Andrew Long Crushes Field at Midlands

It's certainly an interesting story on how (possibly) the best 141 in the country wound up at Grand View (Iowa-NAIA) and winning the Midlands. That story has been written and discussed and hopefully it's not just on the mat in where Long is having success again. On the mat, he posted 48 points in his last two matches en route to a Midlands title six years after losing in the finals to Matt McDonough (Iowa) as a true freshman wrestling for Iowa State. 

Is Long the best 141 in the country this year in college? I am just a glorified blogger really. If you are telling me to put a c-note on who comes out of a 4-man bracket with him, Heil (Oklahoma St), McKenna (Stanford), and Jack (NC State).....tough to think the smart money isn't on Long. 

Iowa won the team race behind three champions: Gilman, Sorensen, and Burak. While three champions and a team title is a great achievement, even for Iowa, the Hawkeyes may not be feeling any better about chances in March than they were before this tournament. At 141 & 157, they failed to place. At 165, Rhoads placed 7th in a pretty weak bracket. No significant points in these three weight classes will be tough to overcome in March. 

NC State takes home two titles with Gwiazdowski (as expected) and then at 157 with Tommy Gantt. Gantt was amazing all tournament and really showed he is a serious threat at the weight class. 

TJ Dudley (Nebraska) got the first takedown on David Taylor (University of Magic Studies) and really hung in there all match. I think it showed Taylor feeling the weight of different guys to get a better idea heading in to the trials this spring. Getting these matches appeared not only beneficial to the fans but also to Taylor. 

125:
1st: No. 2 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) dec. No. 6 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State), 5-1
3rd: No. 10 Tim Lambert (Nebraska) dec. No. 16 Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State), 4-2
5th: Kris Williams (Nebraska) maj. dec. Kegan Calkins (Oregon State), 12-4
7th: Ben Thornton (Purdue) dec. Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion), 6-4

133:
1st: Emilio Saavedra (Old Dominion) dec. No. 18 Josh Alber (Northern Iowa), 4-2 SV2
3rd: No. 14 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) dec. No. 20 Anthony Giraldo (Rutgers), 4-2
5th: Dom Malone (Northwestern) by medical forfeit over Cory Clark (Iowa)
7th: No. 5 Earl Hall (Iowa State) maj. dec. No. 17 Mason Beckman (Lehigh), 11-3

141:
1st: Andrew Long (Grand View) tech. fall No. 20 Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois), 23-6
3rd: No. 5 Kevin Jack (North Carolina State) dec. No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers), 5-2
5th: Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) dec. Ronnie Perry (Lock Haven), 8-6
7th: No. 19 Rick Durso (Franklin & Marshall) dec. No. 3 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion), 3-1

149:
1st: No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. No. 3 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern), 3-1 SV
3rd: No. 7 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) maj. dec. No. 4 Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion), 10-1
5th: Michael Kemerer (Iowa) by medical forfeit over No. 14 Bryant Clagon (Rider)
7th: Ken Theobald (Rutgers) pinned No. 16 Gabe Moreno (Iowa State), 1:12

157:
1st: No. 7 Thomas Gantt (North Carolina State) dec. No. 6 Cody Pack (South Dakota State), 4-2
3rd: No. 20 Chad Walsh (Rider) maj. dec. No. 17 Richie Lewis (Rutgers), 10-1
5th: Greg Flournoy (George Mason) by medical forfeit over No. 11 John Boyle (American)
7th: No. 18 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. Markus Scheidel (Columbia), 5-2

165:
1st: No. 6 Chad Welch (Purdue) pinned No. 15 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa St.), 3:54
3rd: No. 19 Connor Brennan (Rider) dec. Mitch Wightman (American), 6-2
5th: No. 11 Austin Wilson (Nebraska) dec. Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield), 3-1
7th: Patrick Rhoads (Iowa) pinned Tyler Rill (Buffalo), 6:42

174:
1st: No. 9 Cody Walters (Ohio) dec. No. 13 Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton), 1-0
3rd: No. 3 Alex Meyer (Iowa) by medical forfeit over No. 12 Micah Barnes (Nebraska)
5th: Phil Bakuckas (Rutgers) dec. David Kocer (South Dakota State), 4-1
7th: No. 15 Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) pinned Trace Engelkes (Northern Illinois), 0:18

184:
1st: David Taylor (Nittany Lion WC) dec. No. 8 T.J. Dudley (Nebraska), 5-3
3rd: No. 12 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State) dec. No. 7 Sammy Brooks (Iowa), 9-5
5th: No. 17 Pete Renda (North Carolina State) dec. No. 16 Abram Ayala (Princeton), 3-2
7th: Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) pinned No. 20 Nick Gravina (Rutgers), 2:44

197:
1st: No. 4 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. Derek White (Nebraska), 6-1
3rd: No. 13 Brett Harner (Princeton) pinned No. 16 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), 2:50
5th: No. 6 Reuben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield) by medical forfeit over Hayden Hrymack (Rutgers)
7th: No. 12 Nate Rotert (South Dakota State) dec. Ryan Wolfe (Rider), 7-3

285:
1st: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) dec. No. 18 Tanner Hall (Arizona State), 4-3
3rd: No. 8 Sam Stoll (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 11 Ross Larson (Oklahoma), 11-1
5th: No. 9 Billy Smith (Rutgers) dec. Dawson Peck (Maryland), 5-0
7th: Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan) tech. fall Joseph Fagiano (Cal Baptist), 26-8