EVANSTON, Ill.—Adam Fierro upset the No. 1 seed at 165 pounds to highlight day one action for CSU Bakersfield at the 53rd annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Tuesday.
Fierro was selected as the ninth seed at 165 pounds and received a first round bye. Fierro defeated Austin Reese of Ohio University 7-2 in the round of 32. In the round of 16, Fierro wrestled the eighth seed, Rider's Connor Brennan. Fierro advanced to the quarterfinals with a 5-2 victory.
Fierro met the No. 1 seed, Rutgers' Anthony Perrotti, in the quarters. The match was tied at four for through the first two periods. In the process, Fierro built up over three minutes in riding time, forcing Perrotti, ranked 10th in Intermat's current poll, to allow him to escape with 33 seconds to go in the third period for a 5-4 advantage. There was no further scoring as Fierro ended the match with 2:12 in riding time to make it a 6-4 final.
Fierro will wrestle the fourth seed, Iowa State's Tanner Weatherman in Wednesday's semifinals.
“Adam wrestled well today,” said CSUB head coach Mike Mendoza. “He is really starting to wrestle to his strengths and wrestle his match.”
Reuben Franklin received the second seed at 197 pounds. He matched up against a fellow Pac-12 wrestler in Arizona State's Josh DaSilveira. DaSilveira upset Franklin 9-7, sending the No. 6 wrestler in the current Intermat poll into the consolation bracket.
Franklin rallied from a 5-3 second period deficit against North Carolina State's Malik McDonald to earn a 8-5 decision to push forward in the consolation bracket. Franklin resumed action against Iowa State's Marcus Harrington and pulled away late in the third period to record a technical fall, 19-2. After a short break, Franklin hit the mats again, this time against Northern Illinois' Shawn Scott. Leading 4-1, Franklin pinned Scott with 29 seconds to go in the third period to advance to day two.
Franklin will face Phil Wellington of Ohio University to begin Wednesday action.
Ian Nickell was awarded the 13th seed at 141 pounds and was assigned a match against an unattached wrestler from the University of Wisconsin, Cole Martin. Nickell handed Martin an 11-2 loss. In the round of 32, American University's Tyler Scotton defeated Nickell 11-5.
Nickell would defeat Peter Cunningham of California Baptist 5-4 in the second round of the consolation bracket. Nickell was injured during the Cunningham match and was forced to medically forfeit his third round consolation bout to Iowa's Vincent Turk by medical forfeit.
AJ Fierro wrestled the 13th seed, Spartak Chino of Ohio U in the round of 32 to begin his stay. Chino defeated Fierro 4-2. In his first consolation bracket match, Fierro pinned Terrell Forbes of Old Dominion at the 3:17 mark. Kent State's Casey Sparkman eliminated Fierro from the tournament when he posted a 14-4 decision in the third round of the consolation bracket.
Carlos Herrera faced the fourth seed, Eric Montoya of Nebraska to begin his tournament run at 133 rounds. Montoya, who is 14th in the current Intermat rankings, pinned Herrera 4:41 into the match. Herrera earned a 4-2 victory over Franklin & Marshall's Scott Stevens in his first wrestle back, but was pinned by the 10th seed, Dominick Malone of Northwestern (59 seconds), to end his tournament stay.
Matt Williams wrestled California Baptist's Joe Fagiano for the third time this season in the first round of the heavyweight class. Fagiano, the ninth seed, defeated Williams 6-4. Williams was eliminated from the tournament when he lost 7-2 to Purdue's Jacob Aven in the second round of the consolation bracket.
As a team, CSUB is 21st (21) in the field of 43. Iowa (96) leads the team race. The tournament resumes Wednesday at 12 p.m. (CST). The finals will be aired live on the Big Ten Network, beginning at 8 p.m. (CST). All of the preliminary matches can been viewed on BTN.com.
The Roadrunners host Cal Poly in Pac-12 action Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at Vallitix.com.
~www.GoRunners.com~
2015 Ken Kraft Midlands Championships—CSUB Results
133
Champ Round of 64 No. 4 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) pinned Carlos Herrera, at 4:41
Consolation Round 3 Carlos Herrera def. Scott Stevens (Franklin & Marshall), 4-2
Consolation Round 4 No. 10 Dominick Malone (Northwestern) pinned Carlos Herrera, :59
141
Champ Round 1 No. 13 Ian Nickell def. Cole Martin (Wisconsin-Unattached), 11-2
Champ Round 2 Tyler Scotton (American) def. Ian Nickell, 11-5
Consolation Round 2 Ian Nickell def. Peter Cunningham (California Baptist), 5-4
Consolation Round 3 Vincent Turk (Iowa) def. Ian Nickell by Medical Forfeit
157
Champ Round of 32 No. 13 Spartak Chino (Ohio U.) def. AJ Fierro, 4-2
Consolation Round 2 AJ Fierro pinned Terrell Forbes (Old Dominion), at 3:17
Consolation Round 3 Casey Sparkman (Kent State) def. AJ Fierro, 14-4
165
Champ Round of 32 No. 9 Adam Fierro def. Austin Reese (Ohio U.), 7-2
Champ Round of 16 Adam Fierro def. No. 8 Connor Brennan (Rider), 5-2
Quarterfinals Adam Fierro def. No. 1 Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers), 6-4
197
Champ Round of 32 Josh DaSilvia (Arizona State) def. No. 2 Reuben Franklin, 9-7
Consolation Round 2 Reuben Franklin def. Malik McDonald (North Carolina State), 8-5
Consolation Round 3 Reuben Franklin def. Marcus Harrington (Iowa St.) by TF (19-2)
Consolation Round 4 Reuben Franklin pins Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois), at 6:31
285
Champ Round of 32 No. 9 Joe Fagiano (California Baptist) def. Matt Williams, 6-4
Consolation Round 3 Jacob Aven (Purdue) def. Matt Williams, 7-2
