Dec. 30, 2014
Results
EVANSTON, Ill. - The No. 20 Wisconsin wrestling team finished out 2014, as five Badgers earned top-eight finishes and led UW to a seventh-place finish at the 52nd annual Midlands Championships on Tuesday.
No. 14 Timmy McCall finished runner-up after a close finals match. McCall grappled with the No. 1 seed Nathan Burak from Iowa and kept a strong lead throughout the bout. McCall snuck in a quick takedown in the first period followed by an escape from Burak to give him the early advantage 2-1.
McCall started on top going into the third period and upped his lead to 3-2 after a swift escape. Burak stunned McCal, however, with an abrupt takedown in the last seconds of the match to attain first place and a 4-3 win.
McCall did have a huge win earlier in the day over Jeff Koepke of Illinois in the semifinals at 197 lbs, defeating the Big Ten foe with a 5-3 decision to move to the finals.
No. 16 Ryan Taylor claimed third place after winning by medical forfeit over A.J. Schopp from Edinboro in the third-place match. Taylor started his day with a win by forfeit over Anthony Giraldo of Rutgers. He then faced Penn's Caleb Richardson and won in a 7-3 decision. The two wins were a positive burst of energy for Taylor, who then went on to defeat Jarrod Garnett of Lehigh Valley Athletic Club in a 9-6 decision.
No. 5 Connor Medbery suffered his first loss of the season in the heavyweight semifinals to Iowa's third-ranked Bobby Telford. Telford earned the first points of the bout with a takedown at the end of the first period. Medbery then cut the lead by one after an escape near the end of the second period, 2-1. With just over a minute and a half remaining in the final period, Telford managed an escape and clinched the final score of 3-1.
Medbery advanced to the third-place match after winning by decision over North Dakota State's Evan Knutson, 5-2.
At 174 lbs., Frank Cousins trounced three consecutive opponents by decisions to claim seventh place.
No. 18 Ricky Robertson downed Princeton's Brett Harner with a 5-4 decision to claim seventh place at 184 lbs. In yet another close thriller for Robertson, the fifth consolation round found him heading into overtime with the score tied at 3-3 against Edinboro's Vic Avery. Robertson would drop the bout, however, in sudden victory, 5-3.
Wisconsin will be back in action when it returns to Evanston, Illinois, for Big Ten action against Northwestern on Jan. 9.
