InterMat Staff

Columbia, Mo. -- The second-ranked Missouri wrestling team opened its Big 12 season at home with a 31-11 victory over No. 20 Nebraska in the Hearnes Center. A record-setting 2,728 fans were on hand to watch the Tigers hold off the Huskers for the first time in four meetings. Seven Tigers took wins in their weight class with junior Josh Wagner (Milton, Wis.) securing a fall in the second bout of the day. The stick at 149 pounds helped Missouri overcome a 4-0 deficit created after 17th-ranked freshman Ashtin Primus (South Connelsville, Penn.) suffered a 15-2 loss to eighth-ranked Dominic Moyer in the opening bout at 141 pounds. Battling at 157 pounds, sophomore Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) was unable to overcome his Husker opponent, losing the match by a score of 4-3. Chandler and Chris Oliver entered the third period tied at three, but Oliver escaped with 1:12 left on the clock for the eventual one point win. A victory at 165 pounds by seventh-ranked All-American Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) was the start of a five bout Tiger win streak. The first of four Tiger wins by major decision, Pell scored six back points on Stephen Dwyer and accumulated 1:06 of riding time. Pell won the match 12-2. Fan favorite senior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.), Missouri's sole wrestling National Champion, rattled off a 20-9 victory over Marc Harwood at 174 pounds. Askren took down Harwood nine times and was taken down only once. Scoring a one point escape and tallying 2:54 of riding time, Askren bumped his season record to 28-0 while his career mark stands at 139-8. "People that wrestle Ben [Askren] are going to wrestle not to get pinned," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "No one in Division I wrestling wants to get pinned, but Ben [Askren] just keeps wrestling and scoring points." Sophomore Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) won his bout at 184 pounds with a 13-5 major decision of Levi Wofford. Ranked fifth in the country, Jordan scored first with a takedown 23 seconds into the dual giving up a reversal with 1:55 left on the clock. After Wofford was hit with a stall call at 1:04, Jordan escaped to take the 3-2 lead entering the second period. Never giving up his advantage, Jordan collected three takedowns in the third period to help Missouri to an 11 point team lead over the Huskers. In a battle between two ranked freshmen Missouri's Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) proved dominant besting eighth-ranked Craig Brester, 11-3, at 197 pounds. Askren, ranked No. 1 in the country, was awarded three back points with one second remaining in the second period and scored three takedowns to take the win. Both Askren brothers own perfect records this season, with 197 pounder Maxwell in the books as 23-0. After missing the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Cliff Keen Duals, redshirt freshman Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) returned to his winning ways by scoring a 10-5 decision over Nebraska's Cameron Browne. The heavyweights were tied at two entering the second period and Ellis recorded a three-point nearfall at the buzzer in the second to hold on to his lead and take the win. Missouri redshirt freshman John Olanowski (Virginia Beach, Mo.) suffered a setback after losing 19-7 to 15th-ranked Paul Donahoe. In the end, Nebraska forfeited at 133 pounds giving the Tigers the 33-1 victory. "This was a good win for us," Smith said. "It's always nice to start the Big 12 season with a win, especially over a good program like Nebraska's. Our guys went out and wrestled hard today. The fan support was great and made the environment that much more challenging for Nebraska. I'm hoping we can continue to draw even bigger crowds for our upcoming duals." The Tigers will return to action Saturday, Feb. 3, when they take on fourth-ranked defending National Champion Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. (CT) in Gallagher Iba Arena. Following the dual with OSU, Missouri will travel to Norman, for a 3 p.m. (CT) meeting with 13th-ranked Oklahoma Sunday, Feb. 4

MINNEAPOLIS -- Winning all 10 matches, including three by pin and two technical falls, the Augsburg College wrestling team claimed a 47-0 victory over St. Cloud State in a nonconference dual meet Sunday afternoon at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall. The Auggies, ranked No. 1 in the latest NCAA Division III national poll (National Wrestling Coaches Association), improved to 10-0 in dual meets on the season. Augsburg has won 85 of 100 individual matches in its 10 team victories this season. Sunday's win marked Augsburg's third shutout of the season; the Auggies topped St. John's 43-0 on Nov. 22 and Simpson (Iowa) 50-0 on Jan. 13. Against teams from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 217-16 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 is now 15-4 in the all-time series against St. Cloud State, a series dating to the 1980-81 season. Augsburg has won the last 13 duals in a row in the series with the Huskies. St. Cloud State, an NCAA Division II program, is now 3-4 in dual meets this season. Augsburg opened the match with three straight pins. Seth Flodeen (So., Cannon Falls, Minn.), ranked No. 3 nationally at 125 pounds, claimed a second-period pin of Westy Hanson (Fr., Crookston, Minn.), improving to 15-3 in the process. Jamie Rocha (Fr., Santa Maria, Minn./Righetti HS) scored a pin over Nick Wasche (So., Cedar, Minn./St. Francis HS) in the first period at 133. Quincy Osborn (Jr., Grand Rapids, Minn.), ranked No. 1 in the country at 141, ended his match with Tim Whitely (Fr., Wenatchee, Wash.) with a pin in just 19 seconds. The pin was Osborn's team-high 15th of the season, as he improved to 31-2 overall. Augsburg's Marcus LeVesseur (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), ranked No. 1 nationally at 165, maintained his unbeaten collegiate record with a third-period technical fall of Matt Steffenson (Jr., Onamia, Minn.). LeVesseur, who won Division III national titles at 157 pounds three times (2003, 2004, 2005), improved to 18-0 on the season and improved his collegiate career record to 142-0, 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. Robbie Gotreau (Jr., Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS), ranked No. 3 nationally at 174, needed just 3:15 to claim a 15-0, technical fall victory over Neil Russell (So., St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo HS). Gotreau is now 29-4 on the season. Jeremy Anderson (Jr., Thief River Falls, Minn.), ranked No. 1 in the country at 157, improved to 27-1 on the season with a 16-4, major-decision win over Adam Minnette (Jr., New Prague, Minn.). Jason Adams (Fr., Coon Rapids, Minn.) scored a 8-5 win over Grant Johnson (Fr., Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori HS) at 149. George Lynaugh (Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) claimed a 6-4 triumph over Nick Wilkes (Jr., Onamia, Minn.) at 184, while Wally O'Connor (Jr., Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West HS) scored a 6-1 win over Jairo Sandoval (Jr., Miami, Fla./Miami Senior HS). Augsburg's Andrew Neumann (Sr., Somerset, Wis.), ranked No. 7 nationally at heavyweight, received a forfeit to end the match. Augsburg returns to action with a dual meet against Wartburg College (Iowa) on Thursday (2/1) at 7 p.m. at Si Melby Hall. Wartburg, the defending Division III national champions, is currently ranked No. 2 in the Division III national poll. St. Cloud State returns to action on Friday (2/2) at 7 p.m. with a dual meet at Upper Iowa University.

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Seniors Corry Murray and Scott Buhman scored the final two victories for the second straight match as VMI won their second straight Southern Conference dual by defeating Davidson 25-19 on Sunday afternoon at Belk Arena. The Keydets (4-5, 2-1 SoCon) trailed by one point with two bouts remaining, leaving the match in the hands of Murray and Buhman at the top two weights. Murray responded with a 9-3 decision over Mike Waters to improve to 3-0 in SoCon duals, while Buhman posted an 11-2 major decision to secure the victory and improve to 21-9 on the season. The Wildcats (3-8, 0-3 SoCon) jumped on top early, with Ben Altman posting a technical fall victory at 125 over Jonathan Pope. Following a 10-2 major decision by VMI's Tyler Anthony at 133, the hosts extended their lead to 11-4 as Jim Avola posted his sixth pin of the season, this one against Brandon Franklin at 141. However, the Keydets responded quickly. Senior Sam Alvarenga ran his overall record to 25-5 on the season with his fourth pin of the season, as he needed only 1:08 to defeat Scott Matthews at 149. Junior Tommy Cunningham won his 11th straight dual match with a 10-2 major decision, giving VMI their first lead of the match at 14-11. The two teams traded major decisions at the next two weights, with Davidson's Trebor Clavette scoring four points at 165 while VMI's Dustin McCabe did the same at 174. But the Wildcats took a one-point lead at 19-18 when Sam O'Hair posted a major decision at 184 against Kyle Elgert, setting the stage for Murray and Buhman. The match was the first time this season that Davidson was able to field a competitor at each weight. The Wildcats will hit the mats again next Saturday, when they go on the road to take on Anderson (S.C.) and Belmont-Abbey. The Keydets also return to action next Saturday, participating in the All-Academy Championships, to be held in Colorado Springs, Colo.

WEST POINT, N.Y. –- The Army wrestling team rebounded from its first Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association loss of the season by beating Brown, 23-10, Sunday at Gillis Field House. Shortly after dropping a decision to Harvard, the Black Knights won seven bouts and improved to 9-4 overall and 5-1 in EIWA matches Fernando Martinez and Richard Starks had major decisions and Matt Kyler, Austin Milster, Brent Smith, Scott Ferguson and Nathan Thobaben won by decisions to lead the Black Knights. "We rebounded in the second match," Army head coach Chuck Barbee said. "We wrestled a little better in the second match. Before the match, we talked about firing and off and being aggressive which is what you need to do to beat good teams." Martinez got the Black Knights off to a great start with a 13-5 major decision at 125. Martinez had a first-period takedown, a takedown and near fall points in the second and an escape and riding time in the third. He also benefited from a locking hands penalty and had riding time. Brown's Jeff Schell tied the match one weight class later with a major decision over William Simpson. Schell had a takedown and three back points in the second period and then a takedown and riding time for a 9-1 win. Kyler put Army ahead 7-4 with a hard-fought win at 141. Kyler had three takedowns in the first period, including one on the end of the mat late in the period for a 6-4 victory. Milster battled his way to an 8-5 win at 149. Milster had a takedown early and then escaped following a reversal. Brown's Leonard Marandino then had a takedown for a 4-3 lead. Marandino took down to start the second and had an escape. Milster countered with a takedown to tie the match heading into the final period. Milster was down to start the third period and quickly escaped. He sealed the victory with a takedown with 15 seconds left and gave Army a 10-4 lead. Brown cut its deficit to 10-7 when Tom Fazio scored a 4-2 decision at 157. Army's Christian Snook trailed 3-0 going into the final period. He chose down and had a reversal but could not get back points. Fazio also had riding time and moved Brown within three points. Brown tied the match after Bran Crudden's 4-3 win at 165. Crudden had an early takedown but Army's Brian Rowan escaped. Crudden had an escape in the second period and then riding time to make it 10-10 after six weights.

West Point, N.Y. -– The Harvard wrestling team won six bouts to earn a 22-18 victory over EIWA foe Army on Sunday afternoon at Gillis Fieldhouse. Senior Robbie Preston and freshman J.P. O'Connor recorded bonus points in the Crimson's first dual win of the season, which appeared live nationally on ESPNU. "I am very proud of our guys," Head Coach Jay Weiss said. "They went out there and wrestled with everything they had and it all started with Robbie [Preston]." With the win the Crimson improves to 1-5 overall and 1-2 against EIWA foes. Army fell to 8-4 overall and 0-1 in the conference. After freshman Ryan Fitzgerald lost by fall at 125 pounds, the Crimson won five straight matches to take a commanding 19-6 lead in the dual. Preston started the Crimson run with a pin in the first period over William Simpson. Fourteenth-ranked Preston took down Simpson and turned him twice before earning the fall in 2:38. Fellow captain Max Meltzer kept the momentum going with an overtime win against Matt Kyler at 141 pounds. Each wrestler escaped to earn the only points in regulation. In the over time session, Meltzer took him down and turned him for back-points to earn a 6-1 win. Sixth-ranked J.P. O'Connor dominated in his match against Frank Baughan at 149, earning a 16-3 major decision. O'Connor had two takedowns, a two-point near fall and three-point near fall in the first period. He reversed him in the second before taking him down in the third and turning him for two more near fall points. Junior Bobby Latessa kept the momentum going with a 6-3 win at 157. After a scoreless first period, Army's Christan Snook chose down to start the second and reversed Latessa to take a 2-0 lead. Lastessa was quick to escape. In the third, he escaped from bottom, took Snook down and turned him for the win. Snook escaped, but was unable to take his Crimson opponent down. It was Snook's first dual loss of the season. Freshman Frankie Colletta turned in another solid performance for the Crimson, taking his 165 pound match, 8-3. Colletta took down Brian Rowan in the first and turned him for two points. In the second he escaped and in the third took Rowan down again after being reversed. The Black Knights scored four points at 174 pounds when Brent Smith earned a 15-2 major decision over Harvard's Patrick Ziemnik. Sophomore Louis Caputo, who is ranked 11th in the nation, sealed the win for Harvard with a 5-0 decision over Scott Ferguson at 184. No takedowns were scored in the bout, Caputo used an escaped in the second, a three-point near fall in the third and riding time to earn the win. Army took the last two matches. Junior Billy Colgan lost a heartbreaker to Richard Starks, 5-4, at 197. The heavyweight bout also went to the Black Knights, Nathan Thobaben defeated Andrew Knapp by technical fall. It was Knapp's first match of the season. Harvard takes another trip south to Pennsylvania and New Jersey next weekend for Ivy League match ups against Penn and Princeton. The Crimson meets Princeton on Friday at 7 p.m. and travel to Penn for a 1 p.m. dual on Saturday.

Mountain Cat sophomore heavyweight Jon Neese (Chambersville, Pa.) broke a 17-17 tie and gave Pitt Johnstown a 23-17 victory at Division I American (D.C.) University Sunday afternoon with a fall over Evan Murtaugh at :27. With the victory, Head Coach Pat Pecora's #5 Mountain Cat wrestlers improved to 17-5 overall and 2-4 against Division I opponents. After falling behind, 3-0, Pitt Johnstown All-American and #7-ranked Brandon Reasy (New Enterprise, Pa.) scored a 7-3 decision over Jordan Lipp at 133 lbs. to tie the score. Red-shirt freshman and #2-ranked Shane Valko (141 lbs.) (Windber, Pa.) followed with a fall over Nick Pitas at 1:16 to give Pitt Johnstown a 9-3 lead. American won a major decision at 149 lbs, but senior National Qualifier Joe Strittmatter (157 lbs.) answered with his own major major decision, 14-6, over Jimmy Pepper. However, the Eagles got a 6-2 decision win by Division I #16 Mike Cannon at 165 lbs.and a 6-0 win by Rudy Rueda at 174 lbs. to even the score at 13-13. The Mountain Cats responded with #1-ranked and undefeated Mike Corcetti's (Export, Pa.) 13-0 major decision over Anthony Fuschino at 184 lbs. American's #5-ranked Josh Glenn tied the score for the third time with a 12-3 major decision at 197 lbs. to set up the heavyweight finale. In the final bout, Neese sealed the match with an emphatic fall over Evan Murtaugh at :27 to give Pitt Johnstown the 23-17 win. With the loss, the Eagles fell to 7-7 on the season. The Mountain Cats host #12 Ashland (OH) University on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. in the Sports Center. The Mountain Cats will then wrap-up the 2006-07 home schedule with Senior Night against #19 University of Findlay (OH) on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

Reiter Dominates in First Appearance of the Season Five Minnesota wrestlers placed at the Jamestown Open on Saturday in North Dakota. Among them was two-time All-American Mack Reiter, who pinned four straight opponents to take first place at 133 pounds in his first action of the season. Also claiming titles for the Gophers were Yura Malamura (197) and true freshman Brandon Sitch, who made his Golden Gopher debut by taking first place at 174 pounds. Finishing in second place for Minnesota were Tyler Safratowich (157) and Justin Bronson (197). Konrad, Schlatter, Rivera Remain Unbeaten Cole Konrad, Dustin Schlatter and Manuel Rivera all kept their perfect records intact with two victories this weekend. Konrad extended his school-record winning streak to 61 consecutive matches, while Schlatter pushed his streak to 54 straight wins by defeating two-ranked opponents this weekend. Rivera continued his stellar season with a pair of decisions to improve to 29-0 on the season. Konrad, Schlatter and Rivera's unbeaten streaks currently rank 2nd, 3rd and 5th among active Division I wrestlers. Ness Putting Opponents to Rest Jayson Ness has been impressive all year long, but the redshirt freshman from Bloominton, Minn., has been particularly dominant as of late. With a 14-5 major decision over Brandon Tucker on Sunday, Ness has now earned bonus points in eight of his last 10 matches. During this streak, Ness has three pins, two tech falls and three major decisions. His current 10-match winning streak includes victories over five ranked opponents, including No. 2 Mark McKnight, whom he pinned in Minnesota's dual against Penn State on Sunday, Jan. 21. CSTV to Air Minnesota-Michigan Dual on Monday College Sports Television (CSTV) will air Friday night's dual against Michigan on tape delay on Monday, Jan. 29 at 9 p.m. The Gophers avenged their only dual meet loss last year by dominating the 17th-ranked Wolverines, 29-6 in front of 3,192 fans at the Sports Pavilion. Jayson Ness, Manuel Rivera, Gabriel Dretsch and Cole Konrad all earned bonus points for Minnesota, who won eight of 10 matches on the night. The Gophers also won the two marquee match-ups of the night, with top-ranked Dustin Schlatter earning a 2-1 decision over No. 3 Josh Churella at 149 pounds and No. 2 Roger Kish downing No. 4 Tyrel Todd, 15-8, at 174. Minnesota's other two victories came from Mike Thorn and C.P. Schlatter. Up Next 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.

EUGENE, Ore. –- The Arizona State University wrestling team used a stretch of three major decisions and two falls to erase an early deficit and win a Pac-10 Conference dual, 27-14, at Oregon Sunday afternoon in Eugene, Ore. The win improved the Sun Devils' season record to 6-10 overall and 3-2 in the Pac-10 while the Ducks slipped to 3-7 overall and 1-5 in the conference. The dual opened at 133 pounds where Shawn Jones dropped a close 2-0 decision to Joey Lucas. From there, the Ducks would win the next two bouts, both by decision, to stake the hosts to a 9-0 lead. No. 5 Brian Stith continued his dominant streak at 157 pounds as he scored a 14-4 major decision to cut the deficit to 9-4. Then, at 165 pounds, Kevin Gaughan took down Kyle Bounds and pinned him in 2:28 to make the team score, 10-9, in favor of the Sun Devils. But, the Ducks were assessed a team penalty point for unsportsmanlike conduct following the bout, bringing the score to 10-8 in favor of ASU. Rick Renzi continued the momentum for the Sun Devils as he scored a 14-5 major decision to put ASU ahead, 14-8. The lead grew to 20-8 when Greg Gifford pinned Brysen French in 3:22 before Jason Trulson recorded a 10-0 major decision to bring the team score to 24-8 in ASU's favor. After a Chris Dearmon fall at 5:53 over Quinton Pruett put the team score at 24-14, Johns Espinoza closed out the dual with another Sun Devil win, this time a 6-2 decision over Ryan Dunn at 125 pounds for the 27-14 final. Next up for the Sun Devils will be a 7 p.m. home dual with No. 13 Oklahoma inside Wells Fargo Arena on Friday night (Feb. 2).

Sixth-ranked Hofstra captured nine of 10 matches, including a win by fall by red-shirt freshman Mitch Smith at 149, to post a 30-6 victory over #24 Lehigh at the New York Athletic Club Sunday night. The Pride, who tallied their seventh consecutive victory, improve to 17-2-2 while the Mountain Hawks, who had their four-match winning streak stopped, fall to 11-7. Hofstra's 18th-ranked junior Dave Tomasette (14-5) opened the night's festivities with a 6-5 victory over Lehigh sophomore Matt Fisk. After trailing 4-1 after one period, Fisk tied the match at 5-5 with an escape with 1:15 remaining in the third. But Tomasette recorded the riding time point to post the victory. At 133, Hofstra freshman Lou Ruggirello (26-6), ranked 18th, battled freshman Seth Ciasulli and posted a first period takedown and an escape in the third for a 3-1 victory. The Pride's seventh-ranked junior Charles Griffin (23-4) battled back from a 5-2 deficit at the end of the first period to post a 7-6 victory, on the riding time point, over Lehigh senior Matt Ciasulli at 141 pounds. At 149, Hofstra 19th-ranked red-shirt freshman Mitch Smith (7-1) returned to action for the first time since December with a win by fall over junior Jeff Santo in 3:39. Pride senior James Strouse (31-2), ranked second in the country at 157, posted his 16th consecutive victory with a 5-0 blanking of senior Dave Nakasome. At 165, Hofstra's sixth-ranked senior Mike Patrovich (11-4) rolled to a 10-4 victory over freshman Manuel Schubert. Patrovich opened up a 6-3 lead after two periods and cruised to his 97th career victory. Hofstra's 17th-ranked sophomore Alton Lucas (18-8) posted a 4-2 decision over senior David Helfrich for a 24-0 lead in the contest. Pride junior Joe Rovelli (26-4) , ranked seventh at 184, recorded his tenth consecutive victory with a 7-0 blanking of Lehigh's 19th-ranked freshman David Craig. After a scoreless first period, Rovelli posted a takedown and two near-fall to take a 6-0 lead. Chris Weidman (23-5), Hofstra's 11th-ranked senior, tallied an 8-1 victory over senior Matt Cassidy to boost the Pride lead to 30-0 in the contest. The Mountain Hawks avoided the shutout in the final match of the night when 17th-ranked senior Paul Weibel pinned Pride graduate-student Matt Pollock (11-20) in 2:16. The Pride will host #15 Cornell at the New York Athletic Club next Saturday, February 3 at 1 p.m.

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.