Gilman Leads 7 Hawkeyes to Finals

Dec. 30, 2013

Midlands Session III

EVANSTON, Ill. — Redshirt freshman Thomas Gilman turned defending NCAA champion Jesse Delgado in the third period to upset the top seed, 3-1, and advance to the finals of the 125-pound bracket at the 51st Midlands Championships on Monday afternoon.

Gilman was one of seven Hawkeyes to advance past the semifinals. Iowa’s seven finalists mark its highest total since advancing eight to the Midlands finals in 1991.

Tony Ramos (133), Ethen Lofthouse (184) and Bobby Telford (285) will each make their second Midlands finals appearance following semifinal wins. Ramos blanked Missouri’s Alan Waters, 5-0; Lofthouse cruised to an 8-2 win over fifth-seeded Ophir Bernstein; and Telford used a late takedown to defeat fourth-seeded J.T. Felix, 4-2. All three Hawkeyes are searching for their first Midlands title after placing runner-up in 2011.

Mike Evans scored bonus points for the fourth time in five matches to reach the 174-pound finals. Evans recorded a 10-1 major decision over No. 12 Zach Epperly in the semis. He has two falls and a pair of majors this weekend.

Derek St. John needed overtime to defeat Wisconsin’s fourth-seeded Isaac Jordan at 157 pounds. St. John evened the match 3-3 with a late takedown in the third period, and advanced to his first Midlands finals with a takedown in the first sudden victory period.

Second-seeded Nick Moore scored the final three points of his match to defeat No. 3 Taylor Massa, 4-3, and advance to the 165-pound finals.

Iowa has four wrestlers competing for third place, including an all-Iowa consolation finals at 149. Brody Grothus upset top-seeded Jason Tsirtsis, 3-2, and Brandon Sorensen strung together three straight wins to advance to the third-place match. Josh Dziewa will wrestle for third place at 141, and Nathan Burak is in the consolation finals at 197.

Alex Meyer was 2-1 today in the consolation bracket and placed seventh overall at 174.

The Hawkeyes have 172.5 team points and have clinched their 23rd Midlands team championship. Iowa has won more team titles than any other school in the 51-year history of the Midlands Championships.

Iowa leads second-place Edinboro by 80 points. The Fighting Scots have 92.5 points. Illinois (82), Michigan (77), and Northern Iowa (62.5) round out the top five.

The Hawkeyes are 12.5 points shy of matching their tournament record 185 points, set in 2007. The largest margin of victory in tournament history is 84.75, set by Iowa in 1980.

Session IV of the Midlands Championships begins at 8 p.m. (CT) tonight. The finals will air live on BTN. 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.

SEMIFINAL RESULTS (# indicates tournament seed)
125 – #2 Jarrod Garnett (Bison WC) dec. #3 Cory Clark (IA), 10-8
125 – #4 Thomas Gilman (IA) dec. #1 Jesse Delgado (Illinois), 3-1
133 – #3 Tony Ramos (IA) dec. #6 Alan Waters (Missouri), 5-0
141 – Steven Rodriguez (Illinois) dec. #7 Josh Dziewa (IA), 4-3
157 – #1 Derek St. John (IA) dec. #4 Isaac Jordan (Wis), 5-3 (SV)
165 – #2 Nick Moore (IA) dec. #3 Taylor Massa (Michigan), 4-3
174 – #1 Mike Evans (IA) major dec. #12 Zach Epperly (VT), 10-1
184 – #1 Ethen Lofthouse (IA) dec. #5 Ophir Bernstein (Brown), 8-2
197 – #2 Christian Boley (Maryland) dec. #3 Nathan Burak (IA), 3-2
285 – #1 Bobby Telford (IA) dec. #4 JT Felix (Boise St), 4-2

CONSOLATION RESULTS
125 – #3 Cory Clark (IA) forfeited to fifth place match
141 – #7 Josh Dziewa (IA) dec. #9 Ethan Raley (Indiana), 11-9 (SV)
149 – Brody Grothus (IA) pinned #3 David Habat (Edinboro), 1:38
149 – Brody Grothus (IA) dec. Rylan Lubeck (Wis), 8-4
149 – Brody Grothus (IA) dec. #1 Jason Tsirtsis (NU), 3-2
149 – Brandon Sorensen (IA) dec. #4 Zach Neibert (VT), 7-6
149 – Brandon Sorensen (IA) major dec. Chad Walsh (Rider), 13-3
149 – Brandon Sorensen (IA) dec. #10 Blake Ruolo (George Mason), 10-3
174 – Alex Meyer (IA) dec. #3 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh), 5-3 (SV)
174 – #2 Hayden Zilmer (NDSU) dec. Alex Meyer (IA), 7-2
174 – Alex Meyer (IA) pinned. Monte Schmalhaus (Utah Valley), 2:54
184 – #7 Sammy Brooks (IA) dec. Rick Robertson (Wis), 11-4
184 – #7 Sammy Brooks (IA) dec. #12 Kurt Julson (NDSU), 2-1 (TB1)
184 – #5 Ophir Berstein (Brown) dec. #7 Sammy Brooks (IA), 10-8
197 – #3 Nathan Burak (IA) dec. #5 Alex Polizzi (NU), 5-3

FINALS MATCHUPS
125 – #4 Thomas Gilman (IA) vs. #2 Jarrod Garnett (Bison WC)
133 – #3 Tony Ramos (IA) vs. #4 Joe Colon (UNI)
157 – #1 Derek St. John (IA) vs. #3 Taylor Walsh (Indiana)
165 – #2 Nick Moore (IA) vs. #1 Steven Monk (NDSU)
174 – #1 Mike Evans (IA) vs. Shane Hughes (Columbia)
184 – #1 Ethen Lofthouse (IA) vs. #2 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland)
285 – #1 Bobby Telford (IA) vs. #3 Adam Coon (Michigan)