InterMat Staff

PITTSBURGH, Pa. –- The West Virginia University wrestling team pulled off a thrilling 18-16 upset of No. 25-rated Pitt on Friday, Feb 2, at Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh, Pa. With his team trailing 16-15, junior heavyweight Dustin Rogers defeated No. 21-ranked Zach Schaffer in overtime to secure WVU's third dual victory of the season. The Corning, Calif., native trailed 3-2 in the bout with less than 20 seconds left in regulation. Rogers got the takedown he needed with 13 seconds remaining, but gave up an escape to send it into sudden victory. With just nine seconds remaining in the minute-long period Rogers scored another takedown on the edge of the mat to send his teammates home with their sixth consecutive dual victory in the Backyard Brawl. The Panthers (6-5, 1-2 EWL) jumped on the Mountaineers (3-3, 2-1 EWL) early with a major decision in the 125-pound bout and a decision at 133-pounds. The pair of losses put WVU in a difficult 7-0 hole. West Virginia fought back with a decision and major over the next two bouts to tie the score at seven apiece. Sophomore Brandon Rader won a hard fought match against a scrappy Joe Ciamploi in his bout, 8-6, to get WVU on the board. The Parkersburg, W.Va., native took an early 4-1 lead, but an escape and takedown by Ciampoli knotted the match at the end of the first period. Rader was able to hold on for his 15th win of the season though, as he tallied an escape and a takedown over the next two periods. He also earned a point for riding time. David Jauregui supplied a 19-7 major decision in the 149-bout against Mark Generalovich. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first the Santa Ana, Calif., took his opponent down five times in the second to build a daunting 12-5 lead. Three more takedowns in the third would seal the deal. Junior Mountaineer Zac Fryling lost the most heartbreaking bout of the evening as he fell to No. 8 Matt Kocher, 3-2, in overtime. Fryling scored the only offensive points of the match when he took Kocher down in the first period, but three escapes sprinkled over regulation and three overtime periods allowed Kocher to escape with the win. Pitt wrestlers Sean Richmond and No. 3-ranked Keith Gavin claimed wins in the next two bouts to build the Panthers lead to 16-7 heading into the 184-pound bout. In that match sophomore Chance Litton was able to slice into the Panther lead by winning a 3-0 decision over Kyle Deliere. The Parkersburg, W.Va., native has now won two consecutive EWL dual meet bouts. Junior 197-pounder Jared Villers plowed through Pitt's Mike Heist en route to a convincing 17-0 technical fall. The Akron, Ohio, native did so on three takedowns and four near falls. The win marked the second consecutive year that Villers has scored a tech versus Heist. The WVU win at 197-pounds set up an exciting heavyweight bout as WVU trailed by just one point in the team points in which Rogers was able to pull the upset. The Mountaineers return to action next Friday, Feb. 9, when they host Ohio in their last non-conference dual of the season. Wrestling at the WVU Coliseum gets underway at 8 p.m.

The ninth-ranked Wisconsin wrestling team topped the Purdue Boilermakers Friday night 27-12 in West Lafayette, Ind. The teams were tied at 12-12 after Wisconsin's Jake Donar (Cuba City, Wis.) fell to PU's Justin Fraga, however, the UW proceeded to win the final four matches. The victory improved Wisconsin to 17-1 on the season (3-1 Big Ten), while Purdue fell to 10-5 overall and 0-5 in league action. The match got underway at 125 lbs., where Brandon Tucker of Purdue defeated Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) 6-3. Tucker received points on two takedowns, an escape and riding time of over one minute to top Cudd. However, No. 14 Zach Tanelli (Milburn, N.J.) would answer back with a fall over Sean Schmaltz at 133 lbs. The match lasted less than one minute into the third period, when Tanelli took Schmaltz down, giving Wisconsin a 6-3 advantage. At 141 lbs., Wisconsin's No. 15 Kyle Ruschell defeated PU's Nick Bertucci 9-4. Early into the first period, Ruschell's takedown gave him a 2-0 advantage, however, less than a minute later Bertucci's reversal tied it up 2-2. A penalty at the end of the first period put Ruschell up 3-2. In the second, both grapplers earned two points each for reversals, putting Ruschell up by one, 5-4. In the final period, Ruschell earned three points on a nearfall and an additional point from a riding time of 2:23. Nevertheless, PU would not back down, earning a win at 149 lbs., as No. 12 Jake Patacsil upset No. 7 Tyler Turner (Spring Valley, Wis.) in the first period. The fall earned Purdue six points, evening the score 9-9. The win was Patacsil's second conference upset of the season. He recently topped then-No. 7 Matt Coughlin of Indiana. Patascil improves to 26-8 for the 2006-07 slate. Wisconsin's No. 6 Craig Henning (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) helped regain the lead after defeating PU's Jake Murphy 7-3 at 157 lbs. A tight match at 165 lbs. led to a 9-7 decision, with UW's Donar falling to PU's Fraga. Although Fraga's win tied the match up at 12-12, Wisconsin went on to win the final four matches of the evening. At 174 lbs., Mike Felling (Hutchinson, Minn.) faced Jason Martin of Purdue. The matched lasted the complete seven minutes, with Felling earning points on two takedowns, one reversal, one escape and riding time of 1:24. Felling won by decision 8-5. Badger Justin Peterson (Comstock, Wis.) went head-to-head with Boilermaker Nick Skinner at 184 lbs. All points were earned in the second and third periods, the most exciting action occurring near the end of the second when Peterson took Skinner down, eventually earning three points for a nearfall. The match ended in favor of Peterson 7-4. Wisconsin took a six point lead over Purdue, 18-12, with two matches remaining. Wisconsin's No. 12 Dallas Herbst (Winneconne, Wis.) faced foe No. 13 Nathan Moore at 197 lbs. It was a match that was expected to be tight, but Herbst managed to control most of the match, only allowing Moore points on two escapes. Herbst won by decision 7-2. At heavyweight, Wisconsin's Kyle Massey (Champlin, Minn.) put the final touches on the match, with a fall over PU's David Pisarcik, just 1:59 into the first period. UW wraps up its Big Ten road slate on Feb. 4 as it heads to Ann Arbor, Mich. to face No. 17 Michigan. Match time is set for 1 p.m. Livestats are available for the Sunday match on Michigan's Web site, www.mgoblue.com. Check uwbadgers.com for the latest updates and scores.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team got stellar performances from top to bottom tonight as it crushed Northwestern 25-8 in front of more than 3,000 Rec Hall fans. Penn State, ranked No. 12 nationally, won eight of ten bouts against No. 10 Northwestern, including key wins from co-captains James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.), Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.). The dual began at 125, where Nittany Lion junior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.) took on Northwestern's Brandon Precin. McKnight, ranked No. 7 nationally, was all offense early on, getting off shot after shot in the period's first half. But Precin's defense kept the Lion junior from scoring. Precin did get hit with his first stall warning at the 1:10 mark. McKnight then locked onto Precin's left arm, threw him to the ground and got his takedown at the :45 mark to lead 2-1 after a Precin escape. McKnight chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 3-1 lead :25 seconds into the period. McKnight had another solid scoring opportunity, countering a Precin shot and nearly throwing the Wildcat freshman to the mat for a second takedown, but Precin fought off the move to keep the bout close heading into the third period. Precin chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to cut the McKnight lead to 3-2. Precin began to dictate the tempo and had a takedown of his own waved off at the 1:00 mark. But fresh off the reset, the Wildcat freshmen got the takedown to lead 4-3 with :45 left. He added two back points to up his lead to 6-3 and, with a riding time point, went on to post a stunning 7-3 upset win. The victory gave NU an early 3-0 lead and dropped McKnight to 17-4 overall. Precin improved his mark to 13-4. Sophomore Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 133, met Northwestern's Eric Metzler in the next bout. Strayer got on the board first, getting a takedown near the edge of the mat at the 1:36 mark to take an early 2-0 lead. The Nittany Lion sophomore put together a strong ride, throwing Metzler to the mat once and building up 1:34 in riding time and riding Metzler out. Up 2-0 with a big time advantage, Strayer chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 3-0 lead just :13 in. Metzler got in on Strayer's left leg and finished the move to get a takedown at the 1:10 mark, cutting the lead to 4-2 after a Strayer escape. Quick off the reset, Metzler nabbed Strayer's right ankle and had another scoring opportunity. But this time, Strayer fought the move off, forcing a stalemate and a reset with :30 left. Trailing 4-2 after two, Metzler chose neutral to begin the final period. Strayer quickly got in on Metzler's left ankle. After a bit of a scramble, Strayer completed the takedown on the edge of the mat to up his lead to 6-2. He continued to dominate the match from the top position and once again rode Metzler out, posting a 7-2 win that featured a 2:30 edge in riding time. The decision tied the dual meet at 3-3 and upped Strayer's record to 18-4. Metzler fell to 6-8. Senior Bryan Heller (Fair Haven, N.J.) took to the mat against NU's James Kohlberg at 141. Each wrestler started quickly, with Heller nearly completing a takedown only to be countered by Kohlberg who almost threw Heller to his back. But no points were earned and a reset ensued. Heller got on the board shortly thereafter with a takedown at the 1:30 mark. Heller broke Kohlberg down and began looking for an opportunity to turn the Wildcat sophomore. While not getting any back points, Heller did ride Kohlberg out to lead 2-0 after one period with a 1:31 edge in riding time. Heller chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 3-0 lead. Snapping into Kohlberg's lower legs off a reset, Heller posted a quick takedown at the :30 mark to move up 5-0. Heller once again rode Kohlberg out to lead 5-0 with 2:03 in time after two periods. Kohlberg chose down to begin the third and was allowed up by Heller to cut the lead to 5-1. Heller, who needed multiple takedowns for a major, got the first of the period at the 1:35 mark. He cut Kohlberg quickly and once again got in on the Wildcat's legs on the edge of the mat, getting another takedown to lead 9-3 with 1:15 left. With a riding time point guaranteed, Heller got his third takedown of the period at the :41 mark to move out to an 11-3 lead. This time, Heller tried to hold Kohlberg down to secure the major. But Kohlberg managed a reversal with just :01 left and stole the major. Still, Heller's 12-5 win gave Penn State a 6-3 lead. Heller improved to 15-7 and Kohlberg fell to 6-13. Red-shirt freshman Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), coming off being named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, met Vince Colletti of Northwestern at 149. Vallimont, newly ranked at No. 15 nationally, put together a dominating first period. Two takedowns in the first minute had Vallimont up 4-1 early. After the second takedown, Vallimont began looking for a pinning opportunity. Colletti did escape, but not before Vallimont built up a 1:05 time advantage. The Nittany Lion freshman continued to dominate the Wildcat sophomore, getting one more takedown and riding Colletti out to carry a 6-2 lead (with 1:44 in riding time) into the second period. Colletti chose down to begin the second period and escaped to a 6-3 deficit. Vallimont's quickness once again paid off as he countered a Colletti shot off a reset, quickly moved around the Wildcat wrestler, and scored another takedown at the 1:00 mark. Cutting him loose and looking for bonus points, Vallimont added a fifth takedown with :40 left. He rode Colletti out and led 10-4 with 2:53 in time heading into the final period. Vallimont chose down to begin the final stanza and quickly escaped to an 11-4 lead. He added a sixth takedown with 1:35 left to lead 13-5 after cutting Colletti loose. Colletti tried a quick throw of Vallimont off a reset, but Vallimont easily countered to get a takedown of his own and lead 15-5 with under a minute to wrestle. Colletti gave up a stall point with his second warning and, with a major decision in hand, Vallimont spent the final seconds of the bout trying to turn Colletti. Another Colletti stall point, plus a riding time point, gave Vallimont a convincing 18-5 major decision. The win put Penn State up 10-3 and improved Vallimont to 15-7. Colletti fell to 7-11. At 157, true freshman Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) battled Wildcat Dominic Marella. Marella had the first solid scoring opportunity early but Jenkins fought off the move to keep things scoreless a minute into the bout. Jenkins then used his quickness to get in on Marella's thighs and complete a strong takedown at the 1:48 mark to lead 2-1 after a Marella escape. Jenkins added another takedown at the 1:00 mark to up his lead to 4-1. Working hard on top, Jenkins looked for an opening to get back points. But Marella managed to fight off the attempts and keep the dual close after one period. Leading 4-1 with over a minute's worth of riding time, Jenkins chose down to begin the middle stanza. The Lion true freshman quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. Marella shot at a crouching Jenkins, only to be countered and nearly thrown to his back by the Nittany Lion rookie. Jenkins got the takedown and built his lead up to 7-1. Marella escaped, but in the process got hit with an illegal hold and trailed 8-2. Marella was placed into down position after the illegal hold and escaped to cut the lead to 8-3. The Wildcat got his first takedown to cut the lead to 9-5 after a Jenkins escape. The bout entered the third period with Jenkins hold that lead and nearly two minutes worth of riding time. Marella chose down to begin the third and escaped to cut the lead to 9-6. But Jenkins would ice the bout with another takedown at the 1:02 mark, upping his lead to 11-6. This time, Jenkins would not allow Marella up and went on to post a convincing 12-6 (with riding time) decision. The win put Penn State up 13-3 and improved Jenkins' record to 17-7. Marella fell to 4-9. Another Nittany Lion true freshman, Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) met Northwestern's Greg Hagel at 165. Rella wrapped Hagel at the shoulders and finished the move to lead 2-0 at the 1:00 mark. But Rella would lock his hands in trying to fight off a Hagel reversal attempt and then give up the reversal to trail 3-2. Rella escaped quickly after righting himself and the match went to the second period tied 3-3. Hagel chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 4-3 lead. Hagel began to dictate the bout's tempo, getting two solid scoring opportunities in the second period. But the Nittany Lion freshman fought off the Wildcat juniors attempts each time and countered with his own scoring attempt at the :30 mark. But Hagel fought off the shot and forced a reset. Rella thrilled the Rec Hall crowd with a diving takedown with just :05 left to carry a 5-4 lead into the third period. Rella, now up by one, chose down to begin the final period and quickly escaped to a 6-4 lead. An energized Rella was now the aggressor. With 1:10 to wrestle, the true freshman countered a low Hagel shot and worked behind him to lead 8-5 after cutting the Wildcat loose. Countering another Hagel shot, Rella worked around behind him and got yet another takedown. One more takedown and Rella would post a convincing 12-7 decision. The win put Penn State up 16-3 and improved Rella's record to 19-8. Hagel fell to 4-8. Senior All-American James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) met Northwestern's Nick Hayes at 174 in one of three bouts featuring ranked wrestlers. Yonushonis entered ranked No. 7 while Hayes came in ranked No. 15. Yonushonis pressured Hayes to the edge of the mat throughout the first period, but found no openings in which to score. With :20 left, Hayes got in on Yonushonis' right leg and nearly got a go-ahead takedown, but the Nittany Lion senior did a nice job of tying Hayes up and running out the clock. Tied 0-0 after the first three minutes, Hayes chose down to start the second and escaped to a 1-0 lead after :20. Yonushonis had two solid scoring attempts early in the second, but the edge of the mat and a dangerous hold forced resets each time. Trailing by one, Yonushonis chose down to begin the final period and deftly escaped to tie the score at 1-1 with 1:50 left to wrestle. Yonushonis could not break through Hayes' outstanding defense until completing a single-leg with :20 left. With Hayes trying to work off the mat, Yonushonis pulled the ranked NU wrestler back into play and, with a quick trip, completed the takedown at the :12 mark. The 3-1 win thrilled the Penn State crowd and put the Nittany Lions up 19-3. Yonushonis moved to 25-3 with the win while Hagel fell to 10-6. At 184, Penn State senior Brian Cantalupi (Carlisle, Pa.) met the nation's top-ranked 184-pounder, Northwestern's Jake Herbert. Herbert put together an impressive first period. The undefeated NU grappler notched two takedowns in the first minute to build up a 4-2 lead and nearly a minute in riding time. Herbert added another takedown to lead 6-2 with 2:09 in riding time after three minutes of wrestling. Herbert chose down to begin the second period and reversed Cantalupi to up his lead to 8-2. The NU junior turned Cantalupi for two near fall points and cut him loose to lead 10-3 with 1:00 to wrestle in the second. Herbert added another takedown and carried a 12-3 lead into the final period with a riding time point clinched. Cantalupi chose down to start the final stanza and was allowed out. Herbert continued his strong offense, notching another takedown to up his lead to 14-5. The NU wrestler began working for technical fall, Herbert added two more takedowns (and picked up a penalty point to lead 19-7 with :45 left. Herbert then picked up another two points with a takedown at the :25 mark. A second Cantalupi stall put Herbert up 22-7 and gave him the TF at the 6:52 mark. The win cut Penn State's lead to 19-8 and improved Herbert to 15-0. Cantalupi fell to 7-7. One of the evening most anticipated bouts featured two of the nation's top three ranked wrestlers at 197. Penn State's Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 3, met Wildcat Mike Tamillow, ranked No. 2. Tamillow drew first blood with a strong takedown at the 2:05 mark. But Davis used the move to his advantage, reversing Tamillow to tie the score at 2-2 and nearly taking him to his back for near fall points. Davis dominated the Wildcat grapple on top, building up over a minute's worth of riding time while nearly completing two different cradles. Tamillow managed to fight off Davis' pinning efforts to send the hotly contested bout to the second period tied 2-2. Davis owned 1:33 in riding time. Tamillow chose neutral to begin the second period. Neither wrestler managed any real scoring chances until Davis countered a Tamillow shot to get his first takedown with :48 left in the second and lead 4-2. The two-time Penn State All-American put together another dominating ride, maintaining control until the period ended to lead 4-2 with 2:22 in riding time after two periods. Davis chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to a 5-2 lead. Tamillow got in on Davis' left ankle but Davis deftly fought off the move with a split, forcing a reset with 1:15 to wrestle. Tamillow once again got Davis' left leg and once again, Davis worked his way around the Wildcat wrestler. With :08 left, Davis completed the counter move and, with 2:16 in riding time, posted an outstanding 8-2 win over the second-ranked Tamillow. The win clinched the dual victory, putting Penn State up 22-8, and moved Davis to 19-1 on the year. Tamillow fell to 14-2. At heavyweight, two more ranked grapplers met as Penn State senior Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.) put his No. 13 ranking to the test against No. 4 Dustin Fox of Northwestern. Anspach, giving up nearly 30 pounds to Fox, was aggressive throughout the first period. Fox worked into Anspach's upper body and nearly took the Lion senior down. Action moved off the mat, where Anspach's head made serious contact with the wood floor of Rec Hall. After a short injury break, Anspach dove at Fox's feet and completed a thrilling takedown. With action moving off the mat, Fox was given an escape and Anspach led 2-1 with 1:10 left in the first period. Fox got in on Anspach's leg and looked for a go-ahead takedown on the edge of the mat. But Anspach countered the move, worked around Fox from behind and got his second takedown. A short ride-out later and Anspach led 4-1 after one. The Nittany Lion co-captain chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. Fox again nearly completed a takedown, but Anspach continued to frustrate the bigger wrestler with his quickness and athleticism, fighting off the move at the edge of the mat. Each wrestler had chances to score on the edge of the mat in the second period's final minute, but no scoring occurred. The fourth-ranked Fox, down 5-1, chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to cut Anspach's lead to 5-2. With 1:10 left, Fox once again go in on Anspach's legs, but the agile Lion heavyweight deftly kept himself from giving up a takedown and forced a reset with :45 left to wrestle. Anspach would go on to post a convincing 5-2 win over Fox and give Penn State a 25-8 win over NU. Anspach improved to 13-2 with the win while Fox fell to 9-2. Penn State won eight of the dual's ten bouts. Only two bouts featured bonus points, Vallimont's major at 149 and Herbert's tech fall at 184. Penn State won the battle of takedowns 29-13 as well. The Lions move to 11-5, 2-3 in the Big Ten. Northwestern fell to 10-6, 1-3. Penn State will close out its home slate on Sunday, Feb. 4, with a 12 p.m. dual against No. 6 Iowa. Single-match tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Penn State ticket office at 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 for more information. Fans can also get tickets at GoPSUsports.com. Single dual prices are $5 per event for adults and $3 per event for youth. The bout will also be shown live on WWCP-TV, Fox 8 as well as regionally on FSN-Pittsburgh.

Stanford, Calif -- The Mustang wrestling team faced off in two duals Friday and recorded a win over San Francisco State, 31-14 and a loss to Pac-10 foe Stanford, 25-13. The Mustangs dual record now stands at 5-7 on the season and 4-2 in conference action. The Mustangs won five of the seven matches wrestled and forfeited the 197 pound match in the dual with the Division II Gators. Mustang senior Steven Gee (184 lbs.) recorded a fall over Cory Creighton at the five minute 44 second mark and No. 17 Cody Parker (Heavyweight) got a technical fall over Vincent Bordi in the afternoon dual. The evening dual against Stanford saw the Mustangs win the first three matches and jump out to a 9-0 team score lead. Mustang sophomore Chase Pami recorded an upset over Josh Zupancic of Stanford. The unranked Pami got a 3-1 overtime decision at 157 pounds over Zupancic who is currently ranked No. 18 nationally. Pami's record improves to 14-8 for the season with two wins over nationally ranked opponents. The Cardinal would win the six of the final seven bouts to soundly beat the Mustangs. Mustang Seniors Dave Roberts, No. 7 Darrell Vasquez, and No. 12 Matt Monteiro did not wrestle Friday. The next home match for Cal Poly will be Feb. 4, this Sunday, against Pac-10 leading Oregon State 2 PM in Mott Gym. The Beavers are currently ranked No. 20 nationally under new Head Coach Jim Zalesky, formerly of Iowa.

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 8/13 Oklahoma Sooners (9-5, 0-2 Big 12) defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils, 31-9 Friday night at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz. Oklahoma has won the last eight meetings in the series, including tonight. Jack Spates is 10-3-1 all-time versus the Sun Devils. OU is 22-13-1 all-time versus Arizona State. "We wrestled very tough tonight and I am very proud of Brian Shelton and Kyle Terry for their hard-fought victories," head coach Jack Spates said. Seven Sooners recorded victories for Oklahoma, with OU scoring one fall. Matt Storniolo (149-pounds) and Will Rowe (157-pounds) both recorded victories for the Sooners as they drew forfeits from the Sun Devils At 174-pounds Joshua Weitzel defeated Alex Pavlenko by a pin at the 2:08 mark. Heavyweight Brad Framer recorded a major decision at heavyweight. Farmer defeated Thor Moen by a score of 14-3. Recording decisions for the Sooners were Brian Shelton at 133-pounds over Shawn Jones by a score of 10-4, Kyle Terry at 141-pounds defeating Robert Galvan, 8-1, and Joel Flaggert defeated Jason Trulson, 9-3 at 197-pounds. "We are very excited about our victory tonight but now we to turn our attention to Missouri for our tough dual on Sunday," Spates continued. The Sooners wrestle their next two duals at home as they host the No. 2/2 Missouri Tigers on Sunday and then play host to the No. 20/22 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Friday, Feb. 9. Both matches will be wrestled at the Howard McCasland Field House.

Kearney, Neb. –- Senior Matt True and junior Joe Ellenberger recorded upset victories and junior Brett Allgood had a key pin to propel the No. 1 ranked Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team to a 24-9 win over 3rd-ranked Central Oklahoma Thursday night at the Health & Sports Center. A crowd of 1,513 watched UNK improved to 13-1 by beating a powerful Bronchos (12-4) team that has been ranked No. 1 for most of the season. Senior Trevor Charbonneau (Clay Center, Kans.) started the night off with a 5-1 win at 125 lbs. He recorded a late takedown in the second period to grab a 3-0 lead. UCO was primed to pull off an upset at 133 lbs. as veteran Jared Henning (24-5) had a takedown and a near fall in the first period. Henning easily could've had a fall and given UCO a huge momentum swing but Allgood (Bennington), for nearly a minute, managed to keep his back just off the mat. Things quickly turned the Lopers way as Allgood managed to pin Henning early in the second period. The four-time Nebraska state champ is now 32-1 vs. Division II competition as a Loper. At 141 lbs., junior Jeff Rutledge (Lincoln East) almost gave top-ranked Kyle Evans (25-0) his first loss of the year but Evans used a second period escape to score the only point of the match. UNK quickly got back the momentum as True (Mitchell) used a takedown with around 15 seconds left in the second period to upset 4th-ranked Shea Timothy, 2-1, at 149 lbs. Ellenberger (Millard South) then gave UNK a 15-3 lead when he had a take down and a two-point near fall in the final 20 seconds of his match to stun top-ranked Jason Leavitt, 5-1. The Bronchos managed to win the next two weight classes but sophomore Matt Farrell (Skutt Catholic), ranked 3rd nationally at 184 lbs., pushed his win streak to 19 in a row by jumping out to a 4-0 lead over 4th-ranked Jared Hess. Farrell (24-3) was taken down twice in the final frame but still won 6-4. Another tight match would go the Lopers way as redshirt freshman Kelsey Empting (Ponca City, Okla.), ranked 8th at 197 lbs., used an escape in the third period to edge veteran Heath Jolley, 3-2. In maybe the most anticipated match of the night, top-ranked heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev (Arlington, Texas) battled 2nd-ranked Josh LeadingFox. The long time rivals have had several classic battles over the last two years and nothing changed tonight. Each wrestler recorded an escape and the match went into overtime tied at one. After a scoreless one minute period, both Dlagnev and LeadingFox recorded an escape in the 30 second periods. The match almost continued but Dlagnev managed a takedown with one second showing on the clock in the second sudden victory period. Dlagnev improves to 38-1 and has with 22 matches in a row. UNK hosts New Mexico Highlands tomorrow night.

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 67: All or Nothing Venue: Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, February 3, 2007 In a much-anticipated debut of two former Pride fighting champions into the UFC, Mirko Cro Cop and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson are fighting against over-matched opponents, at least according to the betting odds posted by those who should know. The featured fight is a middleweight title fight between Anderson Silva and Travis Lutter, also a mismatch according to the betting odds. In fact, Dana White, UFC President, has put together a nine-fight card that represents the biggest mismatches (on paper) in the UFC's history! Why? Perhaps, as a showcase for the favorites as they move up the ladder of success? The UFC Monster will be at the event along with RevWrestling.com senior writer Andrew Hipps. The FREE weigh-ins are also worth attendance. The anticipation of the event is often as exciting as the event itself! So, let's take a look at the long list of underdogs and see if we can find any winners. It will only take a handful of barking 'dogs to win to make for a profitable day, and another trip to the winner's window in Vegas! From the biggest underdogs on down: Eddie SANCHEZ (8-0) @ +800 is an undefeated fighter who has been chosen to be the first sacrificial lamb for Mirko CRO COP (21-4-2), the best kicker in MMA fighting. Eddie has no chance. You would have to bet $15 on Mirko to net a single dollar! Now, that's some serious bridge-jumping! CRO COP ends this in the first round with a left foot to Eddie's temple. Nighty-night. Tyson GRIFFIN (8-0) @ -800 has been a smooth and polished fighter showing no weaknesses as he has rolled through his eight opponents to date, including giving Urijah Faber (17-1) his only defeat. Unknown Frankie EDGAR (5-0) @ +500 will be Tyson's next victim. Edgar was a four-time NCAA Division I national qualifier from Clarion, but I don't think he has the experience to beat Griffin. Working with David Terrell, Griffin has never gone the distance with any of his opponents. GRIFFIN ends this one with an armbar submission in the third round. Quinton "Rampage" JACKSON (25-6) @ -675 is good enough to own a victory over Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. His opponent tonight will be Marvin "The Beastman" Eastman (13-6-1), who is a thick, muscular specimen, who will give it a shot at going toe-to-toe with Rampage. This will be power vs. power. Eastman will have a puncher's chance, but that's about all. Rampage is getting some major hype for joining the UFC. The parade doesn't end before it starts. JACKSON gets the job done with a brutal and bloody TKO in the second round. Roger HUERTA (17-1-1) @ -600 should cruise over John HALVERSON (13-4) @ +400. Halverson was fighting on small Burnsville, Minnesota fight cards this summer. Tonight he enters the octagon. HUERTA should have his way here, and gets a first round triangle choke to end this affair. Ryoto "Loyota" MACHIDA (8-0) @ -600 is a mystery man to most. Who is he? Unbeaten, but also with the names of Rich Franklin and BJ Penn on his resume list of victims. That's impressive. Sam "the Alaskan Assassin" HOGER (6-2) @ +400 is a by-product of the Ultimate Fighter show. The "shake-and-bake" brand of fighter to some. Does he have a chance at beating Machida? I think so. I'll bet against the impressive resume. Both fighters like to go to the ground. Once there, anything can happen. One mistake can lead to a painful joint submission or a fight-stopping choke hold. I smell an upset here. Let's give HOGAR a shot with a surprising rear naked choke in the second round. Finally an upset, and �dog in the bank. Anderson SILVA (17-4) @ -400 has looked absolutely awesome in kicking the daylights out of both champion Rich Franklin, and the highly-regarded Chris Leben. His opponent, Travis LUTTER (12-3) @ +300 is a solid fighter indeed, but he may lack the experience and tools to deal with some first class Muay Tai fighting. Lutter will want to take it to the ground. Silva wants to grab your neck and kick your ribs 'til they break. And, he usually gets his way. Unless there is something going on here that the UFC Monster doesn't understand, this one looks too easy. SILVA wins in the first round with another KO and crumpled body on the mat. Experienced journeyman Jorge "El Conquistador" RIVERA (14-5) @ -325 was a late draw to fight Chicago's Terry MARTIN (16-2) @ +250. Martin's a brawler who likes to throw punches. Rivera is a bit more diversified and would prefer some ground action. If the popular RIVERA can find a way to avoid the KO, he will earn the victory through a judge's decision after three rounds of fighting. If not, MARTIN wins by KO for the upset. This fight will be action packed with plenty of punches thrown. Dustin HAZELETT @ -260 and Diego SARAIVA @ +200 was the last fight added to the card. Both are mat wrestlers who like to win by submission. Saraiva is a late substitution for the colorful Melvin Guillard, who is injured. Subs rarely score. Hazelett wins this one with his patented triangle choke. Guillard would have been a different story. Patrick COTE @ -170 against Scott SMITH (12-2-1, the tie with former U.S. Marines wrestler Joey Clark) should be a good fight. It is the most competitive on paper, according to the oddsmakers. Cote has been in against Tito Ortiz. Smith lost his shot when he got submitted by the scrawny, but lethal Kenny Florian. I think Cote has a little better balance to his fight game. The Canadian brings home the bacon. COTE wins by ground-n-pound TKO in the second round. So, there you have it, a showcase of talent on display. The question is, "Will there be much competition in many of these fights?" Saturday night we find out. Enjoy the fights. See you at the winner's window! More later. The UFC Monster

ALAMOSA, Colo. -- The Adams State College Grizzlies won seven of the ten matches in front of a boisterous crowd of more than 1,000 as they dominated arch-rival Western State College 24-13 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action on Thursday night in Plachy Hall. The crowd of 1,089 was treated to a thriller throughout as the Grizzlies, ranked sixth in the latest (Jan. 24) NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association Poll, received major decision wins from redshirt freshman Joey Deaguero (Commerce City, Colo.), senior James Reynolds (Monte Vista, Colo.) and junior Jared Deaguero (Commerce City, Colo.) while improving to 6-1 overall and to a perfect 5-0 in conference action. The Mountaineers, ranked ninth in the country, but hot off a 19-17 win over No. 4 Minnesota State-Mankato, fell to 12-6 overall and to 1-2 in RMAC duals. The gym was rocking from the very start as Grizzly redshirt freshman Arsenia Barksdale (Norfolk, Va.) extended his winning streak to 11 with a thrilling 7-6 decision over Mountaineer sophomore Eddie Lopez at 125 pounds. Barksdale, now 17-3 overall and a perfect 6-0 in duals, led 5-4 after a late second period takedown before Lopez tied the match with an escape early in the third. However, Barksdale scored his third takedown of the match to close out the victory. The Mountaineers then took their only lead of the night as Daren Hockett pinned the Grizzlies' Kevin Schmitt (Arlington, Texas) at the 4-minute, 36-second mark of the 133-pound match, giving WSC a 6-3 lead. The Grizzlies then won the next three matches, a run started by a 9-0 major decision win by Joey Deaguero over Chris Freije at 141 pounds. Deaguero scored a takedown and ensuing 2-point near fall late in the first period before adding another takedown and near fall while building a 9-0 lead after five minutes. Freije, a returning NCAA Division II National Qualifier, then chose the neutral position to begin the third period but could not do a thing as Deaguero snapped a 3-match slide while putting the Grizzlies up 7-6 with his team-best 24th win of the year. Leading 4-3 through two periods of his 149-pound match, Noomis Jones (Arvada, Colo.) scored his third takedown while controlling Camille DuPont, a returning All-American, to claim a riding time advantage bonus point in his 8-4 decision that gave the Grizzlies a 10-6 lead. Jones has now won three straight improving to 14-10. DuPont fell to 17-11. Mike Gallegos (Alamosa, Colo.), ranked fifth in the nation at 157 pounds, then claimed a 7-3 win over Neil Samples as the Grizzlies went up 13-6 at the intermission. Gallegos, now 14-2 overall and 3-1 in duals, led 2-1 after one period before scoring a reversal and near fall in an early second-period flurry He then held Samples down for much of the rest of the match recording nearly three minutes of riding time. The Mountaineers got back into the dual at 165 pounds as Zach Lee claimed an 11-3 major decision over Grizzly junior Evan Copeland (Las Cruces, N.M.) in what was supposed to be the match of the night. Lee, now 21-5, led 3-1 after two periods before scoring a reversal and two takedowns in the third period alone. Copeland, now 23-8 after seeing his 12-match winning streak snapped, was hit with a second stalling call in the waning seconds, which combined with a riding time point, provided Lee and the Mountaineers with the bonus point. The Grizzlies then started to salt the dual away as Reynolds wore down Nick Ross for a 15-4 major decision at 174 pounds. Reynolds, victorious for the fourth straight time, was unable to score a takedown in the first period but got up 5-1 through two stanzas before scoring three more takedowns and a 3-point tilt in the third. Now 19-11 overall and 6-1 in duals, Reynolds has won eight of his last nine matches. Jared Deaguero started slow but erased an early 2-0 deficit in quick order, taking a 6-2 lead after the first period en-route to an 11-3 major decision win over Charlie Pipher at 184 pounds as the Grizzlies went up 21-10. Deaguero, ranked fifth in the nation, is now 11-4 overall and 6-1 in dual meets. Pipher fell to 19-9. The Grizzlies then clinched victory at 197 pounds as Casey Woodall (Morenci, Ariz.) scored the bout's only takedown in a 2-1 win over Cody Mumma. Woodall, ranked first in the nation, has now won 10 straight matches while improving to 21-8. Mumma slipped to 16-9. Lars Lueders then closed out the dual with a 9-4 decision over Grizzly redshirt freshman Jeff Schossow (Fort Morgan, Colo.) in the heavyweight match. Lueders led just 4-2 after two periods but got a takedown and WSC's only near fall at the final horn. The Grizzlies, in sole possession of first place in the RMAC's dual meet standings for at least one day, are now off for a week before hosting 17th-ranked Chadron State next Thursday at 7 p.m. The Grizzlies will then close out the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 10 at top-ranked Nebraska-Kearney, which bested No. 3 Central Oklahoma, 24-9, on Thursday. The Lopers are currently 4-0 in RMAC dual meets and host New Mexico Highlands on Friday night with a chance to tie the Grizzlies once again atop the RMAC standings.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -– Cal State Bakersfield closed out its 2006-07 home regular season schedule on Thursday night with an impressive 48-3 win over Portland State at the Icardo Center. The Roadrunners hoped to give the home crowd an idea of what to expect later in the month when Bakersfield hosts the Pac-10 Championships. After a bit of a slow start, it was all Roadrunners. The 48 team points equaled Bakersfield's best total of the season along with the 48 that the Roadrunners scored when shutting out San Francisco State at the Icardo Center last month. Portland State had the best of things early on, though. Dale Seley picked up the Vikings' lone win of the night at 165 pounds over Bakersfield's Daniel Atondo, who entered the match ranked No. 6 in the Pac-10. But now the Portland State junior will have an argument for that No. 6 ranking after the 13-11 decision. Seley used five takedowns in the first two periods to build a 10-8 lead, but Atondo was able to get a turn in the third period for three back points to take an 11-10 advantage. But Seley escaped with 27 seconds left in the match and earned a takedown with three seconds remaining for the match-winner. But Portland State's lead lasted just one match. Garth Wara and Brandon Ceremello followed with major decision wins at 174 and 184 respectively before the match moved into fast forward. Brandon Halsey pinned Keena Washington at 197 just 1:22 into the match, and Eric Parker also earned a pin in his final home dual over Zack Smith in 2:02 at heavyweight for a commanding 20-3 lead. If the match didn't seem to be moving fast enough already, Portland State then forfeited at 125 and 133 to give Bakersfield a 32-3 team lead. Senior Matt Schumm didn't earn a pin in his final home dual but he did pick up a technical fall by a 15-0 score over Greg Einerson at 141, and senior Brandon Doyle picked up Bakersfield's third first-period pin of the dual over Joe Vanaman at 149 in 2:24. Daniel Alejandro returned from injury to close out the match with a second technical fall of the match for the Roadrunners. The 157-pounder defeated Steven Dailey 19-3 in 5:46 to close out the win. Bakersfield will partake in its final regular-season tournament of the year on Saturday at the San Francisco State Open.

FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota State (5-3, 2-1 WWC) used five major decisions and a pin in the first six bouts of the dual against Eastern Illinois (1-9) to defeat the Panthers 32-16 at the Bison Sports Arena on Thursday, February 1. Eric Hoffman got the scoring going for North Dakota State at 125 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Hoffman used a couple of near falls in the second period and array of moves in the third to defeat A.J. Ciccarelli 12-1. Eric Sanders held the lead throughout his bout against Lenny Grodoski and used over three minutes of advantage time to notch a 9-1 major decision at 133 pounds. At 141 pounds, Gabe Mooney recorded the only pin for the Bison in the match and his second of the season, sticking Casey Carrino's shoulders to the mat with 22 seconds remaining in the third period, giving the Bison an early 14-0 lead. Like Hoffman and Sanders, Ryan Adams, Adam Aho, and Mike Quamme each recorded major decisions in the next three bouts of the match. Adams beat Tommy Reamer 14-6 at 149 pounds, using 2 minutes and 25 seconds of advantage time to secure four points. Aho won his fourth dual match in a row, defeating Kile O'Toole 13-1 at 157 pounds. Aho is now tied for the team lead in dual victories with six. Quamme, who was almost pinned in the first period, came back to take care of Billy Gallo 17-5. Like Aho, Quamme has now won his last four dual matches. Two-time NCAA qualifer Kenny Robertson jumped out to an 8-1 lead after one period over NDSU's Matt Hermann and defeated him 17-5 at 174 pounds. Warren Gall, making his debut for North Dakota State, took on Greg Perz at 184 pounds. Perz, a 2006 national qualifier, pinned the rookie in 1 minute and 44 seconds, closing the gap to 26-10. After a Panther forfeit at 197 pounds, heavyweight Justin LaGosh was pinned by EIU's Greg Trinka at the 4:10 mark. The Bison are now 3-0 in duals at the Bison Sports Arena this season. The Bison will have their undefeated home record tested on Friday, February 2, against Western Wrestling Confernce foe Northern Colorado (4-6, 1-1 WWC). The match is slated for a 7:30 p.m. start at the Bison Sports Arena.

PITTSBURGH, PA -– The National Wrestling Coaches Association approved the motion of electing University at Buffalo wrestling head coach Jim Beichner as President-elect earlier this year at its annual general membership meeting held in Pittsburgh, PA. Beichner was voted to succeed recently-elected Ron Mirkitani of St. Louis-Meremac, who assumed the role of President this year, and will begin a two-year term beginning in 2008. The NWCA is a professional organization dedicated to serve and provide leadership for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on scholastic and collegiate programs. The membership embraces all people interested in amateur wrestling. The NWCA, through its organizational structure, promotes communication, recognizes achievement, recommends rules and regulations, sponsors events, and serves as an educational and informational source. Additionally, the NWCA strives to foster the sportsmanship and integrity that are the cornerstones of athletic competition. "They are a great group of people who promote the sport of wrestling and make a difference," coach Beichner said. "I am hoping I can do a fraction of what they are doing."

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 8/13 Oklahoma wrestling team (8-4, 0-2 Big 12) travels to Tempe, Ariz., for a Showdown with the Arizona State Sun Devils (6-10, 3-2 Pac-10) Friday at 7 p.m. Mountain, at Wells Fargo Arena "This is going to be a very tough match up with the Sun Devils and we need to come in prepared and ready to wrestle," head coach Jack Spates said. The premiere match of the evening pits No. 12 Will Rowe and No. 5 Brian Stith of Arizona State. Rowe, a sophomore from Arlington, Texas, is currently 15-2 on the season. Stith, a senior from Hampton, Va., is 19-2. Last season OU defeated Arizona State in Norman, 29-13 as the Sooners won six of the 10 matches. Oklahoma is 7-2-1 in its last 10 matches with ASU and Jack Spates is 9-3-1 all-time versus the Sun Devils. OU is 21-13-1 all-time versus Arizona State. "We look forward to the challenge Friday night as we continue to prepare for Sunday's dual with Missouri," Spates continued. The Sooners are still without two starters as Sam Hazewinkel (125-pounds) and Joe Comparin (133-pounds) recover from injuries. OU does welcome back 141-pound redshirt-freshman Kyle Terry (11-7) who has been out due to an injury since the National Duals. The Sooners are home again Sunday, Feb. 4, when they play host to the No. 2/2 Missouri Tigers at 3 p.m., inside the Howard McCasland Field House. At halftime of the Missouri match, the Sooner wrestling program will present former Sooner great Danny Hodge with a special gift. As well prior to the dual, two local youth wrestling clubs will wrestle each other. Hodge, a native of Perry, Okla., was a three-time national champion at Oklahoma and was twice named the outstanding wrestler of the NCAA Championships. While wrestling for the Sooners Hodge pinned 36 of his 46 opponents. A three-time All-American and three-time Big Seven Champion at 177-pounds, Hodge was also a Silver Medalist at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Any student attending the last three home matches will need to sign in as they enter the field house to be entered in a drawing to win $1,500. Second place will receive $500. Students are admitted free with a valid student ID.

Blair, NE -- The Dana College wrestling team hosted Augustana College on Wednesday evening. Coming into the match, Dana College was rated fifth in the latest NAIA poll, while Augustana was rated 13th in the NCAA Division II poll. The Vikings of Dana College came away with a 27-17 victory. The opening bought saw twin brothers Craig and Chris Trampe square off at 125 pounds. Entering the match, both brothers had national rankings, Craig is currently rated fifth in the NAIA and Chris is currently rated eighth in the NCAA Division II poll. Neither brother could take a lead in the first three periods nor earn a victory in regulation. The match came down to overtime. Dana's Craig Trampe (SR, Ord, Neb.) earned a takedown to defeat brother Chris 2-1. Burke Barnes (JR, Lake Stevens, Wash.) earned a technical fall over Adam Schlee at 133 pounds. Barnes earned Dana bonus points with his 20-3 victory. Brian Graham (FR, Kansas City, Mo.) squared off against Mike Long at 141 pounds. Graham made quick work of Long with a 13-0 major decision. Terrence Almond (SR, Pelham, Ga.) was bumped up from 141 to 149 to take on Brandon Kruger. Almond claimed his 35th victory of the season by putting Kruger down for a fall at 4:52. Augustana got on the board at 157 as Augustana's number four-rated Austin Scarset defeated fifth-rated Jason Bilinski (JR, Pittsgrove, N.J.). Scarset overwhelmed Bilinski and pinned him at the 4:09 mark to earn Augustana its first points of the night. Bulla Tuzon (FR, Wailuku, Hawaii) got Dana back on track with a 9-4 decision over Aaron Haddorf at 165. Josh Ghobadpoor (FR, Dahlonega, Ga.) faced off against two-time Division II All-American Cody Henrickson at 174. The more-experienced Henrickson defeated Ghobadpoor by technical fall 19-4. Webster Farris (JR, Nebraska City, Neb.) got Dana back on track at 184 pounds. Farris wrestled his way to a 7-2 decision over Beau Severtson. At 197 pounds, sixth-rated Wade Jordan (Coulee City, Wash.) wrestled third-rated Nate Buys. The higher-ranked Buys gave Augustana another win as he pinned Jordan at the 6:06 mark. In the evening's final match, Jesse Boggs (FR, Deming, N.M.) took down Ray O'Connor 4-3 at 285 pounds. The wrestling team also honored six seniors prior to the start of the match. The seniors honored were Terrence Almond, Eddie Locke (Redding, Calif.), Craig Trampe, Shawn Tsutsumi (Kaneohe, Hawaii), and Clinton Dale (Las Vegas, N.M.). The victory raised Dana's season record to 10-2. The home portion of the schedule is complete for the Vikings. Dana has two more duals remaining on its schedule. The Vikings will travel to Mitchell, S.D., on Friday to complete their Great Plains Athletic Conference dual schedule. Dana will square off against Dakota Wesleyan at 7 p.m. On Wednesday, the Vikings will travel to Marshall, Mo., for their final dual of the season against Missouri Valley.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Coming off a dramatic 19-18 victory over Wisconsin last Friday at Welsh-Ryan Arena, the 10th-ranked Wildcats will head East to face No. 12 Penn State and Ohio State, who is receiving votes in the latest rankings. The 'Cats take on Penn State at 6 p.m. Friday before heading to St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio to duel the Ohio State Buckeyes at 1 p.m. Sunday. Quoting Coach Cysewski "Traveling to Penn State and Ohio State in one weekend is always challenging," head coach Tim Cysewski said. "We have some key individual matchups that will affect Big Ten and National seeds." Last Time Out Dustin Fox's (Galion, Ohio/Galion) escape in the third period of the final match proved to the be the difference as the Wildcats defeated ninth-ranked Wisconsin Friday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena, 19-18. The Wildcats trailed 18-6 heading into the last four matches, but the 'Cats won all four to claim their first Big Ten victory of the season and hand Wisconsin its first dual loss. Scouting the Nittany Lions No. 12 Penn State is 1-3 in the Big Ten with road losses to Wisconsin and Minnesota to open the conference slate. They are led by third-ranked junior Phil Davis at 197 lbs. and seventh-ranked Mark McKnight at 125. Jake Strayer and James Yonushonis also are ranked in the top-15 at 133 and 174, respectively. The Lions' loss to Illinois was their first home loss of the season. Keep Your Eye On 197: #2 Tamillow (NU) vs. #3 Davis (PSU) 174: #15 Hayes (NU) vs. #7 Yonushonis (PSU) 285: #4 Fox (NU) vs. #13 Anspach (PSU) 125: Precin (NU) vs. #7 McKnight (PSU) Scouting the Buckeyes Ohio State is 2-1 in conference with wins over Indiana and Purdue. It dropped a road contest at Penn State last weekend. Freshman 184-pound Mike Pucillo is the highest-ranked Buckeye at No. 3, but OSU has strength in the middle with No. 17 Lance Palmer at 149, No. 15 Chris Vondruska at 165. J.D. Bergman is ranked eighth at 197. Keep Your Eye On 184: #1 Herbert (NU) vs. #3 Pucillo (OSU) 197: #2 Tamillow (NU) vs. #8 Bergman (OSU) "Dust"in the Wind Junior heavyweight Dustin Fox's escape in the third period of his bout against Wisconsin's Kyle Massey gave him the 3-2 decision and gave the 'Cats the 19-18 win--their first in the Big Ten. The fourth-ranked Fox is 20-2 on the year, 9-1 in dual meets and finished second at the Midlands Championships. Up, Up, Upper Weights In dual meet action, Northwestern's starters from 184 lbs. and up have combined 37-2 record. Top-ranked Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) is 14-0 at 184 lbs., fourth-ranked Fox is 9-1 at heavyweight, Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) is 14-1 at 197 lbs. Overall, the four grapplers combine for a 67-3 record. Northwestern trailed 18-6 heading into Nick Hayes' (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) 174-pound match against Wisconsin before rolling off four-straight wins to take the dual, 19-18. From 174 lbs. and up, the 'Cats are 11-1 through three Big Ten duals.

The EIWA Hall of Fame will induct five new members at the 103rd EIWA Championships, to be held March 2-3 at East Stroudsburg University. The ceremony will take place before the final round of the tournament on Saturday, March 3. The new inductees are Clyde "Red" Witman, former coach at East Stroudsburg, Robert Eberle of Princeton, George Feuerbach of Lehigh, Wayne Hicks of Navy, and Charlie Ridenour of Penn State. Biographical information on the honorees follows. Clyde "Red" Whitman coached at East Stroudsburg University for 17 seasons between 1961 and 1979. His lifetime record was 180 wins, 76 losses and six ties. Clyde holds the school's records for longest wrestling tenure as coach, most dual meet wins and he ranks second in winning percentage. As head coach, he guided 22 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champions and more than 20 All-American medalists. Whitman coached ESU to its highest three finishes at the Division I National Championships – 8th place and twice 13th from 1966-68. His top wrestlers were Gary Cook, a 3-time All-American who placed 3rd twice and 4th in Division I and heavyweight Dick Schumacher, a Div. II national champion and 2-time Division I medalist. Whitman coached five Top 10 teams in Div. II, including the school's highest-ever place, a fifth. Red led teams to PSAC Championships in 1967 and 1970 and his 1966 team was undefeated in duals. Red was also a professor and athletic director at ESU, earning the alumni association's "Great Teacher" award in 1995. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, as well as the halls of fame at West Chester University and East Stroudsburg. He passed away on April 28 of 2006 at the age of 74. Robert Eberle graduated from Brooklyn Poly Prep before wrestling for Hall of Fame coach, Jimmy Reed. Robert became a three-time EIWA champion at 128 pounds, winning all three tournaments entered and was a captain in 1941 for Princeton's co-champion EIWA team. Eberle earned the Outstanding Wrestler Award by pinning Penn's James Laggan, whom he also defeated in the 1940 finals. As a sophomore finalist, Bob defeated another two-time runner-up and he's one of just four Tiger wrestlers ever to earn the Outstanding Wrestler Award. In 1940 he appeared on the cover of the NCAA rule book. As a freshman, Robert Eberle became his school's first-ever freshman winner of Cane Spree, an athletic contest initiated during the Civil War. He graduated with a degree in biology and spent two years in medicine at Columbia before serving as an Army lieutenant in medical administration. In 1948 he earned a master's degree in drama at North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He founded one of the first winter stock theaters in Florida and later became a prime time television director for NBC. Among highlights was directing the Kate Smith Show. While working at WOR-TV and casting Harlem Detective, he resisted pressure from McCarthyism. He also worked with the legendary Russian, George Balanchine, one of the greatest choreographers in the history of ballet. Beloved by family and friends, he died in June of 2000 and was married for 54 years to Mary Hanchette. Their children are Ruth, Robert and Russell, along with three grandchildren. Despite competing at three weight classes for the good of his team, George Feuerbach amassed one of Lehigh's best records with a career mark of 37 wins, five losses and a tie. He became his school's third three-time EIWA champion by winning in the 137 pound finals at home against two-time NCAA third place winner, Gerry Maurey of Penn State. The 7-3 victory helped earn the Outstanding Wrestler Award. Feuerbach also defeated Maurey, 8-1, in a dual meet on the road. Among George's few defeats were two bouts at NCAAs against national finalists and two bout sup a weight, including a 4-3 loss up at 147 against national runner-up Don Frey. After competing for Spring Gardner at Mepham High School, Feuerbach became captain of his Lehigh team and was also an accomplished freestyle competitor. He was a Junior Metropolitan AAU champion in 1946, New York State AAU winner in 1947 and Long Island champion in 1947 and '48. He competed in four National AAU championships and was a fellow teammate of Charlie Ridenour with the New York Athletic Club. Entering the Air Force as a pilot after graduation, Lieutenant George Feuerbach died serving his country in 1956, after an equipment malfunction caused a fatal crash during takeoff. Wayne Hicks was a two-time EIWA champion at 137 pounds and was voted Outstanding Wrestler in 1966 after beating defending national champion, Billy Stuart in the finals. Wayne's only career EIWA tournament loss came in the '65 finals to Stuart, after Hicks defeated another defending NCAA champion in the quarterfinals. He claimed the league's Fletcher Award in 1966 for most career points. Outstanding seemed to come naturally to Wayne—he was an undefeated two-time NJ state champion at Somerville High School and outstanding wrestler as a senior. While at Navy he won two Wilkes Open titles and was voted OW in both 1964 and '65. After graduation from Annapolis, Hicks placed third at the 1971 U.S. World Team Trials, including one tie with future Olympic champion John Peterson. A carrier pilot while serving in the Navy, Wayne was an assistant to Ed Peery with two EIWA championship teams (1972 and 1974). He later spent innumerable years as a volunteer coach for wrestling programs in the area, including the Naval Academy, Navy Junior Wrestling, Crofton Junior League, Old Mill High School and St. Mary's High School, his current avocation. In 2002, Hicks was inducted into the Maryland Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for Lifetime Service. Charlie Ridenour was born to be a Penn Stater but served his sport in many ways. He grew up in State College, PA, and was a state champion at 115 pounds in 1939. He became a three-time EIWA champion at 121 pounds for the Nittany Lions from 1941-1943 and was the league's Most Outstanding Wrestler as a junior. As a sophomore at the NCAA Championships, he was the highest scorer, winning 17-5 and 14-11 before losing, 9-7, to the top seed. In 1942 he placed 3rd in the nation by scoring the most falls, with three, and losing only to runner-up Malcolm McDonald. Malcolm succeeded him as a three-time EIWA champion at 121, while one of Charlie's falls came against a future NCAA champion. Charlie missed out on his senior NCAA Tournament due to World War II. He eventually won two National AAU titles, highlighted by defeating NCAA champion, Dick Hauser, to end his 95-bout win streak as an amateur. Ridenour served in the military from 1944-46 and was a U.S. Olympic team finalist in 1948. He was assistant coach at Penn State before becoming head coach at the University of Pennsylvania from 1952-61. Charlie coached one year at Lock Haven before retiring to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He passed away in 1970. In his relatively short life, Charlie Ridenour was widely renowned for his passionate belief in the promotion of wrestling.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -– Penn State Nittany Lion freshman Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) has been named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending January 28, 2007. The honor is the first for Vallimont and the first for Penn State this season. Vallimont captured his first two career Big Ten dual wins this past weekend, both over ranked opponents. The Lake Hopatcong, N.J., native, unranked at 149 at the time, downed No. 16 Lance Palmer of Ohio State, 10-6, to help the Lions beat OSU, 26-12, on Friday night. Two days later, Vallimont defeated No. 10 Troy Tirapelle of Illinois, 9-3, in the Lions near-upset of No. 11 Illinois, an 18-16 loss. Vallimont outscored the duo by a combined total of 19-9 and improved his overall record to 14-7 (2-2 in Big Ten duals). The conference award is the first for Penn State since Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) earned the honor last January. No. 12 Penn State, under the direction of head coach Troy Sunderland, will host two top ten teams this weekend as the Nittany Lions welcome No. 10 Northwestern to Rec Hall on Friday night at 7 p.m. Penn State then hosts No. 6 Iowa at 12 p.m. on Sunday in a WWCP-TV Fox 8 telecast (also seen regionally on FSN-Pittsburgh). Wrestling wristbands will be given away on Friday night and wrestling ‘trucker hats' will be given away on Sunday. Both items will be available while supplies last. All Penn State duals will be heard live on WBLF AM and WKVA AM as well as streamed for free at GoPSUsports.com. Single-match tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Penn State ticket office at 814-863-1000 or 800-833-5533 for more information. Fans can also get tickets at GoPSUsports.com. Single dual prices are $5 per event for adults and $3 per event for youth.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. –- Wartburg junior 133-pounder Jake Helvey said what his Knights teammates were thinking after the Orange and Black, ranked No. 2 in the country, toppled top-ranked Augsburg 19-13 in front of a capacity crowd at Si Melby Hall Thursday, Feb. 1. "I just wanted to stay in good position and out-fight my guy," he said in response to strategy used to upend top-ranked Jafari Vanier 5-0. For six of the 10 individual matches, Wartburg did just that. Head coach Jim Miller's squad, reaching 20 wins for the third consecutive season, scored upset wins at 125, as No.7-ranked Robert Struthers upended No. 3-ranked Seth Flodeen 6-2, Helvey turned the tables on Vanier, and sophomore 157-pounder Aaron Wernimont, ranked No. 4, stopped top-ranked Jeremy Anderson 4-2. Miller knew the importance of the win, but also understood what lies ahead. "It's a big momentum boost for us," he said. "It shows we're progessing which is what you want at this time of the season. "Hey, there's still a lot ahead of us," he added. "We know that (Augsburg) will come back strong in the national tournament. We just need to take what happened tonight and build off of it for our remaining schedule." Wartburg (20-1) trailed the Auggies (10-1) 13-9 after third-ranked 174-pounder Robbie Gotreau major decisioned Jason Zastrow 14-2. However, the talented trio of sophomore Romeo Djoumessi, junior 197-pounder T.J. Miller, and senior heavyweight Blake Gillis produced three consecutive wins, including a major from Gillis, to take the dual.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Oklahoma State used three major decisions to lift the Cowboys to a 21-13 victory over No. 20 Nebraska on Thursday night at the NU Coliseum in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska got an upset from ninth-ranked Dominick Moyer over fourth-ranked Nathan Morgan, and Jordan Burroughs followed with a win at 149 to put the Cornhuskers in a position to win the dual in the final match. Nebraska needed a pin at 157 to win the dual. Newly McSpadden escaped in the closing minutes to send the match into overtime. In the overtime period, McSpadden took a shot and a scrambled ensued. McSpadden came out on top to score the winning takedown and beat Chris Oliver to close out the dual for the Cowboys. "Going into the last match, I was thankful for the major decisions that we got early," head coach John Smith said. "I was pleased with them (major decisios), and they were important going into the last match. "It was a good win. This can be a tough place to wrestle, and we found a way to scrap out a win. It was a good effort by Newly to close out the dual." The Cowboys jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the dual. Johny Hendricks got it started with a major decision at 165. Brandon Mason and Jack Jensen both followed with decisions. Nebraska tried to climb back into the dual with a major decision at 197 and a decision at 125, but the Cowboys put distance in the score as Jared Rosholt and Coleman Scott both scored major decisions at heavyweight and 133, respectively. OSU led 18-7 and appeared to be in good position, but an upset at 141 and a Nebraska victory at 149 gave the Huskers an opportunity to win the dual in the final bout. McSpadden came through for the Pokes, however, with an overtime victory to make the final score 21-13. OSU improved to 13-4 on the season, while Nebraska dropped to 7-6. The Cowboys return home on Saturday when second-ranked Missouri visits Gallagher-Iba Arena for a dual slated to begin at 7 p.m.

A fresh, new semester is upon us, and here at Dana, a fresh start is just what we need. We picked up action following our runner-up performance at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals with an attempt to defend our title at the Northwestern Invite in Orange City, IA on January 20. The beginning of the tournament had many of us questioning our performances and looking ahead at a long day. To our disappointment we put only three men, Terrance Almond (141) and Eric Graham (133), and Wade Jordan (197) into the semifinals, and only Terrance to the finals. As we have battled in the past, many of us set out on our treks through the backside bracket. All in all, we made good on or vengeance towards the medal rounds. After losing in the semis, Eric claimed a third-place medal by getting two big wins over an NAIA rival. As I've done in the past after an early loss, I also claimed third place by avenging my quarterfinal loss. Additional placers were Craig Trampe (125), Jason Bilinski (157), Dan Pray (157), Bula Tuzon (165), and Jesse Boggs (285). An additional highlight ironically included a loss for Wade Jordan (197) to the returning national champion at 197 in the closing seconds of their semifinal bout. The ultimate star of the day for Dana and the Northwestern Invitational was the performance of Terrance Almond. Terrance terrorized the competition by recording a major decision, a tech fall, and two pins to claim the tourney title. With his outstanding day, Terrance returned the Outstanding Wrestler award back to Dana for the third consecutive year. Terrance is following in the footsteps of two other Dana All-Americans, Blair Alderman and Marshall Marquardt. Webster FarrisAfter a day of much mat-time, we were faced with little time for relaxation. We began pushing hard towards a conference dual against Northwestern on Friday (26th) and three-time defending Division II national champion Nebraska Omaha on Saturday (27th). In short, our performances were less than satisfactory. In the dual with Northwestern we anticipated on being dominant. Our less than stellar performance landed us in a close dual that we narrowly won 22-14. The following night was another night of some disappointment as we dropped several close matches and lost the dual. We were granted an opportunity on Saturday against Nebraska Omaha and were defeated, 26-9, a score that we felt was not indicative of our competitive level. The two duals, weren't, however, totally negative. Heavyweight Jesse Boggs went 2-0 by winning us the dual on Friday and avenging an early loss on Saturday. Burke Barnes (133) surprised nobody with his continually excellent performances, one that earned him a big win against a tough Northwestern wrestler. After this weekend, many of us were down but not out. Monday we were right back up as we have a chance for partial redemption and further preparation for the post-season as we host Division II Augustana on the 31st. Coaches have identified my practice objectives, particularly Coach Rollins, who continues to baffle me with his knowledge of the sport. I'm just trying to soak it all in. Others are working with their assigned coaches as well. We are seeing great relationships develop between wrestlers as well. It is apparent through examples like Burke Barnes, offering any of his time to help someone out in the room, that we are all interested in winning and we all care for one another. These are great signs at Dana as we continue to prepare our defense for March. Hope everybody's getting amped for the postseason, I know we at Dana are! Thanks everybody, talk to you all later. Train Hard, Webster Farris Past Entries: Entry 3 (1/18/07) Entry 2 (12/6/06) Entry 1 (11/21/06)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -– Highlighted by a pin from two-time All-America Evan Sola, North Carolina ran off 19 unanswered points to open the match and held off rival Duke for a 30-12 victory Friday at Chapel Hill High School. Winners of four straight Atlantic Coast Conference duals, the Tar Heels have now captured 32 of their last 33 meetings with the Blue Devils. Seniors David Dashiell and Spencer Nadolsky each added technical falls, as UNC posted its second-highest point total of the season. With the victory, Carolina also earns a point towards the Carlyle Cup, the all-sports competition between the Tar Heels and Blue Devils. The wrestling point extends UNC's lead to 6.5-4.5 in the annual contest. Nadolsky, the nation's No. 11 heavyweight, got things started for the Tar Heels (7-6, 4-1 ACC) with a technical fall in the first bout of the night. The Holland, Mich., product tallied nine points in the second period and finished off Mike Tunick by a 21-6 margin at the 6:22 mark of the match. Nadolsky is now 20-6 on the season. Drew Forshey, who was won nine of his last 10 bouts, then logged a 13-4 major decision against Chapel Hill native Kellan McKeon at 125 to open up a nine-point lead for UNC. The 10th-ranked Sola followed with his fourth pin of the season against Chris Thuman in just 1:32 to push the advantage to 15-0. Forshey is now 16-7 overall with an 11-2 mark in duals and a 5-0 record against the ACC, while Sola is now 10-3 on the year. Freshman Mike Rappo won a fourth consecutive bout for Carolina with a 14-5 major decision over Wes Kuser at 141. Rappo scored seven points in the third period and added a point for riding time to post his third major decision of the season and even his record at 11-11. Trailing 19-0, the Blue Devils (7-6, 0-3 ACC) got on the board with back-to-back wins at 149 and 157 to trim the UNC lead to 13. Daniel Shvartsman scored a 5-4 decision over Vincent Ramirez on a late takedown, and Voris Tejada followed with a sudden victory takedown of Keenan Duffie to take a 3-1 decision at 157. No. 14 Keegan Mueller put the Tar Heels back on track with a 6-2 decision over Aaron Glover at 165 to push the lead to 22-6. The Dallas native is now a team-best 24-6 and sports a 10-2 dual record. After Duke picked up six points with a win by default at 174, Daniel Llamas won his first dual of the season at 184. The Durham product scored an 11-5 decision over Duke's Matthew Koelling before Dashiell closed the match with a 20-4 technical fall of Patrick Keenum at 197 in just his third bout of the season. The Tar Heels are back in action at NC State next Wednesday, Feb. 7.

PISCATAWAY -- The Broncs won six bouts to defeat Rutgers Wednesday night. "I was pleased overall," said Rider head coach Gary Taylor. "We're a little banged up right now, so to get through this match and get a win over a team that just beat Boston U. pretty solid was good." For Rider (8-6, 3-2 CAA), sophomore Doug Umbehauer (Shamong/Lenape), ranked eighth in the nation, junior 141 Don Fisch (Williamstown/Delsea) and senior Nathan Galloway (State College, PA) won major decisions. "It was huge for them to get the majors," said Taylor. "That's what you expect from your better people. They have to come through and get you the extra points." Sophomore Mike Kessler (Randallstown, MD/Owings Mills) and freshman 184 Mike Miller (Wilmington, DE/Brandywine) also won for the Broncs. "Kessler beat a pretty tough kid who is very solid," Taylor said. "Mike probably had the best performance for us tonight." Rider junior T. J. Morrison (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cedar Cliff), ranked 14th in the nation, was winning 11-2 before his opponent was disqualified for stalling. Rutgers (8-4, 4-2 EWL) won the first two bouts, building a 9-0 lead. Rider competes at Clarion Saturday. "Clarion is better than they've been in recent years," Taylor said. ‘If we wrestle well we should win, but we have to wrestle well. Then we get a team from Iowa (Iowa State) who just knocked off the defending national champions (Oklahoma State) and are probably the most improved team in the country."

This week we'll take a look at the week gone by and the weeks to come in our TDR Top 20 Report with Jeff Murphy. We'll Catch up with the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week Johny Hendricks, who earned that distinction and honor based on his hard driving performance against Northern Iowa and Iowa State. At 10:20, Lee Roy Smith, the Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum in Stillwater, joins us to discuss the induction of four Distinguished Members in to the Hall. We'll touch base with our themat.com/TDR Athlete of the week Mo Lawal. Mo has just returned to the USA. Rider's Long time head coach and terrific singer Gary Taylor joins us to discuss his coming meeting and dual meet with Cael Sanderson's Cyclones on Feb. 9. Author Nolan Zavoral joins us to discuss his book "A Season on The Mat: Dan Gable & the Pursuit of Excellence". This is one of the best wrestling books I've ever read. Full of color, life and circumstance. At 9:50, Deanna Gilbert of Billy Joe's Pitcher Show joins us for a look at for UFC 67. Join us for America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show.

WEST POINT, N.Y. –- Following Sunday's dual meet loss to Harvard, Army head wrestling coach Chuck Barbee was concerned with the aggressiveness of his squad. Those concerns were erased Wednesday night at Christl Arena. Army won six of 10 bouts and upset EIWA rival, No. 25 Columbia, 21-13. Columbia was ranked 25th in the latest InterMat poll. The Black Knights were the aggressors from the beginning and improved to 10-4 overall and 6-1 in the EIWA. Columbia fell to 4-2 overall and 0-2 in conference meets. "We definitely talked about taking the match to our opponents," Barbee said. "After Harvard, we were just flat and tonight the guys really stepped up and showed good fight, the kind of Army fight that we need." Nathan Thobaben opened the dual with a fall at heavyweight and Fernando Martinez, Matt Kyler, Christian Snook, Brian Rowan and Scott Ferguson all won decisions as the Black Knights beat Columbia for the second straight season. The match stated at heavyweight and Thobaben got the Black Knights off to a great start with a first-period fall over Kevin Lester. Lester scored an early takedown at the edge of the mat. Seconds later, Thobaben stood up and escaped. He then took Lester down and to his back and racked up his third fall of the season in 1:27. On Sunday, Lester pinned Paul Weibel of Lehigh, the 20th ranked wrestler in the country. "Nathan really set the tone," Barbee said. "He beat a very good heavyweight and got us off on the right foot." Martinez extended the Army advantage to 9-0 with a 4-0 decision at 125. Following a scoreless first period, Martinez took down to start the second period and needed just seven seconds to escape. He added a takedown later and almost scored back points but led 3-0 after the second period. He rode out Brandon Kinney for the entire third period and had more than three minutes of riding time for his 18th victory of the season. Army's William Simpson dropped a tough match at 133 that made it 9-3. There was no scoring in the first period against Matt DeLorenzo, the 18th ranked wrestler in the country according to InterMat. Simpson aggressively rode out DeLorenzo in the second period. He chose neutral in the third and was taken down with 50 seconds left. He tried several rolls to score the escape or reversal but could not get the point needed to force overtime and dropped a 2-1 decision. Kyler put together three takedowns and an escape on the way to an 8-3 win at 141. Kyler had a takedown midway through the first period, an escape and takedown in the second and a final takedown in the third period to make it 12-3 Army after four weights. He also had more than two minutes of riding time on the way to his team-best 25th win of the season. Columbia cut its deficit to five, 12-7 with a major decision by Matt Dunn at 149, 9-0. Snook battled his way to a 4-3 win at 157 to give the Black Knights an eight-point advantage. Columbia's Devon Mesanko had a first-period takedown but Snook escaped seconds later. Mesanko took down to start the second period and Snook took him to his back for two more points and had more than 90 seconds of riding time. Snook chose top in the final period and Mesanko escaped to make it 3-3 but with riding time Snook scored a 4-3 decision and made the match score 15-7. "Wrestling is much more fun when you just go after and don't have the burden of winning or losing," Barbee said. "Tonight we just went after it and it showed that good things will happen." Rowan also rebounded from an early deficit and put Army ahead 18-7. Ricky Turk had a reversal after a scoreless first period but Rowan quickly escaped. Rowan then took him down later in the period to make it 3-2. He added a third-period escape for the final 4-2 margin. The Lions closed within eight points but Brent Smith made them work for it. Columbia's Matt Palmer led 4-0 early in the second period. Smith escaped but Palmer had a takedown to make it 6-1. Palmer escaped to open the third period and also had riding time for an 8-1 lead. Smith, though, had a takedown and took Palmer to his back for three points. He could not get the fall though and fell 8-6. Ferguson clinched the match with an impressive showing at 184. Andy Geving of Columbia had an early takedown but Ferguson controlled the match from the second period on. He had a takedown early in the second period and then a pair of double-leg takedowns and riding time for a 10-4 win that gave Army a 21-10 advantage. The final bout of the evening needed sudden victory to determine a winner and it was Columbia's Nick Sommerfield earning the victory with a takedown 17 seconds in the extra one-minute session. Army will wrestle at the Academy Championships, Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Air Force junior heavyweight Anthony Stegeman has been named the Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week as announced by league officials. Stegeman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder HS) led the Air Force Academy in three dual meets, going undefeated on the weekend. Stegeman opened with a fall, his fourth of the year, over North Dakota State's Justin LaGosh, registering a pin in a time of 4:34. He then registered an 8-3 decision over Adams State's Jeff Schossow and closed out the weekend with a tech fall over Portland State's Zack Smith. Stegeman snapped his eight-match losing streak and improves his dual mark to 5-8. The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley State and Wyoming. Others Nominated: North Dakota State: Adam Aho, 157, So., Frazee, Minn. (Frazee HS) Northern Colorado: Blayze Bahe, 133, So., Goodland, Kan. (Goodland HS) UNI: Moza Fay, 157, So., Anamosa, Iowa (Anamosa HS) South Dakota State: Jason Stripling, HWT, Jr., Minneota, Minn. (Minneota HS) Utah Valley State: Justin Morrill, 141, Fr., Logan, Utah, Mountain Crest High School Wyoming: Nick Ramirez, 133, R-Fr., Albuquerque, N.M. (Rio Rancho HS)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. –- Following a week that saw him clinch two Southern Conference duals with wins at heavyweight, VMI senior Scott Buhman has been named the SoCon's Wrestler of the Week for the week of Jan. 31. Buhman, a senior from Portage, Ind., led the Keydets to their first two SoCon victories of the season, as each match hung on his bouts. On Thursday, he defeated Appalachian State's Dave Hazell 2-1 in overtime to clinch the 21-17 win for VMI. In league action against Davidson on Sunday, Buhman once again rallied for the Keydets and recorded his fourth major decision of the season as he defeated Wil Carter to seal the 25-19 victory for VMI. Buhman ranks second on the team (tied) with 21 wins this season, while his four major decisions lead the team. His 86 career wins, against only 55 losses, tie him for the tenth-most victories in VMI history. Earlier this season, Buhman placed second at the Keystone Classic and seventh at the Nittany Lion Open, along with a third place finish at the Pembroke Classic and a fourth-place showing in the Virginia Intercollegiates.