Nate Gallick wrestled what head coach Bobby Douglas described as the “match of his career” to earn his second Midlands Championship title, winning a second tiebreaker victory over Michigan State’s fourth-ranked Andy Simmons.

Gallick said he was disappointed with the 5-3 decision, but the 141-pounder’s championship headlined the seventh-ranked ISU wrestling team’s effort during winter break.

Iowa State finished fifth as a team in the tournament, and also won its two home duals over Cal-Poly and Virginia Tech, 26-18 and 32-11, respectively.

“[Gallick] is on track to win a national title and a world title,” Douglas said. “He just has to keep on working and we’ll be fine.”

The senior beat Simmons in last year’s Midlands Championship, 4-2. He had more trouble with the Spartan this time around, eventually scoring a takedown in the first segment of the final tiebreaker just three seconds after Simmons escaped.

“I maybe didn’t wrestle as smart as I could have, but I came out on top,” said Gallick, who is now a perfect 17-0 on the season. “It was a win, but it wasn’t a win I feel proud of . [It was my] second Midlands title in a row. Great. I’m looking for March so that is what keeps coming back in my mind.”

Jesse Sundell was a surprise in the tournament, placing second at 133. In the championship match he fell behind 5-2 in the first period before losing a 9-7 decision.

Travis Paulson (165) lost a 5-4 semifinal match to Illinois’ Mike Poeta, but recovered for a third-place finish by beating second-seeded Jared Frayer, 5-3. Kurt Backes (184) placed fifth.

Fourth-ranked Trent Paulson (157) sat out the team’s last two competitions with an undisclosed illness, sitting in street clothes next to the ISU coaching bench during the win over the Hokies.

Iowa State finished a half-point out of fourth-place behind Iowa. Illinois won the tournament for a third straight year.

“We wrestled without one of our big guns,” Gallick said. “If we would have had Trent, we’d have had a good chance to score points.”

Freshman Dallas Kuper stepped in for Paulson against Virginia Tech, giving up a takedown with a second left before losing in overtime. Iowa State easily beat the Hokies in Hilton on Jan. 5. Gallick’s major decision victory over eighth-ranked David Hoffman highlighted the 32-11 win.

The Cyclones beat Cal-Poly, 26-18, on Dec. 18. Down 18-16 with two matches left, Sundell received a forfeit and Gallick won a major decision. Cal-Poly All-American Darrell Vasquez (133) sat out the meet with an injury.

“We are getting a lot of good mat time,” Douglas said after the Virginia Tech dual. “We had some mistakes that cost us, but overall it was a good performance. Jesse Sundell is the most improved wrestler on the team at this point. Joe Curran as a freshman has been performing extremely well.”

Douglas had mixed feelings about the team’s overall performance, but is looking toward the post-season.

“The Midlands [tournament] was a good performance but not a great one. We saw a lot of positive things and we have a lot of things to work on . We are definitely not a dual meet team. Hopefully, by the [NCAA] Tournament, we will be ready.”