Reader Into Midlands Final

EVANSTON, Ill. – The Iowa State wrestling team will have three placewinners in the 2010 Midlands Championships final session Thursday. Cyclone Jon Reader won his semi-final match and will wrestle for the 174-pound title and teammate Chris Drouin will wrestle for third place at 141 pounds, while sophomore Chris Spangler will medical forfeit in the fifth-place match. The Cyclones now sit in eighth place with 59.5 points. Leading the tournament is Missouri with 100.5 points.

Reader racked up over five minutes of riding time in a dominant 7-1 victory over Mike Letts of Maryland. The Davison, Mich. native scored a quick takedown and controlled the entire match. The top-seeded Reader will face third seed Ben Bennett of Central Michigan tonight in the finals of the 174-pound weight class.

Drouin, the fifth seed at 141 pounds, had a very difficult match with 2009 All-American Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois in the semifinals. After a scoreless first period, Kennedy rode Drouin the entire second period before picking up the decisive takedown in the third period.

Drouin earned redemption by defeating Missouri's sixth-seeded Todd Schavrien by a score of 3-2. Drouin used a first-period takedown and a second-period escape to defeat the Tiger grappler. The Cyclone senior will now face Pittsburgh's Tyler Nauman who is rated eighth in the country.

Spangler faced a tall task against 2009 national champion Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska in the 165-pound class. The two wrestlers fought at a break-neck pace before Spangler was injured in a face-to-face collision with Burroughs during a scramble. Spangler then injury defaulted to end the match.

Donnie Corby of Central Michigan beat Iowa State's Nate Carr Jr. at 149 pounds. Corby used multiple double-leg takedowns and a lot of hard riding to earn an 8-0 victory.

Cyclone Matt Gibson had a 3-2 lead over John Helgerson of Wartburg very late in their heavyweight match when Helgerson was given a controversial takedown on the edge with only a few seconds remaining to claim a 4-3 victory in the match-up.

Iowa State redshirt Michael Moreno led late against Bubby Graham of American in a 165-pound clash, but was taken down to his back with a minute left. The true freshman lost the match 9-4.

Team Scores

1. Missouri 100.5; 2. Wisconsin 87.5; 3. Iowa/Lehigh 87; 5. Pittsburgh 78.5; 6. Oklahoma 75; 7. Central Michigan 68.5; 8. IOWA STATE/Illinois 59.5; 10. Nebraska 59

Results

Consolation Round 5

149: Donnie Corby(Central Michigan) mdec. #5 Nate Carr Jr. (Iowa State), 8-0

165: Bubby Graham (American) dec. Mike Moreno (Iowa State), 9-4

HWT: John Helgerson (Wartburg) dec. Matt Gibson (Iowa State), 4-3

Semifinals

141: #1 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois) dec. #5 Chris Drouin (Iowa State), 4-1

165: #1 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) win by injury default Chris Spangler (Iowa State)

174: #1 Jon Reader (Iowa State) dec. #4 Mike Letts (Maryland), 7-1

Consolation Round 7

141: #5 Chris Drouin (Iowa State) dec. #6 Todd Schavrien (Missouri), 3-2

165: #3 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma) med. forfeit Chris Spangler (Iowa State)

Players Mentioned

Nate Carr Jr.

Nate Carr Jr.

Chris Drouin

Matt Gibson

Michael Moreno

Chris Spangler

Chris Spangler

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics