Princeton University Athletics
Princeton University
Midlands (Day 1)
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12th-Seeded Krop Dusts Top-10 Foe During Impressive Run To Midlands Semis
December 30, 2011 | Wrestling
Thursday was a very good day for the Princeton wrestling team, which saw four of its five competitors stay alive at the prestigious 49th Midlands Championships. But it was a career day for sophomore Adam Krop, who reached the semifinals at 141 pounds as the 12th seed and will now face the top-ranked wrestler in the country.
Head coach Chris Ayres has been high on Krop's potential since he first stepped foot on campus last season, and he held even higher expectations after he saw Krop's jump heading into his sophomore year. The starter at 141, Krop had won 13 of 18 matches heading into his debut at the Midlands Championships.
He opened with a 7-4 victory over Dalton Kelley of Cal-State Bakersfield, which sent him into a Round of 16 match with American's Matt Mariacher, the fifth seed and the ninth-ranked wrestler in the nation. Mariacher will be one of the favorites when the EIWA Championships come to Jadwin Gym March 3-4, but Krop proved Thursday that he must be seriously considered. He scored a 6-3 win over the Top-10 opponent, then followed with a 3-0 victory over Purdue's Brandon Nelson to qualify for the semifinals.
As the 12th seed, he is the second-lowest ranked wrestler to reach the semifinal round; ironically, he could face the lowest-ranked qualifier in the final. Iowa State's unseeded Luke Goetti reached the semifinals, a journey that included a win over second-seeded Zack Kemmerer.
Of course, that overlooks the minor challenge that will first await Krop Friday; he will face Montell Marion of Iowa in the first semifinal. Marion is both the top seed and the top-ranked 141-pounder in the nation.
Krop's strong run highlighted a terrific day for Princeton, which will also try to get junior Garrett Frey (125), senior Daniel Kolodzik (157) and sophomore Dan Santoro (184) to the medal stand. Kolodzik scored a big upset of his own as the 12th seed; he beat fifth-seeded Steven Monk of North Dakota State 7-1 in the Round of 16. It was Kolodzik's second win over a Top-15 opponent this season; he also defeated John Nicholson of Old Dominion during the Tigers' team win over the Monarchs.
Fourth-seeded Matt Lester, ranked 11th nationally, took Kolodzik out via pin in the quarterfinal, and he will face 11th-seeded David Bowin of Iowa State in the first consolation match Friday. A win would guarantee Kolodzik of a top-eight finish at Midlands.
Frey entered as the ninth seed and scored a third-period pin of Jenkins Monzey to advance to the Round of 16. Seventh-seeded Jared Germaine knocked him out of the championship draw with a 9-6 win. Frey won twice in the consolation draw and will face fifth-seeded Trent Sprenkle of North Dakota State Friday for a spot on the medal stand.
Sophomore Dan Santoro didn't get any help from his draw at 184, where he opened with the nation's top-ranked wrestler, Robert Hamlin of Lehigh. Hamlin took care of business with a 12-2 win, but Santoro bounced back with wins of 14-11 and 2-1 to get within two wins of the medal stand.
Freshman Chris Perez was the fifth Princeton wrestler to attend, and his championship-draw run ended quickly at the hands of third-seeded A.J. Schopp of Edinboro 7-1. Perez scored an 8-0 win in his consolation opener, but eighth-seeded Jordan Keller of Oklahoma beat him 6-4 in the consolations.