FINAL BRACKETS TEAM STANDINGS
(Evanston, Il.): Clarion sophomore James Fleming (West Mifflin) finished fourth at 157-pounds at the prestigious Midlands Wrestling Tournament in Evanston, Illinois on Thursday night.
Clarion finished in 17th place with 39.5 points. Missouri won the team race with 103.5 points, Wisconsin ended second with 93.5, Lehigh third with 93 and Iowa fourth with 91 points.
Held at Welsh-Ryan Arena, Fleming earned a quality fourth place finish. After winning three bouts on Wednesday and advancing to the semifinals Thursday, Fleming lost his semifinal match on to Chase Nelson (Oklahoma) by fall at 3:57. Nelson was ahead 2-1 in the second period when Nelson hit a headlock and got the fall.
Fleming rallied in the wrestle backs by posting a 13-1 major decision over David Bonin of Northern Iowa. Fleming used a first period takedown and two near falls to lead 8-0 after one. There was no scoring in the second. In the third Fleming used a takedown, near fall and riding time to post his 13-1 win. In the third place match against #1 seed Jake Patacsil, Fleming nursing an earlier injury, defaulted to Patacsil to finish fourth.
“James had a great tournament,” echoed Clarion head coach Teague Moore. “He is really maturing as a wrestler and this was a great experience for him. We felt protecting his health in the third place match was the right thing to do.”
Clarion's next action will be its first home dual meet of the season on Friday, January 7th against Princeton. Match time is set for 6pm at W.S. Tippin Gym.
CLARION NOTES: Fleming officially was 4-1 at Midlands, running his individual record to 19-2 on the season … He was ranked 13th nationally… Other updated records show Joe Waltko at 17-4 at 133; Cameron Moran 9-6 at 141, Bekzod Abdurakhmonov 14-4 at 165, Alex Thomas 9-6 at 197 and Quintas McCorkle 13-7 at 285 … Steven Cressley was second at 184-pounds at Wilkes on Wednesday with a 3-1 record … He lost 12-4 in the finals to Ty Snook of Maryland… Cressley is now 10-6 this season.
