Dec. 29, 2013
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EVANSTON, Ill. — The University of Iowa wrestling team sits in first place with 46 points after the opening session of the 2013 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. The Hawkeyes were a combined 27-6 through the first three rounds and advanced 11 wrestlers, including all 10 scoring competitors, to the quarterfinals.
Edinboro is in second place with 34.5 points. Illinois (31), Michigan (29) and Wisconsin (28.5) round out the top five. No other school has more than six wrestlers in the quarterfinals.
Iowa has four top-seeded wrestlers. Derek St. John (157), Mike Evans (174), Ethen Lofthouse (184) and Bobby Telford (285) were a combined 9-0 with three major decisions and two pins.
Second-seeded Tony Ramos (133) scored a major decision and a technical fall, and second-seeded Nick Moore (165) recorded two major decisions.
Iowa has two point-scorers at 125 pounds. No. 3 Cory Clark pinned both opponents en route to the quarterfinals, and No. 4 Thomas Gilman earned a major decision in his only match.
Seventh-seeded Josh Dziewa (141) used 8-4 and 5-2 decisions to advance to the quarters, while Sammy Brooks (184) advanced with a major decision and a forfeit.
Nathan Burak, competing unattached at 197 pounds, earned a pair of wins in his season debut. Burak scored a 13-3 major decision in the opening round and advanced to the quarterfinals with an 8-3 win.
Iowa has three wrestlers still alive in the 149-pound consolation bracket. Brody Grothus, Brandon Sorensen, and seventh-seeded Michael Kelly each won their opening match before dropping to the consolation bracket following second-round losses. Sorensen, who was 1-1 in two overtime bouts, is competing unattached.
Alex Meyer lost in sudden victory, 7-5, to No. 2 Hayden Zillmer in the opening round, but is still alive in the 174-pound consolation bracket following a pair of wins. Walt Gillmor (165) lost his only two matches and was eliminated from the tournament.
Session II of the Midlands Championships begins at 7 p.m. (CT) tonight. Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will call the action live from Welsh-Ryan Arena on AM-800 KXIC and at hawkeyesports.com via Hawkeye All-Access. Updated team standings and complete tournament brackets are available throughout the tournament at nusports.com.