Big Ten Release
March 4, 2013
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Six members of the Ohio State wrestling team earned a Top 5 pre-seed for the 2013 Big Ten Championships Saturday and Sunday. Hunter Stieber and Logan Stieberwill enter the championships, taking place at Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill., as the No. 1 seeds at 141 and 133 pounds, respectively.
H. Stieber was 8-0 during the regular season vs. Big Ten competition and 6-0 vs. the championship field. Some of H. Stieber's notable wins include a 6-4 win over No. 8 Mark Ballweg of Iowa Jan. 4 and No. 11 Nick Dardanes, 5-3, of Minnesota Jan. 11. Boasting a 27-0 record, Stieber leads the Buckeyes in major decisions with 10.
Older brother, L. Stieber finished the Big Ten schedule 3-0 and 4-0 vs. the championship lineup. Missing the entire month of January because of a leg injury, Stieber returned in February with three consecutive victories, including a win vs. No. 8 Daryl Thomas of Illinois. Seventeen of Stieber's 19 wins (19-0) have been bonus point wins and for the season he has posted two major decisions, five technical falls and a team-best, among regular-season starters, 10 falls.
No. 5 Nikko Triggas (125), No. 5 Cam Tessari (149), No. 4 Nick Heflin (174) and No. 4 Andrew Campolattano(197) will enter the championships as Top 5 pre-seeds.
Triggas concluded the regular season with a 4-4 record against Big Ten competition and the championship field (17-10 overall). Second on the team in falls with nine, Triggas has a career count of 46, which is good for third place in the Ohio State records book.
Finishing the regular season winning six of his last eight matches, Tessari was 6-1 vs. league competition and 4-2 against the field, including a 3-1 win vs. No. 7 Andrew Alton of Penn State Feb. 10. Tessari finished the regular season 13-7 overall.
Heflin, 6-2 vs. the Big Ten, has won five of his last six matches, including a pair of 3-2 victories vs. No. 10 Dan Yates of Michigan (Feb. 8) and No. 5 Matt Brown of Penn State (Feb. 10). Owning a 12-3 overall record, Heflin also recorded a 3-1 sudden victory vs. No. 8 Jordan Blanton of Illinois (Feb. 1).
Campolattano was 3-2 vs. Big Ten competition and overall posted a 15-8 record. Two of Campolattano's three league wins came against No. 16 Alex Polizzi of Northwestern, 10-4, Jan. 6 and No. 20 Jackson Hein of Wisconsin, 3-2, Jan. 20.
Josh Demas is the sixth seed at 157 pounds, followed by No. 8 seed C.J. Magrum at 184 pounds. At 165 pounds, Mark Martin is the ninth seed, while heavyweight Nick Tavanellois the 10th seed.
Demas, 16-8 overall, 3-5 in the Big Ten and 3-4 vs. the conference lineup, faced the Nos. 1, 2, 5 and 12th-ranked wrestlers in the nation at 157 pounds during Big Ten schedule. Martin will enter his first conference championship with a 2-5 record league record (15-13 overall record). Compiling a 30-5 overall record after competing in various open tournaments, Tavanello won six titles. With a team best 13 pins, Tavanello pinned his way through the Greyhound Open en route to the title Feb. 2 and opened the Simonson Open (Feb. 9) with back-to-back falls before winning the event on a medical forfeit by teammate Kosta Karageorge.
