Wrestling: Midlands Pre-Seeds Top-Heavy with Hawkeyes

The 52nd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships gets underway today (December 29, 2014) on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, IL. Iowa Senior Mike Evans and junior Nathan Burak were ranked No. 1 at their respective weights when the 52nd annual Midlands Championships pre-seeds where announced last week. Iowa is represented in all 10 weight classes, and has two wrestlers pre-seeded at 149 and 157, and three at 174 pounds.

Evans, the defending champion at 174, is the top pre-seed for the second straight year. Burak placed third last season at 197. He is wrestling unattached this year.

Thomas Gilman, the defending Midlands champion at 125, is the No. 2 seed behind Illinois’ Jesse Delgado, the two-time defending NCAA champion. Cory Clark is seeded second at 133, and Bobby Telford, a Midlands runner-up in 2011 and 2013, is the No. 2 seed at 285.

Iowa has a top-five seed at every weight class. Brody Grothus (149), Nick Moore (165), and Sammy Brooks (184) are seeded third at their respective weights. Josh Dziewa is seeded fourth at 141, and Michael Kelly is fifth at 157.

Brandon Sorensen placed third last season and is seeded No. 8 at 149. Edwin Cooper is the No. 9 seed at 157, and Alex Meyer, a seventh-place finisher in 2013, is seeded sixth at 174. Freshman Burke Paddock is the No. 9 seed at 174.

Northwestern head coach Drew Pariano and tournament director Tim Cysewski announced the pre-seeds. The list is subject to change before final brackets are released Dec. 28. Northwestern hosts the annual event inside Welsh Ryan Arena on Dec. 29-30.

52nd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships (pre-seeds)

125

• 1 Jesse Delgado, Illinois
• 2. Thomas Gilman, Iowa
• 3. Joey Dance, Virginia Tech
• 4. Darian Cruz, Lehigh (Unattached)
• 5. Josh Martinez, Air Force
• 6. Josh Rodriguez, North Dakota State
• 7. Brandon Jeske, Old Dominion
• 8. Kory Mines, Edinboro
• 9. Shayne Wireman, Eastern Michigan
• 10. Barlow McGee, Missouri (Unattached)
• 11. Stevan Micic, Northwestern (Unattached)
• 12. Ryak Finch, Grand View
• Lucas Malmberg, Messiah College

133

• 1. AJ Schopp, Edinboro
• 2. Cory Clark, Iowa
• 3. Jarrod Garnett, Lehigh Valley Athletic Club
• 4. Mason Beckman, Lehigh
• 5. Zane Richards, Illinois
• 6. Geoffrey Alexander, Maryland
• 7. Ryan Taylor, Wisconsin
• 8. Danny Sabatello, Purdue
• 9. Kevin Norstrem, Virginia Tech
• 10. Robert Deutsch, Rider
• 11. Caleb Richardson, Penn
• 12. Ian Nickell, CSU Bakersfield
• Tyler Clark (Unattached)
• Dominick Malone, Northwestern
• Josh Alber, Northern Iowa (Unattached)

141

• 1. Mitchell Port, Edinboro
• 2. Devin Carter, Virginia Tech
• 3. Richard Durso, Franklin & Marshall (Unattached)
• 4. Josh Dziewa, Iowa
• 5. Chris Mecate, Old Dominion
• 6. Todd Preston, Harvard
• 7. Shyheim Brown, Maryland
• 8. Mitch Bengsten, North Dakota State
• 9. Stephen Rodriquez, Illinois
• 10. Alex Kocer, South Dakota State
• 11. Joey McKenna, Lehigh Valley Athletic Club
• 12. Brandon Wright, Grand View
• Jesse Thielke, Wisconsin
• Nick Lawrence, Purdue
• Jordan Laster, Princeton
• Chuck Zeisloft, Rider
• Jameson Oster, Northwestern
• Alfred Bannister, Maryland

149

• 1. Jason Tsirtsis, Northwestern
• 2. David Habat, Edinboro
• 3. Brody Grothus, Iowa
• 4. Lenny Richardson, Old Dominion
• 5. Adam Krop, Princeton
• 6. CJ Cobb, Penn
• 7. BJ Clagon, Rider
• 8. Brandon Sorensen, Iowa
• 9. Laike Gardner, Lehigh (Unattached)
• 10. Ryan Lubeck, Wisconsin
• 11. Sal Mastriani, Virginia Tech
• 12. Kyle Langenderfer, Illinois
• Kevin Birmingham, Davidson
• Nick Barber, Eastern Michigan
• Gustavo Martinez, Grand View

157

• 1. Isaiah Martinez, Illinois
• 2. Cody Pack, South Dakota State
• 3. Markus Scheidel, Columbia
• 4. Justin Staudenmayer, Brown
• 5. Michael Kelly, Iowa
• 6. Chad Welsh, Rider
• 7. Brandon Zeerip, Eastern Michigan
• 8. Doug Welch, Purdue
• 9. Edwin Cooper, Iowa
• 10. Andrew Morse, Northern Illinois
• 11/12. TBD based on entries

165

• 1. Isaac Jordan, Wisconsin
• 2. Taylor Walsh, Indiana
• 3. Nick Moore, Iowa
• 4. Pierce Harger, Northwestern
• 5. Jackson Morse, Illinois
• 6. Nestor Taffur (Unattached)
• 7. Tristan Warner, Old Dominion
• 8. Adam Fierro, CSU Bakersfield
• 9. Jesse Stafford, Air Force
• 10. Jon Schleifer, Princeton
• 11. Connor Brennan, Rider
• 12. Pat Robinson, Purdue
• Pat Smith, Minnesota
• Connor McMahon, SIU-Edwardsville

174

• 1. Mike Evans, Iowa
• 2. Zac Brunson, Illinois
• 3. Zach Epperly, Virginia Tech
• 4. Bryce Hammond, CSU Bakersfield
• 5. Kurtis Julson, North Dakota State
• 6. Alex Meyer, Iowa
• 7. Brock Gutches, Southern Oregon
• 8. Nate Jackson, Indiana
• 9. Burke Paddock, Iowa
• 10. John Sebastian, Northwestern (Unattached)
• 11. Chad Welch, Purdue
• 12. Connor Lefever, Wabash

184

• 1. Lorenzo Thomas, Penn
• 2. Jack Dechow, Old Dominion
• 3. Sammy Brooks, Iowa
• 4. Hayden Zillmer, North Dakota State
• 5. Ophir Bernstein, Brown
• 6. Vic Avery, Edinboro
• 7. Nikko Reyes, Illinois
• 8. Ricky Robertson, Wisconsin
• 9. Austin Gabel, Virginia Tech
• 10. Clint Morrison, Rider
• 11. Brett Harner, Princeton
• 12. Zach Hernandez, Columbia
• Patrick Kissel, Purdue
• Riley Lefever, Wabash

197

• 1. Nathan Burak, Iowa (Unattached)
• 2. Alex Polizzi, Northwestern
• 3. Abram Ayala, Princeton
• 4. Braden Atwood, Purdue
• 5. Nathan Rotert, South Dakota State
• 6. Timmy McCall, Wisconin
• 7. Joe Rau, Minnesota Storm
• 8. Jared Haught, Virginia Tech
• 9. Lucas Sheridan, Indiana
• 10. James Fox, Harvard
• 11. Vince Pickett, Edinboro
• 12. Shawn Scott, Northern Illinois
• Kevin Beazley, Old Dominion
• Anthony Abro, Eastern Michigan
• Shane Siefert, UW Whitewater
• Frank Mattiace, Penn (Unattached)

Canaan Bethea, Penn

285

• 1. Mike McMullan, Northwestern
• 2. Bobby Telford, Iowa
• 3. Connor Medbery, Wisconsin
• 4. Ty Walz, Virginia Tech
• 5. Evan Knutson, North Dakota State
• 6. Tyler Deuel, Binghamton
• 7. Jacob Henderson, Old Dominion
• 8. J.J. Everard, South Dakota State
• 9. Ray O'Donnell, Princeton
• 10. David Ng, Harvard
• 11. Garrett Ryan, Columbia
• 12. Brooks Black, Illinois
• Marcus Malechek, Air Force