PARK RIDGE, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced the preliminary seeds for the 2013 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 9-10 on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Ill. Five schools boast at least one top-seeded wrestler, with Penn State leading the way with three. Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State will bring a seeded wrestler in each of the 10 weight classes, while Nebraska will boast a seeded grappler in nine classes.
 
The pre-seeds, as voted on by the conference’s coaches, rank the top eight wrestlers in five weight classes, along with 11 or 12 schools’ starters in five weight classes due to the Big Ten receiving eight or more NCAA Championships qualifier allocations in those classes. Each team enters the championships with a seeded wrestler in the 165-, 174- and 285-pound weight classes.
 
Penn State holds three No. 1 seeds, with 165-pounder David Taylor, 184-pounder Ed Ruth and 197-pounder Quentin Wright earning top billing in their weight classes, while Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio State each hold two top-ranked wrestlers. The Hawkeyes’ Matt McDonough (125 pounds) and Derek St. John (157), the Gophers’ Logan Storley (174) and Tony Nelson (285) and the Buckeyes’ Logan Stieber (133) and Hunter Stieber (141) have each earned top seeds, while Michigan’s Eric Grajales (149) rounds out the group of top-ranked grapplers.
 
Six of this year’s top seeds took home Big Ten titles last season, as McDonough (125), Logan Stieber (133), St. John (157), Taylor (165), Ruth (174; wrestling this season at 184) and Nelson (285) each took home crowns in 2012. Additionally, Minnesota’s Kevin Steinhaus (184) and Illinois’ Mario Gonzalez (197) return to defend their titles from last year’s championships.
 
For more information on the 2013 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, visit the Big Ten Championships Central page on Illinois’ web site HERE. The complete list of Big Ten Championships pre-seeds can be found below and attached.
 
125 lbs.
1. Matt McDonough, IOWA
2. Nico Megaludis, PSU
3. Jesse Delgado, ILL
4. Sean Boyle, MICH
5. Nikko Triggas, OSU
6. Camden Eppert, PUR
7. David Thorn, MINN
8. Dom Malone, NU
 
133 lbs.
1. Logan Stieber, OSU
2. Tony Ramos, IOWA
3. Tyler Graff, WIS
4. Jordan Conaway, PSU
5. Daryl Thomas, ILL
6. Cashe Quiroga, PUR
7. Chris Dardanes, MINN
8. Shawn Nagel, NEB
 
141 lbs.
1. Hunter Stieber, OSU
2. Nick Dardanes, MINN
3. Mark Ballweg, IOWA
4. Bryan Pearsall, PSU
5. Brandon Nelsen, PUR
6. Ridge Kiley, NEB
7. Pat Greco, NU
8. Camryn Jackson, MICH
 
149 lbs.
1. Eric Grajales, MICH
2. Dylan Ness, MINN
3. Ivan Lopouchanski, PUR
4. Jake Sueflohn, NEB
5. Cam Tessari, OSU
6. Andrew Alton, PSU
7. Caleb Ervin, ILL
8. Dan Osterman, MSU
9. Josh Dziewa, IOWA
10. Dylan Marriott, NU
11. Preston Keiffer, IND
 
157 lbs.
1. Derek St. John, IOWA
2. Jason Welch, NU
3. Dylan Alton, PSU
4. James Green, NEB
5. Taylor Walsh, IND
6. Josh Demas, OSU
7. Ryan Watts, MSU
8. Danny Zilverberg, MINN
 
165 lbs.
1. David Taylor, PSU
2. Conrad Polz, ILL
3. Taylor Massa, MICH
4. Nick Moore, IOWA
5. Cody Yohn, MINN
6. Pierce Harger, NU
7. Ryan LeBlanc, IND
8. Austin Wilson, NEB
9. Mark Martin, OSU
10. Pat Robinson, PUR
11. Frank Cousins, WIS
12. Nick Proctor, MSU
 
174 lbs.
1. Logan Storley, MINN
2. Mike Evans, IOWA
3. Robert Kokesh, NEB
4. Nick Heflin, OSU
5. Matt Brown, PSU
6. Jordan Blanton, ILL
7. Lee Munster, NU
8. Dan Yates, MICH
9. Scott Liegel, WIS
10. Chad Welch, PUR
11. Jordan Wohlfert, MSU
12. Cheney Dale, IND
 
184 lbs.
1. Ed Ruth, PSU
2. Kevin Steinhaus, MINN
3. Josh Ihnen, NEB
4. John Rizqallah, MSU
5. Ethen Lofthouse, IOWA
6. Tony Dallago, ILL
7. Luke Sheridan, IND
8. Cody Magrum, OSU
 
197 lbs.
1. Quentin Wright, PSU
2. Scott Schiller, MINN
3. Mario Gonzalez, ILL
4. Andrew Campolattano, OSU
5. Braden Atwood, PUR
6. Nathan Burak, IOWA
7. Jackson Hein, WIS
8. Max Huntley, MICH
9. Alex Polizzi, NU
10. Luke Jones, MSU
11. Caleb Kolb, NEB
 
285 lbs.
1. Tony Nelson, MINN
2. Mike McMullan, NU
3. Connor Medbery, WIS
4. Bobby Telford, IOWA
5. Mike McClure, MSU
6. Adam Chalfant, IND
7. James Lawson, PSU
8. Ben Apland, MICH
9. Spencer Johnson, NEB
10. Nick Tavanello, OSU
11. Chris Lopez, ILL
12. Alex White, PUR