Wrestling: Krop’s Midlands performance highlights grapplers’ strong run

Princeton’s wrestlers kept busy over the break with impressive performances at the Midlands Championships tournament at Northwestern at the end of December and a quad meet at Pittsburgh on Saturday. Sophomore 141-pounder Adam Krop earned himself a top-15 national ranking after a third-place finish at Midlands. The team went 2-1 at this weekend’s meet, clobbering Davidson 48-0 and beating Virginia Military Institute 26-10 before succumbing 23-13 to No. 10 Pittsburgh.

Princeton sent five wrestlers to the prestigious Midlands Championships: junior 125-pounder Garrett Frey, freshman 133-pounder Chris Perez, Krop, senior 157-pounder Daniel Kolodzik and sophomore 184-pounder Dan Santoro. Twelfth-seeded Krop stormed to the semifinals on the first day and almost earned a finals berth but lost in a 3-2 decision to the event’s No. 1 seed, Montell Marion of Iowa. Krop earned his place on the podium after a 6-5 upset of Virginia Tech’s sixth-seeded Zach Niebert in the consolation round.

Team co-captain Kolodzik placed eighth at the tournament. The senior secured a top-eight finish with a 12-4 win over 11th-seeded David Bonin of Northern Iowa, but Kolodzik lost his two consolation matches.

“This was a big day for Princeton wrestling,” head coach Chris Ayres told GoPrincetonTigers.com. “People are starting to notice our program now, and our wrestlers’ performances at Midlands drew a lot of attention. It has been very exciting out here as both coaches and fans of other teams have come up to me to say how impressed they were with our team.”

In Saturday’s first team meet, Princeton obliterated Davidson with victories in every weight division and a Wildcat forfeit in the 285-pound category. Krop pinned Kevin Birmingham less than 90 seconds, Santoro pinned his opponent in five minutes, 35 seconds and senior 197-pounder Kurt Brendel notched a pin in 2:55. Kolodzik earned a technical fall against C.T. Talevi, 20-3.

The wrestlers dominated VMI in the lower weight divisions but ran into trouble as the match went on. Krop and Kolodzik both won in 10-2 major decisions, and Princeton did not have a loss on the day until sophomore 174-pounder Ryan Callahan fell 2-0 to Matt Brock. Brendel won his match 5-4, but junior heavyweight Bobby Grogan and Santoro both lost. Santoro is also a staff writer for The Daily Princetonian.

After holding an early lead against Pitt, Princeton suffered late losses, just as it did against VMI. This time, the lower-weight wins were not enough to hold off the higher-ranked squad. Frey lost his first match of the meet to Anthony Zanetta, 7-5, but Krop and Perez finished the day undefeated with victories. Pitt’s Tyler Nauman pinned junior 149-pounder Zach Bintliff, giving Pitt an 9-6 lead before Kolodzik evened the match with a 10-3 decision.

After freshman 165-pounder Rich Eva’s loss and senior 174-pounder Andy Lowy’s ensuing major decision victory, the match was again tied. But losses in the three heaviest weight classes ended Princeton’s run at a major upset.

Princeton heads home to Dillon Gymnasium next weekend for a pair of matches, beginning on Friday against Millersville. On Saturday, the wrestlers start their Ivy League schedule against No. 4 Cornell, which has a history of dominance in the conference.