Princeton University Athletics
Thursday, December 29
Evanston, Ill.
10:00 AM
Princeton University
vs
Midlands Day 1
Players Mentioned
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
Photo by: Beverly Schaefer
Kolodzik, Harner Lead Tiger Wrestling Team To 2016 Midlands Championships
December 27, 2016 | Wrestling
The Princeton wrestling team will close a memorable 2016 calendar year by competing against a loaded field in the 54th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, held Dec. 29-30 at the Welsh-Ryan Arena at Northwestern.
There could be as many as 70 ranked wrestlers in the field, including just under 40 from the most recent InterMat Top 10. Two of those are Princeton's own Matthew Kolodzik, the Tiger freshman who is already 12-0 with two wins over Top-5 opponents, and Brett Harner, who became Princeton's ninth All-American this past March at Madison Square Garden. The senior duo of Jordan Laster (17th, 149) and Ray O'Donnell (20th, 285), both of whom competed at the 2016 NCAA Championships, will also be competing at their final Midlands this year.
Princeton is coming off its best Midlands performance in team history last year. Three Tigers placed to help the program finish 8th overall, and Jonathan Schleifer became Princeton's first Midlands finalist; after upsetting the No. 2 seed in the semifinal, Schleifer fell 1-0 in a tightly contested final to Ohio's Cody Walters. He won't have the chance to repeat that finish, as he will miss this Midlands with an injury, but he is expected to be back in the lineup early in 2017.
Harner took third at Midlands last year, and he'd enjoy nothing more than to get into his first Midlands final. The senior captain is 5-2 on the season with overtime losses to both #8 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) and James Benjamin (Buffalo), both of whom are expected to be in the Midlands field. Six of the nation's Top 12 wrestlers at 197 are expected to be in the field, including Harner (9th), so reaching that final would be an impressive achievement.
While Kolodzik was technically not a Princeton placewinner last year — he wrestled unattached after deferring admission for a year — he is coming off a fifth-place finish at Midlands. Kolodzik defeated two returning All-Americans during that run and dropped his semifinal match by a point, and he'll enter this tournament as the highest-ranked 141-pounder (#3). His weight class is also loaded, including #5 Kevin Jack (North Carolina State), #6 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers), and #11 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska). Kolodzik has narrow wins over both Ashnault (4-3) and McCrystal (8-6) this year, and he defeated Jack in the semifinals en route to winning University Nationals this past summer.
The tournament will be streamed live on BTN2Go throughout the two days, and the finals will be televised live on the Big Ten Network Dec. 30 at 8 pm ET. Follow @TigerWrestling for live updates throughout the two days, and GoPrincetonTigers.com will have nightly recaps.
PRINCETON PLACEWINNERS AT MIDLANDS
There could be as many as 70 ranked wrestlers in the field, including just under 40 from the most recent InterMat Top 10. Two of those are Princeton's own Matthew Kolodzik, the Tiger freshman who is already 12-0 with two wins over Top-5 opponents, and Brett Harner, who became Princeton's ninth All-American this past March at Madison Square Garden. The senior duo of Jordan Laster (17th, 149) and Ray O'Donnell (20th, 285), both of whom competed at the 2016 NCAA Championships, will also be competing at their final Midlands this year.
Princeton is coming off its best Midlands performance in team history last year. Three Tigers placed to help the program finish 8th overall, and Jonathan Schleifer became Princeton's first Midlands finalist; after upsetting the No. 2 seed in the semifinal, Schleifer fell 1-0 in a tightly contested final to Ohio's Cody Walters. He won't have the chance to repeat that finish, as he will miss this Midlands with an injury, but he is expected to be back in the lineup early in 2017.
Harner took third at Midlands last year, and he'd enjoy nothing more than to get into his first Midlands final. The senior captain is 5-2 on the season with overtime losses to both #8 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) and James Benjamin (Buffalo), both of whom are expected to be in the Midlands field. Six of the nation's Top 12 wrestlers at 197 are expected to be in the field, including Harner (9th), so reaching that final would be an impressive achievement.
While Kolodzik was technically not a Princeton placewinner last year — he wrestled unattached after deferring admission for a year — he is coming off a fifth-place finish at Midlands. Kolodzik defeated two returning All-Americans during that run and dropped his semifinal match by a point, and he'll enter this tournament as the highest-ranked 141-pounder (#3). His weight class is also loaded, including #5 Kevin Jack (North Carolina State), #6 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers), and #11 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska). Kolodzik has narrow wins over both Ashnault (4-3) and McCrystal (8-6) this year, and he defeated Jack in the semifinals en route to winning University Nationals this past summer.
The tournament will be streamed live on BTN2Go throughout the two days, and the finals will be televised live on the Big Ten Network Dec. 30 at 8 pm ET. Follow @TigerWrestling for live updates throughout the two days, and GoPrincetonTigers.com will have nightly recaps.
PRINCETON PLACEWINNERS AT MIDLANDS
| 2015 | Jonathan Schleifer | 2nd | 174 |
| 2015 | Brett Harner | 3rd | 184 |
| 2015 | Abram Ayala | 6th | 197 |
| 2014 | Abram Ayala | 5th | 197 |
| 2014 | Brett Harner | 8th | 184 |
| 2011 | Adam Krop | 3rd | 141 |
| 2011 | Daniel Kolodzik | 8th | 157 |
| 2002 | Greg Parker | 6th | 184 |
| 2001 | Greg Parker | 6th | 174 |
| 2000 | Greg Parker | 6th | 174 |
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