"Jake had a great year," head coach Tim Cysewski said. "He wrestled well at the NCAA Championships. He came out aggressively against Askren and that put him in positions that he normally comes out on top of. He'll learn from this, get better and come back looking for the national championship next season. His best is yet to come."
The match between Herbert and Askren was one of the most anticipated bouts of the year. Both wrestlers entered the match with undefeated records and had been ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, throughout the year.
Herbert was the aggressor at the beginning of the match, shooting for Askren's left leg as soon as the opening whistle blew, but Askren was able to avoid the takedown and the two took part in a scramble with neither wrestler giving an inch.
Askren came out on top following the scramble and went up 2-0 with a takedown. Askren stayed on the offensive with two first-period two-point nearfalls to take a 6-0 lead into the second period.
Choosing the down position to begin the second period, Herbert got on the board when he slipped out of an Askren hold and scored a reversal to cut Askren's lead to four. That would be as close as Herbert would come, however, as Askren used two takedowns, a two-point nearfall and an escape over the final two periods to take a 14-2 major decision win with riding time.
Despite the loss, Herbert's season goes down as one of the finest in 78-year history of the Northwestern wrestling program. With 36 wins, Herbert moved into ninth place on the single-season wins list, and his 42-straight victories are a Northwestern record.
Herbert became the first wrestler in program history to win back-to-back Midlands titles and only the second to win a Midlands title and a Big Ten title in the same season.
Herbert, a sophomore, has compiled an 83-4 record over his first two full seasons. He only is 20 wins short of moving into a tie with Mark Whitehead for 10th place on NU's all-time wins list and with a career winning percentage mark of .952, Herbert is on pace to shatter Don Evan's record .896 clip.
The 'Cats finished tied with Iowa State for 13th in the team race with 48.5 points. Oklahoma State wins its fifth-straight national title by winning the team race with 122.5 points. Minnesota finished second with 84 points, while host Oklahoma placed third with 80.5 team points. Iowa took fourth with 70 points, and Cornell rounds out the top five with 62 points.
"We're happy with the season we had," Cysewski said. "We had a lot of good things happen and we were successful where we thought we would be. We're not satisfied, however, and after spring break we're going to come back and get right back to work."
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