Northwestern enters the weekend with six wrestlers pre-seeded for the tournament.
Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny), the nation's top-ranked 184-pounder, takes a 24-0 record into the weekend and looks to win his second Big Ten title. Herbert captured the 174-pound crown in 2006.
This season, Herbert has notched wins over each of the three wrestlers seeded immediately below him. He scored decisions in duals against Mike Pucillo of Ohio State, the No. 3 pre-seed, and Michigan's Tyrel Todd, the No. 4. He registered a major decision over second-ranked Roger Kish of Minnesota at the NWCA All-Star Classic exhibition.
Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward), ranked No. 1 at 141 lbs., takes the No. 2 pre-seed into this weekend. He missed the first five Big Ten duals due to injury, but returned to post a 3-0 conference record. He is a perfect 21-0 and is looking to improve on last year's second-place finish.
Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick), ranked sixth at 197 lbs., is NU's other No. 2 pre-seed. He sits at 30-3 this season and has posted a 16-3 dual mark. One of Tamillow's three defeats came at the hands of No. 1 pre-seed and top-ranked Phil Davis of Penn State. The junior defeated two ranked opponents in the final two Big Ten duals. He finished sixth in last year's tournament.
Junior heavyweight Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) is the No. 3 pre-seed. Fox is 24-3 overall and has put up a 13-2 dual mark. He sits behind only Minnesota's top-ranked Cole Konrad and Penn State's Aaron Anspach, who topped Fox in a dual earlier this season. Fox placed third in 2006.
Junior Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) is the No. 6 pre-seed at 174 lbs. Hayes went 4-4 in the Big Ten and sits at 18-11 overall.
True freshman Brandon Precin (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) rounds out the list for Northwestern as he garnered a No. 6 pre-seed at 125 lbs. in his first trip to the Big Ten Championships. Precin is 30-11 this season and went 5-3 in the Big Ten with wins in his last two Big Ten duals. He is currently ranked 19th by InterMat.
The Big Ten Wrestling Championships take place Saturday and Sunday, March 3-4, at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. The official Big Ten Championships bracket will be set on Friday, March 2.
For schedules, results and more information on the 2007 Big Ten Championships, visit the Big Ten Championships Site.
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