Below is a breakdown of each finals matchup.
125: No. 1 Angel Escobedo (Indiana) vs. No. 3 Matt McDonough (Iowa)
A battle of undefeated wrestlers. Escobedo, the two-time defending Big Ten champion at this weight class, has been dominant all season long. He has picked up bonus points in his last nine matches. Escobedo was untested on Saturday, registering victories Sean Boyle of Michigan (pin) and No. 12 Brad Pataky of Penn State (14-1). The fact that McDonough made it through the entire regular season of his redshirt freshman season undefeated -- and then reached the Big Ten finals -- tells you what kind of talent he is. He is tenacious competitor who is very difficult to score on. His length also causes matchup problem for many of his shorter 125-pound opponents. Like Escobedo, McDonough is on a roll. He has picked up bonus points in his last seven matches. His road to the Big Ten finals included two major decision victories, one coming against returning All-American Zach Sanders of Minnesota.
Match History: These two wrestlers have never met during their college wrestling careers.
133: No. 1 Jayson Ness (Minnesota) vs. No. 3 Daniel Dennis (Iowa)
Ness, a three-time All-American, has put together one of the finest seasons ever in Gopher wrestling history. He is currently 25-0 with 18 pins. He stands just two pins away from tying, and three from breaking, his own school record for pins in a single season. He will be making his third trip to the finals of the Big Ten Championships. He was a Big Ten champion as a freshman (125), runner-up as a sophomore (125), and placed fourth (133) last season. His route to the Big Ten finals includes victories over Akif Eren of Purdue (pin) and No. 6 Tyler Graff of Wisconsin (11-4). Dennis, a returning All-American, missed over a month of the season because of an ankle injury, which kept him out of both the Midlands and the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. He has suffered only two defeats this season ... one to fifth-ranked Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State, in his first match back from his injury, and one to Ness. He has two wins this season over defending NCAA champion and two-time Big Ten champion Franklin Gomez of Michigan State, including a victory in the Big Ten semifinals on Saturday night.
Match History: Dennis defeated Ness twice last season (6-4, 9-7). Ness defeated Dennis this season on February 14 by a score of 8-4.
141: No. 2 Reece Humphrey (Ohio State) vs. No. 8 Mike Thorn (Minnesota)
Humphrey, an NCAA runner-up last season at 133 pounds, is one bad day away from being undefeated on the season. At the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals on January 9, the Buckeye senior dropped matches to No. 12 Chris Drouin of Arizona State and No 1 Kyle Dake of Cornell ... but has otherwise been perfect this season. On Saturday, he was pushed hard in first round match against Cole Schmitt of Wisconsin, but prevailed for the 6-4 victory. He dominated Penn State's Adam Lynch, 14-4, in the semifinals. Thorn has been one of the most consistent performers on the Minnesota team this season. After a disappointing finish to his sophomore season when he went 0-2 at the NCAA Championships, Thorn got bigger and stronger in the offseason and grew into a full-sized 141-pounder ... and it has paid off. He has not only defeated several ranked opponents this season, but dominated them, picking up bonus points in virtually all of his wins over ranked opponents. He lost by major decision to Montell Marion on February 14 (after pinning him at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals), but came back on Saturday to hammer him, 12-3, in the semifinals.
Match History: Humphrey defeated Thorn, 5-3, earlier this season at the NWCA/Cliff Keen Nationals Duals on January 9. (Humphrey also defeated Thorn at University Nationals in freestyle last April)
149: No. 1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) vs. No. 2 Lance Palmer (Ohio State)
Metcalf, a two-time NCAA finalist and 2008 NCAA champion, will be vying for his third straight Big Ten championship. He is 31-0 on the season and coming off a dominating 12-3 major decision victory in the semifinals over All-American Frank Molinaro of Penn State. Palmer, a three-time All-American, avenged one of his two regular season losses this season in the semifinals when he defeated Wisconsin's Kyle Ruschell, 2-1, to advance to the finals. He will now get the opportunity to avenge his only other loss, which came to Metcalf.
Match History: These two have met four times throughout their college careers ... with Metcalf winning all four meetings. Metcalf defeated Palmer earlier this season, 3-1, on February 19.
157: No. 6 Cyler Sanderson (Penn State) vs. Colton Salazar (Purdue)
With Minnesota's Dustin Schlatter unable to compete because of an injury, it left this weight class wide open. Interestingly, Salazar received the No. 1 seed despite not being ranked nationally. He is a two-time NCAA qualifier, but has been struggled with consistency this season. He has some quality wins, but also some head-scratching losses. After winning by default (over Schlatter) in the opening round, he dominated Wisconsin's Greg Burke, 13-4, in the quarterfinals, and then registered a 6-2 victory over Iowa's Jake Kerr in the semifinals. Sanderson, who transferred to Penn State from Iowa State for his senior season, has gone 27-4 ... with three of those losses coming to wrestlers ranked in the top five. He was pushed in his first match on Saturday against Clinton Arlis of Illinois, but escaped with a 9-7 victory. In the semifinals, Sanderson blanked Anthony Jones of Michigan State, 6-0. An interesting side note on this matchup ... Sanderson and Salazar were high school teammates at Wasatch High School in Heber City, Utah.
Match History: These two wrestlers have never met during their college wrestling careers.
165: No. 1 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) vs. No. 6 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State)
Howe, the defending Big Ten champion and NCAA runner-up at this weight class, has yet to suffer a loss this season and has defeated six of the seven wrestlers ranked directly below him, including Sponseller. He is coming off a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Dan Vallimont of Penn State in the semifinals. Sponseller finally got over the mental hurdle of beating Iowa's Ryan Morningstar, a wrestler who defeated him in three previous meetings, in the semifinals on Saturday night. His only losses this season have come to wrestlers ranked in the top four. Sponseller has proven over the past three seasons that he is one of the nation's top 165-pounders, but he has never been able to put it together in March when it matters most. As a freshman, he failed to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Last season, as a sophomore, he failed to earn All-American honors after he entered the event as the No. 6 seed.
Match History: These two have met twice in their college careers, once last season and once this season ... with Howe winning both meetings. Howe's most recent victory over Sponseller came earlier this season in the finals of the Cliff Keen Nationals Duals, 6-3, on December 4.
174: No. 2 Jay Borschel (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Scott Glasser (Minnesota)
Borschel is one of four undefeated Hawkeyes. He was a Midlands champion in December and was named Outstanding Wrestler at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. During the Big Ten season, Borschel went 9-0 ... with seven of those wins coming with bonus points. Glasser, who moved up this season from 165 pounds, has been on fire during the second half of the season. He has won 19 of his last 21 matches ... with both losses during the span coming to Borschel. Last season, Glasser dropped 15 of his last 19 matches and went 0-2 at the Big Ten Championships. This season he looks like a completely different wrestler.
Match History: These two have wrestled twice this season ... with Borschel winning both matches by major decision. Their most recent match occurred on February 14 -- a match Borschel won 14-2.
184: No. 2 John Dergo (Illinois) vs. No. 10 Phil Keddy (Iowa)
Dergo, a three-time NCAA qualifier, competed at 174 pounds the past two seasons before moving up to 184 pounds for his senior campaign. He is 30-2 on the season and coming off an impressive 13-6 semifinal victory over three-time All-American and 2008 NCAA champion Mike Pucillo of Ohio State. His only losses this season have come to Missouri's Max Askren (a loss he later avenged) and No. 1 Kirk Smith of Boise State. Keddy, a two-time All-American, has struggled at times this season, but seems to be hitting his stride at the right time. He has won nine of his last 10 matches ... and avenged the only loss during that span on Saturday night in the semifinals, which came to Penn State's ninth-ranked David Erwin.
Match History: Dergo defeated Keddy, 9-8, at the 2007 Big Ten Championships.
197: No. 7 Trevor Brandvold (Wisconsin) vs. No. 13 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota)
Brandvold missed the first month of the season due to injury, but competed at the Midlands in December, where he finished fourth. He dropped a match to fifth-ranked Cam Simaz of Cornell at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals on January 9, but has since reeled off 12 straight victories. He is coming off a 3-1 victory over eighth-ranked Anthony Biondo of Michigan in the semifinals. Yohn, who moved up from 184 pounds, dropped three conference matches this season, but has put together a solid Big Ten Championships. He avenged a loss Patrick Bond of Illinois before upsetting top-seeded Chad Beatty of Iowa.
Match History: Brandvold defeated Yohn, 4-2, earlier this season on January 29.
285: No. 2 Nate Everhart (Indiana) vs. No. 10 Dan Erekson (Iowa)
Everhart started his college career at 197 pounds before moving up to heavyweight as a sophomore. He has been one of the most improved wrestlers in the country this season. After losing 17 matches as a junior, the Indiana big man has yet to suffer a single defeat this season. He has established himself as one of the top contenders to win the heavyweight title in Omaha. Everhart outscored his three opponents on Saturday, 24-5, to en route to reaching the finals. Erekson, a returning All-American, missed the first two months of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle suffered during an early-season practice. Since returning to the mat on January 24, the Hawkeye heavyweight has gone a perfect 11-0. He is coming off a 5-2 victory over 17th-ranked Cameron Wade of Penn State in the semifinals.
Match History: These two wrestlers have never met during their college wrestling careers.
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