Four Pins Launch DeShazer to Sixth Place Finish at Midlands

Redshirt sophomore pins sixth and seventh seeds in tournament.

EVANSTON, Ill. – Tristen DeShazer turned heads by turning shoulders, as he recorded four pins to earn a sixth-place finish at the 46th Midlands Wrestling Championships, Tuesday.

The top finisher for Northern Illinois, DeShazer (Wichita, Kan./Wichita West) won five consecutive matches after losing his opening bout. He followed the loss by pinning the No. 7 seed Jimmy Conroy of Pittsburgh (6:30), Monday, then earned falls over Josh Palivoda of Cleveland State (5:41), sixth-seeded Kyle Hutton of Old Dominion (3:16), and Todd Schravrian of Missouri (6:33), Tuesday. DeShazer also won by forfeit over American’s Jason Borshoff, before dropping the fifth-place match to No. 1 seed Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois. He finished the tournament with a 5-2 record, and improved to 15-6 overall, with 12 wins by fall.

“It’s very difficult to lose that first match and come all the way back to place,” head coach Dave Grant said. “It takes a lot of heart to come back and do something like that, because it is so many matches.”

Tristen DeShazer turned heads by turning shoulders, as he recorded four pins to earn a sixth-place finish at the 46th Midlands Wrestling Championships, Tuesday. The top finisher for Northern Illinois, DeShazer won five consecutive matches after losing his opening bout.