Bucknell's Hartman Third, Gould Fifth at Midlands Championships

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Bucknell's Zach Hartman took third in the 157-pound weight class, and Joey Gould finished fifth in the 141-pound weight class, at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, which wrapped up Sunday at the Sears Centre Arena.

Hartman made a statement at the prestigious tourney, knocking off five seeded wrestlers to post a 6-1 record. The unseeded freshman also upset two nationally ranked grapplers in No. 15 Christian Pagdilao of Arizona State and No. 17 John Van Brill of Rutgers over the course of the two-day event.

Gould joined Hartman on the podium, battling from the consolation round of eight into the fifth-place bout. There, he scored a commanding 13-5 major decision over Army West Point's Corey Shie; tied 5-5 at the end of a frenetic opening frame, Gould posted a takedown and four back points with two seconds remaining in the second period to break open the bout.

The Bison, who tied Brown for 14th in the 67-team field with 38 points, have now placed eight wrestlers on the podium at the Midlands Championships. Hartman and Gould join current assistant coach Kevin LeValley (149, 1st in 2010, 3rd in 2009), Tyler Smith (141, 3rd in 2017), Bryan Burns (190, 4th in 1990, 8th in 1991), Ken Herceg (167, 5th in 1991), Brian Pitzer (158, 5th in 1997) and Shane Riccio (174, 7th in 2009) in that exclusive club.

Hartman, who went 4-0 on Saturday to advance to the semifinals, faced Kaleb Young, the second seed, for a spot in the championship bout. He became the first wrestler to hold Young to a decision at the tourney, falling by a 9-2 margin. The Iowa standout, who was ranked eighth in the most recent Intermat poll, registered three technical falls by a combined margin of 48-0 and one 4:13 pin to reach the semifinals. Young, who placed fifth at last year's Midlands Championships in the 165-pound weight class, went on to take second in the 157-pound weight class this year.

After falling to Young, Hartman earned his spot in the third-place bout in dramatic fashion. Tied 4-4 with Princeton's Mike D'Angelo, the fourth seed, through three periods, Hartman scored a takedown with 47 seconds on the clock in the sudden victory frame to advance. In the third-place bout, Hartman put an exclamation mark on his breakout tourney with a decisive 8-3 decision over 12th-seeded Jeren Glosser of Iowa; Hartman outscored Glosser by a 3-0 margin in the third period, and picked up the riding time point, to seal his victory.

Gould, who was sent to the consolation bracket with a loss in the round of eight, guaranteed himself a spot on the podium with tight victories over Arizona State's Cory Crooks (3-1) and Michigan's Ben Freeman (6-4); his win over Freeman, the 14th seed, was his second of the tourney. An 11-4 loss to fifth-seeded Yahya Thomas of Northwestern sent him to the fifth-place bout, where he ultimately prevailed in commanding fashion over Shie.

Like Hartman, Gould entered the Midlands Championships unseeded; he dispatched two seeded wrestlers en route to his 5-2 record, including Tristan Moran, the third seed and Intermat's 14th-ranked wrestler.

The Bison next begin EIWA action by hosting Navy on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. in Davis Gym.

141: Joey Gould (5th Place, 5-2)
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
Consolation Round of 8: W, dec. over Cory Crooks (Arizona State), 3-1
Consolation Round of 4 #1: W, dec. over #14 Ben Freeman (Michigan), 6-4
Consolation Round of 4 #2: L, dec. to #5 Yahya Thomas (Northwestern), 11-4
Fifth-Place Bout: W, maj. dec. over Corey Shie (Army West Point), 13-5

157: Zach Hartman (3rd Place, 6-1)
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
Round of 4: L, dec. to #2 Kaleb Young (Iowa), 9-2
Consolation Round of 4 #2: W, dec. over #4 Mike D'Angelo (Princeton), 6-4 (SV-1)
Third-Place Bout: W, dec. over #12 Jeren Glosser (Iowa), 8-3

Bucknell's Hartman Third, Gould Fifth at Midlands Championships

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Players Mentioned

Joey Gould

Zach Hartman

Tyler Smith