Wisconsin Badgers
Ken Kraft Midlands Championships
Five Things to Know: Midlands Championships
December 26, 2022 | Wrestling
Badgers compete in 43-team tournament hosted by Northwestern
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - Ranked No. 9 by Intermat, Wisconsin (6-1, 0-0 Big Ten) travels south to the 2022 Ken Kraft Midlands Championship hosted by Northwestern at NOW Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois this Thursday, Dec. 29 and Friday, Dec. 30.
FULL SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29
- 9:30 a.m. – First Session (10 Mats) – (Championship Rounds 1 & 2, Wrestlebacks)
- 7:00 p.m. – Second Session (10 Mats) – (Quarterfinals, Wrestlebacks)
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30
- 11:00 a.m. – Third Session (8 Mats) – (Semis, consolation, 7th place match, women's division begins)
- 6:05 p.m. – Fourth Session (4 Mats) – (1st, 3rd, 5th place matches–men's and women's divisions)
- Awards ceremony to conclude at 9:00 p.m.
QUICK LINKS
- Watch all four sessions on B1G+
- Read the Badgers' latest Notes and Stats (PDF)
- Live Stats & Brackets on TrackWrestling (search "Midlands" under events if needed)
- Buy Tickets
1. LOOK BACK: In 2021, the Illinois Matmen Open took its place at NOW Arena and saw the Badgers finish third overall in the team standings. Dean Hamiti (165 pounds) and Trent Hillger (285) both placed first last year to lead UW. Hamiti impressed with four bonus-point victories on his run to the title — one pin, two tech falls and one major decision — winning the tournament with a dominating 21-6 tech fall over Harvard's Philip Conigliaro. Hillger earned three victories by major decison on his way to the final. He then won a gritty 2-0 decision over Rider's Ethan Laird to claim the Open's title.
UW teammates Austin Gomez (149 pounds, second), Braxton Amos (197, third), Joseph Zargo (141, fourth) and Garrett Model (157, eighth) all finished on the podium. Wisconsin earned 117 team points overall, finishing behind Pittsburgh (121.5) and Penn (118) in the standings. Following an action-packed first day of the tournament on Wednesday, the Badgers were in first place in the team standings with 66 points heading into day two. Read the full recap here on UWBadgers.com.
2. LAST TIME OUT: No. 11 Wisconsin took down Drexel on Sunday, Dec. 11 in a dominant 37-3 victory and welcomed Badger fans back to the UW Field House for the first time this season in great fashion. Nine of Wisconsin's 10 wrestlers picked up wins. Eric Barnett, Garrett Model, and Braxton Amos all won by major decision. Joseph Zargo and Trent Hillger both won by tech fall, with Hillger getting his quickly at the 1:59 mark with a 16-0 shutout over Drexel's Liam Dietrich.
An early scare from Drexel's Luke Nichter saw Austin Gomez get 'knocked on his head' within the first tens seconds, drawing oohs from the crowd, but Gomez fought his way out of the dangeous position and turned the bout quickly. Gomez pinned Nichter at 1:42 to secure six team points for the Badgers. Badgers Taylor Lamont, Josh Otto, and Dean Hamiti all won by decision. Read the recap on UWBadgers.com.
3. WORLD CUP CHAMPS: Wisconsin wrestling assistant coach Seth Gross and Team USA won the 2022 Wrestling World Cup after defeating Mongolia, Georgia and Iran on Dec. 10-11. Gross, a three-time NCAA All-American and 2018 NCAA Champion, competed at 61 kilograms for the men's freestyle competition with Team USA. A 2022 World Team member, Gross lit up the scoreboard getting a 10-0 technical fall over Ebrahim Elahichouran, who was fourth in 2022 U17 World Championships. Gross scored a takedown and four consecutive turns for the quick win. Read the recap at USA Wrestling.
4. WATCH LIVE: All tournament sessions will be streamed live on B1G+. The tournament includes wrestlers from 43 schools. The event has been on hiatus for the prior two seasons due to the COVID pandemic.
5. WISCONSIN LINEUP: Wisconsin will have 15 wrestlers competing at Midlands. Note that Austin Gomez (149 pounds) and Gavin Model (165 pounds) will not be competing.
Eric Barnett - 125 pounds, Seed #1
Taylor LaMont - 133 pounds, Seed #5
Nicolar Rivera - 133 pounds
Felix Lettini - 141 pounds
Joseph Zargo - 141 pounds, Seed #5
Garrett Model - 157 pounds, Seed #2
Drew Scharenbrock - 157 pounds
Dean Hamiti - 165 pounds, Seed #1
Josh Otto - 174 pounds
James Rowley - 174 pounds
Tyler Dow - 184 pounds, Seed #11
Braxton Amos - 197 pounds, Seed #1
Michael Talshahar - 197 pounds
Peter Christensen - 285 pounds
Trent Hillger - 285 pounds, Seed #4
Players Mentioned
