InterMat Staff

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

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Lehigh opened up the EIWA dual season by winning seven of ten bouts in a 24-13 win over Rutgers Friday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks earned six wins by decisions and a quick pin from sophomore Mike Galante to win their third straight dual and improve to 3-4 on the season. Rutgers falls to 0-2 with the setback. "To go 7-3 in bouts against this team (Rutgers) is pretty good," said Lehigh coach Greg Strobel. "I was concerned it might be 5-5 or even 6-4 in their favor. We wanted to go out and get bonus points and Galante gave us those, and we also got six other wins in workmanlike fashion." The dual began at 285 and sophomore Justin Allen gave the Mountain Hawks an early lead. A second period reversal and a pair of third period takedowns gave Allen a 7-4 win over D.J. Russo. Rutgers took six big points back at 125, where Ryan Fikslin trailed Lehigh freshman Mitch Berger 4-0 after two periods. Berger chose bottom for the third, but Fikslin was able to turn Berger and scored a fall at the 5:37 mark. Junior Kevin Vinh tied the dual at six with a 5-2 win over Dan Hilt, avenging a loss to Hilt last season. The Scarlet Knights would regain the lead however; as No. 19 Steve Adamcsik scored an early five point move and went on to earn a 13-4 major decision over senior Jeff Santo. Down 10-6 after four bouts, Lehigh reeled off five straight wins to take control of the dual. At 149, Trevor Chinn scored second and third period takedowns to defeat Spencer Kent 6-2. Dave Nakasone gave Lehigh the lead at 12-10 with a 5-2 win over Chris Norrell at 157. Galante delivered the excitement, even if he was on the mat for barely thirty seconds, as he hit a cement job on Matt Rigoglioso and was able to secure a fall in 23 seconds, the fastest Lehigh fall so far this season and Galante's second pin of the year. Freshman Alex Caruso and sophomore David Craig completed the run, as Caruso won a 6-3 decision over Mike Whalen at 174, and Craig followed with a 4-0 blanking of Keith Dobish. The final bout of the night went to the Scarlet Knights, with Lamar Brown winning 14-7 over Alex Iacocca, but Iacocca did score his second takedown of the bout in the final seconds to avoid yielding the major decision. The Mountain Hawks will return to the mats on Sunday when they will hit the road for a pair of duals. Lehigh will travel to No. 24 Maryland at 2 p.m. and then head to Washington for an EIWA match-up with American at 6 p.m. Both duals will be broadcast online at Lehighsports.com with streaming audio powered by Yahoo! Sports.

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell wrestling squad collected its first two duals victories of the season as the Orange and Blue defeated George Mason, 23-20, and blanked Millersville, 37-0, in its home opener on Saturday afternoon in Davis Gym. Following the day's action, the Bison are now 2-4 on the year, while the Patriots move to 2-1 and the Marauders fall to 0-2. Bucknell started off strong against George Mason, registering wins in the first four bouts. Beginning at 125, sophomore Greg Hart (Bedminster, N.J./Bernards) posted a 4-1 decision over Denny Herndon, classmate David Marble (Harpursville, N.Y./Harpursville Central) followed up with a 9-3 victory at 133, while sophomore Luke Chohany (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita) and freshman Kevin LeValley (Hugo, Colo./Limon) notched major decisions to give the Bison a 14-0 advantage. Chohany, the 141-pounder for the Orange and Blue, downed Brandon Bucher, 10-2, and LeValley recorded a 10-2 win over Aaron Keeton in the 149-pound bout. The Patriots put their first points on the board with an 11-3 major decision by Frankie McLaughlin over sophomore Brantley Hooks (Spartanburg, S.C./James F. Byrnes) at 157, but Bucknell answered with a major decision of its own in the next match as 165-pounder Andy Rendos (Brockway, Pa./Brockway Area) was victorious over Tyler Tisdell by a 14-4 margin. A pin by George Mason in the 174-pound match-up brought the Patriots within striking distance at 18-10, with three bouts remaining. However, freshman David Thompson (West Liberty, Ohio/Graham Local) clinched the Bison victory with a 15-0 technical fall against Bill Widener at 184. George Mason went on to record wins at 197 and 285 to bring the final score to 23-20. In its 37-0 rout of Millersville, Bucknell registered five wins for bonus points, highlighted by Hart's pin against John Andel 4:44 into the 125-pound match, which gave the Bison a 6-0 start. Four additional members of the Orange and Blue posted major decisions. Marble was victorious by the score of 20-10 over Mark Stockdill at 133, LeValley defeated Cody Becker 9-1 at 149, Rendos won 14-3 over David Morey at 165 and David Thompson downed Steve Funk, 13-4, at 184. Also contributing points for the Bison were 141-pounder Chohany with a 3-2 win against Michael Greck, freshman Ryan Ochalek (Oil City, Pa./Oil City) with a 6-0 decision over Phil Santee at 157, sophomore Shane Riccio (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills) with a 9-5 victory versus Jeremy Brooks at 174, freshman Charlie Wonsettler (Scenery Hill, Pa./Bentworth) with a 6-4 win in the 197-pound bout against Keith McDonald and heavyweight George Hingson (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area) with a 6-3 decision over Raymond Bennett. Bucknell will continue its homestand with an EIWA dual on Tuesday, Dec. 4, as the Bison will take on Franklin & Marshall at 7:30 p.m. in Davis Gym.

The No. 10 Wisconsin wrestling team (4-0 overall, 0-0 Big Ten Conference) competed against some of the top teams in the country Saturday at the 26th annual Cliff Keen Invite in Las Vegas, Nev. The Badgers placed fifth out of 50 teams, scoring 107.5 points. Michigan captured the team title by scoring 127.5 points and Missouri was just 2.5 points behind at 125.0 points for second place. Ohio State finished third with 121.0 points and Nebraska placed fourth with 112.5 points. Nine Badger grapplers competed at the Cliff Keen Invite and the team was led by a first place finish from junior Dallas Herbst at the 197 lbs. division. Herbst went undefeated at the invite, winning all five matches. Four of his wins were by pins with the fifth coming as a major decision victory. In the finals, Herbst, who was seeded second, faced the No. 1 seed, Max Askren from Missouri and in the final seconds, pinned him at 6:47. Herbst improves to 13-0 on the season and now has 40 career falls, which is seven away from Lee Kemp's record of 47. Five other Wisconsin wrestlers placed in their respective weight classes. Senior Craig Henning finished third overall at 157 lbs. In the third place match, he faced Pittsburgh's Matt Kocher and captured a 4-2 decision. Before the third place bout though, Henning had a rematch against Big Ten Conference foe Mike Poeta from Illinois in the semi finals. Poeta defeated Henning at the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic back on Nov. 19 and the Illini grappler won again, 6-1 on Saturday. Before the bout with Poeta, Henning won four straight and finished the invite 5-1. Junior Kyle Massey also captured a third place finish at heavyweight. Massey won six straight to make it to the quarterfinal match against Tervel Dlagnev from Nebraska-Kearney. Massey lost a close 3-1 decision but came back to defeat John Wise from Illinois in the third place match, 9-2. Sophomore Kyle Ruschell also placed for the Badgers, finishing fifth at 141 lbs. He dropped his first match of the invite but also won three straight to advance to the semifinals where he faced Ohio State's Jeff Jaggers. Jaggers, who was seeded second defeated Ruschell with a pin in 3:20 but Ruschell prevailed 5-3 in the fifth-place match against Ryan Williams from Old Dominion. Junior Zach Tanelli went 5-2 at the invite and finished seventh overall at 133 lbs. He opened with a major decision win (13-1) over Virginia Tech's Nick Murray but then dropped his next match, 4-2 to Hofstra's Louie Ruggirello. Tanelli then went on to win three-straight to make it into the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Tanelli faced North Carolina-Greensboro's Jeff Hedges and dropped a close 6-5 decision. Tanelli then met Navy's Joe Baker in the seventh place match and win by a 5-2 score. Sophomore Trevor Brandvold also finished seventh at 184 lbs. Brandvold finished the invite 5-2 which included a tight 4-3 decision over Penn's Lior Zamir in the seventh place bout. At 125 lbs., senior Collin Cudd won three-straight during the wrestleback rounds but then dropped his first match of the year against Nikko Triggas from Ohio State by an 8-3 score. Cudd finished the invite 3-2. At 165 lbs., senior Jake Donar won his first match 5-1 against Jason Coyne from Navy but had an early exit from the invite after dropping his next two matches. Junior Justin Peterson won his first three matches of the day at 174 lbs. before falling 6-4 to Penn's Scott Giffin. Peterson had one more bout in the round of 32 and dropped another close 8-6 decision to Virginia Tech's Eric Decker. The Badgers return to dual action next weekend with a match at Northern Iowa on Friday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. and then open the Big Ten season in Columbus, Ohio at 6:30 Monday, Dec. 10 against No. 16 Ohio State. Select Badgers were to compete at tomorrow's Northern Iowa Open but the event has been cancelled due to the weather.

LAS VEGAS -- Second-seeded and third-ranked Mike Poeta earned his first Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title Saturday with a 4-3 win over top-seeded and top-ranked Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro. He also was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. Heavyweight John Wise finished fourth for Illinois to cap a sixth-place finish at the Las Vegas Convention Center. "That was a big win for Mike," Illinois coach Mark Johnson said. "We needed him to do that. "As a team, it was tough because we didn't have a full squad. We left one starter at home and had to pull two others out of the tournament (because of injuries). If you put those guys where they should've been, we would've done much better." Poeta got a takedown with 1:34 remaining in the first period, but Gillespie escaped to cut Poeta's lead to 2-1. In the second period, Poeta started down and was unable to escape as Gillespie rode him out. In the third, Gillespie started down and scored an escape to grab a 3-2 lead, plus the riding time he had accumulated in the second period. But Poeta started a scramble and scored a takedown before riding him out for the 4-3 win. It is the sixth win of his career over a higher-ranked opponent. "I have to give (Gillespie) a ton of respect," Poeta said. "Winning a tournament like this is a bonus because the only thing everybody cares about is the national tournament. To beat tough wrestlers like Gregor and (Wisconsin's) Craig Henning, that's a great confidence boost." Wise struggled in his match against Wisconsin's ninth-seeded and 16th-ranked Kyle Massey, dropping a 9-2 decision. The Illini return to action next Saturday with their first home meet, hosting Findlay and McKendree College at Huff Hall at noon.

Sophomore 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell defeated his third top-10 opponent in a week's time Saturday, his second in a span a few hours, to win the individual 149-pound championship at the 2007 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Caldwell, ranked No. 6 in the latest NCWA coaches poll, won the championship with an 8-6 decision over third-ranked J.P. O'Connor of Harvard. Earlier in the day, Caldwell routed second-ranked Josh Churella of Michigan with a 12-3 major decision. Caldwell rolled through the tournament's first three rounds on Friday, pinning Sean Flynn of College of New Jersey in 74 seconds, than winning a 4-1 decision over No. 19 Cesar Grajales of Penn and a 4-2 decision over Ryan Etherton of Nebraska-Kearney. Caldwell is now 13-1 for the 2007-08 season with seven pins and five victories over ranked opponents. Meanwhile, junior 141-pounder Joe Caramanica finished fourth in his weight class after dropping a 6-4 decision to fourth-ranked Charles Griffin of Hofstra. Caramanica, who lost in the second round of the tournament on Friday, worked his way through the wrestlebacks by winning five bouts in a little more than 24 hours, including a 6-4 decision over No. 11 Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin. With his fourth-place finish, Caramanica is now 10-3 on the season with two pins and three wins over ranked opponents. NC State now will take most of the next month off from competition, then will return to action December 28-29 at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro.

Las Vegas, NV -- Seniors Charles Griffin and Dave Tomasette placed third and fourth, respectively, and sophomore Lou Ruggirello was fifth to lead the Hofstra Pride to a 10th place finish at the 26th annual Cliff Keen-Las Vegas Invitational at the Las Vegas Convention Center Saturday night. The Pride finished with 61 points in the 50-team field. Michigan captured the team title with 127.5 points followed by Missouri with 125 and Ohio State with 121. Griffin, the number three-ranked wrestler in the country and the top-seed in the Invitational, dropped a 6-2 decision to 13th-seed Kellen Russell from Michigan in the semifinals Saturday afternoon. He then defeated conference foe Ryan Williams from Old Dominion, 3-1 in sudden victory to advance to the third-place match against North Carolina State's Joe Caramanica. In that match, Griffin posted a 6-4 victory to post his highest-ever finish at the CKLV Invitational. Griffin was 6-1 in the tournament to improve to 10-2 on the year. Tomasette posted a 3-1 record on Saturday to place fourth in the Invitational. After losing in the quarterfinals Friday night, Tomasette recorded a 9-2 victory over Tony Mustari from Northern Colorado, defeated Brandon Kinney from Columbia, 6-5, and won by default over top-seed Paul Donahoe from Nebraska to reach the third place match. In that match, Tomasette faced sixth-seed Rollie Peterkin from Penn for the second time in the tournament after a 9-5 loss in the quarterfinals. The score was closer but the result was the same as Peterkin notched a 4-3 victory on the riding time point. Tomasette was 5-2 in the tournament to improve to 9-3 on the year. In action during the afternoon session, sophomore Lou Ruggirello placed fifth at 133 pounds. The top-ranked wrestler in the country opened the day with a victory by default over Raymond Dunning from Adams State. He then posted a 4-2 victory over the third-seeded Zach Tanelli from Wisconsin before being pinned, in overtime, at 7:53. Ruggirello then edged Jeff Hedges from UNC-Greensboro, 5-4, in the third place match. Ruggirello is now 12-2 on the year. Sophomore Jonny Bonilla-Bowman fell one round short of placing in the top eight with a 12-8 loss to seventh-seeded Zac Fryling from West Virginia. The transfer from Virginia Tech posted a 3-2 record at the Invitational to improve to 3-4 on the season. Freshman Ryan Patrovich also fell one round short of placing Saturday afternoon with a 6-5 loss to Kurt Swatz from Boise State. Patrovich recorded a 4-2 mark at the Invitational to improve to 6-5 on the year. The Pride will host the Crimson of Harvard next Sunday, December 9 at the David S. Mack Sports Complex. Match time is 1 p.m. Tickets for the Harvard match as well as all remaining Pride home matches are still available. To purchase tickets click on the online tickets link on the homepage or call the Hofstra Athletic Ticket Office at (516) HOF-TIXX.

Las Vegas, Nev. -- A pair of Jordans led the Huskers to a fourth-place team finish on Saturday at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas. Six of the nine Nebraska wrestlers competing finished in the top six, but NU was led by sophomores Kenny Jordan and Jordan Burroughs. Kenny Jordan, competing at 133 pounds, went a perfect 6-0 at Las Vegas to improve to 8-0 on the season. He racked up three bonus-point victories to start the tournament and ended with three straight decisions, including a 7-0 win over T.J. Dillashaw of Cal State-Fullerton in the finals. Meanwhile, Burroughs went 6-1 to earn third place at 149 pounds and run his season record to 15-2. Burroughs lost a 6-5 decision to Lance Palmer of Ohio State in the quarterfinals on the first day, but rebounded in the consolation bracket to earn a rematch with Palmer. It was another tight match, but Burroughs prevailed 2-1 in double overtime to earn third. Fellow sophomore Stephen Dwyer finished fifth with a 5-2 record. Dwyer finished the second day with a 3-1 decision over Jarrod King of Edinboro. Junior Brandon Browne earned a third-place finish after notching a 7-1 record. Browne opened competition with three-straight major decision wins, but lost 5-2 in the quarterfinals to John Dergo of Illinois. Browne wrestled his way through the consolation bracket and ended the second day with a 6-4 decision over Edinboro's Phil Moricone to finish third. Junior Vince Jones was impressive in his first action of the season. He opened the tournament with three straight pins, all in under a minute. Jones finished sixth with a 5-3 record, but two of those losses where to Louis Caputo of Harvard and all three were by two points. This is the second consecutive year that Nebraska has finished fourth as a team, while Michigan won the team title this year. Nebraska racked up 112.5 points this year, compared to just 94 last year. The non-varsity wrestlers competed at the Bob Smith Open in Hays, Kan., hosted by Fort Hays State. Freshman Tucker Lane continued an impressive start to his career winning all four of his matches and finishing first in the heavyweight division. Sophomore Levi Wofford claimed fourth at 184 pounds. The Huskers return to the mat on Thursday to face the defending NCAA champion Minnesota Golden Gophers in Minneapolis at 7 p.m.

Las Vegas, Nev. -- After two straight fourth place finishes at the event, Tanner Gardner made his final trip to the Las Vegas Invitational count. The senior won all five of his matches to improve to 17-0 on the year, and topped Missouri's Tony Pescaglia in the championship bout to claim his third tournament title of the year. Gardner, who three matches to advance to the semifinals yesterday, began the day with an 11-0 major decision over No. 16 Rollie Peterkin of Penn to advance to the championship bout. The two-time All-American then bested Pescaglia, 9-7, to win his third tournament title in as many tries. Facing a field that included ten of the nation's top 25 125-pounders, Gardner came out on top, improving his record to an unblemished 17-0. At 157 pounds, senior Josh Zupancic dropped a decision to No. 12 Mike Chandler of Missouri this morning, falling just one match short of placing. Stanford's next competition is set for Dec. 19, when the team will head back to Nevada for the annual Reno Tournament of Champions.

Las Vegas, Nev. -- The seventh-ranked Missouri wrestling team fell three points shy of defending its Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Title, finishing second (125) to No. 10 Michigan (127.5). Sophomore heavyweight Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) earned Missouri's second consecutive Gorarrian Award honor for most falls in the tournament. Last season Ben Askren was the recipient. Seven Tiger grapplers finished among the top eight of their respective weight class with three, redshirt freshman Tony Pescaglia (125, Columbia, Mo.), sophomore Nicholas Marable (165, Collierville, Tenn.) and sophomore Maxwell Askren (197, Hartland, Wis.) advancing to the championship finals of their weight class. Pescaglia was the first Tiger to compete in the championship finals of the prestigious two-day event. After winning by default to No. 1 Paul Donahoe of Nebraska in the semi-finals, Pescaglia suffered a 9-7 loss to fourth-ranked Tanner Garnder of Stanford and finished second. Pescaglia wrapped up the tournament with a 5-1 record that included wins over No. 6 Collin Cudd of Wisconsin and No. 11 Gabe Flores of Illinois becoming the first Missouri wrestler in over five years to advance to the finals of the 125 pound bracket. Pescaglia's top-eight showing also marks the third straight season that a Missouri redshirt freshman advanced to and competed in the championship finals. Next in the finals was Marable at 165 pounds. After recording five straight wins, eighth-ranked Marable dropped a 7-4 decision to current No. 1 ranked Eric Tannembaum of Michigan. Tannenbaum, a 2007 All-American, gave Marable his first loss on the year and only the ninth loss of his still young Tiger career. After pinning three of his first four opponents at the tournament, Askren himself was pinned in the title round. Wrestling eighth-ranked Dallas Herbst of Wisconsin, Askren was stuck with 13 seconds remaining in the match. Improving on his sixth place showing from one year ago, junior Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) captured third after besting Rider's Doug Umbehauer in the 184 pound medal round. Jordan, ranked fifth in the nation, held off Umbehauer for the second time of the year to improve to 10-1 on the campaign. Competing in Missouri's season-opening dual, Nov. 9, Jordan won by technical fall, 22-7. Finishing sixth at 157 pounds, junior Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) was one of seven Tigers to finish among the top eight of his weight class. Chandler battled through the consolation bracket after suffering a 4-3 loss to No. 20 Tyler Sherfey of Boise State in his second bout of Saturday's action. Rattling off three straight wins by decision, Chandler lost to second-ranked Craig Henning of Wisconsin but rebounded with a 6-1 win by decision over Jeff Marsh of Michigan. In the end, Chandler was shut out by Sherfey, 6-0, to finish the day in sixth. Two Tigers, junior Marcus Hoehn (Farmington, Mo.) and Ellis finished seventh in their respective brackets. Hoehn, wrestling at 141 pounds, finished the two-day tournament with a 6-2 record. Holding off Boise State's Levi Jones, 6-3, Hoehn earned his first Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational top-eight honor. Hoehn's only losses of the tournament came to ranked opponents, No. 4 Jeff Jaggers of Ohio State and No. 14 Joe Caramanica of North Carolina State. Wrestling at heavyweight, Ellis earned his seventh place finish by pinning Pittsburgh's Zach Schaeffer in 49 seconds. The fall was Ellis' fourth of the two-day tournament and his fastest on the season. The Tigers will compete in their third dual of the season when they take on Tennessee Chattanooga, Sunday, Dec. 16 at Noon (CT). Missouri closes outs the 2007 calendar year with a Dec. 19 road dual with Pittsburgh.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team crowned three individual champions en route to its third team title in four years at the 26th annual Cliff Keen Invitational on Saturday (Dec. 1) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Sitting in third place prior to the final round and trailing first-place Missouri by 10.5 points, U-M catapulted to the top with its strong championship-round performance, wrapping up the tournament with 127.5 points and edging the Tigers by just 2.5. Michigan claimed the team title with 127.5 points (Photo/Danielle Hobeika)The Wolverines claimed three of its four championship matches to boast more individual champions than any other school. Fifth-year senior Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) repeated at 165 pounds, while freshman Kellen Russell (High Bridge, N.J./Blair Academy) and Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) each claimed his first-ever Cliff Keen Invitational trophy, at 141 and 184 pounds, respectively. In a tournament full of impressive Wolverine performances, perhaps none was more exciting than Russell, who, as an unranked true freshman, knocked off the No. 3, No. 5 and No. 9-nationally ranked wrestlers en route to the 141-pound title in his first-career appearance at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Squaring off against Ohio State's second-seeded J Jaggers -- also ranked fifth in the country, Russell built up a sizable advantage after scrambling for a reversal in the closing seconds of the second and adding a quick tilt for two in the third. Jaggers reversed him with 30 seconds remaining in overtime and got a point for riding time, but Russell held on to boast the 4-3 decision and improve his collegiate record to 11-0. Russell cruised past Hofstra's top-seeded Charles Griffin from Hofstra, who is also ranked third in the nation, in the morning semifinal round, controlling throughout the entire bout to win 6-3. Russell scored the only offensive points in the contest, converting on a single leg on the edge late in the second and scrambled out of a deep Griffin shot to score again in the third while accumulating nearly two minutes in riding time. Michigan's Eric Tannenbaum defeated Missouri's Dave Marable to win the title (Photo/Danielle Hobeika)Tannenbaum captured his second 165-pound title in as many years at the tournament, defeating Missouri's third-seeded Dave Marable 7-4 in the final. He struck first with a pair of low single legs in the opening period and carried a 4-2 advantage entering the third frame. The Wolverine captain gave fans a slight scare in the final period when, in the midst of fighting for another single leg, he inadvertently threw himself to his back. Marable jumped on top for the takedown but no back points were awarded. Tannenbaum escaped -- his second of the period -- and added 1:08 in riding time to emerge the victory. In the morning semifinal round, Tannenbaum battled to a 5-2 decision over Nebraska's Stephen Dwyer. He controlled from the opening whistle, countering Dwyer's first shot to score just seconds into the bout. He rode out the period -- accumulating 3:25 in riding time advantage by match's end -- and added another single-leg takedown in the second to ice the win. Todd capped the Wolverines' strong final-round performance -- and locked up Michigan's first-place team trophy -- by pinning Ohio State's top-seeded Mike Pucillo in overtime in the 184-pound finale. After giving up a pair of high-crotches in the first period, the U-M captain rallied back with two takedowns of his own -- both single legs -- in the third. Pucillo reversed him late in the match to steal away the lead, but Todd earned his escape in the waning seconds to even the score and force overtime. The Wolverine struck with another single-leg attempt early in the sudden-victory frame and the wrestlers hit the mat with Pucillo clinging around Todd's waste underneath. Todd leaned back and, after a few adjustments, rolled up the Buckeye and stuck him at 7:22. In the morning semifinal, Todd cruised past Harvard's third-seeded Louis Caputo, using five takedowns -- two in the first period and three in the third -- to claim a dominant 10-4 decision victory. Senior/junior Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS) suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the 174-pound championship bout, falling to Pittsburgh's top-seeded -- and top-ranked -- Keith Gavin. In match marred by numerous blood timeouts for both wrestlers -- the wrestlers were on the mat for 26 total minutes -- the second round of tiebreakers decided the victor. Each wrestler earned his escape point during regulation and in the first tiebreaker, but Luke could not escape Gavin in the final 30-second frame of the second round as the Panther wrestler won 3-2. Luke needed overtime to defeat second-seeded Matt Stolpinski of Navy in the semifinals, converting on a takedown in the first round of tiebreakers to claim the 8-6 victory. The Wolverine junior, seeded third, took all the shots in the match and scored on a pair of double legs to establish an early advantage in the first period. Stolpinski stole away the lead, however, in the second period after countering a Luke shot to score on the edge late in the frame. Luke's escape in the third knotted up the score, which stayed even until the second of 30-second tiebreaker frames. After Luke earned a quick escape, his opponent immediately shot in on a bad single-leg attempt. The Wolverine stepped out of the way and lunged at Stolpinski's legs, using a double to take him down. In addition to the Maize and Blue's four finalists, three additional Wolverines placed, including fifth-year senior Josh Churella (Naperville, Ill./North HS), who took fifth at 149 pounds after suffering a pair of tough second-day losses. The Wolverine defeated Cal State Fullerton's eighth-seeded Morgan Atkinson 5-3 in the fifth-place bout, using a first-period takedown and 1:23 in riding time to persevere through a close contest. Churella lost back-to-back matches to open the second day of competition, falling to NC State's fifth-seeded Darrion Caldwell 12-3 in the semifinals and Nebraska's sixth-seeded Jordan Burroughs 11-7. Sophomore/freshman Anthony Biondo (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley HS) claimed seventh place at 197 pounds in his first-career appearance at the Cliff Keen Invitational, wrapping up his tournament with a 4-2 record and a win over North Carolina's Dennis Drury in the seventh-place match. He earned important bonus points in his first consolation contest of the day, pinning Oregon State's Brice Arand at 2:21 to guarantee his placing performance. Biondo gained quick control with a slide-by takedown early in the first period and rode tough to build up riding time advantage. After a restart, he flattened Arand out and used a guillotine to turn his over and secure the fall -- Michigan's second of the tournament. Fifth-year senior Jeff Marsh (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) earned a couple extra points when he accepted a forfeit victory in the seventh-place match at 157 pounds. The Wolverine wrestler split his early contests, defeating Columbia's Derick Sickels in his first wrestleback before falling to Missouri's Mike Chandler 5-1. Marsh rallied from an early deficit to beat Sickels, scoring a first-period reversal and takedowns in the second and third to claim a 8-6 decision victory. The Wolverines will kick off the home portion of their 2007-08 slate next weekend when they host Kent State on Friday (Dec. 7) for a 7 p.m. non-conference dual at Cliff Keen Arena.

125 No. 1 Paul Donahoe (Nebraska) vs. Tony Pescaglia (Missouri) No. 2 Tanner Gardner (Stanford) vs. No. 6 Rollie Peterkin (Penn) 133 No. 9 Kenny Jordan (Nebraska) vs. No. 5 Reece Humphrey (Ohio State) No. 11 Jeff Hedges (UNC Greensboro) vs. T.J. Dillashaw (Cal State Fullerton) 141 No. 1 Charles Griffin (Hofstra) vs. No. 13 Kellen Russell (Michigan) No. 3 Kyle Ruschell (Wisconsin) vs. No. 2 Jeff Jaggers (Ohio State) 149 No. 1 Josh Churella (Michigan) vs. No. 5 Darrion Caldwell (NC State) No. 2 J.P. O'Connor (Harvard) vs. No. 3 Lance Palmer (Ohio State) 157 No. 1 Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) vs. No. 4 Matt Kocher (Pittsburgh) No. 2 Michael Poeta (Illinois) vs. No. 3 Craig Henning (Wisconsin) 165 No. 1 Eric Tannenbaum (Michigan) vs. No. 5 Stephen Dwyer (Nebraska) No. 10 Jarrod King (Edinboro) vs. No. 3 Nick Marable (Missouri) 174 No. 1 Keith Gavin (Pittsburgh) vs.No. 5 John Dergo (Illinois) No. 2 Matt Stolpinski (Navy) vs. No. 3 Steve Luke (Michigan) 184 No. 1 Mike Pucillo (Ohio State) vs. No. 4 Raymond Jordan (Missouri) No. 2 Tyrel Todd (Michigan) vs. No. 3 Louis Caputo (Harvard) 197 No. 1 Max Askren (Missouri) vs. No. 4 Patrick Bond (Illinois) No. 2 Dallas Herbst (Wisconsin) vs. No. 6 Jared Villers (West Virginia) Hwt No. 1 Tervel Dlagnev (Nebraska-Kearney) vs. No. 4 Dustin Rogers (West Virginia) No. 2 Wade Sauer (Cal State Fullerton) vs. No. 3 J.D. Bergman (Ohio State)

DeKALB, Ill. -- Redshirt sophomore Duke Burk defeated Northwestern's Nick Hayes, giving Northern Illinois wrestling the final push it needed to upset the No. 5 Wildcats, 22-19, Friday at the Convocation Center. Burk (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame), ranked 13th in the nation at 174 pounds, executed a first-round takedown to catalyze a 3-1 win over the eighth-ranked Hayes. Burk said some pre-match studying helped him toward the win. "He wrestled my brother (former NIU wrestler Danny Burk) last year," Burk said. "I watched the tape of that, so I kind of knew what (Hayes) was going to do going in." Burk used that knowledge to counter when Hayes attacked. "He got a single-leg, but I'm pretty comfortable scrambling and scrambled enough to get my own takedown," Burk said. That takedown proved to be the difference in the match. Burk's victory gave the Huskies a 22-16 advantage, which they rode to the three-point triumph. The win caps off a run of dual meets against the top teams in the country for Northern Illinois. The Huskies lost to both No. 3 Iowa State and No. 1 Minnesota before besting the Wildcats. "After you've (wrestled good team) so many times, I think those top-ranked teams don't get that extra confidence walking into your building," NIU head coach Dave Grant said. Northern Illinois redshirt freshman Jake Smith (Bennington, Neb./Bennington) opened the night with a 5-4 win at 197. Smith narrowly defeated Carl Howe thanks to a late stalling penalty against the Wildcat and an escape by Smith with 13 seconds left on the clock. Huskie veteran Pat Castillo (Western Springs, Ill./Lyons Township), a redshirt senior at 133 pounds, earned a major decision 12-4 win over Robert Joyce for Northern Illiois' third win of the night. Castillo captured an impressive five takedowns en route to victory. "You can look at the score, and every match was key," Grant said. "You turn any match around and they win." Grant's squad also earned points thanks to two Northwestern forfeits. Wildcat head coach Tim Cysewski did not field a wrestler at 141 pounds or in the heavyweight division. Victor E. Court filled-up with 701 spectators for the match, a factor Grant thinks helped his team to the win. "I really believe the crowd helps in a lot of those situations," he said. "Like with Duke and 20 seconds left coming down to the end and for Jake Smith, it was a boost for him." The NIU wrestling team became the second Huskie squad to upset a Northwestern team ranked in top-10 this season. Earlier in the year, the Northern Illinois men's soccer team upended the ninth-ranked Wildcats 2-1 in double-overtime. The Huskies return to action Saturday, Dec. 15 at the Convocation Center when they host Augustana (Ill.) at 1:05 p.m.

Las Vegas, Nev. -- The seventh-ranked Missouri wrestling team finished day one of the 26th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in second place with 77.5 points. Ohio State leads the team-scored event with 82 points, while Michigan stands in third with 71.5 points. Four Tigers have advanced through the Championship bracket, while four more will resume competition in the consolation brackets beginning tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. (CT). Finals are slated to begin at 7 p.m. (CT). Redshirt freshman Tony Pescaglia (Columbia, Mo,) is one of four Tigers that will continue a run through the championship side of the bracket. Wrestling at 125 pounds. Pescaglia has managed two major upsets, first toppling sixth-ranked and fourth-seeded Collin Cudd of Wisconsin before knocking off No. 11 Gabe Flores of Illinois, 8-4. Pescaglia will open his second day of competition against current No. 1 ranked Paul Donahoe of Nebraska. Pescaglia has held off all four of his Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational opponents by a minimum of four points. "Tony looked a little sluggish in his opening match," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "But he looked great later in the day. It's like something clicked all of the sudden for Tony. He looked like the wrestler I saw at the end of last season. He's looking really good." Nicholas Marable (Collierville, Tenn.) wrestling at 165 pound will also make a run at his first Cliff Keen Title. In his first appearance at the prestigious tournament, Marable, seeded third in his weight class, went 4-0 on the day after winning two of his matches by bonus point victories. Fifth-ranked Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) looks to improve on his sixth place finish of last year at 184 pounds. Currently 3-0 in the tournament, Jordan has won two of his matches by major decision. Helping Missouri to its second place showing, sophomore Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) improved to 8-1 on the season after pinning all three of his Las Vegas Invitational opponents. Askren's fastest fall came in 2:24 over Pittsburgh's Dave Crowell. Askren returns to this year's competition with hopes to defend his 2006 title. Junior Marcus Hoehn (141 pounds), senior Josh Wagner (149 pounds), junior Michael Chandler (157 pounds) and sophomore Mark Ellis (HWT) will all fight to stay alive in the consolation brackets. Ellis suffered an opening round loss to former heavyweight TJ Wright of Rider but has won three straight matches to remain in contention for a top-eight finish.

Head Coach Pat Pecora and his NCAA Division II #5-ranked Mountain Cat wrestlers opened the 2007-08 dual meet season on Wednesday with some stiff competition when Division I #18-ranked American (D.C.) University invaded the Sports Center. Pitt Johnstown trailed 13-7 after the first six bouts, but exploded with a major decision, two technical falls and a forfeit to close the match and earn a 27-13 win. Senior All-American Albert Miles (Canonsburg, Pa.) started the comeback with a 16-5 win over Jonathan Powell at 174 lbs. to cut the deficit to 13-11. Three-time All-American Mike Corcetti (184 lbs.) (Export, Pa.) scored an 18-2 technical fall over Andy Semple at 4:31 to give Pitt Johnstown a 16-13 lead. Sophomore Patrick Walsh (197 lbs.) (Leesport, Pa.) then followed with another technical fall when he defeated Brooks Keefer, 15-0, at 2:50. The Mountain Cats collected a forfeit victory at heavyweight to set the final score at 27-13. American got the match started with a decision win at 125 lbs., before two-time All-American Brandon Reasy (New Enterprise, Pa.) evened the match with a 4-2 win over Matt Mariacher at 133 lbs. The Eagles took the lead again with another decision win at 141 lbs. Adam Whetstone's (149 lbs.) (Claysburg, Pa.) 10-0 major decision over Nick Pitas gave the Mountain Cats a 7-6 lead. American answered with a major decision at 157 lbs. and a decision at 165 lbs. to build the 13-7 advantage However, the Mountain Cats responded with four straight victories to secure the win. The Mountain Cats travel to the Penn State Open on Sunday and to Shippensburg University next Wednesday. Pitt Johnstown's next home match will take place on Saturday, January 5, at 1:00 p.m. when East Region rival Kutztown University visits the Sports Center.

Fullerton, Calif. -- Cal Poly's Chad Mendes (141) scored a 10-2 major decision over Cal State Fullerton's Teddy Astorga in the second to the last wrestling match of the night to lift the Mustangs to an 18-17 Pac-10 win at Titan Gym Wednesday night. The Mustangs won each of the first three matches on the night jumping out to an early 10-0 lead, started by Chase Pami's (157) 12-4 major decision in the night's first match. Ryan Williams (165) and Evan Barbre (174) each followed with decisions over Fullerton's Bryan Tice and Ryan Budd, respectively. The Titans battled back to tie with Wins by Ian Murphy (184), John Drake (197) and heavyweight Wade Sauer. Murphy scored one of the Titans two major decisions on the night, beating Yuri Kalika 8-0. Ranked No. 3 in the country, Sauer outlasted Cal Poly's Jim Powers by a score of 8-2, tying the match at 10-10. Late addition, Boris Navachkov, followed at the 125 weight class with an 11-1 major decision over Fullerton's Sean Roman-Marin to give Cal Poly the late advantage. In the most exciting match of the evening, the Titans' T. J. Dillashaw (133) took down Filip Navachkov with 15 seconds remaining in the third period to tie, and earned another point for riding time to capture the 7-6 victory. Mendes's Major decision then left Fullerton's Morgan Atkinson (149) in a tough spot with Fullerton Trialing by five points at 18-13. Atkinson did earn a major decision with a 12-4 score over Eric Maldanado, but it wasn't enough as the Pac-10's No. 2 team upset the leading Titans by one point. The Titans' next action will be Friday and Saturday, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev.

Cal State Fullerton senior wrestlers Ian Murphy and Morgan Atkinson have not yet attained their goal of All-American honors. Both look toward their last college wrestling season anxiously to in order to finally gain the success they've sought at the national tournament. Murphy was 20-4 last season at 184 pounds, but an academic issue forced the business finance major to depart from the team mid-season. He had won the Reno Tournament of Champions just a few weeks earlier, impressively beating Central Michigan's Christian Sinnott 5-1 in the finals. Morgan Atkinson was having a strong season as well when he had to take time off in February due to injury. He returned to the mat for the Pac-10 tournament, which he won, but then finished with a disappointing 1-2 record at the NCAAs. Even so, he concluded the season at 28-5. RevWrestling.com's Tom Franck caught up with both wrestlers after each won their respective weight classes at the Fullerton Open. The Titan seniors were eager to talk about upcoming competitions and postseason goals as well as offering thoughts on Internet scouting and their looming matchups with two highly-regarded Golden Gophers. Ian Murphy How do you think winning a tournament early on in the season gets you going, confidence-wise? Murphy: My confidence is great. It's a good stepping stone for Vegas (The Cliff Keen Invitational) in a couple of weeks, you know. Get a (tournament) win under your belt and get a good seed there, hopefully. There's obviously a lot of tough guys at your weight at Vegas. With the Internet, scouting has never been easier. Do you do any of that -- viewing video matches of potential opponents before the tournament? Murphy: Yeah. I'll check out the top-seeded guys there. I'm not going to search all 34 guys that are supposed to be there. I'll look at anyone ranked ahead of me. Well, anyone ranked in the top 20, I'll be watching -- see what they do and what I can do to beat them. So you don't run into a situation like you did today? (Murphy won a close 6-5 decision over Riley Orozco from Cal State Bakersfield) Murphy: Exactly. I hadn't seen that kid before. I didn't know what he did. I didn't do a good job of watching him earlier today. He put together a pretty good win against (Cal Poly's) Kalika, which surprised me. I was preparing to wrestle either Kalika or (Stanford's) Geison in the finals. And Geison pulled out with an injury that kid upset Kalika so … I know you've got a dual meet with Minnesota on December 8 and you'll get a shot at No. 2-ranked Roger Kish. Murphy: Yeah. Is that the sort of thing that excites you? Getting an early-season, "free look" at someone. How much do you look forward to a matchup like that? Murphy: I'm really looking forward to that dual. I've been looking forward to that dual since I heard they were coming to California to dual us. I wrestled Varner here last year and he took second in the nation. So it's good to get an early season look at a guy of Kish's caliber. Ian Murphy (Photo/John Sachs)I remember last year in the All-Star dual, (Oklahoma's) Matt Storniolo was trailing (Minnesota's) Dustin Schlatter and, in the third period, he chose top. It seemed like he was doing it just to try it out. To get a feel for a position with someone when it doesn't really matter. When you face someone like Kish early on … Murphy: It's not a big deal. It helps a lot for seeding and that's about it. That win would be great, but March is when it matters. A dual win in December is very small compared to March. So I'd rather learn as much as I can from that dual meet and take it to March when it really matters. It seems like 184 has a lot of tough guys, especially in the Big Ten. It also seems pretty wide open too. Murphy: Yeah. Anyone in the top ten has a shot at it, I think. Just get in a good tournament. Obviously a factor here is (defending 184-pound NCAA champ) Jake Herbert taking a (redshirt) year off to try for the Olympic team. He's obviously an incredible wrestler. I'm curious how competitors feel when they learn things like that. Does it make you happy or would you rather have him in the mix to make the field tougher? Murphy: Herbert's a great wrestler. I've watched him a lot. I've never wrestled him. I was looking forward to wrestling him this year. I want to be the best. If I'm going to win a national title, I'd like to beat the best along the way, you know. So is it a letdown? Murphy: It's not really a letdown, it just makes it feel like the national tournament isn't as tough as it could be this year. With him there, that would make nationals much tougher. He would have bumped everyone's seed down at least one. This is an Olympic year. Will you give a go at freestyle after the season is over? Murphy: Yeah. I'll do freestyle nationals. Keep my training up all the way through the open and through the trials. How much of a detriment do you think it is to concentrate on folkstyle? Murphy: I think I can make the transition pretty easily. I did it last year and had decent success. I hadn't done much freestyle in the past, but last year at the open I made it to the second day. I wrestled (Lee) Fullhart and some of those other guys and got a good look at them. It will be a busy, busy month in the room working on technique and stuff, but my shape will already be there. Best of luck. Murphy: Thank you. Morgan Atkinson Morgan Atkinson won the Cal Open, beating Cal Poly's Eric Maldonado in the finals. He had an 8-3 lead in the second period, but had to hold on for a 12-9 win and wasn't happy with his performance. How do you feel, recognizing that you didn't wrestle at your best, that you have a chance to correct some things before Vegas? Atkinson: Ever since NCAAs last year, I've just been trying to improve every aspect of my game. I mean doing well there is just my ultimate goal and what I'm looking forward to. I know you've got Minnesota on December 8, where you'll get a shot at Dustin Schlatter. How do you view that as an opportunity? Atkinson: Yeah. It's awesome. I think it's an awesome opportunity. At Cal Fullerton I've never been given the opportunity to wrestle the number one guy yet. This is my first chance actually. I'm looking forward to it. It seems like you did have a lot of success last year, making the finals in Reno and winning the Pac Ten tourney, but there were a lot of guys out there that you weren't getting a shot at. Atkinson: I think that's part of the reason why I didn't do that good at NCAAs was my lack of competition. My schedule was weak. I mean I had a great record last year. Got a good seed at NCAAs, but when I showed up I wasn't ready to wrestle those guys and I think wrestling those guys this year will help me . A lot of those guys will be at Vegas this season. Atkinson: Yeah, and Reno will be tougher this year for me. A little more competition this year. One caliber opponent that you did get a shot at last year was Harvard's JP O'Connor. You lost a close match to him at Vegas. Atkinson: I partially tore my ACL in that match. It was the third period, I tore it and then he got around and got two reversal and then we went into the very last overtime. And at NCAAs I had to watch from the stands and I watched him All-American and mean, I was leading him for most of our match so it was very painful. What do you think you have to do, other than facing better competition, to break through and finally be an All-American? Atkinson: Well, last year one of the reasons I didn't do as well as could have is because I have a concussion problem and I got a concussion toward the end of the season and had to sit out for about a month. No running or anything. My conditioning was terrible at NCAAs. I think if I can stay healthy and have confidence in my conditioning, I'll be okay. Morgan Atkinson (Photo/John Sachs) I think Iowa's Lincoln McIllravy had a similar problem as a senior. Atkinson: Did he? When I was in high school my last year I had to wear this box mask when I wrestled. Do you think you'll have to wear it again? Atkinson: I hope not. Me and my family talked by my doctors and I'm on the last bit of my wrestling. My doctors wanted me to quit after my last concussion, but I'm not quitting. It's an Olympic year. Will you try freestyle and go to the U.S. Nationals? Atkinson: Yeah, I don't see why not. If I didn't, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. You've got the returning NCAA champion moving up a weight (Edinboro's Gregor Gillespie) and guys like Iowa State's Cyler Sanderson moving up as well. So maybe the weight class isn't as stacked as people thought it was going to be. Is that the sort of thing that gives you a bit of relief? Do you feel like you have a bit more breathing room? Or does it disappoint you? Did you want a shot at Gillespie? MA: I don't think I'm disappointed. Yeah, you lose those guys but then you add a guy like (Iowa's) Brent Metcalf. You lose a guy like (Cornell's) Jordan Leen, but then you've got Will Rowe of Oklahoma coming down. I think it's going to be hard. How much time do you spend scouting these guys? It seems like there's more footage available than ever on the Internet. With YouTube and all that. Atkinson: I go to YouTube, Flowrestling. I watch the matches on there as much as I can. Not so much for my Pac-10 opponents. Schlatter's obviously got lots of matches there, so yeah, I watch what I can. It's definitely an advantage. Is that the sort of thing you work on with your coach? Atkinson: No. My coach, we watch our own video, but we don't watch other people's videos. That's something I do independently. Do you worry about people scouting you that way? Atkinson: I think I might have like one match on YouTube so I'm really scared about that. But it's a possibility, I suppose. Do you think that might have hurt Schlatter last year in terms of all his close matches? Atkinson: It could be a factor. Well, he only did lose one match. But he had a good number of closer matches. Atkinson: I don't know if people figured him out from video, but I think it was closer because people figured him out and they tried to keep it closer. One of the more anticipated matchups this season is Schlatter vs. Metcalf. Do you even think about matchups in your weight that you're not a part of? Atkinson: Not really. I haven't wrestled Schlatter and I wrestled Metcalf like four years ago in Junior FILA Nationals. I don't really have an opinion. I hope to be one of those guys. Not look up to one of those guys, you know. Well best of luck in your final season. Atkinson: Thank you.

Sunday afternoon's dual wrestling meet between No. 1 Minnesota and No. 2 Iowa State will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network, network officials announced today. The meet will be held in Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus and will begin at 2 p.m. It was previously scheduled to air via tape delay on Dec. 7. "It doesn't get any bigger than No. 1 vs. No. 2," Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said, "and we're honored to bring a live telecast of this event to national audience of more than 30 million people." The Cyclones (5-0) were runners-up behind the Golden Gophers (3-0) at last year's NCAA Championships, finishing with 88.5 team points to Minnesota's 98. J Robinson's Gophers also got the better of Iowa State in two regular season dual meets, winning 19-13 in Ames last Dec. 8 and 24-11 at the National Duals in January of 2007. The Gophers are 17-33-2 all-time in meetings with the Cyclones but have won the last three dual meets between the two schools. Both schools are defending champions of their respective conferences (Big Ten and Big 12). Minnesota enters the match with a perfect dual meet record following convincing victories Saturday against Northern Illinois, Northern Colorado and North Dakota State at the Northern Quad in Rochester, Minn. The Gophers have now won 23 consecutive dual meets dating back to Nov. 25 of last year. Tim Johnson, a veteran of over 150 college wrestling dual meet broadcasts for Iowa Public Television (IPTV), the Fighting Illini Wrestling Network, ESPN and Real Pro Wrestling, will be providing play-by-play. Jim Gibbons is a former All-American and national champion wrestler and coach at Iowa State and will be providing color commentary for the telecast. This event marks the first of 10 wrestling meets to air on the Big Ten Network this season. The full schedule will be announced once dates and times are finalized. Stay tuned to bigtennetwork.com and gophersports.com for more information. The Big Ten Network is dedicated to covering the Big Ten Conference and its 11 member institutions and is currently available in Minnesota on Dish Network (channel 439) and DirecTV (channel 220). The BTN is also tentatively scheduled to broadcast the finals of the 2008 Big Ten Championships, to be held in Minneapolis at Williams Arena March 8-9, 2008.

WATERLOO -- Fifteen wrestlers who won national titles while wrestling for the University of Northern Iowa will be the stars of a very special celebration at the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. The event, called the UNI Night of Wrestling Champions, will be held on December 16 following the UNI versus Iowa State wrestling meet at the McLeod Center. The meet is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. with the celebration to follow at 5 p.m. at the museum. All 15 NCAA champions will be recognized at halftime of the dual. "This is a great way to honor the greatest athletic tradition in Northern Iowa history," said Kyle Klingman, associate director of the wrestling museum. "As far as we know, nothing like this has ever been done to honor past UNI wrestling champions. Since the museum is all about history we felt this was a great way to recognize some of the sport's greatest champions. We can't stress enough that this event is open to the public." The event is co-sponsored by the UNI Panther Wrestling Booster Club and DGIWIM. "I am really excited and honored that we are able to have this many champions come back and participate in our champions night," said Ty Kimble, president of the UNI Wrestling Booster Club. "I've had the fortune of seeing all these national champions since 1966 and it's going to be exciting to see the majority of these guys who were national champions for UNI. It should be a fantastic night for fans, wrestlers, and obviously myself." The celebration will recognize athletes who participated at Iowa State Teachers College, State College of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa. The school was known as ISTC from 1909 through 1961, was changed to SCI in 1961 and finally to UNI in 1967. In the long history of the school there have been 13 division I national champions who have won 21 titles and 14 division II national champions who have won 22 titles. Twenty-two former NCAA champions are still living and to date 15 have replied that they will attend both the meet and the reunion. "What a unique and great opportunity to get these great champions back all at once," said Northern Iowa head wrestling coach Brad Penrith. "These are the men who shaped and formed our institution and our wrestling program. It's something that's long overdue and with the help of the Dan Gable Wrestling Museum and their staff's continued efforts to preserve the history of wrestling, these great champions will not be forgotten." Gerry Leeman won the national title in 1946 and is the senior member of the group. A longtime coach at Lehigh University, he currently resides in Cedar Falls. "I think what the museum is doing is extremely important," said Leeman. "This is great publicity for the program. I think it's noteworthy that this new facility is being used to honor past champions and to improve local wrestling." The division I national champions who are attending are Leeman, Bill Nelson (titles in 1947, 1948, and 1949), Bill Smith (1949 and 1950), Keith Young (1949, 1950, and 1951), Gene Lybbert (1952), and Jim Harmon (1953). The division II national champions who are attending are Jim Sanford (1963), Don Parker (1966 and 1967), Clint Young (1971), Jim Miller (1974 and 1975), Ken Snyder (1974 and 1975), Randy Omvig (1975), Gary Bentrim (1976, 1977, and 1978), Keith Poolman (1978), and Ken Gallagher (1980). Julie McCready will represent her late husband Mike at the event. Mike McCready was a division II NCAA champion in 1972 who won a total of 15 national titles in freestyle, Greco-Roman, and college. While regular admission to the museum is $5, this event is free and open to the public. The museum gift shop will have several special items on sale for this event, including a poster and commemorative shirt. Anyone wanting more information about the event should contact the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum at (319) 233-0745.

This week's edition of "On the Mat" will feature Chris Bono and Chris Jericho. Bono is currently the head wrestling coach the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, a position he has held since last year. His team is currently 3-0 in dual meets and ranked 12th in the nation by Intermat. As a wrestler, Bono was a three-time All-American and an NCAA champion for Iowa State. Bono continues to wrestle internationally, winning three U.S. Open Nationals titles and making World Teams in 2001, 2002, and 2005. Jericho recently made a comeback to professional wrestling and is one of the biggest superstars in the industry. His new book – "A Lions Tale: Around the World in Spandex" – was released on October 25. "On the Mat" is a weekly wrestling radio program that airs every Wednesday night. This week's broadcast can be heard live from 6-7 p.m. Central Standard Time. The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, hosts the show. "On the Mat" can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa on 1650, The Fan. Feel free to e-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with questions or comments about the show.

Columbia, Mo. -- Missouri wrestling Head Coach Brian Smith announced today that three student-athletes, Brent Haynes (Oak Park, Mo.), Nick Hucke (Arrowhead, Wis.) and Nathan McCormick (Leawood, Kan.)have signed a National Letter of Intent to compete with the Tiger squad beginning in the fall of 2008. "Our staff is very pleased with the group of wrestlers we've signed," Smith said. "Each athlete brings something different to the mat and I think that these three individuals will work in nicely to our TigerStyle program over the next few years." A two-time Wisconsin state champion and first team all-state honoree, Hucke attends Arrowhead High School, the same high school as Tiger standouts Ben and Maxwell Askren, and enters his senior season with a 121-28 career record. Among Hucke's 121 victories are the 50 consecutive wins he strung together throughout his perfect junior campaign. Hucke earned All-America honors after taking fifth at Nationals in Fargo, N.D. and is expected to wrestle at 141 pounds for the Tigers. Haynes, expected to wrestle at 184 pounds in college, attends Oak Park High School. Ranked second in the nation at 189 pounds by Wrestling USA and fourth by W.I.N. Magazine, Haynes finished first in the state of Missouri his junior season, collecting a second place finish as a sophomore and third place medal as a freshman. Haynes is a 2004 cadet national Greco runner-up, 2005 cadet Greco third-place finisher and fourth place freestyler. In 2006, Haynes' junior season, he earned fifth place honors in Greco competition. As a junior in 2007, Haynes finished sixth in junior Greco and fourth in freestyle while competing in Fargo, N.D. The third McCormick set to wrestle under Smith, Nathan was crowned the 2007 Kansas 6A State Champion at 119 pounds his junior campaign, capturing the Regional title on his way to states. A member of the Blue Valley North wrestling squad, McCormick recorded back-to-back 37-win seasons his sophomore and junior campaigns and was named to the East Kansas League (EKL) and All-Sun country first team as a junior (2007). McCormick received FILA Cadet All-America honors after placing fifth in the Freestyle Competition in Akron, Ohio, April 21, 2007, and is an eight-time Freestyle and Greco Kansas State Champion. "With the talent we currently have in our room are need for a large recruiting class wasn't the focus," Smith said. "Instead, the focus was on bringing in a high quality student-athlete and we feel like we

Lincoln -- Nebraska head coach Mark Manning has announced the signing of five recruits that will join the Husker wrestling squad in the 2008-09 academic year. The five signees, Riley Essay of Alliance, Neb., Jon Burns of Railegh, N.C., Romero Cotton of Hutchinson, Kan., Tyler Koehn of Pittsburg, Kan., and Josh Ihnen of Sheldon, Iowa, will add look to add depth to a talent-filled Nebraska squad, according to recruiting coordinator and assistant coach Tony Ersland. "The important thing is these kids bring the work ethic and attitude that we want in our kids," Ersland said. "We feel all these guys are on the same page and we can hit the ground running. They have talent, but more importantly they have the correct attitude and work ethic." Burns joins the Huskers after a standout career at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh, N.C. In his freshman year at Cary High School, Burns finished third at the state tournament, and took home the 140-pound title in the Jim King/Orange Invitational. Burns sat out his sophomore year after transferring, but rebounded with a phenomenal junior campaign. Burns completed a 65-0 season and won the state championship. He capped his year by winning the 140-pound title at the National High School Coaches Association Junior National Wrestling Championships in Virginia Beach, Va. Ranked as the ninth-best junior in the nation last year, Burns will compete at 141 pounds for the Huskers. "He is an accomplished athlete that has a lot of untapped potential," Ersland said. "We see his upside as tremendous. Hopefully he will continue to grow and be a top kid for us." The Huskers again signed one of the top recruits in the state with Essay, who will look to cap his high school career with a fourth consecutive top-five finish at the state tournament this season. Essay earned a fourth-place finish his freshman year at 103 pounds and finished fifth at 112 his sophomore year. Last season saw Essay claim third at 125. Essay is projected to wrestle at 133 for NU. "He is going to fit in well because he is a hard working, dedicated kid," Ersland said. "We know he has a lot of desire and will bring his great work habits to our room." NU adds two more talented athletes with Kansas natives Cotton and Koehn. Wrestling at 152 pounds, Koehn captured a state championship last season for Pittsburg High School. He earned All-American honors last summer in the freestyle division at the USA Wrestling Nationals. Koehn works hard off the mat also, earning a 3.8 GPA at his high school. Koehn will wrestle at 174 for NU. "Koehn is another fundamentally-sound wrestler who knows how to win," Ersland said. Cotton also has his share of state championships. He will attempt to become a four-time state champion this winter, after winning titles in 2004 at 145, in 2006 at 160 and in 2007 at 171. One of the top recruits in the nation at 189 pounds, Cotton's athleticism has transferred to other sports as well. A running back for the three-time defending state champion Hutchinson High School, Cotton rushed for 1,398 yards and 22 touchdowns his junior season. Cotton is expected to wrestle 184 pounds in college. "Kansas as a state has done an excellent job with their kids," Ersland said. "Their organization has provided their kids an opportunity to wrestle at all sorts of levels." Rounding out the early signings is Ihnen. After a runner-up finish at 171 pounds at the state tournament last season, Ihnen competed this summer at the USA Wrestling nationals, where he earned All-America honors in the freestyle division. Ihnen has shown abilities in the classroom also, touting a 3.99 GPA and a 30 ACT score. Ihnen will wrestle at 197 pounds for the Huskers. "He is a smart wrestler who has been around our program a lot," Ersland said. "He has been to our camps and we have seen him wrestle quit a bit. He will fit in well with our philosophy as a team."

Want to relive the excitement of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships held this past March at the Palace of Auburn Hills? Eager to see Cael Sanderson capture his four NCAA titles? Curious to catch Kurt Angle in action as a college heavyweight champ years before his gold medal performance at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics … or his turn as a professional wrestler? Wondering what college wrestling looked like back in the 1950s, 60s, 70s or 80s? Now you can … thanks to a new service, NCAA On Demand, which now sells DVDs of men's and women's NCAA sports championships, including wrestling, via the Web site www.NCAAOnDemand.com. From this website -- which describes itself as "the online store for NCAA championship DVDs" -- college wrestling fans can now purchase DVDs of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship finals as well as a limited number of other events right online. In-stock titles include the NCAA championship finals from 2007 back to 1990 (except for the 1994 and 1997 NCAA finals). According to Matt Winninger, Senior Marketing Manager for Thought Equity Motion, the company that has partnered with the NCAA to make these DVDs available, "The DVD titles are copies of the television broadcasts, without commercials… For titles that are in stock, the discs are shipped within 48 hours, and delivered within 2-8 days." Wrestling fans can see Iowa State legend Cael Sanderson (pictured) win his four collegiate titles by purchasing the 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 NCAA DVDs. Sanderson defeated Lehigh's Jon Trenge to win his fourth title in Albany, N.Y.Thanks to NCAA On Demand, wrestling fans can now own DVDs of some of the most exciting collegiate wrestling championship events of the past two decades. For example, they can see Cael Sanderson win his four collegiate titles by purchasing the 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 NCAA DVDs… or catch Kurt Angle as Clarion's heavyweight with the DVDs of the 1990, 1991 and 1992 NCAA finals. Oklahoma State fans can relive the excitement of the 2005 NCAAs, the year the Cowboys claimed five of the individual titles (and the team championships)… while Minnesota fans can thrill again to their recent team titles with the 2007, 2002 and 2001 NCAA DVDs. Iowa Hawkeye fans can experience the glory days of the Dan Gable era, and see all-time greats like Tom and Terry Brands, Joe Williams and Lincoln McIlravy in action on the mat once more. The user-friendly NCAA On Demand website features a brief description of each of the in-stock items (including names of some of the individual champions), along with a videoclip from that event to provide fans with a "sneak peek" before purchasing. For wrestling fans and historians who want to travel even further back in time, the NCAA On Demand collection also includes selected "old-school" NCAA wrestling championships of the 1980s, 1970s, 1960s and even the 1950s. These older events are sometimes on silent film, and their condition can vary. "We attempt to restore each championship for fans who request them," says Matt Winninger. "When you request an event, we will begin the restoration process and notify you if and when the title becomes available. There is no charge for requesting a title that hasn't been manufactured yet." To see a complete list of NCAA wrestling events available for purchase online, visit www.ncaaondemand.com/search?schools=&year=&sport=wrestling&x=20&y=9 For more information on NCAA On Demand � and to see what other collegiate sports events are available on DVD � visit their home page at www.NCAAOnDemand.com.

Oklahoma State swept four duals Saturday at the Journeyman/Brute Northeast Duals, including a 20-16 victory over No. 12 Hofstra. The Cowboys cruised to victories over Binghamton (47-3), Clarion (38-6), and American (42-0) at the all-day event in Troy, N.Y. The Cowboys opened things up with a lopsided 47-3 win over Binghamton. Oklahoma State recorded four pins, two tech falls and received a forfeit at heavyweight. Ben Ashmore, Coleman Scott, Newly McSpadden and Brandon Mason all recorded falls, while Nathan Morgan and Jared Shelton picked up five team points with tech falls. The Cowboys followed things up with a dominating 38-6 win over Clarion. Scott, McSpadden and Cody Hill picked up falls in the win, and Jared Rosholt earned a 15-0 tech fall. In the marquee match of the duals, the Cowboys overcame losses from their three big guns Scott, Morgan, and Mason, en route to a hard-fought 20-16 victory. The two teams split the 10 weights, but the Cowboys picked up a fall from Jake Dieffenbach at 165-pounds that was the difference in the dual. For the second time in a week the fifth-ranked Charles Griffin upset second-ranked Morgan, this time 7-5. Last Sunday at the NWCA All-Star duals, Griffin recorded a 9-4 decision. Scott may have lost his spot atop the 133-pound weight class, falling to Lou Ruggirello, who replaced him at the All-Star duals and cruised to a 6-0 victory over Mack Reiter. Oklahoma State wrapped things up with a dominating 42-0 sweep of American. The Cowboys picked up falls from Hill, Quinten Fuentes and Clayton Foster.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Claiming wins in its first seven bouts and eight of 10 matches overall, Augsburg College scored a 38-10 victory over Augustana College (S.D.) in a wrestling dual meet on Wednesday night at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall. It was the first dual meet for both teams this season. Augsburg, defending NCAA Division III national champions, is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division III national poll (National Wrestling Coaches Association). Augsburg leads the all-time series with Augustana 8-1, in a series that dates to the 1999-2000 season. Augustana finished ninth at last season's NCAA Division II national championships. Against teams from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 219-17 since the 1989-90 season, losing just 12 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 season. Augsburg has won 10 Division III national titles in the last 17 seasons. The dual-meet victory was the first for new Augsburg head coach Sam Barber, the eighth head coach in the history of the Auggie wrestling program. Barber, who served as head coach at his alma mater, Upper Iowa University, in the 1999-2000 season, served as an Augsburg assistant coach for six seasons before being named head coach this year. Augsburg scored four bonus-point victories -- a pin, technical fall and two major decisions -- along with a forfeit among its eight bout victories in Wednesday's dual meet. Willy Holst (SO, Prescott, Wis.), ranked No. 3 nationally at 149 pounds, moved up a weight class and scored a 2:33 pin of Augustana's Gavin Nelson (FY, Missouri Valley, Iowa). Holst is now 5-0 on the season. In his first dual meet for the Auggies after transferring from the University of Minnesota, Travis Lang (JR, Bismarck, N.D.) improved to 4-1 on the season with a 16-1, technical-fall victory over Chism Fink (FY, Harrisburg, S.D.) at 133. Lang dominated the match, with three takedowns and three 3-point near-falls, while accumulating 6:06 of riding time. Lucas Murray (FY, Anoka, Minn.) and Jason Adams (SO, Coon Rapids, Minn.) both remained unbeaten at 4-0 with major-decision wins -- Murray with a 14-3 win over Jay Sherer (FY, Columbus, Neb.) at 141 and Adams with a 10-2 triumph over Mike Wubbena (FY, Fairmont, Minn.). Robbie Gotreau (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS), ranked No. 2 nationally at 184, built 3:19 of riding time to score a 4-1 victory over Beau Severtson (SR, Flandreau, S.D.). Tyson Barrett (SO, Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka HS) opened the match with a 5-1 win over Lance Peters (FY, LeRoy, Minn.) at heavyweight. Matt Curtis (SO, Coon Rapids, Minn.) scored the go-ahead point with an escape with 1:19 remaining and a crucial takedown with three seconds left in the third period to claim a 6-3 win over Kyle Svendsen (FY, Omaha, Neb.) at 165. Augustana's Andrew Sorenson (SR, Garretson, S.D.) improved to 8-3 on the season with a second-period, 3:28 pin of Augsburg's Brandon Klukow (JR, Albert Lea, Minn.) at 174 pounds. In the final match of the evening, Ty Copsey (FY, Glenwood, Iowa) improved to 11-2 on the season with a 9-1, major-decision win over Augsburg's Andy Robinson (SO, Cedar, Minn./St. Francis HS), taking advantage of three takedowns and a 3:09 riding-time advantage. Both teams return to action after the Thanksgiving break on Dec. 1 at 9 a.m. at the Minnesota State Moorhead Dragon Open.