InterMat Staff

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Northern Iowa wrestling squad got the home season underway in promising fashion on Saturday night with a 16-16 tie against the No. 10-ranked Wisconsin Badgers in the McLeod Center. The Panthers and Badgers each won five matches in the dual. UNI moved to 0-0-1 on the season, while Wisconsin's record went to 4-0-1. UNI head coach Brad Penrith said he was happy with the result of Saturday's dual against the highly-ranked Badgers. "We had our opportunities against a top-rated Wisconsin team that is well-coached," head coach Brad Penrith said. "We made some mistakes in our first dual meet that we need to improve on, but we also took a lot of positives away from this too. Sometimes in the first dual meet you have a lot of jitters and nerves. But the team came out and wrestled well. We'll learn from our mistakes. This shows we could have a good team by the end of the season." Senior Alex Dolly got the dual underway with a 7-3 win over Wisconsin's Justin Peterson at 174 pounds. Dolly secured the victory with a takedown in the final 30 seconds of the third period. Dolly said the difference in the match came down to scoring on the edge of the mat. "All three of my takedowns came at the edge of the line," Dolly said. (Peterson) always wanted to try and get out of bounds real quick but I was able to hold him in and get the takedown. I started getting down and getting under him. After the first takedown I knew I wouldn't have any trouble taking him down especially after he got tired." The Badgers' Trevor Brandvold notched a 6-4 win over UNI's Andy O'Loughlin in the 184-pound match. Brandvold jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but had to hang on in the final minute for the two-point victory. UNI's Andrew Anderson scored the night's biggest upset with a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 3-ranked Dallas Herbst at 197 pounds. The match was knotted at 2-2 in the third period when Herbst was whistled for locking hands and a point was awarded to Anderson. Herbst still had a riding time point in tow, before Anderson netted an escape with only eight seconds left in the match. "I knew (Herbst) was going to be tough on top and he had me tied up real good," Anderson said. "I was working the whole time and at one point he let up a little. I took advantage of his mistake and snuck out for the win. It was a pretty big match and the highest ranked wrestler I've ever wrestled. I had a good feeling about it coming in because I've wrestled him before. I knew it was going to be close." Penrith pointed to Anderson's effort as a key to the Panthers' total team effort. "Andrew hadn't beaten his opponent (No. 4-ranked Dallas Herbst) and toward the end it didn't look promising but Andrew exploded and he kept wrestling," Penrith said. "Andrew really earned his win." Wisconsin's Kyle Massey secured the Badgers' only bonus point of the night with a 12-0 major decision over UNI's Dustin Bauman in the heavyweight match. Massey led 5-0 after the first and increased his lead to 9-0 at the end of two periods. At 125 pounds, the Badgers' Drew Hammen scored a takedown with only three seconds left in the match to earn a 6-5 win over UNI's Caleb Flores. Flores led 5-2 entering the third period, but Hammen rallied for the victory with an escape, takedown and riding time point. "Flores went for the offensive shot, made a mistake and showed his youth," Penrith said. "But he'll continue to grow and get better." UNI freshman Trent Washington tallied a big win for the Panthers at 133 pounds with a triumph over Wisconsin's No. 18-ranked Zach Tanelli. Washington wasted little time in setting the tone for the match as he secured a takedown only three seconds into the match. Washington eventually scored five takedowns in the match before hanging on for a 14-11 win. Washington said his approach was to score early and often against the junior Tanelli. "That's the kind of wrestler I am," Washington said. "I want them to know right away that I will wrestle, especially since I was a freshman and he was a junior in this match. I wanted him to know that I was here to wrestle and was not going to be intimidated." At 141 pounds, Wisconsin's Kyle Ruschell scored a last-second victory over UNI's C.J. Ettelson. The two were battling to what appeared to be a 4-4 tie and overtime would have to settle this match. However, Ruschell used a takedown with only one second left to earn the win. "It was a tough loss for C.J., but we'll learn from it and get it fixed for the next dual," Penrith said. UNI's Charlie Ettelson saw his brother lose in the closing seconds before he took the match and knew he had to turn the momentum back to the Panthers' side. Ettelson did not disappoint as he racked up the Panthers' lone bonus point with a 13-0 major decision over Wisconsin's Kendall Vogel at 149 pounds. "Whenever I wrestle after my brother, I try and use what he did to motivate me," Charlie said. "When he loses, I want to go out there and make up for the loss. I want to get our there and make things happen - it helps motivate me." Ettelson's major decision tied the dual at 13-13 with two matches left. Wisconsin's No. 3-ranked Craig Henning was able to tally the Badgers' final win of the night - a 4-0 victory over the Panthers' Jarion Beets at 157 pounds. Henning was a national runner-up last season at 157 pounds but led only 1-0 entering the final period. Henning was able to notch a takedown at the 1:38 mark of the third period and added a riding time point to close out the 4-0 win. UNI's Moza Fay then closed out the dual with a 9-5 win over the Badgers' Jake Donar. Fay looked like he might end the match early with a four-point move in the first period, but Donar battled back and almost pinned Fay in the second period with a five-point move of his own. But Fay settled down in the third period and rode out Donar for the victory. "I wasn't happy with the way I wrestled," Fay said. "I wrestled well but I wasn't happy with the throw he got on me. But tying the 10th-ranked team in the nation is saying something about how good this team can be." The Panthers will be in action again Thursday in Iowa City against the Iowa Hawkeyes at 6:30 p.m. UNI's next home meet will come next Sunday in the McLeod Center against the No. 1-ranked Iowa State Cyclones. The UNI-Iowa State dual will begin at 2 p.m.

Hempstead, NY -- The Pride won seven of the 10 matches including a tech fall victory by Lou Ruggirello as 14th-ranked Hofstra downed 25th-ranked Harvard, 25-12, before 1,045 fans at the David S. Mack Sports Complex Sunday. The Pride improved to 3-3 on the season while Harvard is 0-1 in dual matches. Starting the match at 125 pounds, Hofstra's ninth-ranked senior Dave Tomasette jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the first period on the way to a 13-1 major decision over unranked Crimson freshman Dan Kelly. Tomasette improved to 10-3 on the season. At 133, sophomore Lou Ruggirello, the Pride's second-ranked wrestler, improved to 13-2 on the season with a 17-2 tech fall victory over Harvard junior Thomas Picarsic. Hofstra senior Charles Griffin, ranked fifth in the country at 141 pounds, recorded the 100th victory of his Pride career with a 10-2 major decision over Crimson freshman Shay Warren. Griffin improved to 11-2 this season to boost the Hofstra lead in the match to 13-0. Harvard got on the board at 149 pounds as the Crimson's third-ranked sophomore J.P. O'Connor earned a hard-fought 4-2 decision over Hofstra sophomore Mitch Smith (0-6). O'Connor (10-1), who scored all of his points in the second period to take a 3-1 lead. Smith posted an escape in the third and had O'Connor's ankle in the waning seconds of the match but could not take him down to tie the match with O'Connor adding the riding time point. Hofstra boosted its lead to 16-3 at 157 pounds as sophomore Jonny Bonilla-Bowman evened his record at 4-4 on the season with a 12-7 decision over Harvard senior Bobby Latessa (4-4). It was Bonilla-Bowman's fourth victory in his last six matches. Pride freshman Ryan Patrovich improved to 7-5 on the year with a 6-0 blanking of Harvard senior Matt Button (5-4) at 165. Junior Alton Lucas, ranked 13th in the country at 174 pounds, remained undefeated on the season with an 8-3 victory over Harvard sophomore Frankie Colletta for a 22-3 advantage in the match. The Crimson captured the next two matches as eighth-ranked junior Louis Caputo (5-2) pinned Hofstra freshman Justin Danz (5-7) in 4:26 at 184 pounds to close the deficit to 22-9. Senior Billy Colgan (2-1) rallied in the final minute to record a 10-7 victory over Hofstra junior Richard Vitale (1-3) to close to 22-12. The final match of the afternoon was the closest, if not the most exciting as Hofstra junior James Guerin (1-5) defeated Harvard sophomore Andrew Knapp (3-4), 6-4 in the second sudden victory period. Guerin tied the match at 3-3 in the third period with an escape. Each wrestler had an escape in the first overtime period before Guerin tallied a takedown with nine seconds remaining in the second sudden victory period. Hofstra is now off for semester finals before they return for the 28-team Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, North Carolina on December 29-30.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 5 nationally, used bonus points to post a stunning 21-18 win at No. 3 Oklahoma State. As Stillwater and the state of Oklahoma was hit with an ice storm, the Nittany Lions of veteran head coach Troy Sunderland chilled the crowd inside OSU's Iba Arena, utilizing five wins and pins from sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) to win the battle of bonus points. The win was Penn State's first victory over Oklahoma State since a 38-7 win on Jan. 30, 1993, here in Stillwater. The Nittany Lions and Cowboys each won five bouts, but in the end a 6-3 edge in riding time secured the victory. Nittany Lion senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.), ranked No. 6 nationally, got things started with a thrilling last-second takedown to post a 4-3 win at 125. Top-ranked Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State looked for bonus points of his own at 133, but feisty Penn State freshman Mike Eagen (Wharton, N.J.) held firm and only gave up a three-point decision. Tied 3-3, Penn State sent true freshman Garrett Scott (Alexandria, Pa.) to the mat against No. 6 Nathan Morgan of OSU. Morgan gave OSU a 6-3 lead with a 6-3 win, but the edge was short-lived. Penn State sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.), ranked No. 4 at 149, silenced the rowdy OSU crowd by pinning Mike Bizzle at the 6:42 mark, putting Penn State back on top 9-6. Sophomore Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) added to Penn State's lead with a critical 5-4 win at 157. Vallimont, ranked No. 10, downed No. 20 Newly McSpadden in the only bout that featured two ranked wrestlers. But the Cowboys would not go quietly as OSU got major decisions out of its 12th-ranked 165 pounder and fourth-ranked 174 pounder to retake the lead, 14-12, heading into the dual's final three bouts. Junior Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) was once again impressive, downing talented Oklahoma State freshman 8-5 to give Penn State a 15-14 lead. Bomberger, ranked No. 19, posted a win that Penn State would not relinquish. Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) shook off the ghosts of a sluggish start to pin OSU's Clayton Foster at the 5:50 mark to clinch the dual match victory. OSU's Jared Rosholt, ranked No. 8 at HWT, posted a major decision in the dual's final match-up but Penn State had already secured the win and the Lions left Iba Arena with a 21-18 win. Penn State is off until Jan. 4 when No. 16 Cornell comes to Rec Hall for a 7 p.m. dual. All Penn State duals can be heard locally on WBLF AM (970) and WKVA (920 AM). Tickets for all regular season duals are on sale now at the athletic department ticket office in the Bryce Jordan Center. Single-dual tickets are $5 for adults and seniors and $3 for students 18 and under. Penn State students with a proper student ID are admitted free! Fans can call 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 to order single-dual tickets. BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Nittany Lion senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.), ranked No. 6 nationally, took on Oklahoma State's talented freshman Ben Ashmore at 125. McKnight got in on Ashmore's left leg and finished off the takedown for a 2-1 lead at the 1:25 mark. Each wrestler had slight scoring opportunities over the next minute, but it was McKnight who had the best shot, nearly getting a second takedown as the first period ended. But Ashmore strongly fought the move off and McKnight led by one after one. The Lion senior chose down to start the second period. Ashmore put together a strong ride, keeping his control over McKnight for the full two minutes. Each wrestler was called for stalling once in the process. Down by one, Ashmore chose down to start the third and escaped to a 2-2 tie, but Ashmore's riding time advantage put the Cowboy in charge. While McKnight needed the takedown, it was Ashmore who got in on the Lion's left thigh and nearly took the Nittany Lion senior down for a takedown. While McKnight did manage to fight off the move, Ashmore ate up all but four seconds of the bout and, having the riding time point clinched, had the match won. But the Nittany Lion senior scored a stunning takedown after the reset with just one second left and posted an amazing 4-3 win. McKnight's low shot, leading to a solid takedown at Ashmore's waist came quickly and quieted a raucous Cowboy crowd that was sensing an early upset at 125. The last-second victory gave the Nittany Lions an early 3-0 lead. 133: Penn State freshman Mike Eagen (Wharton, N.J.), continuing to fill in for injured starter Tim Haas (Camp Hill, Pa.), took to the mats against the nation's top-ranked 133-pounder, Coleman Scott of OSU. Scott got the bout's first takedown at the 1:50 mark, getting Eagen to the mat at the 1:50 mark. Scott worked hard on top, looking to turn the Nittany Lion freshman to his back, but Eagen fought off the top-ranked Cowboy's efforts for the entire period and trailed only 2-0 after the first period. Scott, who had nearly two minutes of riding time in his favor, chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 3-0 lead at the 1:46 mark. Scott added a second takedown at the :58 mark to up his lead to 5-0. Scott rode Eagen for the remainder of the period and led 5-0 after one period. Eagen chose down to begin the final period and was cut loose by Scott to a 5-1 deficit. Scott got in deep on Eagen's left ankle and added another takedown to lead 7-2 after cutting Eagen loose again. Scott also had a guaranteed riding time point. The Cowboy senior, needing one more takedown for bonus points, could not brake through Eagen's defense for the critical takedown and walked away with only an 8-2 decision. The victory tied the bout at 3-3. 141: True freshman Garrett Scott (Alexandria, Pa.) made his Penn State dual match debut, filling in for starter Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), the third-ranked 141-pounder in the nation. Scott met No. 6 Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State and quickly announced his presence with a near takedown at the 2:20 mark. Morgan managed to step outside of the move to keep the bout scoreless. Morgan then got in on both of Scott's ankles for his first real scoring chance, finishing off the move for a 2-0 lead at the 1:24 mark. Scott escaped with :42 left, cutting the OSU lead to 2-1, a lead he would carry into the second period. Morgan chose down to begin the second stanza and escaped to a 3-1 lead with 1:33 left in the middle period. Morgan added a second takedown at the 1:05 mark to up his lead to 5-2 lead after a quick Scott escape. The Nittany Lion freshman began pressuring the Cowboy senior, but Morgan's strong defense kept Scott from getting a takedown. Down 5-2, Scott chose down to begin the third period and was looking to escape before Morgan to up his riding time edge to a minute. Scott did escape, but not until Morgan built up a total of 1:30 in time. The escape cut Morgan's lead to 5-3, but Scott essentially needed two takedowns or back points to secure a win. While the Nittany Lion freshman worked for a score, Morgan kept up his defense and ate away at the clock. Morgan countered a late Scott shot and nearly added another takedown, but regardless, the move allowed Morgan to get the decision, a 6-3 win that put Oklahoma State up 6-3 in the dual. 149: Fourth-ranked sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) met Mike Bizzle of Oklahoma State at 149. Jenkins was the early aggressor and used a cement mixer to take Bizzle to his back for an early 5-0 lead. The Lion sophomore nearly got the pin, but Bizzle did a nice job of keeping his shoulders off the mat. Jenkins proceeded to put together a very strong ride, building up 1:33 in riding time as he rode Bizzle out to lead 5-0 after one period. Bizzle chose down to begin the second period and was allowed up by Jenkins as the Nittany Lion sophomore began looking for important bonus points. Jenkins upped his lead to 7-1 with a quick ankle pick on the edge of the mat just ten seconds into the period. Jenkins allowed Bizzle up and quickly hit another cement mixer, sending Bizzle quickly to his back for another two point takedown and two more back points. Jenkins led 11-3 after letting Bizzle up. But Bizzle answered with a takedown of his own to cut Jenkins' lead to 11-5. With just :04 left, Jenkins managed a quick escape at a reset to lead 12-5 heading into the final period. The Nittany Lion sophomore chose down to begin the third period and escaped to a 13-5 lead with 1:49 in riding time to boot. Bizzle once again got in on Jenkins' right leg, looking to get a critical takedown to avoid any bonus points. The duo scrambled for nearly a minute before Jenkins fought off Bizzle's single leg, quickly turned the Cowboy to his back and got a critical pin at the 6:42 mark. The six point victory put Penn State up 9-6 and set up the dual's marquee match-up. 157: Nittany Lion sophomore Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), ranked No. 10 nationally, met No. 20 Newly McSpadden at 157 in the lone match-up of ranked grapplers in the dual. Vallimont quickly gained control of McSpadden's right leg, getting in deep on the Cowboy junior and nearly getting an early takedown. But McSpadden managed to work his way off the mat to force a neutral reset. McSpadden took his turn with a solid offensive shot and forcing a scramble in the center of the mat. McSpadden got the early 2-0 lead. But Vallimont quickly tied the match by scoring a reversal off a reset with just :25 left in the period. Vallimont rode McSpadden out for the opening stanza's final seconds to keep the score tied at 2-2 heading into the second period. McSpadden chose down to begin the period and quickly escaped to a 3-2 lead. Vallimont took numerous shots, but McSpadden managed to step back, out of trouble each time. The Cowboy's defensive style allowed him to keep a 3-2 lead heading to the final period. Vallimont chose down to begin the final period and quickly escaped to tie the bout. A head-outside single by Vallimont gave the Nittany Lion sophomore another solid scoring chance and this time, he finished the chance with a takedown at the 1:10 mark to lead 5-3. McSpadden managed to escape with :38 left, cutting Vallimont's lead to 5-4. McSpadden quickly got in low on Vallimont's left, but the Lion sophomore managed to force a stalemate with just :11 left. Vallimont held off McSpadden's final offensive shots to post a critical 5-4 win and move Penn State out to a 12-6 lead. 165: Penn State's Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) met No. 12 Jake Dieffenbach in the next bout. Dieffenbach used a nice ankle pick to take an early 2-1 lead at the 2:05 mark. Rella began to work the Cowboy's shoulders and head, looking for an offensive opening. But neither wrestler could mount another real offensive charge and Dieffenbach took the 2-1 lead into the second period. The Cowboy senior chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. Rella, a true sophomore, continued to look for offensive openings but Dieffenbach countered a Rella shot and managed to get a takedown call on the edge of the mat. The move put Dieffenbach up 5-1 with :48 left in the period. Rella escaped to a 5-2 deficit but Dieffenbach managed to trip Rella to the mat and his back for an outstanding five-point move and led 10-2 heading into the third period. Rella chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to a 10-3 deficit with 1:40 left. Riding time, at this point, was not a factor. Dieffenbach looked to secure bonus points with another takedown at the :38 mark and then rode Rella long enough to secure a 1:00 riding time edge before Rella escaped to a 12-4 deficit. But the Cowboy senior held on for a 13-4 major decision, cutting Penn State's lead to 12-10. 174: Yet another Nittany Lion sophomore, 174-pounder David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) met No. 4 Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State. Erwin took the bout's first shot but Mason countered and quickly finished a cradle, getting the takedown but not managing to turn Erwin to his back. The Nittany Lion sophomore did a fine job of fighting off the pin and avoiding the big scoring move. Still, the talented Cowboy junior built up over two minutes of riding time before finally getting the three-point near fall. Mason rode Erwin out and led 5-0 after one. Mason then chose the top to start the second period and continued to add to his two-plus minutes of riding time. Mason, an All-American last year, continued to work for back points but Erwin fought off his efforts for the entire period. Mason, however, kept his 5-0 lead and had a secured riding time point (4:43) heading into the final period. Erwin chose neutral to begin to final period and looked to keep Mason from posting a major decision and nearly got a takedown of his own. But Mason kept Erwin from completing a takedown and forced a reset with 1:10 left. Mason, however, got the critical takedown with :55 left to up his lead to 7-0. Erwin needed an escape to avoid the major decision. But Mason finished off the bout with a strong ride and posted an 8-0 major decision to allow the Cowboys to retake the lead, 14-12. 184: With the lead on the line in, Penn State junior Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.), ranked No. 19 nationally at 184, squared off against Cowboy Cody Hill. Bomberger had the first real shot at a takedown, getting in on Hill's ankles twice early in the first. But the Cowboy freshman fought off each move to keep the bout scoreless. While Bomberger put forth the most offensive pressure in the opening three minutes, Hill's defense was solid enough to keep the bout scoreless after one period. Hill chose down to begin the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. After a double stall was called on both wrestlers, Hill got a close takedown call with :35 left to up his lead to 3-0. Bomberger, however, reversed the Cowboy grappler and nearly pinned him, picking up two near fall points to lead 4-3 after the second period. Bomberger then chose down to start the third and escaped to a 5-3 lead. But Hill took the Lion junior down to tie the bout with 1:41 left to tie the bout. Hill let Bomberger up to a 6-5 lead and took Hill down on the edge of the mat but was not awarded a takedown. But the Nittany Lion junior was not to be denied with a textbook takedown with :38 left to take an 8-5 lead. Bomberger then rode Hill out to post a critical 8-5 win and give Penn State a slim 15-14 lead. 197: Needing a win to increase Penn State's but a pin to clinch the dual, Nittany Lion senior Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 1 nationally at 197, met OSU's Clayton Foster. The three time All-American gave up the first points, however, as Foster went up 2-0 with a takedown at the :45 mark. Davis escaped to a 2-1 deficit. Davis took a 3-2 lead with a takedown at the 1:10 mark and forced a reset with :54 left in the opening period. Davis began looking working for a far-side cradle, but Foster managed to keep the Lion senior from turning him to his back. Davis, leading 3-2 with :25 in riding time, chose down to begin the second stanza and was taken to his back for two near-fall points. Davis escaped to tie the bout at 4-4 and then quickly took foster down for a 6-4 lead at the 1:15 mark. The Harrisburg native continued to work for back points, but Foster was strong enough to keep Davis from increasing his lead. Foster, down 6-4, chose neutral to begin the third period but Davis was relentless, getting another takedown to increase his lead to 8-4 at the 1:40 mark. Davis then turned Foster to his back and fought his way to a thrilling dual-clinching pin at the 5:50 mark. The six points put Penn State up 21-14 and meant that the Nittany Lions would leave Stillwater with a thrilling road win over the third-ranked Cowboys. HWT: A fifth Penn State sophomore, heavyweight Stefan Tighe (Erie, Pa.) met Oklahoma State sophomore Jared Rosholt at HWT. Rosholt entered the bout ranked No. 8 nationally. Rosholt managed to grab Tighe's left ankle and after a scramble, got an early takedown to lead 2-0 at the 2:15 mark. Rosholt then put together a very strong ride, building up a 2:14 riding time edge, turning Tighe briefly as the period ended, to lead 4-0 after one. Rosholt chose down to start the second stanza and escaped to a 5-0 lead. Tighe shot low on Rosholt midway through the second, nearly getting the Cowboy's ankles, but the eighth-ranked grappler managed to move back and keep his lead at 5-0. Tighe chose neutral to start the bout's final period and began working for a takedown of his own. The Nittany Lion sophomore was the offensive aggressor early in the third and nearly got a takedown with 1:20 left, but as the grapplers moved down to the mat, Rosholt managed to step behind Tighe and get a takedown of his own to lead 7-0 (with a guaranteed riding time point. Tighe also gave up a riding time point and Rosholt ended up with a solid 9-0 major decision. The four-points made the final score Penn State 21, Oklahoma State 18.

AMES, Iowa -- The University of Iowa wrestling team knocked off top-ranked Iowa State, 20-13, Sunday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. A sold-out crowd of 8,988 saw Iowa improve to 5-0 and hand Iowa State (6-1) its first loss of the season. Iowa scored two points in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series with the win to make the series score 16-5. Iowa State clinched the 2007-08 series title earlier this week. The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 13-0 lead with wins at the first four weights. Hawkeye junior Charlie Falck scored an 8-4 decision over Cyclone redshirt freshman Mark Kist at 125 to open the dual. Iowa sophomore Joe Slaton handed Iowa State's Nick Fanthorpe his first loss of the season with a 6-5 win at 133. Sophomore Dan LeClere followed with a 3-1 win over Nick Gallick at 141 to give Iowa a 9-0 advantage, and sophomore Brent Metcalf scored the first bonus points of the dual with a 14-4 major decision over Iowa City native Mitch Mueller at 149. Iowa State put its first team points on the board when sophomore Cyler Sanderson scored a 10-5 major decision over sophomore Ryan Morningstar at 157. Sanderson took Morningstar to his back with over one minute remaining in the third period, but the Morningstar held on to avoid the pin. Iowa State struck first after the intermission when redshirt freshman Jon Reader scored a 7-3 decision over Iowa redshirt freshman Jake Kerr at 165. Kerr was wrestling for Hawkeye starter Mark Perry, who was serving a one-meet suspension after being disqualified for misconduct during Iowa's Nov. 24 dual with Old Dominion. Hawkeye sophomore Jay Borschel scored crucial team points with an 18-7 win over Aron Scott at 174. The Cyclones rallied with wins at 184 and 197 to make the score 17-13. Iowa State sophomore Jake Varner improved his undefeated mark to 6-0 with a 4-1 win over Hawkeye sophomore Phillip Keddy at 184, and senior David Bertolino scored a 16-5 major decision over sophomore Chad Beatty at 197. Hawkeye senior Matt Fields sealed the team win with a 6-3 decision over sophomore David Zabriskie at heavyweight. Iowa (5-0) will host its first duals of the 2007-08 season Thursday in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes will face Northern Iowa (0-0-1) at 6:30 p.m. and Cornell (3-1) at 8:00 p.m.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The No. 23 Maryland wrestling team dominated its competition on December 8, beating Rider,42-6, before handling Rutgers, 39-4, at Comcast Pavilion. The Terrapins won 18 of the 20 matches in the two duals with freshman Eric Medina and redshirt junior Josh Haines taking down a pair of Rider wrestlers ranked in the top 15 in their respective weight classes. Medina, ranked No. 17 in the nation at 149 pounds, pinned No. 14 Don Fisch of Rider, a senior All-American, in the second period. He won his second match of the day by major decision. Haines, ranked No. 20 at 184 pounds, toppled his second top 10 opponent this season in Rider's Doug Umbhauer with a 2-1 decision. Redshirt sophomore Brendan Byrne won both of his matches, one by fall and the other by major decision, while classmate Steven Bell won both of his bouts with major decisions. Both sophomores Mike Letts and Hudson Taylor competed in the match against Rutgers and earned a pin in their respective contests. The Terps won nine of their 10 matches against the Broncs en route to their first win of the day. Byrne got things going for Maryland at 125 with a pin in the third period over Mitch Fenton. Bell then earned a 16-4 major decision at 133, recording six takedowns and a near fall in the match. Medina pulled off his huge win when he pinned Fisch in the 149 pound match. In the first period, Medina held off a pair of takedown attempts by Fisch and the two went scoreless into the second. Fisch chose to start down and Medina rode him for most of the way. Fisch then tried to escape, but Medina caught him and eventually scored the pin with eight seconds remaining. Redshirt sophomore Mike McGill won by technical fall at 165 pounds, 19-3, in the third period. He recorded four near falls, three takedowns, and a reversal for the win. Haines earned his third win this season against a ranked opponent and second against a top 10 foe at 184 pounds, this time against No. 10 Doug Umbehauer. After a scoreless first period, Umbehauer chose down to start the second and Haines rode him out to accumulate 2:00 of riding time. Haines chose down in the final period and escaped in 10 seconds to take a 1-0 lead. A penalty evened the score at 1-1, but Haines' bonus point for riding time gave him the 2-1 victory. In the Terps' win against the Scarlet Knights, Byrne and Bell gave Maryland an 8-0 lead when they both won by major decision. After a major decision win for Rutgers at 141, Medina got the four points back with a major decision of his own to make it 12-4. Freshman Brian Letters recorded a 7-5 decision win in overtime against Chris Norell at 157 pounds. Letters scored an early takedown and rode Norell out the rest of the first period, accumulating over two minutes of riding time. He then chose down to start the second and reversed the hold to give him a 4-0 lead. Before the end of the period though, Norell countered with a reversal of his own and a two-point near fall to tie the match, 4-4. Norell started down to start the third and escaped to give himself a 5-4 lead, but he did it with just 52 seconds left which gave Letters the bonus point to send it into overtime. In the first overtime, Letters scored the winning takedown just 19 seconds in for the win. Maryland recorded three-straight falls from 174 pounds to 197. Letts notched his second pin of the season just 1:14 into his match at 174 and then redshirt freshman Bradley Nielson scored one of his own with just 15 seconds left in the third. It was his first dual win of the season at 184 pounds. Taylor recorded his ninth pin this year, beating Lamar Brown in the third period for his fifth-straight fall. The Terps (7-3) are off for final exams but resume action on December 20 and 30 at the prestigious Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C.

Eugene, Ore. -- Senior Kyle Larson (Hermiston, Ore.) earned his first pin of the season over Cody Moulton in 4:12, as Oregon State earned a dominant 80th win over Oregon 23-14 in the Civil War, presented by the Northwest Dodge Dealers, in front of a crowd of 930. Oregon State improves its record to 3-0, 2-0 Pac-10, while Oregon drops to 7-3, 0-1 Pac-10. The meet marked the last time the two teams would meet in a dual at McArthur Court. "It was emotional for both teams in that it's a good rivalry but also being that it will be the last year these two teams will wrestle," Oregon State head coach Jim Zalesky said. "I thought some weights were where we want them to be and matches like at 141 pounds were hard fought." Junior Jake Gonzales (Enumclaw, Wash.) started the meet off with an 8-2 decision over Beau Malia at 125 pounds with three takedowns and two escapes. But Oregon took over the lead on a technical fall at 133 pounds, giving the Ducks a two-point edge going into 141 pounds. In one of the most exciting matches of the night, junior Heinrich Barnes (Pretoria, South Africa) held a 4-2 edge over Brett Gray through most of the match until a takedown tied things up with a couple seconds remaining in the third round. Barnes earned the takedown in overtime to win his fifth match-up of the season. After over two minutes of scoreless wrestling at 157 pounds, sophomore Dan Brascetta (Aurora, Colo.) took a quick 5-0 lead nearly pinning Jeremy McLaughlin with time expiring in the first period. Brascetta continued to dominate in the round two earning six more points and opening the gap up to 10. Brascetta secured his fifth major decision of the season, boosting his overall record to 6-2, 3-0 in duals. In his first match of the season, sophomore Keegan Davis (Salem, Ore.) showed he hadn't lost anything from his rookie season as he added to Oregon State's lead to open the gap up to 15 with a major decision over Zack Frazier with riding time 14-4. Sophomore Brice Arand (Springfield, Ore.) continued to meet success in his first Civil War. At 197 pounds, he earned a 6-3 decision over Shaun Dee, boosting his overall record to 6-2, 3-0 in duals. Oregon State hosts Southern Oregon in its home opener on Sunday, Dec. 9, at 2:00 p.m. in legendary Gill Coliseum. Tickets are still available for the meet by clicking here, and the first 500 fans will receive a free 2007-08 Oregon State wrestling poster.

It wasn't always easy, but the defending national champion Minnesota Golden Gopher wrestling team emerged with two dual meet victories late Saturday night in San Luis Obispo, Calf. After cruising to a 32-9 win over Cal State Fullerton, the Gophers won the final five matches of the nightcap with Cal Poly to win 23-12 and improve their overall dual meet record to 6-1. Both of Saturday's meets took place at Cal Poly's Mott Gymnasium. In the early West Coast match-up, the Gophers squared off with the Titans of Cal State Fullerton for the first time since 1991. Even without the nationally-ranked brother duo of Dustin and C.P. Schlatter, the Gophers were able to win seven of 10 matches and collected two pins and three tech falls en route to the comfortable 21-point victory. Third-ranked sophomore Jayson Ness continued his impressive run this season by pinning the Titans' Sean Roman-Marin in just 2:30 to start the early meet. Mack Reiter successfully followed up on his dramatic victory over Nebraska's Kenny Jordan Thursday night with an 18-2 technical fall against No. 14 T.J. Dillashaw at 133 pounds, and Manny Rivera gave the Gophers a 17-0 lead by pinning Teddy Astorga in 3:48 in the 141-pound match. After freshman Luke Mellmer lost 8-1 while filling in for Dustin Schlatter at 149 pounds, Tyler Safratowich earned his second dual meet victory of the season as a replacement for the elder Schlatter (C.P.) at 157 pounds, needing just 6:17 to emerge with a 16-1 tech fall win over Devin Velasquez. Scott Glasser rebounded from two straight dual meet losses with a 13-2 major decision over Bryan Tice at 165 pounds, and Gabe Drestch followed that up with a 16-1 tech fall of his own. Second-ranked Roger Kish squeaked out a 3-2 win over No. 14 Ian Murphy before the Gophers lost the final two matches of the meet at 197 pounds and heavyweight. In a meet that did not get underway until after 9 p.m. Central time, the second half of Minnesota's doubleheader did not go as smoothly as the first. It was not until Justin Bronson's tight 3-2 decision over Arturo Basulto at 197 pounds that the Gophers guaranteed themselves a victory over the Mustangs of Cal Poly. Ness, Reiter, Glasser, Kish, Bronson and Ben Berhow won their individual matches as the Gophers were able to overcome surprising losses by Rivera and C.P. Schlatter to win their third dual meet in a row. Ness pushed his record to a perfect 13-0 on the season by starting the Cal Poly meet off with a 10-1 major decision. The returning All-American sophomore has now scored bonus points in six of seven dual meets this year, including two pins and three major decisions. After Reiter picked up his third straight dual meet victory with a 6-3 decision over No. 16 Filip Novachkov, eighth-ranked Chad Mendes was able to pin second-ranked Rivera in just 1:34. It was Rivera's first loss of the 2007-08 season in 13 matches and marked the first time he had been pinned since Jan. 29, 2006 (by then-No. 8 DeWitt Driscoll of Penn State). Rivera has been pinned just two times in 124 official collegiate matches. After Luke Mellmer lost 11-6 at 149 pounds, the Mustangs' second upset of the meet came at the expense of No. 7 C.P. Schlatter. Cal Poly's No. 18 Chase Pami was able to gain a 4-2 win that gave the home school a 12-7 lead in the dual. But the Gophers rebounded with three straight wins – a Dretsch 13-1 major decision (174 pounds) sandwiched by decision victories from Glasser (6-4 at 165 pounds) and Kish (7-2 at 184 pounds) – to regain the lead at 17-12. The Gophers needed a win from either Bronson (197 pounds) or Berhow (heavyweight) to avoid the upset, and Bronson quickly delivered with a hard-fought 3-2 decision over the Mustangs' Basulto. A second period escape and two warning points allowed the senior to eek out the close victory and guarantee Minnesota the team win. Berhow rounded out the meet with a 6-3 win over Jim Powers that saw him score five points in the final stanza. An announced crowd of 1,227 came out to watch the defending national champions. The Gophers now enjoy a three-week break from competition until they travel to Greensboro, N.C. Dec. 29-30 for the Southern Scuffle, an annual 32-team invitational tournament. This will be the third straight year the Gophers have competed in the event, as they were runners-up a year ago and finished first in 2005. Minnesota's next dual meet action will occur Jan. 12-13 as they seek to defend their 2007 National Duals title in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Minnesota's next home competition will take place Jan. 20 against South Dakota State at the Sports Pavilion.

NORMAN, Okla. -- The University of Central Oklahoma took OU down to the wire in last year's match in Norman on Nov. 29, 2006. The Sooners eventually prevailed only by a small margin, 20-18. No. 20 Oklahoma (5-1) needed no such late heroics Friday night at Hamilton Field House in Edmond, soundly beating the defending Division II national champions, 27-6. "This was really a nice effort against a great UCO team tonight," head coach Jack Spates said. "I was pleased with the way our guys bounced back after a loss." True freshman Joey Fio put points on the board first for the Sooners with an 11-5 decision over Tyler Zukerman at 125 pounds. Brian Shelton at 133-pounds also scored a 6-1 decision over Trey Branscum to make the team score 6-0. No. 11 Zack Bailey took care of Kyle Evans in the 141-pound bout with an 8-7 decision, and No. 9 Will Rowe won in a 12-5 decision at 149 pounds over Colby Robinson. Shane Vernon was defeated in a 2-1 decision by Jason Leavitt in the 157-pound dual, and No. 13 Max Dean posted the only pin of the day over Cody Rowell at 165 pounds. The Sooners lead after the first six matches, 18-3 Jeff James topped Tommy McCarty at 174 pounds by a 4-1 decision, and No. 9 Joshua Weitzel made the team score 24-3 with a 6-0 decision over Heath Jolley. No. 5 Joel Flaggert won in a 6-1 decision over Jarrett Edison at 197 pounds, and heavyweight Nathan Fernandez, ranked No. 18, was defeated by UCO's Dustin Finn by a 2-1 decision. "We still have plenty of room for improvement," Spates said. "This was a great way to go into the holiday break, but we still have a lot of work to do." The Sooners take a break for the holidays before resuming competition at the Lonestar Duals on Jan. 5 in Arlington, Texas.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan wrestling registered bonus points in five matches to rally back from an early deficit and claim a 26-14 victory over Kent State on Friday evening (Dec. 7) in front of 651 fans at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines dropped the opening two weight classes but earned three technical falls and a pair of major decisions to win in their final appearance before the holiday break. Fifth-year senior captains Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) and sophomore/freshman Anthony Biondo (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley HS) each tacked five points onto the U-M team score with dominant performances at 149, 165 and 197 pounds, respectively. Churella, ranked seventh in the latest NWCA/InterMat poll, put Michigan ahead for good with a 16-1 win over the Golden Flashes' Jake Kyle, rebounding from a disappointing finish at last weekend's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational to end the bout late in the second period. Churella built up an early advantage with two double legs in the first and a two-point near fall at the buzzer. Starting down in the second, the Wolverine captain used a Peterson roll four points midway through the frame and added six more back points on a pair of high-leg turks. Tannenbaum, the nation's top-ranked 165-pounder, found similar success against Kent State's John Pycraft two matches later, rolling to a 17-2 victory to claim his second technical fall of the season after riding time. Tannenbaum scored on three single legs in the first period and reversed the Golden Flash wrestler early in the second before going to work on top, adding eight back points to improve his season record to 10-0. Biondo, in his varsity debut at Cliff Keen Arena, demonstrated his knack for scrambling in the 197-pound contest, scoring three takedowns and 11 back points to defeat Michael Blackwell by an 18-3 margin and end the match at the 6:23 mark. He scored on a single leg just three seconds in the opening frame and used a combination of cradles and tilts to ice the Wolverine victory. Michigan also earned bonus points from fifth-year senior Jeff Marsh (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) and senior/junior Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS), who claimed major decisions at 157 and 174 pounds, respectively. Marsh, ranked 18th, fought for a double leg in the early in the first period against Sli Bostelman and added three more takedowns in the final two periods, including one in the final seconds of the match to secure the 11-3 major decision. Luke, ranked second, similarly scored late in the 174-pound contest to lock up his bonus win over Chris Estep after riding time. The Wolverine, still displaying the after effects of a bloody match championship match at last weekend's Cliff Keen Invitational, used a bevy of single and double legs to register five takedowns in the bouts, including two each in the first and third periods, and accumulated 2:55 in riding time advantage to pick up his third major decision of the season. With the Wolverines down by seven points after the opening two matches, freshman Kellen Russell (High Bridge, N.J/Blair Academy) keyed the U-M comeback with a decisive 7-2 victory over the Golden Flashes' 15th-ranked Drew Lashaway. Russell, ranked fourth, scrambled out of a deep single-leg shot in the opening seconds of the match and struck immediately on the restart, using a single leg to establish his control. After picking up an escape early in the second, the U-M rookie countered a pair of Lashaway shots late in the third to pad his advantage and secure his fourth win over a ranked opponent in just a week's time and remain undefeated in his collegiate career at 12-0. Freshman Jason Lara (Midway City, Calif./Calvary Chapel HS) made his varsity debut in the evening's first contest at 125 pounds but never had an opportunity to get his offense going after giving up a quick takedown to the Golden Flashes' 20th-ranked Nic Bedelyon. Lara scored on a duck under in the third but, after allowing seven back points, including a four-point near fall at the end of the second, it would not prove enough in a 14-3 loss. Sophomore Chris Diehl (Burton, Mich./Flint Kearsley HS) struck first on a opening-period single leg against 11th-ranked Dan Mitcheff at 133 pounds but could not hold his advantage as Mitcheff scored takedowns in the second and third period to win 7-3. Kent State also claimed victories at 184 pounds and heavyweight to narrow the final gap as Eric Chine and 19th-ranked Jermail Porter combined for seven points with a decision and a major. Chine scored three takedowns and a reversal against junior/sophomore Jordan Sherrod (Portage, Mich./Central HS), who was weighed in at 174 pounds, en route to a 9-4 win, while Porter used a takedown in each period and three back points to defeat sophomore/freshman Matt Guhn (Clyde, Ohio/Clyde HS) by a 10-1 margin. The Wolverines will take a three-week hiatus before returning to the mat to host the Wolverine Quad on Sunday, Dec. 30, at Cliff Keen Arena. U-M will face Buffalo (noon), Eastern Michigan (2 p.m.) and Lehigh (4 p.m.).

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 5 nationally, put together a dominating performance in shutting out home standing Lehigh 33-0 in its first road dual of the year. The Lions, under the guidance of veteran head coach Troy Sunderland, silenced a superb Stabler Arena crowd, winning all ten bouts. Penn State junior Phil Bomberger (Port Royale, Pa.), ranked No. 19 at 184, posted the dual's marquee win with a 9-5 win over No. 17 David Craig of Lehigh. The bout utilized an NWCA promoted shuffled bout order that was chosen alternately by each head coach with fan input. All six of Penn State's ranked wrestlers won, sparked by Bomberger's victory at 184. No. 6 Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) got things started with a major decision at 125 and the Nittany Lions never looked back. Heavyweight John Laboranti (Pittston, Pa.) got his first dual match win as a Nittany Lion with a 12-5 victory at HWT and freshman Mike Eagen (Wharton, N.J.) got his first Penn State dual match victory with a come-from behind 4-3 win at 133. No. 1 Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) posted a technical fall at 197 for Penn State's most lop-sided victory. The Nittany Lions won the battle of takedowns by a whopping 26-4 margin and got the bouts only three bonus points (McKnight's major and Davis' tech fall). The victory is Penn State's first shut-out since posting a 41-0 win over Rider in last year's Virginia Duals. The shut-out of intra-state rival Lehigh is the second in the long history of this Eastern wrestling rivalry. Penn State also shut out the Mountain Hawks 39-0 on Feb. 13, 1993, in a dual also wrestled in Bethlehem. The Nittany Lions are off to a 3-0 start by a combined score of 95-14 and have won 26 of the 30 bouts wrestled. Things will get markedly tougher for Penn State (3-0) as the Nittany Lions will trek to Stillwater, Okla., to face No. 3 Oklahoma State on Sunday at 3 p.m. Eastern (2 p.m. Central). This weekend's action can be heard live locally on WBLF AM (970) and WKVA (920 AM). The Nittany Lions' next home dual is Jan. 4 when Penn State welcomes No. 16 Cornell to Rec Hall for a 7 p.m. dual. Tickets for all regular season duals are on sale now at the athletic department ticket office in the Bryce Jordan Center. Single-dual tickets are $5 for adults and seniors and $3 for students 18 and under. Penn State students with a proper student ID are admitted free! Fans can call 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 to order single-dual tickets. BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Nittany Lion senior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) took on Lehigh's Mitch Berger in the dual's first bout. McKnight, ranked No. 6 nationally, got on top early, lifting Berger on the edge of the mat and putting him to his back for a two-point takedown and two back points just under a minute into the bout. Berger escaped at the 1:30 mark to cut McKnight's lead to 4-1. McKnight countered a Berger shot at the :30 mark and turned it into a 6-1 lead. A strong ride out to end the period sent McKnight into the second stanza with a 6-1 lead and 1:25 in riding time. McKnight chose bottom to begin the second period and quickly escaped to a 7-1 lead. The senior added a third takedown to up his lead to 9-1. Berger would escape for a point before the period ended. Trailing 9-2, Berger chose down to begin third period and was allowed up to a 9-3 deficit. Looking for bonus points, McKnight quickly took Berger down to up his lead to 11-3. After nearly taking Berger to his back, McKnight allowed his foe up after a restart and then added a fifth takedown to open up a 13-4 lead with just :35 left. The Lion senior cut Berger loose again and quickly nearly added a sixth takedown. Still, the riding time point gave McKnight a 14-5 win and a major decision to give Penn State an early 4-0 lead. 174: Penn State's David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) carried a 15-1 overall record into his bout with Lehigh freshman Alex Caruso in the dual's second bout. Caruso got in on Erwin's left leg right out of the blocks, but the Nittany Lion sophomore fought the move off and forced a reset thirty seconds into the bout. Caruso was the aggressor early on and forced Erwin into an early stall warning. Still, the Mountain Hawk freshman continued to get in low on Erwin, but each time the Lion sophomore fought through the moves and sent the bout to the second period in a scoreless tie. Caruso chose down to start the middle stanza and escaped after a :30 Erwin ride. Caruso got the first takedown with :20 left in the period but Erwin reversed the Mountain Hawk just before the buzzer sounded to cut the Lehigh lead to 3-2 heading into the third. Erwin chose down to begin the final period and escaped to a 3-3 tie. Erwin picked his offense up in the third period, taking a number of shots but not managing to finish on any of them. Still, his pressure forced the bout into a sudden victory period. Erwin nearly stuck the Mountain Hawk :30 into the extra period but Caruso scrambled out. Still, Erwin continued through the scramble to get winning takedown midway through the extra period. The 5-3 (sv) win put Penn State up 7-0. HWT: Nittany Lion head coach Troy Sunderland chose heavyweight as the next weight, allowing junior John Laboranti (Pittston, Pa.) to make his Nittany Lion dual match debut, meeting Lehigh's Justin Allen. Laboranti got his first dual takedown with a solid double-leg takedown at the 1:21 mark, taking an early 2-1 lead. The Nittany Lion junior added a second takedown to up his lead to 4-1 with :40 left to wrestle. Laboranti rode Allen out to take a 4-1 lead into the second period. Allen chose down to begin the middle period and quickly escaped to a 4-2 deficit. Laboranti used a nice lower single to get his third takedown and let the Mountain Hawk big man up as he began working for a major decision or more. Allen managed to fight off numerous Laboranti shots to keep the score close, 6-3, heading into the third period. Laboranti chose down to begin the third period and escaped to a 7-3 lead. Forcing Allen back to the edge of the mat, Allen got hit with a stall warning and Laboranti finished a fine double leg to take a 9-4 lead (after an Allen escape) with :45 left. Laboranti added one more takedown for a 12-5 win, putting Penn State up 10-0 and giving Laboranti his first Nittany Lion dual match win. 149: Lehigh head coach Greg Stroebel chose the next weight, sending Penn State sophomore Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.), ranked No. 4 nationally, to the mat against Mountain Hawk senior Trevor Chinn at 149. Jenkins wasted no time, getting a double-leg take down just ten seconds in to take an early 2-1 lead. The Nittany Lion true sophomore set the offensive tone throughout the first period, keeping the Mountain Hawk junior on his heels throughout the first three minutes. Chinn's defense kept the bout close early, with Jenkins leading 2-1 after one period. Chinn chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 2-2 tie. But Jenkins quickly took the lead again with a swift ankle pick on the edge of the mat with 1:24 left, leading 4-3 after the Chinn escape. While Chinn kept things close with his solid defense, the Mountain Hawk had no scoring opportunities and Jenkins carried that one point lead into the final period. Jenkins chose down to start the final stanza and quickly escaped to a 5-3 lead. Chinn got in on Jenkins' right knee for his first real scoring shot, but Jenkins fought off the Lehigh junior to keep his two point lead. Neither wrestler broke through for any scoring as the bout's final seconds ticked away. Jenkins did give up a stall point but the sophomore hung on for a 5-4 win, giving Penn State a 13-0 lead after four bouts. 197: Penn State senior Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), now carrying a No. 1 national ranking at 197, met Lehigh's Alex Iacocca. The three-time All-American quickly opened up a 2-0 lead just :30 into the bout and began looking for an early pin. Davis turned Iacocca for two back points, allowed him back to his stomach and began working to turn him again. Up 4-0 with 1:00 left, Davis finished his cradle and turned Iacocca for a three-point near fall and led 7-0 with :38 left. Davis added two more near fall points as the first period ended and led 9-0 after the first stanza. Davis chose down to begin the second and quickly escaped to a 10-0 lead. The Harrisburg-native finished a solid double leg on the edge of the mat to lead 12-0. Davis got two near fall points, was surprisingly reserved by Iacocca but then reversed the Mountain Hawk wrestlers again to lead 16-2. Iacocca chose down to begin the final period. Another cradle led to back points that nearly led to a pin but did lead to three back points and a 19-2 technical fall at the 6:19 mark. The five team points gave the Nittany Lions an 18-0 lead. 165: Penn State sophomore Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) met Lehigh's Mike Galante in the next bout as each coach continued to choose the order in the unusual format. Rella got the match-ups first takedown a minute in and took an early 2-1 lead on Galante used a nice hip toss as the period ended, taking a 3-2 lead into the middle stanza. Rella actually did well to avoid giving up any back points and kept the Mountain Hawk within striking distance. Galante chose bottom to start the second period and escaped to a 4-2 lead. After a reset with :50 left, Rella finished off a solid takedown to tie the bout at 4-4. Galante escaped to lead 5-4 with :20 left and carried that one point lead into the final period. Rella chose down to begin the final period. Galante put together a strong ride, however, and ate away all of Rella's riding time edge. Rella escaped to tie the bout at 5-5 with 1:10 left to wrestle and began looking for the winning takedown. The third period ended with no further scoring, sending a second bout to a sudden victory period. Galante tried another throw, only this time Rella was ready for the move and the Nittany Lion sophomore tossed the Mountain Hawk to his back for a five point move (two point takedown and three near fall points). The swift offensive flurry gave Rella a thrilling 10-5 (sv) win and put Penn State up 21-0. 141: Junior All-American Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) carried a No. 3 national ranking into his bout with Lehigh's Jeff Santo. Strayer quickly opened up a 2-0 lead with a takedown at the 2:44 mark and built up a 1:58 riding time advantage before Santo escaped. Trailing by one, Santo chose down to begin the second period. Continuing his dominance on top, Strayer turned Santo to his back and picked up a two-point near fall to up his lead to 4-1. Santo, however, reversed Strayer before the period ended, nearly picking up back points in the process. The move cut Strayer's lead to 4-3 heading into the final period, although Strayer had over 3:00 in riding time to guarantee the extra point. The Lion All-American chose down to begin the third period and Strayer escaped to a 5-3 lead and quickly took the Lehigh senior down to up his lead to 7-4 (after cutting Santo loose). Santo got his first takedown to cut into the Nittany Lion's lead but that would be all the scoring the bout would see as Strayer posted an 8-6 win. The victory put Penn State up 24-0 and clinched the dual meet victory. 184: In the only bout featuring two ranked wrestlers, Penn State junior Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) put his No. 19 ranking to the test against No. 17 David Craig of Lehigh at 184. The two ranked grapplers spent the first half of the first period looking for openings. Craig took a shot with :10 left, but Bomberger countered and threw the ranked Lehigh grappler to his back for a five point move, nearly pinning Craig in the process. Leading 5-0, Bomberger chose down to begin the second stanza. A scramble as Bomberger looked to escaped resulted in a locked hand call on Craig. Bomberger then escaped after the reset and led 7-0 with 1:05 left in the second period. Not looking to rest on the lead, Bomberger shot quick off a reset and nearly got another takedown, but a Craig fought off the effort and forced a reset. Down by seven, Craig chose down to start the final period. Bomberger tried to turn Craig right off the whistle, but the Lehigh grappler reversed the Nittany Lion to cut Bomberger's lead to 7-2. Bomberger got called for two stall warnings, giving up a point but still leading 7-3. Craig, however, locked up a riding time point with his strong work on top. Another Bomberger stall cut the lead 7-4 but as time expired, the Nittany Lion junior put the exclamation point on a superb win over No. 17 Craig with a reversal. Craig's riding time point made the final 9-5, but the decision for Bomberger put Penn State up 27-0. 133: Penn State freshman Mike Eagen (Wharton, N.J.) took on Lehigh's Kevin Vinh at 133. Eagen and Vinh traded scoring opportunities throughout the first period, with neither wrestler breaking through. Eagen had a takedown waved off at the :40 mark, nearly taking a lead on the Lehigh junior. Tied 0-0, Eagen chose bottom to start the second period. Vinh was called for an illegal hold, giving Eagen a brief one point lead. But Vinh turned Eagen to his back for a two-point near fall, however Eagen nearly pinned Vinh in the process. Vinh rode Eagen out for the entire period and carried a 2-1 lead with 2:00 in riding time into the final period. Vinh chose top to start the final period and put forth another strong ride. Eagen got his escape with :55 left to tie the bout at 2-2, but Vinh had clinched the riding time point. Eagen took Vinh down to take a 4-2 lead with :40 seconds left, however and nearly turned Vinh to his back for near fall points. Still, Eagen remained strong on top to close out the period and grab a 4-3 victory, keeping Penn State's shut-out hopes intact and upping the PSU lead to 30-0. 157: Tenth-ranked Nittany Lion Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) took on Lehigh senior Dave Nakasone at 157 in the dual's final bout. Vallimont got on top early with a quick takedown and added a second at the 1:22 mark to move up 4-1. The Nittany Lion sophomore was strong on top, riding Nakasone out to carry that lead and 1:26 in riding time into the final period. Nakasone chose down to start the second and escaped to a 4-2 deficit. Nakasone got in on Vallimont's left knee but could not finish the move as the Nittany Lion sophomore deftly fought off the attempt. Vallimont then answered with his own shot and turned it into a 6-2 lead with the solid takedown. Up 6-2, Vallimont chose down to start the dual's final period and quickly escaped to a 7-2 lead. Nakasone got a takedown with :52 left to cut into Vallimont's lead. But a quick escape moved Vallimont up 8-4 and a swift takedown following that escape gave the Lion sophomore a 10-4 lead (with a guaranteed riding time point). Vallimont would ride Nakasone out and post a convincing 11-4 decision, giving Penn State the 33-0 shut-out.

It's not about how you start, but how you finish. The Golden Gopher wrestling team (4-1, 0-0) proved this to be true Thursday night as they dropped the first two matches only to come back and win six of the remaining eight matches to defeat Nebraska (2-1, 0-0) 25-13 at the Sports Pavilion. This marks to second season in a row where Minnesota has dropped its first dual of the year, only to bounce back and win the next. Minnesota has not lost back-to-back home duals since January 28-30, 2005. In a dual where many matches were decided in the last 30 seconds, Minnesota found a way to prevail out a match-up of two nationally-ranked squads. The turning point of the dual was fifth-ranked Mack Reiter's last-second win over Nebraska's No. 12 Kenny Jordan, giving Minnesota its first lead of the night at the 133 pound match (the meet began at 197 pounds). After losing two matches early, including an early heartbreaker for redshirt freshman heavyweight Ben Berhow, Minnesota pulled away for the comfortable victory. Minnesota is now 46-17-0 against the Cornhuskers all-time. After Craig Brester defeated Justin Bronson 11-1 at 197 pounds to open the meet, Minnesota found themselves in an early 4-0 hole. Unfortunately, Berhow was turned away in the final seconds to fall by one point to the No. 14 Jon May, a Hutchinson, Minn. native, to put Nebraska ahead 7-0. The night's most highly-anticipated match never took place. Defending national champion and top-ranked Paul Donahue did not make the trip north for Nebraska due to an injury suffered last week. Minnesota's No. 3 Jayson Ness earned six team points for the victory by forfeit. At 133 pounds, Jordan started things off quick for Nebraska, taking down Reiter within the first nine seconds. Despite being shaken up by the initial impact, both wrestlers continued their aggressive style as Reiter struggled to escape from the ride of Nebraska's Jordan. For all but the first nine seconds of the first period, Reiter found himself failing to break out of Jordan's grasp as the Cornhusker accumulated 2:51 riding time. While Reiter was able to wipe out a minute of riding time in the second period, the gap increased as Jordan earned an escape to push the score to 3-0. This didn't last in the third, however, as Reiter was able to take down Jordan 15 seconds into the period, bringing the score to 3-2 and eating away at Jordan's riding time. After a Jordan escape, the two locked up again, continuing to struggle for position, but it was a stalling call against Jordan that swung momentum in Reiter's favor. A Reiter takedown with just three seconds remaining in the match brought the crowd to its feet, giving Reiter the edge 5-4 and Minnesota the lead in the dual at 9-7. Other highlights on the night for Minnesota were the performances of No. 2 Manny Rivera and top-ranked Dustin Schlatter, as each picked up wins to add to their undefeated seasons. Rivera's performance was an offensive showcase, as he came out fighting with a takedown on Nebraska's Robert Sanders halfway through the first period to give him the early lead. A late escape for Sanders cut into Rivera's advantage, but that wouldn't last as Rivera reversed the Nebraska ride and gained another three points on a nearfall that he would sustain through the final 30 seconds of the period. The third period belonged to Rivera, as he thwarted Jordan's escape attempt with a quick takedown and proceeded to cruise from there, with another takedown and nearfall to ultimately give him the 15-3 major decision. Schlatter's match, on the other hand, was a gritty battle with No. 6 Jordan Burroughs. Despite a lockup to start the match, Schlatter found himself in control from the beginning. After an early second period escape gave him a 1-0 lead, Schlatter came out in the third period looking to pull ahead. As the stalemate continued, Burroughs finally put a point on the board with an escape with slightly over a minute left in the third. Despite a last-minute effort by Burroughs to take down the elusive Schlatter, riding time advantage gave Minnesota the win, 2-1, and make the final score 25-13 in favor of the Gophers. Minnesota travels to the West Coast Saturday for two dual meets. They will take on Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo beginning at 7 p.m. CST (5 p.m. Pacific). After several weeks off for the holiday break, Minnesota will return to action at the National Duals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Jan 12-13. The Gophers come back home on January 20 when they host South Dakota State at 2:00 pm in the Sport Pavilion.

The #5-ranked Mountain Cat wrestlers improved to 2-0 on the season and secured their top ranking in the East Region with an impressive, 25-9, victory at Shippensburg University, Wednesday night. Pitt Johnstown fell behind, 9-6, after five bouts, but rallied to win then next five matches and secure the victory. Pitt Johnstown opened the match with decision wins by #5 Derrek Bosso (125 lbs.) (Pequea, Pa.) and #3 Brandon Reasy (133 lbs.) (New Enterprise, Pa.). Shippensburg battled back with three consecutive decisions, including a 9-4 victory by #2 Steve Fittery over Mountain Cat #7-ranked Shane Valko (Windber, Pa.) at 141 lbs. Trailing 9-6 after the 157-lb bout, Pitt Johnstown came roaring back. Kyle Keane (Clearfield, Pa.) got things started with a 9-3 win over Jake Wilson at 165 lbs., and #7 Albert Miles (Canonsburg, Pa.) followed with a 4-2 double overtime victory over Chirs Barrick at 174 lbs. to give the Mountain Cats a 12-9 lead. Three-time All-American and #3-ranked Mike Corcetti (184 lbs.) (Export, Pa.) scored a 15-3 major decision to increase the lead to 16-9, before red-shirt freshman Patrick Walsh (197 lbs.) (Leesport, Pa.) pinned Peter Grodziak at 4:13. Pitt Johnstown then finished the match with a 2-1 overtime win by Nathan Tomporoski (Natrona Heights, Pa.) at heavyweight. With the loss, the Red Raiders fell to 1-1 on the season. The Mountain Cats travel to the Lock Haven University Duals on December 16 and to the Wilkes University Open on December 29. Pitt Johnstown's next home match will take place on Saturday, January 5, at 1:00 p.m. when East Region rival Kutztown University visits the Sports Center.

America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show travels back to our Home based Brute Adidas studios in Des Moines for a much needed catch up program. We've been on the road at America's college wrestling programs the past many weeks and return in time for this weekend's Sold Out Iowa V. Iowa State meet. Joining me in studio: Jeff Murphy, Steve Foster and Matt Kaldenberg. There's a lot going on in wrestling along side this monster event that we must talk about. Listen 9 AM to 11 AM CST Saturdays at Takedownradio.com Special Programming note This program will be filmed and will air on Thematchannel.com and Mat-Magazine.com for the first time. Our scheduled guests on the show include: Cael Sanderson- Head Coach Iowa State University. Sanderson is his second year as the head wrestling coach at Iowa State University. As an athlete, Sanderson won four NCAA titles for Iowa State University and compiled a career record of 159-0. He is the only Division I wrestler to win four NCAA titles and complete his college career undefeated. Sanderson also won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Iowa and Iowa State will face each other in a dual meet on December 9th at 2 p.m. in Ames. Jarad Swint-Head Coach of Cumberland University of Tenn. Swint enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Bulldog wrestling program. Since being at Cumberland, he has produced five All-Americans, one National Champion and nine Daktronics NAIA Scholar Athletes. In 2004, the Bulldogs led the nation in Daktronics NAIA Scholar Athletes with four. The 2006 recruiting class was ranked 12th by USA Wrestling among non-Division I recruiting classes. At the 2006, NCAA I Nationals, Swint was awarded the NWCA Bob Bubb Coaching Excellence Award for qualities and characteristics as a role model and mentor for developing young student athletes. In December 2006, Cumberland University broke ground on a $154,000, 4,800-square-foot building for which Swint established the foundation through his diligent fundraising work. Dale Bonsall- A 1957 graduate, of Collingswood where he compiled a modest 39-16-2 record and finished third in South Jersey his senior year under Hall of Famer Sam Coursen, Bonsall went to West Chester University where he was 38-14-1 and fourth in the Pennsylvania State College Conference championships his senior year. Bonsall, who was co-captain of his senior teams in high school and college, has been involved in wrestling for over 40 years. Following graduation from WCU in ‘61, Bonsall coached seven years in the Haverford (PA) School District, with five of those seven teams undefeated. He was an assistant coach at West Chester University for 17 years, helping produce one All-American and three East Coast Conference championships. He was head coach at West Chester in 1987 before the university dropped the sport. Loves wooden Boats. Coached at Fox Catcher. William K. Bauer- Author of Wrestling: A Boy's First Book, available through Amazon.com joins us to discuss this great little book. It's perfect for the first time reader and adult reading to a little wrestler. Jamie Moffatt- Author of Wrestler's at the Trials, available through WrestlersAtTheTrials.com. This great historical look at the trials is a must have for all wrestling fans and historians. Wrestler in Pa as a kid and then at Cornell University in College. Jay Hammond- Author of the History of Collegiate Wrestling, possibly the most comprehensive compilation of collegiate statistics and facts since the beginning of collegiate wrestling in 1903. Available at WrestlingHallOfFame.org Takedownradio.com, KXNO.com, Matchannel.com, Mat-magazine.com are our web partners. Wrestlers and MMA competitors join us each and every week. You should too! TDR is available LIVE, Archived and Pod Cast as well. Visit Takedownradio.com for more details. Thanks for listening!

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. -- Army senior captain Fernando Martinez registered one of eight Black Knight victories en route to a 30-6 dual meet win at East Stroudsburg, Tuesday night, in Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) action. Ranked 15th in the latest NWCA poll at 125 pounds, Martinez notched an 8-0 major victory over Matthew Benedetti to improve to 18-1 this season, including a flawless 6-0 mark in dual meet competition. It was one of three major decisions captured by Army (4-2, 3-0 EIWA) on the evening as a pair of freshmen also scored bonus points for the Black Knights. Casey Thome defeated Alex Bimes, 10-1, at 149, while Dean Gaier picked up a 17-9 win over Shane Mallory in the 174-pound bout. Thome's upped his season record to 14-5, while Gaier improved to 9-8. "I was especially impressed with the way Dean competed tonight," said Army head coach Chuck Barbee. "He wrestled with a lot of poise and determination and took it to a pretty tough kid in the third period to earn the victory." Junior Whitt Dunning ran his record to 14-7 this season with a 7-4 decision over Matt Swallow at 133, while sophomore Chris Grill also picked up a decision with a 10-6 victory over Kyle Heselpoth at 157. Junior John Drew took down Joe Schick in overtime to pick up a 4-2 victory at 165, while Scott Ferguson defeated Dave Williams, 8-3, at 184 to seal the Black Knight victory in their final competition of 2007. Drew's record stands at 2-7, while Ferguson improved to 8-2. The only two Army setbacks on the evening were sophomore Matt Kyler, who lost to Sean Carr, 7-4, at 141 pounds, and senior heavyweight Nathan Thobaban, who dropped a 5-3 decision. Kyler's season record is 18-5, while Thobaben is the owner of a 16-8 mark this year. "Overall, I thought it was a good ending to a solid first semester for us," continued Barbee. "Wednesday night meets on the road are always a bit tougher, especially after a long weekend of competition like we had on Sunday at Penn State. Throw school work and being on the road again into the mix and it makes things even a little more challenging. I thought the guys responded well and took care of business." After a month break for final exams and the holidays, Army will return to action on Sunday, January 6, at the Sun Devil Duals in Tempe, Ariz.

A wrestling-centric baby boom has visited Charlottesville, but instead of mixing together scrappy boys and girls, the stork's basket will be filled exclusively with double-X chromosomes and pink-tinted bonnets. Scott Moore and Steve GarlandThe University of Virginia coaching staff will welcome five daughters over the next five months: head coach Steve Garland (November), volunteer assistant Jim Stance (December), Club Coach Jim Harshaw (January), associate head coach Scott Moore (February), and assistant Alex Clemsen (March). "This is nuts!" said Garland. "It's crazy enough we are all having kids, but all girls? All during the season? I know we're lucky, but it's super weird." Before taking out the calculator to adjust for the improbability of hiring a staff of soon-to-be fathers -- and the impossibly eerie timing of the pregnancies (November-March) -- know that the odds of five randomly selected couples each ending up with girls is only about 3.5 percent, or one out of every 28 attempts. Super weird, indeed. For those familiar with U.Va.'s current baby situation it's difficult not to mention a "wrestler's curse" -- a metaphorical shorthand for recognizing that instead of siring men to uphold the masculine tradition of aggression and discipline in wrestling, a seemingly disproportionate number of former wrestlers have daughters. Virginia's current baby boom seems to lend anecdotal credibility to the argument of a curse. "Every wrestler dreams about having a little guy and getting him into wrestling," Moore said. "When you love the sport, you just want to share it with your son." Alex ClemsenWhile every pregnancy and birth is exciting, the real test of professional and personal balance rest with Moore and Clemsen, who, along with full-time coaching responsibilities, are both expecting their first child (Stanec is also expecting his first, but works part-time as he finishes his Ph.D. in electrical engineering. Harshaw has two boys and recently founded a sports marketing firm.) Moore said that while he was happy to find out his wife was pregnant with a healthy girl; he'd been indulging in the idea of having a boy. Garland understands the initial disappointment. He wanted a boy when expecting the birth of his first child in 2006. He eventually came to realize how fortunate he was that his wife English gave birth to a baby girl: he was saved from turning into some terrible derivation of an over-protective, screaming wrestling dad. "It's a tough sport, and I'm pretty fortunate that I can separate my home life from my life on the mat, "Garland said. "I'm having a tea party and baking fake cakes with my daughter one night and then first thing in the morning I'm in the wrestling room leading extra technique sessions and getting my skull beat in," he said. "The home stuff is the best part of my day." Moore says he wants a similar type of professional and personal harmony. Steve and English Garland with Sarah"I've watched him care for his kids and his wrestlers. It's gonna be tough, but Garland's has the kind of balance I want to pull off." Only four months from the due date the energy of the event is starting to enliven an already-frisky Moore. Not ready to bake fake cakes, he's preparing for his daughter by assembling new furniture, baby proofing the house, and building extra storage cabinets. All the preparation is necessary because Moore and Clemsen are staring down due dates that coincide with the ACC and NCAA tournaments. While his assistants will certainly be focused on peaking their athletes for the end of the year competitions, Garland said nothing would keep them from being at the hospital on delivery day. "Wrestlers think that making All-American or winning a national championship is the happiest you can ever be. But when you have a kid the whole game changes -- nothing is more important or makes you happier than raising a family," Garland said. "There are plenty of wrestling tournaments." The Cavalier team seems equally excited and optimistic about the impact five infant girls will have on the organization. Sophomore co-captain Chris Henrich said he expects the coaches to take time to be with their families, but that there will be an enormous upside to watching the staff raise their daughters. "We're a young team and they're a young staff so I think we relate," Henrich said. "The coaches are a big part of our lives and the team is excited to welcome a new part of the family during the year. They work their butts off to get us ready for the season. That's not going to change because they have a kid … or five." Scott and Sherry Moore"The guys have been handling everything well," Garland said. "You can see how much it warms up a room when my one daughter is around. Can you imagine what it's gonna be like with five of 'em?" While it's difficult to imagine five coaches from same team having five daughters in the same season, the made-for-TV movie script wasn't certain until late last week when Moore and his wife Sherry received the results of her ultra sound. Moore said he was anxious about stepping into the starring role of hero (or heel) -- and apparently for good reason. "I'm pretty sure Clemsen would've punched me in the face if I was having a boy," Moore said. While there's humor in watching old competitors or teammates ready for the birth of a daughter -- a communal, good-natured ribbing indicating just how much everyone understands that gender is secondary to health and happiness. With growing families full of baby girls (and thus, no inner-staff fistfights) Virginia wrestling's single-gender baby boom definitely looks more like a pink-bowed blessing than any kind of curse.

MARSHALL, Minn. -- Winning six of the seven matches wrestled and taking advantage of three forfeits, the Augsburg College wrestling team claimed a 41-3 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in a wrestling dual meet on Tuesday night at the SMSU P.E. Gym. Augsburg, defending NCAA Division III national champions, is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division III national poll (National Wrestling Coaches Association). Augsburg leads the all-time series with Division II Southwest Minnesota State by a 21-3 margin, a series that dates to the 1984-85 season. Augsburg has now won 20 straight meets between the two schools dating to the 1988-89 season. Against teams from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 220-17 since the 1989-90 season, losing just 12 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 season. Augsburg has won 10 Division III national titles in the last 17 seasons. Augsburg used several young wrestlers in Tuesday's match, with seven first-year and sophomore wrestlers in the lineup. Augsburg scored four bonus-point victories -- a technical fall and three major decisions -- among its six match victories. Augsburg also gained 18 team points on forfeits at 125, 141 and heavyweight. Beau Hansen (FY, Albert Lea, Minn.) improved to 8-0 on the season with a 17-0, technical-fall victory at 157 pounds. At 133, Paul Bjorkstrand (JR, Burnsville, Minn.) picked up a 14-3, major-decision victory, Lucas Murray (FY, Anoka, Minn.) improved to 9-1 on the season with an 8-0, major-decision win, and Brandon Klukow (JR, Albert Lea, Minn.) improved to 8-2 with a 9-0, major-decision victory. Also scoring wins for the Auggies were Garrett Long (SO, Cedar, Minn./St. Francis HS) with an 8-6 win at 184, and Kris Krier (SO, Woodbury, Minn.) with a 9-6 win at 197. SMSU's lone win came at 174, as Greg Frank claimed an 11-9 victory over Augsburg's Brian Fischer (SR, Freedom, Wis.). Both teams will compete on Saturday (12/8) at the St. Cloud State Open. Augsburg will also send members of its White Team (junior varsity) to the Dick Walker Invitational at Wartburg (Iowa) on Saturday.

HEMPSTEAD, NY -- Hofstra senior Charles Griffin has been named the CAA Co-Wrestler of the Week for all competition ending Sunday, December 3, the Colonial Athletic Association announced. Griffin, a native of Reading, Pennsylvania, posted a 6-1 record to capture third place in the 141-pound weight class at the Cliff Keen-Las Vegas Invitational last weekend. He had a seven-match winning streak snapped in the CKLV semifinals, dropping a 6-2 decision to 13th-seed Kellen Russell from Michigan. Griffin, who was the number two wrestler in the country in his weight class, bounced back with a 3-1 victory over Old Dominion's #17 Ryan Williams, and a 6-4 decision over #14 Joe Caramanica from North Carolina State. Griffin, who defeated then-#2 Nathan Morgan from Oklahoma State on November 24, is now 10-2 on the season and will be going after his 100th career victory when the Pride entertain Harvard at the David S. Mack Sports Complex at 1 p.m. Sunday. Ryan Hluschak (Slatington, PA/Northern Lehigh), a senior 157-pounder from Drexel University, shares the CAA Wrestler of the Week award with Griffin. He is currently ranked in the top seven in the nation, won the Bearcat Open and placed second in the Cornell Body Bar Invitational to begin the season 9-1. This week's CAA Rookie of the Week award was also shared. Anwar Goeres (Holley, N.Y./John C. Birdelbough) from Binghamton, began his collegiate career by pinning the 14th-ranked 141-pounder in the nation in a dual meet with Iowa State. A transfer from Lock Haven, Goeres collected two more pins and a major decision at the Northeast Duals to begin the year 8-2. CayleByers (Chugiak, Alaska/Chugiak) from George Mason began his career with a 13-1 record, including a fall and two major decisions, and is 3-0 in duals. Byers won his 197 weight class at the Citadel Open and the Navy Classic and finished runner-up at the Pembroke Classic.

On the heels of the station's first-ever wrestling event broadcast, Big Ten Network officials announced the remainder of their 2007-08 wrestling television schedule Wednesday. The first-year network will televise the Big Ten Championships, Midlands Classic and nine dual meets, including Minnesota's Feb. 8 match-up with Northwestern in Chicago. The start time for that match has been changed to 6:30 p.m. CST. The network will have a live telecast on six consecutive Fridays in January and February beginning with Iowa at Ohio State dual meet on January 18. "The Big Ten is the nation's most powerful wrestling conference and there is a strong following for the sport in Big Ten Country," Big Ten Network president Mark Silverman said. "We look forward to bringing the best of college wrestling to a national audience." Last Sunday, the BTN's first foray into wrestling featured a live broadcast of No. 1 Minnesota's showdown with No. 2 Iowa State at Williams Arena, an 18-13 victory for the Cyclones. The network will return to Minneapolis March 9 to televise the finals of the Big Ten Championships from Williams Arena. Additional live regular season telecasts include: Wisconsin-Indiana at 5 p.m. ET on January 25, Illinois-Michigan at 6 p.m. ET on February 1, Michigan State-Penn State at 5 p.m. ET on February 15, Purdue-Illinois at 6 p.m. ET on February 22 and Michigan State-Michigan at noon ET on February 24. Nine of the conference's 11 teams are ranked in the current NWCA/Intermat/USA Today top 25 poll, including No. 2 Minnesota, No. 4 Iowa, No. 5 Penn State, No. 7 Michigan, No. 9 Northwestern, No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 13 Ohio State, No. 17 Indiana and No. 18 Illinois. Currently, the Big Ten Network is available in Minnesota on DirecTV (channel 220) and Dish Network (channel 439). 2007-2008 WRESTLING SCHEDULE ON THE BIG TEN NETWORK Air Date Time Event Sunday, Dec. 30 6:00pm CST Midlands Classic Consolation Finals (delayed) Sunday, Jan. 6 5:00pm CST #3 Oklahoma State #4 at Iowa (delayed) Friday, Jan. 18 5:00pm CST #4 Iowa at #16 Ohio State (LIVE) Friday, Jan. 25 4:00pm CST #9 Wisconsin at #17 Indiana (LIVE) Friday, Feb. 1 5:00pm CST #18 Illinois at #10 Michigan (LIVE) Friday, Feb. 8 6:30pm CST #1 Minnesota at #5 Northwestern (LIVE) Friday, Feb. 15 4:00pm CST Michigan State at #6 Penn State (LIVE) Friday, Feb. 22 5:00pm CST Purdue at #18 Illinois (LIVE) Sunday, Feb. 24 11:00am CST Michigan State at #10 Michigan (LIVE) Sunday, March 9 TBA Big Ten Championships (LIVE)

This weekend at Walsh Jesuit High School in Ohio, one of the top high school tournaments in the nation, the Walsh Ironman, will take place. RevWrestling.com has provided a breakdown of each weight class, the favorites, the ones you may not know, and of course the upsets. 103 Pounds: One of the more exciting classes usually, but will definitely not match to the huge final that occurred here last between Logan Stieber of Monroeville (Ohio) and David Taylor of St. Paris Graham (Ohio). Traditionally a wide open weight class, this year there is a clear favorite in Hunter Stieber the freshman out of Monroeville (Ohio). The favorites: Hunter Stieber of Monroeville (Ohio), Sam Brody Montini of Catholic (Illinois), Devin Carter of Christiansburg (Virginia), and Gus Sako of St. Edwards (Ohio). The ones you may not know: Evan Silver of Blair Academy (New Jersey), Chris Mears of Bishop Lynch (Texas), Johnni DiJulius of Walsh Jesuit (Ohio), and Courtland Hacker of Broomfield (Colorado). Predicted Final: Stieber over Silver 112 Pounds: This weight class is shaping up to be one of the deepest in the tournament. Everyone is chasing David Taylor, the junior out of St. Paris Graham. Can anyone close the gap? The favorites: David Taylor of St. Paris Graham (Ohio), Steve Mitcheff of Elyria (Ohio), Sam White of Massilon Perry (Ohio), and Jamie Clark of St. Edwards (Ohio). The ones you may not know: Sean Boyle of Blair Academy (New Jersey), Shane Gentry of Colonial Forge (Virginia), Cam Tessari of Monroeville (Ohio), and Chris Keech of Caesar Rodney (Delaware). Predicted Final: Boyle over White 119 Pounds: The exciting continues at 119 with again many notable names. Look for many quality matchups early in the tournament. The favorites: Logan Stieber of Monroeville (Ohio), Ben Sergent of Troy Christian (Ohio), Michael Garafalo of Colonial Forge (Virginia), and David Klingsham of Brentwood Liberty (California). The ones you may not know: Derek Steeley of Broken Arrow (Oklahoma), Zach Neibert of St. Paris Graham (Ohio), Travis McKillop of Burrell (Pennsylvania), and Tony Buxton of Blair Academy (New Jersey). Predicted Final: Stieber over Garafalo 125 Pounds: This weight class is like many others have several nationally ranked wrestlers. Leading the pack is defending Ironman and First-Team Asics All American Tony Ramos. He will definitely have a long road in defending his crown this year. The favorites: Tony Ramos of Glenbard North (Illinois), Chris Villalonga of Blair Academy (New Jersey), Dan Genetin of Massillon Perry (Ohio), and Andrew Williams of Tabb (Virginia). The ones you may not know: Caleb Vallotton of Palo Cedro Foothill (California), Drew Partain of Broken Arrow (Oklahoma), Riley Adamson of Bishop Lynch (Texas), and Cody Kelly of Reynolds (Pennsylvania). Predicted Final: Ramos over Villalonga 130 Pounds: The first of several weight classes with no major front runners. There are more than seven wrestlers capable of winning this championship, and do not be surprised if several upsets occur early. The favorites: Anthony Valles of Blair Academy (New Jersey), Brian Stephens of St.Paris Graham (Ohio), Brad Squire of Wadsworth (Ohio) and Ian Squires of Colonial Forge (Virginia). The ones you may not know: Andrew Grabfelder of Germantown Academy (Pennsylvania), Troy Silver of Bishop Lynch (Texas), Jake Gregerson of Montini Catholic (Illinois), and David Yost of Fauquier (Virginia). Predicted Final: Squire over Valles 135 Pounds: What else can you say about this weight class but WOW!!!! Getting to the finals will definitely not be easy, but if St. Edwards' Collin Palmer and Canon McMillan's Collin Johnston can reach the finals, fans will certainly be in for a treat. The favorites: Collin Palmer of St.Edwards (Ohio), Collin Johnston of Canon McMillan (Pennsylvania), Daniel Kolodzik of Miami Valley (Ohio), and Matt Bryan of Broken Arrow (Oklahoma). The ones you may not know: Jacob Earp of Watagua (NC), Joe Pantaleo of Colonial Forge (Virginia), Austin Ormsbee of Blair Academy (New Jersey), and Trey Adamson of Bishop Lynch (Texas). Predicted Final: Palmer over Johnston 140 Pounds: Like 130, this weight class is truly wide open and any wrestler who gets during the tournament we can expect to see in the finals. The favorites: Dak Adamson of Bishop Lynch (Texas), Neil Birt of St.Edwards (Ohio), Richard Spicel of Brunswick (Ohio) and Jordan Shields of Burrell (Pennsylvania). The ones you may not know: John Guzzo of Blair Academy (New Jersey), Drew Squires of Colonial Forge (Virginia), Matt Stephens of St. Paris Graham (Ohio), and Isiah Meade of Caesar Rodney (Delaware). Predicted Final: Adamson over Shields 145 Pounds: Rev's No. 1 high school wrestler Mario Mason of Blair Academy looks to defend his Ironman crown, but the road is not easy as 145 has turned out to be one of the deeper weight classes in the tournament. The favorites: Mario Mason Blair Academy (New Jersey), Ben Jordan of St. Paris Graham (Ohio), David Habat of St. Ignatius (Ohio) and Richie Dehenz of Palmetto Ridge (Florida). The ones you may not know: Tanner Eitel of Bishop Lynch (Texas), Vince Ramos of Glenbard North (Illinois), Jon Burns of Cardinal Gibbons (North Carolina), and Zach Toal of Troy Christian (Ohio). Predicted Final: Mason over Jordan 152 Pounds: This is one weight class you do not want to miss. While Coby Boyd and Alex Meade are the front-runners, the quarters and semifinals of this weight class should be outstanding. The favorites: Alex Meade of Caesar Rodney (Delaware), Coby Boyd of St.Paris Graham (Ohio), Brandon Rolnick, of Lawrenceville Prep (New Jersey), and Zac Cibula of Luxemburg-Casco (Wisconsin). The ones you may not know: David Rios of Liberty-Brentwood (California), Jesse Shanaman of Blair Academy (New Jersey), Zack Mastro of Palmetto Ridge (Florida), and Cory Casady of Broomfield (Colorado). Predicted Final: Boyd over Meade 160 Pounds: Eric Cubberly, Riley Kilroy and Josh Condon lead the charge in this weight class where after them, the rest of the place finishers are really up for grabs. The favorites: Eric Cubberly of Pemberville Eastwood (Ohio), Riley Kilroy of Padua Franciscan (Ohio), Sam Rakes of Christiansburg (Virginia), and Josh Condon of Harrison (Georgia). The ones you may not know: Trey Edmunds of Damonte Ranch (NV), Jared King of Great Bridge (Virginia), Todd Koch of Caesar Rodney (Delaware), and Kyle McPeek of Parkersburg (West Virginia). Predicted Final: Cubberly over Condon 171 Pounds: Leading the charge at 171 is Brian Roddy of St. Edwards, who is looking for his first Ironman crown. Roddy figures to get a challenge from several contenders including Blair Academy's Corey Peltier who he faced twice last year. The favorites: Brian Roddy of St. Edwards (Ohio), Corey Peltier of Blair Academy (New Jersey), Zac Thomusseit of St. Paris Graham (Ohio), and Keith Witt of Oak Harbor (Ohio). The ones you may not know: Chris Phillips Monroeville (Ohio), Oscar Huntley Colonial Forge (Virginia), Justin Armstrong Bishop Lynch (Texas), and Noah Budi of Kaukauna (Wisconsin). Predicted Final: Roddy over Peltier 189 Pounds: Two names lead the pack here Cody Magrum of Oak Harbor and Joe Budi of Kaukauna. Like always, the upper-weights are always up in the air, fans do not be surprised if we see a few upsets along the way. The favorites: Cody Magrum of Oak Harbor (Ohio), Joe Budi of Kaukauna (Wisconsin), Max Huntley of Colonial Forge (Virginia) and Jermey Foster of Pemberville Eastwood (Ohio). The ones you may not know: Nick Lloyd of Luxemburg-Casco (Wisconsin), Ryan Neilsse of Elyria (Ohio), and Dan Grimes of Montini Catholic (Illinois). Predicted Final: Magrum over Budi 215 Pounds: This is another totally wide open weight class. Matt Fisher appears to be the favorite, but there are a lot of relative unknowns here. The favorites: Matt Fisher of Sandusky Perkins (Ohio), Trever Spude of Luxemburg-Casco (Wisconsin), and Matt Lindamood of Parkersburg (West Virginia). The ones you may not know: Jake Hanley of Bishop Lynch (Texas), Mike Green of St. Edwards (Ohio), and Nick Zissimos of Broomfield (Colorado). Predicted Final: Fisher over Lindamood 285 Pounds: In this class there appears to be a drop off after the top two seeds: Garret Goebel of Montini Catholic and Adam Walls of St. Paris Graham. The favorites: Garret Goebel of Montini Catholic (Illinois) and Adam Walls of St. Paris Graham (Ohio). The ones you may not know: Kyle Hanson of Blair Academy (New Jersey), Zach Nolan of Parkersburg (West Virginia), and Nick Cook of Fauquier (Virginia). Predicted Final: Goebel over Walls Team Championship: Look for Blair Academy on the strength of strong performances by its freshman class to hold off the challenge from St. Paris Graham. Keep an eye on Bishop Lynch who definitely has their most balanced team in quite some time.

This week's edition of "On the Mat" will feature Tom Brands and Cael Sanderson. "On the Mat" is a weekly wrestling radio program that airs every Wednesday night. This week's broadcast can be heard live from 5-6 p.m. Central Standard Time. The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, hosts the show. Brands is in his second year as the head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa. As an athlete, Brands won three NCAA titles for the University of Iowa and compiled a career college record of 158-7-2. He also won a World title in 1993 and an Olympic title in 1996. Brands is one of only two wrestlers to ever win three NCAA titles, an Olympic title, and a World title. Sanderson is his second year as the head wrestling coach at Iowa State University. As an athlete, Sanderson won four NCAA titles for Iowa State University and compiled a career record of 159-0. He is the only Division I wrestler to win four NCAA titles and complete his college career undefeated. Sanderson also won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Iowa and Iowa State will face each other in a dual meet on December 9th at 2 p.m. in Ames. W.I.N. Magazine editor Mike Finn will be on the program for his bi-weekly segment. He will review several key wrestling events, including Iowa State's victory over Minnesota, the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and the Bedlam dual meet between Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.

Lincoln -- The Big 12 Conference announced Monday that Husker sophomore Kenny Jordan has been named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Month for November. Jordan, a Frankfort, Ill., native, went a perfect 6-0 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas last weekend. Jordan, competing at 133 pounds, racked up three bonus-point victories to start the tournament. He recorded a 15-0 technical fall over Jerome Greco of Columbia in the opening round, followed that with a pin of Old Dominion's Kyle Hutter in 3:51 and notched a 13-2 major decision over Rick Rappo of Penn. Jordan's last three wins in the tournament included a 7-6 decision over Reece Humphrey of Ohio State and a 7-0 decision over Cal State-Fullerton's T.J. Dillashaw in the finals. His performance helped propel the Huskers to a fourth-place team finish. The national junior college champion at 133 pounds last year, Jordan is 8-0 on the season with two pins, one technical fall and one major decision.

AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State officials announced Monday evening that the Dec. 9 wrestling showdown between Iowa State (expected to be ranked No. 1 this week) and third-rated Iowa has sold out. "One of the great rivalries in college athletics, especially in our state, will be contested in front of a sold-out crowd," Iowa State Director of Athletics Jamie Pollard said. At the request of Coach Cael Sanderson prior to the 2006-07 season, Iowa State made several changes to Hilton's configuration for wrestling meets. The changes were made to allow the fans to be closer to the mat, creating a much better environment for the wrestlers and spectators. The new configuration also contributed to an increase in the number of season tickets (1,310) sold this year, more than double the number sold prior to Sanderson being named head coach. The set-up provides for a capacity of 9,000 for wrestling events in Hilton Coliseum. "Coach Sanderson believes the best way to market his wrestling program is to create a demand that exceeds supply," Pollard said. "I appreciate Cael's desires to create a demand for his product and it has clearly worked." Iowa State wrestling fans, who want to watch the nation's top-rated wrestling program, can still purchase tickets for home dates vs. Wisconsin (Jan. 18), Oregon State (Feb. 8), Missouri (Feb. 17) and Nebraska (Feb. 24). Sunday's match will be televised live by Iowa Public Television and web cast to members of the Clone Zone on cyclones.com.

Stillwater, Okla. -- Third-ranked Oklahoma State continued its dominance in the Bedlam wrestling series with a 21-9 victory over No. 21 Oklahoma Sunday. A crowd of 4,144 watched the Cowboys jump out to a 9-0 lead and never look back en route to their 19th consecutive win over Oklahoma. The Cowboys are now 26-0-1 in the last 27 Bedlam duals and gained a 100-win edge in the all-time series with Oklahoma by upping their advantage in the all-time series to 124-24-9. Freshman Ben Ashmore opened his Bedlam career with an impressive 6-0 win over Joey Fio. Ashmore picked up takedowns in the first and third periods and tacked on 2:47 riding time to give the Cowboys a quick 3-0 lead. The Cowboys picked up decisions from seniors Coleman Scott and Nathan Morgan, who were wrestling in their final home Bedlam dual. Scott scored a narrow 1-0 victory over OU 133-pounder Brian Shelton, while Morgan cruised to a 9-4 decision over 15th-ranked Sooner 141-pounder Zack Bailey. "I want more. I understand what this team needs to do to be successful and we didn't do enough today," Oklahoma State coach John Smith said. "The positive we can take from this, other than winning, is that we got some takedowns when we needed to get them." OU jumped on the board at 149 pounds with Will Rowe's 10-4 decision over Quinten Fuentes. Late in the third period Rowe looked to be headed towards a major decision, but Fuentes scored a late escape and takedown to hold the Sooners to three team points. The next three matches essentially put the dual away as the Cowboys picked up three straight wins to stretch the lead to 18-3. Newly McSpadden started the run with a solid performance in a 6-1 decision over Chad Terry. Following a scoreless first period, McSpadden exploded with takedowns in each of the last two periods and picked up 1:39 riding time. Senior transfer and 165-pounder Jake Dieffenbach was another Cowboy to earn a victory in his first Bedlam match, claiming a hard-fought 3-2 victory over No. 16 Max Dean with a second period takedown being the difference in the match. "I haven't wrestled in front of that many people, so that got the nerves out of me real quickly," Dieffenbach said. "(Dean) is a guy who likes to slow down the match and work on your head and I feel like I wrestled at his pace. I didn't do what I wanted, but it's still good to get a win." "This was a good win for Jake Dieffenbach," Smith said. "He got more aggressive in the second period. Make no mistake, his opponent was a top-10 guy who is a quality opponent." Fifth-ranked Brandon Mason pushed the Cowboy lead to 15 with a 5-0 decision over Jeff James at 174 pounds. Mason picked up two takedowns and an escape in the victory. The Sooners finally jumped back on the board when 11th-ranked 184-pounder Josh Weitzel outlasted Cowboy freshman Cody Hill, 3-2. Hill was the aggressor all match, but Weitzel rode him out the entire third period and his 1:17 riding time proved to be the difference. At 197, true OSU freshman Clayton Foster had a third period rally fall just short against ninth-ranked Joel Flaggert, ultimately falling, 12-10. Foster trailed, 8-4 after two periods and after a wild third period, nearly took Flaggert down in the final seconds to send the match into overtime. The Cowboys closed out the dual with a 6-3 decision by 10th-ranked Jared Rosholt at heavyweight over No. 20 Nathan Fernandez. Rosholt picked up two takedowns in the third period to secure the win and tacked on 1:11 riding time to give the Cowboys a 21-9 final score. "We want to outscore our opponents late," Smith said. "If you outscore your opponent in the third period, you'll come out on the winning end a lot of the time." The Cowboys return to action next Sunday, December 9 when they host No. 6 Penn State. "It was good to get this win today, but we've got to get ready for maybe the best team Penn State has ever had," Smith said.

The top-ranked and defending national champion Minnesota Golden Gopher wrestling team dropped a hard-fought 18-13 decision to No. 2 Iowa State Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena. The Gophers led until the 197-pound and heavyweight matches and lost for the first time in their last 24 meets despite suffering only six takedowns all afternoon. It was Minnesota's first loss to Iowa State in their last four meetings and their first home loss since Feb. 5, 2005. Nick Fanthorpe defeated Mack Reiter (Photo/The Guillotine)The meet, which featured the top two finishers at last year's national championships, was expected to be close, but Minnesota (3-1) lost three pivotal matches as they dropped their first dual meet of the season to the Cyclones (6-0). Third-ranked Mack Reiter was edged out at 133 pounds by No. 8 Nick Fanthorpe 3-1 and No. 4 C.P. Schlatter was upset 3-2 by No. 10 Cyler Sanderson by a thin 3-2 margin. In the premier match of the afternoon, top-ranked 184-pound Jake Varner of the Cyclones successfully contained the Gophers' No. 2 Roger Kish, earning a 3-0 decision. The meet began at 125 pounds, and sophomore Jayson Ness continued his torrid start to in 2007-08 with a 10-0 major decision over Mark Kist of ISU. Ness scored takedowns in the first two periods and scored three points on stall warnings by Kist, also accumulating 1:52 of riding time for the bonus point. Ness is now 10-0 this season with eight pins and one major decision. A third-period reversal by Fanthorpe gave Reiter his first loss of the season at 133 pounds. After a scoreless first period, the Gopher senior and two-time All-American jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a second-period escape, but Fanthorpe's dramatic reversal at the 1:42 mark in the third proved to be the difference in an otherwise-uneventful match. Fanthorpe also picked up the bonus riding time point. Reiter is now 2-1 in dual meets this season. At 141 pounds, Manuel Rivera stayed perfect on the season with a 7-4 win over ISU's Nick Gallick. The pair spent the first three minutes gauging each other before Rivera (now 11-0 on the year) took a 2-1 lead partway through the second with a takedown. Two more third-period takedowns and a bonus point for riding time allowed Rivera to give the Gophers a 7-3 lead three matches into the match. No. 1 Dustin Schlatter nearly picked up a much-needed major decision in his match against No. 16 Mitch Mueller, but had to settle for three points as he won 8-1 at 149 pounds. The two-time All-American had already built up 2:39 of riding time after just one period and brought a 4-1 lead into the final stanza, but Meuller was able to limit Schlatter to three third-period points (one escape and one takedown) to make the final tally 8-1. Schlatter remains undefeated this season (8-0, 4-0 in duals) and has lost just twice in 90 collegiate dual matches. The Gophers brought a 10-3 lead into the 157-pound match, only to have No. 10 Cyler Sanderson (younger brother of legendary ISU head coach Cael Sanderson) pull off the upset. After yet another scoreless first period, the evenly-matched pair remained tied 1-1 after a Schlatter escape to open the third period. Sanderson's quick takedown 55 seconds into the third period gave him a 3-1 lead, as Schlatter (7-1) could not muster any offense in the final minute and dropped his first match of the season. Fourteenth-ranked redshirt freshman Scott Glasser was overpowered by No. 7 Jon Reader at 165 pounds, falling 6-1. Glasser was unable to generate much offensively and suffered 3:12 of riding time at the hands of Reader, dropping his first dual matchup of the season. After two straight losses, senior Gabe Dretsch appeared to get the Gophers back on track with a 9-2 decision over the Cyclones' Aron Scott at 174 pounds. Dretsch, who entered the meet ranked sixth nationally, built up a 6-0 lead after two periods by accumulating an escape, two takedowns and a penalty point. But with Scott's only goal seemingly to avoid allowing big points (the first-period penalty was called for fleeing the mat), Dretsch came up just one point shy of gaining a major decision. Dretsch held an 8-1 lead and to have a major decision in hand until Scott picked up an escape with only 18 seconds remaining in the match. The bonus point for riding time (1:33 in favor of Dretsch) made the final score 9-2. The highly-anticipated 184-pound match proved to be a low-scoring affair, as Jake Varner defeated Roger Kish for the third straight time, including last year's NCAA semifinals and the 2007 NWCA All-Star Classic in November (Photo/The Guillotine).The highly-anticipated 184-pound match proved to be a low-scoring affair, as Varner defeated Kish for the third straight time (including last year's NCAA semifinals and the 2007 All-Star Classic in November). Kish brought the crowd to its feet near the end of the first period as he narrowly missed a takedown in what proved to be a scoreless first period. But Varner was able to notch all three of his points in the second period as all of Kish's shooting attempts were rebuffed by his ISU rival. Varner now leads the all-time series between the two 3-2, including exhibition matches. The pair could meet again during January's National Duals. Minnesota held a slim 13-12 lead heading into the final two matches of the afternoon, needing an upset at either weight class to avoid the defeat. Justin Bronson battled No. 18 David Bertolino at 197 pounds, suffering only one takedown, but dropped a close 4-0 decision. With the Gophers trailing 15-13 entering the final match of the afternoon, the announced crow of 4,357 got to its feet to encourage heavyweight Ben Berhow as he took on No. 5 David Zabriske. Berhow appeared to be on the verge of a takedown on two separate occasions during the first period, only to come up short both times. Zabriske was able to pick up takedowns in all three periods and added an escape to emerge with a 7-2 victory. Berhow is now 4-4 on the year, including 1-1 in dual meets thus far. Gopher heavyweights are now a combined 1-3 in five dual meets this season. Sunday's meet was televised live by the Big Ten Network, the first wrestling event on the new station this season. The 2008 Big Ten Championships, held at Williams Arena March 8-9, are also scheduled to be televised. The Gophers will have little time to dwell on Sunday's loss as they host No. 14 Nebraska Thursday evening in the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis. The Gophers are 45-17 all-time against the Cornhuskers, including a 32-6 win in Lincoln last season. That meet will begin at 7:00 p.m. Rev Audio: Rev Audio: Cyler Sanderson Rev Audio: Cody Sanderson Rev Audio: J Robinson Scoring Summary: 125: No. 3 Jayson Ness (MN) major decision Mark Kist (ISU) 10-0 Kist warned for stalling. Ness scored a single leg takedown and led 2-0 after the first period. Ness chose down. Kist rode for 40 seconds before Ness escaped. Ness awarded a stalling point. Ness scored a double-leg takedown near the end of the second period. Kist chose down in the third. Stall point to Ness. Ness awarded two stalling points. With 1:52 riding time, Ness wins 10-0. 133: No. 8 Nick Fanthorpe (ISU) decision No. 3 Mack Reiter (MN) 3-1 Scoreless first period. Reiter chose down. Reiter out in eight seconds. Reiter led 1-0 after the second. Fanthorpe chose down to start the third. Fanthorpe reversal. With 1:35 riding time Fanthorpe wins 3-1. 141: No. 6 Manny Rivera (MN) decision No. 16 Nick Gallick (ISU) 7-3 Scoreless first period. Rivera chose down and escaped in five seconds. Double-leg takedown for Rivera. Rivera chose neutral and scored a quick double-leg takedown. Gallick warned for stalling. Rivera warned for stalling. Gallick escaped. Ankle-pick takedown for Rivera. Rivera cut him loose. With 2:08 riding time, Rivera wins 7-3. 149: No. 1 Dustin Schlatter (MN) decision No. 16 Mitch Meuller (ISU) 8-1 Spin-around takedown for Schlatter. Schlatter got an arm-bar but couldn't quite turn. Meuller warned for stalling. Schlatter led 2-0 after the first. Meuller chose neutral. Single-leg takedown for Schlatter. Meuller escape. Schlatter led 4-1 after the second period. Schlatter chose down and escaped in eight seconds. Meuller in on a single but Schlatter fought it off. Blood time for Meuller. Takedown on the edge at the buzzer for Schlatter. Schlatter won 8-1 with 2:49 riding time. 157: No. 10 Cyler Sanderson (ISU) decision No. 4 C.P. Schlatter (MN) 3-2 Scramble at the end of the first period but no scoring. Sanderson chose down and escaped in eleven seconds. Sanderson led 1-0 after the second period. Schlatter chose down and escaped in three seconds. Tied at 1-1. Sanderson in on a single-leg, after a scramble Sanderson gets the two points. Schlatter escaped with :52 left and trailed 3-2. Sanderson wins 3-2. 165: No. 7 Jon Reader (ISU) decision No. 13 Scott Glasser (MN) 6-1 Reader in on a single leg - scramble - Reader takedown. Reader led 2-0 after the first period. Reader chose down. After :30 Reader reversed. Glasser warned for stalling. Reader led 4-0 after the second period. Glasser chose down. Stall point for Reader. Glasser escape. Reader won 6-1 with 3:12 riding time. 174: No. 6 Gabe Dretsch (MN) decision Aron Scott (ISU) 9-2 Dretsch in on a lift single leg. Scott called for fleeing the mat - one point for Dretsch. Another lift single for Dretsch - off the mat - no takedown. Takedown for Dretsch. Dretsch led 3-0 after the first period. Dretsch chose down and escaped in five seconds. Scot warned for stalling. Single-to-a double leg takedown for Dretsch. Dretsch led 6-0 after the second period. Scot chose down. Dretsch cut Scot loose for an escape. Double leg takedown for Dretsch. Scot escaped when Dretsch tried to turn him. Dretsch won 9-2 with 1:33 riding time. 184: No. 1 Jake Varner (ISU) decision No. 2 Roger Kish (MN) 3-0 Scoreless first period. Varner chosed down and escaped in six seconds. Varner scored a takedown off a Kish single leg attempt. Varner led 3-0 after the second period. Kish chose neutral. Varner won 3-0. 197: No. 18 David Bertolino (ISU) decision Justin Bronson (MN) 4-0 Bertolino takedown halfway into the first period. Bertolino chose down to start the second period. Bertolino escape. Bertolino led 3-0 after the second period. Bronson chose down. Bertolino got high and Bronson nearly got a reversal, but it was called a stalemate. With 3:06 riding time Bertolino won 4-0. Hwt: No. 5 David Zabrinski (ISU) decision Ben Berhow (MN) 7-2 Zabrinski takedown. Berhow escape. Zabrinski led 2-1 after the first period. Zabrinski chose down. Zabrinski escaped after 1:00. Zabrinski scored a single leg takedown. Zabrinski led 5-1 after the second period. Berhow chose down and escaped in :15. Zabrinski scored a single leg takedown. Zabrinski won 7-2.

VESTAL, N.Y. -- Binghamton wrestling has signed four high school athletes to National Letters of Intent, head coach Pat Popolizio announced Thursday. Set to join BU's program in 2008-09 are Donnie Vinson (Whitney Point, N.Y.), Nate Scheidel (Caledonia, N.Y.), Carl Korpi (Miller Place, N.Y.) and Drew Bloss (Cornwall, N.Y.). "This is our best recruiting class," Popolizio said. Heading the class is Vinson from nearby Whitney Point. Vinson was a New York State runnerup, and a Cadet Freestyle National Champion. As a junior, he went 38-3. He is a five-time ASICS All American, and was ranked the No. 62 recruit in the nation by Intermat. Vinson is expected to compete at 149 pounds. Scheidel is a two-time state placewinner who went 45-1 last season. He took third at the state championship twice, and is a three-time ASICS All-American. A top 250 recruit according to Intermat, Scheidel will likely compete at 184. "Getting two recruits of this caliber shows just how much progress we have made," Popolizio said. "We got the best local athlete and a blue chipper from New York - two of our main focuses." Korpi placed fourth at the NHSCA Junior Nationals last spring, and will compete at 197. Bloss, a Section I champion, is also signed at 125.