College wrestlers often make their mark at large-scale tournaments early in their careers. One such tournament is the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships in Illinois, and Zach Hartman made a splash — a few of them, in fact — last weekend at that event.
A freshman from Bucknell and a Belle Vernon graduate, Hartman pulled a pair of upsets over nationally ranked wrestlers to reach the 157-pound semifinals at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill. He topped No. 6 seed Christian Pagdilao of Arizona State with a 10-2 major decision, and then won a 7-5 decision over Rutgers’ John Van Brill, ranked No. 17.
Hartman dropped a 9-2 decision to No. 2 Kaleb Young of Iowa in the semis but still managed a third-place finish.
Bison junior 197-pounder Drew Phipps (Norwin) advanced to the round of 16.
Arizona State: Redshirt junior Josh Shields (Franklin Regional) finished third at 165 pounds at the Midlands Championships.
Iowa: It is rare for Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) to lose because when it happens, it is such a surprise. Lee, the returning national champion at 125 pounds, reached the finals of the Midlands Championships as the top seed but lost to second-seeded Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern, 7-3.
Men’s basketball
Washington & Jefferson: Sophomore guard Zach Queen (Hempfield) connected on four 3-pointers for 12 points, but the Presidents (5-7) lost to Oberlin, 65-53, in the Oberlin College Holiday Classic. Queen added seven points and a career-high six rebounds in a 78-64 loss to Houghton on the second day of the tournament.
Women’s basketball
Pitt-Greensburg: Sophomore Nadege Durand pulled down a career-high 21 rebounds, the fifth-most single-game total in program history, but the Bobcats fell to Chapman, 76-48, at the Chapman Winter Classic in Orange, Calif. Durand added 11 points for her seventh double-double of the season. Durand was named AMCC Player of the Week.
Bill Beckner is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Bill at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.
