BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—CSU Bakersfield hits the mats this week when the Roadrunners enter the 53rd annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.
The CSUB entries will be Carlos Herrera (133), Ian Nickell (141), AJ Fierro (157), Adam Fierro (165), Reuben Franklin (197), and Matt Williams (heavyweight). The names of the seeded wrestlers are scheduled for release on Monday Dec. 28 at approximately 8 p.m. (CST).
The tournament will begin on Tuesday Dec. 29 with session I getting underway at 9:30 a.m. (CST). Session II begins at 7 p.m. (CST). Session III begins on Wednesday Dec. 30 at 12 p.m. (CST). The finals are set for 8 p.m. (CST) and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
Teams entered that ranked in the Dec. 22 edition of the NWCA/USA Today Top 25 include; No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 North Carolina State, No. 8 Rutgers, No. 9 Nebraska, No. 10 Lehigh, No. 11 Illinois, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 18 Iowa State, No. 19 Purdue, No. 20 Pittsburgh, No. 21 Ohio, No. 22 Indiana, and No. 24 Old Dominion.
In addition to CSUB, other Division I schools scheduled to compete are American, Arizona State, Bloomsburg, Brown, Buffalo, Columbia, Eastern Michigan, George Mason, Grand Canyon, Harvard, Kent State, Lock Haven, Maryland, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Oregon State, Princeton, Rider, SIU-Edwardsville, South Dakota State, and Wisconsin.
Non-Division I scheduled to wrestle are; Adams State (D-2), California Baptist (ranked 10th in NCAA Division II), Franklin & Marshall (D-3), Grand View (ranked first in the NAIA), and Messiah College (ranked seventh in NCAA Division III).
The 42 teams and over 400 competitors in 2015 will make up the largest Midlands field in tournament history.
Reuben Franklin and Bryce Hammond continue to be ranked in the six major individual polls. At 197 pounds, Franklin is sixth in the Intermat, WrestlingReport, and Amateur Wrestling News rankings. Hammond is seventh in the Intermat and Amateur Wrestling News rankings.
Ian Nickell moved into 23rd in school history with his sixth victories at the Dec. 20 Reno Tournament of Champions. Nickell has won 87 times in his career and is 17-8 this season. He leads the active CSUB wrestlers in wins. 2015-16 redshirt, Lorenzo De La Riva finished fourth at 165 pounds at the RTOC. He is 23-2, wrestling in open tournaments. He has won three times and has not finished lower than fourth this season.
~www.GoRunners.com~
