InterMat Staff

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Senior Andy Simmons and red-shirt freshman Franklin Gomez remained undefeated in Big Ten action as the 19th-ranked Michigan State wrestling team defeated Purdue, 21-14, Sunday afternoon at the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility. The Spartans (3-6, 2-2 Big Ten) fell behind early after two matches, 7-0, but bounced back to win six of the next seven to clinch the victory over the Boilermakers (10-6, 0-6). The dual started at 157 pounds, as Jake Murphy recorded an 8-4 decision over Tony Greathouse. The Purdue lead grew to seven points with Justin Fraga's 10-2 major decision over sophomore Rex Kendle at 165 pounds. It marked Kendle's first career appearance in a dual meet. Greg Goidosik, in his first start of the season at 174 pounds, turned things around for MSU with a 10-3 decision against Jason Martin. No. 10 Joe Williams kept the momentum going with an 11-4 win over Nick Skinner in the 184-pound match. After Nick Palmieri fell to No. 13 Nathan Moore at 197 pounds, 5-1, the Spartans won the next four matches to take control of the dual. At heavyweight, Alan O'Donnell delivered his first major-decision victory as a starter, registering an 11-3 win over David Pisarcik to tie the team score at 10. Gomez then collected his team-leading eighth major decision of the season with a commanding 13-2 win over Brandon Tucker at 125. Top-ranked Nick Simmons rebounded from his upset loss on Friday night at Ohio State, defeating Sean Schmaltz, 3-1, in the 133-pound match, giving MSU a 17-10 advantage. Fifth-ranked Andy Simmons, with a 10-1 victory at 141, recorded his fourth major decision of the season and clinched the dual for the Spartans. Simmons and Gomez are now both 4-0 in Big Ten action - Gomez has won by a combined score of 45-13 in the four matches, while Simmons has won by a combined 22-1 with a fall. In the final match of the dual at 149 pounds, 12th-ranked Jake Patacsil defeated Jeff Wimberley by major decision, 14-4. Michigan State returns to action Friday, Feb. 9 to take on No. 1 Minnesota in Minneapolis at 8 p.m. ET.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -– Nearly 6,000 fans jammed Rec Hall as the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team downed visiting Iowa 24-13 in a critical Big Ten dual. No. 12 Penn State won six of ten bouts in the win over No. 6 Iowa. Head coach Troy Sunderland's team was sparked by stunning pin from senior Bryan Heller (Fair Haven, N.J.) at 141 as the Nittany Lions won in front of 5,841 fans. The dual began at 125, where Nittany Lion junior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.), ranked No. 7, met No. 12 Charlie Falck of Iowa. McKnight got on the board first with at takedown at the 1:04 mark, leading 2-1 early on Falck. The Nittany Lion was the aggressor throughout the match, but got caught late in the period as Falck completed a single leg and got a takedown with just :01 left to lead 3-2 after the first period. Falck, chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 4-2 lead. The Hawkeye sophomore got another takedown :40 in and led 6-3 with 1:00 to wrestle in the second period. A mad scramble with :20 left, one in which each wrestler nearly logged a takedown, resulted in no scoring as time ran out with McKnight nearly getting the two points on the edge of the mat. McKnight, down 6-3 with just two minutes to wrestle, chose down to start the final period but could not break free of Falck's ride for the entire period. Falck walked away with a hard fought 7-3 win to put the Hawkeyes up 3-0 early. McKnight fell to 17-5 while Falck improved to 17-5. At 133, Penn State sophomore Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) took on Iowa's Mario Galanakis at 133. Strayer entered the bout ranked No. 11 while Galanakis carried a No. 15 ranking into the tilt. Galanakis got an early takedown to lead 2-1 at the 2:15 mark. The takedown seemed to energize Strayer, who immediately answered back with a takedown of his own to take a 3-2 lead. Strayer then put together a very strong ride and rode Galanakis out to lead 3-2 with 0:49 heading into the second period. Strayer chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 4-2 lead. Galanakis, senior, got in on the Penn State sophomore's left leg at the 1:00 mark, but Strayer did a nice job of fighting through the shot to force a reset with :45 to wrestle in the second period. Strayer locked in on Galanakis' head as the second stanza ended but could not work around behind the Hawkeye to get more points. Trailing 4-2, Galanakis chose down to start the final period but was handled by Strayer as the Nittany Lion threw him to the mat twice while building up a guaranteed riding time point. Galanakis could not break free for the entire period and Strayer would post a convincing 5-2 win. The victory tied the dual at 3-3 and improved Strayer's record to 19-4. Galanakis fell to 19-6. Penn State's Bryan Heller (Fair Haven, N.J.), wrestling in his final home dual for the Nittany Lions, met Iowa's Alex Tsirtsis at 141. Tsirtsis entered the dual ranked No. 6. Tsirtsis quickly got in on Heller's left leg but Heller did a nice job of forcing a stalemate to keep the bout scoreless early on. After a reset, it was Heller's turn to get in on Tsirtsis' left thigh. But the Hawkeye junior forced the stalemate this time. Tsirtsis got a takedown to lead at the 1:05 mark, but Heller quick broke free to trail 2-1 without allowing Tsirtsis to build up any riding time. The bout headed to the second period with Tsirtsis holding a 2-1 lead. Tsirtsis chose neutral to begin the second period, a decision he would regret. The Hawkeye got in on Heller and, as the duo scrambled, Heller found himself on top of Tsirtsis and, using his weight, forced the Hawkeyes back to the mat. Tsirtsis fought off the inevitable for a few seconds, but Heller was not to be denied. The New Jersey native recorded a stunning pin at the 3:31 mark in his final home dual to put Penn State up 9-3. Heller improved to 16-7 with the win while Tsirtsis fell to 18-7. The first of three straight freshmen in Penn State's line-up took to the mat at 149 as No. 15 Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) met Iowa's Alex Grunder. Vallimont got the first takedown early, but was quickly reversed by the Hawkeye senior. Grunder then proceeded to dominate the rest of the first period from the top position, building up a 2:11 riding time edge and riding Vallimont out. Tied 2-2, Vallimont chose neutral to begin the second period. A scramble in the middle of the mat nearly led to a Grunder takedown, but the Penn State freshmen fought the move off as action was halted with a potentially dangerous hold. After a reset with :18 left, Vallimont was energized by the capacity crowd and completed a textbook takedown to take a 4-2 lead into the third. Grunder, trailing by two but holding a 2:00 riding time edge, chose down to start the final stanza. Grunder worked furiously for a reversal, but the Penn State freshmen continued to maintain his control long enough to erase the riding time edge. Grunder escape at the :49 mark to cut the lead to 4-3. Vallimont, continuing his run as one of Penn State's hottest wrestlers, iced the match with a takedown at the :18 mark and went on to post a 6-3 win. The victory put Penn State up 12-3 and moved Vallimont to 16-7. Grunder fell to 11-11. True freshman Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) met No. 17 Ryan Morningstar of Iowa at 157. Morningstar got in on Jenkins' left leg at the 1:41 mark, but the Lion freshmen got his left arm around Morningstar to fight off the move for half a minute. Morningstar completed the takedown with :59 left to take a 2-0 lead. The ranked Hawkeye rode Jenkins out to carry that lead to the second period with :59 in riding time. Morningstar chose down to start the middle stanza and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. The duo battled evenly throughout the first half of the period until Jenkins got in on Morningstar's left leg and completed a takedown with :30 left. Rella escaped with just :02 left to lead 4-2 after two periods. Jenkins chose down to begin the final stanza. Jenkins got to his feet, forcing Morningstar to hang onto his shoulders. Two stall calls were given to the Hawkeye to cut the lead to 4-3. Morningstar, however, then took Jenkins to his back and got a four-point near fall with action begin stopped for an injury. The Hawkeye was now up 8-3 with just :49 left. Morningstar chose down after the injury timeout and escaped to a 9-3 lead. With a riding time point guaranteed, Morningstar needed just one takedown to get a major and got the critical two points and the :15 mark. The Hawkeye posted a convincing 12-3 major decision to cut the Lion lead to 12-7. Morningstar improved to 20-7 while Jenkins fell to 17-8. At 165, Nittany Lion rookie Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) took on Iowa's Mark Perry, who was ranked No. 4 nationally. Perry got the first takedown of the dual with just :20 gone in the first period and proceeded to wrack up 1:09 in riding time before Rella escaped to a 2-1 deficit. Rella shot low on Perry, but the fourth-ranked Hawkeye countered the move and worked in behind Rella for another two point takedown. Up 4-1, Perry once again rode Rella out to carry that lead into the second period with more than 2:00 or riding time. Rella chose down to begin the second period but could not break free of Perry's methodical ride. The talented Hawkeye junior maintained his control for the entire period and kept his 4-1 lead. With a riding time point guaranteed, Perry chose down to start the final stanza and quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. Rella once again shot low at Perry's right ankle but Perry countered the move to take a 7-2 lead after a Rella escape. Needing an escape to avoid a major decision, the Nittany Lion freshman did that one better, reversing Perry to cut the lead to 10-4 after a Perry escape. Then as time wound down, Rella nearly got a pin as he worked his way around on top of the Hawkeye and was a mere inches from recording the pin. Perry held the move off long enough for the buzzer to sound and posted an 11-4 win. The victory cut Penn State's lead to 12-10. Rella fell to 19-9 while Perry improved to 17-4. In a battle of returning All-Americans, Nittany Lion senior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) met Iowa's Eric Luedke at 174. Yonushonis entered the bout ranked No. 7 while Luedke was No. 2. The duo combined for a gaudy 47-4 overall record entering the day. Wrestling in the final home bout of his storybook Penn State career, the Philipsburg native battled the second-ranked Hawkeye evenly through the two minutes plus of the opening stanza. Yonushonis had the first real scoring chance in the first period, briefly getting in on Luedke's left leg. But action moved off the mat and a reset ensued. The highly anticipated bout moved to the second period tied 0-0. Luedke chose down to begin the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Working at wearing Luedke down, the Nittany Lion senior began dictating the tempo of the bout. Yonushonis continued to work on finding an opening in Luedke's defense, but the second period ended with the Hawkeye holding a slim 1-0 lead. Yonushonis chose down to begin the final stanza and quickly escaped to tie the bout at 1-1. Luedke shot low on Yonushonis twice, but the Nittany Lion deftly held the Hawkeye at a distance to keep the bout tied. With no scoring, the bout ended tied 1-1 after regulation. A 1:00 minute sudden victory period began and, in true Yonushonis fashion, the Nittany Lion All-American used his outstanding conditioning to snare Luedke's right leg and complete a bout winning takedown just :13 into the extra period. The thrilling victory sent nearly 6,000 Penn State fans to their feet and put Penn State up 15-10. Yonushonis improved to 26-3 while Luedke lost for only the second time all year and fell to 22-2. At 184, Nittany Lion senior Brian Cantalupi (Carlisle, Pa.) took to the Rec Hall mat for the final time in his career against Iowa's Phillip Keddy. Keddy got the first takedown of the bout with 1:15 to wrestle in the first. Cantalupi, in the process of escaping, nearly completed a cradle to send Keddy to his back. But action moved out of bounds and Keddy held a 2-1 lead at the reset and would carry that edge into the second period. The Hawkeye freshmen chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 3-1 lead with 1:44 to wrestle. With :30 left in the second period, Keddy added another takedown to up his lead to 5-1 after two periods. Cantalupi chose down to start the final stanza and quickly escaped to a 5-2 deficit. Cantalupi worked for a high takedown on Keddy and nearly completed the move with 1:00 left, but Keddy worked around behind the Nittany Lion senior and got a bout clinching takedown with :40 left. Keddy would ride Cantalupi out for the remainder of the bout and, with a riding time point, post an 8-2 victory. The decision cut Penn State's lead to 15-13. Keddy improved to 11-9 while Cantalupi fell to 6-8. Nittany Lion junior Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), returning two-time All-American, met Iowa's Rick Leora at 197. Davis entered the dual ranked No. 3 and coming off a convincing 8-2 win over No. 2 Mike Tamillow of Northwestern two nights prior. Davis quickly got his first takedown at the 2:33 mark, taking Leora down on the edge of the mat and immediately beginning his search for a dual clinching pin. Just 1:17 into the bout, Davis sent the Penn State faithful to their feet with the clinching pin at the 1:17 mark. Penn State moved out to a 21-13 lead and Davis improved to 20-1. Leora fell to 4-9. At heavyweight, Penn State's Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.), ranked No. 13 nationally, met Iowa's Matt Fields, ranked No. 6. Anspach, who is a senior but is petitioning the NCAA for another year of eligibility due to injury red-shirts, was coming off a win over No. 4 Dustin Fox of Northwestern on Friday night. Continuing to give notice to his prowess, Anspach opened up the scoring with a takedown at the 1:40 mark to take a 2-0 lead. Fields would escape to a 2-1 deficit but not before Anspach worked up 1:01 in riding time. The first period ended with Anspach holding the one point lead. The Nittany Lion senior chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. Neither wrestler mounted a serious scoring attack in the second period and action went to the final two minutes with Anspach leading 3-1 with :49 in riding time. Anspach held Fields down long enough to get his time advantage back (1:10) before Fields escaped and cut the lead to 3-2. Anspach would not give up a takedown over the bout's final seconds and, with the riding time point, posted a thrilling 4-2 win over the sixth-ranked Hawkeye. The decision gave Penn State a convincing 24-13 win and improved Anspach to 14-2 overall. Fields fell to 18-8. The Nittany Lions improved to 12-5, 3-3 in the Big Ten, while Iowa fell to 12-4, 3-2 in conference action. Penn State won six of ten bouts and won the battle of bonus points six to one. With the near-capacity crowd, Penn State averaged nearly 3,500 fans per home dual this season. The outstanding attendance average will once again place Penn State among the top three or four schools nationally in wrestling attendance. The Nittany Lions will see no dual meet action this coming week. Penn State returns to action with a road swing through Michigan and Michigan State in two weeks. The Lions will visit No. 21 Michigan on Friday, Feb. 16, for a 7 p.m. dual. Penn State then treks to No. 19 Michigan State on Sunday, Feb. 18, for a 1 p.m. contest.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The 22nd-ranked Navy wrestling team captured its seventh All-Academy Wrestling Championship, including its fourth in a row, as the Mids topped the eight-team field with 124.5 points on Saturday at the Air Force Academy. The Mids placed all 10 of its wrestlers in the top three, including five individual title winners at 157, 174, 185, 197 and 285 pounds. Navy has now won 45 individual crowns in All-Academy Championship history, including 19 of the 40 titles over the last four years. The Mids won the team title in 1995, '97, '99, '04, '05, '06 and '07, while they claimed five or more individual titles in 1997, '99, '04, '05 and '07. Wrestling without the services of ninth-ranked Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) at 133 pounds and senior John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.) at 149 pounds, the Mids finished the tournament with a 28-point advantage over second-place Army. VMI finished 24.5 points behind Army in third, followed by The Citadel in fourth and the host, Air Force, in fifth. Army and Navy will meet in the annual Star Meet in two weeks, as the Black Knights will play host to the Midshipmen on Feb. 18 in a match that will be televised by ESPNU beginning at 4:00 pm. In addition to wrestling without two regulars in their lineup, the Mids struggled to make their way out to Colorado Springs. Scheduled to fly out of Baltimore on Thursday at 3:00 pm, Navy's flight was cancelled. Assured they would be able to get on a flight at 8:00 pm, the Mids were then bumped from that flight at 7:00 pm. The team was then bussed to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., expecting to make a flight, but instead was forced to spend the night. On Friday, Navy flew in to Denver where the bus that was supposed to meet the team was nowhere to be found. The Mids eventually arrived in Colorado Spring late afternoon on Friday. "It was a tough weekend for our team," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We dealt pretty well with the had we were dealt in terms of traveling out to Air Force. We didn't look real sharp today, but we won our fourth All-Academy Championship and that's something to be proud of." Nine of Navy's 10 wrestlers punched their ticket to compete for the individual title in their respective weight classes, including team captain John Jarred (Kansas City, Mo.), who earned the Mids' first individual title of the day. Jarred, a first-time All-Academy Championship title winner, won his first-round match by major decision (16-2) over Dandridge Giltz of the Merchant Marine Academy. Jarred got a free pass into the championship match when The Citadel's Travis Piccard had to pull out of the semifinal with an injury. Jarred went on to clinch the 157-pound title with a 6-1 victory over VMI's Tommy Cunningham. Junior Justin Jacobs (LeRoy, Mich.) was one of four Navy wrestlers to record pins on the afternoon, as he posted a fall 1:19 over Trevor Muhler from the Merchant Marine Academy in is first match of the day. Jacobs followed up with a 9-3 decision over VMI's John Burton in the semis before dropping a 3-0 decision to top-seeded Brian Rowan from Army. Navy went on to win the final four matches of the evening, including a win by junior Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) at 174 pounds. Stolpinski, who is ranked 10th in the country, edged Darius Caldwell from The Citadel, 3-2, claiming his third-consecutive All-Academy Wrestling Championship. He is only the fourth wrestler in Naval Academy history to win three individual titles at the All-Academy tournament, joining Greg Gingeleskie (1997-98-99), Mark Conley (2000-01-02) and Tanner Garrett (2004-05-06). Additionally, Stolpinski pushed his win total for the year to 32, becoming just the ninth wrestler in Navy history to etch his name into the 30-win club twice during his career. Senior Antonio Miranda (Eugene, Ore.) scored a 5-3 decision over Army's Richard Starks to win the 184-pound title. Miranda received a bye in the opening round and advanced to the championship bout following a major decision over The Citadel's John Dickerson in the semis. Junior Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.) got the call for the Mids at 197 pounds where he stepped in and won his first-collegiate tournament title by pinning top-seeded Conner Sanders from Army at 4:24. Parsons received a first-round bye, before posting a 7-4 win over Eric Vincent from the Merchant Marine Academy in his semifinal match. Ninth-ranked heavyweight Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) extended his winning streak to 11 in a row after posting a 3-0 record and winning his first All-Academy Championship title. Prendergast pinned his first two opponents of the day, pushing his pin total for the year to 14. His 14 pins is tied as the fifth most by a Navy wrestler in a single season and the most since Frank Workman produced 14 pins during the 1996-97 campaign. Prendergast needed a little extra time in the championship bout, but eventually defeated VMI's Scott Buhman in overtime. Navy opened the championship round with senior Alex Usztics (Dauphin, Pa.) who won the 125-pound weight class at last year's championship. Usztics came up short in defending his title, as Army's Fernando Martinez picked up a 10-6 decision over Usztics. Newcomer Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.) replaced Baker in the lineup, pushing up a weight class from 125 to 133 pounds. After winning his opening bout by major decision over Air Force's Stephen Makuka, 18-10, Pagan was sent to the consolation bracket after dropping a 4-2 decision to VMI's Tyler Anthony. After earning a technical fall (18-2) over Dan Ippolito from Coast Guard, Pagan won the third-place match with a 7-5 victory over Matt Leach from The Citadel. Senior Brad Canterbury (Blue Bell, Pa.) was stopped short of winning his first All-Academy title at 141 pounds, as top-seeded Matt Kyler of Army held off Canterbury, 8-6 in the championship bout. Canterbury recorded back-to-back pins in the quarterfinals and semifinals en route to making his finals appearance. Navy made its third finals appearance in the first four matches when sophomore 149-pounder Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) battled VMI's Sam Alvarenga. Ahern earned a pair of closed decisions in his opening two matches, but couldn't squeeze out a third, as Alvarenga dropped Ahern, 7-2. The Mids will be back in action next Saturday night when they play host to EIWA foe Bucknell beginning at 7:00 pm in Halsey Field House. Navy will pay tribute to its senior class in a pre-meet ceremony. Upon the conclusion of the match, the Mids will host an autograph session.

With NC State trailing 18th-ranked Indiana by five points with two matches remaining, Ryan Goodman got a pin at 197 to give the Wolfpack the lead, and Jainor Palma got a takedown with 10 seconds remaining to take a one-point decision in the heavyweight bout, lifting the Pack to a thrilling 22-18 victory over the Hoosiers. Palma's takedown gave the Wolfpack its first win over a ranked team this season and snapped a four-match losing streak at the hands of teams from the Big Ten. The Pack improved to 8-7 in dual matches for the season, while Indiana fell to 10-4. Indiana jumped to a quick start when eighth-ranked 125-pounder Angel Escobedo pinned Taylor Cummings off of a second-period reversal. The pin, at the 3:45 point of the match, improved Escobedo to 26-4 on the season, while Cummings fell to 8-9. Garrett Cummings, Taylor's older brother, extracted some family vengeance in the 133-pound match by pinning Andrae Hernandez at the 4:20 mark. Cummings began the second period in the down position, got a reversal a minute and 15 seconds into the period, and pinned Hernandez five seconds later. The victory, which tied the team score at 6-6, lifted Garrett Cummings to 12-9 on the season, 12-8 at 133 pounds. Hernandez dropped to 20-11. The Wolfpack went in front 10-6 when freshman 141-pounder Darrion Caldwell took a 10-2 major decision over Scott Kelly. Caldwell had takedowns in all three periods, including two in the second. Caldwell improved to 11-3 on the season with the win, while Kelly fell to 3-9. Sophomore Joe Caramanica came into the 149-pound bout on a three-match losing streak, but broke that in a big way with a 7-1 decision over 18th-ranked Matt Coughlin. Caramanica had an escape, a takedown and a three-point near fall in the third period to win going away. He improved to 12-7 with the win, while Coughlin dropped to 23-9. The Hoosiers got back in the win column when seventh-ranked Brandon Becker took a 9-4 decision over the Wolfpack's Kody Hamrah, who came in ranked No. 19 and was riding a career-best eight-match winning streak. Becker had a takedown and a near fall in the first period, then overcame a reverse by Hamrah to start the second period with a reverse of his own, followed by a near fall at the horn. Becker improved to 21-5 with the win, while Hamrah fell to 14-6. Becker's win pulled Indiana to within four points at 13-9, and No. 16 Max Dean made it a one-point match at 13-12 with a 3-2 decision over Obie Simpson in the second round of tiebreakers. Both wrestlers had an escape in regulation, and both got an escape in the first round of tiebreakers. Two rounds of sudden victory failed to produce a point. Dean escaped in the first period of the second tiebreaker, then rode Simpson for the full 30 seconds of the second period to take the 3-2 decision. Dean improved to 23-10 with the decision, while Simpson dropped to 7-7. Trevor Perry followed that thriller with an 11-6 decision over Rick Brownlee at 174 pounds to give IU at 15-13 lead in the team scoring. A near fall in the first period and two takedowns in the second gave Perry an early working margin. Perry improved to 16-6 with the decision, while Brownlee fell to 4-7. Eleventh-ranked Marc Bennett gave the Hoosiers a five-point lead at 18-13 in the team scoring with an 11-9 decision over Jeremy Colbert. Bennett overcame a 7-3 lead by Colbert in the final 1:09 of the match to take the decision. Bennett got two takedowns in the final 69 seconds, and also got a point for riding time and was awarded a point when Colbert was penalized for stalling. Bennett raised his record to 28-6 with the decision. Colbert dropped to 5-9. The Wolfpack went back in front by a point at 19-18 when Goodman, ranked No. 15 nationally, pinned Nate Everhart at the 4:17 mark. Goodman, now 14-2 on the season, was leading 4-1 after the first period, started the second period in the down position, and went up 6-1 with a reversal with 1:26 left in the period. He took Everhart to his back 43 seconds later. Everhart fell to 18-11 with the defeat. Palma nailed down the team victory with a 4-3 decision over Josh Buuck at heavyweight, taking Buuck down for the deciding points with 10 seconds remaining in the bout. Buuck went in the final period leading 3-1, but Palma's escape five seconds into the period made it 3-2. Palma improved to 18-5 with the win, while Buuck dropped to 8-5. The Wolfpack will return to action on Wednesday night at Reynolds Coliseum against North Carolina. The match will start at 7 p.m.

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team took the mat tonight in its final home match of the season and senior night against the University at Buffalo, defeating the Bulls 28-10, here at the Convocation Center. The senior Eagles would all post wins in the final home match of their careers. "It was good to see all four seniors get wins on senior night", said Head Coach Derek DelPorto. The victory tonight marks the first Mid-American Conference win for DelPorto, who is in his first year here at EMU and moves the Eagles to 4-6 (1-3 MAC) on the season while the Bulls drop to 7-5 (0-3 MAC). Dan Bishop would give the Bulls the early 4-0 advantage with a 12-0 major decision over redshirt freshman Jack Cassady (Dearborn, Mich.-Dearborn) in 125 lbs. contest. In the 133 lbs. weight class, No. 17 ranked Mark Budd posted a 5-2 decision over redshirt freshman Chris Jenkins (Tecumseh, Mich.-Tecumseh) to extend the lead to 7-0. The Eagles would take the next five matches from the Bulls, building a 19-7 lead and never looking back. Zach Donofrio (Monroe, Mich.-Monroe) would start the Eagle rally in the 141 lbs. match with a 17-7 major decision over Andrew Stella. Senior Jermain Thompson (Akron, Ohio-Kenmore) would follow Donofrio�s lead with a flurry of scoring in the third period, on his way to posting a 14-3 major decision over Jason Hilliard. "Dual meets are all about momentum, once you get going you are hard to beat and I thought we did a great job of keeping that momentum once Donofrio and Mancuso got it going for us", said DelPorto. In the 157 lbs. match, junior Cory Mancuso (Brockway, Penn.-Brockway Area) would jump out to an 8-0 lead after the first period in route to a 17-0 tech fall over Justin Hunt. Senior Nick Conklin (Milton, Wisc.-Milton) registered a late two-point takedown in the third period to post a 6-3 decision over Mike Ragusa in the 165 lbs. weight class. Redshirt freshman Josh Lewis (West Liberty, Ohio-Salem) would hold onto an early 6-3 first period lead in the 174 lbs. match to win the decision 11-6 over Nate Rock. Ryan Lamb would end the five match losing streak for the Bulls as he posted a 11-3 decision over John McClure (Holland, Mich.-West Ottawa) in the 184 lbs. contest. Senior Tony Lyssiotis (Oxford, Mich.-Oxford) put the Eagles back on track in the 197 lbs. match, pinning Ricky Scott just over two minutes into the first period, bringing the Eagle lead to 25-10. In the final match of the night and of his career at home, senior Charlie Walker (Washington, Mich.-Romeo) found himself down 3-1 at the start of the third period. With under a minute remaining in the match, Walker would earn one point on an escape and a two point takedown, giving him a 4-3 advantage which he would hold onto over Jason Weber. The Eagles will shift from MAC play as they travel to Clarion, PA for dual match with Clarion University Fri., Feb.9. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start time.

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Senior Luke Hogle scored a huge upset, picking up a major decision over Hofstra's Joe Rovelli at 184 pounds, keying the Cornell wrestling team to a 22-18 victory over the Pride on Saturday afternoon at the New York Athletic Club. Hogle, unranked entering the day's action, won by a 12-4 margin over Rovelli, the seventh-ranked wrestler in the nation. Cornell, ranked 16th in the nation, improves to 3-5 on the year, while Hofstra, which entered the day ranked fifth, falls to 17-3-2. Hogle's win at 184 jump-started the Big Red, as Cornell would go on to win the next four matches. In that stretch, No. 4 Jerry Rinaldi scored a 4-2 victory over No. 11 Chris Weidman at 197. At heavyweight, Cornell's Zach Hammond picked up a 2-1 tiebreaker victory over Matt Pollock, a former Cornell wrestler. At 125, Troy Nickerson scored a forfeit victory, and Adam Frey, ranked third in the nation, wrapped up the streak for the Big Red at 133, picking up a 7-5 win over Lou Ruggirello, ranked 19th in the country. Jordan Leen's 5-3 win at 149 wrapped up the victories for the Big Red as the fourth-ranked Leen claimed a 5-3 win over Mitch Smith, who entered the day ranked 19th.

John Smith (Oklahoma State, Head Coach) On his team's improvement "It was an improvement, but I did not consider us underdogs today. You should win in your own house. We had guys standing around and not taking it to their opponent in a one shot scenario. When it is a one shot scenario, you should be jacked up and wrestling your very best at home." On his team competing "Brandon Mason picked up a takedown (on Ben Askren), and I think he was surprised and ended up getting reversed. There is not any question that we had some people competing tonight. We wrestled better than we did at National Duals, but all that is to me is a consolation prize." Nathan Morgan (Oklahoma State) On the final stretch of the season "I am excited about the last stretch of the season. It is what we work for all year. This is obviously leading up to what we are training for." On the team result "We are making improvements by leaps and bounds. We have been training right through these duals, and trying to get better each and every day for that (March). It is not about today, it is about March. Everybody is making the improvement that they need to." Brian Smith (Missouri, Head Coach) On the difference between this dual and National Duals "It is like football where you get a couple of breakaways and score some touchdowns to open it up. That is kind of what we did at National Duals. Josh Wagner scored a pin for us with one second remaining in a tight match. When you go on the road you have to earn the win, and we found a way to win tonight." On wrestling Nick Marable at 157 "We wanted to give Michael Chandler a weekend off. We can do that with Nick Marable. He has wrestled some for us at 165 this year and done well. We were not giving anything up there and we knew that we could get a win there." Ben Askren (Missouri) On the dual "It was ugly. We have had a lot of pretty wins this year and that one was ugly. I do not think it was our best performance so there was nothing to be happy about. We would have liked to have wrestled better, but we knew it was in their house and they would be fired up to wrestle. We knew it was going to be a battle. It was ugly but we did what we needed to do, we won."

Stillwater, Okla. -- Recording their second win of the season over the defending National Champion Oklahoma State Cowboys (13-5, 1-2), second-ranked Missouri (9-1, 2-0) bested No. 4 OSU, 17-16, in front of 3,125 fans in Gallagher Iba Arena. The Tigers overcame a 10 point OSU lead to take the eventual win, splitting the dual with the Cowboys at five wins a piece. With the win, Missouri snapped OSU's 21 home match win streak and now stands at 32-3 in the all-time series. Junior Josh Wagner (Milton, Wis.) came up with Missouri's first win of the night, dropping Dakotah Simpson, 15-4. Dominating his opponent, Wagner earned nine backpoints and tallied over four minutes of riding time. With the win, Wagner stands just one shy of his 60th career victory. Continuing Missouri's winning ways, redshirt freshman Nicholas Marable (Colliersville, Tenn.) made his third start of the season in the Tiger lineup and won a 4-2 decision at 157 pounds over Newly McSpadden. Tied at two entering the third period, neither grappler was able to come up with a takedown forcing the match into sudden victory. With one minute on the clock, Marable managed to take down McSpadden in 46 seconds for the eventual win. Defending National Champion senior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) kept his perfect season in tact after winning a 9-6 decision over 16th-ranked Brandon Mason at 174 pounds. Askren collected three takedowns and a reversal and rode Mason for 1:13 for his nine points. Askren now stands at the top of Missouri's career wins list with 140 victories. Fifth-ranked sophomore Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) helped bring the Tigers even with the Cowboys at 13 points after earning a 5-3 decision over Jack Jensen. Their second meeting of the season and Jordan's second win over the Cowboy, Jordan scored first with a takedown and followed with a reversal in the second period and 1:02 of riding time. Junior redshirt freshman Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) came up with the Tigers' final win of the night, a 12-4 major decision over Jared Shelton at 197 pounds. Askren improved to 24-0 on the season and gave Missouri just enough points to take the lead and team win. "Oklahoma State wrestled a really smart match tonight," Missouri Head Coach Brian Smith said. "It's not often that the Cowboys get beat at home and that was one of our goals this week. We wanted to come down to Oklahoma and beat both OSU and OU at home. I have to give credit to John Smith (Oklahoma State's head coach) and his program. They wrestled really well and gave us quite the challenge. We managed to hang on for a couple of key wins at 149 and 197 pounds and that proved the difference in the night." The Tigers will take on 13th-ranked Oklahoma in Norman at 3 p.m. (CT) in their final road dual of the

PHILADELPHIA –- In a battle of University City rivals between No. 14 Penn and Drexel, it all came down to the final match at 174 pounds. Fortunately for the Quakers, All-America and ninth-ranked Matt Herrington scored a 5-3 decision over Nick Kozar to secure a 22-17 win at The Palestra. The Quakers (5-5) evened up their dual-meet record with wins over Brown and the Dragons (14-9). Penn's meet Friday with Delaware State was contested as a junior varsity event. The Quakers trailed, 17-15, with two matches to go after No. 20 Ryan Hluschak teched No. 14 Matt Dragon at 157. It was No. 17 Zack Shanaman who injected life back into his team, scoring a key major decision to put Penn up 19-17. "It was nice to see Shanaman come back and give us the momentum back," said Head Coach Zeke Jones. Herrington finished off the win with his 5-3 decision, getting most of his scoring on two first-period takedowns. The meet started at 184 with Lior Zamir majoring Brian Stouffer, 14-4, but Drexel pulled right back with Jon Oplinger's quick pin of Jack Sullivan in 1:32. Chris Cowen was a 4-0 winner over Ben Reiter at heavyweight, and suddenly the Dragons were out to a 9-4 lead. The lead wouldn't last long, though, as Penn won at the three lower weights. Rollie Peterkin won an entertaining overtime bout with Steve Mytych, 4-1, in the first tiebreak. After ending regulation tied at a point apiece, the two went scoreless in sudden victory. Mytych chose up for the first tiebreak and rode out, but Peterkin managed to turn Mytych in the second period and get a near-fall three to win. Matt Valenti retook the lead for Penn with his major decision over Billy Martin, 13-5, and Brett McCurdy also got a major with his 11-2 win over Morgan Remillard at 141. Mark Cartella of Drexel beat Brian Spangler at 149 in a tightly contested, 6-4 decision, to pull his team within three before Hluschak's tech fall gave Drexel the lead after 157 pounds. Penn will return to action Saturday afternoon when it hosts Ivy and EIWA rival Harvard at 1 p.m. at The Palestra.

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- With back-to-back technical falls by Greg Hart (Bedminster, N.J./Bernards) and David Marble (Harpursville, N.Y./Harpursville Area) to open the meet, the Bucknell wrestling squad rolled to a 42-0 victory over James Madison on Friday evening in Davis Gym. The win brings the Bison to 10-8 overall on the year, while the Dukes' record drops to 6-20. Hart and Marble both won by 17-1 margins at 125 and 133, respectivel,y to give the Orange and Blue an early 10-0 advantage. Hart, who is ranked sixth at his weight in the EIWA, downed Nhat Nguyen for his ninth dual win of the season and Marble improved to 22-7 (12-6 duals) with his triumph over Stephen Gunther. Zach Galligan (Boonville, N.Y./Adirondack) followed at 141 and picked up a 13-5 major decision over Shawn Horst. Then 149-pounder Jack Conroy (Westport, Conn./Green Farms Academy) defeated Eric Nadeau, 9-3, to bring the team score to 17-0. In the closest bout of the night, Brantley Hooks (Spartansburg, S.C./James F. Byrnes), who is ranked sixth in the EIWA at 157, went into the third period against Scott Yorko with the score knotted at two. However, Hooks recorded three takedowns in the third to come away an 8-6 victory. Despite winning by forfeit, Andy Rendos' (Brockway, Pa./Brockway Area) victory was a milestone for the No. 18 nationally-ranked 165-pounder as it brought his season duals record to 16-2, which matches the highest dual-meet wins total in Bucknell history. Rendos is among the Bison all-time leaders for overall wins in a season, as well, and is now 25-3 in his freshman campaign. Shane Riccio (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) posted the lone fall of the night for the Orange and Blue, pinning Ivan Legares 1:27 into the 174-pound bout. The win was Riccio's 18th overall on the year and his ninth consecutively. George Mann (Orange, Ohio/Orange) picked up his first career victory for bonus points as he recorded a 12-1 major decision over Johnnie Bauman at 184. Eric Lapotsky (Mount Carmel, Pa./Mount Carmel Area), who is No. 6 in the EIWA at 197, improved to 21-4 overall, 15-2 in dual-meets with an 8-1 decision over John Holloway and heavyweight George Hingson (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) wrapped things up with a 7-3 victory over Pat Finch. Bucknell will return to action next Saturday, Feb. 10, when the Bison travel to Annapolis, Md., to face No. 22-ranked Navy at 7 p.m.

Princeton, N.J. -– The Harvard wrestling team won eight straight bouts to hand Ivy League foe Princeton a 36-7 defeat at Dillion Gymnasium Friday night. The Crimson took five weight classes by bonus points and earned a forfeit in another. The Crimson improves to 2-5 overall, 2-2 in the EIWA and 1-0 in the Ivy League race. Princeton falls to 0-11 on the season. Ryan Fitzergald lost a very high scoring 125 pound bout. Down 8-1 heading in the second, Fitzergald chose neutral and quickly scored a takedown and three near fall points. But Princeton's Nikhil Pereira took as 12-9 lead into the third and after being released by Fitzgerald scored a takedown and held on for a 21-13 win. No. 12 Robbie Prestion won by fofeit at 133 to give Harvard a 6-4 lead heading into 141 pounds. No. 16 Max Meltzer earned a major decision over Danny Scotton, 17-5. Meltzer used two third period takedowns, a three point near fall and riding time to secure the win and put his team up 10-4 The Crimson went up by 10 with a major decision from freshman J.P. O'Connor. The sixth-ranked 149 pounder used a third period scoring frenzy to take the match, 16-3 and earn his 23rd win of the season. No. 10 Andrew Flanagan added a fall in 5:00 to put Harvard up 20-4. Freshman Frankie Colletta gave the Crimson its third major decision on the night with a 12-2 victory at 165. Colletta scored two takedowns and turned Princeton's Alex Enriquez in the first, added two more takedowns in the second and rode out his opponent in the third for the win. At the 174 pounds, freshman Fred Rowsey won an 8-3 decision to put Harvard up, 27-4. With a 5-0 lead, No. 11 Louis Caputo pinned Oliver Noteware in 1:52 at 184 pounds. Harvard won its eighth match of the afternoon to take a 36-4 lead in the dual when Billy Colgan won a 3-1 decision over Zach Morse at 197. At the end of the first the score was knotted at zero. Down 0-1at the start of the third, Colgan scored a reversal and rode him out the rest of the period to for the victory. It was a very close heavyweight bout between Andrew Knapp and Kristopher Berr. Berr held on for a 3-2 win. Harvard travels to No. 14 Penn tomorrow for its second Ivy match up of the weekend. Match time is slated for 1 p.m. Crimson Central subscribers can watch the match live on GoCrimson.com.

FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota State improved to 3-1 in Western Wrestling Conference matches with a 23-14 victory over Northern Colorado in front of 762 fans at the Bison Sports Arena on Friday, February 2. North Dakota State improved their season record to 7-3 while Northern Colorado dropped to 4-7 overall and 1-2 in WWC dual matches. Eric Hoffman opened up the match with a 7-0 decision over Tony Mustari at 125 pounds. Hoffman was leading 2-0 going into the final period and recorded an escape with 1:17 remaining in the match and then notched a takedown and a near fall in the seconds to widen the margin. Northern Colorado was deducted a team point after the match when Mustari threw his headgear. In the 133-pound bout, Eric Sanders defeated Blayze Bahe 6-4. Sanders improves to 14-6 for the season and is 3-1 in WWC matches. Kenny Hashimoto held off NDSU's Gabe Mooney 7-4 at 141 pounds. Hashimoto, ranked No. 14 in the latest Intermat poll, trailed 2-1 after the first period but took the lead at the 1:44 mark of the second with a reversal and didn't lose the lead afterward. Ryan Adams picked up his second major decision in as many nights, defeating UNC's Richard Lohr 11-2. Adams outscored his opponent in the final period 7-1 to pick up four points for the Bison, giving them a 10-2 lead. At 157 pounds, Adam Aho picked up his fifth consecutive victory with a 4-3 decision over Luke Salazar. Aho won the match with 1 minute and three seconds of advantage time. After the match, Northern Colorado was deducted another team point when Salazar threw his headgear, making the score 13-1. In the 165-pound bout, Northern Colorado's Devan Lewis put three points on the board for the Bears with a 7-2 decision over Mike Quamme. At 174 pounds, NDSU's Matt Hermann recorded his first pin of the season over Chase Walker. Hermann led 3-2 with 36 seconds remaining in the match but then recorded a takedown and rolled his opponent over to his back to record the fall with 11 seconds left. Warren Gall, a true freshman wrestling in only his second match for the Bison, was defeated by UNC's Shawn Vincent 10-0 at 184 pounds. After a forfeit victory the night before, Jacob Bryce put the match out of reach for Northern Colorado, winning by major decision over Calen Nicholl 15-6 at 197 pounds. Bryce is now 12-6 on the season and improved to 6-4 in duals. In the final bout of the night, UNC's Reece Hopkin pinned Justin LaGosh in 33 seconds. The match also marked the 21st meeting between NDSU head coach Bucky Maughan and his son, Jack, who is the head coach for Northern Colorado. Bucky now leads the head-to-head series 19-1-1. North Dakota State will now be back on the road for a pair of duals, beginning with Portland State on Saturday, February 10, at 7 p.m. PST. The Bison will then travel to Corvallis the next day to face Oregon State at 4 p.m. PST.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- For the second straight meet, a pin by sophomore Chris Hahn at night's end was the difference for Cleveland State as the Vikings defeated Lock Haven, 18-16, Friday night at Woodling Gym. CSU is now 9-2 on the season and 2-0 in Eastern Wrestling League action. The loss drops the Bald Eagles to 6-4 and 1-2 in the EWL. Hahn (10-4), whose pin last week against Pitt led CSU to a 21-15 victory, put Lock Haven's Jeremie Cook on his back in 6:29 to give CSU a 15-12 lead with two bouts remaining. Hahn and Cook were tied, 1-1, late in the match when Cook shot and bounced off Hahn. In the process, he turned to his back and Hahn drove him to the mat covered him to secure the fall. "We were confident because Chris has experience in coming up big," head coach Jack Effner said. "But we actually expected him to get a takedown, not a pin." Immediately following Hahn's pin, sophomore heavyweight Rashard Goff (22-11) scored a takedown in his bout against Ben Hepburn, eventually wearing down the Bald Eagles' heavyweight for a 6-3 decision that gave the Vikings an 18-12 lead. Lock Haven's Obe Blanc won a 16-5 major decision over junior Ryan Riggs (8-11) in the night's final bout at 125 for the final score. CSU got three decisions in the middle of the meet as both the Hurley brothers and sophomore Marcus Effner kept the Bald Eagles at bay. Junior 141-pounder Mike Hurley would answer with a win for the Vikings in a close battle against Zach Kell. Kell led the bout, 3-2, in the third period when he was charged a point for an illegal start while on top. Hurley (17-7) would get an escape to take a 4-3 lead and hold on in the final seconds for the meet-tying decision. Junior Ryan Hurley (22-8) followed his brother with a 3-1 decision over Donnie Ament at 149 pounds. Ament led, 1-0, heading into the final period when Hurley got an escape to tie. Both wrestlers grappled into the final minute when Hurley got a double-leg takedown with 0:14 remaining to win. The wins by the two Hurleys gave the Vikings an early 6-3 lead. Marcus Effner (19-13) controlled his bout at 165 pounds, taking a 7-2 lead in the final minute and hanging on for a 7-5 decision over Landis Wright. At 157 pounds, sophomore Victer Crenshaw lost, 10-3, to nationally-ranked Seth Martin. Crenshaw (23-6) took a 2-0 lead early with a duck-under takedown, but the rest of the bout belonged to Martin, who improved to 30-3. Lock's Danny Lopes gave the Bald Eagles the early lead with a 9-5 decision over junior David Armstrong (12-8) at 133 pounds. The bout was much closer than the final score indicated, as Armstrong was penalized a point in the first period on a disputable fleeing call and then lost two more points on a nearfall. The Bald Eagles won decisions at both 174 and 184, with the 184-pound bout being perhaps the night's most entertaining. Lock Haven's Tom Kocher took a 6-4 lead over senior David Gilkey (15-14) when the two grappled to a stalemate on the edge of the mat near the scorer's table. As the referee's whistle blew, Gilkey and Kocher crashed into the table, shattering plastic all over the mat. Gilkey was charged with unsportsmanlike conduct and eventually fell, 12-7. "We were happy to come away with the win," Effner said. "Tonight we had two solid programs going at it and Lock Haven came prepared. We're getting a lot out of our guys right now and everything is clicking." The Vikings have little time to enjoy the victory as Bloomsburg visits Woodling Gym Saturday (Feb. 3) at 5:00 p.m.

Augustana claimed 7 of the 8 contested matches as the Vikings routed Northern State 34-4 in non-conference wrestling action Friday night in Aberdeen, S.D. The 14th-ranked Vikings improved to 8-4 on the season. Six of Augustana's wins came by decision. Nate Buys earned a major decision at 197 pounds when he registered a 10-0 victory over Todd Naasz. The Vikings strung together 3 straight decisionas as Adam Schlee defeated Corbin Surat 6-3 at 133 pounds, Mike Long edged Dave Schiley 6-5 at 141 pounds and Brandon Kruger edged Dustin Bonn 9-4 at 149 pounds. Also earning decisions were Aaron Haddorff (165), Beau Severtson (184)and Ray O'Connor (Hwt.) Haddorff defeated Brunau Agustine 9-5, while Severtson edged Cale Cornemann 5-4. O'Connor ended the dual with a 3-1 win over Jared Little. Augustana's Chris Trampe (125) and Cody Henriksen (174) each won by forfeit. Northern State's only win came at 157 pounds where Phillip Downs scored an 18-6 major decision over Augie's Jarred McCarthy, who was wrestling up a weight class. The Vikings will be back on the mat on Tuesday when they play host to 4th-ranked Minnesota State Mankato in a 7 p.m. dual at the Elmen Center.

DAVIS, Calif. -- Dustin Noack recorded a pin at 165 pounds and the Aggie wrestling team won every close match to upset 19th-ranked and previously unbeaten Pac-10 foe Oregon State, 21-11, in front of 1,052 at The Pavilion on Friday night. The Aggies improve their overall record to 6-5 while they remain as the only undefeated Pac-10 school with a 5-0 record. The Beavers are now 13-2 on the season and 5-1 in conference duals. UC Davis jumped out a 19-point lead by winning five straight matches and wrapped up the victory after an amazing decision by Eliot Kelly at 197. The Beavers were penalized one point during the 157-pound match and thus had minus-one point heading into the 165 pound bout. Noack earned his first pin of the season against Dan Brascetta as he continues to solidify himself as the No. 2 165-pounder in the Pac-10. The victory was Noack's 14th of the season and he is now 6-1 against Pac-10 schools. Derek Moore, ranked third nationally and No. 1 in the Pac-10, started things off for the Aggies at 141 as he was matched against second-ranked Pac-10 wrestler Kyle Larson. Moore scored a two-point takedown to start the match, but was quickly reversed as the match evened at 2-2. Moore then reversed Larson to jump back up, 4-2. An escape followed by another two-point takedown from Moore to start the second period and the riding time point capped the scoring and gave Moore his 16th straight victory of the year, 8-2. Shawn Haratani capped a stellar day at 149 as he claimed an 8-7 victory over the third-ranked Pac-10 wrestler, Derek Kipperberg. Haratani scored a two-point reversal with three seconds remaining in the third period and then earned another two-point near fall at the buzzer to claim the win. Jon Clark gained another close victory for the Aggies at 157 as he upset 5th-ranked Pac-10 wreslter Keegan Davis, 2-1. Clark earned a one-point escape in the second period and was later awared another point after Davis committed an unsportsmanlike penalty. The Beavers were also stripped of a team point for Davis' actions. Ken Cook, ranked No. 1 in the Pac-10 and fourth nationally, battled the second-ranked Pac-10 and 18th nationally ranked Jeremy Larson at 174. Both wrestlers split two previous meetings this season. The two battled back and forth throughout the bout before Larson gained a slim 7-6 lead with under a minute reaming. With time dwindling down, Cook scored an incredible two-point takedown with eight seconds remaining to win by one point, 8-7, in a wild match. Kelly's win at 197 was even more incredible as he rebounded from several deficits and eventually scored a two-point reversal with three seconds remaining in the match to force overtime. In the sudden-victory overtime, Kelly gained the advantage right away and scored a reversal to lock up the win. The Beavers would go onto to win the remaining three matches to make the final score 21-11. "That was one an incredible win for our guys," said UC Davis head coach Lennie Zalesky. "They've (Oregon State) just been rolling over teams and we had to win every close match to beat them. I'd say that was probably our best performance all season." When asked about beating his younger brother for the first time as a head coach, Lennie stated: "It feels pretty good to finally get one against him, but I'm happier about beating a good team like that." The Aggies are back in action tomorrow night as they host another Pac-10 dual with Portland State at 7 p.m. in Hickey Gymnasium.

The Peacocks hosted the Huskies of St. Cloud State in their final home dual match of the year. The Peacocks won the dual convincingly 31-10. The match was highlighted by a Brady Hakeman (#8, 174) pin and four Upper Iowa major decision wins (Tyler Mumbulo (#6, 125) 10-1 / John Gamble (141) 16-3 / Travis Eggers (157) 13-5 / Ryan Phillips (#5, 197) 14-3). Other winners included Mitch Norton (#4, 165) and Dan Goodson (#8, 285). Seven Peacock seniors were honored on the night. They included Bruce Bearman (Nashua, IA), Phil Bruschuk (Villa Park, IL), Kyle Burkle (Coggon, IA), John Gamble (Mattesen, IL), Nate Naumann (Gulfport, FL), Andy Norton (Waverly, IA), and Ryan Phillips (Burlington, IA).

FULLERTON, CA -- The Cal State Fullerton wrestling team won six of the 10 bouts, including a tech fall by heavyweight Wade Sauer, as the Titans defeated visiting Wyoming, 21-16, on Friday night at Titan Gym as part of the second annual "Beauty and the Beast" meet. Sauer's tech fall 5:46 into the third period in the fifth bout of the night broke a 6-6 tie, giving Cal State Fullerton an 11-6 lead. However, Wyoming's Nick Ramirez posted a major decision over the Titans' Jaime Hernandez at the 125-pound weight class with a 21-10 victory, moving the Cowboys to within a point at 11-10. T.J. Dillashaw increased Fullerton's advantage with a last-second victory over Cory VomBaur, turning a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 victory after a late takedown with less than a minute to go to forge a tie, and earning the win on riding time. Teddy Astorga then followed with a major decision, 11-3, victory over Garrett Desmond to up the Titans' lead to 18-10 with two bouts remaining. The Cowboys got six team points back at 149 pounds as Cal State Fullerton's Morgan Atkinson was forced to default due to injury after trailing Wyoming's Carter Downing, 7-1, in the second period. That brought the match down to the 157-pound class where Paul Tice wrapped up the win for the Titans by defeating the Cowboys' Dan Fuhrman, 6-3, for the final 21-16 team tally. Cal State Fullerton returns to action on Feb. 9 as the Titans host San Francisco State at 7 p.m. at Titan Gym.

Stanford, Calif. -- The Cardinal wrestling team picked up two critical conference wins tonight, downing the Oregon Ducks and the Cal Poly Mustangs in Burnham Pavilion. The Cardinal won six-straight bouts to defeat the Ducks, 26-12, before Tanner Gardner and Cameron Teitelman finished off a 25-13 victory over the Mustangs. Stanford improves to 6-5 overall with the wins, and 4-1 in the Pac-10. Against Oregon, the Ducks were the first to strike, taking their first and only lead of the dual when Justin Pearch claimed a 9-3 decision over Matt Kim at 141 pounds. Stanford responded with a six-straight wins, however, to take a 19-point lead and seal the team victory. Sophomore Tyler Parker started the six-match run at 149 pounds, topping Oregon's Zack Frazier for the second time this season. Parker took a quick 5-0 lead in the first period and finished with a 9-4 decision. At 157 pounds, junior Josh Zupancic picked up a major decision over Kyle Bounds, dominating the Oregon freshman, 13-3. Senior Brian Perry followed with a 4-1 decision over Jake McCoy at 165 pounds and Stanford picked up at win by forfeit at 174 pounds. At 184 pounds, Zack Giesen, currently ranked fourth in the Pac-10, took on the Ducks' sixth-ranked Brysen French and earned a 3-2 win by decision. At 197 pounds, Jared Boyer scored three takedowns in the first period and picked up his first Pac-10 win of the season with a 10-6 decision over Chris Robertson. Boyer's performance sealed the win for the Cardinal and gave Stanford a 22-3 lead. After Stanford dropped the match at heavyweight, Gardner came out at 125 pounds and took the momentum back for the Cardinal with a 16-4 major decision over Ryan Dunn. Stanford forfeited the match at 133 pounds and finished with a 26-12 team victory. With a boost of confidence from the first win, the Cardinal turned to Cal Poly, a squad which entered the match with a 4-1 Pac-10 record. The Cardinal struggled early on, dropping a trio of decisions at 141 pounds, 149 pounds and 157 pounds. With his team at a 9-0 deficit, Perry put an emphatic stop to the run, earning a 13-1 major decision over Evan Barbre at 165 pounds. Sophomore Luke Feist followed with a 4-0 decision over Ernie Varela at 174 pounds, and Giesen dominated Steve Gee at 184 pounds with a 17-5 major decision to give the Cardinal the lead. Giesen's decisive win was his eighth-straight and 23rd this season, tying him for fourth on the program's all-time freshman win chart. Stanford picked up six more points with a default victory at 197 pounds, but No. 14 Cody Parker kept the Mustangs in contention with an 18-8 major decision at heavyweight, bringing the score to 17-13. Gardner put an end to any hopes of a Mustang comeback, however, sealing the Cardinal victory with a 17-2 win by technical fall over Joshua Obregon at 125 pounds. Teitelman put an exclamation point on the Stanford victory with an exciting come-from-behind win to end the dual. The 133-pound freshman battled back from a 6-2 deficit, scoring an escape and a third period near fall to tie the score. He held on for riding time to capture the 7-6 decision and the 25-13 team win. "It's good to get these two wins," said Head Coach Kerry McCoy. "For the most part, our guys wrestled hard and our guys wrestled smart. We made a few mistakes, but we'll have time to correct those before the end of the year. I'm really excited about Cameron (Teitelman)'s performance and the way he finished the second dual. Tanner (Gardner) and Zack (Giesen) keep rolling. Brian (Perry) did a great job. Luke (Feist) did a great job. Overall, we're taking steps in the right direction to be where we want to be at the end of the year." The Cardinal continues Pac-10 dual action next Friday, Feb. 9 at Boise State, before heading to Oregon State and Portland State on Feb. 11. A number of Cardinal wrestlers will also be competing at the California Collegiates hosted by San Francisco State tomorrow.

The Iowa wrestling team defeated Michigan, 20-13, Friday night in Ann Arbor, MI. The Hawkeyes led the entire dual, winning six of 10 bouts. It was also Iowa's first win over Michigan since 2003. The Hawkeyes improved to 12-3 (3-1 Big Ten) with the win, while Michigan fell to 1-6-1 (0-3 Big Ten). Hawkeye sophomore Charlie Falck opened the dual at 125 with a 10-1 major decision over Michael Watts. It was Falck's 30th career victory and his sixth straight win this season. Senior Mario Galanakis (133) and junior Alex Tsirtsis (141) scored decisions in the next two bouts before junior Josh Churella scored Michigan's first team points with a 13-5 major decision over Hawkeye senior Alex Grunder at 149. Iowa redshirt freshman Ryan Morningstar took the Hawkeyes into the intermission with a come-from-behind 8-7 win over Jeff Marsh at 157. The marquee match of the night was at 165 when Hawkeye junior Mark Perry faced undefeated Eric Tannenbaum. Tannenbaum scored a takedown in the first period, but Perry responded with two escapes to take the match to sudden victory. Tannenbaum scored a takedown and two nearfall points in the sudden victory period to win, 6-2. Senior Eric Luedke scored his 45th career and 20th consecutive wins with a 13-2 major decision over Jordan Sherrod at 174. Luedke improved to 22-2 in collegiate matches and 13-0 in duals this season. Michigan responded with decisions at 184 and 197 to pull within four points (17-13), but Hawkeye junior Matt Fields sealed Iowa's win with a 5-2 decision over Casey White at heavyweight. The Hawkeyes will wrestle their final Big Ten road dual of the season at Penn State (11-5, 2-3 Big Ten) Sunday at 11 a.m. The Nittany Lions defeated Northwestern, 25-8, earlier tonight in University Park, PA. Sunday's dual will be aired live on FOX Sports Pittsburgh.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For the second-consecutive match, the Ohio State wrestling team defeated a ranked opponent in No. 19 Michigan State, 19-14, Friday in its home finale at St. John Arena. The Buckeyes improved to 7-4 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans are 2-6 overall and 1-2 in the league. It was in the 133-pound bout the Scarlet and Gray received a crucial 4-2 overtime win from Buckeye T. J. Enright (Jr. Galloway, Ohio/Westland) to increase the OSU lead to 12-5 after five matches. Entering the match with an 8-4 record, Enright faced No.1 Nick Simmons, who owned a 27-0 mark. Both wrestlers were scoreless after the first period and it was not until 46 seconds remained on the clock in the second stanza Simmons was able to score an escape to take a 1-0 lead. However, 1:15 into the third, Enright recorded a takedown to go up 2-1. Fourteen seconds later, Simmons answered with an escape to tie the match at 2-all, forcing the bout into overtime. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Enright notched a takedown for the final tally. At 165 pounds, No. 16 Chris Vondruska (Sr., Lakewood, Ohio/Hofstra), who was honored during the prematch senior night ceremony, secured Ohio State's win when he recorded a 2-0 decision against Rocky Cozart. The match came down to the final period when Vondruska tallied an escape and earned the riding time point for a 2-0 victory. The win served as Vondruska's ninth-consecutive. Third-ranked Mike Pucillo (184/Fr., Cuyahoga, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) got the Buckeyes on the board first after recording a 2-1 decision over 10th-ranked Joe Williams and improved his perfect record to 16-0. It was a scoreless tie after the first period and it was at the 1:39 mark in the second period Pucillo scored an escape for the 1-0 lead. Williams countered with an escape of his own at 1:44 in the third period and the match entered overtime. The score remained tied after the one minute overtime session, but Pucillo scored an escape with 17 seconds left in the first 30 second period and held on for the win. No. 7 J.D. Bergman (197/Jr., Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor) garnered win No. 17, scoring a 5-2 victory against Nick Palmieri. Bergman took a 2-0 lead on a takedown in the first period and increased his lead to 3-0 in the second period when Palmieri was called for his second stall. After Bergman recorded an escape in the third period, Palmieri answered with a takedown in the final seconds of the match, but it was not enough, as Bergman held on for the victory. Corey Morrison (So., Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights) gave the Buckeyes its third-consecutive win at 285 pounds, earning a 10-7 win vs. Alan O'Donnell. After O'Donnell scored an early takedown for the 2-0 lead, Morrison scored an escape and takedown within seconds of each other to go up 3-2. O'Donnell then tied the score with an escape, but Morrison answered with a takedown. O'Donnell ended the period with an escape, but Morrison held the 5-4 edge after the first period. Morrison was able to increase his lead to 8-5 in the second session after he scored an escape and takedown compared to O'Donnell's lone escape. Morrison then sealed the victory in the final period, tallying another takedown and limiting O'Donnell to two escapes. At 149 pounds, No. 16 Lance Palmer (Fr., Lakewood, Ohio/St. Edward) recorded a 9-1 major decision over Tim Hammer. Up 2-0 after the first period, Palmer increased his lead to 6-0 after the second session. After Hammer scored an escape with 55 seconds left in the third, Palmer answered with a final takedown with a second left on the clock. Ohio State is back in action at 2 p.m. Sunday when it hosts No. 10 Northwestern at St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio.

The top-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team used its seventh different starting lineup of the season on Friday night in Indiana, but the results were similar as Minnesota dominated the Hoosiers, 29-7. With the win, the Gophers improved to 15-1 on the season and 4-0 in the Big Ten. Two-time All-American Mack Reiter made his first start of the year after suffering a knee injury prior to the start of the season, and Tyler Safratowich and Jeremy Larson moved up a weight class to make their first starts at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively. Yura Malamura also made his first start since the quarterfinals of the National Duals. Minnesota split the first four matches with the Hoosiers, with Indiana taking a 7-6 lead in the dual after a major decision at 197 pounds. It was the last victory the Hoosiers would get, however, as the Gophers proceeded to win the final six bouts of the night to run away with the dual meet victory. The dual started at 165 pounds, where Safratowich upset 16th-ranked Max Dean. Safratowich, who knocked off then-No. 2 Brian Stith of Arizona State in his last appearance on Jan. 2, provided similar results in this one with a 10-4 decision over Dean. Safratowich handled Dean throughout, scoring five takedowns in the match while preventing the IU wrestler from generating any offense. The Hoosiers won two of the next three bouts to take a 7-6 lead, with Trevor Perry winning a 12-7 decision over Jeremy Larson and Nathan Everhart shutting out Yura Malamura, 8-0. Sandwiched in between was Roger Kish's 23rd victory of the season, an 11-4 decision over No. 11 Marc Bennett. Kish took Bennett down and put him directly on his back late in the first period but time expired to prevent him from getting the fall. Kish expanded his lead from there, but Bennett avoided the major decision. Two matches later, senior heavyweight Cole Konrad put Minnesota ahead for good by making quick work of Maurice Gunn. Konrad took Gunn down just five seconds into the match and then went to work to earn his quickest fall of the season in 1:12. With the win, Konrad moved within six pins of the school record for his career and extended his school-record winning streak to 62 consecutive matches. The top of Minnesota's lineup followed with five straight wins to seal the victory for the Gophers. Fourth-ranked Jayson Ness won his sixth straight match over a ranked opponent with a 3-1 decision over No. 9 Angel Escobedo. A takedown with just under a minute remaining was all Ness would need to win his 11th straight match overall. In his first start of the season, Reiter faced a tough test from Indiana's Andrae Hernandez but battled his way to a 4-1 victory. After two scoreless periods, Reiter got an escape and a takedown in the third to secure the victory. Second-ranked Manuel Rivera followed with a dominating 25-10 victory over Scott Kelly at 141 pounds. Leading 9-2 after two periods, Rivera went looking for bonus points in the third. Clearly the superior wrestler, Rivera had his way with Kelly in the final stanza, scoring a total of eight takedowns in the period. His 25 points scored tied a career-high for a single match as he remained unbeaten at 30-0 on the season. The Schlatter brothers finished the night off with a pair of decisions at 149 and 157. Top-ranked Dustin Schlatter extended his winning streak to 55 consecutive matches with a 6-2 decision over No. 18 Matt Coughlin, and C.P. posted an identical score in his win over No. 7 Brandon Becker. The Gophers will now travel to Champaign, Ill., to face Illinois on Sunday at 1 p.m. The dual against the Illini could have major Big Ten regular season title implications, as both teams enter the meet undefeated in the conference.

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- Franklin & Marshall's wrestlers won five of the seven contested bouts to take a 34-20 win at Gettysburg College Friday evening. The Diplomats (6-4) seized control of the scoreboard early jumping out to a 17-0 lead over the first three weight classes. The Bullets fell to 2-10-1 with their eighth consecutive dual meet loss. Following Jake Bucha's forfeit win at 125 pounds, the Diplomats quickly picked up six more teams points on Austin Reed's (Red Hill, PA / Upper Perkiomen) first period pin of Richard Massola. Reed moved to 5-1 with his first pin of the season. Al Gianforti (Canandaigua, NY / Canandaigua Academy) then recorded a first period technical fall over Peter Menchaca to make it 17-0. The Bullets responded to the Diplomats run on the scoreboard with their two contested wins. Matt Shank got Gettysburg within a pair of pins, 17-5, running up 16 unanswered points on Steven Gregory at 149 pounds. Gettysburg got three more points out of Andrew Goldstein, who fended off Andrew Smith in the tightest bout of the evening. Trailing 5-3, late, Smith fired off three shots in the final 30 seconds, but was unable to earn a takedown. Goldstein's win was the ninth in as many bouts for the Bullets' sophomore. Gettysburg picked up forfeits at 184 and 285 to round out their 20 points. Justin Herbert (New Milford, PA / Blue Ridge) and James Schulz (Wyckoff, NJ / Ramapo) ensured the forfeits would not factor into the outcome. Herbert recorded a 72 second pin at 165 to move to 13-5 on the year. It was his third win by fall this season. Schulz repeatedly cut James Stevenson loose in recording four consecutive takedowns, and five total in the second period, to pick up a technical fall at 174. 197-pounder, Shawn Logue (Pearl River, NY / Pearl River) went to 6-4 on the year with his first pin Franklin & Marshall returns to action tomorrow at Princeton.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. –- The West Virginia University wrestling team pulled off a thrilling 18-16 upset of No. 25-rated Pitt on Friday, Feb 2, at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh, Pa. With his team trailing 16-15, junior heavyweight Dustin Rogers defeated No. 21-ranked Zach Schaffer in overtime to secure WVU's third dual victory of the season. The Corning, Calif., native trailed 3-2 in the bout with less than 20 seconds left in regulation. Rogers got the takedown he needed with 13 seconds remaining, but gave up an escape to send it into sudden victory. With just nine seconds remaining in the minute-long period Rogers scored another takedown on the edge of the mat to send his teammates home with their sixth consecutive dual victory in the Backyard Brawl. The Panthers (6-5, 1-2 EWL) jumped on the Mountaineers (3-3, 2-1 EWL) early with a major decision in the 125-pound bout and a decision at 133-pounds. The pair of losses put WVU in a difficult 7-0 hole. West Virginia fought back with a decision and major over the next two bouts to tie the score at seven apiece. Sophomore Brandon Rader won a hard fought match against a scrappy Joe Ciamploi in his bout, 8-6, to get WVU on the board. The Parkersburg, W.Va., native took an early 4-1 lead, but an escape and takedown by Ciampoli knotted the match at the end of the first period. Rader was able to hold on for his 15th win of the season though, as he tallied an escape and a takedown over the next two periods. He also earned a point for riding time. David Jauregui supplied a 19-7 major decision in the 149-bout against Mark Generalovich. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first the Santa Ana, Calif., took his opponent down five times in the second to build a daunting 12-5 lead. Three more takedowns in the third would seal the deal. Junior Mountaineer Zac Fryling lost the most heartbreaking bout of the evening as he fell to No. 8 Matt Kocher, 3-2, in overtime. Fryling scored the only offensive points of the match when he took Kocher down in the first period, but three escapes sprinkled over regulation and three overtime periods allowed Kocher to escape with the win. Pitt wrestlers Sean Richmond and No. 3-ranked Keith Gavin claimed wins in the next two bouts to build the Panthers lead to 16-7 heading into the 184-pound bout. In that match sophomore Chance Litton was able to slice into the Panther lead by winning a 3-0 decision over Kyle Deliere. The Parkersburg, W.Va., native has now won two consecutive EWL dual meet bouts. Junior 197-pounder Jared Villers plowed through Pitt's Mike Heist en route to a convincing 17-0 technical fall. The Akron, Ohio, native did so on three takedowns and four near falls. The win marked the second consecutive year that Villers has scored a tech versus Heist. The WVU win at 197-pounds set up an exciting heavyweight bout as WVU trailed by just one point in the team points in which Rogers was able to pull the upset. The Mountaineers return to action next Friday, Feb. 9, when they host Ohio in their last non-conference dual of the season. Wrestling at the WVU Coliseum gets underway at 8 p.m.

The ninth-ranked Wisconsin wrestling team topped the Purdue Boilermakers Friday night 27-12 in West Lafayette, Ind. The teams were tied at 12-12 after Wisconsin's Jake Donar (Cuba City, Wis.) fell to PU's Justin Fraga, however, the UW proceeded to win the final four matches. The victory improved Wisconsin to 17-1 on the season (3-1 Big Ten), while Purdue fell to 10-5 overall and 0-5 in league action. The match got underway at 125 lbs., where Brandon Tucker of Purdue defeated Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) 6-3. Tucker received points on two takedowns, an escape and riding time of over one minute to top Cudd. However, No. 14 Zach Tanelli (Milburn, N.J.) would answer back with a fall over Sean Schmaltz at 133 lbs. The match lasted less than one minute into the third period, when Tanelli took Schmaltz down, giving Wisconsin a 6-3 advantage. At 141 lbs., Wisconsin's No. 15 Kyle Ruschell defeated PU's Nick Bertucci 9-4. Early into the first period, Ruschell's takedown gave him a 2-0 advantage, however, less than a minute later Bertucci's reversal tied it up 2-2. A penalty at the end of the first period put Ruschell up 3-2. In the second, both grapplers earned two points each for reversals, putting Ruschell up by one, 5-4. In the final period, Ruschell earned three points on a nearfall and an additional point from a riding time of 2:23. Nevertheless, PU would not back down, earning a win at 149 lbs., as No. 12 Jake Patacsil upset No. 7 Tyler Turner (Spring Valley, Wis.) in the first period. The fall earned Purdue six points, evening the score 9-9. The win was Patacsil's second conference upset of the season. He recently topped then-No. 7 Matt Coughlin of Indiana. Patascil improves to 26-8 for the 2006-07 slate. Wisconsin's No. 6 Craig Henning (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) helped regain the lead after defeating PU's Jake Murphy 7-3 at 157 lbs. A tight match at 165 lbs. led to a 9-7 decision, with UW's Donar falling to PU's Fraga. Although Fraga's win tied the match up at 12-12, Wisconsin went on to win the final four matches of the evening. At 174 lbs., Mike Felling (Hutchinson, Minn.) faced Jason Martin of Purdue. The matched lasted the complete seven minutes, with Felling earning points on two takedowns, one reversal, one escape and riding time of 1:24. Felling won by decision 8-5. Badger Justin Peterson (Comstock, Wis.) went head-to-head with Boilermaker Nick Skinner at 184 lbs. All points were earned in the second and third periods, the most exciting action occurring near the end of the second when Peterson took Skinner down, eventually earning three points for a nearfall. The match ended in favor of Peterson 7-4. Wisconsin took a six point lead over Purdue, 18-12, with two matches remaining. Wisconsin's No. 12 Dallas Herbst (Winneconne, Wis.) faced foe No. 13 Nathan Moore at 197 lbs. It was a match that was expected to be tight, but Herbst managed to control most of the match, only allowing Moore points on two escapes. Herbst won by decision 7-2. At heavyweight, Wisconsin's Kyle Massey (Champlin, Minn.) put the final touches on the match, with a fall over PU's David Pisarcik, just 1:59 into the first period. UW wraps up its Big Ten road slate on Feb. 4 as it heads to Ann Arbor, Mich. to face No. 17 Michigan. Match time is set for 1 p.m. Livestats are available for the Sunday match on Michigan's Web site, www.mgoblue.com. Check uwbadgers.com for the latest updates and scores.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team got stellar performances from top to bottom tonight as it crushed Northwestern 25-8 in front of more than 3,000 Rec Hall fans. Penn State, ranked No. 12 nationally, won eight of ten bouts against No. 10 Northwestern, including key wins from co-captains James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.), Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.). The dual began at 125, where Nittany Lion junior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) took on Northwestern's Brandon Precin. McKnight, ranked No. 7 nationally, was all offense early on, getting off shot after shot in the period's first half. But Precin's defense kept the Lion junior from scoring. Precin did get hit with his first stall warning at the 1:10 mark. McKnight then locked onto Precin's left arm, threw him to the ground and got his takedown at the :45 mark to lead 2-1 after a Precin escape. McKnight chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 3-1 lead :25 seconds into the period. McKnight had another solid scoring opportunity, countering a Precin shot and nearly throwing the Wildcat freshman to the mat for a second takedown, but Precin fought off the move to keep the bout close heading into the third period. Precin chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to cut the McKnight lead to 3-2. Precin began to dictate the tempo and had a takedown of his own waved off at the 1:00 mark. But fresh off the reset, the Wildcat freshmen got the takedown to lead 4-3 with :45 left. He added two back points to up his lead to 6-3 and, with a riding time point, went on to post a stunning 7-3 upset win. The victory gave NU an early 3-0 lead and dropped McKnight to 17-4 overall. Precin improved his mark to 13-4. Sophomore Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 133, met Northwestern's Eric Metzler in the next bout. Strayer got on the board first, getting a takedown near the edge of the mat at the 1:36 mark to take an early 2-0 lead. The Nittany Lion sophomore put together a strong ride, throwing Metzler to the mat once and building up 1:34 in riding time and riding Metzler out. Up 2-0 with a big time advantage, Strayer chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 3-0 lead just :13 in. Metzler got in on Strayer's left leg and finished the move to get a takedown at the 1:10 mark, cutting the lead to 4-2 after a Strayer escape. Quick off the reset, Metzler nabbed Strayer's right ankle and had another scoring opportunity. But this time, Strayer fought the move off, forcing a stalemate and a reset with :30 left. Trailing 4-2 after two, Metzler chose neutral to begin the final period. Strayer quickly got in on Metzler's left ankle. After a bit of a scramble, Strayer completed the takedown on the edge of the mat to up his lead to 6-2. He continued to dominate the match from the top position and once again rode Metzler out, posting a 7-2 win that featured a 2:30 edge in riding time. The decision tied the dual meet at 3-3 and upped Strayer's record to 18-4. Metzler fell to 6-8. Senior Bryan Heller (Fair Haven, N.J.) took to the mat against NU's James Kohlberg at 141. Each wrestler started quickly, with Heller nearly completing a takedown only to be countered by Kohlberg who almost threw Heller to his back. But no points were earned and a reset ensued. Heller got on the board shortly thereafter with a takedown at the 1:30 mark. Heller broke Kohlberg down and began looking for an opportunity to turn the Wildcat sophomore. While not getting any back points, Heller did ride Kohlberg out to lead 2-0 after one period with a 1:31 edge in riding time. Heller chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 3-0 lead. Snapping into Kohlberg's lower legs off a reset, Heller posted a quick takedown at the :30 mark to move up 5-0. Heller once again rode Kohlberg out to lead 5-0 with 2:03 in time after two periods. Kohlberg chose down to begin the third and was allowed up by Heller to cut the lead to 5-1. Heller, who needed multiple takedowns for a major, got the first of the period at the 1:35 mark. He cut Kohlberg quickly and once again got in on the Wildcat's legs on the edge of the mat, getting another takedown to lead 9-3 with 1:15 left. With a riding time point guaranteed, Heller got his third takedown of the period at the :41 mark to move out to an 11-3 lead. This time, Heller tried to hold Kohlberg down to secure the major. But Kohlberg managed a reversal with just :01 left and stole the major. Still, Heller's 12-5 win gave Penn State a 6-3 lead. Heller improved to 15-7 and Kohlberg fell to 6-13. Red-shirt freshman Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), coming off being named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, met Vince Colletti of Northwestern at 149. Vallimont, newly ranked at No. 15 nationally, put together a dominating first period. Two takedowns in the first minute had Vallimont up 4-1 early. After the second takedown, Vallimont began looking for a pinning opportunity. Colletti did escape, but not before Vallimont built up a 1:05 time advantage. The Nittany Lion freshman continued to dominate the Wildcat sophomore, getting one more takedown and riding Colletti out to carry a 6-2 lead (with 1:44 in riding time) into the second period. Colletti chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 6-3 deficit. Vallimont's quickness once again paid off as he countered a Colletti shot off a reset, quickly moved around the Wildcat wrestler, and scored another takedown at the 1:00 mark. Cutting him loose and looking for bonus points, Vallimont added a fifth takedown with :40 left. He rode Colletti out and led 10-4 with 2:53 in time heading into the final period. Vallimont chose down to begin the final stanza and quickly escaped to an 11-4 lead. He added a sixth takedown with 1:35 left to lead 13-5 after cutting Colletti loose. Colletti tried a quick throw of Vallimont off a reset, but Vallimont easily countered to get a takedown of his own and lead 15-5 with under a minute to wrestle. Colletti gave up a stall point with his second warning and, with a major decision in hand, Vallimont spent the final seconds of the bout trying to turn Colletti. Another Colletti stall point, plus a riding time point, gave Vallimont a convincing 18-5 major decision. The win put Penn State up 10-3 and improved Vallimont to 15-7. Colletti fell to 7-11. At 157, true freshman Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) battled Wildcat Dominic Marella. Marella had the first solid scoring opportunity early but Jenkins fought off the move to keep things scoreless a minute into the bout. Jenkins then used his quickness to get in on Marella's thighs and complete a strong takedown at the 1:48 mark to lead 2-1 after a Marella escape. Jenkins added another takedown at the 1:00 mark to up his lead to 4-1. Working hard on top, Jenkins looked for an opening to get back points. But Marella managed to fight off the attempts and keep the dual close after one period. Leading 4-1 with over a minute's worth of riding time, Jenkins chose down to begin the middle stanza. The Lion true freshman quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. Marella shot at a crouching Jenkins, only to be countered and nearly thrown to his back by the Nittany Lion rookie. Jenkins got the takedown and built his lead up to 7-1. Marella escaped, but in the process got hit with an illegal hold and trailed 8-2. Marella was placed into down position after the illegal hold and escaped to cut the lead to 8-3. The Wildcat got his first takedown to cut the lead to 9-5 after a Jenkins escape. The bout entered the third period with Jenkins hold that lead and nearly two minutes worth of riding time. Marella chose down to begin the third and escaped to cut the lead to 9-6. But Jenkins would ice the bout with another takedown at the 1:02 mark, upping his lead to 11-6. This time, Jenkins would not allow Marella up and went on to post a convincing 12-6 (with riding time) decision. The win put Penn State up 13-3 and improved Jenkins' record to 17-7. Marella fell to 4-9. Another Nittany Lion true freshman, Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) met Northwestern's Greg Hagel at 165. Rella wrapped Hagel at the shoulders and finished the move to lead 2-0 at the 1:00 mark. But Rella would lock his hands in trying to fight off a Hagel reversal attempt and then give up the reversal to trail 3-2. Rella escaped quickly after righting himself and the match went to the second period tied 3-3. Hagel chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 4-3 lead. Hagel began to dictate the bout's tempo, getting two solid scoring opportunities in the second period. But the Nittany Lion freshman fought off the Wildcat juniors attempts each time and countered with his own scoring attempt at the :30 mark. But Hagel fought off the shot and forced a reset. Rella thrilled the Rec Hall crowd with a diving takedown with just :05 left to carry a 5-4 lead into the third period. Rella, now up by one, chose down to begin the final period and quickly escaped to a 6-4 lead. An energized Rella was now the aggressor. With 1:10 to wrestle, the true freshman countered a low Hagel shot and worked behind him to lead 8-5 after cutting the Wildcat loose. Countering another Hagel shot, Rella worked around behind him and got yet another takedown. One more takedown and Rella would post a convincing 12-7 decision. The win put Penn State up 16-3 and improved Rella's record to 19-8. Hagel fell to 4-8. Senior All-American James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) met Northwestern's Nick Hayes at 174 in one of three bouts featuring ranked wrestlers. Yonushonis entered ranked No. 7 while Hayes came in ranked No. 15. Yonushonis pressured Hayes to the edge of the mat throughout the first period, but found no openings in which to score. With :20 left, Hayes got in on Yonushonis' right leg and nearly got a go-ahead takedown, but the Nittany Lion senior did a nice job of tying Hayes up and running out the clock. Tied 0-0 after the first three minutes, Hayes chose down to start the second and escaped to a 1-0 lead after :20. Yonushonis had two solid scoring attempts early in the second, but the edge of the mat and a dangerous hold forced resets each time. Trailing by one, Yonushonis chose down to begin the final period and deftly escaped to tie the score at 1-1 with 1:50 left to wrestle. Yonushonis could not break through Hayes' outstanding defense until completing a single-leg with :20 left. With Hayes trying to work off the mat, Yonushonis pulled the ranked NU wrestler back into play and, with a quick trip, completed the takedown at the :12 mark. The 3-1 win thrilled the Penn State crowd and put the Nittany Lions up 19-3. Yonushonis moved to 25-3 with the win while Hagel fell to 10-6. At 184, Penn State senior Brian Cantalupi (Carlisle, Pa.) met the nation's top-ranked 184-pounder, Northwestern's Jake Herbert. Herbert put together an impressive first period. The undefeated NU grappler notched two takedowns in the first minute to build up a 4-2 lead and nearly a minute in riding time. Herbert added another takedown to lead 6-2 with 2:09 in riding time after three minutes of wrestling. Herbert chose down to begin the second period and reversed Cantalupi to up his lead to 8-2. The NU junior turned Cantalupi for two near fall points and cut him loose to lead 10-3 with 1:00 to wrestle in the second. Herbert added another takedown and carried a 12-3 lead into the final period with a riding time point clinched. Cantalupi chose down to start the final stanza and was allowed out. Herbert continued his strong offense, notching another takedown to up his lead to 14-5. The NU wrestler began working for technical fall, Herbert added two more takedowns (and picked up a penalty point to lead 19-7 with :45 left. Herbert then picked up another two points with a takedown at the :25 mark. A second Cantalupi stall put Herbert up 22-7 and gave him the TF at the 6:52 mark. The win cut Penn State's lead to 19-8 and improved Herbert to 15-0. Cantalupi fell to 7-7. One of the evening most anticipated bouts featured two of the nation's top three ranked wrestlers at 197. Penn State's Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 3, met Wildcat Mike Tamillow, ranked No. 2. Tamillow drew first blood with a strong takedown at the 2:05 mark. But Davis used the move to his advantage, reversing Tamillow to tie the score at 2-2 and nearly taking him to his back for near fall points. Davis dominated the Wildcat grapple on top, building up over a minute's worth of riding time while nearly completing two different cradles. Tamillow managed to fight off Davis' pinning efforts to send the hotly contested bout to the second period tied 2-2. Davis owned 1:33 in riding time. Tamillow chose neutral to begin the second period. Neither wrestler managed any real scoring chances until Davis countered a Tamillow shot to get his first takedown with :48 left in the second and lead 4-2. The two-time Penn State All-American put together another dominating ride, maintaining control until the period ended to lead 4-2 with 2:22 in riding time after two periods. Davis chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to a 5-2 lead. Tamillow got in on Davis' left ankle but Davis deftly fought off the move with a split, forcing a reset with 1:15 to wrestle. Tamillow once again got Davis' left leg and once again, Davis worked his way around the Wildcat wrestler. With :08 left, Davis completed the counter move and, with 2:16 in riding time, posted an outstanding 8-2 win over the second-ranked Tamillow. The win clinched the dual victory, putting Penn State up 22-8, and moved Davis to 19-1 on the year. Tamillow fell to 14-2. At heavyweight, two more ranked grapplers met as Penn State senior Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.) put his No. 13 ranking to the test against No. 4 Dustin Fox of Northwestern. Anspach, giving up nearly 30 pounds to Fox, was aggressive throughout the first period. Fox worked into Anspach's upper body and nearly took the Lion senior down. Action moved off the mat, where Anspach's head made serious contact with the wood floor of Rec Hall. After a short injury break, Anspach dove at Fox's feet and completed a thrilling takedown. With action moving off the mat, Fox was given an escape and Anspach led 2-1 with 1:10 left in the first period. Fox got in on Anspach's leg and looked for a go-ahead takedown on the edge of the mat. But Anspach countered the move, worked around Fox from behind and got his second takedown. A short ride-out later and Anspach led 4-1 after one. The Nittany Lion co-captain chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. Fox again nearly completed a takedown, but Anspach continued to frustrate the bigger wrestler with his quickness and athleticism, fighting off the move at the edge of the mat. Each wrestler had chances to score on the edge of the mat in the second period's final minute, but no scoring occurred. The fourth-ranked Fox, down 5-1, chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to cut Anspach's lead to 5-2. With 1:10 left, Fox once again go in on Anspach's legs, but the agile Lion heavyweight deftly kept himself from giving up a takedown and forced a reset with :45 left to wrestle. Anspach would go on to post a convincing 5-2 win over Fox and give Penn State a 25-8 win over NU. Anspach improved to 13-2 with the win while Fox fell to 9-2. Penn State won eight of the dual's ten bouts. Only two bouts featured bonus points, Vallimont's major at 149 and Herbert's tech fall at 184. Penn State won the battle of takedowns 29-13 as well. The Lions move to 11-5, 2-3 in the Big Ten. Northwestern fell to 10-6, 1-3. Penn State will close out its home slate on Sunday, Feb. 4, with a 12 p.m. dual against No. 6 Iowa. Single-match tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Penn State ticket office at 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 for more information. Fans can also get tickets at GoPSUsports.com. Single dual prices are $5 per event for adults and $3 per event for youth. The bout will also be shown live on WWCP-TV, Fox 8 as well as regionally on FSN-Pittsburgh.