InterMat Staff

CORVALLIS, Ore. –- Oregon State got pins from 141-pounder Kyle Larson, 157-pounder Keegan Davis and heavyweight Jamie Rakevich as the Beavers beat Oregon 33-6 in Pacific-10 wrestling Friday night at Gill Coliseum. For OSU (6-0 overall, 2-0 Pac-10), it was the 13th straight dual meet win over two seasons, Oregon State's longest streak since a 13-meet streak over the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons. OSU 174-pounder Jeremy Larson, ranked No. 15 nationally in the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll and No. 7 by Amateur Wrestling News, took an 8-1 win over Oregon's Ron Lee. Beaver heavyweight Ty Watterson, ranked No. 5 by the NWCA and No. 4 by AWN, got the evening off as Rakevich stepped in to get the pin. It was the eighth straight win for OSU in the wrestling Civil War, presented by Northwest Dodge Dealers, and the Beavers now own a 104-24-4 advantage in an all-time series dating back to 1915. The victory in front of a crowd of 1,382 evened the all-sports series for 2006-07 between the schools at four points each. OSU next wrestles Dec. 20 at the Reno Tournament of Champions. On Friday, Oregon State and Oregon (4-3, 0-1) split the first two matches, but Larson broke the tie by pinning Elliott Tracy in 2 minutes, 9 seconds; that started a run of three straight victories that put the Beavers up 18-3 at the meet's midway point. "The pin at 141 really started us off, then Derek Kipperberg almost got a major decision at 149 and we got the pin by Keegan Davis going into halftime and that really sparked us back the right way," said OSU head coach Jim Zalesky, who got his first taste of the Civil War. "The in-state rivalries are fun; it brings out the best in guys a lot of times. The crowd got into it, and that's the atmosphere we want here. I want the crowd all the way up the sides and no seats left, standing room only." Larson's pin was his fourth of the season – including first-period pins in both of OSU's home meets – and it improved his record to 9-3 this season. His momentum-starter came just after teammate Bobby Pfennigs, ranked second in the Pac-10 at 133 pounds, had been upset 4-1 by Oregon's Joey Lucas; OSU 125-pounder Jake Gonzales had opened the meet with a 3-1 decision over Beau Malia. "Whatever happens in front of me, I just go out and do the same thing," said Larson, who broke into the AWN rankings at No. 19 this week. "I'm just trying to get the bonus points for my team. I'm just going out and doing the same thing every time … It's awesome to get that ball rolling. The first two matches weren't necessarily getting things rolling, but pins always get things going, and I love to be the one to do it." Kipperberg just missed a major decision over Oregon's Jeremy McLaughlin at 149 pounds when McLaughlin recorded a takedown with six seconds remaining, Next up was Davis, a true freshman making his home debut, and he earned his first career pin in 4:36 over the Ducks' Bryan Cantrell. Oregon stopped the Beaver run at three straight wins when Kyle Bounds edged OSU's Brett Arand 3-1 at 165 pounds, then Jeremy Larson took his victory over Lee at 174. Larson improved to 11-2 this season with the win. At 184 pounds, OSU's Kyle Bressler beat Brysen French 3-1 to improve to 6-3 this season; that surpasses Bressler's win total from last season. Beaver 197-pounder Travis Gardner outlasted Chris Robertson 5-2 in a match in which all the points – other than Gardner's for riding time – were scored on reversals. Finally, Rakevich got the nod at heavyweight and pinned Oregon's Chris Dearmon in 2:28. Rakevich, who missed all of last season due to injury, hadn't wrestled a varsity match since Feb. 13, 2005 when he scored a late takedown to win his match and hand OSU a Civil War dual victory in Eugene. "Ty Watterson's back has been a little bit sore and he's been banged up a little bit, and we've got two good heavyweights – there's not much dropoff there," Zalesky said. "We have that luxury to rest Watterson and let Rakevich wrestle, and I like the way Rakevich wrestled. It was great. He's getting back in match shape; he just needs competition. When you end up with your heavyweight getting a pin, that's exciting. You feel good about the meet." OSU's 27-point margin of victory over Oregon was the Beavers' widest over the Ducks since a 41-9 victory in the second meeting of the 1984-85 season.

CEDAR FALLS -– The venue changed, but the result was the same for No. 2-ranked Wartburg Saturday, Dec. 9, as the Knights' wrestling squad won its 12th consecutive Dick Walker Invitational team title. Head coach Jim Miller's squad, paced by five champions, compiled 140.5 points to gain its 19th team title in the 34-year history of the event. Iowa Central Community College of Fort Dodge took second with 129.5 points, while Coe, ranked No. 12 in the second National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III top 30, pieced together a strong run as well, taking third with 123.5 points. Freshman 157-pounder Aaron Wernimont of Pocahontas, increasing his current win string to 15 matches, was tabbed the tourney's Outstanding Wrestler. The nation's No. 7-ranked wrestler rolled through his class with three major decisions and a technical fall win over ICCC's Nate Carr, Jr., in the championship match in 6:22. Junior 133-pounder Jake Helvey of Mitchellville (133), junior Justin Hanson of Humboldt and senior Dustin Cooper of Urbandale (165), senior Jason Zastrow of Coon Rapids, Minn., and junior Dan Schulte of La Crescent, Minn., (174) and seniors Blake Gillis of Spencer and Brian Borchers of Holstein (heavyweight) also claimed individual titles for Wartburg.

USAF ACADEMY, Colo. -- Backed by six victories, the Air Force wrestling defeated Colorado School of Mines, 29-16, on Saturday, Dec. 9. The Falcons even the dual meet season at 1-1, in their first home meet of the year. CSM opened the meet with an early 6-0 lead, when Geoff Meng won the 125-pound match with a fall over freshman Samuel Sheppard (Ramstein AB, Germany). The Orediggers increased their lead following Garrett Eller's 9-2 decision over freshman Stephen Makuka (Columbus, N.J.) at 133 pounds. Air Force earned its first victory of the night at 141 pounds, as junior Jake Kriegbaum (Abilene, Kan.) earned a tech fall of the Orediggers' Cody Weitzel. The Falcons took the lead with the ensuing match, as junior Chris Szabolcs earned a victory by fall over Rob Rineer at 149 pounds. Junior Anthony Doward (Seattle, Wash.) took a commanding points lead over Mines' Ryan Corbett, before winning the 157-pound match by fall. Freshman Justin Shadrix (Bremen, Ga.) used a last-second 13-11 decision over Eric Brennan at 165 pounds to extend the Falcons' lead to 11. School of Mines took two of the next three decisions to pull closer to the Falcons, winning both the 174- and 197-pound contests. Zac Cornett took a decision from freshman Tyler French (Malta, Mont.) at 174 pounds, while Brennan Knerr earned a major decision over senior Peter Bozynski (Birmingham, Mich.) at 197 pounds. In between those contests, junior Jacob Devlin (Livingston, N.J.) decisioned Patrick Ryan at 184 pounds. Junior Tony Stegeman (Cincinnati, Ohio) closed out the night with a heavyweight victory (by fall) over the Orediggers' Brian Stansbury. The Falcons return to action on Dec. 29-30, when they travel to the Midlands Invitational in Evanston, Ill.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- The Maryland wrestling team used six major decisions and a fall to defeat Rutgers, 36-4, on Saturday at College Avenue Gym. The Terrapins won both of their duals on the day, beating Rider 25-16 earlier. The Terps improve their dual record to 7-3 this season. Sophomore James Knox, juniors Charlie Pinto and Andrew Schlaffer, freshman Mike Letts, and seniors Jason Kiessling and Jerry Afari all won by major decision for Maryland. Redshirt freshman Hudson Taylor won by fall in just 1:17. Knox, Pinto, Letts, Kiessling, and Afari all won both of their matches today. Knox improved his overall record to 7-6. Pinto has won 12 of his first 13 matches this season and Letts owns a team-high 13 wins. Co-ACC Wrestler of the Week Kiessling is now 12-3. Taylor has a team-best five pins this season and is 10-4 while Afari is now 7-5. The win against the Scarlet Knights (0-2) was the second victory of the day for the Terps. Maryland beat Rider (1-2), 26-15, earlier in the day. The Broncs had wrestled a pair of ranked teams at home before taking on the Terrapins. Rider beat No. 21 Lehigh 24-14 on November 10 and then lost to No. 25 Pittsburgh, 21-13. For a complete recap and results for the win against Rider click here. The Terps will travel to nearby Princeton (0-6) to take on the Tigers on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at Dillon Gym.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. –- Lehigh bounced back from Friday night's loss to Penn State, winning eight of ten bouts in a 29-10 triumph over No. 20 Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon at Fitzgerald Field House. Among the Mountain Hawks' victories were a win by fall for senior captain Paul Weibel and major decisions for seniors Matt Ciasulli and Dave Nakasone. Lehigh wraps up the opening part of its dual season at 4-4 while the Panthers fall to 2-1. "We came out with a lot more hustle this afternoon," said Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel. "Last night we were lacking in terms of hustle, but we came back and went after it this afternoon. Pittsburgh is a good team, but to win eight bouts against them is good for us." The dual started at heavyweight, with Weibel giving the Mountain Hawks the early advantage, connecting on one of his patented throws to earn a first period fall over Zach Sheaffer. Pitt tied the dual when Brad Gentzle locked in a cradle to pin senior Patrick Berger in 31 seconds, before Lehigh went on a roll winning five straight bouts to take control of the dual. Freshman Seth Ciasulli started the run, scoring a second period reversal-three point near fall combination to upset eighth ranked Drew Headlee 7-4. After Matt Ciasulli won a 10-2 major decision at 141, Trevor Chinn was able to get back on the winning track, hitting a four point move in the final seconds to defeat Joey Ecklof at 149. Nakasone put forth a workmanlike effort, racking up seven takedowns in a 17-5 win over Dave Kapetanovich. Freshman Mike Galante closed the run with a 7-2 win over Sean Richmond. The Panthers picked up their only other win at 174 with fourth ranked Keith Gavin earning a 10-1 major decision over David Helfrich, but Lehigh freshman David Craig and senior Matt Cassidy secured wins by decision to pull Lehigh back to .500 heading into the holiday break. The Mountain Hawks will take the next couple of weeks off for final exams and will return to the mats on Friday, December 29 when Lehigh travels to Greensboro, N.C. to compete in the two-day Southern Scuffle, hosted by UNC-Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern continued its perfect dual season with a convincing 38-12 victory over Eastern Illinois Saturday at Patten Gymnasium. The 'Cats won eight of 10 matches with five coming by pin, technical fall or major decision. Juniors Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) and Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) remain undefeated and the win moves the 10th-ranked Wildcats to 8-0 on the season. True freshman Brandon Precin (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg), coming off an impressive victory in Friday night's dual against Northern Illinois, started things off for the Wildcats at 125 lbs. against EIU's A.J. Cicarelli. Just as Precin's introduction concluded, he scored an immediate takedown and near-fall to rack up four quick points. The freshman notched three more three-point near-falls to take a 13-0 lead into the first break. Precin scored with a two-point reversal early in the second to take a 15-0 technical fall and improve his record to 12-3. Eric Metzler (Luxemburg, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) wrestled for NU at 133 lbs. against the Panthers' Lenny Grodoski with the 'Cats leading 5-0 after one match. The freshman scored four points on two takedowns in the first period and led 4-1 heading into the second stanza. Metzler took a commanding 6-1 lead with a two-point reversal early in the second period, and after a swift takedown to go up 8-1, Metzler pinned Grodoski at 6:31 to put NU up 11-0 after two matches. Top-ranked Lang took to the mat next at 141 lbs. against Casey Carrino. Lang notched a fall at :59 after scoring two takedowns. The junior improved to 13-0 on the year and increased the Wildcat lead to 17-0. Vincent Colletti (Naperville, Ill./Montini Catholic) was next at 149 lbs. against the Panthers' Tommy Reamer. The freshman scored an early takedown in the first period, but an escape by Reamer made the score 2-1 heading into the second frame. The freshman took a 4-1 lead heading to the third period with a two-point reversal. NU extended its lead to 20-0 with the 5-1 decision by Colletti. Sophomore Brandon Lozdoski (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) took on EIU's Kile O'Toole in the 157-pound match. Lozdoski threw his opponent to the ground in the opening minute to take an early 2-0 lead. An EIU escape made the score 2-1 heading into the second frame. After cruising through the first three matches, the Wildcats headed to the third period for the second straight bout with Lozdoski leading 5-2 and holding a heavy riding time advantage. The sophomore gave up an escape in the first minute, but widened his lead to 7-3 with a swift two-point takedown. Lozdoski won the 13-5 major decision following another takedown and additional points for over three minutes of riding time. Junior Greg Hagel (Linwood, N.J./Blair Academy) battled next for Northwestern at 165 lbs. against EIU's Billy Gallo. Hagel notched a takedown, a two-point near-fall and a three-point near-fall in the first period to lead 7-0. The junior kept the pressure on in the second period, scoring a takedown and a two-point near-fall to go up 11-0. After two more near-falls, Hagel won the 17-0 technical fall. Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) took to the mat at 174 lbs. with the 'Cats leading 29-0 against the Panthers' Kenny Robertson. Hayes trailed 3-0 in the second period, but cut his deficit to 3-2 with a late takedown in the final minute. The senior scored an early escape to tie the match at 3-3 in the third and notched a takedown in the final minute to go up 5-3. Robertson was charged with an unsportsmanlike conduct point to give Hayes the 6-3 lead. The senior had to grind out the final 30 seconds, but held on for the 6-4 victory and the 'Cats led 32-0 with three matches remaining. At 184 lbs., Mark Graves (Evansville, Ind./Reitz Memorial) wrestled against Greg Perz of EIU. Perz notched the fall at 1:45, but Northwestern maintained a healthy 32-6 lead going into the 197-pound match. No. 10 Tamillow dueled Jason Sherko at 197 and took an early 8-0 lead with a takedown and two near-falls. Tamillow finally notched the pin at 2:35 to give NU a 38-6 lead. Carl Howe (Three Rivers, Mich./Three Rivers) wrestled at heavyweight against Joe Trinka. Trinka pinned the sophomore at 4:20, but Northwestern won the intra-state dual by a 38-12 score. The Wildcats will head to Reno, Nevada for the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 20 before returning to Evanston for the 44th annual Midlands Championships held at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Dec. 29-30.

Mount Pleasant, Mich. -- The second-ranked Missouri wrestling team improved to 2-0 on the season after topping No. 11 Central Michigan, 31-9, in Rose Arena. With the victory, Missouri Head Coach Brian Smith collected his 100th career win since taking the helm of the program in 1998 and now owns a 100-53-1 mark and .653 winning percentage. Opening the night at 125 pounds, redshirt freshman John Olanowski (Virginia Beach, Va.) suffered a 6-1 loss to No. 13 Luke Smith. Ranked No. 24 in the nation at 125 pounds, Olanowski is now 8-3 on the season. Missouri's first of three wins by fall came from All-American junior Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) at 133 pounds. Ranked 10th in the nation, McCormick paired with Conor Beebe and dropped the Chippewa's shoulders in 4:52 to help Missouri take the team lead, 6-3. True freshman Ashtin Primus (South Connelsville, Penn.) made his collegiate debut when he battled with Eric Kruger at 141 pounds. Wrestling a solid seven minutes, Primus fell, 9-2, allowing Central Michigan to regain the lead for the second and last time of the dual. The Tigers rolled off six straight wins including three extra point victories between 149 and 197 pounds. Junior Josh Wagner (Milton, Wis.) pinned Andy Keller in 5:45 while No. 1 ranked Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) pinned his ninth straight opponent of the season when he dropped No. 6 Brandon Sinnott in 2:56. The win is Askren's 16th of the season, 61st consecutive victory and 127th career win. "The team wrestled very aggressively tonight." Smith said. "We beat a quality team and put people on their back in almost every match. That's something we work on every day in practice so it's good to see the hard work crossing over into competition." After jumping to No. 2 in the national polls at 197 pounds, redshirt freshman Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) wrestled with his fourth top-10 ranked opponent and held off No. 8 Wynn Michalak, 10-2. The Tigers will take on No. 14 Michigan State tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m. (CT).

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- In its final match before the holiday break, the Navy wrestling team (3-2) turned in a 31-9 victory over American (1-4) in EIWA action Friday night at Halsey Field House in Annapolis. The Mids claimed wins in seven of the 10 weight classes, including an impressive performance by 18th-ranked Antonio Miranda (Eugene, Ore.) at 184 pounds. "In reality, this was not our best performance," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "For our program, we want to win the battle of the mind, the body and the heart and I don't feel we did that as a team. Yeah, we won some matches, but I'm not sure we won those three battles that I constantly talk to the guys about. It really was an average performance, but we got the win and now the guys can focus on finals and then we will turn our attention to the Southern Scuffle." Ironically, the featured match-up of the evening was what kicked off Friday's dual meet with No. 8 Adam LoPiccolo squaring off against Navy's ninth-ranked Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.). LoPiccolo took control of the match early with a takedown, followed by a three-point near fall. Prendergast, however, mustered a takedown with 21 seconds left in the opening period to narrow AU's lead to 5-2. LoPiccolo earned a three-point near fall in the second period to take control of the match and eventually the 11-4 win. The AU win gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead in the match, but it would be their last lead of the bout. Navy senior Alex Usztics (Dauphin, Pa.) jumped out to a 7-2 lead over AU freshman Jasen Borshoff through the opening period and extended his lead to 13-2 after the second. Usztics claimed the match at 125 pounds with a 16-6 major decision over Borshoff to give the Mids the go-ahead point, 4-3. After missing a month with a leg injury, 13th-ranked Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) was back on the mat for the Mids at 133 pounds, however his AU opponent failed to make weight and Baker earned the win via forfeit. Baker did face-off against American's Jordan Lipp in an exhibition match with Baker earning an 8-2 decision. AU inched its way back into the match with a 7-2 win at 141 pounds by Kyle Borshoff. Borshoff and Navy's Brad Canterbury (Blue Bell, Pa.) were tied at two apiece entering the third period, but Borshoff took control of the match with an escape in the middle of the period and secured the win with a takedown and near fall with two ticks remaining on the clock. Navy tacked on six more points to its lead as American forfeited the 149-pound weight class, giving Navy senior John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.) the win and the Mids a 16-6 lead. Team captain John Jarred (Kansas City, Mo.) opened up a 4-1 lead with a pair of takedowns in the opening period against 157-pounder Jimmy Pepper, extending it to 7-1 with 1:15 remaining in period 2. Jarred was good for three more takedowns by the end of the match to ring up a major decision (14-3). The Midshipmen won the final three matches of the evening, including an exciting battle at 174 between No. 9 Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) of Navy and unranked Rudy Rueda. Stolpinski scored a takedown with 10 seconds left in the opening period and the score held at 2-0 until the final three minutes. Choosing the down position to start the final period, Rueda was able to escape and narrow the lead to just one with riding time in his favor. Stolpinski, however, was able to get around Rueda at the edge of the mat to earn the two points he needed with only four seconds left in the bout. Stolpinski earned a hard-fought 4-2 win to stay undefeated in dual meet action. Miranda took the lead 30 seconds into his match against 185-pounder Anthony Fuschino and never looked back. All told, Miranda scored nine takedowns and a near fall en route to sheer domination over Fuschino in a 23-8 decision. Miranda earned the technical fall with riding time. In the final bout of the night, Navy's Tyler Moyer (Bremerton, Wash.) was expecting to face-off against fourth-ranked Josh Glenn who was an All-American last year at 184 pounds. Glenn, who has yet to wrestle this season due to injury, remained sidelined and was replaced by senior Dwayne Hash. After the first period, the match was tied at three apiece. Moyer scored the go-ahead takedown with 1:47 remaining in the second, but Hash kept challenging. It wasn't until Moyer's takedown late in the final period that the sophomore was able to shake Hash and earn the 12-7 win.

The 23rd ranked Wisconsin wrestling team won seven of ten matches in route to a 24-10 win over No. 24 Northern Iowa Friday at the UW Field House. The Badgers remain a perfect 9-0-0 in dual competition, the teams' best start since 1983. The action started out at 125 lbs., where Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) battled No. 17 Kyle Anson of UNI. With the scored tied at 4-4 in the second period, Cudd earned an escape followed by a take down and a three-point near fall to jump out to a commanding 9-6 lead. The Badgers earned another escape in the third period to upset Anson and win 10-6. Sophomore Zach Tanelli (Millburn, N.J.) added to the Badger lead with a 7-4 win over the Panther's Brett Robbins at 133 lbs. Tanelli is now 9-2 overall and unbeaten in dual action. The panthers got on the board at 141 lbs., as No. 9 C.J. Ettelson defeated No. 18 Kyle Ruschell. Both grapplers battled tough in the first period, with Ruschell trailing 3-2 at the end of one. However, Ettelson earned a takedown in the second and an escape in the third, while Ruschell could only manage an escape, giving Ettelson the 6-3 win. The Badgers answered with wins in the next two bouts. Senior Tyler Turner (Spring Valley, Wis.) kept his undefeated dual record with a 6-1 win over Charlie Ettelson at 149 lbs. At 157 lbs., Craig Henning (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) improved to 12-2 with a 4:58 tech fall win over the Panthers Moza Fay. The Panthers fought back, winning the next two matches. No. 6 Nick Baima defeated Jake Donar (Cuba City, Wis.) at 165 lbs. Baima only led 2-0 after the first period, but in the second he earned a reversal and five near fall points to lead 9-0. The Panther extended his lead in the third to win 14-3 after riding time. The match at 174 lbs. was much of the same as Matt Maciag (Sussex, N.J.) battled Alex Dolly close in the first period, but eventually fell 5-2. With the two wins the Panthers tightened the team score to 14-10 with only three matches remaining. Freshman Trevor Brandvold earned an impressive win at 184 lbs. The River Falls, Wis., native registered a 13-3 major decision against Danny Dunning, who came with a 10-6 overall record. Dunning opened the match with a takedown and an escape, but Brandvold responded with an escape and two takedowns of his own, to lead 5-3. Dunning would not score again while Brandvold continued to roll with a reversal and five near fall points to win 13-3 after riding time. The final two wins for the Badgers came thanks to riding time as No. 10 Dallas Herbst held off No. 20 Andrew Anderson 4-3 at 197 lbs., while heavyweight Kyle Massey (Champlin, Minn.) defeated Tyler Rhodes 3-2. Wisconsin returns to action this Sunday at 2 p.m. as it travels to DeKalb, Ill., to face Northern Illinois. Check uwbadgers.com for the latest updates and scores.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -– Central Michigan University claimed wins in four of the first five bouts, then received victories from a pair of veterans late in the match to secure a 21-12 win over ninth-ranked Michigan (1-1 overall) on Friday night. With the scored tied at 12-12, CMU's Wynn Michalak posted a 4-1 decision over Nick Roy in the 197-pound match. Bubba Gritter followed with a pin of Omar Maktabi at heavyweight to secure the win for the No. 11 Chippewas (4-1 overall). Luke Smith (125), Conor Beebe (133), Eric Kruger (141) and Eric Neil (157) all won by decision to stake the Chippewas to a 12-3 lead midway through the match. Three straight UM victories, however, including a 4-2 double-overtime decision by No. 7 Steve Luke over No. 6 Brandon Sinnott at 174 pounds, evened the score entering the final two bouts. Smith rallied from an early 4-0 deficit for his 8-5 decision at 125. He evened the score with a two-point near fall in the second period, then scored a reversal and collected the riding time point in the third period. Beebe tallied two takedowns and two escapes in his victory at 133, while Kruger scored a trio of takedowns in his win at 141. A takedown late in the third period and riding time were the difference for Michalak in his victory over Roy at 197. Gritter, meanwhile, was tied 3-3 with Maktabi before pinning the Wolverine with just 22 seconds remaining in the third period. CMU makes its Rose Arena debut Saturday night, hosting No. 2 Missouri at 7:30 p.m.

State College, Pa. –– No. 8 Penn State won six bouts and got five bonus points as it downed visiting Lehigh 23-12 in a key Eastern wrestling dual. Head coach Troy Sunderland and the Nittany Lions got a thrilling upset win at 149 from a talented red-shirt freshman as three thousand fans filled Rec Hall for the rousing dual match. Action began at 125 where junior Nittany Lion Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.), ranked No. 3 nationally, took on Lehigh's Patrick Berger. McKnight got the first takedown of the bout just :20 in and led 2-1 after a quick Berger escape. The Nittany Lion junior added another takedown to lead 4-2 halfway through the period and went on to post a commanding 8-3 lead after one period with over a minute of riding time. McKnight chose down to begin the second and escaped to a 9-3 lead. McKnight used a stellar throw to record another takedown and nearly pin Berger in the process, getting three back points to lead 14-3. He rode Berger out for the remainder of the period to hold that lead heading into the third. Berger chose down to start the third and was allowed up by McKnight. In total command throughout, McKnight began a series of takedowns and cuts. With just :30 left, McKnight took Berger down and rode him out for the remainder of the period, getting the 21-6 technical fall at 7:00 with the riding time point. The dominating win gave Penn State an early 5-0 lead. At 133, Penn State's Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), ranked No. 7 nationally, took on Mountain Hawk Seth Ciasulli. Ciasulli got the first takedown of the match just over a minute in and led 2-1 after a Strayer escape. Strayer was the aggressor for the period, but was held off by Ciasulli's solid defense. The Mountain Hawk freshman led 2-1 after one period. Strayer chose down to begin the middle period, escaped to tie the match and immediately took Ciasulli down to lead 4-2 with 1:30 left in the period. After riding him for a while Strayer cut Ciasulli loose and continued to attack the Lehigh grappler. Ciasulli was hit with a stall warning at the :30 mark and Strayer held a slim 4-3 lead after two periods. Ciasulli chose down to begin the third but could not manage any movement on the bottom and was hit with a second stall call, giving Strayer a 5-3 lead. Strayer maintained his top position for the rest of the match and grabbed a 6-3 win. The decision gave Penn State an 8-0 lead. Bryan Heller (Fair Haven, N.J.), Penn State's senior 141-pounder, met another Ciasulli, senior Mountain Hawk Matt. Heller took the first shot of the bout and nearly scored, but the senior Ciasulli countered to get the first takedown and lead 2-0 early. Ciasulli rode Heller for 1:09 before the Nittany Lion escaped to cut the lead to 2-1 with 1:30 to wrestle in the first period. Ciasulli notched another takedown with :40 left and rode Heller out to lead 4-1 with 1:45 in riding time after one. Ciasulli chose down to begin the second period and quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. Heller once again nearly scored a takedown only to be countered by Ciasulli, who turned the Heller offensive move into two points of his own. Ciasulli was strong on top for the rest of the period and carried that 7-1 lead into the third period, amassing 2:34 in riding time. Heller chose down to begin the third period and escaped to a 7-2 deficit. Heller got his takedown at the 1:10 mark, cutting the lead to 8-4 after a Ciasulli escape. The Nittany Lion senior continued to push the tempo, but could not overcome the deficit and dropped an 11-4 decision. The LU win cut the Penn State lead to 8-3. Red-shirt freshman Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) met Lehigh's Trevor Chinn at 149. Chinn entered the match ranked No. 8 nationally. The duo battled evenly throughout much of the first three minutes, trading shots and counters. Ciasulli got the in on a solid single led with :45 seconds left, only to be fought off by Vallimont's outstanding defense. The bout went to the second period scoreless and Chinn chose down to begin the middle stanza. The Lehigh sophomore escaped to a 1-0 lead and sparring ensued in earnest once again. Mirroring the first period, Chinn once again took a shot only to be countered by Vallimont. This time, rather than simply play defense, Vallimont turned his counter into the bout's first takedown on the edge of the mat. The move gave the red-shirt freshman a 2-1 lead with :55 left in the second period. Vallimont held Chinn down for the final :55 and led 2-1 after two with 0:58 in riding time to his advantage. The Nittany Lion chose down to begin the third and escaped to a 3-1 lead. Chinn was called for his first stalling with :30 left and Vallimont continued to pressure him for the remainder of the period, forcing the Lehigh sophomore to the edge of the mat continuously and going on to post a thrilling 3-1 win over the ranked Mountain Hawk. The decision gave Penn State an 11-3 lead. At 157, Nittany Lion senior Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.) took on Lehigh's David Nakasone. Galloway and Nakasone sparred evenly throughout most of the first period, with Galloway getting the best chance for points with a near-takedown at the :40 mark. Nakasone fought off the offensive effort, however, to push the match into the second period with a 0-0 score. Galloway chose down to begin the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. With Galloway forcing the tempo, the Lion senior got the match's first takedown at the :30 mark to lead 3-0. Nakasone, however, quickly posted a nifty reversal to cut the Galloway lead to 3-2 before the period ended. Nakasone, down 3-2, chose down to begin the third. The Lehigh senior quickly escaped to tie the bout at 3-3. Each wrestler was hit with a second stall, giving each wrestler a point. But the penalties decided nothing as the score moved to 4-4 and the dual entered a sudden victory period all tied up. Galloway quickly moved in on Nakasone and nearly got the winning takedown as time expired but Nakasone fought the move off. Galloway chose down in the first of two :30 tie-breaker periods and escaped with :12 left to lead 5-4. The escape meant Galloway needed to hold Nakasone down for the next :30 tiebreaker period to secure the win. The Nittany Lion senior nearly pulled off the win, but Nakasone notched a stunning reversal as time expired to grab a 6-5 win. The decision cut Penn State's lead to 11-6. Penn State sent sophomore Mark Friend (Libertyville, Ill.) to the mat against Lehigh freshman Mike Galante at 165. Galante got the first takedown to lead 2-1 early after a Friend escape. Galante added another takedown and upped his lead to 4-2 with a 1:31 riding time edge. Galante, leading 4-2 after one, chose down to begin the second and reversed Friend to lead 6-2. Friend escaped, cutting the lead to 6-3 after two periods. Friend chose down to begin the third period and escaped to cut the lead to 6-4. Galante, however, was not to be denied as he added another takedown to take a commanding 8-4 lead with a guaranteed riding time point. Galante added another takedown to post a convincing 11-5 win, cutting Penn State's lead to 11-9. Returning All-American James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 nationally for Penn State, met Lehigh's David Helfrich at 174. The steady Yonushonis was the aggressor throughout the first period but could not break through Helfrich's defense for any scoring through three minutes. Yonushonis chose down to begin the second period and escaped in four seconds to lead 1-0. Continuing to pressure Helfrich and finally broke through on a solid single leg that he nearly turned into a takedown, but Helfrich countered the move to get a takedown of his own to lead 2-1 after two. Helfrich chose down to begin the third and was allowed to escape to a 3-1 lead. Yonushonis quickly took Helfrich down to tie the match and then cut him loose. Trailing 4-3 with 1:30 left, the Nittany Lion All-American got another takedown to lead 5-4. But a locked hands call tied the bout at 5-5. Yonushonis let Helfrich escape again to trail 6-5 but posted his third takedown in less than ninety-seconds to take a 7-6 lead. He proceeded to ride Helfrich for the bout's final :30 to post the exciting 7-6 win. The much-needed victory kept Yonushonis undefeated on the year and upped Penn State's lead to 14-9. At 184, Nittany Lion sophomore Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) met Lehigh's David Craig. Craig got the first takedown of the dual :40 in and led 2-1 after a Bomberger escape. Bomberger was firm throughout the remainder of the period, trading shots with Craig and trailing 2-1 after one. Bomberger chose down to begin the second and, after nearly turning Craig with a reversal, escaped to tie the bout 2-2 with 1:36 to wrestle. Craig would muscle his way to another takedown with :45 left in the second to push his lead to 4-2. Craig rode Bomberger out for the rest of the period to carry that 4-2 lead (with 1:16 in riding time) into the third. Craig chose down to begin the third and escaped to a 5-2 lead. The Lehigh freshman added another takedown and nearly turned it into backpoints, but Bomberger did a nice job of rolling through the move to keep the score 7-2. Craig rode the Lion sophomore out and, with riding time, posted an 8-2 win. The decision made the team score Penn State 14, Lehigh 12. Nittany Lion junior Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 1 in the country at 197, met Lehigh's Matt Cassidy, who entered the dual ranked No. 16. Cassidy got hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty, giving Davis an early 1-0 lead before any takedowns occurred. Davis then added a takedown to lead 3-1 after a Cassidy escape. A second Davis escape with :35 left in the first upped his lead to 5-1. With time running out in the period and Cassidy trying to work his way off the mat, Davis pulled the Lehigh senior back on and Cassidy was hit with a second stall call, giving Davis another point and a 6-1 lead after one period. Cassidy chose neutral to begin the second. Davis added another takedown at the 1:32 mark and led 8-2 after a quick Cassidy escape. Looking for possible bonus points against the 16th-ranked wrestler at his weight class, Davis continued his offensive show. Another takedown and a strong ride led to a 10-2 lead before Cassidy was forced to default. The Davis win kept the Lion junior undefeated and clinched the dual meet as Penn State led 20-12. Penn State's senior heavyweight Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.) met Lehigh's Paul Weibel in the evening's final bout. Anspach was ranked No. 12 while Weibel was No. 14. Anspach nearly got the bout's first takedown, but Weibel rolled out to a neutral position. Anspach took numerous shots in the first, only to have Weibel fight each one off with solid defense. Still, as the aggressor, Anspach forced Weibel into his first stall warning and continued to add the pressure throughout the period. Tied 0-0 after one, Anspach chose down to begin the second period. He quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead and continued his offensive pressure. A single leg shot was turned into the first takedown for Anspach, giving the Lion a 3-0 lead at the 1:25 mark. Weibel escaped to a 3-1 deficit, but Anspach would not let up, continuing to force the tempo and pace. Weibel got in on a solid shot around Anspach's waste, but the Penn State senior used his own defense to fight off the attempt, securing a 3-1 lead after two periods. Weibel chose down to begin the final period. Anspach nearly turned Weibel to his back while building up enough riding time to get a 1:16 advantage. Weibel escaped with 1:00 to wrestle to cut the lead to 3-2. A Weibel shot attempt was countered by Anspach, who turned it into this town takedown and a 5-2 lead with :46 left to wrestle. Anspach would continue his dominance and post a 6-3 win, giving Penn State a convincing 23-12 team win. Penn State will return to action on Sunday when it treks to No. 5 Hofstra for a 1 p.m. dual. Its next home action is set for next week when it hosts Lock Haven on Friday, Dec. 15. Action in Rec Hall begins at 7 p.m. All Penn State duals will be heard live on WBLF AM and WKVA AM as well as streamed for free at GoPSUsports.com. Season and single-match tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Penn State ticket office at 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 for more information. Fans can also get tickets at GoPSUsports.com. This year's season ticket prices are $24 for adults and $18 for students. Single dual prices are $5 per event for adults and $3 per event for youth. All of Penn State's matches can be heard locally on WBLF 970 AM and at GoPSUsports.com.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern won eight matches en route to a 28-10 victory Friday over Northern Illinois in front of a standing room only crowd at Patten Gymnasium. Freshman Brandon Precin (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) put the crowd on its feet with a third period comeback at 125 lbs. and senior Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) provided dramatics with an overtime win at 174 lbs. The win moves the 10th-ranked 'Cats to 7-0 on the year. Junior Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick), ranked 10th at 197 lbs., defeated NIU's Nick McClone 10-3 to start the night. He notched a takedown for two points in the first round and took three more points in the final minute for a 4-1 lead after one frame. Tamillow scored a two-point reversal in the second period to lead 6-1 heading into the third. The junior scored three points in the third and with an extra point for riding time took the 10-3 decision. Third-ranked heavyweight Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) topped the Huskies' Jeff Burdoff by a 3-2 decision in the second match of the dual. With the bout tied at 1-1 in the third period, the Fox scored a two-point takedown by plunging his opponent into the ground and out of bounds. Fox took a 3-2 decision and NU took a 6-0 lead heading into the thrilling match of the night at 125 lbs. Trailing 5-1 to NIU's Pat Castillo in the second period, Precin scored a takedown to make the score 5-3 heading into the third stanza. The freshman closed to 5-4 with an escape early in the third and netted a dramatic takedown to rousing applause in the final minute to surge ahead for a 6-5 decision. The standing room only crowd rose to its feet for the final 10 seconds to salute the freshman's win over a tough opponent in Castillo. Precin pushed NU's lead to 9-0. Sophomore James Kohlberg (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Rolling Meadows) took Northwestern's fourth-straight match of the evening with an 8-2 decision over the Huskies' Chad Vendiver. Kohlberg trailed 2-1 heading into the third period, but the sophomore absolutely dominated the final frame with a barrage of near falls. Kohlberg extended the Wildcat lead to 12-0. Top-ranked Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) took to the mat next at 141 lbs. and controlled his match from start to finish over NIU's Dan Reuttiger, taking a 14-0 major decision. Lang notched a late near fall in the first period to take a 5-0 lead heading into the second. The top-ranked junior scored several points in the second period, including a three-point near fall to take a commanding 11-0 lead after two stanzas. Lang took three more points in the third for a 14-0 major decision, widening Northwestern's lead to 16-0. The Huskies scored their first points of the dual when Mike Grimes scored a major decision over freshman Vincent Colletti (Naperville, Ill./Montini Catholic). The Wildcats led 16-4 heading into the 157-pound match. At 157 lbs., freshman Dominic Marella (Roselle, Ill./Conant) defeated NIU's Kalen Knull 8-5. Marella, after scoring six early points in the first period, scored a near fall as time expired to take an 8-2 lead heading into the second frame. Marella held on for the 8-5 decision, pushing Northwestern's lead to 19-4. After a forfeit by Northern Illinois at 165 lbs. increased the 'Cats' lead to 25-4, Hayes took to the mat for the Wildcats at 174 lbs. He tied the score a 4-4 with a two-point takedown in the second period after trailing 4-2. The senior scored an escape in the third period to tie the score at 6-6 and sent the match into overtime. Hayes scored a takedown in the extra period to take the 8-6 decision. Sophomore Mark Graves (Evansville, Ind./Reitz Memorial) wrestled in the final match at 184 lbs. with the 'Cats leading 28-4. NIU's Duke Burk pinned Graves to make the final score 28-10. "The guys really put out a great effort and had some great matches," head coach Tim Cysewski said. "Finals week at Northwestern is a tough time and I think the guys let out some of that frustration tonight." The Wildcats face a quick turnaround and will host another in-state foe in Eastern Illinois Saturday at 2 p.m. The dual will be held at Patten Gym. For directions to Patten click the link at the top of the page.

J Robinson (Minnesota Head Coach) On the team's performance "I wouldn't say they wrestled great, I think they wrestled good. We had a big match on Wednesday … and it's always hard to come back and get emotionally ready. To come back and put forth the effort they did, we were really happy with the kids." On Roger Kish's performance "I think Kish wrestled a good match. I think if he wrestles that way, nobody can beat him. He was moving his hands. He was moving his feet. When Kish is mobile it's hard to beat him." On what makes Manuel Rivera tough "I just think Rivera is getting better and better. He has such a large gas tank that allows him to continue to wrestle all the time. People "can stay with him for a while, but he's just going to keep wearing them down. I think the more confidence he gets, the better he's going to get. He can work on his riding a little. He is a good rider, though. Once he learns to keep people down, he's going to be hard to beat." On what he likes about Jayson Ness "He's very fluid. The thing I like about Jayson is that he's always trying to score. That's Minnesota wrestling." On when CP Schlatter will be back "He'll be back right after Christmas or by the National Duals for sure. There's no sense in taking the chance in bringing him back early. There's nothing to be gained." On whether or not the original plan was to redshirt Mike Thorn "Yeah, we were going to redshirt Thorn. But this has actually worked out, because next year he would have wrestled a little, this year he's going to get a chance to wrestle a lot. He's getting a lot of personal attention. And then he's going to know what he'll need to do. And he'll have a year to prepare for it. So it's going to work out well for Thorn." Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota, 149 Pounds) On his performance "Obviously, I would have like to get bonus points for the team. That's what I came here hoping to do. I've known Cyler for a while. I know he's a tough opponent. It was the perfect match. There were some things I could have done better." On giving up a takedown "We just got in a scramble. He got a takedown, not much I can say. It happens. I'm not out there thinking, 'I can't give up a takedown.' I'm just out there wrestling. The main thing is, you can't get hung up about. You just have to keep wrestling." On the Southern Scuffle "I'm really excited. Overall, my weight is tough. You have Gillespie, Leen, Palmer, just to name a few. I'm excited. It will be a fun tournament just to see where I'm at just in my weight class I'm excited to see how our teams performs out there. Its gong to be fun." On the team's performance "We did well. We came in here and got the win. A lot of people are harping on the fact that CP and Mack out, but if they're not wrestling, they're not wrestling. We have Thorn and Saff, they're fighting. Gabe is wrestling well. After the loss we had to Hofstra, we're pulling together as a team … and I'm excited about that." Roger Kish (Minnesota, 184 Pounds) On Jake Varner "He was real strong, real physical. You could tell that he might not have had the match he wanted tonight. But he's a strong, talented wrestler. He has a lot of potential." On what he learned from the loss to Jake Herbert "It was kind of pivotal point. I'm glad it happened as early as it did in the year. It kind of helped me figure out some things I needed to fix. It helps with motivation and set the pace for the next three months." On Jake Herbert's style "He kind of has a funny style. Its hard for anybody who hasn't wrestled that kind of style. But I think the more experience you get wrestling a guy like that, the better you are." On a potential match-up with Mike Pucillo at the Southern Scuffle "I haven't thought about it yet. I probably won't think too much about it until the match is there." On Yura Malamura "He's still kind of young. He has made a lot progress since he got here. He works super hard. Great attitude. He always wants to learn. And I think that's going to help him as the season progresses." Cael Sanderson (Iowa State Head Coach) On the team's performance "We're coming. We're real close. We're making a few mistakes. We just have to win those close matches. If we can win those close matches, we'll win the dual. Minnesota has a great team. They're well coached. It was a good test for us. We just have to look at in a way that we're going to build from here and continue to learn." On the performance of Cyler Sanderson and Jake Varner "They had some tough guys. Cyler had the returning national champion. He felt him. That what we wanted. We want to get that feeling … and now we can go from there. Varner same thing, we learned some things. We're happy. We always want to win. And we want to fight to win. But its still a positive experience us. We'll come back firing, come back a better team." On the importance of Kurt Backes coming out and winning big "It was real important for Backes. He's a senior . He needs to lead this team. It was really important." On the difference between the Iowa and Minnesota duals "It's hard to compare the two duals. We learned different things there than we did today. We're learning. With six freshmen, they're going to make some mistakes. Now its our job to get back to the drawing board and correct them and move forward." On what he was hoping to accomplish in the dual "I went in expecting to win. And I hope our team went in expected to win. We know they're a great and that it was a great challenge. We needed to get an upset. We needed to get some upsets along the way. And get some bonus points. They wrestled a good match, a smart mach … and they beat us. We have to learn and move on." On why Grant Turner wrestled instead of David Bertolino "It was real simple. Bertolino was late for a team meeting. That was the only reason. They're both real talented kids. We're looking for one of them to step up. You saw Turner, he almost beat a ranked kid. They're both close. We just need them to take it one step higher." On who will start in the future between Grant Turner and David Bertolino "That's not even a big deal for us right now. We need one of them to step up. I'm not worried about who the starter is or who is not. It comes down to who we think is going to fight the hardest for us." On Jake Varner's performance "Kish is obviously real good, real talented. Varner just kept going for the big moves. That's a freshman mistake. It was a good learning mistake for him. You cant get out of position on Kish, or he's going to take advantage of it … like he did tonight. Varner is going to be in there. Losses don't sit real well with him. And they don't with anyone on the team thank goodness."

AMES, Iowa –- The fifth-ranked Cyclones kept it close, but were unable to knock off top-ranked Minnesota Friday night in Hilton Coliseum, falling 19-13. Four Iowa State wrestlers claimed victory, including All-American Kurt Backes at 197 pounds with a major decision. Also picking up wins for ISU were Nick Gallick at 133-pounds and Trent and Travis Paulson at 157- and 165-pounds, respectively. The Cyclones slipped to 2-2 in dual meet action, while the Gophers improved to 5-1. "This team is learning," head coach Cael Sanderson said. "We need to work on finishing our moves and not focus on the scoreboard. I believe in this team and each match will help us in the long run. We're counting on Backes to lead us as a senior should. He went out and got some bonus points. I thought this was a great experience for Varner. We kept going for big moves in that match which is a freshman mistake. Backes tallied the only team bonus points on the night with a 14-3 major decision over Yura Malamura. After starting out slow, Backes rallied to score a reversal, a takedown and a three-point nearfall in the second period to take 10-3 lead. Malamura was tagged for stalling twice in the third period, giving Backes three more points. Backes, a Neshanic Station, N.J. native, is now 10-1 in his senior campaign. Putting the first points on the board for the Cyclones was redshirt freshman Nick Gallick at 133-pounds with a 5-2 victory over Minnesota's Mike Thorn. Within the first 10 seconds, Gallick scored a takedown to go up 2-0. Thorn evened the score at two with a reversal mid-way through the first period. Gallick, a Tucson, Ariz. native, was able to tack on two escapes, one in the second period and another in third giving him a 4-2 advantage. Adding 2:05 worth of riding time, Gallick won the match by a score of 5-2 and improves to 10-3 on the season. At 157-pounds, two-time All-American Trent Paulson downed Tyler Safratowich, 5-3. After one period of action, Paulson held a 4-1 advantage on the Minnesota sophomore. An escape in the third period closed out the match and ultimately the victory. Paulson, who is the top-ranked wrestler at 157-pounds, pushes his record to 9-1. "Coach Sanderson has been stressing to keep working to score all the time," Paulson said. "I think I wrestled better tonight than I did at Iowa. The freshman on this team are going to keep getting better and we will be tougher as the season goes on." Following up with another victory was Travis Paulson at 165 pounds as he blanked Jeremy Larson, 7-0. The third-ranked, two-time All-American Paulson took Larson down late in the first period. He carried that momentum into the second period as he scored a three-point nearfall, going up 5-0. Paulson capped off the match with an escape in the third and 1:57 worth of riding time, giving him the 7-0 decision. Iowa State's wrestling team will return to action in Hilton Coliseum Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. as it will play host intrastate rival, Northern Iowa.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Looking to build on a 6-0 dual record to start the 2006-07 season, the Wildcats will welcome Northern Illinois and Eastern Illinois to Patten Gymnasium Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. Recent rankings place four Wildcats in the top-10 nationally at their weights. Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) at 184 lbs. and Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio) at 141 lbs. remain No. 1 while Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) improves to No. 3 at heavyweight and Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Fenwick) ranks 10th at 197 lbs. Friday's dual at Patten Gym against Northern Illinois begins at 7 p.m. and Saturday's match at Patten Gym against Eastern Illinois starts at 2 p.m. For directions to Patten Gym, located on Sheridan Road, click the link at the top of the page. The Wildcats cruised through their last set of dual matches at the ACC/Big Ten Clash on Nov. 18 with the highlight being Fox's overtime win over then third-ranked Spencer Nadolsky of North Carolina. Northwestern posted a 3-0 record and the Big Ten won all nine matches. The win over North Carolina State to finish the event made head coach Tim Cysewski the winningest coach in program history with 125 dual match victories. The 'Cats started the dual season by defeating Chicago, Navy and Indianapolis at the Northwestern Duals. Herbert and Lang both won matches at the NWCA All-Star Classic event on Nov. 20 in Dallas. Lang topped Oklahoma State's fifth-ranked Nathan Morgan 4-3 while Herbert dominated Minnesota's Roger Kish by a 10-2 major decision. Scouting the Huskies Northern Illinois wrestled at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas last weekend with 125-pound Pat Castillo leading the way. Castillo finished sixth and NIU placed 25th overall and 2nd among MAC schools. Probable Lineups 125: Brandon Precin (NU) (10-3) vs. Pat Castillo (10-7) 133: James Kohlberg (5-2) or Eric Metzler (2-4) (NU) vs. Chad Vendiver (8-5) 141: Ryan Lang (NU) (11-0) vs. Justin Metcaffe (6-5)/Will McDerrmott (6-6) 149: Marty Gould (NU) (2-5) or Vincent Colletti (4-4) vs. Mike Grimes (10-5) 157: Dominic Marella (NU) (5-3) or Brandon Lozdoski (2-4) vs. Kalen Knull (8-5) 165: Greg Hagel (NU) (0-1) vs. Johnny Galloway (8-1) 174: Nick Hayes (NU) (4-1) vs. Danny Burk (7-4) 184: Jake Herbert (NU) (11-0) vs. Duke Burk (9-3) 197: Mike Tamillow (NU) (9-0) vs. Nick McClone (3-2)/Dave Herrera (3-3) HWT: Dustin Fox (NU) (7-0) vs. Jeff Burdoff (5-6) Scouting the Panthers Two Panthers posted top-three finishes at Sunday's Northern Iowa Open. Kenny Robertson placed second at 174 lbs. while Greg Perz was third at 184 lbs. This will be EIU's first dual meet of the season. The Panthers have competed at the Central Missouri Open, the Missouri Open and the Northern Iowa Open. Probable Lineups 125: Precin (NU) vs. A.J. Ciccarelli (5-6) 133: Kohlberg/Metzler (NU) vs. Lenny Grodoski (5-4) 141: Lang (NU) vs. Casey Carrino (6-7) 149: Gould/Colletti (NU) vs. Tommy Reamer (8-6) 157: Marella/Lozdoski (NU) vs. Kile O'Toole (7-6) 165: Hagel (NU) vs. Billy Gallo (4-6) 174: Hayes (NU) vs. Kenny Robertson (4-1) 184: Herbert (NU) vs. Greg Perz (11-2) 197: Tamillow (NU) vs. Jason Sherko (0-6) HWT: Fox (NU) vs. Joe Trinka (8-6)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -– The Rutgers wrestling team (0-1) will host its home opener against the University or Maryland (on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 5:00 p.m. at the College Avenue Gymnasium. "We're looking forward to wrestling at home after four-straight road dates," said head coach John Sacchi. "Our young team is still learning and improving and I believe that wrestling in front of a home crowd will inspire them." Last weekend, the Scarlet Knights fell in their season opener to Navy on Dec. 1, before competing in the Penn State Open on Dec. 3. In Sunday's open tournament, Chris Norrell (Phillipsburg, N.J.) led the team with a 3-3 record at the 157-pound weight class. Reggie Parker (Panama City, Fla.) posted a 1-2 record at 141 pounds. Jack Barrett (Metuchen, N.J) and Mike Whalen (Lake Hiawatha, N.J.) also finished the tournaments with records of 1-2 at 149 and 174 pounds, respectively. On the season, the Scarlet Knights are led by Barrett who has a 9-7 record on the season, while Dan Hilt (Manalapan, N.J.) is 6-6 on the season at 133 pounds. The Scarlet Knights lead the all-time series with Maryland, 6-2-1 and have a 5-2 record under Sacchi. Last season, Rutgers posted a 23-13 win over the Terrapins, including a pin from Mike D'Amico (Kenilworth, N.J.) and a decision win from Whalen. Maryland is coming off 30-9 win over the Virginia Military Institute on Dec. 1. The Terrapins are led by 141-pounder Charlie Pinto who is ranked 15th nationally and won the Body Bar Systems Invitational, while at 165 pounds, Jason Kiessling is ranked 18th and has a 10-3 record on the year. At 197 pounds, Hudson Taylor, with a record of 9-3, is ranked 15th in the country. Following the match-up with Maryland, the Scarlet Knights will host Princeton on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 7:00 p.m. at the College Avenue Gym.

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

IOWA CITY, IA -- The University of Iowa wrestling team scored its 800th dual victory Thursday night with wins over Coe (50-0) and North Carolina State (38-9) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa's overall dual meet record is now 800-209-30 (.785) in 95 seasons of competition. Iowa's win over Coe was the first time in over three years that the Hawkeyes had shut out an opponent and scored 50 points in a dual meet. The Hawkeyes improve to 5-0 on the season with the wins. Eight Iowa wrestlers went 2-0 on the night, and Iowa recorded six pins. Individual highlights included junior Mark Perry (165) scoring two first period pins, sophomore Charlie Falck (125) recording two technical falls and senior Mario Galanakis winning two major decisions. Iowa's next competition will be at the 44th annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, IL, December 29-30. All matches will be held at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the Northwestern University campus.

This event preview was published with permission of OhioWrestlingSite.com, the premier source for Ohio wrestling information. The following is a synopsis of what to expect at the Walsh Ironman this weekend. Really, the only problem with this amazing tournament that I have is there are too many great matches to watch at the same time! For Ohio wrestling fans, this is the highlight of the year until the state tournament. Give credit where credit is due -- Tournament Director Bob Preusse has put together the finest tournament in the nation. The following are Ohio Wrestling Site's projections. Expect nationally ranked wrestlers to begin dropping like flies on Friday night. By way of explanation, wrestlers that I have designated as "darkhorse picks" are not necessarily those that are unknown, but rather the wrestlers in each weight that should significantly outperform their seeds. 103 LBS SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. David Taylor 2. Logan Stieber (Monroeville) 3. Jamie Clark (Lakewood St. Edward) 4. Sam White (Massillon Perry) 5. Gabe Gomez 6. Cody Libengood (Troy Christian) 7. Tony Buxton 8. James Ingraham (University School) 10. Mike Scavuzzo (Revere) 13. Jerome Robinson (St. Ignatius) Make no mistake- In spite of all the great match-ups of this tournament; from an Ohio perspective, Logan Stieber versus David Taylor is THE match of the tournament. This is a battle of two wrestler who are nearly a lock to become 4x state champions and will likely go down among the all-time Ohio greats. David Taylor has not only dominated all comers in Ohio with the exception of the early-season loss to Sergent (avenged the next week) but has completely dominated Fargo for the past two years, with only a fluke touch fall (as he was nearing a tech) in the 2005 Greco Finals keeping him out of the exclusive group of four-time Cadet National Champions. Taylor won the Ironman and Beast of the East last year as a freshman, knocking off highly-rated wrestlers such as Fred Santaite, Boris Novachkov, and Ben Sergent. However, what was really impressive his freshman season is that Taylor won despite being a very small 103. Thinking about it this way: Taylor won Fargo at 91 lbs in the summer before his freshman year, and 98 lbs. in the summer after. If we figure that he grew an equal amount throughout the year that would put his ideal weight class last season at around 95 lbs. In other words, as a percentage of size, Taylor's season was the equivalent of a 140 wrestling 152. Despite being so drastically undersized, Taylor earned the #2 ranking in the nation. By the end of the season you could see a huge difference as Taylor had become a bigger (though still undersized) 103 and dominated a great field at state. A non-stop attacker with a highly-creative style, Taylor overcame the size disadvantage by never letting up for an instant- in any flurry, he always has one more move and seemingly limitless energy. Taylor is also perhaps the best wrestler in the nation from the top position regardless of grade or weight. This year, Taylor will be wrestling guys his own size- and is a year older and more experienced. In my view there isn't a wrestler in the nation who is within eight points of Taylor this season………with one huge exception. I forsee Logan Stieber- from tiny Monroeville Ohio- becoming the star that transcends Ohio wrestling over the latter part of this decade in much the way that Alan Fried and Dustin Schlatter did before him. Stieber is a machine who simply destroys top opponents in all phases of the sport- power, speed, and technique. Over the past year Stieber has made a virtual mockery of national competition. In the cadet national finals against a very tough Chris Villalonga, Stieber piled up fourteen unanswered points in less than three minutes of action. That would project to a score of 29-0 over a six minute match. But the thing is- it wasn't just that match- that's every match for Stieber, or should I say, every period of every match. Between FILA Cadet Nationals and Cadet Nationals Stieber scored a "tech" (six point advantage) or pin in every period of every match except one, when he beat the eventual third place finisher 6-0, 4-1. This was the only point allowed by Stieber between the two national tournaments- a run which saw Stieber outscore his opponents 101-1. Included in Stieber's great run was a 6-0,6-0 win over Junior National Runner-up Jon Morrison. There are never any guarantees- and I realize this is a bold prediction before he wrestles his first high school match- but it is my view that Stieber is headed toward becoming one of the all-time greats. This match is chapter one of what could become an epic rivalry. Jamie Clark is a third cadet national champion here. Clark is almost a forgotten national champion here with all the hype of the Taylor/Stieber final. Clark is an outstanding talent himself- in fact he went unscored upon in Fargo- but he is still a very light 103 just as Taylor was last year. At this point Sam White (4th place at Cadet Nationals at 105) may be the third best in the field. Another wrestler to watch is Jerome Robinson of St. Ignatius. Robinson is much better than his #13 seed. A much bigger 103 than Clark, I could see him possibly placing as high as 3rd and no lower than 5th. Robinson took nationally ranked Mark Rappo into overtime at Super 32. Robinson will meet Sammy White on Friday night in the 2nd round. OHIO WRESTLING SITE PROJECTION: LOGAN STIEBER OVER DAVID TAYLOR DARKHORSE PICK: JEROME ROBINSON 112 LBS SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. Ben Sergent (Troy Christian) 2. Steve Mitcheff (Elyria) 3. Bo Touris (Lakota West) 4. Dan Genetin (Massillon Perry) 5. Tony Ramos 6. Kyle Lang (Brecksville) 7. Kyle Matheny 8. Chris Keech 13. Zach Neibert (Graham) This is easily the most wide-open weight class of the tournament. Consider that the #13 seed (Neibert) actually defeated the #1 (Sergent) seed less than two weeks ago. The top ranked Ohio wrestler in Division I, Bo Touris, will face the equivalent of the state tournament in December on his side of the bracket. He'll be pitted against the dangerous Kyle Lang in the quarterfinals and most likely against state champ Steve Mitcheff in the semis (in theory- there are no sure things at this tournament). Mitcheff defeated Touris at state last year, avenging a prior loss at Brecksville. It's my belief that Tony Ramos of Glenbard North, IL is the best wrestler in this weight class. Ramos placed only 5th at Cadet National freestyle last year- but that is very deceptive, as he was the third best in his weight but in the far tougher pool. However, Ramos looks to have the toughest draw of the tournament- he'll have to beat a Cadet National Finalist (Villalonga) just to reach the quarterfinals! There are a number of wrestlers in this wide-open weight who could "shake up" the bracket. The first is #13 seed Zach Neibert of Graham. Ironically, Neibert actually defeated the #1 seeded Sergent in an All-Star match last weekend but earned the #13 seed. Neibert (who placed 6th at state) was a very light 103 this year but is now a full 112. The transfer to Graham has helped him gain David Taylor as a workout partner among others. Neibert's 2nd round match with state runner-up Danny Genetin of Masssillon Perry on Friday Night should be one of the highlights of Friday Nite. Look for Chris Villalonga of Blair Academy to far outperform his #12 seed; in fact he is a threat to beat anyone at this weight. Villalonga dominated his pool in reaching the finals of Cadet Nationals- where he was Stieber's final victim. Unseeded freshman Nick Sulzer of St. Edward had a nice showing in Fargo and could be a surprise place-winner. OWS PROJECTION: TONY RAMOS OVER BO TOURIS DARKHORSE PICKS: ZACH NEIBERT, CHRIS VILLALONGA, NICK SULZER 119 LBS SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. Nikko Triggas 2. Travis Coffey 3. Chris Sheetz 4. Ryan Fields (Lakota West) 5. Carson Beebe 6. Andrew Williams 7. Ian Squires 8. Joe Waltko 13. Pat Zamaria (Brecksville) Ohio State bound Triggas is a huge favorite here. Triggas was possibly the most impressive wrestler of the tournament last year, handling the brilliant Collin Palmer. Crushingly powerful and tough in all phases, there is no one here who is much of a threat to him. Ryan Fields of Lakota West could be the 2nd best guy here. Fields has a relatively clear path to the semifinals, where he will face Triggas. Fields, of course, lost badly to Palmer who lost badly to Triggas. However, look for this match to be closer than the "transitive property" might indicate. The other side of the bracket features Junior National All-American ranked Travis Coffey and former PA "AAA" state champ Chris Sheetz. I see this one as a virtual tossup. Sheetz was a Pennsylvania state champ in 2005 but was crushed by Triggas in the Ironman semis last year. Two guys to watch for in my view are Andrew Williams and Pat Zamaria Williams placed 3rd at Beast of the East and was a Virginia State Champion last year at 103. Williams could be a surprise finalist on the opposite side of Triggas. Despite being seeded only #13, look for the underrated Zamaria to crack the top eight. OWS PROJECTION: TRIGGAS OVER COFFEY DARKHORSE PICK: ANDREW WILLIAMS AND PAT ZAMARIA 125 LBS SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. Boris Novachkov 2. Daniel Kolodzik 3. Collin Palmer 4. Anthony Valles 5. Troy Dolan 6. Colin Johnston 7. Seth Horner 8. David Prado 10. Brian Stephens 12. Brian Dean 13. Zack Hancock I'll say this for the Ironman seeding process- with so many wrestlers having spectacular, yet difficult to compare credentials- there has to be a point system. I can't think of a better way to do it. However, sometimes the formula leads to strange results, as here. Novachkov and Kolodzik are at best the 5th and 6th best here in my view- yet have the top two seeds. This will make for some interesting matchups. Round by Round: 2nd Round: Seth Horner (#2 in Ohio Division I when the rankings get amended to reflect him being at 125) should face Brian Stephens (#1-Div.II) in one of the best matchups of the nite. Horner beat Stephens twice last year. However, Stephens had a great performance at Fargo over the summer and in my view will have the edge over Horner. Brian Dean (#2-Div.II) faces 2x Pennsylvania "AA" state champion Troy Dolan in this round as well. The "AA" divisiohn is much weaker than the "AAA" division in Pennsylvania and in my view the hard-working Dean could possibly pull off an upset here. By way of comparison, Ohio 3rd place finisher Jeremy Espinoza posted a convincing win over Dolan at the Tournament of Champions last spring. However, Dolan did win the Super 32 this fall and has to be viewed as the favorite. Quarterfinals: Ironically, we may have the de facto championship match in this round between Collin Palmer and Colin Johnston. Johnston was very dominant in winning the the "AAA" division of the Pennsylvania state tournament and placed 2nd in the cadet national freestyle 125 lb. class. Daniel Kolodzik faces the winner of the Horner/Stephens battle. I look for Kolodzik to have the slightest of edges- really these three are a virtual tossup. I'm calling an "upset" here- in my view 8th seed David Prado, will beat top-seeded Novachkov. This is an interesting match-up for California fans in that Novachkov was the state champion at 103 and Prado was 4th at 125. Prado could likely surprise people- bear in mind that California has a single division of competition and lightweights that are second to none. Former 2x Cadet National Champion Anthony Valles (#12 in AWN) against Troy Dolan (#8 in AWN) is a virtual toss-up. Semifinals: The winner of the "Collins" (look for it to be Palmer) and winner of Valles/Dolan will be favored in their respective semifinals. Finals: Palmer majored Valles twice last year and there is no reason to believe Valles has closed the gap. I have a difficult time seeing Dolan beating Palmer either. Look for Palmer to be one of the most dominant wrestlers of the tournament. OWS PROJECTION: COLLIN PALMER OVER ANTHONY VALLES. DARKHORSE PICKS: DAVID PRADO/COLIN JOHNSTON 130 LBS SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. Kellen Russell 2. Chase Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit) 3. Brandon Wilson 4. Ben Canning 5. Derek Gillespie 6. Neil Birt (Lakewood St. Edward) 7. DJ Weightman 8. Chase Rinderknecht 11. Jordan Thome (Troy Christian) 12. Aaron Sulzer (Holy Name) The 130 lb. weight class is hands-down the weakest "core" weight class in Ohio this year. The same holds true for the Ironman. Kellen Russell is a huge favorite here after winning Cadet and Junior National titles the past two summers. Chase Skonieczny (#1-Div.II, #20 Nationally www.revwrestling.com) is a solid #2 choice. Don't expect a barnburner here…..both Russell and Skonieczny tend to wrestle conservative matches against other elite opponents. I see it 5-3 Russell. The parity here is remarkable- in fact the next ten guys are really about even. Frankly, I could see either #12 seed Aaron Sulzer or #13 seed Andrew Saunders of Illinois placing top four. PROJECTED CHAMPION: KELLEN RUSSELL OVER CHASE SKONIECZNY DARKHORSE PICKS: AARON SULZER/ANDREW SAUNDERS 135 LBS SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. Max Shanaman 2. Ben Jordan (Graham) 3. Chris Diaz 4. Casey Thome (Troy Christian) 5. Travis Townsend 6. Ryan Kemmerer 7. Sidney Humphreys 8. Matt Nelson (#10 Rev) 9. Andrew Gasber (Lakewood St. Edward) 13. Ryan Sigurdson (Oak Harbor) Here we have (on paper) a two-man battle between Shanaman and Jordan. Though it is frankly based on little more than a hunch- I'm calling the upset here and going with Jordan. Jordan has excellent defense and has the same great single his father (2x NCAA Champion) Jim Jordan had. Shanaman is not unbeatable, we saw Pat McLemore beat him at Ironman last year and Germaine Lindsey nearly did as well. Matt Nelson is easily the third best here- and could possibly pull an upset. Though he has not yet put it together at the state tournament, he has compiled an outstanding career otherwise. Nelson defeated 2x Ohio state champion Kevin Hardy last year among others. Look for unseeded freshman David Habat to place if he receives a favorable draw. OWS PROJECTION: JORDAN OVER SHANAMAN DARKHORSE PICK: MATT NELSON/DAVID HABAT 140 LBS SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. Mario Mason 2. Zack Kemmerer 3. Shawn Harris (St. Edward) 4. Nick Nelson 5. Vince Ramos 6. Germaine Lindsey (Cincinnati Moeller) 7. Cory Casady 8. Tim Miles 9. Zach Toal (Troy Christian) 14. Anthony Wills (Boardman) This weight class features no less than six nationally ranked wrestlers. However, there is a clear "big three" and clear second tier. Zack Kemmerer is one of the best seniors in the nation in any weight class after a season that saw him win Ironman, Beast of the East, Pennsylvania's "AAA" division, and FILA Cadet Nationals. It says a lot, then, that two wrestlers in this division own records of 1-0 against Kemmerer- Mario Mason and Nick Nelson. Mason defeated Kemmerer in the summer of 2005 at the cadet freestyle national duals. Nelson defeated Kemmerer at state their sophomore seasons. Nelson and Kemmerer track for a rematch in what would be the biggest state final of the year nationwide. Kemmerer has seemingly stepped up his game since those (one-point) losses- most recently placing a very impressive 4th against the collegians at the Michigan State Open- so he is my choice. Nelson has the dubious distinction of being the best wrestler in the country that has not yet won a state title- placing 3rd and 2nd as a middleweight in what may be the toughest state tournament in the nation. In the past two years Nelson has actually defeated three national champions (Kemmerer, Luke Ashmore, Bubba Jenkins). Both Kemmerer and Nelson are very much "control" wrestlers, I would look for a 3-2 or overtime final should they meet. However, I'm going with Mario Mason to defeat Nelson based on two things: first, this will be Mason's third time competing at the Ironman versus the first for Nelson- always an advantage in any major tournament. Second, Nelson will have a much tougher quarterfinal bout to win shortly before the semis. Obviously, this match-up is a virtual tossup if these are the factors that have swayed me. Mason is a 2005 cadet freestyle national champion, and a 2006 Junior National All-American. He is as smooth with "short offense" and counterattacks off his opponents shots as there is in the entire nation. He and Nelson have never met before to the best of my knowledge. A huge quarterfinal takes place here in Shawn Harris versus Germaine Lindsey. Lindsey took two of three matches last year, with both wins being relatively decisive . However, Harris seemed to have really made great strides in nearly placing at Fargo, so he has probably closed the gap to a virtual tossup. This quarterfinal is in all likelihood a preview of the Division I state finals at this weight. Finally, look for either (or both) of two outstanding yet unseeded wrestlers to place: Zach Goins (Elyria) and Joe Newland (Graham). Newland appears to be finally settling into the right spot in the Graham lineup and has the potential to pull off an early round upset should one of the "big guns" overlook him. Goins is an outstanding sophomore who placed at the very tough "Super 32 Challenge." OWS PROJECTION: KEMMERER OVER MASON DARKHORSE PICKS: ZACH GOINS AND JOE NEWLAND 145 LBS: SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. Alex Meade 2. Jesse Snider 3. Coby Boyd (Graham) 4. Andrew Clement 5. Aaron Nestor 6. Dan Gonsor (St. Edward) 7. Thomas Windom (CVCA) 8. Nick Waldrup 9. Eric Gobin (Cincinnati Moeller) 13. Jesse Stevens (Lakota West) One of the nation's best juniors towers over the field at this weight. Alex Meade of Ceaser Rodney returns after a year's absence (eligibility snafu due to transferring multiple times). Lightning-fast, two-time cadet national freestyle champion Meade is one guy that you want to make a point to watch this weekend. Meade won his cadet nationals this summer by handling Ohio Division I state runner-up Jedd Moore. He also pushed Lance Palmer hard at junior duals despite being significantly younger. Coby Boyd of Graham must have a relative on the seeding committee- he has as good of a draw as any wrestler in the tournament. The top three wrestlers in this weight other than Boyd in my estimation are Meade, Clement, and Nestor- all three ended up in the opposite bracket. A key Ohio match-up takes place in the quarterfinals between Boyd and Dan Gonsor. This would be a rematch from last year's bout won easily by Boyd. I would not be stunned to see 7th seeded Thomas Windom of CVCA take out 2nd seed Jesse Snider. Finally, Jesse Stevens is better than his #13 seed and should place in the top eight. OWS PROJECTION: ALEX MEADE OVER COBY BOYD DARKHORSE PICK: JESSE STEVENS 152 LBS: SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. Eric Medina 2. Thomas Straughn (Massillon Perry) 3. Sam Rakes 4. Michael Bressler 5. Dave Ebbott 6. Trey Edmunds 7. Tommy Weinkam (Cincinnati Moeller) 8. Travis Erdmann (University School) 11. Muhammad Abdur-Rahman (Cincinnati Princeton) 13. Jared Kusar (CVCA) 14. Robel Campbell (Troy Christian) Like 125, this is a very interesting weight that merits a more thorough analysis. Consider: Travis Erdman of University School is seeded considerably higher than state 3rd place finishers Muhammad Abdur-Rahman and Jared Kusar (who just beat #2 seed Thomas Straughn at a preview match 13-8). With all due respect to Erdmann…….does anyone in this state (not on the University School staff or named "Erdmann" really favor him over either of these bona-fide studs? The fur is going to fly starting with the second round…..here is what to expect: 2nd Round: Key Matchups: I think Ohio pulls a clean-sweep here….I look for #11 seed Abdur-Rahman to defeat #6 Trey Edmunds Edmunds is a third place finisher in the Nevada state tournament and cadet national greco-roman champion. Similarly, I look for Jared Kusar- who appears ready to step up into the elite class of wrestlers in this state- to defeat National Prep runner-up Michael Bressler and either #5 seed David Ebbott or (more likely in my view) Bryan O'Connor, a 3rd place finisher in Illinois. The National Preps are probably no tougher than the Ohio Division II state tournament- and both Bressler and Ebbott had some losses last year to wrestlers that I can't see beating Kusar. Look for Weinkam to back up his #7 seed and win here, while Erdman's match to be a tossup. #14 seed Robel Campbell will be an underdog against a tough Sam Rakes. Quarterfinals: Provided the prior predictions prove correct; Abdur-Rahman would match up with Sam Rakes. Rakes was 4th here last year and should be favored, though the talented Abdur-Rahman could pull an upset. In an important match for the Ohio rankings, #4 ranked (in Ohio) Weinkam should face #1 ranked Straughn. Look for Straughn to win a bout that will be closer than expected. Semis: Straughn over Rakes in a very close bout. Eric Medina over Kusar by a decisive margin. The outstanding Medina can match Kusar's power and has more speed and ability to scramble. Finals: 11 months ago Eric Medina was considered the top junior in the nation following dominating performances at the Ironman and Beast. Then, he was inexplicably dominated 15-4 in the National Prep Finals by an unheralded wrestler and failed to place at Fargo. However, Medina is strong, fast, a great scrambler, and tough on top. Look for him to return to form and dominate the field including Straughn. OWS PROJECTION: ERIC MEDINA OVER THOMAS STRAUGHN DARKHORSE PICKS: JARED KUSAR, MUHAMMED ABDUR-RAHMAN 160 LBS: SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. Sean Nemec (Lakewood St. Edward) 2. Jason Welch 3. Mike Mahon (Cincinnati Moeller) 4. Patrick Armstrong 5. Matt Ryan 6. Daniel Tolbert 7. Brian Letters 8. Karl DeCiantis 9. Keith Witt (Oak Harbor) 11. Zac Thomusseit (Graham) 12. Matt Coleman (Massillon Perry) 13. Nick Mills (University School) This match will be an interesting test for Ohio's top ranked senior, Sean Nemec. 17 months ago Nemec met #2 seed Jason Welch in the fifth place match at junior nationals. Welch bested him 11-2 that day. Do not look for a repeat of history here. First of all, Welch was absolutely "on fire" the entire tournament; second, strange results can happen in medal round matches once both wrestlers have wrestled about ten matches- guaranteed All-American status but are no longer in the title hunt. Last year Welch was flat-out destroyed by Medina at this tournament (in all fairness he had just come out of football). Nemec lost a very close match to Medina in their first meeting and won convincingly against him in their second. Welch is already a state champ and state runner-up as a middleweight in the very tough single division California state tournament and is only a junior. In contrast to Nemec's more controlled approach- Welch has a wide-open attacking style, so this match should come down to which wrestler is able to set the "pace" of the match. If Nick Nelson is the best wrestler in the nation that has not won state, Brian Letters (cousin of NCAA Champ Troy) is by far the best that has not yet qualified for the state tournament. According to his Ironman biography, in his career thus far Letters has twice placed third in the very tough "Super 32 challenge" won the Powerade (one of the nation's top five tournaments), defeated a wrestler ranked #6 in the nation, beating the state Pennsylvania state runner-up and lost to the champion by a point, and placed 7th in Cadet Nationals. Letters also defeated 3x Illinois State Champion Mike Benefiel at Junior Duals last summer (sort of- Benefiel actually outscored Letters 10-3 but "lost" under the freestyle rules du jour). Letters is probably the third best here- unfortunately, his #7 seed pitts him against Jason Welch in the quarterfinals. Mike Mahon of Cincinnati Moeller has got to like both his seed and his draw. Despite never having placed higher than 7th in the state tournament or placed in any nationally competition, Mahon is seeded #3- ahead of a NHSCA sophomore national champ, a Pennsylvania state runner-up, and Letters. He has the sophomore national champ (Danny Tolbert) in the quarterfinals, but that's a better quarterfinal opponent to draw than either Ryan or Letters in my view. Following a stellar preseason, look for sophomore Nick Mills of University School to be a surprise top eight finisher. Possibly the state's best upperweight freshman, Riley Kilroy of Padua, kicks off his career at this weight. OWS PROJECTION: SEAN NEMEC OVER JASON WELCH DARKHORSE PICKS: BRIAN LETTERS, NICK MILLS 171 LBS: SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. Mike Benefiel 2. Brian Roddy (St. Edward) 3. Rob Waltko 4. Lawrence Beckman 5. David Thompson (Graham) 6. Cory Peltier 7. Cody Magrum (Oak Harbor) 8. Jared Rupp 9. Dean Gaier (Cincinnati Moeller) 11. Kurt Wolff (Genoa Area) This is one of the deepest and most interesting fields of the tournament. You've got a very solid group wrestlers returning from last year mixed with a number of guys moving up from 152 or 160- making it very difficult to tell how they will match up. The favorite has to be Mike Benefiel of Montini Catholic (IL). Benefiel is now a three-time state champion, growing from a 112 to a 171 in his career without missing a beat. To put it in perspective- Benefiel bumped up from 160 to 171 for the Illinois-Ohio match at junior duals last summer and outscored David Thompson 14-0. Two years ago Benefiel was champion of this tournament, winning a nailbiter over Sean Nemec in the finals (though Nemec has beaten Benefiel as well) Benefiel has to be the favorite here. The one guy who could knock off Benefiel in my view would be Brian Roddy. The constantly attacking Roddy placed 5th at Junior Nationals last summer and should hold a significant strength advantage over Benefiel. The third contender is former cadet national champion Rob Waltko of North Allegheny (PA) High School. Waltko and Roddy willl be on a collision course for a rematch of one of the best bouts of Ironman last year. The slick Waltko jumped out to an early lead only to have Roddy mount a comeback and eventually pin Waltko in a very tight "near-side" cradle. Waltko can be very good- he actually technical falled state champion Cody Magrum in the consolation bracket last year. To get to Waltko, Roddy will first have to get past state champion Magrum in the quarterfinals. Roddy handled Magrum fairly easily in their semifinal bout last year at Ironman. However, both have seemingly made great strides since that match. A wrestler to match here is Cody Cheatham of Walsh Jesuit. Cheatham put together a great off-season of wrestling and looks to be one of the most improved wrestlers in the state despite moving up from 152 to 171. Look for Cheatham to possibly sneak into the top eight despite not receiving a seed. Other very good possibilities from Ohio to place in the top eight are Dean Gaier, Kurt Wolff, David Thompson, and possibly John Sinchok (CVCA). OWS PROJECTION: MIKE BENEFIEL OVER BRIAN RODDY DARKHORSE PICK: CODY CHEATHAM, CODY MAGRUM 189 LBS: SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. John Weakley (CVCA) 2. Andy Thomas 3. Chris Honeycutt (Lakewood St. Edward) 4. David Marone 5. Nick Purdue (Genoa Area) 6. Scott Cust 7. Charles Weber 8. Mike Pushpak (Brecksville) 9. Rick Weatherholt (Lakota West) 10. Ryan Nelisse (Elyria) 12. Dustin Schilling (Massillon Perry) Here we should have a rematch of one of the best matches of last season. Chris Honeycutt was the one wrestler who was able to defeat John Weakley last year. Honeycutt is a "gamer" but I would not look for him to repeat that win. Even in that match, Weakley scored three of the four takedowns in regulation, but was hampered by a series of mental miscues which resulted in penalty points for Honeycutt. I was very impressed with the poise and mental toughness Honeycutt showed in outlasting Weakley in overtime, however. Honeycutt will have his hands full in the semifinals. Andy Thomas put together a very nice season as a freshman 160 capped by dominating the cadet nationals that summer. However, he was injured early last year and although he won his second state title he did not compete at Fargo either, meaning he has not competed against significant national competition since winning cadet nationals in July of 2005. It is very difficult to project how he compares to Honeycutt at this point. OWS PROJECTION: JOHN WEAKLEY OVER CHRIS HONEYCUTT DARKHORSE PICK: SCOTT CUST 215 LBS: SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. Cody Gardner 2. Jared Platt 3. Jamey Srock (Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary) 4. Ethan Winel 5. Justin Powell (Youngstown Boardman) 6. Ryan Oddo (CVCA) 7. Gene Beatty 8. Sean Chichester 9. Jim Neumanitis (Brecksville) 10. Ben Rios (Lakewood St. Edward) 12. Ross Quehl (Cincinnati Moeller) Outside of 103, there isn't a weight in the nation that has such a clearly defined top duo as 215. Cody Gardner is the only wrestler to beat Jared Platt in the past year, and Platt is the one guy that has pushed Gardner. This will be a rematch of the junior national finals from last summer won by Gardner. Justin Powell is the third best here in my view. Jamey Srock is a tough wrestler but a very light 215. OWS PROJECTION: CODY GARDNER OVER JARED PLATT DARKHORSE PICK: JUSTIN POWELL 285 LBS: SEEDED WRESTLERS 1. Ben Kuhar (Lakewood St. Edward) 2. Garrett Goebel 3. Frank Becker 4. Matthew Richardson 5. Adam Walls 6. Trey Dillon 7. Ira Winn 8. Zach Nolan 10. Aaron Simms (Holy Name) The questions to be answered is whether Ben Kuhar will be back on track from his injury. Heading into Kuhar's junior season he was on pace to become one of the all-time great Ohio heavyweights. By that point he had finished 2nd in the state as a sophomore and won two cadet national freestyle titles. Then, a football injury wiped out his entire junior season. He returned for Fargo but was not the Kuhar of old, losing his first two matches to unheralded wrestlers. However, given that this is not a particularly strong field, Kuhar I think is as solid a choice as anyone. Garrett Goebel has placed 4th and 5th in the Illinois state tournament at 215 the past two years and could be the champion should Kuhar falter. The underrated Frank Becker (2nd last year) is one of three virtual co-favorites at this weight. OWS PROJECTION: BEN KUHAR OVER GARRETT GOEBEL

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners (3-1, 0-1) will travel to San Luis Obispo, Calif., to tangle with the No. 20/21 Cal Poly Mustangs (0-0) to close out the 2006 portion of their schedule. The Sooners and Mustangs have a 6 p.m. start time at Mott Gym. Oklahoma has won the last nine meetings in the series dating back to a tie in 1997. OU is unbeaten in the last 15 duals, with Cal Poly's last victory coming in the 1991-92 season. Head coach Jack Spates is 12-0-1 all-time versus the Mustangs. This will be the first dual for Cal Poly in the young season. The 2005-06 Pac-10 runner-up won the Fullerton Open on Nov. 18 and placed 15th at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev., Dec. 1-2. OU dropped its first dual of the season last Sunday when archrival Oklahoma State traveled to Norman and defeated the Sooners 17-15 at the Howard McCasland Field House. The Sooners will begin a streak of consecutive road appearances with the dual on Saturday. After the trip to California OU will travel to Forth Worth, Texas for the Lone Star duals on Jan. 7, Oklahoma will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa to compete in the NWCA National Duals. OU returns home for the first time in the new semester when it hosts Oregon on Jan. 20.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -– Ohio State wrestler Mike Pucillo was named the Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Week Wednesday for the week of Dec. 4 after his first-place showing at 184 pounds at the 25th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 1-2 in Primm, Nev. Pucillo (Cuyahoga, Ohio/Hofstra and Walsh Jesuit) became the first Buckeye to title at the Las Vegas Invitational since Tommy Rowlands won at heavyweight in 2003. A redshirt-freshman, Pucillo defeated two Top 4 wrestlers en route to the title. After recording two major decisions (11-3 and 12-0) and a fall (1:38) in the opening three rounds, Pucillo knocked off fourth-ranked Raymond Jordan of Missouri, 3-1, in the semifinals. In the championship bout, Pucillo defeated No. 3 Tyrel Todd of Michigan, 12-6. The No. 14 Buckeyes are back in action at 2 p.m. Dec. 17 when they host Tennessee-Chattanooga in St. John Arena.

Highlighted by 6 major decisions and 1 pin, the Augustana wrestling team dominated the University of Sioux Falls 45-0 in front of 942 fans Wednesday night at the Elmen Center. Augustana, ranked 10th in the NCAA Division II Top 20 Poll, controlled all 8 matches that were contested. The Vikings (3-0) did not allow a takedown and surrendered just 1 reversal the entire night. Cody Henriksen earned the only pin of the dual. Henriksen, ranked fifth in the country, pinned Derrick Pomranky in 3:38 to improve to 8-4 on the season. The featured match of the night came at 165 pounds where Augie's Austin Scarset moved up a weight class to take on USF's Brett Jarman. Scarset, who is ranked No. 3 in the nation at 157 pounds, used 8 takedowns and 2 escapes to go along with a riding time point to earn a 19-9 major decision. Jarman did manage to score a reversal early in the match for USF's only offensive points of the dual. Also picking up major decisions for the Vikings were Chris Trampe at 125 pounds, Jordan Burmeister at 141 pounds, Aaron Haddorff at 157 pounds, Nate Buys at 197 pounds and Ray O'Connor at Heavyweight. Beau Severtson recorded Augustana's other contested victory by defeating Brock Nelson 9-4 in the 184-pound match. Augie's Adam Schlee (133 pounds) and Brandon Kruger (149 pounds) each won by forfeit. The Vikings are now off until January 3 when they entertain Augsburg in a 7 p.m. dual at the Elmen Center. Augsburg is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in the Division III poll.

The nationally ranked Luther wrestling team had a bit of a scare this evening in Indianola, as they posted a 27-21 victory over Simpson College this evening. The Norse, ranked 4th in the nation, needed a pin by Alec Bonander (197) to secure the victory. The Storm began the night 6-0 because the Norse were open at 125. Luther's Zach Bartlett (133) posted a major decision over Matt Koch, giving Luther its first points of the evening. A pin by three-time All-American Matt Pyle (149), followed by a pin by 2006 national qualifier Nate Van Dyke (165), and a tech fall by A J Gregg (174), gave the Norse what looked like a comfortable 21-12 lead. Simpson's Garrett Kiley pulled the Storm to within thee points (21-18) after pinning Scott Jennings at 184. Following Bonander's decisive victory, Allyn Plattner lost a hard fought battle at 285 (9-6). The win gives the Norse an overall record of 3-0, 1-0 in the IIAC. Simpson is now 1-2 overall, 0-2 in league competition. Luther's next varsity action will be in Orlando, Fla., when it will host the first annual Gator Duals on Dec. 16.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestler Matt Keller was named the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday. Keller went undefeated in five matches this past weekend to claim the 133-pound bracket at the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. It was his second career regular-season tournament title at UTC, also earning first place at last year's Reno Tournament of Champions. The senior from McDonald, Tenn., scored major decisions over Matt Bradley of Rider and Cory Van Bauer of Wyoming. He defeated Columbia's Matt DeLorenzo and Buffalo's Mark Budd. His win in the title match was a 9-7 overtime decision over last year's 133-pound NCAA Champion, Matt Valenti of the University of Pennsylvania. Keller's performance helped the Mocs to an eighth-place team finish in Las Vegas. Keller's national ranking improved from No. 5 to No. 2 this week in both the Wrestling International Newsmagazine and NWCA/Intermat collegiate wrestling polls. It is the highest national ranking for a UTC wrestler in at least 10 years. He was ranked fifth and sixth respectively by both agencies last week.

Hempstead, NY --Chris Bevilacqua, a two-time All-American at Penn State University in the 1980s, and co-founder of College Sports Television (CSTV), will be the guest speaker at the 2006-07 Hofstra Wrestling Dinner this Saturday, December 9 at the Hofstra University Club in David S. Mack Hall at 6:30 p.m. In addition, Hofstra Head Wrestling Coach Tom Shifflet and Penn State Head Wrestling Coach Troy Sunderland will talk about their teams leading up to Sunday's Pride-Nittany Lion match at the Mack Sports Complex at 1 p.m. Bevilacqua, a leading sports television and marketing executive for the past 20 years, joined SCP Worldwide in August, 2006. He currently serves as a partner for the company whose holdings include the St. Louis Blues, the Scottrade Center, Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake, as well as Running Subway, a New York based entertainment production company. In 1999, Mr. Bevilacqua approached then partners and co-founders Brian Bedol and Steve Greenberg with an idea for a network featuring all college sports all the time and, soon thereafter, the CSTV: College Sports Television concept was born. Under his stewardship, CSTV became the leading digital and cable programming network dedicated to college and amateur sports developing a "multiple platform" concept that incorporated nearly 250 websites and broadband services for more than 13,000 events annually that helped to revolutionize program distribution. Launched on April, 7 2003 CSTV was acquired by the CBS Corporation in January of 2006 for $325 Million. Prior to co-founding CSTV, Mr. Bevilacqua served as director, global negotiations and league affairs at Nike, Inc., negotiating sponsorship, television and licensing partnerships with professional league offices, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and the WNBA as well as professional sports teams among the likes of the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders, Boston Celtics and Detroit Red Wings. Mr. Bevilacqua also was responsible for helping Nike to establish it's leadership position in college sports through broad based partnerships with many NCAA Division I schools such as Florida, Michigan, USC, Penn State, Kentucky, Florida State, St. John's, etc, as well as international governing bodies including the USSF, IIHF, USATF and the USOC. The deals totaled over $1 billion in commitments and included the landmark deal to put the ubiquitous 'swoosh' insignia on all Dallas Cowboy uniforms. Prior to Nike, Bevilacqua served as director, corporate sponsorships for The Baseball Network (TBN), a revolutionary and groundbreaking joint venture between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the NBC and ABC television networks. At TBN, he helped develop and launch the network's sales and marketing department and secured advertisers such as Anheuser Busch, General Motors, MCI, Nike, Reebok, Texaco and Gatorade. Earlier, Bevilacqua was a manager of sports programming for NBC Sports where he worked on several high-profile program acquisitions including the NFL, MLB, NBA, Olympics and college sports. Before joining NBC Sports, he was an independent sports TV producer during which time he was honored with an Emmy Award for his work as an associate producer of the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. A native of Massapequa, NY, Bevilacqua holds a B.S. in marketing from The Pennsylvania State University. Bevilacqua was an NCAA All-American wrestler in 1984 and 1984, a three-time (1984-86) Eastern Wrestling League champion, team captain for the Nittany Lions, and also captured a gold medal at the 1983 United States Espoir Wrestling Championships. Chris is also the son the of former Hofstra Head Wrestling Coach Al Bevilacqua, who coached the Pride from 1977 through 1980. Tickets for the dinner are priced at $100 each and can be reserved by calling Mark Cox at 516-463-6144.