HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – The Midlands Championships lived up to its prestigious billing on Friday as a pair of Franklin & Marshall wrestlers dropped their round of 12 bouts, falling one match shy of the medal round for the Diplomats.
Noah Fox advanced to Friday morning's session behind a pair of hard-fought one-point EIWA victories against Harvard and Penn on Thursday. However, he was unable to keep that momentum against conference foes going in a 12-5 decision against Princeton's Kole Mulhauser. Heading into the New Year, Fox's season record sits at 13-9 as he come on strong in December with victories during 10 of his final 12 matches, including an individual title at the Wilkes Open.
John Crawford fell by a 14-2 major decision against last year's NCAA Tournament qualifier Andrew Davison of Northwestern. That round of 12 battle was a match between the No. 9 and No. 11 seeds in the tournament. Crawford wrestled three seeded wrestlers from the Big Ten Conference this week, including a 3-2 win versus eighth-seeded Nick Willham. His record now sits at 12-8 on the year. Crawford had won four straight entering the Midlands and has now won eight of his last 11 matches overall.
The Diplomats will now have just under a week before returning to another busy weekend on the mats in Lancaster. Franklin & Marshall will host a quad meet with matches against Brown (12 p.m.), Davidson (1:30 p.m.), and Presbyterian (3 p.m.) on Thursday, January 5 before the David H. Lehman '68 F&M Open on Friday, January 6. After just one home bout during the first half of the season, fans will have plenty of chances to catch the Diplomats on their home mats during the months of January and February.
Noah Fox (174 lbs.)
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Won vs. Martin Larkin (Michigan State); F: 3:45
Round of 16: Lost vs. #2 Troy Fisher (Northwestern); 3-2
Consolation 4: Won vs. Alex Whitworth (Harvard); 4-3
Consolation 5: Won vs. Michael Kistler (Penn); 4-3
Consolation 6: Lost vs. Kole Mulhauser (Princeton), 12-5
#9 John Crawford (197 lbs.)
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Won vs. Aaron Wolk (Brown); 5-3
Round of 16: Won vs. #8 Nick Willham (Indiana); 3-2
Quarterfinals: Lost vs. #1 Braxton Amos (Wisconsin); F: 2:33
Consolation 6: Lost vs. #11 Andrew Davison (Northwestern); 14-2
