Day 1 of Midlands: Walsh to Semifinals

Monday, December 29

Evanston, Ill.

All Day

Indiana University

Midlands

12/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

Dec. 30, 2014

 52nd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships

Day 2 
First session: 1 PM - BTN Plus
Second session: 8 PM - BTN
(both can be viewed on btn2go.com)

Results: trackwrestling.com

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TEAM STANDINGS (after day 1)
1	Iowa	110.5
2	Illinois	90.0
3	Northwestern	65.0
4	Edinboro	60.0
5	Virginia Tech	54.5
6	Old Dominion	49.5
7	Wisconsin	42.5
8	South Dakota State	35.0
9	North Dakota State	34.0
10	Rider	29.0
11	Purdue	28.5
12	Harvard	27.0
13	INDIANA	26.5
14	Penn	26.5
15	CSU Bakersfield	25.0
(top 15 only)

EVANSTON, Ill.- At the end of the day one, Taylor Walsh is the lone Hoosier to remain in championship contention, as he advanced to the semi-finals. Two other Hoosiers -- Nate Jackson and Garret Goldman -- are still able to earn a podium spot through the consolation bracket.

Walsh made quick work of the field by pinning his first two opponents in under two minutes. His two pins bring his season total to 16, which puts him in a tie for fourth on the single-season Indiana list (the redshirt senior holds the school record with 26, set last season). In his quarterfinal match-up, Walsh won a rather uneventful bout in a 3-0 decision over eighth seeded Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton). Walsh will face the 12th nationally-ranked wrestler in the 165-pound weight class, Jackson Morse (Illinois).

Redshirt sophomore Nate Jackson also advanced to the quarterfinals. He added yet another major decision to his total for the season with a 17-7 victory against Ben Hass. Up to that point, Jackson had outscored his opponents 45-18 in his past three bouts dating back to the December 13 match against Manchester's Dylan Lauffer. After defeating 12th seeded Ryan Wolfe (Rider) in an 11-7 decision, the 174-pounder lost a tough match verses the number four seed Brock Gutches, 4-2. He will match-up with David Kocer (South Dakota State) in the consolation bracket tomorrow morning.

Heavyweight Garret Goldman wrestled well for day one to earn a 3-1 record. He took down 12-seed Chris Lopez (Illinois) with a 5-2 decision in the first round. Against nationally ranked (13th) Evan Knutson, Goldman lost a hard-fought match 2-0. But in the wrestle backs, Goldman won two straight beating two Big Ten opponents -- Tyler Kral (Purdue) and Brooks Black (Illinois). The redshirt junior wrestles Dawson Peck in the first session tomorrow.

Luke Sheridan went 2-2 on the day with victories against Vincent Pickett (Edinboro) and Jack Carda (Air Force). In both of Sheridan's losses, it came down to the wire. In his third round bout, Sheridan and the eight seed, Jared Haught, were tied at 2-2 at the end of regulation. There was no score in the sudden victory period, but early in the first 30-second period, Haught got a takedown. Sheridan couldn't escape in the second 30-second period and thus did not advance. In his first consolation match, the senior took on four seed Patrick Downey of Iowa Central; Sheridan lost on a 3-2 decision.

Unattached freshman Jake Danishek had a good showing, going 3-2. In the three matches he won, Danishek outscored his opponents 46-12, earneing a technical fall and a major decision. Alex Gregory finished the day with two victories, defeating Grant Nehring (North Dakota State) and Brooks Marino (Penn). Gregory came close to advancing in consolation after losing 2-1 in a tiebreak.

Weight Class	INDIANA	Day 1 Record
133	Alonzo Shepherd	0-2
141	Jonathan Edwards	0-2
149	Joe Randazzo	0-2
157	Luke Blanton	0-2
157	Alex Gregory	2-2
165	#4/6 (1) Taylor Walsh	3-0
174	#19/14 (5) Nate Jackson	2-1
174	Wyatt Wilson	0-2
184	Jake Masengale	0-2
197	(9) Luke Sheridan	2-2
HWT	Garret Goldman	3-1
	Team Score: 26.5, 13th place (after day 1)
	UNATTACHED
149	Cole Weaver	0-2
157	Jake Danishek	3-2
165	Bryce Martin	0-2
HWT	Fletcher Miller	0-2
bold indicates the wrestler is still in championship contention italics indicates that the wrestler is still alive in consolation bracket ranknigs are listed as follows: # InterMat/WIN Magazine (Midlands seed)