Dec. 30, 2004
EVANSTON, IL – The University of Iowa wrestling team moved up to fourth place with 61.5 points after the first day of competition at the 2004 Midlands Championships in Evanston, IL. Central Michigan leads the team field after Wednesday’s matches with 74.5 points. Seven Hawkeyes are still competing in the 42nd annual tournament, with four competing in the championship bracket and three in the consolation bracket.
Leading Iowa in the championship bracket are top-seeds Paul Bradley (184) and Ty Eustice (149), third-seed Mark Perry (165) and fifth-seed Alex Tsirtsis (141). Tsirtsis, a true freshman, scored a 6-5 decision over fourth-seed Donald Lockhart of San Francisco State in the quarterfinals. He will face top-seed Nate Gallick of Iowa State in today’s semifinals. The two met earlier this month at the Iowa vs. Iowa State dual, with Gallick scoring an escape in the first tiebreak period to win 2-1. Eustice scored a 3-2 decision over eighth-seed Jeff Harrison of Northern Iowa, improving his career record against Harrison to 3-0. The Hawkeye junior will face fourth-seed Ben Cherrington of Boise State in today’s semifinals. Perry pinned unattached competitor Deonte Penn in 5:09 in the quarterfinals, and the redshirt freshman will face second-seed Jared Frayer of Shultz Wrestling Club in the semifinals. Bradley defeated ninth-seed Ed Magrys of Eastern Michigan, 3-1, in the quarterfinals, and will face fourth-seed Eric Bradley of Penn State in the semifinals. Eric Bradley holds a 3-0 advantage in meetings with Paul Bradley, including a 3-2 decision in their last meeting, which was at the 2004 Big Ten Championship finals.
Still alive for Iowa in the consolation bracket are juniors Joe Johnston (157) and Lucas Magnani (125) and freshman Matt Fields (Hwt.). Magnani defeated seventh-seed Mason Lenhard of Pennsylvania, 3-2 in Wednesday night’s round, and will face third-seed John Velez of Northwestern in today’s match. Johnston, the sixth-seed, lost a 9-5 decision to third-seed Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov of American University in the quarterfinals, and will face Indiana’s Brandon Becker in today’s consolation round. Fields, the third-seed, lost a 3-1 decision to sixth-seed Pat DeGain of Indiana in the quarterfinals, and will face Eastern Illinois’ Pete Ziminski in the consolation round.
Today’s sessions start at noon and 7 p.m. All matches will be held in Welsh-Ryan Arena on the Nortwestern University campus.
TEAM STANDING AFTER SESSION II (Top 10 Teams)
1. Central Michigan 74.5
2. Iowa State 71.0
3. Illinois 68.5
4. Iowa 61.5
5. Michigan State 56.5
6. Indiana 42.0
7. Northern Iowa 41.5
8. Penn State 34.5
9. Northwestern 33.5
10. Ohio State 30.5
SESSION II INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
125 Pounds – Consolation Bracket
Lucas Magnani (I) maj. dec. Nathan Costello (OSU), 14-6
Magnani (I) dec. #7 Mason Lenhard (PENN), 3-2
Tanner Gardner (UNAT) dec. Charlie Falck (I), 3-2
Rob McCabe (ADAMS) dec. Matt Morkel (I), 2-1
133 Pounds – Consolation Bracket
Brian Heller (PSU) dec. #10 Mario Galanakis (I), 5-3
141 Pounds – Championship Bracket
#5 Alex Tsirtsis (I) #4 Donald Lockett (SFSU), 6-5
149 Pounds – Championship Bracket
#1 Ty Eustice (I) dec. #8 Jeff Harrison (UNI), 3-2
149 Pounds – Consolation Bracket
Aaron Scott (ISU) dec. Ned Shuck (I), 9-5
157 Pounds – Championship Bracket
#3 Musaffar Abdurakhmanov (AMER) dec. #6 Joe Johnston (I), 9-5
157 Pounds – Consolation Bracket
Brandon Becker (IND) pinned Cole Pape (I), 1:49
Mike Parziale (F&M) dec. Alex Grunder (I), 7-4
165 Pounds – Championship Bracket
#3 Mark Perry (I) pinned Deonte Penn (UNAT), 5:09
174 Pounds – Consolation Bracket
Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. Danny Burk (NIU), 8-5
Ed Wills (OH) dec. Lofthouse (I), 4-3
184 Pounds – Championship Bracket
#1 Paul Bradley (I) dec. #9 Ed Magrys (EMU), 7-3
197 Pounds – Consolation Bracket
Matt Weight (ILL) won by default over Major Ennen (I)
Brendan McClean (AF) dec. Dane Pape (I), 2-1 TB-2
Heavyweight – Championship Bracket
#6 Pat DeGain (IND) dec. #3 Matt Fields (I), 3-1
Heavyweight – Consolation Bracket
#11 Paul Weibel (LGH) dec. Chad Barkalow (I), 9-6