InterMat Staff

NORMAN, Okla. -– The No. 9/12 University of Oklahoma wrestling team defeated the University of Oregon Ducks 29-10, Saturday night at the Howard McCasland Field House. The Sooners came out of the gates slow, losing the first three matches before Freshman Chad Terry sparked a seven match OU run. Terry defeated Ryan Dunn of Oregon at 149-pounds by a major decision, 5-2. After that victory the Sooners reeled off two-straight falls and a technical fall. Chris DeVilbiss pinned Kyle Bounds of Oregon in the first period of their 157-pound match. DeVilbiss put Bounds on his back at the 2:04 mark. Shane Seibert followed that up with a fall of his own at 165-pounds. Seibert registered his fall in the first period over Jake McCoy at the 1:20 mark. Joshua Weitzel shut out Ronnie Lee of Oregon at 174-pounds winning 16-0. Weitzel recorded his technical fall of Lee in the third period. The victory put the Sooners up 20-10. Josh Hinton recorded a decision over Brysen French at 184-pounds to continue the Sooners run. Hinton defeated French, 7-6. Joel Flaggert made easy work of Chris Robertson at 197-pounds. The Sooner senior won his fifth straight match as he recorded a decision of 9-3. Brad Farmer finished out the dual for Oklahoma as he defeated Chris Dearmon in the heavyweight match. Farmer won by a decision of 7-4. With the victory, the Sooners have now defeated the Ducks nine straight times. Oregon last defeated Oklahoma in 1980. Jack Spates pushed his career record against Oregon to 6-0. OU hits the road for two consecutive road duals as they take on the Cyclones of Iowa State next Friday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m.

EDMOND -– Jason Leavitt and Jared Hess pulled off a pair of mild upsets to spark top-ranked Central Oklahoma to a 25-12 triumph over No. 6 Adams State Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Field House. The fifth-ranked Leavitt dominated from start to finish en route to a surprisingly easy 12-2 major decision over No. 3 Mike Gallegos at 157 pounds, while the seventh-rated Hess used a third-period takedown to overcome No. 5 Jared Deaguero 6-4 at 184. The Bronchos also got a third-period fall from 285 Josh LeadingFox and wins from 141 Kyle Evans and 149 Shea Timothy in addition to picking up a forfeit at 133. UCO improved to 11-3 and will stay home to host No. 7 Fort Hays State next Saturday night. "Jason and Jared had a couple of big wins that should really help them," UCO coach David James. "They both wrestled well and picked up wins we needed to have. I was disappointed with a couple of areas, but overall it was a good win for us." Leavitt won for the 15th time in 16 outings and improved to 23-5 with his rout. The Ponca City junior took control with a four-point move 40 seconds into the bout and added three takedowns the rest of the way while racking up over three minutes riding time to win going away. Hess picked up his 80th career win and moved to 20-3 on the season with his narrow victory. The Oklahoma City senior erased a 4-3 deficit on a takedown with 1:14 left in the match, then rode Deaguero the rest of the way to add a riding time point for the 6-4 win. LeadingFox picked up his team-leading ninth fall of the season at the 5:25 mark, piling up a 5-0 lead over Jeff Schossow before getting the pin. The unbeaten and top-ranked Evans had one of his closest matches of the season, using a first-period takedown to trim No. 8 Joey Deaguero 2-1, while Timothy scored a three-point near-fall in the final minute for a 4-2 win over Noomis Jones. Two of UCO's four losses were by a point, with eighth-ranked Heath Jolley dropping a tight 2-1 decision to No. 1 Casey Woodall at 197 and Tyler Zukerman losing a 4-3 match at 125 on Arsenia Barksdale's takedown with 12 seconds remaining.

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- The Limestone wrestlers picked up a 31-10 win over American International College on Saturday at the East Coast Duals, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. The Saints would lose to Pittsburg-Johnstown, the No. 5-ranked team in the country, 48-0. Shippensburg edged Limestone, 23-19, later in the day. Limestone returns to the Timken Center on Wednesday, January 24 to face Anderson at 7 p.m. The Timken Center will also play host to the Byrnes High School match versus East Side High School next Wednesday. The high school match is slated to start at 5 p.m.

Augustana got major decisions from 3 of its nationally-ranked wrestlers as the Vikings defeated St. Cloud State 27-12 in North Central Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Elmen Center. The Vikings, ranked No. 11 in the NCAA Division II Top 20 poll, improved to 5-3 overall and 1-0 in the NCC, while SCSU dropped to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the NCC. Chris Trampe, Cody Henriksen and Nate Buys all earned major decisions in their matches, while the fourth nationally-ranked Viking, Austin Scarset, came close. The Vikings also picked up a forfeit win by Ray O'Connor at heavyweight. Trampe, ranked No. 7 at 125 pounds, got the Vikings off on the right foot with an 8-0 win over SCSU's Westy Hanson to give Augie a 4-0 lead. It was Trampe's team-high 20th win of the season. He is now 20-6 The Huskies then took a 9-4 lead with Nick Wasche decisioned Adam Schlee 5-1 at 133 pounds and Tim Whitley pinned Jordan Burmeister at 141 pounds. But Jarred McCarthy righted the Viking ship with an 11-5 win over Grant Johnson at 149 pounds. Next, Scarset, ranked No. 2 at 157 pounds, put Augustana in the lead for good with an 11-5 win over Adam Minnette. Aaron Haddorff made it 13-9 in Augie's favor with an 8-3 decision over Matt Steffenson before Henriksen, ranked sixth at 174 pounds, earned a 13-2 major decision over Neil Russell. The closest match of the afternoon came at 184 pounds where SCSU's Nick Wilkes edged Beau Severtson 4-3 in double overtime. Wilkes recorded a reversal with 37 seconds left in the final period to tie the score at 3-3. In the second overtime, Severtson could not escape from the down position in his 30-second session. Wilkes then escaped with 27 seconds left in his 30-second session and then fought off several late takedown attempts by Severtson to hold on for the win. Buys, ranked No. 3 at 197 pounds, put an exclamation point on the dual for Augustana with a 15-3 major decision over Jairo Sandoval. Buys led 7-1 after 1 period and 10-1 after 2 periods as he improved to 19-2. Augustana returns to the mat on Wednesday when the Vikings travel to Mitchell, S.D., to face Dakota Wesleyan in a 7 p.m. dual.

BLOOMSBURG -- The Bloomsburg University wrestling team won their first Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) match-up on the season with a 22-15 win over West Virginia on Saturday afternoon at the Nelson Field House. With a 15-1 lead 53 seconds into in the third period of the 125 pound match, Mike Sees (Northumberland/Shikellamy) pinned West Virginia's Scott Stuart to give Bloomsburg an early 6-0 advantage. At 133 pounds, Bloomsburg's Ricky Donald (Millville/Millville) scored on a takedown in the first period to go up 2-0. An escape in the second period from Donald pushed the score to 3-0. A scoreless third period gave Donald the win over West Virginia's Mark Anderson and pushed the team lead to 9-0. The Mountaineer's got on the board at 141 pounds with Brandon Rader winning a major decision (14-3) over the Huskies' Darren Kern (Millville/Millville). The loss narrowed the Bloomsburg lead to 9-4. At 149 pounds, Bloomsburg's Matt Moley (Phoenixville/Spring-Ford) picked up the win over David Jauregui. Moley went up 2-0 on a takedown in the first period and scored an escape in the second period to push the lead to 3-0. In the third, Jauregui got on the board with a takedown making it 3-2, however, Moley recorded an escape and a takedown to go up 6-2 with less than 30 seconds remaining. A last effort escape from Jauregui narrowed the lead to three points, but Moley closed out the match with the 6-3 decision that gave Bloomsburg a 12-4 lead. In the 157-pound bout, West Virginia's Zach Fryling defeated Dennis Bermudez (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties) 11-6. Fryling recorded four takedowns and a reverse to go up 8-4 in the first period. Bermudez narrowed the lead to 8-5 in the second period scoring on an escape, but Fryling took the match 11-6 narrowing the team score to 12-7, still in favor of the Huskies. Bloomsburg's Ricky Schmelyum (New Oxford/Bermudian Springs) won a major decision over Eric Connolly at 165 pounds to extend the Huskies' lead to 16-7. Schmelyum dominated the first period taking a 14-1 lead that included three nearfalls, and cruised to the 14-5 win. At 174 pounds, Bloomsburg's Andrew Jordan (Newark, DE/St. Marks) dropped a close 9-8 match to Kurt Brenner, making the team score 16-10 still in Bloomsburg's favor. In the first period, Jordan fell behind 4-2 after two takedowns from Brenner. The second period ended 6-4 with Brenner retaining the advantage. In the third, Jordan scored a takedown to narrow the lead to 7-6. An escape from Brenner pushed his lead to 8-6 but Jordan scored on a takedown to tie the match with less than 30 seconds remaining. However, a late escape from Brenner gave him the 9-8 win. In the 184-pound match, Nate Shirk (Middleburg/Middleburg) picked up a win for Bloomsburg, defeating Chance Litton 5-2. Shirk lead the entire match, picking up a takedown in the first and an escape in the second, before ending with a takedown in the third period to close out the match and extend the Huskies' lead to 19-10. P.J. DiStefano (Whitehall/Whitehall-Coplay) struck first in the 197-pound match taking down West Virginia's Jared Villers to go up 2-0, but Villers dominated the rest of the match winning by tech fall (21-4, 5:22). The victory pulled the Mountaineer's to wining four team points at 19-15. At heavyweight, Mike Spaid (Perkiomenville/Boyertown) sealed the Bloomsburg victory with a 3-2 win over Dustin Rogers. Spaid scored on a takedown in the first while Rogers added an escape to narrow the lead to 2-1. In the second, Spaid started down and escaped to go up 3-2. Rogers picked up an escape at the beginning of the third period but Spaid was able to hold on to the 3-2 win and Bloomsburg won the match by a score of 22-15. With the loss, West Virginia drops to 1-3 on the year with a 1-1 EWL record. The win improves Bloomsburg to 8-7 on the year, 1-1 in the EWL. The Huskies return to the mat on Saturday when they host the 2007 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships at the Nelson Field House. Matches begin at 10:00 a.m.

PITTSBURGH -- The Panthers returned to the Fitzgerald Field House today for a dual meet against Air Force. Pitt (5-3, 1-0 EWL) never wrestled the Falcons (4-3, 0-0 WW) until today. The Panthers won the bout, 28-9. Pitt started off at 125 pounds as sophomore Brad Gentzle (Easton, Pa./Easton) faced Air Force's Zach Valdez. With seconds remaining in the first period, Gentzle got on the board with a takedown, giving him a 2-0 lead. The second period was scoreless, and at the beginning of the third, Valdez scored a point on an escape. He received a point for riding time to send the match into overtime. Gentzle scored on a takedown right away to win the bout, 4-2. Pitt took a three-point lead over the Falcons. In the 133-pound match, Pitt's No. 13 Drew Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg) took on Stephen Makuka of Air Force. The two wrestled earlier this year at the Las Vegas Invitational where Headlee won a 14-3 major decision. Headlee got off to an early, 9-0 lead over Makuka, and three more back points toward the end of the first period gave him a 13-0 lead. A takedown in the second period gave Headlee the 15-0 technical fall at the 3:30 mark. Pitt moved ahead, 8-0. At 141 pounds, Joe Ciampoli (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) wrestled the Air Force's top wrestler, Jake Kriegbaum. Ciampoli scored on a takedown with under a minute left in the first period. Kriegbaum scored on a reversal to tie the bout up after one period. The two were scoreless in the second, but Kriegbaum had a reversal and a point for riding time in the third to give him the 5-2 decision. The Falcons now had three team points, but Pitt still remained in the lead with eight. Next up for the Panthers was Mark Generalovich (Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) at 149 pounds against Air Force's Bridger Lord. In the first period, Lord scored two points on a takedown to take the lead. Lord picked up three more points in the second period, scoring on an escape and a takedown. A point for riding time in the third period gave Lord the 6-0 decision. The Falcons started to close in as Pitt held a close 8-6 lead. Pitt's No. 8 Matt Kocher (State College, Pa./State College) wrestled Air Force's Zach Lord at 157 pounds. In the first period, Kocher moved to a 4-0 lead, scoring on a takedown and a near fall. Lord came back with an escape to make the score 4-1 at the end of the first. Kocher had an escape in the second and score on a takedown with minutes to go, commanding a 7-1 lead heading into the final period. Kocher picked up four more points in the third and with riding time, won a 12-3 major decision. Pitt moved ahead, 12-6. Wrestling at 165 pounds, Pitt's Sean Richmond (Emmaus, Pa./Easton) faced Air Force's Duane Miller. Richmond pulled ahead to a 4-2 lead in the first period, scoring on two takedowns. In the second period, Richmond score on two more takedowns, holding Miller to two escapes for an 8-4 lead. Richmond took a 19-8 major decision in the final period to move Pitt ahead, 16-6. Pitt's No. 3 Keith Gavin (Factoryville, Pa./Lackawanna Trail) took on Air Force's Stephen Crozier at 174 pounds. Gavin moved to an early 5-0 lead, scoring on a takedown and a near fall. He moved to a 12-1 lead heading into the second period. Gavin had two more takedowns to win the technical fall, 17-2 at the 4:01 mark. The Panthers remained in the lead, 21-6. In at 184 pounds for the Panthers was Mike Heist (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) against Air Force's Jacob Devlin. The two were scoreless in the first period, and Devlin scored on an escape in the second to take a one-point lead. Heist tied it up with an escape early in the third period, but Devlin came back with a takedown for the 3-1 decision. Pitt stayed ahead, 21-9. At 197 pounds, Pitt's Eric Cassidy (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) wrestled Air Force's Jordan Tribble. Cassidy scored on a takedown in the first period for a 2-0 lead. A reversal and three back points early in the second period, moved him to a 7-0 lead. Cassidy scored four more and with a point for riding time, won a 12-0 major decision. The Panthers took a 25-9 lead. The final bout of the afternoon was between Pitt's Zach Sheaffer (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and Air Force's Anthony Stegeman. Sheaffer scored on a takedown in the first for a two-point lead, and Stegeman came back with an escape. The two were scoreless in the second period. Sheaffer had an escape early in the third to take a two-point lead. A takedown moved him to a 5-1 lead. With a point for riding time, Sheaffer won, 6-2. Pitt picked up the dual meet win, 28-9.

RTP, N.C. -- The 22nd-ranked Navy wrestling team (8-4) extended its winning streak to four in a row after defeating North Carolina and N.C. State Saturday in a pair of dual matches. The Mids beat North Carolina, 25-9, in an early afternoon match in Chapel Hill before traveling a half hour down the road to Raleigh where Navy captured a 23-16 victory over the Wolfpack. "We came up with some big wins today," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "I thought we looked a little flat-footed in some of our matches and we weren't as sharp as what we should be right now. That said, we had some solid performances by several of our guys, in particular Joe Baker, Matt Stolpinski, Antonio Miranda and Ed Prendergast. We made some mistakes, but I feel like we can work on those errors in practice this week and be ready to go for East Stroudsburg on Wednesday." Navy opened the North Carolina match with a 2-1 victory by John Jarred (Kansas City, Mo.) at 157 pounds. However, Carolina evened the score in the following match with No. 15 Keegan Mueller edging out Navy's Justin Jacobs (LeRoy, Mich.) at 165 pounds by a 2-1 count. Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) and Antonio Miranda (Eugene, Ore.) earned bonus points for the Mids at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively. Stolpinski, who is ranked 10th in the country, recorded his third fall of the season, pinning Jake Forestiere in 1:52. Meanwhile, Miranda turned in his third-consecutive bonus-point win by posting a 20-6 major decision over Robert McCarthy to give Navy a 13-3 lead after four matches. In one of the most anticipated matches of the evening, ninth-ranked Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) handed No. 8 Spencer Nadolsky a 7-3 loss. The match marked the third time the two have met this season. Prendergast defeated Nadolsky in the semifinals of the Nittany Lion Open before beating Bloomsburg's Mike Spaid for the title. Nadolsky, however, earned a 2-3 tie breaker over Prendergast at the Southern Scuffle where the Navy junior placed fourth. The Mids went on to win three of the final four matches to seal the win over the Tar Heels, including an exciting 5-3 victory by 11th-ranked Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) over two-time All-American Evan Sola (ranked No. 10) at 133 pounds. "Joe really looked sharp in his match today," said Burnett. "He did a great job of controlling the pace of the match. He got the first and last takedowns of the match and looked impressive against a two-time All-American." Navy fell behind early in its match against N.C. State, dropping the first two matches at 157 and 165 pounds. Jarred lost a tough 5-3 decision to 19th-ranked Kody Hamrah at 157 pounds, while Jacobs also dropped a close decision, 8-4, to Obie Simpson. Stolpinski helped close the gap for the Midshipmen as he man-handled Jalil Dozier to record a five-point technical fall. The win by Stolpinski pushes his season win total to 28, while his 10 dual match wins equals his victory mark from a year ago. Miranda's major decision over Jeremy Colbert gave Navy its first lead of the day at 9-6. Miranda has earned wins by major decision in each of his last three matches and is 11-1 in major decisions this season. N.C. State held its ground, taking over the lead thanks to a major decision by 12th-ranked Ryan Goodman at 197 pounds over Navy's Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.). The Midshipmen took the lead for good when Prendergast outlasted 17th-ranked Jainor Palma in the heavyweight matchup. Prendergast, who beat Palma just before the turn of the calendar year at the Southern Scuffle, was forced into overtime to earn the 3-1 victory. Following Prendergast's win, the Mids went on to win three of the final four matchups, including a 5-1 win by Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) at 149 pounds over Joe Caramanica. The Mids return home to play host to EIWA foe East Stroudsburg on Wednesday. Action is set for 7:00 pm at Halsey Field House in Annapolis.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Rutgers wrestling team defeated Brown University, 18-16, on Jan. 20, recording its fourth Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) victory of the season. The Scarlet Knights (5-3, 4-2 EIWA) split bouts with the Bears (1-5, 1-1 EIWA), but wins from Jack Barrett (Metuchen, N.J.), Jamie Lijo (Stanhope, N.J.) and Matt Pletcher (Eastampton, N.J.) sealed the conference win for RU. The match began at the 174-pound weight class where Mike Whalen (Lake Hiawatha, N.J.) got Rutgers off to a 3-0 lead with an 8-2 decision win over Chris Musser. After Brown won a major decision at 184 pounds to take a 4-3 edge, Lamar Brown (Red Bank, N.J.) won a 9-4 decision at 197 pounds, giving RU a 6-4 lead. In the next four bouts, the Scarlet Knights would drop consecutive decisions, giving Brown a 16-6 lead heading into the final three weight classes. At 149 pounds, Barrett won a 7-2 decision over Brown's Lenny Marandino, cutting the lead to 16-9. Lijo, who was leading in his bout at 157 pounds, posted a win over Savid Saadeh due to injury default. The six points cut the Bears' lead to one (16-15) before the final match. In the 165-pound bout, Pletcher won a tight 2-1 decision over Bran Crudden to lift the Scarlet Knights to the win. RU will host NYU, Boston University and Delaware State on Saturday, Jan. 27, at the College Avenue Gymnasium. Competition will begin at noon.

BUFFALO, N.Y. —- Columbia wrestlers won six consecutive individual titles, as the Lions won their first New York State Collegiate Championship, at the University of Buffalo. Columbia scored 167.5 points, 10.5 more than Army, which had won the last three state titles. The Lions had finished third four times since initially entering the Championships in 1980, but never higher. And although the 2007 team is ranked 24th nationally, there was cause for pessimism on the long ride up to Buffalo, as Columbia was missing at least four starters due to injury. But from the first round, it became apparent that the Lions would be a contender, with Army, Cornell, Buffalo, Ithaca and Nassau Community College, a national junior college power. "We've been wrestling very well, and I'm glad to see it continue," said Brendan Buckley, the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling. "I'm happy that we finally won the States." Although minus a 133-pounder after 18th-ranked Matt DeLorenzo was injured during the week, Columbia went into Saturday's wrestling at Alumni Arena with high hopes after advancing eight men to the semifinals. The hopes were justified after all eight won to advance to the finals. Four of the eight featured Columbia-Army pairings, heightening the tension for a head-to-head battle between the tourney's two leaders. It increased markedly when Cadets won the first two weight classes, at 125 and 133 pounds. Second-seeded Derek Francavilla carried Columbia's colors when he stepped onto the mat at 141 pounds against yet another Army matman, highly-rated first-year Matthew Kyler. Francavilla had won his first bout by technical fall, but barely pulled out an overtime win in the second. The bout was close for two periods, Kyler leading by 4-2, but he increased it to 7-2 in the third, and then hit a near fall with two seconds left for a 12-2 final. First-year Matt Dunn, wrestling at 149, took a 3-1 lead into the third period of his bout with Buffalo's Jason Hilliard. Hilliard scored five points in the final two-minute period while limiting Dunn to one, and won by 6-4. Seeking to stem the Cadet tide, sophomore Derek Sickles took the mat at 157 to face Army's Christian Snook. Sickles was wrestling in place of injured Devin Mesanko, but had compiled an 11-6 record this season and was awarded the first seed at 157; Snook was seeded third. Sickles' unorthodox style can catch opponents unawares, as it did when he hit a takedown and a reversal in the first period, which he led, 4-3. The Lion scored another two-point reversal in period two, followed by a three-point near fall off of a scramble. He netted another takedown and near fall in the third period, for a 14-4 major decision. Columbia had won its first individual title. Third-seeded Ricky Turk met Cornell's Mike Mackie, the fourth seed at 165, and the Lion wasted little time against Mackie, who had upset top-seeded Mike Ragusa of Buffalo. He scored two takedowns and a near fall in the first period to lead 6-2, and led 8-4 after two periods. Turk took the top position for the final period, and proceeded to ride Mackie the entire period, capturing an 8-4 victory. Columbia picked up some more points at the weight class when senior Dustin Tillman progressed through the consolations to finish fourth. The crowd cheered as Buffalo's Nate Rock trotted out for the 174-pound championship. Columbia All-American Matt Palmer, however, wasn't listening. Wrestling just his second collegiate competition of the season, Palmer took a 2-0 lad on a first-period takedown and never scored again. He didn't have to, though, as he held Rock scoreless in a taut battle belying the final score, 3-0 (counting riding time). Three individual titles down, three to go. Senior Justin Barent faced a powerful foe at 184 in Army's Scott Ferguson, the top seed. Ferguson and the third-seeded Barent wrestled cautiously in the first period, without scoring until Barent took him down with just two seconds to go. Ferguson drew within 2-1 on a second-period escape, only to see Justin's third-period escape raise the margin to 3-1. With both benches screaming encouragement, Ferguson tried again late in the third period, but the 14th-ranked Barent, who had won his semifinal bout by one point on an escape with five seconds to go, wouldn't yield. His 3-1 victory was his second tournament title of the season, following the Keystone Classic. Senior 197-pounder Kirk Davis had missed most of the season with an injury, but his replacement, junior Nick Sommerfeld, filled in beautifully, winning 10 of 15. Seeded first in the New York states, he had won his first two bouts by a pin and a major decision, but needed the riding time point to defeat Buffalo's Ricky Scott in the semifinals, 3-2. Sommerfeld faced a strong foe in Army senior Connor Sanders. As Army's final wrestler of the match, his would be the pivotal bout. Following a scoreless opening period, Sanders took a 1-0 lead into the third. Sommerfeld's escape tied it at 1-1, and his takedown with 1:10 to go put Nick up, 3-1. Down 3-2, Sanders struggled to escape. He finally did so, tying the bout at 3-3, but there were just five seconds to go, and Sommerfeld won on riding time, 4-3. Columbia had clinched the team title, but no one was leaving. They wanted to see Arkadiy Levitin, Hunter's huge undefeated heavyweight, whose 21-0 record ranked him second in the nation in Division III. The top-seeded Levitin had gone through the tournament draw with three wins, two by falls, but Columbia's Kevin Lester had also been successful. The first-year from Nampa, Idaho, won his first two bouts by regular decision, and then stunned Army's second-seeded Michael Sprigg with a 16-6 major decision, setting up the confrontation with Levitin. Heavyweight bouts generally are characterized by inaction, but not the Lester-Levitin encounter. The first period read more like a lightweight bout: Levitin takedown-Lester escape-Lester takedown-Levitin escape-Lester penalty point (Levitin runs off mat)-Levitin takedown-Lester escape. All in the first period! Tied at 5-5, Levitin escaped in the second period to assume a 6-5 lead. The Lion tied it at 6-6 on a third-period escape and the two fought on. With 1:50 to go in regulation, Levitin launched another attack, only to see Lester, amazingly quick for a 6-5, 235-pounder, counter it and gain the two-point takedown. Levitin came back again, escaping once more to trail 8-7, but pulled no closer as the bout ended with Lester on top, 8-7. and the crowd roaring. "Kevin has been improving every day," Brendan Buckley marveled. "We first began to see it when he wrestled UC Davis [in early January]. You see it in practice, you see it in matches." And so the 27-year drought ended, not quietly, but with the roaring of the crowd and the roar of the Lions. Six consecutive individual titles — for Brendan Buckley and his 24th-ranked Lions, that was yet another first. Columbia competes in aother milestone Sunday January 28, as vaunted Lehigh comes to Morningside Heights for only the second time ever. It's a 1 p.m. encounter.

Dominating … that is the one word that describes the Peacock wrestling team's performance last night in Dorman Gym. The home team took to the mat in their black uniforms and gave the Peacock faithful that packed the stands all that they wanted. Upper Iowa hosted the Wolves of Northern State in a Northern Sun Conference dual, both teams first conference dual of the season. The Peacocks won all ten matches; three by pinfall, one by technical fall, one by major decision, one by forfeit, three by decision, and a sudden victory in the second overtime of the final match which secured the shutout for the Peacocks, who won 45-0. Upper Iowa's dual record improved to 4-0 and Northern State's dual record fell to 1-6. The shutout victory is the fourth such result since Head Coach Heath Grimm took the reigns for the 2000-01 season. Upper Iowa defeated Knox College 54-0 and Illinois College 57-0 in Grimm's first season at the helm. Last season, 2005-06, the team faced UNC Pembroke at the National Duals and won 47-0. The dual began at 149 pounds. Upper Iowa's Andy Norton matched up against Dustin Bonn. Norton carried a 6-10 record in to the match with some hard luck losses as of late. The two wrestlers spent most of the first period feeling each other out, but a takedown by Norton just before the horn gave him a 2-0 lead going to the second period. The second period did not yield any points but Bonn had accumulated 1:49 of riding time. After two escapes by Bonn that sandwiched a Norton takedown, Norton led 4-2, but the Bonn still had a possible riding time point and so the match remained in question until Norton recorded his third takedown of the match and erased the riding time advantage. Norton won the match by decision 6-2. At 157 pounds, Travis Eggers (UIU) toed the line against Phillip Downs. Eggers supplied one of the more dominating performances with an immediate takedown and an overwhelming 2:52 in riding time to take a 2-0 lead after one period. In the second period Eggers again registered a takedown and worked hard to turn Downs over. Eggers succeeded and pinned Downs with 40 seconds left in the second period. After the pin, Upper Iowa took a 9-0 lead over Northern State. Mitch Norton (UIU), the reigning NSIC Wrestler of the Week and #4 NWCA ranked wrestler, took the mat against Shawn Lewis in the 165 pound match. Norton dominated the match registering a takedown and near fall in first period to lead 5-0. The second period featured an escape by each wrestler, but Norton tallied two more takedowns and two more near falls. The second near fall ended the match and Norton was awarded the Technical Fall at the 5:00 mark leading 16-1. In the 174 pound weight class, Brady Hakeman (UIU), the #8 NWCA ranked wrestler, continued Upper Iowa's brilliant performance in his match with Brunau Augustine. Brady came out on fire, and after an early takedown and two near falls, he ended the match with 1:11 on the clock in period one by pinning Augustine. Hakeman's pin and Phil Brushchuk's (UIU) win by forfeit at 184 pounds gave Upper Iowa a 26-0 lead over Northern State. At 197 pounds, Ryan Phillips (UIU) took on Todd Naasz in a very physical match. Phillips led 2-0 after the first period thanks to a late takedown. Phillips started the second period with an escape and another takedown, but Naasz escaped his grip late in the period. Naasz trailed 5-1 after his escape. Phillips stayed on the offensive in the third period and even though Naasz tallied three more escapes, Phillips registered a takedown after each of them. After Phillips' third and final takedown of the period, he earned a riding time point and won the match by major decision 12-4. In the heavyweight match, Dan Goodson (UIU) walked out to face Jared Little. Both wrestlers pushed each other around through the first period, but neither wrestler could gain an advantage. Little chose down to begin the second period and Goodson took advantage. Goodson recorded two near falls before finishing the match with a pin at the 0:42 mark in the second period. The victory gave Upper Iowa a 36-0 lead over Northern State. The match at 125 pounds featured two nationally ranked wrestlers on the mat. Tyler Mumbulo (UIU), NWCA #5, lined up against Chas Welch, NWCA #6. Mumbulo took control of the match in the first period with an early takedown and 1:51 of riding time to lead 2-0. Throughout the second period neither wrestler was able to gain an advantage on the other and the match moved to the final period with Welch trailing 2-0. Mumbulo began the third period with an escape and then held on to gain a riding time point and win by decision 4-0. Nate Naumann and Corbin Surat came to the mat for the 133 pound match. Early on Naumann looked good. He earned a takedown, a two-point near fall, and a three-point near fall, before giving up a reverse to Surat. Naumann led 7-2 after the first period and had accumulated 2:08 in riding time. Surat got caught by a second takedown in period two and trailed 9-2. Late in the third period Surat made a final charge and registered a near fall, but could not get the pin and Naumann was awarded a riding time point to win by decision 10-5. The final match of the night was at 141 pounds between John Gamble and Dave Schiley. Gamble entered the match looking to shake the results of his past few matches and come up with a victory for himself and the team. Gamble trailed 2-0 after Schiley recorded a takedown. Gamble countered early in the second period with a takedown of his own, but Schiley escaped and led 3-2 with 33 seconds of riding time in his pocket. Gamble was not able to score on any moves but did reverse the riding time advantage and held on to earn a riding time point and tie the match as the third period ended. In the first sudden victory overtime, one minute in length, neither wrestler was able to score a point and the match moved to a second overtime. In the second overtime, Schiley was able to earn an escape during the first 30 seconds, but Gamble found enough energy to get a reversal during the second 30 seconds and won the match 5-4. The result was a great ending to an awesome night for Peacock Wrestling, who won the dual 45-0. After the match, Grimm proudly said, "We were happy to be wrestling at home in front of our fans. They gave us some help with the last match. We greatly appreciate everyone's support. The guys looked extremely focused on the task at hand, which was to wrestle hard for a complete seven minutes. We were offensive and attacked when openings were present. We only gave up 1 takedown the entire dual meet. We got off to a good start in the NSIC. I am proud of all ten wrestlers and their approach to this dual meet." The Upper Iowa wrestling team's dual versus the University of Mary scheduled for tomorrow, Jan. 20th, has been cancelled and forfeited to Upper Iowa by Mary, who cited the inability to field a full team as the reason for the cancellation. Upper Iowa will return to action next Thursday, Jan. 25th at 6 p.m., at Waldorf College (Forest City, Iowa) in a non-conference showdown.

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- The Limestone wrestlers pounded the St. Andrews Knights, 41-11, in the first round of the East Coast Wrestling Duals hosted by the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown on Friday evening. Limestone's Matt Hall (Hamptonville, N.C.) picked up an 8-3 win over Kyle Craver in the 125-pound weight class. Matt Ross (Chicago, Ill.) won by forfeit in the 133-pound division, while Riley Pike (Alexander City, Ala.) pinned the Knights' Gabe Ortiz at 1:20 to win the 141-pound class. Dustin Baynes (Liberty Twp., Ohio) got an 11-1 major decision over SAPC's Bryan Seal, and Dusty Leutz (157 lbs./Naples, Fla.) won by forfeit. The Saints' Todd Neptune (174 lbs./New Concord, Ohio) pinned Will Harcum at 2:40, while Dan Scanlan (Leesburg, Va.) also got a pin over D.J. Chverchko at 0:52. Trey Moss (Red Bank, S.C.) won the heavyweight class with a 15-4 major decision against Charles Robinson. Limestone continues competition at the East Coast Duals tomorrow. At 9 a.m. the Saints wrestle AIC and will also take on the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. Limestone will also wrestle Shippensburg at 3 p.m.

Dekalb, IL -- Northern Illinois gutted out a hard fought victory over a tough Ohio University team at the Convocation Center on Friday night. NIU was able come back and secure an 18-13 victory after starting the meet with a 0-7 deficit. NIU came back strong and the two teams battled back-and-fourth all night. The overall victory was not secured until the final match of the evening. The evening could not have started out much worse for the Huskies as the Bobcats took the first two matches of the night, including a major decision in the opening match. In the second match the Bobcats scored another decision to place the Huskies in a deep hole (0-7) that they were forced to fight their way out of. Mike Grimes, ranked as high as 7th nationally, came out with the intent of putting NIU back in the meet, and that's just what he did. Grimes came out of the shoot firing with a quick 2-point take down, but Tucker fired right back 2-point reversal to tie the match. After that, Grimes never looked back as he came up with another solid performance in a convincing 12-7 decision to push his overall record to 19-5 and narrow the gap to 7-3 OU. Trailing 7-3 NIU's Kalen Knull took the mat knowing that he had to win in order for the Huskies to have a chance. Knull delivered in a match the Huskies desperately needed. He was able to pull out a 3-2 victory in an extremely tight match that went into overtime. His hard fought win closed the gap to 7-6 just before intermission. NIU's Johnny Galloway, ranked as high as 10th nationally, needed big win to put the Huskies in the lead. In the match of the night Galloway took on 22-7 Jacob Isen. After a scoreless first period Ison claimed the lead in the second period with 1-point escape. Down 0-1 going into the third and final period Galloway went on the offensive with an escape followed by a quick takedown to take a 3-1 lead. Ison countered with another escape to close the gap to 3-2, when Galloway had another take down at the buzzer giving him a 5-2 win over Ison. The win gave the Huskies a slim 9-7 lead and gave Galloway an impressive 11-1 record this season. With victory still very much in doubt, Danny and Duke Burk came up with huge performances for NIU. Danny Burk took on 16-4 Antoine Love and proceeded to dominate the match from start to finish, earning an 8-3 decision. Then, his brother Duke Birk, ranked as highly as 16th nationally, dominated his opponent as well, en route to an 11-4 victory. Coach Dave Grant gave high praise to the Burk brothers after the meet, "The Burk's really got after it. We need all our wrestlers to take it to their opponents like the Duke's did tonight." With the score 15-7, NIU gained firm control of the meet and needed just one more win to secure an overall victory. But, OU was not done just yet. With their backs firmly against the wall, the Bobcats battled back with consecutive wins to make the score 15-13 going into the final match of the night. Luckily for the Huskies the final match of the night was in the hands of Pat Castillo, ranked as high as 20th nationally. Although the match ended with an 8-6 decision for Castillo, the outcome was never in doubt as Castillo controlled the match from start to finish to secure the Huskies 18-13 victory over the Bobcats. Coach Grant summed up the night best when he said, "Our opponents in the MAC aren't going to just rollover for us, every match is do or die." The Bobcats certainly didn't rollover for the Huskies and NIU, now 2-0 in the MAC, will certainly live to fight another day. NIU's next meet will be on the road against Kent State on Friday, January 26th at 7:05 EST.

LEXINGTON, VA – UNC Greensboro finished with three fall victories and two major decisions in its 29-13 win over Southern Conference rival VMI on Friday evening at the Thunderdome. The Spartans improve to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference competition. Junior Jeff Hedges gave UNCG the early 6-0 lead with a fall victory over Johnathan Pope in 2:12 at 125 lbs. VMI's Tyler Anthony put up three points for the Keydets after recording a 6-3 decision over Mitchell Johnson at 133 lbs. Junior Chris Bencivenga answered with his fourth consecutive major decision victory at 141. The Davie, FL product defeated VMI's Brandon Franklin 12-3 to put the Spartans up 10-3. The Keydets cut the Spartans' lead to one after taking two decision victories at 149 and 157 lbs. However, UNCG responded with two more fall victories to extend its lead to 22-9. Junior Mark Ring pinned John Burton in 3:46 for his third fall victory of the season at 165 lbs. Senior Joe Lowe followed with a fall victory in 5:49 over Kyle Elgert at 174 lbs. Freshman Scott Snyder, a Slatington, PA native, pulled off the 3-2 decision at 184 lbs. over VMI's Dustin McCabe in the final seconds of the third period to give UNCG the 25-9 advantage. VMI's Corry Murray tallied the 14-1 major decision over freshman Nick Clark at 197 lbs before senior Joe Sheffield grabbed another major decision win for the Spartans. The Killeen, TX native sealed the deal as he defeated Erik Olson 15-3 at 285 lbs. Hedges, Bencivenga and Lowe all improve to a perfect 5-0 in dual meets in their respective weight classes. The Spartans continues their Virginia road trip when they take on the University of Virginia in Charlottesville on Saturday at 1 pm

Augustana won 8 overall matches, including the final 6 bouts of the night to defeat Southwest Minnesota State 32-6 in a non-conference dual Friday night in Marshall, Minn. The Vikings, ranked No. 11 in the latest NCAA Division II poll, used a pin by Austin Scarset and 4 major decisions to propel them to the win an improve to 5-3 in dual action this season. The Mustangs dropped to 1-3. Scarset, ranked No. 2 in the nation at 157 pounds, wasted little time in pinning SMSU's Chris Fast in only 40 seconds. It was the only pin of the dual and gave the Vikings a 12-6 lead. Aaron Haddorff then picked up a major decision at 165 pounds. Following a decision by Cody Henriksen at 174 pounds, Beau Severtson (184), Nate Buys (197) and Ray O'Connor (Hwt) all recorded major decision victoies. Chris Trampe got the Vikings off to a good start, edging SMSU's Kurt Smith 7-6 at 125 pounds. Also winning was Jordan Burmeister, who earned a 10-6 win over Ryan Reed at 141 pounds. Augustana will be in action again on Saturday when the Vikings host St. Cloud State in a 2 p.m. dual at the Elmen Center. It will also be Parents Day.

FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota State (3-2, 1-0 WWC) won its first Western Wrestling Conference match defeating Utah Valley State (3-7, 0-2 WWC) 46-0 in front of a crowd of 604 at the Bison Sports Arena on Friday, January 19. The last time the Bison shutout an opponent was on February 14, 2004, when NDSU upended Air Force 42-0. After forfeits at 125 and 133 pounds, Gabe Mooney got the duel rolling by defeating Justin Morrill 8-4 at 141 pounds. Ryan Adams, wrestling in his first home dual for the Bison, followed that effort up, winning 11-6 over Justin Rawle at 149 pounds. Adam Aho and Mike Quamme each earned four points for NDSU after major decisions at 157 and 165 pounds, respectively. Aho defeated Clayton Wolf 13-4 and Quamme took care of Dustin Olsen 12-3. The 12-3 decision for Quamme was his first career dual win. The most exciting match of the night came at 174 pounds between NDSU's Matt Hermann and UVSC's Marc Fenwick Fenwick had a 10-8 advantage with less than a minute remaining in the final period. But with 34 seconds remaining, Hermann scored a takedown to tie the match at 10 and send it into overtime. The extra session would be a short one though as Hermann notched a takedown 23 seconds into sudden victory to earn a 12-10 decison. Reigning WWC Wrestler of the Week Matt Wetterling increased his winning streak to five and his pinning streak to four at 184 pounds after sticking Brock Jardine's shoulders to the mat in 1:57. At 197 pounds, Jacob Bryce recorded his first technical fall of the season, defeating Eric McCalister 23-8 with 35 seconds remaining in the final period. Heavyweight Justin LaGosh secured the shutout for North Dakota State with a first period pin of Mike Smith. The pin was LaGosh's fourth of the season. The Bison will be back on the road for a pair of Western Wrestling Conference matches. The Bison will wrestle Wyoming on Friday, January 26, at 8 p.m. CST and will be back on the mat the following afternoon against Air Force at 3 p.m. CST.

No. 4 ranked UNO used pins by Ross Taplin at 165 pounds and J.D. Naig at 174 to post a 37-12 North Central Conference win over St. Cloud State Friday night at Lee & Helene Sapp Fieldhouse. The Mavericks, now 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the NCC, also got a technical fall by Todd Meneely and major decisions by freshman Jeff Rau and redshirt freshman Jacob Marrs at 197. UNO won seven of the eight matches, with each team defaulting one, the Mavericks at 125 and the Huskies at heavyweight. The Mavs return to the mat Saturday to compete in the Brand Open at Sapp Fieldhouse with the first matches getting underway at 9 a.m.

LEWISBURG, Pa. –- The Bucknell wrestling squad split in its return to Davis Gym on Friday evening as the Orange and Blue upended Millersville, 34-3, after dropping a heartbreaker to Liberty, 25-24. Following the meet, the Bison are 9-8, while the Marauders fall to 1-8 and the Flames move to 9-6. Andy Rendos (Brockway, Pa./Brockway Area) started things off against Millersville by pinning Gary Price, 5:39 into the 165-lb matchup to give Bucknell a 6-0 advantage. The victory marked the 15th of the year for Rendos in duals competition, to move him into second for dual-meet wins in a season on the program's all-time list. The Bison swept through the next six bouts, building a 28-0 lead. Shane Riccio (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) picked up a 5-4 decision over John Heleniak at 174 and George Mann (Orange, Ohio, Orange) recorded a 3-2 victory over Steve Funk at 184. Eric Lapotsky (Mount Carmel, Pa./Mount Carmel Area) followed at 197 with his team-leading 15th fall of the year, pinning Keith McDonald in 3:21. In the heavyweight bout, Sean LoCurto (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) defeated Mike Langor, 9-8, and 125-pounder Greg Hart (Bedminster, N.J./Bernards) notched a 11-9 decision against Mike Acedo-Malaney. David Marble (Harpursville, N.Y./Harpursville Area) then clinched the match for the Bison at 133 with his 15-6 major decision over John Lester, Jr. Zach Galligan (Boonville, N.Y./Adirondack) was edged, 2-1, in the next bout after Cody Becker picked up the victory with the riding time point. However, 149-pounder Jack Conroy (Westport, Conn./Green Farms Academy) and 157-pounder Brantley Hooks (Spartanburg, S.C./James F. Byrnes) closed things out for Bucknell in a winning fashion. Conroy defeated Nick Foley, 7-2, and Hooks pulled out a 9-6 overtime triumph over Jarrett Hostetter. In the earlier matchup against Liberty, Rendos pinned Chad Porter in 4:47 at 165, after starting out with a 4-1 deficit in his bout. Riccio followed up at 174 with another fall to give the Bison a 12-0 advantage, pinning Jonathan Campbell in 2:03. In the 184-pound matchup, Chris Dagett put the Flames on the board with an 11-8 victory over Mann, but Lapotsky responded by pinning Rory Bosek 1:42 into his bout at 197 to stretch Bucknell's advantage to 18-3. Despite a 9-4 decision by Christian Smith over Hart at 125, Marble picked up another six points for the Bison at 133 after an injury to Sam Walters prevented him from finishing the match. With three bouts remaining, the Orange and Blue led by a 24-12 margin, but Tim Harner pinned Galligan in 6:16 and Aaron Kelley downed Conroy, 12-4, to close the gap to 24-22 heading into the final bout With a 2-2 tie after two periods, Shaun Smith outscored Hooks 2-1 in the third and sealed the 25-24 team victory with his 4-3 decision at 157. Bucknell returns to action next Saturday, Jan. 27, when the team will play host to Wagner in Davis Gym beginning at 1 p.m.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State University wrestling team came back from a pair of deficits, including a two-point deficit with one bout remaining, to record a 19-18 defeat of visiting Cal State Bakersfield Friday night in a Pac-10 dual held inside Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The win improved the Sun Devils' season record to 5-8 overall and 2-1 in the Pac-10 while the Roadrunners fell to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference. Trailing, 18-16, with only the 133 pound bout remaining, true freshman Shawn Jones took to the mat for the first time in 17 days in search of a win for himself and the team. After taking an early 2-1 lead following the first period of action, Jones scored a takedown and three near fall points in the second to break open the scoring before eventually winning, 10-3. The dual opened at 141 with Robert Galvan dropping a 10-3 decision to Matt Schumm before Brandon Doyle scored a 10-6 defeat of ASU's Chris Remsen at 149 to stake the visitors to a 6-0 lead. No. 5 Brian Stith then dominated his foe, Daniel Alejandro, in the 157 pound bout, scoring a 14-4 major decision to cut the CSUB lead to 6-4. The Roadrunners extended their to seven points (11-4) lead at 165 pounds with Daniel Atondo scoring a 16-1 technical fall over Cameron Smith. The Sun Devils responded in kind as Rick Renzi picked up a late takedown to record an 18-10 major decision and bring the team score to 11-8 CSUB. Greg Gifford followed in the 184 pound bout with a 21-5 technical fall for the Sun Devils, giving the hosts their first lead of the night, 13-11. In a match-up of ranked conference wrestlers at 197, Jason Trulson, who was ranked fourth in the Pac-10, scored a 7-5 upset of second-ranked Brandon Halsey to give ASU a 16-11 lead. The Roadrunners struck back, however, and moved to with in one point (16-15) after heavyweight Eric Parker scored a 15-4 major decision over Thor Moen. Brandon Zoeteway then downed ASU's John Espinoza in the 125 pound bout, 8-4, to put the visitors on top, 18-16, and set up the come-from-behind win for Jones. The Sun Devils now will head to Ithaca, N.Y., for a 1 p.m. ET dual at No. 11 Cornell. Next weekend, ASU will return to road conference action as it heads to the Pacific Northwest to take on Oregon and Oregon State. The Sun Devils will take on the Beavers in a 7 p.m. dual in Corvallis on Friday (Jan. 26) before closing out the road trip with a 2 p.m. showdown in Eugene on Sunday (Jan. 28).

BETHLEHEM, Pa. –- Lehigh and Cornell split ten bouts, but back-to-back falls from senior Paul Weibel and sophomore Matt Fisk propelled the 25th ranked Mountain Hawks to a 21-19 win over the No. 11 Big Red Friday night in front of over 2,700 fans at Stabler Arena. Both teams were wrestling shorthanded on the night, but the two six-point victories helped the Brown and White improve to 9-6 on the season and 2-1 in the EIWA duals. Cornell falls to 1-5 overall, 0-1 in league duals. "Both teams were missing somebody," said Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel. "But we got a couple of key falls and put some big points up. I was most impressed by the fact that the guys went out and fought hard. Hopefully we can turn the corner with some tough matches coming up next weekend." The dual started at 157 where senior Dave Nakasone gave Lehigh an early boost, with a 10-6 victory over Drake Hovis. Cornell's Steve Anceravage answered with a 12-4 major decision over freshman Manuel Schubert to put the Big Red on top after two bouts. At 174, senior Dave Helfrich made his returned to the lineup and battled hard on a leg that was less than 100 percent. Helfrich converted two first period takedowns to lead No. 19 Joey Hooker 4-1 after the first period, but after Hooker rallied to tie, the Cornell grappler scored two late in the third to edge Helfrich 7-5. Freshman David Craig brought Lehigh back within one, narrowly missing a major decision and settling for a seven point victory over Luke Hogle. The Mountain Hawks were still without senior Matt Cassidy and sent out freshman Andy Knerr up two weight classes at 197. His opponent, fourth ranked Jerry Rinaldi scored a first period takedown and was able to secure the fall at 2:25. Weibel ignited the Mountain Hawks' rally pinning Zach Hammond for his fifth fall of the season. Leading 2-1 in the first period, Weibel countered a Hammond shot by throwing him to his back and then securing the fall at the 1:51 mark. At 125, Fisk put Lehigh ahead for good with a fall over Mike Rodriguez, who was subbing for Cornell's national runner-up Troy Nickerson. After a scoreless first period Fisk scored a takedown in the second, and was able to eventually work Rodriguez to his back to earn the fall. Freshman Seth Ciasulli battled back from an early deficit, but fell to third ranked Adam Frey at 133, but brother Matt Ciasulli put the Mountain Hawks in great position heading into the final bout. Ciasulli's 5-2 win over Corey Manson put Lehigh up by five with one bout remaining. With the lead, Lehigh knew that as long as sophomore Trevor Chinn did not get pinned by No. 4 Jordan Leen, the Mountain Hawks would win the dual. Chinn kept things close as the match was scoreless after two periods. Leen could only muster a 6-1 decision, which gave Lehigh its sixth dual win over Cornell in the last seven meetings. The Mountain Hawks will return to the mats on Saturday, January 27, when they return to Leeman-Turner at Grace Hall to face a pair of Ivy League foes from New England. Lehigh will wrestle Harvard and 1 p.m. and then will face off against Brown at 3 p.m. For tickets, call 610-7LU-GAME or visit the Lehigh ticket office, located in Grace Hall, during normal business hours.

Champaign, Ill. -- The Big Ten season kicked off for the No. 16 Illinois wrestling team as they upset No. 8 Northwestern, 21-13, Friday night at Huff Hall. The Illini took six out of the ten weight classes to avenge last season's heartbreaking three-point loss to the Wildcats. Gabe Flores (125) and Mike Poeta (157) kept their undefeated season intact in the victory. Ryan Lang, Northwestern's top-ranked 141-pounder didn't compete due to injury. After dropping their first match at heavyweight, the Illini fired off six victories in a row. #10 Gabe Flores (Madera, Calif.) took a decision against Brandon Precin, 8-3. Flores was in control of the entire match as he recorded a takedown, reversal and a two-point nearfall in the win. The Illini appeared to have tied the match, but a team point was subtracted from them because of unsportsmanlike conduct. After the Flores decision, the next four Illini wins came without allowing their opponents to score a takedown. At 133, freshman Jimmy Kennedy took a 2-0 decision against Eric Metzler. At 141, #12 Cassio Pero dominated James Kohlberg, 15-5. Pero (Chicago Heights, Ill.), who logged seven takedowns in the major decision, only let Kohlberg score on five escapes. #12 Troy Tirapelle followed up with a major decision of his own against Marty Gould in their 149-pound match. With Tirapelle (Clovis, Calif.) up 2-1 heading into the third period, he extended his lead by scoring on an escape, a pair of takedowns and a three-point nearfall. At 157, #1 Mike Poeta showed Dominic Marella why he's the top 157-pounder in the country in a win via technical fall, 19-4 (7:00). Poeta (Highwood, Ill.) came out firing in the first period as he scored a takedown and picked up three more on back points. Poeta extended his lead in the first as he added another takedown. The Illini sophomore collected two takedowns in each of the next two periods en-route to the technical fall. At 165, #14 Roger Smith-Bergsrud posted a huge victory against Greg Hagel, 11-7. With no scoring in the first two periods, the action came with a fury in the third. The pair traded takedowns and escapes to start the third. After Hagel took a 7-6 lead later in the period, Smith-Bergsrud (Lake Bluff, Ill.) took the lead back with a takedown. Then, the Illini sophomore sealed the win by picking up three points on a nearfall. At this point in the dual, Illinois had a commanding 21-3 lead. "We wrestled very tough tonight." Head coach Mark Johnson said. "We wrestled the entire seven minutes of every match and we never let up. We had a goal to get tougher this season and it's showing. I'm very pleased with our performance." The No. 16 Illini continue Big Ten action on Sunday, Jan. 21 as they host No. 13 Indiana at Huff Hall. Mat time is scheduled for 1 p.m.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana wrestling team opened its Big Ten season on a winning note, topping rival Purdue 25-12 on Friday, Jan. 21, at University Gym. The crowd of more than 800 saw the Hoosiers take six of the 10 bouts and increase their record to 10-0 on the year. The Hoosiers opened the meet with a pair of crucial victories, picking up bonus points in each of the matches. No. 9 Angel Escobedo improved to 24-2 with a 21-6 technical fall over Purdue's Brandon Tucker with five takedowns in the third period. Andrae Hernandez followed with another bonus point at 133 after grasping a 12-1 major decision over Sean Schmaltz. The Boilers followed with a pair of one-point victories at 141 and 149, recovering from late deficits in each match to earn six dual points. In the most anticipated match of the meet, No. 11 Jake Patacsil used a third-period escape to force overtime, then used another escape in the first tiebreak period to best No. 7 Matt Coughlin 3-2, making the score 9-6. No. 7 Brandon Becker returned from injury and earned bonus points for the Hoosiers at 157, tallying a pair of takedowns in the final minute and earning a point for riding time to take a 9-1 victory over Purdue's Jacob Murphy. In another highly entertaining bout, Justin Fraga used a late takedown to upend IU's Max Dean at 165 in a 6-5 victory. Trevor Perry rebounded from a loss at Eastern Illinois to post an 8-3 decision over Purdue's Jason Martin at 174, and the Hoosiers clinched the meet victory in the 184-pound bout. No. 12 Marc Bennett held a decisive lead late in the third over Nick Skinner, then turned his opponent with just 23 seconds remaining to register his fifth fall of the season and move to 26-4. At 197, true freshman Nathan Everhart more than held his own against No. 14 Nathan Moore of Purdue. Moore took a 1-0 lead with a second-period escape, and held the lead heading into the third. Everhart chose down and earned an escape in the final minute, but not until Moore had registered over a minute of riding time, and the nationally-ranked Moore took a 2-1 decision. Josh Buuck finished off the Hoosier victory with a 9-3 victory over Purdue's David Pisarcik, making the score 25-12 in favor of the home squad. Buuck dominated the match, and nearly earned bonus points with a takedown in the final 10 seconds, but the official ruled that the wrestlers were out of bounds before the takedown occurred. Buuck moved to 7-2 on the year and 2-0 in dual meets. The Hoosiers are back in action on Sunday, Jan. 21, with a crucial Big Ten dual at No. 16 Illinois. The match is slated to begin at 2 p.m. EST in Champaign, Ill.

MADISON, Wis. -- In front of a season high crowd of over 900 people, the No. 15 Wisconsin wrestling team extended its winning streak to 15 as the Badgers took down No. 10 Penn State Friday at the UW Field House. Both teams won five matches, but it was No. 3 Craig Henning's five-point tech fall over Bubba Jenkins at 157 lbs., that proved to be the difference. The match got underway at 125 lbs., where No. 2 Mark McKnight of Penn State defeated Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) 10-4. The dual-meet loss was Cudd's first of the season, while McKnight improved to 16-1. However, sophomore Zach Tanelli (Milburn, N.J.) would answer with an upset over No. 6 Jake Strayer at 133 lbs. The match was tight, with the score tied at 5-5 following the second period. Then Strayer, who had accumulated over a minute of riding time, attempted an illegal maneuver, giving Tanelli a 6-5 advantage with 30 seconds remaining. Tanelli did not stop there, earning an escape, a takedown and a three-point near fall in the final 25 seconds to win his first Big Ten match 12-6. The Badger is now 15-0 in dual competition and 15-2 overall. No. 16 Kyle Ruschell (Crittenden, Ky.) and No. 6 Tyler Turner (Spring Valley, Wis.) added decision victories of their own at 141 lbs. and 149 lbs., respectively. With the score 9-3 in favor of the Badgers, Henning won what would be the deciding match at 157 lbs. A native of Chippewa Falls, Wis., Henning dominate Jenkins from the start, tallying a 15-1 lead at the end of the second. He eventually earned the tech fall at 6:32 into the match, putting Wisconsin ahead 14-9. Nevertheless, Penn State would not back down, earning a win at 165 lbs., as Dave Rella edged Jake Donar (Cuba City, Wis.) 6-4. No. 5 James Yonushonis added to Penn State's points with a 13-4 major decision over Mike Felling (Hutchinson, Minn.) at 174 lbs. Freshman Trevor Brandvold (River Falls, Wis.) got the Badgers back on track, defeating PSU's Phil Bomberger 10-5. No. 15 Brandvold is now 14-3 overall and 9-1 in dual meets. No. 11 Dallas Herbst (Winneconne, Wis.) faced familiar foe Phil Davis at 197 lbs. It was a match that the Nittany Lions knew they had to win to remain in contention for a dual victory. Herbst led 4-2 after the first, but the national-runner up proved to be too strong, winning the bout 11-2. Penn State had pulled within four with only one match remaining, Kyle Massey (Champlin, Minn.) against No. 12 Aaron Anspach at heavyweight. Even is Massey lost, Wisconsin would win the bout as long as Penn State did not earn any bonus points. Massey fell behind 2-1 after the first, and 6-3 after the second. No. 12 Anspach came away with the 8-5 victory, but Massey prevented Penn State from earning crucial bonus points, that could have given PSU the win. Wisconsin upset Penn State for the second consecutive year 17-16. The Badgers now have the second most wins in school history, despite only being halfway through the season. UW is next in action on Jan. 26 as it heads to Evanston, Ill., to face Northwestern. Match time is set for 7 p.m. Check uwbadgers.com for the latest updates and scores.

No. 16 Loras (8-5, 2-2 IIAC) defeated Simpson (2-6-1, 0-3 IIAC) in an Iowa Conference wrestling dual Jan. 19 in Indianola. The Duhawks' Mark Beatty opened the meet with a 6-1 victory over Tony Hager (Sr., Odgen, Iowa, Ogden H.S.) at 125 pounds. Jordan Joy increased the Loras lead to 6-0 with an 8-2 win over Matt Koch (So., Indianola, Iowa, Indianola H.S.) in their 133-pound matchup. Boomer Mears was awarded a default victory at 141. Billy Smith needed a reversal with 15 seconds to go in his 149-pound match against Curtis Barber (Fr., Winterset, Iowa, Winterset H.S.) to earn victory. By riding Barber out in the final period, Smith ended the contest with a 12-9 win. Kellen Delaney (Sr., Kansas City, Mo., Park Hill H.S.) earned the lone Storm decision as he defeated Mark Kaprain 15-2 at 157. Dave Early posted a 11-1 score over Tom Koch (Sr., Runnells, Iowa, Southeast Polk H.S.) at 165 while Brandon Bauer needed to go to triple overtime to defeat Trent Byler (Jr., Lorimor, Iowa, Winterset H.S.) 6-5 at 174 pounds. Jay Figgins recorded the lone pin of the night when he stuck Ryan Napoli (Fr., Kansas City, Mo., St. Pius X H.S.) at the 3:52 mark of the 184-pound contest. Ryan Allen earned a 9-2 decision over Sam Collora (Fr., Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Mt. Pleasant H.S.) at 197 while Trevor Kaufman ended the night with 10-0 victory over Chris Downing (Jr., Creston, Iowa, Creston H.S.) at heavyweight. Simpson resumes action Saturday when the Storm travel to Pella for duals against William Penn at 9 a.m. and Augustana (Ill.) at 12 p.m.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –- North Carolina junior Drew Forshey's decision over NC State's Taylor Cummings in the final bout of the night proved to be the difference Friday, as the Tar Heels (4-5, 1-1 ACC) posted a 16-14 victory over rival NC State (7-5, 1-1 ACC) at Carmichael Auditorium. With Carolina trailing 14-13, Forshey came through with a 9-2 decision over Cummings at 125 pounds to lift the Tar Heels' record to 3-0-1 against NC State in their last four meetings. Forshey, now 12-7 on the year, scored a takedown in the first period and tacked on a near fall in the third to cruise to the win. In addition to Forshey, Evan Sola (133), Vincent Ramirez (149), Keegan Mueller (165) and Robert McCarthy (184) each posted wins on the night for the Tar Heels, who are back in action Saturday against No. 22 Navy at 1 p.m. Carolina and State went back and forth over the first six bouts of the night, alternating decisions before McCarthy picked up a big major decision over defending ACC champion Jeremy Colbert at 184 pounds. The Hartland, Mich., redshirt freshman scored a takedown in each period en route to a10-0 shutout and his 10th victory of the season. Down 13-9, the Wolfpack came back with decisions from No. 12 Ryan Goodman and No. 17 Jainor Palma to take their first lead of the night at 14-13. After Palma's overtime win over No. 8 Spencer Nadolsky at heavyweight, NC State had one point deducted by the referee for unsportsman-like conduct giving Carolina a one-point deficit heading into Forshey's match. Carolina jumped out to an early lead thanks to a 6-1 decision for the 10th-ranked Sola over Garrett Cummings at 133 pounds. The two-time All-America scored the first five points of the match and racked up nearly three minutes of riding time in the first period to claim his 111th career win and move past T.J. Jaworsky into fifth place on Carolina's all-time victory list. Sola is now 9-2 on the season. After State's Darrion Caldwell tied the match at three with a decision at 141, Ramirez reclaimed the lead for the Tar Heels with a 10-7 decision over Joe Caramanica at 149. Now 10-6 on the year, Ramirez went ahead on a reversal and three-point near fall late in the second period and then held on with a key reversal in the third. The Wolfpack came back to tie the dual for second time thanks to Kody Hamrah's decision over Ben Fiacco at 157, but Carolina went back in front on a 5-1 decision by Mueller over Obie Simpson at 165. Mueller is the first Tar Heel to reach the 20-win mark and is now 20-6 on the year. Carolina freshman Mike Rappo's late effort was key at 141, as he posted a takedown and near fall at the end of the third period to avoid a major decision and an early deficit for the Tar Heels.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The wrestling team heads North this weekend to compete in the Chippewa Challenge at Central Michigan University Sunday in Mount Pleasant, Mich. The event features five teams with each wrestling in four dual matches on the day. The Mocs, ranked as high as 17th nationally, will face Gardner-Webb at 10 a.m., Cal Poly at noon, Eastern Illinois at 4 p.m. and host Central Michigan at 6 p.m. UTC, 8-0, carries an undefeated record into the round-robin event. The last time the Mocs enjoyed a start this successful was in 1988 when the team kicked off the season winning its first 10 dual matches. "This will surely be a test for our team," UTC Head Coach Chris Bono said. "Wrestling four duals in one day is tough, and Central Michigan may be one of the top teams we face all year. We have to be focused in each and every match. But we are going up there to win all four." Central Michigan is ranked as high as No. 7 nationally, and the Chippewas will be the Mocs' highest-ranked opponent since they took on No. 5 Minnesota at last year's Northeast Duals on Nov. 26. The Gophers won that match, 36-6. CMU is 8-4-1 on the year. The Chippewas have faced national top-five opponents Minnesota and Hofstra twice each and No. 2 Missouri. CMU has a 33-9 win over American, a team UTC defeated 28-12 in its last outing. Central Michigan has also beaten Bloomsburg, Penn, Michigan, Michigan State, No. 7 Oklahoma and No. 8 Northwestern. The Chippewas won the Reno Tournament of Champions and finished fourth at the Midlands. They have six nationally-ranked wrestlers in their lineup, including third-ranked Bubba Gritter at heavyweight and fifth-ranked Brandon Sinnot at 174. Cal Poly is 3-3 in dual matches, Eastern Illinois is 0-5 and Gardner-Webb is 3-9-1. Bono will employ a slight change in his lineup, placing sophomore Kyle McKee at 197 pounds instead of sophomore Mike Marable. The rest of the tentative lineup remains intact with No. 18 Javier Maldonado at 125, No. 8 Matt Keller at 133, No. 14 Michael Keefe at 141 and No. 13 Aaron Martin at 149 making up the top four weight classes for UTC. Jake Yost and T.J. Sayers will compete at 157 and 165 respectively. Lloyd Rogers, ranked 17th, will face Sinnot at 174. Josh Edmondson and Matt Koz round out the lineup at 184 and 285 respectively.