InterMat Staff

State College, Pa. -- The ESPN family of national cable networks will offer extensive live coverage of the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships, held on March 16-18 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. Three of the tournament's six sessions will be covered live, including the championship finals. Coverage begins on Friday, March 17, at 11 a.m. The quarterfinals and consolation bouts will be aired during that early session on ESPNU. Later on that same Friday, ESPNU and/or ESPN-Plus will carry live coverage of the national semifinals. The next night, ESPN will carry the entire slate of Championship Finals beginning at 7:30 p.m. Penn State, under the direction of head coach Troy Sunderland, will have eight individuals participating in the three-day tournament. The Nittany Lions will begin action with two sessions on Thursday, March 16. Heading to Oklahoma City for Penn State are freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) at 133, senior DeWitt Driscoll (Connellsville, Pa.) at 141, senior James Woodall (Dupont, Pa.) at 149, junior Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.) at 157, junior James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) at 174, senior All-American Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.) at 184, sophomore All-American and 2006 Big Ten Champion Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) at 197 and senior heavyweight Joel Edwards (Upper Darby, Pa.). Penn State is coming off a fourth-place finish at the 2006 Big Ten Championships. The eight national qualifiers and the fourth-place team finish are the highest for Penn State since the 2003 season. The Nittany Lions are coming off a superb 13-4 dual match season in which they went 5-3 in Big Ten action.

Ames, Iowa -- Cyclone Wrestling Club Coaches Ed Banach and Tony Ersland will be conducting a regional training camp from March 27 to July 27 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. The camp will also be held on Saturday and Sunday with times to be arranged. The camp is open to ages 8-16 and the cost is $100.00 payable to Cyclone Wrestling Club. For more information contact wrestling secretary Jeanne Vogel at (515) 294-6421.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys looked invincible heading into this college wrestling season. In 2005, they had five NCAA champions, seven All-Americans, scored a whopping 153 points at the NCAA Championships and only lost 174-pound Chris Pendleton to graduation. But their four returning NCAA champs have had a combined 13 losses this season and OSU lost two dual meets to Minnesota. At 141 pounds, their lineup went without 2005 fourth-place finisher Daniel Frishkorn since the mid-season, a very talented, if streaky, wrestler. So the question arises: Has OSU faltered this season? While I don't think winning their fourth straight NCAA title is a lock, even with everything that's gone down so far, I'd say the answer is "no." OSU had an amazing tourney last year. Just stunning. Most of the time, even the championship team has ups and downs, but for the 2005 Cowboys, it was just about all ups. They wrestled great and, just as important, they got help from other teams. For example, 165-pound Johny Hendricks had lost twice to Troy Letters during the regular season and 197-pound Jake Rosholt had lost twice to Jon Trenge. But thanks to Iowa's Mark Perry upsetting Letters and UNI's Sean Stender upsetting Trenge, these two Cowboys didn't have to solve the riddle of these opponents in order to win their titles. Nathan Morgan (Johnnie Johnson)The thing to remember is that even if the Cowboys had gone 0-5 in the finals last year instead of 5-0, perhaps some of their individual losses this year would seem less surprising, but they still would have entered this season as favorites to win No. 34 in March. Losing big individual match-ups during the regular season creates a lot of excitement and chatter by wrestling enthusiasts, but that doesn't mean that those wrestlers aren't still going to score a ton of points at the big show -- even if it's a few places lower than they got last year. John Smith doesn't put his schedule together to go undefeated. The Cowboys have taken their lumps, both individually and as a team, but have wrestled very well. Moreover, unlike many seasons in the 90s where Oklahoma State teams would excel in the regular season and fade come tourney time, John Smith has had his teams peaking in March for the last three years. This season, OSU fans have had to see some of their stars suffer disappointments mainly because of two reasons. 1. The emergence of new young talents like Dustin Schlatter and Wynn Michalak. 2. A wrestler who consistently lost to a Cowboy star last year has made some adjustments and turned the corner (Cole Konrad). OSU started the season with four No. 1-ranked wrestlers, and even though the results of John Smith's brutal schedule have dropped them to 2-2-4-2, they still have plenty of firepower. Moreover, their qualifiers who aren't returning champs (Coleman Scott, Nathan Morgan, Kevin Ward, Brandon Mason and Rusty Blackmon) have rankings that suggest a hefty team-point compliment. Although Minnesota had beaten Oklahoma State twice in dual meets, up until this past weekend, the Cowboys appeared to be a stronger tournament team. That things are roughly about equal now is more the result of Minnesota stepping up than OSU having any kind of misstep. OSU had a very good Big 12 Championships. They qualified nine for the big show, had seven finalists and four champs. But with Gophers C.P. Schlatter, Matt Nagel, and Roger Kish beating a grand total of five, top-ten wrestlers ranked ahead of them, they all did wonders for their individual rankings. Moreover, Manuel Rivera and Gabriel Dretsch both avenged losses from earlier in the season and moved up as well. Awarding placement and advancement points (i.e. no bonus points or pigtail advancement points) based on the current rankings, here are the projected results between the Cowboys and the Golden Gophers (Editor's Note: RevWrestling.com's rankings were not used because they were compiled prior to the conference tournaments) AWN = OSU 94.5, MN 87 WIN = OSU 87, MN 96 NWCA = OSU 86.5, MN 91.5 But again, that OSU no longer appears to be a lock to run away with No. 4 in a row doesn't reflect any kind of significant underperformance. They haven't dropped as much as Minnesota has risen. And, as much as we all know that anything can happen, it would appear that we are in for a dogfight. John SmithAs mentioned earlier, John Smith puts together a very tough schedule. On the one hand, this is beneficial as it pits his wrestlers against top competition all season long, thus creating fewer potential surprises the post-season. Smith is a brilliant tactician and strategist and it's very difficult not to imagine his wrestlers being totally prepared for any rematch -- won or lost the first go-round. On the other hand, there is an undeniable psychological component that goes with accumulating a number of losses over the course of a wrestling season. It takes its toll on your confidence and you start to think you're not unbeatable -- even if you're just a fan of the team.

Nashville, Tenn. -- Real Pro Wrestling (RPW), a professional sports league for collegiate and Olympic-style wrestlers, has announced its initial plans for a second season of competition, which is expected to take place in the late fall of 2006. "We've brought a lot of exposure to our sport through these amazing athletes," RPW CEO Toby Willis said. "We consider that one of our biggest successes. In addition to adding value to our tight knit wrestling community, we need to continue to create more awareness for our sport." RPW co-founders Willis and Matt Case also announced that the league format will change for its second season to dual meet competitions held regionally. In the first season, wrestlers competed in individual tournaments in seven separate weight classes. A team score was kept for eight teams, each of which had one wrestler per weight class. In Season Two, the eight teams will compete against each other in dual meets in front of live crowds, culminating with a dual meet championship at the end of the season. Each team will have seven weight classes, and rosters are expected to be filled by the end of summer. "We initially used the tournament format because it allowed us to meet the 'made for TV' requirements and capture all the episodes in a short time," Case stated. "However, our aim has always been team based competition in a live dual meet format in cities. This is why we're making the transition from tournament to duals." While the actual cities of the eight franchises have yet to be finalized, RPW will select teams to compete in the following eight states: California, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas. All eight of those states hosted teams in the first season as well, but this will be the first season that actual competitions will be held in those states. "We chose these regions for a variety of reasons. They are either top wrestling markets or are showing considerable growing in the sport," Case said. "Texas, for example, isn't a traditional wrestling hotbed, but it's growing fast. It's a region that if successful, could be a foundational area." Toby WillisCurrently, venues in various cities throughout the eight aforementioned states are being surveyed along with community interest and local sponsors in each region. "Wrestling could support many teams in many regions because of the wealth of it's grassroots programs. The sport doesn't require huge football-size stadiums because of the close-up action. You don't need a big field of play," Willis added. RPW will announce the host cities of the franchises along with rosters as they are finalized and become available. In 2005, RPW presented a historic first season of wrestling action on PAX and Fox Sports Net. Seven, one-hour episodes were aired, one for each weight class, and a two-hour finale showcased the championship bouts from each of the seven weight classes. Nearly a half million people viewed the two-hour finale. The Iowa Stalkers ran away with the team title. Individual champions were 2000 Olympic silver medalist Sammie Henson of the Pennsylvania Hammer (121 lbs.), Tony DeAnda of the New York Outrage (132), former NCAA champion Doug Schwab of the Iowa Stalkers (145), 2004 Olympian Joe Williams of the Chicago Groove (163), Mo Lawal of the Oklahoma Slam (184), 2004 Olympian Daniel Cormier of the Oklahoma Slam (211) and Pat Cummins of the Pennsylvania Hammer (264). Overall, eight Olympians, six U.S. World Team members and 23 former NCAA champions competed in Season 1. Over $300,000 in cash prizes were awarded to wrestlers. RPW is a hybrid style of wrestling, combining the Olympic styles of Greco-Roman and Freestyle, along with elements of collegiate and Sumo wrestling. In RPW, classic meets the future as the matches are conducted in a specially designed coliseum which showcases a raised circular mat to facilitate better camera angles and to afford the live audience a better viewing experience. The circular mat allows for 360 degree camera angles and aids in covering the close quarters that wrestlers frequently find themselves in as they maneuver for position. Real Pro Wrestling, Inc was founded in 2002 by former Northwestern University wrestling teammates, Toby Willis and Matt Case. The company is based in Nashville, Tenn. with brand offices in Los Angeles and Colorado Springs. RPW is a television production company and a producer of live events.

Eagles Head Wrestling Coach, John Petty, announced today that he will resign from the position at the end of the academic semester. "This has been one of the toughest decisions that I have made in my life. This year's team has been the best team that I have ever been associated with after nearly 30 years of athletics. These young men are a phenomenal group of guys that you can expect to be champions, both on and off the mat as students, businessmen, husbands and fathers. I love each and every one of them. I learned so much from them and I hope they picked up a thing or two from me." At press time, Coach Petty has not indicated where his next coaching stop will be, but is hopeful that something will open up and be a good fit for him and his family. "My early resignation comes out of respect to the university, athletic department and the remaining athletes so they can start the search process for the next Head Coach who can begin to recruit and build their program. Knowing that I was not going to return next season; I did not want to wait until I secured something before informing the Athletic Director. I am hopeful and confident that I will find a position that will allow me to remain in coaching, because that is what I have a passion for…I am a Coach." Petty leaves the #5 Eagles with 10 National Qualifiers, 4 All-Americans and 3 Academic All-Americans. "I'd like to say that the next coach will have a nice foundation to continue to build on. This is a good mature group and most importantly they are truly a team who sticks together and holds one another accountable." Petty's ERAU Resume: * Three winning seasons(2004-2006) * Three top 10 National finishes (8th in 2004, 6th in 2005 and 5th in 2006) * One Regional Championship (2005) * One NAIA National Champion of Character Sportsmanship Award * 15 All-Americans * 6 Academic All-Americans * 3 National Champion of Character Awardees * 5 ERAU Champion of Character scholarship recipients * One ERAU Athlete of the Year * One Coach of the Year (2005) * Team average GPA of 3.0.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State wrestler J Jaggers will miss the 2006 NCAA Wrestling Championships March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Russ Hellickson, head coach, announced Wednesday. Jaggers, who qualified for the national championships at 149 pounds after a sixth-place showing at the Big Ten championships, sustained a knee injury at the conference meet March 4-5. "This is a devastating loss for J and our team," Hellickson said. "J is a proven leader and when he sets goals, he gets the job done." Jaggers (r-Fr., Northfield, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel) finished the regular season a team-best 25-6, and then went 1-1 at the Big Ten championships before he was forced to medical forfeit his remaining two bouts. Throughout much of the dual season, Jaggers outperformed his opponents in several statistical categories, including falls (4-0), match points (257-177), takedowns (38-26) and back points (16-3). Teammates Blake Maurer (r-Fr., Evansville, Ind./Mater Dei) and Kirk Nail (So., Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) will compete at the national championships at 174 pounds and heavyweight, respectively. Maurer placed seventh at the league championships and Nail was sixth. Reece Humphrey (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North), who was named a second alternate by the coaches after the conference meet, will join the NCAA championships field after injuries to two other Big Ten wrestlers.

Williamsburg, Ky. -- Discipline is displayed early in the morning, everyday. Vanity Vazquez-Olmo is up and ready to meet either the track or wrestling team for 6:15 a.m. practices. Then the day brings classes, studying, and homework. Just about the time most take time for an afternoon nap, Vazquez is off to 3:30 p.m. track practice. From there, Vazquez-Olmo stops for dinner just before scheduled wrestling practice at 6 p.m. Vanity Vazquez-OlmoThis would be impressive all on its own, but Vazquez-Olmo, a freshman at University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky, accomplished all of this while her husband Angel Olmo served in Iraq. It would seem easy to be distracted by all the time demands as well as worry for her husband's safety, but Vazquez-Olmo got the job done. There was rarely a moment when Vazquez-Olmo wasn't displaying strength of mind and body, commitment and determination. "I've had to take it a day at a time," she said. With Angel Olmo already six months into deployment, the couple wed on July 8, 2005, during a two week leave from service. The pair had minimal time to see each other since the wedding. During his deployment, the two kept in communication by phone. "[Angel] worked in communications, so he always snuck me phone calls," she said. It would be easy to feel overwhelmed by such an intimidating schedule and constant concern for her husband, but Vazquez-Olmo's revealed her source of strength, "School and sports keep me busy and on my down time [Angel] called me. That's how I got through." In January, Vazquez-Olmo received a call she would never forget. After serving a full year in Iraq, she received word that her husband was coming home. The excitement of his return was soon stalled by several flight delays. Vazquez-Olmo's frustration was shared by her husband's. "[Angel] was so excited to be home but he would get so upset when they delayed him," she said. Finally, after the delays and days of anticipation, Vazquez-Olmo was reunited with her husband for the first time in months. Her school and sport schedule remain as hectic as ever but Vazquez-Olmo couldn't be more pleased. "He is home, and I am so, so, so happy!" she said. Vazquez-Olmo's hard work is paying off. Besides finishing her first semester with an impressive 3.7 GPA, good enough to make Cumberlands' Dean's list, Vazquez-Olmo has also helped her 3200-meter relay team qualify for the NAIA national track meet to be held on Thursday, March 9th – Saturday, March 11th in Johnson City, Tenn. Although such success tends to add pressure for future achievement, this disciplined freshman is continuing to take it all in stride. "My goal is to do what I can to keep this positive momentum going in both my classes, running and wrestling," she said. The University of the Cumberlands is in its 117th year of operation. Cumberlands offers four undergraduate degrees in 37 major fields of study, 30 minors and nine pre-professional programs, as well as online and accelerated, non-traditional programs for adults.

Tuesday, March 21 is the deadline for event bids to be submitted from organizing committees who wish to host the 2006 USA Wrestling Beach National Championships, along with the 2006 USA Wrestling Sombo National Championships. These events are scheduled to be held August 18-19, 2006. Beach Wrestling was added as a new style of international wrestling, starting in 2005. Athletes compete on sand, in a style that features takedowns within a ring. Sombo is a style of competition that has similarities to judo and wrestling, and has been reinstated as an international style of wrestling this year. Sombo was included in international wrestling until the mid-1980s, when the international wrestling federation These two events will serve as the qualifiers for the U.S. team that will compete at the World Beach Wrestling Championships and the World Sombo Championships, set for Antalya, Turkey, Oct. 13-15. In addition to these two events, USA Wrestling will also conduct its semi-annual Board of Directors meeting in the city which is hosting the Beach and Sombo Nationals. These are the volunteer leaders that set the direction for USA Wrestling and represent all apects of the wrestling community. USA Wrestling will also conduct its annual State Leaders Conference in the city which hosts the Beach and Sombo Nationals. This annual meeting brings together state leaders from each of the USA Wrestling state associations, who attend workshops and seminars and network together to help expand and improve USA Wrestling's programs and activities. To receive more information on the events and activities included, or to receive a copy of the bid packet, contact Chris Moen of USA Wrestling at 719-598-8181 or via e-mail at cmoen@usawrestling.org,

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Daniel Cormier wants to be a star. Not just as a U.S. wrestler, but as an international wrestler. In order for that to happen, Cormier must break through and win a medal at the World Championships or Olympic Games. So far, he has been close. But breaking into the top three in one of the toughest weight classes in the world has proven difficult so far for Cormier. "There are some really good guys in my weight class," Cormier said. "But I think I've proven I can wrestle with them. I just haven't ended some of those matches the smartest, and that's where I got burned." In fact, the last wrestler not from Russia or not named Eldar Kurtanidze to win this weight class or its equivalent (before the weights were shifted in 2001) was American Kurt Angle, who took gold in the 1996 Olympic Games. Cormier will hope to change that. A new attitude on training, and a new focus has Cormier dreaming bigger than ever before. Since 2003, he has dominated the U.S. circuit, as evidenced by his three straight U.S. Nationals titles and his Real Pro Wrestling Season 1 title for the Oklahoma Slam. But after a disappointing second-round exit at the 2005 World Championships, Cormier had to make some decisions. "Kevin Jackson sat us all down after the World Championships last year. I think most of us were pretty upset at how we wrestled," he stated. "K.J. challenged us. I'm not going to say I haven't trained hard the past three years, because I have. But I think right now there's more that I can do. That's what's happening." Daniel CormierCormier will plan to make more trips to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he will be under the watchful eyes of Jackson and Terry Brands. It will also give him the opportunity to train with his former training partner in Stillwater, Mo Lawal. "It's good for me (to train in Colorado Springs)," Cormier said. "I get good training here at Oklahoma State with the best coaching staff in the country, but they have to focus on a college wrestling season through March. They have to get these kids ready. I have to get myself ready." His training also has not come without distractions. Cormier's life is one riddled by tragedy. His father died while Cormier was just a child, his best friend was killed in a plane crash while he was in college and his daughter, Kaedyn Imri, was killed in an automobile accident shortly before the 2003 U.S. World Team Trials. Then, this year, many of Cormier's friends were ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. While Cormier hails from Lafayette, La., a city not affected by the hurricane, his sponsoring club, the Gator Wrestling Club, is based just outside of New Orleans. But looking back on all of the events in Cormier's life, it is clear that he may not be where he is today without having to go through those battles. "In life, you have to find a ray of sunshine in every cloud. I've had a lot of clouds roll through my life, but it's time to start seeing some more sunshine," Cormier said. He's hoping that sunshine comes this summer, during Real Pro Wrestling's Season 2, and then at the 2006 World Championships. For younger wrestlers -- No matter what you're doing, make sure you have fun with it. If it's wrestling, football, whatever. Take the time to enjoy all the opportunities given to you. Your favorite all-time wrestler -- John Smith. How high should you set goals -- As high as possible. There's no shame in not reaching a goal. There's only shame in not giving 100 percent to attempt to reach it.

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- Senior Jon Masa of Hofstra University is the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestler of the Week, and Steven Tisdell of George Mason University and Doug Umbehauer of Rider University have been named the CAA Rookies of the Week, for all competition the first week of March. Masa (Long Beach, NY), a two-time All-American, won his fourth CAA title and was named the CAA Championship Most Outstanding Performer. At the CAAs, Masa won by a major decision, a tech fall in the semi-finals and with a pin in the finals of the 149 pound weight class. Now 30-5, Masa will lead 23 CAA wrestlers to Oklahoma City, OK for the 2006 NCAA Division I Nationals March 16-18. Tisdell, a freshman 165 from Sewell, NJ, placed runner-up at the CAAs and will now compete in the NCAA Championships. Tisdell won a major decision in the quarter-finals, and upset the number two seed in the semi-finals, before losing to the top seed in the finals by the score of 3-2. Umbehauer, a freshman 174 from Shamong, NJ, finished runner-up in his first CAA tournament and will now advance to Nationals. After a first round bye Umbehauer defeated the sixth seed in the quarter-finals and upset the second seed in the semi-finals, 6-5 on a tie breaker, before falling 7-3 to the fifth ranked wrestler in the nation in the finals.

In every sport, there is the time of year that is the ultimate for the athletes, coaches and fans -- where all attention is focused on that particular sport and its Big Event. In pro football, it's the Super Bowl. In major league baseball, it's the World Series. In collegiate wrestling, it's the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Unfortunately for college wrestlers, their Big Event is largely overshadowed by an even Bigger Event: The NCAA Basketball Tournament. Both events take place in March. But only one of the tournaments has become known as March Madness … and it isn't wrestling. Despite the macho bravado of t-shirts and posters with sayings such as "Boys play basketball. Men wrestle" and "It takes balls to wrestle," in a match-up between college basketball and wrestling, the roundballers win big … at least in terms of general public attention and media coverage. Think about it: When was the last time somebody at work asked if you wanted to get into the office pool for NCAA wrestling? When have you seen an entire TV show devoted to the presentation of brackets for the NCAA Wrestling Championships? When did you see major car makers and snack-food companies use the college wrestling championships as a promotional gimmick to sell more Chevys and salsa? Even those of us who consider ourselves rabid wrestling fans may be programmed into thinking March is the exclusive property of the college basketball championships. Here's a test: A friend comes up to you, and says, "Gee, who do you think is gonna win the Big Dance?" If in a heartbeat you start talking about Steve Mocco and Cole Konrad (or any other potential major individual or team match-up at the 2006 NCAAs in Oklahoma City), you've escaped the brainwashing. If, however, you say "Duke" or "UConn" you just proved my point. In terms of media attention and public awareness, in a contest between college basketball and college wrestling, it's no contest. It's a slam-dunk. A major decision. A pin before the match even starts. Basketball vs. Wrestling: Why It Matters Some wrestling fans may be saying, "Contest? What contest? Who cares about basketball? We've got our NCAAs in March, and that's all that really matters." The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are among the top five in total event attendance of all college sports that hold a championship event.And, these wrestling supporters do have a point. After all, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are among the top five in total event attendance of all college sports that hold a championship event, with nearly 100,000 fans during the six sessions of recent NCAAs. Most years, the host arena is sold out -- or nearly so. (How many other college sports can bring together 19,000 fans in one place?) TV ratings for the finals are respectable, especially for what is often labeled a "minor" sport. However, for fans and participants who truly love amateur wrestling -- and want to see collegiate wrestling not only survive, but thrive -- the sport's Big Event must move out of the way for March Madness. The NCAA Wrestling Championships should be rescheduled for another time -- ideally, after the basketball championships have concluded, which is usually late March or early April. Overcoming Media Ignore-ance To quote the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield, the NCAA Wrestling Championships get no respect … at least among most sportswriters, sportscasters and sports editors. Think back to last March. How much coverage of the NCAA Wrestling Championships did you see on ESPN SportsCenter? I don't have the tapes, but I'm willing to bet that there MIGHT have been a very brief "Oklahoma State won the team title" story that lasted all of a few seconds … and maybe a brief highlight clip of a particular spectacular move. You can apply the same test to your local TV sports report … and your local newspaper. Unless you live in a wrestling hotbed, you probably would have no evidence the college wrestling championships had even occurred. Now, let's look at USA Today. Wrestling writer and historian Mike Chapman has. In his column for W.I.N. wrestling magazine, more than once Chapman has called out the national newspaper for its lack of coverage of amateur wrestling, especially the NCAAs. According to Chapman -- author of more than a dozen books on the sport -- in a typical year, USA Today has summed up the three-day NCAA championships in a couple paragraphs. Imagine if they gave that kind of miserly coverage to March Madness. Perhaps the biggest offender is Sports Illustrated. In the half-century of its existence, SI has featured an amateur wrestler on its cover once. And that was Dan Hodge, the legendary three-time NCAA champ for the Oklahoma Sooners, back in its April 1, 1957 issue. (I'm not counting former amateur wrestlers such as Tom Brady or Tony Siragusa who may have been on the cover for other sports.) Think back to March 2002 -- when Cael Sanderson won his fourth NCAA title, and ended his collegiate career without losing a single match out of 159. Arguably the biggest sports story of the week, right? Nope. That week, Cael didn't make the cover of Sports Illustrated; instead, the cover story was that of the young girl killed in the stands by a flying hockey puck at an NHL game in Columbus. The publishers heard from wrestling fans, and, in subsequent issues, threw out a couple bones, listing Sanderson's achievement among the ten greatest in amateur sports … and showing what a Cael cover would have looked like. Once upon a time, Sports Illustrated did a better job covering college wrestling. In the past, there were multi-page profiles on guys like Dan Hodge, Dan Gable and Chris Taylor. Even as recently as six years ago, Brock Lesnar got an entire page -- with color photo -- before the championships (and long before his career in the WWE). Most years, the NCAAs usually got a two- or three-page wrap-up. Not any more. Last year, wrestling coverage in Sports Illustrated was pretty much limited to a huge photo of action from the NCAAs that was the talk of amateur wrestling forums, not because it captured spectacular action, but because it seemed to have been chosen for its "groan" or "yuck" factor (at least for non-fans). Now, compare this treatment to how college basketball is covered by the local and national media. Basketball wins, running away. Would rescheduling the NCAA Wrestling Championships to AFTER the college basketball tournament change all this? Maybe not. But the media would no longer have the excuse of "Sorry, we have limited resources. We can't cover both college wrestling and basketball at the same time." Greater Coverage = More Positive Public Perception Greater media coverage of the NCAA Wrestling Championships would go a long way to boosting amateur wrestling's image in the minds of the general public. Mention the word "wrestling" to most folks, and they immediately think of the WWE, Vince McMahon and his cast of characters. Even some great amateur wrestlers such as Olympic medalists Jamill Kelly and Brandon Slay have mentioned in interviews that, at the time they were introduced to the sport, they were expecting to be able to jump off the top rope or use a folding chair on an opponent. On a more serious note, there is still a perception among some outside the sport that wrestling is dangerous, even deadly. They cite the tragic deaths of three college wrestlers attempting to make weight in 1998 … or some incredibly rare but highly-publicized freak fatal accidents during wrestling matches. Again, with greater media coverage of the sport during one of its biggest events, perhaps incorrect perceptions will change … and the general public will see the real value in the sport of real wrestling. Eliminating Competition with High School Wrestlers College wrestlers aren't just going up against basketball players for their share of the sports media spotlight. Collegians are also doing battle with younger wrestlers still in high school. In most states, the high school wrestling season pretty much lines up with the college season, with the ultimate events -- the individual state tournaments -- usually taking place in late February up through mid-March … when major conference tournaments and the NCAAs are scheduled. Having this overlap creates at least two potential problems that could be easily solved by moving the NCAAs back to April: • Local media tends to focus on local sports. Unless there's a "hometown hero" competing at the NCAAs, local TV and newspapers will concentrate their limited wrestling coverage on high school events such as the state tournament. With a later NCAA tournament, the media could more easily cover the major high school AND college mat events. • High school wrestlers, their families and friends are justifiably focused on their own matches and careers… not what's going on in college. However, with an April NCAAs, preps and their supporters would be able to watch the college tournament and learn from observing. April's Additional Benefits for Wrestlers and Fans By rescheduling the NCAA Wrestling Championships to mid-April, the entire collegiate wrestling season could be shifted back one month. A later start date would result in these benefits for participants and those who support them: • One "continuous" season. Right now, most college programs have "two" seasons, divided by Christmas. The "first season" being mostly tournaments and non-conference match-ups, with the post-Christmas portion of the season being mostly conference duals. Starting the season after Christmas would be easier on the competitors, and help sustain fan interest through the entire season. • Fewer hassles making weight during the holidays. Two of the biggest eating events of the year -- Thanksgiving and Christmas -- fall in the early part of the college wrestling as its configured today. By shifting the season back, wrestlers and their families will be able to enjoy the holidays a bit more. • Making it easier for football players to wrestle. Traditionally, in high school, a number of athletes who played football also wrestled. However, in college, this happens less frequently, because football season extends into wrestling season. With a later season start for wrestling, this would be less of an issue. Opening the wrestling room door to more gridiron stars could also boost fan interest in wrestling, especially if "name" football players take to the mats. • Weather becomes less of a factor. In mid-March in middle America – where the NCAAs are usually held – Mother Nature can throw just about anything at participants and fans. At the 2004 NCAAs, St. Louis was blessed with warm, almost summer-like temperatures… while, three years earlier, Iowa City was buried in snow. By April, most of the US has put away the snow shovels and said hello to spring … which means easier traveling during the tournament. A Powerful Opponent to Change: Tradition Wrestling is often referred to as "the oldest and greatest sport." And some college wrestling fans get wrapped up in the sport's great traditions. One of the lasting legacies: In the seventy-five years of the NCAA Wrestling Championships, the event has always been held in the month of March … starting back with the very first NCAAs in 1928. Many wrestlers, coaches and fans are so accustomed to "March Matness" -- and a season that starts around Halloween and ends near St. Patrick's Day -- that it would take some effort to overcome three-quarters of a century of history. However, understanding the potential benefits of a later season, it's worth a try. J RobinsonJ Robinson seems to think so. In a May 2002 WrestlingReport.com interview, the long-time head coach of the University of Minnesota was asked why the NCAAs are advertised as being sold-out, yet there are always empty seats in the arena, and whether this was because of competing with March Madness. Robinson replied, "Yes, we should try it in April -- for two years -- to see if it works. If it doesn't work, move it back. This could be worked out with the bidding arenas. The season would start one month later." The issue came up again at the start of the 2003 NCAAs in Kansas City. In the opening paragraph of his report for The Oklahoman, sportswriter Bob Colon wrote: "Moving the college wrestling season continues to be a hot topic, and most of the talk centers on starting the season in January and finishing with the NCAA tournament in April. The theory is to get more media to cover the Division I National Tournament giving the sport more exposure. The NCAA polled the media some six years ago to get ideas, but nothing has been done and the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournaments claims much of the attention this weekend. 'We have been talking about this for 15 years,' Minnesota coach J Robinson said during a news conference Wednesday at Kemper Arena." Now is the time to stop the Madness. Collegiate wrestling should stop trying to grapple the media spotlight and public attention away from the basketball tournament -- a contest that wrestling has been losing for years -- and move the NCAA Wrestling Championships to April. A later season would be a winner for the wrestlers, coaches, families and fans … and, ultimately, for the sport itself.

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