Midlands Round up

Iowa leads with Eight Hawkeyes Advancing

EVANSTON, IL — The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team remains in the lead after Tuesday’s first day of competition at the 47th annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, IL. Eight of Iowa’s nine quarterfinalists advanced to the semifinals, and seven others are still alive in the consolation bracket. The Hawkeyes lead the team race with 100 points. Iowa State is in second place with 92.5 and Missouri is in a distant third with 73.5.

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Iowa went 22-4 during Tuesday night’s second session. Advancing to Wednesday’s semifinals are redshirt freshmen Matt McDonough (#3 seed at 125) and Nate Moore (unseeded at 133), and seniors Joe Slaton (#4 seed at 141), Brent Metcalf (#1 seed at 149), Ryan Morningstar (#3 seed at 165), Jay Borschel (#1 seed at 174), Phillip Keddy (#3 seed at 184) and Chad Beatty (#5 seed at 197).

McDonough scored an 8-3 decision over #6 seed Ben Kjar of Utah Valley to remain undefeated at 13-0 this season. He will face #2 seed Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech in the semifinals. Moore continued his string of upsets with a 3-2 win over #7 seed Matt Fisk of Lehigh. He will face #3 seed Steve Bell of Maryland in the semifinals. Slaton, who is competing unattached, posted a 9-6 win over #5 seed Tyler Nauman of Pittsburgh Tuesday night, and will face #1 seed Jimmy Kennedy, who is also competing unattached, on Wednesday. Metcalf recorded his 85th career win with a 12-3 major decision over Michigan State’s David Cheza. The two-time Midlands champion will put his 13-0 season record on the line when he faces unseeded Eric Albright of Pittsburgh in the semifinals.

Morningstar, Borschel, Keddy and Beatty all recorded quarterfinal decisions, and Morningstar, Borschel and Beatty will all face Iowa State opponents in their semifinal bouts. Those match-ups could be crucial to the team race.

Morningstar will face #2 seed Jon Reader, Borschel will face #5 Duke Burk and Beatty will wrestle #1 seed Jake Varner. In their careers, Morningstar is 3-1 against Reader, Borschel is 3-0 against Burk and Beatty is 0-1 against Varner. Keddy will face #2 seed Mike Cannon in the semifinals.

Still alive in the consolation bracket are senior Dan LeClere (#2 seed at 141), junior Jake Kerr (#10 seed at 157), sophomores J.J. Krutsinger (125) and Montell Marion (#9 seed at 141), redshirt freshman Grant Gambrall (184) and true freshmen Derek St. John (157) and Ethen Lofthouse (174).

Wednesday’s semifinals and consolation matches are set to start at noon at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Fans can listen to AM-800 KXIC’s Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion Mark Ironside call the action through the XXL All-Access audio broadcast on www.hawkeyesports.com. The championships finals and placing matches will start at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Fans can listen live on AM-800 KXIC or www.hawkeyesports.com. The Big Ten Network will air Wednesday’s finals Sunday at 7 p.m. (CT). Updated team standings and brackets are available throughout the tournament at www.nusports.com.

MIDLANDS TOP 10 TEAM STANDINGS – AFTER SESSION II
Place Team – Points
1. Iowa – 100.0
2. Iowa State – 92.5
3. Missouri – 73.5
4. Central Michigan – 68.0
5. Maryland – 51.5
6. Wisconsin – 49.0
7. Illinois – 43.0
8. Lehigh – 42.0
9. Pittsburgh – 41.5
10. American – 39.5

Courtesy of Iowa Sports Information

Davis Leads Five Wrestlers into Final Day of Midlands Championships

Evanston, Ill. – Fifth-seeded senior Keegan Davis (Salem, Ore.) leads five other Oregon State wrestlers into the final day of the Midlands Championships as the lone Beaver left in the championship bracket.

Oregon State has 37.0 team points, good for 11th, heading into the final day of competition. Iowa leads the way with 100.0 points, and Pac-10 opponent, Stanford, is trailing in 14th place with 24.0 points.

Davis is guaranteed to place for the second year in a row with his semifinal competitor status at 157 pounds. Last season he finished seventh. Davis extended his winning streak to seven, easily winning his first two matches against Sam Bilodeau of Lehigh in a 7-3 decision and an 11-2 major decision over Kevin Bialka of Northwestern. His biggest test of the day came in the evening session against fourth-seeded Patrick Wright of Missouri, resulting in a 3-1 overtime decision in favor of Davis. He will take on top seeded Steve Fittery of American in the semifinals.

Seventh-seeded redshirt sophomore Jason Lara (Midway City, Calif.) got off to a solid start at 125 pounds, picking up wins over Drew Hammen of Wisconsin in a 6-5 decision and John McDonald of Lehigh in a fall in 1:31. Advancing to the quarterfinals in the evening, Lara came up just short against second-seeded Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech, 5-3. Lara will face JJ Krutsinger of Iowa in his next match.

Sophomore Kelly Kubec (Lake Stevens, Wash.), seeded sixth at 133 pounds, followed suit, earning back-to-back major decisions over Nathan Fitzenreider of North Central College, 10-0, and Tristen Deshazer of Northern Illinois, 14-3. But Kubec fell in the quarterfinals to third-seeded Steve Bell of Maryland in a tight 9-6 decision. Kubec’s next match will be against Jimmy Kirchner of Rider.

Next to advance was eighth-seeded true freshman RJ Pena (Salem, Ore.) at 149 pounds, who moved to tie for 42nd place on the single season pins school record list with 10. Pena quickly defeated Justin Hale of Iowa State, 7-3, but came up short against David Cheza of Michigan State in the second round. In his first consolation match, Pena earned that 10th fall over Benny Garcia of Cal Baptist in 1:22. He will face seventh-seeded Mitch Mueller of Iowa State in his next match. His 10 pins also ranks fourth most by a freshman in school history.

Unseeded junior Colby Covington (Springfield, Ore.) advanced to the quarterfinals at 174 pounds before falling in a close 3-1 decision. The loss snapped an eight-match winning streak, including three wins earlier in the day. Covington defeated Enock Francois, 3-2, in the pigtail round before tallying a 12-5 decision over Evan Brown of Dubuque. In the second round, Covington battled to a 3-1 overtime victory over third-seeded Luke Manuel of Purdue. Covington will take on unattached Iowa wrestler Ethan Lofthouse next.

Sophomore heavyweight Clayton Jack (Vacaville, Calif.) is the final wrestler still alive for the final day of the tournament. Unseeded, Jack quickly took out his first seeded opponent in ninth-seeded Ed Bordas of Rider in a 3-2 decision. Following a 6-1 loss to eighth-seeded Jarod Trice of Central Michigan, Jack rebounded with a 11-4 win over 10th-seeded Christian Brantley of Northern Iowa and a 6-2 win over Eric Bugenhagen of Wisconsin, his third win over Bugenhagen this season. Jack’s next match will be against sixth-seeded Mark Ellis of Missouri.

Also competing for the Beavers were at 141 pounds, sophomore Garrett Drucker (Huntington Beach, Calif.) and redshirt freshman Mike Mangrum. At 157 pounds, junior Jon Brascetta (Aurora, Colo.) had a pair of matches, while brother senior Dan Brascetta (Aurora, Colo.) competed at 165 pounds. Sophomore Ryan Smith (Prineville, Ore.) wrestled up a class at 174 pounds, while junior Brice Arand (Springfield, Ore.) and redshirt freshman Ty Vinson (Great Falls, Mont.) competed at 184 pounds. And redshirt freshman Bubba Owens (Tillamook, Ore.) wrestled at heavyweight.

Courtesy of Oregon State Sports Information.

ISU In Second At Midlands, Zabriskie Joins Varner

EVANSTON, Ill. – The Iowa State wrestling team stands in second place with six semifinalists after the first day of the Midlands Championships in Welsh-Ryan Arena Tuesday. At the conclusion of the second session of wrestling, ISU’s 92.5 points trails Iowa (100). Missouri is in third with 73.5 points.

ISU’s heavyweight, David Zabriskie, pulled off another stellar victory by defeating returning NCAA champion Mark Ellis by decision, 6-4, in the Midlands quarterfinals. The No. 3-seeded Cyclone fought off the larger, sixth-seeded Tiger opponent on several takedown attempts to prevail as the winner.

The victory puts Zabriskie at 100 wins for his Cyclone career. He joins his teammate Jake Varner (197) in the “100-Win Club” as the 34th member. The Branchville, N.J., native moves forward to the Midlands semifinals for the second time in his career.

“I was just happy to advance,” Zabriskie said. “I didn’t even know that was my 100th career win. It is definitely rewarding to get that win. The most important aspect of the victory is advancing in the tournament and getting team points.”

Three-time NCAA finalist Varner moved onward in the Midlands Championships with a major decision over Matt Wilps of Pitt, 13-2. The win puts Varner into his fourth-straight Midlands semifinals.

Redshirt freshman Andrew Long vaulted into the semifinals with an emphatic pin at 125 pounds. The fourth-seeded Cyclone scored a defensive fall over Central Michigan’s fifth-seeded Matt Steintrager after putting him in a risky position from neutral.

ISU 133-pound top-seed Nick Fanthorpe returns to the Midlands semifinals for the fourth-straight year. The Naperville, Ill., native advanced with a 6-2 decision of No. 8 Billy Ashnault of Rutgers.

Cyclone Jon Reader continued his path towards his third-straight Midlands finals with a major decision of 10th-seed Josh Asper of Maryland. Reader, seeded second at 165 pounds, showed off his offensive prowess en route to the 16-4 victory.

Iowa State 174-pounder Duke Burk advanced to the semifinals after grinding out a 9-8 decision against Illinois’s Jordan Blanton. Fifth-seed Burk, a senior, hails from Peoria, Ill.

ISU’s Mitch Mueller (149), Boaz Beard (184-Unatt.) and Jerome Ward (184) will wrestle in Tuesday’s consolation action after being bounced in the quarterfinals.

The second session of the Midlands began with consolation action. Cyclones Mike Finch (165) and Eric Thompson (HWT) battled to stay alive in the tournament and will wrestle in the fifth consolation round tomorrow, starting at 12 p.m.

Courtesy of Iowa State Sports Information

3 Illini Wrestlers Reach Midlands Semifinals

EVANSTON, Ill. — Senior Jimmy Kennedy and junior No. 16 Ryan Prater took advantage of a rare opportunity – that two teammates would be seeded in the same weight class at a major tournament – Tuesday in reaching the semifinals of the 141-pound weight class at the 47th annual Midlands Championships at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Kennedy, who is redshirting this season, was the No. 1 seed at 141 while Prater was seeded No. 7. Senior No. 6 John Dergo also reached the semifinals at 184 by going 3-0 with a technical fall and a major decision on the day.

Kennedy went 3-0 on the first day of the competition and Prater won four bouts, including an upset over No. 7 and second-seeded Dan LeClere (Iowa) in the quarterfinals. Kennedy topped Hofstra’s eighth-seeded Lou Ruggirello, who also is redshirting this season, 9-3 in the quarterfinals.

Since Kennedy and Prater are on opposite sides of the bracket, they could meet for the championship if both win their semifinal bouts Wednesday afternoon. Kennedy will face fourth-seeded Joey Slaton of Iowa in the semifinals, while Prater will take on third-seeded and 10th-ranked Alex Krom (Maryland).

Dergo, the No. 4 seed, also continued a strong run through the 184-pound bracket with his 6-3 win over fifth-seeded Louis Caputo (Harvard) in the quarterfinals. He’ll get a rematch with top-ranked and top-seeded Max Askren (Missouri), who he lost to at the teams’ dual earlier this season, in Wednesday’s semifinals.

Blanton dropped a hard-fought battle with fifth-seeded and 11th-ranked Duke Burk (Iowa State), 9-8, in the quarterfinals after winning his two earlier matches. Blanton will face Purdue’s seventh-ranked and third-seeded Luke Manuel in the consolation round of 12, meaning he needs one more win to ensure that he places.

Illinois is in seventh place as a team after the evening session with two wrestlers remaining in the championship bracket (Prater and Dergo) and two left in the consolation bracket (Blanton and Patrick Bond). Kennedy’s point totals don’t count for Illinois’ team points since he is wrestling unattached to preserve his redshirt.

Courtesy of Illinois Sports Information

Three Chippewas Advance to Midlands Semifinals

EVANSTON, Ill. – Central Michigan has advanced three individuals to the semifinals at the 2009 Midlands Championships.

Tony D’Alie (149 pounds), Ben Bennett (174 pounds) and Jarod Trice (285 pounds) all will compete in the semifinal round Wednesday afternoon.

CMU (68 points) is in fourth place in the team standings after the first day of competition. Iowa is in first place with 100 points, followed by Iowa State (92.5), Missouri (73.5) and CMU.

CMU and Missouri will meet in a pair of semifinal matches. Bennett, the No. 2 seed at 174 pounds, will meet No. 6 Dorian Henderson in the 174-pound bracket. At heavyweight, No. 8 seed Trice will face No. 4 Dom Bradley.

D’Alie is the No. 6 seed at 149 pounds. He will face No. 2 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin) in the 149-pound semifinals.

D’Alie advanced to the semis with a 5-3 sudden-victory decision over American’s Kyle Borshoff, the No. 3 seed and a 2009 NCAA All-American.

Bennett advanced with a first-period pin of Bucknell’s Shane Riccio, the No. 7 seed, in the quarterfinals.

Trice advanced to the finals with an 8-1 decision over No. 1 seed Aaron Anspach, the 2007 NCAA Championships runner-up at Penn State who is now competing for the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club.

Six other Chippewas remain alive in the consolation bracket; the top four teams in the standings each have at least nine individuals still competing in the tournament.

A pair of Chippewas–No. 5 seed Matt Steintrager and Conor Beebe–will square off in the 125-pound wrestlebacks. Steintrager lost in the quarterfinals, while Beebe has won a pair of matches in the consolation bracket.

Another CMU-Missouri matchup is set for the 157-pound wrestlebacks, as No. 3 Steve Brown meets No. 4 Patrick Wright.

Two Chippewas also are still alive at 165 pounds. No. 9 seed Tyler Grayson was defeated by 2009 NCAA national runner-up Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) in the quarterfinals. Grayson will meet Rider’s Rob Morrison in the wrestlebacks. Eric Cubberly has won four straight consolation matches after opening the tournament with a sudden-victory loss in a pigtail match. His next opponent is No. 5 seed Andy Rendos (Bucknell).

Mike Miller, seeded sixth at 184 pounds, also remains in contention in the wrestlebacks following a pigtail loss. He will open Wednesday’s competition against No. 8 seed Jerome Ward (Iowa State).

The only Chippewa eliminated from the tournament is Scotti Sentes. Seeded second at 133 pounds, Sentes went 2-2 in four matches Tuesday.

The third session of competition begins at noon Central Time on Wednesday.
Courtesy of CMU Sports Information

Bucknell Wrestling 13th of 54 at Midlands Championships

EVANSTON, Ill. – Kevin LeValley, Andy Rendos and Shane Riccio advanced to the quarterfinals of their respective weight classes and four Bison wrestlers are still alive in the consolation brackets following the first day of competition at the Midlands Championships Tuesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. As a team, Bucknell stands 13th of 54 teams with 26 points.

LeValley (149 pounds), Rendos (165) and Riccio (174) each lost in his quarterfinal bout, but with one win during Wednesday’s first session can guarantee a top-eight individual showing. Additionally, David Marble is one win away from placing following a 3-1 day that featured a pair of victories in the consolation bracket.

A total of eight Bison wrestled Tuesday and half advanced to Wednesday.

LeValley, Bucknell’s highest ranked grappler at No. 8 at 149 pounds, posted two easy victories by fall and major decision to advance to the quarterfinals. There, he fell to Pittsburgh’s Eric Albright by a 9-6 margin. It was LeValley’s first loss to an unranked foe this year, but he still owns a team-best 22-4 mark.

Rendos went 3-1 Tuesday, boosting his career record to 108-28. He moved past Tom Marchetti and into sole possession of second place on the Bison all-time wins list. The 2009 All-American who is ranked 12th nationally posted three decisions to set up a quarterfinal bout with Missouri’s Nick Marable, who is ranked sixth nationally. Rendos posted a thrilling overtime victory over Marable last November in Davis Gym, but was unable to duplicate that success, falling by a 6-2 decision.

Riccio posted two shutouts to earn his spot in the quarterfinals, but was pinned by Central Michigan’s Ben Bennett. Riccio also lost to Bennett, who is ranked fifth nationally, last year in a dual.

Marble took a different route than his teammates. After pinning Rend Lake’s Eric Ellington, Marble was pinned by Rutgers’ No. 17 Billy Ashnault. Marble proceeded to win a pair of consolation bouts to advance to Wednesday’s action. The loss to Ashnault was Marble’s second this season also falling to him in a home dual last month.

John Regan, Brantley Hooks, David Thompson and Jay Hahn were also in action Tuesday and each posted at least one win before being eliminated.

Iowa, Iowa State and Missouri hold down the top three spots in the team standings. Bucknell is the third EIWA team in the standings, behind only eighth-place Lehigh and 10th-place American. The Bison are also the second-highest team that does not have a wrestler remaining in the championship bracket, two points behind Michigan State.

Courtesy of Bucknell Sports Information

Panthers Compete at 47th Midlands Championships

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Tyson Reiner and Andy O’Loughlin remain the lone two Panthers alive after the first day of competition at the 47th Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill.

Reiner opened the day in the 157-pound bracket with a 6-4 decision over Iowa’s Aaron Janssen. Reiner then topped No. 3 seed Steve Brown of Central Michigan in a 3-1 sudden victory match. No. 6 seed Jake Deitchler (Minnesota) topped Reiner in the quarterfinals in a 14-10 decision and push Reiner into wrestlebacks.

Reiner will face No. 9 seeded Colton Salazar (Purdue) tomorrow.

At 184 pounds, O’Loughlin dropped his first match, a 6-2 decision to Stanford’s Zach Giesen, before winning three straight matches.
O’Loughlin topped Purdue’s Nick Corpe 7-0 followed by a 3-0 win over Gabe Youe. O’Loughlin wrapped up day one with a 6-3 win over Maryland’s Corey Peltier.

O’Loughlin will now face No. 4 seeded Louis Caputo (Harvard).

Courtesy of Northern Iowa Sports Information