March 4, 2008

Listen to Spartan Sports Podcasts
Head Coach Tom Minkel
Franklin Gomez
Joe Williams

EAST LANSING, Mich. - 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 pre-seeds for the 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 will be set on Friday, March 7.

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.

Full tournament seedings are as follows:

125 lbs.
1. Jayson Ness, Minnesota
2. Charlie Falck, Iowa
3. Angel Escobedo, Indiana
4. Brandon Precin, Northwestern
5. Gabriel Flores, Illinois
6. Mark McKnight, Penn State
7. Nikko Triggas, Ohio State
8. Collin Cudd, Wisconsin

133 lbs.
1. James Kennedy, Illinois
2. Joe Slaton, Iowa
3. Franklin Gomez, Michigan State
4. Szach Tanelli, Wisconsin
5. Mack Reiter, Minnesota
6. Andrae Hernandez, Indiana
7. Reece Humphrey, Ohio State
8. Tim Haas, Penn State

141 lbs.
1. Kellen Russell, Michigan
2. Kyle Ruschell, Wisconsin
3. J Jaggers, Ohio State
4. Dan LeClere, Iowa
5. Garrett Scott, Penn State
6. Manuel Rivera, Minnesota
7. Keith Sulzer, Northwestern
8. Ryan Prater, Illinois

149 lbs.
1. Brent Metcalf, Iowa
2. Joshua Churella, Michigan
3. Dustin Schlatter, Minnesota
4. Bubba Jenkins, Penn State
5. Lance Palmer, Ohio State
6. Jake Patascil, Purdue
7. Ryan Lang, Northwestern
8. Grant Paswell, Illinois

157 lbs.
1. Michael Poeta, Illinois
2. Dan Vallimont, Penn State
3. Brandon Becker, Indiana
4. C.P. Schlatter, Minnesota
5. Craig Henning, Wisconsin
6. Jeff Marsh, Michigan
7. Ryan Morningstar, Iowa
8. John Fulger, Michigan State

165 lbs.
1. Mark Perry, Iowa
2. Eric Tannenbaum, Michigan
3. Tyler Safratowich, Minnesota
4. Colt Sponseller, Ohio State
5. Roger Smith-Bergsrud, Illinois
6. Matt Coughlin, Indiana
7. Dave Rella, Penn State
8. Rex Kendle, Michigan State

174 lbs.
1. Steve Luke, Michigan
2. Jay Borschel, Iowa
3. Gabriel Drestch, Minnesota
4. Nick Hayes, Northwestern
5. John Dergo, Illinois
6. David Erwin, Penn State
7. Nick Corpe, Purdue
8. Dan Clum, Wisconsin

184 lbs.
1. Mike Pucillo, Ohio State
2. Tyrel Todd, Michigan
3. Phil Keddy, Iowa
4. Roger Kish, Minnesota
5. Phil Bomberger, Penn State
6. Marc Bennett, Indiana
7. Ben Friedl, Illinois
8. A.J. Kissel, Purdue

197 lbs.
1. Mike Tamillow, Northwestern
2. Phil Davis, Penn State
3. Patrick Bond, Illinois
4. Dallas Herbst, Wisconsin
5. Joe Williams, Michigan State
6. Justin Bronson, Minnesota
T7. Chad Beatty, Iowa
T7. Anthony Biondo, Michigan

285
1. J.D. Bergman, Ohio State
2. Dustin Fox, Northwestern
3. Kyle Massey, Wisconsin
4. Matt Fields, Iowa
5. John Wise, Illinois
6. Chris Kasten, Purdue
7. John Laboranti, Penn State
8. Ben Berhow, Minnesota