Wrestling Finishes Day One At Midlands

Dec. 30, 2008

EVANSTON, Ill. - The Michigan State wrestling team completed day one of competition at the Midlands Championships on Monday, Dec. 29, but not without its fair share of casualties. All but four Spartans were eliminated from the two-day tournament early on.

Sophomore Anthony Jones Jr. (157 pounds), redshirt freshman David Cheza (149), and seniors Nick Palmieri (184) and Alan O'Donnell (285) will all see action in their respective wrestleback brackets on day two.

Jones took his first two matches against Adams State's Noomis Jones (4-2 decision) and Iowa's Matt Ballweg (5-2) before losing to top-seeded Chris Bono of Chattanooga Takedown Club by 4-1 decision. Jones will continue tomorrow in wrestlebacks.

Cheza lost by 9-5 decision to Northwestern's Andrew Nadhir in the first round, but responded with a fall in 2:57 against Missouri's Andrew Sherry and a 12-2 major decision over Central Michigan's Ryan Cubberly to stay alive.

O'Donnell posted a 13-5 major decision over Northern Illinois' Zak Saeyre in the first round, but followed with a 5-0 loss to Mike Tamillow of Wildcat Wrestling Club. O'Donnell's second win, a 5-2 decision against San Francisco State's Steve Franklin, keeps him alive into day two.

After dropping a 6-2 decision to 7-seed Jordan Blanton of Illinois, Palmieri pinned Triton's Steve Catalano in 1:24 to move into the second round of wrestlebacks.

16th-ranked senior Rex Kendle was knocked out of championship contention after losing a tough 3-0 decision to Iowa's Jake Kerr in the first round. After taking a 4-0 decision against Nick Avery of Indiana, Kendle was eliminated by Air Force's Steve Crozier. Kendle's season record now sits at 17-4.

Action begins tomorrow (Dec. 30) at 12 p.m. CST, continuing until championships and wrestlebacks are completed. Brackets will be updated throughout the day at the Midlands Information Center.

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Players Mentioned

David Cheza

Anthony Jones Jr.

Rex Kendle

Alan O'Donnell

Nick Palmieri