#Midlands54: Jackson Set For Semifinal With No. 2 Dudley

Thursday, December 29

Evanston, IL

8 PM

Indiana University

Midlands - Session 2

#Midlands54: Jackson Set For Semifinal With No. 2 Dudley

12/30/2016 12:12:00 AM | Wrestling

Bout-by-Bout Results Midlands Hub Session III on BTN Plus Day 1 Brackets (PDF)TrackWrestling

Skatzka one bout away from podium

EVANSTON, Ill. – Indiana wrestling senior Nate Jackson planted his flag as a contender at 184 lbs. on Thursday evening at the Midlands Championships.

Jackson was undefeated entering the tournament, and had a bevy of impressive statistics to back his claim. But a win against any top-10 grappler in the weight was missing from his résumé. Midlands provided the opportunity in Thursday night's quarterfinal round, a matchup against Iowa's reigning Big Ten Champion and 2016 All-American Sammy Brooks.

Jackson seized the moment.

It began as many top-10 matches do. Jackson and Brooks felt each other out, looked for a weakness, and looked to snap away from holds to set their opponent off-kilter. But that didn't last long.

Brooks, ranked fifth nationally, got the first good look. He brushed away from Jackson's shot, wheeled behind the IU senior, and got in on a single leg. Brooks had Jackson upside-down with his shoulder on the mat, but a stalemate broke the compromising position. Jackson took another shot but Brooks brushed it away. Brooks looked to have the first takedown with back points in short time, but it came after time expired.

After a scoreless first period, Jackson started down. His escape broke the tie but the match remained defensive. Brooks' ensuing shot led to a stalemate; Jackson's didn't find fruition. Brooks looked to have the answer in short time, but Jackson picked his ankle and jammed the move. At the whistle, Jackson's escape was the difference.

Brooks quickly tied it up with his escape point, and the grapplers were determined to end it in the final 1:50. Brooks lunged for a single and hoisted Jackson's leg into the air, looking for the decisive score. Instead, Jackson shifted his weight and dropped Brooks to the mat, scoring two on a rapid counterattack.

Jackson rode out the final 47 seconds, which was all he needed to do to secure the 3-1 decision for his biggest win of the season. With that, Jackson moved to 19-0, and he advanced to the Midlands semifinals without giving up a takedown.

Skatzka in a Familiar Place
Last season as a redshirt, Devin Skatzka shocked the field and came one bout away from reaching the podium. Along the way, he spoiled some opponents' weekends, including his win by fall over No. 16 Matt Reed (Oklahoma) in the wrestle backs.

This year is looking fairly similar to Skatzka, as he is once again a match away from the podium. It began with an upset, a pin against No. 15 CJ Brucki (Central Michigan). He bowed out of title contention in the next match, after 11-seed Austin Dewey (Boise State) won with a pin in the second round.

Skatzka battled back. He scored a major decision over Austin Coniker (Columbia) to begin Session II, and followed with a 7-4 decision over Central Michigan's Jordan Atienza. The opening-round pin was his eighth of the year, the most by any Hoosier this season, and the win over Coniker was his first varsity major decision.

Skatzka stated in the week leading up to the tournament that he wanted to reach the podium this year, vividly remembering the feeling of being so close last year. He'll get the chance tomorrow against ninth-seeded Micah Barnes (Nebraska).

Four Hoosiers Exit in Session II
A handful of promising podium runs came to an end for Indiana in the evening session. Jake Danishek, the 14-seed at 157 lbs., upended Thomas Bullard (NC State) with four late points to break a 2-2 tie before dropping a sudden victory bout against No. 8 DeWaylon Barnes (Oklahoma). Cole Weaver (141) earned a 6-2 decision over Jack Mutchnick before dropping a 5-1 decision to Nick Zanetta (Pittsburgh).

Unattached freshman Blake Rypel (197) earned the first ranked win of his young career, a 4-2 decision over No. 15 Brad Johnson (Oklahoma) with a takedown in short time of the third period. His weekend ended with a 5-2 loss to No. 22 Austin Severn (Central Michigan). Luke Blanton (149) pinned Tyshawn Williams (SIUE) in 3:49 before No. 19 Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma) stuck Blanton in the first period.

Tomorrow: Session III – Wrestle Backs and Championship Semifinals
Friday, Dec. 30 • 1:00 p.m. ET • Watch: BTN Plus

Jackson's big win in the quarterfinals sets up an even bigger bout in the semifinals against No. 2 T.J. Dudley (Nebraska). Dudley amassed a superb run all the way to the NCAA Championship bout last season, where he lost to champion and current No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell). Both Jackson and Dudley are undefeated, and both will grapple for a spot in the title against the winner between No. 10 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) and No. 11 Nick Gravina (Rutgers).

The winner between Skatzka and Barnes will face a match against the winner between No. 15 David Kocer (South Dakota State) and Jordan Pagano (Rutgers). The loser goes home empty.

All matches from Session III will stream for free on BTN2Go.com. Session IV—the finals, third-place, and fifth-place bouts—will begin at 8:05 p.m. ET. The finals will air live to a global audience on the Big Ten Network.