There was a time when the Midlands Championships was a haven for post-graduate competition. Wrestlers far removed from their senior year of collegiate competition continued to compete in one of wrestling's greatest American folkstyle competitions year in and year out. It was what made The Midlands, "The Midlands." What made the tournament so exciting and fun. We'd get to see top collegiate stars of the then and now, Vs the top collegiate stars of years prior. We'd get to see guys who may not have had the best collegiate career, get a second shot at the glory that surpassed them during their college days.
After time, the Midlands stopped featuring post-graduates. The argument against their inclusion came down to how wins against them didn't count towards the criteria to help a collegiate wrestler earn a bid to the NCAA tournament. Their were other arguments too, but ones more so based on opinion than fact. Speaking of opinions, I'll give you mine.
I think when the Midlands did away with post-graduates (other than the 1 or 2 that pop up from time to time) the tournament lost its character and above all else, the tournament lost its spirit. Now is the perfect time to bring that spirit back to life. From 2022-2023 on forward the end of December/beginning of January will now feature four major tournaments instead of two that it has for years. It's no longer The Midlands and the Southern Scuffle. From now on it's going to be The Midlands, The Matmen, The Southern Scuffle and the Hawkeye Open. In order to stay relevant and competitive with the other three tournaments, the Midlands is going to have to set itself apart. This is the perfect opportunity to bring back post-graduate competition.
For some of you, you already know what I'm talking about. For others, you may not remember or you may not even know about all of the great stories that resulted from allowing post grads into the tournament. I'm not going to include every post-grad that ever competed in the Midlands championships, but I will include quite a few. Here are some of my favorites.
It's not to say that John Giura didn't have a good collegiate career, because he did. While competing for the Wisconsin Badgers, Giura finished his final three seasons 8th-3rd-7th at the NCAA's. Being a three-time All American is nothing to hang your head about, but the truth is, 7th wasn't exactly where he wanted to finish on the podium in his final season of college competition. Continuing his wrestling career, he stayed on at Wisconsin a member of the Wisconsin Wrestling Club. A year removed from his final year of eligibility he entered the Midlands tournament to show that although he finished 7th the year before, he was as good as anyone. Not only did he win the Midlands title, he did so with a 5-4 decision over Iowa's Jim Heffernan, who by the way went on to win the NCAA title that same season.
As gentle and warm as Ben Peterson is off the mat, it's almost hard to believe how ruthless and relentless he was on it. Ben Peterson dominated his competition throughout his entire career. While at Iowa State he won back to back NCAA titles as well as a Midlands Title in his final two years of collegiate competition. Continuing to wrestle beyond college, Peterson became an international sensation earning World Gold, Olympic Gold and Olympic silver. During this time, a representative of the Wisconsin Wrestling Club, Peterson continued competing at the Midlands.
He won Midlands Titles in 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979. The competition in each season was top notch. In 1974 he defeated Mark Lieberman of Lehigh 8-5 in the semi-finals. Lieberman went on to win the NCAA title that season. In 1975, Peterson defeated Mark's brother Mike 10-1 major decision in the semi-finals. Mike would place 3rd at the NCAA's that season.
In his final Midlands competition, Peterson scored another semi-final victory of note, defeating Clemson's Noel Loban by a 6-0 score. Loban won the NCAA title that season.
Truth is, John Peterson's story is even more remarkable than is his brother's. Unlike Ben, John didn't have a standout high school career. In fact, John never even qualified for the state tournament. He didn't get to go wrestle for powerhouse Iowa State on a scholarship. In stead he found himself a walk on at Wisconsin-Stout, a small NAIA program. During his time as a Blue Devil, John continuously got better, eventually finding himself finishing 5th at his final NAIA tournament in 1971. A great accomplishment in its own right, but a far cry from the normal prerequisites required for the greatness that lay ahead. Also making the Midlands finals, in his last year at Wisconsin-Stout, something clicked inside of John Peterson and he became one of the best wrestlers in the world. Olympic Gold, Olympic Silver, World Silver and World Bronze, Peterson stepped out of his brother's shadow and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. During this time he also competed at the Midlands winning five titles in a row between 1971 and 1975. Ironically enough, he was also a thorn in the side of the Lieberman brothers of Lehigh, as he defeated them along the way for some of his titles as well.
To say that Russ Hellickson wasn't a good collegiate wrestler would be unfair, because he was. During his time as a Wisconsin Badger he was a two-time Big 10 runner-up. However in three trips to the NCAA tournament, Hellickson never came home with a medal. He never earned that All American status that the wrestling community unabashedly demands if they're going to deem you worthy of discussion. Hellickson would more than make up for what he missed out on in college, but dominating the competition at the Midlands as a post grade.
A year removed from graduation, Hellickson won The Midlands title over a talented Iowa State grappler we just discussed. He defeated Ben Peterson, that season's NCAA champion by a score of 5-4.
Competing for the Wisconsin Wrestling Club, Hellickson would go on to win three more Midlands titles, each in fashion. His 1973 title included a 6-3 quarter-final victory over Jim Woods of Western Illinois who won the NCAA title that season. His 1974 Midlands title included a quarter-final fall in 3:50 over Jimmy Jackson of Oklahoma State who went on to be a three time NCAA champion.
Hellickson eventually went on to represent the United States at the 1976 Olympics where he brought home a Silver medal. I can't help but think that being allowed to compete at the Midlands and building up his confidence with notable victories helped to lead him to this success. It makes one wonder if we've had other wrestlers who missed out on being All Americans for one reason or another, who would benefit from getting to compete at the Midlands the way Hellickson did.
In honor of Grand Valley State's return to varsity wrestling in the 2023-2024 season after 31 years of lying dormant, it's only appropriate to talk about one of their all time greats, Mark Mangianti. During his time as a Laker, Mangianti was the first wrestler to earn four GLIAC (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) titles. Earning an NAIA title in 1974, he would finish 3rd at both the 1976 NAIA championships and the 1976 NCAA Division II championships.
Continuing his wrestling career beyond his collegiate days, Mangianti represented the Michigan wrestling club, the Sunkist Kids and the Hawkeye Wrestling Club in Midlands competition.
He fared quite well against an assortment of NCAA DI competition. Finishing 3rd in 1976 and 1978, his only loss in 78' was to NCAA champion Randy Lewis of Iowa. In 1979 he finished 2nd, his only loss a 3-1 decision to John Azevedo of Cal State Bakersfield who won both the NCAA DII and DI titles that season. Mangianti would win the Midlands title in 1980 and in his final Midlands competition in 1983, he finished 4th.
After time, the Midlands stopped featuring post-graduates. The argument against their inclusion came down to how wins against them didn't count towards the criteria to help a collegiate wrestler earn a bid to the NCAA tournament. Their were other arguments too, but ones more so based on opinion than fact. Speaking of opinions, I'll give you mine.
I think when the Midlands did away with post-graduates (other than the 1 or 2 that pop up from time to time) the tournament lost its character and above all else, the tournament lost its spirit. Now is the perfect time to bring that spirit back to life. From 2022-2023 on forward the end of December/beginning of January will now feature four major tournaments instead of two that it has for years. It's no longer The Midlands and the Southern Scuffle. From now on it's going to be The Midlands, The Matmen, The Southern Scuffle and the Hawkeye Open. In order to stay relevant and competitive with the other three tournaments, the Midlands is going to have to set itself apart. This is the perfect opportunity to bring back post-graduate competition.
For some of you, you already know what I'm talking about. For others, you may not remember or you may not even know about all of the great stories that resulted from allowing post grads into the tournament. I'm not going to include every post-grad that ever competed in the Midlands championships, but I will include quite a few. Here are some of my favorites.
 |
| John Giura |
It's not to say that John Giura didn't have a good collegiate career, because he did. While competing for the Wisconsin Badgers, Giura finished his final three seasons 8th-3rd-7th at the NCAA's. Being a three-time All American is nothing to hang your head about, but the truth is, 7th wasn't exactly where he wanted to finish on the podium in his final season of college competition. Continuing his wrestling career, he stayed on at Wisconsin a member of the Wisconsin Wrestling Club. A year removed from his final year of eligibility he entered the Midlands tournament to show that although he finished 7th the year before, he was as good as anyone. Not only did he win the Midlands title, he did so with a 5-4 decision over Iowa's Jim Heffernan, who by the way went on to win the NCAA title that same season.
 |
| Ben Peterson |
As gentle and warm as Ben Peterson is off the mat, it's almost hard to believe how ruthless and relentless he was on it. Ben Peterson dominated his competition throughout his entire career. While at Iowa State he won back to back NCAA titles as well as a Midlands Title in his final two years of collegiate competition. Continuing to wrestle beyond college, Peterson became an international sensation earning World Gold, Olympic Gold and Olympic silver. During this time, a representative of the Wisconsin Wrestling Club, Peterson continued competing at the Midlands.
He won Midlands Titles in 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979. The competition in each season was top notch. In 1974 he defeated Mark Lieberman of Lehigh 8-5 in the semi-finals. Lieberman went on to win the NCAA title that season. In 1975, Peterson defeated Mark's brother Mike 10-1 major decision in the semi-finals. Mike would place 3rd at the NCAA's that season.
In his final Midlands competition, Peterson scored another semi-final victory of note, defeating Clemson's Noel Loban by a 6-0 score. Loban won the NCAA title that season.
 |
| John Peterson |
Truth is, John Peterson's story is even more remarkable than is his brother's. Unlike Ben, John didn't have a standout high school career. In fact, John never even qualified for the state tournament. He didn't get to go wrestle for powerhouse Iowa State on a scholarship. In stead he found himself a walk on at Wisconsin-Stout, a small NAIA program. During his time as a Blue Devil, John continuously got better, eventually finding himself finishing 5th at his final NAIA tournament in 1971. A great accomplishment in its own right, but a far cry from the normal prerequisites required for the greatness that lay ahead. Also making the Midlands finals, in his last year at Wisconsin-Stout, something clicked inside of John Peterson and he became one of the best wrestlers in the world. Olympic Gold, Olympic Silver, World Silver and World Bronze, Peterson stepped out of his brother's shadow and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. During this time he also competed at the Midlands winning five titles in a row between 1971 and 1975. Ironically enough, he was also a thorn in the side of the Lieberman brothers of Lehigh, as he defeated them along the way for some of his titles as well.
 |
| Russ Hellickson |
To say that Russ Hellickson wasn't a good collegiate wrestler would be unfair, because he was. During his time as a Wisconsin Badger he was a two-time Big 10 runner-up. However in three trips to the NCAA tournament, Hellickson never came home with a medal. He never earned that All American status that the wrestling community unabashedly demands if they're going to deem you worthy of discussion. Hellickson would more than make up for what he missed out on in college, but dominating the competition at the Midlands as a post grade.
A year removed from graduation, Hellickson won The Midlands title over a talented Iowa State grappler we just discussed. He defeated Ben Peterson, that season's NCAA champion by a score of 5-4.
Competing for the Wisconsin Wrestling Club, Hellickson would go on to win three more Midlands titles, each in fashion. His 1973 title included a 6-3 quarter-final victory over Jim Woods of Western Illinois who won the NCAA title that season. His 1974 Midlands title included a quarter-final fall in 3:50 over Jimmy Jackson of Oklahoma State who went on to be a three time NCAA champion.
Hellickson eventually went on to represent the United States at the 1976 Olympics where he brought home a Silver medal. I can't help but think that being allowed to compete at the Midlands and building up his confidence with notable victories helped to lead him to this success. It makes one wonder if we've had other wrestlers who missed out on being All Americans for one reason or another, who would benefit from getting to compete at the Midlands the way Hellickson did.
 |
| Mark Mangianti |
In honor of Grand Valley State's return to varsity wrestling in the 2023-2024 season after 31 years of lying dormant, it's only appropriate to talk about one of their all time greats, Mark Mangianti. During his time as a Laker, Mangianti was the first wrestler to earn four GLIAC (Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) titles. Earning an NAIA title in 1974, he would finish 3rd at both the 1976 NAIA championships and the 1976 NCAA Division II championships.
Continuing his wrestling career beyond his collegiate days, Mangianti represented the Michigan wrestling club, the Sunkist Kids and the Hawkeye Wrestling Club in Midlands competition.
He fared quite well against an assortment of NCAA DI competition. Finishing 3rd in 1976 and 1978, his only loss in 78' was to NCAA champion Randy Lewis of Iowa. In 1979 he finished 2nd, his only loss a 3-1 decision to John Azevedo of Cal State Bakersfield who won both the NCAA DII and DI titles that season. Mangianti would win the Midlands title in 1980 and in his final Midlands competition in 1983, he finished 4th.
You sold me already!!! I would love the chance to see some of the wrestlers of old compete again!!! I hope your article can convince the Midlands organizers to allow post grads to once again compete in this prestigious tournament!!! Thank you, and I look forward to the rest of your installments!!!
ReplyDeleteHa ha. I highly doubt they even read it, but one can dream.
DeleteMy younger brother placed 6th at Midlands in 1992, and reached the Finals against Dave Lee (a Schultz trained BEAST) in 1991. 6-2 if memory serves.
ReplyDeleteThat's an awesome accomplishment.
ReplyDelete