Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcat Wrestling Prepares for 1998 Midlands Championships
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
December 18, 1998
The 36th edition of the Midlands Wrestling Championships once again will bring together some of the best wrestlers in the country. The tournament will be held Dec. 29-30 at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena. Seven of last yearis 10 NCAA champions will be participating as another All-American field is scheduled to compete. Here's a weight-by-weight preview of the 1998 Midlands Wrestling Championships:
125 pounds - Although there is no clear-cut favorite in the field, it does not lack for contenders. Fresno State sophomore Stephen Abas, who took third place at last yearis NCAA championships at 118 pounds and is currently ranked second by Intermat at 125 pounds, heads the field. Jody Strittmatter from Pitt-Johnstown returns, looking to improve on his third-place finish at Midlands a year ago. Arizona Stateis duo of Matt Azevedo (ranked fifth in the country) and Michael Kawamara (fifth place at last yearis Midlands) also figure to challenge. Other contenders include Tom Combes (Eastern Illinois) and Justin Bravo (Penn).
133 pounds - Several highly-regarded collegians are at the head of this class, led by second-ranked Pat McNamara of Michigan State (fourth in last yearis Midlands at 126 pounds). Also keep an eye on third-ranked Eric Juergens of Iowa (third at 1998 NCAA championships) and fourth-ranked Cody Sanderson of Iowa State (second in last yearis Midlands at 118 pounds). Also figuring to make some noise is eighth-ranked Eric Larkin of Arizona State. Additional challengers could include Jay Vesperman (Central Michigan), Zac Zimmerer (Stanford), Kelly Revels (Eastern Illinois), Chris Walker (Wyoming) and John Strittmatter (Pitt-Johnstown).
141 pounds - Top-ranked Mark Angle of Clarion enters as the favorite. Angle finished fourth last season at the NCAA championships at 134 pounds. All-Americans Scott Schatzman of Northwestern (ranked fourth in the country) and Carl Perry of Illinois (fifth) will be his primary challengers. Three other ranked wrestlers, Doug Schwab of Iowa (14th; finished third at Midlands last year at 126 pounds), Mark Piotrowsky of Penn (16th) and Raphael Vega of Edinboro (19th) are also capable of challenging. Other contenders include Shawn Ford (Sunkist Kids WC), Don Pool (Eastern Illinois) and Jon Archuleta (Cal St.-Bakersfield).
149 pounds - Two-time Midlands champion Alan Fried (Sunkist Kids WC) returns to put his perfect 10-0 Midlands record on the line. Three highly ranked sophomores will also be in the hunt as Adam Tirapelle of Illinois (ranked fourth), T.J. Williams of Iowa (fifth) and Cole Sanderson of Iowa State (12th) seem primed to contend. Thirteenth-ranked Mike Mendoza of Cal St.-Bakersfield looks to build upon last yearis seventh-place finish at Midlands at 134 pounds. Other ranked wrestlers include Brett Matter (Penn), Ryan Bernholz (Lehigh), Ryan Shappert (Edinboro), Chad Jesko (Pittsburgh), Quinn Foster (Arizona State), Jason Grant (George Mason) and Shawn Bradley (Cornell).
157 pounds - Contenders of all ages are lining up in what could be the most difficult bracket in the tournament. The field at 157 pounds features a defending Midlands champion, five additioanl placewinners from last yearis Midlands and an NCAA runner-up. Casey Cunningham of Central Michigan is the class of the college wrestlers. Cunningham roared to the Midlands title at 142 pounds last year and the momentum propelled him to runner-up honors in the NCAA championships. Third-ranked Clint Musser of Penn State and No. 5 David Maldonado of Iowa State should also be in the running. A pair of fifth-place Midlands finishers from last year, Yoshi Nakamura of Penn and Darryl Christian of Oregon are also expected to return. Other ranked wrestlers expected to participate include Drew Pariano (Northwestern), John Fogarty (Cornell), Chris Ayres (Lehigh) and Beau Weiner (Stanford). Tod Surmon of the Dave Schultz WC (third place last year) and Terry Murphy and Alex Coriano of the Wildcat WC (sixth and seventh last year) head the list of strong postgraduates.
165 pounds - This is a wide open class with no shortage of contenders. Tenth-ranked Mark Samples of Edinboro will look to take the final step after finishing second at Midlands last year while Steve Blackford of Arizona State (ranked No. 8) is looking to improve on his fourth-place finish of a year ago. Iowa State freshman Joe Heskett (ranked as high as No. 3) will be in the mix as well. Other ranked wrestlers include Sean Morgan (Oregon), Brian Pitzer (Bucknell), Kevin Brandon (George Mason) and Chad Liott (Rider). Greg DeGrand of Michigan State, Rich Springman of Penn and Bill Zeman of Illinois could also contend.
174 pounds - Four-time Midlands and three-time NCAA champion Joe Williams will be aiming for his fifth-consecutive Midlands crown. Now representing the Hawkeye WC, Williams has posted an amazing 25-2 lifetime record at Midlands and is one of seven members in the i20 in 4 Club.i Williamsi major challenges will come from All-Americans Ryan Cunningham of Central Michigan (ranked No. 2 by Intermat), Mark Bybee of Northwestern (ranked No. 2 by Amateur Wrestling News). Pittsburghis Nick Mengernick, Leo Giel (Rider), Jason Moaney (Clarion), Iowais Gabe McMahon, Ben King (Illinois), Chris Snyder (Central Michigan) and Will Hill (Michigan State) are other ranked wrestlers who could contend.
184 pounds - Two 1996 Midlands champions with ties to Arizona State head the field at 184 pounds. Current Arizona State All-American Casey Strand (ranked No. 2) and former Sun Devil Aaron Simpson (13-4 lifetime record at Midlands) seem to be the favorites. Simpson is coming off a third-place finish at 177 pounds at last yearis Midlands while Strand finished fourth at 167 pounds. John Van Doren (Lehigh), Greg Gingeleskie (Naval Academy), Doug Lee (Oregon), Mike Greenfield (Central Michigan), Cael Sanderson (Iowa State), Paul Jenn (Iowa), Russell Jones (Hofstra) and Matt Esposito (American) are other ranked contenders. 197 pounds - Second-ranked Lee Fullhart of Iowa, a two-time runner-up at Midlands, returns seeking the elusive title. The road to the title will not be easy, however, as seven of the top 12 collegians will be looking to knock him off. All-American Sam Neider of Northwestern (ranked No. 3) leads the list of contenders with Andrei Rodzianko of Penn and Nick Muzashvilli of Michigan State (No. 8) not far behind. Zach Thompson of Iowa State (No. 6) also looms as a potential roadblock. Other ranked contenders could include Chris Vike (Central Michigan), Turk Lords (Montana St.-Northern) and Raphael Davis (Cal. St.-Bakersfield).
Heavyweight - Two-time defending Midlands champion, reigning NCAA champion and current top-ranked heavyweight Stephen Neal of Cal. St.-Bakersfield is the class of the field. He is 13-2 lifetime in three Midlands appearances and will be difficult to beat. Be sure to keep an eye on Wes Hand of Iowa (ranked No. 2), Leslie Apedoe of VMI (No. 3) and Karl Roesler of Illinois (No. 4). Other ranked wrestlers could include former Minnesota standout Shelton Benjamin, Derek DelPorta (Slippery Rock), Bandele Adeniyi-Bada (Penn), Seth Charles (Cornell), Mike Russo (Eastern Illinois), Abe Boomer (Wyoming), Mark Knauer (Iowa) and Shawn Laughlin (Lehigh).
