InterMat Staff

Cedar Falls, Iowa -- Facing a familiar opponent in the seventh-place dual, the eighth-seeded Tigers turned the tables on the Sun Devis, who knocked Missouri into the consolation bracket Saturday morning. Receiving big victories at 141 and 184 pounds, No. 9 Missouri tied No. 18 Arizona State 21-21 to finish in eighth place, losing a tiebreaker of most nearfalls. The National Duals field included eight of the top ten teams in the country, and featured 15 teams among the 16 that took to the mats Jan. 14-15. Sophomore Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) picked up Missouri's first dual points with his fourth victory of the tournament at 133 pounds, beating Adam Hickey 10-3. Ranked No. 16, McCormick picked up two points with 1:06 left in the first period, then added another on an escape early in the second frame. Quickly taking the offensive, McCormick caught Hickey's ankle twice to take a 7-1 lead into the final two-minute set, in which each wrestler scored two points. Competing at 141 pounds, redshirt freshman Marcus Hoehn (Farmington, Mo.) picked up three bonus points for the Tigers, pinning Elias Johnson in 4:27. Taking down his opponent three times through the first four minutes, Hoehn stayed with a takedown and forced Johnson to his back, stopping the match before regulation time expired. Once again taking to center mat against No. 11 Patrick Pitsch, No. 4 Matt Pell quickly scored two points in the first 30 seconds, nearly accomplishing a neutral pin during the takedown. Pell, a junior from Luxemburg, Wis, traded escapes with Pitsch throughout the rest of the match, adding an extra point for 3:09 of riding time to earn a 4-1 decision. Opening his match aggressively, junior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) took down Alex Pavlenko five times in the first period to build a 10-5 lead. Choosing down to start the second period, the No. 1 ranked Askren escaped Pavlenko's hold, then resumed his offensive onslaught with a takedown 10 seconds later. Trapping Pavlenko's shoulders on the mat, Askren picked up his 23rd fall of the season in 3:49 The holder of two upset victories in the first day of competition at the National Duals, redshirt freshman Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C) stepped into battle with No. 8 C.B. Dolloway, fighting to a draw through the first three minutes of the bout. After escaping Dolloway's hold early in the second period, Jordan scored on a takedown, heading into the final frame ahead 3-1. Fighting off several takedown attempts by Dolloway as time wound down, No. 17 Jordan completed a superb weekend with his third upset, 3-2 over the No. 8 competitor at 184 pounds. Missouri next competes against No. 1 Oklahoma State at home in the Hearnes Center Jan. 22. Aired live on College Sports Television, network channel 610 for Columbia residents, the bout begins at 2 p.m. CST.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After going 2-0 on the first day of the Virginia Duals as the No. 6 seed, the Ohio State wrestling team (3-5; 0-0 Big Ten) posted a 0-2 record on the second day of competition at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va. Ohio State met four Top 20 wrestlers en route to a 23-15 loss to No. 25 Penn in semifinal action. OSU then met North Carolina in the consolation semifinals and dropped a 28-13 decision. No. 15 Indiana won the Virginia duals after beating Penn, 18-15. After Buckeye Nathan Costello (125) (Sr., Maple Heights, Ohio/Maple Heights) lost 10-4 to the Quakers' Mike Silengo and Reece Humphrey (133) (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) gave up an 11-3 major decision to No. 9 Matt Valenti, T.J. Enright (So., Galloway, Ohio/Westland) scored OSU's first three points, taking a 3-1 decision from Penn's Cesar Grajales at 141. No. 7 J Jaggers (Fr., Northfield, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel) followed with a second-period pin (53 seconds) of 16-th ranked Matt Dragon at 149 to give the Buckeyes a 9-7 lead. However, Ohio State was unable to overcome Penn the rest of the way. Steve Wolery (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota West) lost to No. 19 Gene Zannetti, 5-0, at 157 and No. 16th-ranked Steve Sommer (Sr., West Carrollton, Ohio/Dayton Carroll) dropped an 11-5 decision to Lior Zamir at 165. Nathaniel Augustson (Sr., Rio Rancho, N.M./Rio Rancho) was downed by Matt Herrington, 14-6, at 174 and Alex Picazo (Jr., Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) lost to No. 16 Dustin Wiles, 7-2, at 184. With Corey Morrison (Fr., Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights) falling, 6-4, to Paul Velekei at 197, Penn increased its lead, 23-9, and forfeited the heavyweight match-up. The Buckeyes' six points from the forfeit resulted in the final tally. Ohio State's 13 points vs. North Carolina was courtesy of wins from R. Humphrey, Jaggers, Sommer and Augustson. R. Humphrey notched his second major decision of the duals after tallying a 13-5 win over Jared Royer and Jaggers won a close 7-5 decision vs. Chris Ramos. Sommer and Augustson scored back-to-back wins with Sommer defeating Garrett Atkinson, 14-8, and Augustson beating Alex Maciag, 7-6. Costello was up first for the Buckeyes against the Tar Heels and suffered a fall in a 1:13 to Bobby Shaw. Enright lost just his third dual of the year, 4-3, to Vincent Ramirez. Brian Baglio pinned Wolery in 2:06 and Picazo fell to Justin Dobies, 6-2. Morrison was the final wrestler for the Buckeyes and lost to David Dashiell, 14-6. Nail, who was slated to compete at heavyweight, was forced to injury default. Nail went 1-1 on the day after not competing in either of the duals on day two. Wolery saw his first dual meet action of the season vs. Penn and North Carolina and Nail, along with teammate Jaggers, suffered their first dual losses of the year at the Virginia Duals. Both wrestlers, and teammate R. Humphrey, own the Top 3 Buckeye dual records. Jaggers and Nail are 7-1, while R. Humphrey is 6-2. Ohio State will open its Big Ten schedule on the road vs. Indiana. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers will match-up at 7 p.m. Jan. 20 at the University Gym in Bloomington, Ind.

HAMPTON, Va. -- Fifth-seeded North Carolina won three of four matches Saturday to place fourth at the Virginia Duals at Hampton Coliseum. The Tar Heels won their first three bouts but lost to No. 4 seed Chattanooga for the second time in two days in the third-place match Saturday night. Carolina is now 12-3 on the season. The Tar Heels ran off three straight wins - 37-3 over Rider, 20-18 over ACC rival Virginia and 28-13 over No. 6 seed Ohio State - before dropping a 24-13 bout to Chattanooga in the third-place bout. Junior heavyweight Spencer Nadolsky went 4-0 Saturday to improve to a team-best 30-2 on the season. Junior David Dashiell was also unbeaten on the day, as he went 3-0, but the Tar Heels forfeited at 197 to Chattanooga in the third-place bout. Redshirt freshman Vincent Ramirez was 2-0 on the day at 141, but Carolina forfeited in the weight class to both Virginia and Chattanooga. Carolina was 3-1 at 165 pounds, as senior Garrett Atkinson went 1-1 on the day, and junior Deon Barrett was 2-0 versus Virginia and Chattanooga. Sophomore Justin Dobies was also 3-1 on the day at 184 pounds, as was junior Bobby Shaw at 125. The Tar Heels cruised against Rider in their first bout of the day, collecting wins in nine of the 10 bouts. Ramirez and Nadolsky each posted pins in the match. In the second match of the day, Carolina fell behind early, but won four of the final bouts in the match to edge the rival Cavaliers, 20-18. The Tar Heels remained alive thanks to their win over Ohio State, which was highlighted by pins for Shaw and junior Brian Baglio at 157. Dashiell also picked up a big major decision win at 197. In the third-place bout with Chattanooga, Carolina won four bouts, including Nadolsky's 30th win of the season at heavyweight. Carolina returns to action Friday, Jan. 20 against NC State at 7:30 p.m. at Carmichael Auditorium.

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. -- Caleb Seufert (Gaithersburg, MD/Northwest), Mike Pattanite (Tabernacle, NJ/Holy Cross), Andrew Goldstein (Easton, PA/Easton), and Josh Kaplan (Canton, CT/Canton) each had third place finishes to pace Gettysburg's fifth-place finish at the Ursinus Brute/Adidas Invitational on Saturday. Pattanite, wresting at 285 lbs., went 4-1 during the tournament. His highlights included pinning John Russo of Roger Williams in the third-place match and a technical fall over Dan Wilmer of Ursinus. Goldstein's three tournament wins in the 149 weight class came by pinning Morgan Hoffman of Ursinus and beating Ryan Trees of King's and Nick Ryan of Oneonta by major decisions. Kaplan, wresting in the 165 weight class, recorded two falls on the day. He pinned James Woods of Roger Williams in 6:32 and Oneonta's Ryan Higgins in 6:48. Wresting at 157 pounds, Seufert won two one-point matches on the way to his third-place finish. He defeated Dallas Fill of Roger Williams, 6-5, and Centenary's Greg Tierney, 8-7, in the third-place match. John Leinberger (Great Falls, VA/Langley) went 2-2 during the tournament and achieved a fourth-place finish. James Stevenson (Wyncote, PA/Cheltenham) finished the day with a 3-2 record, including a pin of Mike Mariano (King's) in 2:37. Gettysburg returns to action Tuesday at home hosting York and King's. Matches begin at 5 p.m. Team Scores 1. Oneonta (O) 104, 2. Ursinus (U) 93, 3. Roger Williams (RW) 88, 4. New York University (NYU) 68, 5. Gettysburg (G) 56, 6. King's (K) 45, 7. Wesleyan (W) 44, 8. Centenary (C) 39.

ATHERTON -- Helped by senior 157-pounder Kyle Bickford's 3-0 slate, the No. 8 Menlo College men's wrestling team earned victories against NCAA Division II University of Indianapolis and Division III Montclair State (N.J.) to complete Saturday's Menlo Duals at 2-1. A 6-4 decision by senior heavyweight Ben Flores in the final bout of the first dual gave Menlo a 21-18 win against No. 20 University of Indianapolis to open the day. The Oaks fell to the University of Great Falls (Mont.), ranked second nationally by the NAIA, 25-16, before finishing the competition with a 33-12 defeat of Montclair. In other duals, Great Falls (3-0) opened the day with 34-10 defeat of Montclair (0-3) while in round No. 2, Indianapolis (1-2) rode four falls to a 37-12 defeat of Montclair. Great Falls closed competition with a 24-18 win against Indianapolis. Beginning with freshman Mike Rodriguez's 7-3 defeat of Jimmy Nichols at 125 pounds, Menlo never trailed Indianapolis in the opening dual. Shane Perkey gave the Greyhounds a brief 3-3 tie with a 6-4 decision against the Oaks' Alfonso Paez at 133 before Menlo's Pablo Sanchez, ranked sixth at 133 pounds, pinned Indianapolis' Danny Norman at 2:44. Joe Garcia fell to Indianapolis' Charlie Pingleton, 9-5, at 149. Bickford won his match at 157, 7-3, before Robert Davis earned a fall against the Greyhounds' Aaron Brooks at 2:25 to give Menlo an 18-6 advantage. Indianapolis, however, rallied with three successive victories to knot the match, 18-18, before Flores, the NAIA's second-rated heavyweight, decided the dual. In the second dual, Sanchez's fall of Great Falls' Jason Harrington at 1:40 and Garcia's 3-0 decision against Spencer Griffiths gave the Oaks a brief 9-3 lead against the Argonauts. Great Falls, however, captured five of the final seven matches and wins by Bickford (dec. 8-4) and Jesse Vasquez (maj. dec. 16-8) at 184 couldn't lift the Oaks to the upset. Menlo rebounded in the final round, however, snaring eight bout wins from Montclair. Highlighting the effort was Bickford, who became Menlo's lone undefeated wrestler with a 13-4 decision against the Red Hawks' Steve Bradley and the recently-eligible Jon Sanchez, who pinned Mark D'Elia at 184 in 4:24.

CEDAR FALLS -- You couldn't write a better script than the one that unfolded at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. In the Division I championship match, it was top-seeded Oklahoma State vs. second-seeded Minnesota. Two national wrestling powers. Two schools that have won the last five NCAA team titles, wrestling in a seesaw battle, where every point scored was crucial, and would eventually come down to match between the top-two heavyweights in the land. Steve MoccoWhen Minnesota's Cole Konrad and Oklahoma State's Steve Mocco stepped on the mat with the Gophers leading the Cowboys, 15-14, and the National Duals title on the line, it was a fitting ending to an NWCA/Cliff Keen National Dual classic. Konrad and Mocco battled to a scoreless first period. The two behemoths traded escapes in the second and third periods. But less than thirty seconds into the final period, Konrad secured a body lock and executed a beautiful inside trip to put Mocco to his back for the pin. For his efforts, Konrad was named Most Outstanding Wrestler in Division I. Freshman Phenom With the exception of Konrad, Minnesota's talented freshman Dustin Schlatter had perhaps the biggest win of the dual against Oklahoma State, when he defeated defending NCAA champion Zack Esposito, 8-7. Dustin SchlatterIn addition to his victory over Esposito (which he called the biggest win of his career), the 19-year-old Schlatter also defeated No. 3 John Masa of Hofstra and No. 5 Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan. By defeating DiSalvo, he avenged his only loss of the season. Schlatter is currently 26-1 on the season. "I just came into this thing as a heavy underdog," said Schlatter. "I seem to perform well when I'm put in that situation. We've been training really hard as a team, especially over Christmas break, and I think it's really paying off." Sigman and Co. Win Second Straight Title In Division II, top-ranked Nebraska-Omaha won its second straight title by defeating Minnesota State-Mankato in the finals, 20-10. Les Sigman (photo by Johnnie Johnson)Nebraska-Omaha won the first five matches of the dual to take a 15-0 lead. Three-time NCAA heavyweight champion Les Sigman closed out the dual with a 5-1 victory over Tim Kraemer. He was named Outstanding Wrestler in Division II. Sigman is currently 9-0 on the season -- and has won tournament titles at the Kaufman-Brand Open and Midlands Championships against Division I competition. According to Nebraska-Omaha coach Mike Denney, Sigman is still undecided about whether or not he'll wrestle freestyle after his collegiate career is over. "We're not sure yet if he'll wrestle freestyle. He hasn't wrestled a lot of freestyle. There's an adjustment there. You know, he might try it. He wants to finish strong, and we'll see after the season." Some Things Never Change In Division III, Wartburg and Augsburg have traded national titles since 1995 -- and have met in the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals finals every year since 2002. This year, however, according to the seeds, it wasn't supposed to happen. Augsburg was seeded third, behind No. 1 Wartburg and No. 2 UW-La Crosse. But Augsburg defeated UW-La Crosse, 21-15, in the semifinals to face their arch rival in the finals. Wartburg made a statement in the finals by blasting Augsburg, 29-6. With the victory, Wartburg is 17-0 on the season and ranked No. 1 in the country. "We just wrestled really tough," said heavyweight Blake Giills, who closed out the dual with a 16-0 technical fall over Andrew Neumann. "We had two guys who won by seven points, so we could have gotten a few more majors. As a whole, we wrestled tough. It's not over yet. We still have nationals. But I'm happy for today, anyway. According to Gillis, it's never tough to get up for a match against the Auggies. "Augsburg, that's our rival. It's been that way forever. It's probably going to be that way forever. This whole week in practice, that's all we were thinking about, Augsburg, Augsburg, Augsburg." The two teams will meet again on Feb. 1 in Waverly, Iowa. Gillis, who is ranked sixth nationally in the RevWrestling.com All-Division Rankings at heavyweight (and No. 1 in Division III), believes this could be a very special Wartburg team. "If everybody does what they should, and we're capable of, this could be one of the best Wartburg teams ever." Amazingly, Wartburg lost only four individual matches all weekend. NAIA Action Dana College, who entered the event seeded third, claimed the NAIA title over fifth-seeded University of the Cumberlands, 22-13. Cumberlands won three of the first four matches to open the dual, but Dana won five of the remaining six matches -- and picked up a big pin at 174 by two-time NCAA qualifier Marshall Marquardt. Labette Wins NJCAA Title The Labette Cardinals, the reining junior college national champions, won the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals title by defeating top-seeded Northwest Wyoming in the finals, 18-16. Championships Finals Results: Division I: Minnesota 21, Oklahoma State 14 125 -- Coleman Scott (OSU) maj. dec. Travis Lang (MN), 11-0 133 -- Nathan Morgan (OSU) dec. Mack Reiter (MN), 6-4 141 -- Manuel Rivera (MN) dec. Daniel Frishkorn (OSU, 9-4 149 -- Dustin Schlatter dec. Zack Esposito (OSU), 8-7 157 -- C.P. Schlatter (MN) dec. Kevin Ward (OSU), 2-0 165 -- Johny Hendricks (OSU) dec. Matt Nagel (MN), 8-3 174 -- Gabriel Dretsch (MN) dec. Brandon Mason (OSU), 3-1 184 -- Roger Kish (MN) dec. Brent Parkey (OSU), 7 -3 197 -- Jake Rosholt (OSU) maj. dec. Mitch Kuhlman (MN), 13-5 Hwt -- Cole Konrad (MN) pinned Steve Mocco (OSU), 5:26 Division II: Nebraska-Omaha 20, Minnesota State-Mankato 10 125 -- Cody Garcia (Neb-Omaha) dec. Nick Smith (MSU), 6-1 133 -- Dan Hilario (Neb-Omaha) dec. Jeff Pfaffinger (MSU), 3-2 141 -- Mitch Waite (Neb-Omaha) dec. Zach Stevens (MSU), 9-3 149 -- Shane Unger (Neb-Omaha) dec. Travis Puig (MSU), 8-7 157 -- Patrick Allibone (Neb-Omaha) dec. Matt Bitz (MSU), 1-0 165 -- Andy Pickar (MSU) dec. Ross Tapin (Neb-Omaha), 9-7 174 -- JD Naig (Neb-Omaha) dec. Tim Matheson (MSU), 9-3 184 -- John Koons (MSU) dec. Nate Oviatt (Neb-Omaha), 11-0 197 -- Ben Janike (MSU) dec. Nick Edmonds (Neb-Omaha), 5-0 Hwt -- Les Sigman (Neb-Omaha) dec. Tim Kraemer (MSU), 5-1 Division III: Wartburg 29, Augsburg 6 125 -- Tyler Hubbard (WAR) dec. Seth Flodeen (AUG), 12-5 133 -- Zach McKray (WAR) dec. Ben Moss (AUG), 8-1 141 -- Dustin Hinschberger (WAR) maj. dec. Josh Hansen (AUG), 12-2 149 -- Jacob Naig (WAR) dec. Jared Evans (AUG), 3-0 157 -- Jeremy Anderson (AUG) dec. Justin Hanson (WAR), 7-4 165 -- Ryan Valek (AUG) dec. Dustin Bliven (WAR), 8-6 174 -- Scott Kaufmann (WAR) maj. dec. Robbie Gotreau (AUG), 17-5 184 -- Akeem Carter (WAR) dec. Brad Tupa (AUG), 6-3 197 -- T.J. Miller (WAR) maj. dec. Wally O'Connor (AUG), 13-0 Hwt -- Blake Gillis (WAR) tech. fall. Andrew Neumann (AUG), 16-0, 5:00 NAIA: Dana 22, Cumberlands 13 125 -- Craig Trampe (Dana) dec. Delrico Choates (Cumb), 3-2 133 -- Mikeal Brooks (Cumb) dec. Sonny Silva (Dana), 10-9 141 -- Bradley Cooper (Cumb) dec. Terrence Almond (Dana), 12-3 149 -- Dustin Center (Cumb) dec. Jason Lozier (Dana), 6-2 157 -- Ben Henderson (Dana) dec. Tommy Hutchinson (Cumb), 9-6 165 -- Trent Leichleiter (Dana) dec. Nathanal Jolly (Cumb), 5-2 174 -- Marshall Marquardt (Dana) pinned Todd Allen (Cumb), 1:59 184 -- Nick Wilkes (Dana) maj. dec. Matt Reis (Cumb), 9-1 197 -- Eric Flinchum (Cumb) dec. Willie Parks (Dana), 12-6 Hwt -- Blair Alderman (Dana) dec. Matt Bishop (Cumb), 5-3 NJCAA: Labette 18, Northwest Wyoming 16 125 -- Tim Elliott (Lab) pinned Kalen Wilson (NW), 6:34 133 -- Josh Baldridge (Lab) dec. Eric Tapia (NW), 9-6 141 -- Ross Montour (NW) maj. dec. Cavin Cooper (Lab), 15-3 149 -- Cody Moulton (NW) dec. Cory Allison (Lab), 4-3 157 -- Luke Elmore (Lab) dec. Eric Coxbill (NW), 3-1 165 -- Christopher Riding (NW) dec. Alvin Metcalf (Lab), 9-4 174 -- Julius Rios (NW) dec. Tommy McCarty (Lab), 5-3 184 -- Alex Saunders (Lab) dec. Shawn Vincent (NW), 10-8 197 -- Elijah Martinez (Lab) dec. Avery Rodgers (NW), 4-3 Hwt -- Spencer Bowles (NW) dec. Willie Weber (Lab), 8-3 Final Brackets: Division I Bracket Division II Bracket Division III Bracket NAIA Bracket NJCAA Bracket Related Article: NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals Day-One Recap

ATHENS, Ohio -- With pins by Larry Reichard at 197 pounds and Ryan Knapp at 174, the Ohio wrestling team defeated North Carolina State 25-13 Saturday evening in the Convocation Center. Brian Cesear gave the Bobcats an early 4-0 lead with an 11-2 major decision over Jeremy Colbert at 184 pounds. The junior from Amherst, Ohio, leads the team with 14 wins this season against eight losses. Ohio (5-4) jumped out to a 10-0 lead after Reichard pinned Josh Collins in the next match. The redshirt freshman from New Albany, Ohio, completely dominated the contest and was leading 13-0 when the pin occurred with 30 seconds remaining in the second period. "Getting off to that start was huge for us," said Bobcat head coach Joel Greenlee, who improved his career coaching record to 94-64-4 over eight and a half seasons at Ohio. "Reichard has really stepped up since (starter Nick) Terbay has been hurt. We've got two guys at that weight who are awfully tough so that's a good situation to have." At heavyweight, junior Marcus Adelman (Alliance, Ohio) lost a close match to the Wolfpack's Jainor Palma. A two-point reversal by Palma late in the second period proved to be the contest's only points. The Bobcats answered back, though, with three straight wins. Junior 125-pounder Caleb Metcalf (Waterville, Ohio) managed an escape at the very beginning of the third period to squeak out a 1-0 decision over NC State's Jeremy Hartrum to start the Ohio run. Terry Jackson (Uhrichsville, Ohio) followed with an impressive 4-0 shutout of Wolfpack 133-pounder Garrett Cummings. The redshirt freshman recorded a takedown 35 seconds into the match, scored an escape early in the second period and earned a point for riding time to pull out his sixth career victory and improve his dual record to 4-0. In his first match since moving up a weight, Albert Madsen won a 6-2 decision over NC State's Jalil Dozier at 141. The redshirt freshman from Strongsville, Ohio, managed two escapes and two takedowns to come back from an early 2-0 deficit. With the Bobcats leading 19-3 with just four matches left, the Wolfpack began to close the gap with wins at 149 and 157 pounds. True freshman Mike Grandominico (Delaware, Ohio) was leading the 157-pound match 6-5 with 25 seconds remaining but allowed two takedowns at the end- the last coming with just four seconds on the clock - in a 9-7 loss. NC State (6-3) closed the gap to just six points with a 10-2 major decision by Obie Simpson over Ohio's Kent Smith (Bowling Green, Ohio) at 165 pounds. The Bobcat true freshman gave up a takedown on the edge of the mat with just one second remaining to award the bonus point. Leading 19-13 with just one match remaining, Ohio could not afford a pin in the 174-pound match. With the intensity of the 500-plus crowd at a fever pitch, Bobcat sophomore Ryan Knapp (McConnelsville, Ohio) battled Wolfpack 174-pounder Rick Brownlee all over the mat. After escaping from a dangerous position early, Knapp recorded two takedowns and a three-point near-fall to go up 7-1 after the first period. Just 10 ticks into the second period, Knapp took Brownlee down and then pinned him seven seconds later, securing the victory for Ohio. "Knapp has a tendency to get out of control so the last thing I told him was to stay under control," said Greenlee. "Halfway through the first period, I knew somebody was going to get pinned but I wasn't sure who it was going to be. But Knapp kept in control and did a great job." The Bobcats will host their second dual meet of the season this Friday, Jan. 20, against Mid-American Conference rival Northern Illinois. Ohio will square off against the nationally ranked Huskies at 7 p.m. in The Convo. The squad will then travel to Ashland, Ohio, on Jan. 22 for the Wendy's Duals, where they will face Cleveland State at 10 a.m., Lock Haven at 2 p.m. and Ashland at 4 p.m. Ohio 25, NC State 13 184 - Brian Cesear (Ohio) major dec. Jeremy Colbert, 11-2 197 - Larry Reichard (Ohio) fall Josh Collins, 4:30 HWT - Jainor Palma (NC State) dec. Marcus Adelman, 2-0 125 - Caleb Metcalf (Ohio) dec. Jeremy Hartrum, 1-0 133 - Terry Jackson (Ohio) dec. Garrett Cummings, 4-0 141 - Albert Madsen (Ohio) dec. Jalil Dozier, 6-2 149 - Joe Caramanica (NC State) dec. Aaron Gomoll, 6-1 157 - Bryant Reams (NC State) dec. Mike Grandominico, 9-7 165 - Obie Simpson (NC State) major dec. Kent Smith, 10-2 174 - Ryan Knapp (Ohio) fall Rick Brownlee, 4:17

Providence, RI -- The Brown wrestling team (3-3) opened up the home portion of its 2006 schedule on Saturday at the Pizzitola Center, hosting Boston University and American University. The Bears came away with a split, defeating the Terriers 21-16, after falling to the Eagles 25-12 earlier in the day. American also took a 27-18 win over Boston University. Sophomore Leo Saniuk went 2-0 on the day at 197 lbs. with a 5-1 win over American's Tyler Flatt and a 10-1 win against BU's Elijah Videl. Sophomore Levon Mock's 17-0 win over Orey Hall at 285 lbs. helped secure the victory over the Terriers. Freshman John Triggas pinned BU's Bryan Matsurra to give the Bears a 6-0 lead in the first match at 133 lbs. The Terriers followed with two straight wins before senior Mike Savino won at 157 lbs. to give Brown a 9-6 edge. BU went on to score ten points in the next three matches to take a 16-9 lead before Saniuk came through with his major decision victory over Videl. Trailing 16-13, Mock pushed Brown ahead by two, 18-16, with ihs five point victory. Sophomore Jeff Schell ensured the win with a 7-0 victory at 125 lbs. American took seven of ten matches from the Bears to earn its 13 point win. The Eagles recorded three pins to push past BU. Brown will continue action at Rutgers next Saturday. American 25, Brown 12 125-Matt Morkel (American) dec. Jeff Schell (Brown), 3-0 133-Jordan Kipp (American) dec. Dan Appello (Brown), 8-3 141-Mark Savino (Brown) FOR 149-Tom Kniezewski (American) dec. Shawn Cully (Brown), 3-2 157-Rudy Rueda (American) dec. Mike Savino (Brown), 4-3 165-Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (American) major dec. Lenny Marandino (Brown), 17-4 174-Shawn Kitchner (Brown) dec. Anthony Fuschino (American), 9-2 184-Josh Glenn (American) WBF Branden Stearns (Brown), 6:55 197-Leo Sanuik (Brown) dec. Tyler Flatt (American), 5-1 HWT-Adam LoPiccolo (American) dec. Levon Mock (Brown), 8-1 Brown 21, Boston University 16 125-Jeff Schell (Brown) dec. Josh Statum (BU), 7-0 133-John Triggas (Brown) WBF Bryan Matsurra (BU), 1:30 141-Joe Whitaker (BU) dec. Mark Savino (Brown), 6-4 149-Mike Roberts (BU) dec. Mike Ashton (Brown), 5-3 157-Mike Savino (Brown) dec. Justin Blumenthal (BU), 5-2 165-Zach Johns (BU) dec. Shawn Kitchner (Brown), 7-3 174-Chris Tripp (BU) major dec. Matt Gevelinger (Brown), 15-5 184-Tom Sforza (BU) dec. Branden Stearns (Brown), 9-3 197-Leo Saniuk (Brown) major dec. Elijah Videl (BU), 10-1 HWT-Levon Mock (Brown) TP5 Orey Hall (BU),17-0, 3:12 American 27, Boston University 18 125- Matt Morkel (American) dec. Bryan Matsurra (BU), 8-3 133-Bith (American) FOR 141- Carlo Ferrandino (BU) FOR 149- Tom Kniezewski (American) dec Mike Roberts (BU), 8-2 157- Justin Blumenthal (BU) dec. Christopher Stout (American), 6-3 165- Zach Johns (BU) dec Rudy Rueda (American), 5-0 174- Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (American) WBF Chris Tripp (BU) , 1:33 184- Josh Glenn (American) WBF Elijah Videl (BU), (BU), 1:59 197- Tom Sforza (BU) dec. Dwayne Hash-Barberis (American), 12-6 HWT- Adam LoPiccolo (American) WBF Orey Hall (BU), 0:30

The Eastern Michigan University Eagles split their two matches at the Cleveland State Duals Saturday . The Eagles lost to host Cleveland State (4-2) in the opening match 29-12 and then came back to defeat Slippery Rock( 19-15. Eastern (2-5) were again by #17 ranked true freshman Sean Clair (22-8) at 125 pounds. Clair defeated Daryl Hunt 5-4 to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead against Cleveland State but it was all Viking from that point. Eastern did not score again until freshman Josh Lewis pinned Anthony Mestek in their 174 pound match. Junior Tony Lyssiotis, who also won both of his matches Saturday, started out with a 7-2 win over Ishmal Williams at 197 pounds but that was the last scoring by EMU and Cleveland State (4-2) cruised to a 29-12 victory. The Eagles were much stronger against Slippery Rock (4-7), winning 6 of the 10 matches. Clair shut out Chris Clarke 5-0 and ran his season record to 24-8. Captain Phillip Plowman scored the second shutout in a row when he beat Sal Lascari 7-0 at 133. After Nick Conklin lost at 141 pounds, #20 ranked junior Jermaine Thompson had a 16-4 major decision win over Sal Baglio and Captain Chad Roush decision Gerald Christian 6-3 to extend the EMU lead in the meet to 13-4. Slippery Rock came back however and won the next three matches, including one technical fall and one major decision, to take a 15-13 lead into the last two matches. Lyssiotis then stepped up with his second win of the say, defeating Andrew Joseph 6-0 to give Eastern a 16-15 lead heading into the heavyweights. In the deciding match oif the meet, EMU's true freshman Jake Wood scored his second victory in as many week with an exciting 8-7 win over Matt Burkholder to clinch the Eagle victory 19-15. The other scheduled team, West Liberty State, cancelled due to health concerns. For complete results, go to the EMU web site at http://www.emich.edu/public/wrestling/windex.html

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The Pitt Panthers traveled to eastern Pennsylvania this weekend to take on the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in one of the team's most anticipated matches of the season. After some solid victories for both teams in the first six matches, the Mountain Hawks pulled ahead in the final four bouts for a 28-9 victory. Head Coach Rande Stottlemyer felt the team's effort was better in this match, and he was particularly happy with the performances from Mike Ciotti, Ronald Tarquinio, Joey Ecklof and Justin Nestor. Three of those wrestlers put Pitt on the scoreboard, and Tarquinio, despite a tough loss at 141 pounds, fought hard against the No.2-ranked wrestler, Cory Cooperman. Lehigh took an early lead at 125 pounds after Matt Fisk won a 17-0 tech fall over Pitt's Brad Gentzle (Easton, Pa./Easton) at the 6:12 mark. Lehigh was winning 5-0 going into the 133 bout. Senior Mike Ciotti (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) was able to earn three points for the Panthers after a 7-1 decision over Lehigh's John Stout. At 141 pounds, the matchup between Pitt's Ronald Tarquinio (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) and Lehigh's Cooperman was the most anticipated bout of the evening. The two went head-to-head earlier this season at the Southern Scuffle where they took the championship match into overtime. Cooperman won that match, 3-2. Tarquinio, again, fought hard in this second matchup, this time losing by a narrow 5-3 decision. Cooperman's victory put Lehigh ahead 8-3. In front of a hometown crowd, freshman Joey Ecklof (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) earned his third dual victory of the season after a 8-3 decision over Lehigh's Trevor Chinn. Ecklof narrowed the scoring gap, adding another three points for Pitt. Another Lehigh Valley local, Sean Richmond (Emmaus, Pa./Easton) faced a tough bout at 157 pounds where he was up against Lehigh's No.11 Derek Zinck. Zinck scored another victory for the Mountain Hawks with a 15-6 major decision, keeping Lehigh in the lead 12-6. Justin Nestor (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) earned another victory for the Panthers at 165 pounds with a 6-0 shutout over Lehigh's Dave Nakasone. Nestor is now 4-2 in dual wins for the season, moving up in the Pitt record books with 108 career victories. The Mountain Hawks dominated the final four bouts of the evening. Pitt's Nick Padezan (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford) faced No.12 Travis Frick at 174 pounds, where he lost by an 11-3 major decision. At 184, Lehigh's Dave Helfrich won a 5-2 decision over Pitt freshman Kyle Deliere (Cecil, Pa./Canon-McMillan), and at 197 pounds, No. 16 Matt Cassidy won a close 2-1 decision over the Panthers' Mike Heist (Orefield, Pa./Parkland). In the final bout of the evening, Lehigh worked off their momentum as heavyweight Paul Weibel pinned Pitt's Lou Thomas (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg) at the 6:27 mark to give Lehigh the 28-9 victory. The Pitt vs. Lehigh matchup was televised on Fox College Sports Atlantic, and will air locally for Panther fans on FSN Pittsburgh. The re-broadcast is scheduled for noon on Sunday, January 22. The Panthers (2-4, 0-1 EWL) return to Pittsburgh next weekend for a 7:30 p.m. matchup against Michigan State on Friday, January 20.

Fresno, Calif. -- The fourth-ranked University of Illinois wrestling team improved to 3-0 on the season as they defeated Fresno State 37-3 in main event odf tonight's three-team dual. Earlier in the day, the Illini dismantled San Francisco State in their dual, 44-0. The loud crowd at the Save Mart Cener was not only rooting for their home team, but for Alex and Troy Tirapelle and Gabe Flores who all won championships for nearby Clovis High School. The Illini were looking to duplicate the fast start they had in the first session, instead, they got the opposite. Gabe Flores (Madera, Calif.) needed riding riding time to win his match against Sean Carlson, 5-4. However, Cassio Pero's (Chicago Heights, Ill.) 7-2 decision over Garrett Spooner along with Troy Tirapelle's (Clovis, Calif.) pin of Dustin Rocha in 4:15 put the Illini back on the right path and in command of the dual. With senior All-American Alex Tirapelle's (Clovis, Calif.) 7-2 manhandling of Charles Jones, the three local wrestlers were unbeaten in their homecoming. Mike Poeta (Highwood, Ill.) and Donny Reynolds (Frankfort, Ill.) also added big points to the Illini's team score. The two starters won in their 165 and 174 pound matches by forfeit. Senior All-American Pete Friedl (Orland Park, Ill.) was too much for Greg Gifford to handle as Friedl scored every period en route to a 12-6 decision. With the 197 pound match tied at 2-2 at the beginning of the third period, Tyrone Byrd (Clinton, Ill.) scored 5 quick points on an escape, a takedown, and a two-point near-fall to win his match against Brandon Halsey. Illinois' season dual shutout was finally snapped as heavyweight Matt Weight (Batavia, Ill.) dropped a close and controversial decision to Cody Parker, 3-2. In the first period, Weight was called for fleeing the mat and a point was given to Parker--much to the disagreement of the Illini supporters. Then, in the closing seconds of the third period, Weight tried to put a few shots together but the buzzer sounded before he could score. That was the only bump in the road for the Illini. In his125 pound match, senior All-American Kyle Ott (Huber Heights, Ohio), helped the Illini finish strong as he won by major decision over Cory Borges 14-4. Ott exploded out of the gates and quickly scored on two takedowns and a two point near-fall. Ott controlled the frenzied pace of the match and only let Borges score on escape points. The Illini travel to Palo Alto, Calif. to face Stanford on Sunday. Mat time is 11 a.m. CST. The team opens the Big Ten season at home against Purdue on Jan. 20

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The No. 11-ranked Lehigh wrestling team won six of the last eight matches to overcome an early deficit and hand the 21st-ranked Midshipmen just their second dual loss of the year, 20-12, in front of 1,672 fans on Saturday afternoon. Navy, which had won five straight duals entering the contest, fell to 9-1 overall while Lehigh improves to 8-4-1. The loss signaled the end of a grueling stretch for the Mids, having wrestled six dual meets in a seven-day span. "It was a competitive dual, but when you go into a tough place to wrestle against a good team and a noisy crowd, you have to be at the top of your game, and we weren't today. We made mistakes that get magnified against good teams and Lehigh took advantage," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We had to go in today and take it away from them and we couldn't do it." Navy jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after two weight classes, thanks to the two heaviest weights. Senior Chris Pogue (Chesapeake, Va.), who has made the transition from 184 pounds to 197 pounds, rather seemlessly, scored an impressive 5-3 triumph over 16th-ranked Matt Cassidy in the meet's first match of the day. Following at heavyweight, Tanner Garrett (Tulsa, Okla.) was equally as impressive, tallying an 11-5 victory over Paul Weibel, who has been in and out of the national rankings this year. The win, which improved Garrett's record to 32-2 overall and was his 32nd straight dual-meet victory, gave Navy a 6-0 cushion. Lehigh rallied by winning the next three matches. At 125 pounds, Matt Fisk blanked Alex Usztics (Dauphin, Pa.), 4-0, to trim the team margin to 6-3. Lehigh's John Stout spoiled freshman Joe Baker's (Poway, Calif.) return to the lineup after missing over a year with a shoulder injury, 9-3. And at 141, No. 3-ranked Cory Cooperman was too strong, defeating Spencer Manley by major decision, 15-5. The three victories gave Lehigh a 10-6 lead after five matches. Burnett was happy to see Baker in the lineup, but the freshman ran out of gas late in the match. "He wanted to wrestle today, which was earlier than we thought he'd be able to," said Burnett. "He looked good the first period, but just ran out of gas late in the match.His conditioning will get better with time." John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.), ranked 19th in the country, scored a big 5-4 decision over 16th-ranked Matt Ciasulli to keep Navy in the match, but at 157 pounds, 11th-ranked Derek Zinck returned the favor with a 14-6 major-decision victory over John Jarred for a 14-9 Lehigh lead. At 165 pounds, Craig Dziewiatkowski (Aurora, Ill.) gave Navy some hope with an 11-6 decision over Dave Nakasone. However, at 174 pounds, 18th-ranked Travis Frick edged Matt Stolpinski, 9-6, and at 184 pounds, David Helfrich defeated Matt Parsons, 7-1, to complete the match. Parsons was wrestling for Jonny Kane (Portland, Maine), who "broke out" the night before and failed the skin check before the match. Kane had defeated Helfrich is last year's dual, 13-4. "We fought hard, but just didn't get it done today. We were expecting to win, so that is disappointing," said Burnett. "We have things to fix and we'll improve and be ready for North Carolina and North Carolina State in two weeks." The win was Lehigh's sixth in a row in the series, dating back to the 1999-2000 season.Under Burnett, the Mids are 0-6 against Lehigh, but 23-1 against the other teams in the league. Navy will be off next week, before hosting North Carolina and North Carolina State at Halsey Field House on Saturday, Jan. 28, beginning at 1:00 p.m. For ticket information, call 1-800-US4-NAVY. #11 Lehigh 20, #21 Navy 12 TEAM SCORE 197: Chris Pogue (N) dec. #16 Matt Cassidy, 5-3 N, 3-0 HWT: #7 Tanner Garrett (N) dec. Paul Weibel, 11-5 N, 6-0 125: Matt Fisk (L) dec. Alex Usztics, 4-0 N, 6-3 133: John Stout (L) dec. Joe Baker, 9-3 T, 6-6 141: #3 Cory Cooperman (L) mdec. Spencer Manley, 15-5 L, 10-6 149: #19 John Cox (N) dec. #16 Matt Ciasulli, 5-4 L, 10-9 157: #11 Derek Zinck (L) mdec. John Jarred, 14-6 L, 14-9 165: Craig Dziewiatkowski (N) dec. Dave Nakasone, 11-6 L, 14-12 174: #18 Travis Frick (L) dec. Matt Solpinski, 9-6 L, 17-12 184: Dave Helfrich (L) dec. Matt Parsons, 7-1 L, 20-12

CEDAR FALLS -- The NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals kicked off on Saturday morning at the UNI Dome on the campus of Northern Iowa University in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Seventy-one teams across five divisions of wrestling (Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and NJCAA) are competing this weekend. Defending Champions Roll Oklahoma State (Division I), Nebraska-Omaha (Division II), and Augsburg (Division III) each back to defend their NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals titles, breezed through their day one duals to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. Oklahoma State, the three-time defending NCAA champions, dominated Kent State in the opening round, 37-6, and then, perhaps more impressively, won their quarterfinal match, 38-3, over Arizona State. The Cowboys finished the day having won 17 of their 20 individual matches. Top-seeded Nebraska-Omaha blasted Fort Hayes State, 24-9, in the opening round. In the quarterfinals, national champions J.D. Naig (165) and Les Sigman (Hwt) recorded pins, which helped propel the Mavericks to a 28-11 victory over eighth-seeded Augustana (South Dakota). Nebraska-Omaha head coach Mike Denney was pleased with his team's overall performance, but also had high praise for his opponents. "These are our first duals of the season," said Denney. "We've wrestled all tournaments up until this point, so we're still kind of adjusting to the dual meet kind of thing. But I'll tell you what, that's one of the best Fort Hayes teams I've seen them have in the 27 years I've been coaching. They have a nice squad. They really do. They performed well against us. And then with Augustana, I don't know how they got seeded eighth. They were second in the nation last year. They returned a bunch of their guys, so we had two tough teams right off the bat." The Mavericks will now face fifth-seeded Central Oklahoma in semifinals. Central Oklahoma defeated fourth-seeded Nebraska-Kearney, 22-11, in the quarterfinals. "I was a little bit surprised (that Central Oklahoma won)," said Denney. "I didn't get a chance to see the match. So I don't know if Nebraska-Kearney was missing somebody or what happened. But it should be a good match-up tomorrow." Augsburg, who entered the event seeded third (behind No. 1 Wartburg and No. 2 UW-La Crosse) crushed their first two opponents. In the first round, the Auggies defeated Augustana (Illinois), 38-3, and then defeated sixth-seeded Cornell (Iowa), 36-3. Augsburg will now take on UW-La Crosse in the semifinals in a battle of Division III heavyweights. Surprise! Nebraska has been the biggest surprise of this year's event. The Huskers, who came in unseeded (and currently ranked 17th in the country by RevWrestling.com), first upset fourth-seeded Iowa, 24-13, in the opening round on the strength of two pins to open the dual and also scored two upsets up top. Paul Donahoe (125) and Patrick Aleksanyan (133) recorded pins, while Jacob Klein (174) and Vince Jones (184) beat a pair of Hawkeyes ranked in the top four in the nation. Klein, a 2004 All-American, defeated No. 3 Mark Perry, 4-3. Jones, a true freshman in his first match out of redshirt, stunned Bradley, 4-3. The Cornhuskers proved their win over Iowa was no fluke by knocking off fourth-seeded Michigan (for the second time this season), 24-16, to advance to the semifinals. So what's their reward for reaching the semifinals? A meeting with top-ranked Oklahoma State on Sunday at 11 a.m. CST. He's Human Troy Nickerson of Cornell has been one of the most talked about freshman in recent years… and for good reason. He entered the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals with an 18-0 record and ranked fifth in the country by RevWrestling.com. But on Saturday afternoon, Nickerson suffered the first setback of his collegiate career, a 3-0 loss to two-time All-American Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma. The two wrestlers battled to a scoreless first period. Hazewinkel began the period in the down position and after Nickerson threw in the legs, the Sooner was able to secure a reversal to go up 2-0. Nickerson chose to start the third period in the neutral position, but was unable to put any points on the scoreboard. Hazewinkel added an additional point for riding time. Sam Hazewinkel"I felt like I wrestled real good, real smart," said Hazewinkel. "I wish that I would have done a little more. I didn't attack as much as I wanted to. But it's a win against a great kid, so I'm not upset." Hazewinkel said that he spent a little bit of time preparing for Nickerson, but didn't want to dwell on the match-up. "I heard something last year that I've been trying to do," said Hazewinkel. "It said, when all you do is watch other people, or all you do is watch your mistakes, than that's what you work on, instead of looking at what you do right. So I was just trying to think about what I do right, rather than what he does." Best Freshman? While a case could certainly be made for Nickerson as the nation's top freshman, an equally strong case could be made for Minnesota's Dustin Schlatter, who shutout two-time All-American and third-ranked Jon Masa of Hofstra, 5-0, in the opening round. In his second match today, Schlatter won by major decision over Iowa State's Jason Knipp, 19-7. The former four-time Ohio state champion now boasts a 24-1 record -- with his only loss coming to Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan at the Northeast Duals. Interestingly, Schlatter will get another crack at DiSalvo, also an Ohio native, when Minnesota wrestles against Central Michigan in the semifinals at 11 a.m. CST. Domination Continues With his four wins (two technical falls and two pins) on Saturday, top-ranked Ben Askren of Missouri (174) ran his season record to 30-0 with 22 pins and six technical falls. Missouri finished the day with a 2-2 record. What a Difference Four Years Can Make Nate Baker was the starting 165-pounder as a freshman for National Duals champion Minnesota in 2002. Now, after being out of the sport for four years, he is back wrestling in this event, but this time for Minnesota-Moorhead (Division II). Baker won both of his matches today, but his team finished a disappointing 0-2. Note: Division I, Division II, Division III ,and NAIA semifinal matches will take place at 11:00 a.m. CST. The finals will take place at 3:00 p.m. NJCAA semifinals took place on Saturday night, with the finals set to take place on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. CST. Semifinal Pairings: Division I: No. 1 Oklahoma State vs. Nebraska No. 2 Minnesota vs. No. 6 Central Michigan Division II: No. 1 Nebraska-Omaha vs. No. 5 Central Oklahoma No. 2 Minnesota State-Mankato vs. No. 6 Ashland Division III: No. 1 Wartburg vs. No. 4 Luther No. 2 Wisconsin-La Crosse vs. No. 3 Augsburg NAIA: No. 1 Lindenwood vs. No. 5 Cumberlands No. 3 Dana vs. No. 7 Missouri Valley Updated Results: Division I Brackets Division II Brackets Division III Brackets NAIA Brackets NJCAA Brackets

With the 2006 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals set to begin on Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa, there are five questions that I would like answered this weekend… 1. Who is the nation's top freshman? Troy NickersonIt has truly been an amazing season for freshmen. Troy Nickerson of Cornell, a true freshman, is currently 18-0 and ranked No. 5 in the country at 125 pounds. The most impressive thing about Nickerson, though, is the ease in which he is winning his matches. Of his 18 wins, seven have come by pin and six by major decision. He'll get his first major test in the first round match-up against Oklahoma's Sam Hazewinkel, who has placed third at the NCAA Championships the past two seasons. Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota, also a true freshman, is 22-1 this season -- with his lone loss coming to No. 5 Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan. Like Nickerson, Schlatter will have his hands full in his opening round match-up against No. 3 Jon Masa of Hofstra. Steve Luke of Michigan, a redshirt freshman, has a 7-2 record and won the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December, which included a win over Alex Tirapelle of Illinois. If Both Michigan and Iowa win their opening round matches, Luke will see NCAA runner-up Joe Johnston in the second round. Redshirt freshman Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State comes in with a 13-5 record at 174, but is coming off a bad 13-0 loss to Mark Perry of Iowa. Mason could potentially meet top-ranked Ben Askren of Missouri in the second round (if the Tigers can get by Arizona State). Obviously, since not all of the top freshmen in the country will be in Cedar Falls this weekend, it wouldn't be fair to use this event as an accurate indicator of who "the best" freshman is, but it should prove to be a good measuring stick for the four freshmen mentioned above. Other freshmen who have made an impact this season include Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro, Mike Poeta of Illinois, and J Jaggers of Ohio State. 2. Is Jon Masa ready to challenge for a national title? Masa, a senior 149-pounder for Hofstra, was granted a one semester Olympic waiver by the NCAA in late November. The Puerto Rico native is a two-time All-American with an abundance of talent. When he's "on," he's one of the best wrestlers in the country -- regardless of weight class. But other times, he wrestles as if he is bored, or merely going through the motions. Case in point, last season he lost to Jeff Harrison of Northern Iowa, 13-4. Admittedly, Harrison was a solid wrestler, but never an All-American, and not someone who Masa should have lost to by nine points! He also lost to non-All-Americans Rayes Gonzalez of Boston and Jeff Owens of Cal Poly. As further of evidence of his inconsistency, he lost to Dustin Manotti of Cornell last season, 6-4 and 16-3. There is no question that Manotti, a three-time All-American, is a very good wrestler, but how can someone as talented as Masa lose by 13 points? Not only did he go on to avenge that loss to Manotti (at the NCAA Championships), but he beat him 11-3! He then proceeded to beat a tough Eric Tannenbaum, 8-1, to finish third at the NCAA Championships. He has been victorious in his only two matches sine returning to the Pride lineup (he did, in Masa-like fashion, lose some matches he shouldn't have while wrestling unattached earlier this season). But in his first match back, he defeated Tannenbaum, 13-4. Now the question is whether or not he can avoid letdown and challenge for the national title. He'll see super frosh Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota in the first round -- in what should be a very intiguing match-up. 3. Who is the front-runner in Division I for the coveted Dan Hodge Trophy presented by WIN Magazine? As I see it right now, looking strictly at Division I, there are five wrestlers who could win this award this season. Those wrestlers include Ben Askren of Missouri (174), Nate Gallick of Iowa State (141), Cole Konrad of Minnesota (Hwt), Ryan Churella of Michigan (165), and Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State (Hwt). Askren, in my opinion, is without question the front-runner for this award right now. He has completely dominated everyone he has faced this season. He is 26-0 with 20 pins. With his next victory, he will break his own school record for consecutive wins, a mark that he set last season. However, he has yet to meet the No. 2 and No. 3-ranked wrestlers in his weight class, Jake Herbert of Northwestern and Mark of Perry of Iowa, respectively, but could potentially face them this weekend. Gallick is a world-class freestyler who has yet to reach his collegiate wrestling goals. The Arizona native, who has placed fifth and second at the NCAA Championships, is currently 19-0 this season with a Midlands title and a victory over his nemesis, Teyon Ware of Oklahoma, at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Konrad is 20-0 this season. More importantly, though, he toppled "The Bear", Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State, for the first time in his career at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Ryan ChurellaChurella has quietly positioned himself as a legitimate contender for the Hodge. He currently boasts an 11-0 record, which includes five pins, two-technical falls, and three major decisions. Entering this season, Churella was ranked third in the country at 165 -- behind two NCAA champions -- Troy Letters of Lehigh and Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State. But both have already lost this season (Hendricks was pinned by Joe Bracamonte of Oregon, but defeated Letters). If everything goes as expected, Churella will face Hendricks in the semifinals, who he lost to in last year's NCAA semifinals. Mocco, last year's Hodge winner, remains undefeated (not counting his exhibition loss to Konrad) at 11-0. If he is able to run the table the rest of the way, without losing to Konrad, he could become the second wrestler (after Cael Sanderson) to win multiple Hodge Trophies. 4. Will wrestling fans show up to a premier collegiate event in a hotbed wrestling state? Wrestling fans often complain about the lack of national coverage the sport receives. I'll admit, I've often complained about it myself. But until we (as wrestling fans) fill up arenas and give the national media outlets (like ESPN) a reason to care about our sport, it will continue to be an afterthought to people outside the wrestling community. Matt Krumrie of TheWrestlingMall.com wrote a very interesting article in December entitled, "Wrestling fans, where are you? Disappointing attendance bad for the sport." The article took a look at the poor attendance figures throughout the country this season. In 2002, Minnesota wrestled against Iowa at the Target Center and drew a record-setting 15,646 fans. This season, Iowa was hoping to shatter that record in a home dual against Oklahoma State last Saturday night. It didn't happen. In fact, the dual drew just over half (8,157) of their goal. It will be interesting to see how well this weekend's event draws in wrestling-rich Iowa. 5. Who, if anyone, can give Oklahoma State the best run for their money at the NCAA Championships? Being that this event is a dual meet format, and the NCAA Championships use a tournament format, the National Duals aren't the best indicator of what will happen in March. Some teams, like Michigan and Cornell, appear to be much better tournament teams than dual meet teams because of the strength of their top individuals. However, this event will allow each of the top teams to showcase their talent against other top teams. The only team ranked in the top five that will not be in Cedar Falls is No. 3 Illinois. Every single dual meet that will take place this weekend will have great individual match-ups. At the conclusion of this event, we'll have a pretty good idea of how great the Michigan middleweights are -- and whether or not they might be able to score enough points to at least challenge the Cowboys. We'll have a pretty good idea as to whether or not the Schlatter brothers, Dustin and CP, can beat highly-ranked wrestlers and challenge for national titles, which would give the Gophers a huge boost. And we'll have a pretty good idea as to whether or not Oklahoma has the overall depth (outside of their top two wrestlers, Sam Hazewinkel and Teyon Ware) to be a threat at the NCAA Championships.

BAKERSFIELD, California – A major decision victory by K.C. Walsh in the final match of the evening propelled the Boise State University wrestling team to a 20-19 win over Cal State Bakersfield in the Broncos first Pac-10 Conference dual of the 2005-06 season Thursday (Jan. 12) night. Boise State improves its overall dual record on the year to 4-1. With the Broncos trailing 19-16 heading into the 184 pound match, Boise State needed at least a win by decision from Walsh to tie the dual. But the senior from Tacoma, Washington, stepped it up a notch posting 16-6 major decision over Brandon Ceremello for four team points and a one-point Bronco victory. Starting with six team points from Casey Phelps when Cal State Bakersfield had to forfeit the match at 197 pounds, Boise State held the lead throughout most of the evening building its margin to as many as nine points at 12-3 after four matches. After an 11-0 major decision win by Ben Cherrington at 157 pounds, Boise State led 16-10 before the host Roadrunners won two straight matches with a major decision and a technical fall (five team points) to take a 19-16 lead heading into the final match. Walsh controlled the final match jumping out to a 10-3 lead at the end of the first period, before extending it to 16-5 at the end of two. Ceremello scored the only point of the third period after Walsh, in the down position for the entire period, was twice warned for stalling. It's now on to southern California for the Broncos on Friday (Jan. 13) for another Pac-10 dual at Cal State Fullerton. Boise State completes its four-day swing through California on Saturday (Jan. 14) with duals against Purdue University and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Following are complete results from the match Boise State 20, Cal State Bakersfield 19 197 – Casey Phelps (BSU) wins by forfeit HWT – Eric Parker (CSUB) dec. Andy Patrick (BSU) 5-2 125 – Cory Fish (BSU) dec. Brandon Zoetewey (CSUB) 4-1 133 – Scott Jorgensen (BSU) dec. Tommy Vargas (CSUB) 4-1 141 – Matt Schumm (CSUB) major dec. Jordan Brock (BSU) 9-0 149 – Anthony Baza (CSUB) dec. Tyler Sherfey (BSU) 9-6 157 – Ben Cherrington (BSU) major dec. Drew East (CSUB) 11-0 165 – Briah Busby (CSUB) major dec. Lex Case (BSU) 9-0 174 – Christian Arellano (CSUB) tech fall Ben Gilliland (BSU) 17-0 184 – K.C. Walsh (BSU) major dec. Brandon Ceremello (CSUB) 16-6

The Adams State College Grizzly wrestling team found that out the hard way as arch-rival Western State College overcame an apparent 12-6 deficit to win the final five matches en-route to a 26-9 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual victory over the visiting Grizzlies on Thursday night in the Mountaineers' Paul W. Wright Gymnasium. The victory allowed the nation's 17th-ranked Mountaineers to remain perfect in duals. Western, which scored three bonus point wins, is now 7-0 overall and 2-0 in RMAC action. ASC, ranked ninth in the nation, was competing in a dual for the first time this season. Leading 9-6 at the intermission, the Grizzlies were about to go up 12-6 with their fourth straight win. With ASC senior Dave Welanko (Clarkston, Mich.) holding a 3-2 lead late in the third period, the Mountaineers flipped the momentum 180 degrees as Mountaineer redshirt freshman Tate Lowe, a late replacement for nationally ranked Camille DuPont, scored the winning takedown with just four seconds left in the 149-pound match knotting the dual at 9. The Mountaineers then used the suddenly-energized crowd as WSC's Zach Lee pinned ASC senior Scott Cleve (Escondido, Calif.) just 16 seconds into the second period of the 157-pound match giving Western State a 15-9 lead and all the momentum in the world. Larry Wilbanks and Charlie Pipher then posted 13-5 major decision wins at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, to clinch the dual before Dillon Waggonner scored a 7-2 win in the 184-pound finale giving the Mountaineers their third straight win in the series. Winners of 11 of the last 12 in the series, the Mountaineers have not dropped a home dual against ASC since Jan. 13, 1994. Welanko, who rejoined the team this week after a 2-year hiatus, scored the opening takedown and took a 3-1 lead in the second period. Lowe then closed the gap to 3-2 with a takedown early in the third period. Looking like he was going to hold off the Mountaineer, Welanko nearly got out of trouble. However, Lowe spun around to take the crowd-energizing 4-3 win. Lowe's momentum carried over to the 157-pound match. In the first period, Lee had taken a 7-1 lead with the throw and nearly pinned Cleve before settling for a 3-point near fall and another takedown later in the period. Using a nearly identical throw as he did in the first period, Lee improved to 12-4 while giving the Mountaineers a 15-9 lead. Wilbanks then scored a 13-5 major decision win over Dusty Vaughn, a replacement for nationally-ranked Evan Copeland (Las Cruces, N.M.), in the 165-pound bout. Vaughn, now 2-3 on the year, was wrestling in a dual for the first time in his ASC career just over an hour away from his hometown of Montrose The wrestlers were scoreless in the first period before Wilbanks went ahead 7-2 with a wild flurry early in the second. Vaughn answered with a reversal to close the gap to 7-4 before a second 2-point near fall early in the third gave Wilbanks a 9-4 edge. He then went up 11-5 with a third-period takedown before accumulating 87 seconds of riding time to give the Mountaineers a bonus point. Pipher then scored five takedowns en-route to his win over James Reynolds (Monte Vista, Colo.) ranked seventh in the nation. Dillon Waggonner then closed out the dual with a 7-2 win over Josh Vialpando (Walsenburg, Colo.) at 184 pounds. The Grizzlies had gone into the intermission with full control of the momentum and a 9-6 lead thanks to wins by senior Rob McCabe (Nucla, Colo.), sophomore Raymond Dunning (Nashville, Tenn.) and junior Brian Pitts (Rio Rancho, N.M.), all former All-Americans. McCabe, ranked eighth in the nation at 125 pounds, put ASC on the board in the third match of the night as he overcame a 4-3 third period deficit to post a 7-4 win over WSC's Eddie Lopez. McCabe, now 10-8, scored a takedown a minute in before riding out Lopez for the rest of the first period. Lopez then came back to cut the deficit to 3-2 with a second period takedown after a McCabe escape before the Mountaineer took the lead with a takedown from the neutral position in the third. However, McCabe tied the match just a few seconds later before scoring a bout-clinching takedown midway through the third stanza. McCabe then rode Lopez out while scoring a riding time point. Dunning, named RMAC Wrestler of the Week earlier in the day, then evened things up at 6 with a convincing 6-0 win over Marques Bravo, a returning national qualifier. After a scoreless first period, the 133-pound Dunning scored an early second period reversal and near fall before riding Bravo for the rest of the match accumulating 3 ½ minutes of riding time. Dunning, now ranked second in the nation, has won five straight bouts while improving to 13-5. Pitts then gave ASC a 9-6 lead with a 9-4 win over Western State's Chirs Freije at 141 pounds. Pitts led 3-1 in the second before Freije tied things up with a late takedown. However, Pitts got out at the buzzer giving him a 4-3 lead. Freije was able to tie things up with an early escape before a final-minute takedown and ensuing turn allowed Pitts to claim the win, his third straight and fifth in his last six. The Mountaineers had taken the early lead and momentum as 197-pound junior Cody Mumma scored the first takedown in the waning seconds of the first period against ASC junior Casey Woodall (Morenci, Ariz.) before the wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third periods. Mumma then scored another takedown midway through the period to wrap up the 5-2 win. Kipp Cullin kept things going for the Mountaineers as he scored a first-period takedown en-route to a defensive 3-2 win over Grizzly senior Heath Soderstrom (Englewood, Colo.) to give WSC a 6-0 lead. The Grizzlies now return home to Plachy Hall for their next five duals, starting Saturday evening at 6 o'clock against Division I Air Force. The Mountaineers will meet Air Force, currently 2-0 in duals, on Friday night in Colorado Springs. Visit ASCGrizzlies.com for the latest news and info on Adams State College Athletics.

The Eastern Michigan University Eagles travel to Cleveland Saturday to face three opponents in the Cleveland State Duals. The Eagles will take on host Cleveland State in the opening match at noon, followed by West Liberty and then Slippery Rock.. The Eagles are 1-4 this season coming off a tough loss to #11 Lehigh last Sunday. Eastern will be led by #17 ranked freshman Sean Clair (22-8) at 125 and #20 ranked junior Jermaine Thompson (7-2) at 149. Captain Phillip Plowman has returned to the lineup at 133 after an injury and looked sharp against Lehigh. Cleveland State is 2-2 following a recent big victory over Ohio State and then a 27-8 loss to Kent State. The Vikings are led by senior Ron Howard (16-6) who is ranked #18 at 184 and the opening meet of the day should be a real teat for both Eastern and Cleveland State. Slippery Rock is 4-5. Their strength is in the upper middle weights where they are led by senior Jason Cardillo (21-9)at 165 and sophomore Jerimiah Frederick (18-12)at 174. West Liberty is a Division II West Virginia school. The Hilltoppers are led by junior Tommy Clark who is ranked #5 nationally in Division II at 174 pounds.

Stanford, Calif. -- Stanford (3-2) will host No. 4 Illinois (1-0) in the Cardinal's home-opener on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion. It will be the Cardinal's second match this season against a ranked opponent, after Stanford opened the season against Missouri in November. "Illinois is coming off their third consecutive Midlands title," noted head coach Kerry McCoy. "They're ranked fourth in the country, but they are probably better than that. Our guys have to stay focused on wrestling hard and wrestling smart and not worrying about what the rankings say. We had a good week of training and we're ready to get this dual meet season going. What a way to start our dual meet season!" With six ranked wrestlers in its probable line-up, Illinois will be intense competition for the Cardinal on Sunday. One of the weekend's biggest match-ups will be at 125 pounds, where Stanford's lone ranked wrestler, sophomore Tanner Gardner (No. 11), will likely face third-ranked Kyle Ott. Another major match for the Cardinal will be at 165 pounds, where Cardinal co-captain Ray Blake, who has already amassed 30 wins this season, will face ninth-ranked Mike Poeta. Coming off a strong performance last week is true freshman Tyler Parker, who will likely face returning All-American Cassio Pero at 141 pounds. In his last bout, Parker battled 14th-ranked Max Meltzer of Harvard to overtime, falling 12-11 in sudden victory. At 174 pounds, Stanford will start either redshirt freshman Luke Feist or fifth-year senior Brennan Corbett against 17th-ranked Donny Reynolds. Feist and Reynolds met in the opening round at Midlands, with Reynolds taking a 4-3 decision. This weekend will also be a reunion off the mat, as first-year Stanford head coach Kerry McCoy and Illinois assistant Jeremy Hunter were both All-Americans at Penn State. Illinois will face Fresno State on Friday night before coming north to take on Stanford. Sunday's Probable Match-Ups 125 -- #11 Tanner Gardner (24-7) vs. #3 Kyle Ott (1-0) or Ryan Klinger (0-2) 133 -- Eric Minnick (3-11) vs. Gabe Flores (1-1) 141 -- Tyler Parker (9-9) or Juston Johnson (1-1) vs. Cassio Pero (7-4) 149 -- Josh Zupancic (14-3) vs. Troy Tirapelle (8-3) or Dan Zeman (3-4) 157 -- Scott Loescher (15-12) vs. #1 Alex Tirapelle (11-1) 165 -- Ray Blake vs. #9 Mike Poeta (13-3) 174 -- Luke Feist (10-11) or Brennan Corbett (5-4) vs. #17 Donny Reynolds (13-4) 184 -- Ryan Hagen (2-11) vs. #3 Pete Friedl (11-1) 197 -- Larry Ozowara (4-5) vs. #8 Tyrone Byrd (12-4) HWT -- Jared Boyer (4-10) vs. Matt Weight (11-6) or Ben Zulauf (7-2)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team is seeded No. 4 in this weekend's Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va. The Mocs, one of eight seeded teams in the National College Division, will face Columbia at 9 a.m. Friday in the Hampton Coliseum. Following the opening match, UTC (5-5-1) will take on either fifth-seeded North Carolina or Cal State-Davis. Other teams in the Mocs' upper bracket include top-seeded Indiana, No. 8-seeded Bloomsburg, Old Dominion and Virginia Tech. The bottom bracket includes seeded teams No. 2 Penn, No. 3 West Virginia, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Drexel, The Citadel, North Dakota State, Rider and Virginia. Head Coach Joe Seay will take a team of 13 wrestlers to Virginia for the competition. Leading the way is junior Matt Keller, a 133-pounder whose national ranking this week improved to No. 6 nationally in the NWCA/Intermat collegiate rankings. He is ranked No. 8 by Wrestling International Newsmagazine. UTC has also returned to the team national rankings at No. 24 in W.I.N.'s top-25 poll. Keller is coming off a 4-0 performance at the Lone Star Duals last week where he was voted the Outstanding Wrestler of the meet. Keller defeated Wisconsin's No. 1-ranked wrestler, Tom Clum, and led the Mocs to a 19-18 victory over the No. 18 Badgers. Also set to compete for the Mocs are Javier Maldonado at 125 pounds, Adam Rains at 133, Michael Keefe at 141, Aaron Martin at 149 and Jake Yost at 157. Daniel Peterson and Justin Otis will split time at 165 pounds, T.J. Sayers will compete at 174, John Davis at 184, Lloyd Rogers and Nick Lorenzano at 197 and Israel Silva at 285. The Mocs went 2-2 at the Virginia Duals in 2005, defeating Old Dominion, 44-0, and No. 12 Missouri, 19-16. UTC lost to Indiana, 30-14 and to Cal State-Bakersfield, 25-11. CHATTANOOGA PROBABLE LINEUP 125 Javier Maldonado (Soph., Kissimmee, Fla., 13-6) 133 Matt Keller (Jr., McDonald, Tenn., 22-7) 133 Adam Rains (Sr., Cleveland, Tenn., 7-6) 141 Michael Keefe (Jr., Ringgold, Ga., 22-6) 149 Aaron Martin (Jr., Pataskala, Ohio, 0-2) 157 Jake Yost (Jr., Soddy Daisy, Tenn., 14-13) 165 Dan Peterson (Sr., Pittsburg, Kansas, 12-8) 165 Justin Otis (Soph., Martinez, Ga., 2-3) 174 T.J. Sayers (Jr., Hueytown, Ala., 8-9) 184 John Davis (Sr., Gainesville, Fla., 8-7) 197 Lloyd Rogers (Soph., Palm City, Fla., 4-11) 197 Nick Lorenzano (Jr., St. Cloud, Fla., 0-5) 285 Israel Silva (Sr., Marysville, Wash., 3-5)

It's nearly impossible to overstate what John Smith has accomplished in the sport of wrestling. As a competitor, he was a two-time NCAA champion, five-time U.S. Nationals champion (in five attempts), World Cup champion, two-time Pan American Games champion, two-time Goodwill Games champion, four-time world champion, and two-time Olympic champion. Simply put, the man dominated the world for six straight years. John SmithIn 1990, he became the first wrestler to win the James E. Sullivan Award as America's top amateur athlete, the first American to be chosen Master of Technique and Wrestler of the Year by the International Wrestling Federation (FILA), and the first wrestler ever nominated for the World Trophy. In 1997, Smith was inducted as a Distinguished Member in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Smith's success has translated into the coaching arena. Since taking over as head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys in 1991, Smith has amassed over 200 dual meet wins and four national championships. The top-ranked Cowboys will be looking to win their fourth straight NCAA title this season. From the National Duals in Cedar Falls to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Steve Mocco to brother Pat, RevWrestling.com recently picked the brain of one of America's greatest wrestling icons. Last season at the NCAA Championships, you had one of the most dominating performances in collegiate wrestling history with five national champions and 153 points. Is it realistic to believe that this year's team could end up being better than last year's team? Smith: I don't think that you can really determine that at this time of the year. Obviously, that's a great challenge. And I hope it's a challenge that my team will accept. But a lot of things go into a year. It's really important that you're improving during the year. At this time of the season, it's just really tough to say we could or couldn't be better. For four of your wrestlers, the season began at the NWCA All-Star Classic in November. Three of your national champions, Zack Esposito, Johny Hendricks, and Steve Mocco, lost. Did that serve as a wakeup call to those three wrestlers? Smith: I don't think so. I think we trained really hard. I think we prepared and did a lot of the right things before the season started. I think it was more of an understanding of our thought process individually -- what it was going to take to have a successful year after becoming a national champion. You're in a different pair of shoes after you've won it. And it's about maintaining excellence. With the exception of Mocco, all of your returning national champions have suffered regular season defeats. Does that concern you at all? Smith: Well, you know, if you look at historically my scheduling, I do no favors for my student-athletes to go undefeated. It's a very tough schedule. The last 10 or so years, it's been the toughest schedule in the nation. The schedule is really not set up for an individual to go undefeated. They have to perform each and every week. That makes it much more competitive for anyone on the squad. So, no, it doesn't concern me. There are no surprises up to this point. I believe we're where we need to be right now. The NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals are set to get underway on Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa. What do you try to take away from that event? Are there any questions you want answered about your team? Smith: I don't think there are any questions. I don't need to challenge my team. I believe that they challenge themselves in every way. I hope that they have a passion about winning. I hope that they don't take it for granted … or that they don't look at this like it's not an important event. I think that you can disrespect winning in a way that it can eventually affect your performance. Even though we have won just about everything the last three years, we have to have the passion and drive to do it again, and it starts at the National Duals. Who do you see as the biggest threat to challenge Oklahoma State for the National Duals title? Do you look at one team in particular? Smith: No, I don't. You really can't. I think we have seen this year is shaping up to be a very competitive dual meet environment. If you look at the last couple of years, we've had to wrestle extremely well to win. It came down to heavyweight in a couple of dual meets at the National Duals last year. I don't think there's going to be any difference. I think it's going to be a lot of the same. It's shaping up to be a very competitive dual meet season. You defeated Iowa, 18-14, on Saturday night. How would you characterize your team's performance in the dual? Smith: It's a good win. I think people forget that's an event away from home. That's an event in their home arena. Two very historical programs. They take a lot of pride in wrestling in their building. If you look at the winning percentage in their building, or in ours, you see that's probably some of the highest in any sport. It's important when you go to a place like that and win. I wouldn't grade us an A, but I do believe that you cannot underestimate that it's tougher to go into places like that. Steve Mocco (photo by Johnnie Johnson)Mocco made his first appearance in Iowa City since he left the Iowa program in 2004. What was your reaction to the "not-so-friendly" welcome he received in Carver-Hawkeye Arena? Smith: Well, I really don't have much comment on it. It didn't seem to bother him. I don't think he had his best effort, but I'm sure he's glad that it's behind him now. Mocco was obviously a dominating force coming out of high school. He has had a great collegiate career. He is a two-time NCAA champion who has a chance to join a very elite club of college big men who have won three titles. But there are still the critics out there who say that Mocco hasn't improved all that much since high school. In your estimation, how much has he developed as a wrestler from when he first arrived at Oklahoma State to now? Smith: Well, I think since we've had Steve, he looks at wrestling differently. I do believe that he's enjoying his team and his teammates. In some way, he's become a leader, which I don't think he had spent a lot of time doing before. More importantly than him developing in wrestling, which I do believe he has, I've seen him become much more rounded as a person. In the end, I do believe that it's going to make a big difference in his wrestling. You have had some solid performances this season. You dominated Lehigh, beat Oklahoma, beat Iowa, and won the Reno Tournament of Champions. In your opinion, what has been your team's best performance so far this season? Smith: I don't think we've had that yet. And I'm not sure that I've given them time to have that. I'm still looking for it as a team. But I do not believe at this point that I can really pinpoint a match that looked any different than the rest. I'm still looking for that as we move into the month of January. With the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City this year, does that add to the pressure of winning your fourth consecutive NCAA title? Smith: I think if wrestling at home adds to the pressure, we have problems. It's going to be a sea of orange in Oklahoma City. There are going to be a lot of Cowboys fans behind us. There's no disadvantage to that. Coleman Scott and Nathan Morgan wrestled as true freshmen last season. Is there still a possibility that one or both of those wrestlers could use a redshirt season at some point? Smith: I think so. I think we'll see that in the future. I don't know when. Those two made some sacrifices in stepping out for us last year. And then obviously coming back and going again for us. They've kept the team in focus and have bypassed a redshirt year to keep that team in focus. Nathan Morgan (photo by Johnnie Johnson)Morgan has had a great sophomore season. He currently has a 14-1 record, but doesn't get talked about as much as some of your other top wrestlers. When it's all said and done, how great can he be? Smith: Well, I don't know. I think there needs to be some things that he needs to really concentrate on as far as tactical areas of wrestling. But it's been nice to see those improvements. He's been with us a year and a half. That's it. He's at a very tough weight class. I think that as he grows into his tactical frame of mind, he's going to be where we want him to be. Freshman Brandon Mason has shown flashes of potentially being a great wrestler. He's obviously very tough on top. However, he has struggled at times this season -- like on Saturday night against Mark Perry. How would you characterize his season so far? Smith: You know, it's been good. You look at his record, he has a nice record. He has to do a lot to keep his weight at 174 right now. He's probably a little bit small for the weight. But we think he's going to be real comfortable in it as we approach the second semester and not worry about it. That's the benefit of being a little bit light at the weight. But he's working hard. He's working hard to make some changes. He's had some great matches. He's beaten some good people. He has to earn his confidence, and he's had some matches that he's done that in. I would say that he's wrestling more confidently now than he has all season long. It didn't show a lot at Iowa. He really struggled getting off the mat. I believe that of the 14 points that Perry scored, 11 of them were on the mat, one point for riding time, and the two-point takedown. Those are the things that he needs to work on if he wants to be competitive with those top three. Is Chris Pendleton still in the wrestling room on a daily basis? What has he meant to Mason's development? Smith: Yeah, Chris is here training to make a world and Olympic team. He's in and out because of his freestyle. I think Brandon looks at him. He wants to do more than what Chris did as a freshman. Chris didn't place and had a very average year. I think, at this time, he's a little bit ahead of where Chris was as a true freshman. Jake Rosholt (photo by Johnnie Johnson)Esposito, Rosholt, and Mocco are all graduating after this season. Esposito and Mocco have wrestled quite a bit of freestyle in the off-season. But Rosholt hasn't. Does Rosholt have aspirations to continue wrestling freestyle? Smith: I hope so. I believe that he does. When he came to Oklahoma State, it was something that he was really interested in. I do believe that he still is. The unfortunate part of collegiate wrestling is that it's a long season, such a long grind. He's had a lot of success, obviously. There needs to be some down time. The way we have our tournaments set up for freestyle, it doesn't give our kids much time to take that down time. He hasn't participated recently, but I hope that he will continue after this year. Your brother, Pat, has been a part of your coaching staff for a number of years. Does he have any aspirations of becoming a Division I head coach? Smith: You know, I don't know. I think he's really happy here in Stillwater. He's happy with the role he plays in this program. He's very important. I hope he doesn't while I'm coaching. I hope to have him as long as I'm coaching. If he ever does decide, I would be a proud brother to see him take a head job someday.

It has been a year to the day since a fire destroyed the home of Toby Willis, Founder of Real Pro Wrestling. A lot has happened in that year and I was able to catch up with him and ask him some pointed questions about the state of affairs of RPW. What is going on with RPW? Willis: RPW has been hard at work doing a lot of behind the scenes work. While this logistical work does not always make for great news, it is essential to the long- term health of RPW. However, there are a few things that are big news. What is one big RPW news story right now? Willis: We finally finished our Season One DVD. As far as I know, not only is this the first time good wrestling production came to television, but it is the first time a complete major event has been made available on DVD. Maybe there are videos you can buy, but not that I know of. Putting wrestling on television is only one goal of RPW. The larger goal is making great wrestling accessible to the public. DVDs play a big part of this. For those who missed episodes of RPW, now they can see what they missed. Also we have worked hard on the bonus material for the DVD -- all 28 complete quarterfinal matches. We had to work hard to bring some sub-par backup footage up to quality since we lost about half of our original footage in the fire last year. These 28 bonus matches are the same number of matches we showed in the television show, so in a way, this is like Season 1.5. There were some great matches in the quarters and encourage people to see what was missing from the television broadcast. You mentioned the importance of an in-house post-production component for RPW. Why is that important? Willis: This gives us the ability to do future or even past wrestling events. For example, we'd love to bring out all the past Nationals, Trials and Olympic Events. This will take some dealing making with the entities who own this footage but right now, all these great matches are sitting on the shelves collecting dust. Meanwhile our country's wrestlers lose out from learning from the best, and the fans do not get to see the best compete. It is a shame that we cannot see all the great wrestlers of the past. I've seen a few illegal copies of past Olympics and such, but it is a huge problem that the average wrestler cannot see the matches from the past. Take the 2004 Olympics for example. NBC owns the footage and doesn't put out a DVD. One of RPW's goals is to solve this. What changes can we expect to see from RPW? Doug Schwab of the Iowa Stalkers won the 145-pound title (66 kg) in Season 1. For his efforts, Schwab was also named Most Outstanding Wrestler.Willis: The most obvious change is in our merchandise. Check out our new designs and logos. We also have others working to help us design products such as singlets based on RPW concepts. We did some re-branding ourselves and even reworked some of the team logos and artwork. Based on feedback on Season One, we learned some things worked and others that didn't. We also are planning changes for Season Two to reflect what we learned in the production. Technology continues to race forward and already our computer and software tools for Season Two are significantly improved over our first season. Our website will continue to evolve as well. What is happening with Season Two and television? Willis: The biggest hurdle has been the television front. Not all this is in our hands either. We continue to move this front but quite frankly, are very disappointed in the executives who make the decisions. Our ratings were good for the time and channel we were on for Season One. There is good evidence we can explode if given better channels and time slots. We are making progress though. We are currently involved in meetings with various cable networks looking to hammer out something that makes sense. We will announce our Season Two broadcast plans as soon as we can. From the look and sound of things RPW is actually more than a wrestling show. Can you elaborate on this? Willis: Many people do not understand RPW's larger goal. Yes we have a television show and we had a few matches, but we have a much bigger goal and many bite-size steps to get from start to finish. It is a complex plan but necessarily so due to the fact that the world of wrestling is a huge complex situation. We have many organizations governing a part of this world, some who care for wrestling, others that don't. We also have different styles and seasons, age levels, events, etc. Part of our goal is also to bring sponsors to the table to give wrestling a good financial foundation for the future. While there have been individuals and corporations who have donated considerable funds in the past, for wrestling to prosper, we need the advertising inventory for them to make big budget long term commitments. RPW provides that. We already have some sponsors on board for season two and a few more on the fringe. What can people in the wrestling community do to help not only RPW succeed but wrestling as a whole? Mo Lawal of the Oklahoma Slam defeated Brad Vering of the New York Outrage to claim the 184-pound (84 kg) title in Season 1.Willis: I think there are a number of things that can help our sport but here are a couple of things I believe are critical: A very professional, fresh and cutting edge look and feel product for television, which I believe RPW is. A comprehensive marketing, public relations and advertising package put in place and followed through on. It is not good enough just to have wrestling on television. If the product is not superior, and there is no set plan to market and advertise the show then the ratings will be poor and the networks will think wrestling can't do well on television. This is what has happened in the past and is exactly what is hurting negotiations now. The leaders in the wrestling world need to think further forward than they are…this is a chess match not checkers. We need investors and influential people from within the wrestling world to step up and help wrestling succeed. As I said before, while there have been individuals and corporations who have donated considerable funds in the past, for wrestling to prosper we need to really focus on the business approach to our sport. We (the wrestling investors) have to understand that a "donation" can actually be an "investment" in which returns can be realized. How are you and your family doing since the fire a year ago? Willis: I have been working hard putting my family's life in order. The fire hit us really hard and at this point it looks like it will be about two years before we are back to normal. This is tough for my nine kids who will never have a second chance at childhood. But we have no choice. Wrestling prepared me for hardship so we keep plugging away. Also faith that God will work everything out for good also plays a huge part. One last question. Do you have faith RPW will succeed? Willis: Thankfully true faith is not a blind leap in the dark, contrary to reason and facts. It is simply seeing the conclusions beforehand of what the data points to. With RPW, the data logically points to the conclusion that wrestling can explode and go prime time. We are not at that final destination yet, but we can't get there without faith. We hope our work so far as helped make converts out of people so we… so wrestling can be brought into the promised land. I don't wish to equate wrestling as equal with religion but point out the similarities. It takes intelligence and design to create good things and random chance alone can never get us there. We here at RPW are doing our best to bring about good in wrestling and in all of life. Is that not what coaches, parents, and wrestlers all try to do everyday? I want to thank everyone for their past and continuing support of Real Pro Wrestling.

State College, Pa. -- Penn State Nittany Lion freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) has been named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending Sunday, January 9. Strayer becomes the second Nittany Lion to claim a conference W.O.W. award this year as sophomore All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) was honored on Nov. 16. Strayer continued the hot start to his rookie campaign by posting a 17-5 major decision over Lehigh's John Stout to help the Nittany Lions throttle No. 11 Lehigh 24-12 in Bethlehem. Two days later, Strayer posted a 6-1 win over No. 10 Mike Mormile of Cornell to help the Lions crush No. 10 Cornell 27-7 in Rec Hall. After last night's win at Lock Haven, Strayer is 14-1 overall. The South Fork, Pa., native is now ranked No. 10 in the country. He is one of three Nittany Lion freshmen who appeared in Penn State's starting line-up for the Lock Haven dual Wednesday night (a 33-7 win in Lock Haven). Penn State is now 8-2 overall and ranked No. 10 in the country. Head coach Troy Sunderland's unit has now won five straight duals, four over ranked teams, by a combined score of 137-40 (winning 38 of 50 bouts). The Nittany Lions will be off until hosting No. 16 Michigan State on Friday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m. The match will be telecast live on WPSU-TV and replayed at various times by CSTV. Two days later, Penn State hosts No. 2 Minnesota in a 1 p.m. tilt in Rec Hall. The dual will be a CSTV national telecast. Single match tickets can be purchased by visiting the BJC Ticket Center or by calling 814-865-5555 or 800-863-3336. Prices are $5 for adults and $3 for youth and senior citizens.

Oklahoma State will open the 2006 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals with Kent State of the Mid-America Conference. The Golden Flashes are currently 7-1 on the season after a big win over in-state rival Ohio State. Kent State is the only team in the 16-team field not represented in the current USA Today/NWCA/Intermat Coaches' Poll. This will be the first meeting between the two schools. KSU is 3-4 against current members of the Big 12 Conference, including a 3-0 record against Nebraska. Kent State is led by 184-pounder Alex Camargo. Camargo is currently ranked No. 12 nationally by Amateur Wrestling News and boasts a 19-2 record. Chad Sportelli and Jason Blake have also appeared in the national rankings for the Golden Flashes at 125 and 149, respectively. Oklahoma State head coach John Smith will be looking to make history at National Duals. Smith would tie former head coach Tommy Chesbro for the school's all-time win record with a victory in the first round. Scouting the Field Oklahoma State enters the 2006 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals as the top seed with a 6-0 record. The Cowboys are seeking their fourth consecutive duals title and ninth overall. OSU is the top seed and will meet unranked Kent State in the first round. OSU's opponent in the second round would be either Arizona State or eighth seeded Big 12 rival Missouri. The Cowboys are a combined 65-5 all-time against ASU and MU. It gets tougher for OSU after that. Fourth-seeded Michigan or fifth-seeded Iowa could be waiting for the Cowboys in the semifinals. OSU is coming off of an 18-14 victory over Iowa, while OSU is 7-0 all-time against Michigan. The Cowboys last wrestled Michigan in the semifinals of the 2003-04 National Duals. The championship match would give Oklahoma State its toughest test to date. On the opposite side of the bracket from the Cowboys are No. 2 Minnesota, third-seeded Oklahoma, No. 6 Central Michigan and seventh-seeded Iowa State. Mocco Racks up Falls Cowboy heavyweight Steve Mocco continues to dominate his opponents. After winning the Dan Hodge Trophy his junior because he recorded 17 falls and three technical falls in an undefeated season, Mocco is making a bid for the trophy again. In 11 matches this season, Mocco has recorded eight falls and one technical fall. Both of those matches were to wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Mocco pinned fifth-ranked Jake Hager in 3:41. He recorded two pins with one coming in 16 seconds over Northern Iowa's Tyler Rhodes in OSU's double dual on Jan. 5. That was not his fastest pin at OSU, however, he pinned Tennessee-Chattanooga's Diaz Edwards in 14 seconds in his first match at Oklahoma State. Blackmon takes hold of 184 Rusty Blackmon has taken control of the 184-pound position. This weight class was the biggest question mark coming into the season, but the senior out of Cleveland, Tenn. has made the most of his opportunity. Blackmon has received the nod in five of OSU's six duals and is 3-2 in those duals. Blackmon has had to fight off three other Cowboys who would all like a chance to start for the national champion Cowboys. Blackmon's recent success came in the double dual against Army and Northern Iowa that saw him record a major decision and a fall in 31 seconds. Blackmon is now 13-6 on the season. He recently dropped a 2-1 decision to Iowa's top-ranked Paul Bradley. John Smith Nearing Chesbro's Mark Head coach John Smith is approaching Tommy Chesbro's school record for career wins. Smith entered the season with 220 career wins, needing seven to tie Chesbro's mark. After starting the season 5-0, Smith is two wins away from equaling Chesbro. If the Cowboys remain undefeated, Smith would tie the mark anad pass it at National Duals Jan. 14-15.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's 13th-ranked wrestling team travels to Cedar Falls, Iowa this weekend to take part in the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals--one of the largest wrestling events of the season--for the first time in program history. The 'Cats, who are coming off a dominating 35-13 win at Eastern Illinois Sunday, face No. 8 Iowa State in the first round, which begins at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 14. Takedown Radio will provide live radio coverage throughout the tournament, while Intermatwrestle.com will provide live text coverage. Livesportsvideo.com will webcast the semifinal and final rounds. Northwestern, which looks for its first dual win against the Cyclones this weekend, has met Iowa State only once since the 1984-85 season. Northwestern enters the match with seven wrestlers ranked in the USAToday/NWCA/Intermat poll, while the Cyclones boast four. With Cyclone wrestlers ranked top-10 at the 141-, 157-, 165- and 184-pound weight classes, Northwestern needs big performances from the top to the bottom of its lineup. One of the more intriguing matches of the dual could come at 184 lbs., where 10th-ranked Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) will face Iowa State's ninth-ranked Kurt Backes. Tamillow and Backes have met once before, with Backes taking an 11-7 victory at the 2004 Midlands quarterfinals. Backes brings a 10-4 record into the match, while Tamillow is 13-1 this season. Another pair of top-10 wrestlers meet at the 141-pound weight class, with Northwestern's sixth-ranked Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) set to grapple 2nd-ranked Nate Gallick. Gallick, a 2005 Midlands champion, is a perfect 19-0 this season while Lang has compiled an 11-1 record. Saturday's match marks only the third meeting between the two, as they met at the 2004 Midlands and 2005 NCAA Championships. No. 19 Will Durkee (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) is expected to wrestle Iowa State's eighth-ranked Travis Paulson at 165 lbs. Paulson has posted a 21-1 mark this season, including a third-place finish at the 2005 Midlands. Durkee, who missed facing Paulson in the Midlands semifinals by just one match, is 13-4 this season. All-American Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) looks to keep his 23-match winning streak alive Saturday, when he is expected to meet David Bertolino. Herbert is ranked second in the nation at 174 lbs., while recording a 17-0 mark this season.

FRESNO, Calif. -- Two days before the team heads into the Save Mart Center, the Fresno State wrestling squad had two more matches against Menlo College and Boise State. The Bulldogs had mixed fortunes in the matches, opening the night with a 33-13 win over Menlo College, but dropping the second match to Boise State 32-13. Junior Cody Parker was the top wrestler for the Bulldogs, recording pins in both duals on the night. Fresno State opened quickly in the first dual against Menlo College, as Cory Borges took an 8-5 decision over Mike Rodriguez to get an early 3-0 lead. The Oaks came right back with a decision of their own to tie the match, and a 13-4 major decision from Joe Garcia led Menlo College to a 7-3 lead. The Bulldogs regained the lead with a forfeit at 149, and won two straight matches to bring the score to 16-7 before giving up a forfeit of their own at 174 pounds. Fresno State slammed the door shut on Menlo College in the heavyweights though, as Greg Gifford picked up a 21-6 technical fall at 184, Brandon Halsey made a pin in his first collegiate match at 197, and Parker made the first of his two pins at heavyweight on the night. The Bulldogs began the second dual just as auspiciously as the first, when Cory Borges lasted a full round of double-overtime before making a takedown and a near-fall of Boise State's Cory Fish to grab an early 3-0 lead. Sean Carlson battled through a close match with the heavily favored Scott Jorgensen, but lost 8-2, setting up an even shot for the rest of the match. Fresno State dropped the next three matches after that point. The slide was stopped when Shane Seibert pulled out a late reversal and near-fall against Lex Case to win an 8-0 major decision, but the Bulldogs' forfeit at 174 pounds sealed the match, despite a pin in the final match by Cody Parker against Andy Patrick. In action earlier in the day, Boise State also won their match against Menlo College 36-3. Fresno State continues their homestand on Friday, when the team hosts San Francisco State and No. 4 Illinois at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs face the Gators at 5:30 p.m. before taking on the Illini in the main event at 7 p.m. For tickets, look online at www.gobullldogs.com, visit the Save Mart Center box office, or call 278-DOGS. Boise State 36, Menlo College 3 January 11, 2006 125 -- Cory Fish (BSU) dec. Mike Rodriguez (MC), 4-1 133 – Scott Jorgensen (BSU) dec. Alfonzo Paez (MC), 6-2 141 – Joe Garcia (MC) dec. Jordan Brock (BSU), 8-2 149 – Tyler Sherfey (BSU) def. Jon Hayworth (MC) 157 – Ben Cherrington (BSU) dec. Robert Davis (MC), 7-0 165 – Lex Case (BSU) fall Kyle Bickford (MC), 2:54 174 – Ben Gilliland (BSU) dec. Jesse Vasquez (MC), 2-0 184 – K.C. Walsh (BSU) accepts forfeit 197 – Casey Phelps (BSU) dec. Eddie Conner (MC), 9-3 285 – Andy Patrick (BSU) dec. Ben Flores (MC), 4-1 Fresno State 33, Menlo College 13 January 11, 2006 125 – Cory Borges (FS) dec. Mike Rodriguez (MC), 8-5 133 – Alfonzo Paez (MC) dec. Darrell Goodpaster (FS), 4-0 141 – Joe Garcia (MC) m.d. Garrett Spooner (FS), 13-4 149 – Dustin Rocha (FS) accepts forfeit 157 – Charles Jones (FS) dec. Kyle Bickford (MC), 9-4 165 – Shane Seibert (FS) m.d. Robert Davis (MC), 13-1 174 – Gary Nelson (MC) accepts forfeit 184 – Greg Gifford (FS) t.f. Jesse Vazquez (MC), 21-6 (7:00) 197 – Brandon Halsey (FS) fall Eddie Connor (MC), 3:39 285 – Cody Parker (FS) fall Ben Flores (MC), 2:23 Boise State 32, Fresno State 13 January 11, 2006 125 – Cory Borges (FS) dec. Cory Fish (BSU), 8-3 (2OT) 133 – Scott Jogensen (BSU) dec. Sean Carlson (FS), 8-2 141 – Jodan Brock (BSU) dec. Garrett Spooner (FS), 9-4 149 – Tyler Sherfey (BSU) t.f. Dustin Rocha (FS), 16-1 (5:16) 157 – Ben Cherrington (BSU) dec. Charles Jones (FS), 4-2 165 – Shane Seibert (FS) m.d. Lex Case (BSU), 8-0 174 – Ben Gilliland (BSU) accepts forfeit 184 – K.C. Walsh (BSU) fall Greg Gifford (FS), 1:33 197 – Casey Phelps (BSU) def. Brandon Halsey (FS) 285 – Cody Parker (FS) fall Andy Patrick (BSU), 6:16