College Post Season Coverage EAST LANGING, Mich. - Minnesota's Cole Konrad was sitting in Coach J Robinson's office recently and the two paused to reflect on a college wrestling career that is nearing its conclusion. "We couldn't believe how fast Cole's career has gone by," Robinson said. "It's hard to believe he only has three weeks left." Those three weeks could be the biggest of Konrad's remarkable college career. The reigning NCAA champion at heavyweight hopes to lead his team to a Big Ten title this weekend and then follow two weeks later by capping his career with NCAA individual and team titles for the Gophers. Konrad is the lone senior on a top-ranked Minnesota team favored to win the Big Ten and NCAAs. Step 1 of that quest begins with the Big Ten Championships on Saturday and Sunday at Michigan State's Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich. Konrad is one of three Gophers who haven't tasted defeat this season. Fellow NCAA champion Dustin Schlatter (149), a sophomore, is 29-0 this season. Junior NCAA qualifier Manuel Rivera (141) is 34-0. Returning NCAA runner-up Roger Kish is 29-1. Konrad and Schlatter are ranked No. 1 nationally with Rivera and Kish No. 2 in their respective classes. Minnesota is the defending Big Ten champion and has won the event five of the last eight seasons. Konrad, Schlatter, Kish and C.P. Schlatter (157) are returning Big Ten individual champions from 2006. Konrad is seeking his third league title. "Our team has done a really good job of keeping things in perspective," Robinson said. "We just focus on ourselves and how we perform, and not worry about what everyone else is doing. If our kids wrestle the way they are capable of wrestling, they are going to be very hard to beat." The Big Ten tournament, as usual, is loaded with strong teams and talented wrestlers. Ten of the nation's top 19 teams will be in East Lansing this weekend. In addition to Minnesota, the field includes No. 6 Illinois, No. 8 Iowa, No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 11 Penn State, No. 13 Northwestern, No. 15 Michigan, No. 17 Ohio State, No. 18 Indiana and No. 19 Michigan State. Six of the nation's top-ranked wrestlers are in the field. In addition to Konrad and Schlatter, the No. 1 wrestlers include Ryan Lang (141) and Jake Herbert (184) of Northwestern, Mike Poeta (157) of Illinois and Phil Davis (197) of Penn State. Herbert and Davis won league titles in 2006. The top seven finishers in the Big Ten tournament in each weight class, plus two wild cards overall, advance to the NCAA Championships on March 15-17 at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich. Tournament host Michigan State features a pair of returning Big Ten champions and All-Americans in brothers Nick (133) and Andy Simmons (141). Nick is ranked second nationally and Andy is fifth. The seniors are wrestling at home for the final time. Nick Simmons won a Big Ten title at 125 last season before bumping up a class this year. Minnesota has three wrestlers with noteworthy winning streaks. Konrad has won a school-record 67 straight matches and is 146-13 in his career. Only Missouri senior Ben Askren owns a longer active streak. The reigning 174-pound NCAA champion has won 78 straight. Konrad hasn't lost since falling to Oklahoma State's Steve Mocco in the 2005 NCAA finals. Konrad beat Mocco in the 2006 NCAA finals. "Cole basically walked on here - he came here for books," Robinson said. "It's a great story, how far he has come in his career. He came here with the idea of 'What can I get if I put myself in the right environment?' Somebody told me we've had 17 meets where the outcome came down to Cole's match and he's won them all. That's pretty impressive. He's had a great career here and he wants to go on and do well internationally. "Cole's a great role model. He's unassuming and down to earth, and a guy you can joke around with. I would consider him a very, very close friend. He would do anything for you. It's been great having him in our program." Dustin Schlatter, the 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, has won 59 in a row and is 71-1 in his career. His .986 winning percentage is the best in school history. "Dustin's done a really good job," Robinson said. "I think part of the reason a lot of his scores have been close is because people won't wrestle him. A lot of guys are stalling and backing up. He is kind of laid-back and has the kind of personality where he handles the pressure really well." Rivera has not lost since last year's NCAA meet and has been the biggest surprise on the Gopher team. Rivera went 1-2 at the 2006 NCAA tournament. He's unbeaten in 34 matches since then. "Rivera spent a lot of time training and getting stronger over the summer," Robinson said. "And he's bought into what we're teaching and trusts the coaching staff." Minnesota also features one of the nation's best freshmen in Jayson Ness, who is ranked fourth nationally at 125. Ness is 33-3. "Ness just learns exceptionally fast," Robinson said. "Whatever you tell him to do, he does it. He's very coachable." As if the Gophers weren't powerful enough, junior two-time All-American Mack Reiter (133) returned last month after injuring his knee in the preseason. Reiter is 8-1 and ranked ninth. He placed fourth in the country in 2006. Reiter won a Big Ten title in 2005 and was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. "Mack is getting better and better every day," Robinson said. "He is pretty close to being where he was at this point last year. He's doing extremely well." Minnesota is hoping to win its third NCAA title of the decade after earning back-to-back national titles in 2001 and 2002. The Gophers won the National Duals this season and were a perfect 8-0 in Big Ten duals. Minnesota won 20 straight duals after a season-opening loss to Hofstra. The Iowa Hawkeyes are led by junior two-time All-American Mark Perry (165), who has placed second and third in the country. Perry placed second at the 2006 Big Ten meet at 174 before dropping back down to 165 this season. He also was second at the 2005 Big Ten tournament at 165. Perry is ranked fourth nationally. Hawkeye All-Americans Alex Tsirtsis (141) and Eric Luedke (174) are ranked in the top eight nationally as are teammates Charlie Falck (125) and Matt Fields (heavyweight). Falck, Perry and Luedke are expected to be No. 2 seeds. Iowa won 25 straight Big Ten titles from 1974 through 1998, but has only won the conference tournament twice since then. The Hawkeyes were Big Ten champions most recently in 2004. Iowa placed sixth in the Big Ten meet last year, its lowest finish since 1967. The Hawkeyes have not crowned an individual Big Ten champion since 2004. Iowa received a boost with the return of two starters. Hawkeye coach Tom Brands said national qualifiers Mario Galanakis (133) and Dan Erekson (197) are expected to return to the lineup after being sidelined with injuries. "I feel we're at a point in the season where it doesn't matter what happened (before) in the end," Brands told the Iowa City Press-Citizen. "I'm going back to maybe some cliché statements where teams that aren't doing their job during the year, that's their battle cry. But I believe in this group, I believe this group is ready, and I know this group wants to win. I know these guys are hungry. "That's not enough, though. They've got to be smart, they've got to be tough in tough situations, and that's how they're going to get the job done." Michigan All-American Eric Tannenbaum is expected to be the No. 1 seed at 165. He beat Perry in a dual this season. Tannenbaum is ranked second in the country. In addition to Poeta, Fighting Illini wrestlers Gabe Flores (125) and Jimmy Kennedy (133) are ranked in the top eight nationally. Wisconsin is led by All-American Craig Henning at 157. The Big Ten is loaded at 157 with Poeta ranked No. 1 in the country, Indiana's Brandon Becker fourth, Henning fifth, C.P. Schlatter sixth and Iowa's Ryan Morningstar 13th. In addition to Phil Davis, Penn State is expected to have a No. 1 seed at 174 in James Yonushonis. Live bracket updates from the 2007 Big Ten Championships will be available throughout the tournament at www.bigten.org and www.msuspartans.com. BIG TEN TOURNAMENT, MARCH 3-4, EAST LANSING, MICH. SATURDAY, MARCH 3 10 a.m. - Session I (through quarterfinals) 5 p.m. - Session II (through semifinals) SUNDAY, MARCH 4 11 a.m. - Session III (Seventh-place matches) 1 p.m. - Championship finals (First-, third- and fifth-place matches) 2007 BIG TEN PRELIMINARY SEEDS 125 lbs. 1. Jayson Ness, Minnesota 2. Charlie Falck, Iowa 3. Angel Escobedo, Indiana 4. Franklin Gomez, Michigan State 5. Gabe Flores, Illinois 6. Brandon Precin, Northwestern 7. Mark McKnight, Penn State 8. Brandon Tucker, Purdue 133 lbs. 1. Nick Simmons, Michigan State 2. Jimmy Kennedy, Illinois 3. Mack Reiter, Minnesota 4. Zach Tanelli, Wisconsin 5. Jake Strayer, Penn State 6. Andrae Hernandez, Indiana 7. Mario Galanakis, Iowa 8. T.J. Enright, Ohio State 141 lbs. 1. Manuel Rivera, Minnesota 2. Ryan Lang, Northwestern 3. Andy Simmons, Michigan State 4. Cassio Pero, Illinois 5. Kyle Ruschell, Wisconsin 6. Alex Tsirtsis, Iowa 7. J Jaggers, Ohio State 8. Justin Chrzanowski, Michigan 149 lbs. 1. Dustin Schlatter, Minnesota 2. Joshua Churella, Michigan 3. Lance Palmer, Ohio State 4. Jake Patacsil, Purdue 5. Tyler Turner, Wisconsin 6. Dan Vallimont, Penn State 7. Troy Tirapelle, Illinois 8. Matt Coughlin, Indiana 157 lbs. 1. Mike Poeta, Illinois 2. Brandon Becker, Indiana T3. C.P. Schlatter, Minnesota T3. Craig Henning, Wisconsin 5. Ryan Morningstar, Iowa 6. Bubba Jenkins, Penn State 7. Jacob Murphy, Purdue 8. Jeff Marsh, Michigan 165 lbs. 1. Eric Tannenbaum, Michigan 2. Mark Perry, Iowa 3. Tyler Safratowich, Minnesota 4. Roger Smith-Bergsrud, Illinois 5. Chris Vondruska, Ohio State 6. Justin Fraga, Purdue 7. Dave Rella, Penn State 8. Max Dean, Indiana 174 lbs. 1. James Yonushonis, Penn State 2. Eric Luedke, Iowa 3. Steve Luke, Michigan 4. Gabriel Dretsch, Minnesota 5. Trevor Perry, Indiana 6. Nick Hayes, Northwestern 7. Matt Winterhalter, Illinois 8. Matthew Maciag, Wisconsin 184 lbs. 1. Jake Herbert, Northwestern 2. Roger Kish, Minnesota 3. Mike Pucillo, Ohio State 4. Tyrel Todd, Michigan 5. Marc Bennet, Indiana 6. Joseph Williams, Michigan State 7. John Dergo, Illinois 8. Trevor Brandvold, Wisconsin 197 lbs. 1. Phil Davis, Penn State 2. Mike Tamillow, Northwestern 3. Patrick Bond, Illinois 4. James Bergman, Ohio State 5. Dallas Herbst, Wisconsin 6. Nathan Moore, Purdue 7. Nick Roy, Michigan 8. Nathan Everhart, Indiana HWT 1. Cole Konrad, Minnesota 2. Aaron Anspach, Penn State 3. Dustin Fox, Northwestern 4. Matt Fields, Iowa 5. Kyle Massey, Wisconsin 6. Josh Buuck, Indiana 7. John Wise, Illinois 8. Corey Morrison, Ohio State