Big Ten weight-by-weight preview and predictions

Ohio State's J.D. Bergman is a two-time All-American.

He's twice placed in the top four at the NCAA Championships.

He's won 14 career matches on college wrestling's biggest stage.

Even with all those wins, he has never won a match in the championship bracket of the NCAA tournament.

Now a senior, Bergman is focused on stringing together five straight wins in the championship bracket at the 2008 NCAA Championships to achieve his goal and reach the top step of the podium.

Ranked No. 1 after bumping up from 197 pounds to heavyweight this season, Bergman is 27-1 this season. He will look to qualify for the NCAAs when he competes at the Big Ten Championships on Saturday and Sunday in Minneapolis.

"It's kind of surreal to think I don't have very much time left in my career," he said. "I think I've just put too much pressure on myself in the first round at nationals and I've really beaten myself more than my opponent has. I will definitely be ready the first time I step out there this year."

Bergman lost his first match at the 2004 NCAA Championships as a true freshman before rattling off seven straight wins to place third.

As a junior, Bergman nearly duplicated that feat after falling in the opening round of the 2007 NCAAs. He rebounded to win six straight matches before placing fourth.

He went 1-2 at the 2005 NCAA tournament as a sophomore before taking a medical redshirt the next season.

So what does Bergman need to do differently to advance past his first match at this year's NCAAs?

"I am going to make sure I am really warmed up and ready to go," he said. "I may wrestle a real hard match with Tommy Rowlands before my first match at nationals."

Rowlands, Bergman's former Ohio State teammate, won two NCAA titles at heavyweight for the Buckeyes. Rowlands placed fifth at the 2007 World Championships in freestyle and is an assistant coach for the Buckeyes.

He's also a frequent workout partner of Bergman's.

"J.D. has done a great job with the transition to heavyweight," Rowlands said. "The key for him is to make it a wrestling match, and not get caught up in a pushing and shoving battle that happens in a lot of heavyweight matches. If J.D. makes his opponents wrestle and pushes the pace, he will win."

Rowlands has been instrumental in helping Bergman adapt to a bigger weight class.

"I value Tommy's opinion a great deal," Bergman said. "He's the best heavyweight in the country and he's a good friend. Tommy was a lighter heavyweight like I am, so he's helped me a lot. He's a great technician and a great coach. You can't beat the training situation. He's a great workout partner."

Bergman's decision to bump up a weight class has made wrestling enjoyable again for the Buckeye senior.

"J.D. is a great guy with a great personality," Ohio State coach Tom Ryan said. "But there were a lot of times last year when you didn't see his personality. He was a typical, grouchy weight-cutter."

But not anymore after bumping up a class.

"I feel so much better physically," Bergman said. "I have so much energy now."

Bergman said his decision to move up to heavyweight came last September when he was in Colorado Springs training with Rowlands at the final U.S. World Team freestyle camp.

"Coach Ryan texted me and asked me how much I weighed," Bergman said. "I was still planning on going 197 at that point. I thought about it for a week or two before I made the decision. I was probably around 230 at that point. I talked to (U.S. World Team coach) Kerry McCoy and he thought I should move up. He said he won his first NCAA title at 218 pounds."

Bergman said he has weighed as much as 250 pounds this season, but he's still smaller than a lot of the guys he wrestles.

His only loss this season came to then-No. 1 Dustin Fox of Northwestern. Fox, one of the nation's biggest heavyweights, has to drop weight to make the 285-pound maximum for college heavyweights.

Bergman and Fox are expected to meet again this weekend in the finals of Big Tens. Bergman and Fox are seeded 1-2.

"I knew Fox was a big heavyweight, and I wrestled him cautiously because of his size," Bergman said. "I really didn't do much and I didn't attempt much. I didn't put myself in danger until overtime. It was a 1-1 match and I tried an inside trip and he rolled me through. Next time I need to be more offensive and go get a takedown."

Ryan said Bergman continues to improve in his first year as a heavyweight.

"J.D. has worked very hard," Ryan said. "He's naturally strong and he's put size on. He's got to be a little more strategic against bigger guys like Fox. We need to make guys like that wrestle us a little more."

Bergman was recruited to Ohio State by former Buckeye coach Russ Hellickson. He competed two seasons for Hellickson before Ryan took over the program prior to the 2006-07 season.

"I love Russ Hellickson," Bergman said. "But it didn't take long, once I met the new staff, to buy into what they were doing. This coaching staff is second to none. It's like we had a million bucks with the old staff and now we have 10 million bucks with this staff.

"We have accomplished wrestlers and coaches on this staff. They are great communicators, and great family men and role models. They have strong values and it resonates through our team. Tom Ryan is a great person and a great leader."

Bergman, an Academic All-Big Ten selection, said he is scheduled to graduate this month with a degree in communications. He said he may eventually coach or go into sports broadcasting or acting.

Bergman is a top prospect internationally in both Greco-Roman and freestyle.

He placed third in the 2005 U.S. World Team Trials in Greco-Roman before placing fourth in the 2006 U.S. World Team Trials in freestyle.

"I'm going to jump right into freestyle after NCAAs and I will give the Olympics a shot in freestyle at 211 (pounds)," he said. "Then we will see what happens. I will probably go through the next Olympic cycle."

Before he focuses on international wrestling, Bergman hopes to complete his career by staying in the championship bracket this time around at his final NCAA tournament on March 20-22 in St. Louis.

"I've had a goal of winning NCAAs since after my freshman year," Bergman said. "It would be an overwhelming feeling to get my hand raised on that blue mat. College wrestling is the hardest sport there is. Winning an NCAA title would mean a lot, that's for sure."