Dec. 22, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Ken Kraft, the tournament director of the 2008 Midlands Championships, has announced the pre-tournament rankings for the event, which takes place at Northwestern University on Dec. 29-30. Final seeding for the event will be determined on Sunday, Dec. 28. Four ODU Monarchs are pre-seeded for this years tournament, including James Nicholson as the three seed at 125 lbs.
Nicholson leads the seeds for ODU, followed by junior Kyle Hutter as the seven seed at 133 lbs, junior Jesse Strawn as the eighth seed at 197 lbs and senior Ryan Williams listed as the eighth seed at 141 lbs.
"Midlands is a very important tournament because of the new NCAA qualifying system," said head coach Steve Martin. "Everyone is going to be there and every win and loss means more during this tournament than it will all year. This is an opportunity for our kids to earn a seed at the National Tournament."
Nicholson and Williams have posted 10 wins already this season, with just one loss between them. Both are currently ranked in the top ten in the nation. Hutter and Strawn have also both been nationally ranked this season.
Pre-Tournament Rankings:
125
1. Charlie Falck, Iowa
2. Brandon Precin, Northwestern
3. James Nicholson, Old Dominion
4. Tyler Clark, Iowa State
5. Anthony Robles, Arizona State
6. Scott Sentes, Central Michigan
7. Ben Kjar, Utah Valley State
8. Jay Ivanco. Clarion
133
1. Jimmy Kennedy, Illinois
2. Nick Fanthorpe, Iowa State
3. Dan Dennis, Iowa
4. Steve Bell, Maryland
5. Joe Slaton, Iowa
6. Conor Beebe, Central Michigan
7. Kyle Hutter, Old Dominion
8. James Conroy, Pittsburgh
141
1. Alex Tsirtsis, Iowa
2. Nick Gallick, Iowa State
3. Corey Jantzen, Harvard
4. Tyler Nauman, Pittsburgh
5. Keith Sulzer, Northwestern
6. Dan LeClere, Iowa
7. Ed Gutnik, Providence Wr. Assn.
8. Ryan Williams, Old Dominion
149
1. Brent Metcalf, Iowa
2. Jake Patacsil, Purdue
3. Mitch Mueller, Iowa State
4. Kyle Ruschell, Wisconsin
5. Steve Brown, Central Michigan
6. Kyle Borshoff, American
7. Henrich Barnes, Oregon State
8. Troy Tirapelle, Illinois
157
1. Mike Poeta, Illinois
2. Chris Bono, unat.
3. Cyler Sanderson, Iowa State
4. J.P. O'Connor, Harvard
5. Michael Chandler, Missouri
6. Kent Kinzer, Indiana
7. Jason Welch, Northwestern
8. Hadley Harrison, Clarion
165
1. Moza Fry, Northern Iowa
2. Nick Marable, Missouri
3. Ryan Morningstar, Iowa
4. Jon Reader, Iowa State
5. Roger Smith-Bergsrud, Illinois
6. Luke Manuel, Purdue
7. Jason Lapham, Rider
8. Trevor Stewart, Central Michigan
174
1. Jay Borschel, Iowa
2. Ray Jordan, Missouri
3. Mike Cannon, American
4. Duke Burk, Iowa State
5. John Dergo, Illinois
6. Mike Miller, Central Michigan
184
1. Jake Herbert, Northwestern
2. Phil Keddy, Iowa
3. Lou Caputo, Harvard
4. Doug Umbehauer, Rider
5. John Clark, Providence Wr. Assn.
6. Kyle Bressler, Oregon State
7. A. J. Kissel, Purdue
8. Jerome Ward, Iowa State
197
1. Jake Varner, Iowa State
2. Max Askren, Missouri
3. Dallas Herbst, Wisconsin
4. Hudson Taylor, Maryland
5. Andrew Anderson, Northern Iowa
6. Logan Brown, Purdue
7. Chad Beatty, Iowa
8. Jesse Strawn, Old Dominion
285
1. Dave Zabriske, Iowa State
2. Mark Ellis, Missouri
3. Kyle Massey, Wisconsin
4. Mike Tamillow, Wildcat WC
5. John Wise, Illinois
6. Zach Shaeffer, Pittsburgh
7. Rashard Goff, Cleveland State
8. Josh Wine, Virginia Military