Heindselman Captures Heavyweight Crown at Midlands Championships
12/30/2024 7:53:00 PM | Wrestling
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Graduate student Josh Heindselman rallied late to defeat Indiana's Jacob Bullock and capture the heavyweight title at the 60th annual Midlands Championships on Monday evening (Dec. 30) at NOW Arena.
Heindselman, who officially joined the Wolverine squad earlier this month as a second-semester grad transfer, earned a gritty 5-4 win over IU's 23rd-ranked Bullock in the championship final. Heindselman, ranked 11th by InterMat, trailed for much of the match after a Hoosier takedown midway through the first period, and despite several shot attempts, struggled with Bullock continuously grabbing his hands and wrists.
Heindselman shot in on a high crotch right off a restart with 31 seconds left in the third, finished it on the edge with 21 seconds remaining and after another restart, rode out the rest of the bout for the win. He entered as the Midlands' No. 2 seed. Bullock knocked off the top seed, Rutgers' fifth-ranked Yaraslau Slavikouski, 4-1 in the semifinals on a last-second takedown.
Heindselman went 4-0 over the two-day tournament and earned technical falls in his first three matches, including a 20-5 win over Bucknell's Logan Shephard with six takedowns in his own semifinal bout. He also earned wins over Stanford's Peter Ming (24-6) and Penn's Zach Delsanter (19-4).
He improved to 12-0 on the season, having won each of his three tournament appearances in December, and boasts 10 bonus wins -- three pins and seven tech falls.
The Wolverines will kick off their Big Ten Conference dual slate on Friday, Jan. 10, when they host Maryland at 6 p.m. at Crisler Center. The dual will be streamed live on the Big Ten Network, and tickets are still available through the U-M Ticket Office.
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