No. 17 Wrestling Heads To 43rd Midlands Championships
12/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 28, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
A LOOK AT THE WEEK AHEAD- After a big victory against Cleveland State on Dec. 10, and a two and a half week break, the Spartans return to action this Thursday and Friday at the 43rd annual Midlands Championships on the campus of Northwestern. In recent years, as many as 65 teams have traveled to Evanston. Ill., to compete in this prestigious event. After wrestling at the Midlands, a total of 81 wrestlers have gone on to compete as Olympians.
MIDLANDS PRESEEDS ANNOUNCED- Four Spartans were ranked in the top seven as the preseeds for the 43rd Midlands Championships were announced last week. Nick Simmons will be seeded first at 125 lbs., as he tries to defend his Midlands title. Andy Simmons is the No. 2 seed at 141 lbs. after finishing in that spot last year. The lone wrestler seeded above him is Iowa State's Nate Gallick, who beat Simmons by sudden victory in the Midlands finals in 2004. Despite defeating the two wrestlers ranked immediately ahead of him, Darren McKnight enters the tournament as the seven seeded wrestler at 149 lbs. R.J. Boudro is also ranked at 174 lbs., starting the tournament at fourth.
LAST YEAR AT THE MIDLANDS- Nick Simmons became the first Spartan wrestler since David Morgan in 1997 to win a Midlands title as State finished fifth at the 2004 Midlands Championships. Simmons did not give up a point over the course of five matches, winning by fall once and major decision twice during the two-day tournament. Four other Spartans placed, as Andy Simmons took second at 141 pounds, Darren McKnight claimed eighth at 149 pounds, R.J. Boudro placed sixth at 174 pounds and Joe Williams came in seventh at 184 pounds.
SPARTANS STOMP CLEVELAND STATE FOR FIRST DUAL VICTORY OF SEASON- Four Spartans tallied their first dual-meet victories of the season as the 17th-ranked Michigan State wrestling team rolled against Cleveland State, 33-9, Saturday, Dec. 10 at Jenison Field House.
Seniors Darren McKnight, Jeff Clemens and Max Lossen as well as sophomore Bryan Harney all notched their initial dual-meet wins of the 2005-06 campaign, while Nick Simmons and R.J. Boudro registered falls. Andy Simmons tallied his team-leading seventh major decision of the year.
"In order for us to be as successful as we want to be as a team, our team really has to be aggressive and use our strength and power," head coach Tom Minkel said. "We are still lacking in some areas, but overall we did better tonight with that, especially in the last five matches. Darren McKnight is really our leader in that department."
GREATHOUSE JOINS THE RANKED- For the first time this season, Tony Greathouse joins the group of Spartans ranked in the top 20 at their respective weight classes. Greathouse debuts at No. 20 at 157 lbs., while Nick and Andy Simmons hold strong in the fourth position at 125 lbs. and 141 lbs., respectively. Darren McKnight, R.J. Boudro and Joe Williams are also ranked.
MOVING ON UP- With his fall against Cleveland State's Jayrl Hunt at the Spartans' dual meet on Dec. 10, Nick Simmons now has five falls on the season, and 38 pins in his MSU career. Simmons sits in sole possession of fifth place on MSU all-time falls list, most recently passing Erich Harvey (1992-97). He is now three pins behind fourth place Eli Blazeoff (1982-84). Jim Mason (1980-84) is first on the list with 45 career pins. Nick's younger brother Andy is also on the list, currently tied for ninth.
GREATHOUSE EARNS BIG TEN WRESTLER OF THE WEEK ACCOLADES- Junior Tony Greathouse earned Big Ten Wrestler of the Week accolades for his thrilling, come-from-behind upset victory against No. 8 Kevin Ward at the Spartans' dual meet with Oklahoma State Sunday, Nov. 27. The Mason, Mich., native trailed Ward in their 157-pound match 3-0 after two periods, but rallied back in the third, scoring two takedowns and two near-fall points in the final minute to claim the 6-4 decision. Greathouse is the second Spartan to earn the honor this season. Nick Simmons earned the honor on Nov. 9 for his performance at the Eastern Michigan Open.
R.J. Boudro AND Andy Simmons CAPTURE NITTANY LION OPEN TITLES- Both senior R.J. Boudro and junior All-American Andy Simmons posted 5-0 records en route to tournament titles at the Nittany Lion Open Sunday, Dec. 4, at Penn State University. Boudro won his first tournament of the season in impressive fashion, tallying a fall and four major decisions at 174 pounds. The Richmond, Mich., native outscored his opponents 52-13 to improve to 9-1 on the season.
141-pounder Andy Simmons was not to be outdone by his fellow captain, scoring four major decisions in five matches to improve to 14-1 on the year. Simmons gave up a combined 13 points as well, scoring 55 on the day. Eight other Spartans placed, led by freshman Franklin Gomez who was runner-up at 125 pounds. Gomez went 4-1 on the day, losing a thrilling finals match with Penn State's Mark McKnight, 6-4. Gomez is now 12-3 on the season.
NO. 9 CENTRAL MICHIGAN TOO MUCH AFTER LONG WEEKEND- The No. 17 Michigan State wrestling team received victories from junior All-Americans Nick and Andy Simmons, but fell to the ninth-ranked Central Michigan Chippewas, 25-6, Wednesday, Dec. 7, at Rose Arena.
"Coming off a long tournament at Penn State this weekend, I just don't think we had that spark," head coach Tom Minkel said. "But at the same time, Central wrestled quite a dual. They won all the one-point matches."
Nick and Andy Simmons won their matches 7-1 and 6-3, respectively, but the Green and White lost three of the last four matches by one point, all of them 3-2 decisions.
ULTIMATE FIGHTER Rashad Evans JOINS STAFF- Three weeks after claiming the Ultimate Fighter 2 Heavyweight Championship, former Spartan grappler Rashad Evans has been named volunteer assistant coach for the MSU wrestling squad. Evans competed for head coach Tom Minkel from 2000-03, compiling a career record of 48-34. The Niagara Falls, N.Y., native was a two-time NCAA qualifier, claiming fourth place at the Big Ten Championships in 2002, and third in 2003.
"We are excited about Rashad joining our team for the season," head coach Tom Minkel said. "He is a marvelous athlete and we look forward to him bringing the same as an integral part of our coaching staff."
Players Mentioned
