Dec. 29, 2002
University of Illinois 165-pounder Matt Lackey defeated fifth-seeded Troy Letters of Lehigh to advance to the finals of the 40th Annual Midlands Tournament Saturday afternoon in Evanston, Ill. With five wrestlers still alive in the bracket, the sixth-ranked Illini hold tight to third-place in the team scoring after three full sessions. Second-ranked Iowa remains in first with 119.5 points, followed by fifth-ranked Ohio State with 91.5 points, and Illinois is third with 83.5.
Lackey, ranked No. 1, but seeded second, scored a takedown in each of the three periods and allowed only escape points from Letters to record his 15th win of the season. The Moline, Ill. native will meet No. 1-seed Joe Heskett, wrestling for Sunkist Wrestling Club and formerly of Iowa State, in what will be a rematch of the 2002 NCAA Championship and 2001 Midlands title match. Lackey lost both those matches, the only two of his junior season (38-2).
Freshman 10th-ranked Kyle Ott took on No. 1 seed Luke Eustice (Iowa) in the semifinals at 125 pounds, losing a 7-2 decision despite getting the match's first takedown at 1:50 in the first period. He then fell to the consolation bracket where he dropped a 7-3 decision to 12th-ranked Nick Simmons of Michigan State. He will meet Chris Rodrigues of North Carolina in the fifth-place match.
At 174, sophomore fifth-ranked Brian Glynn lost in the semis to No. 1 seed Joe Williams (Sunkist) in an 8-4 decision. Williams is a member of the U.S. World Freestyle Team, in which he is ranked third internationally. Glynn got the team's second pin of the day when he caught sixth-ranked Eric Hauan of Northern Iowa in a cradle to win by fall in 3:45. He will face third-seeded Nathan Coy of Orange Crush in the third-place match.
Freshmen Tony Pedrosa (Oregon, IL) and Alex Tirapelle (Clovis, CA) both lost their consolation semifinal matches and will compete for fifth-place in the final session of the tournament. Pedrosa was pinned by Mike Mendozza of the Dave Schultz WC in 3:24. He won his first two bouts of the day scoring on near fall points in the final seconds of the match to win a 5-4 decision over No. 14 Nathan Galloway of Penn State. He followed that match with a 12-4 major decision over Jon Garvin of Northern Iowa. Tirapelle opened the day with a 2-0 win over Frank DeFilippis of Eastern Illinois and then recorded the team's first pin of the tournament with a fall in 4:34 over No. 12 David Bolyard of Central Michigan. His consolation semi loss was to former UT-Chattanooga All-American Heath Eslinger in a 5-1 decision. Tirapelle will face No. 8 Derek Jenkins of Rider and Pedrosa will battle No. 12 Ty Eustice of Iowa for fifth.
Sophomore 133-pounder Mark Jayne (Elyria, OH) took seventh-place, matching his 2001 Midlands placing, with a 7-2 decision over Hofstra's Ricky LaForge. Jayne began the day with a 6-3 win over Brad Metzler of Stanford to advance to the consolation quarters where he fell to No. 1-ranked Cliff Moore of Iowa, 13-5.
Team Scores
1. Iowa - 119.5
2. Ohio State - 91.5
3. Illinois - 83.5
4. Penn State - 82.5
5. Iowa State - 72.5
125 - #10 Kyle Ott (Fr., Huber Heights, Ohio) 13-3
1st Round: Dec. Marlon Felton (N. Illinois), 4-2
2nd Round: Dec. Mario Stuart (Lehigh), 7-3
Quarterfinals: Dec. #9 Chris Rodrigues (North Carolina), 5-1
Semifinals: Lost to #1 Luke Eustice (Iowa), 7-2
Consolation Semifinals: #13 Nick Simmons (Michigan St.)
Up Next - 5th-Place Match: #9 Chris Rodrigues (North Carolina)
133 - #16 Mark Jayne (So., Elyria, Ohio) 14-4
1st Round: Dec. Travis Drake (Appalachain St.), 9-3
2nd Round: #10 Phil Mansueto (Cleveland St.), 2-1 TB
Quarterfinals: Lost to Mike Simpson (Ariz St.), 7-4
Consolation 5th Round: Dec. Brad Metzler (Stanford), 6-3
Consolation Quarterfinals: Lost to #5 Cliff Moore (Iowa), 13-5
7th Place Match: Dec. Ricky Laforge (Hofstra), 7-2
149 - Tony Pedrosa (Fr., Oregon, Ill.) 10-4
1st Round: Dec. Paul Augle (Northwestern), 7-3
2nd Round: Dec. Jeff Harrison (N. Illinois), 11-9
Quarterfinals: Lost to #11 Jon Masa (Hofstra), 14-8
Consolation 5th Round: Dec. #14 Nathan Galloway (Penn St.), 5-4
Consolation Quarterfinals: Major dec. Jon Garvin (Northern Iowa), 12-4
Consolation Semifinals: Pinned by Mike Mendozza (Dave Schultz WC), 3:26
Up Next - 5th-Place Match: #12 Ty Eustice (Iowa)
157 - #10 Alex Tirapelle (Fr., Clovis, Calif.) 15-3
1st Round: Major dec. Chad Roush (E. Michigan), 10-0
2nd Round: Dec. Matt Nagel (Minnesota), 8-1
Quarterfinals: Lost to #8 Derek Jenkins (Rider), 5-2
Consolation 5th Round: Dec. Frank DeFilippis (E. Illinois), 2-0
Consolation Quarterfinals: Pinned #12 David Bolyard (Central Michigan), 4:34
Consolation Semifinals: Lost to Heath Eslinger (Gator WC), 5-1
Up Next - 5th-Place Match: #8 Derek Jenkins (Rider)
165 - #1 Matt Lackey (Sr., Moline, Ill.) 15-0
Rat Tail: Dec. Rich Ferguson (Penn), 9-2
1st Round: Dec. Brad Anderson (Central Mich.), 8-1
2nd Round: Dec. Jed Pennell (Oregon St.), 5-3
Quarterfinals: Dec. #11 Nick Passalano (Iowa St.), 3-1
Semifinals: Dec. #5 Troy Letters (Lehigh), 6-3
Up Next - Finals: #1-seed Joe Heskett (Sunkist)
174 - #5 Brian Glynn (So., Orland Park, Ill.) 13-1
1st Round: Dec. Jason Erwinski (Northwestern), 5-1
2nd Round: Dec. Bill Lowney (N. Illinois), 3-1
Quarterfinals: Dec. John Carr (East Stroudsburg), 6-2
Semifinals: Dec. #1-seed Joe Williams (Sunkist), 8-4
Consolation Semifinals: Pinned #6 Eric Hauan (Northern Iowa), 3:45
Up Next - 3rd-Place Match: #3-seed Nathan Coy (Orange Crush)
----------- Results from Wrestlers Eliminated--------------------
141 - #16 Cal Ferry (Fr., Machesney, Ill.) 10-5
1st Round: Dec. Mike Unger (Oregon St.), 2-1
2nd Round: Lost to Josh Wooten (N. Illinois), 3-2
Consolation 3rd Round: Dec. Brian Baglio (North Carolina), 5-1
Consolation 4th Round: Lost to #1 Aaron Holker (Iowa St.), 12-1
157 - Anton Dietzen (So., Elmhurst, Ill.) 5-5
1st Round: Dec. James Woodall (Penn St.), 11-4
2nd Round: Lost to #9 Derek Zinck (Lehigh), 5-2
Consolation 3rd Round: Dec. Brian Cobb (CS-Bakersfield), 4-3
Consolation 4th Round: Lost to Frank DeFilippis (E. Illinois), 6-2
165 - Anthony Castillo (So., Western Springs, Ill.) 3-6
1st Round: Lost to #6 Johnny Clark (Ohio St.), 7-3
Consolation 2nd Round: Lost to Matt Ellis (Oregon St.), 5-2
174 - Peter Friedl (Fr., Orland Park, Ill.) 11-4
1st Round: Dec. Anthony Regalbuto (West Va.), 7-4
2nd Round: Lost to #6 Eric Hauan (N. Iowa), 6-4
Consolation 3rd Round: Dec. Ryan Hagan (Stanford), 3-1
Consolation 4th Round: Lost to Andy Roy (Rutgers), 8-6
184 - #10 Jason Potter (Jr., St. Charles, Ill.) 6-2
1st Round: Major dec. Matt Sassalino (Triton), 13-3
2nd Round: Lost to Aaron Simpson (Sunkist), 3-1
Consolation 3rd Round: Lost to Mauricio Wright (San Fran. St.), 3-2
197 - #17 Tyrone Byrd (So., Clinton, Ill.) 11-4
1st Round: Dec. Woodley Milord (Iowa St.), 5-2
2nd Round: Lost to #6-seed Pat Popolizio (Atlas WC), 3-0
Consolation 3rd Round: Dec. Drew Dunbar (San Fran St.), 6-0
Consolation 4th Round: Lost to #14 Matt Greenberg (Cornell), 10-3
Hwt - Chris Little (Fr., Mahomet, Ill.) 3-5
1st Round: Lost to #9-seed Nick Preston (Sunkist), 7-2
Consolation 2nd Round: Dec. Pete Mueller (Lincoln), 5-3
Consolation 3rd Round: Dec. Jack Dennis (N. Illinois). 3-1 SV
Consolation 4th Round: Lost to Henry Lossen (Michigan St.), 3-1
Hwt - Matt Fletcher (Fr., LaSalle, Ill.) 1-1
1st Round: Lost to Brian Keck (WWC), 13-4
Consolation 2nd Round: Dec. Dathen Miller (Lassen), 3-2
Consolation 3rd Round: Lost to John Wechter (Michigan St.), 14-3
