ISU Second After First Midlands Session

EVANSTON, Ill. ? The No. 2 ISU wrestling team started out strong in the 46th annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill. at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the campus of Northwestern University. Nine Cyclones advanced to the quarterfinal round Monday afternoon and Iowa State sits in second place with 38.5 points, behind Iowa's 43.

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“We did some good things today and we are still in the hunt,” Iowa State head coach Cael Sanderson said. “There were times today that I thought we could have been a little more aggressive but this is all a learning environment for March. That is why we are here.”

Cyclone Jake Varner, the top-ranked 197-pounder in the country and the No. 1 seed, opened the tournament with a pin against Northwestern's John Schoen in 2:35. The fall marked Varner's seventh win of that nature this season. Varner didn't wrestle outside of the first period in the opening session with his stick of Iowa's Rick Loera (2:58) in the following round.

ISU's No. 2 seed Cyler Sanderson did not disappoint on his way to reeling off three straight victories to stay in the championship bracket for tonight's second session. Sanderson won by decision against Bubby Graham of American 8-3 in pigtails to start the morning. Sanderson scored bonus points for the Cyclones with a 16-3 major decision of Old Dominion's Dan Rivera. Central Michigan's Tyler Grayson couldn't catch up to Sanderson in a close ISU decision (3-2) in the following match.

Redshirt freshman Jerome Ward advanced to the quarterfinals in his first taste of Midlands action. Ward decisioned Brad Diechkhouse of Northern Illinois 4-0 and used overtime to beat Oregon State's Brice Arand, 2-1 (TB1). Ward hails from the nearby Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park, Ill.

Fellow Chicago area native Nick Fanthorpe, from Naperville, Ill. won his only match of the session, taking an 18-6 major decision over Northwestern's Bobby Joyce.

Iowa State's Mitch Mueller (149) and Jon Reader (165) have been chipping in bonus points for the ISU squad. Mueller has recorded a major decision and Reader tallied a pin. Both also have two decisions to their credit after the first session.
Sophomore Tyler Clark, the fourth seed at 125-pounds, earned his way to the quarterfinal round by pinning Josh Langel (Rutgers-Unatt.) and gutting out a close victory against Brendan Byme of Maryland, 3-2.

Seven Cyclones are capable of scoring team points in the championship bracket heading into the second session. Nick Gallick (141), Duke Burk (174) and Dave Zabriskie (HWT) are looking to score points on the consolation side.

The Cyclones designated its team 10 point- scorers for the Midlands Championships. These ISU wrestlers are: Clark (125), Fanthorpe (133), Gallick (141), Mueller (149), Sanderson (157), Reader (165), Burk (174), Ward (184), Varner (197) and Zabriskie (HWT).

Two non-scoring Cyclones provided a glimpse of the future for ISU fans.

Redshirt freshman Kyle Simonson took the unseeded route to the quarterfinals and knocked off the seventh-seeded wrestler in the process. Simonson beat Illinois's Patrick Bond 3-1 in the round of 16 to gain advancement to the next championship round.

With two victories, redshirt freshman Dalton Jensen finds himself in the field of 16. Jensen's two victories have come in dominating fashion, both by fall. He pinned American's Matt Mariacher in 3:55 and stuck Trevor Melde (Rutgers-Unatt.) in 4:45.

ISU wrestlers Andrew Long (125), Laramie Shaffer (133) and Eric Thompson (HWT) are wrestling unattached and all remain alive in competition.

Tonight's session begins at 7 p.m. and will feature one round of competition in the championship bracket and three rounds of consolation action.

Players Mentioned

Duke Burk

Tyler Clark

Tyler Clark

Nick Fanthorpe

Nick Fanthorpe

Nick Gallick

Nick Gallick

Dalton Jensen

Dalton Jensen

Andrew Long

Mitch Mueller

Mitch Mueller

Cyler Sanderson

Cyler Sanderson

Laramie Shaffer

Kyle Simonson

Kyle Simonson

Eric Thompson

Jake Varner

Jake Varner

Jerome Ward

Jerome Ward

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