Mike Bare
By Northwestern Athletics
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Redshirt first year Sebastian Rivera and redshirt junior Conan Jennings continued their trailblazing efforts through the 55th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Friday night.
Rivera topped Purdue’s Devin Schroder, an undefeated upstart who upset Arizona State’s Ryan Millhof, the 14th ranked wrestler in the nation, in the morning session.
Rivera, who is ranked 12th in the nation, has now improved to 14-0 in his first year wrestling for Northwestern. He will battle against top-seeded Nick Suriano of Rutgers in Session III on Saturday morning.
Jennings dominated his quarterfinal bout against the third-seeded Amar Dhesi of Oregon State — an NCAA All-American — with a 9-2 decision. Jennings will wrestle Iowa’s Sam Stoll on Saturday afternoon.
In all, six Wildcats are still alive in Midlands competition.
First year Colin Valdiviez won both of his consolation bouts on Friday evening, both against seeded opponents. He topped 12th-seeded Alijah Jeffery of Northern Illinois, 6-4, and then dropped 10th-seeded Phillip Laux of Iowa, 4-3.
Session III will begin at noon and Session IV will begin at 7 p.m. All matches will be broadcast on FloWrestling and BTN Plus.
Upcoming Matches
Semifinals
125: (5) Sebastian Rivera (NU) vs. (1) Nick Suriano (Rutgers)
285: (6) Conan Jennings (NU) vs. (2) Sam Stoll (Iowa)
Consolation Round 6
133: Colin Valdiviez (NU) vs. (8) Ali Naser (Arizona State)
141: (6) Yahya Thomas (NU) vs. (10) Jack Hathaway (Oregon State)
149: (6) Ryan Deakin (NU) vs. Jaren Glosser (Iowa)
174: (6) Johnny Sebastian (NU) vs. (9) Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin)
Session III Results
Quarterfinals
125: (5) Sebastian Rivera dec. Devin Schroder (Purdue), 3-1
141: (3) Cole Weaver (Indiana) dec. (6) Yahya Thomas (NU-unattached), 6-3
149: (3) Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) dec. (6) Ryan Deakin (NU), 7-5
174: (3) David Kocer (South Dakota State) maj. dec. (6) Johnny Sebastian (NU), 11-3
285: (6) Conan Jennings (Northwestern) dec. (3) Amar Dhesi (Oregon State), 9-2
Consolation Round 4
133: Colin Valdiviez (NU) dec. (12) Alijah Jeffery (Northern Illinois), 6-4
157: Shayne Oster (NU) dec. Brett Donner (Rutgers), 5-2
165: Michael Sepke (NU) dec. Peter Bearse (Harvard), 9-2
174: Jake Lanning (Buffalo-unattached) dec. Tyler Morland (NU-unattached), 10-5
184: (7) Mitch Sliga (NU) w/ med. for. (9) Dakota Geer (Edinboro-unattached)
197: Regis Durbin (NU) dec. Andre Lee (Illinois), 4-3
Consolation Round 5
133: Colin Valdiviez (NU) dec. (10) Phillip Laux (Iowa), 4-3
157: Hunter Willits (Oregon State) Fall Shayne Oster (NU), 3:32
165: Logan Peterson (South Dakota State) dec. Michael Sepke (NU), 4-3
184: Sohrab Movahedi (Cal Poly) dec. (7) Mitch Sliga, 3-1
197: Thomas Lane (Cal Poly) dec. Regis Durbin (NU), 6-5
Related: Five Wildcats Set For Quarterfinals At #Midlands55
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