InterMat Staff

EDINBORO, Pa. -- With a title at 125 and four men earning trips to nationals, the Lock Haven University wrestling team finished sixth of seven teams in the final day (March 5) at the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Championships, hosted by Edinboro University. Edinboro won the team race with 120.5 points, followed by West Virginia Universty (110.5), the University of Pittsburgh (97), Bloomsburg University (94.5), Cleveland State University (82), Lock Haven (70.5), and Clarion University (29.5). Sophomore No. 16 Obenson Blanc (Naples, Fla./Lely) won the title at 125, and he will be joined at the NCAA Division I Championship by runners-up No. 18 Joshua Medina (Las Vegas/Pima C.C.) at 149 and junior No. 17 Seth Martin (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) at 157 as well as the third-place finisher at 184, Derrick Morgan (Milan, Pa./Athens). Other finishers for LHU were fifth places from junior Carlos Ponce (Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah Miami Lakes), and freshman Tom Kocher (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) sixth place from sophomore Rory McCoy (Hughesville, Pa./Hughesville) at 165. "I'm happy with our guys' effort over this whole tournament," said LHU head coach Rocky Bonomo. "We got beat by higher-seeded guys and even managed to upset a few. With all of the turnabout and personnel changes this season, it was excellent to see them give their best effort. I'm excited about our chances to win some matches at nationals." After a bye and a 13-6 win over Brad Gentzle yesterday, 125-pounder Blanc took on No. 14 Mike Sees (Bloomsburg). Sees the defending champion at 125, had taken both meetings this season, but the most recent went into overtime. Blanc grabbed the first two points with 40 seconds left in the first by powering Sees to his back. Sees spun out for a point just as the buzzer hit. A second-period Sees escape tied the bout. Blanc went back out in front with a takedown half-way thru the second, adding a pair of back points, but Sees was out seconds later. The third period featured a flurry of fruitless attacks out of Sees, as Blanc added a riding-time point for a 7-3 decision. With the win Blanc became the first titlist at 125 for LHU since Trap McCormack in 2000. With wins over Derrick Smith (Clarion) 12-3 and David Jauregui (West Virginia) 13-6 yesterday, Medina drew 149 pound top-seed No. 7 Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) in the championship bout. Gillespie had won both meetings this season, but it was Medina countering Gillespie's first shot into a takedown. He would work an escape for a 2-1 tally 27 seconds later. A Gillespie shot sent Medina sprawling late in the first, and he worked his way to the buzzer with no points given up. Gillespie did get his first takedown in the second period, driving Medina to his back off a single for a pair of backpoints as well and a 5-2 lead. Gillespie had some stifling defensive work on top for the entire third period, getting the 7-3 win. Medina is the first two-time qualifier for LHU at 149 since JaMarr Billman (2001-02). Martin beat Sean Richmond (Pittsburgh) 17-3 and Matt Hill (Edinboro) 6-0 yesterday, earning the right to face defending champion No. 5 Matt Lebe (West Virginia) for the title at 157. Martin dropped a hard-fought 10-9 decision to Lebe during the dual season. An All-American a year ago, Lebe grabbed a single for the first two points, but Martin was able to get loose on his first attempt. He worked another escape for the tie early in the second, 2-2. No more scoring in the second showed that this would be a much lower-scoring affair than their first bout. Martin found himself in the same situation as their dual, tied with control going into the third period. Just like that bout, Lebe escaped early in the third, and Martin's efforts for a takedown later in the period fell short, a 3-2 loss by decision. He is the highest EWL placewinner ever at 157 for Lock Haven, the closest match being runner up Brian Leitzel at 158 in 1997. Sophomore 165-pounder McCoy went 1-1 yesterday, beating Tim Scarl (Cleveland State) 8-4 in the opening round before dropping to Justin Nestor (West Virginia) 10-0 in the semifinals. McCoy started with Frank Beasley (Bloomsburg) today, losing 12-2. Beasley took the first four points of the bout and the final six, moving McCoy to the fifth-place match. McCoy squared off with Scarl again for fifth place, surrendering a 6-2 deficit after the first period. Scarl controlled the final two periods as well, finishing with an 11-2 victory. At 174, junior Ponce topped Dave Gardner (Clarion) 9-3 before losing to Eric Ring (Edinboro) 6-1 in the semifinals. Ponce drew Nick Padezan (Pitt) today, losing 2-0. Padezan took the first point of the bout on a second-period escape, and held Ponce down the entire third period for the win. Having already beat him once in the tournament, Ponce saw Gardner in the fifth-place bout. Ponce was in a 3-0 hole early in the second period, hustling to score a takedown with 1:25 left in the second stanza. Ponce let him loose and then powered Gardner down for another two points just seconds later. He once again set him free and scurried around from a front facelock grabbing a 6-5 lead after two. A national qualifier a year ago, Ponce worked Gardner over in the final period 7-0 for the 13-5 win and a fifth-place finish. The win was Ponce's 20th this season. Ponce was chosen as the second alternate to the National Qualifier list for the league. Morgan had a first-round bye at 184, following that up with a 6-2 loss to No. 17 Alex Clemsen (Edinboro) yesterday. Nate Shirk (Bloomsburg) was Morgan's first opponent today, with Morgan holding a dual victory over him already this season. Shirk and Morgan worked to a 0-0 tie at the end of two, with Morgan earning an early escape for the first point in the third. The two men worked a collar and elbow for the remainder of the third period and Morgan won 2-0. Morgan drew Chance Litton (WVU) in the third place bout, a trip to Oklahoma City, Okla. on the line. Morgan pinned Litton in their dual match, and grabbed the first pair of points off a double leg with 29 seconds left in the first. Morgan scored three more in the second, including reeling in a single-leg on the edge of the circle. Litton picked up all of his five points in the final period but it wasn't enough, as Morgan won 10-5 for his first national championships appearance. Kocher dominated Logan Downes (Clarion) 8-1 before losing to Jared Villers 9-0 in the semifinal yesterday. Pittsburgh's 197-pounder Mike Heist awaited Kocher in the consolation semifinal today. Kocher had a 7-4 win over Heist in the dual season, but it was Heist with the first points, a second-period escape. Kocher took down in the third to try and work for an escape, getting the tie with 1:42 left. Heist turned Kocher's single shot into the first takedown of the bout on the edge of the circle. Kocher escaped seconds later. He got a tie on a Heist stall point, but didn't hear the official call the point and had a frantic try at a late takedown backfire as Heist rolled over on another Kocher shot at the edge to get the win, 4-3. Kocher hit a first minute takedown in his fifth-place bout with Downes, and was never in real danger in a 9-0 victory. Martin, Blanc, Medina, Morgan and Bonomo are back in action Thursday, March 16 at the NCAA Division I Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Tanner Garrett finished second in Sunday's finals and five Navy wrestlers all told earned spots in the NCAA Tournament and the Mids finished fourth in the team race, giving them their second straight top-five finish. Garrett, Chris Pogue, John Cox, Matt Stolpinski and Joe Baker all punched tickets to Oklahoma City in two weeks. "We're workhorses and are going to have to earn everything," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We had some tough, long days, but I thought we worked very hard this weekend. Some matches jjust didn't go our way, but our five qualifiers will learn from our mistakes and work hard in preparation for NCAA's." Tanner Garrett (Tulsa, Okla.) dropped a double-overtime heartbreaker for the second straight season, 3-2, this time to Harvard's second seed Bode Ogunwole. In the finals, Ogunwole scored an escape early in the second period for a 1-0 lead. Garrett, however, started the third period with an escape to knot the score at 1-1. Ogunwole and Garrett traded escapes in overtime, but the Harvard junior rode out Garrett for the 30 seconds in the double overtime to claim the victory. Garrett has now finished second in the EIWA Championships three straight years. Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) became the first Mid to grab an NCAA Tournament berth, defeating Cornell's Mike Mormile, the second seed, in the consolation finals, 8-5. Baker led 5-1 after two periods, then scored a takedown with about 40 seconds left to ice away the match. Mormile had piled up a 26-11 record during his senior campaign and finished last year's tournament as the runner-up at 125 pounds. The win moves the Navy freshman's record to 11-2, and became the first Navy freshman to qualify for the NCAA Tournament since Dan Hicks in 1992. "Joe just needed to get some matches in him," said Burnett. "We knew he had the talent, but he was just lacking the conditioning early in the year. He is now in shape and I think everyone is seeing what he can do. There is a buzz about him in the EIWA. He put in the work to get better and to get where he is, and he is going to continue to work hard." Baker overcame a bumpy road to get back into the lineup, taking almost a year off because of injuries. When it appeared he was back, another minor injury would slow him down again. Now, the freshman is healthy and he is heading to the NCAA Tournament. "It's been a year in the works," said Baker. "I got through the injuries and I think I am healthy enough now to compete with anyone in the country. There is always room for improvement, and I leave this tournament with a lot of `what ifs'. I hope I can fix some of the mistakes I made this weekend at the NCAAs and put forth a good performance there." Navy garnered two fourth-place finishes from sophomore 174-pounder Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) and senion 197-pounder Chris Pogue (Chespeake, Va.). The pair was defeated in the consolation finals by Columbia's Matt Palmer and Army's Charles Martin, respectively. The pair equaled their pre-tournament seed. John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.) and Craig Dziewiatkowski (Aurora, Ill.) earned fifth-place finishes at 149 and 165 pounds. Cox was defeated by the tournament's top two seeds over the last two days, but rallied for a fifth-place finish with a 4-1 decision over Columbia's Ricky Turk in the fifth-place match. Dziewiatkowski, meanwhile, had a strong run in the tournament, surpassing his pre-tournament sixth seed. Dziewiatkowski, who qualified for last year's NCAA Tournament, lost to the Nos. 2 and 5 seeds along the way. However, he had two impressive wins along the way, defeating third-seeded Shawn Kitchner of Brown twice, including a 13-3 major-decision in the fifth-place match. The Mids scored a sixth-place finish from sophomore Spencer Manley (Ooltewah, Tenn.) at 141 pounds. Manley lost both of his matches in the consolation round on Sunday, but finished with a sixth-place showing after entering the tournament as the seventh seed. "We have five guys going to Oklahoma City looking to do well," said Burnett. "It's time to get some All-Americans up on that wall. It's been too long." NAVY NOTES • The Mids will send five wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament, after six wrestlers qualified a year ago. The list includes two seniors, a junior, a sophomore and a freshman. Garrett will make his third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, while Cox advances for the second time. Baker, Stolpinski and Pogue will wrestle in their first NCAA Tournament. • Joe Baker is the first Navy freshman to qualify for the NCAA Tournament since Dan Hicks in 1992. • Navy has three wrestlers over 30 wins for the third time ever, joining the 1994-95 and 2000-01 seasons as the only teams to have three 30-match winners. • Senior heavyweight Tanner Garrett moved into the top five career victory list with 112. He surpassed Scott Schleicher (1986-90) with his semifinal victory on Saturday. • Junior 157-pounder John Jarred finished his season with 35 wins, good for a tie for eighth on the single-season list. John Cox's 31 victories are the 22nd-most in a single season. Cox also moved into a tie for 19th on the career list with 80. • Craig Dziewiatkowski finished his career with a 72-41 career mark. Jonny Kane closes out his career with a 68-38 record. • Tanner Garrett finished second for the third straight year. He leads the country with 41 wins and is only the second Navy wrestler ever to record 40 wins in a season. CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS: 133 -- (4) Joe Baker (Navy) pinned Frankie Baughan (Army), 1:43 141 -- (4) Sal Tirico (Columbia) major dec. (7) Spencer Manley (Navy), 14-5 149 -- (2) Patrick Simpson (Army) dec. (4) John Cox (Navy), 5-4 165 -- (5) Jon Anderson (Army) dec. (6) Craig Dziewiatkowski (Navy), 8-6 174 -- (4) Matt Stolpinski (Navy) dec. (6) Chad Marzec (Army), 6-4 197 -- (4) Chris Pogue (Navy) pinned (6) Orrin Kleinhenz (Columbia), 2:46 CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS: HWT -- (2) Bode Ogunwole (Harvard) dec. (1) Tanner Garrett 3-2 (2tb) THIRD-PLACE MATCHES: 133 -- (4) Joe Baker dec. (2) Mike Mormile (Cornell), 8-5 174 -- (3) Matt Palmer (Columbia) dec. (4) Matt Stolpinski (Navy), 11-4 197 -- (5) Charles Martin (Army) dec. (4) Chris Pogue (Navy), 6-4 FIFTH-PLACE MATCHES: 141 -- (3) Steve Adamcsik (Rutgers) tech. fall (7) Spencer Manley (Navy), 16-0 (2:41) 149 -- (4) John Cox (Navy) dec. (5) Ricky Turk (Columbia), 4-1 165 -- (6) Craig Dziewiatkowski (Navy) major dec. (3) Shawn Kitchner (Brown), 13-3 FINAL RESULTS: 125 -- (8) Alex Usztics: 1-2 (DNP); Season Record: 16-13 133 -- (4) Joe Baker: 4-1 (3rd; Advanced to NCAA Championships); Season Record: 11-2 141 -- (7) Spencer Manley: 3-3 (6th); Season Record: 17-15 149 -- (4) John Cox: 2-2 (5th); Season Record: 31-10 157 -- (5) John Jarred: 2-2 (DNP); Season Record: 35-10 165 -- (6) Craig Dziewiatkowski: 3-2 (5th); Season Record: 19-11 174 -- (4) Matt Stolpinski: 3-2 (4th); Season Record: 29-9 184 -- (7) Jonny Kane: 1-2 (DNP); Season Record: 20-9 197 -- (4) Chris Pogue: 3-2 (4th); Season Record: 28-10 HW -- (1) Tanner Garrett: 2-1 (2nd); Season Record: 41-3

Bloomington, Ind. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the guidance of head coach Troy Sunderland, bounced back in rousing fashion from a tough late session Saturday by crowning an individual champion, getting three more wrestlers (for a total of eight) a ticket to nationals and climbing past Iowa in the team race to finish fourth. Minnesota won the team title with 136.0 points, followed closely by Illinois with 125.0. Michigan was third with 115.0 followed by the Nittany Lions with 91.0. Northwestern was fifth with 87.5 and Iowa was sixth with 86.0. The final session began with the consolation semifinals. While all the grapplers in the round had earned a spot at nationals, up for grabs was the chance to wrestle for third place and important team points. The first of four Nittany Lions in the conso semis was freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) at 133. Strayer, the No. 5 seed, was to meet No. 2 seed Chris Fleeger of Purdue. But Fleeger was suffering from an injured toe and gave up a medical forfeit to Strayer, advancing the Nittany Lion freshman to the third place bout. At 174, junior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) faced off against No. 3 seed R.J. Boudro of Michigan State. Yonushonis, the No. 4 seed, was taken down in the first period by Boudro and could never quite recover. Boudro did not allow Yonushonis to escape and led 2-0 after one period. Yonushonis chose down to begin the second and escaped to cut the lead to 2-1, but neither wrestler could score again in the middle period. Boudro would add another take down in the third and get off the mat with a hard earned 6-2 win. Yonushonis moved to the bout for fifth place with the loss. Senior DeWitt Driscoll downed Illinois' Cassio Pero in the seventh place bout at 141 by a 10-4 score to earn an automatic trip to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City. Senior All-American Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.), coming off an upset loss in the semifinals at 184, met No. 6 seed Mike Tamillow of Northwestern. Bradley, the No. 1 seed entering the tournament, wrestled Tamillow to a 0-0 tie after one period. The senior co-captain chose down to begin the second and escaped to a 1-0 lead. With just four seconds left in the second, Bradley got a key takedown to carry a 3-0 lead into the third period. Tamillow chose down to begin the third period and escaped, but he could not break through Bradley's defense and the Nittany Lion All-American went on to post the 3-1 win. The victory earned Bradley a shot at third place alter in the session. Senior heavyweight Joel Edwards (Upper Darby, Pa.), the No. 4 seed, met No. 3 seed Dustin Fox of Northwestern in the final conso semi for Penn State. The duo wrestled to a 0-0 tie through the first three minutes. Edwards chose down to begin the middle stanza and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. But midway through the period, the Nittany Lion got called for fleeing the mat, tying the score at 1-1. The second period ended knotted at that score and Fox chose down to begin the third. The Wildcat escaped to a 2-1 lead, forcing Edwards to go for the winning take down to earn a shot at third place. Taking a solid shot with :20 left, Edwards was countered by Fox, who got a take down of his own and grabbed a tough 4-2 win. The loss sent Edwards into a fifth place bout against Ohio State's Kirk Nail. With the consolation semifinals complete, the bouts for places three through eight began on Assembly Hall's three mat set up for the final session. While the conso finals and fifth place bouts had important team points and placing riding on them, the bouts for seventh place had the added drama of a spot at nationals tacked on. The Big Ten qualifies 72 wrestlers for the NCAA Championship, the top seven at each weight class and two wildcards. Seventh place was a guarantee, eighth place was not. Before the third and fifth place matches were wrestled, three Nittany Lion upperclassmen got their chances to qualify for the national championships and leave nothing to be decided in a wildcard meeting. Senior DeWitt Driscoll (Connellsville, Pa.) was the tournament's No. 4 seed but was coming off two upset losses that had dropped him into a battle for his NCAA life in the seventh place bout at 141. Driscoll met No. 6 seed Cassio Pero of Illinois, the same Cassio Pero that knocked him out of contention last year. Driscoll came out on fire, nailing Pero with a four-point move (take down and a two-point near fall) to lead 4-1 a minute in (after the Pero escape). Driscoll added yet another take down to post a solid 6-1 lead heading into the second. Perio chose neutral to begin the second and quickly took Driscoll down, but the Lion senior escaped to carry a 7-3 lead into the final period. Driscoll added another take down and rolled to an impressive 10-4 win, punching his ticket to nationals with a seventh place finish. Driscoll finished the tournament with a 2-2 record and heads to nationals with a 16-9 mark. Senior James Woodall (Dupont, Pa.), the No. 7 seed, was also in a battle for a spot in the NCAA Championships, facing No. 8 seed Darren McKnight of Michigan State for seventh place at 149. Woodall got the first take down of the bout and took an 2-1 lead into the second after a McKnight escape. The second period began with Woodall choosing down and quickly escaping to a 3-1 lead. Each wrestler had his chances to score in the middle stanza, but neither could finish and the bout entered the final two minutes with Woodall holding a 3-1 lead. McKnight chose down to begin the third and escaped, but not until Woodall had worked up over a minute's worth of riding time. With no one notching another take down, the riding time point cushioned Woodall's final victory score, giving the Lion senior a 4-2 win and a trip to nationals. The seventh place finisher went 3-2 over the weekend and heads to Oklahoma City with a 10-7 mark. Senior Nathan Galloway bested Ohio State's Steve Sommer 5-1 in the seventh place bout at 157 to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships, giving Penn State eight national qualifiers in the process. Junior Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.), the No. 8 seed at 157, looked to earn a trip to Oklahoma City by placing higher than his seed in the seventh place bout against No. 7 seed Steve Sommer of Ohio State. Sommer, who downed Galloway earlier this year in a dual, and the Nittany Lion junior battled to a 0-0 tie after the first period. Galloway chose down to begin the second period but was muscled from up top by Sommer, who rode him for most of the period. But with just under :30 left, Galloway worked out of his bottom position to score a crucial reverse and, just as importantly, maintained his hold on Sommer until the period's end. With Galloway up 2-0 entering the final period, Sommer chose down. Not to be denied a return to the national championships, Galloway promptly turned Sommer to get two back points and ice the win. Galloway closed Sommer out with a 5-1 victory, earning the seventh place spot at 157 and a spot on the plane to Oklahoma City. Galloway went 2-2 in the tournament and heads to nationals with a 13-14 record. With three more Lions qualified for nationals, bringing the team total to eight, it was time for the placing bouts with important team points on the line. Penn State entered the final rounds in fourth place with 79.5 points, just ahead of Northwestern (79.0) and just behind third place Iowa (84.0). With the immediate goal of trying to catch the Hawkeyes, Penn State began its final five bouts of the Big Ten tourney. Strayer was up first in the placing bouts, meeting Michigan's Mark Moos in the battle for third place at 133. Moos, who downed Strayer 7-5 in sudden victory in the quarters, was the No. 4 seed while Strayer was seeded No. 5. Moos got the scoring going with two early take downs in the first period. But each time, Strayer quickly escaped and, with seconds remaining in the opening stanza, the Nittany Lion freshman took Moos down and held him for the final moments to send the bout to the second tied 4-4. Strayer chose down to begin the second period and, after a bit of work, reversed Moos to go up 6-4. Moos would escape before the period ended to cut the Strayer lead to 6-5 entering the final three minutes. Moos chose down and did escape to tie the score at 6-6, but not before Strayer had worked up over a minute's worth of riding time. Strayer added another take down late in the bout and went on to post an impressive 9-6 win. The victory gave Strayer third place in his first Big Ten Tournament. He went 4-1 on the weekend and heads to NCAAs with a 23-4 overall record. At 174, Yonushonis picked up fifth place and team bonus points by getting a medical forfeit win over Illinois' Donny Reynolds. Yonushonis, the No. 4 seed, went 2-2 during the tournament and heads to nationals with a 20-6 record. His win also inched Penn State closer to Iowa in the battle for fourth place in the team race. Bradley got his shot at third place against No. 2 seed Ben Wissel of Purdue. Wissel go the first take down of the bout :20 in and proceeded to ride Bradley out for the last 2:40 of the first period. The Boilermaker chose down to begin the second and was cut by Bradley to a 3-0 lead. Bradley then went on a take down flurry, getting two before the period's end, tying the bout at 4-4. Bradley chose down to begin the third and escaped in due time, but after the escape, Wissel quickly got in on a single leg to score the bout's critical take down. While getting hit for a stall, Wissel still held on for a hard-fought 7-6 win. The loss gave Bradley the fourth place spot. The senior went 2-2 and heads to nationals with an 11-3 record. The finals and bouts for third through sixth were wrestled concurrently on the three-mat set-up in Assembly Hall. Given that, it was late in the afternoon when Nittany Lion sophomore Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) took to the center mat and got his shot at 197 crown against top-seeded Tyrone Byrd of Illinois. Davis, the No. 2 seed, and Byrd battled through an even first period, with neither wrestler scoring. Byrd chose neutral to begin the second period. Davis was the aggressor in the period, but none of his offensive efforts was rewarded with any points and the title bout entered the final two minutes still scoreless. Davis chose down to begin the final period. Byrd rode him for over a minute before Davis reversed the Illini and got to back points to go up 4-0. He would maintain his top position to close out the bout and grabbed the 2006 Big Ten Championship with a 4-0 decision. The sophomore All-American went 4-0 over two days and heads to nationals with a 21-3 record. Senior James Woodall defeated Michigan State's Darren McKnight 4-2 in the seventh place bout at 149 to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships in two weeks. Edwards, wrestling in the final bout for Penn State in the tournament, got a medical forfeit at heavyweight, good enough for three team points, which cemented fourth place in the team race. Edwards, the No. 4 seed, earned fifth place with a 3-2 record. He heads to Oklahoma City with a 17-6 overall mark. "Last year, I came here and while I didn't doubt myself, I wasn't as confident in what I could get done," Davis said after claiming the title and referring to his 4th place finish as a freshman. "This year, I knew coming in that no matter who I faced, I would give them a tough effort. I put myself in a position to win the title and took advantage of the opportunity." Penn State went 9-3 in the final session and 22-17 overall in the tournament, highlighted by Davis' 4-0 mark. The rest of the Lion records were as follows: Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) 0-2 at 125; Strayer 4-1 and 3rd at 133; Driscoll 2-2 and 7th place at 141; Woodall 3-2 and 7th place at 149; Galloway 2-2 and 7th place at 157; David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) 0-2 at 165; Yonushonis 2-2 and 5th at 174; Bradley 2-2 and 4th at 184; and Edwards 3-2 and 5th at HWT. "I'm very pleased that we crowned a Big Ten Champion and have eight guys going to nationals," Sunderland said. "The guys we had wrestling for seventh place set the tone for us today and did a great job. They wanted to earn their spots in the national championships instead of leaning on a wildcard. I'm proud of the way we came back as a team today after a tough round last night." Sunderland will now take his eight Nittany Lions to Oklahoma City and the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Action at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City commences on Thursday, March 16, and runs through Saturday, March 18. The entire 2006 Big Ten Wrestling Championships will be recapped in a two hour show, which will include the finals, by national cable network CSTV. The tournament show will run numerous times next week, please check your local listings for broadcast times or go to www.GoPSUsports.com for a listing of airtimes. The following is a breakdown of the complete championship finals (tournament seed in parenthesis): 125: (2) Nick Simmons MSU dec. (4) Kyle Ott ILL, 7-0 133: (3) Todd Clum WISC dec. (1) Mack Reiter MINN, 6-4 SV3 141: (2) Andy Simmons MSU dec. (5) Ryan Lang NU, 8-2 149: (1) Dustin Schlatter MINN maj. dec. Troy Tirapelle ILL, 13-0 157: (3) C.P. Schlatter MINN dec. (1) Alex Tirapelle ILL, 5-2 165: (1) Ryan Churella MICH dec. (3) Matt Nagel MINN, 7-0 174: (1) Jake Herbert NU WBF (2) Mark Perry IOWA, 4:02 184: (3) Roger Kish MINN dec. (4) Pete Friedl ILL, 3-1 197: (2) Phil Davis PSU dec. (1) Tyrone Byrd ILL, 4-0 HWT: (1) Cole Konrad MINN dec. (2) Greg Wagner MICH, 6-1 SV The following is the final team standings for the 2006 Big Ten Wrestling Championships: 1: Minnesota 136.0 2: Illinois 125.0 3: Michigan 115.0 4: PENN STATE 91.0 5: Northwestern 87.5 6: Iowa 86.0 7: Wisconsin 76.5 8: Michigan State 68.0 9: Purdue 45.5 10: Indiana 43.5 11: Ohio State 40.0

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Four minutes and two seconds into his championship bout with Iowa's Mark Perry, sophomore All-American Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) scrambled to roll Perry on his back and notch the pin to become Big Ten champion at 174 lbs. Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) finished second while Matt Delguyd (Mayfield, Ohio/Mayfield) and Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) each earned third-place finishes, helping Northwestern's 13th-ranked wrestling team to a fifth-place finish at the 2006 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. In the 174-pound title match, Perry took an early 2-0 lead with a takedown, but Herbert tied it at 2-2 with a first-period reversal. The two battled back and forth through the first half of the second period, but Herbert came out on top after a flurry and cradled Perry until he was awarded the pin. In the 141-pound championship bout, the No. 5 seeded Lang took an early lead versus Michigan State's second-ranked Andy Simmons, but fell 8-2 to claim second place. Lang controlled the match early and took a 2-0 lead after a first-period takedown, but Simmons responded with an escape and used a three-point nearfall in the second period to take the win. The second-place finish is a career-high for Lang, who returns to action at the NCAA Championships. In the consolation championship match at 197 lbs., Delguyd earned a takedown in the first sudden victory session versus Michigan's Willie Breyer to take a third-place finish. After a scoreless first period, the two traded escapes in the second and third periods to enter overtime tied at 1-1. Midway through sudden victory, Delguyd got in on Breyer and through him to the mat for the 3-1 win. Delguyd advanced to the third-place match with a win over Iowa's sixth-seeded Dan Erekson in his first consolation match. After entering the second period with a slim 2-1 lead, Delguyd tallied and escape and a takedown and went into the final period with a 5-2 advantage. There, Delguyd rode Erekson for a majority of the period and he took the 8-3 victory with 2:04 of riding time. At 285 lbs., third-seeded Fox notched a 5-2 win over Illinois' Matt Weight to claim third place. Fox went up 2-0 with a first-period takedown, but Weight came back with two-straight escapes to tie the score. Fox used a takedown and an escape in the final period, however, to claim the win. Fox advanced to the third-place match with a 4-2 win over Penn State's fourth-seeded Joel Edwards. Their similar rankings proved to be accurate as the two went back and forth and were tied a 1-1 entering the final period. There, Fox tallied an escape to take a 2-1 lead, then caught Edwards on a shot attempt, circled him and notched the takedown with 15 seconds remaining. Edwards recorded one more escape, but Fox walked off with the 4-2 win. In his first consolation match of the day, third-seeded John Velez (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) notched a win over Iowa's fifth-seeded Lucas Magnani to advance to the third-place match. Velez got up early on Magnani, going up 4-1 in the first period while accumulating 1:56 in riding time. Velez kept up his dominating performance and walked off with the 8-3 win. In the third place match, Velez faced Indiana's defending national champion Joe Dubuque. The pair wrestled to a scoreless first period, but Dubuque earned an escape midway through the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Velez evened the score at 1-1 with an escape of his own in the third, but Dubuque had just over one minute of riding time and took the 2-1 win, giving Velez a fourth-place finish at 125 lbs. In his first wrestleback match of session three, sixth-seeded Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) dropped a tight bout to Penn State's top-seeded Eric Bradley. Bradley went up 3-0 in the second round with an escape and a takedown. Tamillow recorded an escape in the third to cut it to 3-1, but Bradley took the match. Tamillow then faced Michigan's eighth-seeded Tyrel Todd in the fifth-place match. Todd recorded an early takedown to take a 2-0 lead, but Tamillow battled back and notched an escape to cut it to 2-1. Todd recorded another escape in the second, but Tamillow opened the third period with one of his own. With Todd leading 3-2, Tamillow took a number of late shots, but was edged by Todd 3-2, giving him a sixth-place finish at 184 lbs. Will Durkee (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) used a first-period takedown and a third-period escape to take a 3-0 win over Wisconsin's sixth-seeded Jake Donar and claim seventh place at 165 lbs. Durkee has qualified for the NCAA Championships with the win, as all wrestlers who place seventh and above automatically qualify. Northwestern finished fifth overall in the team race with 87.5 points. The University of Minnesota won the team title with 138 overall points. Northwestern sends seven wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, hosted by the University of Oklahoma, March 16-18.

The top-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team won its fifth Big Ten title in the last eight years thanks in part to four individual champions today in Bloomington, Ind. Minnesota finished with 138 points, followed by Illinois with 125 points. Dustin Schlatter, C.P. Schlatter, Roger Kish and Cole Konrad claimed Big Ten titles, while Mack Reiter and Matt Nagel earned runner-up finishes. "We told our guys what they needed to do to win today and they took care of business," head coach J Robinson. "This is just one more step along the journey we started in the fall. Our guys are excited to head to nationals in two weeks and they'll go there with a lot of confidence. We challenged our team before this tournament and they came through today." Robinson was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career. He last earned the honor in 2002. Konrad became the sixth Golden Gopher to be named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year after he rolled through the conference with an unblemished record. Dustin Schlatter became the school's fourth Big Ten Freshman of the Year as he improved to 37-1 on the season with his title today. Behind Minnesota and Illinois, Michigan placed third with 115 points, followed by Penn State in fourth, Northwestern in fifth, Iowa in sixth, Wisconsin in seventh, Michigan State in eighth, Purdue in ninth, Indiana in 10th and Ohio State in 11th. Minnesota entered the day with a 3.5-point lead over Illinois, but trailed early on in the final session. The Golden Gophers turned the tide with a perfect 4-0 record against Illinois in head-to-head matchups, including three wins in championship matches. In all, Illinois lost all five of its championship matches, while Minnesota finished 4-2. The Schlatter brothers claimed their first Big Ten titles in back-to-back wins over the Tirapelle brothers at 149 and 157 pounds. Dustin Schlatter claimed the 149-pound title with a dominating 13-0 major decision against fellow freshman Troy Tirapelle of Illinois. Schlatter scored the first takedown just 33 seconds into the match and then tacked on four near falls in the first period alone. Schlatter racked up more than two minutes of riding time. C.P. Schlatter followed with a 5-2 upset of two-time Big Ten Champion Alex Tirapelle of Illinois at 157 pounds. Leading 2-0 in the second, Schlatter took a 4-0 lead with a near fall early in the period. He rode Tirapelle the entire two minutes. In the third, Tirapelle was unable to generate any offense as Schlatter took home the title. Kish rounded out the Minnesota-Illinois matchups with a 3-1 decision over defending Big Ten Champion Pete Friedl at 184 pounds. Kish took a 2-0 lead two minutes into the first period and then rode Friedl most of the second. Kish increased the lead to 3-1 with an escape in the third period and then held Friedl off to claim the conference title. Konrad needed overtime to claim this second straight heavyweight championship. Tied at one, Konrad scored a takedown and a three-point near fall against second-seeded Greg Wagner of Michigan just as time expired in the first overtime. Reiter finished second at 133 pounds following an epic match against third-seeded Tom Clum of Wisconsin. Clum earned his third career win against Reiter with a 6-4 decision in three overtimes. The pair remained tied through two overtime periods and two tiebreakers before Clum claimed the win with a takedown midway through the third overtime. Michigan's Ryan Churella won his third Big Ten Championship with a 7-0 decision over Nagel at 165 pounds. Churella earned his fifth career win against Nagel. Churella took a 2-0 lead with a takedown with 12 seconds to go in the first period. In the third-place match at 174 pounds, Gabriel Dretsch gave up a takedown in the final 10 seconds in a 3-1 loss to third-seeded R.J. Boudro of Michigan State. Dretsch advanced to the third-place match with a thrilling 6-4 overtime decision against sixth-seeded Donny Reynolds of Illinois. With the match tied at four, Dretsch scored the winning takedown with two seconds left in the first overtime. Sophomore Manuel Rivera finished in fifth place following his 6-3 decision against eighth- seeded Ed Gutnik of Wisconsin at 141 pounds. Rivera took control of a tied match with a two-point near fall to start the third period. Rivera was defeated by top-seeded Josh Churella of Michigan, 6-1, in the consolation semifinals. The Golden Gophers' four individual champions are the most since the team won five titles en route to the 2002 Big Ten Championship. Minnesota now has 23 individual titles in the last eight years. The Golden Gophers claimed their ninth Big Ten title overall, good for fifth all-time. Minnesota will send eight wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., in two weeks. The tournament at the Ford Center will run from March 16-18. 2006 Big Ten Championships March 5, 2006 Bloomington, Ind. Final Team Standings 1. Minnesota, 138.0 2. Illinois, 125.0 3. Michigan, 115.0 4. Penn State, 91.0 5. Northwestern, 87.5 6. Iowa, 86.0 7. Wisconsin, 76.5 8. Michigan State, 68.0 9. Purdue, 45.5 10. Indiana, 43.5 11. Ohio State, 40.0 Golden Gopher Placewinners 1st -- Dustin Schlatter (149) 1st -- C.P. Schlatter (157) 1st -- Roger Kish (184) 1st -- Cole Konrad (HWT) 2nd -- Mack Reiter (133) 2nd -- Matt Nagel (165) 4th -- Gabriel Dretsch (174) 5th -- Manuel Rivera (141)

MADISON, Wis. -- Senior captain Tom Clum (Arvada, Colo.) is the 2006 Big Ten Champion at 133 lbs. after outlasting Minnesota's Mack Reiter in arguably the most exciting match of the championships. It is Clum's second Big Ten crown, first at 133 lbs. As a team the No. 19 Wisconsin wrestling squad finished the championships in seventh place, with 76.5 team points. Five other Badgers qualified for the NCAAs and three finished in the top-five. The Clum-Reiter match was eagerly anticipated as the pair had not met since the third place bout of the 2005 NCAA Championships, where Clum came out on top, 2-1. The first period was tight with Clum scoring a takedown early and Reiter answering an escape and a takedown to lead 3-2. Early in the second period Reiter notched another escape but Clum responded with another takedown as time was running out to even the score at 4-4. The third period was aggressive but ended in a stalemate sending the match into sudden death overtime. As to be expected, the grapplers battled even through the first and second overtimes with neither wrestler able to score. However, with 13 seconds left in the third overtime, Clum gained advantage scored a takedown to defeat Reiter, the defending Big Ten champ. Clum heads his fourth NCAA's with a 14-2 overall record. At 149 lbs. Tyler Turner (Spring Valley, Wis.) earned a spot in the consolation final after an injury default from Ohio State's J Jagers. Turner then faced familiar foe Ty Eustice of Iowa in the bout for third place. Eustice, the No. 2 seed, jumped out to a three point lead in the first period after notching an escape and a takedown. Turner earned an escape of his own in the second to tighten the score and another in the third to trail by one. However, the Hawkeye would hang on and claim third with a 3-2 win. At 125 lbs. junior Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) had his hands full with top-ranked Joe Dubuque of Indiana in the consolation semifinals. Cudd was looking to avenge his 10-4 loss to Dubuque in the opening round of the tournament. Unfortunately, the No. 1 seed proved to be too much for Cudd, earning a 12-1 major decision victory. Cudd then battled fifth seed Lucas Magnani of Iowa for fifth place in the championships. The pair met earlier this season in dual action where Magnani edged out Cudd, 6-4. However, this match up would be different as Cudd dominated the first period and eventually pinned Magnani at 2:59 to claim fifth place. Sophomore Craig Henning's (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) hope of repeating his third place performance from last season are gone after falling to Brandon Becker of Indiana in the consolation semifinals. Henning fell behind 4-2 after Becker earned a takedown and a two-point near fall in the first period and was unable to catch up, losing 5-3. Henning would go on to claim fifth place by default. Heading into the NCAAs Henning is 25-7 overall. Senior Ed Gutnik (Iselin, N.J.) faced third seed Alex Tsirtsis of Iowa in the consolation semifinal at 141 lbs. Tsirtsis jumped out to an early lead and kept rolling defeating Gutnik, 11-4. In the battle for fifth place Gutnik then faced Manuel Rivera of Minnesota, seeded seventh. Gutnik defeated Rivera earlier this season, 2-0, but was unable to win a second time, falling 6-3. Qualifying for his first ever NCAA championships was redshirt freshman Dallas Herbst at 197 lbs. The Winneconne, Wis. native dominated Jeff Clemens of Michigan State, pinning the Spartan just 40 seconds into the match. Herbst concluded his first championships 3-2 and heads to the NCAAs with an 18-10 record. Follow the Badger wrestling team as it heads to the 2006 NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. March 16-18. Last season the Badgers finished tied for 15th with 38.5 points. For the latest updates and scores check uwbadgers.com

BLOOMINGTON, IN -- The University of Iowa wrestling team finished in sixth place with 86 points Sunday at the 2006 Big Ten Championships. Iowa qualified eight wrestlers for the NCAA Championships to be held in Oklahoma City, March 16-18. Minnesota won the team title with 138 points. Mark Perry was the runner-up at 174 pounds after being pinned by top-ranked Jake Herbert in 4:02 of the championship bout. Seniors Ty Eustice (3rd - 149 lbs.), Joe Johnston (6th - 157 lbs.) and Paul Bradley (7th - 184 lbs.); juniors Lucas Magnani (6th - 125 lbs.) and Eric Luedke (4th - 165 lbs.); sophomore Alex Tsirtsis (3rd - 141 lbs.) and freshman Dan Erekson (6th - 197 lbs.) also qualified for nationals. Tsirtsis took third place with a pair of wins Sunday, topping Wisconsin's eighth-seeded Ed Gutnik 11-4, then defeating top-seeded Josh Churella of Michigan 3-2. Against Churella, Tsirtsis took a 2-1 lead with a second-period takedown, but was penalized a point for locked hands as the period came to a close. With the scored tied 2-2 and Churella closing in on a minute of riding time, Tsirtsis escaped with just 34 seconds left in the match to take a 3-2 lead. He fended Churella off the rest of the way to take the win. Click Here! Eustice defeated third-seeded Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan, 3-2 in sudden victory to reach the third-place match. The senior then earned his third-career third-place finish with a 3-2 win over No. 6 Tyler Turner. Johnston dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 6 Steve Luke of Michigan, then was forced to forfeit his fifth-place match due to an injury. Luedke reached the third-place match with a thrilling last second victory over Purdue's Dan Bedoy in the consolations. With the scored tied 2-2, Luedke nailed a takedown in the final second of overtime. The match officials were forced to go to instant replay before determining Luedke the winner. In the third place match, Luedke fell to No. 2 Mike Poeta of Illinois, 6-2. Magnani was defeated by Northwestern's third-seeded John Velez in the consolations, then was pinned by Wisconsin's Colin Cudd in the fifth place match. Bradley took seventh place at 184 pounds with a 5-4 decision win over Michigan State's Joe Williams. Bradley scored on a pair of first-period takedowns, then added an escape in the second frame for the win. Erekson fell to No. 3 Matt Delguyd of Northwestern 8-3, then lost to No. 5 Nathan Moore in the fifth-place match 9-6. FINAL TEAM STANDINGS 1. Minnesota - 138 2. Illinois - 125 3. Michigan - 115 4. Penn State - 91 5. Northwestern - 87.5 6. IOWA - 86 7. Wisconsin - 76.5 8. Michigan State - 68 9. Purdue - 45.5 10. Indiana - 43.5 11. Ohio State - 40

Dana wrestlers win NAIA national championship Dana College has the best wrestling team in the nation. The Vikings won the 2006 NAIA National Wrestling Tournament Saturday in Sioux City, Iowa. All twelve Dana wrestlers placed in the tournament, giving Dana 12 All-Americans and an NAIA tournament record 193 team points (previous record 180 points Lindenwood 2002). Lindenwood was the runner-up with 164 points. The national championship is the first ever NAIA team championship for any Dana College team. Two Vikings also claimed individual titles. Jimmy Rollins (133 Woodbury, N.J.) won the national title over Kyle Jahn of McKendree College by injury default. Willie Parks (SR Garden Grove, Calif.) defeated Rick Story of Southern Oregon 16-8 for the national championship at 184 pounds. They are the first ever Dana College individual wrestling national champions. Parks was honored with the NWCA-NAIA Outstanding Wrestler-of-the-Year award. Dana coach Steve Costanzo who recruited the No. 1 non-Division I recruiting class in the nation this year, then coached the team to the NWCA National Duals championship, a school record 17 dual wins, and the NAIA National Championship was named 2006 NAIA Wrestling Coach of the Year. Anthony Haukenberry (Buckley, Wash.) was the national runner-up at 149 pounds. Brad Cooper of the University of the Cumberlands defeated Haukenberry in the finals 3-2. A strong start in the tournament gave Dana the edge. Dana won all but 2 of their first 15 matches to put ten of twelve wrestlers in the championship bracket. Scott Taylor's (Arapahoe, Neb.) mild upset in the 157-pound quarterfinal jumpstarted the Vikings during Friday night's second session. With that victory, Taylor, a senior and returning national-qualifier, achieved All-American status for the first time. Just like Taylor, Trent Leichleiter (Harvard, Neb.) was a senior and returning national qualifier. Leichleiter's 165-pound quarterfinal match began just as Taylor's match ended. Hyped from Taylor's victory, a sea of red-clothed Dana fans cheered "Trent, Trent, Trent" as Leichleiter pulled out a 1-point escape in overtime to win the match. Leichleiter fell to his knees then jumped up and hugged Coach Steve Costanzo in celebration- he had earned the title ‘All-American' for the first time. By the end of day one, seven Vikings remained undefeated, none were eliminated. Saturday morning the Vikings scored 6 more falls in the semifinals. Burke Barnes (Lake Stevens, Wash.) scored two of the falls on his way to third place at 125 pounds. Terrence Almond also scored two falls. Almond wrestled Gordo Villaescusa of Embry Riddle in the third place match. Villaescusa pulled out an 11-10 victory in the final seconds giving Dana's Almond fourth place. The other two pins were recorded by Parks, who advanced to the finals, and Leichleiter at 165 pounds. Leichlieter pinned Southern Oregan's James Mannenbach in 3:59 and finished 4th in the tournament. Dana's other placers were: Craig Trampe (125 Ord, Neb.) 7th, Jason Lozier (141 Omaha, Neb.) 6th, Taylor 4th, Ben Henderson (Federal Way, Wash.) 5th, Marshall Marquardt (174 Altoona, Iowa) 7th and Blair Alderman (197 Spokane, Wash.) 4th. Dana emerged from Saturday's morning session with enough points to clinch the national championship. No team would be able to catch the Vikings no matter what happened in the finals. With or without the National Championship the Dana wrestlers are successful. The title, however, could not have gone to a more deserving group of young men. 125 -- Burke Barnes(Lake Stevens, Wash) 3rd 125 -- Craig Trampe (Ord, Neb.) 7th 133 -- Jimmy Rollins (Woodbury, N.J.) 1st 141 -- Terrence Almond (Pelham, Ga.) 4th 141 -- Jason Lozier (Omaha, Neb.) 6th 149 -- Anthony Haukenberry (Buckley, Wash) 2nd 157 -- Scott Taylor (Arapahoe, Neb.) 4th 157 -- Ben Henderson (Federal Way, Wash)5th 165 -- Trent Leichleiter (Harvard, Neb.)4th 174 -- Marshall Marquardt (Altoona, Iowa)7th 184 -- Willie Parks (Garden Grove, Calif.) 1st 197 -- Blair Alderman (Spokane, Wash) 4th NAIA Championships Coverage

LEXINGTON, Va. -- After finishing second in their respective weight classes at Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships, North Carolina juniors David Dashiell and Spencer Nadolsky and redshirt freshman Vincent Ramirez received at-large berths to the 2006 NCAA Division I Championships scheduled for March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Tar Heels, who have three ACC champions, will now send six wrestlers to nationals. Senior Garrett Atkinson, sophomore Alex Maciag and redshirt freshman Jared Royer each captured individual titles and earned the league's automatic spots at the NCAA tourney. Atkinson, a two-time champ at 165, and Dashiell, who has won two league titles at 197, both wrestled at nationals a year ago. The other four Tar Heels will be making their first appearances. Ramirez is 37-7 on the season and had a 17-match winning streak snapped in the ACC's 141-pound final. Nadolsky is 39-5 at heavyweight and Dashiell has a career-best 32-11 mark at 197 pounds. All 10 ACC champions advanced to the national tournament, and the league received four at-large berths.

University of the Cumberlands (formerly Cumberland College) men's wrestling team traveled to Sioux City, Iowa this past weekend for the 2006 NAIA National Championships. The Patriots brought home six All-Americans, two of them finishing second and one of them capturing first place as a national champion. Holding a 25-1 record going into the national tournament this weekend Junior Delrico Choates ended the national tournament on top winning 6-2 at the 125Ibs weight class labeling him this year's 2006 national champion. Choates' made it to the finals with a T-fall, a major, and two pins. At the 141Ibs weight class junior Brad Cooper fell short of the title losing in the finals 2-3. Brad Cooper wrestled by pinning and teched his way to the finals. At the 149Ibs weight class Sophomore Dustin Center ended the tournament in eighth place making him an All-American. Center made his first appearance at the national tournament and wrestled back after losing in the quarterfinals but fell short twice in the placing rounds. Senior and team Captain Todd Allen finished his college career with an eighth place finish falling from a third place finish from last year at the 174Ibs weight class. Allen lost in the semi –finals and went on to the consolation semi-finals but could not continue due to an injury default. Returning finalist Eric Flinchum received a repeating upset in the finals, coming up short losing 1-7. Heavy weight Matt Bishop ended the tournament with a third place finish giving him the All-American title. Bishop lost in the semi-finals to the national champion and wrestled back to claim the third place spot. Coach Andy Medders could not be happier with the way the men preformed. "I am proud of these guys. Every one of them that won and those that came short of their goals, they all wrestled hard and laid it on the line," said Medders. "Choates knew it was his time and he believed and he performed. I have been waiting to see this since he was a freshmen and I am happy and proud to be his coach." The Patriots finished third with a team score of 101. The NAIA National Tournament concludes the men's wrestling season. With a third place overall finish in the nation, look for the Patriots to climb their way to the top in 2007.

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- Seven of the eight Hofstra wrestlers who have earned berths in the 2006 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City from March 16-18 will go as Colonial Athletic Association champions after the Pride captured its fifth consecutive CAA Championship at Drexel University's Daskalakis Athletic Center Saturday night. With seven individual champions, one second-place finisher and a fourth-place finish from its nine competitors in this year's conference tournament, the Pride posted its second most points in a conference championship in school history on the way to a sixth consecutive conference title. Hofstra captured the East Coast Wrestling Association Championship in 2001 before the league merged with the CAA. The Pride also equaled the school record, set last year, with seven individual champions. Two-time All-American, senior Jon Masa (Long Beach, NY) became just the second wrestler in Hofstra history to capture four conference titles Saturday night with a pin of Drexel's Chris Renninger at the 2:42 mark of the 149 pound championship match. Masa, now 30-5 on the year, joins Jason DeBruin (1999-2002) as the only four-time league titlists. Four Hofstra wrestlers earned their second conference titles Saturday night. Senior Mike Patrovich (Bohemia, NY) won for the second straight year, this time in the 174-pound final defeating Doug Umbehauer from Rider 7-3. Patrovich, 31-3 on the year, will be making his third NCAA Championship appearance. Junior James Strouse (Levittown, NY) defended his 2005 CAA title at 157-pounds with a 7-3 title match decision over Ryan Hluschak from Drexel. Like Patrovich, Strouse, 28-10 in 2005-06, will be making his third NCAA Championship appearance. Sophomore Joe Rovelli (Wilkes-Barre, PA) also defended his 2005 CAA title at 184-pounds with a 6-0 decision over Joe Maroney from Rider. Rovelli is 25-11 this season and will be making his second trip to the NCAA Championships. Sophomore Charles Griffin (Reading, PA) also earned his second CAA title at a new weight, defeating Chris Davis from Sacred Heart 7-3 in the 141-pound final. Griffin, the 2005 CAA Rookie of the Year and the 133-pound champion, is 26-6 on the season. Sophomore Dave Tomasette (Sewell, NJ), who has battled an ankle injury the past two months, will be making his second NCAA Championship appearance in two weeks. This time, he will go as the CAA champion after defeating Bryan Lashomb from Old Dominion 8-7 in the 125-pound title match. Tomasette, who was a CAA finalist in 2005, is 13-6 on the year. Senior Chris Vondruska (Bay Village, OH) earned his first trip to the NCAA Championships with a CAA championship at 165-pounds. He defeated Steven Tisdell from George Mason in the title match to improve to a career-best 23-9 this season. Junior Chris Weidman (Baldwin, NY) will make his first NCAA Championship appearance after earning a place in the CAA finals at 197-pounds. Weidman, 15-11 this year, lost in the final by fall in 2:54 to Adam Wright of Old Dominion. Junior heavyweight Jon Andriac (Montague, NJ) placed fourth, dropping his semifinal and consolation final matches to finish at 23-14. Team results: 1. Hofstra 125.00 2. Old Dominion 76.50 3. Drexel 65.00 4. Rider 62.00 5. SHU 45.00 6. JMU 38.00 7. GMU 31.50 8. Boston U 23.50 9. Binghamton 15.00 10. Wagner 5.00 11. Campbell 0.50

LEXINGTON, Va. -- The Duke wrestling team placed sixth at the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on Saturday, finishing with 14.0 team points. North Carolina won its second consecutive title, finishing with 90.5 team points. N.C. State would finish second with 64.0 team points, Virginia was third with 61.0 team points, Maryland placed fourth with 48.0 team points and Virginia Tech finished fifth with 44.5 team points. The Blue Devils had three wrestlers finish in the top five of their respective weight classes. Sophomore Konrad Dudziak finished third at 197 pounds, redshirt freshman Aaron Glover placed fourth at 165 pounds and redshirt freshman Dan Fox was fourth at 184 pounds.

LEXINGTON, Va. -- The wrestling team claimed its 21st Southern Conference Wrestling Championship and second in a row Saturday, outdistancing second-place UNC Greensboro 107.5 to 77. The Mocs claimed six individual league champions, each earning an automatic berth to the upcoming NCAA Championships March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla. Senior John Davis won his third consecutive title at 184 pounds, becoming the ninth wrestler in UTC history to win at least three SoCon titles. Also claiming weight class titles for the Mocs were sophomore Javier Maldonado at 125 pounds, junior Matt Keller at 133, junior Aaron Martin at 149, junior Jake Yost at 157 and senior Israel Silva at 285. Keller was voted Outstanding Wrestler. He will be making his third straight appearance at Nationals, having competed there the last two years for the University of Nebraska. Maldonado, Martin, Yost and Silva are first-time NCAA Qualifiers. Junior Michael Keefe earned a wildcard entry to the NCAAs as determined by the league's coaches following the tournament. Keefe was a SoCon Champion at 141 in 2005 and earned All-America status with a fifth-place finish. He will be making his third trip to Nationals. UTC Head Coach Joe Seay was voted the SoCon Coach of the Year by the conference coaches. UTC, which recorded four major decisions in the championship finals, also received team points with third-place finishes from Michael Keefe at 141, Daniel Peterson at 165 and Justin Otis at 174 and a fourth-place from Lloyd Rogers at 197. Final Team Standings 1. Chattanooga 107.5 2. UNC Greensboro 77.0 3. The Citadel 63.5 4. Appalachian State 49.5 5. VMI 28.5 6. Davidson 17.0 Individual Results 125 #1 Javier Maldonado (UTC) pinned #5 Justin Walp (UNC Greensboro), 2:54; Maldonado maj. dec. #2 Patrick Coman (Davidson), 11-2 (Maldonado first place) 133 #1 Matt Keller (UTC) pinned #5 Brandon Stillo (VMI), 4:51; Keller maj. dec. Terreyl Williams (Appalachian State), 15-3 (Keller first place) 141 #3 Michael Keefe (UTC) maj. dec. David Metzler (VMI), 14-6; #2 Kevin Artis (UNC Greensboro) dec. Keefe, 8-2; Keefe pinned #5 Jim Avola (Davidson), 4:22; Keefe dec. Metzler (VMI), 8-3 (Keefe third place) 149 #3 Aaron Martin (UTC) pinned #6 Nick Orio (The Citadel), 3:57; Martin maj. dec. #2 Sam Alvarenga (VMI), 10-0; Martin pinned #4 Cody Harrington (UNC Greensboro), 7:57 (Martin first place) 157 #1 Jake Yost (UTC) dec. #5 Andrew Krieger (UNC Greensboro), 5-1; Yost maj. dec. #2 Scott Ervin (Appalachian State), 13-3 (Yost first place) 165 #2 Lee Roper (Appalachian State) dec. #3 Dan Peterson (UTC), 6-2; Peterson dec. #5 Chris Hardy (VMI), 14-7; Peterson (UTC) dec. #4 Mark Ring (UNC Greensboro), 7-3 (Peterson third place) 174 #4 Neal Martin (Appalachian State) dec. #5 Justin Otis (UTC), 1-0; Otis maj. dec. #3 Marcus Boyd (Davidson), 15-3; Otis dec. #6 Dustin McCabe (VMI), 5-2 (Otis third place) 184 #1 John Davis (UTC) maj. dec. #4 Kane Smith (UNC Greensboro), 12-4; Davis maj. dec. #2 Corry Murray (VMI), 13-2 (Davis first place) 197 #3 Lloyd Rogers (UTC) pinned #6 Wil Carter (Davidson), 3:40; #2 Mark Thompson (The Citadel) dec. Rogers, 8-3; Rogers pinned #5 Kyle Elgert (Virginia Military), 4:59; #4 Josh Carroll (Appalachian State) dec. Rogers, 4-3 (Rogers fourth place) 285 #3 Israel Silva (UTC) dec. #2 Scott Buhman (VMI), 4-3; Silva dec. #1 Tyler Shovlin (UNC Greensboro), 2-1 (Silva first place)

Ames, Iowa -- Wrestling in front of 2,628 fans in the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, the No. 7 Missouri Tigers took fifth place at the 10th annual Big 12 Championships. Head Coach Brian Smith's team scored 42 points. Taking down his opponent four times into the opening period, junior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) jumped out to an 8-3 advantage after the first three minutes against No. 4 Jacob Klein of Nebraska. Klein escaped to begin the second frame, but Askren scored two more takedowns to take a 12-5 advantage into the final period. Picking up two more points with a takedown, Askren cut Klein midway through the fourth and ended the bout with a double-leg takedown and 3:54 of riding time to push his record to 40-0. The championship is the second of Askren's career; he was a Big 12 Champion in 2004. Sophomore Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) took second place after squaring off against No. 2 Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State for the 133-pound title and was unable to overcome his opponent in a 5-1 loss. Ranked No. 14 in the nation, McCormick defeated No. 18 Jesse Sundell of Iowa State earlier in the day to reach the final round. Squaring off against No. 2 Johny Hendricks for the second time this season, No. 6 junior Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) traded escapes with the Cowboy through regulation, forcing an overtime period. After Pell nearly won the bout with a takedown as the sudden-victory set expired, Hendricks was able to escape for a 2-1 victory. Pell's second-place finish is the third straight time that he has qualified for the NCAA Championships. Redshirt freshman Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) advanced to the title bout at 184 pounds after defeating No. 11 Vince Jones of Nebraska 11-10 in the semifinals. Wrestling a tough match against No. 6 Kurt Backes, Jordan took second place after being defeated 4-2. "I'm really proud of the way several of our guys wrestled today," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "Ben Askren dominated the No. 4 wrestler in the country to win the Big 12 Championship, and Matt Pell wrestled an exceptional bout against a defending national champion. The two freshmen, Raymond Jordan and Michael Chandler also wrestled well for the team today. For the next two weeks our focus is on getting ready for Nationals." The head coaches of the Big 12 still have to choose eight wild cards to make the trip to nationals and the wild cards will be announced following the wild-card meeting. The 2006 NCAA Championships will be held March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla., at the Ford Center.

Ames, Iowa -- The Oklahoma Sooners took second place at the 2006 Big 12 Championship Saturday in Ames, Iowa. Oklahoma won one title at 125 pounds, three second place medals at 141, 149 and 285 pounds and three third place medals at 157, 174 and 197 pounds. The Sooners qualified seven wrestlers for the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., March 16-18 at the Ford Center. "It's been a very strong tournament for us," said head coach Jack Spates. "We lost a lot of close bouts in the first round but we knew if we continued to wrestle hard and wrestle the way we have been that good things could happen and that is exactly what happened." Junior Sam Hazewinkel claimed his second 125 pound Big 12 Championship with his 2-1 decision over reigning Big 12 Champion Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State. Hazewinkel won his first title during his redshirt freshman season in 2004. Scott defeated Hazewinkel in the 125 pound final last season. "Wes Roberts wrestled very well today," continued Spates. "The way Wes has been able to overcome injury during his career and make it to the NCAA Championships as a senior is truly amazing" Senior Teyon Ware and Junior Matt Storniolo both lost in their 141 and 149 pound titles matches respectively. Ware lost to reigning Big 12 Champion Nate Gallick by a decision of 5-3 in the second, :30 second tiebreaker. Storniolo lost by a decision of 12-8 to three-time Big 12 Champion Zach Esposito. "It's nice to have the Big 12 Championship back," said Junior Sam Hazewinkel. "I had a plan in my head to be a four-time champion, but it got lost last year. But it's nice to have it back again." Senior Jake Hager lost to Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State by a decision of 3-1 in the heavyweight final. Mocco defeated Hager by a decision of 3-1. The Sooners picked up three third place medals with Will Rowe, Wes Roberts and Joel Flaggert advancing to the NCAA Championships. Rowe advanced to his first NCAA Championships with his win over Michael Chandler of Missouri. Rowe defeated Chandler by a decision of 8-6 in the 157 pound third place match. Rowe also placed at the Big 12 Championships for the first time in his career. Roberts, a senior, advances to his first NCAA Championships after fighting an injury plagued career that saw him compete in only two Big 12 Championships both of which he did not place. Roberts defeated Brandon Mason of OSU by a decision of 5-4 in the 174 pound third place match. Flaggert advances to his second straight NCAA Championships after claiming his second straight third place finish at the Big 12 Championships by defeating Jeff Foust of Missouri by a decision of 6-1. Flaggert took home All-American honors at last years NCAA Championships. The seven qualifiers for Oklahoma for the NCAA Championships are Sam Hazewinkel, Teyon Ware, Matt Storniolo, Will Rowe, Wes Roberts, Joel Flaggert and Jake Hager. Consolation Matches 133: Jesse Sundell (ISU) dec. 4-0 Joe Comparin (OU) 157: Will Rowe (OU) dec. 6-5 Chris Oliver (NU) 165: Travis Paulson (ISU) dec. 11-4 Jarrod King (OU) 184: Vince Jones (NU) maj. dec. 13-5 Justin Dyer (OU) 197: Joel Flaggert (OU) maj. dec. 10-2 Joe Curran (ISU) Third Place Matches 157: Will Rowe (OU) dec. 8-6 Michael Chandler (MU) 174: Wes Roberts (OU) dec. 5-4 Brandon Mason (OSU) 197: Joel Flaggert (OU) dec. 6-1 Jeff Foust (MU) Championship Matches 125: Sam Hazewinkel (OU) dec. 2-1 Coleman Scott (OSU) 141: Nate Gallick (ISU) dec. 5-3 Teyon Ware (OU) TB2 149: Zach Esposito (OSU) dec. 12-8 Matt Storniolo (OU) Hwt: Steve Mocco (OSU) dec. 3-1 Jake Hager (OU) Final Team Standings 1. Oklahoma State 80.00 2. Oklahoma 52.50 3. Nebraska 52.00 4. Iowa State 47.50 5. Missouri 42.00 Attendance 2,628

EWING, N.J. - No. 1-ranked Wartburg closed a record-setting 2005-06 season Saturday, March 4, at The College of New Jersey's Athletic Recreation Center. The Knights added the program's fifth team national title since 1996 to an already-full closet of accolades that included the 2006 Cliff Keen/National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III National Duals and the 14th consecutive Iowa Conference championship. Wartburg concluded the tourney with a 145.5-106 win over UW-La Crosse for the team top spot. "Any time you can go out and win a national championship, it feels great," head coach Jim Miller said. "I am very proud of how our guys carried themselves on and off the mat at the meet. They deserved this national championship after a year of hard work and dedication." Senior 125-pounder Tyler Hubbard of Blue Springs, Mo., and senior 141-pounder Dustin Hinschberger of Belle Plaine added the program's 22nd and 23rd individual crowns during the finals' round. The Knights were close to three others as senior 174-pounder Scott Kauffman of Emmetsburg, senior 184-pounder Akeem Carter of Waterloo and junior Blake Gillis of Spencer each pushed their opponents to the wire, ending up with national runner-up honors in each case. Sophomore Jacob Naig of Emmetsburg, appearing in his first national final match, also took second. Wartburg opened up an insurmountable lead after a remarkable Saturday morning session where they finished 10-1 in the championship and consolation brackets. Behind the roll, Wartburg increased its team lead to 39-and-a-half points over second-place UW-La Crosse. After decision wins by Hubbard and Hinschberger in the semifinals, Kauffman and Carter put the team-point lead safely in the Orange and Black's hands. Kauffman gained a first-period takedown to upend La Crosse's Josh Chelf 3-2, while Carter turned in a nearfall move in the second period en route to an 8-3 win over the Eagles' Jason Lulloff, reversing an early-season loss to the nation's second-ranked wrestler. Gillis completed the semifinal championship round sweep, defeating Lycoming's Tom Snyder 2-0. NOTES -- Wartburg's nine All-Americans marks the 11th consecutive season that the program has achieved five or more at the national tournament and continues a string since 1988 that the Orange and Black have gained at least one All-American…Wartburg has had at least one individual in a national championship match for four straight seasons and reeled off four straight years of having two or more individual national champs…Complete information on the national tournament, included updated brackets and team standings, is available at NCAA Division III Championships Coverage

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Led by three individual league champions and four runner-up finishers, the University of North Carolina won its second consecutive – and 17th overall – Atlantic Coast Conference wrestling championship Saturday at MatJam 2006 at the Virginia Military Institute's Cameron Hall. The Tar Heels scored 90.5 points to outdistance the field by 26.5 points and win its second league crown under third-year head coach C.D. Mock and third in the last four seasons. Runner-up NC State was second with 64 points, followed by Virginia with 61 points and Maryland with 48. Virginia Tech (44.5 points) and Duke (14) rounded out the standings. Winners of 11 of the 15 ACC championships since 1992, the Tar Heels have 17 all-time titles, which is second to Maryland's 20. Redshirt freshman Jared Royer (133), senior Garrett Atkinson (165) and sophomore Alex Maciag (174) each claimed individual titles and secured spots in the 2006 NCAA Championships March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla. Select other ACC wrestlers will earn at-large entry into the nationals field. Junior Bobby Shaw (125), redshirt freshman Vincent Ramirez (141), junior David Dashiell (197) and junior heavyweight Spencer Nadolsky each posted runner-up finishes and earned all-conference honors. The Tar Heels led all teams with seven grapplers in their respective weight class finals. Wrestling in place of All-America Evan Sola for much of the season, Royer opened with an upset over top-seeded Eric Albright of Virginia to reach the 133-pound final. The Cumberland, Pa., native then picked up a pair of first period takedowns and held on for a 6-3 win over Maryland's Brendan Byrne to claim his first-ever conference title. Royer is now 19-16 this season. The defending champ at 165, Atkinson had a first-round bye and followed with a 6-4 victory over Virginia Tech's Tucker Michels to move on the final against Virginia's Damian Johnson. The Boone, N.C., product notched a second period takedown and tacked on a reversal and over two minutes of riding time to post a 5-1 win for his second career conference crown. Atkinson is now 16-9 this season. Seeded first at 174, Maciag followed a bye with a 7-5 decision over Duke's Levi Craig to move on to the final against UVa's Mike Grogan. Maciag dominated Grogan to the tune of a 16-5 major decision to claim his first-ever conference title. Now 24-13, Maciag jumped out early with a first period takedown and three-point near fall and carried a 13-3 lead into the third period. Ramirez advanced to the final with out allowing a single point, posting major decisions over NC State's Jalil Dozier (12-0) and Virignia's Nick Alparone (8-0). The Durham, N.C., native faced Virginia Tech's David Hoffman in the final where the 17th-ranked Hoffman got retribution for Ramirez's regular season win with a 10-6 victory in the ACC final. The loss snapped a 17-match winning streak for Ramirez, who now sports a 37-7 record. Seeded third at 125, Shaw reached the final with a 4-0 opening round win over Duke's Kellan McKeon and followed with a 4-2 upset of Virginia's Anthony Burke to move on the final against Virginia Tech's Justin Staylor. Staylor posted a 10-3 win over Shaw to claim the ACC title. Shaw is now 21-17 on the season. A two-time champion at 197, Dashiell reached his third final in the last four years thanks to a 7-4 win over Konrad Dudziak of Duke and an 8-6 decision over Virginia's Brent Jones in the semis. In the final against NC State's Ryan Goodman, the 18th-ranked Dashiell fell behind early and a late rally fell short as No. 13-ranked Goodman earned a point for riding time to post a 5-3 victory. Ranked 12th nationally, Nadolsky had a first-round bye and then posted a 3-2 decision over Virginia's Nick Smion to face Virginia Tech's Mike Faust in the final. Both ranked among the top 12 heavyweights in the country, Faust and Nadolsky battled to a stalemate in overtime, with the sixth-ranked Faust taking the title 4-3 on 13 seconds of riding time. Nadolsky is now 39-5 on the season and is tied for fourth on the Tar Heels' single-season win list. Junior Deon Barrett was third at 157, as was sophomore Justin Dobies at 184. Barrett scored a 4-2 win over Virginia's Mike Sewell in the consolation final, and Dobies notched a 5-2 victory over Duke's Dan Fox in the third-place bout. Sophomore Chris Ramos rounded out the scoring for the Tar Heels with a fourth-place finish at 149.

DeKALB, Ill. -- Ohio University placed four wrestlers at the 2006 Mid-American Conference Championships at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center on Saturday. Jake Frerichs led the Bobcats with a runner-up finish at 157 pounds. The redshirt freshman from Uniontown, Ohio, lost 2-1 in overtime to Kent State's Kurt Gross in Saturday's finals after upsetting top seed and nationally ranked Andy Keller of Central Michigan in the semifinals Friday night. Since he was not selected as a wild card qualifier for the NCAA Tournament by the MAC coaches, Frerichs ended his season with a 14-9 record. Three Bobcats - Ryan Knapp at 174 pounds, Brian Cesear at 184 and Nick Terbay at 197 - placed fourth in their respective weight classes. Knapp, a sophomore from McConnelsville, Ohio, lost a 5-3 decision in overtime to Danny Burk of Northern Illinois. Knapp, who ended his season with a 19-20 mark, lost to Burk 8-5 in Friday's opening round as well. An 8-0 major decision to Buffalo's Garrett Hicks ended Cesear's season on Saturday. The team co-captain from Amherst, Ohio, finished his junior campaign with a 23-16 record, pushing his career mark to 43-48. Terbay, meanwhile, lost to Kent State's Ardian Ramadani for the second time in the tournament. A 6-4 decision in the opening round was followed by an 8-5 defeat on Saturday in wrestlebacks. The junior from Dayton, Ohio, ended his season with a 16-14 record and a 27-28 career mark. As a team, the Bobcats earned 25.50 points in the tournament, placing them fifth out of six squads. Central Michigan amassed 102.50 points to capture their fifth straight MAC Tournament title. Ohio was the last team to out-wrestle the Chippewas at the MAC meet when the Bobcats claimed the title in 2001.

BOILING SPRINGS -- A school-record four Gardner-Webb wrestlers claimed NCAA East Regional championships on Saturday as seniors Josh Pniewski, Daniel Elliott, Adam Glaser and Brent Blackwell all won individual titles in their weight class to lift GWU to a second-place showing. The GWU senior foursome stormed into the championship round as Pniewski (133) took a 20-4 tech fall victory, Elliott (149) won 10-3, Glaser (157) earned a pin in 4:35 and Blackwell (197) took a major decision victory at 11-1 in their opening round contests. Pniewski claimed his third-straight East Regional crown and upped his season record to 32-9 with a 7-4 decision over Slippery Rock's Sal Lascari. Pniewski fell behind early, 2-0, but closed the first period by earning an escape and a late takedown for the 3-2 advantage. The lead grew to 5-2 when Pniewski started the second period with a quick reversal, but was narrowed back to a single point with a second-period escape and a Lascari escape to open the third frame. Pniewski refused to allow Lascari to mount any offense and carried the 5-4 lead deep into the final minute before sealing his third trip to Nationals with a late takedown and a 7-4 victory. Two matches later, Elliott took down SRU's Shawn Baglio twice in the first two minutes and cruised to a 10-2 major decision win. The regional title is the second in as many years for Elliott, who was named as the NCAA East Regional's Most Outstanding Wrestler after running his season record to 38-2 and bumping his career win total to 103. Glaser made school history in the very next championship match as he became the first 157-pounder to advance to the NCAA Nationals at the Division I level and gave GWU its highest number of NCAA National Qualifiers in one season in the history of the program. Glaser battled The Rock's Gerald Christian to a scoreless draw through the opening three-minute period. Glaser then started the second period on top and rode Christian for the full two minutes to gain a major advantage in riding time. Christian began the final session on top but Glaser wasted little time breaking free to earn the point and held off Christian for the last two minutes to take the 2-0 decision. The afternoon was capped off with a stirring overtime battle at 197 pounds between Blackwell and Slippery Rock's Andrew Joseph. Blackwell was awarded a quick 1-0 advantage after Joseph was flagged for a penalty but had his lead neutralized with an escape from Joseph to start the second period. The two grapplers headed into the third period locked at 1-1, before Blackwell scored a point for an escape 17 seconds into the frame for the 2-1 edge. The action then picked up with a Joseph takedown and a quick Blackwell escape to force a 3-3 tie with 30 seconds to go. Neither competitor could score in the final seconds as they headed to a sudden-death overtime session to determine a champion. Blackwell came out fast and caught Joseph in an attempt to spin away. Blackwell then put Joseph on the mat for the emotional 5-3 decision to close out his five-year career with a trip to Nationals. The four Bulldog grapplers were joined in the championship brackets by all 10 Slippery Rock competitors, four Duquesne wrestlers and a pair of Millersville wrestlers. Slippery Rock matched Gardner-Webb's four individual titles with wins by Chris Clarke (125), Jason Cardillo (165), Charles Pienaar (184) and heavyweight Matthew Burkholder. Jared Ricotta won the 174-pound division for Duquesne's lone championship and Millersville's Cody Becker took the 141-pound title. Slippery Rock ran away with the team championship with 100.5 team points. Gardner-Webb was second with 67 and was followed closely by Duquesne's 65 points. Millersville took fourth with 43 points and Delaware State ended fifth with seven points. Pniewski, Elliott, Glaser and Blackwell will now compete at the NCAA National Championships in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on March 16-18. 2006 NCAA East Regional Results 1- Slippery Rock, 100.5 2- Gardner-Webb, 67.0 3- Duquesne, 65.0 4- Millersville, 43.0 5- Delaware State, 7.0 Individual Champions 125- (SRU) Chris Clarke 133- (GWU) Josh Pniewski 141- (MU) Cody Becker 149- (GWU) Daniel Elliott 157- (GWU) Adam Glaser 165- (SRU) Jason Cardillo 174- (DU) Jared Ricotta 184- (SRU) Charles Pienaar 197- (GWU) Brent Blackwell 285- (SRU) Matthew Burkholder Most Outstanding Wrestler Daniel Elliott, Gardner-Webb At Large Bid David Pienaar, Slippery Rock Coach of the Year Derek Delporto, Slippery Rock

DeKALB , IL -- Two weeks ago, it would have been hard to predict. Senior Harold Sherrell (Liverpool , NY/Liverpool ) dropped a 3-1 sudden-victory decision to Slippery Rock's Matt Burkholder. Maybe the 220-pound heavyweight's Cinderella Story that led him to a 30-win season ended. If Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center at Northern Illinois University proved anything, it proved his Cinderella story may be just beginning. He pinned Kent State 's Jermail Porter in the Mid-American Conference Championship finals for his 35th win of the season at the 4:23 mark of the match, giving the long shot his first MAC title. The Bulls, led by a record-tying seven placewinners and champions Sherrell and junior Mark Budd (Orrville, OH/Orrville) (133 pounds), pulled a little but of a Cinderella story of their own, finishing third with 60 points, ahead of 24th-ranked Northern Illinois. It is the highest finish for the Bulls since joining the MAC in 1998-99. "This is an unbelievable conference," head coach Jim Beichner said. "It's so tough. Every single match through the entire weekend was just hard-fought right to the end." Budd also claimed his first Mid-American Conference title with an injury default against Eastern Michigan 's Phillip Plowman. Budd took a 2-0 lead in the first period on a takedown and soon after, Plowman was hurt on a mat return, defaulting the match. Senior Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter) (197 pounds) came up on the short end once again in his rematch with top-ranked Wynn Michalak, 7-5. Cerminara came out firing, getting a takedown 15 seconds into the match. After a restart, Michalak was able to roll through Cerminara and get a reversal and a three-point near fall, but Cerminara responded with a reveral of his own, making the score, 5-4. Michalak got two escapes and Cerminara got one to close the scoring. With eight seconds left, it looked as if Cerminara might get a takedown, taking Michalak to the mat, but, just like the Feb. 5 showdown where Cerminara lost 3-2, once again, no points were rewarded after the flurry. The second-ranked wrestler in the nation, Cerminara did receive an NCAA wild card bid. Sherrell did not let the previous match affect his, as the heavyweight was able to trade shots with Porter, a 6-6, 280-pound grappler, in the first period, rolling through a possible takedown. "It almost feels better that I had to beat the Kent State kid," Sherrell said. "It would have been great to beat Bubba Gritter (the top-seed and Sherrell's only MAC loss of the year), but my whole season, I've been going against guys way bigger than me. That's, no doubt, the biggest and tallest guy I wrestled all season." In the second period, Sherrell chose to be on top and after a stalemate, got the spread eagle grip on the Golden Flash and was able to seal the pin in 4:32. "He's absolutely the Cinderella story that everybody hopes to have," Beichner said. "He came in and never qualified for a qualifier to get to the New York State Championships. Nobody would ever say Harold Sherrell is going to be a Division I wrestler. He's come along in such a great way. It's such a huge success story because he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet." At 184 pounds, senior Garrett Hicks (Chautauqua , NY /Chautauqua Lake) closed out his career in style, beating Ohio 's Brian Cesear, 8-0, for third-place. Hicks finishes the season, 24-12. Three other UB wrestlers, senior Cliff Smith (Merrick , NY/Calhoun) (141 pounds), sophomore Dana Gingerich (Spring Grove, PA/DeLone Catholic) (149 pounds) and sophomore Mickey Moran (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler Area) (165 pounds) placed fourth after dropping third-place matches on Saturday. Buffalo finishes behind fourth-ranked Central Michigan , which with 102.5 points wrapped up its fifth straight championship with four first-place finishes. Kent State , ranked 25th in the final NWCA poll, took second with 75.5 points. Behind Buffalo , 24th-ranked Northern Illinois had 56.5 points, Ohio had 25.5 and Eastern Michigan had 13.5. Budd, Cerminara and Sherrell will hit the mats at the NCAA Championships on March 16 in Oklahoma City , OK .

AMES, IA -- Entering the Big 12 Championships, Oklahoma State was the overwhelming favorite to capture its fourth straight conference crown. Thankfully for the Cowboys, everything went as expected at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The Cowboys sent seven wrestlers to the championship finals, crowned four champions, and racked up 80 points to capture the title. It was the eighth Big 12 title for Oklahoma State in the last 10 years, and the 41st conference championship in school history. Oklahoma finished a distant second with 52.5 points, while Nebraska (52), Iowa State (47.5), and Missouri (42) rounded out the conference finish. Eight of the 10 champions were second-time winners, while two wrestlers, Nate Gallick of Iowa State (141) and Zack Esposito of Oklahoma State (149), picked up their third straight Big 12 titles. Gallick improved his record to a perfect 30-0 on the season with a hard-fought 5-3 victory in the second tie-break period over two-time NCAA champion Teyon Ware of Oklahoma. "He's probably the hardest guy in the country for me to wrestle," said Gallick. "He's fast, he's strong, he's quick, and he's a real good athlete. He has everything I have to offer … maybe more. So he really challenges me a lot." Esposito, the defending 149-pound NCAA champion, had bit of a scare in the finals against Matt Storniolo. Storniolo led the match 6-4 after the opening period, but Esposito battled back with two takedowns in the second period and two near-fall points in the third period to win 11-8. It marked the second straight year he defeated his Bedlam rival for the conference crown. Esposito, who lost just once all of last season, has lost four times this season (counting the NWCA All-Star Classic). He will likely enter the NCAA Championships as the No. 2 seed behind true freshman phenom Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota. So what's the difference between this season and last? "Everybody's gunning for the guy on top," said Esposito. "I found that out the hard way. I didn't change up my training. I just kept training hard and listening to my coaches. Guys come at you with different techniques." Two-time All-American Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma got a little sweet revenge as he won his second conference title with a tight 2-1 victory over Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State, the same wrestler who upset him at last year's Big 12 Championships. "It was just a battle," said Hazewinkel. "He won it last year, I won it this time." With the win, Hazewinkel ran his season record to a 25-1. His lone loss came on Feb. 22 at the hands of Nick Simmons of Michigan State. Both Scott and Simmons are tall, lanky wrestlers, which Hazewinkel says seem to give him the most trouble. "They're tough," said Hazewinkel. "They're starting to figure me out. I just have to keep going over tape, figuring out what I'm doing wrong, and I'm doing right against tall guys. I have two weeks to figure it out." Ben Askren of Missouri put on the most dominating finals performance with a 17-6 major decision over Jacob Klein of Nebraska. Askren recorded eight takedowns in the match to cruise the easy victory and his second Big 12 title. The Tiger continues to dominate every wrestler who steps foot on the mat with him. He currently owns the nation's longest consecutive wins streak, having won 40 straight matches. So can anyone beat Askren? "Cael Sanderson, Mo Lawal maybe," said Askren. "Collegiately, I don't really think so. I just went out there, had some fun, and put it to him. I'm feeling good right now." Gallick was named Most Outstanding Wrestler. Championship Finals: 125 -- No. 1 Sam Hazewinkel (OU) dec. No. 2 Coleman Scott (OSU), 2-1 133 -- No. 1 Nathan Morgan (OSU) dec. No. 2 Tyler McCormick (MU), 5-1 141 -- No. 1 Nate Gallick (ISU) dec. No. 2 Teyon Ware (OU), 5-3 TB2 149 -- No. 1 Zack Esposito (OSU) dec. No. 2 Matt Storniolo (OU), 12-8 157 -- No. 1 Trent Paulson (ISU) dec. No. 2 Kevin Ward (OSU), 2-0 165 -- No. 1 Johny Hendricks (OSU) dec. No. 2 Matt Pell (MU), 2-1 TB1 174 -- No. 1 Ben Askren (MU) maj. dec. No. 2 Jacob Klein (NU), 17-6 184 -- No. 1 Kurt Backes (ISU) dec. No. 3 Raymond Jordan (MU), 4-2 197 -- No. 1 B.J. Padden (NU) dec. No. 2 Jake Rosholt (OSU), 3-0 Hwt -- No. 1 Steve Mocco (OSU) dec. No. 2 Jake Hager (OU), 4-1 Third Place: 125 -- No. 3 Paul Donahoe (NU) dec. No. 4 Austin DeVoe (MU), 10-7 133 -- No. 4 Patrick Aleksanyan (NU) dec. No. 3 Jesse Sundell (ISU), 10-9 141 -- No. 3 Dominick Moyer (NU) dec. No. 5 Ethan Kyle (OSU), 7-4 149 -- No. 5 Robert Sanders (NU) dec. No. 3 Jason Knipp (ISU), 6-3 157 -- No. 4 Will Rowe (OU) dec. No. 5 Michael Chandler (MU), 8-6 165 -- No. 3 Travis Paulson (ISU) dec. No. 4 Marc Harwood (NU), 4-1 174 -- No. 5 Wes Roberts (OU) dec. No. 3 Brandon Mason (OSU), 5-4 184 -- No. 5 Rusty Blackmon (OSU) dec. No. 2 Vince Jones (NU), 6-2 197 -- No. 3 Joel Flaggert (OU) dec. No. 4 Jeff Foust (MU), 6-1 Hwt -- No. 3 Jon May (NU) dec. No. 4 Richard Schopf (ISU), 5-2 Fourth Place Challenge: 157 -- No. 3 Chris Oliver (NU) pinned. No. 5 Michael Chandler (MU), 2:15 Big 12 Championships Session I Recap Complete Big 12 Championships Results

AMES, IA -- The Big 12 Championships got underway on Saturday morning in Ames, Iowa, at Hilton Coliseum. After the semifinals, Oklahoma State, who has won the past three Big 12 titles, has a firm grasp on the team race with 59 points and seven finalists. Oklahoma, who has four finalists, sits in second place with 35 points. Missouri (32), Iowa State (25), and Nebraska (17) round out the rest of the field. Nate Gallick of Iowa State (141) and Zack Esposito of Oklahoma State (149) will both be vying for their third straight Big 12 titles. Gallick defeated Chris McCormick of Missouri in the semifinals, 10-1, to advance to the finals, where he'll face a familiar foe in two-time NCAA champion Teyon Ware of Oklahoma. The two have met six times over the past three seasons, with Gallick winning five of the meetings, including two this season. Ware's lone win over Gallick, however, came in the all-important NCAA finals last season. "I just have to keep moving against Gallick," said Ware, who pinned Dominick Moyer of Nebraska in the semifinals. "I can't let up on the edge of the mat. That's how he's scored on me the last few times we've wrestled. You have to come wrestle every match, every minute, every moment." Esposito, the defending NCAA champion, won convincingly over Robert Sanders of Nebraska in the semifinals. He will now face Matt Storniolo of Oklahoma in the finals, the same wrestler he defeated to claim his second Big 12 title a year ago. "I wrestled a little tight, but it's nice to get that first match out of the way," said Esposito. "I just have to wrestle at a high pace, work my shots, and execute well. I want to go to the NCAA Championships with a good feeling." All 10 top-seeds and nine No. 2 seeds advanced, which should set up for some very intriguing finals match-ups. The only No. 3 seed to advance to the finals was Raymond Jordan of Missouri, who won narrowly, 11-10, over true freshman Vince Jones of Nebraska. At125 pounds, two-time All-American Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma will face All-American Coleman Scott. Scott upset Hazewinkel at last year's Big 12 Championships, but Hazewinkel has won all three meetings since. "I felt really good in my first match," said Hazewinkel, who defeated Austin Devoe of Missouri, 12-2, semifinals. "I had a game plan, so I just went out and executed it. I felt like it was one my best matches all season." Hazewinkel says that his loss to Scott at last year's Big 12 Championships gives him extra motivation going into the finals. "I wanted to be a four-time Big 12 champion and obviously he took that away last year," said Hazewinkel. "He did a good job. We've always had close matches. I'm just going to go out and try to duplicate what I did last match, wrestle in the zone." At 197 pounds, B.J. Padden of Nebraska and Jake Rosholt will battle in the Big 12 finals for the second straight year. Padden defeated Rosholt, 6-2, in the Big 12 finals. However, Rosholt came back to beat Padden, 10-9, in the NCAA semifinals. The two wrestlers have met twice this season, with Padden winning both matches. Semifinals: 125 -- No. 1 Sam Hazewinkel (OU) maj. dec. No. 4 Austin DeVoe (MU), 12-2 125 -- No. 2 Coleman Scott (OSU) dec. No. 3 Paul Donahoe (NU), 4-1 133 -- No. 1 Nathan Morgan (OSU) dec. No. 4 Patrick Aleksanyan (NU), 8-3 133 -- No. 2 Tyler McCormick (MU) vs. No. 3 Jesse Sundell (ISU), 7-4 141 -- No. 1 Nate Gallick (ISU) maj. dec. No. 5 Ethan Kyle (OSU), 10-1 141 -- No. 2 Teyon Ware (OU) pinned No. 3 Dominick Moyer (NU), 4:45 149 -- No. 1 Zack Esposito (OSU) maj. dec. No. 5 Robert Sanders (NU), 12-3 149 -- No. 2 Matt Storniolo (OU) dec. No. 3 Jason Knipp (ISU), 4-2 TB 157 -- No. 1 Trent Paulson (ISU) dec. No. 5 Michael Chandler (MU), 5-3 157 -- No. 2 Kevin Ward (OSU) dec. No. 3 Chris Oliver (NU), 3-1 165 -- No. 1 Johny Hendricks (OSU) dec. No. 4 Marc Harwood (NU), 11-4 165 -- No. 2 Matt Pell (MU) dec. No. 3 Travis Paulson (ISU), 4-1 174 -- No. 1 Ben Askren (MU) dec. No. 5 Wes Roberts (OU), 6-3 174 -- No. 2 Jacob Klein (NU) dec. No. 3 Brandon Mason (OSU), 3-0 184 -- No. 1 Kurt Backes (ISU) dec. 5 Rusty Blackmon (OSU), 8-5 184 -- No. 3 Raymond Jordan (MU) dec. No. 2 Vince Jones (NU), 11-10 197 -- No. 1 B.J. Padden (NU) maj. dec. No. 4 Jeff Foust (MU), 10-2 197 -- No. 2 Jake Rosholt (OSU) dec. No. 3 Joel Flaggert (OU), 7-5 Hwt -- No. 1 Steve Mocco (OSU) pinned No. 4 Richard Schopf (ISU), 1:25 Hwt -- No. 2 Jake Hager (OU) dec. No. 3 Jon May (NU), 3-2 TB Complete Big 12 Championships Results

UFC 58: CANADA vs. UNITED STATES Saturday, March 4, 2006 Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada The UFC Monster is on his way out to Las Vegas for this big event. Vegas oddsmakers give only one Canadian (Georges St. Pierre) a chance to beat an American in this eight-fight card event (betting odds listed next to projected winner). I see it a little brighter for the Canucks, as I see three wins coming from north of the border. After going a respectable 6-3 in the last UFC 57, including a nice underdog win on Joe Riggs, I'll take another shot at predicting this week-end's fight card. Let's go to the winner's window. Trying to bet with my head, and not my heart, here's how I see them: Diego SANCHEZ (16-0) vs. John ALESSIO (22-8) CANCELLED Diego has gotten sick with some type of stomach ailment and is unable to fight. No alternate opponent was announced and the match was cancelled. Spencer FISHER over Sam STOUT (8-1-1) by KO in the 2nd round Fisher is a last second replacement for Kenny FLORIAN, who is unable to fight due to back problems. Both Fisher and Stout are aggressive punchers, not afraid to go toe-to-toe. Stout is known for his "hands of stone," but it is Fisher who gets the upper hand in this affair. Fisher (no betting line available) sends Stout to the canvass in the second … USA 1-0. Tom MURPHY (4-1) over Christophe MIDOUX (9-4) by KO in 2nd round I don't know much about these two guys. But, I know enough to see a KO by Murphy (-160) … USA 2-0. Jason LAMBERT (19-5) over Rob MACDONALD (3-1) by KO in 2nd round I think Lambert has too much experience for MacDonald, being in fights with the legendary Marco Ruas, as well as Wesley "Cabbage" Correira and Tim Silvia. Lambert has won nine of his last ten fights, including wins over Travis Wiuff and Marvin Eastman in the past nine monthes. Lambert (-400) puts this one away in the second with a powerful kick to the head … USA 3-0. Yves EDWARDS (28-8-1) over Mark HOMINICK (9-4) by SUBMISSION in the 1st round Edwards is lightning quick and comes at you from all angles with numerous spinning kicks and submission moves. Not only does Edwards have a mountain's worth of experience, but he is a jiu-jitsu specialist fighting against a kick boxer. I'll take the ground expert every time. Edwards (-550) cruises here with a first round submission (rear naked choke) … USA 4-0. Mike SWICK (9-1) over Steve VIGNAULT (11-5) by KO in 1st round After saying I would always take a jiu-jitsu fighter over a kick boxer, not here. This fight never makes it to the mat. "Quick" Swift (-600) puts the lights out on Vignault, who's going up in weight for this fight, winning with a first round KO over an opponent who has lost two of his past three … USA 5-0. Joe DOERKSEN (27-7) over Nate MARQUARDT (25-6-1) by SUBMISSION in the 2nd round This is a big upset. Doerksen has had a long and storied MMA career, with fights against Matt Hughes, Eugene Jackson, David Loiseau, Joe Riggs, and Matt Lindland. Marquardt has spent most of his career in Japan fighting in Pancrase competition, His last fight was an impressive victory over the very tough Ivan Salaverry. I think the fight will stay up with both fighters throwing punches and kicks. But Doerksen (+190) finds a way to bring it to the mat and submits Marquardt with a second round arm bar…..Canada breaks through … USA 5-1. Georges ST.PIERRE (11-1) over BJ PENN (10-2-1) by TKO in 2nd round BJ Penn is the last man to beat Matt Hughes. He even went up in weight to do it. Incredible performance. Then he disappeared again. That's BJ. But, ST. PIERRE is simply a man on a mission. He gets better with every fight. He is quicker and stronger and more determined with every notch in his belt. He wants Hughes' belt in the worst way, and BJ isn't going to be able to stop him here. I see some serious "ground-n-pound" by St. Pierre. Big John McCarthy pulls Georges (-150) off a battered BJ midway through the second … USA 5-2. David LOISEAU (15-4) over Rich FRANKLIN (21-1) by KO in 2nd round Big upset. Franklin has looked awesome in holding the middleweight crown. But LOISEAU, like training partner ST. PIERRE, is on a mission to wear a championship belt. He can do it here, if he is able to catch Franklin with a head kick and bring the champion to the mat. I see it happening. Franklin's 21-1 record is impressive, but for a school teacher, like him, to just drift into this profession seems like a short termed success story to me. Get ready to crown a new champion. "The Crow" (+250) ends this one with a roundhouse kick to the head … USA 5-3 Final. Well, that's it for now. The next UFC will be April 15 in Anaheim with Tito Ortiz coming back to fight Forrest Griffin. Good luck and enjoy the fights. See you at the winner's window. The UFC Monster

On the one hand, it can be quite silly to examine bracket sheets and look ahead to exciting potential wrestling matches. Outside of first round pairings, there are no guarantees in a wrestling tournament. You have to earn each and every win in order to advance, and when you get to the extreme skill level of NCAA wrestling, even the smallest of mistakes can cause an upset. On the other hand, wrestling fans are only human and during the down time leading up to the postseason, one can't help but speculate on various possible matches. The temptation becomes even greater when you look at the successes of various wrestlers who, although competing in the same conference and in the same weight class, have yet to step on the mat against each other. This is a big, big weekend for Division I college wrestling. A lot of important matches are going to take place. Here are the top-12 match-up that may or may not occur. 12 -- No. 7 Tyrone Byrd (Illinois) vs. No. 8 Phil Davis (Penn State) -- BIG TEN CONFERENCE Both Byrd and Davis have looked strong this season, but have yet to face each other. Last year, Davis was 2-1 against Byrd but lost to him in their only postseason bout. If they meet this weekend, it will most likely be for the 197-pound Big Ten title, which will obviously have an impact for both schools on the team race. NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: Negligible. It would probably be good to get on the bottom side of the bracket, but it would appear that the important thing would be to win in the placement rounds of wrestle-backs. 11 -- No. 3 Mark Perry (Iowa) vs. No. 5 R.J. Boudro (Michigan State) -- BIG TEN CONFERENCE Perry has been out for a while with an injury and it's difficult to tell if he'll be back at one-hundred percent. If he isn't, he will certainly have his hands full with Boudro, who's been wrestling very well, despite a recent loss to Gabriel Dretsch (Minnesota). NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: If Perry loses, his No. 3 seed would very much be at stake. With the inconsistency that No. 4 Jacob Klein (Nebraska) has shown, the No. 3 slot could possibly go to Boudro or No. 6 Mike Patrovich (Hofstra). 10 -- No. 1 Nate Gallick (Iowa State) vs. No. 2 Teyon Ware (Oklahoma) -- BIG 12 CONFERENCE The winner of Nate Gallick vs. Teyon Ware at the Big 12 Championships will likely earn the top seed at the NCAA Championships.I know it's a bit surprising to throw such a long-running rivalry onto a list consisting mostly of not-yet-happened match-ups. But when you've got two wrestlers of the quality of Gallick and Ware, it's difficult not to get excited every time they step on the mat. And before you can say "snore-fest," take a look at their last match. Both wrestlers scored takedowns. Moreover, although Ware has been criticized for being too defensive in the past, that's just not the case this season. He won 10-3 against No. 5 Andy Simmons last week and scored a tech fall against No. 14 Charles Griffin on the 12th of this month. Gallick has won both meetings this season, but the two-time NCAA champ Ware is always a threat to win. NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATION: Important, but only so much. These two are the class of the field and fans should expect to see them in the finals in Oklahoma City. Earning the No. 1 seed by winning the conference would be nice, but both know which bout really matters. 9 -- No. 3 Jake Rosholt (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 B. J. Padden (Nebraska) -- BIG 12 CONFERENCE Can B.J. Padden remain perfect against Jake Rosholt this season?The standing NCAA champ at 197 is 0-2 against Padden this season and could lose to him a third time this weekend. NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: Obviously, you've got to throw No. 4 Joel Flaggert (Oklahoma) into the equation here. How these three finish will determine their seeds. If Rosholt wins the conference, he will hold his No. 3 seed. If he loses, he moves up to the top bracket, which is probably a more difficult road to the finals since it most likely will contain the impressive sophomore from Central Michigan -- Wynn Michalak. 8 -- No. 7 Mike Poeta (Illinois) vs. No. 8 Matt Nagel (Minnesota) -- BIG TEN CONFERENCE These two haven't faced each other this season, but have similarities on their records. Both have wins over Travis Paulson (Iowa State) and losses to Matt Pell (Missouri) and Nick Baima (Northern Iowa). Most people favor the more-offensive Poeta in this bout, but, as he's proven in the past, it's quite possible that Nagel can keep things close and steal a win at the end or in OT. NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: More important than you may think. We're talking about No. 7 vs. No. 8 here, but the unclear status of No. 3 Troy Letters and No. 4 Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov creates some important potential outcomes in the NCAA consolation bracket. Let's say that whoever gets the No. 7 seed makes it to the quarterfinals and loses. If the injured Letters were to be upset by the powerful No. 6 Matt Pell, there could very well be an injury default to be had in the consys. Let's further hypothesize that No. 4 Abdurakhmanov loses in the semi's to No. 1 Ryan Churella (Michigan). For whatever reason, Abdurakhmanov doesn't have a good track record in the consolation bracket (see the 2004 Midlands and the 2005 NCAA's) so it's possible that he could be upset there. I know this is looking at permutations that are very difficult to predict, but it seems like No. 7 seed could possibly have an easier road to a top-four finish than a No. 8 seed. 7 -- No. 4 Matt Lebe (West Virginia) vs. No. 14 Seth Martin (Lock Haven) -- EWL CONFERENCE Lebe is currently ranked No. 4 in the nation in a weight class that is fairly wide open (at least after No. 1 Alex Tirapelle of Illinois). He beat Martin in a wild 10-9 bout on Feb 12, but then lost to Edinboro's Matt Hill (ranked No. 3 in the EWL's) a week later. On paper, the finals will see Lebe face Martin, but with a win in the books already over Lebe, you can't count out Hill. NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: Lebe needs to win the conference, if he wants to keep his No. 4 seed. If he doesn't, a number of Big Ten studs such as Brandon Becker (Indiana), Craig Henning (Wisconsin), or C.P. Schlatter (Minnesota) could leapfrog over him. 6 -- No. 7 Roger Kish (Minnesota) vs. No. 2 Ben Wissel (Purdue) -- BIG TEN CONFERENCE Roger Kish184 is the only weight class where the first, second and third place-winners from last year's NCAA's have graduated. Therefore, the field is the most wide-open of any weight class. What complicates matters is that many of the top guys haven't gone head-to head yet, including these two. No one in the weight class is undefeated and the rankings are probably the most fragile. If Minnesota wants to succeed in the postseason, Kish will have to deliver for them. This should be a good bout as both wrestlers have reputations for being active. NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: The Big Ten is so stacked at this weight that the NCAA seeding will be determined by a great number of matches outside of this bout. This match would appear to be a semi final but it's possible that it could occur in the consolation bracket. The final Big Ten placements will greatly affect who gets what seed. 5 -- No. 1 Wynn Michalak (Central Michigan) vs. No. 2 Kyle Cerminara -- MAC CONFERENCE These two have met this season, with Michalak winning 3-2 in the dual meet. However, one can't help but get excited when two kids from non-powerhouse schools are ranked first and second in the nation. NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: Whoever wins should get the No. 1 seed. 197 is a tough weight class, so it probably would be nice to be on the top half of the bracket. 4 -- No. 4 Mack Reiter (Minnesota) vs. No. 2 Chris Fleeger (Purdue) -- BIG TEN CONFERENCE Mack ReiterThe 133-pound weight class in the Big Ten features three wrestlers who have won the conference tournament in the past. Mack Reiter won it last year. Tom Clum won at 125 in 2004 and Chris Fleeger won at 125 in 2003. The seeding at this weight for this weekend's tourney has been interesting. Fleeger beat Clum on Jan 29, 8-4, and Reiter has faced neither. However, both Clum and Fleeger have missed the first half of the season so the Gopher earned the No. 1 seed on the strength of being standing Big Ten champ and having competed for an impressive 25-4 record thus far. NCAA SEDDING IMPLICATIONS: Despite being seeded behind Reiter for the Big Tens, Fleeger is ranked No. 2 nationally. If Fleeger were to win, the rankings would probably remain as they are with Reiter staying at No. 4 and Clum staying at No. 5. If Reiter could win over Fleeger, he'd probably move up to the No. 3 seed and push Fleeger to No. 4 and the other side of the bracket. 3 -- No. 1 Josh Glenn (American) vs. No. 5 Joe Mazzurco (Cornell) -- EIWA CONFERENCE These two highly-ranked wrestlers haven't met yet this year. It could be an exciting, close bout or Glenn could dominate in the way that he's been doing for most of the season. NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: There's an argument that Josh Glenn should get the No. 1 seed at the NCAA's. He has only one loss (to Ben Wissel) and he's pinned or majored a good number of the top guys. If he were to lose, he could drop a few places, and be put him on the other side of the bracket. Another big win from him could solidify his No. 1 ranking, depending on what happens at this weight class at the Big Ten Championships. 2 -- No. 1 Joe Dubuque vs. No. 2 Nick Simmons -- BIG TEN CONFERENCE These two split last year with Dubuque winning in the dual and Simmons winning in the Big Ten semi's. However, the two haven't faced each other this year. NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: With Simmons recent win over at-the time No. 2 Sam Hazewinkel (Oklahoma), the winner of this bout will most likely get the No. 1 seed while the loser takes No. 2. 1 -- No. 3 Troy Letters (Lehigh) vs. No. 4 Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (American) -- EIWA CONFERENCE Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov In my mind, this is the single biggest potential match-up this weekend. Without a doubt it is the most enigmatic. It's completely unclear how recovered Letters is from his injury. Moreover, because of the limited competition he's faced this season, it's completely unclear just how good Abdurakhmanov is. The standout 165-pounder for American University seemed to suffer a knee injury while bumping up to wrestle Navy's Matt Stolpinski, so maybe he's not one-hundred percent either. NCAA SEEDING IMPLICATIONS: It looks like the winner of this bout will get the No. 3 seed and the loser will get No. 4. However, if a not completely healthy Letters decides to forfeit to save himself for the NCAA's, it's unclear if he'll keep his seed. Maybe, but it's tough to imagine Letters not going for his fourth straight league title.

Ames, Iowa -- College wrestling's Mat Madness is here as Iowa State plays host to the Big 12 Wrestling Championships Saturday in Hilton Coliseum. Action begins with first-round bouts at 11 a.m. Semifinal matches are at noon with the championship round slated for 7 p.m. The Big 12 will qualify 38 wrestlers for the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla. Iowa State University hosts the Big 12 Championships for the third time since the formation of the conference in 1997. Oklahoma State returns seven conference champions in what should be another heated conference tournament. Saturday, March 4, Hilton Coliseum Schedule 11 a.m. - First round Noon - Semifinals 4 p.m. - Consolations 7 p.m. - Finals Tickets Adult reserved - $17 Youth reserved - $7 (high school age and younger) Adult general admission - $10 Youth general admission - $7 For tickets call the Iowa State athletic ticket office at 1-888-ISU-Cyclones (1-888-478-2925); fans can order tickets online at www.cyclonestickets.com or in person through 5 p.m. Friday at the ISU athletic ticket office. Tickets will go on sale at Hilton Coliseum at 10 a.m. Saturday. Reserved seat tickets are $17 for adults and $7 for youth high school age and younger. General admission seating is $10 for adults and $7 for youth high school age and younger. 2005 Big 12 Conference Team Scoring/champions 1. Oklahoma State 95.5 (7) 2. Iowa State 49 (2) 3. Nebraska 47.5 (1) 4. Oklahoma 45 5. Missouri 35 125 pounds Sam Hazewinkel - Oklahoma Coleman Scott - Oklahoma State Paul Donahoe - Nebraska Austin DeVoe Missouri Ben Hanisch - Iowa State Oklahoma's Sam Hazewinkel blitzed through the 2004-05 regular season schedule unbeaten before being dealt his first loss in the Big 12 finals by Oklahoma State true freshman Coleman Scott. Scott received most outstanding wrestler honors at the 2005 conference tournament in Omaha, Neb. Last season, Scott came in as the third seed and pinned No. 2 seed former Nebraska NCAA qualifier, Matt Keller (now at UT-Chattanooga) late in the third period. Hazewinkel comes into this week's tournament with a 25-1 record and is gunning to retain the Big 12 title he won in 2004 when he beat Nebraska NCAA champion Jason Powell, 5-2. Hazewinkel has already defeated Scott twice this season (6-4, 2-0) as OSU swept Bedlam. Scott, a freshman All-American in 2005 who is possibly the tallest 125-pounder in the country, has put it together during his sophomore season. Scott is one of the toughest wrestlers to score on as a result of his lanky frame and long reach. Hazewinkel has defeated Scott in three of their four career matches. Scott has downed Nebraska's Paul Donahoe three times this season. Donahoe, a Roy Hall protégé, has all the accolades from Davison High School in Michigan and had Virginia Tech's Brent Metcalf and Iowa State top-10 2005 recruit Jonathan Reader as teammates. Donahoe has compiled an impressive 22-6 record in his first season replacing Keller and is second on the team behind fellow freshman Vince Jones, with nine pins. Donahoe helped propel Nebraska to the National Duals semifinals with pins against Iowa and Michigan. Donahoe has the potential to make a deep run in the NCAA Championships and earn All-America status. Missouri's Austin DeVoe seeks his first NCAA Championships appearance after missing the 2005 Big 12 meet due to injury. The absence of former three-time NCAA qualifier Grant Nakamura opened the door at Iowa State for sophomore Ben Hanisch. Four of the five 125 pound starters are nationally ranked with Hazewinkel, Scott and Donahoe rated in the top 10. 133 pounds Nathan Morgan - Oklahoma State Tyler McCormick - Missouri Patrick Aleksanyan - Nebraska Jesse Sundell - Iowa State Joe Comparin - Oklahoma Nathan Morgan, the 2005 Big 12 champ as a true freshman (like Coleman Scott) is on a roll, going through his sophomore season with just one loss. The Bakersfield, Calif., native missed All-America status by just one match at the NCAA Championships last season, falling to North Carolina's Evan Sola, 4-0, in the consolations. Morgan has been one of the hottest wrestlers in the country, downing Minnesota's Big 10 champion and All-American Mack Reiter twice, hometown counterpart Darrell Vazquez of Cal Poly and Penn State's Jake Strayer. Morgan comes into the Big 12 Championships ranked second nationally but fell to Edinboro's No. 1 rated and 2005 NCAA runner-up Shawn Bunch in the second round of the national tournament last season. Morgan's only blemish this season came in the Reno Tournament of Champions finals to UT-Chattanooga's (and former Nebraska wrestler) Matt Keller in overtime. Missouri's Tyler McCormick is nationally ranked. McCormick would have most likely would have qualified for the 2005 NCAA Championships, but had to default by injury while leading Nebraska's third-seeded Dominick Moyer in the Big 12 semifinals and Iowa State's Jesse Sundell whom McCormick has beaten three times in his career. McCormick was named the most recent Big 12 Wrestler of the Week after beating Keller, 4-2. Since Moyer bumped up to 141 pounds, Cal-State Fullerton transfer Patrick Aleksanyan entered the starting lineup and had a solid dual season with 14 wins, seven of them in dual competition. Joe Comparin was Oklahoma's 133-pound representative at the 2005 Big 12 Championship. Comparin beat ISU's Sundell in the first round but couldn't top the Cyclone for third place. 141 pounds Nate Gallick - Iowa State Teyon Ware - Oklahoma Dominick Moyer - Nebraska Chris McCormick - Missouri Ethan Kyle - Oklahoma State Iowa State's Nate Gallick is 6-1 against two-time national champion Teyon Ware of Oklahoma and has beaten the Sooner this season. Gallick is aiming for his third straight Big 12 title after defeating Ware in last season's Big 12 final and Nebraska All-American Matt Murray in 2004. Ware, like Gallick, has dominated all his opponents this season and comes in with only one loss on the season - to Gallick. The departure of Oklahoma State All-American Daniel Fishkorn from the Cowboy roster makes this bracket unpredictable. 149 pounds Zack Esposito - Oklahoma State Matt Storniolo - Oklahoma Jason Knipp - Iowa State Ryan Davis/Robert Sanders - Nebraska Marcus Hoehn/Josh Wagner - Missouri Defending national champ Zack Esposito has been dominating, except for a pair of losses to Minnesota's Dustin Schlatter. Esposito major decisioned Oklahoma's Matt Storniolo in last year's Big 12 final. Esposito has beaten Storniolo five times in his decorated career. Jason Knipp has emerged as a dependable starter for the Cyclones as he scored a huge upset over No. 11 James Woodall from Penn State in ISU's non-conference victory over the Nittany Lions. The junior has wrestled well in open tournaments and gave Iowa's second-ranked Ty Eustice two, hard-fought matches (10-8, 6-3). Ryan Davis, an Oklahoma State transfer, has been splitting time with fellow freshman Robert Sanders at 149 pounds. Davis had a decorated high school career at Blair Academy, locking down Asics first-team prep All-American status and three national prep titles. Missouri's Wagner has been nationally ranked for most of the dual season but has split time with Hoehn at 149 pounds. 157 pounds Trent Paulson - Iowa State Kevin Ward - Oklahoma State Michael Chandler - Missouri Shane Vernon/Will Rowe - Oklahoma Chris Oliver - Nebraska Kevin Ward beat Trent Paulson in second round of the Big 12 Championships last season, pulling a 7-4 upset as the fourth seed downed the top-seeded Cyclone. Paulson had defeated Ward, the defending conference champion, earlier in the season soundly and has a 5-3 decision over the Cowboy this year. Paulson garnered All-American status after making a successful transition from 149 pounds during his sophomore campaign. Winning his first three matches in his second NCAA Championships appearance, the junior downed the defending national champion Matt Gentry of Stanford, before falling to eventual champion Ryan Bertin of Michigan. Paulson posted an impressive win over Indiana upstart Brandon Becker, who roared through the consolations to fifth-place after losing his first match. At the 2005 NCAA meet, Ward lost to Iowa's eventual 2005 NCAA runner-up Joe Johnston. Oliver is a former four-time Nebraska state champ who split matches with Ward, lost to Missouri's Michael Chandler in overtime and Oklahoma's Will Rowe via major decision. 165 pounds Johny Hendricks - Oklahoma State Matt Pell - Missouri Travis Paulson - Iowa State Jarrod King - Oklahoma Marc Harwood - Nebraska 2005 NCAA champion Johny Hendricks is back to defend his Big 12 crown after edging out Missouri's Tyron Woodley in the finals last year. In just his second match of the season, Hendricks may have set the tone with a convincing 5-2 decision over Lehigh's former national champion Troy Letters. Travis Paulson, a 2004 All-American at 157 pounds, missed All-American status by one match. Hendricks and Missouri's Matt Pell have each defeated Paulson twice this season, accounting for the Cyclone's only losses. 174 pounds Ben Askren - Missouri Jacob Klein - Nebraska Brandon Mason - Oklahoma State David Bertolino - Iowa State Wes Roberts - Oklahoma Three of the top 10 wrestlers at 174 pounds in the nation are from the Big 12. Missouri pinning machine Ben Askren has already victimized Nebraska's Jacob Klein with a fall and major decisioned Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State and Iowa State's David Bertolino. Askren downed Oklahoma's Wes Roberts for his 100th career win at Mizzou but had to score three takedowns in the third period. The 8-6 decision marked Askren's first win this season not resulting in bonus points. Askren will be looking to claim his second Big 12 title, the first in 2004, when he defeated Oklahoma State's Chris Pendleton to capture outstanding wrestler honors. Mason, a Council Bluffs product, has been nationally ranked in the top 10 and could finish runner-up. Bertolino was in the national rankings temporarily after downing Roberts, 7-6. The ISU sophomore beat Mason in the first round at the Kaufman-Brand Open before the Cowboy avenged that loss in the wrestlebacks. Klein was as hot as anybody in January, helping Nebraska to a third-place finish at National Duals and knocking off Iowa's Mark Perry, Michigan's Nick Roy and Central Michigan's Brandon Sinnott. Klein was an All-American at 165 pounds in 2004, placing seventh, but missed All-America status by one match last season. 184 pounds Kurt Backes - Iowa State Vince Jones - Nebraska Justin Dyer - Oklahoma Raymond Jordan - Missouri Rusty Blackmon - Oklahoma State Iowa State's 2004 All-American Kurt Backes' most impressive win this year was a major decision against Penn State's top-ranked Eric Bradley. Backes, the defending Big 12 conference champ, has been strong against league competition. Backes routed Nebraska's Vince Jones in the dual season finale with a 19-3 technical fall win. Oklahoma's Justin Dyer has historically given Backes the most trouble. Their matches have been high-scoring, explosive affairs. Backes prevailed over the Sooner, 10-8, in January. Nebraska's Vince Jones has beaten Arizona State's C.B. Dolloway and Iowa's Paul Bradley, two wrestlers who defeated Backes this season. Jones has amassed 15 pins, good for third in the Big 12, behind Ben Askren (174, Missouri) and Steve Mocco (HWT, Oklahoma State). 197 pounds Jake Rosholt - Oklahoma State Joel Flaggert - Oklahoma B.J. Padden - Nebraska Jeff Foust - Missouri Joe Curran - Iowa State It is really a toss-up between B.J. Padden of Nebraska, Jake Rosholt of Oklahoma State and Oklahoma's Joel Flaggert, ranked between third and fifth nationally. Padden has fared better against Rosholt, downing the two-time national champion three times in his career. This Big 12 trio made their presence felt last year at the NCAA Championships, as Rosholt, Flaggert and Padden place first, fourth and fifth, respectively. Rosholt downed Padden, 10-9, in the 2005 NCAA semifinals, and Flaggert defeated Padden, 7-6, in the wrestlebacks, underscoring the Big 12's 197-pound dominance. Last season, Flaggert had the toughest road to All-American status as he drew eventual runner-up Sean Stender of Northern Iowa in his first round match at the national tourney. Padden defeated the current top-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan, 5-3 to finish fifth. After falling to Stender, 13-6, Flaggert rallied in the consolations for a 6-1 NCAA effort to place fourth. Missouri's Jeff Foust was the 2004 Big 12 champion. Curran, a true freshman, was thrown into the fire in his first year at Iowa State and responded with pins early in the season against Iowa and Utah Valley State and scoring a fall in the Virginia Tech dual. HWT Steve Mocco - Oklahoma State Jake Hager - Oklahoma Jon May - Nebraska Richard Schopf - Iowa State Sean Connole - Missouri OSU's Steve Mocco, a two-time national champion, cruised to his first Big 12 title last season, after giving up a reversal to Iowa State two-time All-American Scott Coleman -- the first offensive points scored on him all year. Oklahoma's Jake Hager is ranked fifth nationally. Mocco pinned Hager in their first meeting but Hager kept Mocco within a decision in the second battle. Fox Sports Net will broadcast the Big 12 Championships on tape delay March 12 at 12:30 p.m.