2012-13 Northwestern Match-by-Match Results

2013 Big Ten Champion (157)
2013 NCAA Finalist (157)
2013 All-American (2nd, 157)
2012 All-American (4th, 157)
2011 All-American (6th, 157)
2011 & 2012 Midlands Champion (157)

2012-13: NCAA finalist at 157 ... National runner-up ... Received third All-America honor and highest placement of his career at NCAA's ... Sixth three-time All-American in Northwestern history ... 116 career wins ranks seventh in NU history ... .841 career winning percentage ranks sixth in NU history ... Posted 34-2 record on the year ... 34 wins were a career high ... Went 4-1 at NCAA's as No. 1 seed ... Opened 2013 NCAA Championship with 11-5 win over BU's Nestor Taffur ... Trailed 4-0 early in the match before coming back ... Defeated Rutgers' Scott Winston, 6-2, in second round ... Notched 8-3 win over No. 8 seed Dylan Alton of Penn State in quarterfinals ... Trailed 3-1 vs. Alton and scored seven unanswered to win, 8-3 ... Defeated UNI's David Bonin, 7-1, in 157 semifinals to secure first trip to the NCAA finals ... 2013 Big Ten Champion ... First 157 lbs. Big Ten Champion in program history ... Went 4-0 at Big Ten's as the No. 2 seed, defeating Nebraska's No. 4 seed James Green with a fall (6:38) in the finals ... Win against Green avenged his lone loss during the regular season, a 9-8 decision on Jan. 12 ... 30th NU wrestler to win a Big Ten title ... Qualified for fourth NCAA Championships ...Ranked No. 1 by a number of wrestling publications prior to 2013 NCAA Championships ... 15 of 34 wins this year came with bonus points (7 major decisions, 5 tech falls, 3 pins) ... 116 career victories (55 with bonus points - 24 major decisions, 16 tech falls, 15 pins) ... Capped dual career with 62-5 record, including 28-4 mark in Big Ten duals ... Captured 100th career victory vs. David Bonin of UNI on Jan. 20 ... Won his second Midlands title in as many years, becoming just the third two-time Midlands champion at NU ... Named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week after Midlands title ... Finished first at the Keystone Classic ... Competed at the 2012 NWCA All-Star Classic.

2011-12: 2012 All-American ... Finished fourth at 157 lbs., going 4-2, becoming Northwestern's 15th two-time All-American in school history ... Wrestled in his 100th career match during the 2012 NCAA Championship semifinals ... Has wrestled 102 career matches (82-20) ... Went 27-3 on the season, including a perfect 15-0 in dual action and 8-0 mark in Big Ten duals ... Posted a perfect 23-0 record before the Big Ten finals ... 23-match winning streak was longest of any NU wrestler this season ... Runner-up at 2012 Big Ten Championships ... Two of three losses came in close decisions against Iowa's Derek St. John (Big Ten finals & NCAA semifinals) ... Team captain along with John Schoen ... Won a Midlands title at 157 lbs., going 6-0 ... Had three major decisions and a fall in his six wins at Midlands ... 16 of his 27 wins came with bonus points ... Wins against seven ranked opponents ... No. 11 Matt Lester (Oklahoma), No. 4 Granbayar Sanjaa (American), No. 9 Dylan Alton (PSU), No. 13/9 Anthony Jones (twice, MSU), No. 11 seed at NCAA's James Green (Nebraska) and No. 6 seed at NCAA's James Fleming (Clarion) ... Also defeated Sanjaa 8-5 at the NWCA All-Star Classic ... Shut out five opponents ... Five falls, including one in 1:12 vs. Purdue's Tommy Churchard (1/29) ... Team-leading seven major decisions and 67 dual points ... Won Stuteville High Point-Scorer Award (most team dual points) and Lupton Takedown Award (most net takedowns on the team).

2010-11: Became an NCAA All-American for the first time, surpassing his No. 8 seed at the NCAA Championships to place sixth nationally at 157 pounds ... Placed third at Big Ten Championships in Evanston ... Finished 29-7 with an 18-1 mark in duals ... Wrestled his way into the NCAA semifinals by knocking off top-seeded and previously undefeated Adam Hall of Boise State with a takedown in the final seconds ... Lost in the semis to eventual NCAA champion Bubba Jenkins of Arizona State, 8-5, and finished the tournament with a 3-3 mark ... Six of his seven losses on the year came against the five wrestlers who placed above him at the NCAA Championships ... Team-best six wins by tech fall ... Runner-up at Keystone Duals hosted by Penn, recording two falls along the way and losing to second-ranked Steve Fittery of American ... Defeated No. 9 Paul Young of Indiana, 4-1, in Big Ten opener on Dec. 15 ... Back-to-back pins in dual matches on Dec. 19, including a fall of 19th-ranked Bryan Deutsch (Northern Illinois) in 37 seconds ... 2-2 at Midlands Championships ... Avenged a loss at Midlands to Pitt's Donnie Tasser with a 5-2 decision win at Pittsburgh Duals on Jan. 9 ... Notched a win on Feb. 4 over three-time NCAA qualifier Colton Salazar of Purdue, who he later defeated again at the Big Ten Championships ... Opened season with two major decision dual wins in his home Bay Area, including an 11-3 defeat of Stanford's Michael Kent ... Winner of team's Most Exciting Performer award.

2009-10: Redshirt season ... Competed at the Dave Schultz Memorial International Championships in Colorado Springs where he went 3-2 ... Won five matches at ASICS University Nationals en route to a fourth-place finish in the 74 kg (163 lbs.) weight class.

2008-09: Qualified for NCAA Championships as a true freshman and went 2-2 at the event ... Finished 26-10 overall with a 13-3 dual record and a 6-2 mark in the Big Ten ... Ranked as high as No. 13 in USAToday/InterMat/NWCA poll ... 157-pound representative on Amateur Wrestling News' national all-rookie team ... Defeated Jedd Moore of Virginia in first match at NCAA Championships before falling 3-2 to eventual fourth-place finisher and former champion Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro ... Won by major decision over fellow true freshman and 10th-ranked Scott Winston of Rutgers, who had beaten Welch 8-1 at the Midlands Championships ... Knocked out by Jonny Bonilla-Bowman of Hofstra ... Represented the last freshman or redshirt freshman alive in the 157-pound weight class at NCAA Championships ... Placed second at Big Ten Championships as the second seed, losing in the final to top-seeded Mike Poeta of Illinois ... Defeated Kurt Kinser of Indiana, 6-3, with a takedown and back points in the final 20 seconds in the Big Ten semifinal ... Kinser had defeated Welch by pin at the Michigan State Open and by major decision in a dual match earlier in the year ... Placed fifth at Midlands Championships with 5-2 record ... First loss at Midlands came to four-time Midlands champion Chris Bono, the 34-year-old head coach of Tennessee-Chattanooga ... Started season 14-1 ... Named Hilton Garden Athlete of the Week on 12/22 ... Victories against NCAA qualifiers included: Kinser, Moore, Winston, Anthony Jones of Michigan State, Tyler Safratowich of Minnesota, Aaron Hynes of Michigan, Joey Knox of Tennessee-Chattanooga, Hadley Harrison of Clarion and Bryan Deutsch of Northern Illinois ... Third on the team with 40 points scored in 16 duals (missed UC Davis and Stanford duals due to illness).

High School: Finished career with a record of 194-7, including an undefeated senior year ... Presented with the Junior Dan Hodge Trophy, awarded annually to the nation's best high school wrestler ... Became only the 13th wrestler in the state of California to win three state championships ... Ranked the No. 1 recruit in the nation ... Voted all three years as one of the top five high school male athletes in the East Bay, finishing second his junior year ... Twice wrestled to a state title in 2006-07, second place in 2005 ... Ironman title, Reno title his junior year ... Named Most Outstanding Wrestler in five different tournaments ... First-team ASICS High School All American Wrestling Team in 2007, honorable mention in 2006 ... Sports Focus top prep athlete of the Bay Area in 2007... First place in state in junior freestyle ... Four Most Outstanding Wrestler titles sophomore year, five in 2005 ... Captain of first-ever undefeated football team, all-league ... Voted Outstanding Defensive Lineman of the Year ... All-league and NCS Champion in soccer.

Personal: Son of Barb and John Welch ... Chose Northwestern over Michigan, Iowa State, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Cal Poly and Arizona State ... Majoring in English ... Will attend graduate school in the Chicago area ... Accepted into graduate program at DePaul University and also applying for Master's of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Northwestern.