Fox becomes NU's first heavyweight Big Ten Champion since 1961 and gives NU at least one Big Ten champion in the past four seasons. With 23.5 team points, Fox scored the second-most points for his team in the tournament. Only Brent Metcalf of Iowa, the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler, scored more team points.
Mike Tamillow took home second place at 197 lbs., Nick Hayes and Keith Sulzer both finished fourth at 174 and 141, respectively and Brandon Precin and Ryan Lang took home seventh-place honors at 125 and 149, respectively. All six Wildcats automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships.
As a team, Northwestern finished in an eighth-place tie with Indiana in the team standings. Iowa captured the Big Ten team title.
Fox breezed through the heavyweight bracket, but he knew he would be in for a battle with Bergman in the finals. Fox won the previous meeting in close fashion at the National Duals.
Unlike the rest of his matches in the tournament, the first period ended scoreless and Fox went to bottom to start the second. Fox could not escape on his first try, but got out after a restart to go up 1-0 and put both wrestlers back to neutral.
Fox flirted with a little bit of danger in the closing seconds of the first, but went to the third leading 1-0 and starting on top.
Bergman could not escape Fox's clutches at the start of the period or on the next restart as both wrestlers ended up out of bounds. Fox threw Bergman violently to the ground several times and maintained his hold enough to gain the crucial one minute of riding time.
The senior, who finished third at both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships last season, capped off an impressive tournament with a 2-0 win in the championship match.
In the 197-pound final, the top-seeded Tamillow faced a familiar foe in second-seeded Phil Davis. Davis defeated Tamillow in exhibition action this season, but the Wildcat downed the three-time All-American in dual action this season. It was Davis that came out on top this time with a 3-2 decision over the defending Big Ten champion Tamillow.
Tamillow shot in deep and got a leg in the opening 20 seconds, but despite having Davis on one leg, could not take him down and the wrestlers went back to neutral. The two traded several shots, but each defended to avoid takedowns.
Davis started on bottom for the second period and got his escape in the first 20 seconds to go up 1-0. He scored a takedown with an upper body throw to go up 3-0 in the second. The Wildcat got on the board with an escape with just over 40 seconds remaining in the second and again, the wrestlers went back to neutral.
Tamillow grabbed on ankle on a shot, but could not convert the takedown in the closing seconds of the frame and went into the final period down 3-1 and starting on bottom.
The senior got his escape in five seconds to close to 3-2. Tamillow got in on a deep shot, but could not convert in the closing seconds to fall by 3-2 decision. After winning the conference title last season, Tamillow settled for second place.
In the third-place match at 141 lbs., Sulzer fell to Ohio State's third-seeded J Jaggers to take fourth place in his first Big Ten Championships. Sulzer struck first with a takedown in the opening seconds, but the Buckeye reversed and was able to lock up Sulzer for the pin with 19 seconds remaining in the first period.
In his first year as a starter at 141 lbs., Sulzer clinched a spot in the NCAA Championships field.
Hayes' also fell in his third-place match and settled for fourth. The senior had a rough first period against Iowa's second-seeded Jay Borschel, giving up an early takedown without being able to get loose for the rest of the period.
Borschel put up points in the third to defeat Hayes by a 10-2 major decision.
Northwestern's six NCAA qualifiers will return to action in two weeks at the NCAA Championships held in St. Louis, Mo.
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