InterMat Staff

BUFFALO, NY -- University at Buffalo sophomore Mike Ragusa (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) is one of 10 Mid-American Conference wrestlers named to the Academic All-MAC Team, the league office in Cleveland announced Monday evening. The communication major with a 3.288 GPA had a breakthrough season after a knee injury took his freshman year away from him, as he was one of seven UB wrestlers to win 20 matches. He started the season at 165 pounds, finishing second at the Slippery Rock Open, fourth at the Oklahoma Gold Classic and fifth at the Mat Town USA Invitational. He moved up to 174 pounds, however, earning the starting job and finishing the year with a 7-6 dual meet mark and 3-2 mark in the Mid-American Conference. He finished the season with a 21-16 overall record. His defining moment came on Feb. 4 against Central Michigan, when he beat nationally-ranked Brandon Sinnott, in front of a Alumni Arena record crowd of 847 fans. Ragusa recorded a takedown in overtime after earning an escape to secure a 5-4 win. Ragusa is the first UB wrestler to earn All-Academic status since Mike Sebaaly was rewarded in 2003. Central Michigan led the award-winners with five members on the squad, while Northern Illinois, Ohio, Kent State and Eastern Michigan also provided one wrestler each to the team. Junior Mark Budd (Orrville, OH/Orrville) and seniors Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter) and Harold Sherrell (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) will hit the mats at the NCAA Championships on March 16 at noon in Oklahoma City, OK.

Pembroke, NC -- Adam Dedmon (pictured left) and Matt Dunn, members of the UNC Pembroke wrestling team, were named All-Academic by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association, which released the 2005-06 All-Academic teams prior to the Division II Championship Tournament last week. Dedmon, a 125-pound junior from Forest City, NC, has a 3.20 cumulative grade point average, while Dunn, a fifth-year senior from Claremont, NC, posted a 3.90 cumulative GPA. Dedmon's selection to the 2005-06 squad marks the second consecutive season he has earned the academic laurel as he was named to the 2004-05 All-Academic team. With Dedmon and Dunn's (pictured right) selection to the 2005-06 team, UNCP has now had 13 grapplers appear on the All-Academic squad. In order for a student-athlete to be nominated, he needed to have a minimum 3.00 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale. He must also be in at least his second full year at his school and have a minimum of two letters of recommendation submitted on his behalf by his academic advisor and coach.

FINDLAY, Ohio -- Using three top four individual finishes, the Adams State College Grizzly wrestling team finished in the top ten for the fourth straight year as the 2006 NCAA Division II National Championships came to a close, Saturday in the University of Findlay's Koehler Fitness Center. Junior Brian Pitts (Rio Rancho, N.M.) finished third at 141 pounds while seniors Rob McCabe and Heath Soderstrom (Englewood, Colo.) finished fourth in the 125-pound and heavyweight brackets. The Grizzlies also received a sixth place finish from Scott Cleve (Escondido, Calif.) at 157 pounds and an eight place finish by Casey Woodall (Morenci, Ariz.) at 197 pounds as Jason Ramstetter's squad finished ninth with 52 team points. The University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks had three individual champions and won their third straight title with 117. Nebraska-Kearney had two individual champions and finished second with 98.5. All five of the Grizzlies' placers had clinched All-America honors on Friday night. Pitts and McCabe have now won two All-America certificates while Cleve, Woodall and Soderstrom each earned their first. The five All-Americans are the most ASC has ever had at the NCAA Division II level. Adams State has not finished in the top ten in four straight years since doing so from 1989-92, their last four years at the NAIA level.

C.J. MacNaught and Ralph Acosta wrapped up their collegiate wrestling careers as NCAA Division II All-Americans Saturday afternoon. MacNaught won five straight matches to place third at 174 pounds and Acosta finished fifth at 133 pounds. The two are the first D-II All-Americans in Upper Iowa history. Acosta was a conference champion and Division III All-American in 2002. Both Acosta and MacNaught qualified for the D-III National Tournament in 2003. In its first season as a Division II institution, Upper Iowa placed 17th with 20 team points. Nebraska-Omaha won the team title with 117 points. Nebraska-Kearney (98.5 points) placed second and Shippensburg (66.5) finished third. After MacNaught lost his first-round match to third-ranked Jared Hess of Central Oklahoma 2-0, he rebounded to win five straight matches. MacNaught started his roll with a 7-4 victory over James Reynolds of Adams State and advanced to Saturday with a 7-6 decision over Hudson Harrison of Mercyhurst. Saturday, MacNaught won three straight matches to finish third. He defeated Central Missouri State's Jesse Sheets 14-5 before slipping past sixth-ranked Tom Clark of West Liberty State, 4-2. MacNaught claimed third place by defeating second-ranked Travis Krinkie (Minnesota State Mankato) 13-7. Acosta also had to battle through the consolation draw after losing his opening match. Acosta opened with a 6-5 overtime loss to Western State's Marques Bravo. He then earned two hard-fought 3-2 wins to advance to Saturday. He picked up the first win over Matt Mossor of West Liberty State and followed with the 3-2 decision over Raymond Dunning of Adams State. Dunning is ranked third in the country at 133 pounds. Acosta, ranked sixth, started Saturday with a 7-2 win over Nebraska-Omaha's Dan Hilario, ranked seventh. Fifth-ranked Earl Jones of Central Oklahoma forced Acosta into the fifth-place match after a 6-4 decision. Acosta concluded his Peacock career with a 3-2 win over Pitt-Johnstown's Brandon Reasey. Two other Peacocks qualified for Nationals but saw their seasons end Friday. Red-shirt freshman Tyler Mumbulo opened the 125-pound weight class with an 11-7 win over Findlay's Craig Fechko. In the championship quarterfinals, Mumbulo lost 7-1 to top-ranked Trevor Charbonneau of Nebraska-Kearney. Mumbulo's tournament run came to an end after he was pinned by Ashland's Mike Compton in 5:32. Compton is ranked fourth while Mumbulo entered the tournament ranked sixth. Junior Brian Black fell to seventh-ranked Chris Finn of Central Oklahoma 3-1 in first-round heavyweight action. He bounced back with a 10-1 major decision over New Mexico Highland's Charles Saguil. Black's season concluded with a 6-1 loss at the hands of Augustana's Criston Bietz, ranked fourth.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- With less than a week to go before the start of the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships, Northwestern's 12th-ranked wrestling team is preparing its seven qualifiers -- the most in the program's 78-year history -- to make this one of the most successful seasons in program history and help all seven go deep into the championship brackets. Head coach Tim Cysewski as well as all seven NCAA qualifiers took a moment to reflect on the 2005-06 season and talk about the upcoming NCAA Championships. Cysewski first spoke about the program's increased success at a conference and national level. "I think qualifying seven guys for nationals, the increased success in our recruiting and our upgraded facilities proves our program is on the rise," Cysewski said. "I give tribute to my staff. We knew we were going to have a good group of guys, but then you've got to develop them. I give credit to the staff -- Rob Eiter, Andrew Pariano and Foley Dowd -- they have been doing a great job of getting the guys ready so they can be successful. Now with seven qualifiers, we've got a good chance of doing some damage at nationals." The wrestlers set to do that damage have prepared for this week all season long, although their thoughts on how to train this week differ slightly. "I think the best strategy to approach NCAAs is to go calm, collected and not stress out about it," senior John Velez (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) said. "I think a lot of people do stress out about it and they don't perform as well as they should or can. I just want to go in there, prepare like it's a normal match, have fun and don't let the stress get to me." For sophomore All-American Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny), the work has been put in, now it's a matter of execution. "All the training has been done in the past 18 years, now I'm just trying to get healthy, get the weight down, maintain myself," Herbert said. "I've already done all the training it takes to win a national title, I've just got to go do it now." Sophomore Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) takes a slightly different approach in preparing for the national tournament. "Short, fast-paced practices and drilling, it's essential," Fox said. It isn't just any other week, it is my goal to feel as though I am peaking Thursday, Friday and Saturday." For senior Will Durkee (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) and sophomore Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick), this marks their first-career trips to nationals, yet both echoed goals to finish near the top of their respective weight classes. "It's a pretty big deal," Tamillow said about qualifying for the NCAA Championships. "It's a dream come true, but I don't expect anything less." "I'm going in there with the goal of making All-American," Durkee said. The NCAA Championships offer a unique feel because it allows wrestlers to face opponents they haven't previously faced that season, or in their careers. "I just have to keep wrestling my style and attack," senior Matt Delguyd said. "I need to stay focused and use conditioning to my advantage." "I don't believe you wrestle your opponents, only those that aren't the best wrestle their opponents," sophomore Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) said. "I wrestle myself and if I wrestle my best, I beat myself, knowing that I am the best out there. If I lose, it's because I let myself lose. It does not matter whatsoever who you are wrestling when you are 'on." After sending the most NCAA qualifiers in program history, winning the most conference matches since 1990 and finishing a strong fifth in the Big Ten Championships, Cysewski knows he has a special group on his hands. "I think it's the best group we've had and the youngest group we've had," Cysewski said. "I'm excited about this year -- I want to finish strong and maybe break some records this year yet -- but we've got some great young talent coming up the ranks for the next few years too." Northwestern finished 14th at the 2005 NCAA Championships with five wrestlers representing the Wildcats. With a record seven wrestlers going to nationals this season, Cysewski expects this could be one of the best showings in Northwestern wrestling history. "If we can stay focused and wrestle well and get some breaks here and there, there are no limits," Cysewski said. "The seven guys we're sending are serious contenders and can make some major noise at the NCAA Championships. Again, it's a matter of getting there, winning the match in front of you and not worrying about looking beyond that. I think if we stay focused and wrestle well, we can finish top-10 and you never know what can happen from there." The 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships take place Thursday though Saturday, March 16-18 in Oklahoma City.

The 2006 Division I Wrestling Championships are set to get underway on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. CST at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. Below is a preview of all 10 weight classes. 125 Seeds: 1 -- Simmons, Nick -- Michigan State Jr (32-0) 2 -- Hazewinkel, Sam -- Oklahoma Jr (25-1) 3 -- Dubuque, Joe -- Indiana Sr (23-1) 4 -- Ott, Kyle -- Illinois Sr (11-4) 5 -- Nickerson, Troy -- Cornell Fr (32-1) 6 -- Scott, Coleman -- Oklahoma State So (24-5) 7-- Mendoza, Jeremy -- Arizona State Sr (32-3) 8 -- Velez, John -- Northwestern Sr (22-7) Sam Hazewinkel and Nick SimmonsSimmons, who recently won his second straight Big Ten title, is undefeated and wrestling at an extremely high level. He has two shutout victories over Ott (14-0 and 7-0), and defeated Hazewinkel, 4-2, in their only regular season meeting on Feb. 23. However, Hazewinkel defeated Simmons at the All-Star Classic (in November), 6-2, and owns a 4-1 career record against him. Dubuque is the defending NCAA champion, and if everything goes as expected, he will face Hazewinkel in the semifinals, which would be a rematch of last year's semifinals. Dubuque wrestled like a man possessed at last year's NCAAs, and seems to be at his best when the lights come on. Although Ott is the No. 4 seed, he has been in the finals twice, so he knows what it takes to get there. He's had multiple knee surgeries throughout his career, so the Illinois coaching staff decided to hold him out until January as a precautionary measure. In addition to his losses to Simmons, he also dropped matches to Dubuque (but came back to defeat him at the Big Tens) and Valez. Nickerson was the most talked about freshman in the country until the National Duals, where he suffered his only loss of the season at the hands of Hazewinkel. In hindsight, that lone blemish on his record might end up being a blessing in disguise because it has allowed Nickerson to wrestle without the pressure of staying undefeated. If everything goes as expected, he will see Ott in a highly-anticipated quarterfinal match. Rev Wrestling.com Finals Prediction: No. 2 Hazewinkel dec. No. 1 Simmons 133 Seeds: 1 -- Bunch, Shawn -- Edinboro Sr (35-1) 2 -- Morgan, Nathan -- Oklahoma State So (28-1) 3 -- Clum, Tom -- Wisconsin Sr (14-2) 4 -- Reiter, Mack -- Minnesota So (27-4) 5 -- Fleeger, Chris -- Purdue Sr (10-2) 6 -- Valenti, Matthew -- Pennsylvania Sr (31-2) 7 -- Strayer, Jake -- Penn State So (23-4) 8 -- Keller, Matt -- Tennessee-Chattanooga Jr (30-7) Bunch, last year's NCAA runner-up, might be the most athletic wrestler in the country. He is currently riding a 19-match winning streak. He'll be looking to become Edinboro's first NCAA champion since Josh Koscheck won the 174-pound title in 2002. Morgan is an extremely technical wrestler who seems to be the forgotten Cowboy this season. Much of the talk about Oklahoma City this season has centered around their four returning NCAA champions, but Morgan has quietly put together a stellar sophomore campaign. He lost 13-7 to Bunch in last year's semifinals, so he'll be looking to avenge that loss. His only loss this season came at the hands of No. 8 Keller at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Chris FleegerClum, the Big Ten champion, finished third at the NCAAs a year ago. He has beaten Reiter three times over the past two seasons, with his most recent victory coming in the Big Ten finals, where he won 6-4. If Reiter can reach the semifinals, he'll likely get another shot at Bunch, who he has lost to three times over the past two seasons, including in the NCAA semifinals. Unfortunately for Reiter, he might have the toughest quarterfinal match-up of anyone in the country, against Fleeger. Fleeger, a two-time All-American, was academically ineligible for much of the past two seasons. He placed third in 2004 and was an NCAA runner-up in 2004. Prior to the Big Tens, he looked like a sure-fire NCAA finalist. But a disappointing Big Tens, where he injured his toe and lost to Clum, dropped him down to the No. 5 seed. Regardless, we still think he's the best wrestler in the country at 133. RevWrestling.com Finals Prediction: No. 5 Fleeger dec. No. 2 Morgan 141 Seeds: 1 -- Gallick, Nate -- Iowa State Sr (33-0) 2 -- Ware, Teyon -- Oklahoma Sr (22-2) 3 -- Cooperman, Cory -- Lehigh Sr (23-1) 4 -- Simmons, Andy -- Michigan State Jr (30-5) 5 -- Churella, Josh -- Michigan So (25-3) 6 -- Lang, Ryan -- Northwestern Jr (17-5) 7 -- Tsirtsis, Alex -- Iowa So (23-10) 8 -- Moore, Derek -- UC Davis Sr (20-3) Gallick and Ware have dominated this weight class over the past two seasons. Last March, Ware defeated a then-undefeated Gallick to win his second NCAA title. Much like last season, Gallick enters this event undefeated and as the man to beat. He has defeated Ware three times this season (including the Big 12 finals) -- and owns a 7-1 career mark against his conference nemesis. All three of Ware's losses this season have come against Gallick. Cooperman, who finished third at the NCAAs behind Ware and Gallick a year ago, enters the event with a 23-1 record. His only loss this season came against Ware, 13-2, when he was battling sickness. Simmons looked great in wining the Big Tens. His road to the finals, however, will likely have to go through two wrestlers who have defeated him this season -- Churella (quarterfinals) and Gallick (semifinals). Churella's only losses this season have come to Lang (twice) and Cooperman. RevWrestling.com Finals Prediction: No. 1 Gallick dec. No. 2 Ware 149 Seeds: 1 -- Schlatter, Dustin -- Minnesota Fr (37-1) 2 -- Eustice, Ty -- Iowa Sr (24-2) 3 -- Esposito, Zack -- Oklahoma State Sr (22-3) 4 -- Storniolo, Matt -- Oklahoma Jr (20-4) 5 -- DiSalvo, Mark -- Central Michigan Sr (23-4) 6 -- Masa, Jon -- Hofstra Sr (30-8) 7 -- Gillespie, Gregor -- Edinboro Fr (36-2) 8 -- Tannenbaum, Eric -- Michigan So (22-8) Schlatter appears to be a legend in the making. The precocious Minnesota freshman has compiled an impressive 37-1 record and recently won the Big 10 title in dominating fashion. The most impressive things on his resume, however, are his two victories over Esposito, the defending NCAA champion. Entering the season, Esposito was widely considered to be one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the country. But after his losses this season to Schlatter (most recently 11-2), Eustice, and Tannenbaum, he enters the NCAAs with something to prove. Eustice brings an impressive 24-2 record into the NCAAs, with his only losses coming to Schlatter and Tirapelle (at Big Tens). Storniolo has a win over DiSalvo, but has lost three times to Esposito. DiSalvo is the only wrestler this season to defeat Schlatter this season. With the exception of Esposito, Masa, who placed third last year, is the highest returning place-winner. Gillespie is an extremely talented freshman who is a bear on top. His only two losses came at the Southern Scuffle in December. RevWrestling.com Finals Prediction: No. 1 Schlatter dec. No. 3 Esposito 157 Seeds: 1 -- Paulson, Trent -- Iowa State Jr (23-1) 2 -- Schlatter, CP -- Minnesota So (34-5) 3 -- Tirapelle, Alex -- Illinois Sr (27-2) 4 -- Lebe, Matt -- West Virginia Sr (32-3) 5 -- Cherrington Ben -- Boise State Sr (15-0) 6 -- Becker, Brandon -- Indiana So (23-7) 7 -- Manotti, Dustin -- Cornell Sr (26-4) 8 -- Henning, Craig -- Wisconsin So (25-7) This is arguably the deepest weight class in the country. Paulson, the No. 1 seed, has had a phenomenal junior season. He comes in with a 23-1 record, with his only loss coming to second-seeded Schlatter, which he later avenged. Although Schlatter has five losses this season (more than any of the top-five seeds), he is coming off a very impressive Big Tens, and is wrestling with a lot of confidence. Tirapelle was an NCAA runner-up as a freshman, finished fourth as a sophomore, but failed to place last year. He brings an impressive 27-2 record into the NCAAs, with his only losses coming to Schlatter and Luke. Cherrington is undefeated (with a victory over Johnston), but missed nearly half the season. Lebe, who placed seventh at the NCAAs last year, recently won his second consecutive EWL title. Becker and Manotti are both returning All-Americans who will be underdogs (according to their seeds) in the quarterfinals. RevWrestling.com Finals Prediction: No. 3 Tirapelle dec. No. 1 Paulson 165 Seeds: 1 -- Churella, Ryan -- Michigan Sr (25-0) 2 -- Hendricks, Johny -- Oklahoma State Jr (24-1) 3 -- Abdurakhmanov, Muzaffar -- American Sr (21-0) 4 -- Baima, Nick -- Northern Iowa Jr (31-3) 5 -- Pell, Matt -- Missouri Jr (29-4) 6 -- Nagel, Matt -- Minnesota Sr (25-9) 7 -- Letters, Troy -- Lehigh Sr (17-4) -- Neck 8 -- Paulson, Travis -- Iowa State Jr (30-5) Johny Hendricks (Photo by John Sachs)This weight class is loaded. Of the top-eight seeds, two are NCAA champions, six are All-Americans, one is a Midlands champion, and two are undefeated. Churella is a perfect 25-0 this season and 114-17 for his career after winning his third Big Ten title. Hendricks, the defending NCAA champion, has lost just once this season -- to Bracamonte at the Reno Tournament of Champions (twice if you count the All-Star Classic loss to Nagel). Last year, he defeated Churella, 6-2, in the NCAA semifinals. Abdurakhmanov is undefeated this season, but hasn't seed seen any of the top-eight seeds -- with the exception of Nagel, who he defeated 13-3. Baima has wins over Pell, Nagel, and Poeta, but has lost twice to Paulson and once to Hendricks. Pell's only losses this season have come against Churella, Hendricks (twice), and Baima. Nagel has had some nice wins this season, but also some bad losses. Poeta has been a very impressive freshman, especially considering the fact that he's naturally a 157-pounder. Letters, who won the NCAA title in 2004, is seeded seventh because of a serious neck injury he suffered. He lost twice at the EIWAs, and appears to be just a shell of what he used to be. Regardless, you can never count out a champion like Letters. If everything goes as expected, he'll face Hendricks in the quarterfinals, who he has beaten multiple times throughout his career. RevWrestling.com Finals Prediction: No. 2 Hendricks dec. No. 1 Churella 174 Seeds: 1 -- Askren, Ben -- Missouri Jr (40-0) 2 -- Herbert, Jake -- Northwestern So (32-0) 3 -- Perry, Mark -- Iowa So (16-3) 4 -- Klein, Jacob -- Nebraska Jr (20-4) 5 -- Patrovich, Michael -- Hofstra Sr (31-3) 6 -- Boudro, R.J. -- Michigan State Sr (28-6) 7 -- Cook, Ken -- UC Davis Sr (21-4) 8 -- Frick, Travis -- Lehigh Sr (23-5) Askren, who has finished as the NCAA runner-up to Chris Pendleton the past two seasons, has been the most dominant wrestler in the entire NCAA this season. He's currently 40-0 with 25 pins and seven technical falls. Herbert, like Askren, enters the NCAAs with a perfect record at 32-0. He has two pins over Perry, including a pin in the Big Ten finals. Herbert, who has two Midlands titles on his resume, has been overshadowed much of this season by Askren, but is hoping to become Northwestern's first NCAA champion since Jack Griffin won a title in 1990. Perry, who was the 165-pound NCAA runner-up last season as a freshman, has had an up and down season. He has battled injuries all season, which has greatly affected his performance. In addition to his losses to Herbert, Perry also dropped a match to Klein at the National Duals. Last season, Perry shocked the wrestling world by beating Letters in the NCAA semifinals, a wrestler many thought was unbeatable. RevWrestling.com Finals Prediction: No. 1 Askren dec. No. 3 Perry 184 Seeds: 1 -- Glenn, Josh -- American So (31-1) 2 -- Kish, Roger -- Minnesota So (33-4) 3 -- Wissel, Ben -- Purdue Sr (34-4) 4 -- Mazzurco, Joe -- Cornell Sr (21-2) 5 -- Webster, Shane -- Oregon Sr (32-1) 6 -- Friedl, Pete -- Illinois Sr (24-4) 7 -- Backes, Kurt -- Iowa State Jr (24-6) 8 -- Bradley, Eric -- Penn State Sr (11-3) This is, without question, the most wide-open class. Glenn, the No. 1 seed, has put together an outstanding sophomore campaign. He enters the NCAAs with a 31-1 record and 18 pins. He has wins this season over second-seeded Kish (pin) and fourth-seeded Mazzurco (6-0). The only blemish on his record is a 5-4 loss to Wissel. Kish, who just missed becoming an All-American last year as a freshman, catapulted to the No. 2 seed after his impressive run through the Big Tens, where he defeated Wissel and Friedl. In addition to his victory this season over Glenn, Wissel has also defeated Friedl (twice), Bradley, and Mazzurco. However, both Friedl and Bradley have a victory this season over Friedl. Webster, who won the Pac-10, has the most impressive record in the weight class (32-1), but has yet to face a top-ten opponent. Backes, who is seeded eighth, was the No. 2 seed last year, but failed to place. He enters the NCAAs with a 24-6 record, which includes wins over Kish and Bradley. Bradley, who is seeded eighth, began the season ranked No. 1, but injured his ankle in a November wrestle-off, and has yet to get back to the level he was at prior to the injury. RevWrestling.com Finals Prediction: No. 7 Backes dec. No. 1 Glenn 197 Seeds: 1 -- Michalak, Wynn -- Central Michigan So (29-1) 2 -- Cerminara, Kyle -- Buffalo Sr (37-2) 3 -- Padden, B.J. -- Nebraska Jr (22-3) 4 -- Rosholt, Jake -- Oklahoma State Sr (22-4) 5 -- Flaggert, Joel -- Oklahoma Jr (21-4) 6 -- Davis, Phil -- Penn State Jr (21-3) 7 -- Rinaldi, Jerry -- Cornell Jr (29-2) 8 -- Bader, Ryan -- Arizona State Sr (28-4) This is the only weight class that one of the top-two seeds doesn't reside in the Big Ten or Big 12 conferences. The most stunning thing, though, might be the fact that Rosholt, a two-time NCAA champion, is the No. 4 seed. Three of his losses are to No. 3 Padden and the other one is to No. 1 Michalak. Michalak has wins over the each of the top-six seeds, with the exception of Flaggert, who gave him his only loss this season. Cerminara, who became Buffalo's first All-American ever in 2004, is 38-2, with both losses coming to Michalak. Although Padden has been impressive against Rosholt, he lost badly this season to Michalek, 15-3, and also lost 6-2 to Flaggert. Davis, who became an All-American as a freshman last year, is coming off a Big Ten title. Bader, who comes in as the No. 8 seed, finished fourth at the NCAAs in 2004, but failed to place a year ago. RevWrestling.com Finals Prediction: No. 3 Padden dec. No. 4 Rosholt Hwt Seeds: 1 -- Konrad, Cole -- Minnesota Jr (33-0) 2 -- Mocco, Steve -- Oklahoma State Sr (23-2) 3 -- Wagner, Greg -- Michigan Sr (24-2) 4 -- Velasquez, Cain -- Arizona State Sr (34-5) 5 -- Ogunwole, Bode -- Harvard Jr (27-5) 6 -- Garrett, Tanner -- Navy Sr (41-2) 7 -- Hager, Jake -- Oklahoma Sr (22-5) 8 -- Faust, Mike -- Virginia Tech Sr (34-6) Coming into this season, Mocco, a two-time NCAA champion, reigned superior in this weight class. He hadn't lost a collegiate match since 2002. But in the first match of the season, at the All-Star Classic, Mocco lost to Konrad, 4-1. Then, at the National Duals, Konrad proved it was no fluke by pinning Mocco. And finally, on Feb. 12, Konrad defeated Mocco, 3-1, for the third straight time this season. In addition to his victories over Mocco, Konrad has also defeated No. 3 Wagner (twice) and No. 4 Velasquez. Mocco and Wagner both have two victories over Velasquez this season. Ogunwole, who comes in with a 27-5 record, was runner-up at the Midlands. Garrett owns a very impressive 41-2 record, but has not defeated any of the top-eight seeds this season. Hager, the Big 12 runner-up, has lost twice to Mocco this season and once to Velasquez. RevWrestling.com Finals Prediction: No. 1 Konrad dec. No. 2 Mocco

FINDLAY, Ohio -- The University of Nebraska at Omaha became the first team since 1995 to win three straight national titles Saturday night, crowning three individual champions. Cody Garcia, J.D. Naig and Les Sigman all went to the winner's circle, with Sigman gathering his fourth straight heavyweight title. The win gives UNO NCAA Division II wrestling titles in 1991, 2004, 2005 and 2006. UNO also won the 1970 NAIA tournament championship. The Mavericks finished with 117 points, their highest total ever. Nebraska-Kearney, with two champions, was second with 98.5, followed by Shippensburg at 66.5, Central Oklahoma at 64.5 and Minnesota State, Mankato with 63.5. Sigman edged Nebraska-Kearney's Tervel Dlagnev, capping an undefeated season and an amazing career. He scored an escape to open the third period in a conservative championship bout. It was the third win for Sigman over Dlagnev this season. Sigman was also named the meet's outstanding wrestler. He registered a fall, technical fall, leading 17-1, and blanked two opponents. Garcia dominated his finals match, scoring a 5-1 decision over Jamie Thomas of Shippensburg to improve to 39-3 on the season. Unger gave up back points midway through the match, then came back with a reversal, but fell short of Findlay's No. 3 ranked Antonio Guerra, 5-4, in a battle of sophomores. Unger, ranked No. 6, finished the season at 21-9. No. 1 ranked Naig, now 32-3, delivered his second straight fall to win his second straight title, pinning Indianapolis junior Michael Jackson in 6:53. Naig also had a fall in his semifinal match and opened the tournament with a major decision, giving him 5 bonus points. He has now had six pins in nine tournament victories over the past three years. He had two falls last year in winning the 165-pound crown. The only other wrestlers to win four consecutive national titles were Tim Wright, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville from 1984-87, Dan Russell, Portland State, 1988-91, and Cole Province, Central Oklahoma, 2001-04. Central Oklahoma was the last team to win as many as three straight team titles. The Bronchos won four in succession from 1992-95. Championship matches: 125: Cody Garcia, UNO, dec. Jamie Thomas, Shippensburg, 5-1 133: Brett Allgood, Nebraska-Kearney, dec. Andy Uhl, Findlay, 9-7 141: Thad Benton, Pittsburgh-Johnstown, dec. Kyle Evans, Central Oklahoma, 4-2 149: Antonio Guerra, Findlay, dec. Shane Unger, UNO, 5-4 157: Brad Becker, Wisconsin-Parkside, WBF, David Nordhues, Fort Hays State, 6:29 165: Nathan Baker, Minnesota State, Moorhead, dec. Zach Schafer, Mercyhurst, 10-5 174: J.D. Naig, UNO, WBF, Michael Jackson, Indianapolis, 6:53 184: Tanner Linsacum, Nebraska-Kearney, dec. Mike Corcetti, Pittsburgh-Johnstown, 10-7 197: Plamen Paskalev, Central Missouri State, dec. Corey Jacoby, Shippensburg, 5-3 Hwt: Les Sigman, UNO, dec. Tervel Dlagnev, Nebraska-Kearney, 1-0 NCAA Division II Championships Coverage

State College, Pa. -- The ESPN family of national cable networks will offer extensive live coverage of the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held on March 16-18 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. Three of the tournament's six sessions will be covered live, including the championship finals. Coverage begins on Friday, March 17, at 11 a.m. The quarterfinals and consolation bouts will be aired during that early session on ESPNU. Later on that same Friday, ESPNU and/or ESPN-Plus will carry live coverage of the national semifinals. The next night, ESPN will carry the entire slate of Championship Finals beginning at 7:30 p.m. Penn State, under the direction of head coach Troy Sunderland, will have eight individuals participating in the three-day tournament. The Nittany Lions will begin action with two sessions on Thursday, March 16. Heading to Oklahoma City for Penn State are freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) at 133, senior DeWitt Driscoll (Connellsville, Pa.) at 141, senior James Woodall (Dupont, Pa.) at 149, junior Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.) at 157, junior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) at 174, senior All-American Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.) at 184, sophomore All-American and 2006 Big Ten Champion Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) at 197 and senior heavyweight Joel Edwards (Upper Darby, Pa.). Penn State is coming off a fourth-place finish at the 2006 Big Ten Championships. The eight national qualifiers and the fourth-place team finish are the highest for Penn State since the 2003 season. The Nittany Lions are coming off a superb 13-4 dual match season in which they went 5-3 in Big Ten action.

Ames, Iowa -- Cyclone Wrestling Club Coaches Ed Banach and Tony Ersland will be conducting a regional training camp from March 27 to July 27 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. The camp will also be held on Saturday and Sunday with times to be arranged. The camp is open to ages 8-16 and the cost is $100.00 payable to Cyclone Wrestling Club. For more information contact wrestling secretary Jeanne Vogel at (515) 294-6421.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys looked invincible heading into this college wrestling season. In 2005, they had five NCAA champions, seven All-Americans, scored a whopping 153 points at the NCAA Championships and only lost 174-pound Chris Pendleton to graduation. But their four returning NCAA champs have had a combined 13 losses this season and OSU lost two dual meets to Minnesota. At 141 pounds, their lineup went without 2005 fourth-place finisher Daniel Frishkorn since the mid-season, a very talented, if streaky, wrestler. So the question arises: Has OSU faltered this season? While I don't think winning their fourth straight NCAA title is a lock, even with everything that's gone down so far, I'd say the answer is "no." OSU had an amazing tourney last year. Just stunning. Most of the time, even the championship team has ups and downs, but for the 2005 Cowboys, it was just about all ups. They wrestled great and, just as important, they got help from other teams. For example, 165-pound Johny Hendricks had lost twice to Troy Letters during the regular season and 197-pound Jake Rosholt had lost twice to Jon Trenge. But thanks to Iowa's Mark Perry upsetting Letters and UNI's Sean Stender upsetting Trenge, these two Cowboys didn't have to solve the riddle of these opponents in order to win their titles. Nathan Morgan (Johnnie Johnson)The thing to remember is that even if the Cowboys had gone 0-5 in the finals last year instead of 5-0, perhaps some of their individual losses this year would seem less surprising, but they still would have entered this season as favorites to win No. 34 in March. Losing big individual match-ups during the regular season creates a lot of excitement and chatter by wrestling enthusiasts, but that doesn't mean that those wrestlers aren't still going to score a ton of points at the big show -- even if it's a few places lower than they got last year. John Smith doesn't put his schedule together to go undefeated. The Cowboys have taken their lumps, both individually and as a team, but have wrestled very well. Moreover, unlike many seasons in the 90s where Oklahoma State teams would excel in the regular season and fade come tourney time, John Smith has had his teams peaking in March for the last three years. This season, OSU fans have had to see some of their stars suffer disappointments mainly because of two reasons. 1. The emergence of new young talents like Dustin Schlatter and Wynn Michalak. 2. A wrestler who consistently lost to a Cowboy star last year has made some adjustments and turned the corner (Cole Konrad). OSU started the season with four No. 1-ranked wrestlers, and even though the results of John Smith's brutal schedule have dropped them to 2-2-4-2, they still have plenty of firepower. Moreover, their qualifiers who aren't returning champs (Coleman Scott, Nathan Morgan, Kevin Ward, Brandon Mason and Rusty Blackmon) have rankings that suggest a hefty team-point compliment. Although Minnesota had beaten Oklahoma State twice in dual meets, up until this past weekend, the Cowboys appeared to be a stronger tournament team. That things are roughly about equal now is more the result of Minnesota stepping up than OSU having any kind of misstep. OSU had a very good Big 12 Championships. They qualified nine for the big show, had seven finalists and four champs. But with Gophers C.P. Schlatter, Matt Nagel, and Roger Kish beating a grand total of five, top-ten wrestlers ranked ahead of them, they all did wonders for their individual rankings. Moreover, Manuel Rivera and Gabriel Dretsch both avenged losses from earlier in the season and moved up as well. Awarding placement and advancement points (i.e. no bonus points or pigtail advancement points) based on the current rankings, here are the projected results between the Cowboys and the Golden Gophers (Editor's Note: RevWrestling.com's rankings were not used because they were compiled prior to the conference tournaments) AWN = OSU 94.5, MN 87 WIN = OSU 87, MN 96 NWCA = OSU 86.5, MN 91.5 But again, that OSU no longer appears to be a lock to run away with No. 4 in a row doesn't reflect any kind of significant underperformance. They haven't dropped as much as Minnesota has risen. And, as much as we all know that anything can happen, it would appear that we are in for a dogfight. John SmithAs mentioned earlier, John Smith puts together a very tough schedule. On the one hand, this is beneficial as it pits his wrestlers against top competition all season long, thus creating fewer potential surprises the post-season. Smith is a brilliant tactician and strategist and it's very difficult not to imagine his wrestlers being totally prepared for any rematch -- won or lost the first go-round. On the other hand, there is an undeniable psychological component that goes with accumulating a number of losses over the course of a wrestling season. It takes its toll on your confidence and you start to think you're not unbeatable -- even if you're just a fan of the team.

Nashville, Tenn. -- Real Pro Wrestling (RPW), a professional sports league for collegiate and Olympic-style wrestlers, has announced its initial plans for a second season of competition, which is expected to take place in the late fall of 2006. "We've brought a lot of exposure to our sport through these amazing athletes," RPW CEO Toby Willis said. "We consider that one of our biggest successes. In addition to adding value to our tight knit wrestling community, we need to continue to create more awareness for our sport." RPW co-founders Willis and Matt Case also announced that the league format will change for its second season to dual meet competitions held regionally. In the first season, wrestlers competed in individual tournaments in seven separate weight classes. A team score was kept for eight teams, each of which had one wrestler per weight class. In Season Two, the eight teams will compete against each other in dual meets in front of live crowds, culminating with a dual meet championship at the end of the season. Each team will have seven weight classes, and rosters are expected to be filled by the end of summer. "We initially used the tournament format because it allowed us to meet the 'made for TV' requirements and capture all the episodes in a short time," Case stated. "However, our aim has always been team based competition in a live dual meet format in cities. This is why we're making the transition from tournament to duals." While the actual cities of the eight franchises have yet to be finalized, RPW will select teams to compete in the following eight states: California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas. All eight of those states hosted teams in the first season as well, but this will be the first season that actual competitions will be held in those states. "We chose these regions for a variety of reasons. They are either top wrestling markets or are showing considerable growing in the sport," Case said. "Texas, for example, isn't a traditional wrestling hotbed, but it's growing fast. It's a region that if successful, could be a foundational area." Toby WillisCurrently, venues in various cities throughout the eight aforementioned states are being surveyed along with community interest and local sponsors in each region. "Wrestling could support many teams in many regions because of the wealth of it's grassroots programs. The sport doesn't require huge football-size stadiums because of the close-up action. You don't need a big field of play," Willis added. RPW will announce the host cities of the franchises along with rosters as they are finalized and become available. In 2005, RPW presented a historic first season of wrestling action on PAX and Fox Sports Net. Seven, one-hour episodes were aired, one for each weight class, and a two-hour finale showcased the championship bouts from each of the seven weight classes. Nearly a half million people viewed the two-hour finale. The Iowa Stalkers ran away with the team title. Individual champions were 2000 Olympic silver medalist Sammie Henson of the Pennsylvania Hammer (121 lbs.), Tony DeAnda of the New York Outrage (132), former NCAA champion Doug Schwab of the Iowa Stalkers (145), 2004 Olympian Joe Williams of the Chicago Groove (163), Mo Lawal of the Oklahoma Slam (184), 2004 Olympian Daniel Cormier of the Oklahoma Slam (211) and Pat Cummins of the Pennsylvania Hammer (264). Overall, eight Olympians, six U.S. World Team members and 23 former NCAA champions competed in Season 1. Over $300,000 in cash prizes were awarded to wrestlers. RPW is a hybrid style of wrestling, combining the Olympic styles of Greco-Roman and Freestyle, along with elements of collegiate and Sumo wrestling. In RPW, classic meets the future as the matches are conducted in a specially designed coliseum which showcases a raised circular mat to facilitate better camera angles and to afford the live audience a better viewing experience. The circular mat allows for 360 degree camera angles and aids in covering the close quarters that wrestlers frequently find themselves in as they maneuver for position. Real Pro Wrestling, Inc was founded in 2002 by former Northwestern University wrestling teammates, Toby Willis and Matt Case. The company is based in Nashville, Tenn. with brand offices in Los Angeles and Colorado Springs. RPW is a television production company and a producer of live events.

Eagles Head Wrestling Coach, John Petty, announced today that he will resign from the position at the end of the academic semester. "This has been one of the toughest decisions that I have made in my life. This year's team has been the best team that I have ever been associated with after nearly 30 years of athletics. These young men are a phenomenal group of guys that you can expect to be champions, both on and off the mat as students, businessmen, husbands and fathers. I love each and every one of them. I learned so much from them and I hope they picked up a thing or two from me." At press time, Coach Petty has not indicated where his next coaching stop will be, but is hopeful that something will open up and be a good fit for him and his family. "My early resignation comes out of respect to the university, athletic department and the remaining athletes so they can start the search process for the next Head Coach who can begin to recruit and build their program. Knowing that I was not going to return next season; I did not want to wait until I secured something before informing the Athletic Director. I am hopeful and confident that I will find a position that will allow me to remain in coaching, because that is what I have a passion for…I am a Coach." Petty leaves the #5 Eagles with 10 National Qualifiers, 4 All-Americans and 3 Academic All-Americans. "I'd like to say that the next coach will have a nice foundation to continue to build on. This is a good mature group and most importantly they are truly a team who sticks together and holds one another accountable." Petty's ERAU Resume: * Three winning seasons(2004-2006) * Three top 10 National finishes (8th in 2004, 6th in 2005 and 5th in 2006) * One Regional Championship (2005) * One NAIA National Champion of Character Sportsmanship Award * 15 All-Americans * 6 Academic All-Americans * 3 National Champion of Character Awardees * 5 ERAU Champion of Character scholarship recipients * One ERAU Athlete of the Year * One Coach of the Year (2005) * Team average GPA of 3.0.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State wrestler J Jaggers will miss the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Russ Hellickson, head coach, announced Wednesday. Jaggers, who qualified for the national championships at 149 pounds after a sixth-place showing at the Big Ten championships, sustained a knee injury at the conference meet March 4-5. "This is a devastating loss for J and our team," Hellickson said. "J is a proven leader and when he sets goals, he gets the job done." Jaggers (r-Fr., Northfield, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel) finished the regular season a team-best 25-6, and then went 1-1 at the Big Ten championships before he was forced to medical forfeit his remaining two bouts. Throughout much of the dual season, Jaggers outperformed his opponents in several statistical categories, including falls (4-0), match points (257-177), takedowns (38-26) and back points (16-3). Teammates Blake Maurer (r-Fr., Evansville, Ind./Mater Dei) and Kirk Nail (So., Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) will compete at the national championships at 174 pounds and heavyweight, respectively. Maurer placed seventh at the league championships and Nail was sixth. Reece Humphrey (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North), who was named a second alternate by the coaches after the conference meet, will join the NCAA championships field after injuries to two other Big Ten wrestlers.

Williamsburg, Ky. -- Discipline is displayed early in the morning, everyday. Vanity Vazquez-Olmo is up and ready to meet either the track or wrestling team for 6:15 a.m. practices. Then the day brings classes, studying, and homework. Just about the time most take time for an afternoon nap, Vazquez is off to 3:30 p.m. track practice. From there, Vazquez-Olmo stops for dinner just before scheduled wrestling practice at 6 p.m. Vanity Vazquez-OlmoThis would be impressive all on its own, but Vazquez-Olmo, a freshman at University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, accomplished all of this while her husband Angel Olmo served in Iraq. It would seem easy to be distracted by all the time demands as well as worry for her husband's safety, but Vazquez-Olmo got the job done. There was rarely a moment when Vazquez-Olmo wasn't displaying strength of mind and body, commitment and determination. "I've had to take it a day at a time," she said. With Angel Olmo already six months into deployment, the couple wed on July 8, 2005, during a two week leave from service. The pair had minimal time to see each other since the wedding. During his deployment, the two kept in communication by phone. "[Angel] worked in communications, so he always snuck me phone calls," she said. It would be easy to feel overwhelmed by such an intimidating schedule and constant concern for her husband, but Vazquez-Olmo's revealed her source of strength, "School and sports keep me busy and on my down time [Angel] called me. That's how I got through." In January, Vazquez-Olmo received a call she would never forget. After serving a full year in Iraq, she received word that her husband was coming home. The excitement of his return was soon stalled by several flight delays. Vazquez-Olmo's frustration was shared by her husband's. "[Angel] was so excited to be home but he would get so upset when they delayed him," she said. Finally, after the delays and days of anticipation, Vazquez-Olmo was reunited with her husband for the first time in months. Her school and sport schedule remain as hectic as ever but Vazquez-Olmo couldn't be more pleased. "He is home, and I am so, so, so happy!" she said. Vazquez-Olmo's hard work is paying off. Besides finishing her first semester with an impressive 3.7 GPA, good enough to make Cumberlands' Dean's list, Vazquez-Olmo has also helped her 3200-meter relay team qualify for the NAIA national track meet to be held on Thursday, March 9th – Saturday, March 11th in Johnson City, Tenn. Although such success tends to add pressure for future achievement, this disciplined freshman is continuing to take it all in stride. "My goal is to do what I can to keep this positive momentum going in both my classes, running and wrestling," she said. The University of the Cumberlands is in its 117th year of operation. Cumberlands offers four undergraduate degrees in 37 major fields of study, 30 minors and nine pre-professional programs, as well as online and accelerated, non-traditional programs for adults.

Tuesday, March 21 is the deadline for event bids to be submitted from organizing committees who wish to host the 2006 USA Wrestling Beach National Championships, along with the 2006 USA Wrestling Sombo National Championships. These events are scheduled to be held August 18-19, 2006. Beach Wrestling was added as a new style of international wrestling, starting in 2005. Athletes compete on sand, in a style that features takedowns within a ring. Sombo is a style of competition that has similarities to judo and wrestling, and has been reinstated as an international style of wrestling this year. Sombo was included in international wrestling until the mid-1980s, when the international wrestling federation These two events will serve as the qualifiers for the U.S. team that will compete at the World Beach Wrestling Championships and the World Sombo Championships, set for Antalya, Turkey, Oct. 13-15. In addition to these two events, USA Wrestling will also conduct its semi-annual Board of Directors meeting in the city which is hosting the Beach and Sombo Nationals. These are the volunteer leaders that set the direction for USA Wrestling and represent all apects of the wrestling community. USA Wrestling will also conduct its annual State Leaders Conference in the city which hosts the Beach and Sombo Nationals. This annual meeting brings together state leaders from each of the USA Wrestling state associations, who attend workshops and seminars and network together to help expand and improve USA Wrestling's programs and activities. To receive more information on the events and activities included, or to receive a copy of the bid packet, contact Chris Moen of USA Wrestling at 719-598-8181 or via e-mail at cmoen@usawrestling.org,

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Daniel Cormier wants to be a star. Not just as a U.S. wrestler, but as an international wrestler. In order for that to happen, Cormier must break through and win a medal at the World Championships or Olympic Games. So far, he has been close. But breaking into the top three in one of the toughest weight classes in the world has proven difficult so far for Cormier. "There are some really good guys in my weight class," Cormier said. "But I think I've proven I can wrestle with them. I just haven't ended some of those matches the smartest, and that's where I got burned." In fact, the last wrestler not from Russia or not named Eldar Kurtanidze to win this weight class or its equivalent (before the weights were shifted in 2001) was American Kurt Angle, who took gold in the 1996 Olympic Games. Cormier will hope to change that. A new attitude on training, and a new focus has Cormier dreaming bigger than ever before. Since 2003, he has dominated the U.S. circuit, as evidenced by his three straight U.S. Nationals titles and his Real Pro Wrestling Season 1 title for the Oklahoma Slam. But after a disappointing second-round exit at the 2005 World Championships, Cormier had to make some decisions. "Kevin Jackson sat us all down after the World Championships last year. I think most of us were pretty upset at how we wrestled," he stated. "K.J. challenged us. I'm not going to say I haven't trained hard the past three years, because I have. But I think right now there's more that I can do. That's what's happening." Daniel CormierCormier will plan to make more trips to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he will be under the watchful eyes of Jackson and Terry Brands. It will also give him the opportunity to train with his former training partner in Stillwater, Mo Lawal. "It's good for me (to train in Colorado Springs)," Cormier said. "I get good training here at Oklahoma State with the best coaching staff in the country, but they have to focus on a college wrestling season through March. They have to get these kids ready. I have to get myself ready." His training also has not come without distractions. Cormier's life is one riddled by tragedy. His father died while Cormier was just a child, his best friend was killed in a plane crash while he was in college and his daughter, Kaedyn Imri, was killed in an automobile accident shortly before the 2003 U.S. World Team Trials. Then, this year, many of Cormier's friends were ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. While Cormier hails from Lafayette, La., a city not affected by the hurricane, his sponsoring club, the Gator Wrestling Club, is based just outside of New Orleans. But looking back on all of the events in Cormier's life, it is clear that he may not be where he is today without having to go through those battles. "In life, you have to find a ray of sunshine in every cloud. I've had a lot of clouds roll through my life, but it's time to start seeing some more sunshine," Cormier said. He's hoping that sunshine comes this summer, during Real Pro Wrestling's Season 2, and then at the 2006 World Championships. For younger wrestlers -- No matter what you're doing, make sure you have fun with it. If it's wrestling, football, whatever. Take the time to enjoy all the opportunities given to you. Your favorite all-time wrestler -- John Smith. How high should you set goals -- As high as possible. There's no shame in not reaching a goal. There's only shame in not giving 100 percent to attempt to reach it.

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- Senior Jon Masa of Hofstra University is the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestler of the Week, and Steven Tisdell of George Mason University and Doug Umbehauer of Rider University have been named the CAA Rookies of the Week, for all competition the first week of March. Masa (Long Beach, NY), a two-time All-American, won his fourth CAA title and was named the CAA Championship Most Outstanding Performer. At the CAAs, Masa won by a major decision, a tech fall in the semi-finals and with a pin in the finals of the 149 pound weight class. Now 30-5, Masa will lead 23 CAA wrestlers to Oklahoma City, OK for the 2006 NCAA Division I Nationals March 16-18. Tisdell, a freshman 165 from Sewell, NJ, placed runner-up at the CAAs and will now compete in the NCAA Championships. Tisdell won a major decision in the quarter-finals, and upset the number two seed in the semi-finals, before losing to the top seed in the finals by the score of 3-2. Umbehauer, a freshman 174 from Shamong, NJ, finished runner-up in his first CAA tournament and will now advance to Nationals. After a first round bye Umbehauer defeated the sixth seed in the quarter-finals and upset the second seed in the semi-finals, 6-5 on a tie breaker, before falling 7-3 to the fifth ranked wrestler in the nation in the finals.

In every sport, there is the time of year that is the ultimate for the athletes, coaches and fans -- where all attention is focused on that particular sport and its Big Event. In pro football, it's the Super Bowl. In major league baseball, it's the World Series. In collegiate wrestling, it's the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Unfortunately for college wrestlers, their Big Event is largely overshadowed by an even Bigger Event: The NCAA Basketball Tournament. Both events take place in March. But only one of the tournaments has become known as March Madness … and it isn't wrestling. Despite the macho bravado of t-shirts and posters with sayings such as "Boys play basketball. Men wrestle" and "It takes balls to wrestle," in a match-up between college basketball and wrestling, the roundballers win big … at least in terms of general public attention and media coverage. Think about it: When was the last time somebody at work asked if you wanted to get into the office pool for NCAA wrestling? When have you seen an entire TV show devoted to the presentation of brackets for the NCAA Wrestling Championships? When did you see major car makers and snack-food companies use the college wrestling championships as a promotional gimmick to sell more Chevys and salsa? Even those of us who consider ourselves rabid wrestling fans may be programmed into thinking March is the exclusive property of the college basketball championships. Here's a test: A friend comes up to you, and says, "Gee, who do you think is gonna win the Big Dance?" If in a heartbeat you start talking about Steve Mocco and Cole Konrad (or any other potential major individual or team match-up at the 2006 NCAAs in Oklahoma City), you've escaped the brainwashing. If, however, you say "Duke" or "UConn" you just proved my point. In terms of media attention and public awareness, in a contest between college basketball and college wrestling, it's no contest. It's a slam-dunk. A major decision. A pin before the match even starts. Basketball vs. Wrestling: Why It Matters Some wrestling fans may be saying, "Contest? What contest? Who cares about basketball? We've got our NCAAs in March, and that's all that really matters." The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are among the top five in total event attendance of all college sports that hold a championship event.And, these wrestling supporters do have a point. After all, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are among the top five in total event attendance of all college sports that hold a championship event, with nearly 100,000 fans during the six sessions of recent NCAAs. Most years, the host arena is sold out -- or nearly so. (How many other college sports can bring together 19,000 fans in one place?) TV ratings for the finals are respectable, especially for what is often labeled a "minor" sport. However, for fans and participants who truly love amateur wrestling -- and want to see collegiate wrestling not only survive, but thrive -- the sport's Big Event must move out of the way for March Madness. The NCAA Wrestling Championships should be rescheduled for another time -- ideally, after the basketball championships have concluded, which is usually late March or early April. Overcoming Media Ignore-ance To quote the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield, the NCAA Wrestling Championships get no respect … at least among most sportswriters, sportscasters and sports editors. Think back to last March. How much coverage of the NCAA Wrestling Championships did you see on ESPN SportsCenter? I don't have the tapes, but I'm willing to bet that there MIGHT have been a very brief "Oklahoma State won the team title" story that lasted all of a few seconds … and maybe a brief highlight clip of a particular spectacular move. You can apply the same test to your local TV sports report … and your local newspaper. Unless you live in a wrestling hotbed, you probably would have no evidence the college wrestling championships had even occurred. Now, let's look at USA Today. Wrestling writer and historian Mike Chapman has. In his column for W.I.N. wrestling magazine, more than once Chapman has called out the national newspaper for its lack of coverage of amateur wrestling, especially the NCAAs. According to Chapman -- author of more than a dozen books on the sport -- in a typical year, USA Today has summed up the three-day NCAA championships in a couple paragraphs. Imagine if they gave that kind of miserly coverage to March Madness. Perhaps the biggest offender is Sports Illustrated. In the half-century of its existence, SI has featured an amateur wrestler on its cover once. And that was Dan Hodge, the legendary three-time NCAA champ for the Oklahoma Sooners, back in its April 1, 1957 issue. (I'm not counting former amateur wrestlers such as Tom Brady or Tony Siragusa who may have been on the cover for other sports.) Think back to March 2002 -- when Cael Sanderson won his fourth NCAA title, and ended his collegiate career without losing a single match out of 159. Arguably the biggest sports story of the week, right? Nope. That week, Cael didn't make the cover of Sports Illustrated; instead, the cover story was that of the young girl killed in the stands by a flying hockey puck at an NHL game in Columbus. The publishers heard from wrestling fans, and, in subsequent issues, threw out a couple bones, listing Sanderson's achievement among the ten greatest in amateur sports … and showing what a Cael cover would have looked like. Once upon a time, Sports Illustrated did a better job covering college wrestling. In the past, there were multi-page profiles on guys like Dan Hodge, Dan Gable and Chris Taylor. Even as recently as six years ago, Brock Lesnar got an entire page -- with color photo -- before the championships (and long before his career in the WWE). Most years, the NCAAs usually got a two- or three-page wrap-up. Not any more. Last year, wrestling coverage in Sports Illustrated was pretty much limited to a huge photo of action from the NCAAs that was the talk of amateur wrestling forums, not because it captured spectacular action, but because it seemed to have been chosen for its "groan" or "yuck" factor (at least for non-fans). Now, compare this treatment to how college basketball is covered by the local and national media. Basketball wins, running away. Would rescheduling the NCAA Wrestling Championships to AFTER the college basketball tournament change all this? Maybe not. But the media would no longer have the excuse of "Sorry, we have limited resources. We can't cover both college wrestling and basketball at the same time." Greater Coverage = More Positive Public Perception Greater media coverage of the NCAA Wrestling Championships would go a long way to boosting amateur wrestling's image in the minds of the general public. Mention the word "wrestling" to most folks, and they immediately think of the WWE, Vince McMahon and his cast of characters. Even some great amateur wrestlers such as Olympic medalists Jamill Kelly and Brandon Slay have mentioned in interviews that, at the time they were introduced to the sport, they were expecting to be able to jump off the top rope or use a folding chair on an opponent. On a more serious note, there is still a perception among some outside the sport that wrestling is dangerous, even deadly. They cite the tragic deaths of three college wrestlers attempting to make weight in 1998 … or some incredibly rare but highly-publicized freak fatal accidents during wrestling matches. Again, with greater media coverage of the sport during one of its biggest events, perhaps incorrect perceptions will change … and the general public will see the real value in the sport of real wrestling. Eliminating Competition with High School Wrestlers College wrestlers aren't just going up against basketball players for their share of the sports media spotlight. Collegians are also doing battle with younger wrestlers still in high school. In most states, the high school wrestling season pretty much lines up with the college season, with the ultimate events -- the individual state tournaments -- usually taking place in late February up through mid-March … when major conference tournaments and the NCAAs are scheduled. Having this overlap creates at least two potential problems that could be easily solved by moving the NCAAs back to April: • Local media tends to focus on local sports. Unless there's a "hometown hero" competing at the NCAAs, local TV and newspapers will concentrate their limited wrestling coverage on high school events such as the state tournament. With a later NCAA tournament, the media could more easily cover the major high school AND college mat events. • High school wrestlers, their families and friends are justifiably focused on their own matches and careers… not what's going on in college. However, with an April NCAAs, preps and their supporters would be able to watch the college tournament and learn from observing. April's Additional Benefits for Wrestlers and Fans By rescheduling the NCAA Wrestling Championships to mid-April, the entire collegiate wrestling season could be shifted back one month. A later start date would result in these benefits for participants and those who support them: • One "continuous" season. Right now, most college programs have "two" seasons, divided by Christmas. The "first season" being mostly tournaments and non-conference match-ups, with the post-Christmas portion of the season being mostly conference duals. Starting the season after Christmas would be easier on the competitors, and help sustain fan interest through the entire season. • Fewer hassles making weight during the holidays. Two of the biggest eating events of the year -- Thanksgiving and Christmas -- fall in the early part of the college wrestling as its configured today. By shifting the season back, wrestlers and their families will be able to enjoy the holidays a bit more. • Making it easier for football players to wrestle. Traditionally, in high school, a number of athletes who played football also wrestled. However, in college, this happens less frequently, because football season extends into wrestling season. With a later season start for wrestling, this would be less of an issue. Opening the wrestling room door to more gridiron stars could also boost fan interest in wrestling, especially if "name" football players take to the mats. • Weather becomes less of a factor. In mid-March in middle America – where the NCAAs are usually held – Mother Nature can throw just about anything at participants and fans. At the 2004 NCAAs, St. Louis was blessed with warm, almost summer-like temperatures… while, three years earlier, Iowa City was buried in snow. By April, most of the US has put away the snow shovels and said hello to spring … which means easier traveling during the tournament. A Powerful Opponent to Change: Tradition Wrestling is often referred to as "the oldest and greatest sport." And some college wrestling fans get wrapped up in the sport's great traditions. One of the lasting legacies: In the seventy-five years of the NCAA Wrestling Championships, the event has always been held in the month of March … starting back with the very first NCAAs in 1928. Many wrestlers, coaches and fans are so accustomed to "March Matness" -- and a season that starts around Halloween and ends near St. Patrick's Day -- that it would take some effort to overcome three-quarters of a century of history. However, understanding the potential benefits of a later season, it's worth a try. J RobinsonJ Robinson seems to think so. In a May 2002 WrestlingReport.com interview, the long-time head coach of the University of Minnesota was asked why the NCAAs are advertised as being sold-out, yet there are always empty seats in the arena, and whether this was because of competing with March Madness. Robinson replied, "Yes, we should try it in April -- for two years -- to see if it works. If it doesn't work, move it back. This could be worked out with the bidding arenas. The season would start one month later." The issue came up again at the start of the 2003 NCAAs in Kansas City. In the opening paragraph of his report for The Oklahoman, sportswriter Bob Colon wrote: "Moving the college wrestling season continues to be a hot topic, and most of the talk centers on starting the season in January and finishing with the NCAA tournament in April. The theory is to get more media to cover the Division I National Tournament giving the sport more exposure. The NCAA polled the media some six years ago to get ideas, but nothing has been done and the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournaments claims much of the attention this weekend. 'We have been talking about this for 15 years,' Minnesota coach J Robinson said during a news conference Wednesday at Kemper Arena." Now is the time to stop the Madness. Collegiate wrestling should stop trying to grapple the media spotlight and public attention away from the basketball tournament -- a contest that wrestling has been losing for years -- and move the NCAA Wrestling Championships to April. A later season would be a winner for the wrestlers, coaches, families and fans … and, ultimately, for the sport itself.

Takedown Wrestling Radio with Scott Casber and Steve Foster will broadcast the first-ever Border Brawl: Featuring the best and brightest Seniors from Iowa and Nebraska. Who will be victorious? Tune to TakedownRadio.com Starting at 6 PM Friday, March 10th for a special 1 hour pre meet program prior to the meet starting. You'll hear from the coaches of Both Morningside and Dana Colleges. Proceeds from this event will be split between Morningside College and Dana College to help defray equipment and travel costs, etc., for these 2 teams. Join us or listen in as we Celebrate this sport with Border Brawl at Dana College's Gardner Hawks Center Friday, March 10 from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. If you can make it in person please grab a friend and come on out! Tickets are $8.00 at the door and we'll see you at Gardner Hawks Center on the campus of Dana College in Blair Nebraska. For information call 402-533-4063 or Rfergola@esu3.org TakedownRadio.com -- 6PM CST Friday, March 10, 2006

Pembroke, NC -- UNC Pembroke wrestling coach PJ Smith has established a scholarship in honor of his father, C.A. "Whitey" Smith, which will help promote and perpetuate wrestling at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. C.A., a successful businessman, competed in and enjoyed playing, watching and teaching combative and contact sports, such as boxing, football and wrestling. The endowment of this wrestling scholarship will help promote the character qualities C.A. believed in, which are at the core of wrestling – hard work, self-discipline, pride, mental toughness and competitiveness. For more information or to make a contribution to the C.A. "Whitey" Smith Endowment, please contact the Office of Donor Relations at UNCP at 910-521-6213 or PJ Smith, Wrestling Coach, at 910-521-6261.

Fresno, Calif. -- Junior Greg Gifford pinned Eastern Illinois' Greg Perz 36 seconds into the second period of the 184 pound title match at the NCAA Western Regionals Sunday to win the Region Championship. Fresno State had two other wrestlers also reach the finals in Cody Parker and Shane Seibert. The win automatically places Gifford in the NCAA championships, being held March 16-18 in Oklahoma City. Fresno State started out the day wrestling nine weight classes, as Fresno State was unable to enter a wrestler for the 174-pound weight class. The Bulldogs were in second place at the end of the preliminary matches, as Dustin Rocha and Darrell Goodpaster both won to advance into the semi-finals. The Bulldogs continued to make strides in the tournament, as Greg Gifford, Cody Parker and Shane Seibert advanced to the finals for Fresno State. Seibert, wrestling in only his third match of the year due to injuries, beat Beau Tresemer in the 165-pound semifinals, but was forced to retire due to his injuries in the finals. Cody Parker and Greg Gifford both advanced easily in their semi-final matches as well. Parker finished with a first period pinfall over Northern Iowa's Tyler Rhodes to move to the finals, and Gifford was just one point shy of a technical fall in a 21-7 major decision of Zane Hersey of Air Force. Parker was beaten in the finals by Wyoming's Dusty Hoffschneider. Gifford sealed the region championship with a 3:36 pin of Greg Perz as well as a ticket to Oklahoma City for the region championship. Fresno State finished the tournament in third place with 61 points, behind tournament host Wyoming and champion Northern Iowa. Along with the automatic qualification earned by Gifford, three more Fresno State wrestlers were awarded at-large bids to wrestle in the NCAA tournament. Cody Parker and Shane Seibert were given passes based on their finishes, as was freshman Cory Borges, a third-place finisher at 125 pounds.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Lehigh made it five consecutive EIWA team championships on Sunday, as the Mountain Hawks held off Cornell and Penn to win the 102nd EIWA title at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks had three individual champions and scored 129 team points, 13.5 more than runner-up Cornell. The Brown and White placed wrestlers in nine of ten weight classes and qualified nine men for the upcoming NCAA Championships. "We had a good finish today," said head coach Greg Strobel. "We had some guys with high expectations in this tournament, but it turned out a lot of the other guys, who didn't have the accolades really stepped it up." Lehigh's three individual champions were seniors Cory Cooperman and Travis Frick and junior Matt Cassidy. Cooperman defeated Harvard's Max Meltzer 5-2 to win the 141 pound championship. Cooperman wins his third EIWA Championship in four tries. Frick earned his second EIWA title with a thrilling sudden victory win over Penn's Matt Herrington. Each wrestler mustered just an escape in regulation, but Frick got a hold of a leg, and scored the winning takedown 32 seconds into the first sudden victory period. Cassidy also needed overtime to win his title, as he scored the winning points in the second sudden victory period to upset top-seeded Jerry Rinaldi of Cornell. A couple of Lehigh's younger guys helped the Brown and White build a lead on Saturday, but both freshmen Matt Fisk and Trevor Chinn came up short in their finals bouts. Fisk yielded a late takedown to Cornell's Troy Nickerson, who won the battle of true freshmen 2-1 at 125. Chinn, fought a good strategic match, but fell victim to several tilts from Penn's Matt Dragon, who won 11-1. In the consolation rounds earlier in the day, Lehigh had two third-place finishers who automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships, and two more fourth-place finishers, who earned wild card bids to Oklahoma City. Derek Zinck battled back from a loss in Saturday's quarterfinals to place third, avenging his loss to Brown's Mike Savino in the process. Junior Paul Weibel won by major decision over Michael Sprigg of Army in the consolations, and then beat nationally ranked Adam LoPiccolo of American to place third at heavyweight. Senior Troy Letters and junior David Helfrich both won their consolation semifinal bouts, but were defeated in the third place matches. Letters continues to wrestle through a neck injury and was edged by Army's Jon Anderson 10-9. Helfrich dropped a 5-1 decision to Penn's Dustin Wiles, but both he and Letters earned wild cards, giving Lehigh its largest contingent of NCAA qualifiers under Greg Strobel. "These tournaments are always won in the trenches and for us to place nine and send nine to nationals is big for us," added Strobel. "We are peaking at the right time. The team has gone through a lot of adversity, but the guys who had success this weekend, will be primed for another strong showing when we get to nationals. American senior Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler, while Letters won the Sheridan Award for most falls and the Fletcher Trophy for career team points in the EIWA Championships. Lehigh will send its nine qualifiers to the 2006 NCAA Championships, which will take place March 16-18 from Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.

EDINBORO, Pa. -- Pitt's been making EWL history the past few years, and this year it was redshirt senior Justin Nestor's time to secure his place in the record books. Winning the championship title at 165 pounds, he is now a four-time NCAA qualifier with hopes of becoming an All-American this season. "We call Nestor `Lunchbox' because he has that Pittsburgh work ethic about him," said Head Coach Rande Stottlemyer. "If you want to work out with Nestor, you better show up because he's going to give all he's got. He's been as consistent as you can be, and being a four-time NCAA qualifier is a testament to that. He's the kind of wrestler where you know what you're going to get out of him." When asked about his performance today, Nestor said with a laugh, "I figured I needed to get my picture up on that wall," referring to the wall of conference champions in the new wrestling facility. He did say, on a more serious note, that he was happy with the team's overall performance and is hoping to achieve All-America honors in the upcoming weeks. Nestor (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) won his first bout of the tournament by defeating Clarion's Chris Goings with a fall at the 5:53 mark. This marked Nestor's 34th career pin, ranking him second among Pitt's all-time pin leaders. In his second match, he won a 10-0 major decision over Lock Haven's Rory McCoy to qualify for today's championship finals. In his last match, Nestor faced West Virginia's Larry Hall. With both wrestlers going scoreless in the first period, Nestor was able to earn two points for a reversal in the second. He maintained his 2-0 lead to capture the bout title, making him the 25th wrestler in Pitt history to become an EWL champion. Nestor is also one of eleven Pitt wrestlers to become a four-time NCAA qualifier.

EDINBORO -- Mike Spaid (Perkiomenville/Boyertown) won the 2006 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Championship at heavyweight to lead the Huskies to a fourth-place finish at the conference tournament. Spaid, along with Mike Sees (Northumberland/Shikellamy), qualified for the NCAA Championships yesterday after semifinal wins. Joining them at the national tournament will be Jim Bertulis (Aston/Garnett Valley), Brad Forbes (Downingtown/Downingtown) and Aric Fuhrman (Spring Grove/Delone Catholic). In the championship bout, Spaid got a 3-2 win over Cleveland State's Rashard Goff. Goff took an early 2-1 lead in the first period, but a reversal in the third period from the defensive position gave Spaid the win. Sees also advanced to the title match before falling to Lock Haven's Obe Blanc in the 125-pound finals. Blanc took a 2-1 lead after the first period and then scored another takedown and earned two backpoints en route to the 7-3 win. Earlier in the day, the Huskies qualified three more for the national tournament. Bertulis got the automatic bid with a third-place finish at 174 pounds. After a pin in the consolation semifinals, Bertulis got a 10-3 win over Pittsburgh's Nick Padezan to advance to the NCAA Championships. Also earning bids were Forbes, at 141 pounds, and Furhman and the 157-pound weight class. The duo earned two of the conference's five wild card spots. Forbes, following a consolation semifinal match loss to Mike Hurley of Cleveland State, Forbes got a 3-1 decision over Clarion's Greg Lewis to take fifth place in the tournament. Fuhrman advanced to the third-place match on a 2-0 decision win over Pittsburgh's Sean Richmond. In the national-qualifying bout, Fuhrman was able to tie the score at four, before Richmond got an escape and earned a point on riding time to qualify for nationals. Ricky Donald (Millville/Bloomsburg) also posted a fifth-place finish for the Huskies in his first EWL tournament. After a 7-3 loss to David Armstrong in the consolation semifinals, Donald bounced back and beat Clarion's Rob LaBrake in a 3-1 overtime decision. Frank Beasley, at 165 pounds, got a fourth-place finish, falling to Edinboro's Deonte Penn in the third-place bout, following a 12-2 majord decision win over Lock Haven's Rory McCoy. Jesse Hasseman (Franklin, IN/Franklin) took fourth in the 197-pound weight class, falling in a quadruple-overtime decision, 3-2. In the fourth overtime period, Pittsburgh's Mike Heist got a takedown with 36 seconds remaining to win the match for the Panthers. At 184 pounds, Nate Shirk (Middleburg/Middleburg) got a fifth-place finish for the Huskies. Following a 2-0 decision loss to Lock Haven's Derrick Morgan, Shirk won a 5-3 decision over Pitt's Kyle Deliere, who he lost to in Saturday's opening round. The final placewinner for the Huskies was George Hickman (Wilmington, NC/Riverside) who took sixth at 149 pounds. Hickman dropped a 3-2 decision to Pitt's Joey Ecklof in the consolation semifinals before losing to Ryan Hurley in the fifth-place bout.