2015 Big Ten Wrestling Championships: Isaiah Martinez to wrestle for Big Ten title

Isaiah Martinez will wrestle for the 157 pound Big Ten Championship on Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio.

Martinez battled back to earn a 10-6 decision over Doug Welch of Purdue in the semifinals. Martinez is the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the nation and remains undefeated this season. He will wrestle No. 2 ranked Dylan Ness of Minnesota. The two were schedule to wrestle during Big Ten dual season, but Ness was out with the flu.

Jesse Delgado, No. 2, will not have a chance to become a three-time Big Ten champion at 125. Delgado was upset by Nathan Tomasello 3-2 on a third-period takedown. He moves into the consolation semifinals where he will face Tim Lambert of Nebraska with a chance to go to the third-place match.

Zane Richards, No. 3, also advanced to the consolation semifinals at 133, with wins over Maryland's Geoffrey Alexander, 8-3, and Nebraska's Eric Montoya, 10-3. He will face Iowa's Cory Clark for a spot to wrestle for this. Richards is 1-1 against Clark this season, winning the last matchup, 6-5.

Kyle Langender upset No. 8 Rylan Lubeck of Wisconsin and slipped past Purdue's Brandon Nelsen, 11-9, in sudden victory to claim a spot in the 149 consolation semifinals. Langenderfer will wrestle No. 3 Hunter Stieber of Ohio State for a place in the third-place match. It will be the first match between the two.

Jackson Morse, No. 5, posted back-to-back shutouts against Maryland's Justin Alexander, 11-0, and Nebraska's Austin Wilson, 4-0, for a bid in the 165 consolation semifinals. Morse's win over Wilson was his 100th of his career, he is the 21st Illini to reach the milestone. He will wrestle No. 3 Taylor Walsh of Indiana for the third time this season. Walsh has won the previous two meetings.

Zac Brunson, No. 5, earned consecutive one-point victories over Rutgers' Phil Bakuckas, 8-7, and Michigan's Taylor Massa, 3-2 for his consolation semifinals spot at 174. Brunson will wrestle No. 3 Mike Evans of Iowa. Evans beat Brunson 2-1 at Midlands this year.

Jeff Koepke, No. 11, gave the Illini their sixth wrestler in the consolation semifinals with a 2-0 win over Rutgers' Hayden Hrymack and a medical forefit by Northwestern's Alex Polizzi at 197. Koepke will wrestle No. 4 Scott Schiller of Minnesota, who beat Koepke 14-4 in dual season.

Nikko Reyes, No. 7 at 184, and Brooks Black, No. 10 at 285, each will be wrestling for seventh place. Reyes faces Ohio State's Kenny Courts, while Black will wrestle Maryland's Spencer Myers for the second time this weekend and third time this season. Black has defeated Myers both times.

Steven Rodrigues will wrestle Michigan's George Fisher for ninth place.

The Illini are in fifth place with 79 points, trailing third-place Minnesota by just 7.5 points. The final day of the championships begins at noon on Sunday with the finals being broadcasted on Big Ten Network at 2 p.m.

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