Another strong field expected for Midlands Championships

Northwestern’s Jason Tsirtsis captured an NCAA title this past March as a freshman. Tony Rotundo photo.


It’s the mid-season classic that remains a staple of the college wrestling season.


The Midlands Championships, staged annually on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, Ill., remains one of the toughest tournaments on the college schedule.


This year’s field, which will compete at the 52nd Ken Kraft Midlands at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Dec. 29-30, is very strong again.


You start with the top-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, who rolled to the Midlands team title last year.


Iowa features a very deep, balanced and strong lineup, led by All-Americans Bobby Telford (285 pounds), Mike Evans (174), Cory Clark (133) and Nathan Burak (197).


Iowa also is still trying to determine its starter at 149, 157 and 197. Burak was an All-American last year, but has been slowed by an injury and hasn’t been in the starting lineup this season.


“It's just a matter of where is the best place for guys and who is going to be the No. 1 guy,” Iowa coach Tom Brands said, “and who is going to give us the best chance to score the most points at that weight because it is going to take 10 weight classes to win nationals. Is that what it is all about? I don't know if everything is about that. It's about making the best decision probably.


“At the end of the year you don't want to be right there and all the sudden you wish you would have done this or done that. It's not just, ‘Burak gives us the best chance to win nationals,’ we're putting him in there. We want to make sure we do the right things with all options.”


Evans and Thomas Gilman (125) won Midlands crowns for the Hawkeyes in 2013. Gilman beat Illinois standout Jesse Delgado en route to the title. Delgado, now a senior, went on to capture his second NCAA crown this past March.


Virginia Tech All-American Joey Dance also will be in the mix at 125. Delgado is ranked No. 1 nationally at 125 with Dance No. 4 and Gilman No. 5.


“Another big weight class and another big match,” Brands said of 125. “You have Virginia Tech there too with Joey Dance, and that adds to the depth of the bracket. You have to be ready to go. These opponents, if you look ahead a little bit, it's important that you're aware of what you have. Just get ready to wrestle each match one at a time.”


Host school Northwestern, ranked eighth nationally, also has a very strong squad. The Wildcats are led by NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis (149) and NCAA runner-up Mike McMullan (285). Both are ranked No. 1 in the country.


“The Midlands will once again be a premier event on the college wrestling schedule,” Northwestern coach Drew Pariano said. “As always, upsets will happen but they are a precursor to the NCAA Championships. It is always an event that determines postseason success and we expect it to be action-packed again this year. We have several marquee matchups and we look forward to seeing everyone in Evanston on the 29th and 30th.”


Edinboro, ranked No. 7 nationally, placed second in the Midlands team race in 2013. Edinboro’s Mitchell Port is a returning Midlands champion at 141. Port is ranked second in the country.


Edinboro’s A.J. Schopp is ranked No. 1 nationally at 133. Iowa’s Cory Clark is No. 4 at 133 and Zane Richards of Illinois is No. 6. Edinboro’s David Habat is ranked fifth at 149.


Michigan was third in the Midlands team race in 2013, followed by Illinois and Northern Iowa. Michigan and UNI are not scheduled to compete at the Midlands this season.


Virginia Tech is ranked No. 9 and is coming off a close loss in an action-packed dual battle with No. 5 Penn State. The Hokies are led by 2014 NCAA runner-up Devin Carter (141).


Illinois is ranked in the top 10 nationally by WIN Magazine. Delgado, a senior, is seeking his third straight Big Ten and NCAA title this season. He is a three-time All-American at 125.


Wisconsin is another strong team in the field. The Badgers have a No. 1 pre-seed in Isaac Jordan at 165.


Chicago native Joe Rau, a 2014 U.S. World Team member in Greco-Roman, is the No. 7 pre-seed at 197. Rau was a 2013 NCAA Division III champion for Elmhurst.


All mats from the 52nd Midlands Championships will be live streamed on BTN2GO. The finals will be broadcast live on Dec. 30 on Big Ten Network.

Midlands Championships Pre-Seeds


125 

1. Jesse Delgado, Illinois 

2. Thomas Gilman, Iowa 

3. Joey Dance, Virginia Tech 

4. Darian Cruz, Lehigh (Unattached) 

5. Josh Martinez, Air Force 

6. Josh Rodriguez, North Dakota State 

7. Brandon Jeske, Old Dominion 

8. Kory Mines, Edinboro 

9. Shayne Wireman, Eastern Michigan 

10. Barlow McGee, Missouri (Unattached) 

11. Stevan Micic, Northwestern (Unattached) 

12. Ryak Finch, Grand View


133 

1. AJ Schopp, Edinboro 

2. Cory Clark, Iowa 

3. Jarrod Garnett, Lehigh Valley Athletic Club 

4. Mason Beckman, Lehigh 

5. Zane Richards, Illinois 

6. Geoffrey Alexander, Maryland 

7. Ryan Taylor, Wisconsin 

8. Danny Sabatello, Purdue 

9. Kevin Norstrem, Virginia Tech 

10. Robert Deutsch, Rider 

11. Caleb Richardson, Penn 

12. Ian Nickell, CSU Bakersfield 


141 

1. Mitchell Port, Edinboro 

2. Devin Carter, Virginia Tech 

3. Richard Durso, Franklin & Marshall (Unattached) 

4. Josh Dziewa, Iowa 

5. Chris Mecate, Old Dominion 

6. Todd Preston, Harvard 

7. Shyheim Brown, Maryland 

8. Mitch Bengsten, North Dakota State 

9. Stephen Rodriquez, Illinois 

10. Alex Kocer, South Dakota State 

11. Joey McKenna, Lehigh Valley Athletic Club 

12. Brandon Wright, Grand View 


149 

1. Jason Tsirtsis, Northwestern 

2. David Habat, Edinboro 

3. Brody Grothus, Iowa 

4. Lenny Richardson, Old Dominion 

5. Adam Krop, Princeton 

6. CJ Cobb, Penn 

7. BJ Clagon, Rider 

8. Brandon Sorensen, Iowa 

9. Laike Gardner, Lehigh (Unattached) 

10. Ryan Lubeck, Wisconsin 

11. Sal Mastriani, Virginia Tech 

12. Kyle Langenderfer, Illinois 


157 

1. Isaiah Martinez, Illinois 

2. Cody Pack, South Dakota State 

3. Markus Scheidel, Columbia 

4. Justin Staudenmayer, Brown 

5. Michael Kelly, Iowa 

6. Chad Welsh, Rider 

7. Brandon Zeerip, Eastern Michigan 

8. Doug Welch, Purdue 

9. Edwin Cooper, Iowa 

10. Andrew Morse, Northern Illinois 

11/12. TBD based on entries 


165 

1. Isaac Jordan, Wisconsin 

2. Taylor Walsh, Indiana 

3. Nick Moore, Iowa 

4. Pierce Harger, Northwestern 

5. Jackson Morse, Illinois 

6. Nestor Taffur (Unattached) 

7. Tristan Warner, Old Dominion 

8. Adam Fierro, CSU Bakersfield 

9. Jesse Stafford, Air Force 

10. Jon Schleifer, Princeton 

11. Connor Brennan, Rider 

12. Pat Robinson, Purdue


174 

1. Mike Evans, Iowa 

2. Zac Brunson, Illinois 

3. Zach Epperly, Virginia Tech 

4. Bryce Hammond, CSU Bakersfield 

5. Kurtis Julson, North Dakota State 

6. Alex Meyer, Iowa 

7. Brock Gutches, Southern Oregon 

8. Nate Jackson, Indiana 

9. Burke Paddock, Iowa 

10. John Sebastian, Northwestern (Unattached) 

11. Chad Welch, Purdue 

12. Connor Lefever, Wabash 


184 

1. Lorenzo Thomas, Penn 

2. Jack Dechow, Old Dominion 

3. Sammy Brooks, Iowa 

4. Hayden Zillmer, North Dakota State 

5. Ophir Bernstein, Brown 

6. Vic Avery, Edinboro 

7. Nikko Reyes, Illinois 

8. Ricky Robertson, Wisconsin 

9. Austin Gabel, Virginia Tech 

10. Clint Morrison, Rider 

11. Brett Harner, Princeton 

12. Zach Hernandez, Columbia


197 

1. Nathan Burak, Iowa (Unattached) 

2. Alex Polizzi, Northwestern

3. Abram Ayala, Princeton 

4. Braden Atwood, Purdue 

5. Nathan Rotert, South Dakota State 

6. Timmy McCall, Wisconsin 

7. Joe Rau, Minnesota Storm 

8. Jared Haught, Virginia Tech 

9. Lucas Sheridan, Indiana 

10. James Fox, Harvard 

11. Vince Pickett, Edinboro 

12. Shawn Scott, Northern Illinois


285 

1. Mike McMullan, Northwestern 

2. Bobby Telford, Iowa 

3. Connor Medbery, Wisconsin 

4. Ty Walz, Virginia Tech 

5. Evan Knutson, North Dakota State 

6. Tyler Deuel, Binghamton 

7. Jacob Henderson, Old Dominion 

8. J.J. Everard, South Dakota State 

9. Ray O'Donnell, Princeton 

10. David Ng, Harvard 

11. Garrett Ryan, Columbia 

12. Brooks Black, Illinois