This Saturday eight women and eight men squared off for the women’s absolute belt and the men’s 205 lb belt at the 11th edition of Midwest Finishers in Lombard, IL. Out of 14 bracket matches, only three went to overtime, and every match ended in submission. Both the men and women’s matches showcased wrestling, traditional styles of passing and guardwork, along with both opportunistic and manufactured leg locks.

Results

Women’s Absolute

Quarterfinals

• Hannah Harjo def. Dakota Cherup via armbar in regulation
• Samantha Hall def. Maiah Yankello via americana in regulation
• Maxine Knetter def. Teara Lewis via armbar in overtime
• Emi Miller def. Taylor Paul via armbar in regulation

Semifinals

• Hannah Harjo def. Samantha Hall via inside heel hook in regulation
• Maxine Knetter def. Emi Miller via arm triangle in regulation

Finals

• Hannah Harjo def. Maxine Knetter via armbar in overtime.

Men’s 205

Quarterfinals

• Bryan Peterson def. Louis Flores via inside heel hook in regulation
• Brad Schneider def. James Partridge via can opener in regulation
• André Porfirio def. Matt Cantwell via rear naked choke in overtime
• Ben Dyson def. Jack Bullock via rear naked choke in regulation

Semifinals

• Brad Schneider def. Bryan Peterson via armbar in regulation
• André Porfirio def. Ben Dyson via kneebar in regulation

Finals

• André Porfirio def. Brad Schneider via ankle lock in regulation

Standout performances

Hannah Harjo submitted her second opponent in less than 30 seconds via inside heel hook from backside 50-50, which she found as a counter attack to her opponent's leg entry. Her first match showed patient work from closed guard, where she ultimately manufactured an armbar. She worked her way out of a crushing arm triangle in the finals to come back and submit Knetter in overtime. Harjo is a brown belt training in Tulsa, OK.

Maxine Knetter had a solid performance, showcasing where she plays her game best, on top. Throughout her three matches, she used both high pressure over under passing, chest to chest half guard, and headlocks to melt her opponents’ guards. She dominated from top position throughout her matches. Knetter is a brown belt training out of Madison, WI.

Andre Porfirio played what looked like an impassable guard, which he used to entangle legs, especially in 50-50 and butterfly ashi. His opponents were all cautious approaching his guard but were ultimately unable to stave off his attacks. Both of his submissions in regulation came off of 50/-50. Porfirio is a black belt training out of Miami, FL.

Bradley Schneider was the king on unconventional submissions that night, winning the first submission by can opener in Midwest Finisher’s history. In his second match, he used a buggy choke to set up a kimura, which he used to transfer himself onto his opponent’s back and into an armbar. In the finals match, he intelligently defended some deep leg entanglements. Schneider is a brown belt training out of Toledo, OH.