Jake Herbert was conspicuously absent from the NCAA wrestling championship tournament in March.

Herbert, a North Allegheny High School graduate, had made two consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division I finals, while attending Northwestern University, and claimed the 184-pound title in 2007.

His absence had nothing to do with an injury. In fact, he's in the best physical condition of his life.

"I decided to take off a year to train for the Olympics," Herbert said.

And it doesn't affect his eligibility. Because of a special NCAA rule that allows athletes to take an "Olympic Year" to train for the Games, Herbert will be eligible to come back to Northwestern for the 2008-2009 season, even though he has already used his redshirt year.

"Jake had this in mind when we first recruited him," Northwestern coach Tim Cysewski said. "So that's been the plan from the get-go. We missed Jake this year, but we'll be glad to have him back for the upcoming season. We're hoping he will return with an Olympic gold medal."

Herbert will find out next weekend whether he will be making a trip to Bejing, China, for the 2008 Olympics. He will compete in the United State Olympic Team Trials, which will take place in Las Vegas, June 12-14.

"This is the biggest weekend of my wrestling career," Herbert said. "I took the year off with hopes of earning an Olympic berth."

But qualifying will not be an easy task, as Herbert must win six matches in one day to qualify. He is one of 12 entries in the 84-kilo (185-pound) weight class. Mo Lawal is the favorite, as he has earned an automatic berth in the finals. The other 11 will compete in a single-elimination bracket to determine who will face Lawal in a best-of-three final.

Making Herbert's task even tougher is the fact that he is seeded No. 8 among the remaining 11 entries. He opens against No. 9 seed Chris Pendleton, then must face top-seed Andy Hrovat, who was a member of the 2006 U.S. Team at the World Championships.

"I must win four matches in the morning session, then come back that night and beat Lawal in a best-of-three final," said Herbert. "It will be tough, but that's what I've been training for."

Herbert is currently training at Sean Bormet's Overtime School of Wrestling in Naperville, Ill., a suburb 26 miles west of Chicago. Herbert has trained there with 2006 World bronze medalist Donny Pritzlaff, 2006 World Team Trials runner-up Clint Wattenberg and Hrovat.

"Sean is a real student of the sport and he is really intelligent about wrestling," Herbert said. "He knows what it takes to excel at that level from when he was a top wrestler. And he can still get on the mat and mix it up with us. Wrestling with guys like Pritzlaff, Hrovat and Wattenberg, you can't beat that."

Herbert qualified for the Olympic Team Trials by winning his weight class at the University National Freestyle Championships in April. He was also named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.

Herbert also competed in the U.S. Nationals, which took place in Las Vegas, April 23-26, but didn't fare as well as he had hoped.

"I didn't even place," said Herbert. "I had a 1-2 record. I just stood around and didn't wrestle the way I normally wrestle. I played into their game. I have to be more aggressive at the Team Trials."

Herbert rebounded with a title at the University World Team Trials in Colorado Springs, May 23-24. The title earns him a berth in the World University Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece, from July 9-13.

Herbert has also done plenty of traveling during his year away from college.

"I've been to Russia, Canada, Missouri, Michigan and Colorado, just to name a few places," said Herbert. "I'm glad I decided to take the year off. I just hope it leads to an Olympic berth."