InterMat Staff

Pembroke, NC -- The University of North Carolina at Pembroke wrestling team will host its annual UNCP Classic, an open wrestling tournament, on Friday, November 11, and Saturday, November 12 at the Jones Center. The tournament will feature over 200 wrestlers from approximately 20 schools. Participating schools include UNCP, The Citadel, NC State, Carson Newman, Central Florida, Duke, Campbell, Gardner-Webb, Newberry, Anderson, Campbellsville, Spartanburg Methodist, Pensacola Christian, Limestone, Apprentice, Cumberland, Southern Virginia, Belmont Abbey and Kings College. Last year, Pembroke's Willie Hilton took the 141-pound Classic title, while fellow Brave Dwayne Coward was the 165-pound champion. Eventual All-American Aaron Gunning lost in the finals and earned runner-up honors at 157. Eric Burrell of Campbell (174) tallied the quickest pin, 16 seconds, while Davidson's Matt Pendle (157) earned the Most Falls Award with five pins. Action will get underway at 5 pm on Friday and 9 am on Saturday morning with the finals tentatively set for 6 pm Saturday evening. Admission is $8 for adults and $1 for students.

ALAMOSA, Colo. -- The green team, led by three All-Americans, won five of the first six matches and then hung on for a 20-11 win over the white team in Adams State College's annual Green & White Dual on Wednesday night in Plachy Hall. The dual was the first competitive action of the season for the Grizzlies, ranked ninth in the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association Preseason Poll. Wednesday's action started with a battle of returning All-Americans in a 125/133-pound match-up. Sophomore 133-pounder Raymond Dunning (Nashville, Tenn.) scored five takedowns and a second period near fall to post a 13-7 win over senior 125-pound Rob McCabe (Nucla, Colo.). Dunning finished sixth in last year's NCAA Division II National Championships and begins 2005-06 ranked fifth. McCabe finished fourth at last year's national championships and is tabbed second this year. The green team extended its lead to 6-0 after junior Brian Pitts (Rio Rancho, N.M.) scored a 6-4 win 141-pound win over Joey Deaguero (Commerce City, Colo.). Pitts, a 2002 All-American at 125 pounds, trailed 3-2 after the first period but rallied to defeat the 3-time state champion from Adams City High School. The white team got on to the scoreboard in dominating fashion as Jacob Sheridan (Manassa, Colo.) thrashed Joe Kelso (Monte Vista, Colo.) in a battle of San Luis Valley natives. Sheridan scored all four of the white team's near falls throughout the evening and posted a 15-0 technical fall win that closed the overall deficit to 6-5. The green team quickly regained momentum as Dan Intlekofer (Fort Collins, Colo.) edged Noomis Jones (Arvada, Colo.) in a 149-pound battle of 2005 Class 5A State Champions. Intlekofer, a 2-time state champion at Rocky Mountain High School, scored the only takedown of the match in the first period and then escaped the Pomona High School product's grasp to secure the win in the third period. Intlekofer wrestled at 145 pounds in high school while Jones grappled at 152 pounds. The Green team then went up 12-5 with a key win at 157 pounds. Senior Aaron Thompson (Newton, Kan.) reversed junior Dusty Vaughn (Montrose, Colo.) to begin the second period and then scored a 3-point near fall while using riding time to post the 6-0 win. The punches kept on coming as returning All-American Evan Copeland (Las Cruces, N.M.) blasted freshman Andre' Jones (Gold Canyon, Ariz.) in the 165-pound match-up giving the green team a 17-5 lead. Copeland, who finished third at nationals in that weight class, scored 10 of the green team's 21 takedowns and then ended the match 44 seconds early with a near fall to close out a 23-8 win. Jones, a 2-time freestyle state champion from Apache Junction High School, scored all of his points on escapes. The white team closed the gap in one of the most exciting matches of the night at 174 pounds. Sophomore Max Smith (Parker, Colo.) scored a first period takedown of returning national qualifier James Reynolds (Monte Vista, Colo.) to take a 2-0 lead. Smith then escaped for the only second period action before Reynolds, a returning national tournament qualifier, closed the gap to 3-2 with a third period takedown. He also erased Smith's riding time advantage but could not turn him as the white squad closed the gap to 17-8. The white team also squeaked out a 5-4 win thanks to riding time at 184 pounds as returning national qualifier Josh Vialpando (Walsenburg, Colo.) overcame an early 2-0 deficit to 4-time state champion Torben Walters (Olney Springs, Colo.) with a pair of escapes. Vialpando then scored a second period takedown before Walters, a Crowley County High School graduate, tied the score at 4 with two escapes of his own. However, he could not find a late takedown to overcome Vialpando's 82 seconds of riding time. That win closed green's lead to 17-11 heading into the final match-up of the night, a inter-weight class battle of former national tournament qualifiers. 197-pound junior Casey Woodall (Morenci, Ariz.), a 2004 184-pound qualifier, scored the first point of the match senior Heath Soderstrom (Englewood, Colo.) tied the score at 1 with an early third period escape. Woodall then scored a pair of takedowns on the heavyweight to close out his win and the dual win for his team. The Grizzlies will begin their regular season at the University of Wyoming's Cowboy Open on Sunday in Laramie, Wyo. Action in UW's War Memorial Fieldhouse begins at 9 a.m.

Wow! What can I say? The last two weeks have been very interesting to say the least, and very trying. As many of you may have heard, I lost in the Black/Red Classic (our varsity wrestle-offs). I lost 12-10 to Kyle Frawley, a transfer from North Idaho. Anyway, it was a very hard loss to swallow. I mean, what fifth-year senior wants to lose his spot the last year of his collegiate career? But again, our wrestle-offs are a bit different than most other schools. Our coaches name a No. 1 wrestler at each weight (usually the returning starter). The rest of the guys at that weight are then seeded into a mini-tournament, which is wrestled out and the winner of that bracket wrestles the number one guy in the Black/Red Classic. Therefore, even though I lost in the Classic -- that was only the first match of a best-of-three series. It is basically just like the Olympic Team Trials. I knew that I had another shot at winning the varsity spot, but I would have to beat Frawley the next two matches. We found out that the next set of matches were going to be held the following Wednesday. The first would be wrestled before practice, and if necessary, the second (or third overall) would be wrestled immediately following practice. Every wrestler that gets beaten in the Classsic has the option of wrestling the guy who beat him again, so not everyone wrestles, but there were to be four matches. I was the last match since I was the last weight to be re-contested. I watched the other three matches basically end up the same way they did before, and then it was my turn. I was a bit nervous, as always, but knew I could win. Marshall Marquardt rides Kyle Frawley in a 174-pound match-up at the Black/Red Classic.Before I can get into the matches, I have to take you back a little bit to let you know exactly how I was feeling and my overall mindset. The previous Thursday (the night before the Classic was held) I started to get a sore throat. I thought it was just one of those things that would come and go, but when I woke up Friday mornings for weigh-ins, it was extremely painful. I tried to drink as much as I could Friday, trying to attribute my sore throat to maybe being a little dehydrated, but nothing seemed to work. I didn't want to take any medicine for fear of its effects it could have on my match later that night. After the match, I went to the store and got some over-the-counter medicine. The next day we had an all-day camp, so I swooped by the local clinic and got prescribed some real medicine. I felt pretty bad all day, but managed to make it through, showing a little technique along the way. On Monday, nothing was happening and I still was pretty sick. I didn't end up going back to the clinic until Tuesday, where they gave me some different medicine, promising me that it would work this time. Anyway, by the time the second and third match of the wrestle-off came around, I was still not up to par. It was wearing on me mentally, but I tried to put it in the back of my mind, focusing on the task at hand. I knew that what I was doing and how I was training would pay off. I watched video of the match and did some "problem-solving" with my brother, Jake Marquardt, late Sunday night. The second match was a success, as I was victorious -- 4-2. I got a takedown with 45 seconds to go in the third period and rode him out to win. I was pleased with the match, but still knew I could do better. I was the only person to wrestle the third match, so I was up right away after practice. It went very well, as I prevailed in the match, 11-5. I know it was only a wrestle-off, but I was so happy to get my hand raised. It let so much hype and pressure off my back. I felt like a brand new person inside and out. The stress that had been building the last week was instantly gone when my hand was raised after the last match. I felt a new energy and growing confidence I have been missing for a while now. I don't know when exactly I went into hibernation, but I am glad I am finally awake, and on the hunt. Until next time, keep getting better. Marshall Marquardt Past Entries: Entry 3 (10/26/05) Entry 2 (10/13/05) Entry 1 (10/1/05)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana wrestling team will host an intra-squad scrimmage on Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. The event will take place at the Brown County High School gym and will feature 12 matches in weight classes ranging from 125-HWT. Competing at the scrimmage are senior 125-pound national champion Joe Dubuque, NCAA qualifiers senior Brady Richardson, junior Isaac Knable and sophomores Brandon Becker and Max Dean. Senior Nick Spatola, juniors Marc Bennett, Josh Buuck, Ian Campbell and Matt Cooper, sophomores Blane Culp, Justin Curran and Dave Herman and redshirt freshmen Jose Escobedo, Andrae Hernandez and Heath Vandeventer also will see time on the mat. Hoosier newcomers include freshmen Matt Coughlin, Angel Escobedo, Wesley Fike, Maurice Gunn, Hunter Hughes, Scott Kelley and Trevor Perry also will take to the mat on Tuesday. The Hoosiers are coming off an open competition at the Eastern Michigan Open, where Perry took the crown at 174 pounds followed by Herman in second at heavyweight and Angel Escobedo taking bronze at 133. Indiana will open its season at the Missouri Open in Columbia, Mo., Nov. 20.

State College, Pa. -- Penn State Nittany Lion head wrestling coach Troy Sunderland and his outstanding staff are seeing the fruits of their recruiting labors pay off as a trio of the nation's best high school wrestlers have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Penn State on day one of the signing period. Alphabetically, high school standouts Dave Rella (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), Josh Rohler (Akron, Ohio) and Garrett Scott (Alexandria, Pa.) will attend Penn State in 2006-07 as members of one of the nation's top recruiting classes. "We are extremely pleased to get commitments from wrestlers and young men of this caliber," Sunderland said. "All three are ranked number one in their weights in at least one poll, so getting wrestlers ranked that high across the board adds to the credibility of this class being considered one of the best incoming classes in the nation." Rella, who projects at 165 for Penn State, is the defending Ohio State Champion heading into his senior season at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cleveland, Ohio. The 2005 Junior National Freestyle runner-up, he was a Junior National All-American. Rella was also runner-up at the FILA Junior National Freestyle Championships and is a two-time Powerade Champion and an Ironman Champion. "Dave is the total package," Sunderland said. "He's a great wrestler and student and he is so personable that he'll fit right in with his teammates. His presence will help us sign even more of the nation's top high school wrestlers." Not only ranked No. 1 in his weight class, Intermat ranks him as the No. 8 overall high school recruit in the country. Rohler, who projects at 157 at Penn State, is heading into his senior season at St. Vincent/St. Mary High School. The 2005 Ohio Division II third place finisher also placed third in the 2005 Beast of the East Championships. Rohler was the 2004 Ironman runner-up and an Ohio State runner-up in 2004. Rohler also is a two-time Cadet National All-American. "Josh has tremendous flow and he's good in all three positions," Sunderland said. "His athletic ability is an outstanding plus for him and he's a welcome addition to the Penn State wrestling family." Not only ranked at the top in his weight, Rohler is ranked as the No. 15 overall high school recruit in the nation by Intermat. Scott, who projects at 141 or 149 for the Nittany Lions, is a three-time defending Pennsylvania AA State Champion at Juniata Valley High School. He heads into his final season at JVHS looking to join an elite group of four-time champs. Scott was the 2005 FILA Junior National Freestyle eighth-place finisher and the 2004 Cadet National Greco runner-up. He won the Cadet Freestyle National title in 2002 and 2003 and was National Greco runner-up both those years as well. "Garrett brings a natural style with him," Sunderland said. "He has great balance and flow and is seemingly never panicked. He's always cool under pressure. It's always very gratifying to get one of Pennsylvania's top high school wrestlers." In addition to his lofty weight class ranking, Scott is ranked No. 13 overall in the country by Intermat. Penn State's incoming recruiting class, which is considered among the best in the nation by nearly every wrestling publication and outlet, follows closely on the heals of last year's 12-man recruiting class, which was ranked No. 5 by Intermat. Intermat is the official website and media outlet of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA).

USA Wrestling will add a Junior division to its annual National Folkstyle Championships, which will be held at the UNIDome in Cedar Falls, Iowa, April 7-9, 2006. There are currently two other divisions which are contested at this annual competition: Kids (ages 9-14) and Cadet (ages 15-16). The Junior division is for wrestlers who are currently enrolled in grades 9-12, and features the best high school wrestlers in the nation. "USA Wrestling strives to provide quality wrestling opportunities for America's youth and the Junior Folkstyle Nationals is sure to be just that," stated USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender on the addition of this event. "We are proud to add this event to our National Events Program." Folkstyle is the American-style of wrestling, also known as scholastic or collegiate style. This form of wrestling is only practiced in the United States. With the addition of a USA Wrestling Junior Folkstyle National Championships, USA Wrestling will now institute a Triple Crown award for the Junior division. Any wrestler who wins USA Wrestling national titles in all three styles (folkstyle, freestyle, Greco-Roman) during the same year will receive this outstanding honor. 2004 Olympic gold medalist and Iowa State Univ. assistant coach Cael Sanderson will be in Cedar Falls to hand out awards to the placewinners. While a competitor at Iowa State, Sanderson became the first collegiate wrestler to finish his career undefeated (159-0) with four NCAA titles. The final two legs of the Junior Triple Crown, the 2006 ASICS/Vaughan Junior Freestyle and Greco-Roman National Championships, will be held in Fargo, N.D., July 23-29. Currently, USA Wrestling recognizes Triple Crown winners in the Kids and Cadet age levels. The USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals is the first leg of the Triple Crown in these three age divisions. This is one of the most sought-after awards within USA Wrestling. The USA Wrestling Kids Folkstyle Nationals has developed into one of the most important events on the annual Kids wrestling calendar. The tournament marks the conclusion of USA Wrestling's Ultimate Challenge Series of Folkstyle Wrestling, an 11-event series of major youth competitions around the nation. At the conclusion of the USA Wrestling Kids Folkstyle Nationals, nine "Dominator Belts" as well as the prestigious "Ultimate Dominator" award are presented to the most successful athletes in this program. USA Wrestling now annually recognizes all champions from each Kids National Championship as members of USA Wrestling's Kids National Team at the conclusion of each events season. For more information on the Folkstyle National Championships for the Kids, Cadet or Junior levels, contact USA Wrestling Director of National Events Pete Isais at (719) 598-8181 or by e-mail at pisais@usawrestling.org.

RevWrestling.com recently named Cary Kolat the best high school wrestler over the past 20 years. In high school, the Rices Landing, Pennsylvania native compiled an unblemished career record of 137-0, won four state titles, and placed twice at the prestigious Midlands Championships (third as a sophomore and fourth as a junior). Kolat was a four-time NCAA All-American and two-time NCAA champion while wrestling for Penn State and Lock Haven (1993-1997). He then went on to have great success in his post collegiate freestyle career. His freestyle resume includes World medals at the 1997 and 1998 World Championships -- silver and bronze respectively. He is said to be the best wrestler in U.S. wrestling history without a World or Olympic gold medal. Kolat was a member of the U.S. National Freestyle Team seven times and placed ninth at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. He won gold medals at the World Cup (three times), Pan American Games, Goodwill Games, Cerro Pelado, Yasar Dogu, and Sunkist International. Cary Kolat was a member of the U.S. National Freestyle Team seven times.RevWrestling went one-on-one with Kolat to discuss his high school, college, and international careers, his wrestling club (Team Kolat), his camps, his mixed martial arts experience, and his future. Put yourself in our shoes, taking you out of the equation, who would you rank as the best high school wrestler over the past 20 years? Kolat: Geez, man, that's a difficult question. I read the article. It was really a well-written article. I liked all of the information about each wrestler. It's a very tough choice. I think when you get into the top-five guys, you start playing the tossup game, going back and forth. Even though this guy doesn't fall into the last 20 years, I would have to say the guy who inspired me to have success at such a young age was Jimmy Carr, who was on the 1972 Olympic Team. So, if you say, who do I pick? Well, I can't stay within the 20-year parameter, so I'm going to go right to Jimmy Carr. Amazingly, you placed third at the Midlands Championships as a sophomore in high school and fourth as a junior. The Midlands is considered to be one of the toughest collegiate tournaments in the country, especially back then. Talk about the experience of wrestling at the Midlands when you were in high school. What drove you to want to do that? Kolat: One of the guys I idolized when I was a kid growing up was Jimmy Carr. I got to know his brother, Nate, because he coached at West Virginia University, which was 20 minutes from my home. I got to know Nate and read some information about Jimmy. So I just tried to tackle his accolades and kind of follow in his footsteps and take the path he did to have success at a young age. One of the things he did was win the Midlands when he was in high school. So from about the age of 13 or 14, I started entering open tournaments and wrestling college guys. From there, Nate was able to make a call for me to the tournament director of the Midlands. That's what got me in. I felt a lot of pressure at first going in. I was kind of out there with the idea that I had nothing to lose. I really wanted to gauge where I was at -- how far I was off of Jimmy's target. You finished fourth at the 1992 Olympic Team Trials -- the summer after your senior of high school. What do you recall of that tournament and your performance out there? Kolat: It was disappointing. I felt like I could have easily started tackling the ladder and going up it. Looking back now, I wasn't mature enough to knock those guys off yet. I lost a match to Steve Knight with three seconds on the clock. He took me down right into a gut wrench and turned me with about three seconds on the clock. He began to start working his way up the ladder and I didn't get the opportunity. So it was disappointing. Wrestling fans across the country still talk about your epic match with Chris Bono at the 1992 Dapper Dan Classic during the spring of your senior year. The match ended in a 4-4 draw. What are your memories of that match? Kolat: I really have no memory of the match. I laugh because people always bring that up. It was a bad night for me. I didn't feel any pressure. A lot of folks felt like the pressure got to me being that it was the feature match and the last one of the night. I really don't know what happened. It was just a bad night for me and a great night for Chris. He deserved it. He wrestled tough that night. All I can do is look back and reflect on it. It was just one of those things that if I could change it would be great. But it's kind of how it wound up. Shortly after the Dapper Dan Classic, you entered the NHSCA Senior Nationals. Bono was in your weight class, but lost a match earlier in the tournament, which prevented you from wrestling him again. Were you disappointed that you didn't get a chance to wrestle Bono again? Kolat: Yeah, that was a big reason why I entered. I had no intentions of entering the tournament. I'm a competitor, so I wanted another crack at him. The tournament was the following weekend, so I jumped up a weight class and entered the event. He was beaten by somebody before that. Actually, Bono and I laugh to this day because there is a lot of controversy surrounding that match -- about the back points that were given. It's always a big joke between us. We're actually really good friends now. Have you watched that match against Bono since high school? Kolat: Never have. I've only seen bits and pieces. I've been on the Web site where you can see past events. I've actually never watched the match. But that's probably not uncommon for most wrestlers. I've watched matches that I lost before, but I usually try to stay away from them. Who is the one wrestler in U.S. history you would pay to watch wrestle and why? Kolat: Again, it would have to go back to Jimmy Carr. He was my inspiration for trying to wrestle in the events that I did at a young age. Here's a little insight to this guy. Craig Turnbull (the current head coach at West Virginia) was a sophomore at Clarion University when they were on top. He said, 'Cary, let's put it into perspective. Imagine an eighth-grader calling you up when you're a sophomore in college and saying, Hey, are you going to be home this summer? Because I want to make a World Team and I want to work out with you.' That's a great way to sum it up. Jimmy Carr was unbelievable and was an inspiration for me. Cary Kolat won silver and bronze medals at the World Championships -- and finished ninth at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.Your wrestling career has taken you all over the world. What is your most memorable wrestling experience or event? Kolat: The World Cups were always fun for me. You have the American flags waving. You have the Iranian flags waving. The fans go crazy. In Spokane, Washington, we had the Iranians in the finals for the team championship. We had a set back. Sammie Henson, our World champion from the previous year, went out and just had a bad match. In freestyle, you can easily get locked into a lace or a gut. And Sammie wound up getting teched. Tony Purler then went out and was beating the World champion from Iran, but wound up losing in the last few seconds. So that stung us pretty hard. We had two losses right off the bat and one was a tech, which hurt us team-wise. It just kind of fired me up. I came out and ended up beating my guy by a technical fall -- and the place just erupted. It kind of got the team back on track. Then McIlravy came out next. From there, we just kept opening up. So I'd have to say the World Cup was always my most enjoyable tournament because it was a team race. You always want to do well when you're representing the United States. You have had crucial matches overturned and have been on the wrong side of controversial decisions made by FILA (the international governing body for amateur wrestling). Have any of these negative experiences with FILA changed your love or passion for the sport? Kolat: No, those things haven't changed my love and passion for the sport. My father had a rule for me growing up that said you always have to be better than the referees. When you step on the mat, you assume that you're down by two or thee points -- and that's how you have to wrestle every bout. That was rule that I lived by my whole life -- and it just got me in the end. To this day, I always tell myself, if only I would have been just a little better. I have a youth club now here in Baltimore. I run camps. I have a club. I work with guys individually. So I take my experiences and what happened to me and say, 'This is why you always have to be better than the competition and better than the referees.' Referees are going to make bad calls unintentionally. And internationally, we've had calls that are intentional. You just have to wrestle through it. You wear a United States singlet. People in Europe and other countries have a certain opinion about us, so we just have to be better wrestlers all around. In 2002, FILA changed the weight classes. You had been wrestling at 63 kg, but the weight classes changed to 60 kg and 66 kg. It seemed like you were kind of caught in the middle. How did the weight class changes affect you? Kolat: I had the old, one foot in retirement, one foot out of retirement. After the Olympics, I was a little disappointed with what had happened. I had a little bit of anger in me, so I wanted to make another run. The weight below was just too far. The last time I saw that weight was when I wrestled 134 during my junior year of college. Then I bumped up to 142 when I was a senior -- but the freestyle weight was still 136.5. Anything between 136 and 142 was a great weight for me. When you start getting above that for me, it gets tough. I'm short. I just ended up giving up more and more leverage. If you actually look, you'll see guys who I competed with at 138 doing fine at 145. But a big part of that is the fact that they were like a head taller than me, so the jump to 145 wasn't such a big deal to them. That extra weight and extra strength just wound up getting up there too high for me. At the 1997 World Championships, you lost a controversial match to Abbas Hajd Kenari of Iran. He untied his shoe out of the view of the referee. And then once the referee was looking, he took a timeout to catch his breath and retie his shoes. Do you think that match caused FILA to reexamine their rules -- and the subsequent decision that you must have your laces taped or covered during competition? Kolat: It did. That's why we tape the laces now. That's one of the reasons for it. So, yeah, it had an effect. I mean, that's not necessarily why I lost the match. But it changed the momentum. I felt, had he not untied his shoes, I would have worn him down and come back. But for me, I always relate it to wrestling -- and the first mistake was made by me in the first 30 seconds of the bout. I gave up an early takedown right to a gut wrench. Kenari had an unbelievable low gut at the time. I was still young, maturity-wise. It was my first World Championships. If you look at World Cup Soccer, you'll see those guys go down and try to get those red and yellow cards -- and they'll do some acting. Internationally, that's just kind of how it is. You have to deal with it. What do you think about the recent changes that FILA implemented? Like the three individual match periods? Kolat: I actually talked to some guys about this. For me, I feel that the benefit was the one five-minute period. It was constant action. Conditioning played a factor -- as did technique. Right now, they're looking at judo and their rules. So, yes, technique is critical in wrestling. But I'm the kind of guy, I like to battle. I like to scrap. I like to get in the wrestling room sometimes when there is blood flying from a bloody nose, or somebody gets cut, or somebody gets hurt. I like to compete under those conditions. It's a lot more technique right now. Would I have enjoyed it? Yeah, I would have competed and enjoyed it. But I always preferred the one five-minute period. You are now a spokesman for Sharpie and Paper Mate's youth wrestling sponsorship program. Talk about your involvement the company and what exactly you do. Kolat: I am the national event marketing manager. The program is called Under Sponsored Sports. So we did a test model, wrestling, one of those sports with a large fan base. You have the NCAA Tournament that draws 90,000 fans over the course of three days. And you don't really see any large corporate sponsors involved in it. So we kind of had an initiative to start tackling some of these and testing them out -- and wrestling was our test model. Me being with the company at the time, it was a perfect fit. That's kind of how we got involved. We're sponsoring events all over the United States -- with Paper Mate leading the charge. It's my way to help give back to the sport that has given me so much. You run a successful youth wrestling club called Team Kolat. When did the club start? And what is your club's training schedule? Kolat: It really kicked off in April. We have different cycles. We have preseason folkstyle training. We have in-season folkstyle training. We have out of season folkstyle training. And then also freestyle and Greco-Roman in the summer. My wife is originally from Baltimore and I've got two children -- and my family is here, so it made it easier for us to move back to Baltimore. One of the others things is that I like challenges. My feeling is that Maryland has been a little behind when it comes to the caliber of wrestling that has been put out on the mat in states like Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which are right next door. There are a lot of kids who love the sport of wrestling. They just need the coaching. They just need somebody to get in there and design practices and put the hours in that it takes to boost Maryland wrestling. It was a great fit for my family -- and a challenge for me. I really enjoy coaching at the youth level, more than I enjoyed coaching at the college level. For me, I feel like it's a way to get my hands on kids early and fix those mistakes before they happen and really give a kid an advantage in a young wrestling career. You have been an assistant coach at numerous Division I collegiate programs. Do you have aspirations of taking over a Division I program? Kolat: You don't ever want to say no to anything. But I really like working with the kids. I like the flexibility, time-wise. There is more of a creation process, too. When you get a kid who has never wrestled and he signs up for your club, you get to start out and show him things. This is the way you should do your stance. This is how you should move. This is how you should attack. This is the defense you should use. You really get to put a product out there that is you. And then you try to give that kid the best experience he can have with the sport. It's nice to see them enjoy winning -- and it's nice to be a part of that. And then you send them off to college and hope they continue to have that success. And then when they look back, they think of you as the guy who mentored them and got them in the right direction. I really like where I'm at. If it presented itself to me, a college coaching position, I would give it a thought. I would definitely think about it. But I really like what I'm doing now. Do you still follow collegiate wrestling pretty closely? Kolat: Yeah, but I really have to catch up on these high school athletes. I stay on top of it as much as possible. I'm checking to see who's doing well and who's not from guys I've known since they were kids or in high school. You run a very successful series of wrestling camps. Talk about your different camps and how people can get more information or register for them. Kolat: You can go to my Web site, carykolat.com. We'll also have brochures that will go out throughout the United States. I offer a variety of camps. I have Kolat Youth Camps for guys who are just getting started in the sport. We have Kolat Competitor Camps, which is an intermediate technique camp that focuses on technique, proper drilling, and proper training habits. And then we have a third level called Kolat World, which is for advanced techniques. That's where you expect to see your throws and your inside trips. It moves at a high pace. These are for guys who have been wrestling for years. They don't want to go to camp and see the typical stance, motion kind of stuff. Again, there we emphasize combination drilling, teaching yourself how to scramble. I also offer something called Kolat Specialty Camps. These are focus camps. It's four days of either takedowns, top, or bottom. You get to put emphasis on an area where you need more work. A lot of guys have trouble getting off the bottom, so they can sign up for the bottom camp and it's four straight days of learning how to gain hand control, free your hips, and get off the mat. And we also offer our Kolat Intensive Camps. Those run in packages of 5, 10, and 15 days. I try to put those during the season for guys getting ready for Junior Nationals, Cadets, that kind of stuff. Cary Kolat won two NCAA titles for Lock Haven (1996 and 1997). OK, looking back on your career, who is the best wrestler you competed against during your college days at Penn State and Lock Haven? Kolat: Oh, man, that's a tough question. I haven't really given those things too much thought. Best guy in college … hmmm … Mark Ironside? Kolat: Yeah, you know what, Mark would be. I always felt that I wasn't ready for that match. I had been sitting out. But I've watched Mark over the years. I have a lot of respect for him. He was tough. I've been tired in bouts before. I always wanted to get a rematch on that and set the record straight. No, Mark is a great guy. There's no doubt, he pushed me to the wall that day. So I'd have to say that Mark Ironside was the toughest competitor in college. Who was the best wrestler you ever wrestled in freestyle here in the United States? Kolat: Let me think … hmmm … I'll tell you who it was, and it wasn't in competition. At the 2000 Olympics, I was going to take Sanshiro Abe as my training partner. While we were at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, he got injured. John Smith walked this guy over and said, 'Hey, this guy will drill with you if you want. His name is Jamill Kelly.' Man, I put my hands on that guy and I was like, 'This kid has all the tools to be a really great wrestler.' So Jamill came to my house in Morgantown, West Virginia and stayed with us for two weeks. He helped me prepare for the Olympics. He trained with me. I took him over to Sydney. He went over there as my training partner. I always said that he was going to be really good. At the time, Jamill was just mentally having some trouble busting into the U.S. Open scene in the United States. When I retired, he just turned it on. So we never competed in a tournament, but we competed in the practice room, and that kid was tough. I always knew that he would do well. So you weren't too surprised by Jamill Kelly's success at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, where he brought home a silver medal? Kolat: Not at all. Not one bit. Another story … When McIlravy came out of retirement, he called me up. This was after they had changed the weight classes, so some of the guys had bumped up from my weight class. McIlravy said, 'Can you just give me a little insight on some of these guys?' I told Lincoln, 'The guy you want to watch out for is Jamill. The guy is underestimated. I've trained with him. He's strong. He's technical. And he has explosive hips. If he puts it together, he can wrestle.' That was always my call. The guy is tough. Who is the best wrestler you have ever wrestled outside of the United States? Kolat: Kenari. He had great position. He really tried to slow you down when you wrestled him. He was tough with his turns. He had great hips and an unbelievable gut wrench. I wrestled him in the finals of the World Championships in 1997 and then again at the World Cup at Oklahoma State University in 1998. He was tough. I always felt like he was the toughest guy. In September, you competed in a mixed martial arts event while fighting for Team Quest. Do you plan on still training and continuing your MMA career? Kolat: I don't know. I'm always on the mats and stuff. I don't really have any desire to step on the wrestling mat anymore. I was rolling around with a couple of guys who did it, so I decided to jump in and try a fight. I enjoyed it. I had fun. It was exciting for me. It's my kind of style. But with my job duties and with my club and things of that nature, for me, that's first and foremost. I dedicated so much of my life to wrestling and put family engagements on hold. I have two girls. So when it comes to training, if I have a choice to go see my daughter at a school play, or go practice, I'll go see my daughter. I'm not training the way that I should to be a competitive athlete. So … I'm not sure. I'm still kind of up in the air with that. So a wrestling comeback is out of the question? A lot of wrestling fans, including me, would love to see you get back on the mat and make a run at the 2008 Olympic Games. Kolat: Yeah, that's out of the question. It's nice to know that people still think about you and what you did in your career. You get old, you know, so you want to reflect on some of those memories. No wrestling comeback for me. But I'm on the mats every day wrestling with my guys. Related: 20/20 Vision Part 1: The 20 best high school wrestlers over the past 20 years (20-11) 20/20 Vision Part 2: The 20 best high school wrestlers over the past 20 years (10-1) Video: 1992 Dapper Dan Classic -- Cary Kolat vs. Chris Bono (wrestlingreport.com)

ALAMOSA, Colo. -- A battle of returning All-Americans will kick-off and highlight Adams State College's annual Green & White wrestling dual, slated for 7 o'clock on Wednesday night in Plachy Hall. Senior Rob McCabe (Nucla, Colo.), who finished fourth in the 125-pound weight class at the 2005 NCAA Division II National Championships, will represent the white team and will take on 133-pound sophomore Raymond Dunning (Nashville, Tenn.), who finished sixth at the national championship. That match in the first of nine bouts on the slate, set and announced by Grizzly head coach Jason Ramstetter Tuesday. Ramstetter, in his seventh year with the Grizzlies, will guide the green team, which also includes returning All-American Evan Copeland (Las Cruces, N.M.) at 165 pounds. Assistant coach Rob Odell will coach the white team, which will be led by McCabe, two other returning national qualifiers and a host of talented recruits. Another intriguing match-up will come in the second bout of the night between green team representative Brian Pitts (Rio Rancho, N.M.), a 2002 All-American at 125 pounds, and white team freshman Joey Deaguero (Commerce City, Colo.), a 3-time Class 5A State Champion from Adams City High School. San Luis Valley wrestling fans will be quite familiar with both wrestlers in a 141/149-pound inter-weight class tilt between Joe Kelso of Monte Vitsta High School and Jacob Sheridan (La Jara, Colo.) of Centauri High School. Kelso, who went 142-23 with two career state placings while wrestling for the Pirates will represent the green team. Sheridan, who finished in the top three at state during all four years of his Falcon career, will wrestle for the white squad. The 149-pound match-up will pit another pair of 5A State Champions against each other. Dan Intlekofer (Fort Collins, Colo.), who won the 145-pound title at last year's state tournament while wrestling for Rocky Mountain High School will compete for the green team and will face the 152-pound champion in Noomis Jones (Arvada, Colo.), a recent graduate of Pomona High School. Green team senior Aaron Thompson (Newton, Kan.) will square off with junior Dusty Vaughn (Montrose, Colo.), the white team's representative, in the 157-pound match before Copeland, who finished third at last year's national championships, will face Andre' Harris (Gold Canyon, Ariz.), a 2-time regional champion and 2-time state placer from Apache Junction High School. Returning national qualifier James Reynolds (Monte Vista, Colo.) will then take on white team sophomore Max Smith (Parker, Colo.) in the 174-pound match-up before Grizzly fans will have the chance to see heralded recruit Torben Walters (Olney Springs, Colo.) for the first time of his collegiate career in the 184-pound battle. Walters, became just the 13th Colorado prep wrestler of all-time to win four state titles while wrestling for Crowley County High School. Going a combined 163-3 in his prep career, Walters will wrestle for the green team will take on senior Josh Vialpando (Walsenburg, Colo.), who will drop down a weight class after qualifying for the national championships last year at 197 pounds. The final match-up of the night will be between returning national qualifying heavyweight Heath Soderstrom (Englewood, Colo.), who will wrestle for the white team against 197-pound junior Casey Woodall (Morenci, Ariz.). Woodall qualified for the national championships at 184 pounds as a sophomore in 2003 before redshirting a year ago. To offset the weight difference, Ramstetter noted that all three periods of that match will begin in the neutral position. Admission to the dual is free. The Grizzlies will begin intercollegiate competition on Sunday at the University of Wyoming's Cowboy Open, which is slated to begin at 9 a.m. inside the War Memorial Fieldhouse in Laramie, Wyo.

SEASON OPENER Iowa will open the 2005-06 wrestling season Sunday at the Spartan Classic in Dubuque, IA. Competition will start at 9:30 a.m. in the Stoltz Sports Center. 2005-06 SEASON PREVIEW Iowa returns eight of 10 starters, and six of seven NCAA qualifiers from 2004-05. That number includes Iowa's four individual all-Americans and two NCAA finalists. The senior trio of Ty Eustice (149), Joe Johnston (157) and Paul Bradley (184) have two seasons of varsity competition and NCAA Championship experience. Bradley is a two-time all-American, while Eustice and Johnston each earned the honor last season. Iowa's other seniors looking to fight their way into the lineup are Trent Goodale (133), Cole Pape (165), and Adam Fellers (197). Also returning for Iowa is sophomore all-American and NCAA finalist Mark Perry, who will be moving up to 174 pounds. Junior Ryan Fuller (Hwt.), who competed in the varsity lineup in 2003-04, also returns and looks to make a run at the starting spot this season. The sophomore trio of Charlie Falck (125), Alex Tsirtsis (141) and Matt Fields (Hwt.) were newcomers who earned varsity spots last season. Tsirtsis and Fields qualified for the NCAA Championships. 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. Broadcasts will start with the Iowa-Arizona State dual on November 26. To listen to the broadcast online, go to the wrestling schedule page on www.hawkeyesports.com. Broadcasts are available using the CSTV All-Access subscription, which can be purchased for $6.95 per month or $49.95 per year. Television - Iowa Public Television, in its 30th season of televising college wrestling, will air live telecasts of Iowa's duals at Iowa State (Dec. 5), vs. Oklahoma State (Jan. 7) and vs. Illinois (Feb. 10). Tim Johnson, Jim Gibbons and former Iowa Wrestling Coach Dan Gable will call the action. 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 116-27 (.811). 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. 2005 NWCA All-STAR CLASSIC Three Hawkeye have been invited to compete at the 40th annual NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps. The event will be held November 21 at 7 p.m. (CT) at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, OK. Iowa seniors Joe Johnston (157) and Paul Bradley (184) and sophomore Mark Perry (174) will compete in the event. All three are scheduled to face Big Ten opponents. Johnston will wrestle Illinois' Alex Tirapelle, Perry will wrestle Northwestern's Jake Herbert and Bradley will face Illinois' Pete Friedl. Johnston has a 2-3 career mark against Tirapelle, scoring his most recent win (6-5) in the quarterfinals of the 2005 NCAA Championships. It will be the first meeting between Perry and Herbert, as Perry wrestled at 165 last season. It will also be the first meeting between Bradley and Friedl, as Friedl is moving up from 174. It will be Bradley's second appearance at the event, and Johnston and Perry's first. Bradley lost a 3-2 decision to West Virginia's Greg Jones last year. 2005 NWCA All-Star Classic Tenative Lineup 125 - Sam Hazewinkel (Oklahoma) vs. Nick Simmons (Michigan St.) 133 - Tom Clum (Wisconsin) vs. Mack Reiter (Minnesota) 141 - Teyon Ware (Oklahoma) vs. Nate Gallick (Iowa St.) 149 - Zack Esposito (Oklahom St.) vs. Jon Masa (Hofstra) 157 - Joe Johnston (Iowa) vs. Alex Tirapelle (Illinois) 165 - Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma St.) vs. Ryan Churella (Michigan) 174 - Mark Perry (Iowa) vs. Jake Herbert (Northwestern) 184 - Paul Bradley (Iowa) vs. Pete Friedl (Northwestern) 197 - Jake Rosholt (Oklahoma St.) vs. Joel Flaggert (Oklahoma) Hwt. - Steven Mocco (Oklahoma St.) vs. Cole Konrad (Minnesota) HAWK TALK WITH JIM ZALESKY KXIC Radio (AM-800) will air the Hawk Talk with Jim Zalesky radio show this season. The show will be live from LaCasa Mexican Restaurant in Iowa City from 6-7 p.m. Here are the show dates: November 16 February 15, 28 December 7 March 7 January 3, 17, 31 IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY Iowa's overall dual meet record is 784-202-30 (.786) in 93 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. 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. University of Iowa students will be admitted free of charge for all duals except Oklahoma State on January 7. Season Tickets $56 - General Public; $49 - University Faculty & Staff Single-Match Tickets (Purchased in Advance)* $8 - Adults; $4 - Youth * - Iowa vs. Oklahoma State tickets are $10 each. Single-Match Tickets (Purchased at the Door)* $10 - Adults; $5 - Youth * - Iowa vs. Oklahoma State tickets are $10 each. Group Rates* $4 - Per person with a group of 15 or more * -- The group rate for the Iowa vs. Oklahoma State dual is $5 per person. 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. 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. 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. HAWKEYES LEAD NATION IN ATTENDANCE Iowa wrestling fans love their Hawkeyes, and have no problem coming out to show it. Iowa led the nation in home dual meet attendance last season, posting a season average of 5,073 fans per home dual. Oklahoma State was second (4,542) and Lehigh third (2,488). The Hawkeye's ability to draw crowds on the road has helped 10 schools set dual attendance records. In 2004-05, Cal Davis (5,150) and Illinois (3,573) set records when they hosted the Hawkeyes. The other eight schools are Minnesota (15,646 - 2002), Iowa State (14,507 - 1982), Penn State (11,245 - 1996), Northern Iowa (10,200 - 1976), North Dakota State (6,307 - 1992), Pennsylvania (5,109 - 2002), Wisconsin (4,800 - 1978) and Cleveland State (3,620 - 1987). Iowa has been a part of the 35 largest recorded dual meet crowds, helping to set the national attendance record 10 times. The current attendance record of 15,646 was set February 1, 2002, when Iowa wrestled at Minnesota. Thirty-two of the top 35 matchups were with intra-state rival Iowa State. The Hawkeyes have also wrestled in front of 44 of the 47 recorded dual crowds over 10,000. In 2004-05, Iowa competed in 11 of the top 20 reported dual crowds, hosting six (Iowa State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Indiana and Arizona State) and visiting for five (Oklahoma State, Cal-Davis, Illinois, Penn State and Northern Iowa). OH BROTHER There are four sets of brothers on the 2005-06 University of Iowa wrestling roster. Lucas and Thomas Magnani from Long Island, NY, Jacob and Justin Neuzil from Riverside and Ainsworth, IA, Cole and Dane Pape from Maquoketa, IA, and Ben and Brett Stedman from Sioux City, IA. There have been 10 sets of brothers to wrestle together in the Hawkeye varsity lineup since the 1950s. They are Don and Tom Huff (1961), Mark and Scott Trizzino (1981), Lenny, Larry and Jim Zalesky (1981-82), Ed and Lou Banach (1981-83), Marty and Lindley Kistler (1984-85), Jim and John Heffernan (1987), Tom and Terry Brands (1989-92), Troy and Terry Steiner (1991-93), Ryan and Randy Fulsaas (2001) and Luke and Ty Eustice (2003-04). Juniors Ben and Brett Stedman are the fifth set of twins to wrestle for the University of Iowa. Ed and Lou Banach, Tom and Terry Brands, Troy and Terry Steiner and Randy and Ryan Fulsaas are the other four.

A big thanks to all who made my journey to Chattanooga, TN both possible and very enjoyable. The folks at UTC have a vision for the future and they'll accomplish much under the leadership of coach's Seay, Bono, Henson, Hamilton and Crump. Great kids, Great program, Thanks again! Join us this week as we get back in the studio for a very different kinda of show. We start with North Dakota State University (NDSU) grad and former WWF Star Bob Backlund Don Taber -- Head Coach of Shippenburg University of Pennsylvania Scott Kluever -- Founder and Host along with Shane Sparks of The Wrestling Room Radio Show (heard weekly throughout the Appleton Wisc. area). Kluever also Coaches Middle School in Wisconsin. Tony Robie -- New Head Coach at Binghamton University, 2 x AA, NCAA Runner Up and assist for last for years at U of Mich Kelly Rundle -- Motion Picture Producer/Actor -- New Movie Valisca Patricia Miranda -- Big Announcement to be made by Olympic Medalist, 2003 World Silver, 2003 Pan Am Champion, 2003 World Cup Champion. Now attending classes at Yale Law Thanks to all of our coaches who do their job with the basic understanding of the real reason they are in the job that they are in, To impart knowledge to the young men in their charge. For you to lead by example is the best possible gift you can share with these young men and with the rest of the wrestling family. Thank you! Scott Casber AM 1460 KXNO in Iowa 101.5 FM KRRW Minnesota Takedownradio.com 515-707-8657

State College, Pa. -- Sixth-year seniors Eric Bradley, (Plaistow, N.H.) and James Woodall (St. Dupont, Pa.) have been selected as co-captains for the 2005-06 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season. Bradley, ranked No. 1 at 184, is a returning All-American while Woodall, ranked No. 14 at 149, is coming off a red-shirt season after qualifying for nationals in 2003-04. Both were captains last year as well. A two-time Big Ten Champion and 2005 All-American (4th), Bradley is the highest returning 184-pound placer from the 2005 NCAA Championships and a favorite to claim Penn State's 21st NCAA title. He enters the season ranked No. 1 in three national polls. Bradley received a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA following the 2004-05 season, his fifth at Penn State. A quick and agile athlete, Bradley was told that his wrestling career was over prior to the 2002-03 campaign due to a fractured vertebra in his back. Not to be deterred from his goals of becoming a national champion, he took up boxing and won a National Boxing Championship during his first season of competition. After his successful season in the ring, doctors determined that the fracture had fused and healed sufficiently to allow Bradley to try to return to the mat. Bradley was 31-5 in 2004-05. Woodall was on the verge of a breakout season in 2004-05 when he tore the ACL in his right knee in the finals of the Midlands Tournament. Ranked No. 12 and having posted a 10-2 mark at the time, he was primed to break into the top 10 and looked like a strong All-America contender. Woodall was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA in the summer. Back to full strength, he looks to continue his surge toward the top of the 149-pound rankings in his final campaign. A 1999 PIAA champion, he has also had considerable success in national and international freestyle and Greco-Roman competition. Woodall was 10-2 at the time of his injury last season. "James and Eric were captains last year, so they've shown their teammates that they are proven leaders," said head coach Troy Sunderland. "They're respected by their teammates. We have a number of good leaders on this team and James and Eric do a great job of allowing those leaders to step forward as well."

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State University wrestling team (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Pac-10) opens its 2005-06 season this weekend as it travels to Portland, Ore., Saturday for the Portland State Duals. The defending Pac-10 champion Sun Devils open the day facing Pacific (Ore.) at 10 a.m. before meeting Southern Oregon at 11:30 a.m. The day concludes with a Pac-10 dual as ASU faces host Portland State at 1 p.m. 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 thePac-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. 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. AND THE AWARD GOES TO: Three members of the Sun Devils earned post-season awards from the Pac-10 last year, including two wrestlers and one coach. At the conference tournament, Brian Stith was voted by the league coaches as the Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships following his title at 157 pounds. After the completion of the NCAA Championships, another vote was taken by the conference coaches with Cain Velasquez (285) receiving Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year while Head Coach Thom Ortiz was chosen as the Pac-10 Coach of the Year for the second time in his four years at the helm of the ASU program. NCAA RECAP Arizona State finished 13th at the 2005 NCAA Wrestling Championships with 39.5 points and two All-Americans at the tournament held in St. Louis, Mo. Brian Stith (157) finished sixth and Cain Velasquez (285) placed fifth to earn All-America honors and pace the Sun Devils to their second Top 15 finish under Thom Ortiz. In all, seven Sun Devils competed at the national event, including Jeremy Mendoza (2-2 at 125), Patrick Williams (3-2 at 149), Patrick Pitsch (2-2 at 165), C.B. Dollaway (1-2 at 184) and Ryan Bader (2-2 at 197). SEASON IN REVIEW The Sun Devils went 11-6-1 overall and a perfect 8-0-0 against Pac-10 foes in their 43rd season as a varsity program that ended with Arizona State winning its 15th Pac-10 title and placing 13th in the nation. Brian Stith (157) and Cain Velasquez (285) led the way for ASU as both won individual Pac-10 crowns, earned All-America honors and collected a Pac-10 award including Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships and Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year, respectively. In tournament action, the Sun Devils also placed second in Reno and fourth at the Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational. IN SEASON OPENERS In the history of the program, the Sun Devils are 29-13 all-time in their first dual of the season and hold a 13-5 mark when that dual takes place on the road. ASU also is 1-0 when the first dual of the season is held at a neutral site, just as it will be this weekend against Pacific (Ore.). Overall, the Sun Devils have lost their last three openers, falling to Nebraska in 2002, 20-19, and then Iowa each of the last two seasons, 24-17 in 2003, and 29-10 in 2004. FIRST PAC-10 DUAL The third dual this Saturday will be the Pac-10 opener for both Arizona State and Portland State. The Sun Devils have won their last six conference openers and are undefeated in their last eight having recorded a tie in 1998. When the first Pac-10 dual of the season takes place away from Tempe, ASU is 6-1-0 and has won six in a row. The last time the Pac-10 season for the Sun Devils opened on the road was in the 1999-00 season when ASU defeated Cal State Bakersfield, 22-18. HIGHLY TOUTED Several wrestling publications recently released their preseason rankings with the Sun Devils earning placement in the Top 20 as both a team and individually. In the team rankings, Arizona State will open the season as the No. 10 team in the nation according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) and USA Today. In their individual rankings, six Sun Devils have earned rankings with Cain Velasquez leading the way as the No. 4 wrestler at heavyweight. Also receiving rankings were No. 6 Brian Stith (157), No. 9 Jeremy Mendoza (125), No. 10 C.B. Dollaway (184), No. 10 Ryan Bader (197) and No. 11 Patrick Pitsch (165). WE'RE BACK! Last year, 10 student-athletes represented the Sun Devils at the 2005 Pac-10 Wrestling Championships where the team captured its 15th conference crown. Of those 10 wrestlers, eight return this season with seven of them retaining their starting positions. The returning starters are Jeremy Mendoza (125), John Espinoza (133), Brian Stith (157), Patrick Pitsch (174), C.B. Dollaway (184), Ryan Bader (197) and Cain Velasquez (285). The lone returnee not in the starting lineup is Rick Renzi (174). Renzi had shoulder surgery during the offseason and his return for the 2005-06 season is uncertain. ELDER STATESMEN The 2005-06 roster has five seniors on it, including four starters for the Sun Devils. Jeremy Mendoza (125), C.B. Dollaway (184), Ryan Bader (197) and Cain Velasquez (285) will all be in the starting lineup for their final collegiate campaigns while Marc Rizio (125/133) will look to earn a spot on the mat in his senior season. Of the five seniors, Mendoza is the lone wrestler that has not utilized a redshirt season in his career with the Sun Devils. NEW ADDITIONS Arizona State's roster has 11 new names this season including nine true freshmen, three sophomores and a pair of transfers. Sophomores Cedric Powell and Chris Remsen transfered into the program from Meramec CC and NC State, respectively, while Josh Santobianco rounds out the sophomore crop. The freshmen include: Tyler Bowles, Jake Cranford, Wes Fimbrez, Robert Galvan, Jake Hannaford, Matt Lopez, Thor Moen and Jason Robbins. AT THE HELM Thom Ortiz returns for his fifth season as the head coach of the Sun Devils and has compiled a 43-26-1 overall record at Arizona State. 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 on the ASU sidelines while Larkin is set to begin his second. PAC-10 POWER In the preseason individual Pac-10 rankings released by Stanford, the host of the 2006 Pac-10 Championships, seven Sun Devils have earned a place among the Top 5 with four of the wrestlers holding the top spot in their weight classes. Those top-ranked Sun Devils include Jeremy Mendoza (125), Brian Stith (157), Ryan Bader (197) and Cain Velasquez (285). A pair of Sun Devils are close to the top as well with Patick Pitsch (165) and C.B. Dollaway (184) each coming in at No. 2. John Espinoza (133) rounds out the ranked ASU wrestlers at No. 4. SCOUTING - PACIFIC (ORE.) The Boxers compete in the NCAA Division III ranks where they finished tied for 44th at the national meet one year ago. They also placed sixth in the Great Lakes Region following a 9-9-0 season record. THE SERIES WITH THE BOXERS Arizona State and Pacific (Ore.) will be meeting for the first time this weekend. SCOUTING - SOUTHERN OREGON The Raiders compete in Region I of the NAIA where they finished third last year before closing out the season with an 11th-place finish at the national tournament. Southern Oregon went 6-4-0 in duals last year. THE SERIES WITH THE RAIDERS Arizona State and Southern Oregon will be meeting for the first time this weekend. SCOUTING - PORTLAND STATE The Vikings are coming off a season that saw them post a 2-17-0 record in dual competition and an 0-9-0 mark against the Pac-10. PSU finished 10th at the conference tournament before placing 59th at the NCAA Championships. THE SERIES WITH THE VIKINGS The Sun Devils lead the all-time series with the Vikings, 8-1-0. ASU has won eight duals in a row, including a 46-4 victory one year ago in Tempe. THE LAST TIME: ASU VS. PSU Arizona State won the last meeting between the Sun Devils and Vikings, 46-4, as the hosts won nine of the 10 bouts with four ending in a fall for the Sun Devils. Overall, only one bout did not end with bonus points being awarded as Patrick Pitsch won a 6-2 decision over Chris Feist. In all, Curtis Ray (141), Brian Stith (157), C.B. Dollaway (184) and Jeremy Mendoza (125) each pinned their opponents. RECAP: SUNKIST KIDS/ASU OPEN Arizona State's wrestlers, both current and past, competed in the Sunkist Kids/ASU International Open in late October with three former Sun Devils advancing to finals. Eric Larkin, a current assistant coach with the Sun Devils, won the 66kg weight class while another assistant, Aaron Simpson, placed second at 84kg and former All-American Kellan Fluckiger placed second at 120kg. Alex Cotnreras (fifth) and Jeremy Mendoza (sixth) led the way for the current members of the team. 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 last time the Sun Devils took to the mats was the 2005 NCAA Wrestling Championships held at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Mo., where the team finished 13th in the national standings. Brian Stith (157) and Cain Velasquez (285) each earned All-American honors to pace the team as seven total members of the Sun Devil roster competed in the national event. ASU also was the highest-finishing team among the 10 Pac-10 schools. NEXT TIME OUT The Sun Devils return to the road next weekend, heading to the Quaker State for one dual and one tournament. ASU faces No. 8 Lehigh in a 7 p.m. dual in Bethlehem, Pa., Thursday night before heading to the East Stroudsburg Open Saturday.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana wrestling used this past weekend as preparation for the upcoming season as it traveled to the Bowen Field House for the Eastern Michigan Open in Ypsilanti, Mich., on Nov. 5. The Hoosier grapplers, who competed unattached at the event, brought home a trio of accolades led by freshman 174-pound Trevor Perry, who finished first. Sophomore Dave Herman finished second at the open in the heavy weight division followed freshman Angel Escobedo with a third-place outing at 133 pounds. Perry strung together an impressive performance, going 5-0 in the event to clinch his first career tournament title. The Davison, Mich., native had three decisions, one fall and a default due to injury en route to the open victory. Herman also had a strong performance to finish second in his first event of 2005. The Indianapolis native started off the competition with two falls, followed by a major decision (13-2) and a decision before falling in the championship match to Tanner Garret (Navy), 4-1. In his first collegiate competition, Escobedo transferred his high school success onto the collegiate mats, compiling a 4-1 mark en route to his bronze finish. Freshmen Matt Coughlin (157 lbs), Wesley Fike (125 lbs), Maurice Gunn (285 lbs), Hunter Hughes (165 lbs), Louis Gouletas (184 lbs), Scott Kelley (133 lbs) and Seth Parker (197 lbs) also saw action. Sophomore Blane Culp competed for Indiana as the only Hoosier to not compete unattached at the open, going 2-2 in his first 2005 event. Indiana will open its season at the Missouri Open in Columbia, Mo., Nov. 20.

SLIPPERY ROCK -- Bloomsburg 2005 NCAA qualifiers Mike Sees (Northumberland/Shikellamy) and Jim Bertulis (Aston/Garnett Valley) each posted wins in their weight classes at the 2005 Slippery Rock Open. Sees wrestled at 125 pounds while Bertulis competed at 165. Both were the EWL Champions at those weight classes last season. Several other Bloomsburg wrestlers also had strong showings at the event. Brad Forbes placed second in the 141 pound bracket while Aric Furhman (Spring Grove/Delone Catholic) and Blaine Cohick (Williamsport/Loyalsock) each placed third, Furhman at 157 and Cohick at 197 pounds. Bloomsburg also had a solid tournament at the 149 pound class, with Alex Canover (Mendham/Mendham) going 4-1 and Darren Kern (Pennsburg/Upper Perkiomen) finishing 3-1. George Hickman (Wilmington, NC/Riverside) also wrestled at 149, going 1-2. At 133 pounds, Ricky Donald (Millville/Bloomsburg) had a strong tournament, winning four of his five matches while at 197 pounds Jesse Hasseman (Franklin, IN/Franklin) went 3-1. Other Bloomsburg wrestlers who competed in the tournament were Jason Crawford (New Albany/Wyalusing Valley) who went 0-2 at 157, Frank Beasley (Oden, IL/Centralia) who went 3-2 and Andrew Jordan (Newark, DE/St. Mark's) who went 1-2 both at 174 pounds and at 184 pounds, Nate Shirk (Middleburg/Middleburg) went 2-1 while Chris Swan (Saylorsburg/Pleasant Valley) went 0-2. The Bloomsburg wrestlers are idle until November 12 when they travel to Brockport, NY for the Oklahoma Gold Classic at 10:00 a.m.

Saturday the Dana College wrestling team opened up their season at the SDSU Wrestling Open in Brookings, S.D. Twenty-eight Viking wrestlers competed. Five placed in the tournament. Top performances came from the fourth place finishes of Brett Brandl, (RFr, 133, Madison, Neb.) and Russell Smith (Fr, 174, Owatonna, Minn.). Other notable performances were from Nick Wilkes (Jr, 184, Onamia, Minn.), 6th; Zach Loberg (RFr, 197, North Bend, Neb.), 6th; and Armando Montoya (So, 285, Las Vegas, N.M.), 6th. "This is always a great tournament to start with for our younger inexperienced guys," said Coach Steve Costanzo. "I saw some great things out of the kids today and hopefully we can build on those experiences and get better." In all, there were about 220 entries from 15 universities in attendance. No team scores were kept. The Dana College Vikings will travel to Warrensburg, Mo., Sunday for the Central Missouri State University Wrestling Open. Viking Results: 125 James Hicks (Belle Glade, Fla.) 1-2 125 Teddy Gillespie (Pontiac, Mich.) 1-2 133 Brett Brandl (Madison, Neb.) 3-2, 4th 133 Dan Rowe (Syracuse, Neb.) 2-2 133 Jon Goodridge (Kokomo, Ind.) 0-2 133 Sonny Silva (Kimberly, Idaho) 3-2 141 Clinton Dale (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1-2 141 Adam Hope (Kenyon, N.M.) 0-2 141 George Roath (Kansas City, Kan.) 3-2 141 Torey Seminara (Pearl City, Hawaii) 0-2 149 Anthony Byers (Omaha, Neb.) 0-2 149 Jay Hernandez (Sulphur, La.) 0-2 149 Marcos Martinez (Las Vegas, N.M.) 0-2 149 Dan Pray (St. George, Kan.) 2-2 157 Dakota Sullivan (Bloomfield, N.M.) ‹ 2-2 165 Bulla Tuzon (Wailuku, Hawaii) 2-2 165 Dustin Walker (Sulphur, La.) 0-2 174 Russell Smith (Owatonna, Minn.) 2-2, 4th 184 Nick Wilkes (Onamia, Minn.) 4-2, 6th 184 Chancy Hansen (Valentine, Neb.) 0-2 184 John Justice (Moreno Valley, Calif.) 2-2 184 Joe Palmer (Dennison, Ohio) 0-2 184 Ryan Allen (Coeur D¹Alene, Idaho) 0-2 197 Zach Loberg (North Bend, Neb.) 2-2, 6th 197 Tyler Woodard (Farmington, N.M.) 0-2 197 Wade Jordan (Coulee City, Wash.) 1-2 285 Armando Montoya (Las Vegas, N.M.) 3-2, 6th 285 Jesse Boggs (Deming, N.M.) 3-2

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State's wrestling team will begin its quest for its fourth consecutive national championship and 34th overall when it holds its annual Orange-Black Dual on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. Five weights have already been set for Thursday night. Returning All-American Coleman Scott will wrestle true freshman Tyler Shinn at 125. At 149, Zack Esposito will begin his title defense when he faces teammate B.J. Jackson. Johny Hendricks will meet freshman Kevin Wainscott as he will look to repeat as champion at 165. There will be two matches at 184 as Clay Kehrer will meet Brent Parkey and Jack Jensen will face Rusty Blackmon. OSU fans will get a glimpse of the future when Jared Rosholt meets two-time national champion Steve Mocco at heavyweight. The remaining weight classes will be decided on Wednesday night in closed ranking matches. The Cowboys are returning six All-Americans and four national champions from the 2005 national championship squad. OSU will open the regular season at Michigan State on Nov. 27 before returning home to face Lehigh on Dec. 2.

The seventh-ranked Iowa State wrestlers opened their season with wins over Div. II Upper Iowa and second-ranked Div. III foe Wisconsin-La Crosse, both 31-9, Sunday afternoon at the Dorman Gym in Fayette. ISU's Ben Hanisch, Jesse Sundell, Nate Gallick Trent Paulson, Travis Paulson and Kurt Backes each had two wins at their respective weight class. The Cyclones held a 66-18 takedown advantage over the two schools and scored eight three-point near falls while allowing none. "It was a good performance," head coach Bobby Douglas said. "We found out a lot about this team and we still have a lot of work to do." The 125-pounder Hanisch started his sophomore season strong with a 14-5 major decision against UIU's Tyler Mumbulo. Hanisch used two first period near falls to jump out to an early 8-0 lead and never looked back against Mumbulo, the 2004-05 Mike McCready Open winner. Hanisch opened last season in similar fashion, registering a major decision against Jacob Elsbernd, 13-1, in Council Bluffs. Sundell came out on top of 2002 All-American Ralph Acosta at 133 pounds. Acosta, who placed fifth in 2002 at the NCAA Div. III Championships, battled to tie the match as the third period expired. The senior NCAA qualifier scored on a double-leg takedown off the edge of the mat midway through the overtime session to take the match 11-9. Last year against the Peacocks, Sundell made quick work of John Gamble, scoring a pin in 1:49. In his match against Wisconsin-La Crosse's fifth-ranked Jordan Kolinski, Sundell scored a pin at the 6:55 mark as he was trailing for the duration of the match. Sundell escaped to begin the third period, scored a takedown and cradled Kolinski for the fall. Nate Gallick, the 2005 NCAA runner-up, topped Kyle Burkle, 8-3, at 141 pounds. Gallick major decisioned Burkle at the season opener last year, 16-5. Gallick scored at will in his next match in a high-scoring major decision over Wisconsin-La Crosse's Brad Velasquez, 25-15. Aron Scott opened his season in explosive fashion, utilizing a slew of double-leg takedowns to major decision Tee Adams at 149 pounds, 15-5. Scott opened last season with a decision over UIU's Brian Bloes, his first career win. ISU's other 149 pounder Jason Knipp added his own major decision over the Eagles' Adam Kuchnia, 9-1. Trent Paulson, a 2005 All-American, pinned Brandon Heying in 5:10 at 157 pounds. Paulson scored bonus points against the Peacocks last year as well, scoring a 19-2 technical fall over Sean Washington. Paulson again notched bonus points in his next match, earning a major decision against UWL's Andrew Dorn, 19-7. Travis Paulson scored more bonus points at 165 pounds, registering major decisions on Brady Hakeman of Upper Iowa and Scott Dorn of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Kurt Backes, ranked fifth in the nation at 184 pounds, major decisioned Peacock Tony Gehling, 15-4, and beat fourth-ranked Eagle Div. III All-American Jason Lulloff from in the next dual. True freshman Joe Curran earned his first career Cyclone victory at 197 pounds, downing Upper Iowa's Dan Goodson at 197 pounds, 6-4. Junior heavyweight Richard Schopf pulled out his first dual win since the 2003-04 season, scoring a takedown as time expired in the third period for an 8-6 win over Wisconsin-La Crosse's Tim Winker. Iowa State faces Utah Valley State in its home opener Friday at 4:30 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.

The Upper Iowa wrestling team took to the mat for the first time as a full-fledged NCAA Division II institution Sunday afternoon, and they did so against Iowa State University, the seventh-ranked Division I program in the country. The Cyclones showed why they are one of the premier wrestling programs in the nation with a 31-9 win over the Peacocks in Dorman Gymnasium. ISU won eight of the team matches, including four major decisions and a win by fall. The return of three National qualifiers to the Peacock lineup helped UIU immediately. Two-time All-American Brian Black picked up a 7-4 decision over Ben Dunkelberger at heavyweight, while C.J. MacNaught won by injury default at 174 pounds. All-American Ralph Acosta rebounded from a slow start only to lose 11-9 in overtime to Jesse Sundell at 133 pounds. Sundell is ranked 15th in the Amateur Wrestling News. Kyle Burkle lost 8-3 to #2 Nate Gallick at 141 pounds and Dan Goodson fell 6-4 to Joe Curran at 197 pounds. Iowa State's #4/3 Trent Paulson picked up the only win by fall at the 5:10 mark at 157 pounds. Ben Hanisch, Aron Scott, #6/5 Travis Paulson and #5/3 Kurt Backes each won by major decision for the Cyclones. Iowa State followed with an identical 31-9 win over Wisconsin-La Crosse, the second-ranked team in the NCAA Division III ranks. Upper Iowa returns to the mat Saturday at the Dubuque Spartan Open. Matches begin at 10 a.m.

The 2005-06 wrestling season kicked off Saturday, November 5 at the Eastern Michigan University Open in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The tournament set a record with over 335 wrestlers and was the first outing for many top ranked collegiate wrestlers. Michigan State was the strongest team in the field with 10 placers including 2 champions - All American Nick Simmons (125) and his brother Andy Simmons (141). Purdue and Edinboro claimed 2 champions. Purdue's strength was in the upper weights with All American Ben Wissel claiming the 184 crown and Nate Moore winning the tournament at 197. Edinboro's champions were NCAA runner-up Shawn Bunch (133) and Gregor Gillespie (149). Navy claimed two champions with John Jarred at 157 and Tanner Garret at 285. The surprise team of the tournament was Lindenwood University with 9 placers, including champion Jake Dieffenbach at 165. The biggest individual surprise was Indiana's true freshman Trevor Perry who captured the title at 174. Eastern was led by its own true freshman standout, Sean Clair, who took 4th in the 125 pound weight class. The new Eagle from Plum, Pennsylvania lost in the semifinals to runner-up Franklin Gomez from Michigan State and finished the tournament with a 4-2 record. Although they did not place, the Eagle coaches were impressed with the wrestling of sophomores Josh Moulton (141), Zack Beck (125) and freshmen Chris Jenkins (133) and Rece Cox (149). Three Eagle starters sat out the tournament, including Captains Phil Plowman (133) and Charley Walker (285) and nationally ranked Jermaine Thompson (149).

The unofficial kickoff to the high school wrestling season comes this Saturday and Sunday in Greensboro, N.C. at the Super 32 Challenge. Competition on Saturday will narrow the field in each weight class down to 16 competitors (eight in the quarterfinals, and eight in consolation), with the competition on Sunday determining a champion and the other seven place-winners. Many of the nation's elite wrestlers will assemble for a truly rigorous "pre-test" as they "Battle for the Belt." This field includes 23 of the nation's Top 100 seniors, 19 of the Top 50 juniors, 18 of the Top 50 sophomores, and 10 of the Top 25 freshmen. Among that group is the nation's best senior in Taylor Massa (St. Johns, Mich.), the nation's best sophomore in Chance Marsteller (Kennard Dale, Pa.), along with number two ranked wrestlers in the senior, junior, and freshman classes -- Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point, Indiana), Ben Whitford (St. Johns, Mich.), and Matthew Kolodzik (Miami Valley, Ohio). Fifteen wrestlers that have made a Super 32 Challenge final over the years are among the anchor wrestlers of the field. It includes an impressive five of such wrestlers in the 126 pound weight class, the premier weight class of the tournament: defending champions Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) and Nathan Kraisser (Centennial, Md.); along with runners-up in Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), 2009 champion Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.), and Rossi Bruno (Brandon, Fla.). Two returning event champions also anchor the 182 pound weight class -- Cody Wiercioch (Canon McMillan, Pa.) and Brandon Griffin (Sprague, Ore.). Other weight classes with a pair of former finalists include 113, 132, and 138 pounds. The pair of finalists from 103 pounds last year, Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) and Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, Ohio) headline the 113 pound field; 2008 champion Alex Cisneros (Selma, Calif.) and last year's 130 pound runner-up Brandon Jeske (Cox, Va.) showcase at 132 pounds; while defending champion Steve Spearman (Erie McDowell, Pa.) and two-time runner-up Jason Tsirtsis are among the stars at 138 pounds. Rounding out that cast of characters is 2008 runner-up Jacob Crawford (Millbrook, Va.) at 145 pounds along with 2008 and 2009 runner-up Taylor Massa. The following is a breakdown of some of the (many) key wrestlers in each weight class, along with potential thoughts on what might happen over the two-day tournament. 106: Even though this weight lacks a true "mega-star", there are still many highly credentialed wrestlers within this field -- seven are ranked in their respective graduating class, and eleven have earned All-American honors in Fargo (Junior and/or Cadet Nationals) at some point of their career. Leading this field is Nathan Boston (Indiana), who was undefeated during his freshman season of high school and a FloNationals runner-up in March 2011. A key feature of this opening weight class is impact freshmen, including Matthew Kolodzik (Miami Valley, Ohio), Dylan Lucas (Brandon, Fla.), Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional, Pa.), A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa.), and Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa). Other notables include state champions Sean Russell (Collins Hill, Ga.), Coy Ozias (Christiansburg, Va.), and Kyle Kelly (Chenango Forks, N.Y.); NHSCA Freshman Nationals champ Ryan Millhof (Collins Hill, Ga.); Junior National double All-American Jan Rosenberg (Morris Knolls, N.J.); and three-time Cadet National All-American Brent Fleetwood (Smyrna, Del.). Finals Prediction: Nathan Boston over Matthew Kolodzik 113: This is a very deep weight class that includes six returning Super 32 Challenge placers, along with ten additional wrestlers that have earned All-American honors in Fargo. Headline figures include last year's Super 32 finalists at 103 pounds -- Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) and Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, Ohio) - each also won a title in Fargo this past summer. Other returning place-winners are two-time state champion Ryan Diehl (Trinity, Pa.), three-time Cadet All-Americans Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) and Zac Hall (St. Johns, Mich.), along with state champion Billy Rappo (Council Rock South, Pa.). Also in this weight are FILA Cadet freestyle champion Dalton Brady (Colo.), Junior National freestyle runner-up Jarred Brooks (Warsaw, Indiana), and Junior National double All-American Jordan Wigger (Summerville, S.C.). Additional notable wrestlers include state champions JR Wert (Christiansburg, Va.), Cassidy Oshiro (Maryknoll, Hawaii), James Flint (Brandon, Fla.), Braun Marquez (Canyon Randall, Texas), and Brendan Calas (Seton Hall Prep, N.J.). Finals Prediction: Dalton Brady over Nathan Tomasello 120: The three featured wrestlers in this weight placed in the top five of last year's absolute meat-grinder of a weight class at 112 pounds in the Super 32. George DiCamillo (St. Ignatius, Ohio) followed that up with a second Ironman title, along with initial state and FloNationals championships; Jacob Schmitt (St. Johns, Mich.) and Conner Schram (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) made their second state finals appearances in as many high school seasons, while Schmitt also placed second in freestyle at the FILA Cadet Nationals and was a Junior Greco-Roman All-American. Others of note in this weight class include state champions Austin Hood (Louisburg, Kansas), Eric Montoya (Volcano Vista, N.M.), Cody Hummer (Savannah, Mo.), and Kaleb LeMaire (Caesar Rodney, Del.). Also meriting attention are 2010 state champions Emilio Martinez (Greeley West, Colo.), Will Mason (Cape Henry Collegiate, Va.), Alec Dierna (Wayne, N.Y.), and Drew Ferguson-Mitchell (Collins Hill Ga.). In addition are National Prep placers Jacob Goodwin (Bishop Lynch, Texas) and Andrew Atkinson (Liberty Christian, Va.), FloNationals runner-up Cody Stainbrook (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio), and Junior National freestyle All-American Eli Hale (Miami, Okla.). Finals Prediction: George DiCamillo over Jacob Schmitt 126: As discussed in the lead portion of this article, the weight class is absolutely stacked with five returning Super 32 finalists. Those include three-time state champions Rossi Bruno (Brandon, Fla.) and Nathan Kraisser (Centennial, Md.), two-time state champions Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) and Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.), along with 2010 state champion Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.). Yet those five don't even scratch the surface of the quality present in this weight class. Three other wrestlers placed in last year's Super 32 Challenge -- 2010 Junior freestyle All-American Eric Devos (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa), Russell Coleman (Park Hill, Mo.), and Chris Caton (Northside Christian, N.C.). Other multiple-time state champions in this weight include Brandon Brunner (The Baylor School, Tennessee), FloNationals champion Dean Heil (St. Edward, Ohio), David Jeffrey (Parkersburg South, West Va.), Ryan O'Boyle (Central Catholic, Massachusetts), 2010 FloNationals runner-up Cody Phillips (Union County, Indiana), Zach Watson (The Baylor School, Tennessee), Skyler Wood (Platte County, Mo.), and Garrison White (Robinson, N.C.). Yet other notable wrestlers are Cadet freestyle runner-up finishers Jonce Blaylock (Berryhill, Okla.) and Gary Wayne Harding (Collinsville, Okla.), along with two-time state finalists in Alex Calandrino (Howell, Mich.), Corey Keener (Blue Mountain, Pa.) Randy Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), Dane Harlowe (Annandale, Va.), and Jake Smith (Newark Memorial, Calif.). Finals Prediction: Rossi Bruno over Nathan Kraisser 132: Three wrestlers in the top ten of their respective graduating classes stand out as the best in this weight class -- two-time Super 32 runner-up Brandon Jeske (Cox, Va.), 2008 Super 32 champion Alex Cisneros (Selma, Calif.), and Junior National Greco-Roman champion Kevin Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.). Three other former Super 32 placers feature in this weight class as well -- Shyheim Brown (Central Dauphin, Pa.), Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin, Pa.), and John Fahy (Trinity, Kentucky). Also in this field are four additional Junior National Greco-Roman All-Americans in Laike Gardner (Biglerville, Pa.), Julian Purdy (Nevada Union, Calif.), Arty Walsh (Schuylkill Valley, Pa.), and Joey Ward (Moeller, Ohio); along with Junior National freestyle All-American Brant Schafer (St. Johns, Mich.). Additional state champions in this weight class include Davey Dolan (Berryhill, Okla.), Campbell Lewis (Soddy Daisy, Tennessee), and Neal Molloy (Danville, Indiana). Notable multi-time state placers include Colt Cotten (Benton, Pa.), Devon Jackson (Yorktown, Indiana), Brandon Keller (Timber Creek, N.J.), and Connor Melde (Bergen Catholic, N.J.). Finals Prediction: Brandon Jeske over Alex Cisneros 138: With the consolidation of middle-weight classes this year (last year's 125, 130, 135, 140, and 145 are shrunk into 126, 132, 138, and 145), there are going to be some weight classes in tournaments that are absolutely star-laden due to the lack of competitive options. This is one of those cases. The second-ranked senior and junior in the nation are both in this weight class -- two-time Super 32 runner-up Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point, Indiana) and three-time Fargo double finalist Ben Whitford (St. Johns, Mich.). Additional stars in this weight class are FloNationals champion Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio), a pair of FloNationals runners-up in Quentin Murphy (Holley Central, N.Y.) and Steve Spearman (Erie McDowell, Pa.), and two-time Super 32 placer Brent Fickel (Padua). Other state champions in this field are NHSCA Junior National runner-up Tony DeAngelo (Southern Alamance, N.C.), Nick Trimble (Sparta, Mich.), FloNationals placer Gabe Morse (Lowell, Mich.), and Brooks Martino (Robinson, Va.). Wrestlers that have finished second in the state include Josh Pennell (St. Johns, Mich.), Austin Matthews (Reynolds, Pa.), James Dekrone (John Glenn, N.Y.), and Mitch Newhouse (Massillon Perry, Ohio). Finals Prediction: Jason Tsirtsis over Ben Whitford 145: Leading the way in this weight class is three-time state champion, two-time state placer, and NHSCA Juniors champion Jacob Crawford (Millbrook, Va.). Three other InterMat Top 100 seniors anchor the weight class: two-time Junior National freestyle All-American Matt Cimato (LaSalle, Pa.), three-time state champion Alec Mooradian (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), along with state champion and FloNationals placer Andrew Morse (Lowell, Mich.). Other very formidable seniors in this weight include FloNationals placer Kevin Moylan (Stagg, Ill.), NHSCA Junior Nationals champion Alenick Richardson (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.), Junior National Greco-Roman All-American Cody Ross (Springstead, Fla.), three-time state placers Zach Beitz (Juniata, Pa.) and Connor Mullins (New Castle, Indiana), state champion Joey Moon (Southern Alamance, N.C.), two-time National Prep placer Will Switzer (Archbishop Spalding, Md.), and three-time state runner-up Tanner Minder (Kearney, Mo.). Sophomore superstars include two-time Super 32 placer Solomon Chisko (Canon-McMillan, Pa.), National Prep runner-up Jack Clark (McDonogh, Md.), and Cadet freestyle All-American Jack Bass (Allen, Texas). Top juniors include state champion Cain Salas (Granite City, Ill.), along with state runner-up and Cadet double All-American Garrett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.). Finals Prediction: Jacob Crawford over Matt Cimato 152: Two years ago as an eighth-grader this young man competed in the Nittany Lion Open. Not only that, but he won a match, and was rather competitive in his two losses. Since then, the reputation of Chance Marsteller (Kennard Dale, Pa.) has only continued to grow. A dominant Cadet freestyle title last summer, an undefeated state championship season as a freshman in the Pennsylvania big-school division, and an absolutely dominant sweep of Greco-Roman and freestyle at the Cadet Duals and Cadet Nationals has transpired in the interim. Marsteller is clearly the best Class of 2014 wrestler in America, and some might argue the best overall high school wrestler in America. While there is no realistic challenger to Marsteller within this field, any number of wrestlers will be battling for "best of the rest" honors. Notable sophomores in this group include state champion and Cadet freestyle All-American Josh Llopez (La Plata, Md.), state placer Garrett Peppelman (Central Dauphin, Pa.), along with state placer and FloNationals placer Jordan Cooks (Davison, Mich.). Additional state champions in this weight include Kyle Burns (Milan Edison, Ohio), Eric O'Neill (Winter Springs, Fla.), Nick Kee (Scotland, N.C.), Austin Scogg (Rockford, Mich.), Patrick Davis (Woodbridge, Del.), and Aaron Walker (Judson, Texas). Also meriting attention is FILA Cadet freestyle All-American Travis Curley (St. Johns, Mich.). Finals Prediction: Chance Marsteller over Travis Curley 160: For the lack of star power present in the prior weight, this group provides more than sufficient compensation with four InterMat Top 100 Class of 2012 recruits as a starting point. This group includes Ironman and Beast of the East champion Jason Luster (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.) -- a three-time state/National Prep finalist; Beast of the East runner-up Cody Allala (Hopewell, Va.), a three-time state champion; FloNationals and Junior National Greco-Roman champion Geordan Speiller (Pine Castle Christian, Fla.), a two-time state champion; along with Beast of the East champion Devon Gobbo (Delbarton, N.J.), a two-time state placer and Super 32 placer. Additional wrestlers to watch include FloNationals placers Tyler Askey (Northgate, Ga.) and Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.); Junior National Greco-Roman All-American Burke Paddock (Warsaw, N.Y.); state champions Jordan Wohlfert (St. Johns, Mich.), John Crowley (Regis, Colo.), and Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, Va.); NHSCA Junior placers Vincent Favia (Christian Brothers, N.J.), Ben Sullivan (Apple Valley, Minn.), and Justin Spyres (Green Run, Va.); along with state runners-up Victor Pereira (Newark Memorial, Calif.) and Adam Jackson (Rosemount, Minn.). Finals Prediction: Jason Luster over Cody Allala 170: Like the 152 pound weight anchored by the nation's top sophomore, this weight is anchored by one of the true elite wrestlers in America -- Taylor Massa (St. Johns, Mich.). Massa is seeking an elusive Super 32 title having finished third, second, second, and third in his prior attempts. The University of Mich. bound wrestler is ranked as the top recruit in the Class of 2012, has won three state titles, and is a two-time FILA Junior National freestyle champion. An additional similarity, is the lack of a bona fide challenger, though the contender group has some pretty solid wrestlers. Other state champions in this weight class include Junior Greco-Roman All-American Kyle Koziel (Brandon, Fla.), Forrest Przybysz (Jefferson, Ga.), Tanner Tinsley (Hanover, Va.), Jacob Haydock (Brandon, Fla.), Jared Haught (Parkersburg, West Va.), Cadet freestyle runner-up Parker Vonegidy (Piedmont, N.C.), and NHSCA freshman champion Chip Ness (Buford, Ga.). Additional wrestlers meriting attention are state placers Elliott Riddick (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), Connor Moran (Solanco, Pa.), and Austin Coniker (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.); along with National Prep placer Tyler Rill (Mt. St. Joseph, Md.), Super 32 placer Brian Dorsey (Bowie, Texas), and NHSCA Sophomore champion Nick Zak (Jackson Liberty, N.J.). Finals Prediction: Taylor Massa over Kyle Koziel 182: The other side of the consolidation of weight classes in the middle is the increase of classes in the upper weights. What used to be the three weight classes of 171, 189, and 215 is now a four weight stretch of 170, 182, 195, and 220. This weight class is similar to the 180 weight that had been contested in prior years in Texas, but is new for high school wrestling overall. Despite that, there is excellent quality present in this weight class with a pair of defending Super 32 champions in Brandon Griffin (Sprague, Ore.) and Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan, Pa.). Other superstars in this weight include two-time Junior National freestyle All-American Jordan Thomas (Greenville, Mich.), state champions and returning Super 32 placers Chaz Gresham (Goshen, Ohio) and Jesse Doyle (Wheatmore, N.C.), NHSCA Junior Nationals champion Tim Dudley (Irmo, S.C.), as well as FloNationals and Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Kevin Beazley (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.). Others meriting attention include state champions Greg Wilson (Keller Central, Texas), Taylor Jackson (Citrus, Fla.), and Gray Jones (Camden County, Ga.); NHSCA Junior Nationals placers David Reck (Colonial Forge, Va.) and Victor Pozsonyi (Roselle Park, N.J.); along with Super 32 placer Jared Lux (North Allegheny, Pa.). Finals Prediction: Jordan Thomas over Brandon Griffin 195: This weight class and the next weight class are where the after-effects of the weight class change really show, both in terms of quality depth and quantity of participants. A pair of star juniors headlines the field in this weight -- two-time Cadet National double (Greco-Roman and freestyle) champion Mitch Sliga (Fishers, Indiana) and two-time state finalist, 2010 Cadet freestyle champion, Brooks Climmons (Pope, Ga.). Additional wrestlers to note include a trio of NHSCA Junior Nationals placers in Joe Jessen (Millbrook, Va.), Cameron King (Trinity, N.C.), and James Suvak (St. Edward, Ohio). Also present in the field are state champion Cody Davis (Pigeon Forge, Tennessee) along with state placers Payne Hayden (St. Johns, Mich.) and Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area, Pa.). Finals Prediction: Mitch Sliga over Brooks Climmons 220: Winning a state championship as a freshman is a genuine accomplishment. Winning it in the Keystone State makes it all the more impressive. But to do it at 215 pounds, against 18 and 19 year old men, is all the more impressive. That is what Thomas Haines (Solanco, Pa.) did this past year. This sophomore, ranked No. 11 nationally, regardless of weight is a strong favorite to emerge with the belt on Sunday afternoon. Others to watch include state champion Chuckie Kerkesner (Cypress Lake, Fla.) along with state placers Ray Stone (Akron SVSM, Ohio), Trevor Stevens (Pope, Ga.), and Garrett Linton (Rootstown, Ohio). Finals Prediction: Thomas Haines over Chuckie Kerkesner 285: Last, and least in terms of participants in this tournament, is the heavyweights. None the less, there are a couple of high profile names in this field. First and foremost is Junior National double All-American Doug Vollaro (Pine Castle Christian, Fla.), who also was a FloNationals champion and earned second consecutive double runner-up honors at the FILA Cadet Nationals this spring. Joining Vollaro as an InterMat Top 100 senior in this weight is John Dreggors (Springstead, Fla.), a state runner-up who won titles at the NHSCA Junior National and FILA Cadet Greco-Roman tournaments this spring. Additional wrestlers in this weight class include National Prep runner-up Terrance Jean-Jacques (Haverhill, Massachusetts), Junior National freestyle All-American DaQuante Timbers (Freedom, Va.), state champion Lucas Ryan (Stonewall Jackson, Va.), and NHSCA Freshman champion Jesse Webb (Mt. Anthony Union, Vt.). Finals Prediction: Doug Vollaro over John Dreggors

SLIPPERY ROCK, PA -- Senior Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter) reached his 100th career win and has advanced to the semifinals at the University at Buffalo's season-opening tournament at the Slippery Rock Open at Morrow Field House on Saturday. Cerminara won his 99th career match against George Mason's John Bauman, 20-8, and followed that by winning his 100th against Lycoming's Matt Miller, 15-1. The 2004 All-American joins Josh States (1998-2002), who he will tie with two more wins, and Gary Cooper (1998-2003) as the only Buffalo wrestlers to ever reach 100 career wins.

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- Navy took home two individual titles and four others placed at the competitive season-opening Eastern Michigan Open on Saturday. Junior 157-pounder John Jarred (Kansas City, Mo.) and senior heavyweight Tanner Garrett (Tulsa, Okla.) brought home titles in their respective weight classes, while freshman 141-pounder Ricky Tippett (White Marsh, Md.) earned a second-place finish in his first collegiate tournament. "We came here to find out where we were at and where we stood and we found out a lot today," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We had some good performances and some not-so-good performances. I know we are better than we showed today in some areas. We'll go back to the drawing board next week and get ready for our California trip." Other placewinners for Navy included 174-pound sophomore Matt Stolpinski (3rd; Westfield, Mass.), junior 149-pounder John Cox (4th; Grand Haven, Mich.) and freshman 197-pounder Tyler Moyer (5th; Bremerton, Wash.).

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Seven wrestlers secured victories as the Black team defeated the Gold squad, 21-14, Saturday evening in Army's annual Black-Gold intrasquad wrestling scrimmage. The match, which was contested inside the newly renovated Arvin Gymnasium, kicked off the Black Knights' 2005-06 season. The action began at 165 pounds with Jon Anderson giving the Gold team an early 4-0 advantage as the Virginia Beach, Va., native turned in an 18-6 major decision triumph over freshman John Drew. Anderson sprinted out of the gates with three takedowns in the first period and cruised from there. The four-year standout produced six takedowns during the match, while Drew garnered his points on six escapes. Army dropped the 165- and 174-pound bouts before Charles Martin tied the score, 6-6, as the Carlisle, Pa., product earned a 9-7 decision opposite Doran Heist in the 184-pound contest. The bout was tied at 6-apiece going into the third period, but Martin outscored Heist 2-1 in the final frame to secure the win. In the second bout of the night, the Black team's Scott Ferguson nipped freshman Jon Mathias, 3-2, at 174 pounds. The match, deadlocked 0-0 after the first period, was highlighted by Ferguson's three-point flurry midway through the second period. The sophomore earned one point on an escape before producing the match's only takedown. He held off Mathias in the third stanza to earn the one-point victory. The 184-pound match set up as a fierce battle between a pair of Army seniors in Luke Calvert and Charles Martin. The contest remained scoreless into the second period, when Calvert, who was competing for the Black team, scored a point on a well-executed takedown. The grapplers traded escape points and Calvert took a 3-1 lead into the third period. Martin opened the third period with a two-point reversal to knot the score at 3-3. Calvert responded with an escape off of the ensuing restart and the Broken Arrow, Okla., native held on for the 4-3 decision. Calvert's win put the Black squad ahead 6-4, but the lead proved to be short-lived as junior Connor Sanders cruised past sophomore Daniel Schiering with a 12-4 major decision. Sanders used five takedowns en route to earning the four-point decision, which put the Gold team ahead 8-6 after four bouts. The see-saw scrimmage tipped in favor of the Black team as freshman Michael Sprigg outlasted senior James Hollis in overtime, 5-2, at heavyweight. The bout, which was tied at 1-1 after regulation time, remained deadlocked at 2-2 through the first four overtime periods. In the fifth extra session, Sprigg broke through with an escape to take the lead and added a takedown to provide the final margin. The Black team won three more matches in a row to seize the match. In the sixth bout of the match, sophomore Fernando Martinez defeated freshman William Simpson, 8-3, at 125 pounds. A product of Highland, Ind., Martinez produced a pair of takedowns in both the first and second periods on his way to the victory. The three-point decision extended the Black team's lead to 12-8. At 133 pounds, junior Frank Baughan kept the momentum going for the Black team as he turned back up-and-coming freshman Whitt Dunning, 6-2. Baughan jumped out a 5-0 advantage after two periods on the strength of a pair of takedowns. The third session proved to be a spirited one and Dunning averted being shutout with a nice two-point reversal late. Baughan's victory set the stage for Severo's match-securing win. BLACK DEFEATS GOLD AT WRESTLING'S ANNUAL INTRASQUAD SCRIMMAGE Severo, who moved up to 141 pounds after wrestling at 133 pounds last season, came away with a hard-fought 3-1 decision versus junior Lief Gilsdorf. The win gave the Black Knights an insurmountable 18-8 cushion heading to the match's final bout. Senior team captain Patrick Simpson halted the Black team's run of four consecutive wins by decision when he pinned junior Austin Milster in 2:58 to pull the Gold team to within 18-14 with one bout remaining. Simpson's win by fall kept the Gold team in contention. Junior Rush Williams put an end to any hopes that the Gold team had of a comeback when he downed freshman Brian Rowan, 3-1, at 157 pounds. The bout went to overtime tied at 1-1, and Williams wasted little time before he scored a takedown in the sudden victory overtime session. The Black Knights officially lift the lid on their 2005-06 intercollegiate campaign at the SUNY Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic on Saturday, Nov. 12, in Brockport, N.Y. The action is slated to begin at 10 a.m.

ATHENS, Ohio -- Six redshirt freshmen on the Ohio wrestling team made themselves known with strong performances at the annual Green vs. White intrasquad scrimmage in the Convocation Center on Saturday as White outlasted Green by a 15-14 score. Of those six redshirt freshman, Terry Jackson (Uhrichsville, Ohio) provided the biggest upset of the day when he defeated senior captain Jim Fowler (Valley City, Ohio) 3-1 in overtime at 141 pounds. "Terry Jackson's performance at 141 was a big surprise," said Ohio head coach Joel Greenlee, who served as the referee for all of Saturday's matches. "He really took it to him from start to finish so that was a good match for Terry." Jackson started the year behind fellow reshirt freshman Albert Madsen (Strongsville, Ohio) and junior Matt Smith (Sandyville, W.Va.) at 133 pounds but his performance Saturday has pushed him to the top of the chart at 141 pounds. In addition to Fowler at that weight, sophomore Frank Brown (Westerville, Ohio) remains a possible starter once he recovers from a knee injury. According to Greenlee, sophomore Caleb Metcalf (Waterville, Ohio) and Madsen also looked impressive in their matches. Metcalf scored a major decision for the Green team in the day's opening match by beating redshirt freshman Jake Kagey (Alexandria, Ohio) by a 12-1 margin at 125 pounds. Madsen then gave the White team its first points with a 7-1 decision over Smith in the 133 bout.