Mueller earns best Midlands finish

EVANSTON, Ill. - Iowa State's Mitch Mueller experienced his best showing ever at the Midlands Championships.

The Cyclones senior earned a top-four finish at the Midlands Championships last night at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Mueller finished sixth as a freshman and sophomore but did not place a year ago. A sense of accomplishment was met with a desire for more.

“I'm wrestling better,” said Mueller, who was 16-3 before his final match against Bucknell's Kevin LeValley. “It feels good. I felt like I could have done a lot better.”

he could have wrestled a lot less as well. Mueller had to win a pair of overtime matches to assure his best finish at this event. He used a takedown and back points in overtime to beat Oregon State's R.J. Pena, 5-1, in a wrestleback. He followed that with a 3-1 overtime win over American University's Kyle Borshoff in the consolation quarterfinals. Mueller dropped Pitt's Ericv Albright, 6-2, to go for third.

“My second match was tough,” Mueller said. “The last one (of the third session) was the best I felt all day.”

This performance could be a sign Mueller has made the strides to reach his goal of capping his career with an All-American finish. He has qualified each of the last three seasons.

“It's a good steppingstone for the NCAA's,” Mueller said of the Midlands. “(All-American and national title) are what I want to finish with. I have to wrestle my best come March.”