"We've been focusing on this competition all year," head coach Tim Cysewski said. "How you finish at the NCAA Championships is what you are judged on, not rankings or dual meet records."
The 'Cats will be led by a trio of Big Ten champions in Lang at 141 lbs., Herbert at 184 and third-seeded Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) at 197. They will be joined by fourth-seeded heavyweight Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion), junior Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) at 174 lbs. and true freshman Brandon Precin (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) at 125. The 'Cats enter the tournament battle-tested, having posted a combined 60-23 mark against NCAA qualifiers.
Northwestern captured three titles at the 2007 Big Ten Championships as Lang, Herbert and Tamillow all reigned supreme in their respective weight classes. Herbert's title was his second while Lang and Tamillow won their first Big Ten championships.
Herbert was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler as Northwestern finished sixth with 84 points. NU qualified six wrestlers for the NCAA Championships as Fox finished third at heavyweight and Precin and Hayes finished seventh at 125 and 174 lbs., respectively.
Precin enters the championships with a 31-13 record at 125 lbs. The freshman fell in his first two matches of the Big Ten Championships, but pinned Ohio State's Will Livingston -- his eighth fall of the season -- to capture seventh place and a berth in the NCAA Championships.
He owns a 7-7 record against NCAA qualifiers with key wins over Iowa's fifth-seeded Charlie Falck, Penn State's Mark McKnight and Central Michigan's Luke Smith.
"He has over 30 wins at a very tough weight class," Cysewski said. "He has been doing great all year and there no reason why he can't place this weekend."
Top-seeded Lang is a perfect 25-0 and captured his first-career conference title at the Big Ten Championships. Six of his wins have come against wrestlers in the tournament field with two wins over Iowa's sixth-seeded Alex Tsirtsis. Lang finished fourth at last year's championships.
"Ryan missed a few weeks with an injury, but it hasn't slowed him down at all," Cysewski said. "He is healthy and wrestling well."
Hayes sits at 20-13 on the year at 174 lbs. and has posted a 6-10 mark against NCAA qualifiers.
"He is a veteran at 174 and that is a weight where he can be in the mix," Cysewski said. "Nick has experience and I'd like to think he can be an All-American also."
Top-seeded Herbert is 27-0 and earned his second-career Big Ten title. Twelve of the junior's 27 wins have come against wrestlers in this year's field. He has wins over No. 2 seed Roger Kish of Minnesota, No. 3 seed Mike Pucillo of Ohio State and No. 4 seed Tyrel Todd of Michigan. He has also downed No. 11 seed John Dergo of Illinois and Virginia's 12th-seeded Rocco Caponi.
"Jake has been ranked No. 1 all year and if he wrestles well like he has all season, he should be a national champion," Cysewski said. "He still needs to take the tournament one match at a time."
At 197 lbs., Tamillow, NU's third Big Ten champion, enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed. He owns a 34-3 record and topped Ohio State's sixth-seeded J.D. Bergman to win his conference crown.
The junior is 15-3 against the field and has recorded multiple wins over Central Michigan's 10th-seeded Wynn Michalak and also downed Wisconsin's 12th-seeded Dallas Herbst.
"He has been very solid down the stretch," Cysewski said. "He is a high seed, but needs to wrestle well to do get the results he's looking for."
Fourth-seeded Fox rounds out Northwestern's contingent. The junior owns a 28-4 record at heavyweight and finished third at this year's Big Ten Championships. Fox is 14-3 against the field with key wins over Central Michigan's third-seeded Bubba Gritter, No. 6 seed Ed Prendergast of Navy, Iowa's seventh-seeded Matt Fields and North Carolina's 11th-seeded Spencer Nadolsky.
"Dustin has the ability to wrestle to a great finish at heavyweight," Cysewski said. "We would love nothing more than to see him get a shot at Minnesota's Konrad in the semifinals."
While the tournament begins Thursday morning, Northwestern's six wrestlers will not be in action until the evening session, which begins at 5:30 p.m. For updated schedules and brackets, visit ncaasports.com.
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