Midlands
Cal Poly Wrestler Ryan Smith Loses in Wrestleback Quarterfinals
12/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Cal Poly senior Ryan Smith lost his final match Friday in the wrestleback quarterfinals of the 2011 Ken Kraft Midlands Championship at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the campus of Northwestern University.
Smith, who won three of four matches Thursday, was pinned by sixth-seeded Danny Mitchell of American in 1 minute, 47 seconds.
Seeded 12th at 197 pounds, Smith (pictured at right) earned a 5-3 decision against Thomas Lira of Iowa in his opening match Thursday. Smith fell into the wrestlebacks with a 10-5 loss to fifth-seeded Byron Tate of Wartburg and he followed with a pair of wins -- 10-3 against Marty Smith of Illinois and 8-1 over Trent Fiegel of Luther.
Cal Poly's other four entries in the two-day tournament all were eliminated Thursday.
Atticus Disney was seeded eighth and defeated Dan Hopkins of Rutgers 4-1 before he was sent into the wrestlebacks with a 7-5 loss to Conner Medbery of Wisconsin. Disney beat Cole Tobin, also of Wisconsin, 8-1, before he was ousted by Matt Gibson of Iowa State 6-2.
Kelan Bragg earned a 7-3 opening-round decision against David Box of Eastern Michigan, then dropped a 6-3 decision to second-seeded Peter Sturgeon of Central Michigan. Bragg fell 6-5 to Blaine Beale of Northern Iowa in the wrestlebacks.
Jake Tanenbaum and Dominic Kastl were eliminated earlier in the day.
Tanenbaum dropped an 8-4 decision to Dalton Bullard of Elmhurst in the opening round at 133 pounds. He then earned a 12-6 decision over Kyle West of Utah Valley before the Mustang was eliminated by 12th-seeded Zach Horan of Central Michigan in a 15-5 major decision.
Kastl dropped a 10-5 decision to 12th-seeded Frank Cousins of Wisconsin at 174 pounds and was ousted from the tournament in a 3-2 decision against Chris Hrunka of Edinboro.
More than 40 Division I, II and III teams were represented in the tournament. This year's event included 17 teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the latest NWCA/USA Today Division I Coaches Poll. Additionally, seven teams that placed in the top 10 at the 2010 Midlands Championships returned for the 2011 edition.
The field includes No. 1 Iowa, No. 7 Illinois, No. 10 Lehigh, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 13 Maryland, No. 14 Virginia Tech, No. 16 Rutgers, No. 17 Northwestern, No. 19 Central Michigan, No. 22 Penn and No. 24 American.
Iowa captured the team title with 152 points, followed by Northwestern (105.5) and Oklahoma (94.5). Cal Poly finished in 33rd place with 8.5 points.
Coach Brendan Buckley's Mustangs return home for a pair of dual meets next weekend, hosting American on Friday night at 7 and Boise State for a Pac-12 match Sunday afternoon at 1. Both dual meets will be held in Mott Gym.
Results for Cal Poly wrestlers:
133
Jake Tanenbaum was dec. by Dalton Bullard (Elmhurst) 8-4
Jake Tanenbaum dec. Kyle West (Utah Valley) 12-6
Jake Tanenbaum was maj. dec. by No. 12 Zach Horan (Central Michigan) 15-5 (Tanenbaum eliminated)
174
Dominic Kastl was dec. by No. 12 Frank Cousins (Wisconsin) 10-5
Dominic Kastl was dec. by Chris Hrunka (Edinboro) 3-2 (Kastl eliminated)
197
No. 12 Ryan Smith dec. Thomas Lira (Iowa) 5-3
No. 12 Ryan Smith was dec. by No. 5 Byron Tate (Wartburg) 10-5
No. 12 Ryan Smith dec. Marty Smith (Illinois) 10-3
No. 12 Ryan Smith dec. Trent Fiegel (Luther) 8-1
No. 12 Ryan Smith was pinned by No. 6 Danny Mitchell (American) 1:47 (Smith eliminated)
285
No. 8 Atticus Disney dec. Dan Hopkins (Rutgers) 4-1
No. 8 Atticus Disney was dec. by Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) 7-5
No. 8 Atticus Disney dec. Cole Tobin (Wisconsin) 8-1
No. 8 Atticus Disney was dec. by Matt Gibson (Iowa State) 6-2 (Disney eliminated)
285
Kelan Bragg dec. David Box (Eastern Michigan) 7-3
Kelan Bragg was dec. by No. 2 Peter Sturgeon (Central Michigan) 6-3
Kelan Bragg was dec. by Blaine Beale (Northern Iowa) 6-5 (Bragg eliminated)
