University of Minnesota Athletics
Four Gophers Still in the Hunt at Midlands
12/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Five Gophers, wrestling unattached, hit the mat earlier today in Evanston, Ill., to compete in the Midlands, one of the nation's premier collegiate wrestling winter tournaments. All five Gophers won at least one match, while four advanced to the second (and final) day of the event. All four will have to fight their way back through the consolation side tomorrow.
Two Gophers advanced to the quarterfinals at their weights. At 125, freshman Ethan Lizak grinded out a pair of victories, first a 3-1 decision over Jerry Huff of Adams State, then a 3-2 decision in tiebreaker-one over Barlow McGhee of Missouri (wrestling unattached) to reach the quarters before he fell to the tournament's top seed and the nation's No. 4 wrestler at 125, Tom Gilman of Iowa. At 149, redshirt senior Seth Lange won a back-and-forth shootout, 15-14, over Brandon Nelsen of Purdue in the first round and then pinned Rick Durso of Franklin & Marshall (wrestling unattached) before dropping his quarterfinal bout to sixth-seeded and tenth-ranked Brandon Sorenson of Iowa.
Joining Lizak and Lange in tomorrow's wrestlebacks will be Tommy Thorn, who began his day with a pin before losing to the nation's No. 2 wrestler at 141, Mitchell Port of Edinboro, and then earning a pair of victories in the consolation bracket. Pat Smith will also be back to wrestle tomorrow after he recovered from an opening match loss to Shaun'Qae McMurray of Northern Illinois to knock off three consecutive opponents on the bracket's backside.
Competing at 125, Skyler Petry pinned Shayne Wireman of Eastern Michigan in the first period of their opening round tilt before falling in his next two matches.
A full listing of match results for each Gopher wrestler appears below.
After action resumes at the Midlands tomorrow morning, finals from matches involving Gopher wrestlers will be provided on the Gopher Wrestling Twitter feed. Fans can also follow the action via live stats on TrackWrestling.com.
125
Ethan Lizak
Round 1: Ethan Lizak (Minn) dec. Jerry Huff (Adams State), 3-1
Round 2: Ethan Lizak (Minn) dec. (TB-1) Barlow McGhee (Missouri, unattached), 3-2
Quarters: No. 4 Tom Gilman (Iowa) dec. Ethan Lizak (Minn), 11-4
Skyler Petry
Round 1: Skyler Petry (Minn) fall (2:25) Shayne Wireman (Eastern Michigan)
Round 2: Lucas Malmberg (Messiah College) dec. Skyler Petry (Minn), 10-7
Cons.: Thierno Diallo (Binghampton) dec. Skyler Petry (Minn), 8-7
141
Tommy Thorn
Round 1: Tommy Thorn (Minn) fall (4:59) Jacob Macololooy (Columbia)
Round 2: No. 2 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) maj. dec. Tommy Thorn (Minn), 11-2
Cons.: Tommy Thorn (Minn) dec. Devin Tortorice (Poeta Training Center), 7-0
Cons.: Tommy Thorn (Minn) dec. Logan Arlis (Illinois), 6-2
149
Seth Lange
Round 1: Seth Lange (Minn) dec. Brandon Nelsen (Purdue), 15-14
Round 2: Seth Lange (Minn) fall (4:23) Rick Durso (Franklin & Marshall, unattached)
Quarters: No. 10 Brandon Sorenson (Iowa) dec. Seth Lange (Minn), 9-6
165
Pat Smith
Round 1: Shaun'Qae McMurray (Northern Illinois) dec. Pat Smith (Minn), 6-2
Cons.: Pat Smith (Minn) dec. Deven Marry (Eastern Michigan), 9-7
Cons.: Pat Smith (Minn) dec. Connor McMahon (SIU-Edwardsville), 8-5
Cons.: Pat Smith (Minn) dec. Daniel Lewis (Missouri, unattached), 7-2
Players Mentioned
