Bucknell University
Midlands Championships
Bucknell's Zach Hartman Advances to Semifinals at Midlands Championships
12/29/2018 10:15:00 PM | Wrestling
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Bucknell's Zach Hartman went an unbeaten 4-0 to advance to the semifinals in the 157-pound weight class at the prestigious Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, which kicked off Saturday at the Sears Centre Arena.
The freshman knocked off three seeded wrestlers, two of whom were nationally ranked, to become the second Bison to reach the semifinals in the past two seasons. He will face Iowa's Kaleb Young, the second seed at the Midlands Championships and Intermat's eighth-ranked wrestler, for a spot in the championship bout tomorrow afternoon.
Joey Gould is alive in the consolation bracket for the Bison, who currently stand 15th of 67 teams with 24.5 points. Gould advanced as far as the quarterfinals in the championship bracket at 141 pounds, scoring an impressive victory over the third seed in the process.
Hartman got off to a hot start, toppling his first three opponents by a combined margin of 25-3. First, he dispatched Wisconsin's Devin Bahr, the 11th seed, by a 7-1 decision. After blanking Princeton's Conor Melbourne, 8-0, he took the mat against sixth-seeded Christian Pagdilao, a graduate student out of Arizona State ranked 15th by Intermat. Hartman ultimately dropped Pagdilao, 10-2, to pick up his second-straight major decision and earn a spot in the quarterfinals.
Hartman's opponent in the quarterfinals was Rutgers' John Van Brill, the third seed and Intermat's 17th-ranked wrestler at 157 pounds.Trailing by a 3-2 margin entering the third period, Hartman scored a quick reversal to seize a 4-3 edge. After Van Brill answered with a reversal to regain the advantage, Hartman posted a reversal with 18 seconds remaining to take the lead for good; he walked away a 7-5 victor after being awarded a penalty point in the final 10 seconds.
Notably, Van Brill is a two-time NCAA qualifier and Big Ten placewinner; he also took third in the 157-pound weight class at last year's Midlands Championships, recording seven victories. Pagdilao competed at the 2015 NCAA Championships in the 149-pound weight class.
Hartman followed in the footsteps of Tyler Smith, who finished third at last year's Midlands Championships in the 141-pound weight class. Like Hartman, Smith rolled to the championship bracket's semifinals, registering bonus points on two of his three wins.
Gould upset two seeded wrestlers to reach the quarterfinals in the 141-pound weight class. First, he slipped past 14th-seeded Ben Freeman of Michigan, 5-3, bolstered by a reversal and two back points in the middle stanza. Then, he stunned Wisconsin's Tristan Moran, the third seed and Intermat's 14th-ranked wrestler. Gould came out strong, building a 5-1 advantage in the first period; he ultimately earned a 9-1 major decision, sealing bonus points for Bucknell with his riding time point.
Gould was sent to the consolation bracket by Northern Iowa's Michael Blockhus, another unseeded wrestler who made a run on the opening day. Blockhus pulled away to win, 8-3, by posting a takedown and four back points in the final 30 seconds of the bout. Gould will take on Arizona State's Cory Crooks in tomorrow's consolation round of eight.
Drew Phipps had a strong showing for the Bison at 197 pounds. The junior dominated his first two opponents of the day, most notably pinning Northern Illinois's Ross Sealby in 4:06 during the second round; it was Bucknell's lone win by fall on the first day of the Midlands Championships.
Phipps needed overtime to stay alive in the consolation bracket. After falling to the sixth seed in the round of 16, he met Iowa's Connor Corbin in the consolation round of 16. Tied 1-1 through three periods, neither wrestler could find the score sheet in the sudden victory frame. Phipps ultimately escaped during the tiebreaker period to secure a 2-1 win.
Phipps was later eliminated by Cal Poly's Thomas Lane, the eighth seed, in the consolation round of eight to wrap up the Midlands Championships with a 3-2 record.
Tomorrow's action begins at 1 p.m. with the semifinals, consolation rounds and seventh-place matches; the first-, third- and fifth-place matches will follow at 8 p.m.Â
125: Jakob Campbell (1-2)
Round of 32: L, dec. to #6 Connor Brown (Wisconsin), 13-8
Consolation Round of 16 #1: W, dec. over Willy Girard (Bloomsburg), 3-2
Consolation Round of 16 #2: L, dec. to #16 Bryce West (Northern Illinois), 6-4 (SV-1)
J. Campbell eliminated
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133: David Campbell (1-2)
Round of 64: W, dec. over Deven Perez (Central Michigan), 8-5
Round of 32: L, dec. to Bobby Jordan (Johnson & Wales), 3-2
Consolation Round of 16 #1: L, maj. dec. to Abdullah Assaf (Illinois), 12-4
D. Campbell eliminated
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141: Joey Gould (2-1)
Round of 32: W, dec. over #14 Ben Freeman (Michigan), 5-3
Round of 16: W, maj. dec. over #3 Tristan Moran (Wisconsin), 9-1
Round of 8: L, dec. to Michael Blockhus (Northern Iowa), 8-3
Will face Cory Crooks (Arizona State) in the consolation round of 8
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141: Matthew Kolonia (2-2)
Round of 32: L, fall to #12 Anthony Cheloni (Northern Illinois), 6:25
Consolation Round of 32: W, dec. over Kyle Todrank (Buffalo), 11-5
Consolation Round of 16 #1: W, dec. over Wilfredo Gil (Franklin & Marshall), 10-5
Consolation Round of 16 #2: L, fall to Corey Shie (Army West Point), 1:12
Kolonia eliminated
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157: Zach Hartman (4-0)
Round of 64: W, dec. over #11 Devin Bahr (Wisconsin), 7-1
Round of 32: W, maj. dec. over Conor Melbourne (Princeton), 8-0
Round of 16: W, maj. dec. over #6 Christian Pagdilao (Arizona State), 10-2
Round of 8: W, dec. over #3 John Van Brill (Rutgers), 7-5
Will face #2 Kaleb Young (Iowa) in the round of 4
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165: D.J. Hollingshead (1-2)
Round of 64: L, maj. dec. to Nate Jimenez (Michigan), 8-0
Consolation Round of 32: W, dec. over Bret Fedewa (Central Michigan), 4-3
Consolation Round of 16 #1: L, dec. to Jake Marsh (Princeton), 9-6
Hollingshead eliminated
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174: Nick Stephani (1-2)
Round of 32: L, fall to #2 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa), 1:36
Consolation Round of 16 #1: W, dec. over Brett Bye (South Dakota), 4-3
Consolation Round of 16 #2: L, fall to #5 Ben Harvey (Army West Point), 3:58
Stephani eliminated
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197: #11 Drew Phipps (3-2)
Round of 64: W, dec. over Patrik Garren (Penn), 4-0
Round of 32: W, fall over Ross Sealby (Northern Illinois), 4:06
Round of 16: L, maj. dec. to #6 Lucas Davison (Northwestern), 14-2
Consolation Round of 16 #2: W, dec. over Connor Corbin (Iowa), 2-1 (TB-1)
Consolation Round of 8: L, maj. dec. to #8 Thomas Lane (Cal Poly), 10-2
Phipps eliminated
Players Mentioned
