Five things to know: Midlands Championships

Saturday, December 29

Hoffman Estates, Ill.

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Wisconsin Badgers

Midlands Championships

Five things to know: Midlands Championships

December 29, 2018 | Wrestling

Badgers set to face top talent at Midlands this year

Midlands Championships

Dec. 29-30 | Sears Arena Centre | Hoffman Estates, Ill.

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MADISON, Wis. – After a two-week hiatus, No. 10 Wisconsin (6-1, 1-1 B1G) returns to the mat this weekend for the 56th annual Midlands Championships, hosted at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The Badgers will bring 18 wrestlers to the tournament, and all will face competition from some of the best wrestlers in the nation.

1. STIFF COMPETITION: Midlands is not for the weak of heart. The Badgers will be facing wrestlers from many Big Ten schools and other powerhouses from around the nation. Altogether, 25 wrestlers currently ranked in the top-10 across all weight classes will be competing at Midlands, with plenty more ranked just outside the top-10 as well.

2. MORE TESTS FOR WICK: No. 2 Evan Wick is the favorite at 165 pounds, but his road to the championship will not be easy. His bracket has two more top-five wrestlers, including No. 4 Alex Marinelli of Iowa and No. 5 Josh Shields of Arizona State. Wick has history with both wrestlers. At the NCAA Championships last season, Wick defeated Marinelli by a 16-3 major decision. Earlier this year, Wick defeated Shields in a tough 5-4 decision in the first place match at the SIUE Cougar Clash, and was defeated by Shields 8-0 during his redshirt season. While he has the historical advantage, both opponents figure to be significant obstacles for Wick to take home first place.

3. UNDEFEATED HILLGER: Along with Evan Wick, No. 8 Trent Hillger is still undefeated on the season. He has faced and overcame every challenge thrown his way so far, but Midlands will be a new level. Standing in the way of his title is merely the No. 1 Sam Stoll of Iowa, and No. 4 Youssif Hemida of Maryland, in addition to a talented unattached heavyweight, Tony Cassioppi of Iowa. Emerging from Midlands undefeated would mean Hillger's meteoric rise would only reach a new level of the stratosphere.

4. MIDLANDS HISTORY: In the past decade, Wisconsin's best finish at Midlands was in 2010, when the Badgers finished in second place as a team, led by titles from Tyler Graff (133 pounds) and Travis Rutt (184 pounds). Since then, the highest the Badgers have finished has been seventh, in both 2014 and 2016. With six ranked wrestlers and a fully healthy team competing this year, Wisconsin hopes to finish higher.

5. NEED TO KNOW: Midlands will be split up into four sessions. The first session will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 29 and will have 10 mats. The second session will begin at 7 p.m. on Dec. 29 and will also have 10 mats. The third session will start at 12 p.m. on Dec. 30 with four mats, and will include the semifinals, consolations and the seventh-place match. The final session will start at 7 p.m. with three mats, and will include all first, third and fifth place matches. All four sessions will be broadcasted on FloWrestling and BTNPlus ($). Live stats can be found on TrackWrestling.

Wisconsin Probable Competitors
125 – No. 19 Connor Brown (4-1) AND Ethan Rotondo (11-2) (Unattached)
133 – Jens Lantz (4-5) AND Michael Cullen (3-2)
141 – No. 14 Tristan Moran (10-3)
149 – No. 19 Cole Martin (10-4) AND Garrett Model (4-4)
157 – Zander Wick (5-3) AND Patrick Spray (3-6) AND Devin Bahr (8-5) AND Anders Lantz (6-6)
165 – No. 2 Evan Wick (13-0) AND Tyler Dow (17-1) (Unattached)
174 – No. 11 Ryan Christensen (11-3)
184 – Mason Reinhardt (10-6)
197 – Andrew Salemme (1-10) AND Beau Breske (0-0) (Unattached)
285 – No. 9 Trent Hillger (12-0)