"I thought overall we had a good tournament," Iowa State head coach Cael Sanderson said. "We won some big matches and lost some close ones. The important thing is we know what we have to do to get better and we will be working on those things."
In the 184-pound battle, both wrestlers exploded from the first whistle with Herbert getting in the first shot. Varner fended it off and both wrestlers moved back to the center of the mat where the pair went at it head-to-head exchanging offensive blows. Herbert again took a shot, but Varner's countered and slammed Herbert to the mat, nearly pinning him. The move happened so fast, however, no points were scored. Both wrestlers recorded escapes to start the second and third periods, evening the score at 1-1. They remained locked in the center as regulation time expired. In sudden victory, a 30-second period of action, Varner wasted no time going hard into Herbert as he was heading towards the edge of the mat and got the takedown with only his toes in bounds for the win.
"He is fun to wrestle," Varner said. "We have wrestled five times and he is strong and has good technique. I wasn't thinking about the NCAA match from last season. A win like this gives you confidence for the future. In overtime, he tried a hip toss and I countered it."
Varner, who placed third at the Midlands tournament a year ago, becomes the 38th ISU grappler to earn a Midlands title. During the course of the tournament, the All-American tallied three victories by pin, pushing his tally for the season to four. He carries a spotless 11-0 record this season.
The fifth-seeded Reader and second-seeded Mark Perry tangled for the first time, squaring off for the 165-pound title, with Perry scoring an 8-0 major decision over Reader. The Iowa wrestler struck with a takedown within the bout's first period for a 2-0 lead. Bypassing the opportunity to get on the board with an escape, Reader chose to start the second period from neutral, only to be taken down and have Perry find a way to score back points. Reader's redshirt freshman record stands at 15-2.
The fourth-seeded Fanthorpe placed third at 133 pounds with a 4-1 decision over second-seeded Jim Kennedy of Illinois. Neither wrestler was able to get a shot in on the other during the opening three minutes of action. Starting the second stanza from the down position, Kennedy scored first with an escape for a 1-0 advantage. In the third period, Fanthorpe was able to get an escape of his own and quickly struck with a single leg and wrapped it up for a takedown and a 3-1 lead. The sophomore hailing from nearby Naperville, Ill., rode Kennedy hard throughout the rest of the period to give him an added point. Fanthorpe pushes his season mark to 16-2.
"I would have liked to have been in the title match," Fanthorpe said. "This tournament gives you great experience. I wrestled some tough guys here and I will see some of them again this season. If I am able to take what I learned here and profit from it, it was all worth it."
Sanderson, the second-seeded grappler at 157 pounds, surged throughout the third-place bout against fourth-seeded Brian Cobb (Roadrunner WC) with an 8-6 decision. The Cyclone took less than 10 seconds to score the first takedown and took Cobb down again in the final minute of the opening period for a 4-2 lead going into the second period. Cobb took the lead on a takedown at the five-second mark in the second stanza. Ranked fourth nationally, Sanderson escaped and notched his third takedown and held on for riding time to clinch the win.
"I didn't wrestle as well as I wanted to, particularly in one match," Sanderson said. "I just want to get better. A loss shakes you up. Overall, it was an OK tournament."
Heavyweight David Zabriskie placed fourth for Iowa State, David Bertolino finished fifth at 197 pounds and Mitch Mueller notched a sixth-place finish at 149 pounds.
Iowa State will continue to compete on the road, traveling to Cedar Falls, Iowa, Jan. 12-13 to participate at the NWCA National Duals in the UNI-Dome. Wrestling action returns to Ames and Hilton Coliseum Jan. 18 as the Cyclones play host to Big 10 foe, Wisconsin at 7 p.m.
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