Dec. 30, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - Junior Eric Larkin won the 141 pound title, while redshirt freshman Mike Simpson captured third place at 125 pounds, leading the eighth-ranked Arizona State wrestling squad to a ninth-place finish as the 39th annual Midlands Wrestling Championships concluded at Northwestern University's Welsh-Ryan Arena Sunday.
Iowa took home the team title with 151 points, followed by Iowa State with 126.5 points and Minnesota with 110.5. ASU ended the two-day tournament with 52 points.
Larkin earned an 11-8 decision over Navy's Mark Conley in the 141-pound championship bout to take home his third tournament title of the season. The top-seed in his weight class, Larkin also won a 13-3 major decision in the semifinals over Iowa State's Aaron Holker. Simpson, the ninth-seed at 125 pounds, bounced back from yesterday's quarterfinal loss to No. 1 seed LeRoy Vega (Minnesota), rattling off three wins in the consolation bracket today, to put him in the third-place bout. Simpson went on to earn a 12-6 decision over Iowa State's Ty Malia for third-place honors.
Senior Erik Gladish was the only other Sun Devil to place in the tournament, finishing eighth at 197 pounds. Getting as far as the quarterfinals yesterday, Gladish was pinned by Hofstra's Chris Skretkowicz in 1:37 in the seventh-place bout this evening.
ASU entered this second day of the tournament with five wrestlers still competing. After being upset in the quarterfinals Saturday night, senior David Douglas was eliminated with another tough loss in the first consolation round Sunday at 133 pounds, falling to Ryan L'Armoreaux from Michigan State via a 3-2 tiebreaker. Junior heavyweight Kellan Fluckiger was also sent to the consolation bracket with a quarterfinal loss last night, and today was eliminated via forfeit versus Oregon State's Andy Bowlby.
Up next for ASU is a home dual match with Pac-10 rival Boise State Saturday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena.
Midlands Championships Day Two ASU Results
Welsh-Ryan Arena, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill.
Sunday, December 30, 2001
125 Pounds
Cons.: Mike Simpson (ASU) DQ Tom Loombes (Wildcat WC)
Cons.: Mike Simpson (ASU) dec. Brandon Newill (Pittsburgh-Johnston), 5-3
Cons.: Mike Simpson (ASU) dec. Mason Lenhard (Penn), 5-0
Third Place: Mike Simpson (ASU) dec. Ty Malia (Iowa State), 12-6
133 Pounds
Cons.: Ryan L'Armoreaux (Michigan State) dec. David Douglas (ASU), 3-2 tb
141 Pounds
Semifinals: Eric Larkin (ASU) major dec. Aaron Holker (Iowa State), 13-3
First Place: Eric Larkin (ASU) dec. Mark Conley (Navy), 11-8
197 Pounds
Cons.: Erik Gladish (ASU) dec. Ryan Fulsaas (Iowa), 6-5
Cons.: Emmett Wilson (Montana State Northern) dec. Erik Gladish (ASU), 10-4
Seventh Place: Chris Skretkowicz (Hofstra) pinned Erik Gladish (ASU), 1:37
Heavyweight
Cons.: Andy Bowlby (Oregon State) forfeit Kellan Fluckiger (ASU)