Iowa leads 53rd Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships after day one with seven semifinalists

2015 NCAA finalist Cory Clark leads seven Hawkeyes to Midlands Championships semifinals on Wednesday. Photo: John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com

EVANSTON, Ill. - Iowa sits atop the team standings after the first day of competition at the 53rd Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships with seven Hawkeyes reaching the semifinal round.

Top-seeded Hawkeyes Thomas Gilman, Cory Clark, Brandon Sorensen, Alex Meyer and Nathan Burak all advanced to the semifinals in decisive fashion. No. 4 seeds Sammy Brooks and Sam Stoll round out the Hawkeye semifinalists.

"It's up, then it's down, but it's a lot more up than down," said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. "Advancing seven wrestlers is good, even with takedowns at what seems like a premium right now.”

Iowa leads the team standings with 96 points. Nebraska currently sits in second place with 78 points. Rutgers at 62 points, North Carolina State at 49.5 points and Northwestern at 42.5 points round out the top five teams.

Action from Welsh-Ryan Arena will resume tomorrow at 12 p.m. (CT) with both semifinal and consolation rounds. Championships finals are set to follow at 8 p.m. (CT) and can be viewed live on the Big Ten Network.

Nebraska surged to No. 2 in the team race courtesy of a pair of upsets in the 197-pound quarterfinals. Redshirt freshman Derek White scored a 7-4 win over three-time NCAA Qualifier Phil Wellington of Ohio, while No. 5 seed Aaron Studebaker picked up a key 3-1 overtime victory over No. 4 seed Brett Harner of Princeton.

In total, the Huskers placed six wrestlers in tomorrow’s semifinals.

In his first return to folkstyle competition since March of 2014, two-time NCAA champion and Hodge Trophy winner David Taylor laid waste to the 184 pound field. Taylor notched two technical falls and one fall on his way to the semifinals where he will face No. 4 seed Sammy Brooks of Iowa.

Taylor finished in second place at the U.S. Senior Nationals and Olympic Trials Qualifier last weekend at 86 kg/189 pounds.

Two-time NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski was dominant on day one, earning two falls and an 11-3 major decision win over Collin Jensen of Nebraska in the quarterfinals. Gwiazdowski will face Iowa’s Stoll in the 285-pound semifinals tomorrow.

Upsets were the theme at 141 pounds with the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds all failing to make the semifinals.

Top seed Chris Mecate of Old Dominion dropped his quarterfinal against unseeded Ronnie Perry of Lock Haven 3-2, No. 14 seed Matthew Kolodzik of Princeton took out No. 3 seed Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers 11-4 in the round of 16 and No. 7 seed Steve Bleise of Northern Illinois upended No. 2 seed Kevin Jack of NC State 4-2 in sudden victory.

Joining Mecate as the only other top seed to fall was Anthony Perrotti of Rutgers at 165 pounds. Perrotta lost 6-4 to Adam Fierro of CSU Bakersfield in the quarterfinals.

Further information on the 53rd Annual Midlands Championships can be found at NUSports.com and complete brackets are hosted on Trackwrestling.com.

53rd Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships
Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill.

Team Standings
1. Iowa 96
2. Nebraska 78
3. Rutgers 62
4. North Carolina State 49.5
5. Northwestern 42.5
6. Oregon State 41
7. Princeton 40.5
8. Iowa State 38.5
9. Northern Iowa 38.0
10. Oklahoma 37.5

Semifinal Pairings (Including Seeds)

125 lbs.
No. 1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) vs. No. 5 Joshua Rodriguez (North Dakota State)
No. 3 Tim Lambert (Nebraska) vs. No. 2 Ronnie Rios (Oregon State)

133 lbs.
No. 1 Cory Clark (Iowa) vs. No. 13 Emilio Saavedra (Old Dominion)
No. 6 Josh Alber (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 7 Anthony Giraldo (Rutgers)

141 lbs.
Ronnie Perry (Unat. Lock Haven) vs. No. 4 Andrew Long (Grand View)
No. 14 Matthew Kolodzik (Unat. Princeton) vs. No. 7 Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois)

149 lbs.
No. 1 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) vs. No. 4 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska)
No. 3 Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion) vs. No. 2 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern)

157 lbs.
No. 1 Cody Pack (South Dakota State) vs. No. 4 John Boyle (American)
No. 6 Chad Walsh (Rider) vs. No. 2 Thomas Gantt (North Carolina State)

165 lbs.
No. 9 Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield) vs. No. 4 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State)
No. 3 Chad Welch (Purdue) vs. Mitch Wightman (American)

174 lbs.
No. 1 Alex Meyer (Iowa) vs. No. 4 Cody Walters (Ohio)
No. 3 Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) vs. No. 2 Micah Barnes (Nebraska)

184 lbs.
No. 1 David Taylor (Nittany Lion WC) vs. No. 4 Sammy Brooks (Iowa)
No. 3 Timothy Dudley (Nebraska) vs. No. 7 Abram Ayala (Princeton)

197 lbs.
No. 1 Nathan Burak (Iowa) vs. No. 5 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska)
No. 14 Derek White (Nebraska) vs. No. 10 Hayden Hrymack (Rutgers)

285 lbs.
No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) vs. No. 4 Sam Stoll (Iowa)
No. 6 Ross Larson (Oklahoma) vs. No. 7 Tanner Hall (Arizona State)

Quarterfinal Results (Including Seeds)

125 lbs.
No. 1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) fall No. 8 Kegan Calkins (Oregon State), 2:53
No. 5 Joshua Rodriguez (North Dakota St) dec. Alex Madrigal (Unat. Old Dominion), 2-1
No. 3 Tim Lambert (Nebraska) dec. No. 11 Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion) , 7-1
No. 2 Ronnie Rios (Oregon State) maj. dec. No. 7 Garrison White (Northwestern), 13-4

133 lbs.
No. 1 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. Angelo Amenta (Columbia), 7-1
No. 13 Emilio Saavedra (Old Dominion) dec. No. 5 Mason Beckman (Lehigh), 4-2 (SV1)
No. 6 Josh Alber (Northern Iowa) dec. Cameron Kelly (Ohio), 10-5
No. 7 Anthony Giraldo (Rutgers) dec. No. 2 Earl Hall (Iowa State), 5-4

141 lbs.
Ronnie Perry (Unat. Lock Haven) dec. No. 1 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion), 3-2
No. 4 Andrew Long (Grand View) fall Danny Sabatello (Purdue), 6:09
No. 14 Matthew Kolodzik (Unat. Princeton) dec. No. 6 Rick Durso (Franklin & Marshall), 6-3
No. 7 Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois) dec. No. 2 Kevin Jack (North Carolina State), 4- (SV1)

149 lbs.
No. 1 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. No. 8 Ken Theobold (Unat. Rutgers), 9-5
No. 4 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) fall No. 5 Bryant Clagon (Rider), 6:47
No. 3 Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion) dec. Michael Kemerer (Unat. Iowa), 11-9
No. 2 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) dec. No. 7 Gabe Moreno (Iowa State), 8-2

157 lbs.
No. 1 Cody Pack (South Dakota State) fall No. 9 Markus Scheidel (Columbia), 5:52
No. 4 John Boyle (American) dec. No. 12 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa), 3-1 (SV1)
No. 6 Chad Walsh (Rider) fall No. 3 Louis Mascola (Maryland), 6:21
No. 2 Thomas Gantt (North Carolina State) maj. dec. No. 7 Edwin Cooper Jr. (Iowa), 17-6

165 lbs.
No. 9 Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield) dec. No. 1 Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers), 6-4
No. 4 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State) fall Patrick Rhoads (Iowa), 0:46
No. 3 Chad Welch (Purdue) MFF No. 6 Clark Glass (Oklahoma)
Mitch Wightman (American) dec. No. 10 Seth Thomas (Oregon State), 8-4

174 lbs.
No. 1 Alex Meyer (Iowa) dec. No. 9 Phil Bakuckas (Rutgers), 3-1
No. 4 Cody Walters (Ohio) dec. No. 5 Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State), 7-2
No. 3 Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) dec. Jacob Holschlag (Unat. Northern Iowa), 9-5
No. 2 Micah Barnes (Nebraska) dec. No. 7 Taylor Lujan (Unat. Northern Iowa), 6-5

184 lbs.
No. 1 David Taylor (Nittany Lion WC) tech. fall No. 9 Zahid Valencia (Unat. Arizona State), 15-0
No. 4 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) dec. No. 5 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State), 5-2
No. 3 Timothy Dudley (Nebraska) dec. No. 6 Pete Renda (North Carolina State), 6-5
No. 7 Abram Ayala (Princeton) dec. No. 2 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion), 8-7

197 lbs.
No. 1 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. No. 8 Michael Boykin (North Carolina State), 8-2
No. 5 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) dec. No. 4 Brett Harner (Princeton), 3-1 (SV1)
No. 14 Derek White (Nebraska) dec. No. 6 Phil Wellington (Ohio), 7-4
No. 10 Hayden Hrymack (Rutgers) dec. Josh DaSilveira (Arizona State), 11-5

285 lbs.
No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) maj. dec. No. 8 Collin Jensen (Nebraska), 11-3
No. 4 Sam Stoll (Iowa) dec. No. 5 Billy Smith (Rutgers), 2-0
No. 6 Ross Larson (Oklahoma) dec. No. 3 Blaize Cabell (Northern Iowa), 6-3
No. 7 Tanner Hall (Arizona State) dec. No. 2 Amarveer Dhesi (Oregon State), 6-5