Upsets keep UW alive with five in semis
December 29, 2008 | Wrestling
After the first day of competition at the 46th annual Midlands Championships, the Wisconsin wrestling team sits in fifth place out of 48 teams after scoring 64.0 points. Five Badger grapplers, one who is wrestling unattached, are still in contention for a title in their respective weight classes and one other is wrestling for third place. Iowa is in first place after the first day of competition with 93.0 points while Iowa State (82.5 points) and Missouri (73.5 points) round out the top three teams. Wrestling continues tomorrow at noon inside the Welsh-Ryan Arena and remember to tune into the Big Ten Network Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. to watch the finals.
Click HERE for updated brackets, team standings and other Midlands information.
The biggest UW upsets of the day came by No. 8 seeds, Andrew Howe (165 lbs.) and Zach Tanelli (141 lbs.). Both upset the No. 1 seed in their respective weight classes to reach the semifinals tomorrow.
Howe, who is a true freshman, downed No. 1 seeded and the second-ranked wrestler in the country, Moza Fay from Northern Iowa. Howe won with a convincing 14-8 decision to advance to the semifinals tomorrow. These two did not face each other during UW's dual against Northern Iowa as Fay was out of the lineup. Howe meets No. 4 seed Jon Reader from Iowa State tomorrow, which will also be the first meeting between these two as Howe did not wrestler UW's dual against Iowa State earlier this season. Howe opened Midlands with a 6-1win over Jason Lapham from Rider and then continued with a 12-4 major decision against Justin Brandel of Eastern Michigan.
Tanelli stormed through the competition with two pins, a major decision and also upset the No. 1 seed, Corey Jantzen from Harvard, to earn a spot in the semifinals. Tanelli first pinned Vince Tucker from Olivet in 4:47, then stuck Kazuhiro Fujinawa of Nebraska-Kearney in just 1:05. Tanelli advanced to the quarterfinals with a 9-0 major decision over Fred Rodgers from Rider. He then finished the first day with a 3-1 decision over Jantzen and will face Iowa State's Dalton Jensen tomorrow.
Junior Kyle Ruschell continues tomorrow at 149 lbs. and will re-match against the No. 2 seed, Jake Patacsil from Purdue in the semifinals. Patacsil won the first meeting at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Ruschell opened up Midlands with a bye in the first round but then went on to pin two opponents to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. Ruschell first pinned Tim Hammer of Michigan State in 3:41 and followed that up with a pin in 2:11 of Michael Long from VMI. In his final bout of the day, Ruschell won in a close 4-3 decision over No. 6 seeded Kyle Borshoff from American.
Two Badger grapplers made it through to the semifinals at 197 lbs. Senior Dallas Herbst meets No. 2 seed Max Askren from Missouri after going 3-0 en route to the semis. These two met last season and Herbst pinned Askren in 6:47 at the Cliff Keen Invite. Herbst, who is the No. 3 seed tallied yet another fall, putting his career mark at 51, by pinning Tyler Dickernson of Michigan State in 5:47 in his opening match. Herbst then registered his first win this season that was not a pin or forfeit with a 6-0 decision over Lamar Brown from Rutgers. Herbst advanced to the semis by recording his first major decision of the season with a 10-2 win over No. 6 seed Logan Brown from Purdue.
Junior Trevor Brandvold is wrestling unattached at 197 lbs. and also recorded an upset by defeating No. 4 seed, Hudson Taylor from Maryland, 4-1 in the quarterfinals. Brandvold began with a tech fall over AJ Hunter of Pitt and then upset No. 5 seed Andrew Anderson of Northern Iowa with a 9-5 decision. Brandvold has the task of knocking off the No. 1 seed Jake Varner from Iowa State in the semis tomorrow.
If Herbst and Brandvold both win their matches tomorrow, they will face each other in the finals for 197 lbs.
Senior Kyle Massey, the No. 3 seed, is in contention for third place after dropping his quarterfinal bout. Massey fell 3-1 in sudden victory against No. 6 seeded Rashard Goff from Cleveland State. Massey opened up Midlands with a 10-0 major decision over Cory Anderson of Lincoln College and then defeated Mike Tamilow, a former All-American at 197 lbs. from Northwestern, with a 3-0 decision.
Junior Drew Hammen finished competition Monday after losing two bouts. He faced the No. 2 seed at 125 lbs., Northwestern's Brandon Precin and lost in a 10-0 major decision. Hammen then met Filberto Colon from Rider and was eliminated with a 4-0 loss.
Freshman Cole Schmitt also wrestled at Midlands but competed unattached at 149 lbs. He had a tough first bout, facing the No. 1 ranked wrestler and No. 1 seed, Brent Metcalf of Iowa. Metcalf stuck Schmitt in 3:48 to send him into the consolation bracket. It took extra periods but Schmitt then ended competition with an 8-6 loss in sudden victory to Andrew Sherry from Missouri.
Kendall Vogel wrestled unattached for Wisconsin at 157 lbs. and finished competition after going 0-2. Vogel received a bye in the first round but then fell to Anthony Jones of Michigan State. Vogel then lost to Chris Kelly from WWC, 6-3 in the consolation bracket.
Sophomore Eric Bugenhagen (184 lbs.) pinned his first opponent, Steve Catalano of Triton, in 1:19 but was bounced to the consolation round after a 9-1 major decision win for No. 7 seed Jordan Blanton from Illinois. Bugenhagen then bowed out of competition after falling 6-1 to Brad Diechkhaus from Northern Illinois.
True freshman Travis Rutt won his first bout at 174 lbs., 7-0 against Scott Giffin of Penn. He then took on the No. 1 seed, Jay Borschel from Iowa and wrestled him close but fell in a 9-6 decision. Rutt then lost 4-2 against Dave Sullivan from Pittsburgh and is finished at Midlands.
Senior Mike Felling also wrestled for Wisconsin at 174 lbs. and won his first bout, 8-4 against Scott Hazen from Northern Iowa before falling in an 18-5 major decision against the No. 2 seed, Raymond Jordan of Missouri. Felling also exited the competition with a second loss which came in a 4-2 decision against Lloyd Rogers.
Be sure to log onto UWBadgers.com tomorrow for final results from the 2008 Midlands Championships.
