Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
40th Midlands
Northwestern Places 25th at 40th Midlands
12/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 29, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern placed 25th Sunday at the 40th Midlands Championships at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Northwestern, which tied with Oregon State, closed out the tournament with 17.5 points. Iowa defended its title, scoring 129.5 points.
John Giacche (Flemington, N.J./Blair Academy) was the lone Wildcat competitor in day two, and his bid to place came up short after losing 4-3 to Josh Wooton of Northern Illinois. Giacche, who is 14-5 on the season, trailed 4-0 in the third period and rallied to a within one, but he would get no closer.
Iowa won its second straight Midlands team title and its eighth in the past 13 years. Ohio State (96.5 points), Sunkist Kids (95), Illinois (92.5) and Penn State (84.5) rounded out the top five.
Joe Williams of the Sunkist Kids made Midlands history, winning a record ninth straight Midlands title. The old record was eight held by Bruce Baumgartner and Williams. Williams now has a record 50 career Midlands wins and has won 46 consecutive matches (dating to 1993), also a tournament record.
Iowa and Cornell led the way with a pair of individual titles each.
Northwestern returns to the mat Jan. 4 at the Lone Star Duals in Arlington, Texas.
For complete results, please consult the Midlands box on the wrestling and home pages of NUsports.com.
