InterMat Staff

Pre-NCAA Championship Quotes: Head Coach John Smith On the season up until the NCAA Championships "It was an uphill battle and I would not want it any other way. This is one that is going to have to be earned. Heading into the (NCAA Championships) we are probably going to have three guys with seeds and five others without seeds. That does not sound like a team that appears to be challenging for a national championship. I will say we wrestled our best at the Big 12 Championships. There were a couple of individuals who did not wrestle their best, but as a team I felt like we had our best performance as we were one match away from winning the championship. We just have to prepare everybody to understand for us to be successful that we will have to earn it the hard way by upsetting people. We have to be motivated to handle any situation that may occur." On the NCAA Championships "We have a number of guys who have to win. I see it really similar, outside of Minnesota, that there are a lot of teams in the same situation like us, but might be a little ahead of us. As far as the number of guys seeded in the tournament, Minnesota is definitely a notch above everyone. You control your destiny in this tournament and that is what I am preaching this week." "Regardless of what has happened throughout the season, I think it has taken a lot of work for this team to keep it together and keeping faith in what we are trying to accomplish. Ultimately, it was not me who did that, it was them who did that. They did some things right through the year, as far as some of the losses, this is the first team to lose five dual meets in a while. It is something that does not really bother me because dual meets do not mean a whole lot to me, except obviously victories." "In recuperating and coming back, I liked the way we fought through some adversity and the way we wrestled (at the Big 12 Championships). I think there was a time in the season where it could have got really ugly for us, but we were able to fight back after National Duals and move forward, which has been an important time this season." On what he tells the four wrestlers who are making their first trip "I tell them that it is another tournament, and it is no different than any other tournament. This is a time where you wrestle your very best. You have tried to wrestle your hardest before, but this is a time where you have to do your best. That is what we have to get out of them. We cannot use this season as gaining experience because we need guys who are unseeded doing something for us. If you do not do something, nobody is going to turn on you. Great thinks have happened to us at the end of a few seasons because we embrace the NCAA Championships. That is what this team has to do." Junior Coleman Scott On winning a national title "Last year, I was disappointed losing in the first round and having to wrestle my way back. This year, I have been training hard to win the title. I feel that I can do it. I know I was going to let the team down, and did not want to finish without being All-American. I did not want to go another year with that in my head knowing that I did not earn that status. I was upset with myself, but I did what I could by helping the team win a national championship. I have to start off a lot better this year (at the championships)." Senior Johny Hendricks On winning matches "I knew that if I moved my feet that I would win (the Big 12 finals against Travis Paulson). You have to go into a match confident knowing that you are going to win. If you do not, you will struggle. Before each match, I have to sit there and know whatever happens I have to pull it out. That is the way I have been wrestling. It will be a whole different mindset going into the NCAA Championships. I have to go in knowing that nothing is going to happen because I am going to make sure everything is going to happen the way I want it to." Junior Jack Jensen On qualifying for the NCAA Championships "I expected to qualify for the NCAA Championships because you can't expect not to go. I have the ticket from the finals last year, and wrote on it 'you need to be here." On the makeup of the team "I think our team was coming into its own in the last half of the season. We have a closer team now than we did at the beginning of the season. Everybody is different, and we are not those guys from the last couple of years. We all do different things." Sophomore Newly McSpadden On helping the team win "Qualifying for the NCAA Championships is not only important to me, but also for the team. I am ready to head to Detroit to help the team win a national title. With it being my first appearance at the championships, the major thing I have concentrated on is that anything can happen. It does not matter what happened in the past as it is a different scenario. As long as you make it to the championships, anything can happen. Hopefully, it works out for the best." Sophomore Brandon Mason On the key to scoring points at Nationals "I know if I wrestle hard against guys like I did against (Ben) Askren in Stillwater, I will have the opportunity of beating anyone. Over the past two seasons, I have wrestled everyone in my weight class so I feel that I will be ready to go. It is important for all of us to do well because our coaches and teammates are counting on us to score. Say we have the opportunity of getting a major decision, those extra points will be huge for us." Freshman Jared Rosholt On what to wrestle for at the NCAA Championships "Everyone is going to wrestle for one another so we can bring the national championship back to Stillwater. Your not just wrestling for your team, you are wrestling for you school, fans and your family. When you wrestle for all of them, I feel that it gives you more motivation in your match." Junior Nathan Morgan On what he needs to do to be successful at the NCAA Championships "I feel that I have trained different and I have a different mentality. I feel tougher this year. I have been able to focus a lot better on things, including the different styles people tried to wrestle me with. I just have to go out there and push myself. I will be ready to go. I have to go out there and be relaxed and have fun." Freshman Tyler Shinn On adapting to college wrestling "I say for the first few months of this season, things were tough. But as of late, my body has gotten used to everything. I need to wrestle my best. The way I feel right now, I have always wrestled good. I have to be confident. Obviously, this is a whole different level than the high school level. In college, you feel that your opponent puts a lot more pressure on you than those who you wrestled against in high school."

This week's edition of "On the Mat" will feature Ben Askren, Andrew Hipps, and Jeff Harrison. Askren, a senior at the University of Missouri, is the defending NCAA champion at 174 pounds. Known for his flair on and off the mat, Askren was the 2006 recipient of the Dan Hodge Trophy and the Schalles Award. Askren recently won the Big 12 wrestling tournament and is 35-0 with 26 pins entering the NCAA tournament. Hipps is a senior writer for RevWrestling.com, a wrestling website that covers every aspect of the sport. The website offers coverage of college, high school, and international wrestling, as well as highlights and previews of select mixed martial arts competitions. Hipps is a regular columnist for the site and conducts weekly interviews with some of wrestling's top athletes and coaches. Jeff Harrison will be in studio this week to discuss the upcoming NCAA Championships and the recent conference qualifiers. Harrison was a two-time NCAA qualifier for the University of Northern Iowa and is the host of the popular Internet show "The Wrestling Recap". "On the Mat" is a weekly wrestling radio program that airs every Wednesday from 6-7 p.m. Central Standard Time. The Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, IA, hosts the show. "On the Mat" can be heard live on the Internet at kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa on 1650, The Fan.

Mike Pucillo finally realized his childhood dream to wrestle for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Mike PucilloHowever, the 184-pound freshman sensation -- ranked third by RevWrestling.com -- didn't take the most direct route. Instead of going from his home south of Cleveland down I-71 to Columbus, Mike took a bit of a side trip, to Hofstra University on Long Island, New York. But now the Ohio native is back in his home state, making major contributions to the turn-around success of the Buckeyes. In an article in The Lantern, the student newspaper at Ohio State, Mike Pucillo says, "I was at home looking at some old pictures from when I was young, and in those pictures, I had an Ohio State singlet on." "Everyone wants to be a Buckeye." Despite a sparkling prep career at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio -- concluding with a state title his senior year -- Mike Pucillo apparently escaped the attention of Ohio State. However, his lifelong dream was not to be denied. After a year at Hofstra, Mike now finds himself wearing the scarlet and grey of the Buckeyes. From Cleveland to Columbus via the Long Island Expressway As a high school senior, Mike had looked at a number of schools -- "Purdue, Hofstra, Old Dominion" -- before signing with Hofstra, where he redshirted his first year. "I was struggling with being so far from home," says Mike, born in Columbia Station, Ohio southwest of Cleveland, where he went to kindergarten with Ohio State teammate Lance Palmer. "I was having a tough time adapting to the school and the area." He quickly adds, "I had no problem with the wrestling program or the coaches. Tom Ryan's a great guy." Tom Ryan"We heard rumors that Coach Ryan was thinking of leaving Hofstra, possibly to go to Ohio State," says Mike. "I sat down with him, told him of my struggles with the school." In April 2006, Tom Ryan was named head coach of the Ohio State wrestling program… which opened the door for Mike Pucillo to follow his coach's lead and transfer from Hofstra to the Big Ten school in Columbus, and realize his childhood wish of being a Buckeye. When asked about the 184-pounder that followed him to Ohio State, Coach Ryan says, "He is passionate about wrestling, and Ohio State wrestling. He is a true 'Buckeye.'" Before becoming a Buckeye … That mat passion started early for Mike Pucillo. "Dad got me into the sport when I was in kindergarten or first grade," says Mike. "He had been a wrestler. He was my first coach." "Growing up, I wrestled at the Y(MCA) program that was a feeder to various schools. I could have ended up at Strongsville or St. Ed's or Walsh. I really liked the atmosphere of Walsh, I made the decision to go there when I was in sixth grade." "I couldn't have asked for a better coach than Bill Barger," says Mike of his coach at the Catholic high school just outside Akron. "He's an all-around great guy. More than just a coach, but a great mentor as well." "Coach Barger is a great motivator. He can pump you up and convince you that you're capable of achieving any goal." While at Walsh, Mike Pucillo earned a trip to the Ohio high school state tournament all four years. His freshman year, he placed sixth. His sophomore and junior years, he was a runner-up. It was in his senior year that he claimed the ultimate prize -- a state title at 189 pounds. Being a two-time finalist helped prepare Mike for his title shot as a senior. "It helped that I had been in that situation before. It reduced some of the pressure. However, I kept thinking, ‘What if I'm a runner-up three years in a row?' I went out and did my best, and it worked out for me." When asked to name his high school career highlights, Mike immediately mentions winning the Walsh Ironman as a junior. "Not many guys can say they've done that … It was an incredible thrill to win that event in my home gym, in front of all my friends." A moment or two later, he adds, "Winning the Beast of the East as a senior was special, too. That had been a goal of mine since I was in eighth grade." Mike PucilloMike may be too modest to mention that he was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the 2005 Beast of the East mega-tournament … or some of his other mat accomplishments while at Walsh. He was a two-time team MVP … owns the school's record for the most pins … and he took the 189-pound crown at the 2005 Senior Nationals. While Mike Pucillo was a redshirt freshman at Hofstra, he did get some valuable collegiate mat experience. One highlight of his first year in college wrestling was winning the 184-pound title at the Cleveland State Open. Pucillo part of big changes for the Buckeyes When Mike Pucillo transferred to Ohio State, he came into a program that was in "turn-around" mode after a period of struggles. In recent years, there had been much talk in the wrestling community that many great prep wrestlers in Ohio -- one of the hotbeds for high school wrestling in the US -- had left the state upon graduation to continue their college careers elsewhere. In 2006, after nearly a decade at Hofstra, Tom Ryan took the head coaching position for the Buckeyes. A two-time Big Ten champ and twice NCAA All-American at the University of Iowa under coach Dan Gable in the early 1990's, Coach Ryan brought impressive credentials to Ohio State. While at Hofstra, Tom Ryan guided 65 wrestlers to NCAA championship appearances; eleven earned All-American honors. Tom Ryan made some major changes upon arriving in Columbus. He hired a new coaching staff, bringing in Lou Roselli, as well as Ohio natives Joe Heskett (like Mike, a graduate of Walsh Jesuit High School) and Tommy Rowlands. Before the season started, he went on a tour that took him to the four corners of Ohio to major high school wrestling programs such as St Edward and Archbishop Moeller, bringing the news of the "new" Buckeyes to major media markets across the state. The new Buckeyes seem to be turning things around. This year, Ohio State completed its regular season with an 8-6 record -- the first winning season since 2002-2003 -- and a 4-4 mark against Big Ten competition. By contrast, in 2005-2006, the Buckeyes were 5-13 in dual-meet competition, losing all eight Big Ten conference duals. Coach Tom Ryan gives Mike Pucillo some of the credit for the Buckeyes' newfound success: "Mike's a quality young man who is a 'difference-maker' in the Ohio State program." Hello, Columbus … hello success How did this freshman transfer assume the role as a "difference-maker"? Mike Pucillo became Ohio State's starter at 184 after senior Alex Picazo was sidelined with a broken hand at the beginning of the season … and he hasn't looked back. During the 2006-07 season, Mike has had a near-perfect record, with his only regular-season loss coming to Northwestern's Jake Herbert, ranked No. 1 in the nation in that weight class. Mike's career as a Buckeye got off to a tremendous start at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. His first three wins at the early December event included two major decisions and a pin. In the semifinals, the then-eighth-ranked Ohio Stater got a 3-1 win over fourth-ranked Raymond Jordan of Missouri. Then, in the finals, Mike defeated Michigan's Tyrel Todd, ranked third in the country at the time, by the score of 12-6. Thanks to this performance, Mike Pucillo was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on December 4. Tommy Rowlands"When he won in Las Vegas, I knew he would contend for the NCAA title every year for the rest of his career," says assistant coach Tommy Rowlands, a man who contended for the collegiate championship four times himself, winning two. "He has 'it'." Mike Pucillo has beaten six of the top twenty 184-pounders in Division I. In addition to defeating Missouri's Jordan and Michigan's Todd two times each, Mike has won matches against Indiana's Marc Bennett, Iowa's Phil Keddy, Illinois' John Dergo, and Columbia's Justin Barent. However, Mike had a disappointing 2007 Big Ten tournament. Seeded third behind Northwestern's Herbert and Minnesota's Roger Kish, the Buckeye 184-pounder opened the conference championships with a 9-3 victory over Phil Bomberger of Penn State, followed by a 4-0 shutout of Michigan State's Joe Williams. However, in the quarterfinals, Mike was pinned by 2006 NCAA finalist Kish at 1:33, and had to forfeit his consolation matches because of injury, ultimately placing sixth… but earning the opportunity to compete at the 2007 NCAA's. Style points When asked to describe his wrestling style, Mike Pucillo chuckled and said, "I'm not giving out any secrets" but immediately added, "I really don't think I have a set style. I focus on maintaining good position at all times, and strive to keep the match under my control." Mike also talked about how "growing into" a 184-pounder has helped him too. "I've not always been this big. As a high school freshman, I wrestled 125. By junior year, I was a '52, then jumped up to '89 senior year … I think that being once small, helped me be more mobile, more agile, quicker than some guys." Tommy Rowlands, two-time NCAA heavyweight champ for Ohio State who has returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach, says this about Mike Pucillo's way of wrestling: "He's very basic, hard to get out of position. A great handfighter. He makes very few mistakes." A bright future for this Buckeye Mike Pucillo is a communications major at Ohio State. Right now, he's open-minded as to possible career options. "There are great career opportunities with my major," says the Buckeye freshman sensation. "However, I would like to be a wrestling coach, ultimately in Division I … I like the competition, staying in the sport. I'd like to help out, share some of what I've learned from my coaches." Mike PucilloWhat about staying on the mats after graduation? "Right now, I really don't like wrestling freestyle. But I think that's because I've not had a lot of experience in it, and, my opinion could change with more exposure and experience." For Mike Pucillo, graduation is a number of years away. In the meantime, his coaches are very enthusiastic about his future. Assistant coach Tommy Rowlands asserts: "Mike will contend for an NCAA title all four years, continue to be a pillar for this program, and hopefully will hang up some titles, both individually, and as a team." In summing up his analysis of his 184-pound star, head coach Tom Ryan says, "We are very fortunate to have Mike in this program."

2007 NCAA Division I Qualifiers: 125: Blanc, Obe -- Lock Haven Castillo, Pat -- Northern Illinois Cudd, Collin -- Wisconsin Cummings, Taylor -- N.C. State Donahoe, Paul -- Nebraska Escobedo, Angel -- Indiana Espinoza, John -- Arizona State Eveleth, Matt -- Penn Falck, Charlie -- Iowa Fanthorpe, Nick -- Iowa State Fisk, Matt -- Lehigh Flores, Gabe -- Illinois Gardner, Tanner -- Stanford Hazewinkel, Sam -- Oklahoma Hoffman, Eric -- North Dakota State Kinney, Brandon -- Columbia Maldonado, Javier -- UT-Chattanooga Martinez, Fernando -- Army McKnight, Mark -- Penn State Mustari, Tony -- Northern Colorado Mytych, Steve -- Drexel Ness, Jayson -- Minnesota Nickerson, Troy -- Cornell Orozco, Marcos -- UC Davis Precin, Brandon -- Northwestern Ramirez, Nick -- Wyoming Sees, Michael -- Bloomsburg Shinn, Tyler -- Oklahoma State Smith, Christian -- Liberty Smith, Luke -- Central Michigan Sportelli, Chad -- Kent State Stevenson, Eric -- Oregon State Tomasette, David -- Hofstra 133: Albright, Eric -- Virginia Anderson, Mark -- West Virginia Anson, Kyle -- Northern Iowa Baker, Joe -- Navy Budd, Mark -- Buffalo Ciasulli, Seth -- Lehigh Dillashaw, Tyler -- Cal State-Fullerton Donald, Richard -- Bloomsburg Enright, TJ -- Ohio State Frey, Adam -- Cornell Gaitan, Omar -- UC Davis Galanakis, Mario -- Iowa Gallick, Nick -- Iowa State Headlee, Drew -- Pittsburgh Hernandez, Andrae -- Indiana Keller, Matt -- UT-Chattanooga Kennedy, Jimmy -- Illinois Marble, David -- Bucknell McCormick, Tyler -- Missouri Mitcheff, Dan -- Kent State Pfennigs, Bobby -- Oregon State Preston, Rob -- Harvard Reiter, Mack -- Minnesota Ruggirello, Lou -- Hofstra Scott, Coleman -- Oklahoma State Simmons, Nick -- Michigan State Sola, Evan -- North Carolina Staylor, Christian -- Old Dominion Strayer, Jake -- Penn State Tanelli, Zach -- Wisconsin Tate, Rob -- Gardner--Webb Valenti, Matt -- Penn Vasquez, Darrell -- Cal Poly VomBaur, Cory -- Wyoming 141: Borshoff, Kyle -- American Caldwell, Darrion -- N.C. State Ciasulli, Matt -- Lehigh Cocozzo, Daryl -- Edinboro Ettelson, CJ -- Northern Iowa Fisch, Don -- Rider Griffin, Charles -- Hofstra Harner, Tim -- Liberty Hashimoto, Kenny -- Northern Colorado Jaggers, J -- Ohio State Keefe, Michael -- UT-Chattanooga Kern, Darren -- Bloomsburg Kruger, Eric -- Central Michigan Kyler, Matt -- Army Lang, Ryan -- Northwestern Meltzer, Max -- Harvard Moore, Derek -- UC Davis Morgan, Nathan -- Oklahoma State Moyer, Dominick -- Nebraska Mueller, Mitch -- Iowa State Pearch, Justin -- Oregon Pero, Cassio -- Illinois Rader, Brandon -- West Virginia Rivera, Manuel -- Minnesota Roberts, David -- Cal Poly Ruschell, Kyle -- Wisconsin Schumm, Matt -- Cal State-Bakersfield Simmons, Andy -- Michigan State Terry, Kyle -- Oklahoma Tsirtsis, Alex -- Iowa 149: Adams, Ryan -- North Dakota State Alvarenga, Sam -- VMI Atkinson, Morgan -- Cal State-Fullerton Becker, Cody -- Millersville Burroughs, Jordan -- Nebraska Caramanica, Joe -- N.C. State Churella, Josh -- Michigan Coughlin, Matt -- Indiana Cox, John -- Navy Downing, Carter -- Wyoming Doyle, Brandon -- Cal State-Bakersfield Dunn, Matt -- Columbia Ervin, Scott -- Appalachian St. Gillespie, Gregor -- Edinboro Hurley, Ryan -- Cleveland State Jauregui, David -- West Virginia Kessler, Mike -- Rider Kipperberg, Derek -- Oregon State Leen, Jordan -- Cornell Martin, Aaron -- UT-Chattanooga McGee, Jason -- Kent State Moley, Matt -- Bloomsburg O'Connor, JP -- Harvard Palmer, Lance -- Ohio State Patacsil, Jake -- Purdue Roberts, Mike -- Boston Sanderson, Cyler -- Iowa State Schlatter, Dustin -- Minnesota Storniolo, Matt -- Oklahoma Thompson, Jermain -- Eastern Michigan Turner, Tyler -- Wisconsin Vallimont, Dan -- Penn State Wagner, Josh -- Missouri 157: Becker, Brandon -- Indiana Bonilla-Bowman, Jon -- Virginia Tech Chandler, Michael -- Missouri Crenshaw, Victer -- Cleveland State Dragon, Matt -- Penn Fay, Moza -- Northern Iowa Frerichs, Jacob -- Ohio Fryling, Zac -- West Virginia Galloway, Nathan -- Rider Gross, Kurt -- Kent State Henning, Craig -- Wisconsin Hill, Matt -- Edinboro Hluschak, Ryan -- Drexel Hostetter, Jarrett -- Millersville Jarred, John -- Navy Jenkins, Bubba -- Penn State Kocher, Matt -- Pittsburgh Martin, Seth -- Lock Haven McSpadden, Newly -- Oklahoma State Mesanko, Devin -- Columbia Midlam, Cody -- Duquesne Morningstar, Ryan -- Iowa Murphy, Jake -- Purdue Nakasone, David -- Lehigh Oliver, Chris -- Nebraska Pami, Chase -- Cal Poly Paulson, Trent -- Iowa State Poeta, Mike -- Illinois Rowe, William -- Oklahoma Salazar, Luke -- Northern Colorado Schlatter, CP -- Minnesota Sherfey, Tyler -- Boise State Stith, Brian -- Arizona State Strouse, James -- Hofstra Yost, Jacob -- UT-Chattanooga Zupancic, Josh -- Stanford 165: Anceravage, Steve -- Cornell Atondo, Daniel -- Cal State-Bakersfield Baima, Nick -- Northern Iowa Cannon, Michael -- American Dean, Max -- Indiana Decker, Eric -- Virginia Tech Dwyer, Stephen -- Nebraska Fraga, Justin -- Purdue Galloway, Johnny -- Northern Illinois Hendricks, Johny -- Oklahoma State Kiessling, Jason -- Maryland Kitchner, Shawn -- Brown Meyer, Ryan -- South Dakota State Miller, Mike -- Central Michigan Noack, Dustin -- UC Davis Patrovich, Mike -- Hofstra Paulson, Travis -- Iowa State Pell, Matt -- Missouri Penn, Deonte -- Edinboro Perry, Brian -- Stanford Perry, Mark -- Iowa Pitsch, Patrick -- Arizona State Porter, Chad -- Liberty Pullano, Nick -- Old Dominion Rendos, Andrew -- Bucknell Richmond, Sean -- Pittsburgh Safratowich, Tyler -- Minnesota Sayers, TJ -- UT--Chattanooga Shanaman, Zach -- Penn Smith--Bergsrud, Roger -- Illinois Tannenbaum, Eric -- Michigan Tice, Bryan -- Cal State-Fullerton Vondruska, Chris -- Ohio State 174: Askren, Ben -- Missouri Brenner, Kurt -- West Virginia Burk, Daniel -- Northern Illinois Cook, Ken -- UC Davis Dolly, Alex -- Northern Iowa Dretsch, Gabriel -- Minnesota Feist, Luke -- Stanford Gavin, Keith -- Pittsburgh Hayes, Nick -- Northwestern Heleniak, John -- Millersville Herrington, Matt -- Penn Hooker, Joey -- Cornell Kozar, Nick -- Drexel Larson, Jeremy -- Oregon State Lee, Nathan -- Boise State Letts, Mike -- Maryland Lowe, Joe -- UNC Greensboro Lucas, Alton -- Hofstra Luedke, Eric -- Iowa Luke, Steve -- Michigan Maciag, Matt -- Wisconsin Martin, Neal -- Appalachian St. Mason, Brandon -- Oklahoma State Moricone, Phil -- Edinboro Palmer, Matt -- Columbia Patterson, Josh -- Binghamton Perry, Trevor -- Indiana Robertson, Ken -- Eastern Illinois Rogers, Lloyd -- UT-Chattanooga Rueda, Rudy -- American Sinnott, Brandon -- Central Michigan Stolpinski, Matt -- Navy Turner, Grant -- Iowa State Umbehauer, Doug -- Rider Weitzel, Josh -- Oklahoma Yonushonis, James -- Penn State 184: Arnone, Josh -- Cornell Bennett, Marc -- Indiana Brandvold, Trevor -- Wisconsin Bressler, Kyle -- Oregon State Burk, Duke -- Northern Illinois Caponi, Rocco -- Virginia Caputo, Louis -- Harvard Clemsen, Alex -- Edinboro Craig, David -- Lehigh Dergo, John -- Illinois Edmondson, Josh -- UT-Chattanooga Giesen, Zack -- Stanford Gifford, Greg -- Arizona State Herbert, Jake -- Northwestern Jensen, Jack -- Oklahoma State Jordan, Raymond -- Missouri Keddy, Phil -- Iowa Kish, Roger -- Minnesota Miller, Mike -- Rider Miranda, Antonio -- Navy Perz, Greg -- Eastern Illinois Pucillo, Mike -- Ohio State Ricotta, Jared -- Duquesne Rovelli, Joe -- Hofstra Shirk, Nathan -- Bloomsburg Sinnott, Christian -- Central Michigan Todd, Tyrel -- Michigan Varner, Jake -- Iowa State Vincent, Shawn -- Northern Colorado Zamir, Lior -- Penn 197: Anderson, Andrew -- Northern Iowa Askren, Max -- Missouri Backes, Kurt -- Iowa State Bergman, JD -- Ohio State Bond, Patrick -- Illinois Brester, Craig -- Nebraska Bryce, Jacob -- North Dakota State Cassidy, Matt -- Lehigh Cook, Jeremie -- Lock Haven Davis, Phil -- Penn State Flaggert, Joel -- Oklahoma Gibson, James -- Edinboro Glenn, Josh -- American Goodman, Ryan -- N.C. State Halsey, Brandon -- Cal State-Bakersfield Herbst, Dallas -- Wisconsin Lapotsky, Eric -- Bucknell Mendoza, David -- Old Dominion Michalak, Wynn -- Central Michigan Monteiro, Matt -- Cal Poly Moore, Nate -- Purdue Murray, Corry -- VMI Porter, Dustin -- Gardner-Webb Rinaldi, Jerry -- Cornell Roy, Nick -- Michigan Tamillow, Mike -- Northwestern Taylor, Hudson -- Maryland Trulson, Jason -- Arizona State Villers, Jared -- West Virginia Weidman, Chris -- Hofstra Wendland, Sam -- Wyoming Hwt: Anspach, Aaron -- Penn State Brooks, AJ -- Clarion Buuck, Josh -- Indiana Cowen, Chris -- Drexel Ellis, Mark -- Missouri Fendone, Joe -- Edinboro Fields, Matt -- Iowa Fox, Dustin -- Northwestern Goff, Rashard -- Cleveland State Gritter, Bubba -- Central Michigan Hammond, Zach -- Cornell Hopkin, Reece -- Northern Colorado Konrad, Cole -- Minnesota Koz, Matt -- UT-Chattanooga Massey, Kyle -- Wisconsin Mock, Levon -- Brown Nadolsky, Spencer -- North Carolina Nichols, Colton -- Cal State-Bakersfield Palma, Janior -- N.C. State Parker, Cody -- Cal Poly Patrick, Andy -- Boise State Porter, Jermail -- Kent State Prendergast, Ed -- Navy Rogers, Dustin -- West Virginia Rosholt, Jared -- Oklahoma State Sauer, Wade -- Cal State-Fullerton Spaid, Michael -- Bloomsburg Thobaben, Nathan -- Army Walker, Patrick -- Liberty Watterson, Ty -- Oregon State Weibel, Paul -- Lehigh Wise, John -- Illinois Zabriskie, David -- Iowa State Zarrinpour, Payam -- Sacred Heart

The top-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team successfully defended its 2006 Big Ten title with a dominating performance in East Lansing, Mich. The Golden Gophers crowned four individual champions and had five other wrestlers place in the top five to run away with the team title. The Gophers finished with 156 points, 56.5 ahead of second-place Wisconsin. Minnesota captured its sixth Big Ten title in the last nine years while crowning four individual champions for the second straight year. Ness wrapped up a dominating individual performance in his first Big Ten Championships with a 12-1 major decision over Iowa's Charlie Falck to win the 125-pound title. Ness wasted no time going to work on Falck as he overpowered the Hawkeye wrestler to take him down to his back just 30 seconds into the first period to take a 4-0 lead. Ness continued to build his lead from there, getting a reversal and three-point near fall in the second to cruise to the victory and claim his 19th consecutive victory. Ness ended the championships with two pins and a major decision. After rebounding from a quarterfinal loss yesterday, Mack Reiter continued to roll through the wrestlebacks with two pins today to finish third at 133. Reiter began the day by pinning Penn State's Jake Strayer in 1:40 to advance to set up a rematch with Illinois' James Kennedy, who handed him a 6-3 loss earlier this year. Reiter made sure a repeat would not happen. After a scoreless first period, Reiter took Kennedy down directly to his back midway through the second to get the fall at 4:02. Reiter pinned his final three opponents of the tournament. At 141, Manuel Rivera suffered his second straight defeat in the consolation semifinals but rebounded to pin Illinois' Cassio Pero to claim fifth place. Rivera, who was unable to wrestle at full strength this weekend due to a knee injury, fell to Michigan State's Andy Simmons, 8-2, in his first match. He got back on track with the win over Pero. Rivera controlled the match throughout, getting a takedown and back points in the first period before scoring a reversal to put Pero directly on his back and get the fall at 4:17. With the win, Rivera improved to 36-2 on the season. Top-ranked sophomore Dustin Schlatter captured his second Big Ten individual title in as many years with a 3-2 decision over Michigan's Josh Churella. In a very evenly contested match, Schlatter got a takedown 20 seconds in and rode Churella out for nearly the entire second period, which proved to be the difference. Schlatter avoided danger in the second when Churella nearly took him down with a single-leg but he scrambled out and held on for the victory. With three wins this weekend, Schlatter extended his winning streak to 62 consecutive matches. Not to be outdone, C.P. Schlatter also successfully defended his 2006 Big Ten title with a 1-0 decision over Indiana's Brandon Becker. In a defensive battle throughout, Schlatter rode Becker out the entire second period to get the decisive point. Tyler Safratowich completed an impressive tournament by winning his final four matches to take third place. Safratowich defeated Ohio State's Chris Vondruska, 6-3, on Sunday morning and then turned in a gutsy performance against Purdue's Justin Fraga in the third-place match. Safratowich tweaked his knee in the first period but battled to a 4-4 tie after two periods. After starting down in the third, Fraga got the escape to go ahead 5-4, He scored the decisive takedown with just six seconds remaining and added the bonus point for riding time to win 7-5. At 174, Gabriel Dretsch took out his frustrations from a narrow loss last night by dominating Wisconsin's Matt Maciag in the consolation semifinals. Dretsch scored eight back points on Maciag on his way to a convincing 18-2 tech fall to advance to the third-place match. In a tight match much like his bout with James Yonushonis last night, Dretsch lost another heartbreaking match in overtime, this time falling to Iowa's Eric Luedke in overtime. Tied at one after regulation, Luedke got a three-point near fall in the tiebreaker on his way to a 6-3 decision. With a 2-2 record on the weekend, Dretsch matched his fourth-place finish at last year's Big Ten Championships. In the most anticipated match of the day, second-ranked Roger Kish fell to No. 1 Jake Herbert in the 184-pound final. Down 3-0 in the second, Kish had a chance to cut into Herbert's lead when he got in deep with a shot but could not quite finish as Herbert scrambled out. Herbert added a pair of takedowns in the third period to win 8-1, handing Kish just his second loss of the year, both of which have come against top-ranked wrestlers. Konrad captured his third straight Big Ten title with a pin of second-seeded Aaron Anspach of Penn State. Konrad used a body lock to take Anspach down in the first period and after a restart quickly rolled him to his back to get the fall in 2:20. The victory was Konrad's 70th in a row as he became just the fifth wrestler in school history to win three Big Ten individual titles. Minnesota also brought home three Big Ten awards. With a 36-3 record on the year, Ness was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Cole Konrad earned Big Ten Wrestler of the Years honors for the second straight year, while Head Coach J Robinson captured his seventh conference Coach of the year accolade. The Gophers now have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Championships which will be held March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, Mich.

National Championships: NCAA Division I Championships -- March 15-17 (Auburn Hills, Michigan) NCAA Division II Championships -- March 9-10 (Kearney, Nebraska) IN PROGRESS NCAA Division III Championships -- March 2-3 (Dubuque, Iowa) COMPLETED NAIA Championships -- March 2-3 (Sioux City, Iowa) COMPLETED NJCAA Championships -- February 23-24 (Rochester, Minnesota) COMPLETED NCWA Championships -- March 8-10 (Garland, Texas) IN PROGRESS Conference/Regional Qualifiers: Division I: Pac-10 Championships -- February 24-25 (Bakersfield, California) COMPLETED CAA Championships -- March 2-3 (Fairfax, Virginia) COMPLETED EIWA Championships -- March 2-3 (East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) COMPLETED Big 12 Championships -- March 3 (Columbia, Missouri) COMPLETED SoCon Championships -- March 3 (Raleigh, North Carolina) West Regional Championships -- March 3 (Cedar Falls, Iowa) East Regional Championships -- March 4 (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Big Ten Championships -- March 3-4 (East Lansing, Michigan) EWL Championships -- March 3-4 (Cleveland, Ohio) MAC Championships -- March 3-4 (Buffalo, New York) Division II: More Coming Soon! Division III: Iowa Intercollegiate Championships -- February 15 (Dubuque, Iowa) COMPLETED Ohio Championships -- February 17 (Tiffin, Ohio) COMPLETED Centennial Championships -- February 17 (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) COMPLETED New England Championships -- February 17-18 (Bristol, Rhode Island) COMPLETED Empire Championships -- February 17 (Ithaca, New York) COMPLETED Midwest Regional -- February 17 (Manchester, Indiana) COMPLETED WIAC Championships -- February 18 (La Crosse, Wisconsin) COMPLETED NAIA: East Regional -- February 16 (St. Charles, Missouri) COMPLETED North Regional -- February 17 (Dickinson, North Dakota) COMPLETED More Coming Soon! NJCAA: More Coming Soon!

FAIRFAX, VA -- The Old Dominion wrestling team will send three wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament this year as they finished in second place at the conference tournament. Redshirt senior Christian Staylor (Chesapeake, VA), junior Nick Pullano (Chesapeake, VA), and sophomore David Mendoza (Wyomissing, PA) all advance for the Monarchs to the national tournament taking place in Auburn Hills, MI on March 15-17. It will be the third trip to the NCAA Tournament for Staylor and the first time for the other two ODU grapplers. "I'm proud of the three we've got going," said assistant coach Lee Pritts. "I'm extremely proud of Pullano. He wrestled his butt off." Pullano needed to win in an extra "true-second" match to seal his automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. As a team, the Monarchs finished second overall, to Hofstra University. Tallying 89 points, the ODU wrestling team finished 4.5 points ahead of Rider University for second place.

BUFFALO, N.Y. –- Seven Central Michigan University wrestlers have advanced to the finals at the 2007 Mid-American Conference Championships. Eric Kruger (141 pounds), Andy Keller (157), Mike Miller (165), Brandon Sinnott (174), Christian Sinnott (184), Wynn Michalak (197) and Bubba Gritter (285) will compete in championship matches Sunday. Buffalo's Web site, buffalobulls.com, will provide free live video of Sunday's finals beginning at 11 a.m. CMU sits atop the team standings with 62.5 team points. Northern Illinois is second with 46.5, Kent State third with 40.5, Ohio fourth with 25, Eastern Michigan fifth with 23.5 and Buffalo sixth with 10.5. Eric Kruger was the first to advance to the finals, earning a 6-2 decision over Drew Lashaway in the 141-pound semifinals. Kruger, the second seed, took down the third-seeded Lashaway twice in the second period. He also built a riding time advantage of 2:02 in the win. Kruger began his day with an 8-0 major decision over Eastern Michigan's Zach Donofrio in the opening round. No. 1 seed Andy Keller advanced to the championship round with a 5-3 win over fourth-seeded Cory Mancuso at 157 pounds. Keller scored an early takedown and led 2-1 after one period, but Mancuso evened the score at 2-2 entering the third period. In rapid succession, Keller was given a point for Mancuso fleeing and scored an escape to take a 4-2 lead in the third. Mancuso was granted a stalling point, but Keller added riding time for the 5-3 victory. Redshirt freshman Mike Miller, seeded second at 165 pounds, will wrestle for a title in his first appearance the MAC Championships. He defeated No. 3 seed Jacob Ison (Ohio), 5-3, in the semis. Miller scored takedowns in both of the first two periods in the victory. He was a 10-2 victor over Kent State's Sli Bostelman in the first round. Brandon Sinnott scored a total of 13 takedowns in a pair of commanding wins on his way to the finals at 174 pounds. After taking down Buffalo's Nate Rock seven times in a 16-5 major decision in the first round, Sinnott tallied six takedowns in a 14-5 major over Eastern Michigan's Josh Lewis in the semis. Christian Sinnott scored two takedowns and a three-point nearfall in the third period to pull away from Buffalo's Ray Lamb in the 184-pound semifinals. Sinnott tallied a total of five takedowns in the 15-5 major decision. Wynn Michalak remained perfect in his MAC Championships career with a pair of pins Saturday. Already leading 8-0, he stuck Buffalo's Jake Blowers just 2:04 into the first period in the first round. He followed that by pinning Ohio's Larry Reichard at the 4:38 mark in the semifinals. Michalak, who is 6-0 all-time at the MAC Championships, now has 36 career falls. Bubba Gritter, the top seed at heavyweight, advanced to the finals with a 10-2 major decision over Buffalo's Jeff Parker. Gritter scored four takedowns and had a riding time advantage of more than two minutes in the win. Three individuals remain alive in the consolation bracket for CMU. Luke Smith will wrestle for third place on Sunday after pinning Eastern Michigan's Jack Cassedy in the consolation semis. Smith's quest for a third consecutive conference title ended in the semifinals when he was upset by third-seeded Chad Sportelli of Kent State. Sportelli tallied two takedowns in the first period and led 4-1 after the first three minutes. Smith held the advantage after scoring an escape in the second period, but was only able to add the riding time point despite riding Sportelli throughout the third period. At 133 pounds, fourth-seeded Conor Beebe dropped a 6-4 sudden victory decision to No. 1 seed Mark Budd in the championship semifinals. Beebe scored a takedown with 11 seconds left in regulation to even the score at 4-4, but Budd's takedown with 21 seconds left in the extra period was the difference. Beebe will wrestle for third place after posting a 13-1 major decision over Northern Illinois' John Weinert in the consolation semis. Beebe collected three takedowns and a total of four back points, along with 3:40 in riding time, in the victory. Brandon Carter will wrestle for third place after dropping top-seeded Mike Grimes, 13-6, in the 149-pound consolation semifinals. Carter scored a takedown and two back points in the first period, then stretched his lead to 8-2 entering in the third. He found himself in the consolation bracket after an 18-5 loss to Ohio's Clay Tucker in the first round.

EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. -- The Big Red wrestling team won its first EIWA Championship since 1993 on Saturday night at the 103rd EIWA Championships held at East Stroudsburg University. Cornell advanced six wrestlers to the finals, with Jordan Leen and Steve Anceravage bringing home individual titles in their respective weight classes. The Big Red qualified eight wrestlers for the NCAA Tournament. Session IV featuring the finals started at 125 pounds, with sophomore All-American Troy Nickerson taking second place after dropping a 5-3 decision to Penn's Matt Eveleth. Nickerson led 3-0 late in the third, but Eveleth caught him for a takedown and grabbed a lucky break turning the Big Red grappler nearly scoring the pin. Eveleth won the match with the two back points and riding time. Nickerson entered the championships as the No. 1 seed and won his first three matches notching bonus points for the Big Red in each. In his opening bout, he pinned Rutger's Ryan Jablonski in 1:11. In the quarterfinals, Nickerson faced eighth seeded Greg Einfrank (Brown). He posted a tech fall winning 16-0 in 6:22. Nickerson faced Columbia's Brandon Kinney for the second time this season in the semifinals. The Big Red grappler blanked the Lion, 8-0, winning a major decision. The 133 pound bout featured a rematch of Penn's Matt Valenti and the Big Red's Adam Frey. Valenti pinned Frey in their first meeting in February. The two were scoreless after two periods, but Valenti would drive ahead in the third with an escape and a takedown. Frey made an escape but was unable to score again on the Penn wrestler. With riding time, Valenti won a 4-1 decision to take the title. Rookie Frey was the second seed at 133 pounds and defeated American's Jordan Lipp in his first bout, 9-2. Frey rematched against Leigh's Seth Ciasulli in the quarterfinals advancing with a 7-5 win. Advancing to the finals, Frey would take his match into sudden victory winning with by a takedown over Harvard Robert Preston (9-7 sv). Sophomore Jordan Leen was the Big Red's first individual champion of the weekend after winning a 2-1 decision over Harvard's J.P. O'Connor at 149 pounds. The two were scoreless after the first period. Leen scored two points with a takedown and racked up over a minute of riding time in the second. O'Connor chose the top position in the third hoping to diminish the riding time. He accomplished that task and added over a minute of his own, but was unable to score late in the period. The championship title is Leen's first. His freshman season, he finished in third to win a bid to the NCAAs. This year Leen jumped into his second EIWA Championships with a 12-3 major decision over Austin Mister (Army). In his quarterfinal match, he narrowly missed notching his second MD with an 11-4 win over East Stroudsburg's Scott Heckman. To advance to the finals, Leen grabbed his second major decision with a 10-1 win over Columbia's Matthew Dunn. Steve Anceravage brought home the second individual title for the Big Red at 165 pounds. The sophomore won a 9-6 decision over American's Mike Cannon. Anceravage had an outstanding tournament opening with a tech fall over Navy's Justin Jacobs. He then went on to win an 11-3 major decision over ESU's Leif Ruschmeyer. The highlight of his tournament, other than winning the title, would be in his semifinal match. Anceravage pinned second seeded Zach Shanaman (Penn) in 2:48. The win avenged his 6-4 loss to the Quaker at the Cornell/Penn dual match earlier this season. Anceravage will make his second appearance at the NCAA tournament. Senior captain Jerry Rinaldi faced American's Josh Glenn in the finals at 197 pounds. Glenn won a 6-1 decision over Rinaldi to take the title. Rinaldi entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed. After having a bye his first round, Rinaldi pinned Army's Connor Sanders in his quarterfinal bout in 1:21. To advance to the finals, Rinaldi won a 16-4 major decision over Bucknell's Eric Lapotsky. Rinaldi qualified for his fourth NCAA Tournament. At heavyweight, Zach Hammond faced Navy's Ed Prendergast. The two were wrestling a tight match going into the third period. Hammond had to take an injury timeout and was not able to recover but finished out the match. Prendergast won a 10-0 major decision over the Big Red wrestler. Hammond had a bye in his first round but faced Columbia's Kevin Lester in the quarterfinals. In a dual match earlier in the season, Hammond won a 12-6 decision and wasted no time winning his second, 6-1. In his semifinal bout, he faced Lehigh's Paul Weibel. In January in a dual match, Weibel dealt Hammond a devastating blow when he caught the Big Red wrestler pinning him in 1:51. Hammond avenged that loss with a 3-1 win to secure his first bid to the NCAA Tournament. In Session III, Josh Arnone took third place at 184 pounds after winning a 5-1 decision over Lehigh's David Craig. Arnone scored the first point of the match in the second period with an escape from his initial down position. In the third period, he grabbed three points with a nearfall and with riding time totaled five points. Craig's only point came from an escape in the third period. To qualify for the NCAA tournament, Arnone defeated Penn's Lior Zamir for the second time this season by a score of 7-5. Joey Hooker placed fourth at 174 pounds after losing a 9-3 decision to Penn's Matt Harrington in the third place bout. Hooker won a 9-7 decision over Harrington earlier in the season at the Cornell/Penn dual match on Feb. 9. In his first match of the day, Hooker won a 1-0 decision over American's Rudy Rueda which qualified Hooker for his second NCAA tournament. In Session II Freshman Cory Manson (7) won a 4-2 decision over Bucknell's Zachary Galligan at 141 pounds. Manson then faced No. 2 seed Matt Ciasulli (Lehigh). Ciasulli defeated Manson for the second time this season, by a score of 9-1. Manson caught some bad luck with his draw in his consolation match facing No. 1 seed Max Meltzer (Harvard). Meltzer lost his opening match to unseeded American's Kyle Borshoff. Borshoff pinned Meltzer in 3:22. Meltzer ended Manson's tournament winning a 7-2 decision. Drake Hovis entered the Championships as the No. 8 seed at 157 pounds. He pinned ESU's Ben Bishop in 6:50. In his second match, he faced Penn's Matt Dragon. Dragon, the No. 1 seed, won a 12-6 decision over the Big Red grappler. In his first consolation match, Hovis won a 10-4 decision over American's Jimmy Peppers. Hovis was knocked out of the tournament when he lost, 8-4, to Army's Christian Snook.

Fairfax, VA -- Hofstra captured seven individual titles, a third place finish and a fourth place finish as the Pride cruised to their sixth consecutive Colonial Athletic Association Wrestling Championship Saturday night at Linn Gymnasium at George Mason University. Hofstra, which will send eight wrestlers to the 2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships from March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, MI, recorded a school record 138 points, topping the previous mark of 136 set in 2005. The seven individual conference champions also ties the school mark for most individual crowns, set in 2005 and 2006. Senior Mike Patrovich, who captured his third conference title, posted two tech fall and a pin during the Championships and was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler. Three other Pride wrestlers recorded their third conference title as senior James Strouse, at 157, and juniors Charles Griffin, at 141, and Joe Rovelli, at 184, notched their third straight CAA crowns. Junior Dave Tomasette, at 125, copped his second CAA title, while senior Chris Weidman, at 197, who was an All-American last year as a conference finalist, captured his first CAA title, as did freshman Lou Ruggirello at 133. Those seven, along with sophomore Alton Lucas, who received one of the three "wild-card" bids after finishing fourth in this weekend's tournament, will compete in the NCAA Championships in two weeks. Graduate student Matt Pollock, who finished third in the CAA Championships but did not receive a NCAA wild-card bid by the CAA coaches, was Hofstra's ninth and final place-winner.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Senior All-America Evan Sola captured his third Atlantic Coast Conference title at 133 pounds to lead North Carolina to a third-place finish at the league championships Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum. The Tar Heels totaled 60.5 points to finish behind NC State and Maryland and did not win the team title for the first time since 2004. Sola will now move on to the 2007 NCAA Wrestling Championships, scheduled for March 15-17 in Auburn Hills, Mich. Also the ACC champion in 2003 and 2005, Sola scored a 7-0 decision over Virginia's Eric Albright in the title bout to cap his final ACC Championships appearance. The Wernersville, Pa., native took a 3-0 lead in the first period on a takedown and an escape and added a takedown in each of the next two periods to cruise to the title. A sixth-year senior, Sola will make his fourth trip to the NCAA Championships and first since 2005 after missing last season with a shoulder injury. He is the first Tar Heel to win three ACC titles since Matt Kenney captured his third in 2002. Now 14-3 on the season, Sola received a first-round bye and opened with a pin of Duke's Spencer Jasper in 2:30 the semifinals. The pin was his fifth of the season and the 26th of his career, which is good for a tie for ninth on the Tar Heels' career list. Senior heavyweight Spencer Nadolsky dropped a 5-2 decision to NC State's Jainor Palma in the finals to earn his second straight runner-up finish. After the wrestlers traded escapes, Palma scored a pair of third-period takedowns to post a 5-2 victory. Nadolsky had a first-round bye and moved to the heavyweight final for the second straight season with a 9-8 decision over Maryland's Jerry Afari in the semis. He is currently 23-8 on the season and ranked 10th nationally. Seeded third at 149, sophomore Vincent Ramirez pinned Virginia Tech's A.J. Johnson in 4:05 and followed with a 12-6 decision over second-seeded Andrew Schlaffer of Maryland to advance to his second consecutive ACC final. Ramirez took a 2-0 lead on a second period takedown, but NC State's Joe Caramanica tied the match with a pair of escapes and won it on a late takedown in the third period for a 4-3 final score. Ramirez is now 15-9 this season. A quartet of Tar Heels earned third-place finishes: Drew Forshey (125), Ben Fiacco (157), Keegan Mueller (165) and Dennis Drury (197). Forshey had won 12 of his last 13 bouts at 125 entering Saturday but was upset by Duke's Kellan McKeon, 4-3 in overtime, in the first bout of the day. He came back to top Ross Gitomer of Virginia (5-4) in the consolation bracket and got revenge on McKeon with a 6-3 win in the third-place bout. Forshey is now 21-8 this season. Fiacco dropped his first bout on the day at 157, but posted back-to-back wins in the consolation bracket to take third in his first-ever ACC Championships action. He edged Mike Sewell of Virginia (4-3) before scoring a 9-8 decision Maryland's Mike McGill. Mueller, ranked No. 16 nationally, started his day with a 3-1 decision over Virginia's Damian Johnson, but was pinned by Virginia Tech's Eric Decker in the semifinals. He went on to post an 8-0 major decision over NC State's Obie Simpson and followed with a pin of Johnson in just 1:20 in the third-place bout. He owns a team-best 30-7 record on the year. Drury was dominant in the consolation bracket after dropping his first bout to NC State's Ryan Goodman (10-6). He recorded a technical fall of Patrick Keenum of Duke (18-2) before notching a major decision victory over UVa's Kyle Karkiewicz (11-0) in his first ACC tourney action. Drury is now 15-11 on the year. Freshman Mike Rappo was 1-2 on the day for a fourth-place finish at 141.

RALEIGH, N.C. –- The team championship was decided before the individual championship round even began, but NC State took care of business from start to finish and ran away with the Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships, held Saturday at Reynolds Coliseum as part of Mat Jam. The Wolfpack placed eight wrestlers in the finals and won five of the eight bouts to take the championship over runner-up Maryland by a whopping 36 points. NC State finished with 103.5 points to Maryland's 67.5. North Carolina was third with 60.5. With eight men in the finals and Garrett Cummings taking third place at 133 pounds, the Pack held a 27-point lead following the consolation finals. With four wrestlers in the finals, Maryland mathematically had no chance to catch the Wolfpack. The Terps' Jason Kiessling won at 165 and Mike Letts won at 174. The only other bouts that NC State did not win were at 133, where North Carolina's Evan Sola easily repeated as conference champion, and at 157, where Virginia Tech's Jon Bonilla-Bonham upset the Wolfpack's top-seeded Kody Hamrah. The rest of the finals was an NC State avalanche, with Taylor Cummings winning at 125, Darrion Caldwell at 141, Joe Caramanica at 149, Ryan Goodman at 197 and Jainor Palma at heavyweight. All 10 ACC champions automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, which will be held March 15-17 at Detroit, Mich. The championship was NC State's third in the last six years (2001, 2002, 2004) and its 14th in the last 32 years. It also is the first championship for Carter Jordan, who is wrapping up his third season as the Wolfpack's head coach. Notes: NC State tied a school record with eight wrestlers making the finals, first set in 1982.

The top-ranked Golden Gophers advanced five wrestlers to the finals and extended their team-lead during Session II of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships on Saturday night in East Lansing, Mich. Minnesota is 30 points ahead of second-place Wisconsin heading into the final day of competition. Dustin Schlatter, C.P. Schlatter, Roger Kish and Cole Konrad will all have the opportunity to defend their 2006 Big Ten individual titles, while redshirt freshman Jayson Ness will look to capture his first. Four other Minnesota wrestlers are still alive in the consolation bracket. C.P. Schlatter advanced to the finals by avenging an earlier loss to Illinois' top-ranked Mike Poeta in perhaps the most anticipated match of the semifinals. Ness was dominant in his first Big Ten Championship appearance, pinning both of his opponents, while Kish was equally as impressive with two pins of his own. Dustin Schlatter did not allow a single point on Saturday, shutting out his two opponents by a combined score of 10-0. Konrad will look to become just the third wrestler in school history to win three Big Ten individual titles after he extended his winning streak to 70 consecutive matches with three wins on Saturday. Mack Reiter, Manuel Rivera, Tyler Safratowich and Gabriel Dretsch are all still alive in the consolation bracket and have wrapped up NCAA tournament berths. After tough quarterfinal losses, Reiter and Safratowich both stormed back with a pair of impressive wins on Saturday night in the wrestlebacks. Rivera suffered his first loss of the season to Wisconsin's Kyle Ruschell in the semifinals, ending a streak of 35 consecutive wins. Gabriel Dretsch also lost a heartbreaker, falling 3-1 to top seed James Yonushonis of Penn State in double overtime. Ness began the day with a pin of eighth-seeded Brandon Tucker of Purdue in 2:11 and followed it up with his second pin of the year against Illinois' Gabe Flores. In an entertaining first period against Flores which saw each wrestler score a reversal and back points, Ness took control in the second with another reversal and a three-point near fall before getting the fall at 4:22. With his two victories today, Ness extended his winning streak to 18 consecutive matches. After a disappointing quarterfinal loss to No. 6 seed Andrae Hernandez from Indiana, Reiter came out with something to prove in the evening session. Against Northwestern's Eric Metzler, Reiter scored a takedown in each period and was never seriously challenged on his way to a 7-0 victory. In his second wrestleback match, Reiter fell behind 2-0 when Iowa's Mario Galanakis scored the first takedown. It was all Reiter from there, however, as he put Galanakis on his back late in the second period to get the fall in 4:44. After extending his winning streak to 35 consecutive matches with a 10-8 decision over Michigan's Justin Chrzanowski in the quarterfinals, Rivera had a tough time against Ruschell and fell behind 5-0 midway through the second period. Rivera made a late charge but it was not enough as he suffered his first loss of the season, 7-4 At 149, Dustin Schlatter shut out Indiana's Matt Coughlin, 6-0, in round one before topping Wisconsin's Tyler Turner, 4-0. Much like many of his opponents this year, both Coughlin and Turner played defense in an attempt to keep the score close. Schlatter was all too used to the strategy, however, and came away with a pair of relatively easy victories. After winning a pair of matches in the morning to set up the showdown with Poeta, C.P. Schlatter battled through three defensive periods of wrestling against the Illinois grappler. Neither wrestler was able to finish on any shots in regulation, and the two wrestlers went into overtime tied at one apiece on a pair of escapes. After starting down in the tiebreaker, Schlatter got the escape to take a 2-1 lead and then was able to ride Poeta in the second 30 second period to earn the victory. With the win, Schlatter avenged a narrow 3-2 loss to Poeta earlier this year. At 165, Safratowich won an event-filled match over Northwestern's Greg Hagel in this first match of the day before dropping a narrow 6-4 decision in the sudden victory period to sixth-seeded Justin Fraga. Safratowich, who controlled much of the match against Fraga, came within three seconds of riding time of winning the match in regulation. In his first match of the wrestlebacks, Safratowich displayed tremendous resiliency with a late comeback victory over Wisconsin's Jake Donar. Trailing 5-2 in the third period, Safratowich scored a reversal with under 30 seconds remaining and got two back points to win the match 6-5. He proceeded to beat Penn State's Dave Rella, 9-6, in his final match of the night. After defeating Trevor Perry, 9-4, in round one, Dretsch got the opportunity to renew his rivalry with Yonushonis in the semifinals. The two wrestlers did not disappoint, battling through a nail-biter in the 174-pound semifinal. Tied 1-1 after regulation, neither was able to score in the first overtime, but Yonushonis escaped with the victory with a takedown midway through the second sudden victory period. Kish won a pair of matches in the morning session, pinning Purdue's Nick Skinner in 3:52 before winning a 9-7 decision over Illinois' John Dergo. In the semifinals, Kish made quick work of third-seeded Mike Pucillo, taking the Ohio State wrestler down to his back to get the pin in 1:33. Kish's win sets up a showdown between the top two wrestlers in the country on Sunday in the finals, as he will meet Northwestern's Jake Herbert for the title. Yura Malamura was the only Gopher wrestler not to make it through the first day of competition, as he was eliminated with back-to-back losses to Mike Tamillow and Nate Everhart. Konrad needed all of one minute in his first two matches in the morning to advance to the semifinals. After Michigan's Casey White defaulted in the first round, Konrad made quick work of Ohio State's Corey Morrison in round two. With a clear size advantage, Konrad used a body lock to take Morrison down directly to his back and got the pin at 1:00. In the semifinals, Konrad scored a takedown late in the first period on Iowa's Matt Fields, and it was all he would need to get the win. He added two more points on stalling penalties on Fields to make the final score 4-0. Minnesota will look to wrap up its second straight Big Ten team title, and its sixth in the last nine years, during the final day of the tournament tomorrow. Competition begins at 11 a.m. (CST).

Cedar Falls, IA -- The University of Northern Iowa welcomed six Division I programs to the McLeod Center for the 2007 NCAA Wrestling West Regional. After a two-hour delay, due to inclement weather the wrestlers came to the mat and UNI proved it had a right to win for the 22nd year in a row. Along with the team title, UNI took home three individual titles; Kyle Anson, 133, Moza Fay, 157 Nick Baima, 165. The Panthers rallied to take seven wrestlers to the finals, the most of all competing teams. Northern Colorado, like UNI, had three champions; Kenny Hashimoto, 141; Shawn Vincent, 184; and Reece Hopkin, 285. These wrestlers helped to propel Northern Colorado to second place. Coming in third was the University of Wyoming. Head coaches voted on the Most Outstanding Wrestler. UNI's Nick Baima and Kenny Hashimoto of UNC shared the honor. Also earning an award was Kenny Robertson from Eastern Illinois University for having the most falls in the shortest time.

COLUMBIA, Mo. –- It was probably too much to ask of a freshman. Iowa State frosh David Zabriskie, who some said would be too small to have success as a collegiate heavyweight wrestler, carried 20 years of waiting for Iowa State wrestling fans into the last match of the Big 12 Wrestling Championship Saturday in the Hearnes Center. It rarely comes down to the last match in a conference meet, but there was Zabriskie, facing Oklahoma State's Jared Rosholt in the heavyweight title match. The winner would claim the Big 12 team trophy for his squad. Zabriskie used an first-period takedown and a third-period escape to beat Rosholt, 3-2 and lift Iowa State to its first Big 12 wrestling crown, the school's first conference title in 20 years and the first outright Cyclone team conference championship in a quarter century. Iowa State's other champion was Trent Paulson at 157 pounds, who beat Nebraska's Chris Oliver, 11-1 in the title match. The Cyclones finished with 66.5 points. Missouri was second with 61.5, followed by Oklahoma State with 61, Nebraska with 46 and Oklahoma with 44. Iowa State will send all 10 wrestlers to the NCAA Championship, March 16-18 in Detroit, Mich. "This is a great accomplishment for this team," Iowa State head coach Cael Sanderson said. "We need to build on this the next two weeks. We are proud of all our guys. Dave (Zabriskie) has real class and has done a phenomenal job for us. We are real proud of him." Trent Paulson, rated second nationally, claimed his second consecutive Big 12 Conference title after the two-time All-American jumped out to an early 5-1 lead using a takedown and a three-point nearfall. Paulson then began the second period from the down position and reversed Oliver and tacked on another three-point nearfall en route to the victory. Paulson's mark in his senior campaign improves to 24-4 and he holds a career record of 110-20 as he gets ready for his fourth NCAA tournament. "This one means more to me (than his first Big 12 title) because it was part of an effort that won the team title for us," Paulson said. "I think I surprised him and went right for the score after talking with coach (Sanderson) about that before the match." Redshirt freshman Cyler Sanderson placed second at 149 pounds, suffering a 5-0 loss to Oklahoma's Matt Storinolo in their title match. After a scoreless first period, Storinolo posted the first points with an escape in the second period. The Sooner maneuvered Sanderson and added a three-point nearfall. Sanderson, a Heber City, Utah, native earns a spot in the NCAA Championships and carries record of 26-9 in his rookie season. Travis Paulson fell in the 165-pound title match to Oklahoma State's Johny Hendricks by decision, 4-3. Paulson took a 3-2 lead with an escape midway through the final period, but a takedown by Hendricks with 33 seconds sealed the Cowboy win. Despite the loss, Paulson will advance to his fourth NCAA Championship with a career record of 102-30 and a senior season record of 24-5. Jake Varner took runner-up honors at 184-pounds, falling to Raymond Jordan of Missouri by a 4-3 decision in his title bout. Varner battled back from a 1-0 deficit to tie the match at 1-1 with an escape early in the final three minutes of the match. The Tiger scored a takedown, but was then penalized for stalling, awarding Varner with a point. Varner tied the match at 3-3, but fell short with 1:05 riding time that Jordan had accumulated. Varner, Bakersfield, Calif., native will enter the NCAA Championship with a 24-5 mark. Nick Gallick punched his ticket to The Palace at Auburn Hills with a 2:41 stick of Oklahoma's Brian Shelton in the 133-pound third-place match. Gallick, rated 14th, scored an early takedown and a two-point nearfall before working the Sooner into prime position for the pin. In his initial season as a Cyclone, Gallick has registered eight pins and has a 26-8 record. Grant Turner was a big story of the meet. Seeded fifth coming into the tournament at 174 pounds, he earned an NCAA Tournament birth at 174 pounds with a 5-3 decision over Nebraska's Marc Harwood in the third-place match. With the match tied at 3-3 with less than a minute to go, Turner tallied his second takedown in the final period. The third-place finish is Turner's best conference tournament performance. The senior from Johnston, Iowa, evens out his record at 14-14. "I was not going to leave a trip to the NCAA Tournament up to anyone but myself," Turner said. "I told myself that I was going to decide this. Coach (Sanderson) told me if I wrestle the way I did in the third period, I can keep winning matches." A duo of redshirt freshmen, Nick Fanthorpe (125) and Mitch Mueller (141), placed fourth for the Cyclones. Fanthorpe suffered a 5-3 decision at the hands of Oklahoma State's Tyler Shinn. Fanthorpe advanced to the third-place bout at 125 pounds by scoring a 7-3 decision over Missouri's John Olanowski in the consolation semifinal. The Naperville, Ill., native's record stands at 24-9. Mueller was pinned by Oklahoma's Kyle Terry in 4:32 his the third-place bout. Mueller took an 11-6 decision of Missouri's Ashtin Primus to push forward to the 141-pound third-place match. The Iowa City native returned to the mat after spending a month out due to a dislocated elbow injury that was suffered in the Feb. 9 dual against Rider. He is 17-14 in his rookie season. Kurt Backes was defeated by Oklahoma's Joel Flaggert in the third-place match at 197 pounds. Backes worked from behind the entire match, but sent the bout into overtime with a 1:22 riding time advantage. A takedown with 16 seconds left in overtime by Flaggert clinched the Sooner win. ISU will push forward to the NCAA Championships will take place March 16 – 18 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit, Mich.

The Lindenwood wrestling team dominated the 50th annual NAIA National Championship and won the third national title in program history. All 12 Lion wrestlers earned All-American honors at the meet as Lindenwood's depth helped it come out on top of the 27 other teams. Lindenwood scored 177 points at the competition, the fourth-most in NAIA history, and won by 67 points, which was the second-largest winning margin at the national wrestling championships. Lindenwood took over the meet during the quarterfinal round late Friday night. Eleven Lion wrestlers competed in the quarterfinals and eight won their matches. No other team in the top-five at that point had more than three wrestlers remaining in the championship bracket. The Lions continued their dominance on day two of the meet with four wrestlers advancing to their championship matches and two winning individual NAIA crowns. Lindenwood also had success in the wrestlebacks, having one third-place finish, two fourth-place showings, three fifth-place winners, one sixth-place finisher and one wrestler coming in seventh-place. Jake Dieffenbach became the fifth Lion wrestler in school history to win two national titles when he won the 165-pound crown. Dieffenbach went 5-0 at the national meet, including a 9-8 win in the championship match. Dieffenbach finished his junior season with a 34-2 overall record. Next season, he will look to become the first Lindenwood wrestler to win three national titles. Lindenwood dominated the 174-pound weight class with both of its wrestlers advancing to the championship bout. John Salter earned a narrow 3-1 decision over Matt Cauley to win the title. Salter, a junior, advanced to the finals with a pin and two decision victories. He finished the year with a 37-7 record. Cauley, a sophomore, earned three decisions on the way to the championship match. He concludes his campaign with a 27-8 mark. The final Lion competing in a championship match was sophomore heavyweight Lance Shunia. He won three decisions in the opening rounds and picked up a pin in the semifinals. However, he lost a 9-1 decision to top-ranked Eric Flinchum in the finals. Shunia ended the season with 40 wins and just nine losses. In other brackets, two Lions, senior Josh Sampo and junior Dennis Kakrah advanced to the semifinals in the 125-pound weight class with two wins. Both wrestlers lost decisions in that round and also fell in the wrestleback semifinals. The two met in the fifth-place match, with Sampo winning by a 6-4 score. At 133-pounds, sophomore Ryan Moyer and senior Jason Moreno both repeated as all-Americans, with Moyer coming in fourth and Moreno finishing fifth. Moyer won two matches before losing in the quarterfinals. He then went on a tear, winning three straight matches in the wrestlebacks, including a 7-4 decision over Moreno. He streak eventually fell 5-2 in the third-place match. Moyer finished the season with a 29-9 record. Moreno won his first two matches of the tournament before falling in the semifinals to the eventual national champion. After falling to his teammate in the wrestleback semifinals, Moreno finished the tournament by pinning his opponent in the fifth-place match. He concludes the season with a 15-10 mark. Defending national champion Mark Dickman started the tournament with a disappointing loss in his first match at 149-pounds. He regrouped and won four of his final five matches of the tournament. Included in that was an 11-3 major decision in the fifth-place match. Dickman ended his senior season with a 26-3 record. Randy Vanderveen, a junior, was one win away from making it an all-Lindenwood final at 165-pounds. After three straight wins, including one by technical fall and one by major decision, he lost his semifinal match by decision. Vanderveen won his first wrestleback match but lost in the third-place bout. Vanderveen finished his 2006-07 season with a 38-8 record. Lindenwood's fourth senior, Kyle Frawley, earned all-American honors at 184-pounds. He won two straight decisions to reach the quarterfinals, before falling in that round. Frawley then went 2-1 in the wrestlebacks, including a 10-5 decision in the seventh-place contest. He ended his career by racking up a 28-12 mark in his final season. The final Lion wrestler was Matt Juncal, who won his final four matches to finish third at 197-pounds. The sophomore won his opening match but fell in the championship semifinals. He got his wrestleback action off to a good start with a pin and technical fall. Juncal eventually won the third-place match by a 4-2 sudden victory decision. Juncal concluded his year with an 18-6 record. Head coach Joe Parisi was named the NAIA national coach of the year after the meet. It was the third time that he has received that honor. The victory capped off one of the best seasons in Lindenwood wrestling history. Among the other highlights were the Lions winning the NAIA National Dual Championship and the NAIA Eastern Regional Championship, and having a perfect 8-0 dual record. The national title for the wrestling program was its third this decade, as it also won in 2002 and 2005. The Lions have now finished in the top-five nationally for seven straight seasons. The title was the eighth NAIA national championship for the Lindenwood athletics department, including the seventh since 2002. Including all sports, it was the 22nd overall national championship for Lindenwood athletics.

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- Claiming three individual national titles and making collegiate wrestling history for one of its wrestlers in the process, the Augsburg College wrestling team won its record-10th NCAA Division III national championship in the last 17 seasons with a dominating performance in the tournament, completed on Saturday evening at the Five Flags Center. With nine All-Americans, including three titlists and two runners-up, Augsburg finished with 135.5 points, 36 points ahead of second-place Wartburg (Iowa), the defending national champion, with 99.5 points. Wisconsin-La Crosse finished in third with 92.5 points, Luther (Iowa) finished fourth with 86.0 points and the College of New Jersey finished fifth with 46.5 points. Augsburg head coach Jeff Swenson was named National Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, the sixth time he has earned the honor in his 25-season career. "We had a lot of ups, mostly, and a few downs," said Swenson. "It's hard for me, when the year comes to an end because of the great seniors, but the bottom line is I'm proud of them as a group. They really came together in the last month of the season." Augsburg's Marcus LeVesseur (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) became the first Division III wrestler ever to win four national titles, and the second college wrestler ever to finish his career unbeaten and untied. In the 165-pound national championship match, LeVesseur closed his career with a 3-0, shutout victory over Mike Guenther of the College of New Jersey. Starting the second period in the "down" position, LeVesseur scored an escape eight seconds into the period, then scored a takedown 54 seconds into the period for the only scoring of the match. Earlier in the day, LeVesseur claimed his third straight extra-point victory with a 10-2, major-decision triumph over Jason Knipp of Wartburg. He had a pin and technical fall in his two matches on Saturday. LeVesseur, who won Division III national titles at 157 pounds three times (2003, 2004, 2005), finished his senior season at 30-0, and his collegiate career at 155-0, the second-longest winning streak in college wrestling history. Cael Sanderson went 159-0 during his career at Iowa State from 1998-2002, winning four Division I national titles. "Unbelievable, wow, unbelieveable," LeVesseur said. "I stayed focused with my regular pre-match routine, and I just took care of me and that was the biggest focus for this match -- just not to get over whelmed by the hype and the pressure and just take care of me." LeVesseur became the seventh wrestler in NCAA history to win four national titles competing in one division, and the eighth to win four or more national titles. In Division I history, Sanderson and Pat Smith of Oklahoma State (1990-92, 1994) accomplished the feat, while in Division II, Les Sigman of Nebraska-Omaha (2003-06), Cole Province of Central Oklahoma (2001-04), Dan Russell of Portland (Ore.) State (1988-91) and Tim Wright of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (1984-87) won four national titles apiece. Carleton Haselrig of Pitt-Johnstown (Pa., 1987-89) won six national titles -- three each in Division II and Division I, when lower-division champion wrestlers were able to compete in the Division I championships. Six wrestlers have accomplished the four-championship feat in NAIA history. "It's unbelieveable," Swenson said of LeVesseur's accomplishment. "No. 1, no one had ever won four titles (at the Division III level), and only two guys have ever gone through their careers undefeated. He's in great company with Cael (Sanderson)." Quincy Osborn (Jr., Grand Rapids, Minn.) claimed his first national championship, scoring a 7-3 win over Ricky LaForge in the 141-pound title bout. Osborn overcame an early takedown and scored six consecutive points, with an escape, two-point near-fall in the second period, a takedown in the third period, and a stalling penalty point. Osborn finished his first season as an Auggie with a 44-3 record, completing his third national tournament appearance. As a Division I wrestler at the University of Minnesota, he competed in national tournaments in both 2004 and 2005. Osborn, who is now 104-35 in his collegiate career, scored a 15-3 triumph over Mike Gaeta of Springfield (Mass.) in the semifinals earlier in the day. "Pretty good! We won the team title, so that was really important before this round for us. We lost a couple in the finals, but other than that, I feel really good about it," Osborn said. Jeremy Anderson (Jr., Thief River Falls, Minn.) also earned his first national championship, completing his second All-American season with a 5-2 win over Joe Galante of the College of New Jersey in the title bout at 157 pounds. Tied at 2-2, Anderson scored a takedown 38 seconds into the third period and collected a riding-time bonus point for the final margin of victory. Anderson, who was a national runner-up last season, finished his junior campaign at 39-2 overall and his 83-5 in his two seasons as an Auggie. He scored a 7-3 win over Bobby Gingerich of North Central (Ill.), his second win over Gingerich this season, in the semifinals. "Amazing," Anderson said. "I spent my whole summer working for this goal, specifically, and I'm so happy it finally came." At 133, Jafari Vanier (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) repeated his second-place finish from a year ago, falling 4-3 in the finals to Dave Morgan of Kings (Pa.). After a scoreless first period, Morgan took a 1-0 lead on an escape in the second period. Vanier tied the match at 2-2 with an escape early in the third period, but Morgan scored the eventual match-winning points on a takedown with 55 seconds left. Vanier escaped shortly after, but could not score again. Vanier, who also was a junior college national runner-up in 2002 at Iowa Central Community College, finished his season at 20-2. He is 39-5 in his two seasons as an Auggie. Earlier in the day, Vanier claimed a 7-5 win over Jestin Hulegaard of Buena Vista (Iowa) in the semifinals. Seth Flodeen (So., Cannon Falls, Minn.) fell in his first national finals appearance at 125 pounds, 3-2 to Nate Hansen of Luther (Iowa). Hansen scored a takedown in the first period, and after Flodeen used two escapes to tie the match, Hansen scored an escape with 1:10 remaining in the third period to take the lead. Flodeen ended his season at 25-5 overall, and is 53-20 in his Auggie career. Earlier in the day, Flodeen scored a 14-7 triumph over Brandon McDonough of Johnson and Wales (R.I.) in the semifinals. At 149, Jared Evans (Sr., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS), a three-time All-American, closed out his career with his second straight fourth-place finish. He dropped a 6-3 decision to Joe Pflug of Heidelberg (Ohio) in the third-place match, closing his season at 37-5 overall and 139-37 in his Auggie career. Evans finished seventh nationally in 2005 and fourth in 2006. Earlier in the day, Evans suffered a 2-1 loss to Jason Roush of Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) in the semifinals, but scored a 4-0 win over Don Octon of Brockport State (N.Y.) in the wrestleback semifinals to reach the third-place match. At 174, Robbie Gotreau (Jr., Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) finished fifth, claiming a 2-1 win over Andrew Winfield of McDaniel (Md.). Gotreau, who finished fourth nationally last year, finished his junior campaign at 41-6 overall and is 109-26 in his career. Earlier in the day, he dropped his semifinal match 8-5 to Kyle Vanderhyde of Olivet (Mich.). In the wrestleback semifinals, Eric Bath of Wisconsin-Stevens Point avenged an earlier loss to Gotreau with a 6-4 victory, dropping Gotreau to the fifth-place match. Heavyweight Andrew Neumann (Sr., Somerset, Wis.), in his second national tournament, finished fifth overall with a 9-2 win over Arkadiy Levitin of Hunter (N.Y.). Neuman finished his career at 93-40, including 39-10 this season. After scoring a 3:27 pin of Kyle Brown of Thiel (Pa.) in his opening match on Saturday, he suffered his second loss of the tournament to Trevor Hiffa of Oneonta State (N.Y.), falling 7-2 in the wrestleback semifinals. At 197, Wally O'Connor (Jr., Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West HS) finished eighth, dropping a 10-4 decision to Philip Archer of Cortland State (N.Y.). O'Connor, who finished 21-17 on the season, was pinned in his other match in the Saturday session, in 1:46 by Jason Reilly of Kings (Pa.). The nine All-American performance marked the fourth time in school history that Augsburg has claimed nine or more All-Americans; the Auggies also had nine All-Americans in 1998 and 2004, and had All-Americans in all 10 weight classes in 2005. Augsburg has had five or more All-Americans every season since 1989. Augsburg has finished among the top two teams in national competition 19 times since 1975, has finished among the top four nationally the last 19 seasons in a row (the only NCAA school in any division that can make that claim), and has finished in the top 20 nationally every season since 1971 (NCAA from 1983 to present, NAIA pre-1983). Fellow Minnesota school St. John's had one wrestler earn All-American honors. At 157, Jacob Malone claimed a fifth-place finish, with a 3-2 decision over Aaron Wernimont of Wartburg (Iowa). Earlier in the day, Malone scored a 2:45 pin of Pat McAuley of Cornell (Iowa), but fell 3-1 to Ross Needham of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the wrestleback semifinals.

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- Claiming nine All-Americans, including seven remaining in contention for individual championships, the Augsburg College wrestling team took a 13-point lead after the first day of the NCAA Division III National Championships on Friday at the Five Flags Center. After standing in third place after the opening session, the Auggies took the lead in the second session, with 75.5 team points.Augsburg won 17 of its 21 individual bouts on Friday. Wartburg (Iowa), the defending national champion, is in second place with 62.5 points and has six individuals remaining in the competition, including five in championship contention. Wisconsin-La Crosse, last year's national runner-up, is in third place with 51.5 points, with six individuals remaining in the competition, including three in championship contention. Luther (Iowa) is fourth with 47.0 points, and the College of New Jersey is in fifth with 32.5 points. Augsburg will attempt to win its Division III-record 10th national title in a 17-year span on Saturday (3/3) at the Five Flags Center. Tomorrow's opening round begins at 10:30 a.m., with championship semifinals and wrestlebacks. The final round begins at 4 p.m. with placing matches. The championship finals are slated to begin at 7 p.m. Friday's performance marks the fourth time in school history that Augsburg has claimed nine or more All-Americans; the Auggies also had nine All-Americans in 1998 and 2004, and had All-Americans in all 10 weight classes in 2005. Augsburg has had five or more All-Americans every season since 1989. Top-ranked Marcus LeVesseur (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) continued his quest to become the first Division III wrestler ever to win four national titles, scoring two convincing victories on Friday. In his opening match, LeVesseur scored a first-period pin of David Early of Loras (Iowa). In his second round, he secured All-American honors for the fourth time in his career with a third-period, 23-7 technical fall of Zach Bogardus of Cortland State (N.Y.). LeVesseur, who won Division III national titles at 157 pounds three times (2003, 2004, 2005), improved to 29-0 on the season and improved his collegiate career record to 153-0, the second-longest winning streak in college wrestling history, behind the 159 of Cael Sanderson at Iowa State (1998-2002). Quincy Osborn (Jr., Grand Rapids, Minn.), ranked No. 1 nationally at 141, also had a strong opening to his first national tournament appearance as an Auggie, with a 21-6, technical-fall victory over Travis Grawin of Luther (Iowa) in his opening match, and a 11-6 win over Tyler Branham of the College of New Jersey in the quarterfinals. For Osborn, now 42-2 this season and 102-35 in his collegiate career, it is his first All-American honor in his third national tournament as a collegian; he competed in the Division I national tournament in both 2004 and 2005 at Minnesota. Defending 157-pound national runner-up Jeremy Anderson (Jr., Thief River Falls, Minn.) scored a 9-3 win in his opening match over Mark DeCiccio of Springfield (Mass.), then blanked Pat McAuley of Cornell (Iowa) 5-0 to secure All-American honors for the second time. Anderson is now 37-2 overall and 81-5 in his two seasons as an Auggie. At 133, defending national runner-up Jafari Vanier (Jr., Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS) claimed Division III All-American honors for the second straight year, improving to 19-1 on the season with a 3-1 win in his opening match against Nichalos Nothern of Cornell (Iowa), and a 10-3 triumph over Sean Cullen of Lycoming (Pa.) in the quarterfinals. Vanier has finished twice in his career in national tournaments; in addition to his second-place finish last year, he was also a national runner-up in 2002 at Iowa Central Community College. At 149, Jared Evans (Sr., Blue Earth, Minn./Blue Earth Area HS), earned All-American honors for the third straight year. In his opening match, he scored a 5-2 win over Matthew Shank of Gettysburg (Pa.), and in the quarterfinals, he scored a 10-4 win over Ryan Higgins of Wisconsin-Platteville. Evans is now 36-3 overall and 138-35 in his Auggie career. Evans finished seventh nationally in 2005 and fourth in 2006. At 174, Robbie Gotreau (Jr., Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS) opened his tournament run with an 8-3 victory over Eric Bath of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, then clinched his second All-American honor with a 1-0 win over Andrew Winfield of McDaniel (Md.). Gotreau, who finished fourth nationally at 174 last year, is now 40-4 overall and 108-24 in his career. Seth Flodeen (So., Cannon Falls, Minn.), making his first national tournament appearance, went to overtime in his opening match, claiming a 4-2 win over Felipe Queiroz of Wilkes (Pa.). But he clinched his first All-American honor with a 5-2 win over Robert Struthers of Wartburg (Iowa) in the quarterfinals. It was the third time Flodeen had faced Struthers this season, and Flodeen's second victory.Flodeen, ranked No. 3 nationally in his weight class, is now 24-4 overall. Heavyweight Andrew Neumann (Sr., Somerset, Wis.) was edged 2-0 by Trevor Hiffa of Oneonta State (N.Y.) in his opening match, but claimed two convincing wins in the wrestlebacks to earn All-American honors for the first time in his second trip to the national tournament. Neumann claimed a first-period pin of Kyle Bilquist of Delaware Valley (Pa.), then scored an 11-0, major-decision win of Jacob Taylor of Oswego State (N.Y.) Neumann is now 37-9 on the season and 91-39 in his career. At 197, Wally O'Connor (Jr., Oshkosh, Wis./Oshkosh West HS) was pinned in his opening match by Alec Bonander of Luther (Iowa), but the unseeded Auggie scored a 5-4 win over No. 3-seed James Swanson of Wisconsin-La Crosse to secure All-American honors for the first time He is now 21-15 on the season. The lone Auggie to be eliminated on the first day was 184-pounder George Lynaugh (Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS). Lynaugh was edged in his opening match, falling 3-2 to Ryan Summers of John Carroll (Ohio), then fell 7-1 to Nick Coleman of New York University. Lynaugh finished 31-7 on the season and is 37-10 in his Auggie career. Fellow Minnesota school St. John's is in 26th place, with one wrestler remaining in the field. At 157, Jacob Malone won a "pigtail" match in the 17-wrestler bracket, but fell in his second match to drop to the wrestlebacks. He then won two matches to secure All-American honors. Minga Batsukh won his opening match at 141 pounds, but lost two straight matches to be eliminated. Mogi Baatar lost his opening match at 125, won his first wrestleback match but lost his second to be eliminated.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Coming off two wins to close the dual season, the 15th-ranked Wildcats are set to head to East Lansing, Mich., for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships Saturday-Sunday, March 3-4. Northwestern has battled injuries throughout the season, but head coach Tim Cysewski has his full complement of ranked grapplers ready to lead the 'Cats at this year's tournament. Northwestern enters the weekend with six wrestlers pre-seeded for the tournament. Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny), the nation's top-ranked 184-pounder, takes a 24-0 record into the weekend and looks to win his second Big Ten title. Herbert captured the 174-pound crown in 2006. This season, Herbert has notched wins over each of the three wrestlers seeded immediately below him. He scored decisions in duals against Mike Pucillo of Ohio State, the No. 3 pre-seed, and Michigan's Tyrel Todd, the No. 4. He registered a major decision over second-ranked Roger Kish of Minnesota at the NWCA All-Star Classic exhibition. Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward), ranked No. 1 at 141 lbs., takes the No. 2 pre-seed into this weekend. He missed the first five Big Ten duals due to injury, but returned to post a 3-0 conference record. He is a perfect 21-0 and is looking to improve on last year's second-place finish. Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick), ranked sixth at 197 lbs., is NU's other No. 2 pre-seed. He sits at 30-3 this season and has posted a 16-3 dual mark. One of Tamillow's three defeats came at the hands of No. 1 pre-seed and top-ranked Phil Davis of Penn State. The junior defeated two ranked opponents in the final two Big Ten duals. He finished sixth in last year's tournament. Junior heavyweight Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) is the No. 3 pre-seed. Fox is 24-3 overall and has put up a 13-2 dual mark. He sits behind only Minnesota's top-ranked Cole Konrad and Penn State's Aaron Anspach, who topped Fox in a dual earlier this season. Fox placed third in 2006. Junior Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) is the No. 6 pre-seed at 174 lbs. Hayes went 4-4 in the Big Ten and sits at 18-11 overall. True freshman Brandon Precin (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) rounds out the list for Northwestern as he garnered a No. 6 pre-seed at 125 lbs. in his first trip to the Big Ten Championships. Precin is 30-11 this season and went 5-3 in the Big Ten with wins in his last two Big Ten duals. He is currently ranked 19th by InterMat. The Big Ten Wrestling Championships take place Saturday and Sunday, March 3-4, at the Breslin Center on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing, Mich. The official Big Ten Championships bracket will be set on Friday, March 2. For schedules, results and more information on the 2007 Big Ten Championships, visit the Big Ten Championships Site.

125: 1-Troy Nickerson, Cornell 2. Matt Eveleth, Penn 3. Matt Fisk, Lehigh 4. Fernando Martinez, Army 5. Brandon Kinney, Columbia 6. Alex Usztics, Navy 7. Jasen Borshoff, American 8. Greg Einfrank, Brown 133: 1-Matt Valenti, Penn 2-Adam Frey, Cornell 3-Robbie Preston, Harvard 4-David Marble, Bucknell 5-Joe Baker, Navy 6-Matt DeLorenzo, Columbia 7. Seth Ciasulli, Lehigh 8-Jeff Schell, Brown 141: 1-Max Meltzer, Harvard 2-Matt Ciasulli, Lehigh 3-Brad Canterbury, Navy 4-Matt Kyler, Army 5-Sal Tirico, Columbia 6-Mark Savino, Brown 7-Corey Manson, Cornell 8-Brett McCurdy, Penn 149: 1-Jordan Leen, Cornell 2-JP O'Connor, Harvard 3-John Cox, Navy 4-Matt Dunn, Columbia 5-Rick Rappo, Penn 6-Damian Seoetlik, American 7-Jack Barrett, Rutgers 8-Scott Heckman, ESU 157: 1-Matt Dragon, Penn 2-John Jarred, Navy 3-Dave Nakasone, Lehigh 4-Robert Latessa, Harvard 5-Christian Snook, Army 6-Devin Mesanko, Columbia 7-Tom Fazio, Brown 8-Drake, Hovis, Cornell 165: 1-Michael Cannon, American 2-Zach Shanaman, Penn 3-Steve Anceravage, Cornell 4-Andrew Rendos, Bucknell 5-Frankie Colletta, Harvard 6-Brian Rowan, Army 7-Ricky Turk, Columbia 8-Shawn Kitchner, Brown 174: 1-Matt Stolpinski, Navy 2-Matt Palmer, Columbia 3-Joey Hooker, Cornell 4-Matt Herrington, Penn 5-Rudy Rueda, American 6-Brent Smith, Army 7-Dave Helfrich, Lehigh 8-Mike Whalen, Rutgers 184: 1-David Craig, Lehigh 2-Louis Caputo, Harvard 3-Justin Barent, Columbia 4-Lior Zamir, Penn 5-Antonio Miranda, Navy 6-Josh Arnone, Cornell 7-Scott Ferguson, Army 8-David Williams, ESU 197: 1-Jerry Rinaldi, Cornell 2-Josh Glenn, American 3-Matt Cassidy, Lehigh 4-Eric Lapotsky, Bucknell 5-Nick Sommerfeld, Columbia 6-Lamar Brown, Rutgers 7-Matt Parsons, Navy 8-Connor Sanders, Army 285: 1-Ed Prendergast, Navy 2-Paul Weibel, Lehigh 3-Zach Hammond, Cornell 4-Nathan Thobaben, Army 5-Levon Mock, Brown 6-Kevin Lester, Columbia 7-Nico Somers, F&M 8-George Hingson, Bucknell

Please Note: RevWrestling.com is dedicated to covering and promoting amateur wrestling on all levels. However, on occasion, RevWrestling.com will look at mixed martial arts (MMA) as it relates to amateur wrestling. Event: UFC 68: Uprising Date: Saturday, March 3 Venue: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio In the first ever UFC fight card held in Columbus Ohio, Hall of Fame fighter Randy "The Natural" Couture (14-8) comes out of retirement and moves up a weight class to heavyweight in an attempt to dethrone champion Tim Sylvia (25-2). The Natural has found it difficult to sit on the sidelines as others fight. Randy must believe that he can get inside on Sylvia and control his body as we've see so many times before. In preparation for his return to the Octagon, Randy has been training with larger opponents. He is ready. Seventy-percent (70%) of UFC Web site voters polled have Randy winning the fight, yet the oddsmakers post him as a +215 underdog. At those incredible odds, the UFC Monster will back The Natural all the way to the winner's window. Prediction: Couture by TKO (ground & pound) in Round 3 Matt Hughes (42-5) at -625 appears to be a mismatch for Chris "Lights Out" Lytle (32-13-4). This will be Hughes' first fight since a shocking loss to Georges St. Pierre. Will he be hungry? Or will he soon fade into the UFC Hall of Fame as an aging legend? Unless Lytle gets a lucky KO, Matt should roll in this one. Prediction: Hughes by submission (keylock) in Round 2 Rich Franklin (22-2) also returns to the Octagon after his title loss to Anderson Silva. His opponent, Canadian Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald (19-7), has looked sharp of late -- with upsets over Ed Herman and Chris Leben. Prediction: Franklin by KO in Round 1 Renato "Babalu" Sobral (27-6) was on a 10-match winning streak before he got clocked by Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell. Jason Lambert (22-6) is no Liddell. Prediction: Sobral by submission (rear-naked choke) in Round 1 Other Predictions: Martin Kampmann (11-1) over Drew McFedries (5-1) by TKO (Kick) in Round 2 Matt Hamill (4-0) over Rex Holman (4-1) with TKO (ground & pound) in Round 2 Jon Fitch (17-2) over Luigi Fioravanti (11-1) by KO in Round 2 Gleison Tibau (23-3) over Jason Dent (12-7) by submission (armbar) in Round 1 Jamie Varner (9-1) over Jason Gilliam (11-0) by KO in Round 2

Ewing, NJ -- The College of New Jersey wrestling team will look to continue its impressive streak of placing in the top 20 in the team standings this weekend as the Lions send five grapplers to the 2007 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships in Dubuque, IA. The Lions have placed in the top 20 in each of the last 31 years and are currently ranked seventh in the latest Brute – Adidas National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III pre-championship poll. The event will run March 2-3 and will be hosted by Loras College. TCNJ enters the tournament after winning the Metropolitan Conference Wrestling Championships for the 24th time in 29 tries. The Lions crowned three champions at the conference tournament as freshman Tyler Branham (Newton, NJ/Kittantinny) won at 141 pounds, senior Joe Galante (Ocean City, NJ/Ocean City) at 157 and sophomore Greg Osgoodby (Waldwick, NJ/Waldwick) at 174. Two more wrestlers earned a trip to nationals as junior Ray Sarinelli (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Hills) at 133 and senior Mike Guenther (Ewing, NJ/Brick) at 165 earned "wild card" spots. Four of the five wrestlers heading to Iowa are ranked in respective weight classes and a top-eight finish will earn them All-American status. Galante is the most seasoned wrestler at the tournament as he is making his third trip to the event. The three-time Met Conference champion was an All-American in 2005 placing fourth, but came up short in his bid a year ago. Galante is currently ranked eighth in this weight class and enters the double-elimination tournament with 28-2 record with eight of those coming by fall. During his career at TCNJ, he has compiled a lofty mark of 81-14. Branham and Osgoodby are making their first trips to nationals with Osgoodby ranks seventh and Branham the lone Lion not in the rankings. Osgoodby has had a tremendous second campaign at TCNJ and is 33-5 on the year. This season, Osgoodby also earned his 50th career win and is now 56-16. Branham, who wrestled only three matches during 2005-06 season due to an injury, has bounced back in impressive fashion as he leads the team in wins boasting a mark of 36-9. Sarinelli dropped a tight 3-2 decision to top-ranked Dave Morgan of King's College (PA) in the finals at the Met Conference Tournament, but was awarded a "wild card" as he has taken on some of the nation's elite this season. Sarinelli, who is ranked sixth at 133 pounds, heads to the tournament with a record 31-6 with four of his defeats coming against those ranked above him. For his career, he is 62-19. Guenther also grabbed a "wild card" berth as he finished second at the conference tournament the hard way. After falling in the finals, he battled back to win a true-second place match securing a spot. The senior takes a 27-3 record with him to the tournament and is currently ranked sixth. Like Branham, Guenther has battled back from an injury last season and has a career record of 34-5.

Columbia wrestling coach Brendan Buckley has been anticipating the 2007 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championships since the first day of the season, way back in October. In truth, though, he's been waiting for this moment for nearly seven years. "I've been working toward this since I came to Columbia seven years ago," said Buckley, a Fresno State All-American who was an assistant coach at Virginia before taking the Columbia position prior to the 2000-01 season. "Our wrestlers have been preparing since the day after last season ended." Just as Buckley's preparation dates back to his first days at Columbia, his wrestlers' also goes way back. Especially his seniors, five of whom will take the mat Friday in the 103rd EIWA Championships in Koehler Fieldhouse on the campus of East Stroudsburg University. "I'm excited for our whole team in this tournament, but especially for our seniors," said Buckley, the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling at Columbia. "We brought them in here for the express purpose of excelling in the Easterns and advancing to the NCAA Championships. They have worked hard for four years with that goal in mind. They believed in it, and I believe in them." Milestones have been plentiful for Columbia wrestling in recent years. Two years ago, the 2005 edition of the Columbia team finished fourth in the Easterns, its best finish in 74 years, and sent a school-record five men to the NCAA Championships. Last year's team produced seven EIWA placewinners, another Columbia record. This season's team finished in a tie for second in the Ivy League, its highest since 1985-86, and earned its first national ranking. Columbia wrestlers are ranked in the top six in every weight class for the Easterns, the only school that can make that boast. In the pre-tournament team rankings, the Lions are slotted in a three-way tie for third, with Lehigh and Penn, all trailing Cornell and Navy. Harvard, Army and American complete the top eight schools. "Both our team ranking, and that of our wrestlers, reflects the progress that our program has made," the coach notes. "To be at or near the top of our conference, with the possibility of several men reaching the EIWA finals and the NCAA Championships, is a testament to many, many years of hard work." Matt Palmer and Justin Barent are the two highest-ranked Lions in both national and EIWA rankings. Palmer, a senior from Germantown, Md., who was an All-American at 165 pounds in 2005, is ranked second in the EIWA and 10th nationally at 174. After taking a leave of absence from school for the first semester, Palmer compiled an 11-1 record; he is 81-22 in his career. Barent, one of Columbia's four co-captains, is ranked third in the EIWA and 18th in the nation. The senior from Worland, Wyo., is 18-4 this season.

TakedownRadio.com will once again broadcast and announce this years Big 12 Tournament. Wrestling fans can listen to this event free of charge courtesy of the Big 12 Conference and the University of Missouri. Coverage begins at 11:00 AM CST and continues throughout the event. Play by play and hosting duties are provided by TDR host Steve Foster. Steve will be joined by former ISU Standout wrestler Nick Passolano and wrestling historian Jeff Murphy. Intermatwrestle.com reporter William Hupp will provide sideline commentary and one on one interviews with coaches and athletes. Veteran announcer and founding host of TDR, Scott Casber, will publicly announce the event at the Hearns Center. This looks to be a great tournament with all 5 Big 12 teams ranked in the Top 20. In addition 33 of the 50 wrestlers (66%) competing are ranked in the top 20 in their respective weight classes. Twelve are ranked in the Top 5. No other conference can boast this level of talent. Remember that the top 3 finishers at each weight qualify for the NCAA Tournament along with eight wild card entrants. The team race for the 2007 Big 12 Tournament title is wide open. Iowa State and Missouri appear favorites, although Oklahoma State has a legitimate shot as well. The battle for the title will likely come down to the team scoring the most bonus points and upsets. Don't count out the wily veteran coach Jack Spates, or the surprising Cornhusker Mark Manning. Anything can happen at this year's Big 12 Championships. Tune in won't you? Coverage starts at 11:00 AM CST. Visit Takedownradio.com free of charge courtesy of the Big 12 Conference and the University of Missouri.

Wartburg sends 10 wrestlers to the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships Friday and Saturday, March 2 and 3, at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque. The defending national champions and top-ranked team in the nation is one of two schools sending an individual from each weight class to the tournament, joining second-ranked Augsburg College of Minneapolis, Minn., in the feat. FOR THE FANS: Competition at the 2007 national tourney opens Friday at 11 a.m. with the first session and runs through Saturday at 9 p.m. with the awarding of the individual All-American honors and team trophies. A tournament schedule, complete team-by-team national qualifiers, advanced ticket sales information and more are available at the official web site of the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships at http://depts.loras.edu/sports/2007ncaawrestling/index.html. Brackets will be announced Thursday night. Fans of the Knights can follow the national tourney through http://www.go-knights.net, the Internet home of Wartburg athletics, with complete recaps, photo galleries, and more, and through web broadcasts on Go-Knights.net, courtesy of KWAY Radio, Waverly, and KWAR-FM, 89.1, Waverly. The broadcast on KWAY will be available both days, while KWAR's broadcast will be available Saturday. NATIONAL TOURNAMENT HISTORY: This year's tournament marks the second time in the last four years that Loras College has been the host institution at the Five Flags Center. The last time around was a good one for the Orange and Black as they won the 2004 national meet, crowning four national champions and nine All-Americans…This year's tourney begins a run of back-to-back years in which the Iowa Conference has a strong flavor in host duties. The 2008 national tourney will be held at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids with Cornell College, Coe College, and the IIAC as hosts…Head coach Jim Miller's program looks to continue four remarkable streaks this weekend. The Knights have had a view from the top of the team race in 12 of the last 14 national championships, ending either first or second with five national titles and three of those coming since 2003…Wartburg has had at least three All-Americans in each of the last 16 national championships with a high water mark of 10 in 2003 and nine in 2004 and 2006…The Knights have had at least one All-American in each of the last 19 national championships…Wartburg has also had at least one individual national champion in each of the last four years with two-or-more in each of those instances. 2007 KNIGHTS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES: Senior heavyweight Blake Gillis of Spencer, fresh off becoming the Iowa Conference's fifth four-time individual champion, seeks more history on the national level this weekend. He can become the first four-time All-American for Wartburg since Jon Dawley did so from 1991-94. Gillis has previously finished second three times…Junior 197-pounder T.J. Miller of Cedar Falls also looks for repeat All-American honors after finishing fourth in 2007 along with sophomore 141-pounder Zach McKray of Iowa City who was eighth at 133 pounds last year…Miller is the lone unbeaten in the Wartburg wrestling room, sporting a 25-0 record, while sophomore 184-pounder Romeo Djoumessi of Waverly has the longest winning streak of any of the Knights, sitting at 29 straight since a loss to Iowa State University's David Varner at the Harold Nichols Open in late November…Djoumessi, Gillis, and Miller have yet to be defeated by an NCAA Division III opponent this year with Gillis' lone loss coming at the hands of Northwestern University's Dustin Fox in the semifinals of the Midlands Invitational in late December. Gillis has won 20 in a row since the loss…Sophomore 157-pounder Aaron Wernimont of Pocahontas joins Djoumessi and Gillis in the 30-win club with a 35-4 record. He's won nine straight since a 5-4 loss to Augsburg's Jeremy Anderson in the finals of the National Wrestling Coaches Association's Division III National Duals…Freshman 149-pounder Adam Weber of Waterloo is close behind with 29 wins, while junior 125-pounder Robert Struthers of Emmetsburg (28 wins), and senior 174-pounder Jason Zastrow of Coon Rapids, Minn., (26 wins) are also within range of 30 victories…The remaining records for Wartburg's national qualifiers are junior 133-pounder Jake Helvey of Mitchellville (25-15), McKray (9-8), and senior 165-pounder Jason Knipp of Waterloo (13-2).