Dec. 30, 2008
EVANSTON, IL — Seven University of Iowa wrestlers advanced to Tuesday afternoon’s championship semifinals at the 46th annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, IL. The Hawkeyes lead the team race with 93 points after Monday night’s second session of competition. Iowa State is in second place with 82.5.
The Hawkeyes won seven of their 10 quarterfinals matches. Junior Brent Metcalf (149) scored a 21-9 major decision over Northern Iowa’s Charlie Ettelson in his quarterfinals match, while senior Alex Tsirtsis (141) and juniors Daniel Dennis (133), Ryan Morningstar (165), Jay Borschel (174), Phillip Keddy (184) and Dan Erekson (Hwt.) all advanced to the semifinals with decisions. Tsirtsis picked up his 80th career win in the quarterfinals, while Morningstar scored his 60th and Borschel slotted his 45th. Metcalf extended his winning streak to 45 matches, while Borschel has won his last 15, Keddy has won his last 12 and Tsirtsis has won his last 11 bouts.
Iowa has the higher-seeded wrestler in four semifinal matches. Second-seeded Tsirtsis will face unseeded Tony D’Alie of Central Michigan at 141, #1 Metcalf will face #5 Steve Brown of Central Michigan at 149, #1 Borschel will face #5 Mike Miller of Central Michigan at 174 and #2 Keddy will face #3 Louis Caputo over Harvard at 184. Tsirtsis beat D’Alie (6-3) in the second round of last year’s Midlands tournament. Metcalf and Borschel are both 1-0 against their Chippewa opponents, recording decisions with the two teams met at the Journeymen Duals in November. Keddy is 1-1 against Caputo, winning their most recent meeting at the NWCA All-Star Dual (3-2) in November.
In Iowa’s other three semifinals, #4 Dennis will face #1 Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois at 133, #3 Morningstar will face #2 Nick Marable of Missouri at 165 and #8 Erekson will wrestle #5 Zach Sheaffer of Pittsburgh at heavyweight. Morningstar won his only meeting with Marable (3-2) at the 2005 Northern Iowa Open. It will be the first meeting for both Dennis and Erekson.
Hawkeye senior Charlie Falck, who was the top seed at 125, sustained a leg injury during his quarterfinal match with Clarion’s Jay Ivanco and was forced to forfeit the bout. Redshirt freshman Montell Marion lost a 6-1 decision to Kennedy in a 133-pound quarterfinal, and junior Dan LeClere lost a 4-3 decision to D’Alie at 141. Falck, Marion and LeClere will join sophomore Jake Kerr (165) and true freshman Matt McDonough (133) in the consolation bracket.
Tuesday’s semifinals and consolation matches are set to start at noon at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Fans can listen to AM-800 KXIC’s Steven Grace call the action through the XXL All-Access audio broadcast on www.hawkeyesports.com.
The championships finals and placing matches will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday night. Fans can watch the finals live on the Big Ten Network, and listen live on AM-800 KXIC or www.hawkeyesports.com. Updated team standings and brackets are available throughout the tournament at www.nusports.com.
MIDLANDS TOP 10 TEAM STANDINGS – AFTER SESSION II
Place Team – Points
1. Iowa – 93
2. Iowa State – 82.5
3. Missouri – 73.5
4. Central Michigan – 64.5
5. Wisconsin – 64
6. Northwestern – 60.5
7. Purdue – 49
8. Maryland – 42
9. American – 36
9. Illinois – 36
9. Pittsburgh – 36
IOWA’S MIDLANDS QUARTERFINALS RESULTS (# indicates tournament seed)
125 – Jay Ivanco (Clarion) won by medical forfeit over #1 Charlie Falck (Iowa)
133 – #4 Daniel Dennis (Iowa) dec. #5 Conor Beebe (C. Michigan), 7-4
133 – #1 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois) dec. Montell Marion (Iowa-Unattached), 6-1
141 – #2 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa) dec. Chris Drouin (Arizona St.), 2-1
141 – Tony D’Alie (C. Michigan-Unattached) dec. #6 Dan LeClere (Iowa), 4-3
149 – #1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) maj. dec. #8 Charlie Ettelson (N. Iowa), 21-9
165 – #3 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) dec. Seth Garvin (Tennessee-Chattanooga), 9-3
174 – #1 Jay Borschel (Iowa) dec. Nick Corpe (Purdue), 7-2
184 – #2 Phillip Keddy (Iowa) dec. Jordan Blanton (Illinois), 8-3
Hwt. – #8 Dan Erekson (Iowa) dec. Dom Bradley (Missouri-Unattached), 6-0
IOWA’S MIDLANDS CONSOLATION RESULTS
133 – Matt McDonough (Iowa-Unattached) dec. Naveed Bagheri (San Francisco St.), 7-4
133 – Matt McDonough (Iowa-Unattached) dec. Josh Baldridge (N. Iowa), 5-2
141 – Jordan Lipp (American) dec. Mark Ballweg (Iowa-Unattached), 5-3
157 – Bryan Duetsch (N. Illinois) dec. Matt Ballweg (Iowa-Unattached), 13-11
157 – Nick LeClere (Iowa-Unattached) dec. Josh Moulton (E. Michigan), 11-9 TB-1
157 – Tyler Grayson maj. dec. Nick LeClere (Iowa-Unattached), 10-2
165 – Jake Kerr (Iowa-Unattached) dec. Robbie Micheals (Cleveland St.), 14-10
165 – Jake Kerr (Iowa-Unattached) dec. Andrew Sorenson (Iowa St.-Unattached), 3-2
184 – Brad Diechkhaus (N. Illinois) pinned Grant Gambrall (Iowa-Unattached), 3:50
197 – Chad Hanke (Oregon St.) maj. dec. Rick Loera (Iowa-Unattached), 15-4
197 – Brodie Ambrose (Iowa-Unattached) dec. John Schoen (Northwestern), 3-2
197 – Lamar Brown (Rutgers-Unattached) dec. Brodie Ambrose (Iowa-Unattached), 5-3
Midlands Day One Team Standings in PDF Format 
Midlands Complete Day One Brackets in PDF Format
