Currently, Northwestern's 2008 recruiting class has garnered seven state championships and 11 state medals in 12 attempts.
Welch, who is expected to compete at 157/165 for the Wildcats next year, etched his name into state wrestling history. The 18-year old is just the 14th three-time champion in California history. Welch became the sixth wrestler to reach the finals in all four years in high school, joining such venerable names as Bakersfield's Darrell Vasquez (1999-02) and current Oklahoma State wrestler Nathan Morgan (2001-04).
In addition to winning his third state title, Welch was voted most valuable wrestler by his fellow CIF state champions. The Dave Schultz Champion of Champions award is the most prestigious award given out at the event. Welch won the championship with an 18-8 victory in the finals.
"California is very deep in wrestling talent and Jason is widely known as the most talented of the group," assistant coach Andrew Pariano said. "We know that we have a great wrestling coming to Evanston next fall, and more importantly, we know that we have a great person."
Welch finished the season with an unblemished 49-0 record and is now an impressive 196-4 during his career.
Brian Roddy became a two-time Ohio State Tournament champion on Saturday evening. His final match was a dominating 21-6 technical fall, earning him a second consecutive title at the 171 weight class. Roddy is now a three-time Ohio State finalist and four-time medalist at 171 lbs.
"Very few athletes are able to excel at this weight during their freshman and sophomore campaigns and yet Brian found a way to get the job done," head coach Tim Cysewski said. "We can't say enough about his character and attitude. He is a great young man and will be an outstanding addition to Northwestern Wrestling."
Throughout the tournament, Roddy posted three falls (1:19, 2:53, 0:56) and earned a technical fall in the finals at 5:02. During the sectionals, districts and states, only one match went into the third period and no matches went the full six minutes.
Earlier this month, Eric Galka (Hobart, Ind./Hobart) earned his third trip to the state title match at the Indiana State Wrestling Championships.
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