIS) dec. (6) Jacob Berkowitz (NU), 5-3
285: Conan Jennings (NU) dec. Dan Perry (MICH), 3-0
Consolation Semifinals
149: (5) Kenny Theobold (RUT) Fall Shayne Oster (NU), 2:21
165: (6) Nick Wanzek (MINN) dec. Johnny Sebastian (NU), 4-1
285: (8) Razohnn Gross (RUT) dec. Conan Jennings (NU), 3-1
9th-Place Semifinals
133: (6) Bill Rappo (MD) dec. (11) Jason Ipsarides (NU), 6-0
141: (9) Sal Profaci (MICH) dec. (10) Alec McKenna (NU), 8-2
184: (9) Mitch Sliga (NU) dec. (11) Tanner Lynde (PUR), 9-2
Sebastian, unseeded at 165 pounds, matched up with Illinois' Isaiah Martinez, the nation's top-ranked wrestler, in the first round. Sebastian wrestled tough and the score remained tight, 9-6, after the first period. In a high-scoring and entertaining bout, Martinez pulled away, 24-13.
In wrestlebacks, Sebastian remained aggressive and competitive. He took an early lead and combined that with a commanding riding time advantage to defeat Dylan Painton of Rutgers, 8-4. In the next round, he put on a point-scoring frenzy over Nebraska's Dustin Williams, the seventh-seeded wrestler in the tournament, winning by a 15-5 major decision.
In his last bout of the day, Sebastian fell in a 4-1 decision to sixth-seeded Nick Wanzek of Minnesota. Despite the setback, he qualified to wrestle in the seventh-place match Sunday against unseeded Cody Burcher of Ohio State. The winner of the contest will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.
Sliga, who dropped his first two matches of the day, used a 9-2 decision over No. 11-seed Tanner Lynde of Purdue to put himself into position to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Sliga battled with Lynde to determine who would wrestle in Sunday's ninth-place bout, the winner of which earns an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships (the Big Ten's 184-pound weight class receives nine qualifying allocations from the NCAA).
Conan Jennings picked up two wins on day one, highlighted by a fall over fifth-seeded (and No. 13 ranked) Collin Jensen of Nebraska in the first round at heavyweight. Jennings jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and after a lengthy scramble, stuck Jensen on his back to advance to the quarterfinals.
There, he faced the four-seed Michael Kroells of Minnesota, who is ranked eighth in the country. A grind-it-out match resulted in a 3-1 win for Kroells.
Jennings continued undeterred. Facing off against Michigan's Dan Perry in Session II, the Northwestern heavyweight picked up a point via escape early in the second period and held on to win, 3-0.
Other Wildcats notched victories in the consolation rounds. After falling in the first round, Jason Ipsarides bounced back with a clean, 4-2 decision over 14th-seeded Triston Law of Penn State. Competing in his first Big Ten Championships, true freshman Shayne Oster recuperated from a first-round setback to top Michigan State's Nick Trimble by decision, 8-5.
Session III — which will feature Sebastian, Oster and Jennings competing for seventh place and Sliga vying for ninth — will begin at 11 a.m. CT inside Assembly Hall. The live broadcast can be found on BTN Plus on BTN2Go and live stats on TrackWrestling.com.
Session I Results
First Round
125: (6) Johnny Jimenez (WIS) Tech Fall Anthony Rubinetti (NU), 16-0
133: (6) Bill Rappo (MD) maj. dec. (11) Jason Ipsarides (NU), 12-3
141: (7) Javier Gasca III (MSU) Tech Fall (10) Alec McKenna (NU), 16-1 (3:43)
149: (2) Brandon Sorensen (IOWA) Fall Shayne Oster (NU), 1:44
157: (3) Tyler Berger (NEB) Tech Fall Ben Sullivan (NU), 16-1 (7:00)
165: (1) Isaiah Martinez (ILL) maj. dec. Johnny Sebastian (NU), 24-13
174: (3) Zach Brunson (ILL) Fall Braxton Cody (NU), 0:16
184: (8) Hunter Ritter (WIS) Fall (9) Mitch Sliga (NU), 4:39
197: (6) Jacob Berkowitz (NU) received a bye
285: Conan Jennings (NU) Fall (5) Collin Jensen (NEB), 2:03
Quarterfinals
197: (3) Aaron Studebaker (NEB) dec. (6) Jacob Berkowitz (NU), 10-4
285: (4) Michael Kroells (MINN) dec. Conan Jennings (NU), 3-1
First Round Consolations
133: (11) Jason Ipsarides (NU) dec. (14) Triston Law (PSU), 4-2
157: (11) Jake Ryan (OSU) Fall (14) Ben Sullivan (NU), 1:48
165: Johnny Sebastian (NU) dec. Dylan Painton (RUT), 8-4
174: (7) Jacob Morrissey (PUR) Fall (14) Braxton Cody (NU), 1:14
Session II Results
Consolations Quarterfinals
125: (4) Ethan Lizak (MINN) Fall Anthony Rubinetti (NU), 1:32
133: (4) Zane Richards (ILL) Tech Fall (11) Jason Ipsarides, 20-4 (3:10)
141: (8) Cole Martin (WIS) dec. (10) Alec McKenna (NU), 8-2
149: Shayne Oster (NU) dec. Nick Trimble (MSU), 8-5
165: Johnny Sebastian (NU) maj. dec. (7) Dustin Williams (NEB), 15-5
184: (10) Bobby Steveson (MINN) dec. (9) Mitch Sliga (NU), 4-3
197: (5) Ricky Robertson (WIS) dec. (6) Jacob Berkowitz (NU), 5-3
285: Conan Jennings (NU) dec. Dan Perry (MICH), 3-0
Consolation Semifinals
149: (5) Kenny Theobold (RUT) Fall Shayne Oster (NU), 2:21
165: (6) Nick Wanzek (MINN) dec. Johnny Sebastian (NU), 4-1
285: (8) Razohnn Gross (RUT) dec. Conan Jennings (NU), 3-1
9th-Place Semifinals
133: (6) Bill Rappo (MD) dec. (11) Jason Ipsarides (NU), 6-0
141: (9) Sal Profaci (MICH) dec. (10) Alec McKenna (NU), 8-2
184: (9) Mitch Sliga (NU) dec. (11) Tanner Lynde (PUR), 9-2
••••••
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