Northwestern University Athletics
No. 8 Northwestern Ready to Host 44th Midlands Championships
12/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 27, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 8 Northwestern is enjoying its best start under head coach Tim Cysewski with a perfect 8-0 dual record and several Wildcats ranked in the top 20 nationally. After placing four at last week's Reno Tournament of Champions, the 'Cats will welcome many of the nation's elite programs to the 44th Midlands Wrestling Championships, December 29-30 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The tournament, started by former Wildcat coach and administrator Ken Kraft, is annually hosted by Northwestern and attracts the best amateur wrestling has to offer.
The 'Cats look to make a run at the team title this season after finishing 10th in 2005. The Wildcats placed three wrestlers last year.
Heavyweight Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) is the only place winner from 2005 returning for this year's tournament. He finished seventh last year, but enters the Midlands a perfect 10-0 and is ranked third nationally. The junior's biggest win of the season came against then third-ranked Spencer Nadolsky of North Carolina at the ACC/Big Ten Clash. Fox took the heavyweight title at the season-opening Eastern Michigan Open.
Top-ranked Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) enters this year's tournament as the favorite at 141 lbs. Lang is a perfect 13-0 this season with eight of his wins coming by pin or major decision. The junior finished eighth in 2004.
Ninth-ranked Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) enters the 197-pound bracket with momentum. The junior wrestled at 184 lbs. in his previous two Midlands with a sixth place finish in 2004. Tamillow is 16-0 this season with titles at the Eastern Michigan Open and the Reno Tournament of Champions. He earned BigElevenWrestling.net Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors last week for his performance in Reno. He knocked off eighth-ranked Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan in the finals and notched three falls en route to the title.
Freshman Brandon Precin's (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) stock has been on the rise since his impressive performance at the season-opening Eastern Michigan Open. Precin knocked off then 12th-ranked Mark Moos of Michigan in his first collegiate match and has posted an 18-4 record, 7-1 in dual matches, to start his freshman campaign. Precin is ranked 17th at 125 lbs. by W.I.N. Magazine. The freshman posted a third place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions with a win over Oklahoma State's 18th-ranked Tyler Schinn.
Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) enters the Midlands with a 10-2 record and is ranked 19th at 174 lbs. by W.I.N. Magazine. Hayes took sixth place at the Reno Tournament of Champions and is another Wildcat that is carrying momentum into the tournament. Hayes went 2-0 in Northwestern's last weekend of dual matches against Northern Illinois and Eastern Illinois. He earned BigElevenWrestling.net Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors for his performance that included a victory over EIU's then 12th-ranked Kenny Robertson.
Junior Greg Hagel (Linwood, N.J./Blair Academy) is 7-3 this season and is coming off a fourth place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions at 165 lbs.
For information on the Midlands, visit The 2006 Midlands Website.
