By Jordan Hansen
EVANSTON, Ill. — Impressive in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Ken Kraft Midland Championships, Iowa will send seven wrestlers to the Dec. 30 semifinal rounds.
With the first day in the books, the Hawkeyes are firmly in control of the team-score portion of the tournament. They are in first with 96 points, followed by Nebraska with 78 points and Rutgers with 62 points. North Carolina State and Northwestern round out the top five with scores of 49.5 and 42.5.
(All rankings reflect seeding in the tournament)
125 pounds
No. 1 Thomas Gilman pinned No. 8 Kegan Calkins (Oregon State) in 2:53.
— Gilman scored 12 points in the first period before pinning Calkins with seven seconds remaining. No one will stop Gilman if he keeps wrestling like this, at least in this tournament.
Next up: No. 5 Joshua Rodriguez (North Dakota State)
…
133 pounds
No. 1 Cory Clark decision Angelo Amenta (Columbia), 7-1.
— Things got a little feisty afterwards; Amenta seemed to have a few things he wanted to say to Clark. Iowa’s 133-pounder didn’t look quite as dominate as he did earlier, but he never let things get close. A “workmanlike” win if there ever was one.
Next up: No. 13 Emilio Saavedra (Old Dominion)
…
149 pounds
No. 1 Brandon Sorensen decsision Ken Theobald (unattached-Rutgers), 9-5.
— Things did not look real good for Sorensen late in the match as Theobald put him on his back. However, Sorensen was able to escape and added a late takedown to seal the victory. Not the Iowa wrestler’s best match, but a win, of course, is still a win.
Next up: No. 4 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska)
No. 3 Alex Richardson (Old Dominion) decision Michael Kemerer (unattached-Iowa), 11-9.
— Kemerer’s mini-Cinderella run ended against Richardson, but there is a lot to like about the true freshman. He’s now headed to the consolation bracket, in which he still has a chance to do quite a bit of damage.
Next up: Joey Delgado (Oregon State)
…
157 pounds
No. 2 Thomas Gantt (NC State) major decision No. 7 Edwin Cooper Jr., 17-6.
— Cooper could get nothing going at any point in the match, and he will head to the consolation bracket as a result. Iowa got some good out of the 157-pounder today, which they will need more at the weight.
Next up: Richie Lewis (Rutgers)
…
165 pounds
No. 4 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State) pinned Patrick Rhoads in 0:46.
— Rhoads wrestled Weatherman fairly well at the Iowa-Iowa State dual a couple weeks ago, but he did the exact opposite on Tuesday evening. The Hawkeye wrestler got into bad position early, and Weatherman ended things without much of an issue. Rhoads heads to the consolation rounds.
Next up: Austin Reese (Ohio University)
…
174 pounds
No. 1 Alex Meyer decision No. 9 Paul Bakuckas (Rutgers), 3-1.
Trailing 1-0 entering the third period, it was fairly obvious Meyer needed to make something happen in the final two minutes. He proceeded to score a takedown late in the third period and added another point in riding time, taking the match.
Next up: No. 4 Cody Walters (Ohio University)
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184 pounds
No. 4 Sammy Brooks decision No. 5 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota), 5-2.
Brooks went up 2-1 early and never looked back. Not a whole lot of action in the match but another win Iowa has managed to grind out. Next, however, comes a challenge above all others, former Penn State wrestler David Taylor.
Next up: No. 1 David Taylor (Nittany Lion Wrestling Club)
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197 pounds
No. 1 Nathan Burak decision No. 8 Michael Boykin (North Carolina), 8-2.
Early on, it seemed as if Boykin might have a chance to blow the thing open, but Burak fought off his shots and fired some of his own. Eventually Burak simply broke him and piled on a few late points to stretch the score.
Next up: No. 5 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska)
…
Heavyweight
No. 4 Sam Stoll decision Billy Smith (Rutgers), 2-0.
When these two faced each other several weeks ago in Carver-Hawkeye, a Stoll takedown in overtime was the difference. This time, Stoll rode him the entire second period, which helped him secure a riding-time point in addition to a third-period escape. Looking ahead, North Carolina State wrestler Nick Gwiazdowski will provide a huge test.
Next up: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski
Follow @DI_Sportsdesk, @JordyHansen, and @Cbomb12 for Midlands Championships news, updates, and analysis.
