Takedown Report

Northwestern Wins Midlands Team Crown, Three ‘Cats Capture Individual Titles

Wildcats claim first Midlands team title in program history

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (December 30, 2022) – Hosting the 58^th edition of the prestigious Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, three Wildcats took home individual titles as Northwestern won the Midlands team championship for the first time in program history.
 
Northwestern totaled 122.0 points to top the team leaderboard, while Penn (115.0), Pittsburgh (115.0), Wisconsin (114.5), and Illinois (104.5) rounded out the top five.
 
Lucas Davison was dominant at 285 pounds, shutting out his opponents across five victories on his way to the individual title.  After opening the meet with a fall over Alex Semenenko (Brown), Davison steamrolled his way to the top of the podium, downing Dayton Pitzer (Pittsburgh) by a final count of 4-0 to claim the 285-pound crown.

Yahya Thomas notched a pair of major decision victories en route to the 149-pound semifinals, where he downed No. 10 Doug Zapf (Penn), 3-2.  Thomas picked up another ranked win in the finals, staving off a late charge from No. 5 Kyle Parco (Arizona State) to secure a 4-3 victory. … rest of story at NUsports.com/news/2022/12/30/wrestling-central-northwestern-wins-midlands-team-crown-three-cats-capture-individual-titles

HOST NORTHWESTERN WINS MIDLANDS MEN’S TITLE, NORTH CENTRAL WINS INAUGURAL MIDLANDS WOMEN’S TITLE

Men’s Midlands wrap

A close title for the hometown squad.
Northwestern used three champions to win its first Midlands title on Saturday night in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
The Wildcats entered the day in second but used its finals run to pull through. Penn jumped to runner-up while Pittsburgh,Wisconsin and Illinois finished the rest of the top five. Parity showed as Northwestern’s total — 122 points was only 15.5 ahead of fifth-place Illinois.

Yahya Thomas (149), Trevor Chumbley (157) and Lucas Davison (285) emerged as champions.

Speed showed at 149. Thomas edged Arizona State’s Kyle Parco, 4-3, in a battle of All-Americans. This clash showed high-level skills from guys that could be NCAA title contenders. Parco flexed his defense as he avoided several takedowns with some roll throughs. Tied 3-3 halfway in the third, Thomas escaped to score the final point.

In a match crucial to the team race, Chumbley stopped Wisconsin’s Drew Scharenbrock, 8-0, at 157. Chumbley dominated with 2:15 in riding time.

In the tournament’s final bout, Davison concluded his incredible shutout run with a 3-0 win over Pittsburgh’s Dayton Pitzer in the heavyweight final.

Back at 125, Wisconsin earned its first champion with Eric Barnett. He beat Arizona State’s Brandon Courtney, 6-2.

Though both are multi-time All-Americans, Barnett showed his skill on top with 2:42 of riding time. … rest of story at Teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2022/December/30/Midlands

January 3, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized