InterMat Staff

Columbia, Mo. -- Receiving recognition for his outstanding accomplishments at the close of 2005, junior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) has been named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Month for December. A two-time NCAA runner-up at 174 pounds, Askren possesses an unblemished 24-0 record this season, the only Tiger starter still undefeated. Ranked No. 1 in the nation at 174 pounds, Askren opened the month by successfully defending his title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Dec. 2-3. Breaking the Missouri mark for career falls, Askren pinned Nick Padazan of Pittsburgh in 2:12 recording the 48th pin of his career and erasing J.P. Reese's mark of 47, set in 2004. Continuing a dominant month, Askren pinned all three opponents he faced in dual competition, helping the Tigers to wins over Ohio State, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. Finishing off the month in convincing fashion, Askren took home the second Southern Scuffle title of his career, pinning four opponents on his march through the bracket. The four falls, all of which came in the first period, brought Askren's season total to 19. Entering two dual matches Saturday, Jan. 7, against Eastern Illinois and Central Missouri State, the junior has a chance to overcome the mark of 20 falls he established a year ago and tie his own Tiger's record for consecutive wins at 26. Missouri's first dual against Eastern Illinois will begin at 12 p.m. CST in the Hearnes Center, followed immediately by the Tigers matchup with Central Missouri State.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- Junior Seth Martin (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) has been named LHU Bookstore Athlete of the Week for his efforts in the week ending Jan. 1. This is the first honor for both Martin and the Lock Haven University wrestling team. Martin continues to gain ground in his quest for the 100-win club, as he now has 63 career victories after a 5-1 Southern Scuffle. The junior 157-pounder grabbed a third-place finish, the best for the Bald Eagles. Martin's only loss came to No. 11 C.P. Schlatter of Minnesota, the eventual runner-up. Martin beat Ohio State's Steve Sommer 13-6 in the third place bout, as well as Old Dominion's Chris Brown, Jake Yost of Chattanooga, Virginia's Kyle Artusio and VMI's Tommy Cunningham. Martin and the rest of the Bald Eagles are back in action Sunday, Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. when they host No. 8 Cornell University. The LHU Bookstore sponsors the Athlete of the Week to better promote Lock Haven student-athletes. The LHU Bookstore is available for all academic texts, LHU apparel and more. The Bookstore is located in the Parson's Union Building on the campus of Lock Haven University.

Dear Coaches- The 3rd Annual Dan Gable Open will be taking place next Friday January 13th, 2006 in the Kolf Sports Center Fieldhouse on the campus of UW-Oshkosh. Please see the attached letter and schedule with all pertinent information regarding the event. All proceeds for the event go directly toward the Endowment fund created to secure collegiate wrestling at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. I realize this is on the same weekend as the National Duals but even if you just make your reserves/redshirts aware of the event, it would be a great help to us. As an added bonus to this year's event, Dan Gable has graciously committed to attending the event. Coach Gable will be giving a speech to all coaches/competitors beginning at 8am in the fieldhouse. He will then speak downstairs to the general public at 9:30am. Please let me know if you are planning on sending any wrestlers to the event so that proper planning may take place. If there are any questions, please feel free to email me or give me a call at 920-424-1201. Thanks and I hope to see you at this year's event. Sincerely, Mike DeRoehn Head Wrestling Coach UW-Oshkosh 920-424-1201

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- Jon Masa of Hofstra University was named the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestler of the Week, and Doug Umbehauer of Rider University was named the CAA Rookie of the Week, for all competition December 20-January 2. Masa, a senior from Long Beach, NY (Long Beach), returned to the Hofstra line up in style, defeating the fourth ranked 149 pounder in the nation, Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan, 13-4 in a major decision. Masa was granted a one semester Olympic waiver by the NCAA in late November. Last year Masa placed third at the NCAA Championships to earn his second All-America honors. Umbehauer, a freshman from Shamong, N.J. (Lenape) reached the quarter-finals of UNC-Greensboro's Southern Scuffle by defeating Luke Hogle of Cornell 5-4 in the third round before losing to 13th ranked Gabe Dretsch of Minnesota. After a first round bye, Umbehauer defeated Darius Caldwell of The Citadel 4-2 in the second round.

There is an old coaching adage: State championships aren't won in December. So true. However, for purposes of determining national high school rankings, titles are largely won in December. The majority of the action between top high school stars of different states this season has already take place -- at the Ironman, the Beast of the East, Reno, Powerade, Bethlehem, and even at preseason events like the Super 32 Challenge and the Lock Haven Fall Classic. With the dust settling from all of these "super tournaments," here are the competitors whose "stock" has gone up the most. Eric MedinaEric Medina -- A junior from Blair Academy, he is the best wrestler on the best team in the nation. However, while he was hailed as the best freshman in the country by almost all observers, his sophomore season was somewhat disappointing -- highlighted by his failure to repeat as champion at Cadet Nationals (Medina took third, losing by fall to Josh Stalcup of Oregon). This year, he has dominated all comers. At Ironman, he destroyed highly-touted Junior Nationals All-American Jason Welch of California, building a lead that was approaching a technical fall before securing the fall. Medina followed that up with a 9-6 win over the No. 1-ranked 152 in the nation, Josh Rohler. The match was not nearly as close at the score. Medina next dominated Phil Black of New Jersey in the Beast finals, 9-3. Finally, Medina defeated Pennsylvania AAA state champion Tim Darling for the second time this season (he also beat him at Lock Haven) and third time in the past year. The total combination of speed, power, and technique -- Medina is truly the total package -- equally tough on his feet or on the mat. Zach Kemmerer -- Many overlooked this competitor from Pennsylvania since he has not finished higher than fifth in his own state tournament. However, a closer look reveals that he defeated the state champion in his division, the outstanding Ashtin Primus, during the season last year. Kemmerer has been one of the biggest stories of the season thus far, winning the Ironman and Beast of the East tournaments. Kemmerer has posted wins over NHSCA Juniors Nationals champion Kevin Lipp, Sean Harris, and Pat McLemore -- all Ohio state champions -- as well as Junior National All-American Max Shanaman of Blair Academy. Look for Kemmerer to claim his first state title this year. Jamelle Jones -- Jones winning Beast was perhaps not a huge surprise. However, the ease with which he dispatched Matthew Edmondson of in the finals was. Edmondson had reached the finals on the strength of four falls and a 13-3 shellacking of New Jersey state runner-up Jeff Siciliano, and pinned nationally ranked David Green of Oviedo one week later. Against Jones, however, Edmondson was outmatched, as Jones scored four takedowns versus four escapes for Edmondson in an 8-4 win. Very light on his feet, Jones has a superb counter-offense. For his efforts, Jones moved up to No. 20 in the Rev Power Rankings. In this writer's view, Jones may be the top 189 in the nation. Nikko TriggasNikko Triggas -- Despite finishing third at Cadet Nationals, the junior from California was given little chance against RevWrestling.com's No. 1-rated freshman in the nation, Collin Palmer, in the Ironman finals. Displaying brute physical strength, Triggas handled Palmer, 13-2, nearly scoring the technical fall in the third. Triggas had previously defeated Pennsylvania AAA sate champion Chris Sheetz by a lopsided 14-3 score in the semifinals. As if he hadn't done enough, Triggas next breezed to the title at the Reno Tournament of Campions. Triggas has moved up to the No. 6-ranked junior in the Rev Power Rankings. John Weakley -- Never a state place-winner in Ohio, Weakley may be the most improved wrestler in the nation. As explosive an upper-weight as you will ever see, Weakley simply blows through most of his opponents with his "blast double." Weakley put his name on the map with a 14-5 drubbing of nationally ranked David Green of Oviedo (Flordia) High School in the Ironman finals. He also had a lopsided win over Beast of the East third place finisher Jamey Srock early in the year. While he was upset by St. Edward's Chris Honeycutt in overtime at the Medina Invitational, even in that match he scored three of the four takedowns in regulation. Cody Gardner -- The big man from Christiansburg, Virginia has won the Ironman, Beast of the East, and Powerade tournaments with only one close match -- a 4-3 win over Jared Platt of Blair Academy. His Ironman, Beast, and Powerade final results consisted of a 14-4 major decision and two falls. Gardner is brutal on top as well as extremely agile on his feet. Only a junior, he is without question the best 215 in the nation this year. Scott Winston -- The Cadet Nationals runner-up from New Jersey has taken his game to another level this fall. Winston was undefeated his freshman year (22-0) when he suffered a season-ending injury. Now a sophomore, Winston is still undefeated, and looking like a good bet to win his first of three New Jersey state titles. Winston recently won all of his matches at "The Clash," with his only close match coming when he bumped up to 152 to take on one of Illinois best, Eric Pretto. Most impressively, Winston defeated Eric Medina in the preseason this fall, despite being a weight class smaller. Winston threw Medina for five en route to a 7-3 win. Bubba Jenkins -- Jenkins fell off the radar of many due to failing to place at Junior Nationals last summer. However, a closer look at his 5-2 record at that tournament reveals that he had one close loss to the outstanding graduated senior Sean Reynolds of Illinois, five dominating victories, and one inexplicable loss to Kyle DeBerry. In other words, he was outstanding in six out of seven matches. At the Beast of the East, Jenkins overcame a big move to rebound against one of the nation's top juniors, Tim Darling of Pennsylvania, with a 10-7 win. In the finals, he handled Travis Blasco of Blair Academy, 7-3, on the strength of three solid takedowns. Blasco managed only three escapes. At the Powerade, Jenkins never went the distance up to the finals, where he won 15-7. This writer believes that Jenkins may be the best 145 in the nation right now. Luke Silver -- The junior from Bishop Lynch (Texas) was considered for the Rev Power Rankings and left off the top 50 juniors as a close "honorable mention." Silver has proven me wrong and is clearly one of the most talented juniors in the nation. First, he won the Super32 Challenge (easily the toughest preseason tournament in the nation). Silver's next major tournament was the Beast of the East. Remarkably, he did not allow an offensive point until the closing seconds of his bout with Jordan Frishkorn, rated as the No. 11 senior in the nation in the Rev Power Rankings and widely recognized as the second best 130 in the nation. That takedown gave Frishkorn the bout, 3-1. For his outstanding season thus far, Silver went from not being in the top 50, to being the No. 19 junior in the nation. He may still be too low. There is much great wrestling to go this year -- yet to come before the state tournaments are the NHSCA Final Four Duals and the St. Edward's/Blair Dual. Of course, most of these questions will be resolved not by rankings, but on the mat at NHSCA Senior and Junior Nationals in Pittsburgh in late March, but the picture of whom the nation's elite are is becoming much clearer. Stay tuned.

LINCOLN -- 13th-ranked Nebraska rode four straight bonus-point victories and five wins overall to build a 21-point lead en route to a 30-12 win over Bloomsburg Monday night at the Devaney Center Track. After a setback at 141 pounds, Ryan Davis picked up his first career dual win for Nebraska in dominant fashion, defeating George Hickman by technical fall, 17-1. After building a commanding 12-1 lead in the first three minutes of the match, Davis started the second period down and scored a reversal 18 seconds into the second frame. A near-fall 11 seconds later clinched the technical fall victory for Davis, who was awarded a bonus point for his 2:20 advantage in riding time. "As I go along, I want to get better," Davis said. "I wanted to get into the flow of things in a dual match tonight." Chris Oliver followed with a hard-fought win by fall over Aric Fuhrman at 157 pounds. Oliver took control of the match in the third period, outscoring Fuhrman, 6-1, before earning the pin with 22 seconds to go in the final period. "I tried to feel my way through the first two periods tonight," Oliver said. "I wanted to try some things in the first two periods, and I happened to get him on his back and get the pin in the third." At 165 pounds, Marc Harwood earned a major decision win over Frank Beasley, 16-5. Harwood took the lead six seconds into the match with a takedown, and had an 8-2 lead 1:13 into the first period after three takedowns and a two-point near fall. Nebraska saw its lead increase to 21-3 in the team race after sixth-ranked Jacob Klein turned a takedown 31 seconds into his match with Andrew Jordan into a win by fall. Klein needed just a minute to earn his first pin of the season. Brandon Browne followed at 184 pounds with a 6-5 triumph over Nate Shirk. With the match tied at three at the start of the third period, Browne earned an escape one second into the period, then a take down with 1:25 to go in the match to give him a 6-3 lead. A win by fall by Jesse Hasseman at 197 pounds broke Nebraska's five-match winning streak in the dual, but a 6-4 win by 14th-ranked Jon May at heavyweight over Mike Spaid clinched the dual for the Huskers. In the last two matches, NU suffered a setback at 125 pounds before Patrick Aleksanyan scored four takedowns on his way to an 8-3 win over Rick Donald to wrap up the match. The next action for Nebraska (5-2) will be a home dual with Virginia Tech on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Devaney Center Track. #13 Nebraska 30, Bloomsburg 12 Devaney Center Track, Lincoln, Neb. Jan. 2, 2005 Official-Tom Vincentini Attendance-315 141-Brad Forbes (BU) by dec. over #18 Dominick Moyer (NU), 4-3 149-Ryan Davis (NU) by tech. fall over George Hickman (BU), 17-1; 4:29 157-Chris Oliver (NU) by fall over Aric Fuhrman (BU), 6:38 165-Marc Harwood (NU) by major dec. over Frank Beasley (BU), 16-5 174-#6 Jacob Klein (NU) by fall over Andrew Jordan (BU), 1:00 184-Brandon Browne (NU) by dec. over Nate Shirk (BU), 6-5 197-Jesse Hasseman (BU) by fall over Casey Roberts (NU), 6:10 HWT-#14 Jon May (NU) by dec. over Mike Spaid (BU), 6-4 125-#14 Mike Sees (BU) by dec. over #8 Paul Donahoe (NU), 13-7 133-Patrick Aleksanyan (NU) by dec. over Rick Donald (BU), 8-3

Columbia, Mo. -- The No. 11 Missouri Tigers have announced a schedule change for the upcoming weekend, Jan. 6-8. The Tiger's original slate of competition dates included a dual against Eastern Illinois Friday, Jan. 6, and another versus Central Missouri State University Sunday, Jan. 8. Head Coach Brian Smith announced today that the schedule has changed and both duals will take place Saturday, Jan. 7, with the opening match against Eastern Illinois beginning at noon. The Tigers recently returned from a trip to North Carolina to compete in the Southern Scuffle, in which Missouri took second place in a field of 31 teams that included six teams ranked in the top 25. Junior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) took first place at 174 pounds, and fellow junior Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) brought home a title at 165 pounds. Missouri boasts a 4-0 record in dual competition to this point in the season. Doors to the Hearnes Center open at 11:00 a.m CST, and Missouri begins its dual with Eastern Illinois at noon, followed immediately by its match against Central Missouri State.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Senior/junior Mark Moos (Lorain, Ohio/St. Edward HS) and fifth-year senior Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) collected quick falls as the No. 5-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team opened the new year with a 25-13 victory over No. 21 Hofstra on Monday (Jan. 2) in front of 1,409 fans at Hofstra Arena. Moos made to make a big return to the U-M lineup at 133 pounds after missing the opening three dual meets with injury, pinning Jeff Santo at the 1:55 mark. Moos, ranked 13th nationally, built up a 5-0 advantage before using an armbar and half nelson combination to tilt the Pride wrestler and collect his second pin of the season. Wagner took immediate control in his heavyweight bout against Jon Andriac, using a single leg and leg sweep to dump the Pride wrestler to the mat. Wagner proceeded to work the top position, turning Andriac twice before securing the fall at 3:16 to improve to 9-0 on the season. Freshman Michael Watts (Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS) earned the first varsity win of his collegiate career to give the Wolverines the early advantage, scoring a 6-3 upset over 20th-ranked Dave Tomasette at 125 pounds. After scoring a quick first-period takedown, Watts used a cement mixer late in the frame to add a three-point near fall and gain a five-point lead after the opening three minutes. Tomasette cut away at that advantage in the second, countering a Watts shot to score a takedown of his own. Watts limited Tomasette to just an escape in the final frame to hold on to the decision. At 141 pounds, junior/sophomore Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) scored takedowns in the first and third periods to collect a 4-2 decision against Hofstra's Charles Griffen. The Pride wrestler kept the score close, riding out Churella through the entire second period and tying the score with a quick escape in the third, but the Wolverine connected on a single leg midway through the final frame to remain undefeated on the season. Fifth-year senior captain Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) used the edge of the mat to secure several takedowns against Chris Vondruska at 165 pounds, registering a 12-3 major decision to improve to 9-0 on the season. The Wolverine captain scored five takedowns, including three in the third period, while accumulating nearly five minutes in riding time to dominate throughout the entire seven-minute bout. At 184 pounds, sophomore/freshman Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) proved the importance of wrestling to the buzzer en route to a 4-0 decision over 16th-ranked Joe Rovelli, scoring a takedown at the end of the first period and securing a reversal at the end of the second. Todd rode out the Pride wrestler in the third frame to erase Rovelli's riding time advantage and remain undefeated in dual-meet action. The Wolverines lost the marquee match of the evening as fifth-ranked junior/sophomore Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) suffered a 13-4 major decision defeat against two-time All-American Jon Masa at 149 pounds. Masa countered a Tannenbaum double-leg attempt midway through the first period to take the Wolverine to his back for three back points. Tannenbaum continued to shoot and fight but could not recover from the early deficit as Masa added another pair of takedowns and a third-period reversal. Michigan (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) will wrap up its Empire State tour tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 3) with a non-conference dual meet against No. 8 Cornell in New York City. The match is slated for a 6 p.m. start at the New York Athletic Club.

Mark Cody is in his fourth season as head coach at American University. The heights to which he has brought his team in this short time can be found in the most recent rankings, where he has three wrestlers in the top ten. By far, the most talked about wrestler on his squad has been Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov, known by many fans with poor international pronunciation skills as "Moose." Abdurakhmanov came to American University from Colby Community College, where he won two junior college titles -- the first at 157 and the second at 165. He originally hails from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where he was a junior national champion. Despite his freestyle credentials, when Abdurakhmanov signed with Cody at American, college wrestling enthusiasts didn't automatically expect a big impact. Accomplishments in other styles of wrestling don't always translate to success in college. For example, Lazaro Reinoso never won a Division II national championship, despite beating John Smith at the 1992 Olympics. Mark Cody is in his fourth season as head coach at American University.Moreover, Abdurakhmanov was going to drop back down to 157 for his first season in D1 -- an already loaded weight class which featured two returning NCAA champs (Ryan Bertin in 2003 and Matt Gentry in 2004). Stock in Abdurakhmanov rose, however, just before the 2004-05 college wrestling season began. In late October, he competed in the Sunkist Open, where he beat NCAA champ Kirk White (4-1, 7-0) and NCAA runners-up Tyrone Lewis (2-4, 3-0, 3-0) and Jared Frayer (2-0, 4-0). In the finals, he lost a close match with Olympian and World bronze medalist (and three-time NCAA champ) Joe Williams 1-0, 2-0. Although this was still not folkstyle wrestling, the impressive list of opponents that Moose stormed through raised many eyebrows. As the season started, Abdurakhmanov faced standing NCAA runner-up Jake Percival at the finals of the Mat Town invitational. Percival had just come off a big (11-7) victory over Ryan Bertin at the 2004 NWCA All Star Classic and took Bertin down three times in the first period. Against Abdurakhmanov, Percival's impressive takedown skills were not as successful. Instead, it was Moose with three first-period takedowns before Percival had to default from an injury. After that match, even though it was a default, college wrestling followers had no choice but to view Abdurakhmanov as a force in the talented 157-pound DI field. However, as the season went on, the grind of college wrestling seemed to diminish Abdurakhmanov's effectiveness. He sustained a rib injury in the semifinals of the Midlands and then injured his knee in the second round of the EIWA Tournament. Moreover, the weight cut became increasingly difficult. He entered the 2005 NCAA Championships with only a single loss and the fourth seed. He exited the competition 2-2 and left many wrestling fans scratching their heads. This season, Abdurakhmanov has moved back up to 165. He again had an impressive, early season win against Minnesota's Matt Nagel. On paper, Nagel seemed like a tough opponent for Abdurakhmanov: a physical, well-conditioned Big Ten wrester with great defense and strong riding skills. However, Moose had little trouble and came out on top with a 13-3 major decision. (Ironically, like Percival the year before, Nagle was coming off a big win at the NWCA All-Star Classic against standing NCAA champ Johny Hendricks). So once again the expectation meter for this European standout is spiking. But because of how last season ended, skepticism remains -- and answers as to how he stacks up against top competition in tournament situations are not immediately forthcoming. Abdurakhmanov did not compete at the Midlands Championships over the weekend. "It was my decision to hold him," said Cody. "He's one hundred percent healthy, but he got injured there last year and I want to keep him fresh." Therefore, the rest of the regular season will not only deny opportunities for fans to see Abdurakhmanov face the top names in the weight class, but will also not give these wrestlers an opportunity to test out any game plan against him. Cody clarifies it's all about his athlete staying healthy and not scouting. "Even if they did, Muzaffar has such great technique, I don't think it would matter," said Cody. "I think he's a difficult opponent to scout against. If you stop one thing, he'll just go to something else." What is possibly most surprising about this European star is how strong he is from the bottom position. "This guy can get off bottom as good as anyone I've coached," said Cody. "Our main focus has been on top. We've been working very hard on his riding." When asked about position choice in a potential EIWA finals match-up against Troy Letters (known for his powerful crab ride), Cody remained confident. "You have to see how a match goes, but I would feel good about him taking down," said Cody. RevWrestling.com's Tom Franck went one-on-one with the enigmatic European dark horse of college wrestling. Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov was a national champion in Uzbekistan.I was wondering if you could talk about youth wrestling in Uzbekistan? Not many U.S. wrestling fans know much about youth wrestling in other countries. Are the teams based from clubs mostly or schools? Abdurakhmanov: We don't have it like here, like NCAA. We don't have it like that. But we mostly have like club. You can say it's a club, but it's just special places where you can learn wrestling. Do you have dual meets or is it mostly tournaments? Abdurakhmanov: Mostly tournaments. We have dual meets maybe if other countries come or if you go there. But not a lot. Mostly only for seniors. We don't have dual meets for young guys. But sometimes maybe our neighbors from, like, Kazakhstan, if they come, we may wrestle. But not a lot. How long is the season? Or is it year round? Abdurakhmanov: The season is the whole year. No break for that. Like in here, after the season, everybody takes a break for a little while. But there -- no way. You're training the whole year, especially in summer. They go for camps. Month and a half, two months, like three months. Usually we train whole year with no stop. Are there any tournaments that you try and peak for? Abdurakhmanov: Yeah. Like nationals for certain age. How did you wind up in the US? Abdurakhmanov: I talked to my friends who went to Colby, who I training before. And then one day he called me he said come over to America to wrestle and you'll have education for that, no? And after that, I just decided to come. It's hard first time when I get here. I have no idea how I'm going to speak English. I never learned English before. And I'm never thinking about learning English someday. And life is full of surprises. What was your experience like at Colby? Abdurakhmanov: I liked it a lot, but first year was like frustrating because my English was so bad. I can't understand what my teachers were saying. Collegiate -- it's different for me because I never wrestle college style. Was it difficult to learn to get out from the bottom position? Abdurakhmanov (laughs): Oh yeah. How you know, freestyle is…you don't have to get out. It's hard to learn, but I think now I'm okay. After like three years. Coach Cody said that he thought what made you so desirable to college coaches was that you could get out on the bottom -- even when you were at Colby. Abdurakhmanov: Yeah. First year I had pretty good partners who were good on top. And my coach at Colby is a pretty good coach. And he taught me a lot on top and bottom. And by the second semester, I felt I was getting better on bottom. When you were at Colby, did you know you wanted to go Division I after your two years? Abdurakhmanov: Yes. I wanted to go to Division I because it was kind of my goal. What did you think you needed to make the transition from junior college to Division I? Abdurakhmanov: It's tougher guys. It's much harder practices. You have to be in really good shape. It's a bit different from junior college. But now, I think I'm fine because it's my second year working with Coach Cody and he is doing a really good job with everybody. He knows everything we need. He's been coaching for a long time and he knows what he's doing. Especially coming from a top program like Oklahoma State, Nebraska, you know? He's been around good guys and he's coached a lot of good wrestlers. And I think he has really good experience. For me, it's worked great. I like to train with Coach Cody. Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov is currently ranked third in the country at 165Just before your first season at American, you wrestled at the Sunkist Open. And you beat Kirk White, Jared Frayer and Tyrone Lewis and then you lost a close match to Joe Williams. How did you feel about your performance? Abdurakhmanov: It's freestyle. I felt great over there because I did not cut weight. I think when I'm not cutting weight I feel good. It kind of helps me rather than cut weight and then wrestle. What was the decision like to go 157 your first year at American? You had won your junior college national title the year before at 165. Abdurakhmanov: Yeah. When I won at 65, I weighed like 166, 165 and I thought, 'It's only eight pounds, you know?' At end of the season, my weight is going up. It's like, I weigh a lot, but I can't go 165. I have to make the weight at 57. It kind of knocked me out. Do you think your two injuries had anything to do with you cutting so much weight? Abdurakhmanov: Some coaches tell me like if you're cutting too much weight sometimes your muscles will be weak. So that's when you get the most injuries. I can't say it's because of that. It's wrestling -- anything can happen. So how do you feel now at 165? Abdurakhmanov: I feel good, you know? I don't have to worry about cut weight. I just training and training. Eat good, you know? It's wrestling, you don't know again. So far, I feel good. In looking at the remainder of your schedule, it appears you won't face any of the wrestlers currently ranked ahead of you during the regular season. Do you think this benefits you in that it doesn't give them a chance to study you? Or would you rather face some of the top ranked guys? Abdurakhmanov: I don't know. In college everybody knows each other. It's who is most ready. I think I just see one time what he's doing. It's in my mind. I just got to be ready for that - but still wrestle my style, you know what I mean? Sometimes it doesn't help even when you see that, you know? Guys good on top moves. He's going to do anyway. You just go and wrestle, I think. What do you think you need to do to win the NCAA title this year? Abdurakhmanov: Just stay healthy and do everything coach says. And you know, hopefully wrestle how I can wrestle. After the season, what are your plans? Abdurakhmanov: I like to be a coach and still competing -- like everybody's doing here. Will you try and make the Uzbekistan national team? Abdurakhmanov: I don't know. I'm not thinking about that yet. First, I need to finish school and get coaching job if I can. And then we'll see. Do you miss freestyle? Abdurakhmanov: Oh yes. It's a good style. Would you like another shot at Joe Williams? Abdurakhmanov: Oh yes. Why not? He's a good wrestler. Wrestling him is fun, you know? What do you think you would need to do to beat him? Abdurakhmanov (laughs): Joe Williams is doing a double leg with everybody, you know what I mean? It's like what I was talking about. If he is good on some move, he's going to do it anyway. I mean, I knew before I wrestled him I knew he's going to shoot a double leg and he still got it. I think everybody in the world knows his double leg. Do you still follow world wrestling closely? Abdurakhmanov: Oh yes. What do you think the US needs to do to improve at the World Championships? Abdurakhmanov (laughing): They have to stop collegiate and spend all the time on freestyle. They spend all this time on collegiate and then they've got to change style to freestyle. This is why in Russia a 20 years guy, 19-year-old guy -- world champion, Olympic champion, you know what I mean? Because they wrestle in that style in all their lives and don't have to change it. Best of luck with the rest of the season. Abdurakhmanov: Thanks a lot. I appreciate it. I need that.

Greensboro, N.C. -- Competing at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center, the No. 11 Missouri Tigers took second place at the Southern Scuffle, losing only to No. 2 Minnesota, who placed five wrestlers in the finals and crowned four champions. Juniors Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) and Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) each took first place in their respective weight classes, the only two Tigers to advance to the final round. Ranked No. 4 at 165 pounds, Pell shook hands at center circle in the championship bout with Steve Anceravage of Cornell, the second time the pair have met on the mat this season. Opening quickly, Pell earned two points with a single-leg takedown just 14 seconds into the match, but Anceravage turned the tables with an escape and a takedown of his own to gain a 3-2 advantage. Pell evened the score by breaking free of his opponent's grasp, and the second period ended 3-3. Choosing the down position to start the second period, Pell broke ahead with an escape, a takedown and a two-point nearfall, establishing a lead that Anceravage was unable to overcome. Adding more points in the third, Pell walked off the mat with a 12-7 decision and the 165-pound title. The No. 1 wrestler at 174 pounds, Askren earned his second Southern Scuffle title in convincing fashion, pinning four opponents on his way to the title. All four pins came in the first period, and raised the junior's season total to 19, just one shy of the record-setting total he compiled last season. Breaking through to the title match, Askren completed the title as opponent Tyron Woodley defaulted. A two-time All-American for the Tigers, Woodley graduated last season and was competing unattached.

EVANSTON, Illinois -- Utah Valley State wrestler Erkin Tadzhimetov finished fourth at 133 lbs. at the Midlands Tournament after falling in the third place match to Central Michigan's Jason Borelli in a 7-4 overtime decision. Earlier in the day, Tadzhimetov lost to Iowa State's Jesse Sundell in the semifinals before beating Iowa's Dan Dennis 7-4 to advance to the third place match. "He's wrestled better the last two days than I've ever seen him wrestle," said Utah Valley State coach Cody Sanderson. "He's made a lot of progress, I'm really happy for him." The senior from Uzbekistan finished the tournament with a 4-2 record to move to 16-6 individually on the year. The Midlands is an invitation only tournament that is comprised of some of the top competition in the nation and Tadzhimetov's success there is a big boost for himself and for the Utah Valley State program. "There were a lot of people talking about him," said Sanderson. "It was great for us as a program to have him there and to wrestle as well as he did." Tadzhimetov advanced to Friday's semifinals after winning three times on Thursday. He opened the tournament with a quick fall over Joe Gomez (2:43), a 6-3 decision over Brent Skorup of Wheaton and a 5-2 decision over 3rd seeded Andy Hiatt of Northern Illinois. Utah Valley State wrestling will continue its action next week in the Lonestar Duals in Arlington Texas next Thursday, January 7th. They will wrestle three dual matches against Harvard, Navy, Oklahoma and Central Oklahoma. The next home dual will be Monday, January 16th against Northern Colorado.

REENSBORO, N.C. -- The Big Red took third place at the 2005 Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C., recording 131 team points and taking three individual titles. Freshman Troy Nickerson won the 125 pound bracket for the third time in as many tournaments in his collegiate career, senior Dustin Manotti took the 157 title and junior Jerry Rinaldi won the crown at 197 pounds. Minnesota won the team title with 192 points and Missouri finished just ahead of the Big Red with 149 points. Nickerson breezed into the quarterfinals with a pair of major decisions and then advanced to the semis by beating UT-Chattanooga's Javier Maldonado 3-0. He then pinned Austin Devoe (Missouri) in 6:11 to move to the finals against Kent State's Chad Sportelli. Nickerson recorded a major decision (13-5) to remain undefeated at Cornell and take the title. Like Nickerson, Manotti had no trouble in the rounds of 32 and 16, scoring major decisions in each. In the quarters, the Cornell senior disposed of Kent State's Kurt Gross 8-1 for a spot in the semifinals. He beat Oregon State's Tony Hook 7-0 and then met C.P. Schlatter (Minnesota) in the championship match. He took the 157 pound title with a 4-1 win over Schlatter. Rinaldi took an 8-7 win in a tie breaker over NC State's Ryan Goodman to win the title at 197 pounds. He beat Mark Thompson (Citadel) and David Dashiell (North Carolina) to advance to the quarterfinals. He beat Lehigh's Paul Wiebel and Missouri's Alex Askren for a spot in the finals, setting up exciting championship bout with Goodman. Including the three individual titles, Cornell had seven place-winners at the Southern Scuffle. Sophomore Steve Anceravage (165) advanced to the finals with four consecutive wins before falling to Missouri's Matt Pell in the championship match. Senior John Cholish had an exciting run in his first action at 165 pounds, going 5-2 at the tournament, taking fourth place. Senior Mike Mormile (133) beat Matt Keller (UT-Chattanooga) 13-5 in the fifth-place match. Junior Luke Hogle went 6-2, taking home seventh place at 174 pounds. The Big Red will kick off its dual schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 3, when it faces Michigan at the New York Athletic Club. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m.

The second-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team finished first at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C., on Friday. Freshman Dustin Schlatter, sophomore Roger Kish and junior Cole Konrad won individual titles. Minnesota finished the 32-team tournament with 192 points, while 12th-ranked Missouri placed a distant second at 149 points. Cornell finished third with 131 points. Schlatter won the title at 149 pounds with a narrow 1-0 decision against J Jaggers of Ohio State. In the semifinals, he earned a 15-0 technical fall against 14th-ranked Josh Medina of Lock Haven. Kish won the title at 184 pounds for the second straight year. He defeated Virginia Tech's Steve Borja, 5-3, in the finals. Konrad improved to 19-0 on the year with a pin of eighth-ranked Tanner Garrett of Navy in just 1:28. Minnesota also had a pair of runner-ups. In a rematch of last year's NCAA semifinal, second-ranked Shawn Bunch of Edinboro defeated the Golden Gophers' Mack Reiter, 8-5, in the finals at 133 pounds. Sophomore C.P. Schlatter dropped a 4-1 decision to sixth- ranked Dustin Manotti of Cornell in the 157-pound championship. Other placewinners for the Golden Gophers included third-place finishers Matt Nagel at 165 and Gabriel Dretsch at 174. Travis Lang and Jeremy Larson placed fifth at 125 and 165 pounds, respectively. Minnesota returns to its dual meet schedule this Tuesday when it hosts No. 16 Arizona State at the Sports Pavilion. The match will begin at 7 p.m. Southern Scuffle Greensboro, N.C. December 30, 2005 Final Team Scores 1. Minnesota, 192.0 2. Missouri, 149.0 3. Cornell, 131.0 4. Edinboro, 103.0 5. Ohio State, 94.5 6. Lehigh, 86.0 7. Kent State, 82.5 8. Oregon State, 68.5 9. Navy, 55.0 10. North Carolina, 50.5

EVANSTON, Ill. -- He's done it. Northwestern's sophomore All-American Jake Herbert has become NU's first back-to-back Midlands champion. Herbert clinched the title by defeating Iowa's Mark Perry Friday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena, earning the Art Kraft Champion of Champions trophy in the process. Matt Delguyd finished with a career-best fourth-place finish, while the Wildcats finished 10th in the team race. Herbert, the nation's second ranked grappler at 174 lbs., went 2-0 on the day while dominating the competition. In his first match, Herbert matched up with Michigan State's fourth-seeded R.J. Boudro. Herbert scored first and never looked back, increasing his lead throughout the match. Boudro made numerous late takedown attempts, but Herbert caught him, threw him over the top and rolled Boudro for the fall with 43 seconds left to advance to the finals. In one of the most highly anticipated matches of the year, Herbert met Iowa's third-ranked Mark Perry in the title bout. A 2004 Midlands titlist at 165 lbs., Perry moved up to 174 lbs. in 2005. In the match, Herbert dominated from beginning to end. While the first period went scoreless, Herbert missed taking a 2-0 lead on a takedown by just seconds. Herbert got on the board after a reversal with 52 seconds remaining in the second period, then tallied a three-point takedown as the time expired. Up 5-0 entering the third period, Hebert remained in control until the end. Perry hit on two last-second takedowns, but Herbert walked off with the 5-4 win. For his performance throughout the tournament, Herbert was named the 2005 Midlands Champion of Champions--an award voted on by all the tournament champions. Delguyd, a senior, fell in both of his matches on the second day of competition, but finished a career-best fourth at 197 lbs. In his first match, Delguyd fell to Illinois' Tyrone Byrd, 7-2. Delguyd faced Indiana's Brady Richardson in the third-place match and wrestled him to a scoreless first period. Delguyd tallied an escape early in the second period, taking a 1-0 lead. Richardson tallied an early escape of his own to open the third period, then hit a takedown with 33 seconds remaining to take a 3-1 lead. Delguyd got in an escape late in the match, but Richardson took the decision, 3-2. Sophomore Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) posted a 1-1 record on the day, placing at Midlands for the first time in his career. Fox's first match was a classic bout versus Northern Iowa's Tyler Rhodes. The two were neck and neck throughout the match, but Fox scored an escape late in the second tiebreaker round for a 3-2 win. Fox fell to UW-LaCrosse's Ryan Allen in his next match, but rebounded with a convincing 10-4 decision over American's Adam Lopiccolo to take seventh. At 165, Will Durkee (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) lost his first consolation match of the day, ending his run in the Midlands tournament. Durkee faced Stanford's eighth-seeded Ray Blake, going back-and-forth with Blake throughout the match. In the end, Blake notched a takedown in the second tiebreaker period to take the match, 5-3. As a team, Northwestern placed 10th out of 66 participating teams. The University of Illinois won the team race for the third-consecutive year, becoming only the third team in Midlands history to do so. They were challenged by the upstart Central Michigan team however, and didn't clinch the title until the second to last round. Michigan State, Iowa and Iowa State round out the top five teams. The Wildcats return to action at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8 at Eastern Illinois.

The fourth-ranked University of Illinois wrestling team accomplished a feat only seen by three teams in Midlands Tournament history and that is a three-peat for the team championship. Fueled by four wrestlers in the finals, the Illini scored 115.5 points for their third straight Midlands title. Seniors Alex Tirapelle (157) and Pete Friedl (184) brought home individual titles - Tirapelle winning his second and Friedl clinching the win for the team. Senior 157-pounder Tirapelle (Clovis, Calif.) won his second Midlands title as he defeated No. 2 seed Joe Johnston of Iowa, 3-0, in the finals. Tirapelle defeated the Hawkeye for the second time this year and the fourth time of his career. After no scoring in the first two periods, Tirapelle chose bottom and scored an escape and a takedown to secure the win. Friedl (Orland Park, Ill.) found himself in a familiar spot after clinching the Big Ten team title in 2005 with his win in the championship match. Once again his win at 184 pounds secured the team title for the Illini. He needed overtime to get it done and won in dramatic fashion getting the takedown over Purdue's Ben Wissel with only one second remaining in the match. After exchanging escape points in regulation, the two wrestlers went to sudden victory over time. Wissel got in a shot at the 27-second mark, but couldn't finish it out. Friedl took a shot with 10 seconds left, finally getting the call just before the buzzer. In a highly charged match, hometown favorite Mike Poeta (Fr., Highland Park, Ill.) faced off against Northern Iowa's Nick Biama. Poeta took control of the match early with two takedowns in the first two periods, but escape points kept Biama within a point. A Biama takedown in the third tied the match sending it to overtime. After no scoring in the sudden death period, the two wrestlers went to the second overtime period. Biama rode Poeta for the first 30-second period and Poeta gave Biama the escape to work on scoring the takedown. Poeta got close with a shot with 10 seconds remaining, but fell short in the 6-5 loss. Senior Tyrone Byrd dropped a close decision in the finals at 197 pounds to Central Michigan's No. 1 seed Wynn Michalek. The only points scored in the match were an escape point by Michalek in the second period. With a chance to tie the match, Byrd was ridden for the entire third period for the 2-0 loss. At 174 pounds, Donny Reynolds (Jr., Frankfort, Ill.) took fifth place via a medical forfeit. Earlier in the day, freshman Troy Tirapelle (Clovis, Calf.) took seventh at 149 pounds and tonight received the award for most falls in the least amount of time. He pinned four opponents in a total of 9:44. Notes: Comcast Sports Net will air the Midlands finals on four tape-delayed broadcasts - Jan. 11th (7 p.m.), 21st (3 p.m.), 24th (1 p.m.) and 28th (8 p.m.) ... The fourth-ranked Illini defeated 11 ranked teams to win their third Midlands title ... The Illini will be back in action on Jan. 13 in Fresno, Calif. against San Francisco State and Fresno State. 2005 MIDLANDS TEAM SCORES 1. Illinois - 115.5 2. Central Michigan - 112.5 3. Michigan State - 99.0 4. Iowa - 83.0 5. Iowa State - 83.5

Monday January, 2 follow the TDR Mic's to New York City as we bust down the doors of Brendan Buckley's Columbia wrestling room. We'll take a look at the new generation of Columbia Lions. Join Scott Casber and Greg Zafros for this very special look at Coach Buckley's inner sanctum. Broadcast time 2 PM Eastern/ 1 PM Central. Chat Room will be open. Monday Night we head out to the Island, LONG ISLAND, to visit our friends in Hempstead, New York. Coach Tom Ryan and his Flying Dutchmen of Hofstra (2-1-1) will engage Joe McFarland and his Wolverines of Michigan (2-1) The two teams met last January at the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals at Cleveland State with the Wolverines pulling out a 19-18 victory on a pin in the final match (heavyweight) of the night. Monday night's match will mark the 2005-06 debut of Hofstra's two-time All-American, senior Jon Masa. Masa (Long Beach, NY), who was granted a one semester Olympic waiver by the NCAA in November, is 14-4 in open competition this season after placing third at the NCAA Championships last March. Masa will compete in the featured match at 149 pounds against fourth-ranked junior Eric Tannenbaum (8-2). The two All-Americans met twice last season with Tannenbaum winning 5-3 at the National Duals in January and Masa posting an 8-1 victory in the third-place match at the NCAA Championships in March. There will be a top 10 match-up at 174 pounds as Hofstra's fourth-ranked senior Mike Patrovich (Bohemia, NY/Islip) will face Michigan's seventh-ranked senior Nick Roy. Patrovich is 13-1 on the season with his only blemish coming in the championship match of the Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational on December 3 to top-ranked Ben Askren from Missouri. Roy, who has battled injuries this season, enters the match with a 4-4 record. There will also be a top 20 match-up at 157 pounds as Hofstra junior James Strouse (Levittown, NY/MacArthur) will square off against Michigan's eighth-ranked freshman Steve Luke. Strouse, who is ranked 19th in the latest (12/20) USA Today/NWCA/Intermat poll, has recorded a 14-5 record this season including a fourth place finish at the East Stroudsburg Open and a 7th place finish at the Las Vegas Invitational. Monday night's match is also Chief Ray Downey Sr. Memorial Scholarship Fund Night. Members of the Downey Family will be in attendance to present scholarship grants to Mike Patrovich and James Strouse in memory of the late FDNY hero who was killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Join TDR Broadcast Team- Scott Casber, Greg Zafros, Jim B. Sheehan and Brendan Buckley and thier guests. Broadcast time 6:00 PM Eastern/ 5:00 PM Central. Chat Room will be open. Tuesday Night we head back to New York City and the New York Athletic Club for more action with Rob Koll and The Big Red of Cornell University (#9) and Joe McFarland's 3rd ranked Wolverines of the University of Michigan. Founded in 1868, the New York Athletic Club can boast of a unique history. The Club's founding premise was to bring structure to a sporting environment that was lacking in organization and uniformity of measurement. Quickly, the NYAC organized the first US championships in boxing, wrestling and outdoor track and field. Today, our New York City Club House stands in tribute to an unmatched athletic history and our ongoing commitment to the pursuit of sporting excellence. Note to Fans Planning to Attend the Jan. 3 Dual vs. Cornell Fans interested in attending U-M's dual meet against Cornell at the New York Athletic Club on Tuesday, Jan. 3, will need to dress according to the institution's dress code for admission to the building. Men must wear sport coats with a collared shirt or turtleneck and women must be in comparable business attire. No jeans or sneakers are allowed. Join TDR Broadcast Team- Scott Casber, Greg Zafros Bob Backlund, Arno Niemand and Brendan Buckley and their guests. Broadcast time 6:00 PM Eastern/ 5:00 PM Central. Chat Room will be open.

HEMPSTEAD, New York -- The 21st-ranked Pride wrestling team returns to action on Monday night, January 2 at the Hofstra Arena when they host the fifth-ranked Wolverines of the University of Michigan at 7 p.m. Hofstra comes into the match with a 2-1-1 record while Michigan is 2-1. The two teams met last January at the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals at Cleveland State with the Wolverines pulling out a 19-18 victory on a pin in the final match (heavyweight) of the night. Monday night's match will mark the 2005-06 debut of Hofstra's two-time All-American, senior Jon Masa. The Long Beach, New York native, who was granted a one semester Olympic waiver by the NCAA in November, is 14-4 in open competition this season after placing third at the NCAA Championships last March. Masa will compete in the featured match at 149 pounds against fourth-ranked junior Eric Tannenbaum (8-2). The two All-Americans met twice last season with Tannenbaum winning 5-3 at the National Duals in January and Masa posting an 8-1 victory in the third-place match at the NCAA Championships in March. There will be a top 10 match-up at 174 pounds as Hofstra's fourth-ranked senior Mike Patrovich (Bohemia, NY/Islip) will face Michigan's seventh-ranked senior Nick Roy. Patrovich is 13-1 on the season with his only blemish coming in the championship match of the Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational on December 3 to top-ranked Ben Askren from Missouri. Roy, who has battled injuries this season, enters the match with a 4-4 record. There will also be a top 20 match-up at 157 pounds as Hofstra junior James Strouse (Levittown, NY/MacArthur) will square off against Michigan's eighth-ranked freshman Steve Luke. Strouse, who is ranked 19th in the latest (12/20) USA Today/NWCA/Intermat poll, has recorded a 14-5 record this season including a 4th place finish at the East Stroudsburg Open and a 7th place finish at the Las Vegas Invitational. Monday night's match, which will be aired on the internet on Takedown Radio, is also Chief Ray Downey Sr. Memorial Scholarship Fund Night. Members of the Downey Family will be in attendance to present scholarship grants to Mike Patrovich and James Strouse in memory of the late FDNY hero who was killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Following action in a pair of tournaments, the No. 19 Arizona State University wrestling team (3-2, 1-0 Pac-10) returns to dual competition this week with a trio of tough contests as the Sun Devils head to Minneapolis, Minn., to face No. 2 Minnesota before returning home to play host to the Sun Devil Duals with No. 7 Iowa State (3-2, 0-0 Big XII) and UC Davis (2-0, 1-0 Pac-10) visiting Tempe. The week opens with the Sun Devils and Golden Gophers meeting in Minneapolis on Jan. 3 for a 7 p.m. CST dual and then concludes with Sun Devil Duals on Jan. 8 starting at 11 a.m. inside Wells Fargo Arena. The Cyclones and Aggies open the day with an 11 a.m. dual before the Sun Devils meet UCD in a Pac-10 dual at 12:30 p.m. The Duals conclude when ASU meets ISU and former Sun Devil coach Bobby Douglas at 2 p.m. INSIDE TRACK Each week throughout the 2005-06 season, Sun Devil Assistant Coach Aaron Simpson will provide an inside look at the team as he submits journal entries to thesundevils.com. Visit the wrestling page on the official athletic web site of Arizona State Athletics to see what Coach Simpson has to say about a previous meet, the team's preparations and other interesting facts and stories about the Sun Devils. MR. 100 Heading into his senior season, Ryan Bader stood 88-34 in his career with the Sun Devils. So far this season, Bader has compiled an 11-2 record to bring his career mark to 99-36, leaving him one victory shy of 100 career wins. He will have three chances to break the 100-win plateau this week with three duals scheduled. The last ASU wrestler to reach the milestone mark of 100 victories was current assistant coach Eric Larkin, who finished his career with 123 victories, tying him for the sixth-most wins in school history. CLOSING IN Ryan Bader's chase for 100 victories is not the only place in the record books he is nearing in on. Following the first five duals of the season, Bader is 4-1 and has improved his career dual record to 41-19 overall. His win total ties him for the 19th-most in program history with John Ginther, who went 41-10-3 from 1985-89. With at least 13 duals remaining on the schedule in 2006, Bader could reach the Top 10 in dual victories, needing just 10 more wins to tie for 10th overall. Joining him in this chase is another senior, Jeremy Mendoza. After going 5-0 in duals so far this season, Mendoza improved to 31-15 overall in his dual meet career and will need 10 more on the season to crack into the Top 20. MENDOZA ON A TEAR Jeremy Mendoza, a senior walk-on starter from Temecula, Calif., has made the most of his senior season so far as he has climbed to No. 6 in the national rankings with a 17-1 record and the championship title at the 2005 Reno Tournament of Champions. Mendoza also has built a 5-0 record in dual competition this season and his lone loss came in the finals of the Las Vegas Invitational to Cornell's Troy Nickerson, currently ranked No. 5 in the nation. Mendoza entered the season with a career mark of 52-39 and is now 69-40 in his career. RAISING CAIN Before the turn of the New Year last season, Cain Velasquez had built a 14-3 overall record with two of his losses coming to Greg Wagner of Michigan at the Las Vegas Invitational and Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State in the final of the Reno Tournament. After that loss to Mocco, Velasquez would run off 18 victories in a row to win the Pac-10 title before finishing fourth at the NCAA Championships. This season, Velasquez holds an 18-2 record with his losses coming at the hands of Wagner in Las Vegas and Mocco in the finals of the Reno event. If the Sun Devil big man has as much success this year as he did last year, he will be on his way to yet another All-America accolade and conference crown. PAC-10 MATCH-UPS When ASU and UC Davis meet Sunday, four bouts will feature a pair of wrestlers ranked among the Top 6 in the latest conference rankings (supplied by Stanford on Dec. 26). No. 1 Jeremy Mendoza and No. 5 Marcos Orozco are slated to meet at 125 while No. 1 Brian Stith and No. 6 Dustin Noack will square off at 157. No. 2 Patrick Pitsch and No. 3 Frank Richmond comprise the closest ranking battle at 165 while No. 1 Ryan Bader and No. 5 Elliott Kelly should meet at 197. The rankings, which are updated throughout the season, are used to determine the seedings for the 2005 Pac-10 Championship tournament. LOOKING BACK: RENO 2005 The Sun Devils finished seventh overall with two champions and one addition finalist in their last time on the mats as ASU took part in the Reno Tournament of Champions (Dec. 18). Overall, Jeremy Mendoza (125) and Brian Stith (157) captured individual crowns in the one-day tournament while heavyweight Cain Velasquez fell in the finals for the second year in a row to close out the events slated for 2005. ADDING CROWNS Jeremy Mendoza (125) and Brian Stith (157) won the second and third, respectively, individual crowns this season for the Sun Devils by taking first place at the Reno Tournament of Champions. The duo joins Cain Velasquez (285) as the only individual champions on the year after the Sun Devil big man won the season-opening East Stroudsburg Open. FIVE IN DOUBLE DIGITS So far this season, six different Sun Devils have recorded double-digit victory totals with four of those wrestlers losing no more than two times on the season. Cain Velasquez leads the way with an 18-2 mark at heavyweight while Jeremy Mendoza is just behind him at 125 with a 17-1 record. Brian Stith (157) is 10-1 while Ryan Bader (197) rounds out those four with an 11-2 record overall. Pat Payne (149) and Patrick Pitsch (165) also are in the double-digit win total column with 11-6 and 14-3 records, respectively. RETURNING STRONG With his nearly undefeated record, Brian Stith (157) is recovering nicely from a knee injury sustained last year and stands 10-1 this season. The 2005 Pac-10 Champion at 157 and All-American (fifth-place finisher), Stith will look to add another crown and All-America honor to his resume this season as he currently is ranked No. 7 in the nation. SCOUTING: MINNESOTA The Golden Gophers enter the weekend ranked No. 2 in the latest NWCA/USA Today poll and carry a 7-0 overall record (0-0 Big Ten) after winning the Southern Scuffle on the strength of three individual champions. In its most recent dual, UM defeated Iowa State, 21-13, to remain perfect on the season. Head Coach J Robinson guides the program and stands 285-101-3 in his coaching career. SUN DEVILS VS. GOLDEN GOPHERS Although Minnesota won the dual last year in Tempe, 22-16, the Sun Devils still remain on top of the series standings with a 9-7-0 advantage all-time. MARQUEE MATCH-UP The ASU-UM dual will feature four bouts pitting two Top 16 opponents against one another. The biggest of the four fittingly comes at the heavyweight class where No. 4 Cain Velasquez will meet No. 2 Cole Konrad. Velasquez won in the dual in Tempe last year, 4-3. The three other Top 20 meetings are No. 6 Jeremy Mendoza vs. No. 16 Andrew Domingues at 125; No. 7 Brian Stith vs. No. 11 C.P. Schlatter at 157; and No. 10 Patrick Pitsch vs. No. 13 Matt Nagel at 165. PUPIL VS. TEACHER The dual between Arizona State and Iowa State will mark the fifth meeting of pupil and teacher as Sun Devil Head Coach Thom Ortiz squares off with his former collegiate coach, as well as the man he served under as an assistant coach, Bobby Douglas, who was the ASU coach for 18 years (1974-1992). A three-time All-American and three-time Pac-10 Champion under Douglas, Ortiz' Sun Devils are 1-4 against the Cyclones with a 1-1 home record, a 1-1 away record and an 0-1 mark in neutral competition. SCOUTING: UC DAVIS The Aggies enter the weekend unranked in the latest national polls and stand 2-1 overall and 1-0 in Pac-10 action following a 25-9 defeat of Cal State Fullerton earlier in the season. The Aggies most recently finished ninth in the Reno Tournament of Champions where the Sun Devils took seventh overall. Head Coach Lennie Zalesky is in his fifth year with the program and holds a career record of 30-30-1. SUN DEVILS VS. AGGIES Arizona State won the first meeting between the two programs last year as it secured a 22-14 decision on the road in Davis to take a 1-0-0 lead in the all-time series. MARQUEE MATCH-UP The second and third-ranked Pac-10 wrestlers at 165 will square off this weekend as No. 2 Patrick Pitsch and No. 3 Frank Richmond are slated to meet. Pitsch lost, 4-3, in the dual meeting one year ago in Davis, Calif., but exacted some revenge as he defeated Richmond, 8-2, in the Pac-10 tournament on his way to finishing third overall. SCOUTING: IOWA STATE The Cyclones stand 3-2 overall (0-0 Big XII) this season and are currently ranked No. 7 in the nation following a fifth-place showing at the prestigious Midlands Tournament in Evanston, Ill., last week. In meetings with common opponents to ASU this season, ISU is 1-2 with a victory over Cal Poly and losses to Minnesota and Iowa. Bobby Douglas, the former head coach of the Sun Devils' 1988 NCAA Championship team, returns with his Cyclones and a career record of 420-163-0. SUN DEVILS VS. CYCLONES Two years ago at the Sun Devil Duals, Arizona State handed then undefeated Iowa State its first loss of the season. Last year in Ames, Iowa, the Cyclones struck back for a 22-16 decision and improved their overall record in the series to 19-5-0. MARQUEE MATCH-UP Only two bouts will feature Top 20 foes meeting on the mats, but according to the rankings, they should be two tremendous bouts. The first will be 157 where No. 7 Brian Stith is slated to meet No. 4 Trent Paulson of ISU. One bout later will see No. 10 Patrick Pitsch taking on No. 7 Travis Paulson at 165. LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD Of the 30 bouts contested at the Portland State Duals, 17 victories recorded by ASU wrestlers earned bonus points in the team race. Combined, the Sun Devils won five bouts by fall (six points), three by technical fall (five points), seven by major decision (four points) and two by injury default or forfeit (six points). Conversely, only two bouts were won in a dual with No. 8 Lehigh with one victory ending in a major decision for Cain Velasquez. THE FALL GUY Last year, Patrick Pitsch went 24-15 in his first season of action for the Sun Devils. In those 39 bouts, Pitsch did not pin an opponent. In his first match of the 2005-06 season, Pitsch collected his first pin as he defeated Marshall Cook with the fall at 5:42. His pin was one of five recorded by ASU wrestlers at the PSU Duals the first weekend of the season. THE FALL GUY - PART II Patrick Pitsch may have recorded the first fall of his collegiate career earlier this season, but several Sun Devils have made pinning their opponents a habit this season. So far, 16 falls have been recorded by Arizona State grapplers with six coming from Cain Velasquez (285) and another sour from the opposite end of the weight class spectrum, Jeremy Mendoza (125). PAC PLACEMENTS Stanford, the host of the 2006 Pac-10 Championships, released updated rankings for the conference December 26 with six Sun Devils holding positions in the Top 6 and the team sitting second in the team rankings behind Cal Poly. Jeremy Mendoza (125), Brian Stith (157), Ryan Bader (197) and Cain Velasquez (285) are each ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes while Pat Payne (149) and Patrick Pitsch (165) each sit second. This week's rankings mark the first time this season Payne has been in the Top 6 as well as the first time both John Espinoza (133) and C.B. Dollaway (184) have not been ranked. Both unranked wrestlers are expected back in the line up in January. DEFENDING CHAMPS Arizona State won the 2005 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships to not only capture its second crown in three years, but also the 15th in the history of the program. Brian Stith (157) upset Matt Gentry of Stanford, the defending Pac-10 and NCAA champion, to win his weight class and earn Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships. Cain Velasquez (heavyweight) also secured a title, the first of his career, before being named as the Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year. C.B. Dollaway (184) and Ryan Bader (197) each advanced to the finals of their respective weight classes before placing second. Thom Ortiz was selected Coach of the Year after leading the team to its 15th Pac-10 title. RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS Arizona State has three All-Americans returning to its lineup this season, including a pair of first-time honorees from a year ago. Last year, Brian Stith earned his first national accolade by placing sixth at 157 pounds while Cain Velasquez took fifth in the heavyweight division to earn his first honor. Ryan Bader is the Sun Devils' third All-American returning after earning the acclaim in his sophomore campaign of 2003-04. AT THE HELM Thom Ortiz returns for his fifth season as the head coach of the Sun Devils and has compiled a 46-28-1 overall record at Arizona State and stands 26-2-0 in Pac-10 duals. The 2003 and 2005 Pac-10 Coach of the Year will be assisted by Aaron Simpson and Eric Larkin. Simpson is starting his eighth season while Larkin is set to begin his second. All three members of the staff also wrestled for the Sun Devils at one time with Ortiz competing on the 1988 NCAA Championship team and Larkin winning the 2003 NCAA 149 championship. Combined, the trio won nine All-America honors and nine Pac-10 individual crowns. WELLS FARGO ARENA Wells Fargo Arena, which opened in 1974, is a 14,198-seat facility that plays host to Sun Devil wrestling and other ASU varsity teams, including men's and women's basketball, gymnastics and volleyball. In the time the wrestling program has called WFA home, the team has captured one national title, two runner-up finishes and 16 conference crowns, including 15 as members of the Pac-10. Individually, five Sun Devils earned national titles while 55 different athletes captured 103 conference crowns and 66 individuals combined to secure 94 All-America honors. LAST TIME OUT The Sun Devils traveled to the Reno Tournament of Champions and finished seventh overall despite several starters sitting out of the meet. Jeremy Mendoza (125), Brian Stith (157) and Cain Velasquez (285) each advanced to the finals with Mendoza and Stith each securing individual titles for the team. Also competing in the event were Adam Hickey (133), Jason Robbins (141), Mark LeBeau (149), Brandon Schad (149), Kevin Gaughan (157), Alex Pavlenko (174) and Jamie Robbins (174). NEXT TIME OUT The Sun Devils tough dual meet schedule continues next weekend as the team travels to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa for the 2005 National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals on January 14-15 at the UNI Dome. ASU's first round foe and time of bout will be determined the week of the tournament based on each team's national ranking.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- It was old hat for four of the 10 champions at the 43rd annual Midlands Championships on Friday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the campus of Northwestern University. Nick Simmons of Michigan State (125), Nate Gallick of Iowa State (141), Cliff Moore of the Hawkeye Training Club (149), and Jake Herbert of Northwestern (174) all added a second Midlands jacket to their collections. Illinois, on the strength of two champions, took home the team title for the third straight year by racking up 115.5 points. Central Michigan (112.5), Michigan State (99), Iowa (83), and Iowa State (82.5) rounded out the top five. Herbert electrified the home crowd with a convincing victory over Perry. After a scoreless first period, Herbert scored a second period with back points to take a commanding 5-0 lead. Perry would add a late escape and takedown, but it was too little too late, as Herbert held on for the 5-3 victory. "I feel like I mentally dominated him for five minutes and fifty seconds," said Herbert. "It's a seven minute match out there, so that's another minute and ten seconds that he's going to have to come back after me. I know that he's right in it. It's going to be a different match next time. I just have to stick to my game plan." Herbert, who placed third at the 2005 NCAA Championships as a freshman, neutralized Perry's scrambling ability and funk by overpowering the Hawkeye on the mat. "I wrestled in Pennsylvania," said Herbert. "We're all about the PA funk. That's Iowa's kryptonite. I mean, I grew up rolling around with the best guys in the country. I was trained by (Ray) Brinzer and (Ty) Moore. They're just as funky as they get." With the victory, Herbert became Northwestern's first back-to-back Midlands champion. Moore, who won his first Midlands title in 2002, registered a 6-4 decision over Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan. According to the former NCAA champion from Iowa, this title is quite a bit different from the first. "It doesn't compare at all," said Moore. "That first Midlands was pretty much my coming out. I had really only wrestled one competition before that, and that was an open competition out in Nebraska, because I had an injury on my knee. I had an ACL reconstruction, so I was just coming back. But it was great to come here and win this tournament again." Les Sigman of Nebraska-Omaha, a three-time NCAA champion in Division II, completely dominated the heavyweight division. He registered two falls, one technical fall, and two major decisions. In the finals, Sigman shutout Matt Fields of Iowa, 9-0. Sigman also earned the first-ever "High Point Individual Scorer" trophy -- which honors the wrestler who scores the most team points. "I thought I wrestled solid, but I still have some things to work on," said Sigman. "Other than those things, I was pretty proud of my performance." Sigman entered the event seeded second after placing sixth at last year's Midlands. "I got a lot of motivation coming into the tournament," said Sigman. "I didn't have a very good performance here last year, so I kind of used that to motivate me in my workouts." Nick Baima of Northern Iowa, who won the 165-pound title, earned the tournament's "Most Outstanding Wrestler" award. Baima came through the tournament as the third seed, knocking off second-seeded Jared Frayer of the Gator Wrestling Club, before dispatching fourth-seeded freshman Michael Poeta of Illinois, 6-5, in the finals. Greg Perz of Eastern Illinois earned the tournament's "Fastest Fall" award with a 21-second fall. Troy Tirapelle of Illinois earned the tournament's "Most Falls/Least Time" award with four falls in 9:44. Midlands Final Individual Results: 125: No.1 Nick Simmons (Michigan State) pinned. No. 7 Pat Castillo (Northern Illinois), 5:54 133: Tommy Vargas (Cal State Bakersfield) dec. No. 7 Jesse Sundell (Iowa State), 9-7 141: No. 1 Nate Gallick (Iowa State) dec. No. 2 Andy Simmons (Michigan State), 5-3 TB2 149: No. 1 Cliff Moore (Hawkeye Training Club) dec. Mark DiSalvo (Central Michigan), 6-4 157: No. 1 Alex Tirapelle (Illinois) dec. No. 2 Joe Johnston (Iowa), 3-0 165: No. 3 Nick Baima (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 4 Michael Poeta (Illinois), 6-5 174: No. 1 Jake Herbert (Northwestern) dec. No. 2 Mark Perry (Iowa), 5-4 184: No. 3 Pete Friedl (Illinois) dec. No. 1 Ben Wissel (Purdue), 3-1 SV 197: No. 1 Wynn Michalak (Central Michigan) dec. No. 3 Tyrone Byrd (Illinois), 7-2 Hwt: No. 2 Les Sigman (Nebraska-Omaha) maj. dec. No. 4 Matt Fields (Iowa), 9-0 Midlands Final Team Results: 1. Illinois -- 115.5 2. Central Michigan -- 112.5 3. Michigan State -- 99 4. Iowa -- 83 5. Iowa State -- 82.5 T6. Northern Illinois -- 79 T6. Northern Iowa -- 79 8. Indiana -- 66 9. Cal State Bakersfield -- 64 10. Northwestern -- 62.5 Related Articles: Midlands Session III Recap Midlands Session II Recap Midlands Session I Recap

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The finals match-ups are now set for the 43rd annual Midlands Championships after a thrilling semifinal round that saw seven top-seeds advance to the championship finals. Illinois continues to lead the team race with 94.5 points and advanced four wrestlers into the finals. Central Michigan (93.5) and Michigan State (79) reside in second and third place respectively. This year's finals, which will get underway at 7:30 p.m. CST, will feature the highly anticipated and much talked about match at 174 pounds between the hometown favorite Jake Herbert of Northwestern and exciting Mark Perry of Iowa. Herbert, who won a Midlands title last year as a freshman, pinned R.J. Boudro of Michigan State at 5:24 to advance to the finals. Perry, who won a Midlands title at 165 last year, cruised through his first three matches, but was tested for the first time this season in the semifinals against Donnie Reynolds of Illinois. Perry led the match 4-0 in the third period before taking an injury timeout. Reynolds came back with a late takedown to cut the deficit to two, but Perry held on for the 4-2 victory. The Hawkeye was visually upset with his performance after the match. The other top-seeded wresetlers to advance to tonight's finals were Nick Simmons of Michigan State (125), Nate Gallick of Iowa State (141), Cliff Moore of Hawkeye Training Club (149), Alex Tirapelle of Illinois (157), Ben Wissel of Purdue (184), and Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan (197). At 141, it will be a rematch of last year's Midlands final between Gallick and Andy Simmons of Michigan State. Gallick advanced to the finals with a 3-0 win over Brandon Carter of Central Michigan. "I feel like I'm wrestling well," said Gallick. "I think it's the best I've wrestled all year. I feel good. I get a nice little break now." Last year at the Midlands, Gallick defeated Simmons by a score of 4-2. He then defeated him again in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships, 2-0. "I'm pretty much going in with the same game plan," said Gallick. "I kind of want to take the match to him a little bit. I don't want to wait around. It might go into overtime. I would like to get a takedown and score some points." The most exciting semifinal finish took place at 157 between Tirapelle and Matt Lebe of West Virginia. In overtime, with the match tied at one, Tirapelle nearly gave up a takedown and looked to be in serious trouble, but scrambled out and scored a takedown of his own to win 3-1. "To tell you truth, it wasn't too bad of a performance," said Tirapelle. "Lebe wrestles me tight. He's a returning All-American. We've wrestled several times throughout our careers. He's making those adjustments to make it tighter and tighter every time we wrestle." Tirapelle will now face Joe Johnston of Iowa in the finals. This will mark the sixth meeting between these two Big Ten foes. Tirapelle and Johnston have split four official NCAA matches, with Johnston winning the last of those, when he defeated Tirapelle in the NCAA semifinals last March. Tirapelle came back to beat Johnston earlier this season at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 19 by a score of 5-2. "Johnston is a tough kid. It's kind of the same situation. We've wrestled several times throughout our careers. We pretty much know what the other one is going to try and do. It's just a question of who is going to do it better." Les Sigman of Nebraska-Omaha was the lone non-Division I wrestler to reach the finals. The three time NCAA Division II champion at heavyweight crushed Payam Zarrinpour of Sacred Heart, winning by technical fall, 17-1. He will now face Iowa's Matt Fields in the finals. Sigman defeated Fields in the finals of the Kaufman-Brand Open earlier this season by a score of 9-2. Midlands Finals Match-Ups: 125: No. 1 Nick Simmons (Michigan State) vs. No. 7 Pat Castillo (Northern Illinois) 133: No. 7 Jesse Sundell (Iowa State)vs. Tommy Vargas (Cal State Bakersfield) 141: No. 1 Nate Gallick (Iowa State) vs. No. 2 Andy Simmons (Michigan State) 149: No. 1 Cliff Moore (Hawkeye Training Club) vs. No. 2 Mark DiSalvo (Central Michigan) 157: No. 1 Alex Tirapelle (Illinois) vs. No. 2 Joe Johnston (Iowa) 165: No. 3 Nick Baima (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 4 Michael Poeta (Illinois) 174: No. 1 Jake Herbert (Northwestern) vs. No. 2 Mark Perry (Iowa) 184: No. 1 Ben Wissel (Purdue) vs. No. 3 Pete Friedl (Illinois) 197: No. 1 Wynn Michalak (Central Michigan) vs. No. 3 Tyrone Byrd (Illinois) Hwt: No. 2 Les Sigman (Nebraska-Omaha) vs. No. 4 Matt Fields (Iowa) Related Articles: Midlands Session II Recap Midlands Session I Recap

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Nine of the 10 top-seeded wrestlers won their quarterfinal matches at the 43rd annual Midlands Championships on Thursday night. Four of those top-seeded wrestlers were Midlands champions a year ago. The lone top seed to fall in the quarterfinals was Kerry Boumans of Overtime Wrestling Club at 133 pounds, who dropped a 3-2 decision to Tommy Vargas of Cal State Bakersfield. Illinois continues to lead the team race with 60 points, followed by Central Michigan (59), Michigan State (51.5), Iowa State (51), and Iowa (46). The 157-pound class might be the deepest in the tournament, as all four semifinalists are returning All-Americans, with two of those being NCAA runner-ups. Top-seeded Alex Tirapelle of Illinois, who won a Midlands crown in 2003, advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 victory over Matt Kocher of Pittsburgh. He will now face Matt Lebe of West Virginia, who won in the second tie breaker period over post-graduate Jeremiah Jarvis. Leading up to this year's Midlands, the most talked about weight class was (and still is) 174 pounds. Northwestern's Jake Herbert and Iowa's Mark Perry, both Midlands champions a year ago, are tearing through the competition, and appear destined to meet in the finals. Herbert advanced to the semifinals with a 10-7 decision over Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh. He will now face RJ Boudro of Michigan State. Herbert says that he doesn't feel additional pressure being a returning Midlands champion wrestling in front of his home crowd. "I don't feel any pressure at all," said Herbert. "I mean, there's another Midlands champion at my weight. The pressure is kind of shared, you know. (Perry) is an opponent that I have been looking forward to, but I have to go one match at a time. I have to get there first before I actually get to wrestle him." Nate Gallick of Iowa State, the defending Midlands champion at 141, advanced to the semifinals with a convincing 8-2 win over two-time Division III national champion Dustin Hinschberger of Wartburg. It marked Gallick's second win this season over Hinschberger. He will now face unseeded Brandon Carter of Central Michigan. Erkin Tadzhimetov of Utah Valley State might not be eligible to wrestle in postseason competition (because of NCAA regulations), but the Uzbekistan native secured a spot in the Midlands semifinals with a 5-2 victory over Andy Hiatt of Northern Illinois. He will now face Iowa State's Jesse Sundell, who he defeated earlier this season by a score of 5-2. Utah Valley State coach Cody Sanderson was pleased with the performance of his lone wrestler competing at the Midlands. "That's the best I've seen him wrestle this year," said Sanderson. "He grew up as a freestyle wrestler, so sometimes he has trouble with folkstyle. But he did a good job of controlling the mat, taking those shots, moving the head, so I was really happy with it. It was a good win for him." Since Utah Valley State doesn't compete at the Midlands as a team, Tadzhimetov had to be granted an invitation by the tournament committee. "I was really excited that he could wrestle here, especially since he can't do postseason competition," said Sanderson. "It's just great that he has another chance to wrestle some of these good guys. Semifinal match-ups: 125: No. 1 Nick Simmons (Michigan State) vs. No. 5 Tanner Gardner (Stanford) No. 6 Luke Smith (Central Michigan) vs. No. 7 Pat Castillo (Northern Illinois) 133: No. 4 Andre Hernandez (Indiana) vs. Tommy Vargas (Cal State Bakersfield) No. 6 Erekin Tadzhimetov (Utah Valley State) vs. No. 7 Jesse Sundell (Iowa State) 141: No. 1 Nate Gallick (Iowa State) vs. Brandon Carter (Central Michigan) No. 2 Andy Simmons (Michigan State) vs. Eric Kruger (Central Michigan) 149: No. 1 Cliff Moore (Hawkeye Training Club) vs. No. 5 Doug Withstandley (Purdue) No. 2 Mark DiSalvo (Central Michigan) vs. No. 6 Darren McKnight (Michigan State) 157: No. 1 Alex Tirapelle (Illinois) vs. No. 4 Matt Lebe (West Virginia) No. 2 Joe Johnston (Iowa) vs. No. 3 Brandon Becker (Indiana) 165: No. 1 Travis Paulson (Iowa State) vs. No. 4 Mike Poeta (Illinois) No. 2 Jared Frayer (Gator Wrestling Club) vs. No. 3 Nick Baima (Northern Iowa) 174: No. 1 Jake Herbert vs. No. 4 R.J. Boudro (Michigan State) No. 2 Mark Perry (Iowa) vs. No. 6 Donny Reynolds (Illinois) 184: No. 1 Ben Wissel (Purdue) vs. No. 4 John Glenn (American) No. 2 Kurt Backes (Iowa State) vs. No. 3 Pete Friedl (Illinois) 197: No. 1 Wynn Michalak (Central Michigan) vs. No. 4 Brady Richardson (Indiana) No. 2 Matt Delguyd (Northwestern) vs. No. 3 Tyrone Byrd (Illinois) Hwt: No. 1 Bode Ogunwole (Harvard) vs. No. 4 Matt Fields (Iowa) No. 2 Les Sigman (Nebraska-Omaha) vs. No. 6 Payam Zarrinpour (Sacred Heart) Related Articles: Midlands Session I Recap

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The 43rd annual Midlands Championships kicked off on Thursday morning at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the campus of Northwestern University with 307 wrestlers representing 66 teams. Three 2004 Midlands champions have returned to defend their titles -- Nick Simmons of Michigan State (125), Nate Gallick of Iowa State (141), and Jake Herbert of Northwestern (174). Mark Perry of Iowa won the 165-pound Midlands crown last December, but has moved up to wrestle at 174 pounds. All four cruised through their opening round matches to advance to tonight's quarterfinals. Simmons, who placed fourth at the 2005 NCAA Championships, hardly broke a sweat in his opening round matches. He recorded a first period pin over Ben Hanisch of Iowa State and an 11-0 shutout over Matt Steintrager of Central Michigan. He will now face ninth-seeded James Thomas of Shippensburg in the quarterfinals. "I felt a little tired for some reason," said Simmons. "I didn't get things going like I had hoped in the first two matches, but that's alright. Hopefully I can get things going in the third match, and then get ready for the semifinals and finals." Simmons appears to be on a collision course to meet former Iowa standout Luke Eustice in the finals. Eustice, who is seeded second, won his first match by technical fall and his second by major decision. Simmons and Eustice are currently ranked third and fifth respectively at 121 kg in the latest TheMat.com U.S. Senior Freestyle Rankings. "I definitely don't look too far ahead," said Simmons. "You never know who is going to be there anyways, either side of the bracket. I'm just going to take it one match at a time right now." Gallick, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the country at 141, pinned Ryan Osgood of Northern Iowa and won by technical fall over Jeremy Doyle of Cal State Bakersfield to advance to the quarterfinals. Herbert, wrestling in front of the home crowd, won his first match, 12-5, over Danny Burke of Northern Illinois. He then followed that up with a pin over Nick Corpe of Purdue at 2:23. Four defending national champions from non-Division I schools are competing at this year's tournament -- each won their opening-round matches to advance to the quarterfinals. Dustin Hinschberger of Wartburg, the two-time defending Division III national champion at 141 pounds, won by scores 4-0 and 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals, where he'll face Gallick. Gallick defeated Hinshberger in overtime earlier this season in the Harold Nichols Open finals. The other wrestlers who advanced were Thad Benton of Pitt-Johnstown (141, DII), Ryan Allen of Wisconsin-La Crosse (Hwt, DIII), and Les Sigman of Nebraska-Omaha (Hwt, DII). Biggest upset in Session I: 141: Eric Kruger (Central Michigan) decision over No. 3 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa), 4-3 Five intriguing quarterfinal match-ups: 1. No. 1 Nate Gallick (Iowa State) vs. No. 8 Dustin Hinshberger (Wartburg) at 141 2. No. 2 Kurt Backes (Iowa State) vs. Jason Lulloff (UW-La Crosse) at 184 3. No. 5 Ryan Allen (UW-La Crosse) vs. No. 4 Matt Fields (Iowa) at Hwt 4. No. 2 Joe Johnston (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Chris Bitetto (Northern Iowa) at 157 5. No. 3 Matt Palmer (Columbia) vs. No. 6 Donny Reynolds (Illinois) at 174 Team Standings (after Session I): 1. Illinois -- 31 points 2. Iowa State -- 29 3. Iowa -- 27 4. Northern Illinois -- 26.5 5. Central Michigan -- 26 6. Michigan State -- 25 7. Northwestern -- 23 8. Northern Iowa -- 22.5 9. Purdue -- 20.5 10. Cal State Bakersfield -- 18 Other notes: In the 43-year history of the Midlands, there have been 101 wrestlers to win at least 20 Midlands matches in their careers. The most recent was Jon Trenge of Lehigh in 2004. The first to reach this milestone was the legendary Dan Gable, who accomplished the feat in 1969. Seventy seven first-time entries have won an individual Midlands title. In 2004, two competitors accomplished this feat: Mark Perry (Iowa) and Jake Herbert (Northwestern). Both wrestlers are competing at 174 pounds and could meet in the finals. A new award has been added this year to honor individual performance. The "High Point Individual Scorer" trophy will go to that wrestler who scores the most team points.

Team 1. Cal Poly 2. Arizona St. 3. UC Davis 4. Oregon St. 5. Boise St. 6. Oregon 7. Cal State Bakersfield 8. Stanford 9. Cal State Fullerton 10. Portland St. Individual 125 Pounds 1. Jeremy Mendoza (Arizona St.) 2. Chad Mendes (Cal Poly) 3. Tanner Gardner (Stanford) 4. Eric Stevenson (Oregon St.) 5. Marcos Orozco (UC Davis) 6. Brandon Zoteway (Cal State Bakersfield) 133 Pounds 1. Scott Jorgensen (Boise St.) 2. Darrell Vasquez (Cal Poly) 3. Justin Pearch (Oregon) 4. Omar Gaitan (UC Davis) 5. TJ Dillashaw (Cal State Fullerton) 6. Tommy Vargas (Cal State Bakersfield) 141 Pounds 1. Derek Moore (UC Davis) 2. Steve Esparza (Cal Poly) 3. Kyle Larson (Oregon St.) 4. Skyler Woods (Oregon) 5. Tommy Owen (Boise St.) 6. Matt Schumm /Jeremy Doyle (Cal State Bakersfield) 149 Pounds 1. Tyler Sherfey (Boise St.) 2. Pat Payne (Arizona St.) 3. Anthony Baza/Brandon Doyle (Cal State Bakersfield) 4. Jeff Owens (Cal Poly) 5. Josh Zupancic (Stanford ) 6. Orlando Perez (Oregon St) 157 Pounds 1. Brian Stith (Arizona St.) 2. Scott Loescher (Stanford) 3. Tony Hook (Oregon St.) 4. Shawn Reilly (Cal State Fullerton) 5. Ryan Williams (Cal Poly) 6. Dustin Noack (UC Davis) 165 Pounds 1. Joey Bracamonte (Oregon) 2. Pat Pitsch (Arizona St.) 3. Frank Richmond (UC Davis) 4. Brian Busby (Cal State Bakersfield) 5. Ray Blake (Stanford) 6. Risto Marttinen (Cal State Fullerton) 174 Pounds 1. Jeremy Larson (Oregon St.) 2. Ken Cook (UC Davis) 3. Christian Arellano (Cal State Bakersfield) 4. Chet McBee (Oregon) 5. Ian Murphy/Ryan Budd (Cal State Fullerton) 6. Yuri Kalika (Cal Poly) 184 Pounds 1. Shane Webster (Oregon) 2. Ryan Halsey (Cal Poly) 3. Tyler Bernacchi (UC Davis) 4. Jesse Taylor (Cal State Fullerton) 5. KC Walsh (Boise St.) 6. Ryan Hagen (Stanford) 197 Pounds 1. Ryan Bader (Arizona St.) 2. Casey Phelps (Boise St.) 3. Matt Monteiro (Cal Poly) 4. Dan Pitsch (Oregon St.) 5. Elliot Kelly (UC Davis) 6. Chris Chambers (Cal State Fullerton) Heavyweight 1. Cain Velasquez (Arizona St.) 2. Andy Patrick (Boise St.) 3. Ty Watterson (Oregon St.) 4. Eric Parker (Cal State Bakersfield) 5. Arturo Basulto (Cal Poly) 6. Chris Dearmon (Oregon)

Well, here it is again. Another Christmas break where all the students at your school are going home to their families for weeks at a time, stuffing their faces with food, and going out with all their old cronies from high school. But not you. Why? You get to train. Notice I said you GET to train. Not that you have to train. You don't have to, and many people won't, but the wrestlers who are serious will, and it will show after break. Whether you are heading back to the old high school as I do, or staying at college with some teammates, there is no need to take steps in the wrong direction. However, I will admit that it is very refreshing to take a couple days off from the wrestling room, other than the occasional Sunday after a meat-grinding tournament. This doesn't mean that you can't do other things to keep yourself in top working condition. The weights are always there, just sitting, waiting for you to lift them and work your muscles until there is nothing left to give. And the road will always be there, waiting for each and every one of your footsteps, one after the other, until your lungs burn from the excessive cold air and your hands are numb because you still can't find the pair of gloves you bought last month. Training is inevitable. Everyone has to do it. Those of us who make the most out of it are the ones who will see success in the end. Everyone knows what I'm talking about. The workout where you just "don't feel that good" or your "shoulder hurts a little." We've all been there, but there are ways around this common problem of training to the best of your ability. One theory I have taken to is you have to look at training like you GET to do it. If you look at it like you HAVE to do it, it is a bother. Like all the other have to's in your life. You have to take out the trash, wash the dishes, go to work. If you look at training as you do all the other have to's in your life, I believe you can never truly enjoy it and get the most out of it. For me, it is personal satisfaction every time I complete a set of squats or power cleans, or every time I wake up at 6:00 am to go run in the freezing cold. I look forward to that satisfaction and that is often what gets me through the workout. Honestly, that is what keeps me driving toward the end of the season. That hope for satisfaction when all is said and done. This is why I GET to train. Many people can't wait to get done with practice or lifting, and I'm not saying this is the wrong way to do things, because I know everyone has their own way. All I am saying is to try it my way and see if you like it. If it works for you, great. If not, no loss either. It's just like trying a different set-up for your favorite shot. If it works, you incorporate it into your arsenal, if not, you put it into the back of your mind for later use. What I am getting at is that over Christmas break, you get to train. I wouldn't say that you have to or even should train all out as hard as you can, but use it as a learning time. Work on things you are having trouble with such as your conditioning, your stand-up, or your single-leg finish. Take advantage of the time, letting your body heal a little bit. You must remember that you still have 2-3 months left, and you don't often get as much recovery time as your body needs. One thing I always try to do throughout any holiday is keep my weight within 5-7 pounds of my wrestling weight. One idea our coach preaches to us is wrestling close to or at your wrestling weight. Getting use to wrestling at your competition weight is an advantage that can only be explained by doing it. As the holidays begin, I have come to a realization that it is a time to take great strides over your opponents. Focused training can put you ahead of the game, especially if you are only lacking in only a few areas. You can lose everything you have worked for these past few months in a very short period of time if you let yourself go. Stay disciplined, and until next time, keep getting better. Marshall Marquardt Past Entries: Entry 6 (12/7/05) Entry 5 (11/23/05) Entry 4 (11/9/05) Entry 3 (10/26/05) Entry 2 (10/13/05) Entry 1 (10/1/05)

Whoever said, "A picture is worth a thousand words" fully understood the sport of amateur wrestling. Even the most knowledgeable, eloquent wrestling writer is not always able to do justice to a spectacular throw -- or the elation on a winner's face -- the way a truly talented photographer can. Being a wrestling photographer has challenges all its own. It's not as glamorous -- or financially rewarding -- as being a fashion photographer, for instance. But when was the last time runway photographers felt a rush of adrenaline as a 285-pound heavyweight hurtled towards them off the edge? RevWrestling.com contacted some of the top wrestling photographers in the U.S. to gain some insights into the art of photographing the oldest and greatest sport … and learn more about the talented individuals who work so hard to capture the excitement and essence of wrestling. Steve Woods at the 2002 Dave Schultz Memorial (photo by Danielle Hobeika).Danielle Hobeika -- Danielle brings a unique perspective to the world of wrestling photography from both on and off the mat. When she's not matside shooting the action, she is often in action as a freestyle wrestler. Her photos have appeared in a number of places, including RealProWrestling.com and at the AmateurWrestlingPhotos.com Web site which she helped establish in 2002. "I was interested in photography since I was a young girl," Danielle recalls. "Starting around the age of 6 or 7, I would always ask my grandfather to borrow his Polaroid camera and I would snap away -- but at that early stage, it was mostly pictures of my family and pets." "My freshman year of high school, I took my first real class: Intro to Black and White Photography. I mostly did artistic landscapes and portraits," says Danielle. "The wrestling photography came into play when I started wrestling my senior year of high school. My photography teacher hated it since he was used to artistic pieces and not sports action photography. But I continued to pursue both wrestling and wrestling photography in college, and covered the Harvard wrestling team for the Harvard Crimson student newspaper." Chad Lamer during a photo shoot for Real Pro Wrestling (photo by Danielle Hobeika)."I cover college wrestling the most because I'm usually competing at many of the freestyle events held in the U.S.," says Danielle. "On some occasions I will bring my camera to an international competition and try to photograph before weigh-ins or after I'm done competing, depending on the schedule of the tournament." Danielle adds, "However, I think my favorite project was for Real Pro Wrestling because it not only involved the action photography aspect of wrestling, but also portraiture and more creative aspects as well. "Since I photograph so many different styles of wrestling -- collegiate, freestyle, Greco, Real Pro Wrestling -- it's hard for me to choose a single image," says Danielle. "I have two favorites, though, both which capture the essence of the five-point throw -- the most difficult and most highly regarded move in international wrestling. Frank Baughan of Army pinned Victor Destefano of SUNY-Binghamton at Valley-Central High School in New York (photo by Jon Malinowski). Jon Malinowski -- From capturing the wrestling action at West Point to catalog shots for the wrestling retailer Wrestler's World, Jon Malinowski's wrestling portfolio covers a lot of territory. "My late cousin, Sal DiMarco, was a pro photographer in Philadelphia, so I grew up appreciating great photography," according to Jon. "My father also enjoyed photography as a hobby and had good cameras in the house. So I naturally started shooting as I got older. For high school graduation, I got a Nikon SLR body, my first real camera, which I used in college for a bit of work with campus magazines." Jon took a break from photography as he went through graduate school and embarked on his career. However, about three or four years ago, he started getting serious about photography again. "I found that I enjoyed shooting sports," says Jon. "I work at the United States Military Academy (West Point) and some of my colleagues were working as faculty representatives for the wrestling team, so I began shooting team practices and matches. I realized that shooting wrestling was something I was good at, so I began trying hard to improve my technique and introduce better lighting, and I started to gain some national attention." In addition to shooting the Army wrestling team and his catalog work for Wrestler's World, Jon started his Web site WrestleToWin.com to showcase his dramatic images, and, as he puts it, "encourage others to bring professional techniques to wrestling photography." Jon adds, "I believe the wrestling industry is behind other sports in appreciation of good photography, and this is often reflected in our leading publications, which often run muddy, grainy photos that are not suitable for print. If we want the sport to gain wider acceptance in North America, our publications and marketing materials need to be professional and look like other sports." When asked to recall any interesting incidents, Jon says, "So far, nothing really bizarre has happened. I've certainly been nearly crushed by heavyweights a couple times. When the big guys get ramped up, they don't stop for anything. I like to shoot low, as close as possible to the mat, so it's a bit scary when 500 pounds of wrestlers come crashing down on you." Tolly Thompson picks up Steve Mocco with a double leg at the 2005 World Team Trials in Ames, Iowa (photo by John Sachs). John Sachs -- Some wrestling photographers are introduced to their vocation by a family member who competes in the sport … and a newfound interest becomes a passion. That was the case with John Sachs, whose work is on display at his Web site, Tech-Fall.com "I was brought into the sport by my son, Albert, who wrestled at Santa Rosa, California," says John. "I was anxious to learn more about the sport -- and the athletes involved -- but was frustrated by how little information was available, especially photos that promoted the sport." "As I was growing up, there was no shortage of photos and information about the star athletes I loved in baseball, football, basketball," John continues. "Through photos and stories, I was able to develop a strong connection to those great athletes. I felt that missing from wrestling, so I started my Web site, Tech-Fall.com, specifically to promote wrestling through photography." John adds, "Once you spend time around the sport of wrestling, you begin to recognize the characteristics that make a good athlete great. I've been inspired by their drive, determination and diligence, and have worked hard to apply those same principles to make my photography better." Sally Roberts (photo by John Sachs)."Most people don't realize how difficult a sport wrestling is to photograph," says John. "Incredible action can happen at any time and in any direction. You really can't predict where on the mat or when the great image will happen. That's the real challenge for the photographer." When asked what types of events he covers, John says, "I photograph wrestling at all the different levels of competition, starting with the 'eight and unders' up to the Olympic level wrestlers." John shares a memory from the 2004 Olympic Team Trials in Indianapolis: "The photographers' location was a sort of canal between two raised mats. On day one, there were some inexperienced photographers stationed there. During one of the heavyweight matches there was a flurry of action that carried them well out-of-bounds, with one heavyweight flying over our heads and landing on the other mat. The second wrestler ended up taking out a few photographers who were unprepared to say the least. Needless to say, there were far fewer photographers in the canal for the next session." Mack Reiter before his match at the Iowa State Wrestling Championships, going for his fourth state title (photo by Wyatt Schultz).G. Wyatt Schultz -- Wrestling photographers come into the profession for various reasons. For Wyatt Schultz -- whose work appears in The Predicament magazine and Web site that cover wrestling in the state of Iowa, as well as in Wrestling USA magazine and his own Web site, WyattSchultzPhotography.com -- it was a combination of factors. "I started when my kids were in the sport," says Wyatt from his home in Cedar Rapids. "There weren't a whole lot of wrestling photos in the local newspapers. Once the kids left home, despite 'empty house' syndrome, I kept at it." "I approached the original owner of The Predicament, Ron Seaman, about doing some photography for them. He was delighted. It helped expand the coverage of his publication. He was based up in Emmetsburg (in northwest Iowa), so it was hard for them to come to events in eastern Iowa. So I was able to help them expand their coverage." That was about ten years ago. Now Wyatt is part owner of The Predicament, and still capturing wrestling action in Iowa, true to the publication's mission that he describes as being focused mainly on high school and college wrestling in the state. "We try to include anyone who grew up in Iowa. When they come back to compete in their home state, we cover it." Two young wrestlers battle in Iowa (photo by Wyatt Schultz).In addition, when possible, Wyatt follows Iowa homegrown talent that competes outside state boundaries, covering events such as the NCAA Division I Championships. "We also follow the guys who competed in the Dream Team event -- the best national high school wrestlers vs. the best of Iowa -- when it was here a few years ago. We still cover guys on the national team like Troy Letters, Troy Nickerson, Steve Mocco, Ben Askren." When asked to recount a particular high point in his wrestling photography experience, Wyatt had a number of stories to tell. One of the more moving was getting some of the recently-crowned Iowa state high school wrestling champs together for a group photo. "They were willing to drive up to ninety miles for a single photograph, and were very cooperative," says Wyatt. "And the looks on their faces! It was a real thrill." Jeff Beshey -- If you visit TheGuillotine.com -- the Web site devoted to amateur wrestling in the state of Minnesota -- you've seen Jeff Beshey's work … and it's not just photographs. Jeff is a man of many hats for the Web site, as he explains how he got started as their photographer: "I was doing other things for The Guillotine, and the opportunity to take photos was there. It was just another aspect of covering wrestling." There's plenty of wrestling action in the Land of 10,000 Lakes … and Jeff gets to cover it all. "Since The Guillotine covers all levels of Minnesota wrestling, I have shot everything from youth to Olympic Trials," says Jeff. Steve Larson wrestling Tyler Hemmesch at the 2005 Minnesota State High School Tournament (photo by Jeff Beshey).When asked to name his best wrestling photograph, Jeff is both analytical … and modest. "I think there are two kinds of great photos. The first is a great action shot that everyone looks at it and says 'Wow!' The second is a great shot that tells a more personal story that maybe only a few people recognize. I think I only get a couple of each kind each year." Thanks to the talent and efforts of dedicated photographers, wrestlers, their families, friends and fans everywhere can share in the thrill of seeing their favorite sport captured in powerful images.