Dec. 28, 2010
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Seventeen days after its last competition, the University of Maryland wrestling team returns to the mats Wednesday at the Midlands Championship in Evanston, Ill.
Hosted by Northwestern University, the Midlands Championship will feature 97 nationally ranked competitors including nine wrestlers ranked either No. 1 or 2 in the country.
"Our guys have had time to recover physically and mentally over the last few days and they are eager to get back to competition," said head coach Kerry McCoy. "The Midlands is as tough as the NCAA Championships and in some weights may be even tougher, so it is a great opportunity for us to see the highest level of competition. I am excited and I expect our guys to perform well."
McCoy's squad will be well represented Wednesday as 11 Terrapins are set to compete including Josh Asper (third seed) at 165 pounds and Mike Letts (fifth seed) at 174 pounds. At 141, 157 and 184 pounds, respectively, Jon Kohler, Kyle John and Corey Peltier were listed as pre-tournament "Top Contenders".
Shane Gentry, Pat Strizki, Lou Ruland, Ben Dorsay, Dallas Brown and Spencer Myers are also set to compete at the Midlands Championship.
The tournament will be televised on tape-delay on the Big Ten Network on Jan. 8 at 4 p.m. ET and will also be broadcasted live by Takedown Radio here.
Over a dozen Terrapin wrestlers will also compete at the Wilkes Open Tuesday in Wilkes Barre, Pa. Maryland will be among 21 universities with competitors at the open tournament including top-25 teams American, Lehigh and Rutgers. For more information on the Wilkes Open, visit Wilkes University's Web site here.
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