EVANSTON, Ill. - The University of Iowa wrestling team crowned four individual champions en route to winning the 2007 Midlands team title Sunday night in Evanston, IL. The Hawkeyes won their 19th team title in school history and their first since 2002. Iowa scored 185 points to win the 45th annual tournament. Defending team champion Iowa State placed second with 139.

The Hawkeyes went four-for-five in the finals with junior Mark Perry (165) and sophomores Joe Slaton (133), Dan LeClere (141) and Brent Metcalf (149) each winning individual titles. It was Perry's second career title and his fourth appearance in the finals. It was the first title for Slaton, LeClere and Metcalf.  

Slaton set the tone for Iowa in the finals with a 6-2 upset over top seed Franklin Gomez of Indiana to remain undefeated at 12-0. LeClere followed with a narrow 5-4 upset over second seed Zack Bailey of Oklahoma. Metcalf won Iowa's third straight title, racking up third-period points to beat fifth seed Jake Patascil of Purdue by an 18-5 major decision. Perry made Iowa four-for-four in the finals with his 8-0 major decision over fifth seed Jonathan Reader of Iowa State. Perry led the tournament field with four pins in a total time of 8:10. Sophomore Jay Borschel wrestled above his sixth seed, but could not pull the upset over top seed Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh and lost Iowa's final championship match, 13-4.

Also placing for the Hawkeyes were seniors Alex Tsirtsis (141-3rd) and Matt Fields (Hwt.-8th), junior Charlie Falck (125-3rd), and sophomores Phillip Keddy (184-4th) and Ryan Morningstar (157-5th). Tsirtsis was wrestling as an unattached Hawkeye.

Top-ranked Iowa (7-0) will return to Iowa City to host fifth-ranked Oklahoma State (5-1) Saturday at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The UI Athletics Ticket Office has already sold almost 7,000 tickets for the dual meet and encourages fans to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets purchased in advance are $8 for adults and $4 for youth. Prices increase to $10 for adults and $5 for youth on match night. Tickets can be purchased online at www.hawkeyesports.com, over the telephone at 1-800 IA-HAWKS, and at the UI Athletics Ticket Office in Carver-Hawkeye.  The ticket office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, but will be closed on New Year's Day.

MIDLANDS TOP 10 FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1.    Iowa                                                  185
2.    Iowa State                                      139
3.    Central Michigan                         117.5
4.    Illinois                                              100
5.    Northwestern                               89.5
6.    Pittsburgh                                       79.5
7.    Tennessee-Chattanooga          78.5
8.    Indiana                                             74.5
9.    Purdue                                             58
10.  Northern Illinois                          50

IOWA'S MIDLANDS FINALS RESULTS

133 - #3 Joe Slaton (Iowa) dec. #1 Franklin Gomez (Indiana), 6-2
141 - #5 Dan LeClere (Iowa) dec. #2 Zack Bailey (Oklahoma), 5-4
149 - #2 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) maj. dec. #5 Jake Patascil (Purdue), 18-5
165 - #2 Mark Perry (Iowa) maj. dec. #5 Jonathan Reader (Iowa St.), 8-0
174 - #1 Keith Gavin (Pittsburgh) maj. dec. #6 Jay Borschel (Iowa), 13-4  

IOWA'S MIDLANDS THIRD PLACE RESULTS

125 - #3 Charlie Falck (Iowa) dec. #8 Ben VomBaur (Wyoming), 4-2
141 - #1 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa) maj. dec. Cody Cleveland (Tennessee-Chattanooga), 12-1
184 - #3 Christian Sinnott (C. Michigan) dec. Phillip Keddy (Iowa), 5-3     

IOWA'S FIFTH PLACE MATCH RESULTS

157 - #5 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) dec. Jason Welch (Unattached), 9-4