Men's Wrestling / December 30, 2007

Five Hawkeyes Advance To Midlands Finals

Dec. 30, 2007

EVANSTON, IL — All five of Iowa’s semifinalists won their afternoon matches to advance to tonight’s finals at the 45th annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, IL. The Hawkeyes lead the team race with 165 points after three sessions of competition. Defending team champion Iowa State is in second place with 132.

Junior Mark Perry (165) and sophomores Joe Slaton (133), Dan LeClere (141), Brent Metcalf (149) and Jay Borschel (174) all advanced to the finals in their respective weight classes.

Perry, who won the 2004 Midlands title, is a four-time finalist at the tournament. The number two seed, Perry has pinned his way through the 165-pound bracket decking all four opponents en route to the finals. He picked up his 85th career win by pinning Northwestern’s Dominic Marella in 42 seconds in the semifinals. Perry will face fifth seed Jon Reader of Iowa State in the finals.

Slaton and Borschel will take undefeated 11-0 records into their finals matches against the top seed in their weight classes. Slaton, who is the third seed, upset second seed Jim Kennedy of Illinois, 6-0, in the semifinals. He will face top seed Franklin Gomez of Indiana in the finals. Borschel, the sixth seed, upset second seed Brandon Sinnott of Central Michigan, 8-5, in the semifinals. He will face top seed Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh in the finals.

Metcalf, the second seed, scored a 10-4 win over third seed Mitch Mueller of Iowa State in the semifinals. It was the second time that Metcalf beat Mueller this month, with the first a 14-4 major decision at the Iowa-Iowa State dual in Ames. Metcalf will face fifth seed Jake Patacsil of Purdue in the finals.

LeClere, the fifth seed, scored a narrow 6-5 victory over eighth seed Corey Jantzen in the semifinals. He will face second seed Zack Bailey of Oklahoma in the finals.

Still competing for Iowa in the consolation bracket are senior Alex Tsirtsis (141), junior Charlie Falck (125) and sophomores Ryan Morningstar (157) and Phillip Keddy (184). Falck, Tsirtsis and Keddy will all be wrestling in the third place match tonight, while Morningstar will wrestle in the fifth place match. Senior heavyweight Matt Fields placed eighth at the end of the third session, losing a 2-1 decision of Illinois’ John Wise.

Sunday night’s finals and placing matches are set to start at 7 p.m. The finals will air live on the Big Ten Network, which is available on DIRECTV Channel 200 and DISH Network Channel 439. All matches will be held at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the Northwestern University campus.

MIDLANDS TOP 10 TEAM STANDINGS – AFTER SESSION III
1. Iowa – 165
2. Iowa State – 132
3. Central Michigan – 113.5
4. Illinois – 93
5. Northwestern – 82.5
6. Tennessee-Chattanooga – 78.5
7. Pittsburgh – 74.5
8. Indiana – 70.5
9. Purdue – 58
10. Northern Illinois – 48

IOWA’S MIDLANDS SEMIFINAL RESULTS
133 – #3 Joe Slaton (Iowa) dec. #2 Jim Kennedy (Illinois), 6-0
141 – #5 Dan LeClere (Iowa) dec. #8 Corey Jantzen (Harvard), 6-5
149 – #2 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) dec. #3 Mitch Mueller (Iowa St.), 10-4
165 – #2 Mark Perry (Iowa) pinned Dominic Marella (Northwestern), 0:42
174 – #6 Jay Borschel (Iowa) dec. #2 Brandon Sinnott (C. Michigan), 8-5

IOWA’S MIDLANDS SESSION III CONSOLATION RESULTS
125 – #3 Charlie Falck (Iowa) dec. Luke Smith (C. Michigan), 5-2
125 – #3 Charlie Falck (Iowa) dec. Ryan Bosso (Pittsburgh), 8-2
125 – #3 Charlie Falck (Iowa) won by medical forfeit over #1 Nick Simmons (Sunkist WC)
133 – #6 Pat Castillo (N. Illinois) dec. Montell Marion (Iowa), 10-3
141 – #1 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa) pinned Danny Song (Hawk WC), 2:44
141 – #1 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa) won by medical forfeit over #4 Eric Kruger (C. Michigan)
141 – #1 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa) pinned Carter Downing (Wyoming), 1:32
157 – #5 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) maj. dec. Emanuel Brooks (Missouri), 9-1
157 – #5 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) dec. Paul Young (Indiana), 4-0
157 – #2 Cyler Sanderson (Iowa St.) dec. #5 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa), 10-4
184 – Phillip Keddy (Iowa) maj. dec. Josh Zabel (Wis.-LaCrosse), 16-5
184 – Phillip Keddy (Iowa) pinned Ben Kelto (C. Michigan), 1:07
184 – Phillip Keddy (Iowa) won by medical forfeit over Jared Deaquero (Adams St.)
197 – #6 David Bertolino (Iowa St.) tech. fall Brodie Ambrose (Iowa), 16-0 in 5:40
Hwt. – #4 Matt Fields (Iowa) dec. Dave Benner (N. Illinois), 7-3
Hwt. – #8 Nik Fekete (Hawk WC) dec. #4 Matt Fields (Iowa), 3-1 SV-1