Live, from Hoffman Estates, it's updates of the 2019 Midlands Championships finals!

We're starting at 141 and ending at the #1 vs #2 matchup at 133!

141: Josh Heil (Campbell) vs Max Murin (Iowa)

1st period: We start with a big upper body exchange but no points are scored and we need a quick blood time. No scores after two minutes of wrestling. That's how the period ends.

2nd period: Heil starts underneath. Heil stands, they go out of bounds, no stall call, back to the center, referee's position. Heil sits out, comes behind, dare I call it a switch? Either way, it's two for Heil. He breaks the good eggs. Murin stands for 1. Minute to go in the second. Murin drops in on a single leg with 20 seconds left in the period. They scramble by the edge, no score. Heil leads 2-1 going into the third. 

3rd period: Murin begins underneath. Murin quickly escapes, then goes in on a low double leg shot and coverts for a two point lead, his first of the match. 1:02 on the board when they restart, still Murin on top. Heil stands and is walked out of bounds. Murin hit for stalling. They both have a warning. 25 seconds on the restart. Murin able to play defense and he takes the 5-3 victory when the extra RT point is added. 

149: Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) vs Pat Lugo (Iowa)

1st period: A cautious first minute. Handfighting, no scores or major attacks. Throw-by for Lugo, he's behind O'Connor. Mat return for two points. After 49 seconds of struggles O'Connor stands and escapes. Lugo gets in on a single leg but can't finish before time expires in the first. 

2nd period: Lugo starts in the down position. Lugo escapes without much trouble. Gets a head and a leg on a reattack and converts for 2 more and a 4 point lead. O'Connor escapes to make it 5-2. Period ends with the same score. Lugo with 54 seconds of RT.

3rd period: O'Connor stands in four seconds, leaving the RT stuck at 0:59. It's 5-3 in favor of Lugo. Down to the final minute, O'Connor picking up the pace but hasn't threatened much. Final 30 seconds. O'Connor picking up the pace, but then Lugo his another throw-by to make it 7-3. An escape in the waning seconds makes it 7-4. An RT point makes it 8-4 when we put it in the books. Iowa 2 for 2 in the finals so far!

157: Markus Hartman (Army) vs Kaleb Young (Iowa)

1st period: Unseeded Hartman was the surprise finalist for West point. #2 seed Young had an arduous journey but he wrestled to his seed so far. Young gets on the attack first, on a single leg, Hartman cuts the corner. Stalemate, and Hartman successfully defends to keep the score tied at zeroes. The period ends without any scores.

2nd period: Young starts underneath. Young stands, gets the reversal and leads 2-0. Hartman gets the escape after 26 seconds. No scores for the rest of the period. Young leads 2-1.

3rd period: Hartman underneath now. He granbys, gets to Young legs, works his way up and collects two. Young nearly counters with a granby of his own by settled for an escape, erasing the brief lead he once had. A flurry at the end of the third but it's stalemated. 3 seconds on the restart and we go to overtime.

Sudden victory: 30 seconds and no scores, Young drops a level on a hi-c, gets a single leg, limp arms through a whizzer and will win the title! Another OT win for Kaleb Young, and the third Hawkeye title of the evening!

165: David McFadden (Virginia Tech) vs Alex Marinelli (Iowa)

1st period: Marinelli charges right off the whistle but McFadden defends. Marinelli bulls them both out of bounds and we get a restart. No scores after a minute. Right around the 1 minute mark Marinelli arm drags into a single leg, converts and breaks open the tie match. McFadden escapes after 14 seconds of wrestling and Marinelli leads by one in short time. Periods ends still 2-1.

2nd period: McFadden underneath, stands, Marinelli can't return him and the score is tied again at two.Marinelli rides out the period to make it 5-2, riding time under a minute. 

3rd period: McFadden starts underneath. He escapes and begins to mount his comeback. He attacks but can’t get past Marinelli’s head and hands. Marinelli will take it, 5-3, and the Hawkeyes continue to roll!

174: Dylan Lydy (Purdue) vs Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa)

1st period: THe Hawkeye string of champs will be put on pause as they have no 174-pound finalist. Lydy beat Steiert earlier this year but by a razor thin margin at the CKLV. Lydy came the closest so far but no scores after two minutes of action. 0-0 is how the period ends and we go to the second. 

2nd period: Steiert begins on bottom but doesn't stay there long. He escapes in five seconds to make it 1-0. No scores for the next minute and 55 seconds so we'll go to the third and Lydy will choose down. 

3rd period: Lydy stands and is free in 7 seconds, meaning Steiert will have a 2 second advantage in riding time but it's unlikely that will be a factor. Lydy gets to Steiert's legs and tries to trip him but Steiert gets his hips back and driven out of bounds just before Lydy can cover for the takedown. With a little over thirty seconds to go Lydy is back in on an attack and drags his toes and barely holds on for the takedown. It's 3-1 with 26 seconds to go. Steiert on the attack in short time but Lydy defends. And Dylan Lydy will take it in another close battle. 3-2 for the Boilermaker, who is undefeated on the season!

This just in, Lydy's Midlands title was his 100th career victory. Impressive stuff!

184: Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) vs Abe Assad (Iowa-unattached)

1st period: Lujan will try and slow down the red-hot true freshman who's hometown is just a few miles away from Hoffman Estates. After a minute of no scores Assad dives in on a shot and Lujan starts scrambling, where he is very dangerous. A couple rolls around on the mat and Lujan comes out on top with control and the first two points of the match. Lujan throws in legs and begins riding tough. Lujan rides out the period and leads 2-0 with a 1:19 RT advantage going into the second.

2nd period: Assad starts on top. Lujan stands and escapes with exactly 60 seconds on the RT clock. He leads 3-0. Assad gets in on a single leg, Lujan sits back, then goes rubber knee and the ref puts a stop to it with a potentially dangerous call. Assad attacks again on the restart but he can't finish and the period comes to an end.

3rd period: Assad chooses neutral. RT still at 1:00 for Lujan. Assad trying to mount a comeback but Lujan attacking as well, attempting to keep Assad off his legs. Less than a minute to go. Now in short time. And Lujan will hold on for the 4-0 win after the riding time point is added. Impressive tournament for Assad but it was Lujan who impressed the most. The Panther Train gets a champ!

197: Jay Aiello (Virginia) vs Christian Brunner (Purdue)

1st period: No scores after a minute. A lot of folks had Brucki and Warner pegged as the finalists but they were upended by Brunner and Aiello respectively and are wrestling for third instead. A couple of attempts from each finalist but neither can score as we round the second minute of action. A fireman's carry for Aiello gets him most of the way to a takedown. Brunner scrambles but the neutral danger zone gets him and Aiello takes the 2-0 lead. Brunner escapes to make it 2-1 just before the period ends. 

2nd period: Aiello begins in the top position. Brunner stands and escapes, riding time stuck at 33 for Aiello, score is tied at 2-2. Aiello drops down on a single leg, tries to come out the back door. Brunner grabs shoelaces and gets the stalemate. 30 seconds remaining in the period. Brunner takes a low level double leg shot and is in deep. He finishes to one side and takes the 4-2 lead. Aiello can't get back to a solid base on the restart and Brunner gets the rideout to keep it 4-2 and to bring riding time down to almost nothing. 

3rd period: Aiello will begin underneath this time with an opportunity to cut into his deficit. Brunner riding tough again, gets a couple of key mat returns and is chewing up clock and accumulating riding time. Aiello finally gets the escape and just in time. Brunner has just 58 seconds of riding time. Aiello immediately back on the attack and on Brunner's legs. It's 4-3 and a takedown would give Aiello the outright lead. Brunner's scrambling is the difference maker though, as he gets another takedown to ice the match. You can put it in the books and add another riding time point. 6-3 as the Boilermakers have two Midlands champs!

285: Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) vs Anthony Cassioppi (Iowa)

1st period: The big boys are rumbling in the Sears Centre. Big Tone and The Tracer. Stencel attacks a leg and Cassioppi nearly gets him with a slideby but they're back in neutral, no scores. One minute remaining in the first period. The clock runs down to zeroes, which is also what the score board reads.

2nd period: Stencel is down to start the second, he escapes quickly but Cassioppi is back in on a single leg straight away. Cass treetops it and Stencel bellies out. Two for Cassioppi as they go out of bounds. Cassioppi out to the side with his weight on Stencel. Stencel not doing much. He gets hit for stalling. Cassioppi breaks him down flat and will ride out the period. Cassioppi leads by 1 and has 1:33 of riding time. 

3rd period: Cassioppi gets a turn on bottom. Stencel trying to cut into that riding time. Cassioppi stands, gets brought down, sits out and escapes to make it 3-1. Cassioppi shoots him out of bounds to make it 4-1 to the delight of the majority Hawkeye fans in attendance. The match ends in neutral so give Big Tone another point for riding time and give the Hawkeyes another title! 

Update: Somewhere around Marinelli's title is where Iowa locked up the Midlands team point scoring record. They currently have 196.5 points with DeSanto still to wrestle. Not too shabby!

125: Pat Glory (Princeton) vs Michael DeAugustino (Northwestern)

1st period: The host's only finalist goes up against Glory. The #1 seed Spencer Lee medically forfeit out of the semis after winning his quarterfinal bout yesterday. Glory doing the majority of the attacking but no points after two minutes. Glory had DeAugustino in trouble but stalemate was called. The Princeton coaches wanted a review, but Coach Ayres and Debuque were denied.The period ends in a scramble but still 0-0.

2nd period: Glory is on bottom, Mike D on top. Glory is up and out in less than 10 seconds. One minute remaining in the second. Finally, after manny attacks, Glory is able to convert, and he takes a 3-0 lead. Glory gets the ride out and will start the third likely still in the top position.

3rd period: Riding time over a minute and Mike D is flat on his stomach. A third period rideout is how it ends, and Princeton gets a Midlands champ in Pat Glory! He wins 4-0 over DeAugustino.

133: Seth Gross (Wisconsin) vs Austin DeSanto (Wisconsin)

1st: The main event, a #1 vs #2 rematch. And we're off. Gross in on a shot early. They're scrambling. Gross has the experience in these positions. DeSanto showing just how scrappy he can be. Nothing conceded yet. A full minute of scrambling and nothing yet. There's two though as I type. And a cradle for Gross gets two back points! DeSanto madly kicking off his back. He's diving out to free himself, Gross clinging to an ankle. Gross picks up a stall call and we'll get a restart after 90 seconds of furious action. DeSanto sitting out, and he reversed Gross! Or does he? The refs confer and it's ruled just an escape. Tough to tell from my vantage but that looked correct. But we're back on our feet. RT at 57 for Gross. DeSanto in on a shot, he can't convert before the period expires. 

2nd period: The refs are conferring with the scorers' table. DeSanto and company are getting anxious. Finally flip for choice. DeSanto goes underneath. He sits, but then we get another stoppage. Boos from the crowd. Another restart. DeSanto with the escape. Gross back in on a shot. Another wild scramble. This is all over the place. Stalemate with one minute on the clock. No chance I'll be able to accurately describe the action, it's happening way too fast. 4-2 in the second as things slow down some. 30 seconds left in the period. We're in collar ties at the end of the period, still 4-2. Gross with 1:12 of RT. 

3rd period: Gross starts down. DeSanto will want to run that RT clock down. He gets it down to 54 seconds, then Gross escapes. Slide by and DeSanto is behind Gross. He sits Gross down for two. Gros escapes, its 6-5. DeSanto shoots Gross out of bounds and Gross picks up a stall. 6-5 Gross with a minute to go. RT not a factor. DeSanto through the head and hands with 15 seconds to go. They scramble. It's close, but no! Time expires and Gross holds on to avenge his loss. Tremendous battle that lived up to it's billing. Seth Gross will go back to #1 after beating the #3 and #1 wrestler in the country!

Apologies for the typos, thanks for reading along!