Gutches
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
Brock Gutches placed fourth at 174 pounds at the Midlands Championships.

Gutches brings home fourth place from Midlands Championships

12/30/2013 9:18:00 PM

EVANSTON, Ill.Brock Gutches (Central Point, Ore./Crater)' improbable run through the 51st annual Midlands Championships was halted in the semifinals, but Southern Oregon's junior 174-pounder still claimed the top placing of anyone at the tournament in Raider history.

Gutches finished fourth after second-seeded Hayden Zillmer of North Dakota State topped him Monday night, needing a tiebreaker for a 2-1 decision, at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena.

In the semifinals, Columbia's Shane Hughes got the best of Gutches with a 5-3 decision, but Gutches held on for a 1-0 win over No. 9 Scott Liegel of Wisconsin to reach the third-place bout.

Steve Tekander is the only other Raider to have ever placed at Midlands, taking sixth in 1986.

Gutches, along with Jacob Abrams (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles-Wahtonka) and Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond), represented the first group of Raiders since then to visit the tournament, which is rife with NCAA Division I competition. Johnson won twice on Sunday in the 197-pound consolation bracket.

Seeded seventh, Gutches dominated on the first day, pinning three straight opponents in the first round, including Zillmer in 1 minute, 22 seconds. His season record stands at 16-3 with 10 wins coming by fall.

Gutches and Johnson provided SOU with 22.5 points, placing the Raiders 18th out of 47 schools.

SOU returns to the mat Saturday at the Menlo Tournament in Atherton, Calif.

Iowa ran away with the team title, totaling 187.5 points to second-place Edinboro's 102.5. Michigan (84) was second and Illinois (83) third.
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