Wrestling Set for Big Ten Championship Weekend in Minnesota

March 6, 2008

PDF of Complete MSU 2008 Big Ten Championship Notes
2008 Big Ten Wrestling Championships Website
2008 Championship Brackets
Big Ten Conference Website

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Big Ten Conference office announced the 2008 pre-seeding for this year championships hosted by Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn., March 7-8 at Williams Arena.

Michigan State's Franklin Gomez, Joe Williams, John Fulger and Rex Kendle are among the elite league field, and look to improve on last year's 11th-place finish. Seedings are determined by the league's head coaches, as their votes are based on regular season results.

This year's official tournament bracket can be found here.

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SEEDED SPARTANS
Ranked fifth nationally, Gomez is the third seed at 133 pounds, the highest among the Spartans. Gomez enters the Big Ten Championships with a near-perfect 25-1 overall mark and a flawless 17-0 dual record. The sophomore currently owns a 12-match winning streak, dating back to Jan. 4. At last year's tournament, Gomez fell in two rounds before being eliminated from the 125-pound bracket. After receiving a bye in round one, Gomez was defated by Illinois Gabe Flores, 10-5, and Ohio State's Will Livingston, 10-7. Against this year's fellow tournament competitors, Gomez is 5-1, with his only loss coming against Iowa's Joe Slaton in the title match at the Midlands Championships in December.

No. 15 Williams, the fifth seed at 197 pounds, will return to the championships for the second consecutive year. Williams recorded a 25-11 overall record this year, including an 11-5 dual mark. Against the 197-pounds seeds this year, Williams tallied a 2-5 mark. Williams currently leads MSU with seven pins. He also boasts six major decisions and five shutouts. In last year's tournament, Williams competed at 184 pounds and lost his first bout 4-0 to Ohio State's Mike Pucillo then was defeated by Phil Keddy 3-1 in sudden-death overtime.

Rex Kendle and John Fulger are the eighth seeds in their respective brackets, 165 pounds and 157 pounds. Kendle competed in last year's championships, going 0-2, while Fulger will be making his post-season tournament premier this weekend. Kendle tallied an 18-17 overall mark, with a 7-10 dual record, while posting a 3-2 Big Ten record. Fulger ended the regular season with a 14-19 overall mark, a 5-11 dual mark, which includes a 3-5 conference record.

A LOOK AT THE BIG TEN RACE
The Big Ten Conference boasts nine ranked programs among the nation's elite including top-ranked Iowa, who leads the Big Ten Conference heading into post-season play with a 8-0 league record and 21-1 overall mark.

No. 9 Ohio State sits in second amoung conference leaders, with a 6-2 league mark and 19-4 overall record.

For full conference notes, see the Big Ten Conference championship release on pages 18-29 of MSU's championship notes.(Click here.)

2007 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS - MSU REWIND
At the 2007 championship, Nick Simmons became just the sixth Spartan in school history to win three Big Ten titles as he beat sixth-seeded Andrae Hernandez of Indiana, 6-4, in the championship match at 133 pounds in the final session of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships. Simmons' previous titles were at 125 pounds. Brother Andy Simmons wrestled for a third-place finish but fell to Iowa's Alex Tsirtsis in a 6-0 decision. Both qualified for the NCAA tournament, where Nick claimed third in the national championship.

LAST TIME OUT
The Spartans closed out the regular season splitting a pair of duals against intrastate rivals, a 24-6 win over Eastern Michigan and a 24-11 loss at No. 10 Michigan.

QUITE FRANKLIN
Sophomore standout Franklin Gomez has jumped out to an incredible start to the season, going undefeated in 2008 as 133-pound the starter ranks fifth nationally in his weight class by InterMat, a standing propped up by his MSU Open title, Big Ten Wrestler of the Week accolades, nine wins over ranked opponents, his 25-1 overall record and perfect 17-0 dual mark.

Gomez's owns two impressive win streaks so far this year; he won his first thirteen straight and currently is undefeated in his last 12. The two streaks are separated by his single loss of the season, which he suffered in the 133-pound title match of the Midlands Championships in December of 2007. In the quarterfinals, Gomez defeated Wyoming's Corey VomBaur in a 16-1 technical fall, and went on to best Iowa State's No. 4 Nick Fanthorpe, a 3-1 decision, to advance to the finals. In the title match, Gomez took on Iowa's No. 2 Joe Slaton, but fell in a tough 6-2 loss, surrendering the bracket title and his first loss of the season.

In dual action, Gomez remains flawless, with his most recent 16-1 technical fall over Chris Diehl of Michigan.

In total dual action, Gomez has tallied 63 dual points for MSU with his 17 victories.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE JOE
Senior captain Joe Williams (25-11) continues to be a driving force for the Spartans, as the fifth-year 197-pounder leads by example for the MSU wrestlers.

Ranked 15th in the nation by InterMat, Willams paces the Spartans with seven pins. He also boasts six major decisions and five shutouts. Williams' began his season putting up impressive numbers in the fall's four tournaments (14-6) and has continued to succeed in dual action (11-5). Williams is the only Spartan that placed in each of this year's tournaments, earning second at the Eastern Michigan Open, the MSU Open and the Nittany Lion Open, and eighth at the Midlands Championships.

Most recently in dual action, Williams defeated Michigan's No. 19 Anthony Biondo in a 4-3 dual.

FULGER IN THE CIRCLE
Redshirt frehman John Fulger wrestled his way to a 14-19 overall record this winter at 157 pounds, while chalking up a 5-11 mark in duals. Against conference opponents, Fulger defeated Purdue's Nick Bertucci (fall 2:09), Ohio State's Jason Johnstone (Dec. 4-1) and Northwestern's Andrew Nadhir (Dec. 12-8). Against seeded opponents in this year's conference championships, Fulger is 0-5.

In early tournament action, Fulger went 5-2 at the Eastern Michigan Open, and 2-2 at the Midlands Championships.

KENDLE ON THE MAT
Rex Kendle, a junior who walked-on for the Spartans in 2004, posted an 18-17 overall mark at 165 pounds, and returns to the Big Ten Championships for the second consecutive year.

This season Kendle managed a 7-10 dual record, including a 3-2 conference mark. His Big Ten schedule was highlighted by wins over Wisconsin's Jake Donar (Dec. 3-1), Northwestern's Dominic Marella (Dec. 3-1), and Penn State's Dave Rella (injury forfeit).

Kendle opened the season with a fifth-place finish at the Eastern Michigan Open, tallying a 5-1 record. At Penn State's Nittany Lion Open, Kendle earned a 3-1 mark.

Against opponents in the 2008 conference championships, Kendle is 1-3.

MINKEL MEMORIALIZED
Head coach Tom Minkel, along with former Chippewa wrestler John Matthews, was honored on Jan. 20 with the retirement of their singlets at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

The pair became the first wrestlers in CMU history to have their singlets ceremoniously raised to the rafters of Rose Arena.

Minkel was a three-time All-American, earning both Division I and Division II honors in 1970 and Division II honors in 1971 (Division II athletes were eligible to wrestle in the Division I tournament at the time). Minkel was also a two-time team MVP, earning the honor in 1970 and `71. Additionally, he won a pair of Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles in 1969 and `70.

Both wrestlers then went on to earn sports on the USA Greco Roman Olympic team. Matthews represent the USA in 1976 and 1980, and Minkel wrestled for the Red, White and Blue in 1980.

Additionally, both wrestlers were inducted into the Central Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame, with Matthews going in with the inaugural class of 1984, and Minkel the following year in 1985.