Preliminary Seeds
The preliminary seeds for the 2007 Big Ten Wrestling Championships were announced Monday night by conference officials. Minnesota leads all Big Ten teams with four top pre-seeds. Jayson Ness, Manuel Rivera, Dustin Schlatter and Cole Konrad all earned the top billing for the Golden Gophers. The official Big Ten Championships bracket will be released on Friday, March 2.
Gopher Seeds
125 –- Jayson Ness (1)
133 –- Mack Reiter (3)
141 –- Manuel Rivera (1)
149 –- Dustin Schlatter (1)
157 -– C.P. Schlatter (T3)
165 -– Tyler Safratowich (3)
174 –- Gabriel Dretsch (4)
184 –- Roger Kish (2)
Hwt -– Cole Konrad (1)
NOTES TO KNOW
Class of the Conference
Since snapping Iowa's run of 25 consecutive conference titles at the 1999 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., the Golden Gophers have claimed five of the last eight conference crowns while taking second the other three times. Minnesota has finished in the top three at Big Tens each of the last 10 years.
Unbeaten in the BigTen
With a perfect 8-0 record in conference dual meets, Minnesota finished the Big Ten regular season with an unblemished record for the fourth time in Head Coach J Robinson's career and for the first time since their back-to-back national championship runs in 2001 and '02.
20-20 Vision
Following a season-opening loss to Hofstra at the Northeast Duals, Minnesota rattled off 20 straight dual meet wins to finish the season to match its 20-1 overall record in 2006. It is the first time in school history the Gophers have posted back-to-back 20-win seasons.
The Gophers reached 20 wins in a single season for just the fifth time in school history and fourth time under Robinson. Minnesota's 20 straight wins to finish the 2006-07 season ranks as the third-longest winning streak in school history.
Dual Meet Dominance
Minnesota has posted a 170-29 (.854) dual meet winning percentage since the start of the 1997-98 season. In seven seasons during that stretch, the Gophers have lost two dual meets or fewer, including a perfect 19-0 season in 2001-02.
Unprecedented Success
An unprecedented five Minnesota wrestlers finished the 2006-07 season with 20 dual meet wins. Prior to this year, only 12 wrestlers in school history had ever posted 20 dual meet victories in a season.
Streaky Gophers
Senior heavyweight Cole Konrad is currently riding the second-longest winning streak in the nation at 67 consecutive matches, while sophomore Dustin Schlatter is right on his heels with 59 straight wins of his own, the third-longest streak in the country. Junior Manuel Rivera ranks fifth on the active list with 34 straight wins.
Select Company
Senior heavyweight Cole Konrad is aiming to join a select list of Minnesota wrestlers who have won three individual Big Ten titles. Only four other wrestlers in school history have accomplished the feat.
Top Billing
This weekend's Big Ten Championships will feature six wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the country in their respective weight classes, including Minnesota's Dustin Schlatter (149) and Cole Konrad (Hwt). Nine of Minnesota's 10 wrestlers are currently ranked in the top 25 in their respective weight classes.
Making Their Debut
Three Golden Gopher wrestlers will be competing in their first Big Ten Championships this weekend. Redshirt freshman Jayson Ness is poised to make a run at the 125-pound title, while sophomores Tyler Safratowich and Yura Malamura look to turn in a solid showing with hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. The top seven finishers at each weight class qualify for NCAAs, with the Big Ten getting two wild card selections.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now