Three 2004 Midlands champions have returned to defend their titles -- Nick Simmons of Michigan State (125), Nate Gallick of Iowa State (141), and Jake Herbert of Northwestern (174). Mark Perry of Iowa won the 165-pound Midlands crown last December, but has moved up to wrestle at 174 pounds. All four cruised through their opening round matches to advance to tonight's quarterfinals.
Simmons, who placed fourth at the 2005 NCAA Championships, hardly broke a sweat in his opening round matches. He recorded a first period pin over Ben Hanisch of Iowa State and an 11-0 shutout over Matt Steintrager of Central Michigan. He will now face ninth-seeded James Thomas of Shippensburg in the quarterfinals.
"I felt a little tired for some reason," said Simmons. "I didn't get things going like I had hoped in the first two matches, but that's alright. Hopefully I can get things going in the third match, and then get ready for the semifinals and finals."
Simmons appears to be on a collision course to meet former Iowa standout Luke Eustice in the finals. Eustice, who is seeded second, won his first match by technical fall and his second by major decision. Simmons and Eustice are currently ranked third and fifth respectively at 121 kg in the latest TheMat.com U.S. Senior Freestyle Rankings.
"I definitely don't look too far ahead," said Simmons. "You never know who is going to be there anyways, either side of the bracket. I'm just going to take it one match at a time right now."
Gallick, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the country at 141, pinned Ryan Osgood of Northern Iowa and won by technical fall over Jeremy Doyle of Cal State Bakersfield to advance to the quarterfinals.
Herbert, wrestling in front of the home crowd, won his first match, 12-5, over Danny Burke of Northern Illinois. He then followed that up with a pin over Nick Corpe of Purdue at 2:23.
Four defending national champions from non-Division I schools are competing at this year's tournament -- each won their opening-round matches to advance to the quarterfinals. Dustin Hinschberger of Wartburg, the two-time defending Division III national champion at 141 pounds, won by scores 4-0 and 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals, where he'll face Gallick. Gallick defeated Hinshberger in overtime earlier this season in the Harold Nichols Open finals. The other wrestlers who advanced were Thad Benton of Pitt-Johnstown (141, DII), Ryan Allen of Wisconsin-La Crosse (Hwt, DIII), and Les Sigman of Nebraska-Omaha (Hwt, DII).
Biggest upset in Session I:
141: Eric Kruger (Central Michigan) decision over No. 3 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa), 4-3
Five intriguing quarterfinal match-ups:
1. No. 1 Nate Gallick (Iowa State) vs. No. 8 Dustin Hinshberger (Wartburg) at 141
2. No. 2 Kurt Backes (Iowa State) vs. Jason Lulloff (UW-La Crosse) at 184
3. No. 5 Ryan Allen (UW-La Crosse) vs. No. 4 Matt Fields (Iowa) at Hwt
4. No. 2 Joe Johnston (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Chris Bitetto (Northern Iowa) at 157
5. No. 3 Matt Palmer (Columbia) vs. No. 6 Donny Reynolds (Illinois) at 174
Team Standings (after Session I):
1. Illinois -- 31 points
2. Iowa State -- 29
3. Iowa -- 27
4. Northern Illinois -- 26.5
5. Central Michigan -- 26
6. Michigan State -- 25
7. Northwestern -- 23
8. Northern Iowa -- 22.5
9. Purdue -- 20.5
10. Cal State Bakersfield -- 18
Other notes:
In the 43-year history of the Midlands, there have been 101 wrestlers to win at least 20 Midlands matches in their careers. The most recent was Jon Trenge of Lehigh in 2004. The first to reach this milestone was the legendary Dan Gable, who accomplished the feat in 1969.
Seventy seven first-time entries have won an individual Midlands title. In 2004, two competitors accomplished this feat: Mark Perry (Iowa) and Jake Herbert (Northwestern). Both wrestlers are competing at 174 pounds and could meet in the finals.
A new award has been added this year to honor individual performance. The "High Point Individual Scorer" trophy will go to that wrestler who scores the most team points.
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