HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - Two top-eight finishes highlighted the two-day Midlands Championships for American University wrestling, with Kizhan Clarke taking fifth place at 149 pounds and Sal Profaci placing eighth at 141 pounds.

MEET HIGHLIGHTS

• Clarke, who finished 6-2 overall at the Midlands, started his day with two wins in the consolation bracket, including a 10-4 decision over Kanen Storr of Michigan.
• In the consolation semifinals, Clarke lost 4-2 to Iowa's Vincent Turk. He placed fifth overall by virtue of a medical forfeit in the fifth-place bout by Iowa's Jeren Glosser, who had edged Clarke 2-1 in the round of 16 on day one.
• Profaci made a statement early in the day with a 9-1 victory over Parker Filius of Purdue, but he later lost 3-1 to North Carolina's Zach Sherman.
• In the seventh-place bout, Profaci suffered a 9-5 defeat to Michigan's Dresden Simon. He finished Midlands at 3-3 overall.
• As a team, AU finished 16th of the 35 collegiate teams represented at Midlands.

HEAD COACH TEAGUE MOORE

• "Congratulations to Kizhan on a well-earned fifth place. He pushed through a number of tough matches against very tough nationally ranked opponents. This is a great step in his development and proves he belongs among the best." 
• "Sal's best takeaway is his progress in the last 12 months. He had a tough tournament last year and this showed a lot of redemption. He too has proven to be right there with the nation's elite." 
• "We will learn from this meet and prepare for the dual season coming up this Saturday."

FULL RESULTS

UP NEXT

• The dual meet season begins for AU at the Army Duals on Saturday, Jan. 4. The Eagles will be facing Wyoming at noon, Army at 2 p.m. and UNC at 4 p.m. The first home dual meets for AU are on Friday, Jan. 10 vs. Brown and Saturday, Jan. 11 vs. Drexel.

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