Wiltz

#1 Iowa Obliterates Midlands Field

By Jon Miller
Publisher
Posted Dec 30, 2007


Iowa beat Iowa State in a December dual meet last season, but ISU went on to score nearly 155 points to win the 44th Midlands Invitational. Iowa finished second last year, 47.5 back of ISU. ISU went on to finish #2 at nationals, Iowa a disappointing 8th. This year, Iowa beat ISU in their dual meet and finished 46 points ahead of ISU to capture the Midlands team title with 185 points.

Iowa finished 46 points ahead of runner up Iowa State, nearly identical to Iowa State's 47.5 margin of victory in last year's Midlands.
Eight of Iowa's 10 point-scoring wrestlers either wrestled to or above their seed. Matt Fields, who was seeded 4th and finished 8th, did not.

Here is a list of the final individual results. Many more updates are on the way...

#3 Charlie Falck finishes in 3rd place at 125

#3 Joe Slaton wins the title at 133

#5 Dan LeClere wins the title at 141

#1 Alex Tsirtsis (unattached) finishes in 3rd place at 141

#2 Brent Metcalf wins the title at 149

#5 Ryan Morningstar finishes in 5th place at 157

#2 Mark Perry wins the title at 165

#6 Jay Borschel finishes 2nd at 174

NR Phil Keddy finishes in 4th place at 184

#4 Matt Fields finishes in 8th place at 285.

#2 Mike Faust (unattached) finishes 2nd at 285.

1 185.0 Iowa
2 139.0 Iowa State
3 117.5 Central Michigan
4 100.0 Illinois
5 89.5 Northwestern University
6 79.5 Pittsburgh
7 78.5 Tennesse-Chattanooga
8 74.5 Indiana
9 58.0 Purdue

Art Kraft Champion of Champions: 165 Mark Perry (Iowa)
Dan Gable Outstanding Wrestler: 165 Mark Perry (Iowa)
High Point: 165 Mark Perry (Iowa) 30
Fastest Fall: 165 Jesse Linczmaier (Northern Illinois) 30 seconds
Most Falls / Least Time: 165 Mark Perry (Iowa) 4 / 8:10

Here is the release from Iowa Sports Information:

EVANSTON, IL -- The University of Iowa wrestling team crowned four individual champions en route to winning the 2007 Midlands team title Sunday night in Evanston, IL. The Hawkeyes won their 19th team title in school history and their first since 2002. Iowa scored 185 points to win the 45th annual tournament. Defending team champion Iowa State placed second with 139.

The Hawkeyes went four-for-five in the finals with junior Mark Perry (165) and sophomores Joe Slaton (133), Dan LeClere (141) and Brent Metcalf (149) each winning individual titles. It was Perry's second career title and his fourth appearance in the finals. It was the first title for Slaton, LeClere and Metcalf.

Slaton set the tone for Iowa in the finals with a 6-2 upset over top seed Franklin Gomez of Indiana to remain undefeated at 12-0. LeClere followed with a narrow 5-4 upset over second seed Zack Bailey of Oklahoma. Metcalf won Iowa's third straight title, racking up third-period points to beat fifth seed Jake Patascil of Purdue by an 18-5 major decision. Perry made Iowa four-for-four in the finals with his 8-0 major decision over fifth seed Jonathan Reader of Iowa State. Perry led the tournament field with four pins in a total time of 8:10. Sophomore Jay Borschel wrestled above his sixth seed, but could not pull the upset over top seed Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh and lost Iowa's final championship match, 13-4.

Also placing for the Hawkeyes were seniors Alex Tsirtsis (141-3rd) and Matt Fields (Hwt.-8th), junior Charlie Falck (125-3rd), and sophomores Phillip Keddy (184-4th) and Ryan Morningstar (157-5th). Tsirtsis was wrestling as an unattached Hawkeye.

Top-ranked Iowa (7-0) will return to Iowa City to host fifth-ranked Oklahoma State (5-1) Saturday at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The UI Athletics Ticket Office has already sold almost 7,000 tickets for the dual meet and encourages fans to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets purchased in advance are $8 for adults and $4 for youth. Prices increase to $10 for adults and $5 for youth on match night. Tickets can be purchased online at www.hawkeyesports.com, over the telephone at 1-800 IA-HAWKS, and at the UI Athletics Ticket Office in Carver-Hawkeye. The ticket office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, but will be closed on New Year’s Day.



MIDLANDS TOP 10 FINAL TEAM STANDINGS



1. Iowa 185

2. Iowa State 139

3. Central Michigan 117.5

4. Illinois 100

5. Northwestern 89.5

6. Pittsburgh 79.5

7. Tennessee-Chattanooga 78.5

8. Indiana 74.5

9. Purdue 58

10. Northern Illinois 50





IOWA'S MIDLANDS FINALS RESULTS

133 - #3 Joe Slaton (Iowa) dec. #1 Franklin Gomez (Indiana), 6-2

141 - #5 Dan LeClere (Iowa) dec. #2 Zack Bailey (Oklahoma), 5-4

149 - #2 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) maj. dec. #5 Jake Patascil (Purdue), 18-5

165 - #2 Mark Perry (Iowa) maj. dec. #5 Jonathan Reader (Iowa St.), 8-0

174 - #1 Keith Gavin (Pittsburgh) maj. dec. #6 Jay Borschel (Iowa), 13-4



IOWA'S MIDLANDS THIRD PLACE RESULTS

125 - #3 Charlie Falck (Iowa) dec. #8 Ben VomBaur (Wyoming), 4-2

141 - #1 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa) maj. dec. Cody Cleveland (Tennessee-Chattanooga), 12-1

184 - #3 Christian Sinnott (C. Michigan) dec. Phillip Keddy (Iowa), 5-3



IOWA'S FIFTH PLACE MATCH RESULTS

157 - #5 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) dec. Jason Welch (Unattached), 9-4

__________________
"He quits, not because he wants to, but because he has to. He has no choice.
" -Tom Brands 01/20/08

gg121and2

"Obliterates" - has a nice sound to it.

goferphan

Hard to argue with that statement...I would tell you that Minnesota obliterated the field at Scuffle but I don't think Scuffle was nearly as hard as Midlands...

That being said, we ruled the Scuffle Tourney without Kish in the line-up and without a Championship from Dustin.

If we can get someone at 197 to start wrestling like they want the spot, I see us pulling it together for a strong run at National Duals but I would still have to give the nod to Iowa and Iowa State right now at National Duals with the edge obviously to Iowa.

__________________
" Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. "

Trusty

After watching the finals last night, I can tell ya Brands has his boys wrestling like the IOWA of old! Very impressive and fun to watch.

Wiltz

Slaton has been the biggest suprise of the season so far. That kid is tougher than shoe leather.

__________________
"He quits, not because he wants to, but because he has to. He has no choice.
" -Tom Brands 01/20/08

gg121and2

Wiltz - isn't he starting to remind you a little of Ironside when Mark was a sophomore, both physically and in his style?

Cyclone85

I agree, and I might add LeClere as well.

I think Iowa will destroy OSU when they meet. I will be surprised if Iowa loses a dual meet this year.

Wiltz

LeClere has defintely stepped it up. Slaton is just a force though that kid is intense out on the mat.

__________________
"He quits, not because he wants to, but because he has to. He has no choice.
" -Tom Brands 01/20/08

Wiltz

Must be a Cedar Rapids thing they are real similar. Joe could be one of my favorite wrestlers going forward.

__________________
"He quits, not because he wants to, but because he has to. He has no choice.
" -Tom Brands 01/20/08

therick

I gotta say that I'm enjoying watching a top team that actually goes out and takes it to the opposition instead of these stall fests we've been subjected to the last few years. Up tempo, pound on the head, shoot to score (not just to keep from getting dinged for stalling).

Can't say I like Iowa as an Ohio State guy, but I do respect what Brands has done there. I hope coach Ryan will bring the same "Iowa" style to the Bucks.