Huskers Take Runner-Up Honors at Midlands

Evanston, Ill. – Led by two finalists, No. 9 Nebraska finished second in the 53rd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday.

The Huskers scored 135 points for the tournament to finish behind team champion Iowa (152). Rutgers rounded out the top three with 110 points.

All-American TJ Dudley (184) and redshirt freshman Derek White (197) each advanced to the finals, but fell by narrow decisions to collect runner-up honors. Dudley, the No. 8 wrestler by InterMat, pinned No. 16 Abram Ayala of Princeton in the semifinals. Dudley fell to two-time NCAA champion David Taylor, a former Penn State wrestler, by a 5-3 decision in the finals.

At 197 pounds, White won a 6-2 decision in the semifinals over Rutgers’ Hayden Hrymack. In the finals, White fell to fourth-ranked Nathan Burak of Iowa, 6-1. White, a redshirt freshman from Edmond, Okla., moves to 8-2 on the season.

No. 10 Tim Lambert (125), No. 14 Eric Montoya (133) and No. 7 Jake Sueflohn (149) each finished third. Lambert, a junior from Forest Hills, Mich., went 5-1 in the tournament and has won 11 of his last 12 matches.

Montoya defeated 20th-ranked Anthony Giraldo of Rutgers in the third-place match, 4-2. Montoya went 7-1 in the tournament, which included one pin and three major decisions.

Sueflohn fell to No. 2 Brandon Sorensen of Iowa in the semifinals, but responded with two victories to finish third. Sueflohn won a 10-1 major decision over fourth-ranked Alexander Richardson of Old Dominion in the third-place match.

No. 12 Micah Barnes (174) and No. 16 Aaron Studebaker (197) each finished fourth. No. 11 Austin Wilson (165) took fifth place with a 7-2 showing at the Midlands Championships. Freshman Kris Williams (125), wrestling unattached, also finished fifth. He went 6-2 with four bonus-point wins.

No. 18 Tyler Berger finished seventh at 157 pounds after a 5-2 performance in the tournament. No. 15 Collin Jensen (HWT) also wrestled on Wednesday, but did not place.

The Huskers resume their Big Ten dual slate on Friday, Jan. 8 at Wisconsin at 7 p.m. (CT). On Sunday, Jan. 10, NU will host Minnesota at the Devaney Center at 2 p.m. Both duals will be streamed on BTN Plus.

53rd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30, 2015)
125: #10 Tim Lambert – 3rd (5-1)
125: Kris Williams (unattached) – 5th (6-2)
133: #14 Eric Montoya – 3rd (7-1)
133: Brian Peska – DNP (0-2)
141: #17 Anthony Abidin – DNP (2-2)
141: Colton McCrystal – DNP (0-2)
149: #7 Jake Sueflohn – 3rd (6-1)
157: #18 Tyler Berger – 7th (5-2)
165: #11 Austin Wilson – 5th (7-2)
165: Dustin Williams – DNP (2-2)
174: #12 Micah Barnes – 4th (4-1)
184: #8 TJ Dudley – 2nd (4-1)
197: Derek White – 2nd (4-1)
197: #16 Aaron Studebaker – 4th (4-2)
HWT: #15 Collin Jensen – DNP (2-2)