Herbert, the nation's second ranked grappler at 174 lbs., went 2-0 on the day while dominating the competition. In his first match, Herbert matched up with Michigan State's fourth-seeded R.J. Boudro. Herbert scored first and never looked back, increasing his lead throughout the match. Boudro made numerous late takedown attempts, but Herbert caught him, threw him over the top and rolled Boudro for the fall with 43 seconds left to advance to the finals.
In one of the most highly anticipated matches of the year, Herbert met Iowa's third-ranked Mark Perry in the title bout. A 2004 Midlands titlist at 165 lbs., Perry moved up to 174 lbs. in 2005. In the match, Herbert dominated from beginning to end. While the first period went scoreless, Herbert missed taking a 2-0 lead on a takedown by just seconds. Herbert got on the board after a reversal with 52 seconds remaining in the second period, then tallied a three-point takedown as the time expired. Up 5-0 entering the third period, Hebert remained in control until the end. Perry hit on two last-second takedowns, but Herbert walked off with the 5-4 win.
For his performance throughout the tournament, Herbert was named the 2005 Midlands Champion of Champions--an award voted on by all the tournament champions.
Delguyd, a senior, fell in both of his matches on the second day of competition, but finished a career-best fourth at 197 lbs. In his first match, Delguyd fell to Illinois' Tyrone Byrd, 7-2. Delguyd faced Indiana's Brady Richardson in the third-place match and wrestled him to a scoreless first period. Delguyd tallied an escape early in the second period, taking a 1-0 lead. Richardson tallied an early escape of his own to open the third period, then hit a takedown with 33 seconds remaining to take a 3-1 lead. Delguyd got in an escape late in the match, but Richardson took the decision, 3-2.
Sophomore Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) posted a 1-1 record on the day, placing at Midlands for the first time in his career. Fox's first match was a classic bout versus Northern Iowa's Tyler Rhodes. The two were neck and neck throughout the match, but Fox scored an escape late in the second tiebreaker round for a 3-2 win. Fox fell to UW-LaCrosse's Ryan Allen in his next match, but rebounded with a convincing 10-4 decision over American's Adam Lopiccolo to take seventh.
At 165, Will Durkee (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) lost his first consolation match of the day, ending his run in the Midlands tournament. Durkee faced Stanford's eighth-seeded Ray Blake, going back-and-forth with Blake throughout the match. In the end, Blake notched a takedown in the second tiebreaker period to take the match, 5-3.
As a team, Northwestern placed 10th out of 66 participating teams.
The University of Illinois won the team race for the third-consecutive year, becoming only the third team in Midlands history to do so. They were challenged by the upstart Central Michigan team however, and didn't clinch the title until the second to last round. Michigan State, Iowa and Iowa State round out the top five teams.
The Wildcats return to action at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8 at Eastern Illinois.
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