Ashnault and Russo each Place Eighth at Midlands Championships
Dec 30 | Wrestling
EVANSTON, Ill. (Dec. 30, 2009) — Redshirt junior Dominick Russo (Netcong, N.J.) and junior Billy Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) of the Rutgers wrestling team each placed eighth in their respective brackets at the 47th Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill. at the Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday. Rutgers as a team was in 15th place in the latest team rankings with 31 points.
Sophomore 141-pounder Trevor Melde (Hewitt, N.J.) also competed on Wednesday.
Eighth-ranked and seventh-seeded Russo, competing in the heavyweight bracket, picked up his third pin of the tournament and 11th of the season by taking down Eric Thompson of No. 2 Iowa State in his first wrestleback match by a 5:52 mark. Russo dropped his next match to sixth-seeded Mark Ellis of Missouri by a 10-5 decision.
In the seventh-place match, seventh-ranked and fifth-seeded Ryan Tomei defeated Russo by a 3-0 decision.
17th-ranked and eighth-seeded Ashnault, wrestling at 133, bounced back from his quarterfinals loss by knocking off Nathan McCormick of Missouri by a 6-3 decision. Ashnault was eliminated by 14th-ranked and fifth-seeded Kyle Hutter in the next round by a 6-1 score.
Oregon State’s Kelly Kubec, who is ranked 15th and seeded fifth, pinned Ashnault in the seventh-place match by a 2:08 time.
19th-ranked and 11th-seeded Melde fell in his first wrestleback match against 12th-seeded Juan Archuleta of Purdue by a 3-2 decision.
The Scarlet Knights will be back in action on Jan. 8 for their first home event when they host a tri-meet with Brown and Harvard.
47th Midlands Championships
Evanston, Ill. at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Dec. 29-30, 2009
Rutgers Results
133-Pound Bracket
Second Round
No. 17/8th Billy Ashnault (RU) pins Akif Eren (PU), 5:32
Third Round
No. 17/8th Billy Ashnault (RU) pins No. 18/9th David Marble (Bucknell) 6:54
Quarterfinals
No. 5/1st Nick Fanthorpe (Iowa State) dec. No. 17/8th Billy Ashnault (RU) 6-2
Wrestleback (consolation round)
No. 17/8th Billy Ashnault (RU) dec. Nathan McCormick(Missouri) 6-3
No. 14/5th Kyle Hutter (unattached) dec. No. 17/8th Billy Ashnault (RU) 6-1
7th Place Match
#6 Kelly Kubec (Oregon St.) pins No. 17/8th Billy Ashnault (RU) 2:08
141-Pound Bracket
Second Round
No. 19/11th Trevor Melde (RU) major dec. Vince Vercelli (Ill.) 9-1
Third Round
No. 19/11th Trevor Melde (RU) dec. No. 15/6th Seth Ciasulli (Lehigh) 8-6
Quarterfinals
No. 10/3rd Alex Krom (MD) pins No. 19/11th Trevor Melde (RU) 1:45
Wrestleback (consolation round)
12th Juan Archuleta (PU) dec. No. 19/11th Trevor Melde (RU) 3-2
157-Pound Bracket
First Round
11th Daryl Cocozzo (RU)dec. Joey Deaguero (Adams St.) 6-3
Second Round
11th Daryl Cocozzo (RU) dec. Trent Weatherman (unattached) 6-3
Third Round
No. 13/6th Jake Deitchler (unattached) dec. 11th Daryl Cocozzo (RU) 5-2
Wrestleback (consolation round)
Andrew Sorenson (Iowa St.) dec. 11th Daryl Cocozzo (RU) 5-2
165-Pound Bracket
Second Round
6th Scott Winston (RU) pins Dan Brascetta (Oregon St.) 6:30
*Winston forfeited due to injury
Mike Finch (Iowa St.) dec. Gregory Zannetti (RU) 8-4
Wrestleback (consolation round)
Rob Morrison (Rider) dec. Gregory Zannetti (RU) 9-3
285-pound Bracket
Second Round
No. 8/7th Dominic Russo (RU) pins Chris Weber (Cleveland St.) 1:29
Third Round
No. 8/7th Dominic Russo (RU) pins Bubba Owens (Oregon St.) 2:15
Quarterfinals
No. 3/2nd Zak Rey (Lehigh) dec. No. 8/7th Dominic Russo (RU) 5-2
Wrestleback (consolation round)
No. 8/7th Dominic Russo (RU) pins Eric Thompson (Iowa St.) 5:52
#6 Mark Ellis (Missouri) dec. No. 8/7th Dominic Russo (RU) 10-5
Seventh Place Match
No. 7/5th Ryan Tomei (Pitt) dec. No. 8/7th Dominic Russo (RU) 3-0
No. – National ranking/seed
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