InterMat Staff

Takedown Wrestling Radio with Scott Casber and Steve Foster will broadcast the first-ever Border Brawl: Featuring the best and brightest Seniors from Iowa and Nebraska. Who will be victorious? Tune to TakedownRadio.com Starting at 6 PM Friday, March 10th for a special 1 hour pre meet program prior to the meet starting. You'll hear from the coaches of Both Morningside and Dana Colleges. Proceeds from this event will be split between Morningside College and Dana College to help defray equipment and travel costs, etc., for these 2 teams. Join us or listen in as we Celebrate this sport with Border Brawl at Dana College's Gardner Hawks Center Friday, March 10 from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. If you can make it in person please grab a friend and come on out! Tickets are $8.00 at the door and we'll see you at Gardner Hawks Center on the campus of Dana College in Blair Nebraska. For information call 402-533-4063 or Rfergola@esu3.org TakedownRadio.com -- 6PM CST Friday, March 10, 2006

Pembroke, NC -- UNC Pembroke wrestling coach PJ Smith has established a scholarship in honor of his father, C.A. "Whitey" Smith, which will help promote and perpetuate wrestling at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. C.A., a successful businessman, competed in and enjoyed playing, watching and teaching combative and contact sports, such as boxing, football and wrestling. The endowment of this wrestling scholarship will help promote the character qualities C.A. believed in, which are at the core of wrestling – hard work, self-discipline, pride, mental toughness and competitiveness. For more information or to make a contribution to the C.A. "Whitey" Smith Endowment, please contact the Office of Donor Relations at UNCP at 910-521-6213 or PJ Smith, Wrestling Coach, at 910-521-6261.

Fresno, Calif. -- Junior Greg Gifford pinned Eastern Illinois' Greg Perz 36 seconds into the second period of the 184 pound title match at the NCAA Western Regionals Sunday to win the Region Championship. Fresno State had two other wrestlers also reach the finals in Cody Parker and Shane Seibert. The win automatically places Gifford in the NCAA championships, being held March 16-18 in Oklahoma City. Fresno State started out the day wrestling nine weight classes, as Fresno State was unable to enter a wrestler for the 174-pound weight class. The Bulldogs were in second place at the end of the preliminary matches, as Dustin Rocha and Darrell Goodpaster both won to advance into the semi-finals. The Bulldogs continued to make strides in the tournament, as Greg Gifford, Cody Parker and Shane Seibert advanced to the finals for Fresno State. Seibert, wrestling in only his third match of the year due to injuries, beat Beau Tresemer in the 165-pound semifinals, but was forced to retire due to his injuries in the finals. Cody Parker and Greg Gifford both advanced easily in their semi-final matches as well. Parker finished with a first period pinfall over Northern Iowa's Tyler Rhodes to move to the finals, and Gifford was just one point shy of a technical fall in a 21-7 major decision of Zane Hersey of Air Force. Parker was beaten in the finals by Wyoming's Dusty Hoffschneider. Gifford sealed the region championship with a 3:36 pin of Greg Perz as well as a ticket to Oklahoma City for the region championship. Fresno State finished the tournament in third place with 61 points, behind tournament host Wyoming and champion Northern Iowa. Along with the automatic qualification earned by Gifford, three more Fresno State wrestlers were awarded at-large bids to wrestle in the NCAA tournament. Cody Parker and Shane Seibert were given passes based on their finishes, as was freshman Cory Borges, a third-place finisher at 125 pounds.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Lehigh made it five consecutive EIWA team championships on Sunday, as the Mountain Hawks held off Cornell and Penn to win the 102nd EIWA title at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks had three individual champions and scored 129 team points, 13.5 more than runner-up Cornell. The Brown and White placed wrestlers in nine of ten weight classes and qualified nine men for the upcoming NCAA Championships. "We had a good finish today," said head coach Greg Strobel. "We had some guys with high expectations in this tournament, but it turned out a lot of the other guys, who didn't have the accolades really stepped it up." Lehigh's three individual champions were seniors Cory Cooperman and Travis Frick and junior Matt Cassidy. Cooperman defeated Harvard's Max Meltzer 5-2 to win the 141 pound championship. Cooperman wins his third EIWA Championship in four tries. Frick earned his second EIWA title with a thrilling sudden victory win over Penn's Matt Herrington. Each wrestler mustered just an escape in regulation, but Frick got a hold of a leg, and scored the winning takedown 32 seconds into the first sudden victory period. Cassidy also needed overtime to win his title, as he scored the winning points in the second sudden victory period to upset top-seeded Jerry Rinaldi of Cornell. A couple of Lehigh's younger guys helped the Brown and White build a lead on Saturday, but both freshmen Matt Fisk and Trevor Chinn came up short in their finals bouts. Fisk yielded a late takedown to Cornell's Troy Nickerson, who won the battle of true freshmen 2-1 at 125. Chinn, fought a good strategic match, but fell victim to several tilts from Penn's Matt Dragon, who won 11-1. In the consolation rounds earlier in the day, Lehigh had two third-place finishers who automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships, and two more fourth-place finishers, who earned wild card bids to Oklahoma City. Derek Zinck battled back from a loss in Saturday's quarterfinals to place third, avenging his loss to Brown's Mike Savino in the process. Junior Paul Weibel won by major decision over Michael Sprigg of Army in the consolations, and then beat nationally ranked Adam LoPiccolo of American to place third at heavyweight. Senior Troy Letters and junior David Helfrich both won their consolation semifinal bouts, but were defeated in the third place matches. Letters continues to wrestle through a neck injury and was edged by Army's Jon Anderson 10-9. Helfrich dropped a 5-1 decision to Penn's Dustin Wiles, but both he and Letters earned wild cards, giving Lehigh its largest contingent of NCAA qualifiers under Greg Strobel. "These tournaments are always won in the trenches and for us to place nine and send nine to nationals is big for us," added Strobel. "We are peaking at the right time. The team has gone through a lot of adversity, but the guys who had success this weekend, will be primed for another strong showing when we get to nationals. American senior Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler, while Letters won the Sheridan Award for most falls and the Fletcher Trophy for career team points in the EIWA Championships. Lehigh will send its nine qualifiers to the 2006 NCAA Championships, which will take place March 16-18 from Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.

EDINBORO, Pa. -- Pitt's been making EWL history the past few years, and this year it was redshirt senior Justin Nestor's time to secure his place in the record books. Winning the championship title at 165 pounds, he is now a four-time NCAA qualifier with hopes of becoming an All-American this season. "We call Nestor `Lunchbox' because he has that Pittsburgh work ethic about him," said Head Coach Rande Stottlemyer. "If you want to work out with Nestor, you better show up because he's going to give all he's got. He's been as consistent as you can be, and being a four-time NCAA qualifier is a testament to that. He's the kind of wrestler where you know what you're going to get out of him." When asked about his performance today, Nestor said with a laugh, "I figured I needed to get my picture up on that wall," referring to the wall of conference champions in the new wrestling facility. He did say, on a more serious note, that he was happy with the team's overall performance and is hoping to achieve All-America honors in the upcoming weeks. Nestor (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) won his first bout of the tournament by defeating Clarion's Chris Goings with a fall at the 5:53 mark. This marked Nestor's 34th career pin, ranking him second among Pitt's all-time pin leaders. In his second match, he won a 10-0 major decision over Lock Haven's Rory McCoy to qualify for today's championship finals. In his last match, Nestor faced West Virginia's Larry Hall. With both wrestlers going scoreless in the first period, Nestor was able to earn two points for a reversal in the second. He maintained his 2-0 lead to capture the bout title, making him the 25th wrestler in Pitt history to become an EWL champion. Nestor is also one of eleven Pitt wrestlers to become a four-time NCAA qualifier.

EDINBORO -- Mike Spaid (Perkiomenville/Boyertown) won the 2006 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Championship at heavyweight to lead the Huskies to a fourth-place finish at the conference tournament. Spaid, along with Mike Sees (Northumberland/Shikellamy), qualified for the NCAA Championships yesterday after semifinal wins. Joining them at the national tournament will be Jim Bertulis (Aston/Garnett Valley), Brad Forbes (Downingtown/Downingtown) and Aric Fuhrman (Spring Grove/Delone Catholic). In the championship bout, Spaid got a 3-2 win over Cleveland State's Rashard Goff. Goff took an early 2-1 lead in the first period, but a reversal in the third period from the defensive position gave Spaid the win. Sees also advanced to the title match before falling to Lock Haven's Obe Blanc in the 125-pound finals. Blanc took a 2-1 lead after the first period and then scored another takedown and earned two backpoints en route to the 7-3 win. Earlier in the day, the Huskies qualified three more for the national tournament. Bertulis got the automatic bid with a third-place finish at 174 pounds. After a pin in the consolation semifinals, Bertulis got a 10-3 win over Pittsburgh's Nick Padezan to advance to the NCAA Championships. Also earning bids were Forbes, at 141 pounds, and Furhman and the 157-pound weight class. The duo earned two of the conference's five wild card spots. Forbes, following a consolation semifinal match loss to Mike Hurley of Cleveland State, Forbes got a 3-1 decision over Clarion's Greg Lewis to take fifth place in the tournament. Fuhrman advanced to the third-place match on a 2-0 decision win over Pittsburgh's Sean Richmond. In the national-qualifying bout, Fuhrman was able to tie the score at four, before Richmond got an escape and earned a point on riding time to qualify for nationals. Ricky Donald (Millville/Bloomsburg) also posted a fifth-place finish for the Huskies in his first EWL tournament. After a 7-3 loss to David Armstrong in the consolation semifinals, Donald bounced back and beat Clarion's Rob LaBrake in a 3-1 overtime decision. Frank Beasley, at 165 pounds, got a fourth-place finish, falling to Edinboro's Deonte Penn in the third-place bout, following a 12-2 majord decision win over Lock Haven's Rory McCoy. Jesse Hasseman (Franklin, IN/Franklin) took fourth in the 197-pound weight class, falling in a quadruple-overtime decision, 3-2. In the fourth overtime period, Pittsburgh's Mike Heist got a takedown with 36 seconds remaining to win the match for the Panthers. At 184 pounds, Nate Shirk (Middleburg/Middleburg) got a fifth-place finish for the Huskies. Following a 2-0 decision loss to Lock Haven's Derrick Morgan, Shirk won a 5-3 decision over Pitt's Kyle Deliere, who he lost to in Saturday's opening round. The final placewinner for the Huskies was George Hickman (Wilmington, NC/Riverside) who took sixth at 149 pounds. Hickman dropped a 3-2 decision to Pitt's Joey Ecklof in the consolation semifinals before losing to Ryan Hurley in the fifth-place bout.

EDINBORO, Pa. -- With a title at 125 and four men earning trips to nationals, the Lock Haven University wrestling team finished sixth of seven teams in the final day (March 5) at the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Championships, hosted by Edinboro University. Edinboro won the team race with 120.5 points, followed by West Virginia Universty (110.5), the University of Pittsburgh (97), Bloomsburg University (94.5), Cleveland State University (82), Lock Haven (70.5), and Clarion University (29.5). Sophomore No. 16 Obenson Blanc (Naples, Fla./Lely) won the title at 125, and he will be joined at the NCAA Division I Championship by runners-up No. 18 Joshua Medina (Las Vegas/Pima C.C.) at 149 and junior No. 17 Seth Martin (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) at 157 as well as the third-place finisher at 184, Derrick Morgan (Milan, Pa./Athens). Other finishers for LHU were fifth places from junior Carlos Ponce (Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah Miami Lakes), and freshman Tom Kocher (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) sixth place from sophomore Rory McCoy (Hughesville, Pa./Hughesville) at 165. "I'm happy with our guys' effort over this whole tournament," said LHU head coach Rocky Bonomo. "We got beat by higher-seeded guys and even managed to upset a few. With all of the turnabout and personnel changes this season, it was excellent to see them give their best effort. I'm excited about our chances to win some matches at nationals." After a bye and a 13-6 win over Brad Gentzle yesterday, 125-pounder Blanc took on No. 14 Mike Sees (Bloomsburg). Sees the defending champion at 125, had taken both meetings this season, but the most recent went into overtime. Blanc grabbed the first two points with 40 seconds left in the first by powering Sees to his back. Sees spun out for a point just as the buzzer hit. A second-period Sees escape tied the bout. Blanc went back out in front with a takedown half-way thru the second, adding a pair of back points, but Sees was out seconds later. The third period featured a flurry of fruitless attacks out of Sees, as Blanc added a riding-time point for a 7-3 decision. With the win Blanc became the first titlist at 125 for LHU since Trap McCormack in 2000. With wins over Derrick Smith (Clarion) 12-3 and David Jauregui (West Virginia) 13-6 yesterday, Medina drew 149 pound top-seed No. 7 Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) in the championship bout. Gillespie had won both meetings this season, but it was Medina countering Gillespie's first shot into a takedown. He would work an escape for a 2-1 tally 27 seconds later. A Gillespie shot sent Medina sprawling late in the first, and he worked his way to the buzzer with no points given up. Gillespie did get his first takedown in the second period, driving Medina to his back off a single for a pair of backpoints as well and a 5-2 lead. Gillespie had some stifling defensive work on top for the entire third period, getting the 7-3 win. Medina is the first two-time qualifier for LHU at 149 since JaMarr Billman (2001-02). Martin beat Sean Richmond (Pittsburgh) 17-3 and Matt Hill (Edinboro) 6-0 yesterday, earning the right to face defending champion No. 5 Matt Lebe (West Virginia) for the title at 157. Martin dropped a hard-fought 10-9 decision to Lebe during the dual season. An All-American a year ago, Lebe grabbed a single for the first two points, but Martin was able to get loose on his first attempt. He worked another escape for the tie early in the second, 2-2. No more scoring in the second showed that this would be a much lower-scoring affair than their first bout. Martin found himself in the same situation as their dual, tied with control going into the third period. Just like that bout, Lebe escaped early in the third, and Martin's efforts for a takedown later in the period fell short, a 3-2 loss by decision. He is the highest EWL placewinner ever at 157 for Lock Haven, the closest match being runner up Brian Leitzel at 158 in 1997. Sophomore 165-pounder McCoy went 1-1 yesterday, beating Tim Scarl (Cleveland State) 8-4 in the opening round before dropping to Justin Nestor (West Virginia) 10-0 in the semifinals. McCoy started with Frank Beasley (Bloomsburg) today, losing 12-2. Beasley took the first four points of the bout and the final six, moving McCoy to the fifth-place match. McCoy squared off with Scarl again for fifth place, surrendering a 6-2 deficit after the first period. Scarl controlled the final two periods as well, finishing with an 11-2 victory. At 174, junior Ponce topped Dave Gardner (Clarion) 9-3 before losing to Eric Ring (Edinboro) 6-1 in the semifinals. Ponce drew Nick Padezan (Pitt) today, losing 2-0. Padezan took the first point of the bout on a second-period escape, and held Ponce down the entire third period for the win. Having already beat him once in the tournament, Ponce saw Gardner in the fifth-place bout. Ponce was in a 3-0 hole early in the second period, hustling to score a takedown with 1:25 left in the second stanza. Ponce let him loose and then powered Gardner down for another two points just seconds later. He once again set him free and scurried around from a front facelock grabbing a 6-5 lead after two. A national qualifier a year ago, Ponce worked Gardner over in the final period 7-0 for the 13-5 win and a fifth-place finish. The win was Ponce's 20th this season. Ponce was chosen as the second alternate to the National Qualifier list for the league. Morgan had a first-round bye at 184, following that up with a 6-2 loss to No. 17 Alex Clemsen (Edinboro) yesterday. Nate Shirk (Bloomsburg) was Morgan's first opponent today, with Morgan holding a dual victory over him already this season. Shirk and Morgan worked to a 0-0 tie at the end of two, with Morgan earning an early escape for the first point in the third. The two men worked a collar and elbow for the remainder of the third period and Morgan won 2-0. Morgan drew Chance Litton (WVU) in the third place bout, a trip to Oklahoma City, Okla. on the line. Morgan pinned Litton in their dual match, and grabbed the first pair of points off a double leg with 29 seconds left in the first. Morgan scored three more in the second, including reeling in a single-leg on the edge of the circle. Litton picked up all of his five points in the final period but it wasn't enough, as Morgan won 10-5 for his first national championships appearance. Kocher dominated Logan Downes (Clarion) 8-1 before losing to Jared Villers 9-0 in the semifinal yesterday. Pittsburgh's 197-pounder Mike Heist awaited Kocher in the consolation semifinal today. Kocher had a 7-4 win over Heist in the dual season, but it was Heist with the first points, a second-period escape. Kocher took down in the third to try and work for an escape, getting the tie with 1:42 left. Heist turned Kocher's single shot into the first takedown of the bout on the edge of the circle. Kocher escaped seconds later. He got a tie on a Heist stall point, but didn't hear the official call the point and had a frantic try at a late takedown backfire as Heist rolled over on another Kocher shot at the edge to get the win, 4-3. Kocher hit a first minute takedown in his fifth-place bout with Downes, and was never in real danger in a 9-0 victory. Martin, Blanc, Medina, Morgan and Bonomo are back in action Thursday, March 16 at the NCAA Division I Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Tanner Garrett finished second in Sunday's finals and five Navy wrestlers all told earned spots in the NCAA Tournament and the Mids finished fourth in the team race, giving them their second straight top-five finish. Garrett, Chris Pogue, John Cox, Matt Stolpinski and Joe Baker all punched tickets to Oklahoma City in two weeks. "We're workhorses and are going to have to earn everything," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We had some tough, long days, but I thought we worked very hard this weekend. Some matches jjust didn't go our way, but our five qualifiers will learn from our mistakes and work hard in preparation for NCAA's." Tanner Garrett (Tulsa, Okla.) dropped a double-overtime heartbreaker for the second straight season, 3-2, this time to Harvard's second seed Bode Ogunwole. In the finals, Ogunwole scored an escape early in the second period for a 1-0 lead. Garrett, however, started the third period with an escape to knot the score at 1-1. Ogunwole and Garrett traded escapes in overtime, but the Harvard junior rode out Garrett for the 30 seconds in the double overtime to claim the victory. Garrett has now finished second in the EIWA Championships three straight years. Joe Baker (Poway, Calif.) became the first Mid to grab an NCAA Tournament berth, defeating Cornell's Mike Mormile, the second seed, in the consolation finals, 8-5. Baker led 5-1 after two periods, then scored a takedown with about 40 seconds left to ice away the match. Mormile had piled up a 26-11 record during his senior campaign and finished last year's tournament as the runner-up at 125 pounds. The win moves the Navy freshman's record to 11-2, and became the first Navy freshman to qualify for the NCAA Tournament since Dan Hicks in 1992. "Joe just needed to get some matches in him," said Burnett. "We knew he had the talent, but he was just lacking the conditioning early in the year. He is now in shape and I think everyone is seeing what he can do. There is a buzz about him in the EIWA. He put in the work to get better and to get where he is, and he is going to continue to work hard." Baker overcame a bumpy road to get back into the lineup, taking almost a year off because of injuries. When it appeared he was back, another minor injury would slow him down again. Now, the freshman is healthy and he is heading to the NCAA Tournament. "It's been a year in the works," said Baker. "I got through the injuries and I think I am healthy enough now to compete with anyone in the country. There is always room for improvement, and I leave this tournament with a lot of `what ifs'. I hope I can fix some of the mistakes I made this weekend at the NCAAs and put forth a good performance there." Navy garnered two fourth-place finishes from sophomore 174-pounder Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) and senion 197-pounder Chris Pogue (Chespeake, Va.). The pair was defeated in the consolation finals by Columbia's Matt Palmer and Army's Charles Martin, respectively. The pair equaled their pre-tournament seed. John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.) and Craig Dziewiatkowski (Aurora, Ill.) earned fifth-place finishes at 149 and 165 pounds. Cox was defeated by the tournament's top two seeds over the last two days, but rallied for a fifth-place finish with a 4-1 decision over Columbia's Ricky Turk in the fifth-place match. Dziewiatkowski, meanwhile, had a strong run in the tournament, surpassing his pre-tournament sixth seed. Dziewiatkowski, who qualified for last year's NCAA Tournament, lost to the Nos. 2 and 5 seeds along the way. However, he had two impressive wins along the way, defeating third-seeded Shawn Kitchner of Brown twice, including a 13-3 major-decision in the fifth-place match. The Mids scored a sixth-place finish from sophomore Spencer Manley (Ooltewah, Tenn.) at 141 pounds. Manley lost both of his matches in the consolation round on Sunday, but finished with a sixth-place showing after entering the tournament as the seventh seed. "We have five guys going to Oklahoma City looking to do well," said Burnett. "It's time to get some All-Americans up on that wall. It's been too long." NAVY NOTES • The Mids will send five wrestlers to the NCAA Tournament, after six wrestlers qualified a year ago. The list includes two seniors, a junior, a sophomore and a freshman. Garrett will make his third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, while Cox advances for the second time. Baker, Stolpinski and Pogue will wrestle in their first NCAA Tournament. • Joe Baker is the first Navy freshman to qualify for the NCAA Tournament since Dan Hicks in 1992. • Navy has three wrestlers over 30 wins for the third time ever, joining the 1994-95 and 2000-01 seasons as the only teams to have three 30-match winners. • Senior heavyweight Tanner Garrett moved into the top five career victory list with 112. He surpassed Scott Schleicher (1986-90) with his semifinal victory on Saturday. • Junior 157-pounder John Jarred finished his season with 35 wins, good for a tie for eighth on the single-season list. John Cox's 31 victories are the 22nd-most in a single season. Cox also moved into a tie for 19th on the career list with 80. • Craig Dziewiatkowski finished his career with a 72-41 career mark. Jonny Kane closes out his career with a 68-38 record. • Tanner Garrett finished second for the third straight year. He leads the country with 41 wins and is only the second Navy wrestler ever to record 40 wins in a season. CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS: 133 -- (4) Joe Baker (Navy) pinned Frankie Baughan (Army), 1:43 141 -- (4) Sal Tirico (Columbia) major dec. (7) Spencer Manley (Navy), 14-5 149 -- (2) Patrick Simpson (Army) dec. (4) John Cox (Navy), 5-4 165 -- (5) Jon Anderson (Army) dec. (6) Craig Dziewiatkowski (Navy), 8-6 174 -- (4) Matt Stolpinski (Navy) dec. (6) Chad Marzec (Army), 6-4 197 -- (4) Chris Pogue (Navy) pinned (6) Orrin Kleinhenz (Columbia), 2:46 CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS: HWT -- (2) Bode Ogunwole (Harvard) dec. (1) Tanner Garrett 3-2 (2tb) THIRD-PLACE MATCHES: 133 -- (4) Joe Baker dec. (2) Mike Mormile (Cornell), 8-5 174 -- (3) Matt Palmer (Columbia) dec. (4) Matt Stolpinski (Navy), 11-4 197 -- (5) Charles Martin (Army) dec. (4) Chris Pogue (Navy), 6-4 FIFTH-PLACE MATCHES: 141 -- (3) Steve Adamcsik (Rutgers) tech. fall (7) Spencer Manley (Navy), 16-0 (2:41) 149 -- (4) John Cox (Navy) dec. (5) Ricky Turk (Columbia), 4-1 165 -- (6) Craig Dziewiatkowski (Navy) major dec. (3) Shawn Kitchner (Brown), 13-3 FINAL RESULTS: 125 -- (8) Alex Usztics: 1-2 (DNP); Season Record: 16-13 133 -- (4) Joe Baker: 4-1 (3rd; Advanced to NCAA Championships); Season Record: 11-2 141 -- (7) Spencer Manley: 3-3 (6th); Season Record: 17-15 149 -- (4) John Cox: 2-2 (5th); Season Record: 31-10 157 -- (5) John Jarred: 2-2 (DNP); Season Record: 35-10 165 -- (6) Craig Dziewiatkowski: 3-2 (5th); Season Record: 19-11 174 -- (4) Matt Stolpinski: 3-2 (4th); Season Record: 29-9 184 -- (7) Jonny Kane: 1-2 (DNP); Season Record: 20-9 197 -- (4) Chris Pogue: 3-2 (4th); Season Record: 28-10 HW -- (1) Tanner Garrett: 2-1 (2nd); Season Record: 41-3

Bloomington, Ind. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the guidance of head coach Troy Sunderland, bounced back in rousing fashion from a tough late session Saturday by crowning an individual champion, getting three more wrestlers (for a total of eight) a ticket to nationals and climbing past Iowa in the team race to finish fourth. Minnesota won the team title with 136.0 points, followed closely by Illinois with 125.0. Michigan was third with 115.0 followed by the Nittany Lions with 91.0. Northwestern was fifth with 87.5 and Iowa was sixth with 86.0. The final session began with the consolation semifinals. While all the grapplers in the round had earned a spot at nationals, up for grabs was the chance to wrestle for third place and important team points. The first of four Nittany Lions in the conso semis was freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) at 133. Strayer, the No. 5 seed, was to meet No. 2 seed Chris Fleeger of Purdue. But Fleeger was suffering from an injured toe and gave up a medical forfeit to Strayer, advancing the Nittany Lion freshman to the third place bout. At 174, junior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) faced off against No. 3 seed R.J. Boudro of Michigan State. Yonushonis, the No. 4 seed, was taken down in the first period by Boudro and could never quite recover. Boudro did not allow Yonushonis to escape and led 2-0 after one period. Yonushonis chose down to begin the second and escaped to cut the lead to 2-1, but neither wrestler could score again in the middle period. Boudro would add another take down in the third and get off the mat with a hard earned 6-2 win. Yonushonis moved to the bout for fifth place with the loss. Senior DeWitt Driscoll downed Illinois' Cassio Pero in the seventh place bout at 141 by a 10-4 score to earn an automatic trip to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City. Senior All-American Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.), coming off an upset loss in the semifinals at 184, met No. 6 seed Mike Tamillow of Northwestern. Bradley, the No. 1 seed entering the tournament, wrestled Tamillow to a 0-0 tie after one period. The senior co-captain chose down to begin the second and escaped to a 1-0 lead. With just four seconds left in the second, Bradley got a key takedown to carry a 3-0 lead into the third period. Tamillow chose down to begin the third period and escaped, but he could not break through Bradley's defense and the Nittany Lion All-American went on to post the 3-1 win. The victory earned Bradley a shot at third place alter in the session. Senior heavyweight Joel Edwards (Upper Darby, Pa.), the No. 4 seed, met No. 3 seed Dustin Fox of Northwestern in the final conso semi for Penn State. The duo wrestled to a 0-0 tie through the first three minutes. Edwards chose down to begin the middle stanza and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. But midway through the period, the Nittany Lion got called for fleeing the mat, tying the score at 1-1. The second period ended knotted at that score and Fox chose down to begin the third. The Wildcat escaped to a 2-1 lead, forcing Edwards to go for the winning take down to earn a shot at third place. Taking a solid shot with :20 left, Edwards was countered by Fox, who got a take down of his own and grabbed a tough 4-2 win. The loss sent Edwards into a fifth place bout against Ohio State's Kirk Nail. With the consolation semifinals complete, the bouts for places three through eight began on Assembly Hall's three mat set up for the final session. While the conso finals and fifth place bouts had important team points and placing riding on them, the bouts for seventh place had the added drama of a spot at nationals tacked on. The Big Ten qualifies 72 wrestlers for the NCAA Championship, the top seven at each weight class and two wildcards. Seventh place was a guarantee, eighth place was not. Before the third and fifth place matches were wrestled, three Nittany Lion upperclassmen got their chances to qualify for the national championships and leave nothing to be decided in a wildcard meeting. Senior DeWitt Driscoll (Connellsville, Pa.) was the tournament's No. 4 seed but was coming off two upset losses that had dropped him into a battle for his NCAA life in the seventh place bout at 141. Driscoll met No. 6 seed Cassio Pero of Illinois, the same Cassio Pero that knocked him out of contention last year. Driscoll came out on fire, nailing Pero with a four-point move (take down and a two-point near fall) to lead 4-1 a minute in (after the Pero escape). Driscoll added yet another take down to post a solid 6-1 lead heading into the second. Perio chose neutral to begin the second and quickly took Driscoll down, but the Lion senior escaped to carry a 7-3 lead into the final period. Driscoll added another take down and rolled to an impressive 10-4 win, punching his ticket to nationals with a seventh place finish. Driscoll finished the tournament with a 2-2 record and heads to nationals with a 16-9 mark. Senior James Woodall (Dupont, Pa.), the No. 7 seed, was also in a battle for a spot in the NCAA Championships, facing No. 8 seed Darren McKnight of Michigan State for seventh place at 149. Woodall got the first take down of the bout and took an 2-1 lead into the second after a McKnight escape. The second period began with Woodall choosing down and quickly escaping to a 3-1 lead. Each wrestler had his chances to score in the middle stanza, but neither could finish and the bout entered the final two minutes with Woodall holding a 3-1 lead. McKnight chose down to begin the third and escaped, but not until Woodall had worked up over a minute's worth of riding time. With no one notching another take down, the riding time point cushioned Woodall's final victory score, giving the Lion senior a 4-2 win and a trip to nationals. The seventh place finisher went 3-2 over the weekend and heads to Oklahoma City with a 10-7 mark. Senior Nathan Galloway bested Ohio State's Steve Sommer 5-1 in the seventh place bout at 157 to earn a spot in the NCAA Championships, giving Penn State eight national qualifiers in the process. Junior Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.), the No. 8 seed at 157, looked to earn a trip to Oklahoma City by placing higher than his seed in the seventh place bout against No. 7 seed Steve Sommer of Ohio State. Sommer, who downed Galloway earlier this year in a dual, and the Nittany Lion junior battled to a 0-0 tie after the first period. Galloway chose down to begin the second period but was muscled from up top by Sommer, who rode him for most of the period. But with just under :30 left, Galloway worked out of his bottom position to score a crucial reverse and, just as importantly, maintained his hold on Sommer until the period's end. With Galloway up 2-0 entering the final period, Sommer chose down. Not to be denied a return to the national championships, Galloway promptly turned Sommer to get two back points and ice the win. Galloway closed Sommer out with a 5-1 victory, earning the seventh place spot at 157 and a spot on the plane to Oklahoma City. Galloway went 2-2 in the tournament and heads to nationals with a 13-14 record. With three more Lions qualified for nationals, bringing the team total to eight, it was time for the placing bouts with important team points on the line. Penn State entered the final rounds in fourth place with 79.5 points, just ahead of Northwestern (79.0) and just behind third place Iowa (84.0). With the immediate goal of trying to catch the Hawkeyes, Penn State began its final five bouts of the Big Ten tourney. Strayer was up first in the placing bouts, meeting Michigan's Mark Moos in the battle for third place at 133. Moos, who downed Strayer 7-5 in sudden victory in the quarters, was the No. 4 seed while Strayer was seeded No. 5. Moos got the scoring going with two early take downs in the first period. But each time, Strayer quickly escaped and, with seconds remaining in the opening stanza, the Nittany Lion freshman took Moos down and held him for the final moments to send the bout to the second tied 4-4. Strayer chose down to begin the second period and, after a bit of work, reversed Moos to go up 6-4. Moos would escape before the period ended to cut the Strayer lead to 6-5 entering the final three minutes. Moos chose down and did escape to tie the score at 6-6, but not before Strayer had worked up over a minute's worth of riding time. Strayer added another take down late in the bout and went on to post an impressive 9-6 win. The victory gave Strayer third place in his first Big Ten Tournament. He went 4-1 on the weekend and heads to NCAAs with a 23-4 overall record. At 174, Yonushonis picked up fifth place and team bonus points by getting a medical forfeit win over Illinois' Donny Reynolds. Yonushonis, the No. 4 seed, went 2-2 during the tournament and heads to nationals with a 20-6 record. His win also inched Penn State closer to Iowa in the battle for fourth place in the team race. Bradley got his shot at third place against No. 2 seed Ben Wissel of Purdue. Wissel go the first take down of the bout :20 in and proceeded to ride Bradley out for the last 2:40 of the first period. The Boilermaker chose down to begin the second and was cut by Bradley to a 3-0 lead. Bradley then went on a take down flurry, getting two before the period's end, tying the bout at 4-4. Bradley chose down to begin the third and escaped in due time, but after the escape, Wissel quickly got in on a single leg to score the bout's critical take down. While getting hit for a stall, Wissel still held on for a hard-fought 7-6 win. The loss gave Bradley the fourth place spot. The senior went 2-2 and heads to nationals with an 11-3 record. The finals and bouts for third through sixth were wrestled concurrently on the three-mat set-up in Assembly Hall. Given that, it was late in the afternoon when Nittany Lion sophomore Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) took to the center mat and got his shot at 197 crown against top-seeded Tyrone Byrd of Illinois. Davis, the No. 2 seed, and Byrd battled through an even first period, with neither wrestler scoring. Byrd chose neutral to begin the second period. Davis was the aggressor in the period, but none of his offensive efforts was rewarded with any points and the title bout entered the final two minutes still scoreless. Davis chose down to begin the final period. Byrd rode him for over a minute before Davis reversed the Illini and got to back points to go up 4-0. He would maintain his top position to close out the bout and grabbed the 2006 Big Ten Championship with a 4-0 decision. The sophomore All-American went 4-0 over two days and heads to nationals with a 21-3 record. Senior James Woodall defeated Michigan State's Darren McKnight 4-2 in the seventh place bout at 149 to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships in two weeks. Edwards, wrestling in the final bout for Penn State in the tournament, got a medical forfeit at heavyweight, good enough for three team points, which cemented fourth place in the team race. Edwards, the No. 4 seed, earned fifth place with a 3-2 record. He heads to Oklahoma City with a 17-6 overall mark. "Last year, I came here and while I didn't doubt myself, I wasn't as confident in what I could get done," Davis said after claiming the title and referring to his 4th place finish as a freshman. "This year, I knew coming in that no matter who I faced, I would give them a tough effort. I put myself in a position to win the title and took advantage of the opportunity." Penn State went 9-3 in the final session and 22-17 overall in the tournament, highlighted by Davis' 4-0 mark. The rest of the Lion records were as follows: Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) 0-2 at 125; Strayer 4-1 and 3rd at 133; Driscoll 2-2 and 7th place at 141; Woodall 3-2 and 7th place at 149; Galloway 2-2 and 7th place at 157; David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio) 0-2 at 165; Yonushonis 2-2 and 5th at 174; Bradley 2-2 and 4th at 184; and Edwards 3-2 and 5th at HWT. "I'm very pleased that we crowned a Big Ten Champion and have eight guys going to nationals," Sunderland said. "The guys we had wrestling for seventh place set the tone for us today and did a great job. They wanted to earn their spots in the national championships instead of leaning on a wildcard. I'm proud of the way we came back as a team today after a tough round last night." Sunderland will now take his eight Nittany Lions to Oklahoma City and the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Action at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City commences on Thursday, March 16, and runs through Saturday, March 18. The entire 2006 Big Ten Wrestling Championships will be recapped in a two hour show, which will include the finals, by national cable network CSTV. The tournament show will run numerous times next week, please check your local listings for broadcast times or go to www.GoPSUsports.com for a listing of airtimes. The following is a breakdown of the complete championship finals (tournament seed in parenthesis): 125: (2) Nick Simmons MSU dec. (4) Kyle Ott ILL, 7-0 133: (3) Todd Clum WISC dec. (1) Mack Reiter MINN, 6-4 SV3 141: (2) Andy Simmons MSU dec. (5) Ryan Lang NU, 8-2 149: (1) Dustin Schlatter MINN maj. dec. Troy Tirapelle ILL, 13-0 157: (3) C.P. Schlatter MINN dec. (1) Alex Tirapelle ILL, 5-2 165: (1) Ryan Churella MICH dec. (3) Matt Nagel MINN, 7-0 174: (1) Jake Herbert NU WBF (2) Mark Perry IOWA, 4:02 184: (3) Roger Kish MINN dec. (4) Pete Friedl ILL, 3-1 197: (2) Phil Davis PSU dec. (1) Tyrone Byrd ILL, 4-0 HWT: (1) Cole Konrad MINN dec. (2) Greg Wagner MICH, 6-1 SV The following is the final team standings for the 2006 Big Ten Wrestling Championships: 1: Minnesota 136.0 2: Illinois 125.0 3: Michigan 115.0 4: PENN STATE 91.0 5: Northwestern 87.5 6: Iowa 86.0 7: Wisconsin 76.5 8: Michigan State 68.0 9: Purdue 45.5 10: Indiana 43.5 11: Ohio State 40.0

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Four minutes and two seconds into his championship bout with Iowa's Mark Perry, sophomore All-American Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) scrambled to roll Perry on his back and notch the pin to become Big Ten champion at 174 lbs. Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) finished second while Matt Delguyd (Mayfield, Ohio/Mayfield) and Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) each earned third-place finishes, helping Northwestern's 13th-ranked wrestling team to a fifth-place finish at the 2006 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. In the 174-pound title match, Perry took an early 2-0 lead with a takedown, but Herbert tied it at 2-2 with a first-period reversal. The two battled back and forth through the first half of the second period, but Herbert came out on top after a flurry and cradled Perry until he was awarded the pin. In the 141-pound championship bout, the No. 5 seeded Lang took an early lead versus Michigan State's second-ranked Andy Simmons, but fell 8-2 to claim second place. Lang controlled the match early and took a 2-0 lead after a first-period takedown, but Simmons responded with an escape and used a three-point nearfall in the second period to take the win. The second-place finish is a career-high for Lang, who returns to action at the NCAA Championships. In the consolation championship match at 197 lbs., Delguyd earned a takedown in the first sudden victory session versus Michigan's Willie Breyer to take a third-place finish. After a scoreless first period, the two traded escapes in the second and third periods to enter overtime tied at 1-1. Midway through sudden victory, Delguyd got in on Breyer and through him to the mat for the 3-1 win. Delguyd advanced to the third-place match with a win over Iowa's sixth-seeded Dan Erekson in his first consolation match. After entering the second period with a slim 2-1 lead, Delguyd tallied and escape and a takedown and went into the final period with a 5-2 advantage. There, Delguyd rode Erekson for a majority of the period and he took the 8-3 victory with 2:04 of riding time. At 285 lbs., third-seeded Fox notched a 5-2 win over Illinois' Matt Weight to claim third place. Fox went up 2-0 with a first-period takedown, but Weight came back with two-straight escapes to tie the score. Fox used a takedown and an escape in the final period, however, to claim the win. Fox advanced to the third-place match with a 4-2 win over Penn State's fourth-seeded Joel Edwards. Their similar rankings proved to be accurate as the two went back and forth and were tied a 1-1 entering the final period. There, Fox tallied an escape to take a 2-1 lead, then caught Edwards on a shot attempt, circled him and notched the takedown with 15 seconds remaining. Edwards recorded one more escape, but Fox walked off with the 4-2 win. In his first consolation match of the day, third-seeded John Velez (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) notched a win over Iowa's fifth-seeded Lucas Magnani to advance to the third-place match. Velez got up early on Magnani, going up 4-1 in the first period while accumulating 1:56 in riding time. Velez kept up his dominating performance and walked off with the 8-3 win. In the third place match, Velez faced Indiana's defending national champion Joe Dubuque. The pair wrestled to a scoreless first period, but Dubuque earned an escape midway through the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Velez evened the score at 1-1 with an escape of his own in the third, but Dubuque had just over one minute of riding time and took the 2-1 win, giving Velez a fourth-place finish at 125 lbs. In his first wrestleback match of session three, sixth-seeded Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) dropped a tight bout to Penn State's top-seeded Eric Bradley. Bradley went up 3-0 in the second round with an escape and a takedown. Tamillow recorded an escape in the third to cut it to 3-1, but Bradley took the match. Tamillow then faced Michigan's eighth-seeded Tyrel Todd in the fifth-place match. Todd recorded an early takedown to take a 2-0 lead, but Tamillow battled back and notched an escape to cut it to 2-1. Todd recorded another escape in the second, but Tamillow opened the third period with one of his own. With Todd leading 3-2, Tamillow took a number of late shots, but was edged by Todd 3-2, giving him a sixth-place finish at 184 lbs. Will Durkee (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) used a first-period takedown and a third-period escape to take a 3-0 win over Wisconsin's sixth-seeded Jake Donar and claim seventh place at 165 lbs. Durkee has qualified for the NCAA Championships with the win, as all wrestlers who place seventh and above automatically qualify. Northwestern finished fifth overall in the team race with 87.5 points. The University of Minnesota won the team title with 138 overall points. Northwestern sends seven wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, hosted by the University of Oklahoma, March 16-18.

The top-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team won its fifth Big Ten title in the last eight years thanks in part to four individual champions today in Bloomington, Ind. Minnesota finished with 138 points, followed by Illinois with 125 points. Dustin Schlatter, C.P. Schlatter, Roger Kish and Cole Konrad claimed Big Ten titles, while Mack Reiter and Matt Nagel earned runner-up finishes. "We told our guys what they needed to do to win today and they took care of business," head coach J Robinson. "This is just one more step along the journey we started in the fall. Our guys are excited to head to nationals in two weeks and they'll go there with a lot of confidence. We challenged our team before this tournament and they came through today." Robinson was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his career. He last earned the honor in 2002. Konrad became the sixth Golden Gopher to be named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year after he rolled through the conference with an unblemished record. Dustin Schlatter became the school's fourth Big Ten Freshman of the Year as he improved to 37-1 on the season with his title today. Behind Minnesota and Illinois, Michigan placed third with 115 points, followed by Penn State in fourth, Northwestern in fifth, Iowa in sixth, Wisconsin in seventh, Michigan State in eighth, Purdue in ninth, Indiana in 10th and Ohio State in 11th. Minnesota entered the day with a 3.5-point lead over Illinois, but trailed early on in the final session. The Golden Gophers turned the tide with a perfect 4-0 record against Illinois in head-to-head matchups, including three wins in championship matches. In all, Illinois lost all five of its championship matches, while Minnesota finished 4-2. The Schlatter brothers claimed their first Big Ten titles in back-to-back wins over the Tirapelle brothers at 149 and 157 pounds. Dustin Schlatter claimed the 149-pound title with a dominating 13-0 major decision against fellow freshman Troy Tirapelle of Illinois. Schlatter scored the first takedown just 33 seconds into the match and then tacked on four near falls in the first period alone. Schlatter racked up more than two minutes of riding time. C.P. Schlatter followed with a 5-2 upset of two-time Big Ten Champion Alex Tirapelle of Illinois at 157 pounds. Leading 2-0 in the second, Schlatter took a 4-0 lead with a near fall early in the period. He rode Tirapelle the entire two minutes. In the third, Tirapelle was unable to generate any offense as Schlatter took home the title. Kish rounded out the Minnesota-Illinois matchups with a 3-1 decision over defending Big Ten Champion Pete Friedl at 184 pounds. Kish took a 2-0 lead two minutes into the first period and then rode Friedl most of the second. Kish increased the lead to 3-1 with an escape in the third period and then held Friedl off to claim the conference title. Konrad needed overtime to claim this second straight heavyweight championship. Tied at one, Konrad scored a takedown and a three-point near fall against second-seeded Greg Wagner of Michigan just as time expired in the first overtime. Reiter finished second at 133 pounds following an epic match against third-seeded Tom Clum of Wisconsin. Clum earned his third career win against Reiter with a 6-4 decision in three overtimes. The pair remained tied through two overtime periods and two tiebreakers before Clum claimed the win with a takedown midway through the third overtime. Michigan's Ryan Churella won his third Big Ten Championship with a 7-0 decision over Nagel at 165 pounds. Churella earned his fifth career win against Nagel. Churella took a 2-0 lead with a takedown with 12 seconds to go in the first period. In the third-place match at 174 pounds, Gabriel Dretsch gave up a takedown in the final 10 seconds in a 3-1 loss to third-seeded R.J. Boudro of Michigan State. Dretsch advanced to the third-place match with a thrilling 6-4 overtime decision against sixth-seeded Donny Reynolds of Illinois. With the match tied at four, Dretsch scored the winning takedown with two seconds left in the first overtime. Sophomore Manuel Rivera finished in fifth place following his 6-3 decision against eighth- seeded Ed Gutnik of Wisconsin at 141 pounds. Rivera took control of a tied match with a two-point near fall to start the third period. Rivera was defeated by top-seeded Josh Churella of Michigan, 6-1, in the consolation semifinals. The Golden Gophers' four individual champions are the most since the team won five titles en route to the 2002 Big Ten Championship. Minnesota now has 23 individual titles in the last eight years. The Golden Gophers claimed their ninth Big Ten title overall, good for fifth all-time. Minnesota will send eight wrestlers to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., in two weeks. The tournament at the Ford Center will run from March 16-18. 2006 Big Ten Championships March 5, 2006 Bloomington, Ind. Final Team Standings 1. Minnesota, 138.0 2. Illinois, 125.0 3. Michigan, 115.0 4. Penn State, 91.0 5. Northwestern, 87.5 6. Iowa, 86.0 7. Wisconsin, 76.5 8. Michigan State, 68.0 9. Purdue, 45.5 10. Indiana, 43.5 11. Ohio State, 40.0 Golden Gopher Placewinners 1st -- Dustin Schlatter (149) 1st -- C.P. Schlatter (157) 1st -- Roger Kish (184) 1st -- Cole Konrad (HWT) 2nd -- Mack Reiter (133) 2nd -- Matt Nagel (165) 4th -- Gabriel Dretsch (174) 5th -- Manuel Rivera (141)

MADISON, Wis. -- Senior captain Tom Clum (Arvada, Colo.) is the 2006 Big Ten Champion at 133 lbs. after outlasting Minnesota's Mack Reiter in arguably the most exciting match of the championships. It is Clum's second Big Ten crown, first at 133 lbs. As a team the No. 19 Wisconsin wrestling squad finished the championships in seventh place, with 76.5 team points. Five other Badgers qualified for the NCAAs and three finished in the top-five. The Clum-Reiter match was eagerly anticipated as the pair had not met since the third place bout of the 2005 NCAA Championships, where Clum came out on top, 2-1. The first period was tight with Clum scoring a takedown early and Reiter answering an escape and a takedown to lead 3-2. Early in the second period Reiter notched another escape but Clum responded with another takedown as time was running out to even the score at 4-4. The third period was aggressive but ended in a stalemate sending the match into sudden death overtime. As to be expected, the grapplers battled even through the first and second overtimes with neither wrestler able to score. However, with 13 seconds left in the third overtime, Clum gained advantage scored a takedown to defeat Reiter, the defending Big Ten champ. Clum heads his fourth NCAA's with a 14-2 overall record. At 149 lbs. Tyler Turner (Spring Valley, Wis.) earned a spot in the consolation final after an injury default from Ohio State's J Jagers. Turner then faced familiar foe Ty Eustice of Iowa in the bout for third place. Eustice, the No. 2 seed, jumped out to a three point lead in the first period after notching an escape and a takedown. Turner earned an escape of his own in the second to tighten the score and another in the third to trail by one. However, the Hawkeye would hang on and claim third with a 3-2 win. At 125 lbs. junior Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) had his hands full with top-ranked Joe Dubuque of Indiana in the consolation semifinals. Cudd was looking to avenge his 10-4 loss to Dubuque in the opening round of the tournament. Unfortunately, the No. 1 seed proved to be too much for Cudd, earning a 12-1 major decision victory. Cudd then battled fifth seed Lucas Magnani of Iowa for fifth place in the championships. The pair met earlier this season in dual action where Magnani edged out Cudd, 6-4. However, this match up would be different as Cudd dominated the first period and eventually pinned Magnani at 2:59 to claim fifth place. Sophomore Craig Henning's (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) hope of repeating his third place performance from last season are gone after falling to Brandon Becker of Indiana in the consolation semifinals. Henning fell behind 4-2 after Becker earned a takedown and a two-point near fall in the first period and was unable to catch up, losing 5-3. Henning would go on to claim fifth place by default. Heading into the NCAAs Henning is 25-7 overall. Senior Ed Gutnik (Iselin, N.J.) faced third seed Alex Tsirtsis of Iowa in the consolation semifinal at 141 lbs. Tsirtsis jumped out to an early lead and kept rolling defeating Gutnik, 11-4. In the battle for fifth place Gutnik then faced Manuel Rivera of Minnesota, seeded seventh. Gutnik defeated Rivera earlier this season, 2-0, but was unable to win a second time, falling 6-3. Qualifying for his first ever NCAA championships was redshirt freshman Dallas Herbst at 197 lbs. The Winneconne, Wis. native dominated Jeff Clemens of Michigan State, pinning the Spartan just 40 seconds into the match. Herbst concluded his first championships 3-2 and heads to the NCAAs with an 18-10 record. Follow the Badger wrestling team as it heads to the 2006 NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. March 16-18. Last season the Badgers finished tied for 15th with 38.5 points. For the latest updates and scores check uwbadgers.com

BLOOMINGTON, IN -- The University of Iowa wrestling team finished in sixth place with 86 points Sunday at the 2006 Big Ten Championships. Iowa qualified eight wrestlers for the NCAA Championships to be held in Oklahoma City, March 16-18. Minnesota won the team title with 138 points. Mark Perry was the runner-up at 174 pounds after being pinned by top-ranked Jake Herbert in 4:02 of the championship bout. Seniors Ty Eustice (3rd - 149 lbs.), Joe Johnston (6th - 157 lbs.) and Paul Bradley (7th - 184 lbs.); juniors Lucas Magnani (6th - 125 lbs.) and Eric Luedke (4th - 165 lbs.); sophomore Alex Tsirtsis (3rd - 141 lbs.) and freshman Dan Erekson (6th - 197 lbs.) also qualified for nationals. Tsirtsis took third place with a pair of wins Sunday, topping Wisconsin's eighth-seeded Ed Gutnik 11-4, then defeating top-seeded Josh Churella of Michigan 3-2. Against Churella, Tsirtsis took a 2-1 lead with a second-period takedown, but was penalized a point for locked hands as the period came to a close. With the scored tied 2-2 and Churella closing in on a minute of riding time, Tsirtsis escaped with just 34 seconds left in the match to take a 3-2 lead. He fended Churella off the rest of the way to take the win. Click Here! Eustice defeated third-seeded Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan, 3-2 in sudden victory to reach the third-place match. The senior then earned his third-career third-place finish with a 3-2 win over No. 6 Tyler Turner. Johnston dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 6 Steve Luke of Michigan, then was forced to forfeit his fifth-place match due to an injury. Luedke reached the third-place match with a thrilling last second victory over Purdue's Dan Bedoy in the consolations. With the scored tied 2-2, Luedke nailed a takedown in the final second of overtime. The match officials were forced to go to instant replay before determining Luedke the winner. In the third place match, Luedke fell to No. 2 Mike Poeta of Illinois, 6-2. Magnani was defeated by Northwestern's third-seeded John Velez in the consolations, then was pinned by Wisconsin's Colin Cudd in the fifth place match. Bradley took seventh place at 184 pounds with a 5-4 decision win over Michigan State's Joe Williams. Bradley scored on a pair of first-period takedowns, then added an escape in the second frame for the win. Erekson fell to No. 3 Matt Delguyd of Northwestern 8-3, then lost to No. 5 Nathan Moore in the fifth-place match 9-6. FINAL TEAM STANDINGS 1. Minnesota - 138 2. Illinois - 125 3. Michigan - 115 4. Penn State - 91 5. Northwestern - 87.5 6. IOWA - 86 7. Wisconsin - 76.5 8. Michigan State - 68 9. Purdue - 45.5 10. Indiana - 43.5 11. Ohio State - 40

Dana wrestlers win NAIA national championship Dana College has the best wrestling team in the nation. The Vikings won the 2006 NAIA National Wrestling Tournament Saturday in Sioux City, Iowa. All twelve Dana wrestlers placed in the tournament, giving Dana 12 All-Americans and an NAIA tournament record 193 team points (previous record 180 points Lindenwood 2002). Lindenwood was the runner-up with 164 points. The national championship is the first ever NAIA team championship for any Dana College team. Two Vikings also claimed individual titles. Jimmy Rollins (133 Woodbury, N.J.) won the national title over Kyle Jahn of McKendree College by injury default. Willie Parks (SR Garden Grove, Calif.) defeated Rick Story of Southern Oregon 16-8 for the national championship at 184 pounds. They are the first ever Dana College individual wrestling national champions. Parks was honored with the NWCA-NAIA Outstanding Wrestler-of-the-Year award. Dana coach Steve Costanzo who recruited the No. 1 non-Division I recruiting class in the nation this year, then coached the team to the NWCA National Duals championship, a school record 17 dual wins, and the NAIA National Championship was named 2006 NAIA Wrestling Coach of the Year. Anthony Haukenberry (Buckley, Wash.) was the national runner-up at 149 pounds. Brad Cooper of the University of the Cumberlands defeated Haukenberry in the finals 3-2. A strong start in the tournament gave Dana the edge. Dana won all but 2 of their first 15 matches to put ten of twelve wrestlers in the championship bracket. Scott Taylor's (Arapahoe, Neb.) mild upset in the 157-pound quarterfinal jumpstarted the Vikings during Friday night's second session. With that victory, Taylor, a senior and returning national-qualifier, achieved All-American status for the first time. Just like Taylor, Trent Leichleiter (Harvard, Neb.) was a senior and returning national qualifier. Leichleiter's 165-pound quarterfinal match began just as Taylor's match ended. Hyped from Taylor's victory, a sea of red-clothed Dana fans cheered "Trent, Trent, Trent" as Leichleiter pulled out a 1-point escape in overtime to win the match. Leichleiter fell to his knees then jumped up and hugged Coach Steve Costanzo in celebration- he had earned the title ‘All-American' for the first time. By the end of day one, seven Vikings remained undefeated, none were eliminated. Saturday morning the Vikings scored 6 more falls in the semifinals. Burke Barnes (Lake Stevens, Wash.) scored two of the falls on his way to third place at 125 pounds. Terrence Almond also scored two falls. Almond wrestled Gordo Villaescusa of Embry Riddle in the third place match. Villaescusa pulled out an 11-10 victory in the final seconds giving Dana's Almond fourth place. The other two pins were recorded by Parks, who advanced to the finals, and Leichleiter at 165 pounds. Leichlieter pinned Southern Oregan's James Mannenbach in 3:59 and finished 4th in the tournament. Dana's other placers were: Craig Trampe (125 Ord, Neb.) 7th, Jason Lozier (141 Omaha, Neb.) 6th, Taylor 4th, Ben Henderson (Federal Way, Wash.) 5th, Marshall Marquardt (174 Altoona, Iowa) 7th and Blair Alderman (197 Spokane, Wash.) 4th. Dana emerged from Saturday's morning session with enough points to clinch the national championship. No team would be able to catch the Vikings no matter what happened in the finals. With or without the National Championship the Dana wrestlers are successful. The title, however, could not have gone to a more deserving group of young men. 125 -- Burke Barnes(Lake Stevens, Wash) 3rd 125 -- Craig Trampe (Ord, Neb.) 7th 133 -- Jimmy Rollins (Woodbury, N.J.) 1st 141 -- Terrence Almond (Pelham, Ga.) 4th 141 -- Jason Lozier (Omaha, Neb.) 6th 149 -- Anthony Haukenberry (Buckley, Wash) 2nd 157 -- Scott Taylor (Arapahoe, Neb.) 4th 157 -- Ben Henderson (Federal Way, Wash)5th 165 -- Trent Leichleiter (Harvard, Neb.)4th 174 -- Marshall Marquardt (Altoona, Iowa)7th 184 -- Willie Parks (Garden Grove, Calif.) 1st 197 -- Blair Alderman (Spokane, Wash) 4th NAIA Championships Coverage

LEXINGTON, Va. -- After finishing second in their respective weight classes at Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championships, North Carolina juniors David Dashiell and Spencer Nadolsky and redshirt freshman Vincent Ramirez received at-large berths to the 2006 NCAA Division I Championships scheduled for March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Tar Heels, who have three ACC champions, will now send six wrestlers to nationals. Senior Garrett Atkinson, sophomore Alex Maciag and redshirt freshman Jared Royer each captured individual titles and earned the league's automatic spots at the NCAA tourney. Atkinson, a two-time champ at 165, and Dashiell, who has won two league titles at 197, both wrestled at nationals a year ago. The other four Tar Heels will be making their first appearances. Ramirez is 37-7 on the season and had a 17-match winning streak snapped in the ACC's 141-pound final. Nadolsky is 39-5 at heavyweight and Dashiell has a career-best 32-11 mark at 197 pounds. All 10 ACC champions advanced to the national tournament, and the league received four at-large berths.

University of the Cumberlands (formerly Cumberland College) men's wrestling team traveled to Sioux City, Iowa this past weekend for the 2006 NAIA National Championships. The Patriots brought home six All-Americans, two of them finishing second and one of them capturing first place as a national champion. Holding a 25-1 record going into the national tournament this weekend Junior Delrico Choates ended the national tournament on top winning 6-2 at the 125Ibs weight class labeling him this year's 2006 national champion. Choates' made it to the finals with a T-fall, a major, and two pins. At the 141Ibs weight class junior Brad Cooper fell short of the title losing in the finals 2-3. Brad Cooper wrestled by pinning and teched his way to the finals. At the 149Ibs weight class Sophomore Dustin Center ended the tournament in eighth place making him an All-American. Center made his first appearance at the national tournament and wrestled back after losing in the quarterfinals but fell short twice in the placing rounds. Senior and team Captain Todd Allen finished his college career with an eighth place finish falling from a third place finish from last year at the 174Ibs weight class. Allen lost in the semi –finals and went on to the consolation semi-finals but could not continue due to an injury default. Returning finalist Eric Flinchum received a repeating upset in the finals, coming up short losing 1-7. Heavy weight Matt Bishop ended the tournament with a third place finish giving him the All-American title. Bishop lost in the semi-finals to the national champion and wrestled back to claim the third place spot. Coach Andy Medders could not be happier with the way the men preformed. "I am proud of these guys. Every one of them that won and those that came short of their goals, they all wrestled hard and laid it on the line," said Medders. "Choates knew it was his time and he believed and he performed. I have been waiting to see this since he was a freshmen and I am happy and proud to be his coach." The Patriots finished third with a team score of 101. The NAIA National Tournament concludes the men's wrestling season. With a third place overall finish in the nation, look for the Patriots to climb their way to the top in 2007.

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- Seven of the eight Hofstra wrestlers who have earned berths in the 2006 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City from March 16-18 will go as Colonial Athletic Association champions after the Pride captured its fifth consecutive CAA Championship at Drexel University's Daskalakis Athletic Center Saturday night. With seven individual champions, one second-place finisher and a fourth-place finish from its nine competitors in this year's conference tournament, the Pride posted its second most points in a conference championship in school history on the way to a sixth consecutive conference title. Hofstra captured the East Coast Wrestling Association Championship in 2001 before the league merged with the CAA. The Pride also equaled the school record, set last year, with seven individual champions. Two-time All-American, senior Jon Masa (Long Beach, NY) became just the second wrestler in Hofstra history to capture four conference titles Saturday night with a pin of Drexel's Chris Renninger at the 2:42 mark of the 149 pound championship match. Masa, now 30-5 on the year, joins Jason DeBruin (1999-2002) as the only four-time league titlists. Four Hofstra wrestlers earned their second conference titles Saturday night. Senior Mike Patrovich (Bohemia, NY) won for the second straight year, this time in the 174-pound final defeating Doug Umbehauer from Rider 7-3. Patrovich, 31-3 on the year, will be making his third NCAA Championship appearance. Junior James Strouse (Levittown, NY) defended his 2005 CAA title at 157-pounds with a 7-3 title match decision over Ryan Hluschak from Drexel. Like Patrovich, Strouse, 28-10 in 2005-06, will be making his third NCAA Championship appearance. Sophomore Joe Rovelli (Wilkes-Barre, PA) also defended his 2005 CAA title at 184-pounds with a 6-0 decision over Joe Maroney from Rider. Rovelli is 25-11 this season and will be making his second trip to the NCAA Championships. Sophomore Charles Griffin (Reading, PA) also earned his second CAA title at a new weight, defeating Chris Davis from Sacred Heart 7-3 in the 141-pound final. Griffin, the 2005 CAA Rookie of the Year and the 133-pound champion, is 26-6 on the season. Sophomore Dave Tomasette (Sewell, NJ), who has battled an ankle injury the past two months, will be making his second NCAA Championship appearance in two weeks. This time, he will go as the CAA champion after defeating Bryan Lashomb from Old Dominion 8-7 in the 125-pound title match. Tomasette, who was a CAA finalist in 2005, is 13-6 on the year. Senior Chris Vondruska (Bay Village, OH) earned his first trip to the NCAA Championships with a CAA championship at 165-pounds. He defeated Steven Tisdell from George Mason in the title match to improve to a career-best 23-9 this season. Junior Chris Weidman (Baldwin, NY) will make his first NCAA Championship appearance after earning a place in the CAA finals at 197-pounds. Weidman, 15-11 this year, lost in the final by fall in 2:54 to Adam Wright of Old Dominion. Junior heavyweight Jon Andriac (Montague, NJ) placed fourth, dropping his semifinal and consolation final matches to finish at 23-14. Team results: 1. Hofstra 125.00 2. Old Dominion 76.50 3. Drexel 65.00 4. Rider 62.00 5. SHU 45.00 6. JMU 38.00 7. GMU 31.50 8. Boston U 23.50 9. Binghamton 15.00 10. Wagner 5.00 11. Campbell 0.50

LEXINGTON, Va. -- The Duke wrestling team placed sixth at the 2006 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on Saturday, finishing with 14.0 team points. North Carolina won its second consecutive title, finishing with 90.5 team points. N.C. State would finish second with 64.0 team points, Virginia was third with 61.0 team points, Maryland placed fourth with 48.0 team points and Virginia Tech finished fifth with 44.5 team points. The Blue Devils had three wrestlers finish in the top five of their respective weight classes. Sophomore Konrad Dudziak finished third at 197 pounds, redshirt freshman Aaron Glover placed fourth at 165 pounds and redshirt freshman Dan Fox was fourth at 184 pounds.

LEXINGTON, Va. -- The wrestling team claimed its 21st Southern Conference Wrestling Championship and second in a row Saturday, outdistancing second-place UNC Greensboro 107.5 to 77. The Mocs claimed six individual league champions, each earning an automatic berth to the upcoming NCAA Championships March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla. Senior John Davis won his third consecutive title at 184 pounds, becoming the ninth wrestler in UTC history to win at least three SoCon titles. Also claiming weight class titles for the Mocs were sophomore Javier Maldonado at 125 pounds, junior Matt Keller at 133, junior Aaron Martin at 149, junior Jake Yost at 157 and senior Israel Silva at 285. Keller was voted Outstanding Wrestler. He will be making his third straight appearance at Nationals, having competed there the last two years for the University of Nebraska. Maldonado, Martin, Yost and Silva are first-time NCAA Qualifiers. Junior Michael Keefe earned a wildcard entry to the NCAAs as determined by the league's coaches following the tournament. Keefe was a SoCon Champion at 141 in 2005 and earned All-America status with a fifth-place finish. He will be making his third trip to Nationals. UTC Head Coach Joe Seay was voted the SoCon Coach of the Year by the conference coaches. UTC, which recorded four major decisions in the championship finals, also received team points with third-place finishes from Michael Keefe at 141, Daniel Peterson at 165 and Justin Otis at 174 and a fourth-place from Lloyd Rogers at 197. Final Team Standings 1. Chattanooga 107.5 2. UNC Greensboro 77.0 3. The Citadel 63.5 4. Appalachian State 49.5 5. VMI 28.5 6. Davidson 17.0 Individual Results 125 #1 Javier Maldonado (UTC) pinned #5 Justin Walp (UNC Greensboro), 2:54; Maldonado maj. dec. #2 Patrick Coman (Davidson), 11-2 (Maldonado first place) 133 #1 Matt Keller (UTC) pinned #5 Brandon Stillo (VMI), 4:51; Keller maj. dec. Terreyl Williams (Appalachian State), 15-3 (Keller first place) 141 #3 Michael Keefe (UTC) maj. dec. David Metzler (VMI), 14-6; #2 Kevin Artis (UNC Greensboro) dec. Keefe, 8-2; Keefe pinned #5 Jim Avola (Davidson), 4:22; Keefe dec. Metzler (VMI), 8-3 (Keefe third place) 149 #3 Aaron Martin (UTC) pinned #6 Nick Orio (The Citadel), 3:57; Martin maj. dec. #2 Sam Alvarenga (VMI), 10-0; Martin pinned #4 Cody Harrington (UNC Greensboro), 7:57 (Martin first place) 157 #1 Jake Yost (UTC) dec. #5 Andrew Krieger (UNC Greensboro), 5-1; Yost maj. dec. #2 Scott Ervin (Appalachian State), 13-3 (Yost first place) 165 #2 Lee Roper (Appalachian State) dec. #3 Dan Peterson (UTC), 6-2; Peterson dec. #5 Chris Hardy (VMI), 14-7; Peterson (UTC) dec. #4 Mark Ring (UNC Greensboro), 7-3 (Peterson third place) 174 #4 Neal Martin (Appalachian State) dec. #5 Justin Otis (UTC), 1-0; Otis maj. dec. #3 Marcus Boyd (Davidson), 15-3; Otis dec. #6 Dustin McCabe (VMI), 5-2 (Otis third place) 184 #1 John Davis (UTC) maj. dec. #4 Kane Smith (UNC Greensboro), 12-4; Davis maj. dec. #2 Corry Murray (VMI), 13-2 (Davis first place) 197 #3 Lloyd Rogers (UTC) pinned #6 Wil Carter (Davidson), 3:40; #2 Mark Thompson (The Citadel) dec. Rogers, 8-3; Rogers pinned #5 Kyle Elgert (Virginia Military), 4:59; #4 Josh Carroll (Appalachian State) dec. Rogers, 4-3 (Rogers fourth place) 285 #3 Israel Silva (UTC) dec. #2 Scott Buhman (VMI), 4-3; Silva dec. #1 Tyler Shovlin (UNC Greensboro), 2-1 (Silva first place)

Ames, Iowa -- Wrestling in front of 2,628 fans in the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, the No. 7 Missouri Tigers took fifth place at the 10th annual Big 12 Championships. Head Coach Brian Smith's team scored 42 points. Taking down his opponent four times into the opening period, junior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) jumped out to an 8-3 advantage after the first three minutes against No. 4 Jacob Klein of Nebraska. Klein escaped to begin the second frame, but Askren scored two more takedowns to take a 12-5 advantage into the final period. Picking up two more points with a takedown, Askren cut Klein midway through the fourth and ended the bout with a double-leg takedown and 3:54 of riding time to push his record to 40-0. The championship is the second of Askren's career; he was a Big 12 Champion in 2004. Sophomore Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) took second place after squaring off against No. 2 Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State for the 133-pound title and was unable to overcome his opponent in a 5-1 loss. Ranked No. 14 in the nation, McCormick defeated No. 18 Jesse Sundell of Iowa State earlier in the day to reach the final round. Squaring off against No. 2 Johny Hendricks for the second time this season, No. 6 junior Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) traded escapes with the Cowboy through regulation, forcing an overtime period. After Pell nearly won the bout with a takedown as the sudden-victory set expired, Hendricks was able to escape for a 2-1 victory. Pell's second-place finish is the third straight time that he has qualified for the NCAA Championships. Redshirt freshman Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) advanced to the title bout at 184 pounds after defeating No. 11 Vince Jones of Nebraska 11-10 in the semifinals. Wrestling a tough match against No. 6 Kurt Backes, Jordan took second place after being defeated 4-2. "I'm really proud of the way several of our guys wrestled today," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "Ben Askren dominated the No. 4 wrestler in the country to win the Big 12 Championship, and Matt Pell wrestled an exceptional bout against a defending national champion. The two freshmen, Raymond Jordan and Michael Chandler also wrestled well for the team today. For the next two weeks our focus is on getting ready for Nationals." The head coaches of the Big 12 still have to choose eight wild cards to make the trip to nationals and the wild cards will be announced following the wild-card meeting. The 2006 NCAA Championships will be held March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla., at the Ford Center.

Ames, Iowa -- The Oklahoma Sooners took second place at the 2006 Big 12 Championship Saturday in Ames, Iowa. Oklahoma won one title at 125 pounds, three second place medals at 141, 149 and 285 pounds and three third place medals at 157, 174 and 197 pounds. The Sooners qualified seven wrestlers for the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla., March 16-18 at the Ford Center. "It's been a very strong tournament for us," said head coach Jack Spates. "We lost a lot of close bouts in the first round but we knew if we continued to wrestle hard and wrestle the way we have been that good things could happen and that is exactly what happened." Junior Sam Hazewinkel claimed his second 125 pound Big 12 Championship with his 2-1 decision over reigning Big 12 Champion Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State. Hazewinkel won his first title during his redshirt freshman season in 2004. Scott defeated Hazewinkel in the 125 pound final last season. "Wes Roberts wrestled very well today," continued Spates. "The way Wes has been able to overcome injury during his career and make it to the NCAA Championships as a senior is truly amazing" Senior Teyon Ware and Junior Matt Storniolo both lost in their 141 and 149 pound titles matches respectively. Ware lost to reigning Big 12 Champion Nate Gallick by a decision of 5-3 in the second, :30 second tiebreaker. Storniolo lost by a decision of 12-8 to three-time Big 12 Champion Zach Esposito. "It's nice to have the Big 12 Championship back," said Junior Sam Hazewinkel. "I had a plan in my head to be a four-time champion, but it got lost last year. But it's nice to have it back again." Senior Jake Hager lost to Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State by a decision of 3-1 in the heavyweight final. Mocco defeated Hager by a decision of 3-1. The Sooners picked up three third place medals with Will Rowe, Wes Roberts and Joel Flaggert advancing to the NCAA Championships. Rowe advanced to his first NCAA Championships with his win over Michael Chandler of Missouri. Rowe defeated Chandler by a decision of 8-6 in the 157 pound third place match. Rowe also placed at the Big 12 Championships for the first time in his career. Roberts, a senior, advances to his first NCAA Championships after fighting an injury plagued career that saw him compete in only two Big 12 Championships both of which he did not place. Roberts defeated Brandon Mason of OSU by a decision of 5-4 in the 174 pound third place match. Flaggert advances to his second straight NCAA Championships after claiming his second straight third place finish at the Big 12 Championships by defeating Jeff Foust of Missouri by a decision of 6-1. Flaggert took home All-American honors at last years NCAA Championships. The seven qualifiers for Oklahoma for the NCAA Championships are Sam Hazewinkel, Teyon Ware, Matt Storniolo, Will Rowe, Wes Roberts, Joel Flaggert and Jake Hager. Consolation Matches 133: Jesse Sundell (ISU) dec. 4-0 Joe Comparin (OU) 157: Will Rowe (OU) dec. 6-5 Chris Oliver (NU) 165: Travis Paulson (ISU) dec. 11-4 Jarrod King (OU) 184: Vince Jones (NU) maj. dec. 13-5 Justin Dyer (OU) 197: Joel Flaggert (OU) maj. dec. 10-2 Joe Curran (ISU) Third Place Matches 157: Will Rowe (OU) dec. 8-6 Michael Chandler (MU) 174: Wes Roberts (OU) dec. 5-4 Brandon Mason (OSU) 197: Joel Flaggert (OU) dec. 6-1 Jeff Foust (MU) Championship Matches 125: Sam Hazewinkel (OU) dec. 2-1 Coleman Scott (OSU) 141: Nate Gallick (ISU) dec. 5-3 Teyon Ware (OU) TB2 149: Zach Esposito (OSU) dec. 12-8 Matt Storniolo (OU) Hwt: Steve Mocco (OSU) dec. 3-1 Jake Hager (OU) Final Team Standings 1. Oklahoma State 80.00 2. Oklahoma 52.50 3. Nebraska 52.00 4. Iowa State 47.50 5. Missouri 42.00 Attendance 2,628

EWING, N.J. - No. 1-ranked Wartburg closed a record-setting 2005-06 season Saturday, March 4, at The College of New Jersey's Athletic Recreation Center. The Knights added the program's fifth team national title since 1996 to an already-full closet of accolades that included the 2006 Cliff Keen/National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III National Duals and the 14th consecutive Iowa Conference championship. Wartburg concluded the tourney with a 145.5-106 win over UW-La Crosse for the team top spot. "Any time you can go out and win a national championship, it feels great," head coach Jim Miller said. "I am very proud of how our guys carried themselves on and off the mat at the meet. They deserved this national championship after a year of hard work and dedication." Senior 125-pounder Tyler Hubbard of Blue Springs, Mo., and senior 141-pounder Dustin Hinschberger of Belle Plaine added the program's 22nd and 23rd individual crowns during the finals' round. The Knights were close to three others as senior 174-pounder Scott Kauffman of Emmetsburg, senior 184-pounder Akeem Carter of Waterloo and junior Blake Gillis of Spencer each pushed their opponents to the wire, ending up with national runner-up honors in each case. Sophomore Jacob Naig of Emmetsburg, appearing in his first national final match, also took second. Wartburg opened up an insurmountable lead after a remarkable Saturday morning session where they finished 10-1 in the championship and consolation brackets. Behind the roll, Wartburg increased its team lead to 39-and-a-half points over second-place UW-La Crosse. After decision wins by Hubbard and Hinschberger in the semifinals, Kauffman and Carter put the team-point lead safely in the Orange and Black's hands. Kauffman gained a first-period takedown to upend La Crosse's Josh Chelf 3-2, while Carter turned in a nearfall move in the second period en route to an 8-3 win over the Eagles' Jason Lulloff, reversing an early-season loss to the nation's second-ranked wrestler. Gillis completed the semifinal championship round sweep, defeating Lycoming's Tom Snyder 2-0. NOTES -- Wartburg's nine All-Americans marks the 11th consecutive season that the program has achieved five or more at the national tournament and continues a string since 1988 that the Orange and Black have gained at least one All-American…Wartburg has had at least one individual in a national championship match for four straight seasons and reeled off four straight years of having two or more individual national champs…Complete information on the national tournament, included updated brackets and team standings, is available at NCAA Division III Championships Coverage

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Led by three individual league champions and four runner-up finishers, the University of North Carolina won its second consecutive – and 17th overall – Atlantic Coast Conference wrestling championship Saturday at MatJam 2006 at the Virginia Military Institute's Cameron Hall. The Tar Heels scored 90.5 points to outdistance the field by 26.5 points and win its second league crown under third-year head coach C.D. Mock and third in the last four seasons. Runner-up NC State was second with 64 points, followed by Virginia with 61 points and Maryland with 48. Virginia Tech (44.5 points) and Duke (14) rounded out the standings. Winners of 11 of the 15 ACC championships since 1992, the Tar Heels have 17 all-time titles, which is second to Maryland's 20. Redshirt freshman Jared Royer (133), senior Garrett Atkinson (165) and sophomore Alex Maciag (174) each claimed individual titles and secured spots in the 2006 NCAA Championships March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla. Select other ACC wrestlers will earn at-large entry into the nationals field. Junior Bobby Shaw (125), redshirt freshman Vincent Ramirez (141), junior David Dashiell (197) and junior heavyweight Spencer Nadolsky each posted runner-up finishes and earned all-conference honors. The Tar Heels led all teams with seven grapplers in their respective weight class finals. Wrestling in place of All-America Evan Sola for much of the season, Royer opened with an upset over top-seeded Eric Albright of Virginia to reach the 133-pound final. The Cumberland, Pa., native then picked up a pair of first period takedowns and held on for a 6-3 win over Maryland's Brendan Byrne to claim his first-ever conference title. Royer is now 19-16 this season. The defending champ at 165, Atkinson had a first-round bye and followed with a 6-4 victory over Virginia Tech's Tucker Michels to move on the final against Virginia's Damian Johnson. The Boone, N.C., product notched a second period takedown and tacked on a reversal and over two minutes of riding time to post a 5-1 win for his second career conference crown. Atkinson is now 16-9 this season. Seeded first at 174, Maciag followed a bye with a 7-5 decision over Duke's Levi Craig to move on to the final against UVa's Mike Grogan. Maciag dominated Grogan to the tune of a 16-5 major decision to claim his first-ever conference title. Now 24-13, Maciag jumped out early with a first period takedown and three-point near fall and carried a 13-3 lead into the third period. Ramirez advanced to the final with out allowing a single point, posting major decisions over NC State's Jalil Dozier (12-0) and Virignia's Nick Alparone (8-0). The Durham, N.C., native faced Virginia Tech's David Hoffman in the final where the 17th-ranked Hoffman got retribution for Ramirez's regular season win with a 10-6 victory in the ACC final. The loss snapped a 17-match winning streak for Ramirez, who now sports a 37-7 record. Seeded third at 125, Shaw reached the final with a 4-0 opening round win over Duke's Kellan McKeon and followed with a 4-2 upset of Virginia's Anthony Burke to move on the final against Virginia Tech's Justin Staylor. Staylor posted a 10-3 win over Shaw to claim the ACC title. Shaw is now 21-17 on the season. A two-time champion at 197, Dashiell reached his third final in the last four years thanks to a 7-4 win over Konrad Dudziak of Duke and an 8-6 decision over Virginia's Brent Jones in the semis. In the final against NC State's Ryan Goodman, the 18th-ranked Dashiell fell behind early and a late rally fell short as No. 13-ranked Goodman earned a point for riding time to post a 5-3 victory. Ranked 12th nationally, Nadolsky had a first-round bye and then posted a 3-2 decision over Virginia's Nick Smion to face Virginia Tech's Mike Faust in the final. Both ranked among the top 12 heavyweights in the country, Faust and Nadolsky battled to a stalemate in overtime, with the sixth-ranked Faust taking the title 4-3 on 13 seconds of riding time. Nadolsky is now 39-5 on the season and is tied for fourth on the Tar Heels' single-season win list. Junior Deon Barrett was third at 157, as was sophomore Justin Dobies at 184. Barrett scored a 4-2 win over Virginia's Mike Sewell in the consolation final, and Dobies notched a 5-2 victory over Duke's Dan Fox in the third-place bout. Sophomore Chris Ramos rounded out the scoring for the Tar Heels with a fourth-place finish at 149.

DeKALB, Ill. -- Ohio University placed four wrestlers at the 2006 Mid-American Conference Championships at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center on Saturday. Jake Frerichs led the Bobcats with a runner-up finish at 157 pounds. The redshirt freshman from Uniontown, Ohio, lost 2-1 in overtime to Kent State's Kurt Gross in Saturday's finals after upsetting top seed and nationally ranked Andy Keller of Central Michigan in the semifinals Friday night. Since he was not selected as a wild card qualifier for the NCAA Tournament by the MAC coaches, Frerichs ended his season with a 14-9 record. Three Bobcats - Ryan Knapp at 174 pounds, Brian Cesear at 184 and Nick Terbay at 197 - placed fourth in their respective weight classes. Knapp, a sophomore from McConnelsville, Ohio, lost a 5-3 decision in overtime to Danny Burk of Northern Illinois. Knapp, who ended his season with a 19-20 mark, lost to Burk 8-5 in Friday's opening round as well. An 8-0 major decision to Buffalo's Garrett Hicks ended Cesear's season on Saturday. The team co-captain from Amherst, Ohio, finished his junior campaign with a 23-16 record, pushing his career mark to 43-48. Terbay, meanwhile, lost to Kent State's Ardian Ramadani for the second time in the tournament. A 6-4 decision in the opening round was followed by an 8-5 defeat on Saturday in wrestlebacks. The junior from Dayton, Ohio, ended his season with a 16-14 record and a 27-28 career mark. As a team, the Bobcats earned 25.50 points in the tournament, placing them fifth out of six squads. Central Michigan amassed 102.50 points to capture their fifth straight MAC Tournament title. Ohio was the last team to out-wrestle the Chippewas at the MAC meet when the Bobcats claimed the title in 2001.

BOILING SPRINGS -- A school-record four Gardner-Webb wrestlers claimed NCAA East Regional championships on Saturday as seniors Josh Pniewski, Daniel Elliott, Adam Glaser and Brent Blackwell all won individual titles in their weight class to lift GWU to a second-place showing. The GWU senior foursome stormed into the championship round as Pniewski (133) took a 20-4 tech fall victory, Elliott (149) won 10-3, Glaser (157) earned a pin in 4:35 and Blackwell (197) took a major decision victory at 11-1 in their opening round contests. Pniewski claimed his third-straight East Regional crown and upped his season record to 32-9 with a 7-4 decision over Slippery Rock's Sal Lascari. Pniewski fell behind early, 2-0, but closed the first period by earning an escape and a late takedown for the 3-2 advantage. The lead grew to 5-2 when Pniewski started the second period with a quick reversal, but was narrowed back to a single point with a second-period escape and a Lascari escape to open the third frame. Pniewski refused to allow Lascari to mount any offense and carried the 5-4 lead deep into the final minute before sealing his third trip to Nationals with a late takedown and a 7-4 victory. Two matches later, Elliott took down SRU's Shawn Baglio twice in the first two minutes and cruised to a 10-2 major decision win. The regional title is the second in as many years for Elliott, who was named as the NCAA East Regional's Most Outstanding Wrestler after running his season record to 38-2 and bumping his career win total to 103. Glaser made school history in the very next championship match as he became the first 157-pounder to advance to the NCAA Nationals at the Division I level and gave GWU its highest number of NCAA National Qualifiers in one season in the history of the program. Glaser battled The Rock's Gerald Christian to a scoreless draw through the opening three-minute period. Glaser then started the second period on top and rode Christian for the full two minutes to gain a major advantage in riding time. Christian began the final session on top but Glaser wasted little time breaking free to earn the point and held off Christian for the last two minutes to take the 2-0 decision. The afternoon was capped off with a stirring overtime battle at 197 pounds between Blackwell and Slippery Rock's Andrew Joseph. Blackwell was awarded a quick 1-0 advantage after Joseph was flagged for a penalty but had his lead neutralized with an escape from Joseph to start the second period. The two grapplers headed into the third period locked at 1-1, before Blackwell scored a point for an escape 17 seconds into the frame for the 2-1 edge. The action then picked up with a Joseph takedown and a quick Blackwell escape to force a 3-3 tie with 30 seconds to go. Neither competitor could score in the final seconds as they headed to a sudden-death overtime session to determine a champion. Blackwell came out fast and caught Joseph in an attempt to spin away. Blackwell then put Joseph on the mat for the emotional 5-3 decision to close out his five-year career with a trip to Nationals. The four Bulldog grapplers were joined in the championship brackets by all 10 Slippery Rock competitors, four Duquesne wrestlers and a pair of Millersville wrestlers. Slippery Rock matched Gardner-Webb's four individual titles with wins by Chris Clarke (125), Jason Cardillo (165), Charles Pienaar (184) and heavyweight Matthew Burkholder. Jared Ricotta won the 174-pound division for Duquesne's lone championship and Millersville's Cody Becker took the 141-pound title. Slippery Rock ran away with the team championship with 100.5 team points. Gardner-Webb was second with 67 and was followed closely by Duquesne's 65 points. Millersville took fourth with 43 points and Delaware State ended fifth with seven points. Pniewski, Elliott, Glaser and Blackwell will now compete at the NCAA National Championships in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on March 16-18. 2006 NCAA East Regional Results 1- Slippery Rock, 100.5 2- Gardner-Webb, 67.0 3- Duquesne, 65.0 4- Millersville, 43.0 5- Delaware State, 7.0 Individual Champions 125- (SRU) Chris Clarke 133- (GWU) Josh Pniewski 141- (MU) Cody Becker 149- (GWU) Daniel Elliott 157- (GWU) Adam Glaser 165- (SRU) Jason Cardillo 174- (DU) Jared Ricotta 184- (SRU) Charles Pienaar 197- (GWU) Brent Blackwell 285- (SRU) Matthew Burkholder Most Outstanding Wrestler Daniel Elliott, Gardner-Webb At Large Bid David Pienaar, Slippery Rock Coach of the Year Derek Delporto, Slippery Rock