HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Junior heavyweight and tenth-ranked wrestler Youssif Hemida advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 55th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Friday afternoon. Hemida posted a 2-0 record in the first session of the event and has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Midlands Championships for the first time in his career.
Hemida opened his day with a second round win over Duece Rachal of Illinois. The New York-native edged his fellow Big Ten grappler by a score of 4-2. He followed his win with a dominant effort against the thirteenth-seeded Patrick Grayson of Nebraska. He controlled the bout from start to finish, winning 10-1. Hemida will face fifth-seeded William Miller of Edinboro, with the winner advancing to Saturday's semifinals. The loser will move to Saturday morning's blood round.
Maryland's Alfred Bannister joined Hemida with two wins in the first session, defeating Jakob Bergeland of Minnesota and then Malik Amine of Michigan. Bannister then fell in the Round of 16 to Ryan Deakin of Northwestern.
Five Terps earned a single win in the session, headlined by Ryan Diehl, who picked up his first pin of the season just 32 seconds into his match with Lenny Petersen of Air Force. Redshirt sophomore Josh Ugalde also impressed with a 18-0 first period technical fall victory over Carlin Powell of Princeton.
165-pounder Brendan Burnham won a tough first-round match over Jesse Dellavecchia of Rider, 9-7. Justin Alexander also started his day with a victory, defeating Jon Errico of Penn, 6-4.
True freshman Danny Bertoni earned a win in his Midlands Championships debut, knocking off Trevor Tarsi of Harvard in his first consolation match.
Maryland is in 14th place overall through the first session.
The second session of the 55th Midlands Championships will begin at 7 p.m. (CT) on Friday, Dec. 29. It will begin with a round of consolation matches and will be followed by quarterfinal action.
Live video of Session II can be found on BTN2Go.com and FloWrestling.com. Live stats will be provided by TrackWrestling.com.
For full results through Session I of the 55th Midlands Championships, please see below. Complete bracket updates can be found at the top of the page.
-TERPS-
MIDLANDS 125
Brandon Cray's place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Brandon Cray (Maryland) received a bye () (Bye)
- Champ. Round 2 - Sean Russell (Edinboro) won by major decision over Brandon Cray (Maryland) (Maj 16-5)
- Cons. Round 2 - Brandon Cray (Maryland) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 3 - Connor Brown (South Dakota State) won by decision over Brandon Cray (Maryland) (Dec 6-2)
MIDLANDS 133
Jhared Simmons's place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Jhared Simmons (Maryland) received a bye () (Bye)
- Champ. Round 2 - Markus Simmons (Iowa State) won by tech fall over Jhared Simmons (Maryland) (TF 16-0)
- Cons. Round 2 - Jhared Simmons (Maryland) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 3 - Mikey Cullen (Wisconsin) won by decision over Jhared Simmons (Maryland) (Dec 3-1)
Danny Bertoni's place is unknown and has scored 1.00 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Scott Delvecchio (Rutgers) won by fall over Danny Bertoni (Maryland) (Fall 4:58)
- Cons. Round 1 - Danny Bertoni (Maryland) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 2 - Danny Bertoni (Maryland) won by decision over Trevor Tarsi (Harvard) (Dec 6-2)
- Cons. Round 3 - Andrew Marten (Central Michigan - UNAT) won by major decision over Danny Bertoni (Maryland) (Maj 13-2)
MIDLANDS 141
Peter Tedesco's place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Keegan Moore (West Virginia) won by decision over Peter Tedesco (Maryland) (Dec 6-5)
- Cons. Round 1 - Peter Tedesco (Maryland) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 2 - Lenny Petersen (Air Force) won by decision over Peter Tedesco (Maryland) (Dec 11-6)
Ryan Diehl's place is unknown and has scored 3.00 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Ryan Diehl (Maryland) received a bye () (Bye)
- Champ. Round 2 - Jacob Lizak (Penn) won by decision over Ryan Diehl (Maryland) (Dec 4-2)
- Cons. Round 2 - Ryan Diehl (Maryland) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 3 - Ryan Diehl (Maryland) won by fall over Lenny Petersen (Air Force) (Fall 0:32)
MIDLANDS 149
Alfred Bannister's place is unknown and has scored 2.00 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Alfred Bannister (Maryland) won by decision over Jakob Bergeland (Minnesota - UNAT) (Dec 10-8)
- Champ. Round 2 - Alfred Bannister (Maryland) won by decision over Malik Amine (Michigan) (Dec 3-1)
- Champ. Round 3 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) won by major decision over Alfred Bannister (Maryland) (Maj 13-1)
MIDLANDS 157
Justin Alexander's place is unknown and has scored 1.00 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Justin Alexander (Maryland) won by decision over Jon Errico (Penn) (Dec 6-4)
- Champ. Round 2 - Luke Weber (Nebraska) won by decision over Justin Alexander (Maryland) (Dec 4-1)
- Cons. Round 2 - Justin Alexander (Maryland) received a bye () (Bye)
- Cons. Round 3 - Cole Wysocki (Purdue) won by decision over Justin Alexander (Maryland) (Dec 5-3)
MIDLANDS 165
Patrick Gerish's place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Kaleb Young (Iowa) won by major decision over Patrick Gerish (Maryland) (Maj 15-3)
- Cons. Round 1 - Andrew Scott (Northern Illinois) won by decision over Patrick Gerish (Maryland) (Dec 9-3)
Brendan Burnham's place is unknown and has scored 1.00 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Brendan Burnham (Maryland) won by decision over Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) (Dec 9-7)
- Champ. Round 2 - Jonathan Viruet (Brown) won by decision over Brendan Burnham (Maryland) (Dec 6-0)
MIDLANDS 174
Josh Ugalde's place is unknown and has scored 3.50 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Josh Ugalde (Maryland) received a bye () (Bye)
- Champ. Round 2 - Josh Ugalde (Maryland) won by tech fall over Carlin Powell (Princeton) (TF 18-0)
- Champ. Round 3 - Mikey Labriola (Nebraska - UNAT) won by decision over Josh Ugalde (Maryland) (Dec 7-5)
MIDLANDS 184
Niko Cappello's place is unknown and has scored 0.00 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Brady Ayers (South Dakota State) won by decision over Niko Cappello (Maryland) (Dec 5-0)
- Cons. Round 1 - Kanon Dean (Harvard) won by decision over Niko Cappello (Maryland) (Dec 7-0)
MIDLANDS 285
Youssif Hemida's place is unknown and has scored 4.00 team points.
- Champ. Round 1 - Youssif Hemida (Maryland) received a bye () (Bye)
- Champ. Round 2 - Youssif Hemida (Maryland) won by decision over Duece Rachal (Illinois) (Dec 4-2)
- Champ. Round 3 - Youssif Hemida (Maryland) won by major decision over Patrick Grayson (Nebraska) (Maj 10-1)
