Wisconsin Badgers
2023 Midlands Championships
Wisconsin finishes second at Midlands
December 29, 2023 | Wrestling
Hamiti and Liegel lead Badgers to tie best program finish at premier tournament
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Led by two champions, Wisconsin wrestling placed second overall to earn its highest finish since 2010 competing in the 2023 Midlands Championships, considered one of the nation's premier collegiate wrestling tournaments.
Hosted at NOW Arena by Northwestern on Friday, Dec. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 30, UW saw 17 Badgers in the brackets across all 10 weight classes.
Wisconsin tied its best finish in school and tournament history with the silver-medal performance and earned 104.5 points in the team standings. Penn won the team standings with 127.5 points and the Quakers' first-ever Midlands team title. West Virginia (3rd, 100.5), Michigan State (4th, 84.5) and Illinois (5th, 82.0) rounded out the top five.
This marks the fourth time that Wisconsin has finished second at Midlands dating back to the tournament's start in 1963. The Badgers were runners-up in 2010 with 95.5 points and also four placewinners, while also finishing second in 1987 and 1980. This weekend's finish also marks the best result under Wisconsin head coach Chris Bono and his staff in his six-season tenure.
Badgers Dean Hamiti (165 pounds) and Shane Liegel (184) both won titles, while Eric Barnett finished third at 125 and Max Maylor finished fourth at 174. True freshman Zan Fugitt (133) and Joe Zargo (149) also advanced deep into their brackets.
Friday, Dec. 29 - Sessions I & II
Following Friday's first session, four Badgers advanced into the quarterfinals — Eric Barnett (125 pounds), Dean Hamiti (165), Max Maylor (174) and Shane Liegel (184) — and two additional Badgers — Zan Fugitt (133) and Joseph Zargo (149) — were still fighting through consolations. As a team, Wisconsin scored 30.5 points and finished fifth after Session I, as Penn (1st, 42.5), Central Michigan (2nd, 35.5), Princeton (3rd, 34.5) and West Virginia (4th, 33.0) held the top five.
Friday night saw five Badgers still in the mix as Hamiti and Liegel both advanced to the Semifinals on Saturday, while Barnett, Fugitt and Maylor will compete in the consolations. Wisconsin climbed into fourth place among teams with 52.0 points, narrowly passing Princeton (5th, 51.5).
Notably, Hamiti wrestled three bouts in total on Friday and won all three by fall, while Liegel earned two upsets of ranked wrestlers.
Saturday, Dec. 30 - Sessions III & IV
Barnett rallied in dominant force on Saturday morning and earned both a pin and a tech fall in his consolation matches to advance to the third-place bout at 125. The two-time NCAA All-American later held on for a gritty 1-0 decision against Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) for the bronze-medal result on Saturday night during the final session. Barnett finished 6-1 overall, including five bonus-point victories (2 pins, 3 tech falls).
True freshman Fugitt showed that the Badger future is bright with a nailbiter fight against Sam Latona at 133. A two-time NCAA All-American, Latona barely held off Fugitt in a 5-4 decision that went down to the wire and also saw Fugitt open scoring with a big takedown of the veteran. Fugitt's tournament ended with the loss, but he tallied a strong 3-2 record overall.
Hamiti owned the 165-pound bracket and claimed the crown that he narrowly missed in 2022. After earning three pins on Friday to advance, the UW junior earned two major decisions by shutout and did not allow a single point to be scored against him. He scored three takedowns en route to a 12-0 victory over West Virginia's Peyton Hall in the final. Hamiti also earned the Jack Leese Champion of Champions Award (as voted on by all 10 champions) and the Dan Gable Men's Outstanding Wrestler award.
Maylor finished fourth overall, earning a 5-1 loss by decision to Penn's Nick Incontrera at 174. The Badger finished 5-2 overall with three wins by major decision.
Liegel capped Wisconsin's tournament in exciting fashion with a 9-6 decision won in sudden victory against Penn's Maximus Hale at 184. Tied up 6-6 in regulation, Liegel fought off Hale's attack and scored his own takedown to win the title and stand atop the podium. Liegel finished 6-0 overall with one tech fall and four upsets of higher-ranked wrestlers.
The fourth Liegel to wrestle at Wisconsin, he is the first member of the Liegel family to win a Midlands title. Shane's brother Scott placed sixth in 2013 at 174 and father Ralph placed fifth in 1986 at 177.
Full tournament preview with links, notes and stats here.
Full results of the tournament for all UW wrestlers are below.
RESULTS
Final Team Standings - Sessions 1 - 4
1 Penn 127.5
2 Wisconsin 104.5
3 West Virginia 100.5
4 Michigan State 84.5
5 Illinois 82.0
6 Central Michigan 74.0
7 Virginia Tech 69.0
8 Northwestern 65.5
9 Harvard 62.5
10 Princeton 58.5
11 Arizona State 48.0
12 Franklin & Marshall 44.5
13 Cal Poly 44.0
14 Northern Illinois 41.5
15 California Baptist 41.0
16 Rutgers 39.5
17 Virginia 34.0
18 Lehigh 31.5
19 SIU Edwardsville 29.5
20 Thomas More 28.0
21 George Mason 27.0
22 North CarolinaState 27.0
23 Purdue 26.5
24 Penn RTC 23.5
25 Cleveland State 23.0
26 Buffalo 20.0
27 Rider 16.5
28 UW-Eau Claire 10.5
29 North Central 6.5
30 Michigan 4.5
(50 total teams in standings - see TrackWrestling for full list)
125: #9 Eric Barnett - Seed #3 - 6-1 - 3rd Place - 23.0 points
Champ. Round 1: #9 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) over Ethan Spacht (North Central) • Fall 1:45
Champ. Round 2: #9 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) over Mason Mills (West Virginia) • TF 17-0 5:37
Champ. Round 3: #9 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) over #30 Dom Mendez (Cal Poly) • TF 15-0 7:00
Quarterfinal: Luke Stanich (Lehigh) over #9 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) • Dec 8-5
Cons. Round 6: #9 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) over Jacob Moran (Indiana) • Fall 2:15
Cons. Semi: #9 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) over #33 Blake West (Northern Illinois) • TF 17-1 3:20
3rd Place Match: #9 Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) over #10 Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) • Dec 1-0
133: Zan Fugitt - 3-2 - 3.0 points
Champ. Round 1: Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) • Bye
Champ. Round 2: #26 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers) over Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) • Maj 15-7
Cons. Round 2: Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) • Bye
Cons. Round 3: Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) over Kole Brower (Illinois) • Maj 12-0
Cons. Round 4: Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) over Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) • Dec 11-4
Cons. Round 5: Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) over Andre Gonzales (Ohio State) • Dec 12-5
Cons. Round 6: #5 Sam Latona (Virginia Tech) over Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) • Dec 5-4
133: Nicolar Rivera - Seed #10 - 1-2 - 3.0 points
Champ. Round 1: Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) • Bye
Champ. Round 2: Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) over Lucian Brink (Northern Illinois) • Maj 10-2
Champ. Round 3: #30 Mason Leiphart (Franklin & Marshall) over Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) • TF 18-0
Cons. Round 4: Zan Fugitt (Wisconsin) over Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) • Dec 11-4
141: Felix Lettini - 1-2 - 2.0 points
Champ. Round 1: Felix Lettini (Wisconsin) over Christopher Martino (Princeton) • Maj 16-6
Champ. Round 2: #11 Cj Composto (Penn) over Felix Lettini (Wisconsin) • TF 16-0
Cons. Round 2: Felix Lettini (Wisconsin) • Bye
Cons. Round 3: Danny Martinez (SIU Edwardsville) over Felix Lettini (Wisconsin) • Dec 6-0
149: Julian George - 1-2 - 2.0 points
Champ. Round 1: Julian George (Wisconsin) • Bye
Champ. Round 2: Ty Whalen (Unattached ) over Julian George (Wisconsin) • Dec 8-3
Cons. Round 2: Julian George (Wisconsin) over Kai Neumark (Northwestern) • TF 19-3 6:29
Cons. Round 3: Dayne Morton (California Baptist) over Julian George (Wisconsin) • Maj 12-3
149: Danny Sheen - 1-2 - 0.5 points
Champ. Round 1: Danny Sheen (Wisconsin) • Bye
Champ. Round 2: Jaivon Jones (Northern Illinois) over Danny Sheen (Wisconsin) • Maj 11-1
Cons. Round 2: Danny Sheen (Wisconsin) over Jaden Reynolds (Purdue) • Dec 11-7
Cons. Round 3: Andy Troczynski (Penn) over Danny Sheen (Wisconsin) • Maj 9-1
149: #12 Joseph Zargo - Seed #4 - 3-2 - 4.0 points
Champ. Round 1: #12 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) • Bye
Champ. Round 2: Kaleb Burgess (Buffalo) over #12 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) • Dec 9-8
Cons. Round 2: #12 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) over Clayton Jones (Michigan State) • TF 23-8
Cons. Round 3: #12 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) over Zach Sato (UW-Eau Claire) • Maj 16-7
Cons. Round 4: #12 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) over Douglas Terry (Cleveland State) • Dec 5-2
Cons. Round 5: Cross Wasilewski (Penn RTC) over #12 Joseph Zargo (Wisconsin) • Dec 8-4
157: Luke Mechler - 2-2 - 3.5 points
Champ. Round 1: Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) over Caden Moore (Kentucky Wesleyan) • TF 16-1
Champ. Round 2: Joseph Roberts (Illinois) over Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) • Dec 4-2
Cons. Round 2: Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) • Bye
Cons. Round 3: Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) over Chaz Hallmark (California Baptist) • Dec 5-1
Cons. Round 4: Isaac Ruble (Purdue) over Luke Mechler (Wisconsin) • Fall 6:47
157: Gavin Model - 2-2 - 2.0 points
Champ. Round 1: Gavin Model (Wisconsin) • Bye
Champ. Round 2: #28 Dj Mcgee (George Mason) over Gavin Model (Wisconsin) • Maj 10-1
Cons. Round 2: Gavin Model (Wisconsin) over Ricky Roberto (Arizona State) • Maj 16-2
Cons. Round 3: Gavin Model (Wisconsin) over Joseph Cangro (Harvard) • Dec 10-5
Cons. Round 4: James Harrington (Harvard) over Gavin Model (Wisconsin) • Fall 2:14
157: Royce Nilo - 1-2 - 1.5 points
Champ. Round 1: Royce Nilo (Wisconsin) • Bye
Champ. Round 2: Lucas Revano (Penn) over Royce Nilo (Wisconsin) • Dec 10-5
Cons. Round 2: Royce Nilo (Wisconsin) over Emanuel Oliver (Morton College) • Maj 11-0
Cons. Round 3: Rocco Camillaci (Princeton) over Royce Nilo (Wisconsin) • TF 17-1 7:00
165: #6 Dean Hamiti - Seed #1 - 5-0 - 1st Place - 28.0 points
Champ. Round 1: #6 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) over Tate Geiser (Cleveland State) • Fall 4:06
Champ. Round 2: #6 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) over Luke Gayer (Rutgers) • Fall 1:16
Quarterfinal: #6 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) over Beau Mantanona (Michigan) • Fall 4:49
Semifinal: #6 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) over #18 Maxx Mayfield (Northwestern) • Maj 10-0
1st Place Match: #6 Dean Hamiti (Wisconsin) over #13 Peyton Hall (West Virginia) • Maj 12-0
174: Cale Anderson - 2-2 - 1.5 points
Champ. Round 1: #19 Brody Conley (West Virginia) over Cale Anderson (Wisconsin) • SV-1 4-1
Cons. Round 1: Cale Anderson (Wisconsin) • Bye
Cons. Round 2: Cale Anderson (Wisconsin) over Ricardo Salinas (Northern Illinois) • Dec 10-5
Cons. Round 3: Cale Anderson (Wisconsin) over David Ferrante (Northwestern) • Dec 12-7
Cons. Round 4: Noah Fox (Franklin & Marshall) over Cale Anderson (Wisconsin) • Dec 12-6
174: #27 Max Maylor - Seed #8 - 5-2 - 4th Place - 18.5 points
Champ. Round 1: #27 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) • Bye
Champ. Round 2: #27 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) over Ricardo Salinas (Northern Illinois) • Maj 18-10
Champ. Round 3: #27 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) over Mason Reiniche (Oregon State) • Maj 11-0
Quarterfinal: #3 Edmond Ruth (Illinois) over #27 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) • Maj 12-3
Cons. Round 6: #27 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) over Scott Joll (UNC-Pembroke) • Maj 10-2
Cons. Round 7: #27 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) over Alex Cramer (Central Michigan) • Dec 4-3
Cons. Semi: #27 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) over Justin McCoy (Virginia) • MFF*
3rd Place Match: Nick Incontrera (Penn) over #27 Max Maylor (Wisconsin) • Dec 5-1
184: Shane Liegel - Seed #12 - 6-0 - 1st Place - 22.5 points
Champ. Round 1: Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) over Alex Whitworth (Harvard) • TF 16-0
Champ. Round 2: Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) over Deron Pulliam (SIU Edwardsville) • Dec 4-3
Champ. Round 3: Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) over #27 Tony Negron (Arizona State) • Dec 5-1
Quarterfinal: Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) over #21 Dennis Robin (West Virginia) • Dec 6-0
Semifinal: Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) over #22 Nate Dugan (Princeton) • Dec 2-0
1st Place Match: Shane Liegel (Wisconsin) over #28 Maximus Hale (Penn) • SV-1 9-6
197: Michael Talshahar - 0-2
Champ. Round 1: Michael Talshahar (Wisconsin) • Bye
Champ. Round 2: Mason Christiansen (Oregon State) over Michael Talshahar (Wisconsin) • TF 15-0
Cons. Round 2: Michael Talshahar (Wisconsin) • Bye
Cons. Round 3: Sungyup Ryu (Illinois) over Michael Talshahar (Wisconsin) • Dec 8-5
285: Peter Christensen - 0-2
Champ. Round 1: Josh Terrill (Michigan State) over Pete Christensen (Wisconsin) • Maj 11-1
Cons. Round 1: Sage Hecox (Hecox Team Benaiah) over Pete Christensen (Wisconsin) • MFF*
285: Gannon Rosenfeld - 0-2
Champ. Round 1: Issac Trumble (North Carolina State) over Gannon Rosenfeld (Wisconsin) • Fall 1:20
Cons. Round 1: Jordan Sommers (Northern Illinois) over Gannon Rosenfeld (Wisconsin) • Dec 5-4
*counts as a loss to wrestler who forfeited
Players Mentioned
