ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced the preliminary seeds for the 2014 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 8-9 on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis. Five schools boast at least one top-seeded wrestler, with Penn State leading the way with five. Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State will bring a seeded wrestler in each of the 10 weight classes, while Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin each boast a seeded grappler in nine classes.

The pre-seeds, as voted on by the conference’s coaches, rank the top eight wrestlers in five weight classes, along with all 12 starters in five weight classes due to the Big Ten receiving eight or more NCAA Championships qualifier allocations in those classes. Each team enters the championships with a seeded wrestler in the 133-, 157-, 165-, 197- and 285-pound weight classes.

Penn State holds five No. 1 seeds, with 125-pounder Nico Megaludis, 141-pounder Zain Retherford, 165-pounder David Taylor, 184-pounder Ed Ruth and 197-pounder Morgan McIntosh earning top billing in their weight classes. Nebraska brings two top-seeded grapplers into the championships, while Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin each hold one top-ranked wrestler. The Hawkeyes’ Tony Ramos (133), Wolverines’ Adam Coon (285) and Badgers’ Isaac Jordan (157) have each earned No. 1 seeds, while the Huskers’ Jake Sueflohn (149) and Robert Kokesh (174) round out the group of top-ranked grapplers.

Four of this year’s top seeds advanced to the final of their weight class at last year’s Big Ten Championships, including two who took home titles. Ruth and Taylor each won their third conference crowns a season ago and aim to become just the 12^th and 13^th four-time winners in Big Ten history. Ramos and Sueflohn both advanced to the championship finale in their respective weight classes last year. This season, three freshmen earned No. 1 seeds entering the championships, including Coon, Jordan and Retherford.

For more information on the 2014 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, visit the Big Ten Championships Central page on Wisconsin’s website HERE. The complete list of Big Ten Championships pre-seeds can be found below.

125 lbs.

1.       Nico Megaludis, PSU

2.       Jesse Delgado, ILL

3.       Cory Clark, IOWA

4.       Bradley Taylor, WIS

4.       Conor Youtsey, MICH

6.       Tim Lambert, NEB

7.       Camden Eppert, PUR

8.       Nick Roberts, OSU

133 lbs.

1.       Tony Ramos, IOWA

2.       Tyler Graff, WIS

3.       David Thorn, MINN

4.       Cashe Quiroga, PUR

5.       Zane Richards, ILL

6.       Johnni DiJulius, OSU

7.       Jimmy Gulibon, PSU

8.       Rossi Bruno, MICH

9.       Shawn Nagel, NEB

10.   Dom Malone, NU

11.   Joe Duca, IND

12.   Garth Yenter, MSU

141 lbs.

1.       Zain Retherford, PSU

2.       Logan Stieber, OSU

3.       Chris Dardanes, MINN

4.       Stephen Dutton, MICH

5.       Josh Dziewa, IOWA

6.       Steven Rodrigues, ILL

7.       Danny Sabatello, PUR

8.       Jessie Thielke, WIS

149 lbs.

1.       Jake Sueflohn, NEB

2.       Nick Dardanes, MINN

3.       Jason Tsirtsis, NU

4.       Brody Grothus, IOWA

5.       Eric Grajales, MICH

6.       Ian Paddock, OSU

7.       James English, PSU

8.       Brandon Nelsen, PUR

157 lbs.

1.       Isaac Jordan, WIS

2.       James Green, NEB

3.       Dylan Ness, MINN

4.       Derek St. John, IOWA

5.       Dylan Alton, PSU

6.       Taylor Walsh, IND

7.       Zac Brunson, ILL

8.       Brian Murphy, MICH

9.       Alex Griffin, PUR

10.   Ben Sullivan, NU

11.   Randy Languis, OSU

12.   Roger Wildmo, MSU

165 lbs.

1.       David Taylor, PSU

2.       Nick Moore, IOWA

3.       Pierce Harger, NU

4.       Dan Yates, MICH

5.       Jackson Morse, ILL

6.       Danny Zilverberg, MINN

7.       Ryan LeBlanc, IND

8.       Austin Wilson, NEB

9.       Pat Robinson, PUR

10.   Joe Grandominico, OSU

11.   Bobby Nash, MSU

12.   Ben Cox, WIS

174 lbs.

1.       Robert Kokesh, NEB

2.       Matt Brown, PSU

3.       Mike Evans, IOWA

4.       Logan Storley, MINN

5.       Tony Dallago, ILL

6.       Mark Martin, OSU

7.       Scott Liegel, WIS

8.       Collin Zeerip, MICH

184 lbs.

1.       Ed Ruth, PSU

2.       Kevin Steinhaus, MINN

3.       Ethen Lofthouse, IOWA

4.       TJ Dudley, NEB

5.       Domenic Abounader, MICH

6.       Kenny Courts, OSU

7.       Jackson Hein, WIS

8.       John Rizqallah, MSU

197 lbs.

1.       Morgan McIntosh, PSU

2.       Nick Heflin, OSU

3.       Scott Schiller, MINN

4.       Braden Atwood, PUR

5.       Nathan Burak, IOWA

6.       Mario Gonzalez, ILL

7.       Alex Polizzi, NU

8.       Timmy McCall, WIS

9.       Nick McDiarmid, MSU

10.   Caleb Kolb, NEB

11.   Chris Heald, MICH

12.   Garret Goldman, IND

285 lbs.

1.       Adam Coon, MICH

2.       Adam Chalfant, IND

3.       Mike McMullan, NU

4.       Bobby Telford, IOWA

5.       Tony Nelson, MINN

6.       Mike McClure, MSU

7.       Connor Medbery, WIS

8.       Jon Gingrich, PSU

9.       Collin Jensen, NEB

10.   Nick Tavanello, OSU

11.   Alex White, PUR

12.   Chris Lopez, ILL