University of Illinois
Midlands
Illinois Wrestlers Finish Sixth At Midlands 2000
December 30, 2000 | Wrestling
Dec. 30, 2000
Evanston, IL - The fifth-ranked University of Illinois wrestling team placed sixth at the Midlands 2000 wrestling tournament held on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Top-ranked Minnesota placed four wrestlers in the finals and crowned one champion to outdistance runner-up Iowa State 144 to 133. The Hawkeye Wrestling Club finished third with 74 points, followed by Hofstra with 71, Ohio State placed fifth with 66 points followed by Illinois with 61.
Nate Patrick earned a second-place finish to lead six Illini wrestlers who placed in the top eight of their respective weight classes. The Illini were handicapped in the team scoring by only having eight wrestlers in the 10 weight classes eligible in the team scoring. Adam Tirapelle, the top ranked wrestler in the nation at 149 pounds, withdrew just prior to the start of the tournament with the flu and Ben King, ranked seventh, sat out with two sprained ankles.
Patrick faced two-time national champion Cael Sanderson of Iowa State in the finals of the 184-pound weight class. Sanderson, a junior who has twice been named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the NCAA tournament, is undefeated in his two and a half years of collegiate wrestling and extended his win streak to 96 matches.
Sanderson scored first with a takedown at 1:26 in the first period and Patrick escaped 12 seconds later to cut the gap to 2-1. Another Sanderson takedown was followed by a reversal by Patrick and the period ended with Sanderson leading by a margin of only 4-3. Sanderson extended his lead to 8-4 by the end of the second period and the two exchanged takedowns and escapes in the third as Sanderson extended his lead to the final margin of 14-7.
"I felt good going into the match, I felt confident," Patrick said. "I felt good after I got the reversal, but he got a takedown on the edge of the mat and it kind of changed the complexion of the match."
Matt Lackey earned sixth after dropping a 5-3 decision to Ben Shirk of Iowa. Pat Quirk placed seventh at 197 pounds while Griff Powell (157 pounds), Chad Hay (133) and Ryan Escobar (125) each earned eighth-place honors to round out the Illini placewinners.
"I'm disappointed," head coach Mark Johnson said. "I think overall we just didn't have a very good plan coming in here but we had a couple guys injured and that made a difference in our performance. We lost too many close matches, and we were in every match but we lost too many of those close ones and we've been used to winning those"
The next action for the Illini will be Jan.11 with a dual at North Carolina Greensboro.
Team Results (Top 10)
| 1. | Minnesota | 144.0 |
| 2. | Iowa State | 133.0 |
| 3. | Hawkeye Wrestling Club | 74.0 |
| 4. | Hofstra | 71.0 |
| 5. | Ohio State | 66.0 |
| 6. | Illinois | 61.0 |
| 7. | Sunkist | 58.0 |
| 8. | Michigan State | 56.0 |
| 9. | Oregon State | 55.5 |
| 10. | Arizona State | 53.0 |
| Oregon | 53.0 |
Championship Finals
125--#1 Jody Strittmatter (Iowa) DEC #2 LeRoy Vega (Minn.), 12-4
133--#6 Cody Sanderson (Sunkist) DEC Brett Lawrence (Minn.), 2-1
141--#1 Doug Schwab (Iowa) DEC #6 Donnie DeFilippis (George Mason), 16-6
149--#4 Jared Lawrence (Minn.) DEC #2 Dave Esposito (Lehigh), 6-3
157--#1 Chris Bono (Sunkist) DEC #3 Yoshi Nakamura (Penn), 3-1
165--#1 Joe Heskett (Iowa State) DEC #3 Brad Pike (Minn.), 4-0
174--#1 Joe Williams (Hawkeye) Tech. Fall Michael Feeney (E. Michigan), 4:08
184--#1 Cael Sanderson (Iowa State) vs. #2 Nate Patrick (Illinois), 14-7
197--#3 Lee Fullhart (Hawkeye) won by forfeit
Hwt--#1 Steve Neal (Shultz) DEC #7 Chad Lamer (Hawkeye), 6-2
Illinois Results
125 Pounds
First Round
Ryan Escobar (ILL), Bye
Second Round
#3 Ryan Escobar (ILL) DEC Marlon Felton (N ILL), 6-0
Quarterfinals
#6 Nathan Navarro (Ore St) DEC #3 Ryan Escobar (ILL), 15-4
Consolations
#3 Ryan Escobar (ILL) DEC Kore Sharpley (Ohio St.), 3-1
T. Noto (Hofstra) DEC #3 Ryan Escobar (ILL), 4-3
Seventh Place
#8 Ahmad Sanders (C. MICH) DEC #3 Ryan Escobar (ILL), 4-2
133 Pounds
First Round
Kelly Madden (ILL) DEC Juan Venturi (Prince), 12-4
Dave Stoltz (ILL) WBF Phil Mansueto (Clv St-UN), DISQUAL
Chad Hay (ILL-UN) WBF Keith Eimer (Linc), 3:22
Second Round
#5 Brett Lawrence (Minn) DEC Kelly Madden (ILL), 13-6
#3 Roman Fleszar (Hof) DEC Dave Stoltz (ILL), 6-1
#2 Pat McNamara (Mich St) DEC Chad Hay (ILL-UN), 4-2
Consolations
Kelly Madden (ILL) DEC Sean Doyle (Corn), 8-4
Joe Garcia (Cal Bake) WBF Dave Stoltz (ILL), MED DEF
Kelly Madden (ILL) WBF D. Mousetis (Penn-UN), 3:23
R. Fleszar (Hofstra) DEC Kelly Madden (ILL), 9-4
Chad Hay (ILL) DEC J. Venturi (Princeton), 6-5
Chad Hay (ILL) DEC #10 B. Richards (Oregon St.), 7-4
Chad Hay (ILL) DEC #8 D. Douglas (Arizona St.), 3-1
#4 Mike Azevedo (Iowa State) DEC Chad Hay (ILL), 6-5
Seventh Place
#9 Jeff Ratliff (Ohio State) DEC Chad Hay (ILL), 4-0
141 Pounds
First Round
Mike Castillo (ILL) DEC Zane Stickel (WWC), 10-3
Second Round
#4 Chad Erikson (Minn) WBF Mike Castillo (ILL), 1:40
Consolations
Tony Abbate (Slip Rk) DEC Mike Castillo (ILL), 6-5
149 Pounds
Starter Adam Tirapelle did not compete due to the flu.
157 Pounds
First Round
#5 Cole Sanderson (Ia St) DEC Griff Powell (ILL), 3-1
Greg Cora (E ILL) DEC Ryan Berger (ILL), 6-5
Consolations
Rocky Smart (Az St) WBD Ryan Berger (ILL), DEFAULT
Griff Powell (ILL) DEC Bill Deniz (Mont St), 14-8
Griff Powell (ILL) DEC Beau Weiner (Shultz-UN), 5-3
Griff Powell (ILL) DEC #7 Joe Carr (W Va), 3-2
Griff Powell (ILL) WBD #8 R. Bernholz (Lehigh), DEFAULT
#4 Luke Becker (MINN) DEC Griff Powell (ILL), 3-1
Seventh Place
#6 Eric Jorgenson (Oregon St.) DEC Griff Powell (ILL), 3-1
165 Pounds
First Round
#4 Matt Lackey (ILL) DEC Denis Alampier (Amer U), 3-1
#3 Brad Pike (Minn) DEC Ben Hay (ILL-UN), 17-6
Second Round
#4 Matt Lackey (ILL) DEC Jacob Volkmann (Minn), 6-2
Quarterfinals
#4 Matt Lackey (ILL) DEC Matt Anderson (Iowa), 7-3
Semifinals
#1 Joe Heskett (Iowa St.) DEC #4 Matt Lackey (ILL), 8-0
Consolations
T. Ortman (Penn) DEC Ben Hay (ILL), 11-3
#2 Steve Blackford (Arizona St.) DEC #4 Matt Lackey (ILL), 3-2
Fifth Place
#10 Ben Shirk (Iowa) DEC #4 Matt Lackey (ILL), 5-3
174 Pounds
Starter Ben King did not compete due to two sprained ankles.
184 Pounds
First Round
E. Aliakseyenka (Mont. St.) DEC Jason Potter (ILL), 4-0
#2 Nate Patrick (ILL) DEC Scott Duffy (Ia St-UN), 10-3
Consolations
Jason Potter (ILL-UN) WBF Max Harris (Cal Bake), DISQUAL
Jason Potter (ILL-UN) DEC Jeff Pangborn (C Mich-UN), 3-2
Jason Potter (ILL-UN) DEC Jason Cox (VMI) 7-4
#8 Francis Volpe (Harvard) DEC Jason Potter (ILL-UN), 11-0
Second Round
#2 Nate Patrick (ILL) DEC Jeff Pangborn (C Mich-UN), 5-1
Quarterfinals
#2 Nate Patrick (ILL) DEC #7 Rob Rohn (Lehi), 3-2
Semifinals
#2 Nate Patrick (ILL) DEC #3 Damion Hahn (MINN), 4-3
Final
#1 Cael Sanderson (Iowa St.) DEC #2 Nate Patrick (ILL), 14-7
197 Pounds
First Round
#2 Pat Quirk (ILL) DEC Bert Dobies (Clv St-UN), 9-4
Second Round
#2 Pat Quirk (ILL) DEC Eli Ross (Minn-UN), 11-3
Quarterfinals
#7 Chael Sonnen (Ore) DEC #2 Pat Quirk (ILL), 3-1
Consolations
#2 Pat Quirk (ILL) DEC Ty Matthews (IND), 8-4
#6 J Trenge (Lehigh) DEC #2 Pat Quirk (ILL), 3-1
Seventh Place
#2 Pat Quirk (ILL) DEC R Paulikonis (Lassen), 3-1
Heavyweight
First Round
#4 John Lockhart (ILL) DEC Nathan Welsh (Linc), 13-5
Second Round
Billy Blunt (Fres St) DEC #4 John Lockhart (ILL), 2-1
Consolations
#4 John Lockhart (ILL) DEC Andy Bowlby (Ore St), 2-1,TB
Eric Webb (Ore) DEC #4 John Lockhart (ILL), 7-5
