March 5, 2011

• Brackets   |  Team Standings

EVANSTON, Ill. -- After session one of the 2011 Big Ten Championships, Wisconsin sits in fourth place with 42 points. The Badgers have four wrestlers vying for first place, and the rest are still in contention for third.

Redshirt sophomore Tyler Graff (133 lbs.), junior Andrew Howe (165 lbs), redshirt sophomore Ben Jordan (174 lbs.) and redshirt senior Trevor Brandvold (197 lbs.) remain undefeated entering the semifinals.

Iowa currently leads the team race with 79 points while Penn State (60 points) and Minnesota (57.5 points) slate the second and third place positions.

UW captured four wins by bonus points in the first session, including three major decisions and a pin.

No. 2 seed Graff earned two victories by decision at 133 lbs. in the first session of the Big Tens, moving him onto the semifinals round to take on No. 3 seed Tony Ramos of Iowa. Graff's first victory came against Purdue's Akif Eren in a 10-4 decision. He then defeated Michigan's No. 7 seed Zac Stevens, 9-4.

No. 1 seed Howe won both of his matches by bonus points, earning a major decision and a pin. In his first bout since Jan. 16, Howe won by a 19-6 major decision over Penn State's James Vollrath. He then pinned Northwestern's No. 8 seed Kevin Bialka at 2:03. Howe will now face Iowa's No. 4 seed Aaron Janssen in the 165 lbs. semifinals.

No. 6 seed Ben Jordan also moves onto the semifinals at 174 lbs. with two victories in session one. Jordan captured a 12-4 major decision over Northwestern's Brian Roddy in the first round, and then upset No. 3 seed Scott Glasser of Minnesota, 5-4. He will wrestle No. 2 seed Nick Heflin of Ohio State in the semifinals.

After a first-round bye, No. 1 seed Brandvold defeated No. 8 seed Peter Capone of Ohio State by a 6-2 decision. Brandvold's victory moves him onto the semifinals where he will face Minnesota's No. 5 seed Sonny Yohn.

At 125 lbs., redshirt sophomore No. 8 seed Tom Kelliher came out big with a 9-1 major decision over Illinois' Logan Arlis that included over five minutes of riding time. Kelliher was then pinned in his next match by No. 1 seed Matt McDonough of Iowa at 3:30. Kelliher will start the second session with a bye.

After a first round bye at 141 lbs., No. 8 seed sophomore Shane McQaude took on Michigan's No. 1 seed Kellen Russell. In his first match in Big Ten competition, McQuade dropped an 11-0 major decision to the No. 1-ranked wrestler in his weight class. McQuade faces Purdue's No. 7 seed Jake Fleckenstein in the first round of wrestlebacks.

No. 5 seed redshirt sophomore Cole Schmitt also began with a first-round bye at 149 lbs., but dropped a 5-3 sudden victory decision to Illinois' No. 4 seed Eric Terrazas in overtime. Before starting overtime, Schmitt had to erase Terrazas' 2:08 of riding time. Schmitt will wrestle Iowa's Mark Ballweg in the first round of wrestlbacks.

At 157 lbs., redshirt freshman Shawn Perry lost his first match to No. 8 seed Matt Mincey of Minnesota. Perry lost by a 5-3 decision and takes on No. 7 seed Sean McMurray of Michigan State in the first round of wrestlebacks.

No. 1 seed junior Travis Rutt dropped his only match of session one to Penn State's No. 8 seed Quentin Wright by a 4-3. An initial takedown was called for Rutt with six seconds remaining in the bout, but was removed after the referees decided he did not have control before going out-of-bounds. Rutt's loss was his second of the year and first since Dec. 4 at the Cliff Keen Invite. He will wrestle Northwestern's Aaron Jones in the wrestlebacks.

In his first match at heavyweight, No. 6 seed redshirt senior Eric Bugenhagen defeated Illinois' Pat Walker by a 2-0 decision. Bugenhagen then faced Iowa's No. 3 seed Blake Rasing who earned a takedown with 25 seconds remaining in the bout to win by a 3-1 decision. He will now face Purdue's Roger Vukobratovich in the wrestlebacks.

Session two begins at 5 p.m. (CT) and doors reopen at 4 p.m. at the Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.

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Justin Mozer
UW Athletic Communications