INDIANAPOLIS – Ryan Herman is the 45th Midwest Classic Champion at 285! The Maryville wrestling senior triumphed in a field that featured eight of the top 15 wrestlers in the country—including Herman himself at No. 8— with him defeating No. 4, No. 6 and No. 10 on the road to the title.
DAY TWO
The dominant effort from day one for Herman continued into day two as he started his day with a pin of No. 10-ranked Isaiah Vance in Pitt-Johnstown, using a massive slam at the two-minute mark to earn a four-point near-fall. Herman executed a similar move in the second period to secure the pin
.
Another ranked matchup arrived at the feet of Herman in the semifinals as he faced off against the top-seeded and No. 4-ranked Dorian Crosby of Gannon. Despite the ranking difference, the match couldn't have been more in Herman's favor as he controlled the pace throughout the first two periods, staying on top throughout the entire second. An escape in the third and another takedown with back points earned Herman the 9-3 win.
Herman's semifinal victory set up a championship match against No. 6-ranked Carter Blough of in-region rival Grand Valley State. After a closely contested first two periods, highlighted by a lightning-fast escape from Herman, he controlled the third period and capped the match with a near-fall for a commanding 6-0 shutout.
Evan Binder and
Cole Ritter also competed on day two. Binder dropped his first match, while Ritter's tournament ended after a late near-fall in the third period of his match. An injury sustained in the bout forced him to withdraw.
DAY 1
Ritter and Herman both started their days with byes, with the duo putting them to good use. Ritter snagged a 18-5 major, scoring two takedowns in each of the first two periods. For Herman, after waiting enduring a long wait for his first match, made quick work, pinning his foe in just 58 seconds.
Ritter went onto pick up an 11-4 decision while Herman earned a 4-1 win on a clutch third-period takedown sending both Saints to the quarterfinals.
For Binder, the day started smooth, earning a 4-3 win in the second round, but a tough draw in the third round saw him drop the match via major to No. 5-ranked James Anderson of Ouachita Baptist. He rebounded with a 7-3 decisive win in the consolations to finish his first day.
Outside of the second-day participants, the Saints were dominant on the backside of the brackets as almost every wrestler snagged multiple wins.
Sam Shafer out of the 125-bracket earned back-to-back falls, a pin in his first consolation match and then a 16-0 tech in his match after.
Hudson Hackbarth at 141 had a very similar path on the backside as Shafer, as after dropping his opening match he rolled into two straight pins.
Other matches of note include a
JP Homfeld major in the second round of the consolation bracket and a
Jeremiah Larson sudden victory in his third match of the day.
UP NEXT
The Saints are off until next year, hosting the Maryville Open on Jan. 5 on the campus of Maryville University.
