58th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Slated For December 29-30
12/19/2022 4:45:00 PM | Wrestling, Ken Kraft Midlands Championships
Renowned event returns to NOW Arena for first time since 2019
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (December 19, 2022) – Following a two-year hiatus, the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships will return to NOW Arena in suburban Hoffman Estates, Ill. The 58th edition of the most prestigious non-conference wrestling tournament in the nation will take place December 29-30.
For the first time in the renowned event's history, this year's edition of the Midlands Championships will feature a women's division, with participants from nine schools competing during the tournament's Day Two sessions on December 30.
BUY YOUR MIDLANDS TICKETS TODAY
Joining the first-time women's field will be a stacked field of 41 men's programs. Seven Big Ten Conference teams are scheduled to be in action, including event host Northwestern, Michigan, and Nebraska, all of which placed inside the top six at this past March's NCAA Championships.
This year's tournament will also honor longtime Northwestern wrestling head coach and founder of the Midlands Championships Ken Kraft, who passed away at the age of 85 on October 27, 2020. Kraft was a member of the Northwestern Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for his contributions to the Wildcat community and the sport of wrestling.
READ MORE ON THE LEGENDARY KEN KRAFT
A full schedule for both days of the 58th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships can be found below:
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29
Media is welcome to attend this year's Midlands Championships. Credential requests for all reporters, videographers, and photographers can be sent to the tournament's media coordinator Ryan Haley (ryan.haley@northwestern.edu).
HALL OF FAME
Three inductees will be added to the Midlands Championships Hall of Fame on December 30 before the final session. Honorees include Marjo Kraft, Leo Kocher (University of Chicago wrestling head coach), and longtime tournament administrator Lee Wahlgren.
Full list of participating teams at #Midlands58:
Men's Division:
For the first time in the renowned event's history, this year's edition of the Midlands Championships will feature a women's division, with participants from nine schools competing during the tournament's Day Two sessions on December 30.
BUY YOUR MIDLANDS TICKETS TODAY
Joining the first-time women's field will be a stacked field of 41 men's programs. Seven Big Ten Conference teams are scheduled to be in action, including event host Northwestern, Michigan, and Nebraska, all of which placed inside the top six at this past March's NCAA Championships.
This year's tournament will also honor longtime Northwestern wrestling head coach and founder of the Midlands Championships Ken Kraft, who passed away at the age of 85 on October 27, 2020. Kraft was a member of the Northwestern Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for his contributions to the Wildcat community and the sport of wrestling.
READ MORE ON THE LEGENDARY KEN KRAFT
A full schedule for both days of the 58th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships can be found below:
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29
- 9:30 a.m. – First Session (10 Mats) – (Championship Rounds 1 & 2, Wrestlebacks)
- 7:00 p.m. – Second Session (10 Mats) – (Quarterfinals, Wrestlebacks)
- 11:00 a.m. – Third Session (8 Mats) – (Semis, consolation, 7th place match, women's division begins)
- 6:05 p.m. – Fourth Session (4 Mats) – (1st, 3rd, 5th place matches–men's and women's divisions)
- Awards ceremony to conclude at 9:00 p.m.
- Midlands Hall of Fame Inductions will be prior to the final session
Media is welcome to attend this year's Midlands Championships. Credential requests for all reporters, videographers, and photographers can be sent to the tournament's media coordinator Ryan Haley (ryan.haley@northwestern.edu).
HALL OF FAME
Three inductees will be added to the Midlands Championships Hall of Fame on December 30 before the final session. Honorees include Marjo Kraft, Leo Kocher (University of Chicago wrestling head coach), and longtime tournament administrator Lee Wahlgren.
Full list of participating teams at #Midlands58:
Men's Division:
- Air Force Academy
- Arizona State
- Binghamton
- Bloomsburg
- Brown
- Bucknell
- Buffalo
- California Baptist
- Central Michigan
- Cleveland State
- Edinboro
- Franklin & Marshall
- George Mason
- Harper College
- Harvard
- Hofstra
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Johnson & Wales
- Lehigh
- Michigan
- Naval Academy Preparatory School
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- North Central College
- Northern Illinois
- Northwestern
- Oklahoma
- Omega Training Center
- Penn
- Pittsburgh
- Princeton
- Rhode Island College
- Rutgers
- South Dakota State
- SIUE
- Thomas Moore
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wisconsin-Whitewater
- Augsburg
- Aurora
- Brewton Parker College
- Grand View
- McKendree
- North Central College
- Presbyterian College
- Wisconsin-Stevens Point
- Wyoming Seminary
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