InterMat Staff

Thomas Wolfe once said, "You can never go home again." The acclaimed writer from Asheville, North Carolina never met fellow Southerner Matt Keller. After high school, Matt left his native Tennessee to wrestle at the University of Nebraska … but was called home for family reasons, and is now a senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), where he is ranked sixth in the country at 133 pounds, and may well bring home an NCAA title this March. Keller rocks Cleveland Matt KellerMatt Keller grew up in the Cleveland, Tennessee area, just thirty miles northeast of Chattanooga. "When I was six years old, dad took me to the local Boys' Club for their wrestling program," says Matt. "You see, he was a high school wrestler." "It took three years to wipe the smile off my face." Matt put smiles on the faces of wrestling fans at Bradley Central High School that lasted four years. He delighted the crowds by wrestling varsity his entire high school career, compiling an incredible 140-2 record, and winning four straight Tennessee state championships. Competing for the Cornhuskers Despite these accomplishments, Matt says he was not heavily recruited in high school, admitting during the interview for this profile that he never won a national title. However, he did attract the attention of perennial powerhouse Nebraska. His very first college recruiting trip was to visit the Cornhuskers, and he signed right away. "I liked everything -- the coaches, being able to train with Jason Powell, great facilities," says Matt, who spent three years in Lincoln (one of them as a redshirt freshman). "It was the right choice for me at the time." While at Nebraska, Matt made positive contributions for the Cornhuskers right from the start. As a freshman, he built a 28-12 record, finishing just one win shy of earning All-American honors in the 133-pound weight class. His sophomore year, Matt went down to 125, and, despite some challenges staying at that weight, went 20-8. Both years he placed third in the Big 12 conference tournament. It was at this time that Matt's father David was called to serve in the Army in Afghanistan. At Matt's request, Nebraska head coach Mark Manning released the wrestler from his scholarship, allowing him to transfer to UTC. At the time, coach Manning told the Omaha World Herald, "Matt wants to be closer to home, so he can be there to support his mom and his family. I completely understand his decision. We've had a great relationship and I wish him the best." Adjusting to the move Matt KellerWhen asked what schools he considered to be closer to his family while his dad was overseas, Matt said, "I didn't consider going any place else." However, the move back home meant some major adjustments for the Tennessee native. "It was very hard to leave my friends at Nebraska," says Matt. "I still talk to Jason Powell once a week." "The level of competition from the Big 12 to UTC was a big difference … At Nebraska, it was like having a title match every week. I really got beat up. Here, I'm fresher each week." Matt also seems to be a bit more at home in terms of the academic environment in Chattanooga. "There are about 8,000-10,000 students at UTC. The classes are smaller, more personal," says the UTC senior. Right at home with the Mocs, right from the start In his first season at UTC, Matt Keller made a big splash for the program. In addition to moving back to Tennessee, Matt moved back to the 133-pound weight class after being at 125 his last year at Nebraska. As a junior, Matt compiled a 37-11 overall record, with twelve of those wins scored by a pin, and nine by major decision. Among the highlights of the regular season in 2005-06: Winning the Reno Tournament of Champions in 2005 … and upending top-ranked Tom Clum of Wisconsin, 9-5. Matt took home the 133-pound title at the 2006 Southern Conference Championships, and was voted Outstanding Wrestler of the event. He earned a ticket to Oklahoma City for the 2006 NCAA's, where he claimed All-American honors by placing eighth in a talent-rich weight class. More changes at Chattanooga Coming off a great first season at UTC, Matt Keller faced yet another change to deal with: A new head coach. Chris BonoChange seemed to be one constant for Moc wrestlers and fans. In the past three years, UTC has had two athletic directors… and three head wrestling coaches: Terry Brands, Joe Seay, and now Chris Bono. Coach Bono, who had been an assistant to Seay before being named head coach in July 2006, brings to the job an impressive resume in terms of wrestling and coaching experience. A 1997 graduate of Iowa State and 1996 NCAA champ at 150 pounds for the Cyclones -- as well as being a three-time US World Freestyle Team member -- Chris Bono was an assistant at his alma mater for nine years under long-time head coach Bobby Douglas before coming to Chattanooga in 2005. In a published interview, Matt said of his new head coach, "I obviously have great respect for what he's accomplished as a wrestler … Bono is a really good coach -- everybody around here loves him. He's brought some stability to our program and everybody is on board with him." The positive feeling is mutual. "Matt has an incredible work ethic. Definitely one of the hardest workers in the room," says Coach Bono. "He's one of my leaders. He buys into what I'm saying, which means the world to me as a first-year head coach." "I've seen tremendous growth between this year and last year with Matt," the Mocs head coach continues. "He's matured in all aspects -- not just in wrestling, either … He's grown up in his perspective on the mat, and in life in general." Stellar senior season It appears that maturity is shining through in Matt Keller's winning performance in his last year as a collegiate wrestler. As of this writing, he is ranked sixth in the 133-pound weight class by RevWrestling.com, with a 14-2 record. In early December, Matt took the title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, winning five straight matches … including a 9-7 overtime victory in the finals over last year's 133-pound NCAA champ Matt Valenti of the University of Pennsylvania. In addition, he won the 133 bracket at the Missouri Open, and secured decisive dual-meet wins over competition from Virginia Tech (by major decision) and Ohio State (by pin). Immediately after Christmas, Matt brought a perfect 10-0 record to the 2006 Southern Scuffle, held at the Greensboro (North Carolina) Coliseum Special Events Center. Matt, the top seed at 133, breezed through his first two bouts (winning one by tech fall) before running into Cornell sophomore -- and eventual 133-pound champ -- Adam Frey, who edged the Mocs senior, 10-9. Matt eventually placed seventh. When asked about Matt Keller's senior year success, Mocs head coach Chris Bono said, "He's gone out and wrestled hard. He really believes in his conditioning. It's not just that he's in top condition to go the distance in every match and wear the other guy down, but that his mental aspect is in top condition, too." What's next? Ask him about his goals for the current season, and Matt's first statement is, "I'm focused on finishing up school, earning my degree in Sociology." But then he immediately follows up with, "Winning a national title is very important to me. I dream about it every night." After he graduates, Matt hopes to continue his mat career as a freestyle wrestler. Ideally, he would like to be a wrestling coach, "hopefully college, somewhere close to home." Matt KellerIn separate interviews, both Matt Keller and Chris Bono discussed how things are changing for the better in terms of wrestling in the state of Tennessee and surrounding region. "Each year, Tennessee high school wrestling gets better and better," according to Matt. "More coaches who grew up in Tennessee are coming back to coach high school." Coach Bono said, "When I first came to UTC, no one thought of national titles. Now fans in the area are talking about the possibility of our wrestlers winning national championships." "This area is starved for wrestling," adds the new coach. "Folks are attracted to the sport. They seem to like what they see down here. We're thrilled with the level of support we've been getting." Perhaps one reason for increased fan enthusiasm in the region may be Matt Keller's attitude towards life on and off the mat. In talking to Matt, his down-home, easy-going spirit comes shining through. Yet it's not at all a contradiction when he says, "I like a battle. I'm a warrior." That combination of one-day-at-a-time attitude and warrior spirit could be the winning combination that helps Matt Keller bring home a national title … a first for him, and a first for UTC and the state of Tennessee as well.

After a huge Midlands Championship we make our way back to the studio for a 2 hour broadcast. We'll do some house keeping and some catching up for sure. Due in the studio is Jeff Murphy with out TDR Top 20 Report. Steve Foster will be taking some much needed and deserved time off. I do appreciate all he does for the show and for the sport. Jeff and I will be joined by local fighter and MCC promoter Ryan Haas who along with his partner John Halverson have a BIG fight coming up in Des Moines on January 13th visit http://midwestcagechampionship.com/index.php. Yes that's the same weekend of the National Duals. Speaking of the Nat'l Duals, I will be announcing them along with Sandy Stevens and TDR will broadcast the event as well. Schedule to follow. This week on TDR: Former wrestler turned coach Anthony Porcelli will join us to discuss his local training facility and club. Can additional training and coaching outside of the room be beneficial? Sean Salmon, Former Ohio State Standout will be joining us. Life after collegiate wrestling? Sean will fill us in on that. Brad Penrith, The Head Coach of the UNI Panthers will join us to discuss the 2006-07 NWCA National Duals to be held at the UNI Dome on his campus in Cedar Falls, Iowa. #1 TheMat.com/TakedownRadio.com Athlete of the week for week of Dec 25th is: Ian Murphy Murphy, who is unranked nationally, defeated No. 7 Christian Sinnott of Central Michigan, 5-1 in the championship finals to win the 184-pound title at the Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nevada, Dec. 20-21. Murphy won five matches during the tournament, three by fall. His pins were over Dan Fox of Duke, Hase Locke of Southern Oregon and Jack Jensen of Oklahoma State. He also defeated Yuri Kalika of Cal Poly, 5-0. Murphy is a junior and is a business administration major. He is returning after a year out of school. He placed sixth in the Pac-10 Championships in 2004. In high school, he was fifth in the California state championships for Santiago High School. #2 TheMat.com/TakedownRadio.com Athlete of the week for week of January 1 is: Adam Frey Competing in his first college tournament, Frey knocked off the No. 1, 2 and 4 seeds en route to winning the 133-pound title at the Southern Scuffle on Dec. 30 in Greensboro, N.C. The eighth-seeded Frey, a sophomore at Cornell University, beat No. 1 seed and No. 2 nationally ranked Matt Keller of Tennessee-Chattanooga 10-9 in the quarterfinal round. He followed with a 10-9 semifinal win over No. 4 seed Joe Baker of Navy and beat No. 2 seed Evan Sola of North Carolina 4-2 in the finals. Individual championships by Frey and NCAA runner-up Troy Nickerson (125) lifted the Big Red to a third-place finish behind No. 1 Missouri and No. 2 Minnesota at the Southern Scuffle. Frey is a sophomore academically, but he still has four years of eligibility remaining including this season. He did not compete last year for Cornell because of an injury. Frey is now ranked ninth nationally by Wrestling International Newsmagazine. Frey was the nation's top-ranked recruit at 130 pounds following his prep career at Blair Academy. He won Junior Nationals in freestyle and Greco-Roman in 2005. Tim McClellan, Former Strength and conditioning coach for the Sundevils, 1996 USOC Strength and Conditioning Coach for Wrestling and featured clinician of The Explosive Wrestler! 30 Strength Training Exercises with Tim McClellan, M.S., C.S.C.S.; and Mike VanArsdale, NCAA Champ and 3X All-American at Iowa State University All things being equal, the more explosive wrestler always wins! In this video, Tim McClellan calls on his experience training champion wrestlers at all levels, including the Olympics, to provide more than 30 exercises to build your wrestling speed and strength. McClellan begins with a brief shoulder warm-up routine and then presents injury prevention exercises for the neck and shoulder. McClellan then teaches strength and speed building in three areas: Lower body power exercises, lower body strength exercises and upper body strength. Each section contains at least 10 different exercises, with McClellan detailing the proper mechanics for each exercise step-by-step. These exercises are movement specific, meaning they emulate actions the wrestler will do on the mat … not only are you training muscles, but movements as well. McClellan also includes a valuable 7-step Guide on How to Construct a Training Program. 65 minutes. 2003. This is sure to be a fascinating show so please join in this Saturday from 9 AM to 11:00 AM on Des Moines Sports Station AM 1460 KXNO, KXNO.Com or Takedownradio.com

Oklahoma State is making its first appearance at the Lone Star Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas. The Cowboys are currently ranked fourth in the country according to the latest USA Today/Intermat/NWCA Coaches' Poll and boast a 4-1 record on the season. OSU's lone loss came at the hands of second-ranked Minnesota back on Dec. 6. The Cowboys are coming off of a win over Cal Poly in their last dual meet, and they have not wrestled since the Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 20. The Cowboys took second in Reno, falling to Central Michigan by a mere half point. OSU is wrestling the three service academies in the duals. The Cowboys meet up with Air Force for the first time at 10 a.m. OSU will wrestle former Cowboy wrestler Chuck Barbee's Army Black Knights at 2 p.m. The Cowboys won the only meeting of the series last year, 42-0. OSU will close out the day against the Navy Midshipmen at 8 p.m. The Cowboys lead the all-time series 5-0, but have not wrestled Navy since the 1971-72 season. The first two matches will be live on 780 AM, while the Navy match will air on 93.7 FM, following Cowboy basketball, with Rex Holt and Roger Moore providing the commentary. Last Time Out Oklahoma State crowned two champions en route to a second-place finish at the Reno Tournament of Champions back on Dec. 20. Johny Hendricks recorded a fall and five major decisions as he was named Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament. Coleman Scott defeated fifth-ranked Darrell Vasquez for the second time in three days as he captured a title at 133. The Cowboys had six other wrestlers place in the top six, but it was not enough as Central Michigan held on to win by a mere half a point. Scouting the Opposition Oklahoma State will receive the stiffest challenge from 3-2 Navy. The Midshipmen boast four wrestlers ranked near the top 10 led by 174-pounder Matt Stolpinski, ranked eighth. Ed Pendergrast is ranked ninth at heavyweight, while Joe Baker is No. 11 at 133 and John Cox is 16th at 149. Neither Army nor Air Force have any wrestlers ranked nationally. The Cowboys defeated Army last season 42-0, and they could be looking for a sweep in both of these matches. The Black Knights are currently 2-1 on the season, while Air Force is 1-0. Last time vs. Army The Cowboys had little trouble with Army as they dispatched the Black Knights 42-0. OSU won nine of the 10 bouts by bonus points with Steve Mocco earning a fall. Daniel Frishkorn recorded a technical fall to help put away Army. The only match that did involve bonus points was an 11-4 decision by Johny Hendricks. Oklahoma State 42, Army 0 Gallagher-Iba Arena • Stillwater, Okla. • Attendance: 3,251 125- #7 Coleman Scott (OSU) MD William Simpson (Army), 9-1 133- #6 Nathan Morgan (OSU) MD Whitt Dunning (Army), 16-5 141- #7 Daniel Frishkorn (OSU) TF5 Tyler Howard (Army), 16-0 (5:37) 149- #1 Zack Esposito (OSU) MD Patrick Simpson (Army), 20-9 157- #11 Kevin Ward (OSU) MD Brandon Benson (Army), 13-1 165- #1 Johny Hendricks (OSU) Dec. Chad Marzec (Army), 11-4 174- #9 Brandon Mason (OSU) MD Brent Smith (Army), 14-0 184- Rusty Blackmon (OSU) MD Luke Calvert (Army), 10-1 197- #2 Jake Rosholt (OSU) MD Todd Wisman (Army), 12-3 285- #2 Steve Mocco (OSU) Fall Michael Sprigg (Army), 3:52 Hendricks Reaches the Century Mark Senior Johny Hendricks became the 26th member of the 100-win club when he defeated Oklahoma's Shane Seibert, 7-4, on Dec. 3, 2006. He is currently 15-0 on the season and boasts a career record of 108-12. He tied former hheavyweight Kirk Mammen for 20th on the all-time wins list.

San Francisco, Calif. -- San Francisco State University Gators' wrestling team improved to 1-5 overall and 1-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) as they defeated the visiting Mavericks of Mesa State College (CO). The Mavericks fall to 1-5 overall and 1-1 in the RMAC. Senior Will Simmons (Sacramento, CA/Sac City College) improved to 3-4 as he won by a 14-12 decision in the first round of sudden victory over The Mavericks' Andrew Laiminger at 174. SF State won at 184 by forfeit as Cory Creighton (Fr, Carson, WA/Stevenson HS) picked up the win. At 197, Alecxis Lara (Jr, Gilroy, CA/Skyline College) won by fall at 6:44 over Keenan Jennings of Mesa State. Christopher Kennedy put the Mavericks on the board with a 5-2 decision over the Gators' Vincent Bordi (Fr, Manteca, CA) at heavyweight. Freshman Pierre Bondoc (Fr, Modesto, CA/Beyer HS) gave the Gators a 20-3 lead as he won by a 22-4 technical fall over Jason Blasdel at 125 to improve to 1-3. At 133, Ben Lockett (Fr, San Francisco, CA/George Washington HS) improved to 2-10 with a 10-9 decision over Garrett Burner. Virgil Lockett (Sr, San Francisco, CA/Skyline College) recorded his third victory by pin fall as he pinned Mesa State's Jacob Maysog at the 3:19 mark at 133. The Gators won the next match by forfeit at 149 to increase their lead to 35-3. Then at 157, Kenneth Packard (So, Fresno, CA/Roosevelt School of the Arts) recorded a 10-8 sudden victory over Taylor Torisk to run his record to 9-7. In the final match of the afternoon, Mesa State's Cole Johnson recorded a 3-1 win over the Gators' Austin Torres (Jr, 165, Schererville, IN/Skyline College) at 165 to make the final 38-6 SF State. SF State will return to the mat on Sunday for a pair of duals in Bakersfield, Calif. The Gators will face Cal State Bakersfield and Columbia University in a pair of non-conference duals beginning at 1:30pm. SF State will also send some wrestlers to Atherton, Calif., to participate in the Menlo Invitational on the campus of Menlo College.

BUFFALO, NY -- The University at Buffalo wrestling squad handed defeats to two teams Thursday afternoon, as it downed Davidson College, 33-6, and Clarion University, 23-16. The Bulls capped off a successful Thursday afternoon on the mats with a four-match win streak to pull past Clarion and ultimately go undefeated on the day in tri-meet action. Buffalo (4-2) rallied past the Davidson (0-2) behind its core of lightweight wrestlers. Senior captain Mark Budd (Orrville, OH/Orrville) showed why he is ranked 12th in the most recent USA Today/InterMat/NWCA poll at 133 lbs., as he recorded five takedowns en route to a technical fall over Chris Panfili, 19-3. Redshirt freshman Jason Hilliard (Genoa, NY/Southern Cayuga) stepped in at 149 pounds, scoring four points for the Bulls as he defeated Scott Matthews, 12-0. With the Wildcats scoring six points at 165 and 174 pounds, UB put the match away with a trio of victories in the upperweight class. In the later bout, Clarion slowly built up a 16-6 lead entering the 174 pound match. At 133 punds, Budd pinned Tyler Leljedal in 2:41, earning his 30th career dual meet victory along with his 88th career win, which ranks him seventh in school history. Cutting the deficit, the Bulls won the final four matches to upend the Golden Eagles (4-5). Junior Nate Rock (Ephrata, PA/Ephrata) scored an escape in the third frame to tie up the match with Scott Joseph and enter overtime at 1-1. Rock would then turn on the burners, scoring a three-point near fall and four additional points to end the match with a score of 8-1. Redshirt freshman Ricky Scott (Walden, NY/Valley Central) earned a technical fall over Dixon Joseph, 17-2, scoring five team points, to take the lead. Scott scored a plethora of near-fall points to earn his fifth dual match of the year. The Bulls returns to the mats on Tuesday, when they travel to Appalachian, NC for their third straight tri-meet against Appalachian State and Gardner-Webb. Action starts at 7:00 pm.

DeKALB, Ill. -- Northern Illinois senior wrestler Mike Grimes was named the Mid-American Conference Wrestler of the Week after earning first-place at the Midlands Championships by winning five consecutive matches at the 44th annual meet in Evanston. "Mike is our first Midlands Champion since I have been here and that is a great accomplishment for him and for our program," said head coach Dave Grant. "We have come close to having wrestlers win the Midlands in the past, so we are happy to see Mike get us to that point. He exemplifies the attitude and hard work association with our program and what it stands for." Grimes, a fifth-year senior from Villa Park, entered the two-day tournament as the sixth-seed at 149 pounds. After notching three Friday victories to reach the semifinals, Grimes picked up where he left off on Saturday. In the semis, Grimes defeated second-seeded Matt Couglin of Indiana, who was ranked fifth nationally, and in the championship bout bested Jake Patacsil of Purdue to take first place. "It was a tough tournament and a tough road, but it was a fun tournament," said Grimes. "I was able to beat the nation's fifth-ranked wrestler in the semis and then had a challenging match in the championship that came down to the last 30 seconds against a tough opponent." The weekend performance catapulted Grimes up seven places to 10th in the Wrestling International Newsmagazine's latest national rankings.

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners hit the road to begin 2007 when they travel to Grand Prairie, Texas, to compete in the Lone Star Duals. The Sooners are looking to stay on the winning track after finishing 2006 with a victory against Cal Poly. Oklahoma will be competing against Marion Military Institute, Navy and Utah Valley State. The Sooners will take on the Marion Military Institute in session one beginning at 8 a.m., Navy in session five at 4 p.m. and Utah Valley State in session six beginning at 6 p.m. "We are looking forward to the Lone Star Duals after the grind of two-a-days during the break," said head coach Jack Spates. "We are very optimistic about this weekend. But were going to have a lot of competitive matches and it will be a challenge." The Sooners come into the Duals with six wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their respective weight classes. Following this weekend's action, the Sooners travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to compete in the NWCA National Duals on Saturday, Jan. 14 and Sunday, Jan. 15. OU returns home for the first time in the new semester when it hosts Oregon on Jan. 20.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana wrestling team's match against Eastern Illinois has been rescheduled for Sunday, Jan. 14, at 2 p.m. EST in Charleston, Ill. The match had originally been scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 13. Indiana will bring a perfect 8-0 record with it to Charleston. The dual meet will represent the Hoosiers' final non-conference dual meet before Big Ten action begins. IU hosts Purdue in its Big Ten opener on Friday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m. at University Gym. The Hoosiers are coming off a strong performance at the Midlands Championships, where they finished fifth as a team out of 56 participants, and redshirt freshman Angel Escobedo took the title at 125 pounds. Escobedo is IU's first Midlands Champion since Pat DeGain won the heavyweight title in 2004 and the first freshman to win Midlands since Mark Perry of Iowa and Jake Herbert of Northwestern won in 2004.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestler Lloyd Rogers was named the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week, the league office announced this week. Rogers earned a seventh-place finish in the 174-pound division at the Southern Scuffle at the end of December after entering the tournament seeded ninth. His meet record of 6-2 was the best of any UTC wrestler in the event. The junior from Palm City, Fla., recorded a pin and two major decisions in defeating wrestlers from Cornell, Missouri, Stanford, Virginia Tech and VMI. His tournament performance caught the attention of the national rankings services. Rogers earned his first national ranking of the regular season, breaking into the Top 20 at 174 pounds this week as the Wrestling International Newsmagazine listed him at No. 19. Rogers is the third UTC wrestler to earn SoCon Wrestler of the Week accolades this season. The Mocs, 5-0, travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, Sunday to take on Oregon State and Northern Iowa.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio State wrestling team will begin the 2007 portion of its schedule with a home match against Kent State at 2 p.m. Sunday in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes (1-2-0; 0-0-0 Big Ten) will welcome its third non-conference opponent to St. John Arena before opening their conference schedule against Purdue at 2 p.m. Jan. 14. BERGMAN FINISHES SECOND AT SCUFFLE J.D. Bergman captured a second-place finish at the 2006 Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. Bergman, who wrestled at 197 pounds, had an impressive outing on day one of the event, recording two falls and a major decision en route to the quarterfinals. The following day, Bergman notched a decision to advance to the semifinals where he was slated to meet No. 2 seed and nationally No. 2-ranked Jerry Rinaldi of Cornell. However, Rinaldi was forced to take a medical forfeit and that set up the rematch between Bergman and No. 1 seed and top ranked Max Askren of Missouri. After leading 2-1 going into the third period, Bergman fell to Askren in the championship. LUCKY NO. 13 Chris Vondruska entered the 2006 Southern Scuffle with a five-match winning streak and winner of eight of his last nine. Vondruska then went on to win his first four match-ups at the Southern Scuffle, including recording two major decisions in the rounds of 64 and 32, to extend his winning streak to nine. Although he dropped his next two bouts, Vondruska rebounded in the fifth-place match with a 6-2 decision and now has been victorious in 13 of his last 16 matches. The fifth-place showing at the Southern Scuffle was Vondruska's third Top 5 tournament showing this season. Vondruska also finished third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December and fourth at the EMU Open in November. SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY Ohio State has competed in the Southern Scuffle two times in the tournament's four-year history and during that span the Buckeyes have collected nine individual Top 8 finishes. The Scarlet and Gray competed in the Southern Scuffle for the first time in 2005 and six Buckeyes placed, including J Jaggers who had a second-place outing at 149 pounds. In 2006, J.D. Bergman finished second at 197 pounds, while classmates Chris Vondruska and Lance Palmer placed fifth and seventh, respectively. TOURNAMENT SUCCESS During the past five seasons, Ohio State has posted impressive individual tournament outings. Since the 2002-03 season, the Buckeyes have captured 24 first-place finishes and 10 second-place outings. Ten third-place, fourth-place and fifth-place showings each have been collected during that span. ROLLING INTO THE NEW YEAR The Buckeyes begin their busiest month in January, competing in seven duals. Ohio State will host three duals during the month (Kent State, Purdue and Indiana), while traveling to the Ashland Duals where it will face Ohio, Cleveland State and Ashland, followed by a trip to Penn State. INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS Four Buckeyes are ranked in the latest edition of the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA standings (Jan.3). Lance Palmer is No. 20 at 149 pounds. Chris Vondruska remains the 18th-ranked wrestler at 165 pounds. Wrestling at 184 pounds, Mike Pucillo is the highest ranked Buckeye at No. 3. J.D. Bergman moved up two spots from No. 6 to No. 4 at 197 pounds. BUCKEYES FACE FOUR OHIO SQUADS IN 2007 In 2006-07, the Scarlet and Gray will compete against four Ohio schools - Kent State, Ohio, Cleveland State and Ashland. OSU has faced just four teams from the Buckeye state on eight occasions - 1975, 1981-82, 1985-86, 1992-93, 1996-97, 1997-98, 2004-05 and 2006-07. Ohio State has met five Ohio teams in a season five times and has faced six Ohio squads during a campaign two times. The Buckeyes have met an all-time high seven Ohio opponents on one occasion in 1983-84. VS. THE STATE OF OHIO Ohio State owns a 138-32-3 (.806) all-time record vs. Ohio schools. Against colleges and universities in the state of Ohio that currently supports a wrestling program, the Buckeyes have a 94-28-3 (.764) ledger. Record against Ohio Teams *No longer supports a wrestling program Ashland 18-1 Baldwin-Wallace 1-0 *Bowling Green 8-0 *Capital 5-0 Case Western Reserve 2-0 *Central State 0-1 *Cincinnati 7-1 Cleveland State 19-13-2 *Cuyahoga CC 5-0 Findlay 6-0 *Hiram 1-0 John Carroll 3-3 Kent State 10-6 *Lakeland College 1-0 *Miami 5-1 Muskingum 1-0 Ohio 34-5-1 *Toledo 10-1 VS. THE MAC CONFERENCE Ohio State owns a 61-15-2 record against the current members of the Mid-American Conference. OSU has winning records against all six wrestling programs. OSU record against Mid-American Conference Programs Buffalo 6-0 Kent State 9-5 Ohio 34-5-1 Central Michigan 3-2-1 Eastern Michigan 3-0 Northern Illinois 5-2 BUCKEYES VS. GOLDEN FLASHES Ohio State leads Kent State, 9-5, in the all-time series. The Buckeyes and the Golden Flashes met last season in Kent, Ohio, where OSU dropped a 25-13 decision. Prior to the match-up last year, the Scarlet and Gray had won four consecutive meets. Ohio State vs. Kent State all-time series 2006 - Kent State 25, Ohio State 13 2005 - Ohio State 23, Kent State 16 2003 - Ohio State 22, Kent State 13 1999 - Ohio State 28, Kent State 6 1998 - Ohio State 25, Kent State 7 1985 - Kent State 23, Ohio State 20 1983 - Ohio State 26, Kent State 11 1976 - Kent State 21, Ohio State 18 1964 - Ohio State 20, Kent State 8 1963 - Ohio State 20, Kent State 8 1942 - Kent State 14, Ohio State 12 1941 - Kent State 15, Ohio State 9 1932 - Ohio State 23, Kent State 3 1930 - Ohio State 19, Kent State 8 SO LONG 2006 Ohio State finished the 2006 portion of its schedule 1-2 in dual action, while also participating in various open tournaments and invitationals. Starting the season at the Michigan State Open in East Lansing, Nov. 12, Ohio State's J.D. Bergman led the Buckeye contingent, winning the 197-pound crown. Sophomore Corey Morrison finished fourth at 285 pounds and Jason Johnstone took home fifth-place honors at 149 pounds. T.J. Enright was a sixth-place finisher at 133 pounds, while Blake Maurer was sixth at 174 pounds. Will Livingston was seventh at 125 pounds and Lance Palmer was eighth at 149 pounds. Ohio State opened its dual schedule Nov. 16 with a home match-up against then-No. 3 Missouri. It was the home debut of first-year head coach Tom Ryan. The Buckeyes fell to the Tigers, 29-9, however, the Scarlet and Gray rebounded with an 18-17 upset victory against then-No. 9 Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y., ten days later. It was a match that came down to the final bout at 133 pounds with Enright going up against Cornell's Nick Bridge. With Ohio State down 17-15, Enright was able to secure a 5-3 win to give the Buckeyes the one-point edge. The win marked the first victory for Ryan as the OSU head coach and it served as his 110th career victory. Ohio State then took a break from dual action and competed at the Las Vegas Invitational in early December. Mike Pucillo paced the Buckeyes in the tournament, winning the 184-pound division. Pucillo recorded a pair of major decisions and a fall en route to defeating two Top 4 wrestlers in the semifinal and final for the title. Chris Vondruska and Palmer also placed for the Buckeyes, with Vondruska finishing third and Palmer taking home seventh place honors. Ohio State returned to dual action at home in St. John Arena Dec. 17 and played host to Chattanooga. OSU fell to the Mocs, 28-13. Three Buckeyes garnered victories in a match-up that did not feature injured Enright at 133 pounds or J Jaggers at 141 pounds. OSU officially concluded 2006 with a final tournament outing at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. Bergman again led the Buckeye contingent, finishing second at 197 pounds. Vondruska went 5-2 in the event for a fifth-place showing while classmate Palmer finished seventh. VETERAN FRESHMAN Redshirt-freshman Mike Pucillo has made an immediate impact, starting the first half of the 2006-07 season with a perfect record at 8-0. Not since J.D. Bergman, during the 2004-05 season, has a Buckeye started the season 8-0. Pucillo began his campaign in Ohio State's season opening dual against Missouri and overcame No. 4 Raymond Jordan, 3-2, in his first action as a Buckeye before going on the road and scoring an 11-4 decision against Cornell's Luke Hogle. It was at the 25th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Pucillo reeled off five consecutive wins to be crowned champion at 184 pounds. In the semifinal and final, Pucillo compiled wins against two Top 4 wrestlers in No. 4 Jordan and No. 3 Tyrel Todd of Michigan. After taking a week off from competitive action, Pucillo earned his eighth win against Chattanooga's Josh Edmondson, 12-3. LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL CHAMPION Redshirt-freshman Mike Pucillo won the 184-weight class at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Dec. 1-2 in Primm, Nev. Pucillo recorded two major decisions and a fall en route to the semifinal where he defeated No. 4 Raymond Jordan of Missouri, 3-1. In the championship bout against Michigan's and No. 3 Tyrel Todd, Pucillo notched a 12-6 victory for the title. Pucillo became the first Buckeye to win a title at the event since current assistant coach Tommy Rowlands won in 2003 at heavyweight. CONFERENCE LAURELS After his winning performance at 184 pounds in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Mike Pucillo was named the Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Week for the week of Dec. 4. Pucillo recorded two major decisions and a fall en route to the semifinal where he defeated No. 4 Raymond Jordan of Missouri, 3-1. In the championship bout against Michigan's and No. 3 Tyrel Todd, Pucillo notched a 12-6 victory for the title. MAKE IT 110 OSU head coach Tom Ryan earned his 110th career victory with the Buckeyes' 18-17 win over Cornell Nov. 26. Ryan gathered his first win as the head coach of the Scarlet and Gray, while his other 109 wins came at Hofstra, where he was the head coach for 11 seasons. Ryan's career record is 110-84-1 (.567). MARK THIS DATE Buckeye head coach Tom Ryan compiled his first win as the OSU head coach against then-No. 9 Cornell Nov. 26. ONLY THE BEST Ohio State has competed or will compete against some of the toughest teams in the nation in 2006-07. Ten of the Buckeyes' opponents are ranked in the latest Top 25 of the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA poll. Four opponents - Missouri (1), Iowa (5), Northwestern (8) and Penn State (10) are in the Top 10. CLASS OF 2007-08 Ohio State wrestling head coach Tom Ryan announced the signing of five student-athletes to the Buckeye squad for the 2007-08 season. Sean Nemec, Colton Sponseller, Bo Touris, Nikko Triggas and John Weakley will join the team next season. "As a staff, we are honored each of these young men have chosen to pursue their academic and athletic goals at Ohio State University," Ryan said. "Each of these young men have won at the highest level with class and hard work. Our staff is looking forward to helping them build upon their successes in every aspect of their lives." Nemec, who hails from Lakewood, Ohio, and attends St. Edwards High School, is considered by many the top wrestling recruit in Ohio. Entering his senior year at St. Edwards, Nemec is ranked as high as first in the nation at 152 pounds in the wrestling publication Amateur Wrestling News and second by Wrestling International Newsmagazine. Nemec is a two-time high school state champion, three-time finalist and the 2004 Cadet freestyle national champion. Nemec also is a two-time junior national freestyle All-American, finishing third at 152 pounds in 2006 and sixth at 145 pounds in 2005. Sponseller, a student at West Holmes High School in Millersburg, Ohio, is a two-time high school state champion. Wrestling at 160 pounds, Sponseller also is the 2006 NHSCA Junior National Champion. Ranked as high as fourth in W.I.N. Magazine's preseason rankings, Sponseller was a seventh-place finisher in the 2005 freestyle competition. Touris is a native of West Chester, Ohio, and attends Lakota West High School. Wrestling at 112 pounds in 2005, Touris was an Ohio high school state division I district qualifier and finished the season with a 36-6 record. In 2006, Touris returned to 103 pounds after wrestling at that weight his freshman year and finished third in the Ohio high school state championships, capping a 46-1 season. Touris also was the Ohio Cadet Greco Roman and Freestyle state champion in 2005. Touris, a Fargo Nationals Cadet Greco Roman National champion, also finished second at the FILA nationals in Cadet Greco Roman competition. Touris was ranked as high as fifth at 103 pounds in W.I.N Magazine and ninth at 112 pounds in that same publication. Triggas hails from Moraga, Calif., where he attends Campolindo High School and wrestles at 119 pounds. Triggas was the North Coast section champion his freshman, sophomore and junior years. He is the third freshman at any weight in the history of Campolindo to become state champion and is on track to become the second wrestler at Campolindo to win four sectional championships. A three-time state qualifier, Triggas finished third his sophomore year with a 51-3 record and was state champion his junior year, compiling 51-2 mark. Triggas also was the 2005 and 2006 Cadet Greco Roman Champion and finished third in freestyle competition in 2005 with a 19-1 record. Weakley is from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and preps at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, where he wrestles at 189 pounds. Weakley is a three-time All-American, three-time conference champion, two-time district champion and two-time sectional champion. Weakley has been ranked No. 1 in all divisions and is the No. 2-ranked senior in Ohio according to ohiowrestling.net after winning PAC-7 Wrestler of the Year last season. Weakley's freestyle and Greco Roman credentials include becoming a three-time All-American, three-time freestyle state champion, three-time Greco Roman state champion and the Greco Roman Junior National runner-up in 2006. LIVE WEB STREAMING Live web streaming of Ohio State's match-ups against Indiana (Jan. 28) and Michigan State (Feb. 2) are available on ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Log on to the official web site of the Ohio State Department of Athletics for more information. EXPANDED COVERAGE The NCAA and ESPN announced in October expanded live television coverage of the 2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, Mich. For the first time, in the 77-year history of the Division I Wrestling Championships, the Saturday morning medal round will be televised. Scheduled for 10 a.m. EST March 17 on ESPNU, the championships medal round determines the third through eighth place finishers who are honored as All-Americans. The 2007 championships are March 15-17 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich. The University of Michigan and the Detroit Metro Sports Commission will serve as hosts. Tickets for the 2007 championships are available by visiting http://www.detroitsports.org/wrestling/tickets/index.html. UP NEXT Ohio State will begin its Big Ten Conference schedule with a home dual vs. Purdue at 2 p.m. Jan. 14 in St. John Arena.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- University of Northern Iowa sophomore Moza Fay has been named the Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week as announced by league officials. Fay (Anamosa, Iowa) notched a third-place finish at the 2006 Midlands Wrestling Championships after entering the tournament as the No. 7 seed in the 157-pound weight class. Fay scored a 9-2 win over Eric Howe (Purdue) in the first round. Fay notched a 13-7 victory over Jason Brew (Olivet) in the second round. Fay tallied a 12-6 victory over No. 2-seeded Brandon Becker (Indiana) in the quarterfinals. Fay then lost his only match of the tournament to No. 3-seeded Michael Poeta (Illinois), 8-3. Fay bounced back to take third place with a pair of consolation wins over No. 8-seeded Brian Cobb (Road Runner Wrestling Club) via fall at 4:38 and then a 9-5 win over No. 4-seeded Andrew Flannagan (Harvard). 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. This week's WWC Wrestler of the Week took into account action from Dec. 20-Jan. 1.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -– Senior No.12 Seth Martin (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) has been named Co-Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Wrestler of the Week for his recent efforts on the mat for the Lock Haven University wrestling team. Martin enjoyed the holiday season by picking up an individual championship at the Southern Scuffle tournament hosted by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The 157-pounder upset No. 6 Matt Hill of Edinboro University in the championship match. Martin topped the tournament's number one seed 4-1 after cruising into the finals. The Haven grappler started things off with a 3-1 win over Ohio University's Jake Frerichs and followed it up by pinning Brad Murri of Boise State University. Martin continued to roll with a 7-0 shutout and a 13-4 major win, setting him up for the championship. The win over Hill marked a bit of payback for Martin, who was defeated 6-1 by the Edinboro Fighting Scot back on Dec. 10 in dual action. Martin and the rest of the Bald Eagles will be back on the mat on Jan. 12, at 7:30 when they host Millersville University.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -– North Carolina's Spencer Nadolsky was tabbed Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Week after posting a second-place finish in the heavyweight division at UNC Greensboro's Southern Scuffle over the holiday break. After winning his first three bouts on the opening day of the tournament on Friday, December 29, Nadolsky posted overtime decisions against No. 15 Andy Patrick of Boise State (4-3) and No. 8 Ed Prendergast (3-2) to advance to the championship match. In the finals, the senior from Holland, Mich., fell to No. 1-ranked Cole Konrad of Minnesota, 4-1. Nadolsky finished the tournament with a 5-1 record and currently sits with a mark of 13-3 on the season, needing just four wins to record career victory No. 100. The weekly honor is Nadolsky's second of the season. North Carolina went on to finish ninth overall in the team standings at the Southern Scuffle accumulating 68.5 points. Nadolsky and the Tar Heels are back in action this Saturday, January 6 at the Lone Star Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Big Red wrestling's Adam Frey (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for Dec. 26-Jan. 1 for his performance at the Southern Scuffle. Competing in his first collegiate tournament, Frey went 5-0 to take the title at 133 pounds and helped the Big Red to take a third place team finish. Frey has also been named the Tompkin's Trust Company's Athlete of the Week. Frey entered the Scuffle as the No. 8 seed and proceeded to take down the No. 1 seed, nationally ranked Matt Keller of Tennessee-Chattanooga, 10-9 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals he overtook the No. 4 seed, the Navy's Joe Baker, 10-9, and to take the championship he won a 4-2 decision over the No. 2 seed Evan Sola (North Carolina). Frey entered the Scuffle unranked, and he is now ranked ninth nationally by W.I.N. Magazine. Following his prep career at Blair Academy, Frey was the nations top recruit at 130 pounds. He was the member of four national championship teams and was an individual national champion as a senior. He was a two-time prep champion and a five-time freestyle and Greco-Roman All-American. Frey will make his dual match debut this weekend at home when the Big Red will take on No. 11 Penn State. The match will take place at 1 p.m. in Newman Arena at Bartels Hall.

Stanford, Calif. -- The Cardinal wrestling team will kick off the home season this week, hosting Columbia, No. 23 Lehigh and UC Davis in the Stanford Duals at Burnham Pavilion on Friday. Stanford will meet the Lions of Columbia in the first dual at 10 a.m., followed by a contest with Lehigh at noon and a contest with UC Davis at 2 p.m. Also in Burnham tomorrow, Lehigh will face UC Davis at 10 a.m. and Columbia will face UC Davis at noon. "I am very excited to be competing at home after traveling so much," said Head Coach Kerry McCoy. "I am equally excited to have a chance to compete against three great teams. Each team brings something special to the table." The Cardinal enters the duals with a 2-2 overall record and a 1-0 record in the Pac-10. The squad is led by its two ranked wrestlers, No. 4 Tanner Gardner at 125 pounds and No. 16 Josh Zupancic at 157 pounds. Gardner boasts a 22-3 record, and captured titles at the Bison Open and the Reno Tournament of Champions earlier this season. Zupancic, 25-7, has placed in all five tournaments he has competed in. The Columbia Lions will compete in their first duals of the season on Friday, and will take on Stanford for the first time since 2002. The Lions are led by three top-20 wrestlers in No. 18 Matt DeLorenzo (133 pounds), No. 11 Matt Palmer (174 pounds) and No. 14 Justin Barent (184 pounds). Additionally, the squad returns an NCAA qualifier, sophomore Sal Tirico (141 pounds). Zupancic is the only Cardinal wrestler to have taken on a Lion this season, as the Stanford junior defeated Devin Mesanko in the seventh place match at the Las Vegas Invitational. "Columbia has improved every year since Coach Buckley took over," said McCoy. "They have a great staff and a lot of great wrestlers." Cingular No. 23 Lehigh enters the Stanford Duals with a 4-4 dual meet record, and finished 11th at the Southern Scuffle last weekend. The squad boasts three ranked wrestlers and seven returning NCAA qualifiers. Senior Matt Ciasulli currently stands at No. 20 at 141 pounds, while freshman David Craig is 19th at 184 pounds. Heavyweight Paul Weibel is currenly the top-ranked wrestler for the Mountain Hawks at No. 14. Cardinal Head Coach Kerry McCoy, who was an assistant coach at Lehigh from 2000-05, will meet his former team for the first time in his career. Gardner is the only Cardinal wrestler to have faced an opponent from Lehigh this season, having topped Matthew Fisk, 8-1, in the quarterfinals of the Southern Scuffle on Saturday. "Lehigh was my home for five years," said McCoy. "I have a lot of strong ties to that program including Greg Strobel, who was my coach for almost 10 years and is one of my mentors. Also, John Clark, one of our former assistants, is there now." Stanford will continue also Pac-10 competition against UC Davis, looking to pick up a second conference win. The Aggies are 1-1 so far in 2006-07 and are led by a pair of top-five wrestlers in No. 2 Derek Moore (141 pounds) and No. 4 Ken Cook (174 pounds). Including Moore and Cook, the Aggies return four NCAA qualifiers from 2005-06 and six Pac-10 placewinners. Cardinal and Aggie wrestlers have met in five bouts at three competitions so far this season, and Stanford has come out on top in three of those meetings. Last season, Stanford fell to UC Davis, 38-6, on the road. "UC Davis is a conference opponent, so a lot rides on each match," said McCoy. "We recruit a lot of the same student athletes as all of these programs. Right now there are a bunch of guys we recruited wrestling for them and vice versa. It's great for Stanford to have these teams come in and it's great for wrestling to have these programs compete against each other."

Augsburg won the last four matches of the night to break a 10-10 tie and claim a 31-10 win over Augustana Wednesday night at the Elmen Center. Augsburg (3-0), the top-ranked team in Division III, picked up a forfeit, 2 pins and a decision in the final four matches to knock off the Vikings (3-1), ranked No. 11 in Division II. The dual, which started at 165 pounds, was very competive for 6 matches as the teams each won three matches. Nate Buys turned in the biggest performance of the night for Augustana. Buys, ranked No. 3 in the nation at 197 pounds, scored a takedown and a pair of 2-point nearfalls in the first period to roll to a 13-0 major decision over Andy Robinson. Also victorious for Augustana were Cody Henriksen at 174 pounds and Chris Trampe at 125 pounds. Henriksen, ranked fifth in Division II, trailed 1-0 until he registered a takedown with 1 second left in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. He added an escape in the third period for a 3-1 win over Augsburg's Robbie Gotreau. Trampe also used some heroics late in the first period in his 7-6 win over Seth Flodeen. Ranked No. 8 in the nation, Trampe was trailing 2-0 in the first period. But he escaped with 26 seconds left and then got a takedown with 3 seconds on the clock to take a 3-2 lead. Late in the match, Trampe was leading 5-4, but Flodeen was guaranteed a point for riding time. Trampe scored his second reversal of the match with 23 seconds remaining to go up 7-4. Flodeen escaped with 16 seconds left, but could not get a takedown. Trampe's win knotted the score 10-10. After that it was all Augsburg. Augustana was open at 133 pounds, making the score 16-10. The Auggies then got a pin from top-ranked Quincy Osborn at 141 pounds. Osborn was leading Mike Long 14-3 before getting the pin at 6:06. After Jared Evans edged Augustana's Brandon Kruger 5-1 at 149 pounds, No. 1 ranked Jeremy Anderson pinned Augustana's Austin Scarset in 5:23. Scarset, ranked third in Division II, fell to 8-1 on the year. The dual opened with Augsburg's Marcus LeVesseur extending his winning streak to 128 matches. A three-time national champion, LeVesseur decisioned Aaron Haddorff 6-3 at 165 pounds. Haddorff trailed 2-0 after one period. He gave the crowd of 526 a jolt of excitement when he executed a chin drop on LeVesseur to start the second period, but he was unable to trap LeVesseur on his back. Augsuburg's other win came at 184 pounds, where unranked George Lynaugh knocked off sixth-ranked Tom Nesseth 10-2 for a major decision. The Vikings return to the mat on Saturday when they compete in the Dana Open.

Columbia, Mo. -- Missouri senior defending National Champion Ben Askren was named Big 12 Wrestler of the month for December as announced today by the league office. The honor is Askren's third of his career and comes one month after younger brother Maxwell was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Month for November. Askren, ranked No. 1 in the nation at 174 pounds, closed out 2006 with individual titles at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 1-2) and Southern Scuffle (Dec. 29-30). For his work on the mat, Askren also received recognition as the Most Outstanding Wrestler at both tournaments and was named the Gorrarian Award (most pins) recipient in Las Vegas. The Most Outstanding Wrestler honor was Askren's third at each tournament. Among the co-captain's 23 wins on the season, 21 have been notched by fall with 19 recorded in the first three minutes of action. To date, Askren owns 134 career wins, setting a new Missouri record Dec. 30 in Greensboro, N.C. at the Southern Scuffle. The previous mark, 131, was set between 1978-82 by former Tiger All-American Wes Roper. During the month of December, Askren squared off with several of the nation's top wrestlers including two bouts against second-ranked Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh. In both matches, Askren pinned Gavin, the fastest recorded during the semifinals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Dec. 2 in a time of 2:16. The owner of the nation's longest active win streak, 68, Askren has tallied 80 wins by fall in his career at Missouri and has recorded 16 straight dating back to his Nov. 19 match against Jeff James of Oklahoma. Askren pinned James 3:21 at the Missouri Open. A member of the No. 1 ranked Missouri wrestling team, Askren and the Tigers will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa for the National Duals, Saturday, Jan. 13 through Sunday, Jan. 14.

The second-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team cruised to a 44-3 win over Arizona State to improve to 7-1 on the season. Sophomore Tyler Safratowich pulled off a huge upset with a 4-3 decision over No. 2 Brian Stith in the 157-pound bout as the Gophers won nine of 10 matches on the night, including two by forfeit. With the match tied at three, Safratowich rode Stith the entire third period to score the bonus point and come away with the 4-3 decision. The victory had all of the 2,131 in attendance on their feet, while Stith humbly walked off the mat with his head down in complete disappointment. Safratowich, who has now faced the top-two ranked wrestlers in the country in Minnesota's last two duals, showed no effects of being intimidated from the opening whistle. After nearly scoring a takedown twice in the first 1:30 of the match, Safratowich finally got in on a single leg with 48 seconds remaining in the first period go ahead 2-0. He ended the period with a 2-1 lead after Stith got the escape. Safratowich started down in the second and quickly earned the escape to take a 3-1 lead. Stith tied the match with a takedown near the end of the second to set up the exciting final period. Arizona State took an early 3-0 lead in the meet when Thor Moen defeated Justin Bronson by a narrow 1-0 margin at 197 pounds. Neither wrestler was able to generate any offense, with a second-period escape proving to be the difference. The Sun Devils' lead was short-lived, however, as a forfeit at heavyweight quickly gave Minnesota a 6-3 advantage. The Gophers quickly expanded the lead with bonus points in each of the next four matches. Ninth-ranked Jason Ness earned a tech fall over ASU's John Espinoza at 125 to give Minnesota an 11-3 lead. Ness scored two takedowns and a pair of three-point near falls in the first period to jump ahead of Espinoza 10-1 in the first period. After Ness took a 16-2 lead with just over a minute left in the match, a second stall warning on Espinoza with 36 seconds remaining provided the final outcome. Mike Thorn and Manuel Rivera provided back-to-back first period pins to push Minnesota's lead to 23-3 before intermission. ASU's Shawn Jones jumped ahead of Thorn with a takedown just 21 seconds into the match. Thorn responded with a takedown with 1:12 remaining and quickly rolled Jones to earn the fall at 1:57. Rivera followed by pinning Robert Galvan in 2:31. Rivera dominated the match, scoring two early takedowns and a three-point near fall before sticking Galvan with 29 seconds remaining in the first period. With the win, Rivera pushed his record to 22-0 on the season. Top-ranked Dustin Schlatter was characteristically methodical in a 16-1 tech fall over Cameron Smith at 141 pounds. Schlatter scored a takedown just five seconds into the match and proceeded to roll Smith for four consecutive three-point near falls. After letting Smith escape with 1:11 remaining, Schlatter earned the decisive takedown with 56 seconds left in the first period. Safratowich followed with the upset of Stith, completely eliminating any ray of light for Arizona State. The Sun Devils forfeited at 165, giving Minnesota a 37-3 lead. Eighth-ranked Gabriel Dretsch added more bonus points to the Gophers' total with a shutout of Alex Pavlenko at 174 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Dretsch turned on the offense with a takedown and two near falls in the second. He added a takedown in the third and earned the bonus point for riding time to win 11-0. No. 2 Roger Kish capped off the night with a high-scoring 13-10 decision over Greg Gifford at 184 pounds. An eventful first period saw Kish score three takedowns, while Gifford countered with a takedown and near fall to trail by just a single point at the end of the first. Kish added two takedowns in the second and added a pair of escapes in the third to come away with the win. The Gophers will now be off until the National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Jan. 13-14, where they will look to re-gain the top ranking in the country.

There's obviously still a lot of season left, but a month and a half of Division I college wrestling is in the books. In the six plus weeks of action … a good number of questions that enthusiasts entered the season with have been answered. Here are 10 notable things we've learned thus far: Ben Askren (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)1. You can't turn your head away for a second this year in a Ben Askren match. It will probably be over by the time you return your gaze to the action. After watching Jake Herbert major Roger Kish in the NWCA/All Star Classic, one had to wonder how anyone beat him last year, especially at a lower weight class. Then you watch Askren and say "Oh, that's how." Askren's incredible run of first-period pins this year is nothing short of stunning. He should also start promoting the "Ben Askren Diet," which makes you weigh anything but 174. The mass exodus of 2006 NCAA All Americans at 174 is completely justified (second place Herbert went up to 184 and third and fourth placers Mark Perry of Iowa and Ryan Patrovich of Hofstra went down to 165). His dominance is so impressive … there is no wrestling message board thread that he's inappropriate for. I know he was essentially up a weight class, but how did Tony Gansen beat him at the U.S. Nationals in freestyle last year? 2. Hofstra is the real deal as a dual meet team. They followed their shocking early-season upset over Minnesota with a dominating performance over Penn State, who appeared to match up well with them on paper. Question still unanswered: How strong a tournament team is Hofstra? They had a decent finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, but that was without No. 7-ranked Dave Tomassette at 125 and No. 4 Ryan Patrovich at 165, who was seeded first. At full strength, they could very well be a force at NCAA's. 3. The new Big Ten faces at 125 are delivering. Of the 11 schools in the conference, 10 have a new 125-pounder from last year's lineup. Many of these talked-about names are doing well: No. 10 Angel Escobedo takes over for Joe Dubuque at Indiana, No. 6 Franklin Gomez takes over for Nick Simmons at Michigan State, No. 8 Jayson Ness takes over for Travis Lang at Minnesota, Brandon Prestin takes over for John Velez at Northwestern, No. 13 Gabe Flores takes over to Kyle Ott at Illinois, No. 5 Mark McKnight takes over for Brad Pataky at Penn State, Mark Moos takes over for Michael Watts … well maybe not everyone is living up to expectations. 4. Going down a weight class from where you wrestled last year? The results so far this year suggest that maybe this isn't a great idea with the one-hour weigh in. Two exceptions: you were actually up a weight the previous year to help your team (Mike Poeta, Gabe Flores) or you're on the Ben Askren Diet. Cael Sanderson (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)5. It's not easy for coaches to come in and take over a program, no matter what your credentials are. Tom Ryan at Ohio State, Tom Brands at Iowa, and Cael Sanderson at Iowa State are all experiencing some sort of growing pains at their new schools. But hey, Jim Zalesky is 6-0 at Oregon State. 6. It's a long season and taking some time off to heal from being banged up is probably a good idea. Troy Nickerson and Adam Frey of Cornell make their debuts at the Southern Scuffle and both come out on top. Nickerson looks like he hasn't missed a beat and Frey lives up to his billing. Ryan Lang of Northwestern misses the Reno Tournament of Champions, but comes back strong to take Midlands. 7. The 197-pound weight class isn't as balanced as originally thought. It looked like one of those weights with a lot of tough guys who were going to beat up on each other resulting in divided opinions as to who should be No. 1. Wynn Michalak, Joel Flaggert, Josh Glenn, Kurt Backes, Phil Davis, Jerry Rinaldi, Chris Weidman, JD Bergman, etc. As November began, it seemed like Max Askren of Missouri was going to simply be another name on that list -- and it is, you just have to put it at the top. Question still unanswered: Just how good is the still-undefeated Mike Tamillow of Northwestern? 8. Certain wrestlers are doomed to inconsistency. Probably at the top of the list are Gabe Dretsch of Minnesota and Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State, but CP Schlatter of Minnesota, Matt Keller of Tennessee Chattanooga, and Kurt Backes of Iowa State also appear to be in the hunt for this un-coveted title. 9. Freshmen! In addition to the aforementioned new stars at 125, (Angel Escobedo, Franklin Gomez, Jayson Ness) you've got JP O'Connor of Harvard, Matt Coughlin of Indiana, Cyler Sanderson of Iowa State, Ryan Morningstar of Iowa, Mike Pucillo of Ohio State, Jake Varner of Iowa State, Max Askren of Missouri and Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State to name a few. At the very least these guys are showing signs of greatness, if not surprisingly consistent "W"s. 10. It is quite clear that the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals are going to be brutal. Could the Iowa State team that just won Midlands be seeded as low at sixth? Full strength teams like Northwestern, Cornell or Central Michigan all seem very capable of an upset or two. There should be lots of nail biting 6-4 and 5-5 meets.

Minnesota returns to dual meet action by hosting Arizona State on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m., at the Sports Pavilion. It will be the final tune-up for the Golden Gophers before the National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Jan. 13-14. For tickets, call 1-800-UGOPHER. NOTES TO KNOW The Series Minnesota holds an 11-6 advantage in the all-time series against the Sun Devils, including a 5-2 record at home. The Golden Gophers have won each of the last seven meetings between the two schools dating back to 1986, including five victories in the last four seasons. Probable Match-Ups 125 -- #9 Jayson Ness (MN) vs. John Espinoza (ASU) 133 -- Mike Thorn (MN) vs. Shawn Jones (ASU) 141 -- #5 Manuel Rivera (MN) vs. #13 Pat Payne (ASU) 149 -- #1 Dustin Schlatter (MN) vs. Chris Remsen (ASU) 157 -- Tyler Safratowich (MN) vs. #2 Brian Stith (ASU) 165 -- Jeremy Larson (MN) vs. #8 Patrick Pitsch (ASU) 174 -- No. 8 Gabriel Dretsch (MN) vs. Rick Renzi (ASU) 184 -- #2 Roger Kish (MN) vs. Greg Gifford (ASU) 197 -- Yura Malamura (MN) vs. Jason Trulson (ASU) Hwt -- #1 Cole Konrad (MN) vs. Thor Moen (ASU) The Last Time Top-ranked Cole Konrad defeated fourth-ranked Cain Velasquez in the final match as the second-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team defeated No. 16 Arizona State, 23-19, on Jan. 3, 2006 at the Sports Pavilion. Minnesota held off a late rally to earn its seventh straight win over the Sun Devils. Southern Scuffle Recap The battle between the top two ranked teams in the country came down to the wire at the Southern Scuffle, but No. 1 Missouri narrowly edged the Golden Gophers, 179.5-176 for the team title. All four Golden Gopher wrestlers who entered the Southern Scuffle as No. 1 seeds claimed individual titles. Manuel Rivera (141), Dustin Schlatter (149), Roger Kish (184) and Cole Konrad (Hwt) each finished first in their respective weight classes. Striving 4 Perfection Four Minnesota wrestlers still hold perfect records at this juncture in the season. Manuel Rivera, ranked No. 5 nationally at 141 pounds, is 21-0 with four pins, five major decisions and one tech fall. Top-ranked Dustin Schlatter is 16-0 with two pins, one major and six tech falls at 149. Roger Kish, No. 2 at 184 pounds, is also 16-0 with seven pins, two major decisions and one tech fall. Top-ranked heavyweight Cole Konrad is 12-0 with six pins and two major decisions. In the Polls The Golden Gophers are currently No. 2 in the country according to the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA coaches' poll. Minnesota is still No. 1 in the latest W.I.N. Magazine poll. Six of Minnesota's 10 starters are ranked individually in the polls. Defending national champions Cole Konrad (Hwt) and Dustin Schlatter (149) both hold the top spot in their weight class across the board. C.P. Schlatter is also ranked but is currently out with an injury. Did You Know? Either Minnesota, Oklahoma State or Iowa have won the national title in each of the past 18 years. Arizona State was the last champion outside of the big three. The Sun Devils won the 1988 title. In the past 18 years, Iowa has won nine titles, followed by the Cowboys with seven and the Golden Gophers with two. Looking Ahead The match against Arizona State will be Minnesota's final tune-up before the National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Jan. 13-14, where they will look to defend their title from a year ago. Junior C.P. Schlatter is expected to return from a knee injury that he sustained at the Northeast Duals on Nov. 25.

In stark contrast to in-state competition, the majority of the competition relevant to national wrestling rankings takes place in the first month of the season. One of the most interesting developments during this time is how certain relatively unheralded wrestlers progress to a level that was completely unforeseeable based on their prior performances … and knock off the nation's best. Other wrestlers are well-known -- but take their game to a whole new level in this time. The following are the eight wrestlers whose stock has gone up the most in the early going. Mario Mason, New Jersey, 140 pounds Mario Mason (Photo/Tony Rotundo)Turn back the clock two years. At that time, Mario Mason was Adam Frey's unknown backup who burst onto the scene as a freshman with a win over Jordan Frishkorn at the NHSCA Final Four, where he was named Most Outstanding Wrestler. From there, he dominated the Cadet Nationals (freestyle) later that summer. Mason seemed destined for greatness. He put together an excellent sophomore season, but lopsided losses against Lance Palmer and perhaps missing what should have been a great opportunity to win Junior National Freestyle (when Palmer was inexplicably pinned) put somewhat of a down note on his sophomore campaign. Now, Mason is right back where he was as a freshman -- one of the best of his class. Mason sewed up the No. 1 national ranking at 140 pounds with wins at the Ironman and Beast -- in possibly the most loaded weights classes at both tournaments. Perhaps the best wrestler in the nation at controlling positioning and imposing his style on his opponent, Mason defeated four of the nation's best in Nick Nelson, Shawn Harris, Luke Silver, and Tommy Abbott (avenging a loss from last season) to win the Ironman and Beast. Probably the least physically imposing of these competitors, Mason capped his great run with a beautiful overtime double leg takedown of Abbott. In his weight class at both events, but failing to advance to the finals, was preseason No. 1 Zack Kemmerer. Also in his weight class at Beast of the East was Junior Nationals champion Jamal Parks of Oklahoma. Parks lost for the second time this season to Luke Silver of Bishop Lynch, whom Mason then defeated 5-2 in the semifinals. RJ Pena, Oregon, 125 pounds Pena was originally one of the top ranked freshman in the nation his freshman year in the Rev Power Rankings -- due to a track record in youth national competition that surpassed all other sophomores except Collin Palmer, David Taylor, and Riley Adamson. Even though he won an Oregon state title as a freshman, Pena fell off the radar a bit as he did not compete in Fargo last summer. In fact, he has had no national tournament competition since 2004. However, suffice it to say that Pena etched his name near the top five of Rev Power Sophomore Rankings with his performance at the Reno Tournament of Champions. A seventh-place finisher last year at Reno, Pena took out (in order) Boris Novachkov, Riley Adamson, and Justin Durham. Novachkov was fresh off a win at the Ironman in a weight class which featured nationally ranked stars Collin Palmer, Colin Johnston, Anthony Valles, and Troy Dolan, where he received the MVP award. This was Pena's only close match of the tournament as he prevailed 6-4. In the next two rounds Pena blasted youth wrestling legend Riley Adamson (who would go on to take third) by a score of 11-3 before pinning Justin Durham -- in a wild bout that would have saw him have roughly an eight point lead if not for the fall). Pena reportedly scored the fall with a "snake" maneuver from his feet. A strong case can be made that Pena deserves a ranking in the top five at this weight, and possibly among the top five sophomores nationally in all weights. Jason Welch, California, 160 pounds Jason Welch (Photo/Tony Rotundo)For much of last year, Jason Welch of California was ranked as the nation's best sophomore. His stock slipped a bit due to some disappointing losses (a major decision against Eric Medina and a later-avenged loss to Luke Manuel), followed by his failure to place at "Fargo" one year after placing fifth at the Junior Nationals in freestyle. Welch has returned with a vengeance to say the least. At the Ironman, he cruised to the finals where he faced highly-decorated Sean Nemec of Ohio in a battle for, potentially, the No. 1 ranking in the nation. While Welch is noted for his offensive prowess, in this match, it was his defensive wizardry that carried the day. Time and time again, Nemec got in on single-leg takedowns in the "crackdown" position -- and time and time again, Welch frustrated his attempts to score. The score was 1-0 late in the match (but possibly the best 1-0 match this writer has ever seen) when Welch converted a takedown to close out the match with a 3-0 win- the second win of his career versus Nemec in as many meetings. At Reno, Welch clearly cranked up his offense, scoring all technical falls up to the finals, when he dismantled the very tough Cody Yohn, 15-1. Welch is one of a handful of wrestlers for whom a case that they are the nation's top junior can be made. Hunter Collins, California, 171 Pounds One of the biggest upsets of the season took place at the Reno Tournament of Champions, where Hunter Collins scored the only two takedowns of the match in a 5-2 win over Kirk Smith. Smith is the defending Junior National Freestyle and Fila Cadet Freestyle champion and rated No. 1 in the nation (and was ranked as the No. 3 senior in the country in all weights). Collins was a highly regarded junior, but ironically, only considered (at best) the third best junior in California (behind Welch and two-time state champion Louis Bland -- the wrestler who defeated him last year at state). From a national rankings standpoint -- the jury is still out on Collins to some extent. It's difficult to rank Collins in the top five of this loaded weight given that he has yet to win a state title and placed second at Cadet Nationals last summer to a wrestler that is not in the top five (Romero Cotton). At the present time it still remains somewhat in doubt whether there will be a Bland/Collins rematch at 171 (which would be possibly the biggest state match-up of the year) or whether Bland will stay at 189 -- though it appears Bland will be at 171. Should Collins prevail in his rematch with Bland -- there will be plausible arguments that he is not only the nation's best 171, but the top recruit for 2008 as well. Garrett Goebel, Illinois, 285 Pounds Garrett Goebel (Photo/Tony Rotundo)Going into the season, the picture as to who was the nation's top heavyweight was a complete muddle. After Ironman, there is little doubt in this writer's mind -- and he is a wrestler that has yet to make a state final and was not ranked at 285 at the start of the year. Garrett Goebel slipped off the nation's radar when he placed just fifth in Illinois at 215 last year as a sophomore, after placing fourth at 215 the year before. A closer look at that performance shows that he was in one of the toughest 215-pound weight classes ever assembled. In the off-season, Goebel grew several inches (he appeared from press row to be about 6'5"), while maintaining the mobility of a much lighter wrestler. At the Ironman, after pinning his first three opponents, he was pitted against underrated Frank Becker and former two-time Cadet Nationals champion Ben Kuhar. Both of these Ohio wrestlers own several wins against Junior National runner-up Cameron Wade in the past couple of years. Goebel simply dominated in all phases against Becker, approaching a technical fall before he finally scored the fall. Against Kuhar, in the finals, it was, once again, no contest. Goebel scored easy takedown in each of the three periods for a 7-0 final score. Finally, the nation has an elite heavyweight. Luke Lanno, New Jersey, 152 Pounds The 152-pound weight class at Beast of the East just may have been the toughest weight class in the nation until Senior Nationals. There were two wrestlers who have been ranked No. 1 in the nation at some point in there career who did not make the finals -- in fact one dropped all the way to seventh place (defending Ironman and Beast Champ Eric Medina of Blair Academy). It was Luke Lanno, fourth in the state in New Jersey last season, who pulled the upset of the year in the Beast quarterfinals by defeating Medina 7-5. Just in case one thought that was a fluke, he next defeated former Cadet National Freestyle runner-up Johnny Koepp of Bishop Lynch, 9-8. That win setup a final against another former Cadet Nationals runner-up, Sean Bilodeau of Massachusetts. Bilodeau had earlier defeated two-time Pennsylvania AAA state champion (and preseason No. 1) Tim Darling by a stunning 12-7 count. In a classic battle between speed and power, the rugged Lanno outlasted and really out-hustled the slick Bilodeau, prevailing by a score of 7-5. What is really unthinkable is that Medina -- at various points in his career considered the best wrestler in the nation in his grade -- is now only the third best 152 in his own state behind Lanno and Scott Winston. Lanno will attempt to unseat defending state champion Winston, a junior who has yet to be defeated in high school competition in one of the most anticipated match-ups of the year. Fred Santaite, New Jersey, 119 Pounds It's not that Fred Santaite didn't have the credentials. He was not only state champion in New Jersey's treacherous single division tournament last year, but he was also the runner-up at both the Beast of the East and Junior National Freestyle tournaments. However, any seasoned observer knows the jump from 103 to 119 is a huge one. A wrestler literally goes from wrestling boys to wrestling men. Which is what made Fred Santaite's conquest of the Beast of the East so unlikely. History shows that most wrestlers who make this jump have a decline in productivity. However, Fred Santaite jumped from 103 (and 105 in Fargo) to 119 this season and knocked off two of the nation's elite. First, he took out Chris Sheetz of Pennsylvania. Sheetz is a former Pennsylvania AAA state champ who was fresh off a win at Ironman (where he defeated Junior National All-American Travis Coffey and No. 2-ranked Nikko Triggas). It was certainly a surprise, then, that Santaite knocked off Sheetz by a score of 5-3 in the semifinals of the Beast. Ironically, while Sergent defeated the Ironman champ, the wrestler who defeated Santaite in "Fargo", Ben Sergent, failed to place in the top eight at Ironman. Few gave the fireplug from New Jersey even a remote chance of winning in his next bout against Junior Nationals champion Connor McDonald of Delaware. Yet again, McDonald failed to read the scouting report and came out the victor over one of the nation's top seniors by a 5-4 count Tyler Nauman, Pennsylvania, 130 Pounds It was no secret that Tyler Nauman of Pennsylvania is an excellent wrestler. Nauman has placed high at many tournaments, but not really won any major tournaments yet. Last year he placed second in the state in Pennsylvania, but only eighth (albeit in a loaded weight) at Beast of the East. Tyler Nauman (Photo/Tony Rotundo)By contrast, Kellen Russell came in, simply put, as champion of pretty much all he has entered. Cadet and Junior National Freestyle champion. Defending Beast champion. (in the same weight in which Nauman took eighth). National Prep champion. And most recently, Ironman champion -- in a performance marked by complete domination. So, despite a couple of nice wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals over Shane Smith and Bobby Ward, few thought that Nauman stood more than a marginal chance in the finals against Russell. However, like Santaite, Nauman reminded the fans of why the matches are "still wrestled on the mat." In a battle of two of the toughest wrestlers to take down in the nation, Nauman converted and early slide-by to a takedown and made it hold up -- as he stunned Russell, 3-2. Other wrestlers whose stock rose greatly in the preseason include: Skip Crooks, Colin Johnston, David Taylor, the Lakewood St. Edward trio of Jamie Clark, Chris Honeycutt, and Shawn Harris, Alex Meade, Eric Olanowski, Sean Bilodeau, Jamelle Jones, and Chris Villalonga.

Sophomore Jake Patacsil led the Purdue University wrestling team to a 12th place finish at the 2006 Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern University on Saturday, finishing in second place at 149-pounds. Patacsil was one of four Boilermakers to place at the event joined by freshmen Matt Redmond (sixth at 149 pounds) and Nick Bertucci (eighth at 141 pounds), and senior Nathan Moore (eighth at 197 pounds). The No. 8 seed, Patacsil advanced to the finals with five straight victories, including a 4-3 quarterfinal victory over top-seeded and seventh-ranked J.P. O'Connor of Harvard. In the finals, he fell at the hands of sixth-seeded Mike Grimes of Northern Illinois, 5-4, surrendering an escape and a takedown in the final 30 seconds for his first loss in his last 18 matches. He moves to 23-4 on the season and earned his third tournament placing of the season after finishing third at the University of Northern Iowa Open and taking home the crown at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Patacsil's 24 back points in the tournament moves his season total to 129, already good for fifth in single-season Purdue history, and his career total to 223, fourth all-time at Purdue. His two pinfalls in the tournament placed him in a tie for 18th place on the Purdue single-season record list with eight, while his career total reached 10. Redmond was a Cinderella story for Purdue, toppling a pair of seeded and ranked opponents on his way to the medalist round. He bested fourth-seeded and 15th-ranked Jermain Thompson of Eastern Michigan University in the second round, 6-5, and followed up with a 5-4 win over fifth-seeded and 12th-ranked Cyler Sanderson of Iowa State University in the quarterfinals. After bowing to Patacsil in the semifinals, Redmond's final two losses came to seeded and ranked opponents as he dropped a 13-3 loss to seventh-seeded and 20th-ranked Troy Tirapelle of Illinois in the consolation semifinals, suffered a narrow 3-0 defeat to second-seeded and fifth-ranked Matt Coughlin of Indiana. Redmond's 4-3 tournament record moves him to 11-7 on the year. Senior Nathan Moore finished eighth at 197 pounds, but more importantly became just the 12th wrestler in Purdue history to eclipse the 100-career victory mark. His 11-6 win over Montana State Northern's Brian Fritchmann secured the accomplishment and also guaranteed him a place on the championship podium for the second straight year. Bertucci's eighth-place showing at 141 pounds was his first collegiate tournament placing as he rebounded from a second-round loss to eventual Midlands runner-up Alex Tsirtsis, and won three straight to reach the consolation quarterfinals. Former Purdue standout Ben Wissel climbed the Midland's podium for the second straight year as well, this time ascending to the top spot at 184 pounds with a 7-4 victory over No. 7 seed Joe Williams of Michigan State University. The No. 1 seed in the tournament, Wissel went 5-0 over the two days with a pair of technical falls and a major decision. Iowa State ran away with the overall team title, securing the top spot before the start of the final session. Full results are not yet available, but will be posted when available on the Northwestern University Athletics website (www.nusports.com). The finals of the 2006 Midlands Championships will be replayed on Comcast SportsNet on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. and again on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at 3 p.m.

EVANSTON, Ill. -– Northern Illinois placed two top-five finishers on the final day of competition at the 44th Midlands Championship on the campus of Northwestern University. Headlining the day's action for the Huskies was Mike Grimes, who captured the 149-pound championship with a pair of Saturday victories. Grimes, seeded sixth in his weight class, won a pair of matches on Friday and picked up where he left off. In the semifinal, Grimes defeated second-seeded Matt Couglin of Indiana, 3-1, to advance to the final. In the championship bout, Grimes bested Jake Patacsil of Purdue to take first place. Pat Castillo, seeded seventh at 125, advanced to the semis with three wins on Friday. In his first Saturday match, Castillo dropped a 3-1 decision to third-seeded Angel Escobedo of Indiana. In the wrestleback, Castillo rebounded with a victory in the fifth-place match over Illinois' John Weinert. Entering the final round of competition, the Huskies had 56.0 points as a team, placing them 10th in the 56-team field. NIU returns to the mat on January 14 with a MAC dual meet at Buffalo.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. –- The Lock Haven University wrestling team picked up one individual championship as they finished 15th with 55 points at the Southern Scuffle hosted by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The University of Missouri took home the championship topping the University of Minnesota 179.5-175 in a battle of the No. 2 and No. 1 teams in the country, respectively. The story for the Bald Eagles was No. 12 Seth Martin (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) who took home the individual crown at 157 pounds beating No. 6 Matt Hill of Edinboro University. Martin topped Hill, who was the No. 1 seed in the tournament 4-1 in the championship match. Martin was also able to avenge an earlier loss to Hill. Hill beat Martin 6-1 in the Dec. 10 dual where Edinboro shutout the Haven 45-0. Martin's road to the finals was in easy one as he started things off with a 3-1 win, followed by a pin and two more solid wins topping his opponents 7-0 and 13-4. No. 6 Obenson Blanc (Naples, Fla./Lely) finished in sixth at 125 to help pace the Bald Eagles. Blanc won his first two matches before falling to Javier Maldonada of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga 10-6. Blanc came back and picked up two more wins before Maldonada again defeated him. Freshman Danny Lopes (Oakhurst, N.J./Oxford Academy) won his first two matches of the tournament at 133 before falling to Evan Sola of the University of North Carolina who finished in second place. Lopes finished 2-2 in the tournament. Fellow classmate Tom Kocher (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) went 4-2 at 184 pounds. The Bald Eagles are back in action on Jan. 12, at 7:30 when they host Millersville University.

The Augustana wrestling team was well-represented at the Inaugural Collegiate All-Star Challenge as Austin Scarset, Cody Henriksen and Nate Buys all collected wins Saturday night at the Long Lines Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Scarset, a returning All-American who is ranked third in Division II at 157 pounds, earned a 9-6 decision over Hayden Harrison of Embry-Riddle. Harrison is ranked No. 1 in the NAIA national rankings. Henriksen, a 2006 All-American at 165 pounds, is ranked seventh at 174 pounds in the latest national rankings gained a measure of revenge as he scored a 9-1 major decision against Enoch Francois of Northwestern, Iowa. Francois, who is ranked seventh in NAIA, defeated Henriksen 10-4 when Augustana met Northwestern in a dual on November 29. Buys, a returning All-American who is ranked third at 197 pounds, was also impressive as he won a major decision with a 10-0 shutout of Jesse Laber of the University of Mary. Laber won the 2005 NAIA national title at 197 pounds. Since Mary is a provisional Division II school, he is not nationally ranked.