Tigers Conclude Grueling December With Trip To Prestigious Midlands Championships

MIDLANDS BRACKETS

The Princeton wrestling team will conclude arguably the most challenging December schedule of any NCAA program Dec. 29-30, when it heads to the Sears Centre Arena just outside of Chicago to compete in the 55th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.

The Tigers, who faced a trio of Top-10 programs this month — including top-ranked Ohio State — before a short break for the holidays, will see dozens of nationally ranked competitors during the two-day event; there are 39 teams that will compete at Midlands, including Top-15 teams Iowa, Arizona State, Wisconsin, and Rutgers.

Princeton has found success at Midlands throughout the decade, as eight of the program's 11 all-time placewinners have achieved that status since 2011. In the last two years, Princeton has had one finalist in each event (Jonathan Schleifer in 2015, Matthew Kolodzik in 2016), though both fell just one point short of claiming the program's first Midlands title. Kolodzik has actually placed twice at Midlands; he wrestled unattached during the 2015 season and placed fifth.

Both Kolodzik and Schleifer are expected to in the Midlands field. Kolodzik moved to 149 during the offseason, and he is currently ranked seventh at the weight by InterMat. Two of the three highest-ranked wrestlers in the nation (#2 Brandon Sorensen of Iowa, #3 Justin Oliver of Central Michigan) are also expected to be in the field, so Kolodzik could make a big move in the rankings with a successful trip to Chicago.

Schleifer, who moved to 165 and has been in the Top 20 during the season, will be in a field headlined by former NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez of Illinois.

There will be several Midlands debuts for Princeton wrestlers, including 19th-ranked freshman Patrick Brucki, who will also have several ranked opponents in the field, including Nate Rotert (South Dakota State), Cash Wilcke (Iowa), and Frank Mattiace (Penn).

Here is more information for following the Midlands Championships.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
All four sessions will be broadcast on FloWrestling and BTN Plus (both $). Each mat is a different stream on BTN2Go, while Flo will be here. The Big Ten Network will not be broadcasting the final sessions as they have in years past.

LIVE STATS
Live scoring/stats/brackets will be on TrackWrestling.

WHO'S HERE?
Team list includes: Air Force, Arizona State, Brown, Buffalo, Cal Poly, Central Michigan, Clarion, Columbia, Eastern Michigan, Edinboro, Franklin & Marshall, Harvard, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Lehigh, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio, Old Dominion, Oregon State, Penn, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Princeton, Purdue, Rider, Rutgers, South Dakota State, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

SCHEDULE
Four sessions, two on Friday (Dec. 29) and two on Saturday (Dec. 30).

9:30 AM (Fri., Dec. 29) – First Session (10 Mats)
7:00 PM (Fri., Dec. 29) – Second Session (10 Mats)
12:00 PM (Sat., Dec. 30) – Third Session (4 Mats) – Semis, consolation, 7^th place match
7:00 PM (Sat., Dec. 30) – Final Session (3 Mats) – 1^st, 3^rd, 5^th place matches
- Opening ceremonies at 6:30 p.m., Awards ceremony to conclude at 9:15 p.m.
- Midlands Hall of Fame Inductions will be prior to the final session

PRINCETON PLACEWINNERS AT MIDLANDS

2016	Matthew Kolodzik	2nd	141
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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