March 6, 2009
Lincoln, Neb. – Seeds for the 2009 Big 12 Wrestling Championships held in Lincoln, Neb., were released Friday night by the league office. Three Tiger grapplers, ninth-ranked Marcus Hoehn (Farmington, Mo.), All-American Nicholas Marable (Collierville, Tenn.) and 2007 Big 12 Champion Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) received the No. 1 seed at 141, 165 and 174 pounds. Senior Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) and junior Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) were awarded the No. 2 seed at 157 pounds and heavyweight. Wrestling for the 13th annual Big 12 Championships will begin at 11 a.m. (CT) in the NU Coliseum. Doors will open at 10 a.m., with tickets still available for the all-day event.
Missouri matched its all-time high of No. 1 seeds, three. The 2009 campaign marks the third straight year in which three Tigers were awarded No. 1 seeds. This also marks Jordan's and Marable's second time as the No. 1 seed in their respective weight class. Jordan was awarded the No. 1 spot in 2007 at 184 pounds and lived up to his seed by claiming his first Big 12 title, while Marable took top honors last season at 165 pounds.
Seedings were finalized by a vote of the conference coaches and are based on head-to-head competition against Big 12 opponents, highest-ranked common opponents and current national rankings.
Fans unable to attend the all-day event can catch the action live on www.big12sports.com or can tune into their local FSN station to watch the finals beginning at 7 p.m. (CT). The Big 12 Championships will also be broadcast by Takedown Radio courtesey of the University of Missouri. A link to the Takedown Radio broadcast can be found at www.mutigers.com.
A complete list of seeds is below.
2009 Big 12 Championship
Official Seedings
125 Pounds
1. Joey Fio – OU
2. Obenson Blanc – OSU
3. Tyler Clark – ISU
4. Troy Dolan – MU
5. Andy Pokorny – NU
133 Pounds
1. Nick Fanthorpe – ISU
2. Chris Notte – OSU
3. Brian Shelton – OU
4. Matt Vacanti – NU
5. Todd Schavrien - MU
141 Pounds
1. Marcus Hoehn – MU
2. Nick Gallick – ISU
3. Jamal Parks – OSU
4. Seth Vernon – OU
5. Curtis Salazar – NU
149 Pounds
1. Kyle Terry – OU
2. Mitch Mueller – ISU
3. Robert Sanders – NU
4. Andrew Sherry – MU
5. Luke Silver – OSU
157 Pounds
1. Jordan Burroughs – NU
2. Michael Chandler – MU
3. Cyler Sanderson – ISU
4. Robert Erisman – OSU
5. Chad Terry – OU
165 Pounds
1. Nick Marable – MU
2. Jon Reader – ISU
3. Stephen Dwyer – NU
4. Brandon Mason – OSU
5. Ryan Smith – OU
174 Pounds
1. Raymond Jordan – MU
2. Brandon Browne – NU
3. Newly McSpadden – OSU
4. Jeff James – OU
5. Duke Burk – ISU
184 Pounds
1. Vince Jones – NU
2. Jerome Ward – ISU
3. Pat Flynn – OU
4. Dorian Henderson – MU
5. Chris McNeill – OSU
197 Pounds
1. Jake Varner – ISU
2. Craig Brester – NU
3. Max Askren – MU
4. Clayton Foster – OSU
5. Eric Lapotsky – OU
Heavyweight
1. David Zabriskie – ISU
2. Mark Ellis – MU
3. Jared Rosholt – OSU
4. Tucker Lane – NU
5. Nathan Fernandez – OU