InterMat Staff

OMAHA, Neb. –- Oklahoma State's wrestling team had a total of 12 wrestlers place in the Kaufman/Brand Open on Saturday, with Neil Erisman and Cody Hill winning titles in the Amateur Bracket. Coleman Scott and Johny Hendricks both forfeited their finals match to rest for the NWCA All-Star Classic on Monday in Dallas. Nathan Morgan also defaulted out and finished sixth when he learned he would be a late addition to the classic. Tyler Shinn earned a fifth-place finish at 125. Jack Jensen, Brent Parkey and Jared Rosholt all earned fourth-place finishes in the bottom three weights in the elite bracket. In the amateur bracket, the Cowboys had four freshman place. Ben Ashmore had three falls and a major decision before falling in the finals to Matt Vacanti of Nebraska. Jordan Frishkorn suffered an early loss to Iowa's Daniel Dennis, but rallied to reach the consolation finals where he took fourth. Erisman had a fall and two major decisions, and he defeated Northern Illinois' Josh Terrell by a comfortable 7-1 decision. Hill advanced to the finals where he defeated Iowa's Rick Loera by a major decision. Scott, Hendricks and Morgan will be in action on Monday night at the Dallas Convention Center in the NWCA All-Star Classic. The rest of the Cowboy squad will return to the mat on Dec. 3 against Bedlam rival Oklahoma in Norman.

Columbia, Mo. -- Three days removed from Missouri's season opening dual win over No. 10 Ohio State, four members of the third-ranked Tiger wrestling team earned individual titles at the sixth annual Missouri Open in the Hearnes Fieldhouse. Five of Missouri's wrestlers competed in the Championship finals of the Open Division and nine earned top-six finishes in the Open and Freshman/Sophomore Divisions combined. A total of 1, 432 fans were on hand for the all-day event. A perfect 3-0 on the day at 174 pounds, earning all three wins by fall, senior defending National Champion Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) has recorded 121 wins on his career and now holds 55 consecutive victories, the nation's longest active win streak. Askren now stands 10 wins shy of the Missouri career win record (131) set by 2006 Hall of Fame Inductee Wes Roper between 1978 and 1982. Forced to compete against teammate and All-American senior Matt Pell (Luxemburg, Wis.) the two were deemed co-champions of the 174 pound class. With the wins, Askren, Pell became the first Tigers in the history of the Open to earn back-to-back titles. Pell also was 3-0 on the day recording consecutive falls in his first two matches and landing a 5-3 decision over 16th-ranked Josh Weitzel (Oklahoma) to advance to the championship finals. Competing at 184 pounds, sophomore Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) won all four of his bouts by major decision, with the largest margin of victory coming in his opening match against Kyle Jones of Meramec, 20-6. Jordan is now one of three wrestlers to earn consecutive titles at the Missouri Open. (Askren and Pell became the first Missouri wrestlers to do so purely because 174 pounds competes prior to 184 pounds). Ninth-ranked freshman Maxwell Askren (Hartland, Wis.), who bested No. 2 J.D. Bergman (Ohio State) Thursday night, took down another top-five wrestler when he knocked off No. 4 Joel Flaggert of Oklahoma, 2-1. Askren was 4-0 with wins over Steve Doeschot (Truman State, major decision, 15-2), Eddie Hernandez (Missouri Valley College, fall, 4:04), Patrick Bond (Illinois, Decision, 7-4) and Flaggert. Missouri sophomore Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) finished the day in second place at 157 pounds after falling to seventh-ranked Michael Poeta of Illinois, 10-4. Prior to his match with Poeta, Chandler advanced through the championship bracket with three wins by decision. "It's been a long day of wrestling, but overall I was pleased with how the team competed," Head Coach Brian Smith said. "This was a great opportunity to really see what the team is made of and it gave our fans in the community a chance to see 35 of our wrestlers in action." As a team, Missouri tallied 18 falls in the Open Division with nine individuals contributing to the count. Freshman Ashtin Primus (South Connelsville, Penn.) recorded the most falls of any Missouri wrestler, with four on the day. Primus finished the 141-pound bracket in third place after besting teammate Amond Prater (Marietta, Ga.) in a hard-fought 7-6 decision. Up next for the Tigers, Missouri will travel to the 25th annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational beginning Friday, Dec. 1 in Primm, Nev. The two-day event will feature over 10 of the nation's top-25 wrestling programs. REMINDER: Monday MatChat with Missouri All-American Matt Pell will begin tomorrow, Nov. 20 at 2:30 p.m. (CT). Please log on to mutigers.com for more information.

Holding onto a slim 6-5 in the middle of the third period of the 149-pound final at the Fullerton Open, Cal State Fullerton's Morgan Atkinson knew he needed another takedown to secure victory against highly-touted freshman Cyler Sanderson of Iowa State. Atkinson did get the score and won the match 8-6. The takedown he used for the victory? An ankle pick -- a move famously employed by his opponent's brother and coach who was sitting in the opposite corner. Morgan Atkinson defeated Cyler Sanderson, 8-6 (Photo/John Sachs)"That's my favorite move as well," said Atkinson. "I pretty much tried learning it from Cael, which is cool, but there's definitely a little bit of irony there." The 149-pound Titan junior was happy to win on his home mat, but also just to see the tournament increase in stature. "If this tournament gets any bigger, it'll have to be two days. We see the same California competition, like, every other weekend. It's nice to see some big teams come out here. We don't have the money or funding to go out there." Titan head coach Dan Hicks (who also coached heavyweight Wade Sauer to a title) was quick to point out that the event actually hasn't increased in size, but rather in the caliber of the competitors. "Since I've been here, we've had eight mats," Hicks said. "The last four years, it's been around 300-325 wrestlers. We had 310 today. What has changed is the quality coming in. We got a lot of JC's here with some of the No. 1 kids in the nation. We had Iowa State. That's huge. Purdue sent some kids. So the word's getting out that it's a good early-season tournament." Travis Paulson defeated Pat Pitsch, 3-2 (Photo/John Sachs).The visiting Cyclones crowned three champions and had six finalists. At 165 pounds, Travis Paulson won a solid 3-2 bout over Arizona State's Pat Pitsch. The difference being a powerful takedown near the edge in the third period. At 184 pounds, redshirt freshman Jake Varner was impressive with a 5-0 shutout victory over Cal Poly's Yuri Kalika. At 197 pounds, Cyclone Kurt Backes broke a 5-5 tie with a pin over Cal Poly's Matt Montiero at the end of the second period. The most crowd-pleasing bout of the night was at 174, which featured non-stop scrambling and points between Iowa State's David Bertolino and Nathaniel Augustson, former wrestler and now assistant coach at Embry-Riddle. Augustson led throughout and came out on top 14-12. It is noteworthy that although their team has been officially discontinued by the administration, several wrestlers from Fresno State traveled to the event and competed. Their points were good enough for a 19th place finish. It was the first time Iowa State has attended the event and although their presence does much to show support for California college wrestling, first-year coach Cael Sanderson said the decision to add the event to their schedule was strictly about checking out West Coast opponents early in the season. "We wanted to get out here and look at some different faces," Sanderson said. "California wrestling is outstanding. There's no two ways about it. One of our guys who won the tournament is from California (184-pound Jake Varner). Anything we can do to help is great, but we came out for the great competition, really." Fullerton Open Brackets

The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) announced on Saturday that 141-pounder Nathan Morgan of Oklahoma State will be replacing Andy Simmons of Michigan State at the 41st NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps on Monday night in Dallas, Texas. Morgan will face No. 1 Ryan Lang of Northwestern. Morgan, a returning All-American, is currently ranked No. 3 in the country at 141 pounds by RevWrestling.com. He has split a pair of duals this season. On Sunday, Morgan was defeated by No. 6 Derek Moore of UC-Davis, 5-2. However, he came back Thursday to defeat Simmons (who he is replacing at the NWCA All-Star Classic), 8-4, in Stillwater. On Saturday, Morgan reached the semifinals of the Kaufman-Brand Open before defaulting out of the compeititon.

ANNAPOLIS, MD. -- The Navy wrestling team picked up four of the 10 individual crowns and had 13 placewinners to claim its third-consecutive Navy Classic title Saturday afternoon at Halsey Field House in Annapolis. The Mids narrowly defeated Bloomsburg, 148.5-141.5, to win their home classic for the 15th time. "For this time of the year, I'm pretty pleased," said Navy seventh-year head coach Bruce Burnett. "We have some holes in the lineup that we need to fix, but we have the talent to get it done. "We've won this tournament now three years in a row which is impressive. It's a tough tournament and we had a great overall team effort today. We were missing our top two guys at 133 pounds, so we needed to get some points to fill that void. One guy can't carry the load, so I was pleased with the ability of some of our wrestlers to step up to the challenge." Senior John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.) earned his third-consecutive Navy Classic title at 149 pounds by edging Bloomsburg's Matt Moley. Moley held the advantage nearly the entire match before Cox, ranked seventh in the country, was credited with two points for a takedown in the final period to earn the victory. Teammate Joel Ahern (Herkimer, N.Y.) earned third-place recognition with his major decision (12-2) over Rutgers' Jack Barrett. Ahern lost to Barrett in the quarterfinals, 3-1, but the two were paired back up in the wrestlebacks. Ahern jumped out early on Barrett, posting a two-point takedown and a three-point near fall in the opening period. He stretched his lead to 11-1 with the same sequence of moves by the end of the second period. Pushing his record to 12-1 on the year, junior Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) earned an 11-6 win over Binghamton freshman Josh Patterson to win back-to-back Navy Classic titles at 174 pounds. Stolpinski got off to a slow start after taking a finger in the eye in the early minutes. However, the 2006 NCAA Tournament qualifier took a 4-2 lead at the end of the first period on a reversal and never looked back. Seeded third at 184 pounds, senior Antonio Miranda (Eugene, Ore.) upset top-seeded Nate Shirk of Bloomsburg in the title bout, 9-4. Miranda, who won last year's individual title at 197 pounds, scored the first takedown. Though Shirk knotted the score with back-to-back escapes, Miranda's takedown early in the second period was enough to shift the momentum Navy's way. Teammate Matt Parsons (Dunkirk, Md.) picked up third-place recognition at 184 pounds by posting a 5-1 win over 20th-ranked Chance Litton of West Virginia. The two met in the second round with Parsons earning a 6-4 advantage to move on and it was Parsons who again got the best of Litton in the third-place match. Navy's final title win of the evening was at the heavyweight division where junior Ed Prendergast (St. Louis, Mo.) scored the winning points with under a minute remaining in regulation over 19th-ranked Mike Spaid of Bloomsburg. Prendergast scored the early takedown, but Spaid knotted the score with a pair of escapes. With 49 seconds remaining in the match, Prendergast took a 3-2 lead with an escape and with just two ticks left on the clock, he scored a two-point takedown for the final 5-2 decision. Team captain John Jarred (Kansas City, Mo.) picked up a second-place finish at 157 pounds, dropping a tough 4-3 decision to West Virginia's Zac Fryling, the top-seeded wrestler in the weight class. With the match knotted at two apiece, Fryling's takedown in the opening period helped lead him to the title. Navy also received outstanding efforts from senior Alex Usztics (Dauphin, Pa.) who defeated teammate Matt Pagan (Carteret, N.J.), 8-1, for third place. Senior Brad Canterbury (Blue Bell, Pa.) earned a 7-5 win at 141 pounds to place third, while sophomores Jason Coyne (Trafford, Pa.) (165 lbs), Tyler Moyer (Bremerton, Wash.) (197 lbs) and Scott Steele (Towson, Md.) (HWT) finished fourth in their respective weight classes, while second-year wrestler Philip Neese placed fifth at 197 pounds. The Midshipmen will be back in action Dec. 1 when they play host to Rutgers in a dual meet beginning at 7:00 pm at Macdonough Hall.

FULLERTON, Calif. –- Iowa State crowned three champions at the Fullerton Open hosted by Cal-State Fullerton Saturday. Travis Paulson, Jake Varner and Kurt Backes each earned their second title in as many tournaments on the season. Cyler Sanderson, Mitch Mueller and David Bertolino finished runners-up in their respective weight classes. Two-time All-American Travis Paulson recorded four decisions and a technical fall en route to the 165-pound title. In the title match, Paulson scored a 3-2 decision over Arizona State's Pat Pitsch. The senior is unbeaten on the season at 9-0. Redshirt freshman, Jake Varner, cruised to the 184-pound title as he pinned two of his opponents in less than two minutes. Varner has accumulated six pins thus far in the season and remains unbeaten at 8-0. At 197-pounds, Kurt Backes opened with a 15-0 technical fall and won the next two matches by default. Backes pinned Matt Montiero in 3:56, claiming the title. Backes is also unbeaten on the season at 8-0. Finishing second at 141-pounds by a score of 1-0 was redshirt freshman Mitch Mueller. Muller finished second to UC Davis' Derek Moore. Mueller won three matches by decision (8-6, 7-1, 8-6) and another with a 17-5 major decision. Cyler Sanderson took second-place at 149-pounds. Sanderson scored two major decisions and pinned his other two opponents. He met Cal State Fullerton's Moran Atkinson in the championship match and fell by an 8-6 decision. Junior David Bertolino finished runner-up at 174-pounds. In his opening bout, Bertolino won with a 4:46 pin over Cal State Fullerton's Ryan Budd and then took an 11-3 major decision. In the semi-finals, Bertolino met fellow Iowa State wrestler, Grant Turner, and emerged with an 8-6 decision. Bertolino suffered a 14-12 loss to Nathaniel Augustson in the championship bout. Turner rebounded to take third place by scoring a 7-3 decision over Jeff Prentice of UC Davis. Also placing third for Iowa State were Nick Gallick (133) and David Zabriskie (HWT). Laramie Shaffer placed fourth at 133-pounds. The Cyclones will resume dual meet action Nov. 26 as they play host to Arizona State at 2 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum. OMAHA, Neb. -– Cyclone wrestlers competed in two divisions at the Kaufman-Brand Open hosted by Nebraska-Omaha Saturday. Mike Somsky was the top finisher for Iowa State in the elite division, while true freshman T.J. Sebolt took top honors wrestling unattached at 141-pounds in the amateur division. Somsky, a senior at 165-pounds, won his opening bout with a 4-3 decision, but then suffered a loss in the second bout. Battling through wrestlebacks, Somsky tallied five wins, including a 13-5 major decision. In the third place bout, Somsky faced Northern Illinois' Johnny Galloway, but fell by a 7-2 decision. Also wrestling in the elite division of the tournament was true freshman Jonathan Reader. Reader, who was wrestling unattached, took fifth place at 165-pounds. In his first bout, Reader recorded a major decision over Iowa's Ben Stedman. Reader then fell to two-time NCAA champion Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State. In wrestlebacks the Davison, Mich., native registered two more wins before pinning Truman State's Black Peterson in 1:34. Sebolt wrestled unattached in the amateur division and took the 141-title with a 12-8 decision over Brian Graham of Dana. Prior to the championship bout, Sebolt worked through the bracket with five decisions, including victories over Iowa's Travis Blasco (11-8) and Quinten Fuentes (3-1) of Oklahoma State. Also placing for ISU in the amateur division was redshirt freshman Chris Pursel at 184 pounds. Pursel registered three victories and placed sixth. The Cyclones will resume dual meet action Nov. 26 as they play host to Arizona State at 2 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Big Red wrestling team won the Body Bar Invitational for the second year in a row on Saturday by a slim margin of one point ahead of No. 7 Michigan. Three Cornell wrestlers won individual titles in their weight classes. Jordan Leen took the 149 title, Jerry Rinaldi (197), and Zach Hammond took home the title at 285. In the 133 weight class, Nick Bridge started the day in the No. 3 seed. He opened with a match against Maryland's Jon Kohler winning, 15-2. Moving on to Drexel's Billy Martin, Bridge pinned his opponent in 1:58. In the semifinals, he was paired up against the No. 2 seed Army's Matt Kyler. Kyler pinned Bridge in 5:33. Bridge took fifth place once again beating Martin by 16-4. Keith Dickey wrestled for the Big Red at 141. He took on Kent State's Clint Sponseller and picked up a 9-2 victory. In his next match he faced Sacred Heart's Cory Dunn winning, 6-0. In the semi-final round, Dickey fell to Maryland's Charlie Pinto at 4:52. Dickey took home third place after beating Old Dominion's Williams, 4-2. Jordan Leen worked his way through the 149 bracket of the Body Bar. He picked up a win in the opening round and pinned Sacred Heart's Sean Eagan in 2:42. He won the title after defeating Michigan's No. 1 seed Josh Churella in the finals. In the 165 weight class, the Big Red's Steve Anceravage pinned Old Dominion's Nick Pullano in 0:55. He made his way through to the finals but lost a one point decision to Michigan's Eric Tannenbaum, 3-2. Mike Mackie opened his day by pinning Army's Bob Heigtchew in 2:06. He lost to Sacred Heart's Sherwood Fendryk, but won his fifth place bout against Pittsburgh's Sean Richmond. At 184, Luke Hogle lost his opening match 8-2, but then wrestled his way through the consolation rounds. He beat Pittsburgh's Matt Darnell, 11-0, and next pinned Drexel's Justin Terhune in 6:26. Hogle took fourth after Army's Scott Ferguson defeated him 13-2. No. 1 seeded Jerry Rinaldi had a bye in the opening round, and pinned his first opponent in 2:42. In the semi-finals he beat Michigan's Nick Roy, 2-1. Rinaldi took the title defeating his second Wolverine of the day, Casey White, 8-2. Zach Hammond, seeded No. 4, opened his day by pinning his first opponent in 1:02. He wrestled his way to an 8-2 win over Kent State's Willie Leonard. Hammond next took on No. 1 seed Payam Zarrinpour and pulled out a narrow 8-7 victory. In the finals, Zach Hammond took home the heavyweight title giving the Big Red its team victory by beating No. 2 seeded Jermail Porter 10-3. The Big Red is at home again next weekend when it will wrestle against the Big Ten's Ohio State. The match begins at 2:00 in Newman Arena.

Fullerton, Calif. -- Eleven Stanford wrestlers picked up wins today at the Cal Open hosted by Cal State Fullerton. Junior Josh Zupancic led the way for the Cardinal, earning his first title of the season at 157 pounds. Overall, Stanford wrestlers picked up 33 wins in the event, including four pins. Zupancic notched five consecutive wins on his way to the 157-pound title, finishing the day with a 5-4 decision over Cal Poly's Chase Pami. The junior now boasts a 12-2 record this season, and has posted six straight wins. True freshmen Justin Paulsen and Lucas Espericueta saw their first collegiate action at 133 pounds and 149 pounds, respectively, and each collected four wins. Espericueta also earned his first collegiate win by fall, pinning Nick Cordoza of Mt. Sac. JC in 4:45. Three Cardinal wrestlers came within just one match of placing, as Brian Perry, Luke Feist and Zack Giesen each reached the consolation semifinals. "Overall, our guys wrestled hard," said Head Coach Kerry McCoy. "We just weren't sharp today. I'm happy with the progress were making though. We`re getting better every time we come out. These next two weeks give us an opportunity to train and get better for Las Vegas."

Jayson Ness, Manuel Rivera, C.P. Schlatter, Gabriel Dretsch and Scott Glasser earned titles at the Kaufman-Brand Open on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday. Ness, Rivera, Schlatter and Dretsch each won their respective weight classes in the Elite Division (over 20), while Glasser brought home first place in the Amateur Division (20-and-under). Tyler Safratowich, Mike Thorn, Joe Nord and Brent Eidenschink also placed for the Golden Gophers in the largest single-day collegiate meet in the country. A redshirt freshman from Bloomington, Minn., Ness captured the 125-pound title in convincing fashion with two major decisions included among his four wins. Ness began the day with a15-3 major decision over Nick Ramirez of Wyoming and ended with a 12-2 major over North Dakota State's Eric Hoffman in the finals. Rivera, Schlatter and Dretsch all remained perfect on the season with their titles. Rivera had one major decision on the day and defeated Nebraska's Dominick Moyer, 6-4, in the 141-pound championship match. Schlatter cruised through the first two rounds of the tournament with a tech fall and a major decision and claimed the 157-pound crown with a 3-2 victory over Northern Iowa's Moza Fay in the finals. Dretsch posted four straight decisions, culminating with a 3-1 win over Nebraska's Brandon Browne in the sudden victory period in the 174-pound finals. Glasser brought home his second trophy in as many tournaments to start his Gopher career, using a pin and two major decisions to claim the 165-pound crown in the Amateur Division. He took home the title with a 3-1 decision over UNO's Ross Taplin in the finals. With a 6-2 record on the day, Tyler Safratowich claimed fifth placed at 157 pounds in the Elite Division, and three true freshman reached the podium in the Amateur Division for Minnesota. Mike Thorn placed third at 133 pounds in his Golden Gopher debut, defeating Oklahoma State's Jordan Friskhorn in his final match of the day. Joe Nord won five of six matches on the day to take third place at heavyweight, and Brent Eidenschink took fourth at 197 pounds with a 4-2 record. The Golden Gophers will open the dual meet season next weekend at the Northeast Duals in Albany, N.Y. Two Minnesota wrestlers, Dustin Schlatter and Roger Kish, will compete in the NWCA All-Star Classic, an exhibition event that attempts to pit the top two wrestlers at each respective weight class in a dual meet format, on Monday night in Dallas. A live webcast of the event will be available on LiveSportsVideo.com, with coverage beginning at 5 p.m.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Led by three individual champions, the No. 7-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team claimed second place in its return to the Body Bar Invitational on Saturday (Nov. 18) at Cornell's Newman Arena. The Wolverines (114 points) finished one point behind team winner and host Cornell. Senior/junior Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) and junior/sophomores Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS) and Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) each tallied perfect records to capture the individual crowns at 165, 174 and 184 pounds, respectively, while U-M boasted six finalists and nine total placewinners. Ranked as the top seed at 184 pounds, Todd dominated the competition with back-to-back first-period pins in the preliminary rounds before scoring a 10-2 major decision over Army's Kent State's Eric Chine in the championship bout. Todd boasted four takedowns, including two in the first period, and accumulated nearly three minutes of riding time to claim his first tournament crown in two years. In his first tournament action since bumping up to 165 pounds, Tannenbaum continued to roll through the competition, posting a perfect 3-0 mark to capture the individual title -- his first tournament crown in two years. Tannenbaum, the No. 1 seed, outscored the competition 26-8, tallying a pair of lopsided victories before squeezing past Cornell's Steve Anceravage 3-2 in the final. The Wolverine used a first-period takedown and held in to claim the victory and push his season mark to an undefeated 4-0. Luke remained perfect on the season with four straight wins en route to the 174-pound title, his second individual crown in three weeks after claiming the top prize at the EMU Open in his first action of the season. Top-seeded Luke picked up a major decision in the preliminary round and battled to three straight decision wins, including a 6-4 overtime victory against Pittsburgh's second-seeded Keith Gavin in the final. Luke rallied from an early deficit to force the match into extra time and used a double-leg takedown to end it. Michigan also recorded a runner-up performances by senior/juniors Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and Jeff Marsh (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) and junior/sophomore Casey White (Commerce, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS). All three Wolverines suffered decision losses in the championship round. Top-seeded Churella compiled a 3-1 mark against the 149-pound field with all three wins earning extra points. The Wolverine junior tallied a fall and two major decisions, including a dominant 14-3 win over Sacred Heart's fifth-seeded Chris Davis, before narrowly falling to No. 2 seed Jordan Leed of Cornell. Marsh, seeded fourth at 157 pounds, also scored a pair of bonus victories in the preliminary rounds and hung a 6-3 upset on Pittsburgh's Matt Kocher, ranked fourth in the nation by the NWCA, in the semifinals before suffering an 8-2 loss by Drexel's third-seeded Ryan Hluschak. White, the third seed, cruised into the 197-pound final after outscoring the opposition 21-2, including an 8-2 upset against second-seeded Hudson Taylor of Maryland. He fell 5-1 against Cornell's top-seeded Jerry Rinaldi in the final. The Wolverines placed multiple wrestlers at a pair of weight classes as fifth-year seniors Rob Sulaver (Dearborn, Mich./Dearborn HS) and Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS) earned top-five finishes at 157 and 197 pounds, respectively, with a combined 8-3 record. Roy, unseeded in the tournament after bumping up to 197 just last weekend, posted a 4-1 record against seeded competition, including a 6-4 decision against Maryland's Taylor in the consolation final. The Wolverines will continue early-season action in two weeks at the 25th annual Cliff Keen Invitational on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1-2, in Primm, Nev. Competition is slated to begin with pigtail rounds on Friday at 9 a.m. PST at the Star of the Desert Arena. U-M returns to the prestigious tournament as the two-time defending team champion.

St. Cloud State University junior Nick Wilkes and sophomore Neil Russell and freshman Russell Smith wrestled their way to victory at the Concordia College Cobber Open in Moorhead on November 18. Wilkes won top honors at 197-pounds and Russell shared top honors with Smith at 174-pounds at the tournament. Wilkes had two pins including one over Justin Schlect of Dickinson State at 5:50 in the championship match. Wilkes was 4-0 at the tournament. Russell won a 7-0 decision over Concordia's Theo Gagner in the semi-finals to advance, while he posted a 2-0 record at the meet. Smith was 3-0 at the meet, and he gained a 17-5 win over Bob Seger of Morningside in the semi's. Also placing in the top five from SCSU was sophomore Sonny Silva (5th, 133), first year Tim Whitley (5th, 141), junior Matt Steffenson (5th, 165), and junior Jairo Sandoval (5th, 184). The Huskies will return to action on December 3, as they travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to wrestle in the Northern Iowa Open.

GOLDEN, Colo. -– Oregon State won four meets to win the Jack Hancock Duals Invitational on Saturday, and the victories pushed the Beavers to the 900 mark in all-time dual meet wins in a wrestling history dating back to the 1909 season. OSU heavyweight Ty Watterson recorded three pins as he kept his record perfect this season, and also remaining unbeaten for the Beavers were 125-pounder Jake Gonzales, 133-pounder Bobby Pfennigs, 141-pounder Kyle Larson, 149-pounder Derek Kipperberg and 174-pounder Jeremy Larson. The Beavers (5-0 overall, 1-0 Pacific-10) captured the tournament championship with a 25-12 win over Western State, which is ranked No. 7 nationally in NCAA Division II; that gave Oregon State an all-time record of 900-286-26 in dual meets. "That's something," OSU head coach Jim Zalesky said of being just the third NCAA Division I school to reach 900 dual wins. "Not many schools can say that. Nine-hundred and still building – I hope we get a lot more wins this year and in the future." To reach the finals, OSU beat Division I squads Utah Valley State 49-0 and Eastern Michigan 28-9 in pool competition, then topped Chadron State, another Division II school that received votes in the national poll, 46-3 in the semifinals at Steinhauer Fieldhouse. Chadron State beat host Colorado School of Mines 30-15 for third place in the 13-team event. "It was a pretty good day," Zalesky said. "I thought we wrestled well overall. It was also good that we saw the things we need to work on. We had success, but we saw things we need to get better at." Against Western State, the Beavers led just 16-12 with two matches to go but got a decision from 197-pounder Travis Gardner to secure the victory and then a pin from Watterson to wrap it up. "Western State battled us hard," Zalesky said. "They tried to slow us down in some matches and they kept some matches close – that's where we saw what we have to work on. They wrestled hard and gave us a match, and that's what you want to have." Watterson, ranked seventh nationally in the National Wrestling Coaches Association poll and eighth by Amateur Wrestling News, improved to 5-0 this season with his three pins and a forfeit victory on Saturday. All four times he's wrestled this season, Watterson has pinned his opponent and three of those have come in the first period. "That's a good way to go," Zalesky said. "Ty is wrestling well, attacking, and being tough on top, and sometimes being tough on top is what it comes to in big tournaments." Watterson now has 20 pins in his career, moving the senior into a tie for 27th place on OSU's list of all-time leaders. With a 59-19 career record, he's eight wins from moving onto the Beavers' all-time top 50 in career wins. Jeremy Larson, ranked 19th nationally in the NWCA poll and 12th by AWN, had one pin and three major decisions on Saturday to also improve to 5-0 this season. In his four matches that haven't ended in a pin, the senior has averaged over 17 points per match this season. "Jeremy is wrestling hard and going on offense a lot, and that's what we've been preaching," Zalesky said. "He's been attacking and wearing guys out. All of our seniors wrestled well today, wrestled very tough." Besides Watterson and Larson, Pfennigs picked up two pins and two decisions and Kipperberg won four decisions. Gonzales, a sophomore, had a pin, a major decision, a decision and a forfeit for his four victories; Kyle Larson, a junior, earned a pin, a major decision and two decisions. The Beavers recorded six pins against Chadron State, getting falls from Gonzales, Pfennigs and Kyle Larson to start the meet and then from sophomore 184-pounder Kyle Bressler, Gardner and Watterson to finish the meet. That was the most pins in a meet for OSU since it also recorded six in a 42-9 win over Cal Poly on Dec. 14, 1998. Oregon State's win over Utah Valley State included four pins, by Pfennigs, Jeremy Larson, Bressler and Gardner. The 49-0 margin of victory over UVSC was the Beavers' biggest since a 49-0 win over Portland State on Jan. 9, 2004. OSU had one pin in its victories over Eastern Michigan and Western State. In its five dual meets this season, the Beavers have recorded 17 pins. "This was good for today, but our next competition is a step up," said Zalesky, whose team returns to action at the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate on Dec. 1-2. "We've got two weeks to go get to work and get better." Oregon State's next home meet will be Dec. 8 against Oregon in the season's first Civil War, presented by Northwest Dodge Dealers.

Madison, Wis. -- For the first time in four years, the Wisconsin wrestling team is 8-0 after sweeping the competition in the Inaugural ACC/Big Ten Clash at the Carmichael Auditorium in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Badgers defeated N.C. State 29-9 in the first match, followed by Virginia 30-7 and North Carolina 35-9. No. 10 Northwestern and Purdue also registered perfect on the day, giving the Big Ten conference the Clash Cup. UW opened the tournament against N.C. State. The Badgers came out with an 8-0 lead after a win by Collin Cudd (River Falls, Wis.) at 125 lbs. and a tech fall victory by Zach Tanelli (Milburn, N.J.) at 133 lbs. However, the Wolfpack would answer with wins at 141 lbs. and 165 lbs., bringing the score to 14-6. The Badgers went on to win three consecutive matches, first at 174 lbs. where Matt Maciag (Sussex, N.J.) defeated Rick Brownlee, 6-3. The bout at 184 lbs. featured No. 18 Jeremy Colbert of N.C. State and true-freshman Trevor Brandvold (River Falls, Wis.) of Wisconsin. Brandvold, who was competing in his first collegiate meet, proved worthy of the spot, pinning Colbert at 4:13. No. 10 Dallas Herbst (Winneconne, Wis.) followed Brandvold's lead with his fifth pin of the year, taking down Mark Jahad at 1:52. Although they fell in the heavyweight match, the Badgers went on to win the dual 29-9. The Virginia dual was all Wisconsin in the first five bouts, including the battle at 133 lbs. between No. 17 Tanelli and No. 20 Eric Albright. Tanelli edged out the Cavalier 7-6 to remain unbeaten this year. Virginia got on the board at 165 lbs. after Damian Johnson earned a major decision over Jake Donar (Cuba City, Wis.). The Cavaliers forfeited the match at 174 lbs., but notched a win at 184 lbs. as No. 12 Rocco Caponi defeated Brandvold 3-2. Nevertheless, Wisconsin would earn major decision victories in the final two bouts to win the match 30-7. Wisconsin faced host North Carolina in the final dual of the tournament. UNC earned a win at 125 lbs. as Cudd fell to Drew Forshey 4-3. Yet, UW would bounce back and take the next four matches, including a pin at 157 lbs. by Craig Henning (Chippewa Falls, Wis.). Although they fell at 165 lbs. and heavyweight, the Badgers went on to earn their eighth win of the season against North Carolina 35-9

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- In an afternoon where the Big Ten protected its wrestling reputation with a perfect record at the inaugural ACC/Big Ten Clash hosted by North Carolina, the Wildcats won three duals. Four 'Cats won three matches and fifth-ranked Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) knocked off fourth-ranked Spencer Nadolsky of UNC in overtime. With 125 dual wins, head coach Tim Cysewski is now the winningest coach in program history. Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward), Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny), Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) and Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) all posted perfect 3-0 records. The Wildcats started their day with a dual against Virginia. Freshman Brandon Precin continued his impressive fall by taking down Ross Gitomer by a 4-2 decision. After Eric Metzler (Luxemburg, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) fell in his match at 133 lbs., top-ranked Lang went the distance with Peter Ferrara, topping him in a 3-0 decision. The Cavaliers and Wildcats went back and forth through the middle weights. Vincent Colletti (Naperville, Ill./Montini Catholic) dropped his match at 149, but Dominic Marella (Roselle, Ill./Conant) came right back at 157 with a 7-6 decision over Mike Sewell. After Jim Friend (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) fell in his 165-pound match, Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) took a 6-0 decision over Beau Fisher. Top-ranked Jake Herbert has been dominant early in the season and continued that trend with a 20-5 technical fall at 6:07 over Rocco Caponi at 184 lbs. Tamillow, wrestling at 197 lbs., dominated Kyle Narkiewicz with a 10-1 major decision. Carl Howe (Three Rivers, Mich./Three Rivers) fell in his heavyweight match, but the Wildcats took the dual, 24-12. The 'Cats took to the mat against host North Carolina in their second of three duals on the afternoon and in contrast to all the other fall duals for Northwestern, Precin fell in the 125-pound match to Drew Forshey 6-4. However, James Kohlberg (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Rolling Meadows) took a 8-0 major decision at 133 to put the 'Cats ahead. Lang continued his undefeated fall when UNC's Vincent Ramirez defaulted due to injury at 141 lbs. Coletti evened his record for the afternoon with a 5-3 overtime win at 149, but NU dropped the next two matches when Marella and Greg Hagel (Linwood, N.J./Blair Academy) fell at 157 and 165, but the 'Cats came through at the upper weights. Hayes started things off with 9-8 decision and Herbert won on a 20-5 technical fall at the 3:20 mark. Tamillow continued the run at 197 lbs. with a pin at 6:18. The most anticipated match of the day was between the two heavyweights for the Wildcats and Tar Heels. No. 5 Fox defeated UNC's fourth-ranked Spencer Nadolsky in overtime, 5-3. Nadolsky was selected to be one of two heavyweights to wreslte at Monday's All-Star Classic in Dallas. Lang and Herbert were picked in their weight classes for the prestigious event. NU took the dual in convincing fashion by a 30-9 score. NU capped off its perfect record at this year's ACC/Big Ten Clash with a 37-9 win over NC State. The 'Cats left heavyweight open with a comfortable lead and only dropped one other match. Precin led off with a 15-0 technical fall over Jeremy Hartrum and Kohlberg won an 8-3 decision at 133 lbs. Lang stayed perfect with a 7-3 win over Darrion Caldwell while Coletti improved to 2-1 on the afternoon with a pin of Joe Caramanica at 149. Marella dropped Northwestern's only match in the dual, but Hagel put the 'Cats back on track with a 19-4 technical fall over the Wolfpack's Obie Simpson. After Hayes won his match at 174 by a 10-5 decision Herbert and Tamillow put up back-to-back falls with Tamillow pinning Mark Jahad in 56 seconds. NU left heavyweight open to take the 37-9 win. With the three dual victories, Cysewski's 125 wins are now the most for any coach in Northwestern history. He passed Ken Kraft's mark of 124. Cysewski is now in his 17th season. Lang and Herbert will head to Dallas for the NWCA All-Star Classic. The event, held Monday evening, traditionally pits the No. 1 versus No. 2 wrestlers in each weight class. NU returns to team competition Dec. 8 against Northern Illinois.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -– Casey Brewster has been named an assistant coach for the Rutgers wrestling program head coach John Sacchi has announced. Brewster joins the Scarlet Knights after serving as an assistant coach at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina for the past two years. Casey BrewsterThe West Virginia graduate was a runner-up at the 2004 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) at 125 pounds, qualifying for the NCAA Championships. While training with the Mountaineers, Brewster had the opportunity to train with high-caliber mentors including Zeke Jones (Penn), Lou Rosselli (Ohio State) and Craig Turnbull (WVU). While living in Morgantown, Brewster was a member of the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club and finished his collegiate career with a record of 66-28. During the 2004-05 campaign, he was named an All-American. A native of Nashville, Tenn., Brewer began his collegiate career at Edinboro University, starting as a true freshman, following an impressive high school career at John Overton High School, where he compiled a record of 201-12. He's a four-time state place winner and won multiple state titles, as well as being recognized as a high school All-American. "I'm really excited about joining the Rutgers staff and working with Coach Sacchi and [Assistant Coach] Joe Ryan," Brewster said. "There are a lot of talented, hard-working wrestlers here and I'm looking forward to working with the student-athletes."

CORVALLIS, Ore. -– A pair of national championships and nine high school state titles belong to the four wrestlers that signed letters of intent with Oregon State during the fall early signing period. The group of signees includes projected 133-pounder Kelly Kubec (Lake Stevens, Wash./Lake Stevens HS), projected 149-pounder Shane Nay (Kansas City, Mo./Oak Park HS), projected 133/141-pounder Tyler Phillips (Turner, Ore./Cascade HS) and projected 165-pounder Josh Stalcup (Estacada, Ore./Estacada HS). All four will join OSU's program next fall for the 2007-08 season. "We were looking for guys with high goals," OSU head coach Jim Zalesky said. "We wanted to go out and get those guys who want to work hard and be aggressive, and who have goals here and even beyond here – Olympic aspirations and world aspirations. "In these four guys, that's what we found and what we like about them. When we were recruiting this year, we weren't looking for a weight class; we were looking for the overall attitude. Good guys will find their way into the lineup, so we're not really worried about what weight they were. We're looking to build depth on our team. We just felt good about them in talking to them about where they want to go. They're excited, like we are, about where we want this program to go." Kubec was the 2004 national champion at 112 pounds and was the runner-up this past season at 125 pounds; in its preseason national rankings, Amateur Wrestling News lists him as No. 7 at 130 pounds and Wrestling USA ranked him No. 3 at athat weight. He has a career record of 106-10 for Lake Stevens with a pair of state titles to his credit; Kubec is also a two-time Tri-State champion. In this year's Junior Nationals, Kubec placed second in Greco-Roman and fourth in Freestyle. Kubec said he chose OSU for "the coaching staff, along with it being close to home. It had the total package of what I was looking for; it was the place I felt I could be successful academically and reach my athletic goals." Nay was the 2005 Cadet national champion in Greco-Roman; this year he earned Junior Nationals All-America honors in Greco-Roman and in 2004 he earned Cadet All-America honors in both Greco-Roman and Freestyle. Nay is a three-time Missouri state champion for Oak Park, winning at 145 as a junior and sophomore and 125 as a freshman; he has a 124-3 record with 82 pins. AWN lists him as the nation's No. 5 wrestler at 152 pounds. Nay selected OSU because he felt comfortable with the coaching staff and because he liked the campus; he felt the coaching staff has a hunger to win and that OSU was the best fit for him. Phillips is a two-time Oregon state champion, winning for Cascade at 125 pounds as a junior and at 119 pounds as a sophomore; he placed fifth at 112 pounds as a freshman and has a career record of 108-9 with 71 pins. Phillips continues his family's tradition in the OSU program, as both his father, Tom, and older brother, Brett, wrestled for the Beavers. "I really liked the new coaches and I like the campus and the school – it seemed like a good fit," Phillips said of selecting Oregon State. Stalcup has won a pair of state titles for Estacada, taking the crown at 152 pounds as a junior and at 140 pounds as a sophomore; he has a career record of 129-2 with 85 pins. Going into this season, AWN ranks Stalcup as the nation's No. 6 wrestler at 152 pounds. Stalcup also earned All-America honors in 2005 in both the Cadet Freestyle and Greco-Roman ranks, and was All-American in Greco-Roman in 2004. At the prestigious Las Vegas Classic he has placed second in Greco-Roman twice and third in freestyle once. "I liked the coaching staff," Stalcup said of picking OSU. "I want to be part of history, of putting Oregon State back on the map like it used to be."

Many would say that losing two NCAA qualifiers, one of them an All-American, a season ago would doom a team who did not even finish in the top three in its six-member conference. The program's all-time winningest wrestler, Kyle Cerminera, was lost to graduation, and five starting jobs are open. But depth and resiliency is on Coach Beichner's side, as his young buckin' Bulls are gunning to surprise the likes of the entire nation of possible doubters, as they shoot towards another successful campaign. "I don't want people to underestimate or overlook, but perhaps maybe it's better for them to overlook," head coach Jim Beichner said. "As good as we were last year, this team could potentially be even better. We have 19 guys who have won individual state championships and as a result, we are capable of doing great things." The return of senior captain Mark Budd (Orrville, OH/Orrville) gives the Bulls the necessary experience to gain ground in the always-competitive Mid-American Conference. Budd, who is following up one of the team's two MAC Championships from a season ago at 133 pounds, is the only individual or team in school history to have secured a win against both the top-ranked Division I and top-ranked Division II opponent in a single season. The Bulls, picked to finish fourth in the MAC Preseason Poll, will look to turn heads and prove that they are a potent powerhouse in Division I wrestling. "Our goals are always to be great," Coach Beichner said. "We don't want to be mediocre with mediocre goals. We have got a very tough group of guys who can do some damage nationally. The guys believe in the coaching staff, the team, and the university, and that's what is going to make us a very solid performer." 125 POUNDS Four Bulls will look to shine at this weight class, as the starting job is up for grabs. A depth issue caused problems last season, but signs could point to a positive remedy with the emergence of one of four grapplers at the team's youngest weight class. Freshman Dan Bishop (Whitehall, NY/Whitehall) returns to the team after having redshirted last year. A two-time New York State Champion, Bishop has gained experience and a year of development to compete for the starting spot. Sophomore Sean Bauer (Walden, NY/Valley Central) is another likely candidate due to the fact he has experience at a Division I institution after transferring from Sacred Heart. While in high school, he completed a 36-7 record in the New York State Division I Championships after falling to 2006 NCAA finalist, Cornell's Troy Nickerson. Freshmen Carlo Izzo (Canajoharie, NY/Canajoharie) and Corey Greene (Bennington, VT/Mt. Anthony Union) are two notable recruits who will look to contribute in 2007-08, as they will both redshirt their freshman campaigns. Izzo finished fourth at the NYS Division II Championships while posting a 3-2 record at te NHSCA Senior Nationals. Greene, a three-time Vermont state champion, is certified at 125 but was recruited to wrestle at 133. Greene was named a top 30 high school senior at 130 pounds and was among Intermat's top 200 recruits. The 2005 National High School Coaches Association Open Champion will prove to be a dark horse at either 125 or 133 at some point down the road. 133 POUNDS Taking a step away from youth, the coaching staff believes this weight class is most experienced bunch. Mark Budd is the lone returning MAC Champion on the squad, after having posted an infallible 38-6 record, which was fourth most for wins in school history. Budd held down the 11th-place ranking according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association/Intermat/National Wrestling Media Association Preseason Poll, and was ranked in the top ten of three other major preseason rankings. The lone captain is picked to repeat at MAC Champion at 133 pounds in the MAC Preseason Poll. "Budd is our best and most experienced guy right now," Beichner said. "We're really lucky to have someone like that who is all work ethic and all attitude. He's our anchor, and as our only captain, he's the guy who we will turn to all year to make sure things are done right." Sophomore Joe Wilson (Chester, NY/Monroe-Woodbury) supplys hard-working morals and will look for time behind Budd. Wilson is another transfer from Sacred Heart. Freshman Mike Aris (Barker, NY/Barker) won two Section VI Class A titles and the 2005 New York State High School Division II Championships, while earning mention in Wrestling USA's Best 2006 High School Seniors. Aris will benefit greatly from redshirting this season and learning from Budd. 141 POUNDS Another deep class, the Bulls are thrilled about the addition of junior Ryan Needle (Newfane, NY/Newfane), who will compete for the first time in a Bull singlet after transferring from Ohio State in 2005. Needle is Section VI's all-time winningest wrestler and a three-time New York State Champion. Having sat out his sophomore year due to shoulder surgery, Needle has moved down from 149, and will be a likely candidate to challenge for a national title. Needle is picked to finish second in the MAC, but could surprise many due to a hard work ethic and a winning edge that has seemed to follow him around ever since high school. Needle will have something to prove after not having competed since 2004-05. "He's a high school phenom," Beichner said of Needle. "He may be the most talented wrestler to ever be in our wrestling room and now that he's in the wrestling room full-time and he's 100%, he's going be very hard to beat." Sophomore Evan Veney (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) and freshman Andrew Stella (Tonawanda, NY/Sweet Home) will look for time on the mat behind Needle. Veney moved up from 125 to 141, while Stella returns from a redshirt year ready to contribute. Freshmen Justin Hunt (Salem, NY/Salem), Anthony Ng (Monticello, NY/Monticello) and Vince Aris (Barker, NY/Barker) each have a solid wrestling background and have both done an excellent job in workout sessions and in training to earn recognition from the coaching staff. Hunt is a transfer from Pittsburgh who redshirted in his only season there. Hunt was a four-time NYS Class D Champion and earned himself the third-best record in the state in his senior year (36-2). Ng broke former UB wrestler Marcu Hutchins' high school win record, going 128-18 in that span. Aris, combined with his twin brother Mike, are the top-two winningest grapplers in Barker school history. Aris will look for mat time next season after redshirting this year in a deep weight class. 149 POUNDS Junior Dana Gingerich (Spring Grove, PA/DeLone Catholic) bumps up from 141 to 149, and could challenge immediately. Picked to finish second in the MAC Preseason Poll, Gingerich could start right away after finishing his sophomore campaign with 15 wins. Senior Pat Lloyd (Middletown, NY/Valley Central) returns as the team's most experience grappler at 149. Lloyd finished 18-17 before a shoulder surgery took him out of the equation, which makes him a candidate to redshirt. Senior Mike Shannon (Albany, NY/Colonie) is what the coaches call the team's "best technician", and will make the team better, while freshman Jason Hilliard (Genoa, NY/Southern Cayuga) redshirted last season and will also challenge for the starting spot. "Hilliard has matured greatly and he's getting much closer to being ready to compete as a starter," Beichner said. 157 POUNDS Two-time Junior College All-American John Cummings (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) proved last season of his immense JUCO status, posting 24 wins in his first year as a Bull. Even with the impressive win total, Cummings will redshirt in 2006-07. A redshirt from last season, sophomore Scott Rendos (Brockway, PA/Brockway) will get a look at the starting spot. Rendos advanced to the quarterfinals of the Slippery Rock Open last season and went 9-7 for the year. "We feel that he has matured greatly since his freshman year and think he has a great chance in becoming someone special at 157," Beichner said. Juniors Steven Muldrow (Cincinnati, OH/Summit Country Day) and incoming freshman Tom Graff (LaGrangeville, NY/Arlington) in the mix at the 157 position. Muldrow has worked out throughout the summer and will contest for a starting spot. Graff will push some of the returning veterans after having earned All-League and All-Section honors as a senior during a 37-1 season. "Tom looks like a wrestler," Beichner said. "You can tell that when he walks through a door, he is a wrestler. We expect him to help this team out somewhere down the road." 165 POUNDS Junior Mike Ragusa (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) won 21 matches at the 174 starting spot last season. He emerged as a MAC threat that, this season, garnered him a third-place ranking in the MAC Preseason Poll at 165. Ragusa placed fourth at the Oklahoma Gold Classic and finished second at the Slippery Rock Open. Senior Jake Blowers (Johnstown, NY/Broadalbin-Perth) is entering his fifth year and who the coaching staff expects big things from. Blowers is an experience grappler and will challenge at both 165 and 174. "We have two guys who have been starters in the past at both 165 and 174," Beichner said. "We all expect them both to have great years and we know they expect the same from themselves." 174 POUNDS Possibly the squad's most talented position is at 174, where two Pennsylvanians have the chance to start and possibly contend for a MAC title. Juniors Mickey Moran (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler Area) and Nate Rock (Ephrata, PA/Ephrata) have won 20-plus matches in their respective careers and will possibly go head-to-head for the starting spot. Rock has the edge, after the coaching staff have discussed interest in redshirting Moran after his dominant 05-06 campaign. "Moran was one of our top four performances last year who went from a very tough freshman year to a very good sophomore year," Beichner said. "We are going to redshirt him with the intentions of giving him a year to increase his size and strength so that he could be a phenomenal wrestler for us in the near future who will have his greatest two years ahead of him." After struggling a bit in his sophomore season, Rock is talented enough to win a MAC Championships and qualify for the NCAA Championships. He is, what the coaching staff says, "a great competitor whose sky is the limit." 184 POUNDS Freshman Ricky Scott (Walden, NY/Valley Central) is the lone Bull at 184 pounds, and is looking to provide a strong showing following a redshirt freshman year. Scott is tabbed to finish third in the conference, and was a highly-touted recruit coming to Buffalo last season. He was a two-time state champion, and was ranked third among the nation's high school seniors by Intermat at 171 pounds. A Bull who will see time at 184 next season is freshman Jimmy Hamel (Natick, MA/Natick), who will redshirt the upcooming campaign. Hamel is most likely to see time at 197, but will be a solid contributor at both classes. Finishing second at the New England Championships, Hamel finished his career with 146 wins and was named Bay State Conference Wrestler of the Year in 2006. "This is the kind of kid who has that blue-collar attitude and has a tremendous work ethic from a family of 12," Beichner said. "He has a non-stop personality that will make him good down the road." 197 POUNDS The departure of Kyle Cerminera leaves this weight class with a giant hole. Senior Ray Lamb (Mays Landing, NJ/Absegami) and freshman Jason Brown (Cato, NY/Cato-Meridian) will look to provide that presence to make the Bulls once again formidable at 197. Lamb has moved up from 174 and will eliminate for a starting spot. Brown is a New York State Division II Champion after finishing his senior campaign at 37-1. Brown is expected to redshirt his first season. "We usually have eliminations so that we can tell who the starters are going to be," Beichner said. After a good round of eliminations where everyone has wrestled each other, you can see who is going to be the top guy for the season. There are some that will shock you from time to time." HEAVYWEIGHT Junior Jeff Parker (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) was forced to redshirt last season due to a hip injury. Parker went 10-4 before being forced to sit out and will provide a similar force this season. The absence from the mat has allowed him to get stronger and more disciplined and will contend for a MAC title. "He has come a long way since he came here from Binghamton and has a lot of potential," Beichner said of Parker. "I know his sights are set at winning the MAC Championships and qualifying for the NCAA Championships. I know it is he is thinking that is what he should be thinking." Three freshmen, Jason Weber (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) and Mark Germano (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) will look to gain experience and guidance under Parker. Weber is the most experienced of the group, having played a collegiate sport in football at Urbana University. "Weber has very good potential and I believe he could be a very good wrestler," Beichner said. "In time, he's going to surprise people." Germano is a developmental wrestler who is both big and strong with good work ethics. He could see time on the mat in the near future. Schedule The Bulls get a chance to prove themselves worthy of a coveted starting spot at the fourth annual UB Open on November 5th, where each grappler will tussle through eliminations and determine who the top guy will be at each class. "The UB Open is our first elimination," coach Beichner said. "We are going to see who competes, who does well, who does not, and that will determine who will travel the following week to the Oklahoma Gold Classic. With good competition, somebody will step up and become pretty tough." The following week is the Oklahoma Gold Classic, a meet that provides stiff competition from the likes of perennial powerhouses, Oklahoma, Bloomsburg, and Army. An Ivy League opponent lingers on November 15th, where the squad will have its first dual meet against Princeton at Alumni Arena. Two tournaments, the Mat Town USA tournament and the Las Vegas Invitational, will again prepare the Bulls for possibly its toughest dual meet of the year with Edinboro on December 9th. Edinboro finished eighth at last year's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, and squeezed out a favorable score of 20-13 against Buffalo last year. A stretch of dual, tri-, and quad-meets set up the team's first Mid-American Conference showdown with Northern Illinois on January 14th at Alumni Arena. Five days later, UB will host the New York State Collegiate Championships, a tournament that pit 17 teams last season against each other. Buffalo scored second in the meet held in Oswego, NY with 134.5 points. The Bulls square off against Ohio on the 27th to end the month, only to get set for back-to-back conference dual meets with Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan starting on February 3rd. Central Michigan, with 102.5 points at the MAC Championships, claimed the regular season and conference crown while placing 26th out of 64 teams in the NCAA Championships. UB ends its regular season at Binghamton on February 17th, giving it ample time to prepare for the MAC Championships on March 3rd. The championships are being held this year at UB's Alumni Arena, while the NCAA Championships will take place March 15-17 in Detroit, Michigan.

Tonight at 7:00 pm in Gardner-Hawks Center on the campus of Dana College, the defending NAIA National Champions, Dana College will open their home and dual competition against Oklahoma City University! While we would love your attendance at our dual tonight supporting us, we are providing an option for our fans that cannot make it tonight! If you have Internet access, you can listen LIVE to the Dana College vs. Oklahoma City wrestling dual live on KDCV Dana Radio via web stream at http://www.huntel.net/kdcv/. Once you click on this link, choose Option 1 and you will be able to listen LIVE to all wrestling dual action! Hope to see you tonight cheering on our Vikings towards another great season! If not, we hope you will tune in via your computer and cheer the Vikings onto victory!

GAFFNEY, S.C. -- The Limestone College wrestling team picked up its first dual win of the season over St. Andrews, 37-16, on Thursday night at the Timken Center. The Saints are 1-0 overall while the Knights are off to a 0-1 start in their inaugural season. The first five bouts of the evening went by quickly as all were decided by falls. Eric Frick (Roaring Spring, Pa.) of St. Andrews defeated Greg Satterfield (Hampton, Va.) in the 165-pound weight class to start the evening. Will Harcum (Williamsburg, Va.) gave his team the 12-0 lead after defeating Limestone's Todd Neptune (New Concord, Ohio) in the 174-pound division. Limestone cut the visitors lead to 12-6 with a win by Dan Scanlan (Leesburg, Va.) in the 184-pound weight class over DJ Chverchko (Loretto, Pa.). Mike Walsh (Port St. Lucie, Fla./197 lbs.) beat Alex Mathews (LaGrange, Ga.) to tie the contest at 12-12. Kyle Elliott (Valdese, N.C.) won the heavyweight division over Charles Richardson (Virginia Beach, Va.) The Saints' Matt Hall (Hamptonville, N.C.) won a 7-4 decision over Kyle Craver (Lexington, N.C.) to put the score at 21-12 in favor of Limestone. St. Andrews lost six points after forfeiting the 133-pound weight class. The Knights Bryan Seal (Orange County, Va.) gave his team four points with an 11-3 win over Zach McKeone (Atlanta, Ga.) in the 141-pound division. Dustin Baynes (Liberty Twp., Ohio) got a major decision, 21-10, over Elliott Hogge (Yorktown, Va.). The Knights forfeited the final contest of the match as the Saints recorded the 37-16 victory. Limestone travels to Bristol, Tenn., to face King College on Tuesday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team won six of the final seven bouts to overcome an early 10-point deficit and claim an 18-14 victory in its season opener against No. 21 Lehigh on Thursday (Nov. 16) at Leeman-Turner Arena. Junior/sophomores Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS) and Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) claimed back-to-back overtime wins at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively, giving the Wolverines their first lead of the evening and putting U-M on top by five points with two bouts remaining. Both matches, which were largely disrupted by several blood timeouts, remained locked at 1-1 at the end of seven minutes, each wrestler claiming an escape point. Luke, ranked 10th nationally in the NWCA poll, controlled much of the action throughout the match against the Mountain Hawks' eighth-ranted David Helfrich, but couldn't convert on several leg attacks. Midway through the extra stanza, the Wolverine sophomore shot in on a single leg and secured the winning takedown with 49 seconds remaining on the clock -- with the 3-1 win, Luke remains a perfect 6-0 since bumping up to 174 pounds. Todd, ranked eighth, and squaring off against Lehigh's true freshman David Craig -- who largely was considered the nation's top recruit last season -- looked similarly strong through much of regulation. Todd shot deep on a single-leg attempt late in the overtime period, finishing with the double to bring Craig to the mat and end the bout with a 3-1 win. It was Craig's first loss in several years after posting a perfect 179-0 high school mark and was 5-0 this season entering the dual. Junior/sophomore Casey White (Commerce, Mich./Walled Lake Central HS) sealed the Wolverine victory in the subsequent match at 197 pounds, cruising to a 7-3 decision over Matt Cassidy. After a scoreless first period, White built up a quick lead early in the second with an escape and takedown, which resulted in Cassidy taking his second injury time of the contest. On the restart, with White receiving his choice on bottom, the Wolverine exploded to his feet, spun around to pick up a reversal and took a 5-0 advantage into the third. The Mountain Hawk earned a quick escape and takedown to cut the lead, but White secured his second reversal to clinch the win. Junior/sophomore captain Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS), ranked sixth by the NWCA, kicked off the U-M rally with a decisive 7-0 victory at 149 pounds over ninth-ranked Trevor Chinn. The Wolverine captain used a double-leg takedown with just eight seconds remaining in the first period to score the only points he would need in the contest. He added another double leg late in the match, and nearly three minutes in riding time, to remain undefeated on the season. Senior/junior Jeff Marsh (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) and junior/sophomore captain Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) continued the Wolverines' momentum through the 157- and 165-pound bouts, as both wrestlers rolled to decision victories. Marsh proved a knack for scrambling on the mat in his 10-5 win over David Naksone, coming out on top of three scrambling scenarios with a takedown and two reversals, to rally from an early deficit. In his 165-pound debut, Tannenbaum picked up double legs in the first and third periods against Lehigh's Mike Galante, and added a point for riding time to claim a 6-3 decision victory. Galante picked up his lone points on an escape and a pair of penalty calls. The Mountain Hawks built up an early lead with three straight wins at the opening weights, including a major decision at 141 pounds. Patrick Berger set the early tone with a 10-5 upset against 12th-ranked fifth-year senior Mark Moos (Lorain, Ohio/St. Edward HS) at 125 pounds, using four takedowns to control throughout the contest. Freshman Chris Diehl (Burton, Mich./Flint Kearsley HS), in his collegiate debut at 133 pounds, hung close with Lehigh's Seth Ciasulli, but a first-period takedown by the Mountain Hawk wrestler would prove the difference. Diehl continued to battle but could not finish his shots, including one at the final buzzer, to fall 4-2. Extending the Lehigh advantage with bonus points at 141, Jeff Santo scored four takedowns and over three minutes of riding time to post a 11-3 major decision against senior/junior Brad Cusumano (Utica, Mich./Utica HS). Lehigh heavyweight Paul Weibel, ranked 16th, rounded out the home team's victories with a 15-7 major decision against senior/junior Omar Maktabi (Iowa City, Iowa/West HS) is the final bout of the evening. U-M will send its starting rotation to the Body Bar Invitational on Saturday (Nov. 18) in Ithaca, N.Y. Hosted by Cornell University, the tournament will kick off at 9 a.m. at Newman Arena.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- Lock Haven University wrestling has a storied history at the Division I level. A key member of much of that story is LHU head coach Rocky Bonomo. Bonomo's a light-hearted guy that always takes a strong investment in his teams as a coach. Ten years removed from the best NCAA finish in school history--the Bald Eagles took fifth in 1996-97--Bonomo looks at this year's squad with some pride. "Normally I'm guardedly optimistic, but this year I'm more optimistic than guarded," said Bonomo. "We've got four guys with national experience, so I have good leadership. I also have some redshirt guys and guys maturing into making an impact. The young guys are coming in and pushing right away. We have a huge team, but most weights are anyone's game." The teamwork of his squad also is promising. "I'm pleased with intensity of the preseason workouts," he said. "It's amazing how ‘into it' they are as a team. Usually we lose five-to-10 guys during preseason because we're working them so hard, but this year we're adding to the roster." The Bald Eagles boast four National Qualifiers on this year's list. Add in a nationally-ranked recruiting class and you've got a mix for success. 125- Junior Obenson Blanc (Naples, Fla./Lely) is one of the team's two-time National Qualifiers, and teams up for a captain role. Blanc grabbed his first career EWL Title in 2005-06, downing Bloomsburg's Mike Sees in somewhat of an upset. Blanc was 26-10 last season, second on the team in victories, and leads returners with seven major decisions a year ago. The junior went one round deep in the NCAA Tournament last season and has definite All-America potential, according to Bonomo. "He's a fantastic athlete, one of the best I've ever seen," he said. "If he was a 200-pounder, he could be in the NFL." Freshman Nick Hyatt (Boyertown, Pa./Boyertown) is also proving to be a force. The two-time PIAA place-winner should help shore up the lower weights for years to come. Sophomore James Bodkin (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) is "one of those guys that gets there early and stays late, you can't help but love the kid." Freshman Erik Smith (Villas, N.J./Pittman) is a walk-on student-athlete who has impressed Bonomo "by sticking with it even though he knew it would be tough." 133- Veteran Casey Moore (Beech Creek, Pa./Central Mountain) makes his return after starting all duals for the Bald Eagles last season, running a 10-23 mark. The junior is a local product and strong worker. Freshman standout Danny Lopes (Oakhurst, N.J./Ocean Township) has a strong shot at cracking the lineup in his rookie year. Lopes brings "real aggressiveness" and three-time district champ and two-time state placer credentials with him from New Jersey, a regular recruiting pipeline for Bald Eagle wrestling. Classmate Anwar Goeres (Holley, N.Y./Phoenix) adds to Bonomo's confusion in picking a starter at this weight, as the rookie posted a 233-18 career record in New York. Coached by the legendary Gene Mills, Goeres was a five-time state placer, winning the title in his junior season. "The 133 weight class will be hotly contested," according to Bonomo. " I'm looking forward to the battle." Mark Armstrong (Sugar, Pa./Wyalusing) returns to the squad after a year away from the Bald Eagles. He's a hard-nosed guy that will help the team. Rookie Zach Kell (Ikesburg, Pa./West Perry) is a hard worker that would "go through a wall" for the team. Classmate Matthew Maris (Mooresville, N.C./USMMA) brings great work ethic and technique to the table. 141- At the 141-pound class, sophomore Ollie Cooperwood (Hartselle, Ala./Maple Heights), has the inside track. Literally battle-tested, Cooperwood spent time in the armed forces serving in Afghanistan and Iraq before joining the Bald Eagles a year ago. He was 5-1 in limited action. "Ollie's maturity gives us value as a wrestler/coach type of competitor," said Bonomo. "He knows exactly what we're looking for and can help those around him." Last year's starter at the class, junior Brian Ellis (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) went 4-13 after joining the Bald Eagles in the second semester. He improved throughout the year and has some of the strongest hands on the squad, giving him the ability to control tie-ups. Junior Will O'Donnell (Cherry Hill, N.J./Gloucester C.C.) and sophomore Nathan Owens (Morrisdale, Pa./West Branch) add to the depth. 149- Sophomore Matt Fittery (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) returns after a redshirt season. The true freshman National Qualifier at 141 will look to do some damage up one weight. He was 10-5 in unattached action last season. Added to the action at 149 is freshman Donnie Ament (Acme, Pa./Mt. Pleasant) a former state champion. Ament snapped the career wins record for Pennsylvania, totaling 179 over his career. Sophomore Bradley Marquart (Rutherford, N.J./Rutherford) is a brother of former Bald Eagle Matt Marquart. 157- Senior Seth Martin (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) is staring down the barrel of joining LHU's 100-win club. The two-time National Qualifier will look to tap into his All-America potential this season. Martin won a team-high 34 games last season, also pacing the team with 11 pins. He stands 23 wins from the 100-victory plateau. "Seth's a hard worker that gets better every time he steps on the mat," said Bonomo. "He's got high goals for himself, but I have even higher ones." Freshman Derrick Caldwell (Curwensville, Pa./Curwensville) will provide hard working depth that will "be used more down the road". Sophomore Daniel Lewis (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) returns for his second season with LHU. He provides depth and an academic boost for the squad. 165- The highlight of the weight-class battles this season comes at 165 pounds. Sophomore Jake Lauffenburger (Warren, Pa./Warren) split time with junior Rory McCoy (Hughesville, Pa./Hughesville) for the starting spot a year ago. McCoy won out come Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Championship time, but Lauffenburger's 8-9 record bested McCoy's 5-12 overall. Add to the mix a third-year Bald Eagle in sophomore Andrew Martin (Carlisle, Pa./Big Spring). One of the top LHU wrestlers in the classroom, Martin will look to crack the lineup here. A quartet of newcomers also figures into this mix, including transfer Decota Cotten (Lebanon, Pa./Noble), and freshmen Landis Wright (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle), Steve Loomis (Oxford, N.Y./Oxford Academy) and Alex Dalrymple (Branchville, N.J./High Point). Dubbed "Mr. Excitement" by Bonomo, Wright is a local product, and one of the best in Bald Eagle Area's storied history. Loomis is a 200-plus winner from New York with two-time Greco Roman All-America honors under his belt. Dalrymple set the New Jersey record for season victories with his senior year at 44-5. Corey Blake (East Fallowfield, Pa./Coatesville) provides depth and hard-work mentality to both here and 174. Junior Jameik Matthews (Laurel, Del./Laurel) is extremely athletic and looks to make the lineup. 174- Moving down to 174 pounds is senior Derrick Morgan (Media, Pa./Athens). A National Qualifier wrestling a weight up at 184 in 2005-06, the team captain was 24-14. Classmate Mike Metzger (Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin) provides excellent depth an maturity both here and at 184. He's a work-horse type that can contribute if needed. 184- Also wrestling a more comfortable weight down are the two competitors at 184 pounds, Tom Kocher (Lancaster, Pa./Manhiem Township) and Ben Hepburn (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock). Both are solid performers who are mat-tested. Kocher was 18-17, narrowly missing a trip to nationals as a true freshman last season, while Hepburn spent his redshirt season going 7-4 in unattached action. He was the starter at 197 two season ago, getting a pin in his first college start. Rookie Travis Stem (Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle) is another local product and three-time state qualifier that could jump into the lineup here. Sophomore Donnie Reinhart (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) was 2-4 in tournament action last season. 197- One of the most highly-touted recruits, Jeremie Cook (Venice, Fla./Venice) joins the Bald Eagles, thanks in large part to assistant coach Mike Rogers' roots in the state of Florida. A two-time state champion, Cook took third at nationals in his senior season. Joining Cook is rookie Dustin Pine(Mercersburg, Pa./James Buchanan) a "big, solid, strong, farm boy" according to Bonomo. Hwt- At heavyweight, rookies Brandon Bowden (Duncannon, Pa./Central Dauphin East) and Mike Cook (Bellefonte, Pa./Bald Eagle) will do battle with sophomore Chris Grablutz (Newton, N.J./Kittatinny) for the starting role. Grablutz missed last year because he had to work academically, but "he's proven he's serious about school. He's a big stony kid that will get the job done." The marquee guy here comes in the form of two-time New York State Champion Jim Almy, a "335-pound monster" according to Bonomo. Almy will have his work cut out for him to make the 285 maximum for heavyweights in the NCAA. Smith- walk on, tough challenging welcoming the challenge Lots of supppert wrestling is big here, "Competition's your best teacher," reveals Bonomo. "So the better competition you can get the better you'll get. These guys are driving each other and wrestling hard to learn the most they can." Competition from outside this season will come in the form of four nationally ranked squads, No. 8 Penn State University, No. 13 Edinboro University, No. 24 West Virginia University and No. 25 University of Pittsburgh. The Bald Eagles kick off the season Sunday, Nov. 19 in the Pennsylvania Duals Tournament at the Thomas Fieldhouse. They will wrestle York College at 10 a.m., Clarion University at noon and Lehigh University at 2 p.m.

NORMAN, Okla. -- University of Oklahoma Wrestling single match tickets, including the Dec. 3 match against Oklahoma State, will go on sale Friday at the OU Athletics Ticket Office. Tickets may be purchased online at www.SoonerSports.com or by calling the OU Athletics Ticket Office at 405-325-2424 or 800-456-GoOU. Tickets for the Bedlam Match are $15 for reserved seats and $10 for general admission. All other matches are $10 reserved and $7 GA ($5 Youth GA). Oklahoma returns home on Saturday, Nov. 25, when it hosts the Oklahoma Open. The Sooners wrestle their next home dual on Wednesday, Nov. 29, when the University of Central Oklahoma travels to the Howard McCasland Field House.

The Cardinal wrestling team heads south to Fullerton, Calif. this weekend for a pair of competitions Friday and Saturday. On Friday afternoon, Stanford meets Cal State Fullerton in its first conference dual of the season. On Saturday, the team will get a preview of more conference foes at the Fullerton Open, which is also hosted by the Titans. Stanford (1-2, 0-0 Pac-10) begins the weekend with is first Pac-10 dual and fourth overall dual of the season. The Cardinal will square off with the Cal State Fullerton Titans on Friday at 2:30 p.m at Titan Gym in Fullerton. Junior captain Tanner Gardner, who remains undefeated this season and claimed the Bison Open Championship at 125 pounds last weekend, will lead Stanford into action. The Cardinal is coming off of a successful weekend, after posting a combined 17 pins in competition on Saturday. The dual will open the season for the Titans, who finished ninth at the conference championships last season and posted a 6-12 overall record. Cal State Fullerton returns two Pac-10 place-winners, including junior Morgan Atkinson, who qualified for the NCAA Championships at 149 pounds in 2006 and is currently ranked 15th nationally. Last season, Stanford claimed a 26-11 victory over the Titans at Burnham Pavilion. "This dual is important because it is the first conference competition of the season," said Head Coach Kerry McCoy. "We're going to have to face these guys later in the year to go to Nationals so we need to have a good showing and get back to our winning ways. Fullerton has a great team and a great coach so it will be a battle in every weight class. We can't take anything for granted." On Saturday, the Cardinal will compete in the Fullerton Open, which features wrestlers from six of the ten Pac-10 schools. Two ranked teams, No. 4 Iowa State and No. 17 Cal Poly, highlight the 16-team field, which also includes Cal State Fullerton
, Arizona State, 
Cal State Bakersfield, 
UC Davis, Embry-Riddle, 
Pima Community College, 
Utah Valley State, 
Bakersfield College, 
Cerritos College, 
Santa Ana College, 
East Los Angeles College, Palomar Community College and 
Cuesta College.
 "The Fullerton open will be an important competition because we get to see some opponents from our conference," said McCoy. "We have some momentum from last week's competition, so we plan to use that to continue to build and get better."

Please Note: RevWrestling.com is dedicated to covering and promoting amateur wrestling on all levels. However, on occasion, RevWrestling.com will look at mixed martial arts (MMA) as it relates to amateur wrestling. UFC 65: Bad Intentions Date: November 18, 2006 Venue: ARCO Arena (Sacramento, Calif.) In one of the most anticipated rematches in UFC history, Georges ST. PIERRE (12-1) tries to win the welterweight championship Saturday night against the legendary Matt HUGHES (41-4). St. Pierre has focused on this fight since losing to Hughes a little over two years ago. A St. Pierre groin injury delayed this fight, and gave Hughes a chance for a successful redemption against BJ Penn. Now these two warriors are finally ready to square off. Jeff MonsonIn the co-main event, the heavyweight title is on the line with defending champ Tim SILVIA (24-2, and all of 6'8" tall and 265 pounds) facing Jeff "The Snowman" MONSON (24-5, with 16 straights wins), who stands just 5'9" tall and weighs 240 pounds. These are interesting match-ups indeed. Let's first look at the heavyweight title fight. The size of these fighters also defines their styles. Monson, short, muscular, and compact relies on takedowns and submissions. His awesome record, going back three years without defeat, winning 16 straight fights, is laced with submission after submission, after submission victory. Silvia is just the opposite. His lanky frame keeps opponents away, while he waits for that magic moment to send you into la-la land. Silvia's knockout power has left many athletes seeing stars in the sky with their backs on the mat. He has also kicked his opponents into oblivion, as well. Going to the mat with Monson isn't on his agenda. That's why this fight is so exciting. Plus, Monson is an outspoken Iraq War critic, while Silvia thinks that he is being dishonorable to our troops! There is hell to pay here. But, whose will is going to prevail? Monson, the juicy underdog at +240, gets my nod. It's the year of successful anti-war movement. Why not back the Snowman? I see the Monson darting inside and under the powerful punches of Silvia, and by the second round, getting the champ to the mat. From there it will be a leg lock that forces the champ to choose between a broken ankle and giving up his crown. Unfortunately, those who know that Silvia sleeps with his belt also know that the broken ankle will be his choice. Tim also had his arm snapped by Frank Mir while defending (and losing) his precious belt. This will be no different. This fight is not for the faint of heart. I see MONSON +240 in an upset by submission in Round 2. With Christmas around the corner, it's the Snowman's time to shine. In the featured match I like the vastly improved ST. PIERRE, a mild underdog at +130, to use his motivation and focus to get the best of Hughes. Interestingly, almost 60% of hardcore UFC fans polled on the official UFC Web site (http://www.ufc.tv) voted that St. Pierre would beat Hughes, yet the oddsmakers have him as the underdog! I believe that St. Pierre has the better stand-up fighting skills, and he will be able to resist the powerful takedown moves of Hughes. Midway through the second round, St. Pierre will stun a frustrated Hughes with a kick to the temple, which soon ends the fight with St. Pierre pounding mercilessly on the champ, and then quickly submitting him with a rear-naked choke!……and we will have a new welterweight champion, Canadian Georges St. Pierre. And, a popular champ he will be. I think Matt is ready to retire. Frank MirWhen betting underdogs, you need just one winner out of two to profit. I think we will follow both of these 'dogs to the winner's window. And, both should be entertaining match-ups for sure! Staying with the big 'dogs, we find Frank MIR (9-2, and former UFC heavyweight champion) in a battle to keep his career going, taking on the favored and still undefeated Brandon "the Truth" VERA (7-0). Mir, a rare heavyweight who relies on submissions to win his fights, has never been the same after a brutal motorcycle accident that broke his legs. His two-year recovery has been a slow and painful process. And, his return record of 1-1 in the octagon has left much to be desired. Frank has looked slow, weak, and winded. Not a good combo! His cardio has failed him miserably. He looks finished. Vera, on the other hand, has looked like a monster, destroying his last two opponents in the first round! But, he once idolized Mir and may be somewhat awestruck by Frank's earlier reign. There is nothing more dangerous than a rabid 'dog fighting for his UFC life. And, that's where Mir is today. He claims to be in the best shape of his life and is bigger and stronger than his opponent. And, at these odds, +275 (opened at +150), I'm gonna give Frank one last look. The public is betting against him. But, the UFC Monster will be betting on him! There is nothing in currant form that would mandate such a play, so I will base this on a hungry 'dog going back to the history books. I like Mir in the second round with triangle choke. And, at these prices, one-out-of-three will still make you a winner! Alessio SAKARA (14-4) is an overwhelming favorite at –550 to handle newcomer Drew MCFEDRIES (4-1) in a light heavyweight fight. Sakara is coming off a tough loss to Dean Lister, one of the world's best jui jitsu fighters. He has knockout power and loves to kick. McFedries fights out of Bettendorf, Iowa and is a relative unknown. If betting on big favorites is your game, Sakara is your play. I'll bridge jump with him. Joe "Daddy" STEVENSON (30-7) is coming off an impressive big upset win over Yves Edwards. As the young father of three kids, who provide his motivation to fight, Big Daddy has good takedown and submission skills. He likes to mix it up and then take you to the mat for some ground-and-pound. MISHIMA (17-4-2) is making his UFC debut. I'll go with pa here. Stevenson at –220 wins by TKO in the second round. Nick DIAZ (14-6) is back in the octagon taking on another Brazilian jui jitsu fighter, Gleison TIBAU (23-2). The gangly Diaz recently beat tough Josh Neer, after losing three consecutive close decisions to Sean Sherk (the UFC lightweight champ), Joe "Diesel" Riggs, and undefeated Diego Sanchez. Diaz fought each to a close decision loss! Not much to go on with Tibau, despite his long record of wins. For a wirey guy, Diaz loves to stand and trade punches. His real strength is still on the ground. The oddsmakers have Diaz as a huge favorite at -550. I'll pass on the action, but root for Nicky with my heart. In other matches: Sherman PENDERGAST (8-3) +245 upsets Antonio HARDONK (4-2) by submission in second. Jake O'BRIEN (8-0) –240 beats Josh SHOCKMAN (7-0) with second round TKO. James IRWIN (11-3) +145 beats Hector Ramirez with first round KO. So, that's it for now: five underdogs, three favorites, and one "no play." Good luck and enjoy the fights. I'll meet you at the winner's window! More later. The UFC Monster

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern University is set to host the 2006 Midlands Wrestling Championships, Dec. 29-30. This year marks the 44th installment of one of the most prestigious events in collegiate wrestling. The annual tournament attracts hundreds of the most talented wrestlers from around the country in a two-day, four-session double-elimination tournament. Founded by Northwestern's Ken Kraft, the Midlands Championships are held every December in Welsh-Ryan Arena. The tournament has historically brought together the very best in amateur wrestling, and has provided the springboard for 81 Olympic wrestlers. In the Midlands team race, Illinois enters as the three-time defending champion. In the 43-year history of the Midlands, only Iowa has won four-straight titles. Illinois will be hard pressed to reach that coveted fourth-straight championship. Many top-ranked teams including No. 5 Iowa, No. 6 Iowa State, No. 7 Michigan, No. 10 Northwestern and No. 12 Central Michigan appear to be especially strong challengers for the title. Last year's team race was the closest in 19 years. Illinois finished three points ahead of Central Michigan and in 1986 North Carolina edged the Sunkist Kids by 1.75 points. It is very possible the last match in this year's tournament could determine the title as several other ranked teams could make an impact in No. 19 Indiana, No. 22 Harvard and No. 24 West Virginia. The Midlands continues to feature many wrestlers who will compete for national titles at the end of the season. The 2006 Championships could also produce new members in the "20 in four club", where admission is accomplished by consistent performance starting at an early age and continuing through the wrester's first four Midlands. A competitor must win at least 20 matches in his four years to become a "20 in Four" man. This year could produce the 20th member in the 44-year history of the Midlands. Eighteen have made it with the latest being Cliff Moore who reached it in 2005. Those to watch include No. 3 Nick Simmons of Michigan State at 125 lbs. and Matt Lebe of West Virginia at 157 lbs. Each year, two or three weight classes can be described as "Glamour Weights" at the Midlands. With six of the top eight wrestlers expected to enter, 141 lbs. certainly fits this category. No. 1 Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) wrestles for host Northwestern and right behind him are Michigan State's No. 2 Andy Simmons, No. 3 Brandon Rader of West Virginia and fourth-ranked Alex Tsirtsis of Iowa. The other two in the top-eight are seventh-ranked Don Fisch of Rutgers and Northern Iowa's eighth-ranked C.J. Ettelson. With four out of the top-eight looking to capture this year's title, 157 and 165 lbs. will be weights to watch in 2006. Iowa State's Trent Paulson, ranked second in the nation and Indiana's Brandon Becker, ranked third, highlight the field at 157 lbs. while Michigan's Eric Tannenbaum and Iowa's Mark Perry, the 2004 champion, will test Nick Balma of Northern Iowa, defending Midlands champion. All weights will be highly competitive, but only ten individuals will be crowned "Midlands Champion", a noted accomplishment. "Midlands is one of the best events in college wrestling," Northwestern head wrestling coach Tim Cysewski said. "A Midlands championship, a Big Ten championship and an NCAA championship, that's the triple crown of college wrestling."