Hawkeyes lead Midlands at the end of day one
EVANSTON, Ill. — The University of Iowa wrestling team posted a 10-1 record in the quarterfinals of the Midlands Championships on Sunday night. The Hawkeyes advanced nine point-scorers to the semifinals and own a 55-point lead in the team race.
Iowa sits in first place with 112 points. Illinois is in a distant second with 57 points. Edinboro (52), Maryland (46.5) and Michigan (44) round out the top five.
The Hawkeyes won all nine matches they were favored, and got an upset from Josh Dziewa at 141. Dziewa, the tournament’s seventh-seed, threw No. 2 Rick Durso to his back in the final minute to earn a 6-1 decision.
Tony Ramos (133), Derek St. John (157), and Mike Evans (174) all scored bonus points for the Hawkeyes, recording major decisions in their respective quarterfinal bouts. Ramos, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, used five takedowns to top No. 10 Devon Lotito and earn his 100th career win.
Cory Clark and Thomas Gilman represent one-half of the remaining 125-pound championships field. Both wrestlers earned semifinal berths with a pair of decisions on opposite sides of the bracket. Gilman, the No. 4 seed, advanced to meet defending NCAA champion Jesse Delgado. Clark, the No. 3 seed, will face defending Midlands champion Jarrod Garnett, the No. 2 seed.
Top-seeded Ethen Lofthouse scored seven of the final eight points to top No. 9 Niko Reyes, 7-3, at 184, and top-seeded Bobby Telford cruised to a 6-1 win over No. 8 Adam Fager.
Second-seeded Nick Moore scored two takedowns in the final period to defeat No. 7 Pierce Harger, 7-4, at 165.
Nathan Burak, competing unattached and seeded No. 3 at 197, went back and forth with No. 6 Chris Penny before scoring a takedown in sudden victory to advance, 9-7.
Sammy Brooks, the No. 7 seed at 184, was bounced to the consolation bracket following a 3-2 loss to No. 2 Jimmy Sheptock.
Brody Grothus (149), Brandon Sorensen (149), and Alex Meyer (174) each won a pair of matches to advance in the consolation bracket. Michael Kelly (149) earned a major decision in his first consolation match, but was pinned in his second bout and eliminated from the tournament.
Session III of the Midlands Championships begins at 12 p.m. (CT) Monday. Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will call the action live from Welsh-Ryan Arena on AM-800 KXIC and at hawkeyesports.com via Hawkeye All-Access. Updated team standings and complete tournament brackets are available throughout the tournament at nusports.com.
