Ken Kraft Midlands Championships: Day One Update
12/29/2015 7:13:00 PM | Wrestling
Brackets
EVANSTON, Ill. - Day one is in the books at the 53rd annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, with two Columbia wrestlers still alive for the second day of competition at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois.
Markus Scheidel and Angelo Amenta advanced to the quarterfinal round after impressive performances in the first session of the day. Day two will get under way Wednesday at noon.
After winning his first two matches, Scheidel trailed the No. 8 seed, Richie Lewis from Rutgers, 3-2, in the third period. With under 10 seconds remaining, the 157-pounder secured a takedown and held on to beat Lewis, 4-3.
In the quarterfinal match against the No. 1 seed and three-time NCAA Qualifier Cody Pack from South Dakota State, Scheidel had the edge all throughout, enjoying a 5-3 lead in the third period. Pack was able to tie the match with a takedown, then during a scramble, he pinned the junior to earn the win. In his first match tomorrow, Scheidel will take on Arizona State's Oliver Pierce.
Amenta received a first round bye before being paired with EIWA foe Esteban Gomez-Rivera from American in the round of 32. The two 133-pounders felt each other out in the scoreless first period, before Amenta posted a 4-0 victory.
The senior then was able to top Bloomsburg's Andy Schutz by a 4-2 margin, setting up a quarterfinal match with 2015 NCAA runner-up and the No. 1 seed from Iowa, Cory Clark. The All-American for the Hawkeyes earned a trip to the semifinals after an 8-1 win over Amenta. In tomorrow's consolation bracket, the Columbia senior will wrestle Dominick Malone from Northwestern.
Garrett Ryan was one win away from reaching day two, but fell to Eastern Michigan's Gage Hutchinson, 9-4. Ryan had a quick turnaround, having defeated Northern Iowa's JJ Everard, 6-2, not long before the match with Hutchinson. On the day, Ryan also earned a major decision win over Duece Rachal from Illinois, 14-4, and dropped a 4-0 match to Arizona State's Tanner Hall.
Along with the other three wrestlers that advanced to the second session, Tyler Ponte (149), Max Elling (165), Zack Hernandez (174) and Mike Fetchet (184) all were able to avoid a second loss in the first session.
For live coverage of Day Two from Northwestern, head to trackwrestling.com, or follow @ColumbiaWR on twitter.
Players Mentioned
