InterMat Staff

Tim HartungTim Hartung, who hails from a Durand, Wisconsin, was a one-time state champion who wasn't heavily recruited coming out of high school. But he went on to wrestle at the University of Minnesota, where he became a two-time NCAA champion, three-time All-American, and helped put the Gophers on the collegiate wrestling map. He became the first Gopher in 51 years to win back-to-back NCAA crowns. After his collegiate career, Hartung went on to have a successful freestyle wrestling career. He was an alternate on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team. In 2002, Hartung won the U.S. Nationals and was a World Team member. He also placed several times at the U.S. Nationals and World Team Trials. Hartung has coaching experience at three of the nation's top collegiate wrestling programs: Minnesota (five seasons), Iowa (two seasons), and is now in his first season as an assistant coach Iowa State. RevWrestling.com recently caught up with Hartung to talk to him about his career at Minnesota, his international career, his brief stint at Iowa and whether or not he still harbors any hard feeling toward the program, his relationship with Cael Sanderson, and what the Cyclones need to do to challenge for a national title in March. Coming out of high school, you were a one-time Wisconsin state champion, yet went on to become one of the all-time greats at Minnesota. You exceeded a lot of people's expectations coming out of high school. Did you exceed your expectations? Hartung: For sure. That's an easy question. I was really uncertain coming out of high school what I wanted to do. I was a three-sport athlete. I played football and baseball. I almost signed at St. Cloud State, so that I could play both sports. The door to Minnesota kind of opened late in the recruiting process of my senior year. I didn't even really know college wrestling coming out of high school. I didn't follow it much. I was wrapped up in a lot of other things. When I went on to Minnesota, it was definitely a crapshoot for me. I was kind of underdeveloped. I came in behind a lot of the people I came in with … so my expectations were just to go up there and see what I could do. I really didn't have any goals past that. And part of that was that I had a lot of people around me who said, 'You're not Division I caliber. You won't make it there.' It was an interesting decision. What made it even more special was that I got a chance to prove a lot of people wrong … and I got a chance to prove a lot to myself. I learned a lot about setting your mind towards something … and anything is possible. So it was a good experience. What's something about J Robinson that most people don't know? Hartung: He comes across as a pretty hard-nosed guy. I think a lot of people in the wrestling world, and a lot of people who know him from a business or wrestling side, kind of think he's a really intense, hard-nosed guy. And he is. But there's a whole side to him where he's pretty tender, too. He's an emotional guy. He cares a lot. If he has a good relationship with you, he cares about you. Even since I've left there, I stay in touch with him quite a bit. I know that if I ever needed any help in any way, he would be there for me. I think a lot of people might not know that he's really a great man behind all of the intense things. He's always in the paper. I think a lot of people maybe get the impression that he's this hard-nosed guy who maybe doesn't have any feelings. But he's really a tender guy if you get to know him and do the things you're supposed to for him. You have obviously developed a relationship over the years with Minnesota head assistant coach Marty Morgan. He is expected by many to be the eventual successor to J Robinson at Minnesota. If given an opportunity, what kind of head coach do you expect Marty to be? Hartung: He's going to be a great coach for sure. He just has such a good understanding of how to communicate with athletes, how to motivate them, how to peak them, how to train them, how to individualize is probably the best thing I've noticed about him. Brandon Eggum and I used to compete with each other all the time, we practiced together all the time, and he would have us doing completely different things. I just think he understands that each guy is completely different … and what he needs is important, not necessarily what the whole needs the whole time. He's really doing a lot of things. J has kept him around for 14 or 15 years for a reason. He's a great recruiter. He was the biggest person who steered my career. I think back … and I model a lot the things I do after the way he treated with me. I know that he'll do a good job once he gets a chance there. I'm sure that everybody in the Minnesota wrestling nation kind of expects that to happen. When you look back on your collegiate career at Minnesota, is there a certain memory that sticks out most in your mind? Tim HartungHartung: There's one that sticks out a lot. The class that I got recruited with: Chad Kraft, Troy Marr, Josh Holiday, Bart Golyer, and some others … when our class came through, we cracked the top five for the first time in 1997. We were second in 1998. We were second in 1999. Just the way we put Minnesota wrestling on the map was really special. But the memory that was hardest to get over is our senior season, everything was kind of unfolding for us to be Minnesota's first national championship team. We knocked Iowa off the Big Ten 25-years-in-a-row platform. Going into the NCAA Championships, we were ranked No. 1. And then we end up losing to Iowa by two points. Even though I won the national title individually that year, it was really disappointing. I still have the picture hanging up of the second-place trophy picture … and there were a lot of disappointed faces. It was a really heart-wrenching loss to lose by two points. Even though I won it individually, it was just really, really bitter. It would have capped off the greatest career … for a group of kids to come in and build a program like that over five years and then leave with a national title … and we didn't get that opportunity. We were second again. We still talk about it when we get together. It's one of those things that will be in our minds forever. Internationally, you won the U.S. Nationals, were a U.S. World Team member in 2002, and placed several times at the U.S. Nationals and World Team Trials. How did you come to you decision to hang up the competitive shoes? And was it harder than you expected? Tim Hartung (Photo/The Guillotine)Hartung: People who have been in any athletic arena at a high level for long enough, you just kind of lose the fire a little bit. That's what was starting to happen to me. It was starting to become more of a chore to practice, more of a chore to make all of my decisions revolve around what my next workout was going to be, what my next tournament was going to be. The only thing that made it hard was the way it ended. I was runner-up in 2004 (at the Olympic Trials), and the way I lost in the finals, it was kind of unsettling. As far as making the decision to be done, I knew that it was time to be done. I just knew that it was time because of the strains and the stresses of training and just the mentality of the whole sport was taking a toll on me. I think back, I don't regret anything. I'm glad it's done. I don't have any aspirations to make any type of comeback or anything. I enjoy coaching. It's fun to worry about other guys now. You spent two seasons at Iowa coaching under Jim Zalesky. Zalesky was recently quoted in some Iowa newspapers talking about how the administration handled his firing. The following is a recent quote from Zalesky: "No one ever said thanks for putting your time in, nobody ever said thank you for anything. I don't respect a place like that, so I really lost a lot of respect for the University of Iowa as an institution." Do you personally harbor any hard feelings toward Iowa with how the administration handled the situation? Hartung: Obviously, I don't to the extent that Jim does. That was his life. That was his program. He grew up there. He went through the program. He left for Minnesota for three years and came back to be Gable's head assistant. I was only there for two years, so for me to say anything near the things that he has said, and mean them to the same extent, would be ridiculous. But the two seasons I spent underneath him, I couldn't be around a nicer guy, a coach who cared about his athletes, and a coach who tried his best to make that program No. 1 again. Everything that he is saying is one-hundred percent accurate. The way that administration handled our coaching staff … and lack of respect and gratitude shown, everything he has said is exactly on. As far as my feelings on it, I don't regret anything. I got a chance to work with two great people. I learned a lot as a coach. It really taught me a lot of new things to be around those guys and see a different philosophy and style. But from an administrative standpoint, I lost a ton of respect for them. Not the program necessarily, but the school and the way they handled things. Any coach they're supporting should have their one-hundred and ten percent backing, until they fire him and hire somebody new. He went through several years before I got there, and then the two years that I was there, with no support at all. You were always looking over your shoulder because you didn't know who was watching you. So it was a really interesting coaching situation from that standpoint. There has been a lot said and made of the Iowa-Iowa State rivalry. At the press conference following the dual on Dec. 3, Tom Brands said the following: "I had Mark Perry for a year here, and then Hartung had him for two years, and we're still working out the kinks in him." When things like that are said, does it bother you? Or is it just something that's said in the heat of the battle? Hartung: It doesn't bother me at all. It actually makes me laugh. When a coach allows a guy to take a timeout when he's not hurt … granted, Perry did it when Jim, Troy, and I were there too, when a kid does that, I don't care who has coached him in the past, I don't care who coached him five or 10 years ago, who is coaching him now is allowing the kid to do that. For him to point at me and tell me that I coached him for two years and that he's only coached him for one year, it still goes straight to the head coach. And especially for a program that has scrutinized teams and individuals for years for taking timeouts when they're not hurt, they're basically trying to take the blame off themselves. I'll take the blame. When I was coaching Perry and he did that against (Matt) Nagel, it hurt. I was embarrassed. I wasn't pointing fingers at anyone who had him before me. It was partly me for allowing him to do that. They just need to take ownership for that. It's not a personal thing. I just kind of laugh whenever things like that happen. What's a bigger rivalry, in your opinion: Iowa-Minnesota or Iowa-Iowa State? Hartung: It would definitely have to be Iowa-Iowa State, just because it's an intrastate rivalry. You look all over the country, all of those Florida-Florida State's in football. All the intrastate rivalries are a little more intense, just because it's the intrastate type thing. During my career at Minnesota, it was pretty heated. It was a heck of a rivalry. And I think it's probably going to start up again, especially now with Tom and Cael at the helms, it's going to be the bigger rivalry for sure in the future, I would think. How long have you known Cael Sanderson on a personal level? And has your relationships developed? Hartung: I started kind of training with him in 2002, so I would say that I've known him four or five years now. That's kind of how our relationship started. After college, when we started going to the training camps, it was pretty natural for us to work out a lot together because we were one weight class apart. He came to Minneapolis a few times to train with me up there. I came down to Ames a few times. And then I went to Athens as his training partner. We e-mailed a lot and just stayed in touch, talked a lot at college tournaments over the last couple years when I was coaching at Iowa and he was at Iowa State. That's just kind of how our relationship developed and grew. It was kind of ironic, the same day that Bobby (Douglas) resigned and Cael took over, it was the same day Coach Zalesky was fired. What has it been like working with Cael in the coaching arena? Hartung: It has been really good. I've been very impressed with all of the things he has done. Everybody has heard it during the process leading into him getting the head coaching job, and since he has become a head coach, everyone says, 'Good athletes don't always make good coaches.' You know, I've heard that over the last couple years. He's doing a great job. It has been fun working with him. He keeps it fun. He divvies out responsibilities really well. He doesn't try to take everything and do it all himself. He wants to win. He wants to use everybody to their full potential. He'll do anything to win. And when you're driven to that extent, he's going to do whatever it takes. It's just been a really good situation so far. It's been fun. You have been an assistant coach for several years. Do you have aspirations of becoming a head coach? Tim HartungHartung: You know, I'm not really sure yet. It would have to be the right situation. It would have to be the right program. I'm really close with my family. Most of them still live in Wisconsin. It was really important to me when I made the decision to go to Iowa City, that it was within four hours. And then making the decision to come to Iowa State, it actually became a little bit closer, so it was a really easy decision for me. I'm getting married in August. I plan on having kids and having a family. The coaching lifestyle is a little bit hectic. You're always on the road. I'm not sure if I'm going to stay in it for a long time. I'm not sure if I'm going to move on to the next level of becoming a head coach. So far, things have just kind of fallen into place. After 2004, I was actually going to move on and get into the athletic administration world. But after the Trials, I didn't quite feel like moving on. And then the Iowa job became available. When Steiner and Zalesky were calling me, it kind of felt like it was happening for a reason. And then when I got fired at Iowa, Cael hired me over here, it kind of felt like it was happening for a reason. I'm just going to kind of wait and see how things go. Once I start having some kids, see how that goes, and just kind of see where it takes me. Kurt Backes dropped an early season dual to Iowa. But since then he's rebounded nicely. He recently pinned Josh Glenn to reach the finals of the Midlands. What has been the biggest difference in Backes' wrestling lately compared to the early part of the season? Hartung: It's a tough thing to answer because he has struggled in the past with different things. But the main thing that we've been trying to hit home with him is, Hey, it's just wrestling. It's just a sport. It's only a brief period of your life. It's not life or death. It's not that important. Go out there and give it your all, have fun, and whatever happens, happens. If it's your best effort, that's all we want. We've just been trying to keep it real basic. Cael does a great job of doing that. There's not a lot of pressure. All the pressure that comes on our guys is what they're putting on themselves. All that we're asking is their best effort, leave it all out on the mat, give yourself the best opportunity to perform. And I think him just taking that simple approach has really helped him. He's smiling and having fun. It looks like he's really enjoying himself again. It seems that he's just taking a simpler approach to everything and realizing that it's not that big of a deal. Your family still loves you no matter what. The things that are important will be important no matter what. It just seems that he's kind of buying into that, so that's good. You've been around some talented upper-weight wrestlers throughout your career. How does Jake Varner compare to wrestlers like Brandon Eggum and Damion Hahn when they were freshmen? And how great can he be? Jake Varner (Photo/John Sachs)Hartung: He is obviously doing really well as a freshman. I think probably the biggest thing, from being around guys like Hahn and Eggum … I remember Hahn, he was obviously the top recruit that year, everyone though this guy could beat Cael and win four titles, but his biggest thing was his confidence. Coming into college wrestling, Hahn probably didn't believe he was as good as he was. He didn't have the mentality yet. That's something he developed and obviously he became a great college wrestler. One of the things about Varner is that he expects to win now. His mentality is, 'I'm going to go out there and dominate.' He's lost a few matches, but he comes off the mat thinking he could've and should've won. His expectations of himself are so high as a freshman. That's one of the things that I think is the hardest to instill in someone, just that confidence, and he kind of already has that. I would expect him to really have a great career. Iowa State won the Midlands title. As a coaching staff, were you happy with the team's effort out in Evanston, Illinois? Hartung: For sure. One of the best things that is kind of unfolding is the chemistry and how things are coming together for us as a team. We have six freshmen, so we knew that our best performances weren't going to be in November and December, and they had to keep improving to get to where we wanted to be in March. And that's kind of what we've been seeing. That's been really encouraging, just to see the progress. We went into Iowa City and kind of let the pressure get to us. We didn't win any close matches, so it looked like we got routed, but we still saw a ton of good things. Then we came back and had a really good match against Minnesota, blanked UNI, and went into the Midlands. Everybody seems to be making progress, getting more confident, and wrestling harder. Every week we're working on new things that guys are struggling with … and the next match you see them doing it. So it's just really neat to see the progress and the steps our guys are making. You have the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals this weekend. What do you try to take away from this event? Hartung: With such a young team, it's just experience. You get a different feel. You're not wrestling individually. Each time you're going to go in and battle as a team, which I think is really good for us to just keep building that team unity and team togetherness to help us the rest of the season. It's just experience. Hopefully we'll only have four matches, but if we do lose … we'll get five, six, seven matches. We'll be together as a team. Our three seniors (Trent Paulson, Travis Paulson, and Kurt Backes) really did a great job at the Midlands. I'll give them a ton of credit for our finish there. They led the way with bonus points, pins, and all three were in the finals. If our three seniors can do that for us day in, day out, the young guys are eager to follow, so it's going to be a good thing. Last question: What's it going to take for the Iowa State Cyclones to win the NCAA title at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan? Hartung: I think just steady progression. If our guys continue to get better, and they are, they're improving daily. If they just continue with that mindset and keep getting better and better, gaining experience, gaining confidence, no injuries, we stay healthy, it's just a matter of making them believe when we step into the NCAA Championships that we can win the tournament, going after bonus points, all the things you need to do, just have them believe in that when it's time to believe. They're definitely moving in the right direction. We're not there yet, but we're definitely heading in the right direction.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The wrestling team trailed only once in two duals on the day and defeated two formidable foes on the road. The 17th-ranked Mocs improved their dual record to a perfect 7-0 with a 21-12 win over Oregon State and a 23-15 victory over Northern Iowa. Both matches were held on the UNI campus. The Mocs received double victories from 15th-ranked Javier Maldonado at 125 pounds, No. 6 Matt Keller at 133, No. 14 Aaron Martin at 149, No. 19 Lloyd Rogers at 174 and Mat Koz at 285. "I expected to beat Oregon State," UTC Head Coach Chris Bono said. "What was unexpected was beating three nationally-ranked wrestlers that Oregon State had. "We're just trying to set a standard. We didn't wrestle our best against Oregon State as a team. We looked flat in some places. We wrestled much better against Northern Iowa, but we had to." UTC eased out to a 15-0 lead over previously unbeaten Oregon State before relinquishing a match. Maldonado edged Jake Gonzales 6-5, Keller defeated Bobby Pfennings 10-3 and Josh Keefe beat No. 15 Kyle Larson 8-3 at 141. Josh Keefe filled in for his twin brother, 17th-ranked Michael, at 141 who is suffering from a sore shoulder. Martin followed Keefe at 149 with a 7-0 shutout of Derek Kipperberg, and Jake Yost scored a 6-0 win over Keegan Davis at 157. The Beavers, 7-1, won three of the final five matches to cut into the lead. Brett Arand pinned Seth Garvin at 165, Kyle Bressler topped Mike Marable 10-9 at 184 and Travis Gardner recorded a 3-0 decision over Josh Edmondson at 197. Rogers registered a one-point win over seventh-ranked Jeremy Larson at 174, and Koz ended the match with a sudden victory 4-2 win over No. 4 Ty Watterson. "Rogers probably had the biggest win," Bono said. "Their guy has been ranked as high as seventh in the nation. Lloyd has worked so hard and come so far. Koz stepping up and beating their ranked guy at heavyweight and then Josh upsetting Larson was gravy because the match came down to wins from Aaron Martin, Jake Yost and Rogers." UTC was nearly as impressive against the host Panthers, now 0-5. Maldonado and Keller spotted the Mocs an 8-0 lead with back-to-back major decisions. Maldonado beat Grant Ruge 10-2 and Keller was a 14-2 winner over Kyle Anson. After a loss at 141, Martin turned in his second shutout of the day with a 2-0 decision over Ryan Osgood. Moza Fay's win over Yost at 157 and Nick Baima's technical fall over Seth Garvin gave the Panthers a 12-11 lead. UTC retook the lead and closed out the match, winning three of the last four. Rogers pinned Curt Zinnel, Edmondson defeated Danny Dunning 5-2 and Koz edged Andrew Anderson 4-3. UTC is off to its best dual-record start since beginning the 1987-88 season 10-0. The Mocs host highly-regarded American University Friday at 6 p.m. at Maclellan Gym.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa –- Oregon State saw its win streak end at 14 dual meets when the Beavers were beaten by 18th-ranked Tennessee-Chattanooga 21-12 on Sunday afternoon, then OSU bounced back to beat host Northern Iowa 25-16 in non-conference wrestling at the McLeod Center. Oregon State (8-1 overall, 2-0 Pacific-10) and Northern Iowa both received votes in this week's National Wrestling Coaches Association poll; OSU had beaten 17th-ranked Nebraska 21-15 on Friday night. The Beavers return home to meet Cal State-Fullerton in a Pacific-10 dual next Sunday at 2 p.m. at Gill Coliseum after Sunday's split. "In the first meet, we just didn't make our own breaks," OSU head coach Jim Zalesky said. "We let UTC make their breaks and we didn't make enough breaks. The way it matched up, we knew going in that if we didn't win the close matches, we wouldn't win the meet; we lost a couple of close matches and an overtime match and we just didn't make it happen. But we bounced back well in the final meet, and that's what counts. "Some guys have to realize they can wrestle with these guys who are ranked ahead of them. The more they realize that, the more success they'll have down the road." OSU's dual against Tennessee-Chattanooga (7-0, 1-0 Southern) saw the Beavers drop a pair of one-point matches and an overtime match. The dual began with the Mocs sending out four nationally ranked wrestlers and all four won, capped by 17th-ranked Josh Keefe beating OSU's 15th-ranked Kyle Larson 8-3, to take a 12-0 lead. Oregon State picked up a pin from 165-pounder Brett Arand, to eventually draw within 15-6, but the Beavers' other two nationally ranked wrestlers were knocked off and OSU couldn't overtake the Mocs. At 174 pounds, OSU's 18th-ranked Jeremy Larson was edged by UTC's Lloyd Rogers 4-3, while 12th-ranked heavyweight Ty Watterson lost to Matt Koz 4-2 when Koz scored a takedown in the sudden victory overtime period. OSU's other wins against Tennessee-Chattanooga came at 184 pounds, where Kyle Bressler won 10-9 over Mike Marable, and at 197 pounds, where Travis Gardner beat Josh Edmonson 3-0. Oregon State rebounded against Northern Iowa (0-5), winning the first four matches to roll to a 16-0 lead. None of the Beavers responded to an earlier loss more dramatically than Kyle Larson. Larson pinned 10th-ranked C.J. Ettelson of Northern Iowa in 1 minute, 13 seconds; Larson is now 17-4 with seven pins this season. Jeremy Larson also came back with a win, beating UNI's Alex Dolly 10-6. After surrendering an early takedown, Larson escaped and scored a pair of takedowns in the first period and went on to the victory; he's now 17-5 with four pins this season. "The Larsons didn't look like themselves the first time out, but they turned it around in the second meet against UNI," Zalesky said. "Kyle got a big pin for us, that really got us rolling." OSU's third nationally ranked wrestler, Watterson, received a forfeit to finish the meet. He's now 15-4 with six pins this season. Oregon State also got victories against the Panthers when 125-pounder Jake Gonzales scored a major decision over Grant Ruge 12-3, 133-pounder Bobby Pfennigs decisioned Kyle Anson 8-2, and 149-pounder Derek Kipperberg beat Charlie Ettelson 11-5. The Beavers' 14-meet winning streak had been OSU's longest since another 14-meet streak during the 1985-86 season. Oregon State's 7-0 start had been the Beavers' fastest since they also won their first seven meets during the 1993-94 season.

The Kent State wrestling team upset the #20 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 20-18 on Sunday (1/7) afternoon at the St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. This is the second consecutive year that the Golden Flashes defeated the Buckeyes. The Flashes scored a 25-13 win over Ohio State in the M.A.C. Center one year ago to the day (1/7/2006). This is also the second year in row that KSU has started off 5-0 in dual matches. "It was a good win for us," said head coach Jim Andrassy. "We fought for our points. We also fought hard in the matches we didn't win to keep OSU close. It's always nice to go into Columbus and beat OSU. I know that their kids are probably thinking they're better than us, but we proved that we are up to the challenge." Kent State jumped out to a 14-0 lead after four matches. Sophomore heavyweight Jermail Porter (Akron, Ohio/Firestone) began the match with a 10-2 major decision over Corey Morrison. Senior Chad Sportelli (Easton, Pa./Easton) scored a 6-2 decision over Will Livingston at 125 pounds. This is the third meeting between Sportelli and Livingston this season. Sportelli has won two of the three meetings. Sophomore Danny Mitcheff (Lorain, Ohio/Elyria) extended the Golden Flashes lead to 11-0 with an 11-3 major decision over Owen Schaefer at 133 pounds. Classmate Drew Lashaway (Bowling Green, Ohio/Eastwood) registered a 6-4 decision over Jeff Jaggers at 141 pounds to increase Kent State's lead to 14-0. Ohio State got on the scoreboard when Lance Palmer scored a 5-0 decision over Jason McGee (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio/Cuyahoga Falls) at 149 pounds. After the intermission, Kurt Gross (North Royalton, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) scored a 5-4 decision over Jason Johnstone at 157 pounds for a 17-7 KSU advantage. Chris Vondruska defeated Sli Bostelman (Tontogany. Ohio/Ostego) 16-6 at 165 pounds to make the score 17-7. Aaron Miller (Uniopolis, Ohio/Wapakoneta) clinched the victory for the Golden Flashes with am 8-3 win over Blake Maurer at 174 pounds that increased Kent State's lead to 20-7. Ohio State won the final two matches with a technical fall and a pin to bring the final score to 20-18. Andrassy summed up the victory for the Golden Flashes. "You can't measure our team by our won/loss record. We wrestled as well as I have ever seen us wrestle and we beat a ranked opponent. I couldn't be prouder of them." Kent State (5-0, 0-0 MAC) will travel to Hampton, Virginia to compete in the Virginia Duals on Friday (1/12) and Saturday (1/13).

Ithaca, N.Y. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 13 nationally, handled No. 13 Cornell 18-12 in a key non-conference dual. Wrestled in Ithaca in front of over 2,800 Cornell fans, Penn State won six of the dual's ten bouts, including the final four. Head coach Troy Sunderland's line-up featured two wrestlers making their collegiate dual debut, one of whom grabbed a key victory at 184. In addition, juniors Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) got key victories over two No. 2-ranked wrestlers. The dual began at 125 with one of the premier match-ups of the dual. Nittany Lion Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) met Cornell's Troy Nickerson. McKnight entered the bout ranked No. 3 nationally while Nickerson was ranked No. 2. Each wrestler traded early shots to no avail. McKnight got the first takedown at the :58 second mark and nearly completed a cradle on the edge of the mat, but Nickerson managed to work himself out bounds to force a reset. After a Nickerson escape, McKnight held a 2-1 lead, which he carried into the second period. Up by one, McKnight chose down to begin the second period. Nickerson worked hard on top, nearly turning McKnight twice. But the Nittany Lion deftly fought off both moves and escaped to a 3-1 lead with 1:13 left in the period. Neither wrestler scored for the remainder of the period, giving McKnight led 3-1 after two. Nickerson chose down to start the third and was allowed up, cutting McKnight's lead to 3-2. McKnight continued to pressure Nickerson throughout the start of the third period, forcing a Cornell stall warning and eating up nearly a minute before finally getting in on another single leg. After a thrilling scramble that saw each wrestler nearly score in the flurry, McKnight got the critical takedown with :26 left to lead 5-2. He would ride Nickerson out for the remainder of the bout, getting a thrilling win and putting Penn State up 3-0 early. At 133, Penn State's Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) met Adam Frey. Strayer was ranked No. 5 while Frey came in ranked No. 6. Frey got in on Strayer early, using an upper body through to nearly earn some back points, but Strayer fought off the effort and trailed only 2-1 after a quick escape. A flurry at the end of the period resulted in no scoring and Frey lead 2-1 after one. Up by one, Frey chose down to begin the second period. He escaped to a 3-1 lead with 1:20 left and quickly took Strayer down to lead 5-2 after an escape. After a reset with :52 left, Strayer had his best scoring chance of the match. But :30 of scrambling resulted in no scoring and the period ended with Frey up 5-2. Strayer chose down to start the third and with 1:20 left in the bout reversed Frey to trail 6-4 after allowing the Cornell wrestler to escape. With :48 left, Strayer got in on another single but could not finish. Frey gave up a stall point but would keep his distance for the remainder of the period to steal a 6-5 win and tie the bout at 3-3. Nittany Lion Bryan Heller (Fair Haven, N.J.) took on Keith Dickey of Cornell at 141. Heller quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a takedown just :18 seconds in. Strong on top, Heller rode Dickey for over a minute before allowing him up. Heller added two more points with a takedown a minute later. He rode Dickey out for the remainder of the period and led 4-1 with a 1:59 riding time edge heading into the second. Heller chose down to begin the second period. After working on the bottom for 1:30, Heller reversed Dickey to take a 6-1 lead with :29 left in the second period. He rode the Big Red grappler out for the remainder of the stanza to lead 6-1 with a 0:59 riding time edge entering the final period. Dickey chose down to begin the third, but Heller would not let the Cornell grappler up. After a second Cornell stall, Heller's lead expanded to 7-1. Heller cut Dickey loose as he began to eye a major decision and a bonus point. After a neutral reset, Heller exploded into Dickey's midsection and picked up a key takedown with :24 left. Leading 9-2 with a riding time point in hand, Heller needed to hold Dickey down for the last seconds of the bout to grab a major. But Dickey managed an escape with :14 left to avoid the bonus point. Still, Heller's 10-3 win put Penn State up 6-3. Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) met Cornell's Jordan Lee at 149. Lee entered the bout ranked No. 4 nationally. Vallimont had the best early shot at getting points but Lee fought off and countered the effort to take a 2-0 lead with 1:16 left in the first. Lee rode Vallimont out to lead 2-0 with 1:15 in riding time after one. Lee chose down to start the second period and reversed Vallimont to lead 4-0 with 1:28 left. The Big Red junior maintained his top position for the remainder of the period and led 4-0 with 2:26 in riding time after two. Vallimont chose down to start the third, but Lee was strong on top, not allowing the Nittany Lion wrestler up for the entire two minutes. Lee's impressive 5-0 decision tied the team score at 6-6. At 157, Penn State sophomore Jason Lapham (West Chazy, N.Y.) tussled with Cornell senior Charlie Agozzino. Lapham got the bout's first two points with a takedown on the edge of the mat at the 2:11 mark. Leading 2-1 after an Agozzino escape, Lapham fought off a stern Agozzino scoring attempt as the firs period wound down and held a slim one point lead after three minutes of wrestling. Lapham chose down to begin the middle period but could not escape. Agozzino eventually turned Lapham to his back for three near-fall points to take a 4-2 lead with :30 left in the second period. Lapham got hit with his first stall warning shortly thereafter and Agozzino rode the Nittany Lion out for the rest of the period. Leading 4-2 with 1:48 of riding time in hand, Agozzino chose top to start the final period, hoping to turn Lapham once again. Lapham, however, reversed Agozzino to tie the score at 4-4 with 1:02 left. With Agozzino guaranteed a riding time point, Lapham cut the Cornell wrestler and immediately began working for a takedown. Essentially down 6-4 (including the riding time point), Lapham nearly tied the bout with a thrilling takedown on the edge of the mat, but Agozzino fought off the move with :01 left to take a 6-4 win and put Cornell up 9-6. True freshman Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) made his collegiate dual debut at 165, taking on No. 11 Steve Anceravage of Cornell. Rella, who was 15-2 as an unattached wrestler in the fall term, stepped into the starting line-up for the first time in the bout. Rella was the aggressor early on but the experienced Anceravage fought off every Rella shot. The bout was dead-even, 0-0, after one period. Anceravage took down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. The duo was evenly matched, with each wrestler working the upper body and head, looking for an opening and a legitimate scoring chance. No chances presented themselves and the second period ended without a takedown as well. Down 1-0 to start the third, Rella chose down. Anceravage, a junior, was nearly reversed by the Nittany Lion freshman but action moved off the mat. With 1:21 to wrestle at a reset, Rella needed to escape to tie the bout. Anceravage marinated to hold Rella down long enough to build up a riding time point. Rella escaped to the tie the bout with :44 left, but Anceravage had 1:09 in riding time. Needing a takedown to win, the Nittany Lion freshman could not break through Cornell's defensive style and Anceravage grabbed a 2-1 win. The victory put the Big Red up 12-6 with four bouts to wrestle. Senior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.), ranked No. 6 nationally, met Cornell's Luke Hogle. Neither wrestler had a serious scoring chance in the first period and the stanza ended in a scoreless tie. Yonushonis chose down to start the second period. Hogle was hit for fleeing the mat and Yonushonis then reversed the Cornell grappler after the reset. The flurry of activity put the Nittany Lion senior up 3-1 after a Hogle escape. Hogle tied the bout 3-3 with :27 left, getting a takedown on a nice single leg and trip. Yonushonis did escape, however, to lead 4-3 after two periods. Hogle chose down to start the final period and was allowed up to tie the bout at 4-4. Yonushonis quickly got in on another single leg and finished the two point takedown with 1:30 left. Hogle escaped to cut the lead to 6-5, but Yonushonis' offense was relentless. Choosing not to play defense for the final minute, Yonushonis added another takedown to up his lead to lead 8-6 after a Hogle escape with less than a minute left. The Penn State All-American would work his way to a hard-fought 8-6 win, cutting the Cornell lead to 12-9. Red-shirt freshman Mike Ward made his collegiate dual debut in fine fashion by posting a critical 3-2 win over No. 19 Joey Hooker of Cornell at 184. Red-shirt freshman Mike Ward (Mayfield, Ohio) made his dual match debut as well when he took the mat at 184 for Penn State. Ward met Cornell senior Joey Hooker, who was ranked No. 19 at 174 and moved up a weight for the bout. Neither wrestler could break through the other's defense throughout the first period. Tied 0-0 after one, Ward chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. He then followed the escape up with a solid single leg shot, but Hooker fought off the attempt and forced a stalemate with 1:08 left in the period. Hooker, trailing 1-0 heading into the third, chose down to begin the final period and quickly tied the score at 1-1 with an escape. Hooker nearly took Ward down with 1:00 left, but the Nittany Lion countered the move to get his own takedown and lead 3-1 with :40 left. Hooker escaped with :18 left to cut the lead to 3-2. Ward, however, fought off every Hooker scoring attempt in the final seconds and grabbed a thrilling 3-2 win. The freshman's victory tied the bout at 12-12. No. 5 Phil Davis continued his mastery over No. 2 Jerry Rinaldi of Cornell by posting a 5-0 win. The victory helped Penn State to an 18-12 win at Cornell. Nittany Lion Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 5 nationally, met No. 2 Jerry Rinaldi at 197. Davis was the aggressor throughout the first period, forcing Rinaldi back to the edge of the mat but not managing to break through his defense for any real scoring chances. With:04 left, Davis turned a Rinaldi shot into a two-point takedown of his own and led 2-0 after one period. Davis chose down to start the second and escaped to a 3-0 lead with :55 left. The defending national runner-up nearly added another takedown but action moved out of bounds before any scoring with :20 left in the second. Davis repeated the near takedown effort with :03 left as well. Trailing 3-0 but owning a 1:05 riding time edge, Rinaldi chose neutral to start the final period. Davis cemented the bout with a nice counter takedown at the 1:05 mark to lead 5-0. Ridding himself of any riding time penalty, Davis began working for bonus points by trying to turn Rinaldi from the top position. The Cornell senior managed to fight off Davis' near fall efforts and avoided the major decision. Davis, the defending national runner-up posted a resounding 5-0 win. The victory put the Nittany Lions up 15-12. Senior Aaron Anspach's 8-3 win at HWT helped clinch Penn State's 18-12 win at Cornell. Senior heavyweight Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.) met Cornell's Zach Hammond in the final bout of the dual, looking to lock up the team win and remain undefeated on the year. Anspach entered the match ranked No. 13 nationally. Hammond had the first scoring chance just :30 into the bout, but Anspach quickly countered the move and led 2-1 with 2:15 to wrestle after a Hammond escape. Anspach added another takedown at the 1:00 mark and led 4-2 with :20 left after the Big Red junior escaped. Up 4-2 after one, Anspach chose down to begin the second and quickly escaped to a 5-2 lead. The Nittany Lion co-captain added a nice takedown on the edge of the mat, taking a 7-2 lead at the :33 mark. Anspach maintained his top position for the remainder of the period and led 7-2 with over a minute's riding time heading into the third. Hammond chose down to start the third, but Anspach held the Cornell wrestler down long enough to secure a riding time point. The RT point gave Anspach a convincing 8-3 win and clinched the dual meet for Penn State, giving the Lions an 18-12 win. Penn State won six of the dual's bouts, including the final four in a row. The victory was Penn State's third in a row of the Big Red and increased Penn State's gaudy series advantage over Cornell to 53-11-3. The victory improves Penn State's record 6-1 while Cornell falls to 0-2. Penn State will return to action on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 12-13, when it heads to Hampton, Va., for the Virginia duals. It's next home dual is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 28, when Ohio State comes to Rec Hall. All Penn State duals will be heard live on WBLF AM and WKVA AM as well as streamed for free at GoPSUsports.com. Season and single-match tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Penn State ticket office at 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 for more information. Fans can also get tickets at GoPSUsports.com. This year's season ticket prices are $24 for adults and $18 for students. Single dual prices are $5 per event for adults and $3 per event for youth. All of Penn State's matches can be heard locally on WBLF 970 AM and at GoPSUsports.com.

Takedown Wrestling Radio will again broadcast the 2006-2007 NWCA National Duals Saturday, January 13 and Sunday, January 14. "We're excited to bring this LIVE event to wrestling fans around the country for the 6th straight year" said TDR founder Scott Casber. This broadcast is and will always be free of charge to our listeners courtesy of our sponsors and presenting hosts. We will continue to provide complete and total coverage and tell the story from beginning to the end of any event. J. Carl Guymon, Legendary and now retired voice of the Cowboys of OK St. reunites with TDR regulars Scott Casber, Steve Foster and a cast of voices who'll contribute in various ways during the long flow broadcasts TDR has become known for Our thanks go to The Panthers of the University of Northern Iowa, Coach Brad Penrith and his staff, The NWCA, Intermatwrestle.com, the UNI Dome Staff, and the city of Cedar Falls, Iowa. Without them, this broadcast would not be possible. Broadcast Schedule: Saturday January 13, 2007 9:06 AM to 11 AM CST Radio and Internet at KXNO.com and Takedownradio.com Sunday January 14, 2007 11:00 AM to completion including the Finals at 3:00 PM CST. We look forward to all wrestling fans tuning in when you can. Make sure you join us in the chat room at Takedownradio.com

LINCOLN, Neb. –- Oregon State 184-pounder Kyle Bressler scored the winning takedown with 22 seconds left in his match Friday night to wrap up the meet as the Beavers beat 17th-ranked Nebraska 21-15 in the NU Coliseum. For OSU (7-0 overall, 2-0 Pacific-10), it was the 14th straight dual meet win over the past two seasons; that's the Beavers' longest winning streak since another 14-meet streak during the 1985-86 season. "This was big for these guys," Zalesky said of the Beavers, who had been beaten 33-10 at Nebraska last season. "Last year they got blown out by Nebraska, and this year to come in here and win has to be big for them ... we had to win a lot of hard-fought matches. Some guys had to suck it up, like Bressler at the end to win the meet for us, and they did a good job." Oregon State faces two more big challenges on Sunday afternoon, when the Beavers visit Northern Iowa and also wrestle Tennessee Chattanooga. UTC is ranked 18th while both UNI and OSU received votes in this week's National Wrestling Coaches Association poll. In Friday night's final match against the Cornhuskers (6-1, 0-0 Big XII), Bressler took to the mat with OSU holding an 18-15 lead; a decision by Nebraska's Levi Wofford would leave the teams tied and NU could win if Wofford scored a major decision or better. Bressler trailed Wofford 1-0 as the clock ticked inside the final half-minute, then scored the go-ahead takedown with 22 seconds left for a 2-1 lead. Bressler also earned a point for riding time to provide the match's 3-1 final score. Bressler is now 9-5 with three pins this season after posting a 5-17 record last season as a freshman. "We talked to him about he's just got to be tough," Zalesky said of Bressler. "There were some matches at Reno (Tournament of Champions on Dec. 20) where he just didn't wrestle tough and stay in the match; tonight it was a tough match and he pulled it out. He could have folded his tent a couple times but he fought out of some things and pulled the meet out for us." Zalesky felt another big victory for OSU came at 157 pounds, where freshman Keegan Davis took a 9-4 decision over the Cornhuskers' Chris Oliver, who had an 11-1 record entering the match. Davis pulled away with a pair of takedowns in the third period and a point for riding time; he's now 7-4 with one pin this season. "Keegan pretty much handled the match," Zalesky said. "That's a big win for him, being a freshman; it's a step in the right direction for him and he should gain some confidence. Freshman can make great improvement, and hopefully that's a big jump for him." Oregon State 174-pounder Jeremy Larson, ranked 18th nationally, earned a 4-2 decision over Nebraska's Marc Harwood, who is ranked 20th at 165 pounds. The pair were tied 2-2 entering the third period, but Larson escaped and earned a point for riding time to improve to 16-4 with four pins this season. Beaver heavyweight Ty Watterson, ranked 12th, received a forfeit to put his record at 14-3 with six pins this season. The victory was the 68th of his Oregon State career, tying him for 46th place on the school's list of all-time leaders. OSU 141-pounder Kyle Larson, ranked 15th, took sixth-ranked Dominick Moyer of Nebraska into overtime before losing 8-7; Larson is now 15-4 with six pins this season. Larson led 5-4 in the closing seconds but Moyer scored a reversal with seven seconds remaining; Larson's point for riding time evened the score at 6-6 at the end of regulation. Neither wrestler could score in the one-minute sudden victory period. In the first round of the tiebreaker, Moyer scored a two-point near-fall; in the second round, Larson was awarded a point when Moyer picked up a second stall warning but Larson couldn't come up with another score to win. OSU 133-pounder Bobby Pfennigs picked up the Beavers' first victory of the night, scoring a third-period takedown and a point for riding time in beating Patrick Aleksanyan 4-2. Oregon State's other win came at 149 pounds, where Derek Kipperberg was an 8-6 winner over Jordan Burroughs. Facing their first nationally-ranked Division I opponent of the dual season, the Beavers were held without a pin for the first time in a dual this season. OSU's 7-0 start is the Beavers' best since they won their first 10 duals during the 1993-94 season.

SOUTH GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS -- Senior All-America Evan Sola, junior Drew Forshey and sophomore Vincent Ramirez each went unbeaten Saturday to lead North Carolina to three victories at the Lone Star Duals at the South Grand Prairie High School Coliseum. The Tar Heels defeated Utah Valley State (36-9), Boise State (25-15) and Northern Colorado (26-13) to even their dual record at 3-3 on the season. Sola was dominant at 133 pounds with a pin, a technical fall and a major decision to improve to 7-1 on the season. He now has 109 career wins and moved past head coach C.D. Mock into sixth place on Carolina's all-time list Saturday. Ramirez sandwiched a pair of tight victories around a pin against Boise State at 149 to move to 9-4 on the year. Forshey picked up a win via forfeit in the opener and followed with two more wins to move to 10-6 this season. Carolina was also unbeaten at 165, where Keegan Mueller and Ben Fiacco combined for three wins, and at 197, where Dennis Drury and David Dashiell, who made his first appearance of the season, posted three victories. The Tar Heels opened the day with wins in six of the seven contested bouts against Utah Valley State and added a pair of forfeits in the convincing 36-9 victory. Carolina picked up big points with a pin from Sola of the Wolverines' Alex Smith in just 1:04, and Mueller (165), and redshirt freshmen Robert McCarthy (184) and Drury (197) each tacked on major decisions in the win over Utah Valley State. Carolina followed with the 25-15 victory over Boise State in which the Tar Heels opened up a big lead with one pin, one technical fall and one major decision over the first four bouts. After a major decision by junior Drew Forshey (125) and a technical fall by Sola, Ramirez followed two bouts later with a pin of BSU's Tommy Owen in 5:38 to extend the Carolina lead to 18-0. Drury added his second major decision on the afternoon later in the bout. Against Northern Colorado, Forshey, Sola and Ramirez again got the Tar Heels off to a quick start. Sola had the big result with a 15-1 major decision against Kyle Kaiser. Dashiell added a 13-2 major decision over Calen Nicholl at 197 in his first bout of the season, and heavyweight Spencer Nadolsky added his second forfeit win of the day to cap the victory. Carolina is back in action next Saturday, Jan. 13 at Maryland against the Terrapins and Illinois in dual action.

GRAND PRARIE, Texas –- Oklahoma powered its way to two consecutive victories in sessions two and three at the 10th annual Lone Star Duals as they defeated Navy in session two and Utah Valley State in session three. The Sooners began the day with a shutout of Marion Military Institute, 55-0. OU rolled to its second victory in session two as they defeated Navy, 30-9. The Sooners only lost two matches and received a fall from Sam Hazewinkel in his 125- pound match. Hazewinkel put Alex Usztics on his back in the third period at the 5:58 mark. OU also got victories from Kyle Terry, Matt Storniolo, Will Rowe, Shane Seibert, Joshua Weitzel, Josh Hinton and Joel Flaggert. Seibert and Flaggert scored bonus points for the Sooners in their two matches. Seibert defeated Justin Jacobs at 165-pounds for his second victory of the day. Jacobs could not hold off the Sooner Junior as he recorded a technical fall winning, 17-2. Flaggert also recorded his second victory of the day as he recorded a major decision over Tyler Mayer in their 197-pound match. Weitzel wrestling his first match of the day defeated Matt Stulpinsk in their 174-pound match by a decision of 6-2. The Sooners closed out the day as they shutout Utah Valley State, 47-0 in session three. Freshman Brian Shelton wrestling in his first match of the day made easy work of Alex Smith at 133-pounds. Shelton recorded a major decision and shutout Smith, 12-0. Redshirt freshman Nolan Spring also wrestled in his first match of the duals and defeated Justin Rawle at 149-pounds by a decision of 4-3. Seibert recorded his second fall of the day as he pinned Dustin Olsen, :39 seconds into the first period of their 165-pound match. Weitzel earned a fall at 174-pounds as he defeated Marc Fenwick. Weitzel made quick work taking the match :40 seconds into the first period. Matt Cole made his first appearance of the day as he defeated Eric McAllister at 197-pounds. Cole won by a major decision of 14-5. Also recording victories for Oklahoma were Hazewinkel, Terry, Rowe, Hinton and Brad Farmer. Following this weekend's action, the Sooners travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to compete in the NWCA National Duals on Saturday, Jan. 14 and Sunday, Jan. 15. OU returns home for the first time in the new semester when it hosts Oregon on Jan. 20.

The No. 15 Wisconsin wrestling team defeated Air Force Saturday night at the Lonestar Duals in Dallas to improve to 14-0 on the season. UW won eight of 10 matches, including three by pin to defeat the Falcons 37-6. The Badgers went undefeated at the tournament, previously taking down Harvard, Northern Colorado and Army. Five Wisconsin grapplers went unbeaten at the Lonestar Duals, including No. 8 Dallas Herbst who won all four matches by pin. Against Air Force the Winneconne, Wis., native earned his fastest fall of the day, pinning Peter Bozynski at 34 seconds. Also earning pins in the Air Force match were No. 4 Craig Henning (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) and Kyle Massey (Champlin, Minn.). At 157 lbs., Henning pinned Zach Lord at 1:32. The co-captain is now 17-1 overall, 11-0 in dual competition. At Heavyweight, Massey took down Anthony Stegeman at 2:29 to bring his overall record to 10-3. Aside from the wins by fall, Wisconsin also had three extra-point victories. At 125 lbs., Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) notched a 9-0 major decision victory over Zach Valdez. Zach Tanelli (Milburn, N.J.) followed Cudd's win with a five-point tech fall over Stephen Makuka at 133 lbs. Also earning a major decision victory was true freshman Trevor Brandvold at 184 lbs. The River Falls, Wis., native defeated Jacob Devlin 13-2 to go 4-0 on the weekend. He is now 13-3 overall, 8-1 in dual competition. Kyle Ruschell and Jake Donar earned victories over Air Force as well. Ruschell defeated Jacob Kriegbaum 8-2 at 141 lbs., while Donar earned an 8-4 win over Jacob Kriegbaum at 165 lbs. Wisconsin is next in action on Friday, January 19th when the Badgers play host to No. 10 Penn State. Match time is set for 7 p.m. at the UW Field House. Check uwbadgers.com for the latest updates and scores.

Oklahoma State fights off Navy, 19-17 GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas -- Oklahoma State's fourth-ranked wrestling team held off a strong come back by Navy and won the dual 19-17 in the final match of the Lone Star Duals on Saturday evening. The Cowboys led the dual 19-7 with two matches remaining, but a fall at heavyweight tightened the dual score. Jared Rosholt was seemingly in control, but Navy heavyweight Ed Pendergrast hit a granby roll and reversed Rosholt. Rosholt escaped to tie the match at two and force overtime. The match went into a tie-breaker period and Pendergrast hit another granby roll, only this time Rosholt wound up on his back and got pinned. Chad Ravannack needed to avoid getting pinned for the Cowboys to seal the victory. Ravannack did his job, but still yielded a major decision and OSU held on for the win. The Cowboys improved to 7-1 on the season, and will head to the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals as the No. 4 seed, if the rankings hold. OSU got an upset at 174 from Brandon Mason over eighth-ranked Matt Stolpinski. Mason got a first period takedown and held on for the win, 4-2, which proved to be the difference in the dual. Johny Hendricks recorded the only bonus point victory for the Cowboys. Hendricks recorded 10 takedowns on his way to a major decision. Navy stayed close with bonus points recording two majors and a fall, but the Cowboys won six matches to hold the lead. Hendricks was named the Outstanding Wrestler for Division I in the upper weight classes. Coleman Scott had a key victory over No. 11 Joe Baker, while Jared Shelton clinched the dual with a win at 197 to put OSU up 12 with two matches remaining. Oklahoma State will wrestle at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals next weekend, Jan. 13-14, at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The duals will be broadcast live on KSPI 780 AM or 93.7 FM as the Cowboys tangle with the best dual teams in the country. Oklahoma State shoots down Army, 32-7 GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas -- Oklahoma State's fourth-ranked Cowboy wrestling team improved to 6-1 with a 32-7 victory over Army at the Lone Star Duals on Saturday afternoon in Grand Prairie, Texas. The Cowboys won eight of the 10 bouts with Johny Hendricks and Brandon Mason recording consecutive falls at 165 and 174, respectively. Hendricks had four takedowns before finally pinning Jon Drew in 2:47, while Mason was working on a technical fall before he ended the match with a pin in 2:40. Nathan Morgan wrestled his first match in more than a month and recorded a decision. B.J. Jackson wrestled his second match of the day and recorded a major decision. Jackson had not wrestled since the opener against UC-Davis back on Nov. 12. Newly McSpadden also recorded a major decision for the Cowboys. Coleman Scott, Jared Shelton and Jared Rosholt all had decisions for OSU. The Cowboys conclude the day at 8 p.m. against Navy. The dual will be broadcast live on 93.7 FM, following the Cowboy basketball game. Oklahoma State takes care of Air Force, 40-5 GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas -- Oklahoma State's fourth-ranked wrestling team won nine of the 10 matches against the United States Air Force Academy as the Cowboys ran away with the dual, 40-5, in its first dual at the Lone Star Duals on Saturday morning. The Cowboys got falls from Coleman Scott and heavyweight Jared Rosholt to lead the Cowboys. Brandon Mason and Jared Shelton both added technical falls to put away the Falcons. B.J. Jackson wrestled his first match since the season opener on Nov. 12. Jackson scored two takedowns and held off Bridger Lord for a 7-5 decision. Kevin Wainscott wrestled his first dual as a Cowboy and came away with a major decision. Seven of the Cowboys nine wins were by bonus points. Jack Jensen and Newly McSpadden also added major decisions. The Cowboys next wrestle Army, coached by former Cowboy Chuck Barbee, at 2 p.m. The dual can be heard live on 780 AM.

NORFOLK, VA -- The Monarchs placed eleven wrestlers in the ten weight classes including six championship appearances and three wins at the Virginia Intercollegiate State Tournament Saturday. Kaylen Baxter defeated his second nationally ranked opponent in seven days when he defeated Sam Alvarenga of VMI to win the 149-lb. weight class and David Mendoza earned the tournaments Most Pins Award with three pins during a 4-0 day . Baxter, coming off a defeat of top ten wrestler Trevor Chinn (Lehigh), was slated to face off against Alvarenga after going 2-0 early in the championship bracket. Baxter pinned James Madison's Eric Nadeau in 5:19 and earned a 10-2 major decision over UVA's Pat Riley. Alvarenga came into the title bout with a 9-2 decision and a 10-0 major and was ranked 20th by InterMat. The bout was tied at 5-5 with just over thirty seconds remaining in the third period when the Keydet was able to slip away from Baxter's grasp and earn one point for an escape. The true freshman for ODU refused to let up and kept coming at Alvarenga, who got a lock on Baxter's left leg with 11 seconds remaining, all but sealing the match. However, Baxter saw a weakness in the lock, turned left, and with 2 seconds remaining put the top ranked VMI grappler's back on the mat for a 7-6 win. "I didn't really start the year out great and the last couple tournaments have been great for my confidence," said Baxter of his two big wins. "It makes all the difference." Mendoza continued his strong season with four more wins beginning with a 4:00 fall of The Apprentice School's Kendall Ridenour. He then quickly put away George Mason's David Russell with a first period fall in 1:43 before facing off with UVA's Joe DeGaravilla in the semi's. Mendoza couldn't make it a sweep on the day with pins but did tally a 13-1 major decision over the Cavalier before heading into the championship bout. Mendoza was set to meet against Harry Zander in the title bout, a familiar opponent as just a month ago Zander had traveled to Norfolk and was pinned by Mendoza in the second period. Zander was motivated and earned a quick takedown and, later in the first period, an impressive reversal. However, Mendoza would stalk in the first period and take advantage of Zander's one mistake early in the second period. For the second time this season, Mendoza pinned Zander in the second period, this time at the 3:30 mark. Mendoza won the 197-lb. weight class and earned the Most Pins Trophy for the tournament. Nick Pullano also repeated a defeat of George Mason's nationally ranked Tyler Tisdell, much like Mendoza's rematch with Zander, and won the 165-lb. weight class. Other highlights include Jesse Strawn taking second in the 184-lb. class to Rocco Caponi, Chris Brown's impressive 4-1 day, good for third, which included three major decisions and a technical fall, and Ryan Williams battling to a 3-2 loss in the title bout against the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler, Tim Harner (Liberty) in the 141-lb. class. The Monarchs will not return home until February 8th, when they host Virginia Tech, but are back in action next Friday/Saturday at the Virginia Duals. The Duals are being held at the Hampton Coliseum.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 11-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team split 10 individual matches down the middle against No. 3 Hofstra as the two teams teams battled to a 18-18 tie on Saturday evening (Jan. 6) in front of 871 fans at Cliff Keen Arena. It marks the first U-M tie in two seasons as well as the first tie in the series history between the two programs. Kicking off the dual with the marquee match of the evening at 165 pounds, senior/junior captain Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS), ranked fifth nationally in the latest NWCA poll, used a first-period takedown to earn a 3-1 decision over the Pride's fourth-ranked Mike Patrovich. The Wolverine scored the match's only offensive points with a single leg late in the opening frame. After quick escapes by both wrestlers early in the second and third periods kept point differential at two, Tannenbaum stayed on the attack with a deep single-leg shot midway through the final frame but could not convert on the edge of the match. With the win, Tannenbaum improved his season record to a perfect 11-0. Michigan extended its advantage to 12-0 with wins by senior/juniors Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS) and Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) in the subsequent two matches, including a quick first-period fall at 184 pounds. Luke needed just a pair of escapes to emerge with a 2-0 victory over 12th-ranked Alton Lucas. The U-M sophomore, ranked eighth, earned a quick escape at the start of the middle frame and another early in the third after the Pride wrestler took a second injury timeout. Fourth-ranked Todd wasted little time before dumping Rich Muzikar to the mat, shooting in on a single leg 30 seconds into the match and finishing with a double along the edge of the mat. The Wolverine sophomore used an arm bar to turn Muzikar for two points midway through the frame and, just moments later, used head scoop to put the Pride wrestler flat on the mat, earning his third fall of the season at the 1:48 mark. Hofstra claimed its first win of the evening at 197 pounds, where the Pride's third-ranked Chris Weidman used riding time to earn a 9-8 decision over junior/sophomore Casey White (Commerce, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS). White, in his first match in more than a month, trailed by five points after the opening two periods but rallied in the final frame with a takedown and two escapes. The Wolverine ran out of time, however, as Weidman's 4:00 in time advantage proved to be the tiebreaker. Senior/junior heavyweight Omar Maktabi (Iowa City, Iowa/West HS) converted on a takedown midway through the overtime frame to secure a 3-1 decision against Hofstra's Matt Pollock and give the Wolverines a 15-3 advantage entering the halftime intermission. The wrestlers exchanged escapes during regulation, but neither was able to take advantage of scoring opportunities. In extra time, Maktabi used a front headlock to gain position behind Pollock, locked up his hands and used a trip to put the Pride heavyweight on the mat. The Pride would claim the next three matches at the lightweights, including two with bonus points, to even the team score at 15-15 with two bouts remaining. Fifth-ranked Dave Tomasette initiated the rally in the first match out of the break, earning a 16-0 technical fall at 125 pounds against junior/sophomore James Shaheen (Troy, Mich./Athens HS) in the Wolverines' varsity debut. The Pride wrestler scored a pair of takedowns and 11 back points to end the bout at the 5:59 mark. Freshman Chris Diehl (Burton, Mich./Flint Kearsley HS) kept his 133-pound match close against 19th-ranked Lou Ruggirello, matching the Pride wrestler two takedowns with a pair of his own. Ruggirello, however, held the advantage in escapes and used three of them to claim a 7-4 decision. At 141 pounds, Hofstra's 19th-ranked Charles Griffin accumulated a pair of takedowns, a second-period revedrsal and five back points en route to a 12-2 major decision against sophomore/freshman Justin Chrzanowski (Metamora, Mich./Lapeer West HS). The teams traded decision victories in the final two matches -- at 149 and 157 pounds -- to preserve the final 18-18 tie. Senior/junior captain Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) cruised 6-1 win over Mike Parziale behind single-leg takedowns in the first and third periods. He added 1:31 in riding time en route to his seventh consecutive victory. Senior/junior Jeff Marsh (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) hung close with fourth-ranked James Strouse through most of his 157-pound contest, but the Pride wrestler sealed his 6-3 victory midway through the final frame with a low single leg on the edge of the mat. The Wolverines will compete in the prestigious Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals on Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 13-14) in Cedar Falls, Iowa. U-M will be one of 16 teams competing in the Division I field. Hosted by the University of Northern Iowa, all matches will be held at the UNI Dome.

DURHAM, N.C. –- Duke (3-2, 0-0 ACC) dropped a close meet with Davidson 18-17 before bouncing back to trounce Princeton 44-0 on Saturday night. It was the Blue Devils first home meet of the season, and featured the First Annual Duke Wrestling Reunion. Davidson also beat Princeton 30-18, improving their record to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the Southern Conference. Princeton fell to 0-10 on the season and 0-1 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association. The tri-meet was set up with two mats, so that each team was split into two-- its upper five weight classes and its lower five weight classes. To begin the meet, Duke's upper weights squared off against Davidson's upper weights on one mat, while Duke's lower weights met Princeton lower weights on the other mat. In the second phase of the night, Duke's lower weights wrestled Davidson lower weights, while right beside them Princeton's upper weights grappled with Davidson's upper weights. The last third of the evening saw Duke's upper weights take on Princeton's upper weights, while Davidson's lower weights went at it with Princeton's lower weights. The Davidson meet began poorly for Duke, as they lost four straight matches in the 165, 174, and 184, and 197 pounds to go down 12-0. Mike Tunick was able to stop the bleeding as he gained six points for the Blue Devils on a forfeit in the Heavyweight class. From then on it got very interesting as Duke attempted to battle back from six points in the lower weight classes. Kellan McKeon lost an extremely close match 2-1 to Davidson's Ben Altman at the 125 pound level. The Blue Devils had one team point deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct immediately following the match to put them down 15-5. That one-point penalty would turn out to haunt them later on. Spencer Jasper defeated Chris Panfili after gaining two points in the first period on a take down, and then holding on for a 3-0 victory at 133 pounds. Jasper received his third point for accumulating a minute differential of riding time over his opponent. After Philip Wightman lost 11-6 to Davidson's Jim Avola at 141 pounds, the Wildcats were ahead of the Blue Devils 18-8 with two matches to go. Knowing that Addison Nuding would score six points on a forfeit by Davidson at 157 pounds in the final match, Daniel Shvartsman needed to come up with a major decision to at least secure a tie, or a technical fall or pin to win the meet for Duke. Shvartsman went up 7-2 on Scott Matthews going into the third and final period, but was unable to increase his lead any further. He ended up winning his match 7-3, although Duke was defeated overall on team points 18-17. Shvartsman continues to move up on the Blue Devils' career wins list. He currently ranks 12th with 76 career victories. Shvartsman is three wins behind Jim Walsh in 11th place, and 29 wins behind all-time leader Bradd Weber. In their other head-to-head meet, it was all Duke, as they blew Princeton away. Every match was won by at least five points. The upper weight classes were especially dominant, scoring two major decisions and two pins. McKeon and Jasper won on forfeits before Wightman, Voris Tejada, and Nuding all won decisions at the 141, 149, and 157 pound weight classes, respectively. For Tejada it was his team-leading 18th win on the year. At 165 pounds, Aaron Glover scored a major decision over Princeton's Aaron Casp, 19-7. That was followed by John Barone's pinning of Matt Collins at 3:00. It was Barone's fifth pin on the season, which ties him for the team best with 141 pound Westley Kuser. It also improved his team-best winning percentage, which now stands at .700 with a 14-6 record. Dan Fox scored Duke's second major decision of the evening with a 10-1 triumph over the Tigers' Oliver Noteware in the 184 pound weight class. Patrick Keenum added on a win at 197 pounds with a 5-0 victory over Zach Morse. Tunick closed out the night with a bang as he pinned Kris Berr at 4:19 for his second pin of the year, and six more Duke points. This weekend marked the first annual Duke Wrestling Alumni Reunion. Over 50 alums returned to catch up with one another and honor legendary Blue Devil coach Bill Harvey. Seven decades of Duke wrestling were represented, including eight individual ACC champions and ten NCAA qualifiers. Duke will compete next in Raleigh against N.C. State in their ACC opening dual meet on Wed., Jan. 10. Meet time is set for 7:30 p.m. The Blue Devils will return home on Wed., Jan. 24, for another tri-meet, this time with The Citadel and Campbell. That meet will start at 7:00 p.m.

Collegeville, PA -- The College of New Jersey wrestling team picked up three victories in four dual meets at the North/South Duals hosted by Ursinus College on Saturday. The Lions (6-1), which are ranked eighth in the latest NWCA Brute – Adidas Division III poll, opened with a 42-11 win over Trinity College (CT) before beating Plymouth State University, 32-3. TCNJ then got past Wesleyan University, 27-11, before falling to second-ranked Wartburg College, 34-4. Senior Mike Guenther (Ewing, NJ/Brick Memorial) boasted a perfect record on the day as he won all three of his matches. Guenther, who is ranked third nationally at 165 pounds, is now 15-2 on the season. A host of Lions recorded three wins on the day led by Ray Sarinelli (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Hills) at 133, Tyler Branham (Newton, NJ/Kittantiny) at 141, Jon Biango (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick) at 149 and Steve Carbone (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) at heavyweight. The Lions will be back in action next weekend heading to Lycoming College for the annual Budd Whitehill Duals.

Lancaster, Pa. -– Rutgers head wrestling coach John Sacchi recorded his 159th career win at the helm of the Scarlet Knights program, moving to the top of the all-time victory list as RU defeated Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) rival Franklin & Marshall, 36-13 on Saturday afternoon. With the win, Rutgers moves to 2-2 on the season, including a 2-0 mark in the EIWA. Before the victory, Sacchi was tied with the late former coach Deane Oliver. Oliver led Rutgers to a 158-147-9 record in 21 years of coaching (1969-1990) and had a winning percentage of .511. Sacchi's current record of 159-98-5 moves him to the top spot in program history with a winning percentage of .616. The Scarlet Knights got a pin from Mike D'Amico (Kenilworth, N.J.) at heavyweight as the sophomore turned the Diplomats' Nico Somers and earned the fall at the 5:07 mark in the match. Jack Barrett (Metuchen, N.J.) and Lamar Brown (Red Bank, N.J.) posted decision wins at 149 and 197 pounds, respectively. Barrett recorded a 12-7 win over Franklin & Marshall's Steve Gregory, while Brown defeated Sean Logue, 10-3. Due to injuries, the Diplomats forfeited matches at the 125, 133, 174 and 184-pound weight classes. On Wednesday, Jan. 10, Rutgers will travel to East Stroudsburg, Pa. to take on the Warriors in an EIWA match-up at 7:00 p.m.

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. -– The Bucknell wrestling squad put together a successful showing at the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Classic on Friday as members of the Bison placed in six of the 10 weight classes at the non-scored tournament hosted by Millersville University. David Marble (Harpursville, N.Y./Harpursville Area) captured first at 133 for his first career tournament win. In the championship, Marble defeated Justin Shorts of Delaware Valley College. The Bison had two second-place finishers as Zach Galligan (Boonville, N.Y./Adirondack) was second at 141 and Eric Lapotsky (Mount Carmel, Pa./Mount Carmel Area) was the runner-up in the 197-pound bracket. Andy Rendos (Brockway, Pa./Brockway Area), who is currently ranked 16th in the nation, was upset in his first bout at 165, but swept through the consolation bracket to capture third at the weight. Shane Riccio (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) and George Hingson (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) rounded out the placewinners for the Orange and Blue, with Riccio finishing third at 174 and Hingson fourth at heavyweight. "I felt our wrestlers performed well today coming out of the break," said Bison head coach Dan Wirnsberger. "The tournament was a good warm-up for us heading into next weekend's trip to Brown and Boston University."

PALO ALTO, CALIF. -- Columbia's head wrestling coach, Brendan Buckley, always enjoys visiting California, where he was an All-American (at Fresno State) and began his coaching career. But few visits have been enjoyable as the present one. The Columbia wrestling team arrived in the Golden State Wednesday and two days later walked away with two come-from-behind victories at the Stanford Duals, 27-11 over the host school and 22-16 over the University of California at Davis. "This was a very good day of wrestling," said Buckley, Columbia's Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling. "Although these were our first dual meets of the season and we were missing some people, we did very well against two strong teams." Stanford and UC Davis are both members of the Pac-10 for wrestling; the Aggies are one of the league's pre-season favorites. Columbia trailed after the first bout of each match, as junior Jerome Greco, substituting for the injured Brandon Kinney, lost an 18-3 technical fall to Stanford's Tanner Garner, ranked fourth nationally, and a 5-1 decision to Davis's Marcos Orozco. But the Lions fought back strongly. Against Stanford, 18th-ranked senior Matt DeLorenzo scored a 16-4 major decision over Cameron Teitelman at 133 pounds and junior Derek Francavilla posted another major decision, 13-4 over Rafael Chavez at 141. In his first action in two years, junior Anthony Constantino then decisioned Tyler Parker at 149 pounds, 3-0. It was Constantino's first collegiate bout since competing in the 2005 NCAA Championships; he missed the 2005-06 season while on a leave of absence from Columbia, and was injured the first half of this season. His bout gave Columbia an 11-5 lead, which promptly increased to 17-5 when sophomore Derek Sickles pinned Steven Frehn at 157 pounds, in 1:03. Stanford fought back. The Cardinal closed to 17-8 as Brian Perry beat senior Ricky Turk in overtime at 165, 10-5, spoiling the co-captain's homecoming in his native state. Feist then surprised senior Matt Palmer with a 6-5 decision to pull Stanford within 17-11. Like Constantino, Palmer was competing in his first bout as a collegian this season. He was not in school during the first semester, when he competed unattached while placing second in the Nittany Lion Open. Palmer is ranked 11th nationally. With Stanford, coached by native Long Islander Kerry McCoy, a former Olympian and NCAA champion, just six points away from tying the match, Columbia's higher weights came through. Senior Justin Barent, ranked 14th nationally, more than justified the ranking as he defeated Zack Giesen with a 14-2 major decision to give Columbia a 21-11 lead. Junior Nick Sommerfeld then posted his team-leading 10th victory of the season by edging Jared Boyer, 7-5 in sudden-victory overtime. His win put Columbia up 24-11 to clinch the team victory. Junior Jed Wade evened his season record at 4-4 when he concluded the match with a 6-1 decision over Phillip Doerner at heavyweight. The Lions faced tougher going against UC Davis. They took a 6-3 lead on DeLorenzo's 3-2 decision over Omar Gaitan at 133 and sophomore Sal Tirico's 5-3 victory at 141. It appeared they would win at 149 as well, but Shawn Haratani rallied to edge Matt Dunn, 13-10. Derek Sickles was up next, at 157 pounds, substituting for nationally-ranked Devin Mesanko. The sophomore faced a major battle in highly-regarded Jon Clark. "The bout was pretty even," Buckley said. "Then Derek reversed Clark, right to his back." With 4:45 gone, Sickles posted his second pin of the day, only his third of the season. "Derek did a great job for us," the coach noted. Still the Aggies rallied. Dustin Noack defeated Ricky Turk at 165, 7-3, to pull Davis within 12-9 and set up a confrontation between Columbia's 11th-ranked Matt Palmer and the Aggies' fourth-ranked Ken Cook. But Palmer wasn't feeling well, and Buckley inserted senior Dustin Tillman, normally a 165-pounder. He lost a major decision to Cook by a 12-4 score. UC Davis led, 13-12. The roller-coaster match took another Columbia leap, as Barent registered his second major of the day, 12-2 to put the Lions up, 16-13. The Aggies tied it at 16-all when Eliot Kelly defeated Nick Sommerfeld at 197, 4-3. For the second straight season, it had come down to heavyweight. In last season's match, at the Virginia Duals, Columbia had hung on to a 17-16 victory despite losing the heavyweight bout. This time, they won going away, as first-year Kevin Lester posted the biggest victory of his short collegiate career, pinning Broc Maffia in exactly one minute. "Maffia's good," Buckley said. "He had beaten Jed Wade pretty well [12-5] in Las Vegas." The 6-foot-5 Lester wrestled aggressively against Maffia with the match on the line. "Kevin almost had an early takedown, but the guy scrambled out," Buckley recalled. "Then Kevin hit a headlock. It was a real sneaky move." Maffia went down and stayed down, pinned in exactly one minute to give Columbia a 22-16 victory and give Buckley, an assistant coach at UC Davis in 1997-98 , a particularly sweet victory against his old school. Columbia remains in California for two more matches Sunday, January 7, meeting Cal State Bakersfield, another Pac-10 team, and San Francisco State, in Bakersfield.

STANFORD, Calif. -– Wrestling its first duals of the New Year, Lehigh kicked off 2007 on a high note, winning a pair of duals over Pac 10 foes at the Stanford Duals at the Cardinal's Burnham Pavilion Friday afternoon. The No. 23 Mountain Hawks opened the day with a 33-8 win over UC Davis, and ended it with a 34-9 rout of former Lehigh assistant Kerry McCoy's Stanford Cardinal. The Mountain Hawks now stand at 6-4 on the dual season, and 2-0 on their five dual western swing. "We wrestled with a lot more intensity today," said Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel on the lehighsports.com audio broadcast. "We worked on a lot of little things in practice, fixing up some of the mistakes we were making. Today we weren't making those little mistakes. The other nice thing was that we went out and scored pins and major decisions." Of Lehigh's 16 bout wins on the day, the Mountain Hawks scored five falls and four major decisions. In the opener versus UC Davis, Lehigh won eight of ten bouts, scoring bonus points in five. The Mountain Hawks' lightweights powered Lehigh's fast start with three straight bonus wins. Sophomore Matt Fisk opened the dual with a major decision over Marcos Orozco at 125. In the next bout, freshman Seth Ciasulli picked up his first fall of the season, pinning Omar Gaitan in the second period. Senior Matt Ciasulli closed the run with a 12-2 win over Nexi Delgado, who was subbing for the injured Derek Moore who was ranked second in the country. Lehigh won the next two matches, as Trevor Chinn picked up a win by decision and Dave Nakasone erased a third period deficit to win 11-9 in sudden victory over Jon Clark. UC Davis picked up its two wins at 165 and 174, as Dustin Noack blanked freshman Manuel Schubert and fourth ranked Ken Cook racked up a technical fall over David Helfrich. The Mountain Hawks took the last three bouts versus the Aggies, with freshman David Craig winning by major at 184, senior Matt Cassidy winning by decision at 197 and Paul Weibel ending the dual with a second period win by fall over Broc Maffia. In the day's second dual, the host Cardinal struck first, with fourth ranked Tanner Gardner defeating Fisk 9-2. Fisk kept things close, but a third period take down and three point near fall by Gardner broke up a close bout. From there Lehigh won four in a row, featuring a major decision from Seth Ciasulli, falls by Matt Ciasulli and Nakasone and a decision by Chinn. Stanford picked up a win by fall at 165, with Scott Loescher pinning Manuel Schubert in 3:54. Kerry McCoy juggled his line-up with four wrestlers bumping up in weight, but the Mountain Hawks took advantage, winning all four bouts against Cardinal wrestlers who bumped up. At 174, Helfrich held off 165-pounder Brian Perry 7-5, while Craig bested normal 174 pound grappler Luke Feist 7-3. At 197, Cassidy scored an early five point move in the first period, and on his second attempt at a turn, stuck normal 184 pounder Zack Giesen in 1:03. Weibel just missed a major, earning an 11-4 decision over Phil Doerner at heavyweight. The Mountain Hawks will return to the mats on Sunday when they wrap up their five dual western swing at the Sun Devil Duals in Tempe, Arizona. Lehigh will open up against Cal State Fullerton at 6:30 pm EST, then will face EIWA foe American at 8:00 pm and then host Arizona State at 9:30. The Arizona State match will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 as well as lehighsports.com with streaming audio powered by Yahoo! Sports.

IOWA CITY, IA -- Former Hawkeye wrestlers Luke and Ty Eustice will be featured in several clues of the category "Wrestling" Monday, January 8 on the TV game show JEOPARDY! Jimmy McGuire and Kelly Miyahara of the JEOPARDY! Clue Crew taped several clues at Carver-Hawkeye Arena featuring the Eustice brothers in August. Check your local listings for the channel and time JEOPARDY! airs. The Eustice brothers are natives of Blue Earth, MN. Luke was an all-American and NCAA finalist at 125 pounds in 2002, lettering for the Hawkeyes from 2001-04. Ty was a two-time all-American at 149 pounds, competing in the NCAA finals in 2006. He lettered for the Hawkeyes from 2003-06. They are the 10th set of brothers to wrestle together in the Hawkeye varsity lineup since the 1950s.

NORMAN, Okla. – Oklahoma flexed its muscle in a 55-0 drubbing of Marion Military Institute in session one of the 10th annual Lone Star Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas. The Sooners got five falls in the dual as Sam Hazewinkel, Kyle Terry, Will Rowe, Shane Seibert and Brad Farmer all pinned their opponents. Matt Storniolo, Josh Hinton and Joel Flaggert all won their matches by technical falls. Jarrod King won by a major decision and Joe Comparin won by forfeit. Comparin at 133-pounds began the dual with no match as he took the victory. Terry pinned Steve Chandler of Marion at 141-pounds at the 2:23 mark, putting the Sooners up 12-0 two matches in. Storniolo wrestling for OU at 149-pounds disposed of Zach Brewer by a technical fall, 16-1 in the third period. Rowe scored the second fall for Oklahoma as he pinned Darron Stowe at 157-pounds to begin the third period. Rowe's victory put OU up 23-0. Seibert made it back-to-back falls for the Sooners as he put Jon Ruiz on his back in the first period of the 165-pound match. King wrestling at 174-pounds won by a major decision over Derick Miller, 16-4. Hinton scored another technical fall for Oklahoma at 184-pounds as he marched his way to a shutout of Will Hurst, winning 16-0. Flaggert scored another technical fall for the Sooners as he corralled Tyler Barberi at 197-pounds, 17-2. Farmer at heavyweight for Oklahoma took care of Jay Bruniwitz in the first period pinning him :25 seconds into the match. Hazewinkel, whose father and uncle co-coach Marion, pinned C.J. Hamilton in the second period to cap the Sooners 55-0 shutout of Marion. The Sooners continue their day in Texas with a Session five dual against Navy beginning at 4 p.m. OU closes out the day with Utah Valley State in session six at 6 p.m.

Thomas Wolfe once said, "You can never go home again." The acclaimed writer from Asheville, North Carolina never met fellow Southerner Matt Keller. After high school, Matt left his native Tennessee to wrestle at the University of Nebraska … but was called home for family reasons, and is now a senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), where he is ranked sixth in the country at 133 pounds, and may well bring home an NCAA title this March. Keller rocks Cleveland Matt KellerMatt Keller grew up in the Cleveland, Tennessee area, just thirty miles northeast of Chattanooga. "When I was six years old, dad took me to the local Boys' Club for their wrestling program," says Matt. "You see, he was a high school wrestler." "It took three years to wipe the smile off my face." Matt put smiles on the faces of wrestling fans at Bradley Central High School that lasted four years. He delighted the crowds by wrestling varsity his entire high school career, compiling an incredible 140-2 record, and winning four straight Tennessee state championships. Competing for the Cornhuskers Despite these accomplishments, Matt says he was not heavily recruited in high school, admitting during the interview for this profile that he never won a national title. However, he did attract the attention of perennial powerhouse Nebraska. His very first college recruiting trip was to visit the Cornhuskers, and he signed right away. "I liked everything -- the coaches, being able to train with Jason Powell, great facilities," says Matt, who spent three years in Lincoln (one of them as a redshirt freshman). "It was the right choice for me at the time." While at Nebraska, Matt made positive contributions for the Cornhuskers right from the start. As a freshman, he built a 28-12 record, finishing just one win shy of earning All-American honors in the 133-pound weight class. His sophomore year, Matt went down to 125, and, despite some challenges staying at that weight, went 20-8. Both years he placed third in the Big 12 conference tournament. It was at this time that Matt's father David was called to serve in the Army in Afghanistan. At Matt's request, Nebraska head coach Mark Manning released the wrestler from his scholarship, allowing him to transfer to UTC. At the time, coach Manning told the Omaha World Herald, "Matt wants to be closer to home, so he can be there to support his mom and his family. I completely understand his decision. We've had a great relationship and I wish him the best." Adjusting to the move Matt KellerWhen asked what schools he considered to be closer to his family while his dad was overseas, Matt said, "I didn't consider going any place else." However, the move back home meant some major adjustments for the Tennessee native. "It was very hard to leave my friends at Nebraska," says Matt. "I still talk to Jason Powell once a week." "The level of competition from the Big 12 to UTC was a big difference … At Nebraska, it was like having a title match every week. I really got beat up. Here, I'm fresher each week." Matt also seems to be a bit more at home in terms of the academic environment in Chattanooga. "There are about 8,000-10,000 students at UTC. The classes are smaller, more personal," says the UTC senior. Right at home with the Mocs, right from the start In his first season at UTC, Matt Keller made a big splash for the program. In addition to moving back to Tennessee, Matt moved back to the 133-pound weight class after being at 125 his last year at Nebraska. As a junior, Matt compiled a 37-11 overall record, with twelve of those wins scored by a pin, and nine by major decision. Among the highlights of the regular season in 2005-06: Winning the Reno Tournament of Champions in 2005 … and upending top-ranked Tom Clum of Wisconsin, 9-5. Matt took home the 133-pound title at the 2006 Southern Conference Championships, and was voted Outstanding Wrestler of the event. He earned a ticket to Oklahoma City for the 2006 NCAA's, where he claimed All-American honors by placing eighth in a talent-rich weight class. More changes at Chattanooga Coming off a great first season at UTC, Matt Keller faced yet another change to deal with: A new head coach. Chris BonoChange seemed to be one constant for Moc wrestlers and fans. In the past three years, UTC has had two athletic directors… and three head wrestling coaches: Terry Brands, Joe Seay, and now Chris Bono. Coach Bono, who had been an assistant to Seay before being named head coach in July 2006, brings to the job an impressive resume in terms of wrestling and coaching experience. A 1997 graduate of Iowa State and 1996 NCAA champ at 150 pounds for the Cyclones -- as well as being a three-time US World Freestyle Team member -- Chris Bono was an assistant at his alma mater for nine years under long-time head coach Bobby Douglas before coming to Chattanooga in 2005. In a published interview, Matt said of his new head coach, "I obviously have great respect for what he's accomplished as a wrestler … Bono is a really good coach -- everybody around here loves him. He's brought some stability to our program and everybody is on board with him." The positive feeling is mutual. "Matt has an incredible work ethic. Definitely one of the hardest workers in the room," says Coach Bono. "He's one of my leaders. He buys into what I'm saying, which means the world to me as a first-year head coach." "I've seen tremendous growth between this year and last year with Matt," the Mocs head coach continues. "He's matured in all aspects -- not just in wrestling, either … He's grown up in his perspective on the mat, and in life in general." Stellar senior season It appears that maturity is shining through in Matt Keller's winning performance in his last year as a collegiate wrestler. As of this writing, he is ranked sixth in the 133-pound weight class by RevWrestling.com, with a 14-2 record. In early December, Matt took the title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, winning five straight matches … including a 9-7 overtime victory in the finals over last year's 133-pound NCAA champ Matt Valenti of the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he won the 133 bracket at the Missouri Open, and secured decisive dual-meet wins over competition from Virginia Tech (by major decision) and Ohio State (by pin). Immediately after Christmas, Matt brought a perfect 10-0 record to the 2006 Southern Scuffle, held at the Greensboro (North Carolina) Coliseum Special Events Center. Matt, the top seed at 133, breezed through his first two bouts (winning one by tech fall) before running into Cornell sophomore -- and eventual 133-pound champ -- Adam Frey, who edged the Mocs senior, 10-9. Matt eventually placed seventh. When asked about Matt Keller's senior year success, Mocs head coach Chris Bono said, "He's gone out and wrestled hard. He really believes in his conditioning. It's not just that he's in top condition to go the distance in every match and wear the other guy down, but that his mental aspect is in top condition, too." What's next? Ask him about his goals for the current season, and Matt's first statement is, "I'm focused on finishing up school, earning my degree in Sociology." But then he immediately follows up with, "Winning a national title is very important to me. I dream about it every night." After he graduates, Matt hopes to continue his mat career as a freestyle wrestler. Ideally, he would like to be a wrestling coach, "hopefully college, somewhere close to home." Matt KellerIn separate interviews, both Matt Keller and Chris Bono discussed how things are changing for the better in terms of wrestling in the state of Tennessee and surrounding region. "Each year, Tennessee high school wrestling gets better and better," according to Matt. "More coaches who grew up in Tennessee are coming back to coach high school." Coach Bono said, "When I first came to UTC, no one thought of national titles. Now fans in the area are talking about the possibility of our wrestlers winning national championships." "This area is starved for wrestling," adds the new coach. "Folks are attracted to the sport. They seem to like what they see down here. We're thrilled with the level of support we've been getting." Perhaps one reason for increased fan enthusiasm in the region may be Matt Keller's attitude towards life on and off the mat. In talking to Matt, his down-home, easy-going spirit comes shining through. Yet it's not at all a contradiction when he says, "I like a battle. I'm a warrior." That combination of one-day-at-a-time attitude and warrior spirit could be the winning combination that helps Matt Keller bring home a national title … a first for him, and a first for UTC and the state of Tennessee as well.

After a huge Midlands Championship we make our way back to the studio for a 2 hour broadcast. We'll do some house keeping and some catching up for sure. Due in the studio is Jeff Murphy with out TDR Top 20 Report. Steve Foster will be taking some much needed and deserved time off. I do appreciate all he does for the show and for the sport. Jeff and I will be joined by local fighter and MCC promoter Ryan Haas who along with his partner John Halverson have a BIG fight coming up in Des Moines on January 13th visit http://midwestcagechampionship.com/index.php. Yes that's the same weekend of the National Duals. Speaking of the Nat'l Duals, I will be announcing them along with Sandy Stevens and TDR will broadcast the event as well. Schedule to follow. This week on TDR: Former wrestler turned coach Anthony Porcelli will join us to discuss his local training facility and club. Can additional training and coaching outside of the room be beneficial? Sean Salmon, Former Ohio State Standout will be joining us. Life after collegiate wrestling? Sean will fill us in on that. Brad Penrith, The Head Coach of the UNI Panthers will join us to discuss the 2006-07 NWCA National Duals to be held at the UNI Dome on his campus in Cedar Falls, Iowa. #1 TheMat.com/TakedownRadio.com Athlete of the week for week of Dec 25th is: Ian Murphy Murphy, who is unranked nationally, defeated No. 7 Christian Sinnott of Central Michigan, 5-1 in the championship finals to win the 184-pound title at the Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nevada, Dec. 20-21. Murphy won five matches during the tournament, three by fall. His pins were over Dan Fox of Duke, Hase Locke of Southern Oregon and Jack Jensen of Oklahoma State. He also defeated Yuri Kalika of Cal Poly, 5-0. Murphy is a junior and is a business administration major. He is returning after a year out of school. He placed sixth in the Pac-10 Championships in 2004. In high school, he was fifth in the California state championships for Santiago High School. #2 TheMat.com/TakedownRadio.com Athlete of the week for week of January 1 is: Adam Frey Competing in his first college tournament, Frey knocked off the No. 1, 2 and 4 seeds en route to winning the 133-pound title at the Southern Scuffle on Dec. 30 in Greensboro, N.C. The eighth-seeded Frey, a sophomore at Cornell University, beat No. 1 seed and No. 2 nationally ranked Matt Keller of Tennessee-Chattanooga 10-9 in the quarterfinal round. He followed with a 10-9 semifinal win over No. 4 seed Joe Baker of Navy and beat No. 2 seed Evan Sola of North Carolina 4-2 in the finals. Individual championships by Frey and NCAA runner-up Troy Nickerson (125) lifted the Big Red to a third-place finish behind No. 1 Missouri and No. 2 Minnesota at the Southern Scuffle. Frey is a sophomore academically, but he still has four years of eligibility remaining including this season. He did not compete last year for Cornell because of an injury. Frey is now ranked ninth nationally by Wrestling International Newsmagazine. Frey was the nation's top-ranked recruit at 130 pounds following his prep career at Blair Academy. He won Junior Nationals in freestyle and Greco-Roman in 2005. Tim McClellan, Former Strength and conditioning coach for the Sundevils, 1996 USOC Strength and Conditioning Coach for Wrestling and featured clinician of The Explosive Wrestler! 30 Strength Training Exercises with Tim McClellan, M.S., C.S.C.S.; and Mike VanArsdale, NCAA Champ and 3X All-American at Iowa State University All things being equal, the more explosive wrestler always wins! In this video, Tim McClellan calls on his experience training champion wrestlers at all levels, including the Olympics, to provide more than 30 exercises to build your wrestling speed and strength. McClellan begins with a brief shoulder warm-up routine and then presents injury prevention exercises for the neck and shoulder. McClellan then teaches strength and speed building in three areas: Lower body power exercises, lower body strength exercises and upper body strength. Each section contains at least 10 different exercises, with McClellan detailing the proper mechanics for each exercise step-by-step. These exercises are movement specific, meaning they emulate actions the wrestler will do on the mat … not only are you training muscles, but movements as well. McClellan also includes a valuable 7-step Guide on How to Construct a Training Program. 65 minutes. 2003. This is sure to be a fascinating show so please join in this Saturday from 9 AM to 11:00 AM on Des Moines Sports Station AM 1460 KXNO, KXNO.Com or Takedownradio.com

Oklahoma State is making its first appearance at the Lone Star Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas. The Cowboys are currently ranked fourth in the country according to the latest USA Today/Intermat/NWCA Coaches' Poll and boast a 4-1 record on the season. OSU's lone loss came at the hands of second-ranked Minnesota back on Dec. 6. The Cowboys are coming off of a win over Cal Poly in their last dual meet, and they have not wrestled since the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 20. The Cowboys took second in Reno, falling to Central Michigan by a mere half point. OSU is wrestling the three service academies in the duals. The Cowboys meet up with Air Force for the first time at 10 a.m. OSU will wrestle former Cowboy wrestler Chuck Barbee's Army Black Knights at 2 p.m. The Cowboys won the only meeting of the series last year, 42-0. OSU will close out the day against the Navy Midshipmen at 8 p.m. The Cowboys lead the all-time series 5-0, but have not wrestled Navy since the 1971-72 season. The first two matches will be live on 780 AM, while the Navy match will air on 93.7 FM, following Cowboy basketball, with Rex Holt and Roger Moore providing the commentary. Last Time Out Oklahoma State crowned two champions en route to a second-place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions back on Dec. 20. Johny Hendricks recorded a fall and five major decisions as he was named Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament. Coleman Scott defeated fifth-ranked Darrell Vasquez for the second time in three days as he captured a title at 133. The Cowboys had six other wrestlers place in the top six, but it was not enough as Central Michigan held on to win by a mere half a point. Scouting the Opposition Oklahoma State will receive the stiffest challenge from 3-2 Navy. The Midshipmen boast four wrestlers ranked near the top 10 led by 174-pounder Matt Stolpinski, ranked eighth. Ed Pendergrast is ranked ninth at heavyweight, while Joe Baker is No. 11 at 133 and John Cox is 16th at 149. Neither Army nor Air Force have any wrestlers ranked nationally. The Cowboys defeated Army last season 42-0, and they could be looking for a sweep in both of these matches. The Black Knights are currently 2-1 on the season, while Air Force is 1-0. Last time vs. Army The Cowboys had little trouble with Army as they dispatched the Black Knights 42-0. OSU won nine of the 10 bouts by bonus points with Steve Mocco earning a fall. Daniel Frishkorn recorded a technical fall to help put away Army. The only match that did involve bonus points was an 11-4 decision by Johny Hendricks. Oklahoma State 42, Army 0 Gallagher-Iba Arena • Stillwater, Okla. • Attendance: 3,251 125- #7 Coleman Scott (OSU) MD William Simpson (Army), 9-1 133- #6 Nathan Morgan (OSU) MD Whitt Dunning (Army), 16-5 141- #7 Daniel Frishkorn (OSU) TF5 Tyler Howard (Army), 16-0 (5:37) 149- #1 Zack Esposito (OSU) MD Patrick Simpson (Army), 20-9 157- #11 Kevin Ward (OSU) MD Brandon Benson (Army), 13-1 165- #1 Johny Hendricks (OSU) Dec. Chad Marzec (Army), 11-4 174- #9 Brandon Mason (OSU) MD Brent Smith (Army), 14-0 184- Rusty Blackmon (OSU) MD Luke Calvert (Army), 10-1 197- #2 Jake Rosholt (OSU) MD Todd Wisman (Army), 12-3 285- #2 Steve Mocco (OSU) Fall Michael Sprigg (Army), 3:52 Hendricks Reaches the Century Mark Senior Johny Hendricks became the 26th member of the 100-win club when he defeated Oklahoma's Shane Seibert, 7-4, on Dec. 3, 2006. He is currently 15-0 on the season and boasts a career record of 108-12. He tied former hheavyweight Kirk Mammen for 20th on the all-time wins list.

San Francisco, Calif. -- San Francisco State University Gators' wrestling team improved to 1-5 overall and 1-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) as they defeated the visiting Mavericks of Mesa State College (CO). The Mavericks fall to 1-5 overall and 1-1 in the RMAC. Senior Will Simmons (Sacramento, CA/Sac City College) improved to 3-4 as he won by a 14-12 decision in the first round of sudden victory over The Mavericks' Andrew Laiminger at 174. SF State won at 184 by forfeit as Cory Creighton (Fr, Carson, WA/Stevenson HS) picked up the win. At 197, Alecxis Lara (Jr, Gilroy, CA/Skyline College) won by fall at 6:44 over Keenan Jennings of Mesa State. Christopher Kennedy put the Mavericks on the board with a 5-2 decision over the Gators' Vincent Bordi (Fr, Manteca, CA) at heavyweight. Freshman Pierre Bondoc (Fr, Modesto, CA/Beyer HS) gave the Gators a 20-3 lead as he won by a 22-4 technical fall over Jason Blasdel at 125 to improve to 1-3. At 133, Ben Lockett (Fr, San Francisco, CA/George Washington HS) improved to 2-10 with a 10-9 decision over Garrett Burner. Virgil Lockett (Sr, San Francisco, CA/Skyline College) recorded his third victory by pin fall as he pinned Mesa State's Jacob Maysog at the 3:19 mark at 133. The Gators won the next match by forfeit at 149 to increase their lead to 35-3. Then at 157, Kenneth Packard (So, Fresno, CA/Roosevelt School of the Arts) recorded a 10-8 sudden victory over Taylor Torisk to run his record to 9-7. In the final match of the afternoon, Mesa State's Cole Johnson recorded a 3-1 win over the Gators' Austin Torres (Jr, 165, Schererville, IN/Skyline College) at 165 to make the final 38-6 SF State. SF State will return to the mat on Sunday for a pair of duals in Bakersfield, Calif. The Gators will face Cal State Bakersfield and Columbia University in a pair of non-conference duals beginning at 1:30pm. SF State will also send some wrestlers to Atherton, Calif., to participate in the Menlo Invitational on the campus of Menlo College.