InterMat Staff

WATERLOO –- Young wrestlers are being invited to participate in one of the most exciting wrestling seminars ever offered. Dan Gable, considered by many to be the most successful coach in collegiate history, will be conducting a special kids clinic at the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. The clinics will be held in the Dan Gable Teaching Center at the Dan Gable Wrestling Museum located at 303 Jefferson St. in downtown Waterloo. "This in an unbelievable opportunity for wrestlers to learn from the best in a very intimate setting," said Kyle Klingman, associate director of the Dan Gable Wrestling Museum. "It was part of our goal when setting up the museum structure to bring Dan's coaching expertise to the Cedar Valley area. We are very excited about these clinics." A native of Waterloo, Dan Gable set the standard for coaching by winning 15 NCAA titles in 21 years during his tenure as the head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa. He is considered by many to be the greatest coach of all time, in any sport. Gable was a three-time state champion at West Waterloo and won 181 straight matches in high school and collegiate competition. He won the World Championships in 1971 and captured the gold medal at the 1972 Olympics without surrendering a point. In 2000, Sports Illustrated named Gable as the top sports figure in the state of Iowa. "Now that I've gotten back into coaching as an assistant, it will be nice to be in a head coaching role again," said Gable. "These clinics will be a good start for future success in the area." Dates for the clinic are October 21 & 28 and November 4 & 11. Dan Gable will provide instruction, technique, training, and coaching advice at all sessions beginning October 21. Cost is $250 for all four sessions. Due to the size of the teaching center the enrollment limit will be 40 on a first-come first-served basis. Times for the clinic are 1:30-3 p.m. for Kindergarten through 8th grade and 3:15-5 p.m. for 9th through 12th grade. To reserve a spot in the clinic call the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum at (319) 233-0745.

CORVALLIS, Ore. -– Oregon State assistant wrestling coach Troy Steiner has been named to the coaching staff for the USA Wrestling World Team that will compete in the women's freestyle World Championships from Sept. 17-23 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Steiner's brother, Terry Steiner, is the head coach; both Steiners had coached at OSU under former Beaver head coach Joe Wells and Troy returned to OSU when Jim Zalesky was hired as head coach prior to the 2006-07 season. Oregon State won the Pacific-10 championship in 2007. The World Team Coaches were chosen by the Women's Coach Selection Committee and approved by USA Wrestling's Executive Committee. "We have talked about having more team unity in the program," Terry Steiner said. "The comfort for me with having Troy in this position is that we will be on the same page. Having the same message and philosophy is important. Troy has a good rapport with the women. They believe in him and trust him. We need to get back on track as a team where we are respected in the world as a power. We have the same people from when we were second in the world and won the World Cup. I expect to be back to that, where we are in position to win the team title and individual titles." Troy Steiner has also had assistant coaching positions at Iowa and Wisconsin. He has coached a number of U.S. women's teams overseas and was a finalist for the U.S. Olympic Team women's coaching position in 2004. Steiner was a 1992 World Cup champion in freestyle wrestling and won the 1996 Pan American Championships. He was a NCAA champion at Iowa and a four-time All-American. "Right now, we are looking at Japan, China and Russia as some of the teams we have to beat," Troy Steiner said. "There may be some things we have to change as a team. I hope to add to what Terry is doing, and help the women in any way they need. I hope to bring a different perspective to help them reach their goals. We have a good core group of athletes. They have the ability to be near the top of the world again."

Every year there are bracket busters at the NCAA Division I Championships. You know ... the unseeded wrestlers who win the matches they're not supposed to win and prevent those matchups that were supposed to happen. So who will the bracket busters be this year in Philadelphia? I've come up with one potential bracket buster in each of the 10 weight classes to watch. These are 10 wrestlers that I think could pull upsets. 125: Anthony Zanetta (Pitt) Zanetta, a two-time EWL champion, went through a sophomore slump at the beginning of this season, but is firing on all cylinders heading into the NCAAs. He has won his last nine matches. Zanetta will face 10th-seeded Alan Waters of Missouri, a true freshman, in the opening round. If Zanetta can get past Waters, he will likely face seventh-seeded Ryan Mango of Stanford. Most fans are expecting to see the rubber match between Waters and Mango in the second round, but don't be shocked if that match does not materialize. In fact, don't be shocked if Zanetta knocks off Waters and Mango en route to a quarterfinal match against second-seeded Matt McDonough of Iowa. McDonough beat Zanetta, 10-6, in the second of last year's NCAA Championships. Nathan Pennesi reached the finals of the Reno Tournament of Champions before falling to Andrew Hochstrasser (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)133: Nathan Pennesi (West Virginia) Pennesi is a tough freshman from Pennsylvania who has been on a roll. He likes to wrestle from space and use fakes to set up his leg attacks. He's tough to score on in neutral and tough to ride. The only wrestler to beat him over the last two months is Edinboro's Eric Morrill. Four of Pennesi's six losses this season have come to seeded wrestlers and the other two to Morrill. He is paired in the opening round with two-time MAC champion and All-American Scotti Sentes of Central Michigan, who is seeded 11th. Expect that to be a tightly-contested battle. If Pennesi can pull the mild upset against Sentes, he will likely see another freshman in the second round, either seventh-seeded Tony Ramos of Iowa or Frank Cagnina of Lehigh. Pennesi has the tools to make a run to the quarterfinals. 141: Matt Bonson (Lock Haven) Lock Haven coach Robbie Waller's lone NCAA qualifier, Bonson, a transfer from Virginia, has the potential to make some noise in Philadelphia. He was an NCAA qualifier in 2009 for the Cavaliers and will head to Philadelphia with a 24-3 record. The only wrestler to defeat Bonson in the calendar year is All-American Tyler Nauman of Pitt, who edged him twice by two points. Bonson will face the winner of Levi Jones (Boise State) vs. Corey Manson (Cornell). If he wins his first round match, he will likely see third-seeded Boris Novachkov of Cal Poly, a wrestler who has also had a tight battle with Nauman this season. Eric Terrazas placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)149: Eric Terrazas (Illinois) Buffalo's Desi Green, who is seeded 12th, will have his hands full in the first round against Terrazas, who is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. Terrazas has taken more losses this season than Green, but has faced stiffer competition in the Big Ten. If Terrazas can get past Green, he will see Oklahoma State's Jamal Parks, who is seeded fifth, or Minnesota's Danny Zilverberg, a wrestler he has beaten twice, in the second round. Don't be surprised if Terrazas knocks off a couple seeded wrestlers to reach the quarterfinals against Cornell's Kyle Dake. 157: Matt Cathell (Kent State) Cathell is a known commodity as a two-time NCAA qualifier, but he's a dangerous matchup for any wrestler because of his unorthodox style. He likes to throw and funk, plus he's tough on top. Cathell is coming off a disappointing performance at the MAC Championships, where he lost twice, but earned an at-large selection into the NCAAs. Cathell will face fifth-seeded Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech in the first round. Dong has won 18 of his last 19 matches. Interestingly, the one wrestler to defeat Dong during that stretch is Corey Mock of North Carolina, a wrestler Cathell has pinned twice this season. 165: Donnie Jones (West Virginia) The youngest of the Jones brothers, Donnie, a sixth-year senior, is looking to finish his career on the podium for the first time in his fourth appearance at the NCAAs. He has had a productive career at West Virginia, but has not been able to put it together at the NCAAs. Jones has a lot of tools and has proven over the years that he can battle with that nation's best. He beat NCAA champion Jarrod King of Edinboro a month before King won the title in 2009. Last year Jones took two-time All-American Ryan Morningstar of Iowa into overtime in the first round of the NCAAs, before losing, 4-2. Jones will face Ross Tice of Kent State in the opening round this year. If Jones beats Tice, he will face returning All-American Tyler Caldwell of Oklahoma, who is seeded third. Jones will certainly be a fairly big underdog if that match materializes, but he has the tools to make it interesting. 174: Matt Demichiel (Navy) Demichiel has only lost to Cornell's Mack Lewnes and Maryland's Mike Lett's over the last two months. He has two wins this season over 11th-seeeded Austin Meys of Lehigh, including one this past Sunday in the EIWA semifinals. Demichiel could find himself in the quarterfinals if he can get past 10th-seeded Nick Heflin in the first round and seventh-seeded Nick Amuchastegui of Stanford, a wrestler who has split two matches with Meys. Luke Rebertus has a win over Robert Hamlin, but lost to Joe LeBlanc in the finals of the Reno Tournament of Champions (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)184: Luke Rebertus (Navy) Rebertus is arguably the most dangerous unseeded wrestler in the tournament. He has a win this season over second-seeded Robert Hamlin of Lehigh and has wrestled several of the nation's top 184-pounders to close matches, including top-seeded Chris Honeycutt of Edinboro, who beat him 6-4. Assuming Rebertus can get past Gardner-Webb's Jonathan Velazquez, he will likely get another shot at Honeycutt in the second round. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that unseeded Rebertus upsets top-seeded Honeycutt. If that happens, it's anyone's guess who comes out of the top side of the bracket. 197: Brent Haynes (Missouri) Kent State's Dustin Kilgore's, the fourth seed, got a tough first round draw in Haynes, who went 3-2 at the NCAAs last season. Haynes has beaten several wrestlers in this weight class throughout his young career, including fifth-seeded Luke Lofthouse, who he hammered 7-1 last season. Watch the Kilgore-Haynes first round match because it could be interesting. 285: Brendan Barlow (Kent State) Don't read too much into Barlow's double-digit losses this season. He has been up and down this season and lost some tight matches to the nation's top heavyweights. He owns a 10-5 victory over ninth-seeded Cameron Wade of Penn State. Barlow beat second-seeded Jarrod Twice of Central Michigan to win the MAC title last season, but has two close losses to Trice this season. Barlow also has close losses this season to No. 1 Zach Rey of Lehigh, No. 5 Dom Bradley of Missouri, and No. 6 Ryan Tomei of Pitt. Barlow will get another crack at Tomei in the first round. Tomei won 6-5 the first time the two met. Expect another barnburner.

This week's edition of "On the Mat" will feature Rob Koll and Shannyn Gillespie. Rob Koll is the current head wrestling coach at Cornell University, a position he has held for the past 13 years. During his tenure, Koll has led his teams to 10 Ivy titles, two EIWA titles and eight top-20 finishes at the NCAA tournament. In 2005, Koll was named NCAA "Coach of the Year" after placing fourth at the NCAA tournament. As an athlete, Koll was a four-time All-American and an NCAA champion for North Carolina. While competing in freestyle Koll was a two-time National Open Champion, a World Cup Champion and a Pan American Games champion. He also placed fifth at the World Championships in 1990. He is the son of Bill Koll, a former three-time undefeated NCAA champion for Iowa State Teachers College (now Northern Iowa). Gillespie serves as the head women's wrestling coach at the United States Olympic Education Center located on the campus of Northern Michigan University. Since arriving at the U.S. Olympic Education Center in 2004, he has guided athletes such as Mary Kelly, Sharon Jacobson, Dany Hedin and Randi Miller to national championship titles. Gillespie grew up in Evanston, Ill., and culminated his athletic career by training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., from 1997-1999. While wrestling at Lock Haven, Gillespie earned All-American honors by placing 3rd place at the 1993 NCAA tournament. In 1989 he won an Illinois state title. "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.

No Limits Mixed Martial Arts of Irvine, Calif. has signed a sponsorship agreement with USA Wrestling, the national governing body of amateur wrestling in the United States. The sponsorship will designate No Limits as the Official Sponsor for the U.S. World Teams for Grappling and Sombo, as well as other involvement with USA Wrestling�s programs in those styles of international wrestling This agreement will run through the end of 2008, and will encompass both the 2007 U.S. World Teams, as well as the 2008 U.S. World Teams. �This sponsorship provides a unique opportunity for significant resources for our historic World Teams in these new styles,� said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director. �This will play an important role in the development of our programs for Grappling and Sombo. We are excited about our partnership with No Limits and its accomplished professional staff.� �We have a significant interest in seeing the sport of Grappling propelled to the forefront as a wrestling discipline,� said Jim Santaniello of No Limits. �The athletes who are representing the U.S. in this historic first Grappling World event are superior in all ways, including their character, integrity and athletic ability. We are so proud to be a part of the USA Wrestling organization and sponsors of this Grappling World Championship Team. All of us at No Limits are determined to make our training center a haven for young people to learn new skills and train with some of the best coaches in this sport. Our partners Colin Oyama and Juliano Prado have been an integral part of encouraging this Grappling program at No Limits Mixed Martial Arts.� As part of its sponsorship, No Limits will fund the costs of the No. 1 athletes, as well as the two official coaches and the team leaders for the U.S. World Grappling Team for both men and women to participate in the FILA World Grappling Championships. Included will be the hosting of an official training camp for the World Grappling Team, which will be held at the No Limits facility in Irvine, Calif. The World Team Coaches for the 2007 World Grappling Team are Bob Anderson of Redondo Beach, Calif. and Jason Townsend of Las Vegas, Nev. The Team Leaders for the 2007 World Grappling Team are Jim and Karen Santaniello of Irvine, Calif. and Gogi Parseghian of Los Angeles, Calif. The 2007 FILA World Championships for Grappling will be held September 9 in Antalya, Turkey. The U.S. Grappling World Team Training Camp is being held at No Limits in Irvine, Calif., August 28 � Sept. 3. The No Limits Mixed Martial Arts facility in Irvine, Calif. has been designated as the USA Wrestling National Training Center for Grappling and Sombo. No Limits is a Mixed Martial Arts training center that offers MMA training and classes for every skill level with an all-inclusive facility. No Limits provides training in most major disciplines of MMA. The center provides instruction for those seeking to learn or improve their skills and performance in Grappling, Sombo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Wrestling or Mixed Martial Arts, where they are trained by professional-level athletes, recognized champions and elite coaches. Juliano Prado is the Head Coach for Jiu Jitsu and Grappling at the USA Wrestling National Training Center for Grappling at the No Limits facility. Bob Anderson is the Head Coach for Wrestling and Sombo there. No Limits also employs a full-time staff of instructors in other Mixed Martial Arts disciplines. The training center is equipped with a Sports Medicine Wellness Center with a full staff for sports therapy and rehabilitation. USA Wrestling has also named Bob Anderson of Redondo Beach, Calif. as its National Mentor Coach for Grappling and Sombo. Anderson, a longtime coaching leader within USA Wrestling and an expert in these new international styles of wrestling, will take an active role in helping USA Wrestling establish its training systems in these sports. FILA, the international wrestling federation, has named both Sombo and Grappling as international styles of wrestling. FILA hosts World Championship competitions in these wrestling styles. USA Wrestling, as the national wrestling federation within FILA, conducts Sombo and Grappling programs within the United States, along with the other styles of international wrestling. USA Wrestling is sending a team of participants to the World Wrestling Games in Antalya, Turkey, Sept. 7-10. The U.S. team will consist of athletes in Grappling, Sombo and Beach Wrestling.

Three very active men in the wrestling community will be honored by the National Wrestling Coaches Association with the Dan Gable "America Needs Wrestling" Award. This award is to recognize those individuals who have given significant time and effort to the sport of wrestling. Those efforts must have had significant impact on the preservation or promotion of the sport, through contributions that are financial, service and/or leadership in nature. Greg Hatcher of Little Rock, Ark., John Licata of Fairfax, Va., and Steve Silver of Dallas, Texas have been named recipients of this award for their outstanding work in helping start wrestling, saving wrestling and promoting wrestling. Hatcher has been the driving force behind the movement to start and sanction high school wrestling in Arkansas, which is one of two states that did not have wrestling as a sanctioned sport. Hatcher put up his own money to buy mats for over 10 schools in the state with the hope that enough schools would start wrestling as a means to give high school students another athletic option in the winter other than basketball. This season, Arkansas held its first high school state tournament with Bentonville winning the championship in the 16-school field. The state needs 40 programs to start wrestling for the Activities Association to officially sanction the sport. "People like Greg Hatcher represent what this award means," said NWCA Executive Mike Moyer. "He's been spearheading coaching education, additional avenues for kids, positioning wrestling as a way to combat Arkansas' childhood obesity problem and has been footing the bill for much of it." "His altruistic approach to bringing wrestling into an area where it's been lacking speaks volumes about his love of the sport and his willingness to give the kids in his state additional opportunities to compete," added Moyer. Information about Arkansas' growing wrestling movement can be found at www.arkwrestling.com John Licata, a former wrestler at James Madison University, has been a vital cog in the movement to try to regain 10 athletics programs at his alma mater and dropped programs at Ohio University as well. Licata is the founder and president of Equity in Athletics, a non-profit group aimed at reforming Title IX's interpretation and urging schools to keep and add opportunities rather than take them away in response to the proportionality prong of Title IX. "A lot of us were saddened when James Madison elected to end the athletic careers of athletes in 10 sports," said Moyer. "What John has done is not take this sitting down and has been active in explaining the move and is fighting to regain these Olympic sports." "He's not just focusing on this because it's his alma mater, he's focusing on this because it's taken away opportunities from men and women at other programs as well," said Moyer. Licata has also been a generous donor to the NWCA and its Foundation for the Future, a donation fund set up to help program entrenchment, save threatened programs and start new wrestling opportunities nationwide. Steve Silver, a Dallas-based businessman, is the third honoree and his support of wrestling has been broad and generous. Silver has served as a team leader for various U.S. World Teams and was instrumental in bringing the NWCA All-Star Classic to the state of Texas for the first time. He's also on the committee trying to bring intercollegiate wrestling to the University of Texas. "Steve's just a good man in every aspect of life, not just wrestling," said Moyer. "His contributions to the sport have been well-documented and he's been a key factor in the rise of wrestling in a state where there is not one single college varsity program." "Without him, the 2006 All-Star Classic would not have been possible and it would have not been possible to showcase the nation's best wrestling talent in the Lone Star State." Silver currently has son Luke wrestling at Oklahoma State. "This group is phenomenal," said NWCA President Ron Mirikitani. "Even with their own wrestling careers long passed, they still find the time to try to improve and better this sport with their contributions and support." The Dan Gable "America Needs Wrestling" Awards will be presented to Hatcher, Licata and Silver at the 2008 NCAA Championships in St. Louis. Last year, The Hershey Company's Ray Brace, Fresno State's Dennis DeLiddo and Tim Cornish and El Molino High School (Calif.) Athletic Director Greg Dumas were recipients of the award.

HEMPSTEAD, NY -- Jonny Bonilla-Bowman, who captured the Atlantic Coast Conference 157-pound championship as a redshirt freshman at Virginia Tech last spring, has transferred and will compete for the Pride this season, Hofstra Head Wrestling Coach Tom Shifflet announced. Jonny Bonilla-BowmanBonilla-Bowman comes to Hofstra after two seasons at Virginia Tech, where he redshirted in 2005-06 before posting a 20-13 record, winning the ACC title and being named the ACC Championship Tournament Outstanding Wrestler, and qualifying for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Detroit in 2006-07. He was 16-9 at 149 pounds, 4-4 at 157 pounds, was 9-8 in dual matches and 3-2 in ACC matches last season. In the ACC Championship, Bonilla-Bowman, who was seeded third, posted an opening round 7-4 victory over Maryland's Mike McGill, defeated second-seed Ben Fiacco from North Carolina, 8-5, and downed top-seeded Kody Hamrah from North Carolina State, 10-3 for the title. In the NCAA Championships, he lost a first-round decision to Drexel's Ryan Hluschak, 18-12, and a consolation round decision to Jacob Murphy from Purdue, 4-2. The Pomona, New York native attended Ramapo High School in Spring Valley and earned All-America honors with a seventh place finish at the 2005 Senior Nationals. Bonilla-Bowman earned six letters at Ramapo, was a three-year captain, and posted a 125-10 record with 73 wins by fall during his scholastic career. As a senior in 2004-05, he won four tournaments, captured the sectional title at 152 pounds and placed third at the New York State High School Championships. As a junior Bonilla-Bowman won six individual tournaments, captured the sectional crown, and placed fourth at the New York State Championships. He recorded five individual tournament titles and the sectional championship as a sophomore. In addition to his wrestling accolades, Bonilla-Bowman, who was a member of the Honor Roll and Principal's List as a senior, was also a goalkeeper on the Ramapo soccer team. He is also an accomplished musician, winning the New York State Art Teacher's Association Award for his work on the drums, guitar and song writing. "We are excited about adding a wrestler of Jonny's caliber to our team," Shifflet said. "With his talent and experience we expect him to step right into the line-up and compete for one of the jobs vacated by the graduations of All-Americans James Strouse at 157 and Mike Patrovich at 165." Hofstra, which finished seventh at the 2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, opens its 2007-08 regular season schedule on Saturday, November 10 against the University of Missouri. Match time at Hofstra's Mack Sports Complex is 7 p.m.

It seemed like a classic mismatch -- one of those wrestling match-ups where the outcome was assured long before the contestants took to the mat. In one corner, the defending champ, from Russia, known as "the Lion" -- undefeated in a long string of bouts with internationally-respected competition. An incredible physical specimen with a 20-inch neck, and 52-inch chest tapering down to a 36-inch waist, the muscular Russian caused more than one opponent to literally submit to end the match early rather than get caught up in the crushing power of his bearhug and risk injury being lifted high overhead and thrown violently to the mat for the fall. Facing this fearsome champion, a farm boy from the heartland of America -- the best big man this country had to offer. Although lacking the showy muscles of his foreign rival, the US wrestler was deceptively strong from years of hoisting hay bales and hogs. This account may sound familiar to modern-day wrestling fans. But, no, this isn't a description of the contestants of the super-heavyweight Greco-Roman finals match at the 2000 Sydney Olympics between defending champ Alexander Karelin of Russia ... known as "the Siberian Tiger" for the ferocity with which he tore into opponents, and "the Experiment" for his almost freakishly muscular physique -- and Rulon Gardner, the Wyoming dairy farmer who shocked the world by handing the three-time Olympic gold medallist his first defeat in thirteen years. What we're describing is a match-up from nearly a century ago between George "the Russian Lion" Hackenschmidt, the massively muscular world wrestling champion ... and Frank "the Iowa Plowboy" Gotch. The two men met in the professional wrestling ring twice -- first, in April 1908, and then on Labor Day 1911 -- both times in Chicago. Why are we talking about pro wrestlers? The first question that may have occurred to many of you is: RevWrestling.com is an amateur wrestling website. What is an article about professional wrestlers and their matches doing here? For starters, George Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch were major sports superstars of the early 20th century. Fans of all ages collected cabinet cards and postcards with their images, read their books, and devoured articles about them in newspapers. Their epic matches were front-page news around the world -- akin to today's Super Bowl or soccer's World Cup in terms of garnering global attention -- and helped to launch organized amateur wrestling in the United States in the early part of the 20th century. In fact, a large number of high school and college wrestling programs can trace their roots back to the 1910s and 1920s -- the era when Hackenschmidt and Gotch were still household names, and highly respected athletes. Historical perspective The world of George Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch was a vastly different place than we know today. Realize that their first match in April 1908 was less than five years after Wilbur and Orville Wright had their first successful flight of a motorized aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (December 1903), so commercial air travel was still a number of years in the future. Likewise, the automobile was still somewhat rare. Before Henry Ford got into the car business in 1903, only the rich could afford automobiles ... and, outside the cities, paved roads were few and far between. Passenger trains were the primary means for Americans to travel great distances on land; overseas travel was limited to ships. (Note that the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912 was just eight months after the second Gotch/Hackenschmidt match on Labor Day 1911 ... and World War I was yet to occur.) In 1908, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was in his last year of his second term as US President; William Howard Taft would be inaugurated as President in 1909. The US population in 1908 was approximately 89 million, growing to 94 million by 1911 -- one-third of today's census figures. At the time of the Gotch/Hackenschmidt matches, host city Chicago had nearly two million residents, and was the second-largest city in the country. The sports page 100 years ago What were the popular sports of a century ago? Major league baseball got plenty of newspaper coverage and drew thousands of fans; Frank Gotch took in a Chicago Cubs game the Sunday afternoon before the 1911 rematch. Another fan favorite was professional cycling -- bicycle races, usually held on steeply banked oval tracks, was all the rage in the early 1900s. Football was a college game that was working to overcome an image as a violent, brutal and sometimes deadly sport; there was no National Football League. Likewise, the National Basketball Association was a distant dream; basketball was a game played in schools and at YMCAs. As for personal combat sports in the early part of the 20th century, boxing seemed to have a split personality. "The manly art of self-defense" was a staple at private men's clubs and many colleges as a pure, amateur athletic endeavor, while, professional boxing matches were outlawed in many states. Organized amateur wrestling had something of an elite image, as it was pretty much limited to men's athletic clubs, Y's, and eastern colleges such as Penn State and Ivy League schools. Unlike today, professional wrestling was viewed as a legitimate sporting activity by the general public. Among pro wrestling historians, there is some debate as to how "real" it was; some argue that "routine" matches had predetermined outcomes, while many if not most historians seem to be in agreement that championship matches were real contests. It's also important to note that the theatrical elements we associate with today's WWE -- wrestlers portraying roles as "faces" (good guys) or "heels" (bad guys), wearing costumes, performing spectacular moves, and acting out soap-opera-like storylines -- were not in evidence in professional wrestling in the Gotch/Hackenschmidt era. Both of their championship matches were filmed and shown to the public in theaters, but these films cannot be located at this time. However, a number of amateur wrestling champions have viewed the oldest existing film available of a professional wrestling match: a 1920 title bout at Madison Square Garden between Joe Stecher and Earl Caddock -- two Midwestern farm boys who were also World War I heroes -- and have commented on how much it looks like a modern-day college wrestling match. There were no flying chairs, no flying leaps off the top rope, no chokeholds, no whipping the opponent into the turnbuckles. From viewing this film and reading accounts of other professional wrestling matches of the time, it seems the Stecher-Caddock title match was a typical example of professional wrestling in the US up to the early to mid- 1920s, when the theatrical aspect we associate with pro wrestling today started to make its appearance. Say hello to George Hackenschmidt George HackenschmidtAlthough known as the Russian Lion, George Hackenschmidt was actually born in Dorpat, Estonia in the summer of 1878. As a teen, "Hack" developed into a physical specimen who performed feats of strength, even lifting a small horse off the ground. After he turned eighteen, Hackenschmidt worked as an engineer, but dabbled in weightlifting. It was at this time his life took a major turn; after sustaining an injury, he visited a local doctor who had a distinguished guest staying with him, Dr. Vladislav von Krajewski, a physician to the Russian czar. Dr. Krajewski asked Hack to come stay with him in St. Petersburg, Russia with the idea of developing him as a professional athlete and wrestler. At Dr. Krajewski's direction, Hackenschmidt had the opportunity to work out with and compete against the best wrestlers from throughout Europe, mastering Greco-Roman technique. In 1902, Hack won the European Greco-Roman heavyweight title by defeating Tom Cannon of England; in 1905, he beat Tom Jenkins, the American heavyweight champ (and future wrestling coach at West Point), making George Hackenschmidt the first widely recognized World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. Meet Frank Gotch Although born the same year as George Hackenschmidt (1878), Frank Gotch's upbringing was significantly different. Born as the youngest of nine children on a farm near Humboldt, Iowa about 90 miles northwest of Des Moines, Gotch grew strong not from lifting barbells but from farm chores ... and learned to wrestle from grappling with his brothers and other boys in the area. By his late teens, Gotch developed a reputation in north-central Iowa as being a tough wrestler. That reputation was cemented when he wrestled a man who identified himself as a traveling salesman but was actually professional wrestler Dan McLeod. Although McLeod won the two-hour bout (wrestled outdoors on a cinder track), he was impressed with the young farmer, and arranged for Gotch to meet Martin "Farmer" Burns, a legendary Iowa wrestler who was well into his fifties at the time. Burns became Gotch's trainer and mentor for the rest of his wrestling career. Frank GotchIn the early days of the 20th century, Frank Gotch first made a name for himself -- and a sizeable fortune -- wrestling in the gold rush country of Alaska and the Yukon, then traveling the US, taking on all comers. In his climb to the top, the Iowa farm boy had a series of eight matches over a number of years with the Cleveland ironman and wrestling champ Tom Jenkins, Gotch won five of them, and, by 1906, had become the US Heavyweight Wrestling Champion. It was destined that George Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch -- the two wrestling champs of the same age but vastly different backgrounds -- would meet in the ring not just once, but twice. The build-up to the first bout The first title match between the champion George Hackenschmidt and the challenger Frank Gotch was held the night of April 3, 1908 in Chicago at Dexter Park Pavilion, a shed-like structure seating 10,000 fans on the southwest side of the city, in the area where the Windy City's famous stockyards once were. The general consensus among sportswriters and fans was that the match would be typical for Hack; he usually dispatched his opponents in ten minutes or less, either by submission from his powerful bearhug, or by pin. In fact, some of Gotch's friends actually feared for the Iowan's physical well-being. These fears were not totally groundless, at least when comparing the two men's physical attributes, and their levels of experience. Although Gotch was the same age as Hack (30 years old), the Russian Lion had reportedly wrestled over one thousand matches compared to about one hundred professional bouts for the Iowan. What's more, Hackenschmidt outweighed the challenger by twelve pounds (208 vs. 196), and, in terms of the "tale of the tape," had the farmer beat in just about every measurement other than height (Gotch was 5' 11", while Hackenschmidt was 5'9"). In his prime in 1908, George Hackenschmidt had the same neck, chest and waist measurements as Brock Lesnar when he wowed college crowds as the University of Minnesota heavyweight (though Lesnar was nearly a half-foot taller and sixty pounds heftier). Fans in the stands for the 1908 title bout reportedly ooh'ed and ahh'ed when the muscular Russian stripped off his robe to show his massive chest and v-taper torso. Teddy Roosevelt -- who wrestled and boxed in his youth -- said upon meeting the champion at the White House, "If I weren't President, I'd want to be George Hackenschmidt." Frank Gotch and George Hackenschmidt shake hands prior to their match in 1908Even Gotch was in awe of Hack's physique: "Picture the most perfect man, and you've described George Hackenschmidt," said the Iowa Plowboy, who, while lacking the muscular definition that was the Russian Lion's hallmark, was no slouch himself in terms of body-build. Gotch had a 44" chest and 36" waist developed from years of farm chores, miles of roadwork, and long workout sessions with Farmer Burns and other top US wrestlers. To put these wrestlers' measurements in perspective in the early 1900s, the typical American man stood about 5'6" to 5'8", weighing in at about 135-145 pounds, with a lean, wiry body-build gained from the physical demands of farming or factory work so both Gotch and Hack were considered physical specimens -- and even "supermen" -- by the standards of the day. "Clash of the Titans" After an evening of preliminary matches, George Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch met in the ring at Dexter Park Pavilion (a sports venue built near the now-gone Chicago Stockyards southwest of downtown) after 10 p.m. on an unusually warm early spring night. The two men were cautious at first, with Gotch trying to remain out of the reach of the champion and his powerful bearhug. The Iowan kept Hack at arms' length, wrapping his hands around the champ's powerful neck, exerting downward pressure in an attempt to wear him down. According to accounts of the match, there was plenty of hand-fighting and tying-up in the stand-up position, with some successful takedowns and throws that brought the action to the mat ... but, from most reports, the match had long periods of tying up and pushing each other around the ring, punctuated by bursts of tremendous action. Because it was a warm night -- and the match was contested under intense lights for film cameras -- both wrestlers broke out into a sweat early. (Both men were stripped to the waist; Hackenschmidt wore trunks, while Gotch wore full-length tights.) After about an hour of wrestling, the champion straightened out of his familiar crouch position, complaining to the referee that he couldn't get a grip on Gotch's body, alleging that the Iowan was "oiled up." Hack proposed that the match be postponed so that both men could take a hot bath. The referee refused, telling Hack, in essence, he should have raised the issue earlier, and the match continued. Frank Gotch and George Hackenschmidt in 1908A few minutes later, Hackenschmidt again straightened up, and said to the challenger, "We shall declare this a draw." Gotch laughed, saying, "Let's wrestle" and tore into the champion. The Iowan later said that he knew at this point he had won the match, that Hack was pretty much admitting defeat. Then again, the Russian Lion usually didn't have to wrestle for more than an hour! At about the two-hour point of the match, Gotch brought the Russian muscleman to the mat on his stomach, and clamped on his favorite submission hold, the step-over toehold, with the Iowan grabbing his rival's ankle, and pulling it up along his back. The pressure would force the opponent onto his back for the pin ... if he didn't cry uncle first. Hackenschmidt was in tremendous pain ... but refused to submit, and fought off attempts to turn him to his back. However, after a few minutes of struggle, he realized there was no way out, other than to say, "I surrender the title to you, Mr. Gotch." The referee told the farmer to release the hold. With that, after a match that lasted two hours and three minutes, there was a new world heavyweight wrestling champ and his name was Frank Alvin Gotch. The Russian Lion's post-match allegations In interviews immediately after the match, George Hackenschmidt was gracious in defeat but his tone changed once he was back in Europe, where he accused the Iowa Plowboy of unsportsmanlike behavior. Hack alleged that Gotch had soaked his body and hair in turpentine to make it impossible for him to get a grip -- a claim that is hard to fathom, since turpentine would have been even more toxic to the Iowan as for the champ. George HackenschmidtHackenschmidt also claimed the new champ was abusive both physically and verbally. From various accounts, Gotch did rough up the champion with headbutts, slaps to the face and other "ungentlemanly" behavior, though Hack engaged in some of this rough stuff, too. Reports at the time also indicate that the Iowan taunted the Russian Lion during the match with statements such as "Who taught you to wrestle?" and "You're going home without the title." (While there are some accounts that have Hack responding to some of Gotch's jibes, his quoted comments were generally not of a taunting nature.) Was this typical behavior in a professional wrestling match of a century ago? From reading accounts of matches of the era, it almost seems as if there were two types of bouts: those that were seemingly "gentlemanly" affairs, held in men's clubs, hotel ballrooms and other places of refinement, strictly adhering to Greco-Roman rules -- the kind of matches George Hackenschmidt normally wrestled in Europe ... and the more freewheeling type matches, held just about anywhere indoors or outside, where there were few rules, and submission holds were allowed -- the kind of matches that were Frank Gotch's bread and butter. While Hack's matches tended to be brief and "polite," he easily defeated Tom Jenkins, the Cleveland steelworker who was known for his brutal, no-holds-barred style of combat ... so it's not as if Hack had never encountered this type of wrestling. It's most likely that Hack was frustrated that the match with Gotch didn't go his way. The Russian Lion was accustomed to a bit of Greco-Roman hand-fighting, then putting an opponent in his powerful bearhug and securing a quick win -- either by having his rival submit from the crushing pain, or throwing him to the mat and pinning him. Most of Hack's matches were over in ten or fifteen minutes. He was unaccustomed to wrestling a two-hour match, and, despite his incredible musculature, lacked the stamina to battle that long, while Frank Gotch was trained for this type of long, grueling match, incorporating miles of roadwork in the rolling Iowa countryside into his daily workout routine to build endurance. The new champ Meanwhile, as the new world champion, Frank Gotch continued his wrestling career and was the star of a playlet "All About A Bout" for the vaudeville circuit in which he played a college wrestling champ called in as a last-minute opponent for a muscular European champion named Atlas. The play concluded with a climatic wrestling match on stage, giving theatergoers an opportunity to see the Iowa Plowboy stripped for action on the mat. Plays like these were common at the time; for instance, boxing champions often appeared on stage in star vehicles designed to showcase their physiques and athletic ability, not necessarily stretch their acting muscles. In addition, films of the Gotch/Hackenschmidt match were also shown in movie theaters. Gotch took "All About A Bout" to England, with the hope of setting up a return match with George Hackenschmidt. But no meeting took place -- on the mat, or anywhere else. Reports in the Australian press claim a rematch was arranged in the Land Down Under for 1909, but there is no record of Gotch ever traveling to Australia, let alone planning the trip. Frank GotchEven with the play and touring the country taking on challengers, Frank Gotch found time for other endeavors. In the summer of 1910, Gotch and Farmer Burns were asked to help their friend, former heavyweight boxing champ Jim Jeffries, come out of retirement in an attempt to take back the title from Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight champ, but "the Great White Hope" was knocked out by Johnson in a July 4, 1910 title bout in Reno, Nevada. (Some in the boxing community wanted Gotch to put on the gloves vs. Johnson, but he refused.) In January 1911, Gotch married Gladys Oestrich of his hometown of Humboldt. After many attempts at trying to arrange a Gotch/Hackenschmidt rematch, the champion, who was torn between not granting a second match after the Russian Lion's allegations of cheating and foul behavior, and yet wanting the opportunity to once and for all prove to the public that he was the better man in the wrestling ring -- finally came to terms with promoters. The rematch was set, for September 4, 1911 -- Labor Day Monday -- at Chicago's then-new Comiskey Park straight south of downtown, home of the Chicago White Sox until the late 1980s. The 1911 rematch This time, the pre-match build-up was even more intense than it was three-and-a-half-years earlier. The press camped out at each man's training headquarters, much to the consternation of George Hackenschmidt, who did not want the media attention, and, in fact, broke a contract with the Chicago Athletic Club where he was scheduled to train. Instead, the Russian Lion conducted his training in the weeks prior to the match in the privacy of his hotel ... doing his roadwork late at night on the beaches of Lake Michigan. To avoid a repeat of some of the problems of the 1908 match, both parties approved a detailed set of rules published for all to see in the Chicago papers. The rules mandated that both men wrestle bare-chested, but there was a specific rule outlawing either wrestler from applying oil, grease or other lotions to his hair or body. The rules also stipulated a best-of-three falls format, with the requirement that a match be ended by a fall, not by a submission, to avoid any confusion as to when a match was over. The stands at Comiskey Park were packed with 35,000 spectators -- the most ever to see a wrestling matchOn a sunny, warm Labor Day afternoon, the stands at Comiskey Park were packed with 35,000 spectators -- the most ever to see a wrestling match. To the resounding cheers of the fans, the two wrestlers strode out separately from the home team baseball dugout to the ring set up on the baseball diamond. (The only seats around it were apparently for the press, which numbered nearly 500.) The champion, Frank Gotch, came first to the ring ... then, a few minutes later, the challenger, George Hackenschmidt. Those in attendance were startled to see that the Russian Lion was not quite in the same shape as he had been in 1908, now carrying a 40" waist, and tipping the scales at 224 pounds -- sixteen pounds heftier than in the first match, and nineteen pounds heavier than the Iowan. More than one newspaper mentioned Hack's larger, softer physique; one of the boldest, the Ames (Iowa) Intelligencer declared, "Hackenschmidt, untrained, was hog fat." Astute observers also noticed that Hack was wearing full-length tights, with padding around his left knee; the former champ normally wrestled in trunks without tights. Frank Gotch pins George Hackenschmidt at 14 minutes 18 seconds of the first roundOnce the customary pre-match photos were taken, the bell was rung, and the battle was on. The action was much faster than in the 1908 bout, with Frank Gotch being the more aggressive of the two. After Hack scored a takedown and was on top of Gotch's back, the Iowan managed to escape and bring the Russian Lion down with a heel-pick. Having Hack on his back, the champ feinted his famous toehold; the Russian went to his left side, making it possible for Gotch to grab the left leg with a bar hold, locking his right arm. Pulling up on the leg forced Hack onto his shoulders for the pin at 14 minutes 18 seconds of the first round. Hackenschmidt went back to his dressing room for the fifteen minutes between rounds, while Gotch sat ringside, wrapped in his robe, smiling and waving to the crowd. Newspaper reports indicate that Hackenschmidt started the second round with more confidence than on display in the first ... but Gotch was even fiercer in his attacks on the former champion. Gotch pulled Hack to him by an arm hold, spun the Russian around and down to the mat, landing on top. The Iowan tried for the toehold, with Hackenschmidt yelling, "Don't break my foot" according to the referee Robert Smith, who informed the former champ that there would have to be a fall. After a few seconds of thought, Hack rolled onto his back for the fall at just five minutes 32 seconds into the second round. Frank Gotch was still the world champion! Aftermath Immediately after the 1911 Labor Day title match, newspapers were full of negative reports. For starters, it was reported that the Chicago police chief had declared "All bets off" before the match even started, apparently because betting action was so lopsided in favor of Frank Gotch. Many of the newspaper articles alleged that Hack had quit cold, commenting on his "yellow streak." Later it was disclosed that Hackenschmidt had accidentally injured his left knee in a training session with professional wrestler Benjamin Roller, but had been persuaded to go out and wrestle by the promoter who appealed to the former champ's pride and desire to settle the score with Gotch. (The promoter no doubt had visions of his own payday slipping away if there had not been a match.) A few years later, another professional wrestler, Ad Santel, claimed that he had been hired by someone in Frank Gotch's entourage to purposely injure Hack's knee in training, assuring that Gotch would retain the title. Because it sounds like a plot line on a modern-day WWE broadcast, this story has taken on a life of its own in recent times, being presented in many books and websites as gospel truth. The story was given added credence by the late Lou Thesz, a highly-respected, long-time pro wrestling champ, who said that his mentor Santel told him all the details. Hackenschmidt made no such allegations; in fact, Hack had a long history of knee problems and wrote about them in his books. What's more, the Australian newspapers reported that Hackenschmidt was forced to have knee surgery upon arriving in Sydney in 1906, delaying his wrestling tour of Australia. Frank Gotch battles Farmer BurnsFrank Gotch remained the world champ until he retired in 1913. In late 1916, his health took a sudden turn for the worse. He died in December 1917 of kidney failure at age 40. He left behind his wife Gladys, and their only son, Robert Friedrich Gotch, who, despite legends to the contrary, never wrestled at the University of Iowa. George Hackenschmidt retired from wrestling after the second loss to Gotch, but continued to be a major force in strength training and bodybuilding, writing and lecturing on the subject for decades. He was a learned man fluent in many languages, tangling with issues of philosophy, man's place in the cosmos, and other scholarly subjects. Hack died of natural causes in London in 1968 at age 90, leaving behind his wife Rachel. The world of professional wrestling started to change not long after these two men left the ring. By the mid to late 1920s, pro wrestling had started to take on more of the showbiz aspects today's WWE fans would recognize -- good guys vs. bad guys (often playing on ethnic stereotypes and nationalistic pride), shorter matches with predetermined outcomes, and more spectacular moves like jumping off the top rope that were never part of the repertoire of George Hackenschmidt or Frank Gotch. Promoters of the era thought pro wrestling had to change to compete for audience attention; by the 1920s, it was competing with superstars in other sports, like Babe Ruth in baseball, and Jack Dempsey in boxing. College football and basketball were also gaining in popularity and organized amateur wrestling was also gaining a foothold. By this time, a number of state athletic associations had established state wrestling championships ... and the National Collegiate Athletic Association set up its first national college wrestling championship event in 1928 at Iowa State in Ames, about 60 miles from Gotch's hometown of Humboldt. Despite professional wrestling no longer bearing much of a resemblance to the real wrestling that takes place in high school gyms and college arenas, over the years a number of amateur wrestlers have entered the pro ring. Among the amateur champs who found fame and fortune in pro wrestling: Nat Pendleton, Earl McCready and Ed Don George in the 1920s and 1930s Dick Hutton, Verne Gagne, and Dan Hodge in the 1950s Jack Brisco and Dale Lewis in the 1960s ... and, in more recent times, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle. These guys -- and, in fact, all amateur wrestlers in the US -- owe a debt of gratitude to the original superstars who helped make organized amateur wrestling the sport that it is today in America -- George Hackenschmidt and Frank Gotch. To see exhibits on Frank Gotch and George Hackenschmidt -- and watch the Caddock-Stecher films -- visit the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. http://www.wrestlingmuseum.org/ or (319) 233-0745. And visit the Web site http://www.frankgotch.com. To learn more -- and to see more photos -- check out the Yahoo group FrankGotchvsGeorgeHackenschmidt: http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/FrankGotchVsGeorgeHackenschmidt/

This week's edition of "On the Mat" will feature Chuck Bednarik and Steve Knipp. Bednarik was one the toughest and most devastating tacklers in the history of football. During his 14 years with the Eagles, Bednarik was selected to eight Pro Bowls and was the last player to play full time on both offense and defense. He was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967, the first year he was eligible to be inducted. Bednarik is best known for his devastating tackle of the Giants' Frank Gifford, a hit that shortened Gifford's football career. A long-time wrestling fan, Bednarik currently resides in Cooperstown, Pennsylvania, and is a big supporter of Lehigh wrestling. USA Wrestling recently honored Steve Knipp as 2007 National Events Person of the Year. Knipp is the inaugural recipient of this award, which recognizes a dedicated volunteer who has contributed highly to USA Wrestling's regional and national championship events. Knipp also served as the head coach at Waterloo East High School for 26 years, leading his wrestlers to the Iowa state team title in 1983. During his tenure he coached 30 state place winners and eight state champions. "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.

Please Note: RevWrestling.com is dedicated to covering and promoting amateur wrestling on all levels. However, on occasion, RevWrestling.com will look at mixed martial arts (MMA) as it relates to amateur wrestling. Event: UFC 74: Respect Date: August 25 Location: Las Vegas, Nevada (Mandalay Bay Events Center) UFC 74 is about respect. In trying to make money while wagering on the UFC, there are a few key elements worth noting. Disrespecting the oddsmaker's numbers is one of them. Unlike most national sports, MMA odds are usually posted just days before the event. That means that when the oddsmaker finally posts the odds, bettors have little time to react. Educated handicappers then pounce on "juicy" lines, trying to take advantage of weaknesses or flaws in the posted numbers. Unlike most sports, the volume of betting action is relatively low, and more importantly, few oddsmakers are even capable of establishing a fair number, one in which the public's betting action will be evenly split. Often the posted number will induce well-educated MMA bettors the opportunity to take advantage of a weak number. In a sport that is so young and growing, it is mostly pure MMA fans who wager on these events. Unlike football, basketball, baseball, and hockey, where casual fans often throw their money down just to have action. Simply stated, the UFC bettor is a more educated bettor, while the oddsmaker setting the odds is posting numbers is much more vulnerable to posting a bad number than in any other sport. MMA lines get bet and then frequently get adjusted, often dramatically, to the new posted odds. Nowhere is the line movement so dramatic as it is in MMA betting. Like the fights themselves, the betting lines can be very volatile. This means there is money to be made! So let's follow the money. The strategy here will be to "go with the flow" of the educated MMA bettor. Let's look at the opening and current betting lines of tonight's fights. It is often said that late betting money is smart betting money. Often the "wise guys" wait until late before dumping their dough down. It often pays to watch this line movement and then jump on board. More times than not, you should be heading to the winner's window. The UFC Monster recently spent some time at Randy Couture's gym in Las VegasAs expected, the featured fight pits the popular 44-year old phenom, Randy Couture, against the lethal heavyweight, Gabriel Gonzaga, who is coming off a huge upset over Mirko Cro Cop, with one of the most devasting leg kicks in the history of the UFC. And, once again, the oddsmaker opens with Randy a +120 underdog. The betting public pounds him, and the line gets adjusted, and now Randy is a toss-up with the younger Gonzaga. Couture defies logic. He is a money-maker for UFC bettors, and getting anywhere near underdog or even odds is a bargain! TAKE COUTURE. Josh Koscheck is perhaps the most talented wrestler in the UFC. His mission tonight is to beat the very popular and recent welterweight champion George's St. Pierre, who comes off a shockingly disappointing loss to the much smaller and older, Matt Serra. St. Pierre may be my favorite UFC fighter, but the bettors have backed Koscheck. Late money may come in on St, Pierre, but the bettors feel that Koscheck is a fighter on the rise, while St. Pierre needs to regroup and find his bearings again. Koscheck works almost exclusively on his stand-up skills today, and his progress is amazing. He just gets better with each fight, and he recently gave Diego Sanchez his first loss in almost 20 fights! The money flow says, TAKE KOSCHECK. That may be the case, but I tread with great respect here. St. Pierre is a very dangerous man. Joe "Daddy" Stevenson is a physically strong, up-and-comer, who takes on Kurt Pellegrino. Opening at �280, the bettors have loaded up on Stevenson, driving the line to �325. That's a pretty big move. It's also probably a pretty safe bet, as well. Stevenson is better in all phases, stronger, and maybe even hungrier, with so many mouths to feed. TAKE STEVENSON and lay the big number. Kendall Grove is another talented fighter who gets better with each match. His opening odds were posted as �230, a clear favorite to beat down Patrick Cote, a potent slugger with limited ground skills. Grove is now a steeper favorite at �265. He gets the bacon. TAKE GROVE and lay the lumber. In the final "main event" card, former Augsburg wrestler Roger Huerta continues his blistering act in fighting relative unknown, Alberto Crane. Huerta is the niggest favorite on the card at �450. That line has been solid with little, if any, movement. Either nobody is betting this match, or the oddsmaker has effectively split the action, as intended. I'll PASS. I don't like "bridge jumping" on big favorites, and I'm not betting against someone who is 19-1. PASS. PASS. PASS. On the undercard, three of the four matches are getting betting action. Let's throw out Thales Leites against Ryan Jensen. Leites opened at �285, and that's where the line is stuck today. He may get the job done, but there is no value to the line. PASS again. Submission artist Renato "Babalu" Sobral opened at �185 against David Heath. Sobral had been on a major winning streak until getting KO'd by Chuck "the Iceman" Liddell, and then gassing out in the second round against Jason Lambert, who also knocked him out. Today, Sobral is posted at �235, again a big line movement. Why? Because UFC bettors feel that the value lies with him. Babalu is simply the bettor fighter. If he is mentally prepared, this fight will be his. TAKE SOBRAL to avoid his third straight loss. Former heavyweight champion Frank Mir hasn't looked good since he returned almost two years ago from his motorcycle accident. He opened as a -160 favorite to defeat Antoni Hardonk, a slugger with no ground game. Mir is just the opposite, a rare heavyweight with great submission skills and questionable knockout power. Usually, those who control their opponent's bodies, do well in MMA fighting (see Randy Couture). Mir is getting the bettor's action. Some off-shore books have him as �185 now. I'm not sure if I trust old Frank yet, bit a wager for old times sake may be in order. TAKE MIR as a modest favorite. His career may not yet be over. And, in what the oddsmakers have posted as the closest fight of the night, Marcus Aurelio takes on the experienced, long-haired Clay Guida, who opened as a �155 favorite. But, the bettors are pounding Aurelio who is now even money with some books. TAKE AURELIO. In summary, we are playing WITH the smart UFC bettors and AGAINST the weak UFC oddsmakers. Here's our plays: Couture, at any price. Koscheck, as a 'dog for those brave enough to go against St. Pierre. That's not me. Stevenson, a decisive favorite. Grove, another clear favorite. Sobral, avoiding a third straight loss. Mir, a fighter trying to salvage his career. Aurelio, as a 'dog. Passes on Huerta and Leites. Good luck. Play to win … not just to have action. Enjoy the fights. I'll see you at the winner's window! More later. The UFC Monster

Former Titans' wrestler and graduate assistant coach (2006-07) Risto Marttinen has been appointed assistant wrestling coach at Cal State Fullerton. Marttinen will assist sixth-year Head Coach Dan Hicks, for whom he wrestled four of his five years (2001-02 thru 2005-06) in the program, all as the regular at 165 pounds. His career record was 53-65 including a 21-13 mark as a senior. Marttinen won the team's academic award all five years and in 2004-05 he was Cal State Fullerton's male scholar-athlete of the year. Four times he won Pac-10 academic honors. A native of Lappeenranta, Finland, and a product of Dana Hills High School, Marttinen has dual U.S. and Finnish citizenship. In December, he placed fifth in the Finland national wrestling tournament at 163 pounds.

America's Wrestling Radio talk show is now heard around the world. From our Brute Adidas Studios now broadcast on the following internet outlets: Takedownradio.com, KXNO.com, Matchannel.com, Mat-magazine.com. Please be sure to join our live broadcast each and every Saturday as we talk to the worlds greatest athletes. Wrestlers and MMA competitors alike join us each and every week. You should too! TDR is available LIVE, Archived and podcast as well. Check out Takedownradio.com for more details. This week Jeff Murphy of Kemin Industries rejoins us in the Brute adidas Studios as we welcome TDR Guests- 9:05 Steve Rivera- 38 year old professional trainer to athletes like Frank Edger specializing in wrestling. Wrestling has been a passion of Steve's for 33 years. Graduated as a Nat'l champ from Trenton State University, NJ, (D3) went one year prior to NC State for Bob Guzzo. Trains guys for MMA including Chris LiGouri, Jose Rodriguez, Dominique Tafuri, Kevin Roddy and many others. Trains wrestlers like Scott Winston (Jackson Memorial HS), Jess, Luke Lanno (USA Wrestling All American), Matt Oliver USA #6 All American, UNC Scholarship Nick Tenpenny, Winnie Dellefav out of Toms River NJ. EliteWrestling.net Jens Pulver and Steve Rivera doing a fund raiser for Allies Inc. alliesnj.org 9:20 Frank Edgar- 25 year old new asst. head coach at Rutgers under Scott Goodale, wrestling since he was in 6th grade. 2 X state place winner, 4 x NCAA Qualifier for Clarion, EWL Champ SNR Year. Ranked 11th in all time wins 9:40 Jeremy Spates- Asst Coach for the Sooners of Oklahoma joins us to discuss summer camps coming to an end, recruiting, getting the campus and kids back on track and relating to today's youth in general. 9:55 Deanna Gilbert - 2 Big PPV's this weekend. Saturday Night its UFC and Sunday night the WWE is back in action and Takedown Radio's Scott Casber will be there. Will you? 10:05 Scott Hinkle-Purdue's long time assist head coach is now the man! The New head Coach at Purdue University is Scott Hinkle. We'll talk bout the challenges he's faced after taking over from coach Reyes. His assist and friend Tom Erickson and what his plans are for the future of the Boilermaker Wrestling Program. 10:20 Paul Bradley- Former Iowa Hawkeye now Asst Head at SUNY Buffalo with Coach Jim Beichner. How's the transition been? I don't think he knows how much it snows in Buffalo. LOL. He's gonna find out this winter. September 28th he heads to Oklahoma City to face Mike Van Meer for a pro MMA battle. Paul's 4-0 as a pro. How will he battle this veteran? Tune in and find out. 10:40 Johny Hendricks- Makes his Pro MMA Debute September 28th in Oklahoma City, OK for Ted Ehrhardt's Team Takedown. he's been training in Las Vegas with Randy Couture and is now in Dallas with Guy Mesger. He's been training with hands, with a real focus on stand up, his wrestling instincts are certain to kick in during competition. How will he handle that? J. H. got knocked out early in his training. Was that a gut check? how's it been with family? Wife Leah? Just got married sep 2nd last year. Is he still a cowboy at heart?

Make your plans now to participate in the first Annual NIACC Wrestling Golf Tournament! Put together your own foursome or ask us to group you with other Trojan Wrestling supporters or team members. You will enjoy a fun, exciting day of golf, followed by a delicious meal, the fellowship of other golfing enthusiasts, and possibly win some big prizes! At the same time you will be supporting the welcoming back of one of the most successful junior college wrestling programs in the country, the NIACC Trojans. NIACC coaches and wrestlers will be on hand at the tournament participating as well as cheering you on! So get your TEAM together today! Unable to play on Sept. 22, consider becoming a hole sponsor or simply send a donation. The proceeds will be used to aid the Trojan Wrestling Department. Download the Golf Registration form at http://www.niacc.edu/athletics/wrestling/Golf%20Brochure.pdf

It's not merely a suggestion, it's a paramount requirement. That requirement is called leadership. Harvard University wrestling coach Jay Weiss and Hood River Valley High School coach Trent Kroll both not only excel at that requirement, it has been the pivotal piece in helping them mentor and coach student athletes. On Thursday, both were awarded the United States Marine Corps Excellence in Leadership Award at the Horizon Casino Resort as part of the 2007 National Wrestling Coaches Association Convention. As in past years, the award was presented by former Purdue wrestler Sgt. Maj. Larock Benford of the U.S. Marine Corps. Benford outlined his key points to leadership in a powerful motivational speech prior to announcing Weiss and Kroll as the winners of their respective awards. The United States Marine Corps Excellence in Leadership Award is presented yearly to a collegiate and high school coach that represents the core values of the United States Marine Corps in their passion for wrestling and leadership. Weiss, a 1990 graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, has been at the helm at Harvard for the past 14 seasons. As he heads into his 15th season in Cambridge, Weiss has coached 13 All-Americans – including three in 2006-07 – and one NCAA champion. Last season, Weiss led the Crimson to a 22nd place finish at the NCAA championships, quite a feat when you consider they lost former All-American Bode Ogunwole at mid-season and All-American candidate Andrew Flanagan, but did pick up a medal from true freshman J.P. O'Connor – one of only two true freshmen to place at the 2007 NCAA Championships. "Jay Weiss is in an extremely competitive conference and always has his wrestlers prepared," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "As any wrestling coach knows, it's not always smooth sailing. He had a litany of injuries in his lineup this season and still came away with a solid showing at the NCAA championships." "It's a testament to his leadership and drive as a head coach that not only makes Jay a great coach, but makes him a valued recipient of this award," said Moyer. "I'm honored," said Weiss. "I don't feel like I've done anything different that I've aspired to do. As coaches, we're supposed to be leaders, that's why I'm the person I am." Weiss has been strong, not just leading his team, but also in leadership roles on the Board of Directors for the National Wrestling Coaches Association as the District I representative in NCAA Division I. He's also served as the president of the Ivy League wrestling coaches and the EIWA. Weiss has also been supportive of the NWCA/USMC Coaching Education initiatives and was one of the first coaches to complete the online leadership course. He's also numerous coaching development and leadership courses through NWCA partner Novations, One thing that Weiss has to deal with is his surroundings and realizing that his wrestlers will be dealing with their own hurdles down the line simply because of where they come from. "I'm dealing with future Harvard graduates, so I have to prepare them for post-college," said Weiss. "A lot of coaches are doing the same thing. Through sport, we get to teach life lessons. My guys are graduating with a Harvard degree and you're expected to lead immediately." "I definitely try to lead by example and try to put my athletes in leadership roles from the get-go," he said. "From the minute they are freshmen … I took a poll on my team to see who were captains of their high school teams and 100 percent were." Weiss explained that his surrounding changed his coaching design and took it from a results based focus to one based around leadership. A part of Harvard's program is getting its wrestlers to join public service inititatives. Recently, Harvard wrestlers have contributed to such groups as the Cambridge School Volunteers, St. Paul's Food Pantry, the Pen Pal program, and the Sports Equipment Drive, just to name a few. "I just felt when I first got into coaching it was about wins and losses," he explained. "When I was younger, the competitive nature in me was wins and losses. I'm fortunate enough to be at a school like Harvard where Harvard changed me." "My job as a leader and a coach is to put my athletes in situations in learning how to lead and what I found out was it eventually came back and we were more competitive. We went in a roundabout way to become a competitive team," he said. With the injuries to Flanagan and Ogunwole, Weiss had to put the pain of losing those two wrestlers aside … and lead by example. "It's very tough," explained Weiss. "You have to be able to keep moving forward. You can't be like ‘Aw, our chances are done without our two guys'." "Bode being a senior and ranked #2 and Flanagan couldn't go, but fortunately he has two years left. Inside, I was devastated for them, but outside -- I have to say, ‘Ok, who's going'." When (the kids) see that kind of attitude, they realize adverse situations, you can get through it, not only that, but you have to get through it." "In real life, they're going to be dealing with a lot harder situations than that," continued Weiss. "You have to keep going, that's my attitude. I was pulling for the kids and myself." Kroll, the current head coach at Hood River Valley High School in Oregon was surprised by the award. "I had no idea, when they said that I had ran the Northwest Wrestling Coaches Clinic for the last seven years, I knew it was me," said Kroll. "When they first started talking, I thought it was Les Combs. I actually turned to him and said ‘Get ready'." Kroll, a humble but appreciative individual, explained his passion for the sport. "I enjoy sharing the sport with the next generation," said Kroll. "I enjoy being around people that enjoy being around the sport and making the sport better in Oregon and I work hard to do it. Sometimes I have to focus on what to attack and what not to attack as far as making the sport better in our community." Not only did he not expect to win an award, he didn't expect to speak. "When they asked me to speak, I looked out into the audience and saw John Smith and Joe Russell," explained Kroll. "Oh my, I'm speaking in front of guys that I had posters of on my wall when I was growing up." "That was pretty cool," said Kroll. "I went to an Oklahoma State wrestling camp in 1987. It was probably the turning point in my career. It took me from being a mediocre wrestler to a person that had an opportunity to compete in college." Kroll went on to wrestle for Mike Clock at then-NAIA Pacific University in Oregon, where he explained he was just a "50/50 wrestler." "Coaches like Trent Kroll show that it's not the most decorated wrestlers that become great mentors and coaches for the next generation of student athletes," said Moyer. "He's directed his athletes to make their own decisions regarding their team captains and he's steered his wrestlers into leadership roles by encouraging them to take the NWCA's online leadership course." It's that leadership course which helped Kroll at Centennial High School before heading to Hood River Valley. "For the last three seasons, I've been working with Jeff Bowyer on the leadership training program," explained Kroll. "I have a mission statement for my team now … and a plan intact for creating leaders, showing them what happens when we do have good leadership and what happens when we don't." Past Winners 2006 College: Jack Maughan, University of Northern Colorado Scholastic: Jose Martinez, North Hills (Pa.) High School 2005 College: Drew Black, Wesleyan University Scholastic: Paul White, South Forsyth (Ga.) High School

University of Minnesota wrestler Brandon Sitch competed in the 2007 Junior World Greco-Roman Championships in Beijing, China on Wednesday, winning his first match but losing his second of the day. Wresting in the 84 kg./184 lbs. weight class, Sitch was one of only four U.S. wrestlers to compete at the event. A native of Kelso, Wash., Sitch defeated Egypt's Mahmoud El Sayed by scores of 3-0 and 3-1 in his first match on Wednesday. However, Sitch lost his next match to Lithuania's Aldas Lukosaitis 0-5 and 0-6, failing to place in the top 10 in his weight class. The Championships were held at the Chinese Agriculture University Gymnasium in Beijing. For more information on the Greco-Roman Championships, visit www.themat.com. Competing at 174 pounds as a freshman for the Gophers last season, Sitch finished with a perfect 4-0 record. All four of his decisions came in the Jan. 27 Jimmie Open in which Sitch recorded two pins and two decisions. Sitch was red shirted during the 2006-07 season and will retain four more years of eligibility. A four-time Washington state champion in high school, Sitch was a four-time Junior All-American and Wrestling USA All-American as well. He figures to challenge for time in the defending national champion Gophers' starting lineup in the 174-pound weight class this winter. The Golden Gophers will begin their national title defense on Nov. 10 when they travel to Fargo, N.D. for the Bison Open. Minnesota's dual meet season starts on Dec. 2 against 2006-07 national runner-up Iowa State.

ARLINGTON, TEXAS -- In the wake of Jake Rosholt and Eric Bradley's stunning SRO victories at 'Masters of the Cage XV' last month, Team Takedown (TTD) is preparing its latest fighting machines, OSU-NCAA wrestling champ Johny Hendricks and his OSU-NCAA/Big 12 teammate Shane Roller, to headline a ten-fight card for 'Masters of the Cage XVI' on September 28, 2007 at the Coca-Cola Bricktown Event Center in Oklahoma City. "Ultimate Night Of Champions: Masters of the Cage XVI" will feature: -- Johny Hendricks v. Victor Rackliff (Welterweight) -- Jake Rosholt v. Mike Messina (Light Heavyweight Title) -- Eric Bradley v. James Head (Middleweight Title) and -- Shane Roller v. Jake Pruitt (Lightweight) Beginning September 28, 2007 at 8pm (Doors Open 6:30pm), tickets range from$35.00 to $175.00, and are available at http://www.fightpass.com and 888-377-2229. College Wrestling Greats Hendricks and Roller Set for Pro MMA Fight Debuts Since "MOTC XV" sold out well before the fights, it is strongly recommended that those wanting tickets should order them now, as the event will sell out quickly. Hendricks and Roller's professional MMA debut will be officiated by MMA's best-known referee, "Big John" McCarthy, and veteran MMA ring announcer A.L. Haizlip will call the shots. With six title fights, the event will be broadcast live via Internet Pay-Per-View, with Scott Casber, host of nationally broadcast Takedown Wrestling Radio (http://www.takedownradio.com) delivering the play-by-play, with Olympic gold medallist and NBC/ESPN wrestling-MMA news personality Jeff Blatnick offering color commentary. There also will be several wrestling/MMA celebrities in attendance, including Oklahoma City's Own IFL-Veteran Fighter Wayne Cole; Oklahoma and NCAA wrestling champions Jared Hess and Cole Province, three-time Iowa All-American Paul Bradley BACKGROUND: TEAM TAKEDOWN FIGHTERS In April 2007, Team Takedown (TTD) signed Jake Rosholt and Johny Hendricks, former Oklahoma State University grapplers who have won five NCAA titles between them. One month later, TTD signed National Collegiate Boxing Champion and two-time NCAA wrestling All-American Eric Bradley out of Penn State. Most recently, TTD added three-time All-American Shane Roller -- another graduate of the Oklahoma State national championship-wrestling powerhouse -- to its roster. To learn more about Team Takedown, TTD's New Message Board and the Team Takedown Store please visit http://www.teamtakedownfighters.com. 'MASTERS OF THE CAGE XVI' FIGHT CARD MASTERS OF THE CAGE XVI -- "ULTIMATE NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS" BRICKTOWN COCA-COLA EVENT CENTER -- Friday, September 28, 2007 –- 8pm RED CORNER *** Denotes Championship Title Fight *** BLUE CORNER PRO MIDDLEWEIGHT - 171 LBS TO 185 LBS 1 JARED HESS 1W-0L --- VS --- DOMINIC BROWN 5W-4L OKLAHOMA CITY, OK KANSAS CITY, KS WRESTLER FREESTYLE PRO LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT - 186 LBS TO 205 LBS 2 MIKE VAN MEER 27W-18L --- VS --- PAUL BRADLEY 5W-0L DES MOINES, IA BUFFALO, NY STRIKER / BJJ WRESTLER PRO LIGHTWEIGHT - 146 LBS TO 155 LBS 3 SHANE ROLLER 0W-0L --- VS --- JAMES PRUITT 1W-0L DALLAS, TX YUKON, OK WRESTLER BJJ / MMA *** PRO FLYWEIGHT TITLE - 136 LBS TO 145 LBS *** 4 AARON WILLIAMS 12W-7L --- VS --- COLE PROVINCE 1W-0L BILOXI, MS OKLAHOMA CITY, OK STRIKER / BJJ WRESTLER *** PRO LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE - 146 LBS TO 155 LBS *** 5 TIM ESTES 3W-1L --- VS --- MARCUS LANIER 5W-0L ROLLA, MO MT. PLEASANT, TX STRIKER / BJJ FREESTYLE *** PRO WELTERWEIGHT TITLE - 156 LBS TO 170 LBS *** 6 TJ WALDBURGER 10W-3L --- VS --- CODY SENSENSEY 2W-0L TEMPLE, TX BILOXI, MS GRAPPLER BJJ *** PRO MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE - 171 LBS TO 185 LBS *** 7 JAMES HEAD 2W-0L --- VS --- ERIC BRADLEY 1W-0L ROLLA, MO LAS VEGAS, NV STRIKER WRESTLER / STRIKER *** PRO LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE - 186 LBS TO 205 LBS *** 8 JAKE ROSHOLT 1W-0L --- VS --- MIKE MESSINA 2W-1L LAS VEGAS, NV OKLAHOMA CITY, OK WRESTLER STRIKER / BJJ *** PRO HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE - 206 LBS TO 265 LBS *** 9 WAYNE COLE 7W-5L --- VS --- HEATH JOHNSON 2W-1L NORMAN, OK DES MOINES, IA STRIKER STRIKER / WRESTLER PRO WELTERWEIGHT - 156 LBS TO 170 LBS 10 JOHNY HENDRICKS 0W-0L --- VS --- VICTOR RACKLIFF 1W-0L LAS VEGAS, NV TALEQUAH, OK WRESTLER BJJ FIGHT CARD SUBJECT TO CHANGE

The University of Minnesota wrestling program announced its schedule for the 2007-08 season today, highlighted by home meets with 2006-07 national runner-up Iowa State, Big Ten rival Iowa and the 2007-08 Big Ten Championships, which will take place March 8 and 9 at Williams Arena. After gaining their third national championship a year ago under head coach J Robinson, the Golden Gophers will attempt to make it back-to-back titles and bring home the another national crown this winter. This year's schedule features the program's typically strong non-conference schedule. The Gophers will participate in two early-season open meets in November – the Bison Open, hosted by North Dakota State University on Nov. 10, and the Kaufman-Brand Open at the University of Nebraska-Omaha the next weekend. Minnesota will also go against three different opponents (Northern Illinois, Northern Colorado and North Dakota State) in the Northern Quad meet in Rochester on Nov. 24. Minnesota open the dual meet season at Williams Arena with the 2006-07 NCAA runner-up Iowa State Cyclones on Dec. 2. The Gophers defeated the Cyclones 19-13 in their dual meet match-up last season and won the national championship by 9.5 points (98.0 - 88.5) last March. Following their meeting with Iowa State, the Gophers will host Nebraska at the Sports Pavilion Dec. 6 before traveling to California that weekend to take on Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly Dec. 8. Following the holiday break, the Golden Gophers will head to Greensboro, N.C., to compete in the Southern Scuffle from Dec. 29-30. Minnesota then enjoys a two-week break before competing in the National Duals from Jan. 12 through 13, hosted by Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. After squaring off against South Dakota State on Jan. 20, the Golden Gophers will open Big Ten action with a weekend in Michigan. Minnesota takes on Michigan State Jan. 25 in East Lansing and will travel to Ann Arbor the next day for a dual meet with the Wolverines. The Gophers come back home to do battle with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Feb. 1 in one of the year's marquee match-ups. The Gophers trounced Iowa 29-13 last season in dual meet competition as the Hawkeyes went on to finish ninth at NCAAs. Two days later (Feb. 3), Coach Robinson's squad will travel to Stillwater for their annual meeting with Oklahoma State, which placed fifth a year ago at the NCAA National Championships. The next weekend the Gophers will travel to Northwestern (Feb. 8) and Purdue (Feb. 10) before returning home for three consecutive Big Ten dual meets. Williams Arena will be the setting for competitions with Illinois on Feb. 15 and Wisconsin on Feb. 17, and Minnesota rounds out the regular season with Ohio State on Feb. 24 at the Sports Pavilion. The University of Minnesota will play host to the Big Ten Championships for the first time in 10 years on March 8 and 9. The Gophers have finished first or second in the Big Ten every year since 1999, including six championships. The NCAA Championships will be held in St. Louis, Missouri at the Scottrade Center from March 20-22. Despite losing two-time national champion Cole Konrad to graduation, the Gophers return a number of talented athletes on the mat. Brothers Dustin (third at the NCAA Championships in the 149 lbs. division) and C.P Schlatter (sixth in 157 lbs.) will be back for their junior and senior seasons, respectively, while national placewinners Roger Kish (184 lbs.) and Jayson Ness (125 lbs.) also return. With seven of their top eight wrestlers coming back, Minnesota should once again be a force both in the Big Ten and on the national stage. Fans looking to get in on the Gopher wrestling action will be able to view select meets this season on the Big Ten Network. The Big Ten Network will broadcast between 65-75 live Gopher athletic events this year, including Big Ten Championship events and a nightly show that will keep you up-to-date on what's going at the U of M. In addition, exclusive Gopher wrestling content (including live video webcasts) will be available on the web via the Gold Zone. Stay tuned to www.gophersports.com and www.bigtennetwork.com for more details.

This week's edition of "On the Mat" will feature Doug Brooker and Jason Bryant. Brooker is known for excellence in wrestling media production over the past 30 years. He was the long-time producer of Iowa Public Television's College Wrestling Series and has worked extensively on the production end for the Olympic Games and other international events. Brooker has produced several documentaries on wrestling including "The Gable Touch" and "Cael Sanderson: Portrait of a Champion," which won a local Emmy. In 1991 the National Wrestling Media Association named Brooker Broadcaster of the Year. He was also a past recipient of W.I.N. Magazine's Impact of the Year Award. Bryant, who was recently named Journalist of the Year by W.I.N. Magazine, is the Director of Media Relations and the senior writer for Intermatwrestle.com – a wrestling website sponsored by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. As a journalist, Bryant has recently written some important columns regarding the dropping of several college wrestling programs. Bryant will likely discuss the National Wrestling Coaches Association Convention that recently took place in Lake Tahoe. "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.

NEW YORK -- Tim Foley, one of the finest wrestlers in University of Virginia history, has been named the primary assistant coach at Columbia. Brendan Buckley, Columbia's Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling, announced his appointment today. Foley has been promoted to his new position, after serving as a graduate assistant coach in 2005, and working as a full-time assistant last season. "I am happy to be promoting Tim Foley to the first assistant coach position in our program," Buckley said. "Since I coached him as a first-year at Virginia, he has displayed a passion and relentless work ethic that I have always come to respect. This desire to succeed led Tim to become an NCAA All-American and helped Columbia to the 20th nationally ranked recruiting class last year." For the previous two years, Tim has played a large role in the development of our program including last year's breakthrough season where we made the top 25 national rankings, and placed second in the Ivy League standings," Buckley continued. "I look forward to working with Tim in his new role as the first assistant coach. Tim can relate well to our student-athletes as a scholar and an athlete himself. He is currently working on his second masters degree as a student in Columbia's prestigious School of Journalism." "The big city, beautiful campus and great group of guys make Columbia the perfect situation," Foley explained. "I look forward to living and working in New York for several more years and helping our student-athletes achieve their potential in the classroom and on the mat." Foley was a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion, in 2002 at 157 pounds and 2004 at 165. He earned All-American honors in 2004, when he finished eighth in the NCAA Championships. He was ranked in the nation's Top 20 for three seasons. A two-time captain and the 2003 UVA MVP, Foley is the second-winningest wrestler in Virginia history, with 114 career victories. He holds two Cavalier records, for season dual-match victories (18 in both 2002 and 2003), and career duals victories (49). His 13 pins in one season and 149 career matches both rank second in Virginia annals. He posted notable victories over three nationally-ranked wrestlers: Jacob Klein of Nebraska, Pat Owen of Michigan and Joe Mazzurco of Cornell. Foley hails from Stafford, Va., where he was a two-time state finalist competing for Brooke Point High. He graduated from Virginia in 2003 with a B.A. in political science, and was awarded a master's in education the following year from UVA's Curry School of Education, in social foundations and public policy. He competed for the Cavaliers while attending graduate school and was chosen a National Wrestling Coaches Association Academic All-American. In addition to coaching and competing, Foley has been active in government. He was an intern on the staff of Congressman Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, in the summer of 2001 and the summer of 2002. He served another summer internship in Florida in 2004 with the Mel Martinez for U.S. Senate Campaign, remaining with the campaign through the fall as Field Director for Palm Beach and Broward counties.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. –- Mike Zadick didn't need to look into the bleachers to see what kind of support he had for Thursday's Special Wrestle-Off with Nate Gallick. All he had to do was listen. Backed by a boisterous cheering section that included around 15 of the Iowa wrestlers he helps coach, a couple of former teammates and numerous family members, Zadick was not about to send them home disappointed. Zadick delivered a pair of huge three-point moves at the end of the first and second matches to sweep Gallick at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. That put Zadick, a 2006 World silver medalist, onto his second straight U.S. World Freestyle Team at 60 kg/132 lbs. Zadick won the first match over Gallick 0-1, 1-0, 4-2 before prevailing in the second match 1-0, 0-1, 3-0. "I'm not as excited to be on the World Team as I was last year because I expect it now," Zadick said. "I expected to win today and I'm just glad this whole process of making the Team is over. Now everything is finalized and I can focus on the big goals of winning a World championship this year and winning the Olympics next year." The 29-year-old Zadick (Solon, Iowa/Gator WC) will now represent the U.S. at the 2007 World Championships on Sept. 17-23 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Zadick trailed 2-1 late in the third period of the first match when he blasted in on a double-leg shot. Zadick wrapped both arms around Gallick's legs and finished for a three-point move near the edge of the mat as he exposed Gallick's back to the mat with three seconds left. "I obviously needed to score there," Zadick said. "I looked up and saw there were eight seconds left on the clock and I just penetrated through for a double. I got through deep and put him down for three." The second match in the best-of-3 series also went to a decisive third period. Neither wrestler scored in the first two minutes, sending the match to a coin flip. Gallick won the coin flip and started with Zadick's leg in the clinch. Gallick drove Zadick toward the edge of the mat before Zadick hit a chest lock and flipped Gallick over for what turned out to be the winning points. "Gallick was driving in and I knew I was getting close to the edge," Zadick said. "I felt he was trying to run me off the mat and I had to hit the brakes and throw him. The chest lock is not a move I use a lot – it's a move that all the Russians and a lot of other people use. But in that situation I had to find a way to win and that's what I did." Match officials watched a videotape of the sequence and awarded Zadick three points by determining that he had initiated a counter action. "My interpretation of what happened is the same interpretation that it's always been in the rule book as long as I've been wrestling – it's my offensive move and I took him to his back and he rolled through," Gallick said. "It should have been three points for me and two for him, there's no question. My three came before his two. It's a no-brainer. I watched the video three times. I understand he's a silver medalist at the Worlds, but that shouldn't change anything." Gallick said the loss was "real disappointing." "There were some questionable calls in the first match as well," Gallick said. "In my mind, I won the second match. It's hard for me to accept. I don't mind losing, but to lose the way I did, that bothers me a lot." It was a physical, bruising battle between Zadick, a former Iowa Hawkeye, and Gallick, a former Iowa State Cyclone. Four of the six periods went to coin flips - with Zadick winning 3 of 4 coin flips - as neither wrestle could score in the two minutes of regulation. Zadick said he was disappointed that Gallick didn't shake his hand after the second match. Gallick instead walked over to the scorers' table to protest the final call. "I wanted to wait for a review before I shook his hand," Gallick said. "Even after the review came I wanted a second review because there was no question I won that match. If he wants to shake my hand so bad he can come shake my hand. I have no problem shaking his hand – we were just both out there trying to win. "But I'm not going to shake his hand until I think in my head the match is over. I wasn't trying to be a poor sport. I don't mind shaking anybody's hand. It's nothing personal. I just wanted to make sure it was definitely over until I shook his hand." In the first match, Zadick won a coin flip in the first period but was unable to finish in the leg clinch as Gallick countered effectively and took him out of bounds. Zadick won the coin flip again in the second period and this time finished for a takedown. Zadick then rallied with his late double-leg takedown to win the third period. In the second match, Zadick again won a coin flip after a scoreless first two minutes. Zadick then drove Gallick out of bounds to win the period 1-0. Gallick came back to win the second period when he scored on a pushout in the closing seconds. Zadick then won the third period, and clinched the match, with his counter action in the leg clinch after Gallick had won a coin flip. The Special Wrestle-Off was needed after Gallick (Chattanooga, Tenn./Sunkist Kids) won April's U.S. Nationals, but then suffered a foot injury. He was granted an extension by USA Wrestling to meet the winner of June's U.S. World Team Trials in a Special Wrestle-Off at a later date by virtue of being the U.S. Nationals champion. Zadick, who lost to Gallick in the finals of the U.S. Nationals, won the U.S. World Team Trials to earn a spot in the Special Wrestle-Off against Gallick. Zadick said he appreciated the support he received during the Wrestle-Off on Thursday. "It was great – I loved it," Zadick said. "We had half our team from the University of Iowa out here, I had (former teammates) Matt Anderson and Jessman Smith here, my parents drove down here, Tom Brands, Dan Gable, Mike Duroe, Randy Lewis. I had so much support here – it was great and I really appreciate it. Wrestling is a way of life in Iowa and you saw that today." Zadick's win means there are three past University of Iowa wrestlers on the 2007 U.S. World Freestyle Team. Zadick joins past Hawkeye NCAA champions Doug Schwab (145.5 pounds) and Joe Williams (185) on the U.S. squad. Zadick plans to take part in the final U.S. World Freestyle Camp from Aug. 23-Sept. 2 in Colorado Springs. "I still have plenty of time to prepare and get ready for the Worlds," Zadick said. "I'll be ready to go – you can count on that."

Tom ShiffletTom Shifflet took over as head coach at Hofstra in May of 2006, after spending four years as the head coach at UNC Greensboro. In his first year at Hofstra, Shifflet guided the Pride to an 18-4-2 dual meet record and a seventh-place finish at the 2007 NCAA Division I Championships. RevWrestling.com recently caught up with Shifflet and talked about last season, his thoughts on Lou Ruggirello, Charles Griffin, and Ryan Patrovich, where Alton Lucas fits into the program, his expectations for the upcoming season, and much more. Of the top 10 teams at the NCAA Division I Championships last season, only Hofstra and Edinboro came from outside the Big Ten or Big 12 conferences. When recruiting, how do you sell your program to potential top recruits who are mainly looking at Big Ten and Big 12 programs? Shifflet: If you look at the tradition that Hofstra has in wrestling, and the consistency that it has of sending guys to the national tournament and guys placing and becoming All-Americans, it obviously shows that we have a great attitude within the program. Guys are working towards being national champions and having a great team. We obviously can sell the same type of thing as Big Ten and Big 12 programs. I actually think we somewhat have an advantage because our conference, the CAA, isn't as much of a grind. During the regular season at Hofstra, we go out and wrestle the best teams, wrestle in the best tournaments, we prepare our guys for the national tournament. The difference is that we don't have to go through the Big Ten tournament. We have to go through the CAA. So what happens a lot of times is that we end up taking seven, eight, nine, 10 guys to the national tournament, which is nice. You're not just going as an individual, but you're going there as a team. You have a chance to win as a team. That's something we really sell to the elite kids who are looking at the top schools … 'Hey, we can give you everything the Big Ten and Big 12 schools can give you.' We wrestle all those schools. We wrestle Missouri. We wrestle Penn State. We wrestle Minnesota. We wrestle Oklahoma State. We go to the National Duals. But towards the end of the season, instead of going through the Big Ten or Big 12 tournament to get to nationals, we're in a conference that is tough, but it's not like the Big Ten or Big 12. You're going to get one or two tough matches as opposed to maybe a pigtail at the Big Ten tournament against a kid who has been ranked in the top 10 … so that's a big selling point to a lot of these kids. I'm not downplaying the CAA at all, because this year if you look at the percentage of All-Americans or top 12 finishers, we did pretty darn well. We do have some real good programs that are committed and have some great individuals. In your first year at Hofstra, you led the program to an 18-4-2 dual meet mark and placed seventh at the NCAA Division I Championships. It was a record-breaking season for the program. Did you exceed your own expectations last season? Shifflet: You know, I don't know. When you come in as a new coach and you come into a new environment, I knew that we had a very talented team. I started working out with the guys in the summer. I said, 'Wow, these guys are really, really talented, really good.' Obviously, you shoot for some of these individuals to become national champs. That's what you want. That's what they're working for. As a team, you try to piece it together on how well you think you can do. I can tell you that before the Minnesota match, on paper, I really thought we had a chance to win that dual meet. And we did. Same thing against Penn State. When you get to the national tournament, if you looked at our guys, where they were ranked, and who they beat … certainly anybody who went to the national tournament for us had a shot at becoming an All-American. We sent seven guys … if you have seven All-Americans, you win a national title. I certainly thought we could do really well. But it's the national tournament. You never know what will happen. You may go there, guys might not wrestle well, and things happen. But it ended up working out well for us. To be quite honest, I really think we were one of the teams that had a chance to win the whole thing. Our 125-pounder (Dave Tomasette) was winning in the All-American round with 25 seconds left and got pancaked. He would have been our fifth All-American. I think that would have at least maybe propelled us into getting a trophy with five All-Americans. We were pretty close. I was proud of the guys. Did I think we had a good team? I thought we had a great team. But it was the first time for me being in a situation where the sky is the limit … if we put it all together, heck, we could go all the way. Charles Griffin came into the NCAA Championships as the No. 11 seed en route a third-place finish at 141 pounds. What allowed him to have such a strong finish? Was it confidence? Shifflet: Yeah, a lot of it is confidence. We put our guys in that situation over and over throughout the year with our schedule. We wrestled a lot of these guys already. So when you get to the national tournament, it's not something different, it's the same. It's just a tournament. Just wrestle it as a tournament. Charles has been wrestling the elite wrestlers since he has been in college … and knows that he's going to be in scramble situations where you have to turn the right way. You have to do the right thing. He's just confident that he can beat anybody in the country. He's just real consistent. Tom ShiffletThroughout the whole year, he and two other guys on the team were the most consistent wrestlers. When they walked on the mat, they wrestled in positions they were good at … and they stayed out of the positions that they weren't as comfortable … and they were consistent. James Strouse was the same. They had one hiccup. We flew out to Oklahoma this year for a dual meet and both of those guys were flat. I don't know if it was the flight out there. both of them were on big winning streaks. The Oklahoma dual was like our second to last dual … and both of them just wrestled flat. Nobody wants to lose, but it may have been a good loss … just because it grounds you a little bit. But like I said, Charlie was consistent all year. He is one of the guys who comes to the wrestling room. He comes to the office and looks at his films. He works on his mistakes. He wants to be a national champ. That's a lot of it. He's self-motivated. The self-motivation and consistency will take you a long way. Lou Ruggirello finished his freshman campaign 31-9 and was named CAA Freshman of the Year. He had a tough draw at the NCAA Championships and went 0-2. Overall, how would you characterize his freshman season? Shifflet: Obviously, we were disappointed that he wasn't an All-American. It was a tough weight class. There was a lot of depth to it. Going in as a true freshman, you don't know what to expect. But certainly Louie is a confident wrestler. He is another guy who when he steps on the mat, he just wrestles. He likes it … and he just wrestles. He wrestled (Jake) Strayer earlier in the season. Strayer dominated a lot of situation where Louie was really, really good. When you take that match, and you look from the beginning in November to when March came around and we wrestled in the first round of the national tournament, we took him down and turned him. We were up 5-0 in the first period. We got taken out of the match a little bit, I think. He was a little overwhelmed with, 'Hey, I'm up 5-0.' There were some calls that we could argue, but the bottom line is that towards the end of the match, I think a little anxiety set in. He went for a headlock and headlocked him to his back … and got rolled through and pinned. It kind of sucked the life out of him. It was one of those matches where we had it, but it's a learning experience. Overall, I look at the whole year, I mean, he goes into triple overtime with a two-time national champ (Matt Valenti). He takes a guy like Adam Frey, who was ranked second or third in the country at the time, into overtime in a dual meet. And then goes into Nationals and loses a close one to him. Louie is right there. CAA champion as a freshman. Freshman of the Year in the CAA. Over 30 wins as a freshman. I mean, it's impressive. I look at the beginning of the year to the end, he made huge strides. He knew in the beginning of the year, 'Hey, we have some weaknesses. Let's work on them.' He accepted that. He was self-motivated to work on those things. By the time he got to the national tournament, he was turning a lot of heads … 'Hey, who is this kid from Hofstra? He's up 5-0 on the guy from Penn State.' He's certainly a guy coming back as a sophomore. He'll be at 133. Honestly, I think he could win the whole thing. I think that much of him. Alton Lucas scratched from the NCAA Championships. Can you shed any light on why he did not compete at the NCAA Championships? Shifflet: It was just a violation of some team rules. Do you expect him to be in your lineup this coming season? Shifflet: Yeah, he will be back with us. He was actually just over in Canada at the Canadian Cup. He wrestled real well. He made it to the finals and then hurt his shoulder, so he didn't wrestle in the finals. But he wrestled real well. He's going to be back with us next year … and probably moving up a weight class. Last season, you brought in two-time NCAA champion Joe Dubuque as an assistant coach. What has he brought to the Hofstra program? Joe DubuqueShifflet: Well, obviously when you bring a guy like him in … if you're an athlete in the wrestling room and you look at a two-time national champ, it's motivation. It's ‘Hey, I'm going to do anything Coach Dubuque wants me to do because he's been there and done it.' I think anything he says or does, these guys look up to him for. He's a leader. He was real important to all of our guys one the team to get to them to the next level, whether it was something he said, whether it was him drilling with them, or whether it was watching him watching film with them. He certainly played an important role for us and how well we were able to finish off the season. You lost Mike Patrovich to graduation, but now have his younger brother, Ryan. Where do you see Ryan Patrovich fitting into this year's team? And what kind of season do you see him having? Shifflet: Ryan is very, very talented. He actually went out to the FILA Junior. Unfortunately he got hurt and transferred back … and had a knee injury this year. Once he got it healed up after the season, he was able to go out the FILA Juniors and competed real well. He took second. So he got back and got some competition in, which was good. He's a very hard-working kid. He has a strong work ethic. He loves wrestling. Some of the things he does, you can't really teach it. I think he can have a great season. As a redshirt freshman, I certainly think he can be an All-American. He's going to wrestle at 165. I think he's going to be a guy who is going to be tough to beat. While you were coaching at UNC Greensboro, you founded the Southern Scuffle. In your opinion, where does the Southern Scuffle rank in terms of competitiveness when looking at collegiate events across the country? Shifflet: Well, I think now it's up there with any of the top tournaments they have, whether it's Las Vegas or the Midlands. I mean, for a lot of the better teams in the country, now it's just another option, which is nice. You can go to the Midlands for a couple years and then go back down to the Southern Scuffle for a couple years. And no matter where you go, you're going to find competition. That's where a lot of the best teams go. We're going to go to the Southern Scuffle this year. I'm going there not just because I started the tournament and coached there, but because there is good competition … Ohio State, Cornell, Lehigh, Minnesota, and Missouri. A lot of the top teams will go down there and compete … and that's what we're looking for. They certainly allowed me to start that up down there. It was great for UNC Greensboro. It kind of helped put them on the map a little bit. It was great for wrestling in the south to get something like this started. To have these teams come down there. .. and have all these middle school and high school wrestlers down south come and watch great wrestlers like Ben Askren, it's great. You can't put a price on it. You lost three All-Americans to graduation: James Strouse, Mike Patrovich, and Chris Weidman. Will any of those guys be sticking around and helping the program? Shifflet: Yeah, Chris Weidman is going to be our volunteer coach. And what's nice is that these other guys are always around if some guys want to get other workouts in. James Strouse lives on the island. And Mike Patrovich is on the island. And you have guys like Jon Masa. Those guys are all local guys, so it's nice. They are all there for these guys if they want to go in individually and just work out with them at some point, they can do it. Obviously, because of the NCAA restrictions, you can't have them all in the room as coaches. But in the summertime as workout partners and everything else, it's great. Although you lost three All-Americans, you return five of your NCAA qualifiers from last season, including third-place finisher Charles Griffin. What are your expectations for this year's team? Tom ShiffletShifflet: I think we have a very talented team. I think we have some young guys who are very talented, but we also have some guys who haven't proven themselves at the big tournament. We lose three All-Americans and return one, but I certainly think we have at least three other guys on our team who could place. So I certainly think we could replace the four All-Americans we had last year with the talent we have in the room. But it's guys like Alton Lucas, Mitch Smith at 149, Dave Tomasette, who lost in the All-American round … we're centered around them. They're no longer young guys. They're leaders of the team. They need to get it done at the national tournament. They're hard workers.

This week's edition of "On the Mat" will feature Wayne Baughman and Chuck Barbee. Barbee just completed his seventh year as the head wrestling coach of Army. During his tenure he has coached Phillip Simpson and Maurice Worthy to the finals of the NCAA tournament. As a wrestler, Barbee was a three-time All-American for Oklahoma State. Baughman retired as the Air Force Academy's head wrestling coach in 2006 after a 50-year career as a coach and a wrestler. As an athlete Baughman was a member of three Olympic teams and eight World teams. He also won 16 national titles in the four recognized styles of wrestling. "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.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The University of Maryland wrestling team and head coach Pat Santoro have announced the incoming class for the 2007-08 season which has been recognized nationally by Wrestling International Newsmagazine (WIN). The publication ranked the Terrapins' recruiting class 21st in the nation. The incoming student-athletes will join a Terps team that recorded their best season in program history in 2006-07 as they went 17-5 in duals. That tied the school record for wins in a season as Maryland also won 17 in 1990. They also finished 5-0 in the ACC and clinched its first outright conference dual meet championship since 1974. Jason Kiessling, sophomore Mike Letts, and sophomore Hudson Taylor all advanced to the NCAA Championships last season which is the most wrestlers Maryland has sent since 2001. Taylor came up one win short of All-America status as he lost the eighth place match, 4-3. The following is a brief list of accomplishments of the incoming class: Rhett Beattie Rockville, Md./Sherwood HS 133 Maryland state finalist ... set the Montgomery County record for most consecutive dual meet wins with 65 ... finished his high school career with a 120-17 record at Sherwood. Matt Bogusz Allentown, Pa./Parkland HS 133/141 2007 District XI Scholar-Athlete Award winner ... 2007 District 11 Champion as well as three-time District 11 finalist ... 2007 Northeast Regional Champion and three time Regional finalist ... amassed 124 wins in his career for Parkland. Cory Biscaha Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial HS 141 District 21 and Region 6 Champion ... 2006 New Jersey state placer ... comes to Maryland from New Jersey's powerhouse Jackson Memorial. Owen Duffy Lutherville, Md./Loyola HS 285 2007 National Prep All-American ... capped off his career with a senior season that included 51 wins and 24 falls ... Owen's 51 victories in a season is the most in Loyola. Jake Fedechko Glassboro, N.J./Blair Academy 157 2005 FILA Cadet Freestyle All-American ... finished high school career with 96 wins competing for Dalsea High School and Woodstown High School ... regional champion ... two-time district champion ... attended prestigious Blair Academy for a year before joining Maryland. Dan Hawvermale Sandy Springs, Md./Good Counsel HS 149 Three-time MIAA Independent School state placer ... finished career with over 100 victories at Good Counsel. Kyle John Coopersburg, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic 149/157 Finished sixth at the Pennsylvania State Championships ... two-time District 11 Champion ... two-time regional champion ... accumulated 130 wins for Bethlehem Catholic. Dexter Lederer Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy HS 133 Two-time Pennsylvania state place winner ... three-time Pa. Freestyle State Champion ... two-time Pa. Greco Roman State Champion ... 2005 Cadet Freestyle All-American with a sixth place finish at the FILA Cadet Freestyle National Championships ... concluded high school career with 144 victories at Neshaminy. Brian Letters Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel HS 157/165 Finished third at the 2007 Pennsylvania State Championships ... 2006 Powerade Champion ... placed third at 2007 Ironman ... four-time WPIAL place winner ... finished high school career with 157 wins for Fox Chapel. Matt MacLean Old Tappan, N.J./Old Tappan HS 157 2007 NJ State third place finish ... two-time District 8 Champion ... finished career with 110 victories for Old Tappan. Eric Medina Blair Academy, N.J. 149/157 Three-time National Prep Champion ... Cadet Freestyle National Champion ... two-time Ironman Champion ... 2005 Beast of the East champion as well as a three-time Beast of the East place finisher ... ranked No. 1 in the country at 145 pounds by WIN Magazine and is ranked 10th-best recruit in the country, regardless of weight class, on Intermat. Will Sharbaugh Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman HS 125 2006 Asics Junior Freestyle All-American ... won 2006 Maryland State Championship and was a three-time Maryland state placer ... finished career with 125 wins which ranks second all time in Walt Whitman history. Shawn Steets Marlton, N.J./Cherokee HS 141 Won a District 27 title for Cherokee at 140 pounds ... two-time Region I place winner ... compiled 30 wins as a senior. Pat Strizki Flemington, N.J./Flemington Hunterdon Central High School 125 2007 New Jersey State runner-up as well as a three-time New Jersey state placer ... three-time N.J. district and regional champion ... NHSCA Senior High School National All-American at 119 pounds ... ranked 10th-best recruit by Intermat among all seniors at 119 pounds.

PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania has announced its 2007-08 wrestling schedule. The Quakers will aim for Ivy League and EIWA championships starting with the Bear Cat Open at Binghamton on Nov. 11. The slate is highlighted by seven home events, including the annual Keystone Classic, which will take place on Nov. 18 at The Palestra. Dual meets with Virginia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, Columbia, Cornell and Lehigh round out the home schedule. Penn will hit the road to compete against some of the nation's best teams and individuals. The Quakers will once again visit the Las Vegas Invitational on Nov. 30, then take part in the Sun Devil Duals at Arizona State on Jan. 6. After a one-year absence, Penn will return to the Virginia Duals on Jan. 11 and 12 before starting its traditional dual-meet season at Hofstra on Jan. 27. Meets at Harvard and Brown round out the dual slate. The EIWA Championships take place at Franklin & Marshall College in nearby Lancaster, Pa., on March 7-8, while NCAA Championships will be March 20-22 in St. Louis. For ticket information, click on "Tickets" at PennAthletics.com or call (215) 898-6151.

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. –- USA Wrestling, the national governing body for amateur wrestling, has named Bob Anderson of Redondo Beach, Calif. and Jason Townsend of Las Vegas, Nev. as coaches for the U.S. Grappling World Team, which will compete in Antalya, Turkey on Sept. 9. FILA, the international wrestling federation, has named Grappling (also known as submission wrestling) as an international wrestling style. This will be the first Grappling World Championships hosted by FILA, as part of the World Wrestling Games which also features Sombo, Beach Wrestling and Pankration. "We are confident that the coaching staff assembled for this historic competition will provide athletes with a wonderful opportunity to reach the podium at the World Championships," said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. "USA Wrestling is firmly committed to this program and all disciplines of international wrestling." Anderson and Townsend both have considerable experience in coaching Grappling and wrestling, and have been instrumental in the development of USA Wrestling's new Grappling initiative. The World Team Coaches will conduct a training camp for the USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials champions at the NOLIMITS training center in Irvine, Calif. prior to the U.S. team's departure to Turkey. The coaches selected for the U.S. Grappling World Team were approved by USA Wrestling's ad-hoc Grappling Committee. Bob Anderson, Redondo Beach, Calif. Anderson serves as the Head Wrestling Coach for No Limits Mixed Martial Arts, teaching wrestling and Grappling to the students there. No Limits athlete Don Ortega won the USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials, and will represent the United States at the World Championships in Antalya. He has a long history as a successful coach within amateur wrestling and the martial arts, including mentorship of numerous champion athletes in many styles. "We will have a tough challenge at the Worlds with Brazil and other nations," said Anderson. "The USA will be up for this challenge. We will show the Grappling world that America's martial art is wrestling. I believe wholeheartedly that we have the athletes to win it." Anderson served on the coaching staff of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman Team which competed in Atlanta, Ga. He was also a coach on a number of U.S. World Teams. Anderson served on the coaching staff for the 2004 Greco-Roman World Cup as well as the 2002 Junior World Greco-Roman Championships. He served as a coach at the 1990 U.S. Olympic Festival, and has coached U.S. teams in Italy, Romania, Guatemala and other nations. He was the founder and director of the Junior Elite Wrestling Systems (JETS) club, which won 12 age-group national wrestling titles and developed dozens of All-Americans. Anderson is a Gold Certified Coach within USA Wrestling's National Coaches Education Program, the highest coaching achievement in the sport. Henderson coached U.S. Olympic Team Greco-Roman wrestlers Dan Henderson, Heath Sims and Jason Gleasman. Among the other top international wrestling stars he has mentored include Olympic and World champion Rulon Gardner and World Team member Randy Couture. Both Henderson and Couture have gone on to become champions in Mixed Martial Arts. Anderson served as head wrestling coach for Kaahumanu Hou Christian School in Hawaii from 1992-2000. He also served as a coach at Adams State Univ. and El Camino JC, as well as a number of high schools in California. He also has an extensive coaching career in Sombo, serving as the coach and a competitor for the 1977 Pan American Championships Sombo team, which won the team title in Mexico City, Mexico. He was also a coach with the 1979 U.S. Sombo World Team which competed in Madrid, Spain. During this time, he was a friend and mentor for the martial arts legend Hollis Gracie. Anderson is credited with developing the "Americana Arm Bar" submission hold. He also studied judo under respected coach Gene LaBelle. He was a Veterans World freestyle wrestling champion in 2003 and Veterans World Greco-Roman runner-up in 2004. He competed in freestyle, Greco-Roman and Sombo on the national levels. Anderson won national titles within the U.S. Wrestling Federation, the AAU and the YMCA programs. Anderson competed in wrestling at Adams State, where he was an All-American in the NCAA Div. I Championships and the NAIA Championships. He was the first Adams State wrestler to be a Div. I All-American. Previously, he attended El Camino JC, where he was a two-time California Junior College state champion. "I am excited to coach this U.S. team," said Anderson. "To be able to go to the first World Championships and get back into what I did as an athlete and coach in the 1970's is a great honor." Jason Townsend, Las Vegas, Nev. Townsend is a Wrestling/Grappling Coach at Xtreme Couture MMA in Las Vegas, Nev. working with Mixed Martial Arts legend Randy Couture, who was also a U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling World Team member. He serves as Head Wrestling Coach at Marc Laimon's Cobra Kai jiu-jitsu in Las Vegas, Nev. Cobra Kai jiu-jitsu placed two athletes in the finals of USA Wrestling Grappling World TeamTrials, runners-up Jeff Glover and Simpson Go. Glover will compete at the Grappling World Championships in Turkey. "I am honored to be able to represent the USA as a coach of the first-ever U.S. Grappling World Team. It will be nice to use my knowledge of the rules to develop strategies, techniques and training methods necessary to defeat our foreign competition and bring home gold medals for the United States," said Townsend. Townsend serves as a member of the FILA World Grappling Committee, the group within international wrestling which manages Grappling worldwide. Within the committee, Townsend serves as Technical Director for coaches and officials education, as well as rules oversight. He is one of the authors of the FILA Grappling Rulebook. He was the founder and President of the International Submission Wrestling Association, a Grappling organization that hosted competitions, as well as trained officials, coaches and athletes. With the ISWA, Townsend developed the rules of Grappling which have been adopted by FILA. The ISWA ceased operation after FILA and USA Wrestling adopted Grappling as a style of wrestling. Townsend has been a key individual in putting together USA Wrestling's existing Grappling program right from the start of organizational meetings this winter. Townsend served as an assistant wrestling coach at Cal-State Fullerton from 2000-2005. He was a varsity wrestler for Syracuse Univ. and Hofstra Univ. Townsend was a two-time Maryland state high school champion, and was an All-American in freestyle at the Junior Nationals and Espoir Nationals. "This is huge for the development of Grappling as a legitimate international amateur sport," said Townsend. "USA Wrestling has become a leader in the Grappling movement and a model for the implementation of this style into existing national wrestling federations around the world."