McDonough earns top Big Ten preliminary seed

Iowa has ruled the Big Ten wrestling kingdom throughout the past four straight seasons, but the Hawkeyes have some work to do this weekend to continue their reign.

The Big Ten released preliminary seeds Monday for the conference wrestling meet, and Penn State and Iowa are virtually even on paper.

The Nittany Lions have five wrestlers seeded No. 1 and would score 99 placement to Iowa’s 98 if both teams match their seeds. That, of course, doesn’t account for bracket advancement or bonus points.

Penn State was a paper favorite against the Hawkeyes on Jan. 30 when the Nittany Lions were undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country entering the dual against Iowa. The Hawkeyes walked away with a 22-13 road win, keying their fourth consecutive undefeated run through the league dual season.

The Big Ten Championships begin Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. The Hawkeyes ran away with their third consecutive title last year when all 10 of their wrestlers placed in the top six, including nine in the top four. Iowa finished 37 points ahead of second-place Minnesota.

Defending NCAA champion Matt McDonough is Iowa’s lone No. 1 seed. The sophomore earned the top spot at 125 pounds by pinning seven of his eight opponents during the conference dual season, including Northwestern’s Brandon Precin, the No. 2 seed.

Iowa’s Tony Ramos (No. 3 seed at 133) and Luke Lofthouse (No. 2 at 197) also went undefeated for the Hawkeyes in Big Ten duals. But the three losses Ramos suffered in December at the Midlands Championships, including one to B.J. Futrell of Illinois, apparently outweighed the Iowa sophomore’s victory against Penn State’s Andrew Long, the No. 1 seed, in the minds of the Big Ten coaches.

Lofthouse didn’t get an opportunity this season to wrestle Wisconsin defending Big Ten champion Trevor Brandvold, who went 11-0 and picked up the No. 1 seed at 197.

Montell Marion (141) and Derek St. John (157) also were seeded second for the Hawkeyes. Grant Gambrall (184) and heavyweight Blake Rasing picked up No. 3 seeds. Aaron Janssen was seeded fourth at 165 and Ethen Lofthouse was fifth at 174. Mark Ballweg finished the regular season as Iowa’s starter at 149, the only weight where the Hawkeyes aren’t seeded.

125 lbs.

1. Matt McDonough, IOWA

2. Brandon Precin, NU

3. Zach Sanders, MINN

4. Brad Pataky, PSU

5. Sean Boyle, MICH

6. Justin Brooks, IND

7. Camden Eppert, PUR

8. Tom Kelliher, WIS

133 lbs.

1. Andrew Long, PSU

2. Tyler Graff, WIS

3. Tony Ramos, IOWA

4. B.J. Futrell, ILL

5. Levi Mele, NU

6. David Thorn, MINN

7. Zac Stevens, MICH

8. Ian Paddock, OSU

141 lbs.

1. Kellen Russell, MICH

2. Montell Marion, IOWA

3. Mike Thorn, MINN

4. Jimmy Kennedy, ILL

5. Andrew Alton, PSU

6. Kaleb Friedly, NU

7. Jake Fleckenstein, PUR

8. Shane McQuade, WIS

149 lbs.

1. Frank Molinaro, PSU

2. Andrew Nadhir, NU

3. Kurt Kinser, IND

4. Eric Terrazas, ILL

5. Cole Schmitt, WIS

6. Eric Grajales, MICH

7. Dan Osterman, MSU

8. Danny Zilverberg, MINN

157 lbs.

1. David Taylor, PSU

2. Derek St. John, IOWA

3. Jason Welch, NU

4. Colton Salazar, PUR

5. Paul Young, IND

6. Brandon Zeerip, MICH

7. Sean McMurray, MSU

8. Matt Mincey, MINN

165 lbs.

1. Andrew Howe, WIS

2. Colt Sponseller, OSU

3. Cody Yohn, MINN

4. Aaron Janssen, IOWA

5. Conrad Polz, ILL

6. Dan Yates, MICH

7. Ryan LeBlanc, IND

8. Kevin Bialka, NU

174 lbs.

1. Ed Ruth, PSU

2. Nick Heflin, OSU

3. Scott Glasser, MINN

4. Luke Manuel, PUR

5. Ethen Lofthouse, IOWA

6. Ben Jordan, WIS

7. Justin Zeerip, MICH

8. Curran Jacobs, MSU

184 lbs.

1. Travis Rutt, WIS

2. Kevin Steinhaus, MINN

3. Grant Gambrall, IOWA

4. Ian Hinton, MSU

5. Tony Dallago, ILL

6. A.J. Kissel, PUR

7. Cody Magrum, OSU

8. Quentin Wright, PSU

197 lbs.

1. Trevor Brandvold, WIS

2. Luke Lofthouse, IOWA

3. Logan Brown, PUR

4. Matt Powless, IND

5. Sonny Yohn, MINN

6. Anthony Biondo, MICH

7. Joe Barczak, ILL

8. Peter Capone, OSU

285 lbs.

1. Cameron Wade, PSU

2. Ricky Alcala, IND

3. Blake Rasing, IOWA

4. Tony Nelson, MINN

5. Ben Apland, MICH

6. Eric Bugenhagen, WIS

7. Joe Rizqallah, MSU

8. Ben Kuhar, NU

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Tags: Big Ten Championships, Matt McDonough, wrestling

Category: Wrestling