Iowa's Brandon Sorensen joins select club by reaching Midlands semifinals

EVANSTON, Ill. — Iowa's Brandon Sorensen may not be a perfectionist per se, but that doesn't stop him from striving for it.

The two-time All-American and NCAA finalist isn't satisfied by joining a select club and reaching a point he's been in the past.

'I like things done perfect, and they're not,' Sorensen said. 'I've got things to improve.'

Sorensen remained unbeaten this season, becoming one of five Hawkeye semifinalists at the 54th Midlands Championships on Thursday night at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena. Iowa was in first with 85 1/2 points after the first day, leading second-place Nebraska by seven.

Top-seeded Sorensen defeated Ryan Deakin, of Northwestern, 12-4, in the 149-pound quarterfinal. The victory was his 20th Midlands victory in four years, making him the ninth Hawkeye to achieve that feat. In the back of his mind, he still wants more.

'It's awesome, but at the same time my true freshman year and (redshirt) freshman year I got two third (places),' said Sorensen, the defending 149-pound Midlands champion. 'I wish I can do better that, and this tournament is not done. I still have things to do. I have work to do. We have to take it one match at a time here and keep working toward the goal.'

Sorensen opened the tournament with a 9-2 decision over South Dakota State's Alex Kocer. In the second round, he broke open a tight match and pinned Oklahoma's Davion Jeffries in 6:18. He can wear down opponents.

'It just doesn't come with one spark,' Sorensen said. 'It comes from the whole match. Heavy hands and staying on him for the whole time.'

Iowa's lightweight leader Thomas Gilman moved within a victory of his fourth straight Midlands final. Gilman was dominant in his first four matches, tallying 87 points with an opening-round pin and three straight technical falls.

Gilman throttled eighth-seeded and NCAA Division III champion Lucas Malmberg, of Messiah, 23-7, in the quarterfinals. Brands said Gilman has developed more into a push-pull wrestler with his setups, using angles to score.

'The adjustment he made from his sophomore year to his junior year, he's gotten better at that,' Brands said. 'His pace is high. He can score a lot of points. He can score a lot of points a lot of different ways.'

Redshirt freshman Michael Kemerer (157), 174-pounder Alex Meyer and heavyweight Sam Stoll also reached the semifinals.

Midlands notes: Iowa's Sam Stoll returns from injury

Meyer is making his second straight semifinal appearance here, placing third last year. He has been dominant, notching three straight major decisions with an 11-2 quarterfinal win over Harvard's Josef Johnson.

'He got taken down and it's one of those things where you bail yourself out of the hole,' Brands said. 'That's what you need to do, but he did it and he got a major decision.'

Brands said the five semifinalists need to maintain their strong performances into the upcoming rounds.

'They need to keep doing what they're doing,' Brands said. 'They have to finish, finish matches hard, keep wrestling to build leads and score bonus points. When you're doing that your focus is on the right thing.

'It's just wrestling. It's not on winning. It's not on anything other than going out and scoring points. If you have to go out and have fun, then go out and have fun. If you like to kick somebody's ass, then kick somebody's ass. They're both the same to me.'

Brands seemed surprised that Iowa was ahead in the team race. He stressed the importance of bonus points with Iowa, tallying 25 1/2 in 20 bonus-point victories.

'We're always greedy that way, so that's good,' Brands said after the first session. 'We're going to need bonus points (Thursday) and (Friday).'

Iowa State's Lelund Weatherspoon was the lone championship-side bright spot for the Cyclones. The third-seeded Weatherspoon moved into the semifinal round, assuring a top-six finish at 174, with a 3-2 victory over Boise State's Austin Dewey.

In a tournament format, there is something to being able to win and advance.

'We'll take the wins, for sure,' Iowa State Coach Kevin Jackson said. 'We'd like to see him make it easier on himself.'

Weatherspoon won three matches by a combined five points, gutting out a 6-4 sudden-victory win in the second round. Jackson said winning when you're not at your best is a championship-type trait, but he needs to be better on Day 2.

'His best match is what we continue to strive for,' Jackson said. 'I don't think we've seen Lelund Weatherspoon's best match. We have to see that (Friday) — twice.'

He will face Meyer for a trip to the final. Meyer beat Weatherspoon, 5-3, in a dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 10. Weatherspoon also lost a decision to Meyer in last year's dual.

'He'll have to open up more,' Jackson said. 'He'll have to take advantage of his opportunities to score.'

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