Big Ten Wrestling Championships Summary 2015

Team Scoring for Big Ten Championships

Team Points
Ohio State 120
Iowa 120
Minnesota 108
Michigan 102.5
Penn State 96.5
Illinois 96
Nebraska 85.5
Wisconsin 73
Northwestern 72
Purdue 37.5
Rutgers 20.5
Indiana 16
Michigan State 12.5
Maryland 10.5

Tom Brands and Tom Ryan, former teammates at Iowa stage a Tug of War as the two coaches shared a Team Championship

Ohio State and Iowa waged an epic battle in Columbus on March 7 and 8 for the Big Ten Wrestling Championship. Iowa led after the first round, but the Buckeyes forged to the lead after the second session on Day 1 by 1.5 points. The Hawkeyes rebounded in the first round of consolations on Sunday to pull ahead by 5.5 points to enter the finals where Ohio State had four finalists compared to Iowa's three. The two teams met at 125 lbs. to begin the finals with 4 precious team points at stake. Nathan Tomasello gained the lone takedown of the bout, and held off Thomas Gillman for a Buckeye win; then, Logan Stieber earned a technical fall, 16-1, early in the second period over the Hawkeyes Josh Dziewa to put Ohio State ahead by 3.5 points. Iowa responded with consolation wins by Evans and Brooks to knot the score at 120 apiece heading into the 285 lbs. championship bout where Iowa Captain Bobby Telford gave the Hawkeyes a chance to win it. Neither Bo Jordan nor Kyle Snyder could ice the title for the Buckeyes at 157 lbs. or 197 lbs., and Telford couldn't win it either for the Hawkeyes in the last bout of the championships. Ohio State had two individual champions, and Iowa had none for the first time since 2006. Both teams ended up tying for the title with 120 points each. Minnesota placed 3rd as expected, and Michigan exceeded expectations as they wrestled their way to 4th. Northwestern had two individual champions, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois and Penn State had one each.

The level of intensity of the wrestlers and their coaches during this rugged two-day event is something to behold. Many wrestlers pushed themselves for the entire seven minute match against the quickest, fastest, strongest, most flexible and best conditioned collegiate athletes in America with many close bouts and several see-saw affairs. Some bouts ended up going for ten to twelve minutes with sudden victory overtimes. After most bouts, these wrestlers, win or lose, had to come back within an hour to fight against another hungry opponent. No respect is given to any wrestler based on reputation, it is always earned on the mat. Many wrestlers exhausted themselves with as many as six bouts over the two days while not overeating in between with another morning weigh in to sweat out.

125 lbs.

The home field advantage helped catapult Nathan Tomesello over both top seeds, Jesse Delgado, and Thomas Gilman in close low-scoring bouts. Delgado defeated Conaway for 3rd, and in a battle of two Michigan wrestlers, Youtsey edged Lambert for 5th. Minnesota's Freshman Ethan Lizak earned 7th place in an effort to win a wild card birth to St. Louis. One could see that the layoff during the season really hurt Delgado, he didn't look like the returning NCAA and Big Ten Champ. The Big Ten has five automatic qualifiers, but Lambert should qualify and perhaps Lizak may be invited.

Seed National Rank Wrestler School Elig. Overall Conf. Conf.Dual Win% RPI (2/26)
1 4 Thomas Gilman Iowa SO 18-3 12-0 9-0 86% 2
2 7 Jesse Delgado Illinois SR 6-1 3-0 3-0 86% NA
3 6 Nathan Tomasello Ohio State RSFR 22-4 10-1 8-1 85% 7
4 12 Tim Lambert Nebraska SO 19-6 10-1 8-1 76% 13
5 9 Jordan Conaway Penn State JR 23-5 7-3 7-2 82% 8
6 21 Conor Youtsey Michigan SO 19-10 7-6 6-3 66% 20
7 NR Garrison White Northwestern JR 14-13 5-4 5-4 52% NA
8 NR Luke Welch Purdue RSFR 6-10 3-3 3-3 38% NR
NR NR Sean McCabe Rutgers SO 10-8 4-4 4-4 56% NR
NR NR Ethan Lizak Minnesota FR 13-8 3-4 1-3 62% 24
NR NR Mitch Rogaliner MSU RSFR 11-11 4-6 1-6 50% NR
NR NR Johnny Jimenez Wisconsin FR 2-7 1-4 1-4 22% NR
NR NR Josh Polacek Maryland JR 4-13 0-7 0-6 24% NR
NR NR Forfeit Indiana NA NA NA NA NA NR

Little Nathan Tomasello came up BIG for the Buckeyes to win a Big Ten title

133 lbs.

The rankings and seedings were quite accurate as Dardanes edged Taylor for the title. Clark earned 3rd place over DiJulius, Richards defeated Guilbon for 5th, and Bruno beat Montoya twice for 7th. Delvecchio pinned Sabatello for 9th, and Malone earned 11th on a medical forfeit from Alexander. All twelve are automatic qualifiers for St. Louis. There will be no wild cards as the Big Ten has 12 of 33 qualifiers.

Seed National Rank Wrestler School Overall Conf. Conf.Dual Win% RPI (2/26)
1 1 Dardanes Minnesota 18-0 6-0 5-0 100% 2
2 2 Taylor Wisconsin 13-1 8-0 8-0 93% 6
3 4 Gulibon Penn State 18-4 8-2 7-2 82% 3
4 10 DiJulius Ohio State 20-3 6-2 6-2 87% 8
5 6 Clark Iowa 15-4 7-4 4-4 79% 1
6 8 Richards Illinois 20-4 10-4 6-3 83% 5
7 12 Sabatello Purdue 22-6 9-4 7-2 79% 12
8 9 Bruno Michigan 13-6 3-5 1-2 68% 4
9 23 Montoya Nebraska 14-10 5-5 5-4 58% 24
10 16 DelVecchio Rutgers 16-7 5-4 5-4 70% 20
11 18 Alexander Maryland 11-8 4-7 3-6 58% 16
12 21 Malone Northwestern 19-14 3-7 3-6 58% 25
13 NR Yenter MSU 7-12 3-6 1-5 37% NR
14 NR Sheppard Indiana 2-15 0-9 0-8 13% NR

Chris Dardanes, Two-Time All-American and undefeated in 2015 earned his first Big Ten title

141 lbs.

Logan Stieber sailed through his competition as expected without a hitch. Senior Josh Dziewa helped the Hawkeyes to the title with his 2nd place finish after being seeeded 6th. Nick Dardanes came back after losing to Dziewa to edge Abidin for 3rd, Anthony Ashnault snuck past Nick Lawrence for 5th, Jameson Oster took a medical forfeit from Jesse Thielke for 7th, and Michigan's George Fisher pinned #4 Steven Rodriques to nail down a wild card spot for St. Louis. The Big Ten got 8 qualifiers, and should add Fisher based on his performance. #13 Thielke surprised Rodriques in the opening round with a pin, and Abidin pinned Rodriques as well.

Seed National Rank Wrestler School Elig. Overall Conf. Conf.Dual Win% RPI (2/26)
1 1 Logan Stieber Ohio State SR 20-0 9-0 8-0 100% 1
2 4 Nick Dardanes Minnesota SR 18-2 7-1 6-1 90% 2
3 6 Anthony Abidin Nebraska JR 21-2 10-0 9-0 91% 8
4 11 Steven Rodrigues Illinois JR 14-8 7-3 6-3 64% 13
5 8 Anthony Ashnault Rutgers RSFR 19-4 7-4 7-2 83% 10
6 7 Josh Dziewa Iowa SR 18-6 8-4 5-3 75% 4
7 23 Jameson Oster Northwestern JR 17-11 4-6 4-5 61% 30
8 24 Nick Lawrence Purdue SR 16-13 4-6 4-5 55% 28
9 25 Kade Moss Penn State RSFR 16-14 3-7 3-5 53% NR
10 22 George Fisher Michigan RSFR 19-14 5-9 3-6 58% 22
11 NR Javier Gasca III Michigan State RSFR 10-5 2-4 1-2 67% NR
12 27 Shyheim Brown Maryland SO 13-10 6-7 3-6 57% 20
13 NR Jessie Thielke Wisconsin SO 3-8 2-6 2-6 27% NR
14 NR Sean Brown Indiana RSFR 8-15 0-8 0-7 35% NR

Logan Stieber, became the 11th wrestler to earn 4 Big Ten titles; he is the most dominant wrestler for 2015

149 lbs.

Jason Tsirtsis couldn't take down Sorenson, but defeated him with a riding time point. #11 Kyle Langenderfer surprised everone by pinning #3 Hunter Stieber in consolations, and then edging #5 Alec Pantaleo in overtime, 9-7, for 3rd place. Zack Beitz took a medical forfeit over Stieber for 5th, Senior Brandon Nelson earned the 7th spot with a win over Nick Trimble of MSU. It is unlikely that Trimble will be invited, but he did upset #7 Justin Arthur in consolations. #4 Ken Theobold suffered a high ankle sprain in the bout with Pantaleo, and couldn't continue to compete.

Seed National Rank Wrestler School Elig. Overall Conf. Conf.Dual Win% RPI (2/26)
1 4 Brandon Sorensen Iowa RSFR 22-2 12-0 6-0 92% 1
2 3 Jason Tsirtsis Northwestern SO 29-1 10-1 8-1 87% 3
3 NR Hunter Stieber Ohio State JR 1-2 1-1 1-1 33% NR
4 16 Ken Theobold Rutgers JR 21-5 9-3 7-2 81% 11
5 9 Alec Pantaleo Michigan FR 14-5 7-2 7-2 74% 5
6 14 Zack Beitz Penn State SO 16-10 7-7 4-5 62% 14
7 20 Justin Arthur Nebraska SO 15-10 5-5 4-5 60% 19
8 32 Rylan Lubeck Wisconsin SO 5-9 3-6 2-6 36% NR
9 30 Brandon Nelsen Purdue SR 16-10 7-7 4-5 62% 23
10 21 Jake Short Minnesota RSFR 11-9 2-5 2-5 55% 22
11 NR Kyle Langenderfer Illinois RSFR 13-11 4-7 3-6 54% NR
12 NR Nick Trimble MSU JR 5-14 1-7 1-6 26% NR
13 NR Trevor Moody Indiana SO 4-14 1-7 1-7 22% NR
14 NR Ben Dorsay Maryland SR 1-9 1-6 1-5 10% NR

Jason Tsirtsis, Big Ten and NCAA Champion

157 lbs.

Isaiah Martinez really wrestled well to remain undefeated. Ness edged Green, and Green defeated Demas twice for 3rd place. Murphy split bouts with Welch for 5th place, and Perrotti defeated Mascala for 7th place. Iowa's Mike Kelly edged Mascala in overtime, 11-10, but was pinned by Perrotti and eliminated. It will be interesting to see if he earns a wild card.

Seed National Rank Wrestler School Elig. Overall Conf. Conf.Dual Win% RPI (2/26)
1 1 Isaiah Martinez Illinois RSFR 24-0 11-0 9-0 100% 3
2 2 Dylan Ness Minnesota SR 21-1 8-0 8-0 95% 2
3 3 James Green Nebraska SR 21-3 8-3 7-2 88% 6
4 7 Brian Murphy Michigan SO 21-9 10-3 7-2 70% 7
5 8 Doug Welch Purdue JR 23-7 11-4 7-2 77% 22
6 12 Josh Demas Ohio State SR 9-5 4-4 2-4 64% 4
7 15 Mike Kelly Iowa SR 13-8 7-6 3-5 62% 5
8 17 Anthony Perrotti Rutgers JR 15-6 3-4 3-3 71% 14
9 NR Luke Frey Penn State JR 12-5 3-2 0-2 71% NR
10 NR Lou Mascala Maryland JR 13-11 7-7 4-5 54% 26
11 NR Luke Blanton Indiana RSFR 8-12 3-7 2-4 40% NR
12 NR TJ Ruschell Wisconsin SO 15-7 1-0 0-0 60% NR
13 NR Ben Sullivan Northwestern SO 4-13 0-8 0-7 24% NR
14 NR Travis Curley MSU SO 3-10 0-5 0-3 23% NR

Isaiah Martinez, undefeated as a Redshirt Freshman as he earned a Big Ten Championship

165 lbs.

Isaac Jordan defeated his cousin, Bo, as he foiled a Buckeye undisputed team title. As expected, Taylor Walsh beat Pierce Harger for 3rd, Jackson Morse twice edged #12 seed Garrett Sutton of Michigan for 5th, #9 Austin Wilson defeated #10 Pat Robinson for 7th, and Nick Moore may have earned a wild card birth with wins over #8 Nick Wanzek and #6 Garrett Hammond for 9th. The Big Ten sends 8 automatic qualifiers to St. Louis.

Seed National Rank Wrestler School Elig. Overall Conf. Conf.Dual Win% RPI (2/26)
1 2 Bo Jordan Ohio State RSFR 14-0 9-0 8-0 100% NR
2 5 Isaac Jordan Wisconsin SO 16-1 9-0 8-0 94% 6
3 6 Taylor Walsh Indiana SR 24-4 12-3 5-3 86% 10
4 7 Pierce Harger Northwestern SR 25-5 8-4 7-2 83% 4
5 8 Jackson Morse Illinois SR 21-4 7-4 6-3 84% 12
6 19 Garrett Hammond Penn State RSFR 20-10 6-4 5-4 67% 15
7 11 Nick Moore Iowa SR 13-7 8-4 6-2 65% 10
8 20 Nick Wanzek Minnesota RSFR 14-9 3-4 3-4 61% 18
9 NR Austin Wilson Nebraska JR 12-12 5-4 5-4 50% 24
10 NR Pat Robinson Purdue SR 10-13 2-7 2-7 43% 22
11 NR Nick Visicaro Rutgers SR 4-9 2-6 1-5 31% NR
12 NR Garrett Sutton Michigan FR 10-6 1-4 0-4 63% NR
13 NR Roger Wildmo MSU JR 12-13 1-8 0-6 48% NR
14 NR Justin Alexander Maryland RSFR 3-3 0-1 0-0 50% NR

Isaac Jordan, Big Ten Champion

174 lbs.

The top four wrestlers at this weight went as predicted as Kokesh edged Brown, and and Evans defeated Storley. Mark Martin earned 5th over Zac Brunson to contribute points to the Buckeye team title effort, and Taylor Massa defeated #8 Frank Cousins twice for 7th. Nathan Jackson won a major decison over #7 Doug Welch for 9th place. The Big Ten has 10 automatic qualifiers. Phil Bakuckas earned 11th place in an effort to win a wild card spot.

Seed Rank Wrestler School Overall Conf. Conf.Dual Win% RPI (2/26)
1 1 Kokesh Nebraska 26-0 11-0 9-0 100% 2
2 2 Brown Penn State 24-2 9-1 9-0 92% 3
3 3 Evans Iowa 16-1 10-1 7-1 94% NR
4 4 Storley Minnesota 22-3 7-2 6-2 88% 9
5 10 Brunson Illinois 21-5 9-4 6-3 81% 5
6 13 Martin Ohio State 14-8 7-3 3-2 64% 7
7 22 Welch Purdue 16-13 5-8 4-5 55% 13
8 18 Cousins Wisconsin 14-10 5-8 4-5 58% 25
9 NR Massa Michigan 12-6 0-0 0-0 60% NR
10 16 Jackson Indiana 18-8 4-5 4-3 69% 18
11 NR Snook Maryland 6-12 4-6 3-4 33% 33
12 20 Bakuckas Rutgers 15-11 2-9 2-7 58% 19
13 NR Proctor MSU 6-13 2-6 2-4 32% NR
14 NR Forfeit Northwestern 0-0 0-0 0-0 NA NR

Robert Kokesh, Two-Time Big Ten Champion and Three-Time All-American, is undefeated this season

184 lbs.

Domenic Abounader defeated Brett Pfarr in a close bout for the title. Sammy Brooks took a medical forfeit from Matt McCutcheon for 3rd; however, McCutcheon upset Brooks in overtime in the quarterfinals earlier. Ricky Robertson snuck past T.J. Dudley for 5th, and Nikko Reyes defeated #5 Kenny Courts for 7th as the Buckeyes lost a point or two they expected to get. Patrick Kissel pinned John Rizquallah for 9th, and Anthony Pafumi earned 11th in an effort to draw a wild card spot. The Big Ten has 10 automatic qualifiers.

Seed National Rank Wrestler School Elig. Overall Conf. Conf.Dual Win% RPI (2/26)
1 9 Sammy Brooks Iowa SO 14-4 8-1 8-1 78% 1
2 10 Dom Abounader Michigan SO 27-6 7-3 7-2 74% 6
3 19 Ricky Robertson Wisconsin RSFR 17-4 8-1 8-1 81% 12
4 14 Brett Pfarr Minnesota SO 18-9 8-3 6-3 67% 15
5 13 Kenny Courts Ohio State JR 14-5 7-3 7-2 74% 18
6 15 TJ Dudley Nebraska SO 18-6 7-4 7-1 75% 11
7 21 Nikko Reyes Illinois SO 13-8 5-4 5-4 62% 20
8 20 Matt McCutcheon Penn State RSFR 20-11 7-4 5-4 65% 19
9 23 John Rizqallah Michigan State SR 11-10 2-7 2-5 52% 26
10 27 Patrick Kissel Purdue SR 13-10 4-7 2-7 57% 22
11 NR Anthony Pafumi Rutgers SO 11-12 4-4 2-4 48% 29
12 NR Mitch Sliga Northwestern RSFR 11-16 4-7 2-7 41% NR
13 NR Matt Irick Indiana SO 7-8 0-7 0-5 47% NR
14 NR Tony Gardner Maryland SR 0-14 0-9 0-9 0% NR

Michigan's Domenic Abounader won the title at 184 lbs.

197 lbs.

Morgan McIntosh prevailed over Kyle Snyder and Scott Schiller in tough, physical bouts. Schiller edged Burak for 3rd, Huntley defeated Koepke twice for 5th, and Atwood took a medical forfeit from Polizzi for 7th. Aaron Studebaker made his case for a wild card with a 9th place finish. The Big Ten takes the first eight guys automatically to St. Louis.

Seed Rank Wrestler School Overall Conf. Conf.Dual Win% RPI (2/26)
1 3 Snyder Ohio State 23-2 11-1 8-1 92% 2
2 4 McIntosh Penn State 23-2 10-1 8-1 92% 3
3 5 Schiller Minnesota 19-3 7-2 7-2 86% 9
4 6 Burak Iowa 13-3 6-2 4-2 81% 1
5 15 Studebaker Nebraska 17-7 9-3 7-2 71% NR
6 8 Huntley Michigan 17-6 4-6 3-4 74% 8
7 16 Polizzi Northwestern 22-8 6-5 4-5 73% 15
8 13 McCall Wisconsin 16-8 6-5 5-4 67% 14
9 19 Atwood Purdue 9-5 3-4 3-4 64% 31
10 32 McDiarmid MSU 9-10 3-5 3-3 47% 27
11 23 Koepke Illinois 14-12 4-7 4-5 54% 22
12 NR Hrymack Rutgers 8-9 2-5 1-4 47% NR
13 NR Fitzgerald Maryland 7-14 2-8 2-7 33% NR
14 NR Sheridan Indiana 13-13 0-8 0-7 50% NR

Morgan McIntosh earned Penn State's only title

285 lbs.

Mike McMullan used his quickness late in the bouts with Coon and Telford to win his second title. Coon defeated Medbery for 3rd, Kroells took a medical forfeit from Lawson for 5th, and Spencer Myers edged Brooks Black for 7th. Billy Smith took 9th over Collin Jensen as the Big Ten gets 9 qualifiers to St. Louis. Ohio State lost valuable point opportunities when Brooks Black edged Nick Tavanello in consolations.

Seed National Rank Wrestler School Elig. Overall Conf. Conf.Dual Win% RPI (2/26)
1 2 Connor Medbery Wisconsin JR 22-1 11-1 9-0 96% 4
2 6 Adam Coon Michigan SO 23-3 13-1 7-1 88% 5
3 3 Mike McMullan Northwestern SR 21-2 7-2 7-1 91% 7
4 4 Bobby Telford Iowa SR 17-2 9-2 7-2 89% 1
5 7 Jimmy Lawson Penn State SR 12-1 5-1 5-1 92% NR
6 15 Michael Kroells Minnesota SO 17-12 6-6 4-5 59% 13
7 14 Spencer Myers Maryland SR 5-3 3-3 3-3 63% NR
8 16 Billy Smith Rutgers JR 12-6 3-6 3-6 67% 28
9 11 Nick Tavanello Ohio State SO 13-8 0-3 0-2 62% 8
10 NR Brooks Black Illinois RSFR 13-11 5-6 4-4 54% 31
11 25 Collin Jensen Nebraska SO 14-9 6-6 5-4 61% 17
12 NR Chris Nash MSU JR 9-7 2-5 2-4 56% NR
13 NR Garret Goldman Indiana JR 7-10 6-7 2-5 41% 33
14 NR Gelen Robinson Purdue FR 1-4 1-4 1-4 20% NR

Mike McMullan won his second title for the Wildcats

The interesting thing about the qualifiers is that the NCAA no longer grants automatic qualifiers to the Big Twelve conference since they only have four teams competing, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Iowa State and West Virginia. There are 33 qualifiers in each of the ten weight classes. The Big Ten has 86 of 260 automatic qualifiers (33%). If that percentage would remain, they would gain 109 qualifiers of the 330 total; that would be their most qualifiers in history. The conference with the most automatic qualifiers other than the Big Ten is now the EIWA with 43 qualifiers followed by the MAC with 33 qualifiers. The Big Twelve Conference had 24 automatic qualifiers in 2014. The Big Ten had 41.5% of the points earned (586) at the 2014 Championships, and 42% of the 80 All-Americans.

QUALIFIER ALLOCATIONS FOR 2014 NCAA DI WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Conference 125 133 141 149 157 165 174 184 197 285 Total
Atlantic Coast Conference 3 3 4 3 2 3 5 2 2 2 29
Big Ten Conference 5 12 8 7 8 8 10 10 9 9 86
Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association 3 3 5 3 7 4 2 5 6 5 43
Eastern Wrestling League 2 2 1 3 2 1 1 2 1 2 17
Mid-American Conference 2 1 3 5 3 4 3 2 6 4 33
Pacific-12 Conference 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 1 1 19
Southern Conference 2 1 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 14
West Regional 5 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 19
TOTAL QUALIFIERS 24 25 25 27 27 25 26 26 28 27 260

Big Ten Wrestling Preview 2015

By Dave Taylor, Big Ten and Michigan Wrestling Historian