HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – The Hawkeye wrestling team dominated their Midlands quarterfinal matches, winning eight of their first nine matches.

Defending national champion Spencer Lee got Iowa rolling in the Round of 8 as he recorded his second technical fall of the day. Lee said he believes that in order to succeed Sunday, he needs to keep his hands and feet moving and wrestle the whole seven minutes.

“The guys are getting ready to go,” Lee said. “I’m getting ready to go watch my teammates wrestle hard and win some matches.”

And that’s exactly what his teammates did. Paul Glynn and Austin DeSanto will both compete in the semifinals after picking up wins at 133. Glynn won by decision and DeSanto defeated his opponent, 13-3.

Although Vince Turk fell in his match, 5-4, Max Murin is keeping the hopes of winning a Midlands title at 141 alive. Murin won by decision against Northwestern’s Alec McKenna.

Following an impressive first session, Pat Lugo continued his streak. After 1:10, Lugo found himself up 6-0 before winning by injury default for the second time of the day.

“This is definitely the best I’ve felt all season,” Lugo said. “I did things right this time. I think I’m better in a tournament situation than a one-hour dual meet weigh-in. It’s all little adjustments that make the biggest difference.”

On Sunday, Lugo will face No. 1 Matthew Kolodzik of Princeton in the semifinals for the second time this season. Although Kolodzik defeated Lugo, 7-4, in their dual meet match at Carver-Hawkeye on Nov. 16, Lugo pinned Kolodzik at the 2017 Midlands.

No. 4 Kaleb Young continued Iowa’s success and his own domination at 157 in the 2018 Midlands, as he went up 9-0 in the first period of his quarterfinal match. Young tallied a pin and 3 technical falls in the first day of matches.

Defending Midlands champions Alex Marinelli and Cash Wilcke are both on track to keep that title to their names, but it didn’t come easily in their quarterfinal matches.

Marinelli pushed through in the last moments of his match against Brown’s Jonathan Viruet to take the match into overtime. In a nail-biting overtime, Marinelli scored a takedown found a place in the semifinals. Wilcke was only up by 1 for a chunk of his match before defeating his opponent, 4-1.

Iowa’s control on the mat halted at 197. No. 2 seed Jacob Warner was upset by unattached Tanner Sloan. Sloan defeated Warner, 18-3.

At 285, Sam Stoll lost his chance at continuing his Midlands title reign, as he was forced to forfeit due to medical reasons. Tony Cassioppi then fell, 11-3, to second-seeded Jere Heino.

Despite the three losses, the Hawkeyes have 114.5 team points, nearly 40 points above the next squad.

“I think we all realized what we need to work on mistakes-wise,” Lugo said. “We go to work every day with the same attitude, no matter if we’re a little bit down or if we’re up. We go to work every day.”

Turk, Warner, Cassioppi, and Costello all have a chance to wrestle back and place third.