Dec. 30, 2010
Midlands Bracket 
Team Standings
EVANSTON, Ill. -After Wednesday's first day of competition at the Midlands Championship, the University of Maryland wrestling team is in eighth place, with a pair of Terps having advanced to the semifinal round.
With 41.5 points,Maryland is in eighth place, while Lehigh (65.0 points), Wisconsin (58.5) and Iowa (52.5) round out the top three squads. Kyle John and No. 16 Mike Letts both finished day one a perfect 3-0 and will advance to the semifinals, scheduled for Wednesday.
A seven-seed, Kyle John will take on six-seed No. 20 Daryll Cocozzo of Rutgers at 157 pounds in the semifinals after earning a pair of decisions followed by a fall over Pittsburgh's Donnie Tasser . If the junior from Coopersburg, Pa., were to advance, John would square off against No. 13 James Fleming of Clarion or No. 20 Chase Nelson of Oklahoma.
Two weight classes up at 174 pounds, redshirt senior Mike Letts followed suit advancing to the semifinals after three dominating performances in which he outscored his opponents 19-2. Letts will take on one-seed No. 3 Jon Reader of Iowa State Thursday and, if he were to advance, would meet either No. 5 Ben Bennett of Central Michigan or No. 18 Alex Caruso of Rutgers, whom he already defeated 3-1 at the Nittany Lion Open on Dec. 5.
Shane Gentry and Jon Kohler remain in contention in the consolation bracket and have the opportunity to gain more valuable experience on day two.
A freshman, Gentry will take on four-seed No. 8 Alan Waters of Missouri and could potentially wrestle in three more matches and finish as high as third at 125 pounds. After losing in the opening match, Gentry has performed well, winning three straight with his most recent victory coming via 19-2 tech fall over Tritron's Jose Torres.
An ACC Champion in 2007-08, senior Jon Kohler will meet four-seed No. 13 Mark Ballweg of Iowa. Kohler has dominated the consolation bracket with two pins and a major decision over No. 20 Kaleb Friedley of host Northwestern.
Wednesday's championship round is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern while the consolation round will begin at 1 p.m.
-ES-
