Hawkeyes win 21st Midlands, third in a row
By Traci Wagner
Iowa Sports Information
EVANSTON, IL -- The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team won its 21st overall and third straight Midlands Championships title with 168.5 points at the 47th annual tournament Wednesday night in Evanston, IL. Iowa State placed second with 144.5, while Central Michigan placed third with 118.0.
The Hawkeyes went 3-3 in the finals, crowning three champions in redshirt freshman Matt McDonough (#3 seed at 125), and seniors Brent Metcalf (#1 seed at 149) and Jay Borschel (#1 seed at 174). It was Metcalf's third Midlands title and the first for McDonough and Borschel. Metcalf was named the Dan Gable Most Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament, and took home the Individual High Scorer Award for racking up 32.5 team points. Hawkeye redshirt freshman Nate Moore (133) earned the tournaments Fastest Fall Award, sticking his first opponent in 46 seconds.
McDonough sparked a strong Iowa start with a 9-7 win in sudden victory over #4 seed Andrew Long in the 125-pound title match. Down 5-2 at the end of the first period, McDonough scored an escape and takedown to tie the score at 5-5 in the second period. Long, who accumulated over one minute of riding time in the bout, scored an escape to start the third period to take a 6-5 lead. McDonough scored a takedown near the end of the third period to take a 7-6 lead, but Long's riding time point sent the match into sudden victory. McDonough scored a takedown in the first sudden victory period for the win. The Hawkeye redshirt freshman remains undefeated at 15-0 this season.
In a rematch of the 2008 Midlands title match, Metcalf won a 9-2 decision over #2 seed Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin. The Hawkeye senior improved to 15-0 on the season, scoring team bonus points in five of his six Midlands matches.
Borschel picked up his 75th career victory with a 6-1 win over #2 seed Ben Bennett of Central Michigan in the finals. The Hawkeye senior scored a takedown and two nearfall points near the end of the first period, an escape early in the second period and accumulated over two minutes of riding time in the match. He is now undefeated at 14-0 this season and is a three-time Midlands placewinner. He placed second in 2007, third in 2008 before winning the 2009 title.
Also placing for the Hawkeyes were seniors Joe Slaton (#4 seed at 141-3rd), Ryan Morningstar (#3 seed at 165-3rd), Phillip Keddy (#3 seed at 184-4th) and Chad Beatty (#5 seed at 197-3rd), sophomore Montell Marion (#9 seed at 141-6th), redshirt freshman Nate Moore (133-6th) and Grant Gambrall (184-6th), and true freshman Derek St. John (157-5th). It is the first time that Beatty, Moore, Gambrall and St. John have placed at Midlands.
Slaton, who is 10-1 while competing unattached this season, recorded a dominating 9-0 major decision over #8 seed Lou Ruggirello, who was also competing unattached. Morningstar scored a takedown near the end of the second sudden victory period to beat #4 seed Nick Marable of Missouri, 4-2. Morningstar, a four-time Midlands placewinner, is now 11-2 on the season. Beatty scored a third-period escape and takedown to score a 6-3 win over #4 seed Trevor Brandvold of Wisconsin, improving to 13-2 this season. St. John, who was competing unattached, recorded a medical forfeit over #3 seed Steve Brown of Central Michigan for fifth place in his first Midlands appearance. The Hawkeye true freshman is 21-4 while wrestling unattached this season. Moore, who was also wrestling at Midlands for the first time, took #1 seed Nick Fanthorpe of Iowa State to the tie break period, but lost the bout 2-1.
Outstanding Wrestler: Brent Metcalf (Iowa)
Champion of Champions: Steve Fittery (American)
Most Falls: Ryan Malo (Williams)
Final Brackets
Final Team scores
2009 Southern Scuffle
Cornell claims 2009 Southern Scuffle title
By David Percival
UNC Greensboro Sports Information
GREENSBORO, NC - After two days of wrestling and 828 matches, the team from Cornell walked away with the 2009 UNCG Southern Scuffle championship and claimed their second consecutive team title at the event. The Big Red also won three individual titles, as Kyle Dake, Mack Lewness and Cam Simaz came away with titles. UNCG had three wrestlers place as sophomore Peter Sturgeon won his first two matches of the second day before finishing in eighth place. True freshmen Eric Chandler and Caylor Williams also came in eighth place for the Spartans.
Chandler, wrestling at 125 pounds, recorded a pair of pins over Navy's Allen Stein and Michigan's Sean Boyle on his way to finishing in eighth. At 197 pounds, Williams pinned William Widener from George Mason in just over a minute and then scored a 6-2 decision over Zach Bennett from North Carolina. Sturgeon had a pair of wins as a heavyweight, including a 5-4 decision over NC State's Eloheim Palma.
In the championship finals, Angel Escobedo, ranked second nationally from Indiana, won by injury default at 125 pounds over No. 1 Troy Nickerson after Nickerson injured his shoulder in the first period. At 133 pounds, No. 2 Jayson Ness from Minnesota used a pair of takedowns to score a 7-3 decision over No. 11 Dan Mitcheff from Kent State.
In a tight match at 141 pounds, No. 5 Kyle Dake from Cornell defeated No. 6 Mike Thorn from Minnesota. Dake recorded a third period takedown to tie the match at four and rode Dake out the rest of the period to receive a point for riding time and win, 5-4. At 149 pounds, No. 10 Matt Kyler was leading 3-0 at the beginning of the third period when Penn's Cesar Grajales was forced to injury default.
In the closest bout of the evening, No. 7 Thomas Scotton from North Carolina scored a 2-1 decision at 157 pounds in the fourth tiebreaker over No. 11 Kurt Kinser from Indiana. No. 4 Dustin Schlatter from Minnesota scored a pair of takedowns to record a 5-1 decision over No. 18 Rick Schmelyun at 165 pounds.
At 174 pounds, No. 1 Mack Lewness scored a takedown in the second and third period as he went on to defeat No. 4 Chris Henrich from Virginia, 6-1. Chris Honeycutt, wrestling unattached from Edinboro, defeated No. 3 Dustin Kilgore, 7-5. Honeycutt trailed 5-3 late in the third period, but scored a takedown and two near-fall points to win the match.
No. 6 Cam Simaz from Cornell scored four takedowns and received a point for riding time as he scored a major decision at 197 pounds over Ohio's Erik Schuth. In the final match of the evening, No. 6 Nathan Everhart from Indiana had a second period takedown as he defeated Navy's Scott Steele, 3-2
Final & Live Agate
Oustanding Wrestler: Mack Lewnes (Cornell)
Most Falls: Jesse Strawn (Old Dominion)
Supplementary Event Coverage Via:
College Wrestling Network
Twitter Updates
Cedar Rapids Gazette's K.J. Pilcher: @kjpilcher
Central Michigan: @CMUWrestling
Cornell: @BigRedWrestling
Iowa State: @CycloneWR
Maryland: @UMDWrestling
Purdue: @PurdueWrestling
By Traci Wagner
Iowa Sports Information
EVANSTON, IL -- The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team won its 21st overall and third straight Midlands Championships title with 168.5 points at the 47th annual tournament Wednesday night in Evanston, IL. Iowa State placed second with 144.5, while Central Michigan placed third with 118.0.
The Hawkeyes went 3-3 in the finals, crowning three champions in redshirt freshman Matt McDonough (#3 seed at 125), and seniors Brent Metcalf (#1 seed at 149) and Jay Borschel (#1 seed at 174). It was Metcalf's third Midlands title and the first for McDonough and Borschel. Metcalf was named the Dan Gable Most Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament, and took home the Individual High Scorer Award for racking up 32.5 team points. Hawkeye redshirt freshman Nate Moore (133) earned the tournaments Fastest Fall Award, sticking his first opponent in 46 seconds.
McDonough sparked a strong Iowa start with a 9-7 win in sudden victory over #4 seed Andrew Long in the 125-pound title match. Down 5-2 at the end of the first period, McDonough scored an escape and takedown to tie the score at 5-5 in the second period. Long, who accumulated over one minute of riding time in the bout, scored an escape to start the third period to take a 6-5 lead. McDonough scored a takedown near the end of the third period to take a 7-6 lead, but Long's riding time point sent the match into sudden victory. McDonough scored a takedown in the first sudden victory period for the win. The Hawkeye redshirt freshman remains undefeated at 15-0 this season.
In a rematch of the 2008 Midlands title match, Metcalf won a 9-2 decision over #2 seed Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin. The Hawkeye senior improved to 15-0 on the season, scoring team bonus points in five of his six Midlands matches.
Borschel picked up his 75th career victory with a 6-1 win over #2 seed Ben Bennett of Central Michigan in the finals. The Hawkeye senior scored a takedown and two nearfall points near the end of the first period, an escape early in the second period and accumulated over two minutes of riding time in the match. He is now undefeated at 14-0 this season and is a three-time Midlands placewinner. He placed second in 2007, third in 2008 before winning the 2009 title.
Also placing for the Hawkeyes were seniors Joe Slaton (#4 seed at 141-3rd), Ryan Morningstar (#3 seed at 165-3rd), Phillip Keddy (#3 seed at 184-4th) and Chad Beatty (#5 seed at 197-3rd), sophomore Montell Marion (#9 seed at 141-6th), redshirt freshman Nate Moore (133-6th) and Grant Gambrall (184-6th), and true freshman Derek St. John (157-5th). It is the first time that Beatty, Moore, Gambrall and St. John have placed at Midlands.
Slaton, who is 10-1 while competing unattached this season, recorded a dominating 9-0 major decision over #8 seed Lou Ruggirello, who was also competing unattached. Morningstar scored a takedown near the end of the second sudden victory period to beat #4 seed Nick Marable of Missouri, 4-2. Morningstar, a four-time Midlands placewinner, is now 11-2 on the season. Beatty scored a third-period escape and takedown to score a 6-3 win over #4 seed Trevor Brandvold of Wisconsin, improving to 13-2 this season. St. John, who was competing unattached, recorded a medical forfeit over #3 seed Steve Brown of Central Michigan for fifth place in his first Midlands appearance. The Hawkeye true freshman is 21-4 while wrestling unattached this season. Moore, who was also wrestling at Midlands for the first time, took #1 seed Nick Fanthorpe of Iowa State to the tie break period, but lost the bout 2-1.
Outstanding Wrestler: Brent Metcalf (Iowa)
Champion of Champions: Steve Fittery (American)
Most Falls: Ryan Malo (Williams)
Final Brackets
Final Team scores
2009 Southern Scuffle
Cornell claims 2009 Southern Scuffle title
By David Percival
UNC Greensboro Sports Information
GREENSBORO, NC - After two days of wrestling and 828 matches, the team from Cornell walked away with the 2009 UNCG Southern Scuffle championship and claimed their second consecutive team title at the event. The Big Red also won three individual titles, as Kyle Dake, Mack Lewness and Cam Simaz came away with titles. UNCG had three wrestlers place as sophomore Peter Sturgeon won his first two matches of the second day before finishing in eighth place. True freshmen Eric Chandler and Caylor Williams also came in eighth place for the Spartans.
Chandler, wrestling at 125 pounds, recorded a pair of pins over Navy's Allen Stein and Michigan's Sean Boyle on his way to finishing in eighth. At 197 pounds, Williams pinned William Widener from George Mason in just over a minute and then scored a 6-2 decision over Zach Bennett from North Carolina. Sturgeon had a pair of wins as a heavyweight, including a 5-4 decision over NC State's Eloheim Palma.
In the championship finals, Angel Escobedo, ranked second nationally from Indiana, won by injury default at 125 pounds over No. 1 Troy Nickerson after Nickerson injured his shoulder in the first period. At 133 pounds, No. 2 Jayson Ness from Minnesota used a pair of takedowns to score a 7-3 decision over No. 11 Dan Mitcheff from Kent State.
In a tight match at 141 pounds, No. 5 Kyle Dake from Cornell defeated No. 6 Mike Thorn from Minnesota. Dake recorded a third period takedown to tie the match at four and rode Dake out the rest of the period to receive a point for riding time and win, 5-4. At 149 pounds, No. 10 Matt Kyler was leading 3-0 at the beginning of the third period when Penn's Cesar Grajales was forced to injury default.
In the closest bout of the evening, No. 7 Thomas Scotton from North Carolina scored a 2-1 decision at 157 pounds in the fourth tiebreaker over No. 11 Kurt Kinser from Indiana. No. 4 Dustin Schlatter from Minnesota scored a pair of takedowns to record a 5-1 decision over No. 18 Rick Schmelyun at 165 pounds.
At 174 pounds, No. 1 Mack Lewness scored a takedown in the second and third period as he went on to defeat No. 4 Chris Henrich from Virginia, 6-1. Chris Honeycutt, wrestling unattached from Edinboro, defeated No. 3 Dustin Kilgore, 7-5. Honeycutt trailed 5-3 late in the third period, but scored a takedown and two near-fall points to win the match.
No. 6 Cam Simaz from Cornell scored four takedowns and received a point for riding time as he scored a major decision at 197 pounds over Ohio's Erik Schuth. In the final match of the evening, No. 6 Nathan Everhart from Indiana had a second period takedown as he defeated Navy's Scott Steele, 3-2
Final & Live Agate
Oustanding Wrestler: Mack Lewnes (Cornell)
Most Falls: Jesse Strawn (Old Dominion)
Supplementary Event Coverage Via:
College Wrestling Network
Twitter Updates
Cedar Rapids Gazette's K.J. Pilcher: @kjpilcher
Central Michigan: @CMUWrestling
Cornell: @BigRedWrestling
Iowa State: @CycloneWR
Maryland: @UMDWrestling
Purdue: @PurdueWrestling
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