InterMat Staff

EDINBORO, PA – Edinboro University senior Shawn Bunch (Leavenworth, KS/Leavenworth) has been named the Eastern Wrestling League Wrestler of the Week and the PSAC Wrestler of the Week for his performance in this past weekend's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. This marks the second time an Edinboro wrestler has been chosen for the two awards, with Gregor Gillespie the previous recipient. Bunch maintained his undefeated record against a very strong field at 133 lbs. A total of 14 of InterMat's top 20 competed in the Las Vegas Invitational, led by Bunch, who is ranked number one. He won all six of his matches to improve to 16-0 for the season and 108-22 for his career. He is 16th in career wins, needing one to tie Tom Shifflet. A year ago Bunch finished third at the Las Vegas Invitational, losing to Travis Lee of Cornell in the semifinals. The two would later meet in the national championship bout, with Lee prevailing, 6-3. Bunch opened with a 17-0 technical fall (4:30) over Derek Pirner of South Dakota State. Next came a 16-3 major decision over Mike Obizzi Degli of Duke. In the round of 16 he was a 7-3 winner over Reece Humphrey of Ohio State. In the quarterfinals, Bunch faced #8 seed Matt Keller of Tennessee Chattanooga, ranked 13th by InterMat, and came away with a 9-7 win. He defeated Robbie Preston of Harvard, the fourth seed and ranked ninth, by a 6-5 decision thanks to a late takedown in the semifinals. In the finals, it was Bunch allowing just three escapes to Penn All-American Matt Valenti in a 5-3 win. Valenti was the third seed and ranked eighth. Edinboro returns to action this Friday, December 9, facing the University at Buffalo in the War at the Shore at the Erie Civic Center.

OREM, Utah -- Utah Valley State senior wrestler Erkin Tadzhimetov has been invited to compete in one of the nation's most prestigious wrestling tournaments later this month. The Midlands Wrestling Championship, held December 29-30 in Evanston, Illinois on the campus of Northwestern University, is an invitation only tournament that comprises some of the most talented amateur wrestlers in the country. Tadzhimetov, who is currently ranked 19th in the nation in the NWCA/InterMat poll at 133 lbs., lost his first two matches of the year last weekend at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational to opponents ranked higher than him. His first loss came to 9th ranked Robbie Preston of Harvard with his 2nd coming at the hands of #11 Matt Keller of UT-Chattanooga. The native of Uzbekistan holds a 9-2 record so far this season. "It's an honor just to be invited," said Utah Valley State coach Cody Sanderson. "It's just downright a tough tournament. It's great for Erkin to have the opportunity to compete at that level." Sanderson should know, having competed in the tournament as a wrestler at Iowa State and then winning it his first year out of college. "It's a huge stage for our program and will bring more recognition to what we're doing here," said Sanderson. "Every time we can put one of our athletes on that stage it's good for Utah Valley State wrestling." Illinois is the two-time defending team champion at the Midlands Championship, which will also contain one of the deepest team tournaments outside of the NCAA Championships and includes schools such as Iowa State, Iowa and Indiana.

THIS WEEK Iowa (2-0) will open its 2005-06 home dual meet schedule when it hosts Northern Iowa (0-1) Thursday night in Iowa City. The dual is set for 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. ON THE AIR Radio -- Morrie Adams and four-time Hawkeye all-American Mark Ironside will call this season's action live on AM-800 KXIC. NORTHERN IOWA PANTHERS Northern Iowa is 0-1, losing 31-6 to Minnesota last week. Head Coach Brad Penrith has a 48-35 record in his sixth season with the Panthers. Penrith was an NCAA champion and three-time NCAA finalist, all-American and Big Ten champion at Iowa from 1986-88. The Panthers are led by seniors Chris Helgeson (133) and Chris Bitetto (157), junior Nick Baima (165) and sophomores C.J. Ettleson (141) and Alex Dolly (174). Helgeson is 13-6, placing third at the Harold Nichols Open and fourth at the UNI Open. Baima is 9-2, placing second at the Kaufman-Brand and Harold Nichols Opens. Ettelson is 11-4, placing second at UNI Open and fourth at the Harold Nichols Open. HAVEN'T WE MET? Here are past results of potential Iowa-Northern Iowa matchups: 141 Alex Tsirtsis (I) is 2-0 vs. C.J. Ettelson (UNI) Tsirtsis dec. Ettelson, 3-2, at 2004 Kaufman-Brand Open Tsirtsis maj. dec. Ettelson, 17-7, at 2004-05 dual 149 Ty Eustice (I) is 1-0 vs. Justin Swafford (UNI) Eustice dec. Swafford, 10-4, at 2005 Kaufman-Brand Open 157 Joe Johnston (I) is 2-0 vs. Chris Bitetto (UNI) Johnston maj. dec. Bitetto, 14-6, at 2002 UNI Open Johnston tech. fall Bitetto, 23-6 in 6:31, at 2004-05 dual 165 Eric Luedke (I) is 0-1 vs. Nick Baima (UNI) Baima dec. Luedke, 4-3, at 2005 Kaufman-Brand Open Hwt. Ryan Fuller (I) is 1-0 vs. Tyler Rhodes (UNI) Fuller dec. Rhodes, 4-2, at 2005 Kaufman-Brand Open Hwt. Matt Fields (I) is 1-0 vs. Tyler Rhodes (UNI) Fields dec. Rhodes, 3-1 SV-1, at 2005 UNI Open LAST MEETING Iowa improved to 2-1 with a 23-13 win over Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls last December 9. The Hawkeyes won six matches, and had five true freshmen compete in the dual. The Panthers fell to 0-2 on the season. Iowa opened the dual with wins from freshman Alex Tsirtsis (141) and juniors Ty Eustice (149) and Joe Johnston (157). Junior Paul Bradley (184) won his 40th career dual with a 16-6 major decision over Alex Dolly. Freshman Matt Fields scored a 10-1 major decision over Michael Shedek at heavyweight. Junior Mario Galanakis closed the dual with his 10-4 win over Patrick Sharp at 133. Iowa 23, Northern Iowa 13 141 - Alex Tsirtsis (I) maj. dec. C.J. Ettleson (NI), 17-7 149 - Ty Eustice (I) dec. Jeff Harrison (NI), 5-3 157 - Joe Johnston (I) tech. fall C. Bitetto (NI), 23-6 in 6:31 165 - Nick Baima (NI) dec. Oleg Polyatskiy (I), 3-0 174 - Eric Hauan (NI) dec. Luke Lofthouse (I), 6-5 184 - Paul Bradley (I) maj. dec. Alex Dolly (NI), 16-6 197 - Sean Stender (NI) maj. dec. Dane Pape (I), 13-5 Hwt. - Matt Fields (I) maj. dec. M. Shedek (NI), 10-1 125 - Chris Helgeson (NI) dec. Charlie Falck (I), 3-1 133 - Mario Galanakis (I) dec. P. Sharp (UNI), 10-4 THE SERIES Iowa leads the series, 37-8-2, and has won the last 29 meetings between the two teams. The Hawkeyes hold an 18-3-1 advantage in Iowa City. Iowa's last win in the series was 23-13 last season in Cedar Falls. Northern Iowa's last win in the series was 17-15 in Cedar Falls in 1974. HEAD COACH JIM ZALESKY Jim Zalesky is in his ninth season as head coach at the University of Iowa. He has a school and career record of 118-27 (.814). Named National Coach of the Year in 1998 and 1999, and Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2004, he has led the Hawkeyes to three NCAA (1998-00) and three Big Ten titles (1998, 2000, 2004). Zalesky has coached 10 NCAA Champions, 20 Big Ten Champions and 40 all-Americans at Iowa. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in June 2004, the University of Iowa Letterman's Club Hall of Fame and the Iowa High School Athletic Association Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1994. A three-time national champion and one of Iowa's 15 four-time all-Americans, Zalesky was an assistant coach and head recruiter at Iowa under Dan Gable for seven seasons (1991-97). He was named Assistant Coach of the Year by the N.W.C.A. in 1992 and 1997. Undefeated as a junior and senior, Zalesky ended his career on an 89-match winning streak. LAST WEEK Iowa improved to 2-0 with a 20-15 win over Iowa State in Ames Friday night. A crowd of 6,682 saw the Hawkeyes record wins in six matches, including two by major decision, to hand Iowa State (3-1) its first dual loss of the season. The win also gave Iowa two points in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series. Iowa State currently leads the series, 5-2, with wins in women's soccer and football. The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 10-0 lead on wins by juniors Ryan Fuller (Hwt.) and Lucas Magnani (125) and true freshman Daniel Dennis (133). Iowa State got on the board with Nate Gallick's 4-1 win over sophomore Alex Tsirtsis at 141. Iowa senior Ty Eustice took Iowa into the intermission with a 6-3 win over Jason Knipp at 149. Eustice picked up his 90th career victory, and improved to 7-0 on the season. The Cyclones picked up two wins after the intermission, with Trent Paulson's 8-3 decision over senior Joe Johnston at 157 and Travis Paulson's 8-4 win over senior Cole Pape at 165. Hawkeye sophomore Mark Perry gave Iowa a boost with a 13-3 major decision at 174, and senior Paul Bradley sealed the Iowa win with an 8-5 victory over Kurt Backes at 184. Both wrestlers improve to 2-0 on the season, and Bradley is now 5-1 in his career against Backes. Cyclone true freshman Joe Curran won the last match of the night, pinning Iowa senior Adam Fellers in 6:14 at 197. On Sunday, junior Eric Luedke won the 165-pound title at the UNI Open. Luedke, who defeated Hawkeye junior Joe Uker, 7-2, in the finals, was one of Iowa's seven placewinners and 20 competitors at the annual tournament in Cedar Falls. Luedke transferred from Colby College in Colby, KS, and is in his first season with the Hawkeyes. Northern Iowa officials estimated over 350 wrestlers competed in the one-day tournament in the UNI Dome. Also placing for Iowa were junior Alex Grunder (149-5th), sophomore Matt Fields (Hwt.-2nd), and true freshmen Ryan Morningstar (157-6th), Chad Beatty (174-3rd) and Phillip Keddy (184-5th). Fields scored a major decision and three decisions, including one in sudden victory, before losing a 9-3 match in the finals to Les Sigmon, who was competing unattached. Morningstar, of Lisbon, IA, advanced to the quarterfinals before losing the last three matches of the day by medical forfeit. Beatty, from Wilton, IA, won six straight matches in the consolation bracket, including a 4:28 pin of Northern Iowa's Curt Zinnel in the finals, to place third. IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY Iowa's overall dual meet record is 786-202-30 (.787) in 94 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 20 national titles, including nine of the last 15, and 31 Big Ten titles. Iowa's 47 NCAA Champions have won a total of 73 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 13 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes' 99 Big Ten Champions have won a total of 180 conference individual titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 24 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa's 127 all-Americans have earned all-America status 258 times, including 16 four-time, 27 three-time and 29 two-time honorees. CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA Carver-Hawkeye Arena has been the home for Iowa wrestling since 1983. The Hawkeyes have a record of 146-12 (.924) in the arena, which includes a record 10 victories during the 1986 season. Iowa has recorded 16 undefeated seasons in the arena, with the most recent (8-0) occurring in 2002-03. The dual wrestling attendance record for Carver-Hawkeye Arena is 15,291, set when Iowa defeated Iowa State on February 22, 1992. The arena seats 15,500 for a dual wrestling meet. PACK THE PLACE - BREAK THE RECORD The Hawkeyes will try to regain the dual meet national attendance record when they host defending NCAA champion and top-ranked Oklahoma State on January 7. Match time is set for 7:30 p.m. The current national attendance record of 15,646 was set February 1, 2002, when Iowa wrestled at Minnesota. IOWA TICKET INFORMATION Season tickets and single meet tickets for Iowa's seven home duals are on sale at the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-424-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com. University of Iowa students will be admitted free of charge for all duals except Oklahoma State. Season Tickets - $56 - General Public; $49 - University Faculty & Staff Single-Match Tickets (Advance Purchase)* - $8 - Adults; $4 - Youth Single-Match Tickets (Gate Purchase)* - $10 - Adults; $5 - Youth Group Rates* - $4 - Per person with a group of 15 or more * Iowa vs. Oklahoma State tickets are $10 each. The group rate for the Iowa vs. Oklahoma State dual is $5 per person. CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Jim Zalesky, Troy Steiner, Tim Hartung, Luke Eustice and Mike Zadick earned a total of six NCAA titles, 10 Big Ten titles and 15 all-America honors. Their combined college career wrestling record is 596-90-1 (.881), including four undefeated seasons. NEXT COMPETITION Iowa will compete at the 43rd annual Midlands Championships December 29-30 in Evanston, IL. All matches will be held in Welsh-Ryan Arena on the Northwestern University campus. All-session passes are $48 for reserved seats, $36 for adult bleacher seating and $30 for student bleacher seating. Tickets can be purchased from the Northwestern Athletic Ticket Office at (847) 491-2287. Session start times and individual session ticket prices are as follows: Session Time Day Tickets (R/AB/SB) Session I 9:30 a.m. Thursday NA/$8/$6 Session II 7 p.m. Thursday $11/$9/$7 Session III Noon Friday $13/$10/$8 Session IV 7 p.m. Friday $15/$12/$9 PROBABLE LINE-UPS Iowa Hawkeyes (2-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0 in Big Ten) Wt. Name Yr. Hometown (HS/Last School) Record 125 Trent Goodale Sr. Osage, IA (Osage) 4-3 OR Lucas Magnani Jr. Long Island, NY (St. Anthony's/Brown) 2-3 133 Daniel Dennis Fr. Ingleside, IL (Grant) 6-2 141 Alex Tsirtsis So. Griffith, IN (Griffith) 5-2 149 Ty Eustice Sr.. Blue Earth, MN (Blue Earth) 7-0 157 Joe Johnston Sr. Prairie Village, KS (Shawnee Mission E.) 5-3 165 Eric Luedke Jr. Colby, KS (Colby/Colby CC) 10-1 OR Cole Pape Sr. Maquoketa, IA (Maquoketa) 6-4 174 Mark Perry So. Stillwater, OK (Blair Academy, NJ) 2-0 184 Paul Bradley Sr. Tama, IA (South Tama) 2-0 197 Adam Fellers Sr. Fort Dodge, IA (Fort Dodge) 0-5 HWT Matt Fields So. Lowden, IA (North Cedar) 6-1 OR Ryan Fuller Jr. Lisbon, IA (Lisbon) 5-4 Northern Iowa Panthers (0-1-0 Overall) Wt. Name Yr. Hometown (Last School) Record 125 Seth Wright Jr. Payson, UT (Northwest Wyoming) 1-3 133 Chris Helgeson Sr. Lake Mills, IA (Lake Mills) 13-6 141 C.J. Ettelson So. Hudson, IA (Hudson) 11-4 149 Colby Geotsch So. Ankeny, IA (Ankeny) 4-7 OR Justin Swafford So. Mediapolis, IA (Mediapolis) 10-6 157 Chris Bitetto Sr. Hackensack, NJ (Lock Haven) 9-4 165 Nick Baima Jr. Glen Ellyn, IL (Glenbard West) 9-2 174 Alex Dolly So. Mishawaka, IN (Mishawaka) 6-3 OR Curt Zinnel Sr. Humboldt, IA (Iowa Central CC) 6-4 184 Dan Dunning So. Waterloo, IA (West) 6-6 OR De'Andre Nunn *Fr. New Lenox, IL (Providence Catholic) 7-6 197 Andrew Anderson *Fr. Sioux City, IA (East) 5-4 OR Jeff Knoll Jr. Frankfort, IL (Iowa Central CC) 4-6 HWT Tyler Rhodes Jr. Mountain View, WY (Mountain View) 9-5 * -- redshirt freshman

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana wresting program earned national recognition by Wrestling International Newsmagazine for having one of the top recruiting classes announced the magazine in its December edition. IU's 2006 signees garnered 10th in the national poll, and the honor marks the second straight year head coach Duane Goldman has brought in a top-10 recruiting class. "We are really pleased and excited about this year's recruiting class," Goldman said. "These guys are going to fill a lot of needs that will be coming up in our program. and it's good to know we will be filling those positions with quality students as well as quality athletes. Being Indiana University, we want to draw the best wrestlers from the state. We feel that with this recruiting class we have accomplished that goal." W.I.N. is one of the oldest wrestling magazines in the country and is dedicated to the promotion and marketing of amateur wrestling. This year's national letter-of-intent signees include Nathan Everhart (Tinley Park, Ill./ Andrew), Kurt Kinser (Bloomington, Ind./ Bloomington South), Nick Walpole (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian), Alex Warren (Mooresville, Ind./ Mooresville) and Paul Young (Bloomington, Ind./ Bloomington South).

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- It looks like the 174 pound weight class is going to be a strong one in the Colonial Athletic Association this season, as all three weekly award winners hail from that weight class this week. Mike Patrovich of Hofstra University, and Nick Kozar of Drexel University, are the CAA Wrestlers of the Week, and Doug Umbehauer of Rider University is the CAA Rookie of the Week, for all competition prior to December 5. Patrovich, a senior from Bohemia, NY (Islip), began the season 11-1 overall and 2-0 in duals. Currently ranked seventh in the nation by both InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News, Patrovich placed second at the prestigious Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas. Patrovich compiled 11 consecutive victories before losing to the top ranked wrestler in the nation. In his 11 victories Patrovich had three major decisions and three tech falls. Kozar, a junior from Derry, PA (Derry Area), also won 11 of his first 12 bouts this year, with his only loss coming in the finals of the Cornell Invitational. Kozar also has three major decisions this year and is a perfect 8-0 in dual meets for the Dragons, including 4-0 in the CAA. Umbehauer, a freshman from Shamong, NJ (Lenape), won his weight class at both the Keystone Classic at Penn and the Mat Town USA Invitational at Lock Haven. Ranked 20th in he nation by Amateur Wrestling News, Umbehauer won eight of nine decisions this year, his only loss coming to a returning All-American.

Big thanks to the the Keen and Churella families for making our trip to Vegas successful and enjoyable. Their tournament is done with the wrestler in mind. Congratulations on another successful year! Join us for Saturdays show as Scott Mclin and I welcome -- Brian Smith -- head coach of the Tigers of Missouri -- big dual coming up with the Buckeyes of The Ohio State State University Andy Scott -- wrestled in HS and was paralyzed. Road to recovery full of financial pitfalls Heath McCoy -- author of "Pain and Passion: The Stampede Story Andrew Hipps -- wrestling and sports writer and general "wrestling guy in the know" Tim Brassfield -- director of the Oklahoma City All Sports Association Forrest Griffin -- UFC fighter. Forrest defeated Stephan Bonnar by unanimous decision to become the light heavyweight ultimate fighter in ULTIMATE FIGHTER SEASON I Sunday, December 11th -- Special TDR BroadcastLIVE from Columbus, Missouri -- as Brian Smith and the Tigers welcome Russ Hellickson and his Buckeyes of The Ohio State University. Join Steve Foster and Kenny Burleson for this broadcast free of charge at Takedownradio.com courtesy of the University of Missouri. This looks to be a great match-up. Missouri's Pell and Askren had great showings at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite and look to improve their record at home. Overall, Missouri finished a strong 3rd. The top 10 are posted below. The Ohio St. Buckeye's head to Columbia fully loaded as 174 lb Blake Mauer looks to be tough against Ben Askren and 133 lb Reece Humphrey will enjoy a rematch against Tyler McCormick. 149 lb J Jaggers is expected to see action for the Buckeyes as well. 10 Teams (Final) 1. MICHIGAN 145 2. Cornell 116 3. Missouri 102.5 4. Edinboro 101 5. Arizona State 92 6. Illinois 88.5 7. Cal Poly 76 8. West Virginia 74.5 9. Purdue 69.5 10. Penn 69

Mark Perry, a sophomore for the University of Iowa, has moved up from 165 to 174 pounds this season. Aside from that, not much else has changed for the returning All-American. He remains extremely confident in his abilities and won't be satisfied with anything but a national title -- something that eluded him last season after losing in the NCAA finals to Oklahoma State's Johny Hendricks. Mark Perry finished runner-up at 165 pounds last March at the NCAA Championships (photo by Johnnie Johnson).Perry has been held out much of the early part of the season as he recovers from a sprained MCL. He was originally slated to wrestle in the NWCA All-Star Classic in at Oklahoma State University on Nov. 21, but pulled out a week prior to the event as a precautionary measure. "I haven't been able to compete in the practice room during the last two, two and a half months," said Perry, who is ranked No. 2 in the country by RevWrestling.com behind Missouri's Ben Askren. "That's one of those things where you feel good after two weeks, come back, and all of a sudden a guy gets to your leg and it hurts again. It's still a little iffy, but it'll be fine. I just need to get some good training in." Perry made his season debut on Nov. 26 in Tempe, Arizona, picking up a second period pin against Arizona State's Alex Pavlenko. Last Friday night, in his second match of the season, Perry dominated David Bertolino of Iowa State, 13-3, as the Hawkeyes defeated the Cyclones, 20-15, in Ames, Iowa. Perry scored a takedown just 25 seconds into the match, and then proceeded to rack up six near-fall points in the first period (three two-pointers) to build an 8-0 lead, which helped propel him to an easy victory. While most wrestlers would have been satisfied with such a performance, especially in the early part of the season, the 21-year-old Perry clearly wasn't. "I didn't feel it was a good performance on my part," said Perry. "I thought that a couple of guys did a decent job, but I didn't feel like we competed like we should have, especially me. I could have easily tech falled that kid. I was up eight points in the first period. I kind of just stopped wrestling, instead of going for the technical fall or the fall. It was a little bit different for me because it was my first real test against a kid who is ranked in the top 15." Iowa coach Jim Zalesky, who is in his ninth season at the helm, believes that his sophomore standout needs to change his mindset. "I think the one thing that he has to realize is that he can go on his feet and be tough there too," said Zalesky. He's tough to take down. Sometimes I think he relies almost too much on mat wrestling, when he can go on his feet and open up on his feet." Perry's main workout partner during the off-season was Iowa assistant coach Tim Hartung. But his injury has prevented him from working out with Hartung, who won two NCAA titles for the University of Minnesota. "I haven't been able to workout with (Hartung) lately because of my knee," said Perry. "We haven't really worked out in a long time. The first time I practiced with him this last week, it was the first time in eight to 10 weeks because, honestly, he's good. He can get to my leg. If someone gets to my leg, it hurts. Even in my match (against Iowa State), I'm glad that I got a potentially dangerous call from Mike Allen. He probably shouldn't have called it potentially dangerous, but it was going to get close. My knee was hurt pretty badly in the first period and it kind of bothered me throughout the match." Perry believes that getting mat time is the most important thing for him right now. "Right now, I can go seven minutes with anybody, but I'm not up to the level where I want to be," said Perry. The thing is, once I get some good training in and get into the shape I need to be in, by the time the Midlands come around, I'll be ready to go." Mark Perry defeated David Bertolino of Iowa State, 13-3, last Friday night in Ames, Iowa (photo by Johnnie Johnson).The Midlands Wrestling Championships, which is one of the most prestigious events in collegiate wrestling, is set to take place Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Illinois. If everything goes as expected, Perry will meet Northwestern's Jake Herbert -- the same wrestler he was scheduled to face at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Last season as a freshman, Herbert won a Midlands title and placed third at the NCAA Championships. "I'm really excited to wrestle Herbert," said Perry. "He's pretty big. He'll probably be a 184-pounder after this season. He's tough on top. He likes to roll around, which is good for me. That's one thing I think a lot of people underestimate, how much I can roll around. I hope these guys, like Askren, try to get in those scrambles with me. I'm sure they're thinking the same thing. I just feel like I'm going to come out on top. It should be an exciting match. Obviously, I have to first get ready for the dual against UNI (on Thursday), and then after that, get ready for Midlands." In the off-season, Perry lifted weights hard and got as high as 193 pounds. He now feels comfortable and confident in his new weight class. "I just feel that I'm faster than these guys," said Perry. "Last year, I felt so much weaker than everybody. I feel like I'm stronger than everybody that I wrestle now. I just have to get some good training in. Coach has held me out for the safety of my knee. It's still not where it needs to be. I'll probably wrestle some lighter guys to protect it and do a lot of cardiovascular training. I just need to get to where I need to be. I don't think anybody can beat me."

Iowa State's Jason Knipp captured the 149 pound title at the UNI Open Sunday in Cedar Falls while freshmen Mitch Mueller and Nick Fanthorpe placed fourth and fifth, respectively, at 141 and 125 pounds. Knipp, who finished third at the 2004 UNI Open, also captured his first Harold Nichols Open title in November. The junior from Waterloo is now 13-3 this season. "I was very pleased with this tournament," head coach Bobby Douglas said. "Our freshmen made tremendous strides and really impressed me." Knipp blazed through the 149 pound bracket, compiling a 5-0 record during the tournament. Seeded fifth, he upset the top-seeded Dave Espinosa from Missouri in the semifinals and beat Purdue's Mark Powell in the finals, 8-3. Mueller, an Iowa City native who finished third at the Harold Nichols Open, scored six wins in the tournament including two major decisions and defeated three different wrestlers from North Dakota State. The former Amateur Wrestling News All-American is now 15-5. Fanthorpe, who also finished third at the Harold Nichols Open, also scored two major decisions as he improved his season record to 9-5. The Naperville, Ill. native topped Wisconsin's Kyle Ruschell, 8-7, in the fifth-place match. Fanthorpe beat Iowa's Trent Goodale and Upper Iowa's Tyler Mumbulo earlier in the tournament. Freshmen Tyler Bjustrom and Laramie Shaffer registered their first pins in their ISU careers while Dallas and Dane Kuper also had falls.

CSU TO HOST 36th ANNUAL SCSU INVITATIONAL: The St. Cloud State wrestling team will welcome many of the nation's top collegiate wrestling programs to Halenbeck Hall's South Fieldhouse on Saturday, Dec. 10, when it hosts the 36th annual St. Cloud State Wrestling Invitational. The action will begin that day at 9 a.m. Teams slated to scheduled to compete include defending champion Augsburg, Dakota County Community College, Dickinson State University, Itasca C.C., Jamestown College, MSU-Mankato, Minnesota West C.C., Northern State University, Ridgewater C.C., Rochester C.C., Southwest Minnesota State University, St. Olaf College, St. John's University, University of Mary and St. Cloud State. For complete information on the tournament, please call 320-308-2996 or 308-2141. Results will be available at the SCSU website throughout the day at the following website http://www.stcloudstate.edu/athletics 2005-06 RESULTS: SCSU is 0-0 in dual meet competition this season. Last year, SCSU was 0-7 overall and 0-5 in the North Central Conference dual meet season. The Huskies placed sixth at the 2005 NCAA Division II North Regional, and also placed 30th at the 2005 NCAA Division II championships. HUSKIES AT UNI OPEN: Cedar Falls, Iowa - The St. Cloud State wrestling team competed at the annual University of Northern Iowa Open on Sunday, Dec. 4. The team was led by senior Nate Schut, who advanced to the quarterfinals at 165-pounds. In his first round at the UNI Open, Schut gained a fall at 5:35 over Ben Imdieke of North Dakota State. He followed that up with a 3-0 decision against Eastern Illinois' Kevin Knabijan. In the championship quarterfinals, Schut dropped a tough 5-0 match to #1 seed Eric Luedke of Iowa. In the wrestlebacks, Schut added a 5-3 win over Trevor Madsen of Luther and then lost in the wrestleback quarterfinals to Mark Lukaszewski of Illinois (fall at 3:59). Shane Tappe was also impressive at 149 for the Huskies. In first round action, Tappe gained a 5-1 win over Ben Kissling of Luther. In the second round, Tappe added a 2-1 win over Missouri's Nathan Hewitt. At 125-pounds, Nick Wasche posted a 1-2 record at UNI that included an 8-0 win over Minnesota's Daniel Jackson. At 133-pounds, Matt Jackson was 0-2 and Brent Johnson was 1-2 for the Huskies. Johnson posted a solid 11-7 win over Tony Metzger of Eastern Illinois in the wrestlebacks. In action at 141-pounds, Tom Messerli was 0-2, while Adam Hill was 0-2 at 174-pounds. Jairo Sandoval opened his day at UNI with a 5-2 win over Nate Mohr (unattached) at 174-pounds. He finished his run at UNI with a 1-2 record. The SCSU team was completed by Chad Emery, who compiled a 0-2 record at 197-pounds. HUSKY BITES: SCSU senior Nate Schut is back after posting a 1-2 record at the NCAA Division II championships in the 165-pound bracket. He was SCSU's lone national qualifier in 2004-05, and he helped the Huskies gain a 30th place finish at the NCAA championship last year...SCSU will begin dual meet action this year on Jan. 6, with a 6 p.m. home meet against Augustana College. As always, admission is free to all home dual meets this season in Halenbeck Hall.

UTC wrestler Michael Keefe was named Southern Conference Athlete of the Month for November, the league office announced Monday. Keefe, a junior, from Ringgold, Ga., went undefeated in November in seven matches with a technical fall and two major decisions. In the Mocs' season-opening tournament at the ACC/SoCon Mat Jam to open the 2005-06 season, Keefe posted wins over Duke (13-5 major), North Carolina (5-4) and conference rival Appalachian State (17-6 tech fall). Keefe, who entered the season ranked as high as No. 5 nationally, ended things in November ranked No. 4 in his weight class. He registered wins over Minnesota (10-5), Drexel (24-10 major) and Central Michigan (5-3) in the Northeast Duals. Athletes were honored from 12 sports including men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, football, offense and defense, men's and women's basketball, wrestling and men's and women's golf.

Pacifico Garcia, a senior at San Francisco State, is a national champion, but he isn't supposed to be. He was the kid who started high school and wasn't serious about anything. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do, where he wanted to go, or what he wanted to accomplish. He didn't win three California state titles like high school teammate Alex Tirapelle. In fact, he never won a state title (runner-up as a senior) and only placed once. He didn't wrestle freestyle or train year-round. Instead, he played baseball. He didn't get Division I offers from schools like Illinois, Fresno State, or Army, like his other high school teammates did. He and his coach had to seek out the colleges themselves. Pacifico GarciaThe Fresno, California native, who won the 149-pound NCAA title in Division II last March by defeating Minnesota State-Mankato's Jason Rhoten, has risen to the top of Division II wrestling through hard work, a love for the sport of wrestling, and a drive to be better than anyone else ever imagined. Garcia began wrestling when he was 10 years old. He went out for wrestling because at the time it was the only sport in which he could participate. He wasn't old enough to play football or other contact sports. Wrestling was his only option. "When I first started, I ended up beating a sixth grader, which really fired me up," recalled Garcia. "I was like, 'All right, let's do this.' I really enjoyed it, so I just kept on doing it." But if it wasn't for his high school wrestling coach, Steve Tirapelle, Garcia might not have accomplished as much as he has. The two entered Clovis High School the same year. Coach Tirapelle came to Clovis from its rival school, Buchanan, when Garcia was a freshman. "Pacifico told me a few years later, he said, 'Coach, we really didn't like you,' recalled Tirapelle. "I was like, no, no. He said, 'No, really, we hated you when you first came to Clovis.' And I was like, no, no, you didn't hate me. You just didn't know who I was. He said, 'No, you don't understand, we hated you. Our parents hated you. Everybody hated you.' I was kind of blown away by it." But soon, very soon, things changed. The wrestlers and parents bought into everything Tirapelle preached and coached. They loved him. When Garcia was competing in the lineup, Clovis dominated their section and placed in the top five at the state tournament three years in a row. The program became a factory for producing collegiate wrestlers. Most notably, though, were the coach's sons, Alex and Troy Tirapelle (the oldest brother, Adam, wrestled for Hiram Johnson and Buchanan), who both went on to wrestle at the University of Illinois. Garcia and Alex, who were the same year in school, became close friends on and off the mat. They wrestled together, ran together, and lifted weights together. "As far as Alex's leadership and his lifestyle, I tried to mimic it," said Garcia. "I knew that he was successful in school and in wrestling, so that's what I wanted. I wanted to be successful in both of those things too. Our relationship developed to the point where we became really good friends." Although Garcia wasn't one of the nation's top wrestlers (like Alex was), he still saw great success on the mat. As a junior, he qualified for the state tournament, but missed placing by one match. He was knocked out of the tournament after getting caught in a Peterson roll with 15 seconds left in the match, eventually losing in overtime. As a high school senior in 2001, Garcia entered the state tournament ranked seventh. He finished runner-up at 135 pounds in the one-class California State Tournament, losing in the state finals to Juan Mora, a wrestler he had previously beaten. "Before his finals match, I said, 'Whatever you do, don't let this kid inside leg trip you,'" recalled Tirapelle. "'That's his move. If he gets you there, you're in trouble.' Right away, in the beginning of the match, the kid inside leg tripped him and he got down by five, which really put him in a bad spot. I felt he was better than the kid. Not that the other kid wasn't good, he was a very good wrestler, but we had beaten him earlier in a close match. I think just walking out there in front of that many people, it kind of got to him a little bit. He got a little nervous. It's pretty hard to walk out there when you have never been on the victory stand before." Garcia, being a one-time state place winner, wasn't heavily recruited. "I got maybe a letter from Cal Poly and UC Davis because I showed some interest in them, so they showed some interest back," said Garcia. "But then it died out." It was a chance encounter at the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois between San Francisco State head coach Lars Jensen and Tirapelle that would eventually bring Garcia to San Francisco State. Tirapelle thought that Garcia would be a perfect fit in the program. "Lars needed a guy," said Tirapelle. "I thought physically he would fit in there well. I thought he would have an impact right way. And I also thought he would have a good chance at succeeding in school." Pacifico GarciaSo Garcia made the three-hour drive to San Francisco State to visit the school. He liked the campus, liked the atmosphere, and made the decision to enroll in the fall of 2001. Garcia redshirted his first season at San Francisco State and wrestled two open tournaments at 141 pounds. He placed fourth at Southern Oregon and third at UC Davis. But according to Jensen, "He was going toe-to-toe with All-Americans in the practice room right off the bat." The next season as a redshirt freshman, Pacifico compiled a 20-20 record while wrestling at 141. It was a season of ups and downs. He would beat a good wrestler one week, then turn around and lose to a mediocre wrestler the next week. But he wrestled well when it mattered most and became an All-American by placing seventh at the NCAA Division II Championships. Garcia's sophomore year was marred by injuries and disappointments. "It was a long season," said Garcia of his sophomore campaign. "It was hard for me. I sprained my ankle pretty bad. Toward the end of the season, I was trying to keep my weight down. At 141, I was cutting a lot of weight. My ankle kept re-aggravating itself. It was a lot more than wrestling that was involved. As far as being one-hundred percent physically, mentally, and emotionally, I just wasn't there. And it showed." Garcia was shutout, 6-0, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Championships by defending national champion Merrick Meyer of Truman State. He then lost his first consolation match and was two and out. He made the decision to move up to wrestle 149 for his junior season. One of his teammates at the time, Donald Lockett, a two-time All-American (and now an assistant coach), moved up from 133 and took over at 141. Pacifico Garcia defeated Jason Rhoten of Minnesota State-Mankato to win the 149-pound NCAA title (photo by Johnnie Johnson) Garcia's national championship season wasn't perfect. In fact, it was far from it. He lost seven times. But he stayed injury free, always believed in his ability, and wrestled a great national tournament. He upset top-ranked Ryan King of Augustana, 9-4, in the semifinals, and then won narrowly over Rhoten in the finals, 2-1. He uses the words "boring" and "strategic" when describing his finals match, and believes he won the match because he "out-strategized" Rhoten. Now Garcia has his sights set on becoming only the second two-time NCAA champion at San Francisco State (Mauricio Wright won titles in 2002 and 2003). But a few setbacks have kept him off the mat so far this season. Earlier this season, he and one of his teammates clashed knees while wrestling in practice, which resulted in a contusion and kept him out of the Southern Oregon Open on Nov. 19. He made his season debut against Stanford on Nov. 22, but broke his nose in the first 30 seconds of the match. He is hoping to be back for the dual on Friday against UC Davis. One event in particular that he's looking forward to this season is the Midlands, which takes place in Evanston, Illinois on Dec. 29-30. It's considered one of the toughest collegiate tournaments in the country. For Garcia, it's a chance to test himself against top Division I wrestlers. Last season, he went 1-2 at the Midlands and failed to place. "I'm always thrilled to wrestle at the Midlands and see the best competition," said Garcia. "It's cool. The atmosphere is great. You get to wrestle the best guys in the country, so you get to push yourself and have the opportunity to be known, see where you stand, and figure what you need to work on. It really prepares us for the end of the year." Garcia is on track to graduate this spring with a degree in liberal studies. His immediate plans are to teach and coach wrestling at a school in California. His high school coach believes that he'll make a positive impact as a coach. "He'll be an excellent coach," said Tirapelle. "What a great kid he is. He has shown that if you have some desires and want to do things, you can do them. You can do a lot of things if you're willing to pay the price. He wasn't a student when he first started high school. He just didn't care for it that much. It wasn't that big of a deal. Other things were more important to him at the time. But he realized he could do certain things and still be good student. He'll have a tremendous impact. He's really good with kids. He's very conscientious and responsible. He'll be a great coach."

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team crowned four individual champions en route to its second straight team title at the Cliff Keen Invitational on Saturday (Dec. 3) at the Cashman Center. Combining for 145 points through the two-day competition, the Wolverine dominated the 50-team field at the annual tournament, beating runner-up Cornell by 29 points. Matching last season's championship-round performance, all four Wolverine finalists won their respective matches. Fifth-year senior captains Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) repeated at 165 pounds and heavyweight, respectively, while junior/sophomore Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and sophomore/freshman Steve Luke (Massilon, Ohio/Perry HS) each won in his first-ever Cliff Keen appearance, at 141 and 157 pounds, respectively. Scoring a fall in the closing seconds of the 141-pound final, Josh Churella, seeded third, kicked off Michigan's performance in the evening session with an explosive start. Churella trailed throughout the match as Cal-Davis' fourth-seeded Derek Moore scored the lone takedown of the first period and accumulated just over two minutes in riding time through the opening two frames. Churella scored a pair of reversals in the middle period, but Moore responded with a reversal of his own to lead 5-4 entering the final frame. After allowing Moore an escape with option start, Churella cut away at his advantage with a takedown midway through the period before giving up another escape on the restart. With about 20 seconds to go, Churella shot in deep on a single leg and got Moore wrapped up in a near-side cradle. The Wolverine wrestler rolled Moore to his back and, after a couple adjustments, got the pin to end the bout at 6:47. Luke went to the wire with Illinois' top-seeded Alex Tirapelle, also ranked No. 1 in the country at 157 pounds, needing 11 minutes to beat the two-time All-American on riding time after the second round of tiebreakers. With each wrestler earning his escape at the start of the second and third periods, the contest remained locked at 1-1 at the end of regulation. Luke and Tirapelle continued to match each other through the first round of tiebreakers and the second as the score bumped up to 2-2 and then 3-3. Luke's quick escape in the second tiebreaker proved crucial as an extra four seconds in riding time advantage became the deciding factor. Ryan Churella was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler after earning an 8-2 decision over Missouri's second-seeded Matt Pell to claim his second straight 165-pound title. The Wolverine captain controlled throughout the match, scoring a takedown in each frame and accumulating 3:15 in riding time while allowing Pell just a pair of escapes. During the morning session, Churella picked up a few extra points for the Wolverines with a fall, his second of the tournament, against Adams State's Evan Copeland in the semifinal round. Churella dominated from the opening whistle, scoring a pair of takedowns and three first-period back points before rolling Copeland up to end the bout at the 4:03 mark. Wagner capped the Wolverines' dominant final-round performance by edging out second-seeded Cain Velasquez of Arizona State 6-2 in the heavyweight final. Wagner earned takedowns in the first and second periods and added 1:23 in riding time to cruise to his second Cliff Keen individual crown. Like Churella, the U-M heavyweight added bonus points to Michigan's team score with a second-period fall against UNC Greensboro's fifth-seeded Tyler Shovlin in the semifinal round. In addition to the Maize and Blue's four finalists, junior/sophomore Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) claimed fourth at 149 pounds after suffering a pair of tough second-day losses. The Wolverine fell 4-3 to Wisconsin's second-seeded Tyler Turner in the third-place bout after giving up a late takedown in the third period. The Wolverines will kick off the home portion of their 2005-06 slate next weekend when they host Nebraska on Friday (Dec. 9) for a 7 p.m. non-conference dual at Cliff Keen Arena. Two days later, U-M will head to Mount Pleasant, Mich., for its final dual of the calendar year, squaring off against intrastate rival Central Michigan at 2 p.m. Top 10 Teams (Final) 1. MICHIGAN 145 2. Cornell 116 3. Missouri 102.5 4. Edinboro 101 5. Arizona State 92 6. Illinois 88.5 7. Cal Poly 76 8. West Virginia 74.5 9. Purdue 69.5 10. Penn 69

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Both senior R.J. Boudro and junior All-American Andy Simmons posted 5-0 records en route to tournament titles as the Michigan State wrestling team competed at the Nittany Lion Open Sunday, Dec. 4, at Penn State University. Boudro won his first tournament of the season in impressive fashion, tallying a fall and four major decisions at 174 pounds. The Richmond, Mich., native outscored his opponents 52-13 to improve to 9-1 on the season. In the finals, Boudro defeated Virginia Tech's Jay Borschel, 13-5. Borschel had notched four falls in five matches to reach the finals. 141-pounder Andy Simmons was not to be outdone by his fellow captain, scoring four major decisions in five matches to improve to 14-1 on the year. Simmons gave up a combined 13 points as well, scoring 55 on the day. He won his finals match over Hofstra's Charles Griffin 11-1, and now sits second on the team in victories 14. Eight other Spartans placed, led by freshman Franklin Gomez who was runner-up at 125 pounds. Gomez went 4-1 on the day, losing a thrilling finals match with Penn State's Mark McKnight, 6-4. Gomez is now 12-3 on the season. Jeff Clemens had his best outing of the season on Sunday, claiming fourth at 197 pounds, while Tim Hammer matched his MSU Open performance, finishing fifth at 141 pounds. Eddie Skowneski at 149 pounds, Tony Greathouse at 157 pounds, Justin Mora at 165 pounds, Jeremy Bloom at 174 pounds and Max Lossen at 285 pounds all came away with seventh-place finishes. The Spartan wrestling team competes in two dual meets this week, as they face intrastate rival Central Michigan on Wednesday, Dec. 7, and host Cleveland State on Saturday, Dec. 10.

Dec. 3, 2005 -- The Bulldog wrestling team claimed the team title with three individual champions at the Simpson College Invitational on Saturday in Iowa. Blake Peterson, Gregg Nurrenbern and Matt Craig were the individual champions, while Dan Keller took home a third place and Dustin Teeman finished in fifth in his weight class. Peterson was the number two seed in the 165 bracket and beat out top seed Brian Daly of Augustana by an 8-0 score for the title. Nurrenbern cruised to his championship at 184 with two falls and two major decisions, while Craig came through as the third seed for a 7-1 victory in the title bout over Josh Porter of Central College in the 197 weight class. The Bulldogs scored 98 team points with the top placers in the tournament. Truman's three individual champions were the most of the 14 schools at the invitational. The Bulldogs edged out St. John's of Minnesota by a point and a half and Coe College by four and a half points. Truman will next be on the mats in Pershing Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs will host Simpson College and the Northwest Missouri State Wrestling Club at 3:00 p.m. in a triangular meet.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- The Lock Haven University wrestling squad (3-2) continued it's success over Millersville University (0-1) tonight (Dec. 3) as the Bald Eagles topped MU 33-3 in Thomas Fieldhouse. LHU has won the last 19 meetings between the two, dating back to 1977. "We're still a ways from where we want to be," said LHU head coach Rocky Bonomo. "We had a pair of true freshmen in the lineup tonight, and they both impressed me with their effort. (197-pounder) Tom Kocher really wrestled smart tonight. It was also great to see Tim (Meyers) pin a guy he's never beaten before." One of the more exciting bouts was the last one, as senior heavyweight Tim Meyers (Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain) squared off with Mike Davidowich. Meyers had never beaten Davidowich, including a 5-1 loss in the MU dual last season. Meyers wasted no time taking the fight to the larger man, driving him straight to his back and finishing him off on his first good shot, just 1:26 seconds into the bout. "I knew I was in much better shape than I was last season," Meyers said. "That combined with a higher confidence level put me over the top. I knew this would be my last shot at beating him in a dual meet setup. This is sure to boost my confidence for the remainder of the season." The day started at 125, as sophomore No. 12 Obenson Blanc (Naples, Fla./Lely) amassed six takedowns, eventually getting the tech fall over Jeff Schell with two seconds left. Blanc stretched his team-leading wins out to eight with the victory. At 133, sophomore Casey Moore (Beech Creek, Pa./Central Mountain) needed a flurry of a comeback effort to top Dave Roberts 11-9. Down 6-2 after the first period and 7-4 after the second, Moore got three takedowns in the final period, the last one coming with 46 seconds left for the victory. Moore summoned every bit of energy he had left for that last takedown, as he skittered around Roberts' left side and took control for the two points. Wrestling in the first collegiate dual of his career, freshman Shane Hyman (Coalport, Pa./Glendale) battled well with the seasoned Cody Becker, but fell 8-4. Hyman did win the final stanza 2-0. No. 12 Joshua Medina (Las Vegas/Pima C.C.) picked up his sixth victory of the season, topping Jarrett Hostetter 9-5. Junior Seth Martin (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) dominated Nick Foley for his second major decision of the year, a 13-2 tally. Martin picked up six back points during the course of the contest. Freshman Sobhan Namvar (Needham, Mass./Needham) followed at 165 with a 7-4 decision, picking up a takedown on Matt Veres in each of the three periods. One of LHU's five returning national qualifiers, junior Carlos Ponce (Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah Miami Lakes) earned a convincing 7-1 win over Mark Knock at 174, improving to 5-1 on the season. Down 5-3 to Tim Rice going into the third period, Joshua Fisk (Wyalusing, Pa./Drexel University) rallied with an escape and subsequent takedown with just 30 seconds left to get the 6-5 win at 184. Seeing action in his first dual, freshman Tom Kocher (Lancaster, Pa./ Manheim Township) topped MU's Steve Funk 10-7. The pivotal period was the second, where Kocher picked up a reversal and two back points in the final minute-and-a-half. Meyers then got the second pin of his career for the 33-3 team win. Bonomo, Kocher, Meyers, Blanc, Moore, Hyman, Medina, Martin, Namvar, Ponce, Fisk and the rest of the Bald Eagles are back in action tomorrow at the Nittany Lion Open, hosted by Penn State University.

State College, Pa. -- December 4, 2005 - Over 500 wrestlers packed Rec Hall for the 2005 Nittany Lion Open and in the end, ten talented individuals walked away with the coveted title of Nittany Lion Open Champion. Penn State claimed two individual titles in the tournament with two unattached Nittany Lions grabbing crowns at their respective weights. Head coach Troy Sunderland's squad posted over 40 wins in the tournament. Red-shirt junior Mark McKnight (McDonald, Pa.), wrestling unattached, won his first four matches at 125 to advance to the finals, where he downed Franklin Gomez of Michigan State (unattached), 6-4, to claim the crown. Freshman Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) lost in the quarterfinals, but wrestled back well enough to place sixth, going 5-2 on the day. At 133, Bryan Heller (Fair Haven, N.J.) won four straight before dropping a 9-6 decision to Penn's Matt Eveleth in the semifinals. Heller would claim third place in the tourney with a 4-2 record. Freshman Philip Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) won five straight, including a hard fought 3-1 OT win over unattached teammate Jeremy Hart (State College, Pa.), to set up an all Penn State title showdown at 165. True freshman David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio), wrestling unattached, also won his first five, including a pin of Davidson's Trevor Clavette in the semis. The title bout saw Erwin down Bomberger with an 11-3 major to claim the championship. Erwin went 6-0, Bomberger went 5-1 and Hart would go on to place third (going 5-1), giving Penn State the top three spots at 165 with a combined record of 16-2. Going 1-2 on the day were two unattached Nittany Lions. Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) went 1-2 at 149 while Brendan Herlihy (Fairfield, Conn.) was 1-2 at HWT. Sophomore Jack Decker (Roseland, N.J.), unattached at 165, went 3-2 with two pins. Sophomore Chad Unger (Perry, Ohio) advanced to the quarterfinals at 184 before dropping two straight and finishing 3-2, unattached. Freshman Joe Farina (Denville, N.J.) and junior Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.) both advanced to the quarterfinals at HWT before losing two straight. Farina, unattached, went 2-2 on the day as did Anspach, wrestling attached. Other Penn State wrestlers bowing out early included Brian Cantalupi (Carlisle, Pa.) at 165 and Mark Friend (Libertyville, Ill.) at 157. Both were attached and went 1-0. Unattached grapplers who went 0-1 were Rohan Murphy (Long Island, N.Y.) at 125, Ben Mandelbraut (Sharon, Mass.) at 141, Odis Johnson (Philadelphia, Pa.) at 165, Mike Ward (Mayfield, Ohio) at 184, David Klug (Pennington, N.J.) at 184 and Andrew Haile (Crabtree, Pa.) at 184. Navy's Joe Baker, wrestling unattached at 133, won the 133-pound title with a 7-4 win over Penn's Eveleth. Baker was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. Other title winners were Andy Simmons of Michigan State at 141, Brent Metcalf of Virginia Tech (unattached) at 149, Matt Kocher of Pitt (unattached) at 157, R.J. Boudro of Michigan State at 174, Rocco Caponi of Virginia at 184, Matt Cassidy of Lehigh at 197 and Spencer Nadolsky of North Carolina at HWT. Frances Baughan of Army won the Most Falls in Least Amount of Time award. The 133-pounder recorded four pins in 10:04. Penn State had six wrestlers attached in the event, with the sextet combining to go 17-8 overall, three of whom placed. All 20 of Penn State's grapplers (attached and unattached), combined to go 43-25, with two title winners and six total place winners (places were awarded through sixth). The Nittany Lions return to action this coming weekend with a two-dual road trip against two nationally ranked opponents. No. 13 Penn State will face No. 23 Navy on Friday at 7 p.m. and then tackle No. 25 Penn on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The Nittany Lions are 3-2 overall in duals.

WASHINGTON -- Down 12-3 in team scoring with five matches left, the American University wrestling team won four of the last five matches in the dual meet to take a 23-15 victory on the road against the University of Maryland Sunday afternoon. No. 6 Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) and No. 8 Josh Glenn (Johnson City, N.Y./Johnson) remained undefeated on the season as Matt Morkel (Omaha, Neb./Skutt) returned to action from injury for the victorious Eagles. After sitting out the previous three weeks with a leg injury, Morkel returned in winning fashion, escaping with 1:02 left in the third for a 5-4 win. AU lost the next four matches of the dual to go down 12-3 in team scoring. Jordan Lipp (Beachwood, Oh./Beachwood) took an 8-4 loss. Lipp was down 7-3 going into the final period and escaped for a point, but that was all he could do as Maryland's Brendan Byrne tacked on another point from riding time to take the win. At 141 Daniel Lobsenz (Fairfield, Conn./Choate) wrestled for the first time for the Eagles and almost took the win in the final minute of the match, scoring an escape and a takedown to tie the match at 5. Maryland's Steve Fehnel escaped in the final 15 seconds and added a riding time point for the 7-5 win. Senior Tom Kniezewski (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) took a 2-1 lead into the final round, but a Maryland escape tied it at two. With 38 seconds left Kniezewski was taken down, which proved to be the difference in his 4-2 loss. Kniezewski is 6-3 on the year for the Eagles. Christopher Stout (Hackettstown, N.J./Blair Academy) fell to 5-6 at 157 on the year with his 13-6 loss. Abdurakhmanov helped AU gather some momentum with his pin of Mason Krumholtz at the 1:59 mark. Abdurakhmanov is 11-0 and ranked sixth in the country currently. Dwayne Hash-Barberis (Scotia, N.Y./Scotia Glenville) kept things going for the Eagles at 174 as he came from behind in the third period to take the match at 11-10. At 184 Anthony Fuschino (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) wrestled for the first time this year and took a 7-3 loss to Rob Parker. Glenn moved up to 197 for the Eagles and scored a 15-0 major decision victory over Jerry Afari. The five points he scored put AU in the lead for the dual victory, but snapped his nine consecutive match pin streak. Heavyweight No. 13 Adam LoPiccolo (Glen Rock, Pa./Glen Rock) sealed the deal for the Eagles with a pin of Bryan Reiss at 1:25 in the first. American has a few weeks off before the prestigious Midlands Tournament in Chicago, Ill. just after Christmas.

LAS VEGAS -- Adams State College's Evan Copeland finished sixth in the 165-pound bracket of the brutally-tough Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday in the Cashman Center. The Las Cruces, N.M. native had defeated three seeded and nationally-ranked NCAA Division I wrestlers on Friday, the first day of the tournament, but dropped three matches, all to seeded Division I grapplers on day two. Copeland, a returning All-American, is just the second Grizzly in Jason Ramstetter's coaching tenure, now in year seven, to have placed at the tournament. The Grizzlies, currently ranked ninth in the nation, have finished in the top 10 at each of the past three NCAA Division II National Championships, a sign of how tough the tournament really is. The Grizzlies ended up 32nd amongst 52 teams with 21.5 points. The University of Michigan Wolverines, ranked third in Division I, crowned four individual champions and repeated upon their 2004 team tile with 145 points, 29 clear of runner-up Cornell. One of Michigan's individual winners was 2-time All-American Ryan Churella, who pinned Copeland at the 4:03 mark of their semifinal match on Saturday. Churella, the tournament's top seed, then defeated Missouri's Matt Pell by an 8-2 count in the finals. After suffering the setback to Churella, ranked third in Division I according to TheWrestlingMall.com, Copeland dropped into the consolation bracket to face Cornell's Steve Anceravage. Anceravage, the seventh seed, posted a 6-3 win over Copeland before Illinois' Mike Poeta, the sixth seed, scored a 9-6 tiebreaker win over Copeland in the fifth place match. Copeland, ranked second in the NCAA Division II preseason rankings, is now 6-5 on the year but has already faced nine NCAA Division I wrestlers, posting a 4-5 record in those matches. The other eight Grizzlies at the tournament had been eliminated on Friday. Now senior Kortney Lake (Craig, Colo.) had been the only other Grizzly to place at the tournament. He finished eighth in 2004 after finishing fourth in 2003. ASC finished higher than 12 NCAA Division I teams in the tournament. The Grizzlies are now off for most of the month before a handful of ASC's top grapplers compete at the just as tough Midlands Championships on Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Navy freshman Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) won his first individual title at 133 pounds to lead a strong Navy showing at the competitive Penn State Open on Sunday afternoon. Baker, wrestling as an open participant, was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler after knocking off several top wrestlers at 133 pounds en route to the title. Baker was wrestling in his first competition in over a year after suffering a shoulder injury last year. In all, 10 Navy wrestlers placed in the top eight of their respective weight classes. "Obviously, it was a great showing by Joe Baker, and we had some other strong performances," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "But we made some mistakes today and with the level of competition we were facing today, the opponents took advantage. A lot of the mistakes got us beat today." Baker, who is considered a freshman and will join the team during the second semester, steamrolled through the field at 133 pounds. Baker won his first match by a technical fall and his next match by a fall in 41 seconds. In the round of 16, Baker decisioned Jason Cuccolo of Sacred Heart, 11-4, then pulled off the upset of the tournament, defeating No. 5-ranked and 2005 All-American Evan Sola of North Carolina, 7-5. Baker defeated teammate Brad Canterbury (Blue Bell, Pa.), who finished fourth, in the semifinals, 10-5. Lastly, in the finals, Baker knocked off Penn's Matt Eveleth, 7-4. At heavyweight, sophomore Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) placed second with a 5-1 record, falling to North Carolina's Spencer Nadolsky in the finals. Along the way, Prendergast defeated four of his opponents by decision and one by fall. Junior John Jarred (Kansas City, Mo.) continued his strong season, finishing third at 157 pounds. Jarred scored a huge victory in the round of 16 over Hofstra's Jon Masa, 17-14. Masa finished third at last year's NCAA Tournament at 149 pounds. Jarred was defeated by Heidelburg College's Joe Pflug, 10-6, in the semifinals, but rebounded with a victory over Jayson Layton of Nassau Community College, in the third-place match. Jarred's record stands at a sparkling 17-2. "Jarred has really performed well this year, now that he has gotten a chance," said Burnett. "He has had the opportunity to wrestle more matches and has really stepped up and wrestled well." Senior Chris Pogue (Chesapeake, Va.) secured Navy's other fourth-place showing, coming at 184 pounds. Pogue advanced to the semifinals with an impressive 5-4 victory over Penn State's Chad Unger in the quarterfinals. Earning fifth-place finishes were senior heavyweight Tanner Garrett (Tulsa, Okla.) and junior 149-pounder John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.). Garrett fell in the second round to North Carolina's Dan Goetter by a fall with no time left. Garrett was leading 11-5 with 12 seconds left, and went in for a shot on Goetter, but got out of position and Goetter ended with the pin. Garrett, however, would go on to breeze through the consolation bracket, scoring a victory over No. 8-ranked Payam Zarrinpour of Sacred Heart, 5-2, in the fifth-place match. At 149 pounds, Cox advanced to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Penn's Matt Dragon. Cox would score a 3-2 victory over teammate Matt Gulosh in the fifth-place match. Gulosh wound up sixth. Other placewinners included freshman Caleb Levee (Mandeville, La.; 7th) and senior Andrew Adams (Dublin, Ohio) at 197 pounds. "We know that we are going to have to fix the mistakes we have been making or else we will continue to get beat by good wrestlers," said Burnett. "We have a chance to perform against a strong team on Friday and it will be a good challenge for us." Navy, ranked 21st in the country, will host 13th-ranked Penn State on Friday night at 7:00 p.m., in Halsey Field House. For ticket information, call 1-800-US4-NAVY.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Cornell freshman Troy Nickerson won his second tournament title of the year, taking the championship in the 125 pound bracket at the 2005 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nev. Overall, the Big Red placed second with 116 points. No. 3 (USA Today/NWCA Poll) Michigan placed first with 145 points. Cornell had six place-winners in all, including senior Mike Mormile (seventh, 133 pounds), senior Dustin Manotti (fifth, 157 pounds), sophomore Steve Anceravage (third, 165 pounds), Joe Mazzurco (third, 184 pounds) and junior Jerry Rinaldi (second, 197 pounds). Nickerson, the fourth seed at 125 pounds, breezed through his first three bouts of the tournament, pinning Penn's Andrew Gold in the pigtails and then beating Kellan McKeon (Duke) and Marcos Orozco (Cal-Davis), each by way of fall. He then beat Dave Tomasette of Hofstra 13-8 in the quarterfinals. In the semis, he faced the top seed, Cal-Poly's Chad Mendes. Nickerson upset Mendes, 9-4, earning a spot in the finals against the second seed, Arizona State's Jeremy Mendoza. The Cornell freshman completed his run through the 125 pound bracket with a 7-4 win, taking the title. Rinaldi got off to a fast start, winning by technical fall over Ohio State's Corey Morrison, 16-0. In the round of 16, he beat Casey Woodall of Adams State by major decision, 14-5, sending him to the quarterfinals, where he pulled out a 1-0 win over Illinois' Tyrone Byrd. Daren Burns (UNC-Greensboro) was up next for Rinaldi in the semis. The Cornell junior beat Burns 7-4, earning him a spot in the finals against second seed Kyle Cerminara of Buffalo. Cerminara edged Rinaldi 5-3 in the championship match, giving Rinaldi second-place. At 133, Mormile kicked off the tournament with a major decision over Nick Mamalis of Western Wyoming. He rattled off two more wins for a spot in the quarterfinals where he fell to Penn's Matt Valenti, 6-2. He went 2-1 in the wrestlebacks, taking seventh place. Manotti cruised into the quarterfinals, posting a major decision and a technical fall before beating Zach Lee (Western State) 8-3 to earn a spot in the round of eight. Manotti ground out a 3-2 win over James Strouse (Hofstra) in the quarters before falling to Michigan's Steve Luke 3-2 in the semis. He then fell to Craig Henning (Wisconsin) and beat Gene Zanetti (Penn) to take fifth place. Anceravage had a busy tournament, wrestling eight matches, en route to third place at 165 pounds. He started by pinning Dickinson State's Stanton Schlecht in 59 seconds and then won two more matches, reaching the quarterfinals. He dropped an 18-6 major decision to the second seed, Missouri's Matt Pell and went on to the wrestlebacks. Anceravage won three consecutive matches, putting him in the third-place match against Pat Pitsch (Arizona State), where he won 8-6. Staying in the 184 pound bracket where he saw his first action in the season-opening Body Bar Invitational, Mazzurco won his first three matches, before falling to second seed Ben Wissel (Purdue). It was a tight match that went into two overtimes, before Wissel could pull out the 3-1 win. Mazzurco then cruised past Joe Rovelli (Hofstra), 6-3 for a spot in the third-place match. He beat Harvard's Louis Caputo 7-2 for third. The Big Red will have a three-week layoff before heading to the campus of UNC-Greensboro, to participate in the Southern Scuffle on Dec. 29-30.

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 4 Oklahoma wrestling team grappled to a 18-18 tie with No. 6 ranked Lehigh Saturday night inside the Howard McCasland Field House. "We're obviously not happy with a tie and we knew coming in we were going to be handicapped with three starters out with injuries," said head coach Jack Spates. "The bottom line is I'm not real pleased with our performance tonight but I am pleased with the way we battled back" The Sooners were led by All-Americans Teyon Ware, Sam Hazewinkel and Joel Flaggert who all recorded major decisions on the night. Ware defeated No. 3 Cory Cooperman 13-2 in the 141-pound match. Hazewinkel defeated Matt Fisk 18-6 and Flaggert defeated Paul Weibel 14-5. Oklahoma also registered wins by Justin Dyer at 184-pounds against David Helfrich, 3-1, and Jake Hager, defeated Tom Curl 5-2 in the evenings heavyweight match. "Tonight was a tough match but I came out ready and prepared but now I have to move on and start to think about next week," said Teyon Ware. "Everything is going to have to go perfect next week (against Oklahoma State), all of the guys that are favored are going to need to win their matches by a major decision but we're really looking forward to the challenge." On Friday, Dec. 9, the Sooners will travel to Stillwater to take on No. 1 Oklahoma State in the first Bedlam match of the season at 7 p.m. inside Gallager-Iba Arena.

LAS VEGAS, NV -- University at Buffalo wrestling assistant coach Jeff Catrabone said he wanted senior Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter) to dominate on the road to becoming Buffalo's first Las Vegas Invitational champion Saturday at the Cashman Center. That is exactly what the 197-pounder did, as he allowed Cornell's Jerry Rinaldi, ranked 10th in the NWCA/InterMat/NWMA poll, only three escapes while earning a 5-3 win in the championship. "Overall, he dominated. He only gave up three escapes, so the match wasn't as close as the score," Catrabone said. "Kyle showed a lot of leadership facing some of the top guys in the country." The win caps off a historic weekend for the 2004 All-American, as he also set a school-record with his 114th career win in the second round of the tournament against Cal. St. Fullerton's Chris Chambers on Friday night, passing Gary Cooper's mark of 113 career wins set from 1998-2003. The tournament title also stretches Cerminara's season-starting win streak to 19 matches, which is just five shy of John Stutzman's school-record of 24 straight wins, set in 1996-97. Cerminara, ranked fifth in the NWCA/InterMat/NWMA poll, earned a first period takedown before Rinaldi earned an escape. Rinaldi tied the score in the second period when he earned another escape after Cerminara started the period on top. In the third period, however, Cerminara got a reversal early in the period and accumulated enough riding time to earn his fifth point before Rinaldi got free. In the semifinals, Cerminara earned three takedowns to score a come-from-behind 8-6 win against North Carolina State's Ryan Goodman. Goodman earned the first takedown, but Cerminara stormed back to win. Cerminara's road to the title ran through three nationally-ranked wrestlers as he opened the tournament with a 5-3 win against WrestlingReport.com's 29th-ranked Mark Thompson of The Citadel. He followed his record-tying win with a dominating 9-0 performance against Chambers to earn the record, before beating the NWCA/InterMat/NWMA's 13th-ranked Jeff Foust of Missouri , 7-1, in the quarterfinals to conclude his action Friday. Buffalo finished with 48.5 points en route to a best-ever finish of 16th out of the 52-team field. Buffalo finished in front of Wisconsin, ranked eighth in the USA Today/NWCA/InterMat poll, after the Badgers tallied 43.5 points. Buffalo also finished well in front of its fellow Mid-American Conference schools at the event, as Ohio (37th-14.0) and Eastern Michigan (42nd-12.5) also competed. "Overall, we were disappointed in some matches," Catrabone said. "We felt we should have placed half our guys, but wrestling against some of the top guys in the nation showed us a lot. We know what we have to focus on. We have to keep our nose down and keep working hard to get better everyday." The road will not get easier for the Bulls either, as they travel to Erie, PA for the War at the Shore against the USA Today/NWCA/InterMat's 22nd-ranked Edinboro on Friday at 8:30 pm. Edinboro finished fourth at the Las Vegas Invitational with 101 points, just behind third-placed Missouri (102.5).

CEDAR FALLS, IA -- University of Iowa junior Eric Luedke won the 165-pound title at Sunday's UNI Open. Luedke, who defeated Hawkeye junior Joe Uker, 7-2, in the finals, was one of Iowa's seven placewinners and 20 competitors at the annual tournament in Cedar Falls. Luedke transferred from Colby College in Colby, KS, and is in his first season with the Hawkeyes. Northern Iowa officials estimated over 350 wrestlers competed in the one-day tournament in the UNI Dome. Also placing for Iowa were junior Alex Grunder (149-5th), sophomore Matt Fields (Hwt.-2nd), and freshmen Ryan Morningstar (157-6th), Chad Beatty (174-3rd) and Phillip Keddy (184-5th). Fields scored a major decision and three decisions, including one in sudden victory, before losing a 9-3 match in the finals to Les Sigmon, who was competing unattached. Morningstar, of Lisbon, IA, advanced to the quarterfinals before losing the last three matches of the day by medical forfeit. Beatty, from Wilton, IA, won six straight matches in the consolation bracket, including a 4:28 pin of Northern Iowa's Curt Zinnel in the finals, to place third. Iowa (2-0) will host Northern Iowa (0-1) Thursday at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. It will be Iowa's first home dual of the 2005-06 season.

The fifth-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team (5-0) overwhelmed host Northern Iowa (0 -1-0), 31-6, on Friday night. Minnesota won eight of 10 matches on the night. The Golden Gophers are off to their best start since the 2001-02 season. Minnesota extended its winning streak over the Panthers to 11 matches. The Panthers got off to a strong start as 11th-ranked Nick Baima upset No. 4 Matt Nagel, 6-3, at 165 pounds. Baima ended a three-match losing streak to Nagel. Leading 4-3 in the third period, Baima put the match away with a late takedown. From there, Minnesota responded with six straight wins. 14th-ranked Gabriel Dretsch tied the match with an 8-4 decision against 12th-ranked Alex Dolly, 8-4, at 174 pounds. Dolly took a 2-0 lead in the second period on a near fall, but Dretsch responded with a reversal and back points to take a 5-2 lead entering the third period. Sixth-ranked Roger Kish then followed with an 8-4 decision against Dan Dunning at 184 pounds. Sophomore Mitch Kuhlman (right) extended the lead to 9-3 with a 4-2 decision against Andrew Anderson at 197 pounds. Kuhlman entered the year at 174 pounds, but in the past week has gone 3-0 at 197 pounds. Second-ranked Cole Konrad gave Minnesota some breathing room at heavyweight. He won for the 40th time in his last 41 matches with a pin in just 2:56 against Tyler Rhodes. Konrad's victory gave the Golden Gophers a 15-3 lead. Junior Andrew Domingues continued the streak with a 10-6 decision against Seth Wright at 125 pounds. Wright led 6-2 after the first period, but Domingues rallied with a pair of near falls in the second to take a 7-6 lead. He added another takedown and was awarded a bonus point for riding time to take the victory. Sophomore All-American Mack Reiter gave Minnesota a 23-3 lead at 133 pounds with a 16-1 technical fall against 19th-ranked Chris Helgeson. Reiter ended the match with 36 seconds to go with a takedown and a near fall. Northern Iowa got its only other win in a wild match at 141 pounds. The Panthers' C.J. Ettelson held a 12-0 advantage over Manuel Rivera after two periods before Rivera staged a dramatic comeback. Rivera had seven takedowns and a near fall in the third period, but ran out of time in a narrow 19-16 loss. Minnesota closed out the match with back-to-back wins by brothers Dustin and C.P. Schlatter. A true freshman, Dustin improved to 14-1 on the year with an 18-1 technical fall in 5:36 against Colby Geotsch at 149 pounds. Schlatter was the Asics National High School Wrestler of the Year last season. Sophomore C.P. Schlatter followed with a 3-2 decision against 18th-ranked Chris Bitetto at 157 pounds. With the match tied at two, Schlatter scored a third-period escape to claim the victory and improve to 5-0 in the dual meet season. The Golden Gophers open the home portion of their schedule next weekend. Minnesota hosts No. 7 Iowa State at Williams Arena on Friday at 7 p.m. The Golden Gophers also host No. 19 Nebraska on Sunday at the Sports Pavilion on Sunday at 2 p.m.

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Daniel Elliott and Brent Blackwell each posted victories via pin fall as Gardner-Webb wore out VMI on Friday by a 27-13 margin. The win was the second in as many nights for GWU and its first-ever victory over the Keydets. VMI jumped out to a quick lead in front of a packed Cocke Hall, taking a 6-0 lead with decisions at 157 and 165 to open the match. The Bulldogs kept their poise and began to take control with victories in five of the next six contests to silence the home crowd. Chad Davis stemmed the tide by scoring a 10-6 win over Dustin McCabe in the 174-pound match and Brandon Beach brought Gardner-Webb even at 6-6 with an 8-4 decision at 184 pounds. The ‘Dogs took the lead for good on a first-period pin fall victory from Brent Blackwell as the 197-pound grappler stuck Niels Madsen just 1:22 into the contest to double up the Keydets by a 12-6 score. The lead shrunk to just three-points as VMI earned a decision in the heavyweight match but a forfeit victory at 125 pounds put Gardner-Webb up by an 18-9 spread with just three bouts remaining. Josh Pniewski added to the lead with a 7-2 decision over Brandon Stillo at 133 pounds. The 18th-ranked wrestler upped his season win total to seven with the victory. Daniel Elliott capped the night for the Bulldogs by pinning the 2004 Southern Conference Champion Sam Alvarenga 1:07 into the second frame. The victory improved 17th-ranked Elliott's record to 11-1 on the year and finished off the 27-13 win for Gardner-Webb. Gardner-Webb now stands at 3-5 over eight dual matches this season after scoring victories at James Madison and VMI on the Virginia roadswing. The Bulldogs will hit the mats again on Dec. 10 as they compete with Indiana, Eastern Michigan and Eastern Illinois at the IU Duals in Bloomington, Ind. Gardner-Webb Def. VMI, 27-13 125- (GWU) Cortney Roberts won by forfeit 133- (GWU) Josh Pniewski dec. Brandon Stillo, 7-2 141- (VMI) David Metzler maj. dec. A.J. Renteria, 13-5 149- (GWU) Daniel Elliott pin fall Sam Alvarenga, 4:07 157- (VMI) Tommy Cunningham dec. Adam Glaser, 3-2 165- (VMI) Chris Hardy dec. Paul Florio, 7-4 174- (GWU) Chad Davis dec. Dustin McCabe, 10-6 184- (GWU) Brandon Beach dec. Kyle Elgert, 8-4 197- (GWU) Brent Blackwell pin fall Niels Madsen, 1:22 285- (VMI) Scott Buhman dec. Brandon Schweitzer, 8-2