Maryland wrestling finishes 17th at the Midlands Championships

Maryland traveled to Evanston, Ill. on Thursday and Friday for the 54th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. Coming off of their defeat against Rutgers, the Terps had an up-and-down day en route to a 17th-place finish.

Session I on Thursday was filled with upsets and surprises for the Terps.

In the 125-pound class, Michael Beck and Alex Vargas wrestled for the Terps. Both ended up losing in the round of 32. Beck lost by major decision 9-3 and Vargas lost by major decision 16-1. In the consolation bracket, the two fared no differently, each losing their first matches.

The 133-pound class was the most surprising for Maryland on Thursday. Unranked Billy Rappo defeated No. 6 Tyson Dippery and No. 11 Scott Delvecchio, both from Rutgers, advancing him to the second day of the championships. Most notably, Rappo defeated Dippery by fall in his first match.

On Friday, Rappo fell to No. 3 Seth Gross from South Dakota State by major decision 11-3. In the consolation bracket, Rappo lost his first match by major decision to No. 4 Earl Hall from Iowa State.

In the 149-pound class, Adam Whitesell and No. 3 Alfred Bannister wrestled for the Terps. Whitesell lost by technical fall in his first match, 18-0. In the consolation bracket, Whitesell fared better. He won his first match by a 6-2 decision, but in his next match, he lost by technical fall again, 22-4.

On the other hand, Bannister was another Terp that wrestled into Friday. He dominated in his first two matches, but he was halted in the round of 16 by No. 14 Anthony Giraldo of Rutgers. In an evenly fought matchup that was forced to go into overtime, Giraldo won 2-1 by tiebreaker. In the consolation bracket, Bannister reached the seventh-place match against Giraldo again and again, Giraldo would edge him out in a close 3-2 match, placing Bannister eighth in the 149-pound bracket.

In the 157-pound class, Maryland’s Danny Boychuck lost his first match in a 2-0 decision. In the consolation bracket, however, Boychuck fared much better, winning his first match by fall before losing the next match in a 5-3 decision.

In the 165-pound class, Patrick Gerish and No. 15 Josh Ugalde wrestled for the Terps. Garish would lose his first match by fall, but in the consolation bracket, he would win his first two matches before losing in an 8-2 decision. Ugalde was the third and final Maryland wrestler to advance to Friday. He reached the round of 16 before falling to No. 2 Chad Walsh of Rider. In the consolation bracket, Ugalde would reach the quarterfinals, but would medically forfeit the match against No. 9 Alex Marinelli.

In the 174-pound class, Sam Rowell and Idris White wrestled for the Terps. Rowell lost by fall after advancing due to a medical forfeit in his first match. Rowell lost by major decision, 17-4, in the consolation round. White fared the same. After winning his first match by a 12-4 major decision, he almost pulled out an upset against No. 3 Leland Weatherspoon of Iowa State, taking him to sudden victory, but Weatherspoon would pull out the 6-4 win. In the consolation bracket, White would lose his first match by a 6-1 decision.

In the 197-pound class, David-Brian Whisler wrestled for the Terps, losing his first match in the championship bracket by a 5-3 decision. He lost his first match in the consolation bracket by a 6-2 decision.

In the 285-pound class, Youssif Hemida wrestled for the Terps, losing his first match in the championship bracket by a 6-5 decision. In the consolation bracket he won two straight matches by sudden victory before losing 5-4 by tiebreaker to No. 12 Tyler Kral of Purdue.