InterMat Staff

Storm Lake, Iowa -- Buena Vista Director of Athletics, Jan Travis, has announced that current assistant wrestling coach, Sevond Cole, will be promoted to head coach following the conclusion of this season. Cole will replace Mark Schwab who announced his resignation on Tuesday, effective May 31, 2008. "I feel Sevond is an excellent choice," Travis said. "He's served as an assistant with the program under two great mentors (Mark Schwab and Al Baxter), and I have the confidence that he can take over the program and carry on the strong BVU wrestling tradition." Cole returned this season for his second stint with the Beaver wrestling program after having served as an assistant under Baxter from 2001-06. He spent last season as a volunteer wrestling coach, as well as a middle school science instructor, in the Griswold School District. "Having been part of the wrestling program for more than a decade, you can imagine how excited I am to have the opportunity to continue the strong wrestling tradition that we have here at Buena Vista," Cole stated. "I feel blessed to have worked with two amazing coaches in my years as an assistant coach - most recently Mark Schwab and Al Baxter before that. I have learned a lot from both coaches and will continue to hold the bar high for BVU wrestling." Prior to joining the BVU staff in 2001, Cole was a two-time All-American for Baxter and the Beavers (1999 and 2000) at 174 pounds. He also captured a conference championship in 1999, while also being tabbed a Scholar All-American in 2000. "I personally believe Sevond will do a great job" Schwab noted. A few reasons that come to mind are that he truly cares about BVU, he was a 2-time All-American here, and a graduate always personalizes the roots that run deep in your efforts to bring out the best in the athletes and a program. He is not looking for something else. This is what he wants - a "dream job" so to speak. I also think that what he learned from Coach Baxter, and hopefully myself, has prepared him to run a top flight program." "Needless to say, we are thrilled that Coach Cole has agreed to become our new head coach," said BVU President Fred Moore. "He was an outstanding student-athlete in every sense of the word and has contributed mightily as an assistant coach. He is the perfect person to lead our program into the future."

EAST STROUDSBURG -- Senior Dave Williams pinned Millersville's Ray Bennett in the final match of the night to lift East Stroudsburg University to a 24-19 win over the Marauders on Tuesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse. The Warriors entered the 184-pound bout facing a 19-8 deficit, but knew that they would earn six points for a forfeit at heavyweight. Sophomore Shane Mallory won a 12-3 major decision over Steve Funk at 184, making the score 19-12 going into the 197-pound match-up between Williams and Bennett. Bennett had an early takedown, but Williams quickly escaped. Williams scored his takedown at the 1:05 mark in the first period, and seconds later the match was over with the fall coming with 58 seconds left in the period. ESU pulled within 19-18 with the pin, and Chris Birchler picked up the forfeit at 285 to improve to 19-6 on the year and take the victory. Millersville built its 19-8 lead on the strength of three straight decisions from 149 through 165 and a quick fall from Jeremy Brooks at 174. John Andel opened the match at 125 pounds with a 14-5 major decision for the Marauders. Junior Matt Swallow used a big second period to post a 17-2 technical fall over Matt Leggett at 133 pounds to give ESU a 5-4 advantage. At 141, senior Sean Carr earned a 7-3 decision against Mike Greck in a rematch of their consolation bout at the PSAC Championships in December, which Carr won 3-2. ESU improves to 3-8 in dual competition this season and will travel to Delaware Valley for a 7 p.m. start on Friday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jim Tressel, Ohio State football head coach, will serve as honorary coach of the Buckeye wrestling team's match vs. Michigan at 4 p.m. Feb. 10 in St. John Arena, Tom Ryan, head coach of the Ohio State wrestling team, announced Wednesday. Jim Tressel"I'm excited about the honor of being with the wrestling Buckeyes," Tressel said. "There is no team I cherish competing with more than Michigan, because the two programs are great schools, with two of the nation's top programs, made up of some of the finest performers in the world in their rugged sport. It means a packed house, making noise from start to finish, creating memories for themselves and their fans for a lifetime." Throughout the 2007-08 home schedule, the Buckeyes have named an honorary coach to sit on the Buckeye bench. Joining Tressel as an honorary coach vs. Michigan is president and CEO of The Dispatch, Mike Curtain. Tressel and Ohio State men's basketball head coach Thad Matta and women's basketball head coach Jim Foster currently have a combined 20-1 record against Michigan. In seven seasons, Tressel is 6-1 vs. the Wolverines. Matta owns a 6-0 ledger in three years leading the Buckeyes and Foster has an 8-0 mark in six seasons at Ohio State.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- J Jaggers, a junior on the seventh-ranked Ohio State wrestling team, was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week the conference announced Wednesday. This is Jaggers' first-career weekly honor. A 2007 All-American at 141 pounds, Jaggers (16-5) lifted the Buckeyes to a 22-19 victory over No. 8 Penn State last Friday in St. John Arena. With the Buckeyes down three (19-16) with one bout remaining, Jaggers (Northfield, Ohio) pinned fifth-ranked Jake Strayer in 3:25 to seal the win. Ohio State trailed throughout the evening, but took its first and only lead for the win after Jaggers' pin. It was Jaggers' second victory of the season over Strayer as he also defeated the Nittany Lion, 6-4, at the National Duals Jan. 13. Strayer was No. 2 in the nation at the time. The win by Jaggers marked the sixth time this season he has beaten a Top 20 wrestler. Of his six wins over a ranked grappler, three have come via fall. Ohio State (14-3; 2-1 Big Ten) will hit the road for three-consecutive matches beginning Friday at 7 p.m. at Indiana. The Buckeyes then will face Purdue at 1 p.m. Sunday in West Lafayette, Ind. The three-match road swing concludes at 7 p.m. at Michigan State in East Lansing.

Baldwin City, KS -- The NIACC Trojans traveled to Baldwin City, KS on Tuesday January 29th to take on the Pratt Community College Beavers in a neutral location. The dual meet was hosted by Baker University, a current NAIA college trying to start wrestling. This college dual meet between NIACC and Pratt served as a boost to show the popularity of college wrestling in the area. A huge turnout despite the weather, saw the No. 5 rated NIACC Trojans down Pratt Community College 38-3. NIACC only lost one match in the contest with Jordan Bartoszek falling to two-time Kansas State champion Tommy Edgemon 8-4. It would be all NIACC for the remainder of the evening. Cody Hogan scored 20 points en route to a technical fall over Pratt's Kyle Beebe. T.J. Moen, Albert White and Glenn Rhees would all win their matches by major decision. Aaron Hancock claimed a narrow 1-0 decision over Zach Hentzen, while brother Tyler Hancock would be down 5-0 early and come back to win by fall in the first period over Jake Thomas. Brad Theilen would receive a forfeit at 197 and heavyweight Beau Tudor was winning by a score of 3-1 when Matt Mock had to injury default. "We wrestled very well against Pratt. I was very proud of our preparation and execution during these matches," stated head wrestling coach Richard Fergola. The NIACC wrestling team will travel to Palatine, IL on Saturday February 2 for the Harper Duals where they will take on Harper, Triton and Lincoln Community Colleges starting at 9:00 am.

Utah Valley State's Ben Kjar has been named the Western Wrestling Conference's Wrestler of the Week as announced by league officials. Kjar, a 125-pound freshman from Centerville, Utah (Viewmont HS), was a perfect 5-0 last week and improved to 3-0 in WWC conference duals with a 10-4 decision of Air Force's Zach Valdez. Kjar was 4-0 at the Tracy Borah Duals on Saturday, with two wins by fall, one by major decision and one, over Western State's Eddie Lopez, in a 4-3 decision. Kjar's win against Air Force gave him 31 wins on the season, setting a Utah Valley single-season record. The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley State and Wyoming. Others nominated: Air Force: Anthony Stegeman North Dakota State - Adam Aho Northern Colorado - Devan Lewis South Dakota State - Ryan Meyer

To redshirt, or not to redshirt? That's the question confronting college freshmen wrestlers and their coaches. It often seems "automatic" that a wrestler new to college takes advantage of the redshirt option his first year, to get acclimatized to the rigorous demands of the classroom, wrestling room and top-level collegiate wrestling match action. Yet, some freshmen forego their redshirt, and dive right into official competition … either because they want to save the redshirt year for an Olympic quest down the road, or because there's a hole in the program's line-up just waiting to be filled by the first-year student. For freshman Kirk Smith at Boise State University, it was a matter of testing the waters … and deciding on his own that, after a few weeks of wrestling unattached with considerable success, he was ready to officially compete as the 184-pound starter for the Broncos. From Idaho to Greensboro to national attention As of this writing, Kirk Smith is 19-1 in his first year of college competition, with his most recent matches against Pac-10 rivals Oregon (where he won by forfeit) and Oregon State (a 12-6 decision over Kyle Bressler) the last weekend in January. His only loss to date was against Iowa's Phil Keddy at the Kaufman-Brand Open in mid-November. This record has him ranked No. 8 at 184 pounds by RevWrestling.com. Even though he had been successfully competing throughout the fall as an unattached wrestler, Kirk Smith really caught the attention of college wrestling fans across the nation with his performance at the 2007 Southern Scuffle. Kirk SmithThe Idaho native went to the post-Christmas tournament hosted by the University of North Carolina-Greensboro unattached -- "In fact, he paid his own way," according to Boise State head coach Greg Randall. Kirk Smith was more than unattached -- he was also unseeded. In his first match at the Southern Scuffle, he upset seventh-seeded Matthew Parsons of Navy 10-4 … then got a 10-3 victory over Matt Ryan (a student a Virginia Tech, competing unattached). In the quarterfinals, Kirk shut out the second-seeded Josh Haines of Maryland 6-0. Next match, he got a 6-4 semifinals win over NC State's Ryan Goodman, seeded third in the tournament. In the finals, Kirk edged top-seeded Rocco Caponi of Virginia 1-0 to claim the 184-pound crown at the Scuffle. The official Web site of at least one Division I college program described Kirk's championship as "the biggest upset of the Southern Scuffle." Making that upset -- and the title -- even sweeter: Not only had Kirk Smith knocked off the top three seeds at the Southern Scuffle, he had defeated two nationally-ranked wrestlers along the way. (Haines was ranked eighteenth in the nation, while Caponi was ranked seventh.) After the Scuffle, taking off the redshirt Here's how Greg Randall describes the issue of whether Kirk Smith would take advantage of the redshirt as a freshman: "He wrestled in open tournaments unattached to see if he was ready. We didn't want to put him in the lineup too soon." In a published interview with the Boise State Arbiter student newspaper, Kirk Smith is quoted as saying, "I went around (competing) under the Bronco Wrestling Club, which allowed me to go to open tournaments. I still wrestled big-name guys and kind of used that as a landmark to see if I wanted to come out." Coach Randall: "After winning the Scuffle, he wanted to compete for the team. We talked it over. He then went home, discussed with his parents, and, a few hours later, told us." Kirk Smith: "When the coaches asked me, I said, 'You know what I want to do.'" Greg Randall has led Boise State to four top three team finishes at the Pac-10 Championships and two top 25 finishes at the NCAA Championships.Coach Randall: "It worked out incredibly well for us. Our previous 184-pounder (sophomore Matt Casperson) moved up to 197. It's made our team that much stronger in both weights." In his first official match after stripping off the redshirt designation, Kirk Smith went up against the number one wrestler in the Pac-10, Ian Murphy of Cal State Fullerton. The newest Boise State Bronco won the bout 3-2. "It was pretty nerve-wracking," Kirk told the Boise State Arbiter. "But I've been in bigger and tougher matches. It was still nerve-wracking, it was my first match with a Bronco singlet on. You always remember your first match." The wrestling Smiths Kirk Smith may not actually remember his very first match, since it was probably at a very early age. After all, he grew up in a household of wrestlers. "My dad wrestled at Wilkes (College) in Pennsylvania," discloses the Boise State starter. "He grew up in the east, then he and mom moved out to Idaho, where I was born. He coached at my club when I was a kid, then helped out at my middle school, too." "He went with me to the Kaufman-Brand. He was in my corner, which meant a lot to me." In addition to a father with a mat background, Kirk's two older brothers are wrestlers, too. One of his brothers, Nick, wrestles heavyweight for the Broncos; eldest brother Erik is a veteran of the Boise State wrestling program. "We'd all be laying on the floor in the living room, watching TV," says Kirk. "The three sons would take on dad during the commercials. Or it would be dad and me versus the two older brothers." "I was so much smaller than they were when I was a kid," continues Kirk. "I was something of a late bloomer. It was good to grow bigger and be able to get back at my brothers." All that at-home wrestling experience helped pave the way to success as a youngster on actual wrestling mats. "I wrestled freestyle �til middle school," according to Kirk. "It was only in middle school that I started folkstyle." A star at Centennial … and beyond Kirk Smith's wrestling career really took off at Centennial High School in Boise. Coached by Collin Robertson (a Boise State wrestler who won the Pac-10 conference title at 149 pounds in 2002), Kirk was a four-time finalist at the Idaho state tournament, winning the state title twice -- his junior and senior years. While at Centennial, Kirk earned fifteen All-American awards, including four national championships. Just before starting his senior year, he earned the gold medal at the FILA Junior National Championships -- what he labels as "my biggest accomplishment. A couple close friends also won, which made it much more memorable." In his final year of high school, Kirk Smith was considered to be one of the top prep wrestlers in the country, and the top-ranked grappler at 171 pounds. He was also named to the national high school Dream Team his senior year. Kirk Smith also demonstrated excellence off the mat as well. He earned an incredible 3.8 grade point average in high school. Right at home in Boise With his impressive wrestling and academic credentials, it's little wonder that a number of top college programs tried to lure Kirk Smith away from his home state of Idaho. Kirk Smith"I watched my brothers go through the recruiting process," says Kirk. "I saw that some schools don't look out for the student." "I had known the folks at Boise State for a long time, especially (assistant coach) Chris Owens … I knew that I could trust the coaches and the program. I feel you have to believe in the coaches and the program, and have complete trust in them." "I got to talk to my brother Nick when he was at Virginia," Kirk continues. (Nick transferred from the University of Virginia to Boise State after the 2005-06 season.) He talked about the good things about being away, but also talked about homesickness and the challenges of being a long way from home. It was good to talk to him and others, and get their thoughts." In sharing his perspective on recruiting Kirk Smith, coach Greg Randall says, "We went up against some big-time programs, including Minnesota … We were thrilled when he verbally committed to us." "Getting to see my parents each week, having Sunday dinner with them, you can't beat that," says Kirk. A matter of style When asked to describe his wrestling style for his interview, Kirk Smith responds, "It depends on how a guy wants to wrestle me. If he wants to handfight, I can do that …" Greg Randall"You can't always use the same style to go up against a guy -- you have to switch things up." Ask Coach Randall about Kirk Smith's wrestling style, and he says, "He's very strong for his age. Very seasoned, very consistent. Not flashy, not unorthodox. Tough to take down. Tough on top." "We're working with him to work on scoring �- to get more takedowns, more scoring holds." "He always leads his match. He has never had to come from behind." In terms of attitude, Kirk Smith says, "I think of myself as hardnosed, getting after the guy, wrestling tough against the opponent." Greg Randall cites additional attitudinal attributes: "He's a consistent trainer year �round. Works out every day. Mature beyond his age. Weight is solid, never an issue. Loves to wrestle, loves to work out. His attitude rubs off on everybody in the room." "He also works hard in the classroom. In his first semester here, he got a 3.0." What's next Ask Kirk Smith what the highlight of his first year in college, and he responds without hesitation, "No highlights yet. The season's far from over. I've got to fulfill my goals of winning the Pac-10 conference title, and the nationals." "I'm no different than any other wrestler," Kirk continues. "I want to be the best I can be. I want to win the nationals multiple times." "I'd like to wrestle worldwide, and get back into freestyle. But it has to be in the cards. I'll wait and see." Beyond his on-the-mat career, the Exercise Science major says, "I would like to be a coach. I'm learning how the human body works, and how to help an athlete bring out the best." When asked about what makes a good coach, Kirk says, "Know when to be hard, but also know when to be a friend. To know your wrestlers in and outside the room -- where they need to be, what they need to work on, their mental process. Never be satisfied with what you've done." Kirk Smith is excited about the future -- not just his own, but also that of the Boise State Broncos. "We're going to open some eyes in the next couple years." Judging from the buzz generated among college wrestling fans across the nation since winning the 184-pound title at the 2007 Southern Scuffle, it's safe to say that Kirk Smith has already opened some eyes.

THIS WEEK The top-ranked Iowa wrestling team (14-1, 3-0 Big Ten) will take its seven-match winning streak on the road for the first of two straight weekend road trips. The Hawkeyes will wrestle at #3/#4 Minnesota (10-3, 2-0) Friday at 7:30 p.m. The dual in Williams Arena will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. The Hawkeyes will then travel to Madison to face #13/#15 Wisconsin (10-2-1, 1-1) Sunday at 1 p.m. at the University of Wisconsin Field House. PERRY UNDERGOES KNEE SURGERY Senior 165-pounder Mark Perry has undergone knee surgery. The announcement came Jan. 24 from Iowa's Head Wrestling Coach, Tom Brands. The Hawkeye senior, from Stillwater, OK, will miss 2-3 weeks of action. Perry had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and is expected back on the mat in early February. Perry, a three-time all-American, has a career record of 89-15. He currently has a 13-2 record and is ranked first nationally. His nine pins, this season, are best on the team. MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS Minnesota is 11-3 (2-0 Big Ten) and is ranked third in the nation by W.I.N. Magazine and fourth in the USA Today/NWCA/Intermat Coaches poll. The Golden Gophers are the defending Big Ten and NCAA champions. This season they have wins over Northern Illinois (35-12), Northern Colorado (29-9), North Dakota State (45-0), Nebraska (25-13), Cal State Fullerton (32-9), Cal Poly (23-12), West Virginia (32-9), Central Michigan (20-16), South Dakota State (34-9), Michigan State (23-15) and Michigan (24-15), and losses to Iowa State (18-13), Nebraska (24-13) and Michigan (23-15). Head Coach J Robinson is 329-104-3 in 23 seasons at Minnesota. He has coached 11 NCAA champions, 39 Big Ten champions and 85 all-Americans at Minnesota, while leading the Golden Gophers to six Big Ten and three NCAA titles. Robinson served as interim head coach at Iowa in 1984, when then-Head Coach Dan Gable coached the U.S. Olympic team. He was also an assistant coach (1976-83) and graduate assistant (1972-76) at Iowa. Robinson is assisted by Marty Morgan (Minnesota, 1991), Joe Russell (Minnesota, 1992) and Brandon Eggum (Minnesota, 2000). The Golden Gophers are led by seniors Manuel Rivera (141), C.P. Schlatter (157) and Mack Reiter (133), and sophomore Jayson Ness (125). Ness is undefeated at 26-0 and enters the dual on a 27-match winning streak, which is the second longest in the nation. Reiter is a Gilbertville, IA, native and was a four-time state champion for Don Bosco High School. Junior Dustin Schlatter (149) is the defending Big Ten champion and a two-time all-American, but has not competed since the end of December. WISCONSIN BADGERS Wisconsin is 10-2-1 (1-1 Big Ten) with wins over Dubuque (58-0), Tri-State (45-9), Wisconsin-Oshkosh (53-0), Cornell (21-18), Utah Valley State (28-7), Cal State Fullerton (28-12), Brown (34-6), Navy (23-12), Oklahoma (18-15) and Indiana (20-15), losses to Ohio State (23-13) and Iowa State (24-18) and a tie (16-16) with Northern Iowa. The Badgers are ranked 13th in the nation in the USA Today/NWCA/Intermat Coaches poll and 15th by W.I.N. Magazine. Head Coach Barry Davis is 151-98-10 in 14 seasons at Wisconsin. During his tenure, he has coached two NCAA Champions, 10 Big Ten Champions and 18 all-Americans. The 1985 Big Ten Athlete of the Year, Davis was a four-time all-American and Big Ten Champion and three-time NCAA Champion at 118 and 126 for Iowa (1981-85). A two-time Olympian, he holds Iowa records for most wins in a season (46) and career (162). Davis is assisted by Bart Chelesvig (Iowa, 1992), Donny Pritzlaff (Wisconsin, 2002) and Cory Wallman (Wisconsin, 1999). Chelesvig was a three-time all-American at 167 and 177 for the Hawkeyes (1988-92). The Badgers are led by returning NCAA finalist senior Craig Henning (157), juniors Dallas Herbst (197) and Kyle Massey (Hwt.), and sophomore Kyle Ruschell (141). THE SERIES Iowa leads the series with Minnesota, 62-24-1, and holds a 29-11-1 advantage in Minneapolis. Minnesota has won the last two meetings - 25-9 in 2006 and 29-13 in 2007. Iowa's last win in the series was 23-14 in Iowa City, in 2005. Iowa leads the series with Wisconsin, 70-8-3, and is 33-5-2 in Madison. Wisconsin won the last meeting in Iowa City (21-14 in 2007), breaking Iowa's streak of 32 consecutive wins in the series. Iowa's last win over the Badgers was 24-7 in 2006. WEEKEND MARQUEE MATCHUPS Junior Charlie Falck (125) and sophomores Joe Slaton (133), Dan LeClere (141), Ryan Morningstar (157) and Phillip Keddy (184) will each have marquee match-ups against Minnesota and Wisconsin. Sophomore Brent Metcalf (149) could also come up against defending Big Ten Champion Dustin Schlatter Friday night. Falck will face top-ranked and undefeated Jayson Ness (25-0) of Minnesota and senior Collin Cudd of Wisconsin. Falck is 0-3 vs. Ness and 2-1 vs. Cudd, and brings his own winning streak of 12 matches to the mat. Slaton will meet #5 Mack Reiter of Minnesota and Wisconsin junior Zach Tanelli. It will be Slaton's first meeting with both. LeClere and Morningstar will have a chances at upsets this weekend. LeClere will face #3 Manuel Rivera of Minnesota and #7 Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin. He is 0-1 vs. Rivera and has not faced Ruschell in collegiate competition. Morningstar hopes to pick up his first win against C.P. Schlatter of Minnesota and Craig Henning of Wisconsin, both of whom are ranked in the top 10. He is 0-3 vs. Henning and 0-2 vs. Schlatter. Keddy is set to meet #5 Roger Kish of Minnesota and Trevor Brandvold of Wisconsin. He is 0-1 against both. Metcalf could be part of one of the more anticipated matches in Minneapolis. He and Schlatter are ranked first or second in the nation, depending on the poll. The two have yet to meet in collegiate competition. Schlatter has not competed since the Southern Scuffle in December, so the meeting could be postponed until the Big Ten Championships, in Minneapolis in March. IOWA-WISCONSIN TIES • Wisconsin Head Coach Barry Davis is from Cedar Rapids, IA. His wife is the former Nan Doak, who was the 1985 10,000-meter NCAA Champion for the University of Iowa. She was a five-time all-American in track and three-time in cross country for the Hawkeyes, winning three Big Ten titles. A native of Hedrick, IA, she still holds the Iowa outdoor 5,000-meter record of 15:45.84. • Wisconsin Assistant Bart Chelesvig and Iowa Head Coach Tom Brands were Hawkeye teammates in 1989-92. Davis was an assistant coach for the Hawkeyes who won two NCAA and four Big Ten titles during those four seasons. LAST MEETING - MINNESOTA 29, IOWA 13 Iowa closed out the 2006-07 dual season with a 29-13 loss to top-ranked Minnesota Feb. 18 in Iowa City. A crowd of 8,274 saw the Hawkeyes end the regular season at 14-5 (5-3 Big Ten). The Golden Gophers claimed the Big Ten regular season title with a spotless 8-0 conference mark, going 20-1 overall. Minnesota jumped out to a 10-0 lead on Jayson Ness' 8-0 major decision over Hawkeye Charlie Falck at 125 and Gilbertville, IA, native Mack Reiter's 5:38 pin of senior Lucas Magnani. Hawkeye junior Alex Tsirtsis gave Iowa a much-needed boost at 141, pinning Mike Thorn in 1:16. The Golden Gophers responded with decisions at 149 and 157 from brothers Dustin and C.P. Schlatter to build a 16-6 lead. After the intermission, Iowa scored two wins of its own. Junior Mark Perry scored a last second escape to defeat Tyler Safratowich, 10-2, at 165. Senior Eric Luedke celebrated his 22nd birthday with a 3-1 win in the first tiebreak period over Gabriel Dretsch at 174. Minnesota ended the dual with wins at the last three weights, including a major decision at 184 and a forfeit at heavyweight. Minnesota 29, Iowa 13 125 - Jayson Ness (M) maj. dec. Charlie Falck (I), 8-0 133 - Mack Reiter (M) pinned Lucas Magnani (I), 5:38 141 - Alex Tsirtsis (I) pinned Mike Thorn (M), 1:16 149 - Dustin Schlatter (M) dec. Alex Grunder (I), 5-2 157 - C.P. Schlatter (M) dec. Ryan Morningstar (I), 9-4 165 - Mark Perry (I) maj. dec. Tyler Safratowich (M), 10-2 174 - Eric Luedke (I) dec. Gabriel Dretsch (M), 3-1 TB-1 184 - Roger Kish (M) maj. dec. Phillip Keddy (I), 14-5 197 - Yura Malamura (M) dec. Jordan McLaughlin (I), 4-3 Hwt. - Cole Konrad (M) won by forfeit LAST MEETING - WISCONSIN 21, IOWA 14 The Iowa wrestling team lost its Big Ten home opener to Wisconsin, 21-14, Jan. 27, 2007, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It was Wisconsin's first win in the series since 1966 and its first in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa fell to 10-3 (2-1 Big Ten), while the Badgers improved to 16-1 (2-1 Big Ten). The dual started at 125 pounds, where Hawkeye sophomore Charlie Falck held off a late charge by Wisconsin's Collin Cudd to win 12-9. It was Iowa's only lead of the dual, as the Badgers rolled off decisions at the next four weights to take a 12-3 lead. Hawkeye junior Mark Perry's 18-2 match termination over Jake Donar at 165 made up some ground, and senior Eric Luedke 5-0 decision over Mike Felling at 174 pulled Iowa to within one (12-11). But Wisconsin scored a decision at 184 and a first-period pin at 197 to put the team win out of reach for the Hawkeyes. Iowa junior heavyweight Matt Fields won the final match of the night - a 6-3 decision over Kyle Massey. Wisconsin 21, Iowa 14 125 - Charlie Falck (I) dec. Collin Cudd (W), 12-9 133 - Zach Tanelli (W) dec. Mario Galanakis (I), 7-5 141 - Kyle Ruschell (W) dec. Alex Tsirtsis (I), 6-4 149 - Tyler Turner (W) dec. Alex Grunder (I), 8-2 157 - Craig Henning (W) dec. Ryan Morningstar (I), 2-0 165 - Mark Perry (I) tech. fall Jake Donar (W), 18-2 in 4:56 174 - Eric Luedke (I) dec. Mike Felling (W), 5-0 184 - Trevor Brandvold (W) dec. Phillip Keddy (I), 6-2 197 - Dallas Herbst (W) pinned Rick Loera (I), 0:49 Hwt. - Matt Fields (I) dec. Kyle Massey (W), 6-3 IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY Iowa's overall dual meet record is 821-215-30 (.784) in 96 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 20 national titles and 31 Big Ten titles. Iowa's 48 NCAA champions have won a total of 74 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 13 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes' 100 Big Ten champions have won a total of 181 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 24 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa's 130 all-Americans have earned all-America status 266 times, including 16 four-time, 28 three-time and 32 two-time honorees. IOWA TICKET INFORMATION Tickets for Iowa's two remaining home duals are on sale at the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office or at 1-800-464-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com. University of Iowa students will be admitted free to all matches with a student ID. Tickets purchased in advance are $8 for adults and $4 for youth. Tickets purchased at the event are $10 for adults and $5 for youth. FAMILY FOUR PACK AVAILABLE The University of Iowa is offering a Family Four Pack ticket package for the Iowa vs. Indiana dual on Feb. 15. The package includes four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks for $30. Orders can be placed through the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office or at 1-800-464-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com. LAST WEEK Top-ranked Iowa won its seventh straight dual Sunday night, defeating #10 Northwestern, 22-13, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes won six bouts, but trailed the first half of the dual against an aggressive Wildcat squad. The win was the 160th for Iowa in Carver-Hawkeye Arena and the 45th career victory for Coach Tom Brands. Iowa improved to 14-1 (3-0 in the Big Ten), while the Wildcats fell to 5-5 (0-1). Northwestern jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Senior Mike Tamillow opened the dual at 197 with a 12-3 major decision over Iowa sophomore Chad Beatty. Top-ranked senior heavyweight Dustin Fox used 1:07 of riding time to defeat #6 Matt Fields, 2-1. The Hawkeyes bounced back as #3 Charlie Falck scored his 20th season victory with a 5-3 win over #5 Brandon Precin at 125. Sophomore Joe Slaton, who is ranked fourth in the nation, followed at 133 with an 11-6 win over unranked Eric Metzler. Northwestern responded with an upset at 141 as unranked freshman Keith Sulzer defeated #9 Dan LeClere, 9-3. Trailing 10-6, Iowa won four of the last five bouts. Sophomores Brent Metcalf (149), Ryan Morningstar (157), Jay Borschel (174) and Phillip Keddy (184) each picked up wins for the Hawkeyes. Top-ranked Metcalf dominated #4 Ryan Lang, scoring a 12-3 major decision. Metcalf has won his last 16 matches and is 19-1 this season. Keddy brought the crowd of 5,837 to its feet with his 1:58 pin over Adil Kolovic to end the dual and clinch the win for Iowa. Iowa 22, Northwestern 13 197 - Mike Tamillow (N) maj. dec. Chad Beatty (I), 12-3 Hwt. - Dustin Fox (N) dec. Matt Fields (I), 2-1 125 - Charlie Falck (I) dec. Brandon Precin (N), 5-3 133 - Joe Slaton (I) dec. Eric Metzler (N), 11-6 141 - Keith Sulzer (N) dec. Dan LeClere (I), 9-3 149 - Brent Metcalf (I) maj. dec. Ryan Lang (N), 12-3 157 - Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. Andrew Nadhir (N), 6-4 165 - Dominic Marella (N) dec. Aaron Janssen (I), 7-5 174 - Jay Borschel (I) dec. Nick Hayes (N), 3-1 184 - Phillip Keddy (I) pinned Adil Kolovic (N), 1:58 NEXT COMPETITION Iowa (14-1, 3-0 Big Ten) will hit the road for the second straight week, taking a non-conference road trip out west. The Hawkeyes will face Arizona State (9-4, 3-4 Pac 10) Feb. 8 at Copper Canyon High School in Glendale, AZ, at 8:30 p.m. (CT). Iowa will then face Boise State (7-1, 6-1 Pac 10) Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. (CT) at Taco Bell Arena in Boise, ID.

This week's edition of "On the Mat" will feature Jim Miller and Sam Barber. "On the Mat" is a weekly wrestling radio program that airs every Wednesday night. This week's broadcast can be heard live from 6-7 p.m. Central Standard Time. The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, hosts the show. Miller is the current head wrestling coach at Wartburg College. Wartburg is the top ranked team Division III wrestling team in the nation and carry 19-0 dual meet record. Miller owns a 320-28-3 career dual meet record and has led the Knight to five NCAA team titles. Barber is in his first year as the head coach of Augsburg College, previously serving as the school's assistant coach for seven years. Augsburg is coming off a big win over second ranked Division II power Nebraska-Omaha. The Auggies are currently ranked third in the nation in Division III. On Saturday, February 2, Augsburg will face Wartburg in "The Battle of The Burgs." This dual meet will also feature a high school meet between scholastic powers Apple Valley (Minnesota) and Waverly Shell Rock (Iowa). Over the course of the past 13 seasons, either Augsburg or Wartburg has won the NCAA Division III tournament. Augsburg has won 10 NCAA titles since 1991 and Wartburg has won five. This dual has become one of the greatest rivalries in college wrestling. The high school dual will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the Wartburg-Augsburg meet scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Both events will take place in Levick Arena on the campus of Wartburg. Tickets for Saturday's double dual are $5 for adults and $3 for students. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. "On the Mat" can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa on 1650, The Fan. Feel free to e-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with questions or comments about the show.

Storm Lake, Iowa -- After guiding the Buena Vista University wrestling program for the past three-plus seasons, Director of Athletics Jan Travis has announced that head coach Mark Schwab will step down as coach of the Beavers effective May 31, 2008. "I would like to thank Coach Schwab for the efforts and leadership he's shown and put forth while guiding the Beaver wrestling program over these last four years," Travis said. "We hate to see him go, but want to wish him the best in all of his future endeavors." Mark SchwabSchwab became just the second coach to lead the Beavers since the start of the 1978-79 season when he was hired in 2004 following the retirement of legendary coach, Al Baxter. To this point, the 2007 Iowa Conference Coach of the Year has seen his squads improve from a pair of seventh-place finishes to last season's fourth-place finish at the Iowa Conference Championships. The same can also be said at the NCAA Tournament, where his squads placed 30th and 21st, respectively, in his first two seasons, to a seventh-place standing a year ago. Schwab says he will step down with plenty of good memories from his time guiding the Beavers. "There were sure a lot of good moments here," Schwab said. "What I consider best moments are small things overall - like guys breaking thru, winning hard fought matches. I loved it when we could celebrate as a team." BVU's seventh-place team finish at the 2007 National Tournament was the program's highest since placing fifth back in 2002. BVU's fourth-place finish during last year's Iowa Conference Championships was its highest since taking fourth in 2001. To this point, Schwab has coached one individual conference champion and five All-Americans during his tenure, while also having a pair of wrestlers earn Scholar All-American accolades and one earn Academic All-Conference honors. "It was a very challenging experience, and there is an awful lot to being a head coach in any sport; much more than most would think," Schwab added. "With the three recruiting classes we had in, it was interesting to see just how much an individual differs from the next but yet how predicable we can all be. This experience was a hands-on dealing with people in all their stages of highs and lows. It's personal education for future endeavors." "We are very sad to see Coach Schwab step down," said BVU President Fred Moore. "He has led our wrestling program with tremendous distinction and character. At the same time, I understand his desire to start a new chapter in his life and wish him well. BVU has a proud wrestling tradition, and we will move swiftly to name a new head coach to lead us into the future." A search for a replacement will begin immediately.

OREM, Utah -- In a dual that was switched to the Utah Valley wrestling practice room due to a campus power outage, North Dakota State edged the Wolverines, 23-10 in Western Wrestling Conference dual action. Seven of the 10 matches were decision victories while the other three were major decisions. Utah Valley's (7-9, 1-2 Western Wrestling Conference) Marc Fenwick, Casen Eldredge and Benjamin Kjar won their matches. Fenwick picked up a major decision victory for the Wolverines. Taking advantage of an injury that kept regular UV starter Gehrhart Vuksinick out of the dual, NDSU (8-8, 2-1) jumped to a quick 7-0 lead with a pair of wins. The dual started at the 157-pound weight class where regular 141-pounder Nathan Gardner of Utah Valley went up against the Bison's wrestler with the best record in Adam Aho. Gardner held his own before Aho recorded a late takedown to give him a 12-4 major decision win. Nate Kearsley, wrestling up one weight at 165, took a lead into the third period before opponent Vincent Salimen recorded a late take down and three-point near fall to take the match 12-7. In one of the most dominating efforts of the day, Fenwick controlled much of the early part of the match, jumping to a 13-0 lead with a takedown and a series of near falls. Opponent Shannon Fettig managed to avoid being pinned but Fenwick cruised to a 14-4 major decision victory to cut NDSU's lead to 7-4. Eldredge followed Fenwick with a 9-6 decision victory to tie the dual at 7-7. Down 6-5 in the third round, Eldredge recorded an escape to tie the match then a take down to take the lead. With riding time, Eldredge took the match. After Mark Dennis fell 4-0 and Billy Green fell 6-3 in two tightly contested matches, Kjar recorded a 7-4 victory over NDSU's Eric Hoffman in the 125-pound matchup. Kjar controlled the match in the early going as he recorded a lightning quick takedown and three-point near fall. The tall Hoffman was able to avoid being pinned but Kjar prevailed 7-4 to cut the dual deficit to 13-10. The Bison would win the final three matches of the day, one by major decision to take the dual by a 23-10 margin. The Wolverines will have over a week to get healthy before they return to action, traveling to WWC foes Wyoming and Northern Colorado on Feb. 8 and 9.

GREELEY, Colo. - For just the second time since Jack Maughan has been the head coach at the University of Northern Colorado, the wrestling team defeated North Dakota State, doing so Saturday afternoon 21-18. The Bears improve to 4-5 in dual matches and 2-1 in Western Wrestling Conference action, while the Bison fall to 7-8 overall and 1-1 in league. North Dakota State scored the first nine points of the match, getting a fall by Kenny Moenkedick and a decision by Jacob Bryce at 184 and 197 pounds, respectively. Senior heavyweight Reece Hopkin got the Bears on the board, shutting out Tyler Hemmesch 15-0 for the 9-5 team score. Sophomore 125-pounder Tony Mustari kept things going, winning a 5-3 decision over Eric Hoffman, avenging a pair of losses last year as the Bears pulled within one, 9-8. The Bison were victorious in the next two weight classes, with Eric Sanders winning a 6-5 decision over Blayze Bahe and Gabriel Mooney defeating Richard Lohr 6-4. "I'm very proud of how Blayze Bahe and Richard Lohr finished their matches," said Maughan. You have to win in the third period to win matches and was proud of how they wrestled at the end, even though they didn't win." Junior Daniel Prater held an early lead over Andrey Patselov, but saw it slip away with just 1:07 left on the clock as Patselov recorded a takedown and then a nearfall to lead 7-6. With eight ticks left, Prater got a reversal to win 8-7 and pull NC back within four, 15-11. Next on the mat was Rocco Depaolo, wrestling up a weight class. He lost an 8-2 decision to Adam Aho and the Bears were down again by seven, 18-11. Junior Devan Lewis had a huge day, pinning Mike Quamme in 2:10 after trailing early 2-0 and brought Northern Colorado within one, 18-17. The 10th and final weight class pitted junior Ryan Johnson against Shannon Fetig. Johnson scored the first two points of the bout on a takedown and never looked back, winning 11-3 for the major decision and a team 21-18 victory. Maughan is now 2-19-1 all-time against his father, North Dakota State coach Bucky Maughan. "I'm happy with how we performed, even in some of the matches where we lost to them," Jack Maughan said. "Ryan Johnson had a great win. He's a good story about a walk-on making good." Northern Colorado will now take 12 days off from competition, returning to the mats on Feb. 8 as the Bears host Utah Valley State in Western Wrestling Conference action. That match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.

Winston Churchill once said, "It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time." Churchill would both live and die before his quote could describe Central DeWitt's Kurt Kreiter's journey into coaching. The journey has held many challenges that define a man who has faced so much. As a prep at North Scott high school, Kreiter would be introduced to his destiny even before he would realize it. Participating in football, baseball, and wrestling, a sport his late father would introduce both him and his brother to, created in Kreiter a life-long commitment to teaching and wrestling hidden inside a serious challenge. Kurt KreiterBut before he could face this challenge, another piece of his story was unfolding. During his sophomore season, Kreiter would be influenced by his sophomore football and wrestling coach, who also taught biology. "I had no idea what I wanted to do. I really liked my biology teacher, who ironically was a DeWitt grad," Kreiter mentions with a smile. "I told myself, that's what I wanted to do." While the first chain of his destiny would appear to him that sophomore year, it would soon be replaced by another. Entering his junior year, Kreiter would soon be faced with his destiny, disguised as a challenge that would forever shape him. "I was a junior in high school, and I developed a mass on my testicle and was diagnosed with testicular cancer," Kreiter explains. "I ended up going to the hospital at the university of Indianapolis, were I would receive medical treatment." Kreiter adds, "I would have the same doctors that Lance Armstrong would later have." Kreiter would fight through this challenge, referring to the event as "a major turning point" in his life. While he won the battle with cancer, it affected Kreiter's athletic career. "It really didn't do a lot for me as an athlete my senior year. I lost a lot of weight and had major surgery," states Kreiter. But the experience would leave a lasting mark. "I decided at a young age that when confronted with something like this I wanted to be a certain type of person and knowing now that you're really never sure what life is going to throw at you, I decided that I was going to try to do what I could, to become that type of person," Kreiter said. That year Kreiter still wrestled and played baseball and football. In fact, he did not miss a football practice, a real life testimony to the lesson of resiliency he would later teach to his future wrestlers. Kreiter would fall short of his goal of qualifying for the state meet that senior season, setting in motion the next part of his story. Knowing that Kurt wanted to farm, Kreiter's father stepped in and told him that he had to attend college. Leaving high school both frustrated and disgusted after not qualifying for the state tournament, Kreiter scrapped a plan to attend Central College to wrestle. Instead he attended the university of Iowa. He tried to leave the sport of wrestling, but his destiny lured him back into the sport a short time later. After a year at Iowa, Kreiter would miss the sport that he felt he had walked away from. Transferring to Augustana College to play football, he enrolled in a wrestling coaching and officiating class that was the catalyst to get him back into wrestling. "The teacher would basically tell a story and the varsity guys would go wrestle. it was basically an extra practice," Kreiter said. After a few times, they would eventually invite Kreiter to come join them, allowing him to move on to the next link in his destiny. He would become a three-year starter for Augustana, wrestling at 190 pounds. He earned academic All-American honors his senior season, and qualified for the national tournament twice. Leaving college having already faced several challenges, Kreiter would be ready to tackle his next. Just like the sophomore teacher who would inspire Kreiter to enter the education profession, he would find himself at the school Mr. Warren had graduated from. Kreiter would serve as an assistant for two years before becoming the head wrestling coach at DeWitt High School, a position he has held for the past 18 seasons. Kreiter is only 11 duals wins away from 200, and holds a career dual meet record of 189-163, but the numbers only tell half the challenge of taking over the Saber program. "The first few years were pretty rough," Kreiter mentions with a half smile, "the first three years we were 4-42. I had fifty losses before I had 10 wins and 100 losses before I had 50 wins." While Kreiter credits being young and holding on to the vision he saw for the program as a reason for hanging in there, the very thing he stresses to his athletes: commitment, played an even larger role. He would be tested with another challenge that would serve as the turning point of the program. When he felt that his team was ready to take the next step, Kreiter entered a double dual in 1992 against Northeast and Fulton, and his team was throttled. "We just got annihilated." Kreiter quickly continues, "We told the guys we were going to have an optional practice the next day to see who really wanted to practice, to wrestle; we had one guy show up." From that point on Kreiter decided that the only way to change the attitude of the program was to make it as hard as he could to ensure that only the strong survived. Four years later Kreiter would crown his first state champion, and recently he sent seven qualifiers to the state meet and placed fourth in the class 2A state duals. While the success is something Kreiter points out as goals he has had for the program, he feels that coaching offers so much more, and being a cancer survivor for twenty-five years has played an important part of what he wants to teach his wrestlers. "Being a cancer survivor has helped to keep things in perspective. I talk about my experiences with cancer. Coaching's a privilege, and also a responsibility. as coaches we have a lot more to offer guys -- life lessons we've experienced, and to help them out in tough situations, but most importantly commitment. To be successful you have to commit yourself. Attitude, resiliency, and time management, time is the only thing that is equal, everyone has only 24 hours a day to work with." Kurt KreiterWhile Kreiter has been challenged through his life, his destiny would not let him look too far ahead. Ironically, it seemed always to be one step ahead. This season there are new challenges on the way. Among others, Kreiter must try to replace a senior class that put DeWitt on the map, and he must now face his brother, who has just been named the new North Scott head coach. Even though the Saber head coach graduated from North Scott, he lets it be known what his true colors are, "I bleed Purple and gold, instead of scarlet and gray now," Kreiter says with a wide grin. While talking about the dual with his brother this season, Kreiter briefly says, "I'm excited. I'd like to beat him." But Kreiter, who is a passionate teacher and candidly says, "There's not a day I haven't looked forward to coming to work at Central," knows in the end that wins and losses don't measure the success of a coach. "When it's all said and done I'm not going to be judged by my peers, or my athletes, by the wins and losses, I'm going to be judged by a lot of other things." While the farming community has missed out on a great man, his destiny let the education profession inherit one of those men that are hard to find but even harder to replace.

Minnesota Probable Lineup: 125 Pounds: No. 1 Jayson Ness (25-0, Division I-leading 17 pins) 133 Pounds: No. 2 Mack Reiter (16-3, 10-2 in dual meets) 141 Pounds: No. 4 Manuel Rivera (25-2, beat No. 3 Kellen Russell of UM Friday) 149 Pounds: Luke Mellmer (8-14) OR No. 2 Dustin Schlatter (13-1) 157 Pounds: No. 7 C.P. Schlatter (21-2, 11-2 in dual meets) 165 Pounds: Tyler Safratowich (19-7, 2007 NCAA qualifier) 174 Pounds: No. 11 Gabe Dretsch (21-7, will face No. 2 Jay Borschel Friday) 184 Pounds: No. 5 Roger Kish (8-3, two-time All-American) 197 Pounds: Justin Bronson (14-12) OR Chris McPhail (3-2) Heavyweight: Ben Berhow (12-10) OR Yura Malamura (10-8)

Ticket sales for the 2008 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, to be held March 8-9 at Williams Arena on the University of Minnesota campus, have been moving briskly, Minnesota Athletics officials announced today. Over 3,500 all-session tickets have already been sold for the two-day event, which will take place in Minneapolis for the first time since 1997. The 3,500 number already eclipses the total number of all-session tickets sold at the previous two Big Ten Championships, which were held in East Lansing, Mich. (2007) and Bloomington, Ind. (2006). "The fan base for Big Ten wrestling is outstanding, and we fully expect great crowds for both days of the championships," said Minnesota associate athletic director and championships manager Marc Ryan. "Tickets are selling fast, and I would urge fans to reserve their seats as quickly as possible." All-session tickets for the 2008 Big Ten Wrestling Championships are priced at just $30 and admit fans to all three sessions of one of the conference's most exciting postseason events. Sessions 1 and 2 will take place on Saturday, March 8, while the Session 3 finals will begin at noon on Sunday, March 9. Tickets may be purchased online through www.gophersports.com, in person at the athletics ticket office in Mariucci Arena or by calling 1-800-U-GOPHER or 612-624-8080. Single-session tickets, if available, will not go on sale until the week of the championship on Monday, March 3.

The Minnesota coaching staff determined on Monday that Roger Kish will wrestle this Friday night against Iowa, while Dustin Schlatter is a "possibility." Roger Kish (Photo/The Guillotine)Kish, a two-time All-American, has not competed since the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals on January 12-13, where he went 0-2. He is expected to face Iowa's Phil Keddy on Friday night in a much anticipated match at 184 pounds. Schlatter, who is also a two-time All-American, has not competed since finishing runner-up at the Southern Scuffle on December 30. If Schlatter does wrestle, he will face Iowa's Brent Metcalf, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the country. If Schlatter is held out of the dual, Luke Mellmer will likely be inserted at 149 pounds. More information with projected lineups coming soon.

LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Claiming its second victory over a team ranked No. 2 in the nation in a three-day span, the Augsburg College wrestling team scored a 23-14 victory over the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in a wrestling dual meet on Sunday afternoon at Wisconsin-La Crosse's Mitchell Hall. Augsburg (9-1 in dual meets), ranked No. 3 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national rankings, avenged an earlier 26-12 loss to Wisconsin-La Crosse (19-2), ranked No. 2, in the semifinals of the NWCA Division III National Duals on Jan. 13. Augsburg is the defending NCAA Division III national champions and winners of 10 of the last 17 national titles. The Auggies completed a successful weekend against No. 2-ranked national teams. On Friday night, the Auggies topped Nebraska-Omaha, the No. 2-ranked team in Division II, 22-15. Augsburg is the defending NCAA Division III national champions and winners of 10 of the last 17 national titles. Against teams from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 227-18 since the 1989-90 season, losing just 13 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 season. Against strictly Division III opponents, Augsburg is 234-21 since the 1979-80 season and 158-11 since the 1989-90 season. As was the case in Friday's win over Nebraska-Omaha, the lower weights proved to be the difference in the match. The Auggies won the first five bouts of the match, including two bonus-point victories, to build a 20-0 lead. No. 4-ranked Seth Flodeen (JR, Cannon Falls, Minn.) opened the match with a third-period pin at 125 pounds, and No. 4-ranked Travis Lang (JR, Bismarck, N.D.) followed with a 7-3 victory over the Eagles' No. 5-ranked Jordan Kolinski at 133. Flodeen actually trailed 4-2 after one period in his bout with Pat Parrillo, but scored an escape, two takedowns and a three-point near-fall before getting his pin in the third period. Lang gave up a takedown in the first period, but rallied with a reversal, three-point near-fall and second-period escape to take command of the match and improve to 25-1 on the year. Lucas Murray (FY, Anoka, Minn.) claimed an 5-3 win at 141, going ahead in the second period with an escape and earning a riding-time bonus point. At 149, No. 2-ranked Willy Holst (SO, Prescott, Wis.) improved to 23-2 on the year with an 18-3, third-period technical-fall victory, scoring five takedowns, a reversal and two near-falls to gain the win. Beau Hansen (FY, Albert Lea, Minn.) then clinched the shutout start to the match with a 6-2 decision at 157. The Auggies clinched the match win at 184, when No. 8-ranked Robbie Gotreau (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) claimed an 8-4 win over the Eagles' No. 3-ranked Josh Zabel. Gotrueau built a 5-2 lead after two periods on two takedowns and an escape, then clinched the win with a takedown and riding-time point in the third period. The Eagles' two top-ranked wrestlers scored major-decision victories, as Tim Palmer scored a 15-4 win over Brandon Klukow (JR, Albert Lea, Minn.) at 165, and Josh Chelf scored an 11-1 win over George Lynaugh (SR, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) at 174. No. 7-ranked Andy Moore scored an 8-3 win over Wallace O'Connor (SR, Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West HS) at 197, and Hakan Binek edged Augsburg's Andy Witzel (SO, Fulda, Minn.) 6-4 at heavyweight. The road does not get any easier for the Auggies, as they will travel to face No. 1-ranked Wartburg (Iowa) in a dual on Saturday (2/2) at 7:30 p.m. in Waverly, Iowa, while Wisconsin-La Crosse faces Wisconsin-Eau Claire in a dual on Tuesday (1/29) at 7 p.m.

Hempstead, NY -- The Pride won seven of 10 matches including a win by fall by Tom Daddino and a top 10 victory by Dave Tomasette as 12th-ranked Hofstra posted a 25-11 victory over the University of Pennsylvania at the Physical Fitness Center Sunday. The Pride recorded their sixth consecutive dual match victory to improve to 11-6 on the season. The Quakers fell to 5-4. Tomasette, the 13th-ranked senior at 125 pounds, opened the match with an 8-2 victory over Penn's seventh-ranked sophomore Rollie Peterkin (17-2). Tomasette, who improved to 25-6 on the year, took a 3-1 lead into the third period and blew the contest open with a two-point near-fall and another takedown. Daddino (4-6) closed out the match with a pin of Penn junior Trey McLean (12-8) in 3:26. It was the senior newcomers' second pin of the season. After Tomasette's match-opening upset, sixth-ranked Lou Ruggirello won his 12th consecutive match, to improve to 28-4 on the year, with a 3-2 victory over Penn freshman Bryan Ortenzio (12-11) at 133 pounds. Pride senior Charles Griffin (26-3), ranked sixth at 141 pound, gave Hofstra a 10-0 lead in the match with a 15-6 victory over junior Andy Valenti (6-6). The Quakers got on the board with a 23-8 tech fall victory by 14th-ranked Cesar Grajales (21-3) over Pride freshman Jeff Rotella at 149 pounds. But Hofstra sophomore Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (12-9) won his fifth straight match with a 10-5 decision over sophomore Rob Hitschler (10-3) at 157 pounds to boost the Pride lead to 13-5. Penn's 18th-ranked junior Zack Shanaman (16-5) brought the Quakers back to within five at 13-8 with a 4-2 decision over Ryan Patrovich (15-9) at 165. Alton Lucas, Hofstra's fifth-ranked junior at 174 pounds, posted his seventh consecutive victory with a 5-3 decision over senior Jeff Zannetti (7-5). Lucas'20th victory of the season, with only two losses, boosted the Pride lead to 16-8. But Penn's 19th-ranked senior Lior Zamir (13-7) downed freshman Justin Danz (8-16), 6-1, at 184 pounds to close the deficit to 16-11. Joe Rovelli, Hofstra's eighth-ranked senior at 197 pounds, sealed the victory, before Daddino's pin, with a 7-4 decision over sophomore Thomas Shovlin (7-5). The victory was Rovelli's 20th of the year against just three losses. Hofstra returns to action next Saturday, February 2 when they travel to Ithaca, New York for a match-up with the 16th-ranked Big Red of Cornell. Match time is 1 p.m.

Columbia, Mo. -- Improving to 7-2-1 on the season, the 11th-ranked Missouri wrestling team earned its second home victory of the year after putting away No. 16 Cornell (1-5), 21-13, in the Hearnes Center. Together Missouri's starting lineup recorded 23 takedowns on the day, with junior 184-pounder Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) and sophomore 197-pounder Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.) totaling 13 takedowns between their two matches. Junior Marcus Hoehn (Farmington, Mo.) got the ball rolling for Missouri, earning a 9-3 win by decision against Eric McGill at 141 pounds. Hoehn's win made way for senior Josh Wagner (Milton, Wis.), who took the mat at 149 pounds. Earning his 80th career victory, 15th-ranked Wagner won a 14-3 major decision over D.J. Meagher bringing Missouri's team total even with Cornell's, 7-7. Wagner's victory marked the second straight week that a Tiger grappler reached the 80-win mark, with Jordan recording his 80th career victory last week against Oklahoma State's Jack Jensen. In addition, Hoehn and Wagner helped Missouri capture its fourth come-from-behind victory of the year. The first match of the day to feature two ranked wrestlers came at 157 pounds. Missouri's 14th-ranked Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) exchanged shots and scrambled well with No. 6 Jordan Leen, but it was Leen who came out on top, 4-2. Second-ranked Nicholas Marable (Collierville, Tenn.) was credited with his eighth win against a top-20 ranked 165 pound wrestler. A low-scoring bout, Marable held off No. 4 Mack Lewnes, 3-2 for the win. Marable scored first with a takedown 1:30 into the bout and held Lewnes to two escapes for the one point victory. The Tiger trio of Jordan, Askren and sophomore Mark Ellis (Peculiar, Mo.) came up with their fifth back-to-back-to-back wins of the season helping seal Missouri's victory, 21-13. Jordan, ranked fourth in the nation at 184 pounds, won his bout with Mike Moore, 17-6, taking down the Big Red wrestler five times within the final 49 seconds of the match. "I got off to a slow start in my match," Jordan said. "Then I started to feel better as the match went on. I could tell that Mike was getting tired and I knew I could take him down easier." Askren, earning his seventh consecutive win of the season, totaled six takedowns in his bout with Taylor Moore, collecting a 16-3 win by major decision. Last on the mat for Missouri was heavyweight Ellis. Upsetting 10th-ranked Zach Hammond, 2-1, the two went into overtime tied at one. Scoreless through the first one minute sudden victory period, Ellis chose down to start the first 30-second overtime segment and escaped in four seconds. Ellis rode out Hammond in the final 30-second period for his fourth one point win of the year. Missouri will resume Big 12 action when they take on No. 2 Nebraska, Saturday, Feb. 2 in Lincoln.

IOWA CITY, IA -- The top-ranked Iowa wrestling team won its seventh straight dual Sunday night, defeating #10 Northwestern, 22-13, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes won six bouts, but trailed the first half of the dual against an aggressive Wildcat squad. The win was the 160th for Iowa in Carver-Hawkeye Arena and the 45th career victory for Hawkeye Head Coach Tom Brands. Iowa improved to 14-1 (3-0 in the Big Ten), while the Wildcats fell to 5-5 (0-1). Northwestern jumped out to a 7-0 lead with wins at the first two weights. Senior Mike Tamillow opened the dual at 197 with a 12-3 major decision over Iowa sophomore Chad Beatty. Top-ranked senior heavyweight Dustin Fox used 1:07 of riding time to defeat #6 Matt Fields, 2-1. The Hawkeyes bounced back with #3 Charlie Falck scoring his 20th season victory with a 5-3 win over #5 Brandon Precin at 125. Falck is undefeated at 15-0 in duals and has won his last 12 bouts. Sophomore Joe Slaton, who is ranked fourth in the nation, followed at 133 with an 11-6 win over unranked Eric Metzler. Northwestern responded with an upset at 141 as unranked freshman Keith Sulzer defeated #9 Dan LeClere, 9-3. Trailing 10-6, Iowa won four of the last five bouts to remain undefeated in the Big Ten. Sophomores Brent Metcalf (149), Ryan Morningstar (157), Jay Borschel (174) and Phillip Keddy (184) each picked up wins for the Hawkeyes. Top-ranked Metcalf dominated #4 Ryan Lang, scoring a 12-3 major decision. Metcalf has won his last 16 matches and is 19-1 this season. Keddy brought the crowd of 5,837 to its feet with his 1:58 pin over Adil Kolovic to end the dual and clinch the win for Iowa. Iowa next competition will be a Big Ten weekend road tip. The Hawkeyes will wrestle at #3/#4 Minnesota (10-3, 2-0) Friday, February 1 at 7:30 p.m. The dual in Williams Arena will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. The Hawkeyes will then travel to Madison to face #13/#16 Wisconsin (10-2-1, 1-0) Sunday, February 3 at 1 p.m. at the University of Wisconsin Field House.

John Smith (Oklahoma State) On the match "You've got to grind out some matches. You've got to pick up important takedowns. I thought we did that at 125, '33 and '41 (pounds). I thought Ryan Freeman did a good job just being competitive for where he's at right now. Newly McSpadden looked pretty Newly -– not enough when it came crunch time, gave up important takedowns. Overall, a little bit of a slugfest out there. It seems like we're still struggling a little bit with our offense. Hopefully we can put the pieces back together there." "There are certain things that we need to be doing that we're struggling a little bit doing. With time, hopefully we can get to that point. Good win though." On his team's effort "I don't walk out of this match very pleased with our effort. What I do walk out with is you've got to find ways to win when things are not looking real good. I thought that some of our ‘A' guys, guys that wrestled hoping to get some bonus points, struggled in some of their matches, but at the same time they picked up key takedowns to make the difference." On Iowa State "They were aggressive. They came out and pushed and shoved a lot. We've got to do a better job of controlling the center. They definitely exposed a little bit of what we are having problems at." Brandon Mason (Oklahoma State) On his match and the dual "I knew what the team score was. It was kind of sour in my mouth after Missouri, going out there and the team needed a major decision to win the dual and I didn't get it. So I was motivated to go out there for the team and get (the major decision against Iowa State)." "I was pretty confident that a bonus point victory would be the difference because Jack (Jensen) wrestled (Varner) tough last year ... So I knew if I went out and got the major and Jack wrestled tough, which he did, we'd win the dual. I didn't wrestle a great match, but I guess I did enough to get the major." On Iowa State "They came here to wrestle hard. There were a couple of matches at the beginning that could have gone either way. (Jared) Rosholt wrestled a heck of a match. He will finish that by the end of the year. He had the only two shots in the match, really. As soon as he finishes them I think he can beat anybody." On Jake Dieffenbach "(Jake Dieffenbach) was the missing ingredient that we needed. He hasn't been feeling that good lately, and he's beaten tough kids. He's shown a lot of heart the last two weeks."

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State's third-ranked wrestling team held on in the final three matches to defeat No. 9 Iowa State, 16-15, at Gallagher-Iba Arena Sunday evening. Sunday's victory marked the second win in three days for OSU as the Cowboys improved to 12-2-1 on the season. The Cowboys are now 27-5-1 all-time at home against the Cyclones. "I don't walk out of this match very pleased with our effort," said OSU head coach John Smith. "What I do walk out with is you've got to find ways to win when things are not looking real good. I thought that some of our 'A' guys, guys that wrestled hoping to get some bonus points, struggled in some of their matches, but at the same time they picked up key takedowns to make the difference." The decisive match of the dual came at 174 pounds. OSU junior and seventh-ranked Brandon Mason recorded a takedown and two near falls in the first period against ISU's Aron Scott. Mason went on to earn a major decision of 9-1 to give the Cowboys four needed points. At 165 pounds, No. 5 Jake Dieffenbach had an important last-second takedown to grab a win over No. 6 Jon Reader. In the final match of the night, OSU senior Jack Jensen battled top-ranked Jake Varner to a 2-1 decision in the Cyclone's favor, but it was not enough for the visitors to overtake the Cowboys. Match-by-Match Breakdown: 197 pounds: After a slow start, Iowa State's 20th ranked David Bertolino scored points on an escape and a takedown in the second period to edge Oklahoma State's Clayton Foster 3-1 in the first match of the night. Heavyweight: In the first of many top 10 matchups of the night, No. 5 David Zabriskie registered the only takedown in the second period to escape with a 3-2 win over No. 7 Jared Rosholt. 125 pounds: The Cowboys were down 6-0 in the dual until Tyler Shinn upset No. 17 Tyler Clark by recording a takedown early in the first. Shinn earned a 3-2 win to pull the Cowboys to within a decision of the Cyclones. 133 pounds: No. 1 Coleman Scott met with No. 7 Nick Fanthrope, and Scott's two takedowns, one escape and the addition of riding time were enough to earn a 6-2 decision. 141 pounds: In one of the most eventful matches of the night, No. 20 Nick Gallick fell to No. 2 Nathan Morgan. Gallick was ahead 3-2 going into the third period, but Morgan recorded a takedown and riding time to hold on for a 6-4 win. 149 pounds: Mitch Mueller handed Cowboy senior Ryan Freeman a loss as Mueller recorded a takedown in the final period to grab a 3-2 victory. 157 pounds: No. 17 Newly McSpadden took on No. 6 Cyler Sanderson in a heated battle. Sanderson was just too much for McSpadden as he recorded two takedowns in the final three minutes of play to come away with a 5-2 victory. 165 pounds: In another matchup that featured two top 10 opponents, No. 5 Jake Dieffenbach scored the last four points of the match to prevail over No. 6 Jon Reader, 6-3. Reader had nearly ensured riding time and a possible tie when Dieffenbach scored a takedown with six seconds left to go ahead 6-3. Dieffenbach's victory tied up the team score at 12-12. 174 pounds: The most exciting match of the night for the Cowboys came in the matchup between No. 7 Brandon Mason and Aron Scott. Mason exploded to a fast start in the first by recording two near falls and a takedown to go up 8-0. With riding time, Mason hammered Scott, 9-1, to earn a major decision that gave the Cowboys the crucial four points to go ahead 16-12. 184 pounds: The final match of the night was a tough battle between No. 1 Jake Varner and Jack Jensen. Varner edged Jensen 2-1 with the help of riding time.

The fourth-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team completed a perfect weekend in the state of Michigan with a big 24-15 win over the No. 6 Wolverines Saturday night. The Gophers jumped out to an early 15-0 lead and held on to defeat Michigan and improve their dual meet record to 12-3 (2-0 in the Big Ten). After Michigan stormed back to within three points (18-15) following the 184-pound bout, Minnesota's Justin Bronson (197 pounds) and Ben Berhow (heavyweight) pulled off impressive victories to seal the win for the Gophers. The dual meet victory avenges the Wolverines' 23-16 upset of Minnesota earlier this month at the National Duals and was the Gophers' second in their last five meetings with Michigan. Minnesota also defeated Michigan State 23-15 Friday in East Lansing. The defending national champions have won their past 11 Big Ten dual meets dating back to the 2005-06 season. Minnesota's vaunted group of lightweights took care of business in the early going Saturday and allowed the Gophers to jump out to a substantial lead after just three matches. Both No. 1 Jayson Ness (125 pounds) and No. 2 Mack Reiter (133 pounds) earned sub-2:00 minute pins to start the dual, and No. 4 Manny Rivera followed that with an upset victory over third-ranked Kellen Russell of the Wolverines at 141 pounds. Ness' pin (coming in just 1:13 over Michigan's Jason Lara) was his NCAA Division I-leading 17th of the season and puts him just three shy of the Gophers' single season mark of 20, set by current head assistant head coach Marty Morgan in 1989-90. Ness is a perfect 26-0 on the season and owns the second-longest active winning streak in Division I wrestling. Reiter, coming off a hard-fought loss to No. 5 Franklin Gomez of Michigan State Friday night, bounced back with a dominating performance against Michigan's Chris Diehl. The two-time All-American pinned his Wolverine opponent in just 1:34 to improve his overall record to 16-2 on the season. Rivera gained a measure of revenge at 141 pounds against the freshman Russell. Then ranked first in the nation, Russell beat Rivera 10-6 in mid-January at the National Duals, but it was the Gopher that turned the tables Saturday night. Rivera scored a takedown in the second and a clutch reversal in the third period to emerge with the 4-2 win and improve to 25-2 on the season. Down big early, the Wolverines narrowed the gap to 15-6 after Minnesota's Luke Mellmer was pinned by No. 8 Josh Churella, but No. 7 C.P. Schlatter extended the Gopher lead with a 10-4 win over Jeff Marsh at 157 pounds. Tyler Safratowich wrestled well against third-ranked Eric Tannenbaum at 165 pounds, but lost a tight 6-2 decision. The Gopher junior, well known for knocking off several highly-ranked wrestlers last season en route to his first-ever NCAA appearance, was down just 2-1 after two periods but could not muster anything offensively in the final two minutes of action. Gabe Dretsch, fresh off his 100th career victory Friday night against the Spartans, was overpowered by Michigan's second-ranked Steve Luke at 174 pounds and lost a 9-3 decision. Luke also topped Dretsch earlier this month at the National Duals. After Mitch Kuhlman was beaten at 184 pounds by No. 2 Tyrel Todd, the Wolverines had closed the gap to 18-15 entering the final two matches of the night. Needing an individual victory, Minnesota turned to Bronson at 197 pounds against Michigan's Ryan Selley. The two evenly-matched wrestlers battled through a scoreless first two periods, but the Gopher senior finally wore down his opponent in the third frame. Bronson earned an escape to start the third and notched a late takedown which, combined with the bonus point for riding time, gave him a 4-0 victory in the match. Redshirt freshman Berhow had struggled somewhat in dual meets this season, posting a 2-3 record entering Saturday. But the Hayward, Minn. native outscored Matt Guhn 5-1 in the third period to pull off the 7-3 victory at heavyweight and send the Gophers home with a perfect Big Ten opening weekend. Saturday's announced attendance was 1,181. Minnesota now turns its attention to the top-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, who will visit Williams Arena Friday night (Feb. 1) at 7:30 p.m. The Hawkeyes will enter the highly-anticipated meet sporting a 14-1 dual meet record and have held the top spot in the nation since winning the National Duals two weeks ago. Iowa will be without top-ranked 165-pounder (and defending national champion) Mark Perry, who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery earlier this week. The meet will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The No. 21 Maryland wrestling team continued its winning ways in the Atlantic Coast Conference as the Terrapins defeated NC State and Duke on January 26 at Comcast Pavilion. Maryland beat the Wolfpack, the 2007 ACC Champions, 27-12, before dominating Duke, 33-5. Five Terps earned a pair of victories in the two duals. Maryland has now won nine-straight ACC dual meets which is something that has not happened since 1974. The Terps are also 13-1 over the last three seasons within the conference. Sophomore Brendan Byrne was the first of five Terps to win two matches on the day. He started off by pinning NC State's Taylor Cummings, the defending ACC champion at 125 pounds, in the first period. Byrne then went on to beat Kellan McKeon of Duke, 5-4, in his second match. Sophomore Steven Bell picked up two more wins and improved his record to 20-7 at 133 pounds. It took two tiebreakers against Darius Little of NC State, but Bell came away with a 4-2 win. The wrestlers were locked up at 1-1 after three periods and neither could score a takedown in the one minute overtime. Bell started down in the first tiebreaker and escaped to take a 2-1 lead, but Little did the same in the second, recording his escape with 19 seconds left. Bell was able to score again before time ran out though, getting the winning takedown with just five seconds remaining. Bell then defeated Duke's Bryan Gibson, 6-4. Freshman Brian Letters has been on a roll as of late having now won his last five matches at 157 pounds. He picked up a pair of decisions on the day as he beat Colton Palmer, 8-3, and Voris Tejada of Duke in a tight one, 2-1. Sophomores Mike Letts and Hudson Taylor both went 2-0 on the day as well. The two handled their opponents form NC State and proved to be too much, forcing both wrestlers to stop their matches due to injuries. Against Duke, they both earned major decisions as Letts beat Ben Wales, 16-4, and Taylor got the best of Dan Tulley, 11-1. Letts improved to 15-4 on the season at 174 pounds while Taylor is now 23-2 at 197. Maryland (12-3, 4-0 ACC) heads to the road next weekend for a pair of duals, facing Penn in Philadelphia on Saturday, February 2 before taking on Columbia in New York City on Super Bowl Sunday.

Northfield, MN -- The NIACC Trojans pulled their overall season record to an even 4-4 with a 38-15 victory over NCAA Division III St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. The Trojans claimed seven of ten matches. NIACC would receive forfeits at 125 and 133 as the Oles were open. The Trojans would forfeit at 141. The action would get started at 149 as No. 1 rated Albert White would record seven takedowns and the fall over Landon Peppel in 5:27. Freshman DaVaughn Perkins would follow White with a 14-6 major decision over Josef Waples. At 165, Aaron Hancock would get down early by a score of 11-3 in the first period, but would battle back with six takedowns, but a late reversal by Thomas Kopietz in the last few seconds would give Kopietz the 20-19 victory. At 174, Tyler Hancock would lose by fall to Josh Bain. Bumping up to fill the spot at 184, would be the sixth rated Glenn Rhees who would claim another major decision for the Trojans by a score of 19-8 over Justin Bain. The Trojans would finish out the dual in style recording two falls at 197 and heavyweight. Brad Theilen would pin Paul Sheppard in 4:01 and heavyweight Beau Tudor pinned Justin Luthey in 4:48. The NIACC wrestling team will travel to Baldwin City, KS on Tuesday January 29th for their next opponent, the Pratt Community College Beavers for a 6:30 pm dual.