Wrestling Places Six on Podium; Records Highest Finish Ever at the Midlands Championships

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.- Bucknell placed six wrestlers on the podium and scored 81 points to finish seventh out of 25 teams at the 60th Midlands Championships. The Bison's placement ranks the highest in program history shattering the previous mark of 13th set in 1990-91 and 2009-10. Five Orange & Blue grapplers won four or more matches with Dylan Chappell and Myles Takats leading the way with five wins. Bucknell posted six wins over ranked wrestlers.

"It was a fantastic weekend for our teams and individuals at the prestigious Midlands Championships," said head coach Dan Wirnsberger. "We had many wins against nationally ranked opponents and there are plenty of positives to build off of as we attack the second half of the season. The effort and energy was what we expect as a program and this was a historic finish for us both individually and as a team."

Chappell (141) recorded a medal-winning finish by placing third. The Bison star started the day with a semifinal defeat but rebounded to win two duals to take home bronze. He defeated Stanford's Jason Miranda 11-1 in the third place match.

Myles Takats (174) regrouped from yesterday's quarterfinal loss to finish with five wins and a third place finish. He recorded a major decision and a decision win before obtaining a medical forfeit victory. In the third place clash, Takats faced Central Michigan's Alex Cramer, ranked #22 nationally, who defeated him Sunday. Takats unlocked vengeance with a decisive 16-2 major decision victory.

Logan Shephard (285) grabbed fourth place. His original run ended in a 20-5 defeat in the semifinals. A rebound win arrived in the consolation semifinals over #33 Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton). The comeback ended in a 10-2 major decision to Rutgers's Yaraslau Slavikouski, who ranks fifth nationally in the category,

Dillon Bechtold (197) lost in the semifinals in a 10-3 defeat to #15 Mac Stout (Pittsburgh) and dropped a sudden victory situation in the consolation semifinals. He nabbed fifth place due to a medical forfeit.

Kurt Phipps (133) won seventh place by host team Northwestern's Massey Odiotti with a technical fall outscoring the Big 10 wrestler 15-0. Phipps finished the competitions with a 4-2 mark.

Cade Wirnsberger (157) was the Bison's final podium member finishing eighth. Wirnsberger had a three-match win streak going before falling in the consolation's fifth round and the seventh round matches.

The Bison are off until the Virginia Duals on Jan. 11. Bucknell faces national power Iowa State and formidable foe Rider in a doubleheader.

Full Results (Dec. 29-30)

133: #29 Kurt Phipps (4-2)
Champ. Round 1: W, dec. over Logan Frazier (Indiana), 2-1
Champ. Round 2: W, major dec. over Nico Nardone (Penn), 11-1
Quarterfinal: L, dec. to #16 Dylan Shawver (Rutgers), 3-2
Cons. Round 4: W, medical forfeit over Alex Almeyda (Penn), MFF
Cons. Round 5: L, dec. to Colton Camacho (Edinboro), 8-5
7^th Place Match: W, tech fall over Massey Odiotti (Northwestern), 15-0

133: Vinnie D'Alessandro (0-2)
Champ. Round 1: L, dec. to Tommy Maddox (West Virginia), 18-12
Cons. Round 1: L, tech fall to Marcel Lopez (SIU Edwardsville), 15-0

141: #18 Dylan Chappell (5-1)
Champ. Round 1: W, dec. over William Baysingar (Illinois), 7-2
Champ. Round 2: W, tech fall over Nathan Jerore (Michigan), 20-4
Quarterfinal: W, dec. over Eligh Rivera (Princeton), 8-6
Semifinal: L, fall to #20 Joseph Olivieri (Rutgers), 6:00
Cons. Semifinals: W, dec. over Bryce Kresho (Franklin & Marshall), 9-4
3^rd Place Match: W, major dec. over Jason Miranda (Stanford), 11-1

149: Braden Bower (1-2)
Champ. Round 2: L, dec. to Sam Cartella (Northwestern), 4-0
Cons. Round 3: W, dec. over Jake Harrier (Illinois), 2-1
Cons. Round 4: L, dec. to Wyatt Kerjsa (Purdue), 6-4

157: Cade Wirnsberger (4-3)
Champ. Round 1: W, dec. over Griffin Gonzalez (Lehigh), 4-1
Champ. Round 2: L, major dec. to #21 Johnny Lovett (Central Michigan), 11-3
Cons. Round 2: W, won in tiebreaker – 1 over Ryan Bennett (Illinois), TB-1, 8-2
Cons. Round 3: W, dec. over Michael Cetta (Rutgers), 5-1
Cons. Round 4: W, dec. over #30 James Harrington (Harvard), 7-3
Cons. Round 5: L, major dec. to #18 Jude Swisher (Penn), 11-2
7^th Place Match: L, tech fall to #28 Grigor Cholakyan (Stanford), 20-4

174: #32 Myles Takats (5-1)
Champ. Round 2: W, tech fall over Joseph Martin (Northwestern), 18-0
Quarterfinal: L, dec. to #23 Alex Cramer (Central Michigan), 6-4
Cons. Round 4: W, major dec. over Mason Alessio (Central Michigan), 11-0
Cons. Round 5: W, dec. over Marty Larkin (Michigan State), 10-4
Cons. Semifinals: W, medical forfeit over #20 Luca Augustine (Pittsburgh), MFF
3^rd Place Match: W, major dec. over #23 Alex Cramer (Central Michigan), 16-2

184: Logan Deacetis (1-2)
Champ. Round 2: L, dec. to Brian Soldano (Rutgers), 6-1
Cons. Round 3: W, fall over Spencer Steiner (Northern Illinois), 2:10
Cons. Round 4: L, dec. to Chase Kranitz (Pittsburgh), 13-7

184: Tyler Bienus (1-2)
Champ. Round 2: L, major dec. to #33 Nathan Haas (California Baptist), 13-3
Cons. Round 3: W, fall over Matthew Walsh (Harvard), 3:35
Cons. Round 4: L, major dec. to Dylan Connell (Illinois), 18-5

197: #32 Dillon Bechtold (3-2)
Champ. Round 2: W, sudden victory – 1 over Eli Sheeren (California Baptist), SV-1, 4-1
Quarterfinal: W, dec. over #12 Evan Bates (Northwestern), 7-5
Semifinal: L, dec. to #15 Mac Stout (Pittsburgh), 10-3
Cons. Semifinals: L, sudden victory – 1 to #22 Nick Stemmet (Stanford), SV-1, 5-2
5^th Place Match: W, medical forfeit over #14 John Poznanski (Rutgers), MFF

285: Nolan Springer (2-2)
Champ. Round 1: L, dec. to #5 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers), 11-4
Cons. Round 2: W, medical forfeit over Zach Delsanter (Penn), MFF
Cons. Round 3: W, dec. over Dzhabrail Khurshidov (Michigan), 4-2
Cons. Round 4: L, fall to #33 Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton), 4:44

285: Logan Shephard (4-2)
Champ. Round 1: W, fall over John O'Donnell (Rutgers), 3:19
Champ. Round 2: W, dec. over Michael Wolfgram (West Virginia), 7-2
Quarterfinal: W, dec. over #22 Bryan Caves (Central Michigan), 9-3
Semifinal: L, tech fall to #11 Josh Heindselman (Michigan), 20-5
Cons. Semifinals: W, dec. over #33 Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton), 9-5
3^rd Place Match: L, major dec. to #5 Yaraslau Slavikouski (Rutgers), 10-2

Men's Team Champion: Stanford
Jack Leese Champion of Champions: Lorenzo Norman (Stanford)
Major Kraft Champion of Champions: Everest Leydecker (Unattached)
Dan Gable Men's Outstanding Wrestler: Tyler Knox (Stanford)

Wrestling Places Six on Podium; Records Highest Finish Ever at the Midlands Championships

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Players Mentioned

Dillon Bechtold

Tyler Bienus

Braden Bower

Dylan Chappell

Vinnie D'Alessandro

Logan Deacetis

Kurt Phipps

Logan Shephard

Nolan Springer

Myles Takats

Cade Wirnsberger