PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania wrestling team will be making a 13-day trip across the country over the holiday break, testing itself against the nation's elite programs in both tournament and dual meet situations as the Quakers head to the Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30) at Northwestern before moving on to dual meets against Cal Poly and Stanford (Jan. 7) in Palo Alto.
The 55th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships will be held at Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois this year due to renovations at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Northwestern's campus.
Penn's Expected Lineup For Midlands and Cal Poly/Stanford Duals
125:
Daniel Planta, Fr. (6-4)
133:
Gianni Ghione, Fr. (7-3) and
Tristin DeVincenzo, Jr. (0-3)
141:
Marc Mastropietro, Sr. (0-1) and
Jake Lizak, Sr. (6-5)
149:
Joe Oliva, Sr. (5-3) and
Carl Antrassian, So. (0-2) and
Evan DeLuise, Fr. (3-5)
157:
Joe Velliquette, Sr. (7-5) and
Jon Errico, So. (5-4)
165:
May Bethea, Sr. (6-3)
174:
Khamari Whimper, Fr. (7-6) and
Brian Krasowski, So. (1-4)
184: No. 17
Joe Heyob, Sr. (7-1)
197: No. 15
Frank Mattiace, Sr. (11-2) and
Robert Ng, Jr. (1-3)
285:
Patrik Garren, Sr. (7-7) and
Tyler Hall, Jr. (5-5)
Midlands Notes
- The Red and Blue have not competed at Midlands since the 2014-15 season where the Quakers finished 14th led by 184-pounder Lorenzo Thomas who was second.
- Penn's all-time best finish at Midlands is 4th in 1999 under current head coach Roger Reina.
- The Quakers have had 30 wrestlers place in the top eight at Midlands all-time.
- Penn has had two wrestlers win Midlands Championships – Andrei Rodzianko (1998 at 197 pounds) and Yoshi Nakamura (2001 at 157 pounds)
- No. 4 Michigan, No. 6 N.C. State, No. 8 Iowa, No. 9 Arizona State, No. 11 South Dakota State, No. 15 Rutgers, No. 16 Central Michigan and No. 17 Illinois are all expected to send full teams to Midlands.
- Last year, 22 wrestlers who finished in the Top-8 at Midlands went on to earn All-American honors at the NCAA Championships.
Other Notes To Make You Sound Smart At Holiday Parties…
- Penn will be wrestling Cal Poly in a dual meet for the first time.
- Penn is 5-0 all-time against Stanford in dual meets, including a 19-17 defeat No. the No. 17-ranked Cardinal last year in The Palestra.
- May Bethea knocked off eventual All-American Paul Fox, 8-7, at 157 pounds in the final bout to cap a Penn comeback against Stanford. The Red and Blue trailed, 17-13, with two bouts remaining and received decision wins from Joe Oliva at 149 and Bethea at 157 to secure the win.
- Penn is 3-0 all-time against Stanford in Palo Alto. The last meeting between the two teams in California was 1/6/13, a 27-6 win for the Quakers which also came as part of a Midlands/California road trip over break.
- Penn is 1-0 in road dual meets this season and 2-0 in neutral-site meets.
