The 157-pound class might be the deepest in the tournament, as all four semifinalists are returning All-Americans, with two of those being NCAA runner-ups. Top-seeded Alex Tirapelle of Illinois, who won a Midlands crown in 2003, advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 victory over Matt Kocher of Pittsburgh. He will now face Matt Lebe of West Virginia, who won in the second tie breaker period over post-graduate Jeremiah Jarvis.
Leading up to this year's Midlands, the most talked about weight class was (and still is) 174 pounds. Northwestern's Jake Herbert and Iowa's Mark Perry, both Midlands champions a year ago, are tearing through the competition, and appear destined to meet in the finals. Herbert advanced to the semifinals with a 10-7 decision over Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh. He will now face RJ Boudro of Michigan State.
Herbert says that he doesn't feel additional pressure being a returning Midlands champion wrestling in front of his home crowd.
"I don't feel any pressure at all," said Herbert. "I mean, there's another Midlands champion at my weight. The pressure is kind of shared, you know. (Perry) is an opponent that I have been looking forward to, but I have to go one match at a time. I have to get there first before I actually get to wrestle him."
Nate Gallick of Iowa State, the defending Midlands champion at 141, advanced to the semifinals with a convincing 8-2 win over two-time Division III national champion Dustin Hinschberger of Wartburg. It marked Gallick's second win this season over Hinschberger. He will now face unseeded Brandon Carter of Central Michigan.
Erkin Tadzhimetov of Utah Valley State might not be eligible to wrestle in postseason competition (because of NCAA regulations), but the Uzbekistan native secured a spot in the Midlands semifinals with a 5-2 victory over Andy Hiatt of Northern Illinois. He will now face Iowa State's Jesse Sundell, who he defeated earlier this season by a score of 5-2.
Utah Valley State coach Cody Sanderson was pleased with the performance of his lone wrestler competing at the Midlands.
"That's the best I've seen him wrestle this year," said Sanderson. "He grew up as a freestyle wrestler, so sometimes he has trouble with folkstyle. But he did a good job of controlling the mat, taking those shots, moving the head, so I was really happy with it. It was a good win for him."
Since Utah Valley State doesn't compete at the Midlands as a team, Tadzhimetov had to be granted an invitation by the tournament committee.
"I was really excited that he could wrestle here, especially since he can't do postseason competition," said Sanderson. "It's just great that he has another chance to wrestle some of these good guys.
Semifinal match-ups:
125:
No. 1 Nick Simmons (Michigan State) vs. No. 5 Tanner Gardner (Stanford)
No. 6 Luke Smith (Central Michigan) vs. No. 7 Pat Castillo (Northern Illinois)
133:
No. 4 Andre Hernandez (Indiana) vs. Tommy Vargas (Cal State Bakersfield)
No. 6 Erekin Tadzhimetov (Utah Valley State) vs. No. 7 Jesse Sundell (Iowa State)
141:
No. 1 Nate Gallick (Iowa State) vs. Brandon Carter (Central Michigan)
No. 2 Andy Simmons (Michigan State) vs. Eric Kruger (Central Michigan)
149:
No. 1 Cliff Moore (Hawkeye Training Club) vs. No. 5 Doug Withstandley (Purdue)
No. 2 Mark DiSalvo (Central Michigan) vs. No. 6 Darren McKnight (Michigan State)
157:
No. 1 Alex Tirapelle (Illinois) vs. No. 4 Matt Lebe (West Virginia)
No. 2 Joe Johnston (Iowa) vs. No. 3 Brandon Becker (Indiana)
165:
No. 1 Travis Paulson (Iowa State) vs. No. 4 Mike Poeta (Illinois)
No. 2 Jared Frayer (Gator Wrestling Club) vs. No. 3 Nick Baima (Northern Iowa)
174:
No. 1 Jake Herbert vs. No. 4 R.J. Boudro (Michigan State)
No. 2 Mark Perry (Iowa) vs. No. 6 Donny Reynolds (Illinois)
184:
No. 1 Ben Wissel (Purdue) vs. No. 4 John Glenn (American)
No. 2 Kurt Backes (Iowa State) vs. No. 3 Pete Friedl (Illinois)
197:
No. 1 Wynn Michalak (Central Michigan) vs. No. 4 Brady Richardson (Indiana)
No. 2 Matt Delguyd (Northwestern) vs. No. 3 Tyrone Byrd (Illinois)
Hwt:
No. 1 Bode Ogunwole (Harvard) vs. No. 4 Matt Fields (Iowa)
No. 2 Les Sigman (Nebraska-Omaha) vs. No. 6 Payam Zarrinpour (Sacred Heart)
Related Articles:
Midlands Session I Recap
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