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NU has Best Midlands Finish in School History and Two More Champions
Welch and Munster win titles, Northwestern takes second
EVANSTON,
Ill – Friday night’s finale of the 49th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands
Championships was a memorable one for Northwestern as two Wildcat
wrestlers won titles, two others placed and the team achieved its best
finish in school history at second place. In the 49-year history of the
tournament, Northwestern has placed third in the team race five times,
but in 2011 the Wildcats finished second with 105.5 points and five
wrestlers in the top eight at their respective weight classes.
NU
junior Jason Welch and redshirt freshman Lee Munster won titles at 157
lbs. and 174 lbs., respectively. The last time Northwestern had two
Midlands champions in the same year came during the 2008 season when
Jake Herbert (184) and Brandon Precin (125) both finished first. Junior
Levi Mele wrapped up the tournament in fourth place at 125 lbs. and
redshirt freshman Mike McMullan found himself on the podium for the
second-consecutive year, this time finishing fourth at heavyweight.
Top-seed
Jason Welch became a Midlands champion for the first time in his
career, defeating No. 2 seed Granbayar Sanjaa from American, 4-2. For
the fourth time in the tournament, Welch came from back from a
first-period deficit for the win. Sanjaa struck first with a takedown
but Welch escaped, putting the score at 2-1 heading into the second.
Welch started the second on top and was awarded a point after two stall
calls for Sanjaa and Welch remained on top the entire period, racking
up riding time. He then started the third on bottom and took the 3-2
lead with an escape and secured the 4-2 victory with 1:52 of riding
time.
No. 5 seed Lee Munster was the lowest seeded
wrestler to win a title this year as he upset second-seeded Ethen
Lofthouse of Iowa 7-3 in the finals at 174 lbs. The NU redshirt
freshman was aggressive from the get-go, scoring two takedowns in the
first period and had the 4-2 lead after two escapes for Lofthouse.
Munster began the second period down and added to his lead with an
escape and takedown. Lofthouse scored one final point with an escape in
the third and Munster hung on for the 7-3 lead.
No. 4 seed
Levi Mele placed at Midlands for the first time in his Northwestern
career, finishing fourth at 125 lbs. He met top-seeded Jesse Delgado of
Illinois in the third place bout and lost by fall.
No. 10
seed McMullan, who finished eighth last year while competing unattached
in his redshirt season, also took fourth. He wrestled Iowa State’s Matt
Gibson and despite a flurry of reversals between the two wrestlers
early on in the match, McMullan took fourth with a 9-4 loss.
John Schoen was the fifth Northwestern wrestler to place as he took eighth in Session III.
Northwestern begins the Big Ten dual season at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan 6, hosting Michigan at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
125
No. 1 Jesse Delgado (Ill) fall No. 4 Levi Mele (NU), 1:44
157
No. 1 Jason Welch (NU) dec. No. 2 Ganbayar Sanjaa (Amer), 4-2
174
No. 5 Lee Munster (NU) dec. No 2. Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa), 7-3
285
Matt Gibson (ISU) dec. No. 10 Mike McMullan (NU), 9-4
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