Jake Herbert (Wrestling, 2003-09)
Jake Herbert completed his career as the most decorated wrestler in program history. Herbert earned two NCAA championships to become NU's first two-time national champion since 1931-32, won the 2009 Hodge Trophy as the nation's top collegiate wrestler, became Northwestern's second-ever winner of the Big Ten's Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year Award, was NU's first-ever three-time Midlands champion and was named the 2009 Big Ten Wrestler of the Year.
Herbert began his career in 2003-04 with a redshirt season in which he went 14-0 as an unattached wrestler, showing signs of what was to come. The four-time All-American finished third at his first-career NCAA Championships in 2005 while tearing through the consolation bracket with three-straight pins and one tech fall to cap a 33-3 season.
In 2006, Herbert went 36-1 with the first of three Big Ten Championships. His only loss came in the NCAA Championship match--a loss that would be the last of his Northwestern career. Herbert went 32-0 to win the 184 lbs. NCAA title in 2007, then, after taking an Olympic year away from the program in 2008, returned in 2009 with one of the most dominating seasons any wrestler has ever had. Herbert did not surrender a takedown during his entire senior season and earned bonus points for a pin, tech fall or major decision in 27 of his 34 victories en route to his second national title.
Herbert concluded his Northwestern career with a 135-4 overall record, achieving the fifth-best four-year winning percentage of any NCAA wrestler since the 1974-75 season. He ended his time on the collegiate mat with a 66-match winning streak.
