Midlands Day 1 Recap

EVANSTON, Ill. – The University of Iowa wrestling team is in third place with 52.5 points after the first day of competition at the 48th annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, IL. Lehigh leads the team race with 65.0 points, and Wisconsin is in second with 58.5. Hawkeye sophomores Matt McDonough (125) and Grant Gambrall (184), and redshirt freshman Tony Ramos (133) all posted 3-0 records on the day to advance to Thursday’s championship semifinals. Of the 17 Hawkeyes that started the tournament Wednesday morning, nine are still competing in the event.

No. 4 Ryan Flores has advanced to the semifinals of the 48th annual Midlands Championships, leading a contingent of three American University wrestlers at the prestigious event.

Flores won three matches on Wednesday to advance to the semi’s, including two wins with bonus points. He opened the tournament seeded fourth at heavyweight and proceeded to dispatch South Dakota State’s Kevin Kelly with an 18-3 technical fall in his first match. Flores returned during the morning session to defeat Bobby Telford from Iowa via major decision, 8-0, before taking down Wartburg’s John Helgerson 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

No. 2 Jimmy Kennedy and No. 5 B.J. Futrell advanced to the semifinals of the Midlands Championships and two other Illini remain alive in the consolation bracket as Illinois stands in 14th place after day one of the tournament at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Kennedy scored a pair of major decisions at 141 pounds, while Futrell scored a technical fall and two decisions to reach the semifinals at 133.

The Pitt wrestling team posted impressive results Wednesday during the opening rounds of the Midlands Championships as nine players advanced to the second day of competition, including four Panthers who have reached the semifinal rounds.

With the Panthers day one success, the team stands in fourth place with 49.5 points. Lehigh University leads the competition with 65 points entering day two.

Sophomore Anthony Zanetta (125), redshirt junior Tyler Nauman (141), junior Matt Wilps (197) and redshirt senior Ryan Tomei (285) finished day one with a combined 11-0 record, with all four advancing to the semifinal round and guaranteeing a top-8 finish or better.

Adams State College junior Josh Hensley (Alamosa, Colo.) went 3-2 and fell just one match shy of advancing to the second day as the lone Grizzly representative at the Midlands Championships, which got underway Wednesday here in Northwestern University’s Welsh-Ryan Arena.

After the first session of competition at the 48th annual Midlands Championships, the Wisconsin wrestling team sits in second place with 58.5 points. Redshirt freshman Tyler Graff (133 lbs.), redshirt sophomore Cole Schmitt (149 lbs.), junior Andrew Howe (165 lbs.) and junior Travis Rutt (184 lbs.) are still in contention for the titles in their respective weight classes, while redshirt sophomore Ben Jordan (174 lbs.) is still vying for third place.

UW trails only Lehigh with 65 points, while Iowa sits in third place with 52.5.

Day one of the 48th Annual Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern University is in the books as 10 Eagles competed against some of the top wrestlers in the nation in arguably the most prestigious mid-season tournament in the country, Wednesday, Dec. 29, at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Aaron Sulzer (Cleveland, Ohio-Holy Name) went 3-1 on the day to become the lone Eagle to advance to day two with a chance to wrestle back for third place in the 157-pound weight class on Thursday.

Bucknell senior 149-pounder Kevin LeValley was seeded first in his bracket and he breezed through to the semifinals with three victories Wednesday on the first day of the Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern. Two other Bison are still alive in the consolation brackets of their weight classes. Bucknell stands 17th of 44 teams in the team standings with one more day remaining in the two-day event.

After the first day of the Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern, only two South Dakota State wrestlers continue to day two Thursday in Evanston, Ill.

In the 141-pound bracket, unattached Dustin Walraven defeated Seth Schaner of Eastern Michigan by a 15-3 major decision before falling to no. five seed Chris Drouin of Iowa State 4-2. Walraven continues in the wrestleback bracket Thursday.

Scott Elliott defeated no. six seed Eric Schmditke of Oklahoma by a 4-3 decision before falling 8-4 to Max Thomusseit of Pittsburgh. Elliott continues Thursday in the 184-pound wrestleback bracket.

The ninth ranked Rutgers wrestling team put forth a strong performance in the first day of the 48th Midlands Championships on the campus of Northwestern University. RU, who ranks 13 out of 44 teams in the team standings despite only wrestling eight student-athletes due to various injuries and illnesses, has been led by Daryl Cocozzo (River Edge, N.J.) who advanced to the semifinals.

Cocozzo used a 17-1 tech fall over Bronson Gerl of Cal Baptist, a 5-0 decision over Sean Bilodeau of Lehigh and a 6-2 decision over David Bonin of Northern Iowa to advance to the semis where he will meet Kyle John of Maryland tomorrow.