Brooks rolls to Midlands semifinals

EVANSTON, Ill. - University of Iowa's Sammy Brooks had a lot of fun Monday.

His opponents weren't as thrilled at the end of the day.

The Hawkeye 184-pound sophomore had a blast, steamrolling his way to the semifinals of the 52nd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena. He was one of nine official semifinalists for Iowa, which led the team race with 110 ½ points.

Brooks dominated three opponents, scoring 45 total points, including a 12-3 major decision over Brown All-American Ophir Bernstein.

'It's a good time,” said Brooks, avenging a loss to Bernstein a year ago. 'Everybody says Iowa doesn't have fun, but I don't think there is anything more fun than beating the crap out of somebody and scoring a whole bunch of points, doing it the way Iowa guys are supposed to do it.”

Brooks approach is basic. The goal is to score more points than your opponent. He said he does not understand why wrestlers are hesitant to open up and be active.

'If I get into a firefight like that I am confident in our training and conditioning that I'm going to be in better shape than the other guy,” Brooks said. 'And, I'm going to have the tools to win a firefight like that.

'It's more exciting for everybody. It's more fun for the fans. It's more fun for me. Nobody likes a 3-2 match.”

Iowa Coach Tom Brands said he is comfortable sitting in the corner during those firefights.

'He's a pretty smart wrestler,” Brands said. 'Sometimes he lets it hang out there a little bit too much, but he is pretty smart and makes adjustments pretty quick.”

Brooks was an offensive dynamo, tallying 33 points in his first matches before ending before with falls. He had a varied attack, hitting throws, executing trips, finishing leg attacks and scrambling from his hip to score points.

Rolling around with teammates and accumulating a lot of mat time allows him to be comfortable in all positions and expand his arsenal.

'I've been wrestling my whole life,” said Brooks, who wrestles Old Dominion's second-seeded Jack Dechow in the semifinals. 'Some guys (think) upper body is taboo, or scrambling, but it's all part of the game. You can't just have a good offense or defense you have to have a sound skill set.”

For Brooks, the Midlands is a special event anyway. In addition to making a statement with each performance, he has some added motivation. He is from nearby Oak Park, wrestling at Oak Park-River Forest High School. His mother, Caryn, teaches journalism at Northwestern. Brooks has been attending the event since he was young.

'I haven't got it done the last two times I've been here,” Brooks said. 'I'm ready to change that.”

At 149, Brody Grothus and Brandon Sorensen moved a win away from the finals with quarterfinal decisions.

Grothus said he doesn't keep tabs on Sorensen's results as they vie for the starting spot.

'You always want your teammates to succeed,” Grothus said. 'In my mind, there is no better way to win this spot than to beat our own guy. That is the best-case scenario, having two Iowa Hawkeyes in the finals.

'That is our goal. That is what we came here to do and we're going to work toward that.”

Sorensen is aware of the stakes. He is focused on his results, letting those impact any decisions.

'It could clarify, this could be a big decider,” Sorensen said. 'I don't make the calls, I just go out there and preform and hopefully it goes my way.”

Grothus topped Penn's C.J. Cobb, 5-2; minutes after Sorensen completed a 9-6 comeback win over Minnesota's Seth Lange.

Midlands served as a springboard for Grothus last year, grabbing control with the fourth-place performance. He opened with a technical fall and major decision.

'It was a good start to this tournament,” Grothus said. 'Go to the semifinals (today) … moving in the right direction.”

Sorensen was third during last season's red-shirt year. He had a major to open the tournament and needed three third-period takedowns to overcome Lange.

'I was trying to get my shots early, and he was trying to slow down the match and I tried to keep coming to him and eventually he cracked,” Sorensen said. 'I started scoring points and I came back.”

Defending champions Mike Evans (174) and Thomas Gilman (125) returned to the semifinals. Evans continued his dominance, adding a quarterfinal major decision to an earlier falls. He beat Purdue's Chad Welch, 9-0.

Gilman beat Minnesota's Ethan Lizak, 11-4, after two earlier major decisions. He pulled away from opponents in the third.

'That's where you wear guys down, in short time they just want to hang,” Gilman said. 'Keep the pressure on them. Keep on pressuring.”

Gilman beat Illinois NCAA champion Jesse Delgado en route to last year's title. He was hoping to wrestle him again, but Delgado did not enter the field. Opportunities remain in January's dual, the conference and national tournament.

'Disappointing,” Gilman said about his reaction to the news. 'I was looking forward to seeing him here and wrestling him here.”

Cory Clark (133) has a familiar foe in the semifinals, facing Jarrod Garnett of the Lehigh Valley Wrestling Club for the third straight year. Clark notched a pin in the quarterfinals, but will look to avenge the 10-6 and 10-8 (in overtime) losses to Garnett.

'This is a demon match,” Brands said. 'Exorcise your demons. Let's exorcise some demons.”

Iowa's Mike Kelly remained unbeaten at 157. He beat Rider's Chad Walsh, 7-4, in the quarterfinals.

'He's very confident,” Brands said of Kelly. 'He's solid. He's not doing what I, anyone or any fan would call boneheaded mistakes. Even if you make a mistake, you overcome it.”

Nick Moore (165) and heavyweight Bobby Telford also moved on to the semifinals.

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