Iowa's Austin DeSanto defeated Wisconsin's Seth Gross in a dual meet (Photo/Brian Ray, HawkeyeSports.com)When the calendar turns to December in the college wrestling world, it means that holiday tournament season is finally upon us. For fans, this means there are multiple events that showcase an exceptional field of teams as well as individual wrestlers all at the same event. For the student-athletes, holiday tournaments represent a unique challenge -- wrestlers are tasked with maintaining their weight and staying focused in a time that is filled with food, holiday cheer and family shenanigans -- no easy feat.
One particular tournament that fans, coaches and athletes alike are sure to circle on their schedule as soon as it comes out is the annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. The event is revered around the college wrestling community as a top folkstyle tournament, praised for its sheer size as well as its competitiveness. Most importantly, the event serves as a benchmark or a "reality check" if you will for teams and their wrestlers. It gives everyone a way to gauge their progress and development thus far -- right before the conference dual meet season kicks off after the new year.
College wrestling's 57th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships will get underway this week at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on Sunday and Monday. However, the prestigious two-day tournament will look different than it has in past years. Attendees will see members of the United States Marine Corps out in full force across the grounds of the Sears Centre. The service academy will sponsor the Midlands for the first time.
This means that patrons will see promotional videos, signage throughout the arena, plus mats showcasing the emblem of the service academy. Additionally, the official event title will read, "The 57th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships presented by the United States Marine Corps."
While the aesthetics of the Sears Centre may be different than in years past, what won't be different is the strength of the field from both a team and individual standpoint. The event routinely features some of the highest-ranked individual wrestlers and teams in the nation. In the past, eventual NCAA finals matchups have occurred at Midlands first, before unfolding once again at NCAAs three months later. This will probably hold true again this year.
This year, 36 teams will be represented in the signature event in some capacity -- as some schools are not bringing their entire team to Hoffman Estates, but bringing select wrestlers. Of those squads, 12 appeared in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll, which ranked the top-25 teams as of Dec. 17 rankings. Additionally, four of those teams fell within the top-nine of that poll.
Individually, there is expected to be anywhere from 60 and 95 currently ranked wrestlers according to the latest (Dec. 24) InterMat rankings across all 10 weight classes. The variability is attributed to the fact that certain schools have committed to bringing just certain members of the roster, but not an entire team. It is unknown until the day of the event which, if any ranked wrestlers from those "partial team" schools will compete.
With respect to the number of 2019 All-American placers that will be competing in the Midlands Championships this year, the number is equally impressive -- in total, there is expected to be between 15 and 22 returning All-Americans from Pittsburgh. Again, this figure is subject to variability because the full list of participants at each weight is unknown until the opening day of the event.
In terms of each individual weight classes, each has anywhere from five to 11 ranked wrestlers expected to be in attendance. The 125-pound weight class features the most currently ranked wrestlers (11), while several other weight classes all boast five currently ranked InterMat wrestlers as of Dec. 24.
With these numbers in mind, here are some of the most compelling factoids and storylines to be aware of heading into day one of the 57th Midlands Championships:
125: This class appears to be the strongest on paper with 11 currently ranked (InterMat) wrestlers and three returning All-Americans at the same weight -- including Spencer Lee (Iowa) and Jack Mueller (Virginia) who battled it out in the NCAA Championships last year. Lee took home his second career NCAA title with a 5-0 decision over the Virginia Cavalier. The two might face each other again in Illinois for a title rematch of sorts. Patrick Glory (Princeton), the third returning All-American (sixth at NCAAs in 2019) will look to earn payback for a Midlands 56 loss to Lee in 2018.
133: The biggest potential storyline here could be a rematch between Austin DeSanto (Iowa) and Seth Gross (Wisconsin). De Santo earned a 6-2 decision earlier this month. DeSanto's victory in Iowa City over the former NCAA champ propelled him to InterMat's top spot at 133 pounds. Northwestern's Sebastian Rivera, who has moved up a class to 133 pounds, looks to compete with and beat his Big Ten foes as well. Rivera's 2018 Midlands effort punctuated with an impressive 7-3 victory over Iowa's now two-time NCAA champion Spencer Lee in the finals earned the Wildcat lightweight the Ken Kraft Champion of Champions honor as well as the Dan Gable Outstanding Wrestler after his individual title. This year, Rivera will look to defend his Midland crown, just at a new weight: 133 pounds.
141: With Yianni Diakomihalis out to an Olympic redshirt and Joey McKenna lost to graduation and international aspiration, the weight class is as open as it has ever been in recent years. Similarly, with highly ranked Luke Pletcher (Ohio State), Nick Lee (Penn State) and Mitch McKee (Minnesota) not attending Midlands, the weight is up for grabs. Josh Heil (Campbell). Max Murin (Iowa) and others will all look to strike while the iron is hot and seize a Midlands crown.
149: While North Carolina's Austin O'Conner, a returning All-American, sits atop the InterMat rankings, freshman Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) looks to turn some heads, possibly avenging an earlier season fall to Virginia Tech's Brent Moore in the process. Also, if Northwestern's Yahya Thomas should get a rematch with Northern Iowa's Max Thomsen, it's sure to be a dog fight. The duo wrestled in Evanston earlier this year where Thomsen narrowly beat Thomas 4-3 in a match that came down to the wire. Iowa's returning All-American Pat Lugo looks to remain hot and possibly move up in the rankings if he can dethrone O'Connor to secure the title.
157: Ryan Deakin, a consensus No. 1 at the weight class, looks to stay where he is and defend home turf as he grapples in front of a home crowd. He will look to defend his 2018 Midlands title, which came at the same weight. Iowa's returning All-American Kaleb Young -- who InterMat had ranked as high as No. 2 earlier this year -- and Princeton's Quincy Monday could be candidates to topple the reigning Midlands champ. Kendall Coleman of Purdue, who currently sits within InterMat's top 10, will look to make a statement during his freshman campaign.
165: The Alex Marinelli (Iowa) and Evan Wick (Wisconsin) battle is likely to resurface at some point during Midlands 57. Their most recent match came in a dual earlier this year in Iowa City where Marinelli bested Wick 4-2. This was Marinelli's fourth straight win over Wick. However, Wick has beaten the Hawkeye in the past. It is possible that another chapter will be written in the reoccurring rivalry.
174: Iowa's Michael Kemerer looks to continue his hot start to his return to the mat, proving that he can be just as dominant at his new, heavier weight. The Hawkeye missed all of 2018-19 due to injury but has twice been an All-American at 157 pounds. While Kemerer appears to be the front-runner to take home the Midlands title, multiple Big Ten foe and others will look to knock off the Murrysville, Pa. native.
184: Along with 141 pounds, this class does not bring any returning 2019 All-Americans to the field. However, the class does contain seven of InterMat's 20 currently ranked wrestlers from at least four different conferences -- including No. 4 Taylor Lujan of UNI and collegiate grappling newcomer Nelson Brands -- son of Iowa associate coach Terry Brands. The former Brands sits at No. 14.
197: This weight class includes five ranked wrestlers, as such the weight is very much a tossup to predict a top placer, but Iowa's Jacob Warner or Princeton's Patrick Brucki are two returning All-Americans capable of bringing home hardware. The two squared off in a battle at Princeton earlier this year where Warner won 5-4.
285: Again, it would not be surprising to see two top Big Ten foes match up at some point for a second time this season. Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) and Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) have battled once before when Iowa defeated Wisconsin 32-3 in earlier December. Cassioppi, a talented freshman, brought home a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the All-American Badger. Matt Stencel (Central Michigan), Jere Heino (Campbell) and Carter Isley (UNI) are all within the InterMat rankings and looking to upset their way to the Midlands record books.
As for the team race, the No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes are looking to defend their 2018 first-place finish by winning their 29th all-time Midlands title.
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