Wrestling: Crown Point’s Tsirtsis picks Northwestern

Updated: November 7, 2011 8:42PM

Crown Point senior Jason Tsirtsis, rated as no lower than the nation’s No. 2 wrestling recruit, verbally committed to Northwestern on Monday.

The three-time state champion chose the Wildcats over Oklahoma State, having also visited Michigan and Wisconsin. Attending Northwestern will allow Tsirtsis to more easily continue to train with his brother and mentor, Alex, a four-time undefeated state champion at Griffith who went on to become an All-American at Iowa.

“Both (Northwestern and Oklahoma State) are great programs, and what helped me decide on Northwestern was being close to home, having my family close, especially Alex. That was huge,” Jason said. “It was a really tough decision — I don’t think I could’ve made a a bad decision. It’s been a long process, and I feel confident with my choice.

“The Big Ten is the best wrestling conference in the country, so that’s another plus. The academics, either way I would’ve gotten a great degree, but Northwestern is second to none with academics. It was really hard to find a factor that really separated one school from the other. It was just neck-and-neck in different areas — it was a really tough choice, but a good one.”

Tsirtsis, planning to wrestle at 145 pounds for CP this season, is a lock — barring something extremely unforeseen — to become the eighth four-time champion in state history. The only two losses of his high school career came as a freshman; he avenged one in the state semifinals, and he defeated the other opponent three other times that season.

In July, he added a prestigious line to his impeccable resume — freestyle junior national title in Fargo, N.D., at 140 pounds.

Northwestern — under second-year coach Drew Pariano, a former wrestler and assistant for the Wildcats — was ranked tied for No. 19 in the country in InterMat.com’s preseason poll. The Wildcats ended last season with a duals ranking of No. 14.

“Northwestern’s not known to have the top program around, but they have a lot of great guys around my weight, and the coach is really dedicated to me,” said Tsirtsis, anticipating wrestling at 141 as a freshman, and considering studying biology, with an eye on becoming a dentist.

Marcus Shrewsbury, a 2009 CP graduate and an undefeated state champion that season, is a junior for Northwestern. Eric Galka, a 2008 Hobart grad and two-time undefeated state champion, recently wrestled for the Wildcats.

“Great deal at a great school — he made a great choice,” Crown Point coach Scott Vlink said. “There’s no doubt that all the success he wants in his college career, he can accomplish at Northwestern. It’s a great university, a great coach, a great program — it’s an up-and-coming program. I’m very happy for him. All the hard work and dedication is bearing fruit for him.”

And Tsirtsis has set clear goals, including the 2016 Olympics.

“You have to aim high,” he said. “I want to be the best I can be, but hopefully the best I can be is winning multiple NCAA titles. It’s not just talent or the work I’ve done, but it’s going to be a lot of work there. I’m going to have to step it up to a higher level.”

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