Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Midlands Day 2
Players Mentioned
Best Individual, Team Finish At Midlands Gives Wrestling Strong End To 2015
December 31, 2015 | Wrestling
Sophomore Jonathan Schleifer became Princeton's first Midlands finalist Wednesday, and he helped the Tigers place eighth overall, the program's best finish in the prestigious 53-year history of the event.
He was one of three placewinners for the Tigers, who scored 63 team points to place eighth. Schleifer, who scored an overtime takedown against second-seeded Micah Barnes to win a tense 5-4 semifinal, fell 1-0 in a tightly contested final to Ohio's Cody Walters. He took second at 174, while junior teammate Brett Harner ran through Wednesday unbeaten to take third at 197. Senior Abram Ayala rounded out the placewinners with a sixth-place finish at 184.
The eighth-place finish does not even include the performance of Matthew Kolodzik, who was accepted into the Princeton Class of 2019, but elected to defer for one year. Kolodzik wrestled unattached at Midlands, upset two returning All-Americas and finished fifth overall; after topping second-ranked Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers, he lost his semifinal by one point in overtime.
Schleifer, who finished on the right side of a semifinal overtime, was aggressive against Walters, who defeated top-seeded Alex Meyer of Iowa 7-0 in the other semifinal. Both fought out of scrambles in the first period; Schleifer chose neutral against Walters to start the second, but neither managed a takedown, and Walters won with a third-period escape.
Shortly after Schleifer's loss, Harner took the mat for his third-place match against Nebraska's Aaron Studebaker, who topped Harner is an overtime quarterfinal match Tuesday. Harner, who opened the consolation round with yet another overtime match, reached the third-place match with a 10-4 win and a first-period fall, and he apparently found the latter to be the more enjoyable way to win.
So he did it again to claim third. Harner put his Nebraska opponent to his back late in the first period and got the win to give Princeton its final points in an eighth-place showing.
"Overall, I am very excited with how the team competed," head coach Chris Ayres said. "To be a part of a program-best eighth-place finish makes this a special moment for the team and everyone who helped get us to this point. It was especially exciting watching Schleifer and Harner compete, as they both made pretty big jumps in their wrestling. Abram competed well in winners bracket, but the semis match took a lot out of him which hurt his run in the consolation bracket. It was a nice close to 2015."
Princeton will return to the mat next Friday when it travels to Binghamton to resume its dual season.
TOP 20 TEAM SCORES
| 1. | Iowa | IOWA | 152.0 |
| 2. | Nebraska | NEB | 135.0 |
| 3. | Rutgers | RUT | 110.0 |
| 4. | North Carolina State | NCst | 95.5 |
| 5. | Rider | RID | 67.0 |
| 6. | Iowa St. | ISU | 64.0 |
| 7. | Old Dominion | ODU | 63.5 |
| 8. | Princeton | PRIN | 63.0 |
| 9. | Northwestern | NU | 61.0 |
| 10. | South Dakota State | SDSU | 57.0 |
| 11. | Purdue | PUR | 54.5 |
| 12. | Oregon St. | ORST | 50.0 |
| 13. | Northern Iowa | UNI | 45.0 |
| 14. | Oklahoma | OU | 41.0 |
| 15. | Ohio U. | OHU | 40.5 |
| 16. | Grand View | GVU | 38.0 |
| 17. | North Dakota State | NDSU | 37.5 |
| 18. | Arizona St. | AST | 36.0 |
| 19. | American U. | Amer | 35.0 |
| 20. | Northern Illinois | NIU | 35.0 |