InterMat Staff

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio State wrestling team upset No. 16 Indiana, 19-14, in front of a crowd of 786 Sunday in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes improve to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten Conference and handed the Hoosiers just their second loss on the season (10-2; 1-2 Big Ten). With a slim 9-8 lead after five bouts, the Scarlet and Gray recorded three consecutive wins, including a major decision, at 184, 197 and 285 pounds to take a 19-8 advantage. Third-ranked Mike Pucillo (Fr., Cuyahoga, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) began the string of victories at 184 pounds when he defeated 12th-ranked Marc Bennett, 18-6. Never trailing throughout the match, Pucillo took an early 7-3 advantage following the first period after scoring three takedowns and an escape compared to Bennett's reversal and escape. In the second session Pucillo increased his lead to 11-5, scoring a pair of takedowns and limiting Bennett to two escapes. In the final period, Pucillo was rewarded a point on a second IU warning and added to his two takedowns, escape and the riding time advantage, remained undefeated at 15-0. No. 7 J.D. Bergman (Jr., Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor) garnered win No. 16 when he beat Nate Everhart, 4-2. Up 2-0 going into the third period after scoring a takedown in the first session, Bergman, notched an escape at the 1:30 mark to take a 3-0 lead. Everhart then scored a takedown in the final nine seconds of the match to cut the deficit to, 3-2, but Bergman hung on, earning the riding time point for the final tally. With the Buckeyes up 16-8, Corey Morrison (So., Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights) helped Ohio State to a 19-8 margin after his last second takedown gave him a 9-7 victory over Josh Buuck. Down 5-2 heading into the third period, Morrison quickly tied the score on an escape four seconds into the session and followed with a takedown at 1:41. Buuck answered with an escape for the one-point lead (6-5) with 55 seconds remaining, but a takedown by Morrison at the 40 second mark signaled another lead change (7-6). It was with four seconds left in the match Buuck recorded an escape to tie the score at 7-all. It appeared the bout was going to overtime, but the last second effort by Morrison gave him the win. Ohio State jumped out to an early 6-0 lead courtesy of two decisions by J Jaggers (So., Northfield, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel) at 141 pounds and No. 16 Lance Palmer (Fr., Lakewood, Ohio/St. Edward) at 149 pounds. Jaggers too never trailed during his match, scoring a pair of takedowns in the first period, while Indiana's Scott Kelly recorded an escape. After a scoreless second period, Jaggers tallied an escape and earned the riding time point for the 6-1 win. Palmer overcame No. 12 Matt Coughlin, 5-3, after trailing, 3-1, going into the third session. An escape by Palmer with 1:49 remaining cut Coughlin's lead to 3-2 and following an injury timeout by IU, Palmer took a 4-3 lead on a takedown with 20 seconds left in the bout. Palmer then was awarded a point after Coughlin was called for his second warning of the match. No. 16 Chris Vondruska (Sr., Lakewood, Ohio/Hofstra) gave the Buckeyes their ninth point on the day when he defeated No. 14 Max Dean, 2-1, in overtime for his eighth-consecutive win. The first period was scoreless and only an escape by IU was recorded in the second period. Vondruska tied the bout at 1-1 in the third to force the match into overtime. After both wrestlers were held scoreless in both the one minute overtime session and the first 30 second overtime period, Vondruska notched an escape with 10 seconds left for the win. Buckeyes T.J. Enright (Jr., Galloway, Ohio/Westland) and Jason Johnstone (So., Massillon, Ohio/Perry) lost close decisions, with Enright losing in overtime to Andrae Hernandez and Johnstone dropping a 4-2 decision to seventh-ranked Brandon Becker. Hernandez scored a last second reversal in the second overtime period after he and Enright were tied up at 1-all. Becker was able to hold on for the win after Johnstone cut Becker's lead to 3-2 on a takedown at 1:08 in the third period. Eight seconds later Becker recorded an escape for the final 4-2 score. Ohio State returns to action at 7 p.m. Feb. 2 when it hosts No. 23 Michigan State in St. John Arena. Live web streaming of the match-up will be available on ohiostatebuckeyes.com. The meet also is OSU wrestling alumni night. Buckeye head coach Tom Ryan and a wrestling student-athlete will be available prior to the match for a chalk-talk session with alumni in the recruiting room of St. John Arena. Alumni then will be recognized at halftime. There also will be a post-match social for alumni at Wendell's restaurant on Lane Avenue (across from St. John Arena) at the conclusion of the event.

AMES, Iowa -- The last time the Iowa State wrestling team defeated Oklahoma State twice in one season Richard Nixon was President of the United States and Robert Parks was President of Iowa State University. The third-ranked Cyclone wrestling team continues to revisit milestones of its past excellence, as ISU beat No. 4 Oklahoma State for the second time this season, 21-12 Sunday in Hilton Coliseum. Kurt Backes (197), David Zabriskie (HWT) and Nick Fanthorpe (125) scored key victories as Iowa State beat OSU twice in a single season for the first time since the 1970-71 campaign. ISU improves to 9-3 overall and remains undefeated in Big 12 Conference duals with a mark of 3-0. Iowa State's defeat of the Cowboys and the Cyclones' 25-9 victory at National Duals Jan. 13 are the first back-to-back victories over OSU since ISU strung together three straight victories over Oklahoma State from 1980-1982. With the loss, the Cowboys' record is 11-4 this season with a 1-2 mark in conference action. "We don't want to have to adjust to opponents, we want teams to react to us," head wrestling coach Cael Sanderson said. "We are trying to stay consistent." Backes inched within one win of becoming the 32nd Cyclone to accumulate 100-career victories with a 5:07 stick of Jared Shelton at 197 pounds. Backes, ranked fifth nationally, picked up early back points with a three-point nearfall in the opening three minutes. He took a 7-1 lead into the second period and continued to work the Cowboy with a reversal and a takedown before pinning Shelton. "I came out confident to wrestle to the best of my ability and leave it all on the mat," Backes said. "With our new coaching staff, they tell us to push the pace in order to dominate the third period and today the pin was there." Backes' pin is the fourth of the season and the Neshanic Station, N.J., native pushes his record to 19-4 and his career record stands out 99-28. "We definitely needed the pin from Backes," coach Sanderson said. "He hustled and scrambled through situations and got a pin. That was one of the swing matches. He's done a great job being a leader for us." Zabriskie, a redshirt freshman, collided with another first-year wrestler, Jared Rosholt for the second time this season and came through with another 4-3 win over the Cowboy. As in their earlier meeting, the opening three minutes were scoreless and Rosholt put the first point on the board with an escape to begin the second period. Zabriskie answered with a takedown to take a 2-1 lead. During the final period the Branchville, N.J., native took a 3-1 advantage with an escape, but Rosholt responded with a takedown to even the bout at 3-3. Zabriskie, ranked 18th nationally, clinched the win with an escape at the 1:23 mark. He is now 18-6 overall and 9-2 in dual meets. "I stuck with the same plan that I had last time," Zabriskie said. "I worked on getting him tired and took a lot more shots. Beating two conference opponents in the last couple days has heightened my confidence and I'll continue to train hard and listen to whatever the coaches have to tell me." Fanthorpe avenged a National Duals loss to Tyler Shinn with a 4-1 decision at 125 pounds. The match remained scoreless until the second period when Shinn escaped, but Fanthorpe quickly took down the Cowboy to take a 2-1 lead into the final period. An escape in the third was all that the Naperville, Ill., native needed to seal the victory. Fanthorpe, who is ranked 10th nationally, is now 20-7 in his first season as a Cyclone and holds a 3-0 record in conference duals. "Shinn is tough Big 12 competition," Fanthorpe said. "It will always be a tough match, but I came out more prepared with concentration on my offensive fundamentals. There's a lot of the season left and I don't think I'm peaking right now, but the team is progressing and is right on track for March." Jake Varner, Cyler Sanderson and Trent Paulson also provided Iowa State with wins. The fifth-ranked Varner scored the Cyclones' first win Sunday, at 184-pounds, by scoring an 8-4 decision over Jack Jensen. The win is his fourth straight and he now carries a 21-4 record. Iowa State held a 15-12 lead when Sanderson scored a 4-3 decision over B.J. Jackson at 149 pounds. Sanderson's record is now 21-8. Trent Paulson, 18-4 on the year, closed out the dual by defeating Newly McSpadden, 11-5. The Iowa State wrestling team will conclude the 2007 home schedule Feb. 9 when the Cyclones will play host to Rider at 7 p.m.

CORVALLIS, Ore. –- A pinfall, two major decisions and three shutouts led to a big overall victory by the Oregon State wrestling team, as the No. 19 Beavers defeated Boise State 32-6 in a Pacific-10 Conference dual on Sunday afternoon at Gill Coliseum. OSU's Travis Gardner clinched the victory with his pin at 197 pounds, while Ty Watterson won a bout between two nationally ranked heavyweights. Watterson, Bobby Pfennigs and Eric Stevenson each won their matches without surrending a point, and two other Beavers only gave up one point. The Beavers (13-1 overall, 5-0 Pac-10), who beat Arizona State 31-10 on Friday, stretched their home winning streak to 11 meets over the past two seasons. OSU defeated Boise State (8-3, 4-2) for the third straight time and leads the all-time series 25-8. "It was another big win," OSU Coach Jim Zalesky said. "Arizona State and Boise State have been the Pac-10 champions the last number of years so it's good for our team to have that mental edge going into the Pac-10 Championships. Guys wrestled hard today. Even though we won some lopsided matches there were a couple of matches where we still have to work on some things. We've got to continue to work because there are some harder matches down the road." The Beavers won the first three matches, starting with Pfennigs' 13-0 whitewashing of BSU's Levi Jones for a major decision at 133. Pfennigs had a three-point near fall and a two-point near fall in the first period to go up 7-0 after the first break, then added another two-point near fall in the second period. After Boise State forfeited at 141, Derek Kipperberg gave the Beavers another major decision, 11-1 over BSU's Cam Jones at 149. Kipperberg built a 10-0 lead and had a three-point near fall in the first period. After three matches, OSU had built a 14-0 lead. The Broncos rallied to win the next two matches via decision (their only two victories of the day), closing the overall margin to 14-6. BSU's Tyler Sherfey (ranked No. 15 nationally by the NWCA) used a defensive style to edge Keegan Davis at 157 by a score of 3-0. With a 1-0 lead, Sherfey countered a takedown attempt by Davis midway through the second period and got one of his own. At 165, the Broncos' Jonathan Nunez scored a takedown with 20 seconds remaining in the third period to edge OSU's Brett Arand, 7-5. OSU's Jeremy Larson (ranked No. 18 nationally by the NWCA) put the Beavers back in the win column with a 5-1 decision over BSU's Nate Lee at 174. Larson scored takedowns with eight seconds remaining in the first period and four seconds left in the third period. While Boise State had earlier won a match decided in the final minute, the Beavers got one back at 184. OSU's Kyle Bressler and BSU's Luke Smith were tied 2-2 heading into the final period. Smith got an early escape to take a one-point lead and he looked like he might hold on for the victory, but Bressler was awarded a takedown with six seconds left at the edge of the circle. Boise State's coaches were upset at the official's decision and were cautioned, but Bressler earned a hard-fought 4-3 win. Gardner wasted no time in his pinfall victory over Ryan Allen at 197 pounds. He scored a takedown just 24 seconds in, then had a pair of three-point near falls before ending the match just 2:36 into the first period. Gardner's victory gave the Beavers an insurmountable overall lead of 26-6 with two matches remaining. "(Gardner) took it to him," Zalesky said. "He's wrestling with a lot of confidence. He's probably our most improved guy throughout the year." The heavyweight match was highly anticipated, with Watterson (ranked No. 15 nationally by the NWCA) squaring off against Boise State's Andy Patrick (ranked No. 7 nationally by the NWCA). Watterson earned a 1-0 victory in a battle of two immovable objects. After no scoring in the first period, Watterson started down in the second period and quickly escaped. He kept his 1-0 lead heading into the third and final period. Instead of choosing the down position and trying for an escape, Patrick chose the neutral position. That strategy didn't pay off, as no additional points were scored in the final two minutes. The final match of the day was at 125, and OSU's Eric Stevenson blanked BSU's Cory Fish 6-0. Stevenson picked up takedowns in the first and second periods and also earned points on a second stall warning and riding time. The Beavers will look to continue their success during next weekend's road trip, which takes them to UC Davis on Friday (Feb. 2) and Cal Poly on Sunday (Feb. 4).

KENT, Ohio -- In an exciting dual meet that came down to the final bout of the afternoon, Pitt (5-4, 1-1 EWL) defeated No. 21 Kent State (13-1, 2-0 MAC), 16-15. In the heavyweight bout, sophomore Zach Sheaffer came through for the team to pick up their sixth dual win of the season. The Panthers picked up bonus points at 165 pounds with a major decision and won five of the 10 matches. At 125 pounds, Pitt's Brad Gentzle (Easton, Pa./Easton) took on No. 19 Chad Sportelli. Gentzle was the first to score, earning two on a takedown in the first period. Sportelli came back with an escape. Another escape by Sportelli in the second period tied it up heading into the third. Gentzle earned a point for riding time, giving him the 3-2 decision. Pitt took a three-point lead. Next up was 133 pounds as Pitt's No. 13 Drew Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) faced Danny Mitcheff. The two went head-to-head earlier this year at the Southern Scuffle where Headlee picked up a 9-0 major decision. The two wrestlers were scoreless in the first period. Headlee scored on an escape in the second to take the lead. Mitcheff scored two on a takedown, and Headlee tied it up with another escape. As the third period was scoreless, the bout went into overtime. Mitcheff scored on a reversal to take the lead, but Headlee came back immediately with a reversal to tie it up. An escape by Mitcheff won the bout, 5-4, tying up the team score at three. Pitt's Joe Ciampoli (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) went up against Kent State's Drew Lashaway at 141 pounds. Lashaway was the first to score, getting an escape in the first. Ciampoli came back with an escape to make the score 2-1 at the end of the first. Ciampoli tied it up at two with an escape in the second. Lashaway took the lead again with an escape in the final period. Another takedown was enough to give Lashaway the 5-3 decision. The Golden Flashes moved into the lead, 6-3. At 149 pounds, Mark Generalovich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) wrestled Kent State's Jason McGee. In the first period, McGee took a quick lead, scoring two on a takedown. Generalovich had an escape, but McGee scored on another takedown for the 4-1 lead heading into the second period. The two were scoreless in the second. In the final period, McGee scored on a reversal and a takedown while Generalovich had two escapes. McGee went on to win the bout, 9-3. Kent State moved to a 9-3 lead. Pitt's No. 8 Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) faced Kent State's Kurt Gross at 157 pounds. Kocher was the first to score, earning two on a takedown. Gross came back with an escape to make the score 2-1 at the end of the first. In the second period, Kocher had two escapes and Gross had a takedown. As Kocher held a 4-3 lead entering the final period, Gross scored early on an escape to tie it up at four. Kocher had a takedown, giving him the 6-4 win and putting the Panthers back on the board. Kent state now held a three-point lead, 9-6. Next up was Pitt's Sean Richmond (Emmaus, Pa./Easton) against Kent State's Sli Bostelman at 165 pounds. The two went head-to-head at the Southern Scuffle in December where Richmond won an 11-8 decision. Richmond had three takedowns in the first period for a 6-2 lead. Two more takedowns in the second period increased Richmond's lead, 10-3. Richmond picked up three more points in the final period for the 13-5 major decision. Pitt moved into the lead, 10-9. At 174 pounds, Pitt's No. 3 Keith Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) wrestled Kent State's Aaron Miller. Gavin was the first to score, earning two on a takedown. He went on to earn two more on a near fall, giving him the 4-0 lead at the end of the first period. In the second period, Miller had an escape to get on the board, but Gavin maintained a 4-1 lead. Gavin had a reversal and a takedown in the final period for the 9-3 decision. Pitt continued to stay in the lead, 13-9. The next bout was between Pitt's Kyle Deliere (Cecil, Pa./Canon-McMillan) and Kent State's No. 20 Eric Chine. In the first period, Chine scored on a late takedown for the two-point lead. Deliere had an escape in the second to get on the board though Chine kept the lead, 2-1. In the final period, Chine scored three for the 5-3 decision. Pitt held onto a one-point lead, 13-12. At 197 pounds, Pitt's Eric Cassidy (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) took on Kent State's No. 20 Ardian Ramadani. The two wrestlers were scoreless in the first period. Cassidy had two escapes in the second, and Ramadani had a takedown tying the score at two heading into the final period. In the third, Ramadani had a takedown for the 5-3 decision. Kent State moved back into the lead, 15-13. In the final bout of the day, Pitt's Sheaffer (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) faced Kent State's No. 19 Jermail Porter. The two have faced off twice this season Porter winning both contests. In the first period, the two wrestlers were scoreless. Sheaffer scored on an escape in the second to take a one-point lead heading into the final period. Sheaffer went on to earn a point for riding time to win a 2-0 decision over Porter. Next up for the Panthers is their final home meet of the season when they host EWL rival West Virginia on Friday, Feb. 2. The Backyard Brawl is scheduled for 7 p.m., in the Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt will then have three dual meets on the road to conclude their regular season.

The top-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team improved to 14-1 on the season and 3-0 in the Big Ten with a convincing 32-9 victory over Purdue on Sunday at the Sports Pavilion. Minnesota won seven of 10 matches on the day, earning bonus points in six, to hand the Boilermakers their fourth straight loss. From the first match of the day, the Boilers set out to prove they would not be intimidated, as they wrestled a very aggressive style and continuously attempted to fire shots despite being out-matched. Fourth-ranked Jayson Ness quickly proved the strategy would not be effective, earning a 14-5 major decision over Brandon Tucker at 125. Tucker attacked Ness early in the first period, but Ness countered and scored a takedown just 19 seconds in and built a 5-1 lead at the end of the first period. Tucker came out firing again in the second and scored a takedown and back points in the first 30 seconds. His success was short-lived, however, as Ness turned it around in the third with a takedown midway through and a three-point near fall as time expired. He added the bonus point with over three minutes of riding time. With his major today, Ness has now earned bonus points in eight of his last 10 matches. Purdue got three points back with a victory from Sean Schmaltz over Mike Thorn at 133, but it was close as the Boilermakers would get for the remainder of the dual, as Minnesota's 1-2-3 punch of Manuel Rivera and the Schlatter brothers gave the Gophers a 15-3 advantage before intermission. Rivera improved to 29-0 on the season with a 13-4 major decision over Nick Bertucci at 141. Leading 4-1 after the second, Rivera took aim at bonus points in the third, scoring an escape 10 seconds in and immediately allowing Bertucci to escape. He used the same method three more times in succession to build his lead to 12-4 and earned the bonus point with 2:41 of riding time. In the only match of the day featuring two-ranked opponents, top-ranked Dustin Schlatter won a close 3-2 decision over No. 11 Jake Patacsil at 149. Patacsil battled Schlatter throughout the first, a period which saw both wrestlers countering each other's attempts. Schlatter got on the board when Patacsil was issued his second stall warning with 30 seconds remaining in the second and added a takedown late in the period to take a 3-0 lead. Patacsil got a couple points back in the third on a stall warning on Schlatter and for the riding time advantage, but Schlatter prevented him from generating any offense to win his 54th consecutive match. C.P. Schlatter, ranked No. 3 in the country, continued his impressive streak since returning from a knee injury by downing Purdue's Jake Murphy, 14-3. Schlatter went after Murphy immediately, scoring a takedown just seven seconds and adding another takedown and back points later in the period. He built his lead from there with a number of impressive takedowns in the second and third, the last with just four seconds remaining, to earn the major decision. Purdue won its second match of the day at 165, with Justin Fraga defeating No. 20 Jeremy Larson, 13-8, but the Gophers finished off the Boilermakers with a pair of exciting victories in the next two bouts. No. 12 Gabriel Dretsch overcame an early deficit to pin Jason Martin with a lightning quick maneuver near the end of the first period. Trailing 4-3 after a Martin reversal, Dretsch got an escape with 15 seconds left in the first, quickly spun around and used a body lock to take the Purdue wrestler down and immediately put him on his back to earn the fall at the 2:52 mark. Second-ranked Roger Kish followed by providing the most entertaining match of the night with a 23-8 tech fall over Nick Skinner. Kish wasted no time in attacking Skinner, scoring the bout's first points with a takedown just two seconds into the match. He built his lead to 8-4 entering the third period and provided the 3,487 in attendance at the Pavilion with plenty to cheer about in the final two minutes. After starting down to begin the third, Kish got the escape and immediately went after Skinner, scoring a takedown and three-point near fall to quickly extend his lead to 14-4. He then used a series of four takedowns and got the bonus point for riding time advantage to earn the tech fall. Kish's 23 points scored in the bout tied a career-high for a single match. The Boilermakers got their final victory from No. 14 Nathan Moore, who defeated Brent Eidenschink, 5-1, at 197. Eidenschink, a true freshman from Detroit Lakes, Minn., has faced a ranked opponent in five of his first six matches since earning a starting spot prior to the National Duals. Purdue forfeited at heavyweight to make the final score 32-9. With the victory, senior Cole Konrad extended his school-record winning streak to 61 consecutive matches, currently the second-longest active streak in the nation. The Gophers will hit the road next weekend to face a pair of ranked Big Ten opponents. Minnesota will meet the Indiana Hoosiers on Friday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m., in Bloomington and stop in Champaign, Ill., on Sunday, Feb. 4 to take on Illinois at 1 p.m.

University Park, Pa. -- The 11th-ranked Fighting Illini wrestling squad fought off Penn State, 18-16, to keep their perfect season alive. Illinois fell behind 10-0 after the first two matches and had to claw their way back to win the dual. Freshman John Dergo's big win at 184-pounds was the difference in the afternoon. Illinois is now a perfect 7-0 against Penn St. in head coach Mark Johnson's 15-year career. The dual started at 197 and saw #20 Patrick Bond fall to #3 Philip Davis in 4:02. With no scoring in the first period, Davis started on the down position and scored a reversal and got the Illini redshirt-freshman on his back. The pin was called a few seconds later and Penn St. took a 6-0 lead in the dual. The Nittany Lions went ahead 10-0 when HWT #12 Aaron Anspach took a major decision against John Wise, 15-6. After dropping the first two matches, Illinois won three in-a-row to climb back in the dual. At 125, #8 Gabe Flores upset #5 Mark McKnight, 6-1, to get the Illini on the board. The two grapplers spent most of the first period on the mat without recording any takedowns. McKnight opened the second with an escape, but Flores (Madera, Calif.) closed the period with a takedown to take a 2-1 lead. Flores extended his lead in the third with an escape and then added another takedown for good measure. At 133, #9 Jimmy Kennedy upset #8 Jake Strayer, 4-3. Kennedy (Ingleside, Ill.) opened the first period with a takedown but Strayer escaped to close the period. Strayer tied the match in the second on an escape and then took the lead on a penalty point. With 20 seconds left in the third, Kennedy scored a reversal to take the match and get the Illini three more points. The Illini now trailed, 10-6. At 141, #12 Cassio Pero won a decision against Bryan Heller, 5-2. Heller took the lead in the first on a takedown but Pero (Chicago Heights, Ill.) quickly escaped. In the second period, Pero tied the match on an escape and then scored a takedown to take the lead. Pero rode Heller for the entire third period and got the Illini to within one in the dual, 10-9. At 149, #10 Troy Tirapelle fell to Dan Vallimont, 9-3, and Penn St. extended their lead to 13-9. At 157, top-ranked Mike Poeta defeated Bubba Jenkins, 5-2, and got the Illini within a point of the Lions, 13-12. Poeta (Highwood, Ill.) took the early lead on a takedown to start the first, but Jenkins escaped seconds later. With Poeta leading 3-1 in the third, Jenkins narrowed the lead on an escape but Poeta took him down to seal the match. At 165, #13 Roger Smith-Bergsrud won a decision over Dave Rella, 8-5. Smith-Bergsrud (Lake Bluff, Ill.) took the early lead on a takedown in the first period, but Rella countered with an escape. In the second, Smith-Bergsrud extended his lead to 5-1 with an escape and a takedown, but Rella closed the gap on an escape of his own. Rella picked up another escape point to start the third, but Smith-Bergsrud planted the freshman on a takedown. In the third, Rella picked up three quick points on an escape and a takedown, but it wasn't enough as Smith-Bergsrud took the match and the Illini took a 15-13 lead in the dual. Illinois fell behind, 16-15, after the 174 match, but John Dergo took a decision against Mike Ward, 4-1, to give the Illini a come-from-behind victory. After a scoreless first period, Dergo (Morris, Ill.) took the lead in the second period on an escape and a takedown. In the third, Ward scored on an escape, but Dergo fought the freshman off to seal the Illini victory and pick up his first Big Ten dual win. "The team needed a win and I'm glad I helped them get it," said Dergo. "The win was also a relief. After getting my first Big Ten win, I can use it to go forward from here." "The freshmen were incredible today," said head coach Mark Johnson. "To come in and upset a top guy at home shows how tough Jimmy is. Then, for the dual to come down to the last match with 3,000 fans rooting against you, Dergo let everyone know what he's made of." The Illini continue Big Ten action at home on Sunday, Feb. 4, when they host top-ranked Minnesota at Huff Hall. Mat time is set to begin at 1p.m. Fans can watch the action live on fightingillini.com. Local radio station WDWS AM-1400 will tape-delay the dual to air after the women's basketball game.

Stanford, Calif. -- The Stanford wrestling team posted a 29-14 win today in an exhibition match with Menlo College. Competing without two starters, the Cardinal won six of ten bouts to claim victory at the Ford Center. Stanford earned bonus points in five matches, and Tanner Gardner and Zack Giesen recorded pins for the second-straight week. Due to the absence of an official, the dual was scored only as an exhibition. Wrestling at 125 pounds, Gardner gave the Cardinal an early advantage, with a win by fall over Menlo's Gabriel Rodriguez in 2:27. The Oaks pulled back into a tie, however, with decisions at 133 pounds and 141 pounds. At 149 pounds, Cardinal sophomore Tyler Parker dominated the Oaks' Thomas Hammontree and picked up a 16-0 technical fall. The Oaks responded quickly, however, scoring a technical fall of their own at 157 pounds to bring the team score into another tie. Senior Brian Perry won a battle with Stephen Towne at 165 pounds and came out with a 9-1 major decision. Perry's win gave the Cardinal a 15-11 lead, and the squad never looked back. Luke Feist racked up 21 points and collected a win by technical fall over Jon Sanchez at 174 pounds. Giesen followed with another decisive win, pinning Mariano Sanchez in 4:31 to seal the team win. Fellow freshman Jake Johnson, wrestling his first match at 197 pounds, continued the run and picked up a 5-3 decision over the Oaks' Mike Jeffery. Stanford dropped the heavyweight match, and finished with a 29-14 team victory. The Cardinal returns to action next Friday, Feb. 2, hosting a pair of competitive Pac-10 duals. Stanford will take on Oregon at 5 p.m. and square off with Cal Poly at 7 p.m. Both matches will be held in Burnham Pavilion.

DURHAM, N.C. -- The Maryland wrestling team improved to 14-5 and 4-0 in the ACC with a 27-13 win at Duke in their second conference match of the day on January 27. Earlier, the Terrapins beat NC State in thrilling fashion, 21-18, when sophomore James Knox pinned his opponent in overtime in the last match at 125 pounds. Maryland's 14 wins in dual action is the most for the team since 1995 when the Terps finished the season 14-3. The Terps won the last four matches in impressive fashion against Duke to take the win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils built a 13-3 lead halfway through the match with Maryland's only win coming at 157 pounds. Sophomore Mike McGill won by decision 5-2. Freshman Mike Letts started the comeback with a dominating performance at 174 as he beat Matthew Koelling, 16-0, in five minutes to cut the deficit to 13-8. Sophomore Josh Haines and redshirt freshman Hudson Taylor came up with back-to-back pins in their respective matches to give the Terps the lead and the momentum at 20-13. Haines took care of his opponent in 50 seconds while Taylor got his fall at 3:52. Senior Jerry Afari sealed the win for Maryland with a 15-4 major decision against Mike Tunick. Knox closed out the day with a decision at 125 to give the Terps the 27-13 win. In the first match of the day at NC State, Knox pinned Taylor Cummings in overtime in the final match of the day at 125 pounds to give the Maryland wrestling team a thrilling 21-18 win at NC State. With the Terps trailing 18-15 after nine matches, Knox couldn't have gotten his second pin of the season at a better time. He recorded his fall at 7:31 to win the crucial conference match for Maryland. Maryland is back in action on Friday, February 9 when it makes the short trip to American for a 7:00 p.m. match.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Thanks to a major decision by Eric Hoffman and a techincal fall from Eric Sanders in the first two bouts, North Dakota State (5-3, 2-1 WWC) never lost the lead in a 24-15 victory over Air Force (2-9, 0-1 WWC) in a Western Wrestling Conference dual on Saturday, January 27, at the USAFA Cadet Gymansium. Following the wins of Hoffman and Sanders, Gabe Mooney extended the early NDSU lead to 12-0 after defeating 2006 NCAA qualifier Jake Kriegbaum 6-3 in the 141-pound dual. Air Force got on the board in the next match after Bridger Lord beat Ryan Adams 5-4 at 149 pounds. Adam Aho remained undefeated in WWC matches, defeating Zach Lord 12-10 at 157 pounds. Aho avenged a loss from last season when these two teams squared off. Lord beat Aho 10-6 last January in Fargo. Mike Quamme also stays undefeated in WWC action, improving his conference record to 3-0 with a 7-6 decision over Tony Dorward in the 165-pound bout. Matt Hermann continued the Bison winning trend with a 14-9 decision over Stephen Crozier at 174 pounds. With the victory, Hermann is now just two wins shy of 75 for his career. After a Bison forfeit at 184 pounds, NDSU's Jacob Bryce picked up his 10th win of the season, defeating Jordan Tribble in the 197-pound bout 9-5. The Bison return to the mat on Thursday, February 1, against Eastern Illinois at the Bison Sports Arena. Match time is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

EDINBORO, PA –- The Edinboro University wrestling team picked up its second straight PSAC Championship, and eighth in ten years, and for the second year in a row did it in dominating fashion. The Fighting Scots finished with 147.5 points to easily outdistance second-place Bloomsburg, who had 119 points. The Huskies hosted the event at Nelson Field House. It is Edinboro's 11th PSAC title in wrestling. Lock Haven finished third with 111.5 points, followed by Clarion with 79 points in fourth place. East Stroudsburg was fifth (57 points), with Millersville next with 44.5 points. Kutztown (43.5 points) and Shippensburg (23 points) rounded out the field. All ten Edinboro grapplers earned All-PSAC honors. A year ago the Fighting Scots had nine wrestlers reach the finals. This time it was eight, with five winning titles. And that didn't include Gregor Gillespie, who would have been the prohibitive favorite at 149 lbs. if he had not missed the tournament due to illness. Edinboro had three wrestlers finish second, and the other two Scots in the lineup captured third place. Most notable among Edinboro's five winners was Alex Clemsen, who won the 184 lb. championship. The senior won by major decision over Tom Kocher of Lock Haven, 14-4, to become just the 14th wrestler in PSAC history to win four PSAC championships. He previously won the crown at 184 lbs. in 2003, 2004, and 2006. Deonte Penn won his second straight PSAC crown at 165 lbs., and for the second straight year he dominated the field. He won his first match by major decision, then finished with falls in the semifinals and finals. He won by fall at 2:23 over Bloomsburg's Rickey Schmelyun in the finals. A year ago he won all three of his matches by fall. Three other Fighting Scots picked up their first PSAC titles. Ricky Deubel, who finished second at 125 lbs. last season, was the winner at 133 lbs. thanks to a 3-1 decision over Joe Kemmerer of Kutztown. At 174 lbs., Phil Moricone, in his first PSAC's appearance, captured an 8-2 decision over Bloomsburg's Andrew Jordan in the finals. The same was true at 197 lbs., as Jim Gibson came away with a 3-2 decision over Lock Haven's Jeremie Cook. In one of the two most anticipated bouts of the tournament, Seth Martin of Lock Haven, ranked ninth by InterMat, defeated Matt Hill, ranked 11th, by a 5-1 decision, in the 157 lb. final. The two had split earlier matches. Martin defeated Hill, 9-2, in last year's title match. Two ranked wrestlers also met at heavyweight, with Mike Spaid of Bloomsburg winning by major decision over Joe Fendone, 9-0. Spaid came in ranked 11th by InterMat, while Fendone was 20th according to Amateur Wrestling News. A year ago Fendone was the champions at 197 lbs. Freshman Daryl Cocozzo also finished second, dropping a 4-1 decision to Darren Kern of Bloomsburg in the 141 lb. title match. Fellow freshman Eric Morrill turned in a solid showing at 125 lbs., where nationally-ranked Mike Sees of Bloomsburg and Lock Haven's Obenson Blanc also reside. Sees defeated Blanc, 10-5, in the championship match and was named the Tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. Morrill lost by major decision to Blanc in the semifinals, but came back to win by fall over Toby Seger of Clarion in the third place match, Just a week earlier Seger had pinned Morrill in the dual between the two teams. Finally, after losing out to Cocozzo in a wrestleoff on Monday for the 141 lb. starting job, Joel Webster filled in for Gillespie at 149 lbs. and came away with a third place finish. He lost his first match, but then came back to win twice, the last a 5-4 decision over Lock Haven's Donnie Ament. Here's a look at the complete results for the Fighting Scots, with updated record in parenthesis. Rankings are InterMat/Amateur Wrestling News:

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -– The Lock Haven University wrestling team (6-3, 1-1 EWL) finished third at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships. The Bald Eagles had one individual champion and three Haven grapplers earned runner-up honors. No. 8 Edinboro University took home the team title followed by Bloomsburg University. No. 9 senior Seth Martin (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) won his second straight individual PSAC title at 157 pounds topping rival Matt Hill of Edinboro 5-1 in the championship match after cruising into the finals. He started things off by pinning Kutztown University's David Zeek 1:03 into the second period and followed that up with a 14-2 major decision victory over Jarrett Hostetter of Millersville University. No. 7 junior Obenson Blanc (Naples, Fla./Lely) took second at 125, falling to Bloomsburg's Mike Sees in the finals, 10-5. Blanc reached the finals after beating East Stroudsburg University's Stephen Gambino and Eric Morrill of Edinboro. Blanc earned the major decision victory over both with identical 15-4 scores. Freshman Tom Kocher (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) also took second after falling to Alex Clemson of Edinboro 14-4 in the finals. Kocher got to the 184 pound finals with just one win, but it was big one for the rookie, as he pinned David Williams of East Stroudsburg just 29 seconds into the third period Joining Blanc and Kocher with second place finishes was freshman Jeremie Cook (Venice, Fla.Venice) who took second at 197. Cook fell in the finals 3-2 to Edinboro's Jim Gibson. Like Kocher, Cook also got to the finals with just one win, a 10-6 victory over Keith McDonald of Millersville. Landis Wright (Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle) continued to enjoy a successful rookie season, as the freshman took third at 165. Wright kicked things off with an 11-3 major decision over KU's Sonny Flood. Wright followed that up with a loss in the second round with an 8-2 victory. In the third-place match he topped Josh Evans of Millersville 12-5, good enough for the major decision. Senior Michael Metzger (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin) joined Wright as a third place finisher. Metzger dropped his first match of the tournament, but followed it up with two straight wins, which earned him third-place honors at 174. He topped Clarion's Scott Joseph 9-4 and Millersville's Jeremy Brooks 11-2. Sophomore Ben Hepburn (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock) was one of three Bald Eagles to place fourth. He took fourth at 285 after falling to Clarion's A.J. Brooks, 6-2 in the championship bout. Hepburn got to the finals after starting his tournament with a 6-3 win over Kutztown's Rich Dalmas and followed that up with a 2-0 win over Charles Deighton of East Stroudsburg. Zach Kell (Ickesburg, Pa./West Perry) placed fourth for the Haven. The 141-pound freshman opened the tournament with a loss, but bounced back with a 6-4 win over Sean Carr of ESU. Kell then fell to Clarion University's Greg Lewis 10-3 in the third-place match. Along with Kell, freshman Donnie Ament (Acme, Pa./Mount Pleasant) also placed fourth. Wrestling at 149 pounds, Ament started the tournament with a loss, but rebounded by defeating Kutztown's Chris Chambers 6-2. Ament then lost in the third-place match 5-4 to Joel Webster of Edinboro. Freshman Nick Hyatt (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) placed for the Bald Eagles after finishing in sixth place at 133. He started his tournament with a 13-4 major decision win. Hyatt then fell to East Stroudsburg's John Stout 2-0 and Bloomsburg's Ricky Donald 8-0.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. –- Sophomore Matt Pletcher (Eastampton, N.J.) and freshman Chris Norrell (Phillipsburg, N.J.) went undefeated to lead the Rutgers wrestling team to a 3-0 record as it hosted Boston University, Delaware State and New York University on Saturday at the College Avenue Gym. "I'm really proud of our kids," said head coach John Sacchi. "They wrestled really well. We had a lot of intensity and really got after it. This is what we've been shooting for and hopefully we are now seeing, and will continue to see, the benefits of our hard work." Pletcher recorded three-consecutive decisions at 165 pounds to go 3-0 on the day, while Norrell posted two pins and had one decision win, also finishing with an unblemished 3-0 mark. Ryan Jablonski (Norristown, Pa.), Jack Barrett (Metuchen, N.J.), and Mike D'Amico (Kenilworth, N.J.) all went 3-0, winning two matches and being awarded a forfeit during the day. Lamar Brown (Red Bank, N.J.) went 2-0 on the day, as did freshman Keith Dobish (Lodi, N.J.), who returned to the mat for the first time since Jan. 9, due to an injury. In the opening match, the Scarlet Knights (8-3, 4-2 EIWA) defeated Boston University, 39-9. Senior Jablonskigot RU out to an early 3-0 lead with a 7-0 decision win over Abbie Rush. After BU won the next two bouts, Barrett won an exciting 10-8 overtime match, scoring a takedown 20 seconds into the first extra period. Norrell recorded a pin at 157 pounds at the 6:01 mark, while Pletcher won an 8-2 decision at 165 pounds. Mike Whalen (Lake Hiawatha, N.J.) won a 7-2 decision in the next bout, while at 184 pounds, Dobish pinned Boston University's Eli Vidal at the 3:49 mark. Following a 10-6 decision win by Brown at the 197-pound bout, D'Amico recorded a pin over Orey Hall 3:16 into the match. Rutgers won a 43-3 dual over Delaware State in the second round, including four forfeits by the Hornets. Barrett recorded a pin at 149 pounds, while Norrell and Pletcher each won by decision. At the 194-pound bout, Mike Elshamy (Brick, N.J.) won a 7-2 decision, followed by a major at 197 pounds by Karim Mahmoud (Wallington, N.J.). In the final match of the day, the Scarlet Knights came up with a 41-6 win over New York University. Jablonski and Kyle Milanese (Delran, N.J.) both won by major decision at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively, while Norrell posted his second pin of the day at 157 pounds just 36 seconds into the match. Pletcher won his third decision of the day, 6-2, of NYU's Seaon Connors, while Dobish recorded a 18-8 win over Nick Coleman. Brown pinned the Bobcats' Alex Chianurashvili at the 2:04 mark, while D'Amico won a 10-3 decision at heavyweight. The Scarlet Knights will host in-state rival Rider on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at the College Avenue Gym at 7:00 p.m. RESULTS

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Oklahoma State's fourth-ranked wrestling team won five matches by bonus points and eight matches overall en route to a 35-6 victory over Northern Iowa inside the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls, Iowa. OSU improved to 12-3 on the season, while UNI fell to 3-8 on the year. The Cowboys jumped out to a 15-0 lead in the dual after just three matches. Tyler Shinn only needed two minutes before pinning Grant Ruge to start the dual. Coleman Scott followed with a major decision at 133, and Nathan Morgan capped the streak with a technical fall that ended with 11 seconds remaining in the second period. Northern Iowa's lone wins came at 149 and 157. Ryan Osgood scored the winning takedown in overtime to defeat OSU's B.J. Jackson, and Moza Fay followed with a decision over Newly McSpadden. OSU won the next four matches to put the dual away. Johny Hendricks extended his winning streak to 46 straight matches with a 2-1 decision over fifth-ranked Nick Baima. Baima was whistled for a violation in the first period, which proved to be the difference in the match. Brandon Mason recorded a decision over Alex Dolly to put the Cowboys up 21-6. The lead swelled to 29-6 when Jack Jensen and Jared Shelton both recorded major decisions. Jensen scored nine points in the third period and Shelton scored seven third period points to both secure the major. Jared Rosholt won by forfeit in the final match of the night at heavyweight. The Cowboys return to action tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. when they face the third-ranked Iowa State Cyclones at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The dual will be broadcast live on 93.7 FM with Rex Holt and Roger Moore calling the action.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -– No. 24 Lehigh kicked off a busy weekend of action with two impressive victories Saturday afternoon in front of 1,713 fans inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks opened things up with a 31-13 triumph over Harvard, before closing out the day with a 30-15 win over Brown. The wins improve the Brown and White to 11-6 on the season and 4-1 in EIWA duals. "I'm really pleased with the way the guys wrestled today," said Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel. "We came in expecting Harvard to win maybe five or six, but to earn a 6-4 split in our favor was good. We're using today and the two big matches tomorrow to simulate the Easterns. We survived day one day, now we have to get ready for the ‘finals' against two pretty good teams." Lehigh won six of ten bouts against the Crimson (0-5, 0-2 EIWA), scoring bonus points in five. Sophomore Matt Fisk secured the first of three Lehigh falls in the dual, scoring two quick first period takedowns before pinning Ryan Fitzgerald in 47 seconds. Harvard came back to take a 9-6 lead, behind decisions from Robbie Preston at 133 and Max Meltzer at 141 over Lehigh's Seth and Matt Ciasulli; and then a 10-1 major decision by sixth ranked J.P. O'Connor over sophomore Trevor Chinn. Senior Dave Nakasone gave Lehigh its second lead with his first of two falls on the day, as he broke open a close bout with a takedown of Bobby Latessa before earning the fall with just over a minute remaining in the third period. A decision from Frankie Colletta over Lehigh freshman Manuel Schubert put the Crimson ahead again, but senior tri-captain David Helfrich gave the Mountain Hawks the lead for good, with a first period pin of Patrick Ziemnik at 174. At 184, freshman David Craig picked up one of his most impressive wins of the season, scoring a first period takedown near the edge of the mat and holding on to knock off No. 11 Louis Caputo 5-3. Senior Matt Cassidy returned to the Lehigh lineup at 197 and put together seven takedowns to clinch the dual for the Mountain Hawks with a 16-6 win over Jonathan Butler. In the final bout against Harvard, Paul Weibel twice snuck his way out of takedown attempts from Harvard's second-ranked, undefeated heavyweight Bode Ogunwole. After the second attempt, Ogunwole called for injury time for an apparent left arm injury and did not return giving Weibel a win by injury default. Against Brown (1-6, 1-2 EIWA) Lehigh's lightweights propelled the Mountain Hawks to a 12-0 lead, as Fisk won by tech fall over Greg Einfrank, while Seth Ciasulli managed a 3-1 win in sudden victory over Jeff Schell. The decisive takedown came with 25 seconds left in the second sudden victory period. Matt Ciasulli followed with a major decision over Mark Savino. The Mountain Hawks suffered a tough break at 149 when Chinn was forced to default his match to Lenny Marandino after suffering an elbow injury with under a minute to go. Chinn was leading at the time, when Marandino tried a throw. The injury was serious enough that Chinn was unable to continue, giving Brown six points on the scoreboard. Lehigh then rolled up three straight wins, with Nakasone adding his second fall of the day, once again scoring a third period pin of Tom Fazio. Schubert and Helfrich followed with wins by decision to put Lehigh up 24-6. Brown put three more points on the board when Matt Gevelinger earned a 5-3 decision over Alex Iacocca, who was given an opportunity by Strobel at 184. Cassidy completed a successful return to action with a first period pin over Larry Otsuka. In the final bout of the day, Weibel was caught on his back and pinned by Brown's Levon Mock. The Mountain Hawks will continue their busy weekend with two more duals on Sunday. Lehigh will visit EIWA foe and No. 24 Columbia at 1 p.m. for the teams' first dual meet in ten years. The Mountain Hawks will then head to the New York Athletic Club to face No. 6 Hofstra at 5 p.m. The Columbia match will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 as well as online at lehighsports.com with streaming powered by Yahoo! Sports.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The wrestling team used back-to-back pins Saturday to defeat UNC Greensboro 24-18 in a Southern Conference dual. Aaron Martin and Jake Yost posted consecutive pins at 149 pounds and 157 pounds respectively to push UTC's margin to 12-3 at the midway point of the match. The Spartans, 5-3, claimed three of the last five matches but couldn't overcome the early deficit and suffered their first league loss after entering the day with a 3-0 SoCon mark. Javier Maldonado put the Mocs, now 12-1 and 2-0 in the conference, on the scoreboard first in the opening match with a 6-4 win over Jeff Hedges at 125. Matt Keller defeated Mitchell Johnson, 8-3 at 133 before UNCG broke into the scoring column on Chris Bencivenga's 13-12 win over Cody Cleveland at 141. Cleveland wrestled in place of former All-America Michael Keefe who was on the trip but recovering from an illness. Martin and Yost responded to Bencivenga's win with the consecutive pins. Martin's came against Marcus Hannah, and Yost pinned Nathan Berryman. T.J. Sayers scored a 6-5 decision at 165, and Josh Edmondson defeated Scott Snyder, 6-1 at 184 to round out the Mocs' scoring. The Spartans captured the 174-pound match and the 197 match. UNCG's Joe Lowe defeated 16th-ranked Lloyd Rogers, 9-7 at 174. The Mocs forfeited at heavyweight to tack on six points for UNCG in the last match. UTC takes on Appalachian State Sunday at 2 p.m. in Boone, N.C.

Ewing, NJ -- The College of New Jersey wrestling team swept through the Metropolitan Conference/New England Duals winning all three of its matches as the Lions pushed their winning streak to nine straight on Saturday. TCNJ is ranked eighth in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Brute – Adidas Division III poll and improved to 15-1 on the year. In the other matches, Worcester Polytechnic Institute edged Hunter College, 19-18, Williams College beat Hunter, 21-16, while 19th-ranked Roger Williams University toppled Hunter, 43-6. In the win over Roger Williams, the Lions fell behind 3-0 before winning seven straight weight classes. The big win for TCNJ came at 141 pounds as Tyler Branham (Newtown, NJ/Kittantiny) used a last-second takedown to score a 5-3 upset of fourth-ranked Andrew Lacroix. Adding to the decisive win for the Lions was Joey Galante (Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City) at 157 as the senior won by fall and Ray Sarinelli (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Hills) at 133 with a win by technical fall. TCNJ again got off to a fast start against WPI winning the first six bouts for a 25-0 lead. Tom Roberto (Hamilton, NJ/Notre Dame) opened the match with a 4-1 overtime at 125 pounds followed by a Sarinelli pin at 133 sending the Lions to the victory. Williams struck first versus the Lions in the final dual of the day winning the 125-pound weight class, but TCNJ stormed back as Sarinelli won by technical fall at 133 and Branham by fall at 141. Branham's victory put the Lions in front for good at 11-6. Sophomore Greg Osgoodby (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick) hit a milestone later in the match as he collected his 50th career win with a pin in 1:26 over Paul Fraulo (Katonah, NY) at 174. On the day, the Lions had three grapplers go 3-0 with Sarinelli, Branham and Osgoodby each accomplishing that feat. The Lions close out the home portion of the schedule tomorrow hosting Springfield College in a dual meet with a noon start time at Packer Hall.

MADISON, Wis. -- For the first time since 1965, the No. 9 Wisconsin wrestling team (16-1-0, 2-1-0) defeated fifth-ranked Iowa 21-14 Saturday in Iowa City. UW took six of eight bouts, including a pin by No. 13 Dallas Herbst that sealed the Badgers' win. Wisconsin's victory is its first in 42 matches against the Hawkeyes. The action got started at 125 lbs., as Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) faced 13th-ranked Charlie Falck. Falck notched a takedown 10 seconds into the match and never let down, defeating Cudd 12-9 after riding time. The Badgers evened the score at 133 lbs., as No. 16 Zach Tanelli (Milburn, N.J.) upset No. 15 Mario Galanakis. As expected, the match was tight and the scoring stingy, as Galanakis led 3-0 in the third period. With 1:06 remaining, Tanelli notched a takedown followed by a three-point nearfall to take the lead 5-3. Galanakis, who had over a minute of riding time, responded with an escape to tighten the score. However, Tanelli answered with a takedown at 19 seconds to win the match 7-5 and put the Badgers on the board. The upset wins continued for Wisconsin, as freshman Kyle Ruschell defeated sixth-ranked Alex Tsirtsis at 141 lbs. Tsirtsis was up 4-1 in the second period before Ruschell tallied a penalty point, an escape, and a takedown in the final 45 seconds to lead 5-4. The Crittedent, Ky., native added an escape in the third to win 6-4. Ruschell remained undefeated in Big Ten action and improved to 22-4 on the season. At 149 lbs., Senior Tyler Turner (Spring Valley, Wis.) extended the Badger lead with an 8-2 decision over Iowa's Alex Grunder. Turner went up 4-1 after scoring two takedowns in the first period. In the second, No. 6 Turner tallied three unanswered points to lead 7-1 after two. Grunder notched an escape in the third, but Turner would go on to win 7-2. With Wisconsin leading 9-3, No. 3 Craig Henning (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) defeated 12th-ranked Ryan Morningstar at 157 lbs. Henning's escape in the third period was the only scoring of the match, as Henning won 2-0 after riding time. Nevertheless, the Hawkeyes fought back, notching five team points after No. 3 Mark Perry earned a tech fall over Jake Donar (Cuba City, Wis.) at 165 lbs. At 174 lbs., Mike Felling (Hutchinson, Minn) put up a tough fight against No. 2 Eric Luedke. After a scoreless first period, Luedke earned an escape and a takedown in the second to lead 3-0 and eventually won 5-0 after a stalling point and riding time. UW held a narrow 12-11 lead going into the battle at 184 lbs., between No. 15 Trevor Brandvold and Iowa's Phillip Keddy. Keddy scored first with a takedown in the opening period, but Brandvold responded with two escapes and two takedowns to win 6-2 and give Wisconsin a four-point lead. Then, at 197 lbs., Herbst did what he does best, pinning Rick Loera at 49 seconds to put Wisconsin up 21-11 and secure the Badger win. Herbst now has 13 pins on the season and is 19-4 overall. Wisconsin fell in the heavyweight bout, but won the match 21-14. The Badgers continue their road stretch as they head to Purdue on Feb. 2, followed by Michigan on Feb. 4. Check uwbadgers.com for the latest updates and scores.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina picked up a pin from Dennis Drury and a major decision from 10th-ranked Spencer Nadolsky in back-to-back bouts to break a 9-9 tie and earned its third ACC win Saturday over Virginia Tech at Carmichael Auditorium. Vincent Ramirez, Ben Fiacco and Keegan Mueller also picked up wins for the Tar Heels, who moved to .500 on the year at 6-6 and 3-1 in the ACC. Virginia Tech dropped to 5-7 and 0-2 in the ACC. Drury broke the tie after he pinned Kevin O'Connor at 4:12. Nadolsky then expanded the Tar Heel lead with his major decision, 10-2, over Jim Powers in the heavyweight match. Following a Virginia Tech forfeit at 125, Carolina went up 25-9 and didn't look back. With the victory, Nadolsky was able to win his final bout at Carmichael on Senior Day and improved to 19-6 on the season. Sophomore Vincent Ramirez got Carolina on the board first with a 9-5 decision against Jon Bonilla-Bowman. Into the third, Ramirez held a 4-3 advantage, but Bonilla-Bowman forced a takedown to even the score at 5-5. Ramirez then fought back with an escape and a takedown to go up 8-5 and added another point later for riding time. Redshirt freshman Ben Fiacco followed with three more points for the Tar Heels in his 8-3 win over Derek Gallagher at 157. 15th-ranked Keegan Mueller earned Carolina's third-straight decision of the day and put them ahead 9-0 early on. Mueller prevailed 2-0 against Eric Decker at 165 and improved his team-best record to 23-6. Trailing 9-0, Virginia Tech was able to even the match at 9-9 through a pin by Steve Ratley at 174 and a 7-0 decision by Steve Borja. Ratley's pin came at 39 seconds over Jake Forestiere, while Borja was able to defeat Robert McCarthy in the 184 match. In the last 2 bouts of the match, Virginia Tech took away two decisions as Sheridan Moran and Matt Rosen were able to win by virtue of a riding time point over both of their opponents. Moran's decision came against senior Bobby Shaw, while freshman Mike Rappo dropped the bout to Rosen. Six Tar Heels were able to record two wins on the weekend as Carolina defeated Virginia, 21-11, on Friday. The six included: Ramirez, Fiacco, Mueller, Drury, Nadolsky, and Forshey Next up for Carolina is Duke on Wednesday at Chapel Hill High School at 7 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA -- No. 6 Hofstra dominated the evening from start to finish, dropping just one match as the Pride rolled over No. 14 Penn, 31-3, in wrestling action Friday evening. The Quakers (3-5) got their lone win with a gritty, five-overtime decision from Matt Valenti at 133 lbs. "We were flat tonight," said Head Coach Zeke Jones. "Rarely do you get through an entire season without a flat night and that was our one for the year. Hofstra was a great team tonight." The meet started at 184 with No. 7 Joe Rovelli besting No. 13 Lior Zamir to put Hofstra up 3-0. Zamir scored first on a takedown in the first period, but Rovelli escaped and returned the favor to lead 3-2. Zamir went to neutral, but was hit with a penalty near the end of the period. Rovelli chose down to start the second and reversed and rode out Zamir, then took him down to start the third. Zamir picked up a final point on a stalling penalty, but Rovelli had locked up riding time to earn the 9-4 edge. Penn fell in a 7-0 hole at 197 after Jack Sullivan suffered a 20-8 major decision to No. 11 Chris Weidman. Weidman scored first but Sullivan reversed him and earned two back points, but Weidman took control from there on out, scoring at will with a flurry of late takedowns to earn the major. Heavyweight saw a slow-going match, with Ben Reiter and Matt Pollock twice receiving double-stalling warnings. After a scoreless first, Pollock produced an escape before the pair earned simultaneous stalling points. Pollock then took down Reiter, who escaped to end the second. Reiter looked to have a chance to win it in the third – after escaping, the sophomore was down a point; he shot in but Pollock worked around him for the decisive takedown. The Quakers hoped to pull some momentum back at 125, but No. 11 Matt Eveleth ended up being upset by #18 Dave Tomasette in an entertaining 2-0 decision. The pair went scoreless for the first two periods before Tomasette chose down to start the third and reversed Eveleth midway through the period. The highlight of the night came at 133, where defending national champion Matt Valenti gutted out a five-overtime decision over No. 18 Lou Ruggirello. The score was tied at four after regulation with each scoring a takedown and two escapes. After three scoreless periods, Ruggirello was down to start the fourth overtime and Valenti produced a three-point near-fall. Valenti escaped in the fifth overtime and then scored another takedown to win, 10-4. But things came unraveled for Penn after that. Brett McCurdy made his season debut and suffered a fall to No. 7 Charles Griffin in 4:45 at 141, before Rick Rappo wrestled up at 149 and fell, 9-3, to Mike Parziale. No. 14 Matt Dragon couldn't get anything done at 157, either, falling 7-2 to #2 James Strouse. Strouse scored three takedowns and an escape and led the entire way to win. Zack Shanaman nearly pulled off an upset but came up short to No. 6 Mike Patrovich. The Hofstra 165-pounder scored first on a takedown, but Shanaman escaped. The two went scoreless in the second, and Patrovich escaped to open the third period. Shanaman scored another takedown with a single-leg at the edge of the mat to tie it at 3-3, but Patrovich managed a late escape and had secured riding time for the 5-3 edge. With the meet already lost, No. 8 Matt Herrington fell victom to No. 17 Alton Lucas, 5-3. Lucas scored an escape and a takedown in the second, then got another takedown in the third for the advantage. Penn returns home for three meets on Feb. 2 when it meets Brown, Delaware State and Drexel starting at 10 a.m. at The Palestra.

CORVALLIS, Ore. –- The Oregon State wrestling team posted its most lopsided victory over Arizona State in nearly 30 years, as the Beavers rolled to a 31-10 victory at Gill Coliseum on Friday night. The Beavers (12-1 overall, 4-0 Pacific-10 Conference) stretched their home winning streak to 10 meets over the past two seasons. The Sun Devils, the two-time defending Pac-10 champions, dropped to 5-10, 2-2. The last time OSU posted a victory over ASU this big was in 1978 and a 30-9 win. This was also OSU's first victory over the Sun Devils in a dual since 2003 (the Beavers had lost the last three meetings). OSU captured seven of the 10 weight classes (one by forfeit) and were led by a pinfall by Brett Arand at 165, a technical fall by Kyle Larson at 141 and major decisions by Ty Watterson at heavyweight and Jeremy Larson at 174. "For us to take this step and to become a contender for the Pac-10 championship, you've got to beat them sometime," OSU Coach Jim Zalesky said. "Now's a good time to beat them. Guys stayed aggressive and did things the right way. We figured this team would keep getting better and better and that's what it's all about, to keep getting better by the end of the year." Watterson (ranked No. 15 nationally by the NWCA) got the ball rolling with a 10-2 major decision over ASU's Thor Moen in the first match of the night. Watterson had takedowns in each of the first two periods and added two more in the final stanza. The schools traded decisions at 125 and 133, with ASU's Josh Espinoza picking up a 9-4 win over OSU's Jake Gonzales in the former and OSU's Bobby Pfennigs beating ASU's Shawn Jones 7-2 in the latter. Kyle Larson (ranked No. 19 nationally by the NWCA) had little difficulty at 141, as his match against ASU's Robert Galvan was stopped with 1:09 remaining in the third period after Larson built a 21-5 lead. Larson had an 8-3 advantage after the first period and a 13-4 lead after the second. The match ended after his second three-point near fall of the final period. OSU took an overall lead of 12-3 after the match. A forfeit victory at 149 pushed OSU's overall lead to 18-3. ASU's Brian Stith (ranked No. 5 nationally by the NWCA) had to fight off a strong challenge by OSU's Keegan Davis at 157. Stith appeared to be satisfied with a 5-2 lead late in the third period, but Davis kept after him and scored a takedown with 16 seconds remaining. With Stith holding a 5-4 lead plus riding time, Davis had to let him escape. Davis tried for another takedown, but Stith got one instead and held on for a 9-4 victory. Arand, who came into the night with an 8-10 record at 165, may have had the highlight of the event as he rallied back from an early takedown to pin ASU's Kevin Gaughan. Gaughan led 2-0, but a late escape and takedown by Arand gave him a 3-2 lead after the first period. Arand started the second period with a reversal, then later had a takedown and turned that into his fourth pinfall of the season. It came with 58 seconds remaining in the second period and pushed OSU to a 24-6 lead. Jeremy Larson (ranked No. 18 nationally by the NWCA) then clinched OSU's overall victory with a major decision, 14-3, over ASU's Alex Pavlenko at 174. Larson scored the first seven points, including a three-point near fall in the first period, and only allowed Pavlenko three escapes (while following each one up with another takedown) in the final two minutes. The Beavers then held an insurmountable 28-6 lead with two matches left. The bout at 184 pitted the top two ranked wrestlers in the Pac-10, OSU's Kyle Bressler and ASU's Greg Gifford. Gifford scored takedowns in the first and second periods to go up 4-1, then added two more takedowns in the third period of his 10-2 major decision victory. In the final match of the night, OSU's Travis Gardner upset the second-ranked wrestler in the Pac-10, ASU's Jason Trulson, with a 6-4 victory. After no scoring in the first period, both wrestlers earned reversals in the second period and were tied 2-2. After two more reversals, it was tied 4-4 with under a minute to go in the final period. But with Gardner holding more than a minute of riding time, Trulson had to let Gardner escape with 51 seconds left. Gardner battled Trulson to a standstill the rest of the way and picked up the win. The Beavers next host another Pac-10 foe, Boise State, on Sunday (Jan. 28) at noon in Gill Coliseum. "The win gives us momentum," Zalesky said. "It's a big weekend. Boise State is probably doing a little better than Arizona State is right now so it's another big meet that we've got to be ready for."

OMAHA, Neb. -- Winning five of the first six matches and six of 10 overall, Augsburg College claimed a 23-13 victory over the University of Nebraska-Omaha in a matchup of two Midwest small-college wrestling powers on Friday night at UNO's Lee & Helene Sapp Fieldhouse. Augsburg, ranked No. 1 nationally in the NCAA Division III national poll, built a 17-3 lead after the first six matches to claim the win over the Mavericks, ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Division II national poll and the three-time defending Division II national champions. The Auggies are now 9-0 in dual meets on the season, having won 75 of 90 individual matches in its nine team victories this season. Against teams from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 216-16 since the 1989-90 season, losing just 11 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 season. Augsburg has won nine Division III national titles in the last 16 seasons. Augsburg now has a 2-1 edge in the series against the Mavericks. The teams have battled the last three seasons, with each victory coming by the visiting team. Nebraska-Omaha is now 4-2 in duals this season. Augsburg's Marcus LeVesseur (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), ranked No. 1 nationally at 165 pounds, maintained his unbeaten collegiate record with his second straight victory over a top-ranked Division II wrestler, scoring a 4-1 win over Ross Taplin of Nebraska-Omaha. After topping Minnesota State Moorhead's Nate Baker, who was ranked No. 1 at the time, 3-2 in a dual on Tuesday, LeVesseur scored a decision win over Taplin, who moved into the top spot in the national rankings on Wednesday. LeVesseur, who won Division III national titles at 157 pounds three times (2003, 2004, 2005), improved to 17-0 on the season and improved his collegiate career record to 141-0, the second-longest winning streak in college wrestling history, behind the 159 of Cael Sanderson at Iowa State (1998-2002). LeVesseur has yet to lose a college wrestling match. George Lynaugh (Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) claimed the lone pin of the evening, a second-period match ender over Austin Boehm at 184 pounds, a 4:37 pin that clinched the team victory for the Auggies. Lynaugh is now 22-4 on the season. Augsburg's four top-ranked wrestlers all claimed victories. In addition to LeVesseur, Quincy Osborn (Jr., Grand Rapids, Minn.), who moved into the top ranking at 141 pounds this week, improved to 30-2 on the season with an 11-1, major-decision win over Sam Bribieseca, ranked No. 8 in Division II. Jeremy Anderson (Jr., Thief River Falls, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 157, improved to 26-1 with an 8-5 win over UNO's Henry Wahle. Augsburg's Jafari Vanier (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), ranked No. 1 at 133, needed overtime to score a 9-7 win over Jeff Rau, claiming a reversal in the final tiebreaker session. Vanier is now 14-0 on the season. Seth Flodeen (So., Cannon Falls, Minn.), ranked No. 3 at 125, claimed an 11-3, major-decision win in the match opener against Jimmy Ball. Flodeen gave up an early takedown, but rallied back with consecutive near-falls to take an 8-3 lead after one period, eventually claiming the 11-3 win. Two of Nebraska-Omaha's three top-ranked wrestlers scored victories. At 149, Todd Meneely scored a 11-4 decision over Augsburg's Jared Evans (Sr., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS), ranked No. 4 in Division III. J.D. Naig, top-ranked at 174, scored a 10-2, major-decision win over Augsburg's Robbie Gotreau (Jr., Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS), ranked No. 3 in Division III. At 197, UNO's Jacob Marrs, ranked No. 2 nationally, claimed an 8-5 win over Augsburg's Wally O'Connor (Jr., Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West HS), and at heavyweight, in a battle of No. 7-ranked wrestlers in their respective divisions, UNO's Tony Lewis scored a 7-3 win over Augsburg's Andrew Neumann (Sr., Somerset, Wis.). Augsburg returns to action with its third straight match against a Division II opponent, hosting St. Cloud State on Sunday (1/28) at 2 p.m. at Si Melby Hall in Minneapolis. UNO returns to action on Saturday (1/27) at 7 p.m. with a match at Dana (Neb.), ranked No. 5 in the NAIA national poll.

The #21 ranked Kent State wrestling team overcame an early 9-0 deficit to register a 22-12 victory over Northern Illinois University in the home opener for the Golden Flashes. Kent State's victory also enabled the Flashes to move into first place in the Mid-American Conference at 2-0. Northern Illinois opened the match with an 11-5 decision by Johnny Galloway over freshman Sli Bostelman (Tontogany, Ohio/Ostego) at 165 pounds. The Huskies increased their lead to 6-0 as Danny Burk scored a 3-2 decision over senior Aaron Miller (Uniopolis, Ohio/Wapakoneta) at 174 pounds. NIU's Duke Burk scored a 9-4 decision over sophomore Eric Chine (Austintown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch) at 184 pounds as the Huskies took a 9-0 lead after three matches. Kent State got on the board when senior Ardian Ramadani (Garfield , N.J./Garfield) scored a 3-1 decision over Nick McClone at 197 pounds to cut the Golden Flashes' deficit to six at 9-3. Ramadani, ranked 20th nationally at 197 pounds, is now 18-9 overall. Sophomore heavyweight Jermail Porter (Akron, Ohio/Firestone) scored a 7-4 decision over Dave Benner to pull Kent State closer at 9-6. Porter's win increased his overall record this season to 20-7. He entered the match ranked 19th nationally. Northern Illinois increased its advantage to 12-6 when Pat Castillo scored a 7-4 decision over senior Chad Sportelli (Easton, Pa./Easton) at 125 pounds. Castillo entered the match ranked 17th nationally while Sportelli ranked 19th. The loss was the first for Sportelli in a dual match this season (13-1). Sophomore Danny Mitcheff (Lorain, Ohio/Elyria) scored a 10-7 decision over Gralen Early at 133 pounds to pull the Flashes within three at 12-9. The momentum turned in favor of the Golden Flashes when sophomore Clint Sponseller (Glenmount, Ohio/West Holmes) put Kent State in the lead with a pin of Justin Metcalfe at 141 pounds. Sponseller led the match 5-2 when he pinned Metcalfe 4:24 into the match. Senior Jason McGee (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Cuyahoga Falls) clinched the victory for Kent State when he registered a 9-1 major decision over Will McDermott at 149 pounds. McGee's victory increased his overall record this season to 22-9. Senior Kurt Gross (North Royalton, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) ended the match with a 6-1 victory in overtime over Kalen Knull at 157 pounds. Head Coach Jim Andrassy praised the efforts of his team in the come-from-behind victory. "At first I was nervous, especially after we lost at 174 and 184 pounds," Andrassy said. "But, this team has someone different step us for us in each dual match. Today, Clint Sponseller got us the lead and Jason McGee clinched the win. As a team, we have a knack of finding ways to win." Kent State (13-1, 2-0 MAC) hosts the University of Pittsburgh at 2:05 p.m. on Sunday (1/28) in the M.A.C. Center.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -– The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 12 nationally, pounded visiting Ohio State 26-12 in a key Big Ten dual in Rec Hall. Junior All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) began the match with a pin of Buckeye All-American J.D. Bergman to spark Penn State to the convincing win. The match began at 197 in, perhaps, the evening's most anticipated match-up. Penn State's two-time All-American, Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) met Ohio State All-American J.D. Bergman. Davis entered the bout ranked No. 3 nationally while Bergman was ranked No. 7. The two All-Americans spent the first two minutes feeling out the other's game plan. Bergman was working for more openings high on Davis' body while Davis was looking to shoot low. At the :30 mark, Bergman got a hold of Davis right leg and spent the half minute working to get Davis down. But as time wound down, Davis held off the move and, with two seconds left, spun around behind Bergman and got a takedown as the period ended to go up 2-0 after one period. Up 2-0, Davis chose down to start the second and spend the first :30 working on a reversal to go up 4-0. After a Bergman escape, Davis kept up his relentless offense and took Bergman down again, high on his torso. Using his strength, Davis proceeded to push Bergman over to his back. After less than :20 of work, Davis adjusted his weight and got a thrilling and convincing pin at the 4:18 mark. The win gave Penn State an early 6-0 lead and improved Davis to 17-1 on the year. Bergman fell to 15-5. Nittany Lion senior Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.) took on Buckeye Corey Morrison at heavyweight. Anspach, ranked No. 12, put together a dominating first period. Two takedowns in the first two minutes had the Penn State co-captain up 4-2 early. With :40 left, Anspach added another takedown and proceeded to put together a very nice ride, keeping control of Morrison for the remainder of the period to lead 6-2 with 1:10 in riding time after one period. Anspach chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 7-2 lead. Anspach then countered a low Morrison shot on the edge of the mat for another takedown and went up 9-3 after a Morrison escape. After a reset, Anspach pushed Morrison backwards and got another takedown to increase his lead to 11-4 after two periods. Morrison chose down to start the third period but found the going tough as Anspach continued to dominate from the top position. Morrison did escape, but not until Anspach had a 2:25 riding time edge. Needing on more takedown to get a major decision, Anspach's relentless offense began to wear down Morrison. Anspach got another takedown at with less than a minute left to go up 13-5 with a riding time point guaranteed as well. The Nittany Lion senior would maintain control for the rest of the period and post a 14-5 major decision. Penn State went up 10-0 with the win and Anspach improved to 11-2. Morrison fell to 10-14. At 125, Penn State's Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) met Will Livingston of Ohio State. McKnight, ranked No. 5 in the country, got the first takedown of the bout at the 2:00 mark to go up 2-1 after a Livingston escape. Forty seconds later, McKnight added a second takedown and allowed Livingston up to lead 4-2. Livingston nearly took McKnight down with :25 left, but McKnight spun out of the near takedown and got in on Livingston himself. The Buckeye freshman fought off McKnight's efforts, however, and McKnight led 4-2 after one period. McKnight chose down to start the second period. Livingston put together a nice ride, working McKnight long enough to build up over a minutes worth of riding time. McKnight did escape with :06 left and, keeping hold of Livingston's wrist, held the Buckeye's hand down to the mat, spun around and got a takedown with :01 left. The quick move put McKnight up 7-2 after two periods. Livingston chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to a 7-3 deficit. McKnight, beginning to get his offense going, got another takedown to up his lead to 9-3 with 1:38 left to wrestle. Livingston reversed McKnight to cut the lead to 10-5 after a McKnight escape. Livingston added another takedown with :01 left but the final flurry was not enough as McKnight posted a 10-8 decision (Livingston got a riding time point). The win put the Nittany Lions up 13-0 and improved McKnight's record to 17-2. Livingston fell to 13-11. Penn State sophomore Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), ranked No. 8 at 133, met Ohio State's T.J. Enright. After nearly three minutes of scoreless wrestling, Enright got on the board with just :07 left, getting a nice takedown to lead 2-0 after one period. Strayer chose down to begin the second period and quickly escaped to a 2-1 deficit. With renewed offensive vigor, Strayer began setting the tempo. Enright managed to block off each of Strayer's shots. Strayer, however, countered an Enright shot and, after working around from in front of the Buckeye, got his first takedown at the :32 mark to take a 3-2 lead. Strayer maintained control for the rest of the period to lead 3-2 after two periods. Enright chose down to start the third stanza and escaped to tie the bout at 3-3 with 1:51 left in the bout. After a scramble in the middle of the mat, Strayer got a takedown to take the lead and, using his back and legs, turned Enright over for two near fall points. With a riding time point added, Strayer got an 8-3 decision to put Penn State up 16-0. Strayer moved to 17-3 with the win while Enright fell to 8-4. At 141, Nittany Lion junior Bryan Heller (Fair Haven, N.J.) took on Ohio State's J Jaggers. A wild scramble to start the bout saw Heller nearly take Jaggers to his back, then Jaggers nearly takedown Heller, ended in a stalemate. Still, the action set the tempo for the bout. Jaggers got in on Heller's right leg with 1:30 left and deftly turned the Lion junior to his back. After just a few seconds of work, Jaggers got the pin at the 2:05 mark. The six team points cut the Penn State lead to 16-6. Heller fell to 14-6 with the loss while Jaggers improved to 11-6. The first of three straight freshmen in the Penn State line-up (and four overall) stepped onto the mat at 149 where red-shirt freshman Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) met Ohio State's Lance Palmer, who entered the bout ranked No. 16. Palmer set the early tempo of the bout but could not break through Vallimont's tough early defense. Palmer got the first takedown at the :31 mark but locked his hands in the process. Still, Palmer led 2-1 and continued to ride Vallimont for the rest of the period to hold that lead heading into the second period. Vallimont chose down to start the second period. Palmer got up high on Vallimont, however, and after :40 Vallimont was able to shake free of the ranked Buckeye and get a reversal to take a 3-2 lead. After the nice move, Vallimont proceeded to put together an exceptional ride, erasing over a minute's worth of riding time and riding Palmer out. Trailing 3-2, Palmer chose down to start the final period. Vallimont managed to maintain control long enough work up over a minute's worth of time himself. With :55 left, Vallimont nearly turned Palmer over and continued his strong work on top. Palmer scrambled from the bottom position but could not break free and the Nittany Lion red-shirt freshman posted an outstanding 4-2 upset win over the ranked Buckeye. The victory put Penn State up 19-6 and improved Vallimont's record to 13-7. Palmer fell to 17-11. True freshman Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) met Ohio State's Jason Johnstone at 157. Jenkins wasted no time, getting a takedown less than :30 in to lead 2-1 after a Johnstone escape. Jenkins added another takedown to up his lead to 4-1 and put together enough of a ride to build up a 1:04 riding time edge before Johnstone escaped. The first-year grappler continued to set the tone for the remainder of the period and held the 4-2 lead after the first three minutes. Johnstone chose down to begin the second period and escaped after :30 of work. Jenkins countered a slight Johnstone shot and, after grabbing his left ankle, finished the nice move for a two-point takedown to lead 6-3. Johnstone, however, reversed the Lion freshman with :10 left to cut the lead to 6-5 after two periods. Jenkins chose down to begin the third period and escaped to a 7-5 lead. Jenkins also held 1:24 in riding time. Johnstone got in on Jenkins' right leg, but the Lion freshmen used outstanding strength to fight through the move and eventually work around for two points of his own. With just :40 left, Jenkins held a 9-5 lead and a guaranteed riding time point. Johnstone would escape before the bout ended, but Jenkins would post a convincing 10-6 win, his first in a Big Ten dual. The victory gave the Nittany Lions a 22-6 lead and improved Jenkins to 16-6 on the year. Johnstone fell to 13-12. At 165, true freshman Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) met No. 16 Chris Vondruska of Ohio State. Rella had the first scoring attempt, getting in on a high single leg at the edge of the mat. But Vondruska fought off Rella's effort to force a reset at the 1:45 mark. Rella continued to set the offensive tempo, forcing the ranked Buckeye wrestler to the edge of the mat and forcing a first stall warning at the :49 mark. The first period ended scoreless and Vondruska chose down to begin the middle stanza. The Buckeye graduate student quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Rella's constant offensive pressure forced Vondruska into a second stall call, tying the bout up at 1-1 with :50 left in the second period. Tied at 1-1 after two periods, Rella chose down to start the final stanza. After Vondruska nearly turned Rella, the Lion true freshman escaped to a 2-1 lead with 1:25 left to wrestle. With :45 left, Vondruska quickly spun around Rella on the edge of the mat to get the bout's first takedown and take a 3-2 lead. With :35 left, Rella needed an escape to tie the bout and sent the action into a sudden victory period. But the veteran Buckeye grappler managed to ride Rella out and, with a riding time point, post a hard-fought 4-2 win. The decision cut the substantial Nittany Lion lead to 22-9 and improved Vondruska to 21-8 on the year. Rella fell to 18-7. Nittany Lion All-American James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.), ranked No. 7 at 174, met Buckeye Tommy Priestley in the next bout. Wasting no time, Yonushonis got an initial takedown just seconds in to lead 2-1 early. The senior added three more takedowns, including one at the buzzer, to lead 8-3 after one period. Priestly chose down to start the second stanza, only to have Yonushonis maintain control long enough to build up a sizeable riding time edge. Working well on to, Yonushonis held Priestley down until the :30 mark, building up a 2:01 riding time edge. With :10 left, Yonushonis got in on Priestley's left leg and finished the move with a strong takedown to lead 10-4 after two periods. Holding the lead and a solid time edge, Yonushonis chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to an 11-4 lead. Working towards a major, Yonushonis got a takedown with :20 left to go up 13-4. With the bonus point, Yonushonis got the 14-4 major to put Penn State up 26-9 and improve his record to 23-3. Priestley fell to 2-3. The evening's final match-up featured Penn State red-shirt freshman Mike Ward (Mayfield, Ohio) taking on OSU freshman Mike Pucillo, who entered the bout ranked No. 3 in the country. Ward and Pucillo wrestled evenly throughout the entire first period, with the Nittany Lion wrestler grappling the No. 3-ranked Buckeye to a 0-0 tie after three minutes. Pucillo chose down to start the third period. After a stall warning on Ward, Pucillo did escape to take a 1-0 lead with 1:50 to wrestle. Each wrestler had a chance to score in the second period, but neither man could break through the other's defense and Pucillo held a 1-0 lead after two. Ward chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 1-1 tie with 1:41 left. Ward, already hit with a stall warning, needed to take shots to avoid giving up the penalty point. Doing just that, Ward put together a nice series of shots but could not score on the undefeated Buckeye grappler. With :45 left, Pucillo broke through Ward's tough defense and got the bout's only takedown. The two point move was enough to give Pucillo a hard fought 3-1 win and keep him undefeated at 14-0 on the year. Ward fell to 14-10. Still, Penn State posted a convincing 26-12 win. The Nittany Lions won seven of the ten bouts and won the war of bonus points 5-3. The Lions dominated the Buckeyes throughout the match, posting 25 takedowns to OSU's 5 as well. The win improves Penn State to 10-4 overall, 1-2 in Big Ten action. Ohio State falls to 5-4, 1-1 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions host No. 11 Illinois Sunday at 1 p.m. in Rec Hall. Penn State then returns to action next weekend when it hosts its final two dual meets of the season. The Nittany Lions welcome No. 9 Northwestern on Friday night, Feb.2, for a 7 p.m. dual. Penn State then hosts No. 5 Iowa on Sunday, Feb. 4, at 12 p.m. in a FSN-Pittsburgh/WWCP-TV live broadcast. 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. All of Penn State's matches can be heard on GoPSUsports.com and in the State College area on WBLF 970 AM.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina picked up their second ACC victory over Virginia Friday night at Carmichael Auditorium as freshman Mike Rappo won a pivotal overtime decision, 4-2, that gave Carolina a 12-11 lead and essentially the victory. Vincent Ramirez followed with a 4-1 win at 141 to expand Carolina's lead , while redshirt freshman Ben Fiacco sealed the Tar Heel win with a come-from-behind victory in the third. The win improved the Tar Heels to 5-6 and 2-1 in the ACC. Virginia fell to 4-6 overall and 0-1 in the ACC. After battling to a 2-2 draw, Rappo was able to manage a takedown on Kellon Balum in overtime to take the decision, 4-2. With the 12-11 lead, Ramirez came on for Carolina and defeated Drew DiPasquale, 4-1, at 149 to give Carolina a 15-11 advantage. Fiacco was then able to capture the victory with a 3-1 decision over Mike Sewell at 157. Into the third, Fiacco was trailing 1-0, but managed an escape and a takedown to come away with the decision. Virginia got off to a fast start as senior Mike Grogan took the opening match over Daniel Llamas at 174, 10-1. 18TH -ranked Rocco Caponi then followed with another major decision for Virginia as he defeated Robert McCarthy, 8-0, at 184 pounds. With the Tar Heels down 8-0, Dennis Drury and Spencer Nadolsky earned the next two decisions for Carolina to bring the score to 8-6. At 197 pounds, Drury came away with a 4-0 decision over Virginia's Kyle Narkiewicz and moved to 10-10 on the season. 10th-ranked Nadolsky followed with his 2-0 decision over Scott Smith in the heavyweight match. Nadolsky earned one point for an escape in the second and added a point for riding time to pick up the win. Junior Drew Forshey, this week's ACC Wrestler of the Week, gave Carolina its first lead of the night with a come-from-behind victory over Ross Gitomer in the third. Trailing 1-0 entering the third, Forshey managed a takedown and an escape to edge Gitomer, 3-2, at 125. The lead would not last though as 12th-ranked Eric Albright recorded an 8-1 win over Bobby Shaw at 133 to give the Cavaliers an 11-9 advantage- its last lead of the night. 15th-ranked Keegan Mueller picked up the final win of the night for the Tar Heels at 165 with a 5-2 decision against Damian Johnson. Mueller improved his record to 22-6 on the season- the best mark of any Tar Heel. Carolina closes out its home schedule at Carmichael Saturday against Virginia Tech at 1 p.m.

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN -- The Iowa wrestling team improved to 11-2 (2-0 in the Big Ten) with a 36-3 win at Purdue Friday night. The Hawkeyes won nine of 10 matches, including two by major decision and two by pin. Purdue fell to 10-3, 0-3 in the Big Ten. Iowa sophomore Charlie Falck kicked off the dual at 125 with a 17-9 major decision over Boilermaker Brandon Tucker. Hawkeye senior Mario Galanakis scored his 35th career victory at 133, decking Sean Schmaltz in 2:48. Griffith, IN, native and Iowa junior Alex Tsirtsis had a happy homecoming with a 20-10 major decision over Nick Bertucci at 141. Hawkeye senior 149-pounder Alex Grunder upset Purdue's 11th-ranked Jake Patacsil, 7-5. Grunder avenged an earlier season loss to Patacsil with the win and scored his fifth straight victory. Hawkeye redshirt freshman Ryan Morningstar took Iowa into the intermission with a 3-1 decision over Jake Murphy at 157. Hawkeye junior Mark Perry kept the Hawkeyes on track with a 2:27 pin over Justin Fraga at 165. Senior Eric Luedke (174) and redshirt freshman Phillip Keddy (184) followed with decisions to make the team score 32-0. Luedke picked up his 18th consecutive win with the 11-7 decision over Jason Martin, improving to 20-1 in collegiate matches and 11-0 in dual competition. Purdue scored its only team points of the night at 197 when Nathan Moore defeated Iowa redshirt freshman Rick Loera, 6-0. Hawkeye heavyweight Matt Fields scored his 55th career win with a 14-4 major decision over David Pisarck to end the dual. Iowa (11-2, 2-0 in the Big Ten) returns home to host undefeated Wisconsin (15-0, 1-0 in the Big Ten) Saturday at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Badgers wrestled at Northwestern Friday night.