Northwestern University Athletics
Malone Moves into National Rankings with Midlands Performance
1/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
EVANSTON, Ill. – Fresh off a seventh-place performance at the 52nd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships where he won six matches, Dominick Malone was recognized with a spot in the InterMat national rankings at 133 lbs.
The junior knocked off then 17th-ranked Danny Sabatello of Purdue and captured three first period falls in his march through the bracket. Malone is 15-8 overall this season and has won 9 of his last 11 matches.
Four other Wildcats claim spots in their respective weight classes.
Jason Tsirtsis continues to hold the top spot at 149 lbs. Tsirtsis is undefeated at 21-0 and captured the Midlands title at 149 with a win over third-ranked David Habat of Edinboro.
Mike McMullan is second at 285 lbs. after his runner-up finish at the 52nd Midlands. With three wins over ranked opponents, McMullan has amassed a 15-1 mark.
Following a second-place finish, Pierce Harger moved up a spot to No. 7. Harger knocked off a couple of ranked foes, including Iowa's Nick Moore in the semifinals. The senior is off to a 17-2 start in the 2014-15 season.
Alex Polizzi's six wins were good enough for fourth-place at the annual event, and he comes in 12th at 197 lbs. Polizzi scored two falls and beat then-No. 20 Jared Haught of Virginia Tech.
Northwestern opens up the home slate of the Big Ten dual season by hosting No. 11 Wisconsin on Friday, Jan. 9 at 7 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
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