CHAMPAIGN, ILL.— After a full three weeks away from action, the Fighting Illini grapplers return to the mat this weekend in Iowa City for Big Ten Championships. Ranked seventh nationally in W.I.N Magazines' Tournament Power Index and fourth among Big Ten school, the Illini have their sights on both individual and team success this weekend. The Orange & Blue enter with six Illini earning pre-seeds, including four within the top-three. All of the action will be streamed live on BTN Plus, BTN2Go, and the championship round will air live on Big Ten Network at 3 p.m. central time Sunday, March 6.  

*No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (23-1), No. 2 Zane Richards (21-0), No. 2 Zac Brunson (17-2), and No. 4 Steven Rodrigues (21-2) have combined for a 82-5 record this season.

*Zane Richards is a perfect 21-0 this year and owns five wins over ranked opponents this season. He finished the Big Ten season 7-0 after missing the Nebraska and Northwestern matches due to the flu.

*Isaiah Martinez finished the regular season on a four-match winning streak after dropping his first collegiate loss to #1 Jason Nolf of Penn State on January 23. His four wins to end the regular season included his fourth, and fastest, pin of the season against Northwestern's Anthony Petrone. He led the Illini this season in dual points with 83.

*Junior Zac Brunson has set a career-high in pins (8) this season after registering three in his first two seasons combined.

*Steven Rodrigues has surpassed his win total from last season (17) with 21 so far this year. His #4 ranking is the best of his career.

*The Illini are currently ranked 7th in the latest WIN Magazine's Tournament Power Index with four Illini ranked in the top-8

*Brock Ervin will not compete this weekend in due to injury. He was 8-5 on the year before missing the final five matches of the regular season.

Ranked seventh in the W.I.N Tournament Power Index, the Fighting Illini enter Big Ten Championships with expectations of a strong weekend in Iowa City. With four wrestlers seeded in the Big Ten's top-three, the Orange and Blue will look to show what this team is capable now that they're healthy. 

Six of Illinois' 10 starting wrestling received pre-seeds for Big Ten Championships, headlined by top-seeded Zane Richards at 133-pounds. Joining the junior from Carbondale, defending Big Ten and NCAA Champion Isaiah Martinez will be the second seed at 157, while Steven Rodrigues (165) and Zac Brunson (174) enter as the third seed. Senior Jeff Koepke (184) and sophomore Brooks Black (HWT) round out the pre-seeds with seventh and eighth seeds, respectively.

The NCAA announced the qualifier allocations for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships this afternoon. The The Big Ten was awarded 71 of the 284 slots, tops among the eight conference tournaments. Four Illini were ranked among the nation's top-10 in their weight class. As a conference, the Big Ten was allotted 71 qualifying slots for NCAA Championships, 20 spots better than the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association who claimed the second most.

However, there will be 46 at-large selections made on March 7 after all the qualifying events are completed, spread among the weight classes in order to fill each class to include 33 wrestlers. Below is the list of qualifiers the Big Ten received at each weight class as well as the number of national at-large selections in each class:

Weight BT Qualifiers National At-Large

125            7                5

133            9                5

141            7                4

149            6                5

157            7                4

165            4                5

174            7                4

184            7                5

197            4                4

HWT          6                5

The Orange and Blue return six grapplers that placed at last year's Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio. Isaiah Martinez led the Illini last year by winning the 2015 Big Ten title at 157 pounds. Kyle Langenderfer was one of the surprises of last year's Championships with a surge to finish third at 149 pounds, while Steven Rodrigues, Zac Brunson, and Brooks Black all placed inside the top-eight too. Jeff Koepke competed, but didn't place at 184 pounds.

Under Coach Heffernan, the Illini have had 49 individuals qualify for NCAA Championships, six Big Ten champions, and three NCAA Champions. In 2011, Heffernan led the Illini to the most points scored at Big Ten Championships during his tenure (105.5), a total that is tied for fifth-best in Illinois history.

The 2015 edition of the Fighting Illini placed sixth at Big Ten Championships, including Isaiah Martinez winning the individual title at 157 pounds. His individual crown marked the third straight season in which an Illini had won a Big Ten title and led to Martinez being named Freshman of the Year. Also placing for the Orange & Blue was Zane Richards (5th), Kyle Langenderfer (3rd), Jackson Morse (5th), Zac Brunson (6th), Nikko Reyes (7th), Jeff Koepke (6th) and Brooks Black (8th). 

157 Pounds

Arguable the most anticipated weight class of the tournament, Isaiah Martinez and Jason Nolf look destined for a rematch of their January 23 bout. After winning 61 straight matches, Nolf ended Martinez's win streak at Huff Hall with a second-period pin. The Penn State red-shirt freshman remains undefeated entering Big Ten Championships, a perfect mark that Martinez hopes to add a blemish to. A potential dark horse to dethrone these two top-ranked wrestlers is Rutgers' Richie Lewis.

133 Pounds

In contrast to Martinez and Nolf, No. 2 Zane Richards enters the 133-pound bracket as the favorite after going undefeated during the season. However, the road to the Big Ten title will go through host Iowa's No. 3 Cory Clark who won the title last year. Richards defeated Clark 6-5 in overtime on January 8 at Huff Hall. Also in the mix for the Big Ten title will be Jordan Conaway of Penn State, currently ranked fifth in the country.

174 pounds

Another potential rematch could take place in the championships round for the Illini. While Bo Nickal enters as the top-ranked wrestler in the Big Ten and the NCAA, Zac Brunson enters as the three seed behind Alex Meyer at number two. Brunson has not faced Meyer this season, but a win could set up a rematch of Nickal's victory over Brunson on January 23.

165 Pounds

The Big Ten is stacked at 165-pounds, led by three wrestlers ranked in the top-four in the country. The trio of Isaac Jordan, Bo Jordan, and Steven Rodrigues all enter as potential champions, while Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers), Chad Welch (Purdue) and Austin Wilson (Nebraska) will look to play spoiler. Illinois' Rodrigues is 0-2 on the year against Isaac and Bo Jordan, losing to to Bo at home and Isaac on the road.

The final NCAA coaches' rankings and the first Ratings Percentage Index were released on Feb. 25 and a number of Fighting Illini wrestlers appeared in one or both. A wrestler's RPI requires him to have a minimum of 15 matches against Division I opponents and is measured by the following formula: win % X opponents' win % X opponents' opponents' win %. The top 33 wrestlers are listed in both the RPI and coaches' rankings.

Wrestlers that meet or exceed threshold levels for all three measures were designated "Gold Standard," while those meeting/exceeding two of the three measures were "Silver Standard." All Gold and Silver Standard wrestlers earned an NCAA qualifier position for their weight class at that qualifying event. Below are Illinois' wrestlers in the final RPI standings and coaches' rankings, which included the top 33 at each weight class:

Wt  Name                     RPI    Coaches Rk

133  Zane Richards          2       2

157  Isaiah Martinez   9      2

165  Steven Rodrigues8     4

174   Zac Brunson            15     3

184  Jeff Koepke             17     22

HWT  Brooks Black          20     24

The Fighting Illini enter Big Ten Championships with a combined 16 victories over ranked opponents, spear-headed by #2 Zane Richards' five. Defending Big Ten and NCAA Champion Isaiah Martinez is second on the team with four, while Brunson sport two apiece.

Beginning on Saturday at 10 a.m. central time, Big Ten Network will provide live streaming of every match through Sunday's championship bouts. Sessions one through three will be streamed live on btn2go.com with a paid subscription to BTN Plus. There will be four mats for session one and two, and then three mats for session three on Sunday. Third and fifth-place matches will air on BTN Plus beginning at 3 p.m. central time on Sunday. Big Ten Network will broadcast the ten championships bouts live on television at 3 p.m. as well.

"I just want to go have fun, give it my all. I don't want to have any regrets."

- Jeff Koepke

"There's a sense of urgency to get it done. It's time to get the job done and go out with a bang."

- Steven Rodrigues

"I don't care about them. I don't care about what anyone else has to do. I'm going to go do what I'm born to do, what I'm trained to do, and just take care of business and show them up. If they doubt me that's there mistake."

- Zane Richards

"It's been a hard two weeks of training, so we're excited to get to Big Tens.

- Isaiah Martinez

"{With}15,000 fans there it's going to be electric."

-Isaiah Martinez

"[I want it] big time. I want that one."

-Isaiah Martinez on possible rematch with Jason Nolf