Rodriguez Reaches Semifinals to Highlight NDSU’s First Day at Midlands Championships

Tuesday, December 29

Evanston, Ill.

All Day

North Dakota State

Midlands Championships

Photo by: Mike Smith/MatShots

12/29/2015 10:04:00 PM | Wrestling

Midlands Championships Day 1 Photo Gallery

EVANSTON, Ill.—North Dakota State University 125-pounder Josh Rodriguez advanced to the semifinals to highlight NDSU's first day, Tuesday, Dec. 29, at the Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern University's in McGaw Hall. The Bison are 22nd in the team standings with 20.5 points.

Action continues at noon Wednesday, Dec. 30 with the semifinals and consolation rounds. The finals (Championship, third and fifth place matches) are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Wednesday and broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.

Rodriguez, a junior from Guadalupe, Calif. (Righetti H.S.), opened with a pair of wins Tuesday including a 2-1 win over Old Dominion's Adam Madrigal in the quarterfinals. The match was scoreless after two periods, but Madrigal gained an escape early in the third period. However, Rodriguez stayed the aggressor and gained two points on stalling calls on Madrigal.

The 16th-ranked Rodriguez will square off against 2nd-ranked Thomas Gilman of Iowa in the semifinals. Rodriguez opened with a 10-1 major decision over Wisconsin's Johnny Jimenez and improved to 22-5 on the season.

NDSU 184-pound senior Hayden Zillmer (Crobsy, Minn. / Crosby-Ironton H.S.) looks to bounce back against Ohio University's Adam Romanchik in the consolation bracket. The 12th-ranked Zillmer dropped a 5-2 decision to 7th-ranked Sammy Brooks of Iowa in the semifinals. Brooks opened with a takedown in the first period and closed the match with another.

Zillmer went 2-1 during action Tuesday, posting a 20-5 tech fall over Purdue's Tanner Lynde and a 6-2 decision against Buffalo's Joe Ariola. Zillmer is now 17-3 this season.

NDSU's 149-pound duo of redshirt sophomores Clay Ream (Wentzville, Mo.) and Kyle Gliva (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) bounced back from opening round defeats to go 2-2 during action Tuesday. Ream lost an 18-3 tech fall to Iowa's Michael Kremerer, but earned a 6-5 decision over Old Dominion's Kenan Carter and a 19-4 tech fall against Iowa State's Blayne Briceno. Ream, who is 15-10, was ousted by Northern Iowa's Max Thomsen 6-3.

Gliva battled back from a 10-3 loss to Purdue's 18th-ranked Alex Griffin to defeat Columbia's Danny Reed 7-4 and pick up a forfeit from Eastern Michigan's Ben Grifin. Gliva, who is 14-7, lost 6-1 to Rugter's Tyson Dippery.

Also competing at the Midlands were 133 freshman Nico Colunga (0-2), 165 redshirt sophomore Grant Nehring (0-2), 174 redshirt freshman Blake Thompson (0-2), 174 redshirt freshman Tyler McNutt (0-2), unattached 174 freshman Cordell Eaton (0-2), 197 junior Logan Paxton (0-2), unattached 197 freshman Cordell Eaton (0-2), unattached 285 freshman Dan Stibral (0-2) and 285 junior Ben Tynan (0-2).