Recap URL: http://www.nusports.com/sports/m-wrestl/recaps/030412aac.html 

Six NU Wrestlers Place at 2012 B1G Championships 

'Cats finish sixth in team race

March 4, 2012

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2012 Big Ten Wrestling Championships
Sat., March 3-Sun., March 4
Site: Mackey Arena (West Lafayette, Ind.)
NU Finish: 6th/12 (75.0 points)
Up Next: 2012 NCAA Wrestling Championships • March 15-17 • St. Louis, Mo.

Final 2012 B1G Championships Brackets & Team Standings

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Northwestern wrapped up competition at the 2012 Big Ten Wrestling Championships Sunday at Mackey Arena. Six NU wrestlers placed at the championships as Jason Welch took second at 157, Levi Mele finished fourth at 125, Lee Munster took fourth at 174, Mike McMullan placed fourth at heavyweight, Pierce Harger was sixth at 165 and Kaleb Friedley placed seventh at 149.

Northwestern placed sixth, finishing with 75.0 points, nine ahead of seventh place Michigan. Penn State won its second team title in as many years, scoring 149.0 points. Minnesota was the runner-up with 134.0 points while Iowa finished third with 126.0 points.
 
In a highly-anticipated 157 lbs. finals, top-seeded Jason Welch met IowaÂ’s No. 6 Derek St. John. Welch scored the first takedown in the opening period but St. John knotted things up at 2-2, using an escape in the first period and another after starting the second frame from the bottom. Welch had 1:12 of riding time after St. JohnÂ’s second escape and took that advantage heading into the third. Welch began the third period down and escaped with 40 seconds left in the match, which took away his point for riding time. St. John then scored the winning takedown in the closing seconds, narrowly defeating Welch, 4-3 in his first loss of the year.
 
No. 5 Levi Mele earned a spot in the third-place match and racked up bonus points in the process with an exciting pin in overtime of No. 3 Nico Megaludis of Penn State. Mele scored the first takedown of the match and had the 2-1 lead heading into the second period. He extended the lead to 3-1 with an escape but was warned for stalling. In the third, Megaludis escaped, pulling within one at 3-2 and then tied things up as Mele received another stall call. In the overtime, Mele scored the match-winning takedown with 38 seconds left, but continued to work Megaludis until he recorded the fall in 7:35, his team-leading 12th pin of the season. Mele then faced No. 4 Jesse Delgado of Illinois in the third-place match for the second time of the tournament and fourth time this season. Mele dropped the third-place match, 6-1 to take fourth at 125 lbs.
 
No. 9 Lee Munster also used an overtime match to secure a spot in the third-place match at 174 lbs. He faced No. 5 Nick Heflin of Ohio State and after a 2-2 tie, Munster scored the winning takedown at the edge of the mat with just three seconds left in sudden victory. That win set up a match with IowaÂ’s No. 3 Ethen Lofthouse, whom Munster was 1-1 with during the regular season, winning in the finals of the Midlands championships and falling in a close 5-2 decision during in the dual. Munster, a redshirt freshmen, fell 7-2 to finish fourth in his first Big Ten championships.
 
No. 5 Mike McMullan wrestled his way into the third-place match with yet another overtime victory for Northwestern in the consolation semifinals. McMullan scored the match-winning takedown with 19 seconds left in sudden victory, defeating MSUÂ’s No. 10 Steve Andrus, 3-1. In the third place match, McMullan faced a re-match against PSUÂ’s No. 2 Cameron Wade. Wade scored the first takedown but a McMullan reversal tied things at 2-2 in the first. Wade escaped, but McMullan escaped in the second to even things up at 3-3. With riding time not a factor, Wade started the third period down and escaped, taking the 4-3 lead. McMullan took a number of shots to end the period, but was unable to score and the redshirt freshman took fourth at heavyweight.
 
No. 8 Pierce Harger wrestled above his seed and placed sixth at 165 lbs. after facing two first-time opponents Sunday. The redshirt freshman dropped his consolation semifinal match, 6-1 to NebraskaÂ’s third-seeded Robert Kokesh. He then faced MinnesotaÂ’s No. 7 Cody Yohn in the fifth-place match and fell, 6-2 to take sixth.
 
No. 8 Kaleb Friedley placed seventh at 149 lbs. thanks to 2:18 of riding time in his match against IllinoisÂ’ No. 7 Eric Terrazas. Friedley trailed 2-1 after the first period and again 4-2 in the third, but scored a reversal, knotting things at 4-4. Friedley racked up riding time for the entire second period and after the third-period reversal to win, 5-4.
 
Mele, Friedley, Welch, Harger, Munster and McMullan will represent Northwestern at the 2012 NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Mo., March 15-17.
 
Big Ten Championships – Session III/IV Results
NU Placers
125: Levi Mele – 4th
149: Kaleb Friedley – 7th
157: Jason Welch – 2nd
165: Pierce Harger – 6th
174: Lee Munster – 4th
Hwt: Mike McMullan - 4th
All automatically qualified for the 2012 NCAA Wrestling Championships
 
Championship Finals
157: No. 6 Derek St. John (Iowa) dec No. 1 Jason Welch (NU), 4-3
 
Consolation Semifinals
125: No. 5 Levi Mele (NU) pins No. 3 Nico Megaludis (PSU), 7:35 SV
165: No. 3 Robert Kokesh (NEB) dec No. 8 Pierce Harger (NU), 6-1
174: No. 9 Lee Munster (NU) dec No. 5 Nick Heflin (OSU), 4-2 SV
Hwt: No. 5 Mike McMullan (NU) dec No. 10 Steve Andrus (MSU), 3-1 SV
 
Third-Place Matches
125: No. 4 Jesse Delgado (IL) dec No. 5 Levi Mele (NU), 6-1
174: No. 3 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) dec No. 9 Lee Munster (NU), 7-2
Hwt: No. 2 Cameron Wade (PSU) dec No. 5 Mike McMullan (NU), 4-3
 
Fifth-Place Matches
165: No. 7 Cody Yohn (MN) dec No. 8 Pierce Harger (NU), 6-2
 
Seventh-Place Match
149: No. 8 Kaleb Friedley (NU) dec No. 7 Eric Terrazas (IL), 5-4

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