
Spartan Wrestling Begins Action At Midlands Championships
12/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 29, 2006
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EVANSTON, Ill. - The Michigan State wrestling team began action in the two-day Midlands Championships Friday at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the campus of Northwestern University. The Spartans enter day two of competition in seventh place with 45 team points.
Nick Simmons, ranked No. 1 in the country at 133 pounds, cruised to the semifinals by pinning his first two opponents (Matt Mosser - West Liberty State, 1:20; James Kohlberg - Northwestern, 3:36). He then beat No. 8 seed Corey Jantzen by major decision, 11-1, in the quarterfinals, and will face Indiana's Andrae Henderson in the semifinals on Saturday. With his two pins on Friday, Simmons tied Greg Sargin for second in school history with 42 career falls. Simmons needs just four falls to surpass Jim Mason's record of 45.
Joe Williams, the No. 7 seed at 184 pounds, also reached the semifinals with three victories. In his first two matches, Williams defeated Tony Gehling, 4-0, followed by a technical fall victory over Vincent Jones, 19-4, in 6:59. Williams beat Illinois' John Dergo, 9-3, in the quarterfinals.
Franklin Gomez, ranked fourth in the nation at 125 pounds, was upset by Nick Fanthorpe of Iowa State in the quarterfinals. Gomez, the top seed, lost a 9-7, sudden victory decision to Fanthorpe. Gomez beat Tom Hill of SIU-Edwardsville by technical fall, 17-0, in the first round, and defeated John Weinert of Northern Illinois, 6-1, in the second round.
Tony Greathouse, the No. 6 seed, remains alive in the 157-pound bracket. He received a bye in the first round, then pinned Kyle O'Toole of Eastern Illinois in the second round in 5:18. Greathouse lost his third-round match, but rebounded in the consolation bracket to beat Elliott Spence, 7-2, and Brad Medchill, 10-2.
At 141, Jeff Wimberley won his first two matches before falling to top-seeded Ryan Lang of Northwestern by major decision, 11-3, in the third round. Wimberley then fell to Virgll Lockett in the consolation bracket, 5-3.
Greg Goidosik received a bye in the first round at 174 pounds before topping Brady Hakeman, 5-3, in the second round. After a loss in the third round, Goidosik came back to pin James Reynolds in the consolation bracket in 5:38. Goidosik finished the evening with a 3-0 loss to Iowa State's David Bertalino.
The 44th-annual Midlands Championships will wrap up tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 30). Brackets and complete results can be found at www.nusports.com.












