Princeton University Athletics
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Wrestlers Carry Big Goals To Chicago For Prestigious Midlands Championships
December 28, 2014 | Wrestling
The Princeton wrestling team has some big goals for 2015, but it still has a few days left before the calendar turns. And there is still one big opportunity remaining in 2014.
The 52nd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships begins Monday, Dec. 29, and runs through Dec. 30 at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the campus of Northwestern University. It is one of the most prestigious in-season tournaments of the collegiate year, and it will provide several Princeton wrestlers a chance to either build upon their current ranking or to earn some national respect.
The most recent Princeton example of what a strong Midlands performance can mean came three years ago, when then-sophomore Adam Krop went from relative unknown to a third-place finisher at Midlands. His lone loss came to the top seed in the draw, and his strong two-day run went a long way in helping him claim one of the few at-large bids to the NCAAs after a late-season injury hampered his EIWA chances.
Krop is one of several Princeton wrestler who earned a preseed for the Midlands. Those seeds are unofficial — the official seeds and brackets come out Sunday night — but they give an early idea of how several Tigers fit in their respective weight class.
The highest seed is junior Abram Ayala, who is currently ranked 10th nationally. Princeton's lone NCAA Championships qualifier last season, Ayala is 14-1 this season. Ironically he is returning to the site of his only loss this season, and he could earn the opportunity to avenge that loss. Ayala is preseeded third at 197, one spot behind Northwestern's Alex Polizzi; during the Windy City Duals, Polizzi scored two late takedowns to rally for a 9-8 win over Ayala.
Polizzi is currently ranked eighth nationally, while Iowa's Nathan Burak, the preseed No. 1, is ranked sixth.
Krop (14-3) is looking to make magic happen once more at the Midlands, as he is preseeded fifth at 149. The Tiger senior would love another shot at top-ranked Jason Tsirtsis, the reigning NCAA champion from Northwestern. Krop's last loss of the season came to Tsirtsis at the Windy City Duals, while all three of his losses this season have come to opponents currently ranked in the Top 8.
Three other Princeton wrestlers earned preseeds for the upcoming Midlands. Sophomore Ray O'Donnell (14-9), whose win over Army secured a pre-Christmas split in the Grapple at the Garden, is No. 9 at 285. Freshman Jonathan Schleifer (13-4) is No. 10 at 165, while sophomore Brett Harner (14-2) is No. 11 at 184.
Princeton will be bringing several other wrestlers who will likely be trying to make an unseeded run to the medal podium, including the likes of sophomore Jordan Laster, who went 4-0 at the Windy City Duals, and junior Judd Ziegler, who brings the experience of two trips to the EIWA Championships.