#Midlands54 Top Contenders List Announced

By Northwestern Athletics

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern wrestling and the Midlands Championships committee have announced the list of top contenders for the 54th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.

The two-day event will be held Dec. 29-30 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

71 ranked wrestlers will take to the mats at the Midlands. 38 competitors are ranked in the top-10 at their respective weight classes. The 184 lbs. class looks to be the most high profile with 10 ranked wrestlers, seven of which are in the top-12.

Tickets to the event are available now online at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE. Fans are encouraged to join the conversation via social media by using the hashtag #Midlands54.

The list of contenders is in alphabetical order and is not reflective of seeding. Official brackets will be released the week of the tournament.

Top Contenders
(Rankings from Intermat as of Dec. 19)

125 Sponsored by Tadaaki Hatta
Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State)
Brent Fleetwood (Central Michigan)
#1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa)
#20 Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion)
#8 Tim Lambert (Nebraska)
#19 Elijah Oliver (Indiana)
#14 Freddie Rodriguez (SIU-Edwardsville)
#5 Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State)
Anthony Rubinetti (Northwestern)
#16 Josh Terao (American)

133 Sponsored by the Paul Scott Family
#1 Cory Clark (Iowa)
Tyson Dippery (Rutgers)
Sean Fausz (North Carolina State)
#7 Dom Forys (Pitt)
#11 Tyler Goodwin (Maryland)
#6 Seth Gross (South Dakota State)
#10 Earl Hall (Iowa State)
Cameron Kelly (Ohio)
#4 Eric Montoya (Nebraska)
#2 Zane Richards (Illinois)

141 Sponsored by Dr. Robert Conlon
#6 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers)
#5 Kevin Jack (North Carolina State)
#3 Matt Kolodzik (Princeton)
Michael Longo (Oklahoma)
#11 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska)
Gabe Moreno (Iowa State)
Joey Palmer (Oregon State)
Luke Pletcher (Ohio State)
Kyle Springer (Eastern Michigan)

149 Sponsored by Gary Sagui
#12 Alfred Bannister (Maryland)
#10 Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois)
Andrew Crone (Wisconsin)
#19 Joey Delgado (Oregon State)
#13 Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma)
#17 Jordan Laster (Princeton)
#6 Justin Oliver (Central Michigan)
Christian Pagdilao (Arizona State)
#2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa)
#15 Ken Theobold (Rutgers)

157 Sponsored by Peter Karampelas
#8 DaWaylon Barnes (Oklahoma)
#5 Tyler Berger (Nebraska)
#17 B.J. Clagon (Rider)
#12 Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan)
Colin Holler (South Dakota State)
#4 Michael Kemerer (Iowa)
Richie Lewis (Rutgers)
#7 Clay Ream (North Dakota State)
Max Rohskopf (North Carolina State)
#20 Josh Shields (Arizona State)

165 Sponsored by Dr. Russ Schneider
#11 TeShan Campbell (Pitt)
#7 Clark Glass (Oklahoma)
#3 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin)
Tyler Marinelli (Gardner-Webb)
#1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois)
Austin Reese (Ohio)
Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern)
#13 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State)
#10 Chad Walsh (Rider)
Tyrel White (Columbia)
#15 Seldon Wright (Old Dominion)

174 Sponsored by Robert C. Rowell
#12 Zac Brunson (Illinois)
Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin)
#18 David Kocer (South Dakota State)
#7 Alex Meyer (Iowa)
Matt Reed (Oklahoma)
#19 Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton)
#5 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State)
#9 Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State)

184 Sponsored by Robert Artoe
Ian Baker (Princeton)
#8 Sammy Brooks (Iowa)
#11 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion)
#7 Patrick Downey (Iowa State)
#3 TJ Dudley (Nebraska)
#14 Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan)
#19 Hunter Gamble (Gardner-Webb)
#12 Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers)
Corey Griego (Oregon State)
#10 Nate Jackson (Indiana)
#17 Michael Macchiavello (North Carolina State)
#5 Myles Martin (Ohio State)
Mitch Sliga (Northwestern)

197 Sponsored by Dru Goodman
#10 Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion)
James Benjamin (Buffalo)
Jacob Berkowitz (Northwestern)
#9 Brett Harner (Princeton)
#19 Brad Johnson (Oklahoma)
Jeric Kasunic (American)
Riley Lefever (Wabash College)
#4 Nate Rotert (South Dakota State)
#11 Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois)
#8 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska)
#12 Ryan Wolfe (Rider)

285 In memory of Bob & Liz Schnarr
#10 Brooks Black (Illinois)
#4 Tanner Hall (Arizona State)
#16 Collin Jensen (Nebraska)
#12 Ross Larson (Oklahoma)
#2 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin)
#20 Ray O’Donnell (Princeton)
Garrett Ryan (Columbia)
#15 Ryan Solomon (Pitt)
#5 Sam Stoll (Iowa)