By Mike Finn, W.I.N. Editor
Midway through the 165-pound Midlands championship match, Iowa’s Mark Perry appeared ready to score a takedown after a wild scramble with Iowa State’s Travis Paulson.
But the Cyclone came off the bottom to score the first of two takedowns to not only capture the Midlands title, Dec. 30, in Evanston, but also avenge an earlier-season loss to the Hawkeye.
“I think what it comes down to is who is the last to move,” Paulson said. “He thought he had it and started to settle in and got out of position. Then I started moving. It was a matter of keeping wrestling and go out on top.”
Paulson’s victory was his first over Perry in four career meetings and also showcased a Cyclone effort in Evanston that Iowa State lacked Dec. 3, in Iowa City, where ISU lost 8 of 10 bouts — including Paulson’s 6-4 overtime to Perry — in a a 24-6 dual victory by the Hawkeyes.
“I felt that everything that could go wrong did go wrong that day,” said Paulson about his earlier-season loss to Perry in a match he led 4-1. “Ever since that day, we’ve been counting the days until we get to wrestle them again. We’re ahead on the team race, working our butts off and we’re getting better every week.”
At it showed in Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena, where Iowa State won its first Midlands title since 1981 and Cael Sanderson became the first “rookie” coach to win a team title since Dan Gable led Iowa to the 1976 crown in his first year as the Hawkeyes’ head coach.
“We’re competing hard and we’ve been working on a few technical things,” said Sanderson, who was happy about his team’s effort in Iowa City, considering the Cyclones feature six freshmen in their line-up: 125-pound Nick Fanthorpe, 133-pound Nick Gallick, 141-pound Mitch Mueller, 149-pound Cyler Sanderson (the younger brother of Cael), 184-pound Jake Varner and heavyweight David Zabriske. “When you have six freshmen, it takes time. But things are starting to click.”
Together, the sextet produced a combined 25-11 record and all but Zabriskie placed for the Cyclones, including Fanthorpe, a native of nearby Naperville, Ill., who entered the Midlands unranked and unseeded, but shocked Michigan State’s top-seeded Franklin Gomez, 9-7, in sudden victory, and No. 5 seed Luke Smith (Central Michigan), 4-2, to reach the finals.
“Everyone on that team knew we were close in that dual and had some things to work on,” said Fanthorpe, who settled for second place after falling to Indiana’s Angel Escobedo, 3-1. “Each and every match we are getting better.”
The Cyclone mentor said he was actually more pleased with his three seniors: Trent (157) and Travis Paulson and 197-pound Kurt Backes, who all reached the Midlands finals and combined to produce five falls (three by Trent, including two pins under 36 seconds each), one technical fall and three major decisions in compiling a combined 12-2 mark. Trent Paulson, a 9-8 loser to Illinois’ Mike Poeta, and Backes, who lost to Northwestern’s Mike Tamillow, settled for second place.
“The biggest difference in this tournament was that our three seniors stepped up and scored a ton of bonus points,” Sanderson said. “We did not get the results we wanted in the finals, but our preparation was good.”
Travis Paulson said he felt he took a monkey off his back.
“It’s the biggest clash of styles,” said the heavier of the Paulson twins in his contrast to Perry. “I like to shoot a lot and he’s good at fighting off shots. I’m short and stocky and he’s one of the tallest in the weight class. In my weight class, he’s one of the hardest for me to wrestle.”
Other Midlands notes
n Michigan State’s Nick Simmons not only became the 19th wrestler all-time to join the Midlands “20 in 4 Club” by compiling a 21-1 career mark in his four Midlands appearances, but also won his third Midlands in style by pinning Illinois’ Jimmy Kennedy with his signature move: “the spladle.”
“I have a couple other ways to get it,” said Simmons, who pinned three of his Midlands victims. “I don’t have to get the inside leg since everyone is looking for it anyways.”
Simmons is also enjoying wrestling at 133 pounds after winning two Midlands crowns in 2004 and 2005 at 125 pounds.
“I feel great,” said Simmons, a three-time All-American at 125 pounds who moved up one weight with the arrival of redshirt freshman Franklin Gomez to the MSU line-up. “I had planned on dropping back down at the start of the year but wasn’t sure what I was going to do. I’m wrestling so much better and stronger right now. I’m not cutting any weight at all.”
n Simmons also proved to be a teacher to a high school senior, Corey Jantzen, who became just the fourth prep in history to compete at the Midlands, and finished seventh at 133 pounds.
But approximately one week after the tournament, the New York high school athletic association ruled that Jantzen was ineligibile for the second semester since he competed against college athletes. As of press time, the Jantzen family and his high school were fighting the decision as their athletic director apparently had gotten the state’s approval for Jantzen to compete prior to the tournament.
The native of Shoreham, N.Y., who is ranked No. 1 at 130 pounds in the W.I.N. national high school poll — and joined former prep stars Jimmy Carr, Cary Kolat and Alex Tsirtsis as the only high school wrestlers in Midlands history — won four of six bouts.
Among his losses was an 11-1 setback to Simmons in the quarterfinals.
“The biggest thing is that I have to get out (from underneath),” said Jantzen, who has committed to Harvard. “That’s one reason why I came here. I want to learn to improve on that so I’ll be ready once I get to college.”
Among his victories was a 6-0 blanking of Iowa’s Mario Galanakis in the seventh-place match. Leading just 1-0 after two periods, the prep scored five near fall points using a “crab” ride similar to the one his brother, Jesse, used in 2004 when he won an NCAA championship for the Crimson.
“It’s something that he’s been doing just by being around us and our family,” said Jesse, who is currently a Harvard assistant coach and seven years older than Corey. “He is the type of kid who is self-motivated and does a lot of things on his own. It wasn’t like I had to push him. He always wanted to do it.”
n His name is Angel Escobedo, but the 125-pound Midlands champ from Indiana, could be called, “Good old Joe.” That’s because the Hoosier freshman is wrestling … and succeeding … at a weight that former Indiana wrestler Joe Dubuque won two NCAA titles in 2005 and 2006.
“(Dubuque) taught me the ropes of 125,” said Escobedo, a former four-time state champ from Griffith, Ind. “I was thinking about going 133. He sat me down and said, ‘Look, you are training with me and I’m a national champ. I know the ropes. I can show you and teach you. If you come to this weight class, you should do well.’ I had faith in him and dropped down and so far I’m doing well.”
n Winning a Midlands title for Northwestern used to be rare for the host school, until Jake Herbert won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. That streak appeared to be in jeopardy at the start of this year’s Midlands after Herbert was unable to wrestle after violating a unspecified team rule.
But his teammates made sure a Northwestern wrestler won a title. In fact, two did as both Ryan Lang (141) and Mike Tamillow (197) won championships, while heavyweight Dustin Fox finished second.
“The fun thing about it was that Jake was unable to wrestle and me, Tamillow and Fox were in the finals,” said Lang, the nation’s top-ranked wrestler at his weight. “We’re going to put it all together and have fun with that.”
“I usually see Herbert out there destroying someone,” said Tamillow. “But when he’s not there, he’s still out there. He’s given me a warm-up speech and a little bit of motivation.”
n Illinois’ Mike Poeta won the 157-pound championship, one year after finishing second at 149 pounds as a freshman in a senior-dominated line-up. An even bigger difference for the Illinois sophomore has been his role change for coach Mark Johnson, who features at least two true freshmen in his line-up: 133-pound Jimmy Kennedy, who finished second and 165-pound John Dergo, who finished sixth at 184.
“I went from one end of the spectrum to the other,” said Poeta, who held on to beat Iowa State’s Trent Paulson, 9-8. “I went from being the rookie learning from guys to being the leader in the summer (workouts). It was a big jump and I am up to those responsibilities. I’m not the most vocal leader but lead by example.
“I could wrestle 149 pounds if I had to but I am comfortable with this weight. I’m definitely in better shape than I was last year.”