This Week in Wrestling: Midlands Championships
December 27, 2012 | Wrestling
Dec. 27, 2012
Match Notes PDF l Season Stats
THE WEEK AHEAD
• This week, the Wisconsin wrestling team (5-2, 2-0 Big Ten) heads to Evanston, Ill., to compete at the 50th annual Midlands Championships.
• Last year at Midlands, the Badgers finished 18th as a team and had three wrestlers, including two current starters, place at the tournament. Current volunteer assistant coach Ben Jordan placed third at 165 lbs., while Cole Schmitt finished seventh at 149 lbs., and heavyweight Connor Medbery came in seventh wrestling unattached.
| Wisconsin (5-2, 2-0) at Midlands Championships | |
| Date | Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 29-30, 2012 |
| Location | Evanston, Ill. | Welsh-Ryan Arena |
| Fan Information | NUSports.com |
| Live Video | BTN (Sunday, Dec. 30)  |
| Live Coverage | Twitter  |
Last time out: Michigan State & Nebraska
• The Badgers started Big Ten Conference season with a pair of wins two weekends ago.
• Wisconsin defeated Michigan State, 19-12, at home on Dec. 7, snapping an eight-game conference match losing streak, before taking to the road and upsetting then-No. 9 Nebraska, 19-17. The win over the Cornhuskers was the Badgers’ first win over a top-10 ranked opponent since Jan. 9, 2011.
• Tom Kelliher (133 lbs.), No. 9 Tyler Graff (141 lbs.), Jackson Hein (197 lbs.) and No. 10 Connor Medbery (Hwt.) all went 2-0 in their matches to open conference play. Matt Cavallaris (125 lbs.), Kalvin York (157 lbs.), Frank Cousins (165 lbs.) and Scott Liegel (174 lbs.) also notched match wins for Wisconsin.
Unbeaten Badgers
• Through seven dual meets, two Wisconsin wrestlers remain undefeated this season. Both 197 lbs., starter Jackson Hein (7-0) and No. 10 heavyweight Connor Medbery (6-0) are unbeaten in dual competitions this season.
• Hein went 2-0 as the Badgers opened Big Ten competition against Michigan State and Nebraska. The Wausau, Wis., native knocked off the Spartans’ Nick McDiarmid in a 4-0 decision before beating Nebraska’s Caleb Kolb, 3-1, in a sudden victory match.
• Connor Medbery started off his Big Ten season by upsetting the then-No. 10 heavyweight in the country, Michigan State’s Mike McClure, in a 6-2 decision, and then defeated the Cornhuskers’ Donny Longendyke, 4-2.
• Both Hein and Medbery will compete for the Badgers at the Midlands Championships this weekend. In their only tournament competition this season at the Cliff Keen Invite in Las Vegas, Medbery went 3-2 to capture the fifth-place heavyweight title. Hein made it to the second day of competition at the Cliff Keen Invite, but did not place, finishing the tournament with a 3-2 record.
Wisconsin Wrestling in the Polls
• Following its upset of then-No. 9 Nebraska on Dec. 9, the Wisconsin wrestling team has been ranked in the NWCA/USA Today Division I Team Coaches Poll for two straight weeks. The Badgers are currently the No. 23-ranked team in the country, the highest ranking the team has enjoyed since being ranked No. 15 in the final poll of the 2010-11 season.
• The No. 23 ranking is Wisconsin’s highest of the season. The Badgers previosuly spent one week at No. 25 following their win over then-No. 25 Hofstra on Nov. 11.
• After an idle week, heavyweight Connor Medbery dropped a spot to No. 11 in the InterMat Collegiate Rankings. Following his upset of then-No. 10 Mike McClure two weeks ago, Medbery moved up to No. 10 from No. 14.
• Wisconsin’s 141 lbs., starter, Tyler Graff, held steady at No. 9 in the InterMat Collegiate rankings. Graff went 2-0 against the Spartans and Cornhuskers to open Big Ten competition, and won both of his matches by major decision.
| Wisconsin lineup at Midlands Championships | |
| 125 | Matthew Kelliher |
| 133 | Tyler Graff |
| 141 | Tom Kelliher |
| 157 | Kalvin York |
| 165 | Frank Cousins |
| 174 | Scott Liegel |
| 197 | Jackson Hein |
| Hwt. | Connor Medbery & Cole Tobin |
| 133 (Unattached) | Jesse Thielke |
| 141 (Unattached) | Rylan Lubeck |
| 157 (Unattached) | Isaac Jordan |
