Hawks on top again

Top-ranked Iowa won a third straight Midlands title, outdistancing second place Iowa State, 168.5-144.5, on Tuesday and Wednesday in Evanston, Ill. The Hawkeyes had three champions -- freshman Matt McDonough (125), Brent Metcalf (149) and Jay Borschel (174) -- and also had three lose in the finals. Metcalf, who beat Wisconsin's Kyle Ruschell, 9-2, in the finals, was named OW.

McDonough beat Iowa State rookie Andrew Long, 9-7, in the title bout. Long pinned top-seeded Brandon Precin of Northwestern (redshirting this season) in the semifinals.

For those of us who remember the 1980s, McDonough and Long are quickly becoming Davis versus Darkus.

Hawk head coach Tom Brands continues to have an interesting quandry at 141 pounds. Joey Slaton, NCAA runner-up at 133 in 2008; sophomore Montel Marion; and senior Dan LeClere are all fighting for the top spot.

In Evanston, LeClere was seeded second, Slaton was fourth and Marion No. 9. The final result? 

Slaton was third and Marion sixth. LeClere lost in the quarterfinals to Illinois' Ryan Prater and to Marion in his first wrestleback. Slaton beat Marion, 10-5, in the wrestleback semifinals. With the National Duals around the corner it looks like Slaton may be the guy? 

Iowa State had a champion -- Jake Varner (197) -- and three others who lost in the finals.

Central Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin rounded out the top five. The Badgers had two champions -- Tyler Graff (133) and Andrew Howe (165). Howe, an NCAA runner-up as a freshman last season, beat Iowa State's Jon Reader in the finals.

American had a strong tournament, finishing tied for eighth. Steve Fittery, a transfer from Division II Shippensburg State who is a two-time D-II runner-up, pinned Jake Patacsil in the 157-pound finals. Mike Cannon, the No. 2 seed at 174, lost to Borschel in the finals.

Maryland's Alex Krom beat top-seeded Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois in the 141-pound finals. Jarrod Trice, the eighth seed, won the 285-pound title, beating Iowa State's David Zabriskie.

Something else to ponder: Missouri had two heavyweights in the top eight with Mark Ellis finishing fourth and Dom Bradley finishing sixth. Much like Iowa at 141, stay tuned in Columbia in January.

Down South

Cornell won the team title at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C., on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Big Red totaled 164. Minnesota was second, 13.5 back, with Indiana, Edinboro and Virginia rounding out the top 5. Ohio followed up its strong showing at the Reno TOC with a sixth place finish at the Scuffle.

Cornell had three champions -- freshman Kyle Dake (141), Mack Lewnes (174) and Cam Simaz (197). Defending NCAA champion Troy Nickerson made his debut in Greensboro and rolled to the 125-pound finals where, interestingly, he injury defaulted to second-seeded Angel Escobedo of Indiana. Nickerson beat Escobedo in the NCAA semifinals last March.

The 165-pound bracket saw top-seeded Jarrod King of Edinboro lose to Bloomsburg's Rick Schmelyun in the semifinals. Schmelyun then lost to Minnesota's Dustin Schlatter in the finals. The Gophers also saw Jayson Ness (133) win a title. 

Schmelyun's teammate, Matt Moley, the top seed at 157 pounds, lost to North Carolina's Thomas Scotton in the finals.

Another top seed, Kent State's Dustin Kilgore, went down to Edinboro's Chris Honeycutt in the 184-pound finale.

Indiana's Nathan Everhart beat Navy's Scott Steele in the heavyweight final.

Army's Matt Kyler, a senior, was the champion at 149.

Ohio had five in the top eight with Eric Schuth losing to Simaz in the 197-pound final and Germane Lindsey, a finalist in Reno, taking fourth at 141. The Bobcats scored 1/2 point at the 2008 NCAA Championships and failed to register anything at the 2009 Championships. 

Another loss

The wrestling community lost former Cornell and Blair Academy product Adam Frey to cancer last week. On Tuesday Steve "Dr. Death" Williams also lost his long battle with the deadly disease. Williams was an All-American heavyweight in the early 1980s and also part of some pretty fine Sooner football teams under Barry Switzer.

Two of his most memorable matches came inside Gallagher Hall (now Gallagher-Iba Arena).

In 1982, the Sooners and Cowboys were locked in a close dual meet when Williams squared off against 400-plus pound Mitch Shelton to determine the dual's winner. Shelton pinned Williams and the 5000-seat building went into a frenzy.

Earlier in Williams' career, he faced off against the 200-pound David Hille in the same building. The 16-16 dual ended with a bite from Hille and a punch from Williams, who did have a short career as a professional wrestler.