Telford recorded a pair of falls and two wins over top five opponents while winning the 285-pound Midlands title on Tuesday. He defeated Northwestern’s top-ranked Mike McMullan, 4-2, with a takedown in the closing seconds to cap a 5-0 week and improve to 14-0 this season.
Telford also recorded a 3-1 win in the in the semifinals over No. 5 Connor Medbery of Wisconsin. He opened the tournament with a pin in 2:26, and added another fall in the quarterfinals (2:51). He now has a team-best nine pins, matching his single-season career high set as a freshman in 2011-12.
Telford was one of four Hawkeyes to win an individual title at the 52nd annual Midlands Championships. Fellow All-Americans Cory Clark (133), Mike Evans (174), and Nathan Burak (197) joined him on top of the medal stand. The Hawkeyes won the tournament with a record 189 team points. It was their 24th Midlands team championship.
Iowa (5-0, 1-0) returns to action Friday, Jan. 2 at Rutgers. The dual will be televised by BTN at 7 p.m. (CT).