Hawkeyes Lead Team Standings After Midlands First Day

Dec. 29, 2009

EVANSTON, IL — The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team remains in the lead after Tuesday’s first day of competition at the 47th annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, IL. Eight of Iowa’s nine quarterfinalists advanced to the semifinals, and seven others are still alive in the consolation bracket. The Hawkeyes lead the team race with 100 points. Iowa State is in second place with 92.5 and Missouri is in a distant third with 73.5.

Iowa went 22-4 during Tuesday night’s second session. Advancing to Wednesday’s semifinals are redshirt freshmen Matt McDonough (#3 seed at 125) and Nate Moore (unseeded at 133), and seniors Joe Slaton (#4 seed at 141), Brent Metcalf (#1 seed at 149), Ryan Morningstar (#3 seed at 165), Jay Borschel (#1 seed at 174), Phillip Keddy (#3 seed at 184) and Chad Beatty (#5 seed at 197).

McDonough scored an 8-3 decision over #6 seed Ben Kjar of Utah Valley to remain undefeated at 13-0 this season. He will face #2 seed Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech in the semifinals. Moore continued his string of upsets with a 3-2 win over #7 seed Matt Fisk of Lehigh. He will face #3 seed Steve Bell of Maryland in the semifinals. Slaton, who is competing unattached, posted a 9-6 win over #5 seed Tyler Nauman of Pittsburgh Tuesday night, and will face #1 seed Jimmy Kennedy, who is also competing unattached, on Wednesday. Metcalf recorded his 85th career win with a 12-3 major decision over Michigan State’s David Cheza. The two-time Midlands champion will put his 13-0 season record on the line when he faces unseeded Eric Albright of Pittsburgh in the semifinals.

Morningstar, Borschel, Keddy and Beatty all recorded quarterfinal decisions, and Morningstar, Borschel and Beatty will all face Iowa State opponents in their semifinal bouts. Those match-ups could be crucial to the team race. Morningstar will face #2 seed Jon Reader, Borschel will face #5 Duke Burk and Beatty will wrestle #1 seed Jake Varner. In their careers, Morningstar is 3-1 against Reader, Borschel is 3-0 against Burk and Beatty is 0-1 against Varner. Keddy will face #2 seed Mike Cannon in the semifinals.

Still alive in the consolation bracket are senior Dan LeClere (#2 seed at 141), junior Jake Kerr (#10 seed at 157), sophomores J.J. Krutsinger (125) and Montell Marion (#9 seed at 141), redshirt freshman Grant Gambrall (184) and true freshmen Derek St. John (157) and Ethen Lofthouse (174).

Wednesday’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 and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion Mark Ironside 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. Wednesday. Fans can listen live on AM-800 KXIC or www.hawkeyesports.com. The Big Ten Network will air Wednesday’s finals Sunday at 7 p.m. (CT). Updated team standings and brackets are available throughout the tournament at www.nusports.com.

MIDLANDS TOP 10 TEAM STANDINGS – AFTER SESSION TWO
Place Team – Points
1. Iowa – 100.0
2. Iowa State – 92.5
3. Missouri – 73.5
4. Central Michigan – 68.0
5. Maryland – 51.5
6. Wisconsin – 49.0
7. Illinois – 43.0
8. Lehigh – 42.0
9. Pittsburgh – 41.5
10. American – 39.5

IOWA’S MIDLANDS SEMIFINAL MATCH-UPS (# indicates tournament seed)
125 – #3 Matt McDonough (Iowa) vs. #2 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech)
133 – Nate Moore (Iowa) vs. #3 Steve Bell (Maryland)
141 – #4 Joe Slaton (Iowa-Unattached) vs. #1 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois-Unattached)
149 – #1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) vs. Eric Albright (Pittsburgh)
165 -#3 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) vs. #2 Jon Reader (Iowa State)
174 – #1 Jay Borschel (Iowa) vs. #5 Duke Burk (Iowa State)
184 – #3 Phillip Keddy (Iowa) vs. #2 Mike Cannon (American)
197 – #5 Chad Beatty (Iowa) vs. #1 Jake Varner (Iowa State)

IOWA’S MIDLANDS QUARTERFINALS RESULTS (# indicates tournament seed)
125 – #3 Matt McDonough (Iowa) dec. #6 Ben Kjar (Utah Valley), 8-3
133 – Nate Moore (Iowa) dec. #7 Matt Fisk (Lehigh), 3-2
141 – #7 Ryan Prater (Illinois) dec. #2 Dan LeClere (Iowa), 6-0
141 – #4 Joe Slaton (Iowa-Unattached) dec. #5 Tyler Nauman (Pittsburgh), 9-6
149 – #1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) maj. dec. David Cheza (Michigan State), 12-3
165 – #3 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) dec. Mike Galante (Lehigh), 3-1 SV
174 – #1 Jay Borschel (Iowa) dec. #9 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh), 4-3
184 – #3 Phillip Keddy (Iowa) dec. Nick Palmieri (Michigan State), 8-3
197 – #5 Chad Beatty (Iowa) dec. Joe Kennedy (Lehigh), 3-2

IOWA’S MIDLANDS SESSION II CONSOLATION RESULTS (# indicates tournament seed)
125 – J.J. Krutsinger (Iowa) maj. dec. Trevor Deardon (Iowa State), 11-1
125 – J.J. Krutsinger (Iowa) dec. Caleb Flores (Northern Iowa), 8-2
141 – #9 Montell Marion (Iowa) dec. Cole Schmitt (Wisconsin), 7-4
141 – #9 Montell Marion (Iowa) tech. fall Luke Cherep (Missouri), 21-6
157 – #10 Jake Kerr (Iowa) dec. Brantley Hooks (Bucknell), 3-1
157 – #10 Jake Kerr (Iowa) dec. Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh), 10-4
157 – Derek St. John (Iowa-Unattached) won by medical forfeit over Trent Weatherman (Iowa State-Unattached)
157 – Derek St. John (Iowa-Unattached) dec. #8 Kyle John (Maryland), 7-2
157 – #8 Kyle John (Maryland) dec. Aaron Janssen (Iowa), 9-3
174 – Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa-Unattached) dec. Ben Jordan (Wisconsin-Unattached), 5-2
174 – Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa-Unattached) maj. dec. Sam Engelland (Wisconsin-Osh Kosh), 16-5
184 – Grant Gambrall (Iowa) maj. dec. #10 Josh Patterson (Binghamton), 14-5
184 – Grant Gambrall (Iowa) dec. Travis Rutt (Wisconsin), 3-2
197 – Luke Lofthouse (Iowa) dec. Dustin Bauman (Northern Iowa), 8-4
197 – Eric Simaz (Central Michigan) dec. Luke Lofthouse (Iowa), 2-1
Hwt. – Blake Rasing (Iowa) maj. dec. Jake Norman (Illinois), 9-0
Hwt. – Eric Thompson (Iowa State) pinned Blake Rasing (Iowa), 1:29

Complete 2009 Midlands Tournament Brackets After Session Two in PDF Format

2009 Midlands Team Standings After Session Two in PDF Format