March 3, 2006

Indiana University is set to host the 2006 edition of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on March 4-5 at Assembly Hall. This year's event promises to be one of the best in the history of the championships. No. 9 Illinois, which took home its first league title since 1952, enters the postseason as one of nine conference teams ranked in the nation's top 20. Minnesota and Michigan, the league's dual season champion, rank first and second in the country. No. 8 Penn State, No. 11 Iowa, No. 13 Northwestern, No. 17 Indiana, No. 18 Michigan State and No. 19 Wisconsin make up the rest of the conference's ranked teams. The Big Ten also proves itself as one of the toughest wrestling conferences in the nation with more than 50 wrestlers ranked among the top 20 in their respective weight class and five 2005 NCAA finalists.

125-pounds
In the 125-pound weight class, everyone will be gunning for defending NCAA Champion and top-seeded Joe Dubuque, but the Indiana senior will have his eyes set on a target of his own - his first Big Ten title. A 3-2 decision in favor of Michigan State's Nick Simmons in last year's semifinal ended Dubuque's title hunt in heartbreaking fashion, but aftershock of that loss was worth it. Dubuque went on to beat three nationally ranked opponents, including Illinois' Kyle Ott, en route to the national championship crown. He hasn't lost a match since, compiling a perfect 19-0 record overall, 7-0 in Big Ten action, this season.

Dubuque will be challenged by three other nationally ranked opponents, including defending Big Ten champion Simmons. The No. 2 seed, Simmons has also maintained an unblemished record, racking up 29 wins on his way to the earning third-best ranking in the country. Also holding top 10 rankings are Northwestern senior John Velez and Illinois senior Kyle Ott, who sit at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively. Velez finished the Big Ten season 6-2 while Ott completed conference competition at 5-3. Ott finished second in the 2005 championships to Simmons, and has made it to the NCAA finals the past two seasons.

The remaining seeds go to a trio of freshmen who make their first conference championships appearances but are anything but unheralded. Michigan freshman Michael Watts (12-16 overall, 4-3 Big Ten) earned Wrestler of the Week honors for huge efforts in the Wolverines' back-to-back wins over Minnesota and Indiana in the final dual season meets to seal their conference title. Minnesota's Travis Lang, a redshirt freshman, is 24-14 overall at No. 7 and Penn State's Brad Pataky earned the No. 8 see with a 15-6 season.

133-Pound Preview
Minnesota sophomore Mack Reiter returns to the Big Ten Championships with a 2005 title to defend and an unblemished conference record to protect. The No. 1 seed in the 133-pound weight class, Reiter leads a competitive field with all eight seeds ranked among the country's top 20 and one other former league crown-winner.

Ranked third in the nation, Reiter is the only wrestler to complete an undefeated conference dual season. Purdue senior Chris Fleeger is next in line with the second seed and No. 4 national ranking. Fleeger finished the Big Ten dual season 7-1. Before moving up to the 133-pound group, Fleeger won the 2003 Big Ten title and earned All-America status twice as a 125-pound grappler. Third-seeded Wisconsin senior Tom Clum also owns a conference title from the 125 class in 2004. With a 6-1 league mark this year, Clum is makes his fourth championship run with the No. 3 seed.

Clum defeated Michigan's Mark Moos in last year's conference tournament to claim third-place honors. No. 11 Moos returns as the fourth seed this year. Behind him is a trio of freshmen in Penn State's Jake Strayer at No. 5, Indiana's Andrae Hernandez in the No. 6 seed and Ohio State's Reece Humphrey at No. 8. Illinois sophomore Gabe Flores rounds out the seeded grapplers, making his first trip to the Big Ten Championships as well.

141-Pound Preview
Defending champion Josh Churella looks to keep his Big Ten record unblemished with another title run. Leading a pack of four top-10 contenders, the Michigan sophomore finished the dual season 22-1 overall and 8-0 in conference action. Churella claimed last year's title with a hard-fought 2-1 decision. The runner-up in the 2005 championships, Michigan State junior Andy Simmons, returns to battle for league crown after completing a 6-1 Big Ten dual season. Churella claimed the first meeting between the two this season, 4-2.

Sixth-seeded Cassie Pero, a No. 3 seed a year ago, claimed third place honors in the 2005 event after being beaten out in a close 3-2 decision in the quarterfinals by Northwestern's Ryan Lang. Two more top-five finishers from last year's championships return in Iowa sophomore Alex Tsirtsis (No. 3) finished fifth while Lang (No. 5) took fourth. Rounding out the seeds is fourth-seeded Penn State senior DeWitt Driscoll, Minnesota sophomore Manuel Rivera and Wisconsin's Ed Gutnik.

149-Pound Preview
The 149-pound weight class boasts another extraordinary field with all eight seeds earning top-16 national rankings. Minnesota's Dustin Schlatter leads the competition with the top seed after an unblemished Big Ten season. With a 34-1 overall record, Schlatter is also regarded as the best wrestler in the country with a No. 1 national ranking. He will face plenty of competition, including Iowa's No. 2 Ty Eustice. Another Wolverine will look to defend his crown when fourth-ranked Eric Tannenbaum enters as the third seed. Tannenbaum completed the conference season at 7-1, his lone loss coming to Schlatter in a 6-0 decision.

Ohio State freshman No. 10 J Jaggers makes his first trip to the conference tournament as the fourth seed followed by Purdue senior No. 9 Doug Withstandley, a seventh-place finisher in last year's event who holds the fifth spot in the bracket.  A spot behind Jaggers in the national rankings, Wisconsin junior No. 11 Tyler Turner enters the tournament with the sixth seed. He is followed by Michigan State's Darren McKnight and Penn State senior James Woodall, who are ranked 16th and 13th in the country, respectively.

157-Pound Preview
Four 2005 All-Americans lead the way in the 157-pound class, including two-time defending champion Alex Tirapelle. Last year, Tirapelle earned a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year after defeating Ryan Bertin in the finals at the Big Ten Tournament. The Illinois senior holds the top seed after maintaining a 7-0 record in the Big Ten dual season. With the No. 1 ranking in the country, Tirapelle leads a bracket packed with eight of the nation's top-13 wrestlers.

Hoping to thwart Tirapelle's hunt for a third crown are a trio of capable sophomores. Wisconsin's No. 4 Craig Henning (23-5, 7-1 Big Ten) holds the second seed while Minnesota's C.P. Schlatter is the third-best 157-pounder in the country with a record of 31-5 overall and 7-1 Big Ten. Indiana's Brandon Becker is ranked No. 6 and is tabbed with the fourth seed. Iowa senior Joe Johnston (No. 4), Steve Luke (No. 6) Ohio State's Steve Sommer (No. 7) and Penn State senior Nathan Galloway (No. 8) round out the nationally ranked seeds.

165-Pound Preview
Michigan fifth-year senior Ryan Churella is tabbed as the top 165-pounder in the nation with a perfect 22-0 campaign. Churella, the reigning title-holder, dominated the opposition this season 153-34. Illinois redshirt freshman Mike Poeta put together a solid rookie campaign (23-4,7-1 Big Ten) to claim the second seed and No. 7 ranking. Third-seeded Minnesota senior Matt Nagel also suffered only one loss in Big Ten action and holds top-10 status.

Churella will have to fight off a field of seven top-20 competitors in a weight class where the dual season results proved that this title is truly up for grabs. The seeded Big Ten athletes who are more than capable of contending for the title are Penn State freshman No. 12 David Erwin (23-6 overall, 5-1 Big Ten), Wisconsin junior No. 17 Jake Donar (9-9 overall, 4-4 Big Ten), Iowa junior No. 18 Eric Luedke (17-10 overall, 5-3 Big Ten) and Northwestern senior No. 19 Will Durkee (18-10 overall, 3-5 Big Ten).

174-Pound Preview
Another unblemished record-holder leads the field in the 174-pound division. Northwestern's Jake Herbert, ranked second in the country, has been unstoppable this year, going 28-0 overall and 8-0 league competition. After a league runner-up finish a year ago, Herbert enters as the top seed. No. 3 Mark Perry had only three matches in Big Ten action, but the Iowa sophomore has plenty of postseason experience to warrant the second seed after finishing second in 165 pounds at both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships in 2005.

Michigan State senior R.J. Boudro and Penn State junior James Yonushonis also own top 10 rankings, while Michigan's Nick Roy, Minnesota's Gabriel Dretsch and Illinois' Donny Reynolds all hold spots among the nation's best 15 grapplers. Completing the bracket seeds is Wisconsin's No. 16 Kelly Flaherty and Ohio State redshirt freshman No. 20 Blake Maurer.

184-Pound Preview
Penn State's two-time defending Big Ten champion, No. 7 Eric Bradley, only competed in 10 matches this season but garnered nine victories and defeated all six of his league opponents. He looks for the crown in 2006 as the top seed in the weight class. Sure to hinder that title track is Purdue senior No. 3 Ben Wissel (31-3 overall, 7-1 Big Ten) and Illinois senior No. 6 Pete Friedl, who hold the second and third seeds. Also among the talented field is Iowa senior No. 8 Paul Bradley, Minnesota sophomore No. 9 Roger Kish and Northwestern sophomore No. 10 Mike Tamillow. Also challenging for his first title is Michigan freshman No. 18 Tyrel Todd in the eighth seed.

197-Pound Preview
The 197-pound group features plenty of the nation's best talent but no wrestler can claim to be the favorite. Northwestern senior Matt Delguyd will look to defend his Big Ten crown after piecing together a 25-7 campaign, including 7-1 mark against Big Ten competitors. The remaining ranked competitors, including Penn State No. 6 Phillips Davis, Illinois' No. 8 Tyrone Byrd, Indiana's No. 12 Brady Richardson and Purdue's No. 17 Nathan Moore have all compiled 20-plus-win season before beginning the postseason hunt for a first title.

Heavyweight
The frontrunners in the heavyweight class are two of the nation's top three competitors in No. 1 Cole Konrad from Minnesota and No. 3 Greg Wagner from Michigan. An unblemished 30-win season gives the reigning champion Konrad the top seed while Wagner takes second. A fifth-year senior, Wagner has been equally as dominant against the heavyweight competition this season, boasting a near-perfect 21-1 record this season. Wagner claims seven shutout victories to his credit and 11 matches in which he did not allow a single point. Wagner's lone loss came to Konrad in a close 1-0 decision.

Rounding out the ranked grapplers is Northwestern sophomore No. 11 Dustin Fox, Iowa junior No. 18 Ryan Fuller and Penn State senior No. 19 Joel Edwards.