InterMat Staff

Upper Iowa won the first three matches in picking up a 23-13 dual meet victory over Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Wednesday night. The meet was the Peacocks' first Division II battle of the season. Red-shirt freshman Tyler Mumbulo started Upper Iowa (1-1) in the right direction with a 15-0 technical fall victory at 125 pounds. Returning national qualifier senior Ralph Acosta picked up a 3-2 decision at 133 pounds before sophomore Kyle Burkle added a 6-4 win at 141 pounds for an 11-0 UIU lead. SIU-Edwardsville (0-3) got on the board at 149 pounds as Joe Rujawitz earned a slim 2-1 decision. UIU senior Brandon Heying (4-0 at 157 pounds) and red-shirt freshman Tony Gehling (9-6 at 184 pounds) collected decisions for the Peacocks. Junior Brian Black ended the meet with a quick fall at heavyweight, defeating Dusty Garner in 32 seconds. In its two years of competing at the Division II level, Upper Iowa remained perfect against D-II foes. The lone UIU loss this season came at the hands of nationally-ranked Division I power Iowa State University. The Peacocks will return home to host Waldorf College Thursday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m.

State College, Pa. -- Two-time NCAA National Champions Jeff Prescott and Kerry McCoy will be returning to Rec Hall on Saturday, Nov. 26, to be honored prior to No. 12 Penn State's home dual vs. No. 3 Michigan. The match starts at 1 p.m. with ceremonies taking place prior to the start of the match. Prescott and McCoy are two of three Nittany Lions two-time champs, with Andy Matter being the third. Matter will not be able to return for the ceremony. Each of the three former champions will be commemorated in January, as their likeness will be replicated into miniature bronze statues that will be given out to fans. The first 1,000 fans at Penn State's Jan. 8 dual with Cornell will receive the Matter statues; the first 1,000 at the dual vs. Michigan State on Jan. 27 will receive the Prescott statues and the first 1,000 through the doors for the home dual vs. Minnesota on Jan. 29 will receive the McCoy statues. Prescott won the national title at 118 in 1991 and 1992 and finished fifth in 1990, making him one of 17 three-time All-Americans. McCoy won HWT national title in 1994 and 1997 and was third in '95, joining Prescott on the three-time All-American list. Matter won the title at 167 in 1971 and 1972. Head Coach Troy Sunderland's Nittany Lions will enter the dual with a 3-1 mark, 0-1 in Big Ten action, while Michigan will be seeing its first dual match action of the year. Other promotional activities for the Michigan match include posters, magnets, wristbands, autographs and Scout Day. Single match tickets can be purchased by visiting the BJC Ticket Center or by calling 814-865-5555 or 800-863-3336. Prices are $5 for adults and $3 for youth and senior citizens.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State's wrestling program announced today the signing of six high school seniors to National Letters of Intent. Cody Hill, Lance Thompson, Jordan Frishkorn, Neil Erisman, Ben Ashmore and Quinten Fuentes will join head coach John Smith's squad in the fall of 2006. "It was a good start to our recruiting class this year," Smith said. "I liked that we signed guys that can cover a lot of weights and can wrestle at a lot of weights. We will continue to recruit in the spring, but all six of the guys that we have signed are good young men and good students. They are indicative of what we want representing Oklahoma State University." Frishkorn is the most highly touted recruit of the group. The brother of current Cowboy Daniel Frishkorn, Jordan is ranked No. 9 nationally of all high school seniors by RevWrestling.com. The Chesapeake, Va. native is the top-ranked wrestler by Intermat in the 130-pound weight class. Frishkorn has compiled a record of 101-15 the last two seasons. Ashmore comes to OSU via Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Texas. He will join former high school teammate Kevin Wainscott next fall. Ashmore was named Area Wrestler of the Year by The Dallas Morning News. He has won national championships at Prep Nationals and the Beast of the East Tournament. He has compiled a career record of 80-1. Erisman is ranked No. 18 by RevWrestling.com. The De Soto, Kan. native is coming off of two state runner-up finishes. He is currently ranked sixth nationally at 160 pounds by Intermat. Thompson is a two-time state champion from Stillwater High School. Thompson is ranked No. 31 nationally by RevWrestling.com and is the third-ranked wrestler in the 130-pound weight class by Intermat. "I am excited about Lance Thompson, having a local athlete join our team, " Smith added. "He has a lot of fire in his belly and that is what I like. He has a very bright upside if he continues to train and work hard." Hill won the 2005 state championship for Marlow High School in Marlow, Okla. Hill is ranked sixth at 171 pounds by Intermat. Quinten Fuentes was a late addition to OSU's recruiting class. The Johnstown, Colo. native projects to either the 141 or 149 pound weight classes after winning his first state title at 130 last season. At one point during his junior season he carried a record of 31-0 with 29 pins. The current crop of Cowboys opens the dual season this Sunday at Michigan State. The dual will be broadcast live by 93.7 with the first match scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

Junior All-American heavyweight Cole Konrad, a native of Freedom, Wis., has been named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week after his 4-1 overtime decision against two-time defending NCAA Champion Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State. It is the first weekly award of Konrad's career. On Monday at the NWCA/Marines All-Star Classic, Konrad and Mocco went to overtime tied at one point apiece. Konrad rode Mocco the entire first period. In the second, Mocco was penalized a point for hooking his hands. Konrad then scored a reversal with nine seconds remaining to claim the 4-1 win. Mocco won all three meetings between the two wrestlers a year ago, including an overtime victory in the finals at the NCAA Championship. The fifth-ranked Golden Gophers open their dual meet season on Saturday at the Northeast Duals. Minnesota will face Virginia Tech, No. 25 Tennessee-Chattanooga, No. 15 Central Michigan and American.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- The gold team put on a bit of a clinic Tuesday night at the annual Cal State Bakersfield Blue/Gold Intersquad scrimmage, pulling out the 21–12 win over the blue squad at the Icardo Center. The meet featured just nine matches with some of the Roadrunners wrestling up or down a weight as a number of wrestlers have been sick lately. A pair of matches at 141 and 149 pounds highlighted the evening, both coming down to the wire. At 141 pounds, sophomore Jeremy Doyle (Ramona, Calif./Ramona HS) staked an early lead on junior Matt Schumm (Corona, Calif./Centennial HS), leading 7–5 after the first two periods. However, an escape midway though the period and a takedown near the end gave Schumm the 8–7 decision. The first of two 149 pound matches also proved to be an exciting one featuring junior Anthony Watson (Waterloo, Iowa/Iowa) and sophomore Daniel Alejandro (Hesperia, Calif./Sultana HS). With the match tied at four and time winding down, Alejandro scored a takedown with just 10 seconds left, but in the process, opened a cut over his eye. Watson took advantage of the short break, quickly escaping on the restart and taking down Alejandro with just one second left for the victory. Watson's victory was the first of five consecutive wins for the Gold side. Senior Anthony Baza (Sunnyvale, Calif./Fremont HS) scored an easy technical fall victory in the other 149 pound match. He was followed by sophomore Daniel Atondo (Sunnyvale, Calif./Fremont HS), who scored a 5–1 win at 165, senior Christian Arellano (Moreno Valley, Calif./Canyon Springs HS), who picked up a 7–0 victory at 174 and freshman Colton Nichols (Poway, Calif./Poway HS), who registered an 8–2 decision at 197. Other winners on the night were junior heavyweight Eric Parker (Ramona, Calif./Ramona HS), freshman Brandon Zoetewey (San Ramon, Calif./De la Salle HS) at 125 and senior Tommy Vargas (Highland, Calif./Northwestern) at 133. Bakersfield returns to action on Sunday (Nov. 27) for the alumni meet. The annual event is set to begin at 2 p.m. at the Icardo Center.

San Francisco, Calif. -- Stanford improved to 1-1 on the season tonight with a 30-9 victory over San Francisco State at the Main Gym. "I'm very happy to have our first dual win of the season," noted head coach Kerry McCoy. "It was a rocky start, but we came back and got the win. Some people were nervous, but we're making improvements each week and we continue to get better." Junior Ian Bork got the night started with a 10-7 decision over Richard Escobar at 197 pounds, but the Gators came right back with a win at heavyweight. Sophomore Tanner Gardner earned a win by forfeit at 125, but San Francisco State countered at 133 with an 8-3 decision to pull within three. At 141, true freshman Tyler Parker held on to take a 6-4 decision, and at 157, Juston Joshnson took a win by medical forfeit over the defending Division II NCAA Champion Pacifico Garcia, after a collision broke Garcia's nose. Senior Ray Blake clinched the Stanford victory with a tech fall at 165 pounds, out-scoring the Gators' Will Simmons 17-2 in just under seven minutes. Blake went down 2-0 to start the match, but immediately earned a reversal and went on to earn his 12th win of the year. At 174, redshirt freshman Luke Feist won his first collegiate dual match with an 8-0 major decision over Justin Switzer, while senior Larry Ozowara led the team with four takedowns as he earned a 10-6 victory over Danny Dahl to give the Cardinal a 30-9 victory. Stanford will be back on the mats next week at the Las Vegas Invitational.

Thoughts from the NWCA All-Star Classic ... Is that Matt Nagel or Luke Becker? Photo courtesy of Augsburg College.• Matt Nagel of Minnesota looks like he has morphed into Luke Becker during the off-season. Their wrestling styles and setups (along with Nagel's new chiseled look) are strikingly similar. Someone needs to check his ID. He looked extremely tough during the finals of the Auggie Open when he easily handled Augsburg's Valek (ranked No. 1 in DIII) in the finals and then made a statement with his win over Johny Hendricks two days later. I am thinking that Nagel has top three written all over him this year. Side note: Cole Williams from University of Dubuque pinned his way through the Auggie Open with the exception of a close 6-5 loss to Nagel in the semifinals. Warrants mentioning. • Did anyone else notice the male cheerleaders sitting with crossed legs matside during the match? In all of the meets I have ever watched in my life, I have never seen this before. I enjoy the acrobatics of male cheerleaders at college football games, but seeing them seated at the side of the mat was pure comedy. I kept waiting for the "Be Aggressive, B-E Aggressive, you have to B-E-A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E" cheer. • Just for the record, these bouts DO count (at least for RevWrestling.com) against individual rankings. Didn't Cole Konrad beat Steve Mocco -- and doesn't that imply that he is currently wrestling at a higher level and should be ranked accordingly? The term "exhibition match" makes it sound like one of the guys is not giving his best -- which I don't think is the case. The All-Star Classic matches are an early indicator of performance that should be taken into account for current rankings. Period. Wake me up when this match is over!• I mentioned this during the last Gumbo, but let me reiterate -- "I cannot (and will not) sit through three more Nate Gallick/Teyon Ware snooze-fests." • Alex Tirapelle may not have put to rest the "He may not be the best 157-pounder on his own team" banter since Michael Poeta recently won the Missouri Open. He did, however, prove that he would be the best 157-pound wrestler on the Iowa Hawkeye team. • I have never been more excited about an upcoming collegiate wrestling season. The All-Star Classic may have put me over the top to the point where I need a cooling down period. • Props to LiveSportsVideo for the Web coverage. Access to the matches without the travel costs is fantastic. With that being said (cable executives take note) -- I am willing to pay at least four times as much money to watch the same broadcast on my TV while on my couch via cable pay-per-view. • I enjoyed the heavyweight pre-meet under card at the All-Star Classic, but it is time to take it to the next level. For next year, I am proposing a "People's Choice" poll to select three under card matches prior to the official start of the meet. Here is how it works: o A list of the 10 best non-Division I match-ups is created by a governing body (or RevWrestling.com) o Cross division match-ups are encouraged o Fans perform online voting to determine the most anticipated match-ups o The top three most anticipated matches are selected as the under card for the All-Star Classic o A few examples that could have been used for this year: Willie Parks (Dana -- NAIA) vs. Yura Malamura (Highline -- JUCO), Thad Benton (UPJ -- DII) vs. Dustin Hinschberger (Wartburg -- DIII), Nate Baker (Minnesota State-Moorhead -- DII) vs. Tyson Springer (Dickinson State -- NAIA) Other Thoughts … Matt Hoover• In what scenario does Matt Hoover (former Iowa Hawkeye) not win NBC's reality show "The Biggest Loser?" Doesn't he have the most experience cutting weight when it matters? Can ANYONE else on the reality show match his experience with that?!? Every time they show footage of him working out, it might as well be any wrestling room in the country the day before weigh-ins … three layers of sweatpants included. • I am not sure about the new look wrestling outfits (as previewed in the New York Times), but the side-cut UFC fighter board shorts are poised to become the next trend in wrestling workout gear. • It is time to put an official end to wrestlers shaking the hand of the opposing coach after every match. Here's why: 1) I have never seen a coach who enjoys it, 2) the winning wrestler is typically the only one who initiates it, and 3) shaking the hand of the guy you just wrestled displays the right amount of sportsmanship. Tournament directors -- please include this in your tournament rulebooks going forward. • If Ben Askren continues at this rate (10-0 and pure domination), we will be discussing the early favorites for the 2006-2007 Ben Askren Trophy at this time next year (formerly known as the Dan Hodge Trophy). • Call me old school, but there are way too many tattoos in collegiate wrestling. If you have seen one barbed wire tribal around the bicep, you have seen a million. We know, you are 18 now and you have always wanted one -- but I'm recommending that you wait until your singlet wearing days are over.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 11/10/11/16 Indiana wrestling team continues its season as it travels to Lock Haven, Pa., for the Mat Town Invitational. The Hoosiers are coming off a stellar performance, where it placed seven at the Missouri Open and had senior Brady Richardson return with the 197-pound title. Last year's Mat Town winner, Minnesota, is not returning to defend its invitational title, leaving the door open for the Hoosiers, who come into the event as the highest ranked team. The nine-team field includes Indiana, University of Buffalo, Clarion University, Lock Haven University, University of Maryland, Ohio University, University of Oregon, Old Dominion University, and Rider University. The Mat Town Invitational is in its 30th year and will begin on Saturday at 9 a.m. EST. "Mat Town is an excellent tournament," head coach Duane Goldman said. "We were third in it last year, and we want to improve on that finish this year. We want to use this opportunity to improve as a team, and we have inspiration to build team unity in our first event with a team score. " •MISSOURI OPEN RECAP• With Indiana's best finish at the tournament, senior Brady Richardson took the 197-pound crown, going 3-0 in Columbia. Richardson dethroned two ranked opponents and posted one fall on his way to the gold finish, with his best bout coming against No. 2-seeded Tyrone Byrd (Illinois). Byrd, ranked 12th nationally, kept the match close but fell 3-1 in the end to the determined Richardson. Redshirt freshman Jose Escobedo started Indiana off in the 125-pound division, finishing third for his first top-five outing of the year. At 133, redshirt freshman Andrae Hernandez grappled to a bronze finish. Hernandez fell early in a tight 3-1 decision to No. 4-seeded Gabe Flores (Illinois), but rattled off five consecutive wins thereafter to take home the top-three finish. At 141, senior Nick Spatola grappled to a sixth-place finish at the open, going 3-3 en route to the top performance. At 149, sophomore Matt Cooper posted a sixth-place finish, going 3-1 at the event. Sophomore Max Dean had a tough weekend, going 1-2 at 165 pounds. Dean claimed his win in commanding fashion with a major decision over Andrew Tsensee (UNA), 13-2. Sophomore Marc Bennett (174) recorded a 2-2 performance at the Open with a pin (2:43) against Sean McAleney (Chattanooga). At 184, junior Justin Curran looked impressive, going 4-1 on the day, with his sole loss coming against 11th-ranked Alex Clemson (Edinboro) in the semifinals, 8-3. Curran posted two pins, with his first coming against the No. 4-seeded Corey Johnson (Lindenwood), en route to the third-place finish. Sophomore Heath Vandeventer went 0-2 at the Open with both of his losses coming against fierce competition. Sophomore Dave Herman wrapped up the Hoosier contingent finishing second. The unseeded Herman almost completed his sweep of the top-three seeds, taking down No. 2-seeded Austin David (Missouri), 8-3, Koel Davia (Edinboro), 7-2, in his quarterfinal match up and No. 3-seeded Chase Gormley (Lindenwood), 8-7, in the semifinals. Herman's sole loss came at the hands of No. 1-seeded and 5th-ranked Jake Hager (Oklahoma) in the finals. •MAT TOWN PREVIEW• The Indiana wrestling team travels to the Mat Town Invitational Saturday, Nov. 26 for its second team event of the season. After a successful outing at the Missouri Open, head coach Duane Goldman looks to take home the team title in Lock Haven, Pa., while also garnering extended experience for his young Hoosier grapplers. The Hoosiers are the highest-ranked team at the invitational, but will not take that for granted as the nine-team field boasts a handful of talented wrestlers. The event also marks the first tournament for the Hoosiers where a team score and place is being recorded. •THE "RICH" GET RICHER• Senior Brady Richardson won his second career title at the Missouri Open, defeating two ranked opponents en route to the title. Richardson's title is his first of the season and extended the two-time NCAA qualifier's winning streak to five. The Vincennes, Ind., native's streak began at the Michigan State Open, where he finished third, and will be tested this weekend in Lock Haven, Pa. Overall, Richardson is 7-1 on the season. •HERMAN OR HE-MAN• First year starter Dave Herman is looking impressive in his first three tournaments, tabbing three top-five finishes, two of which were just one win short of the title. At the Missouri Open, Herman's sole loss came against the nation's fifth-ranked grappler in Jake Hager (Okla.). Herman has posted an overall record of 10-3, tallying two pins, one technical fall and one major in the process. Herman is a returning letterwinner from last year's team that finished ninth at NCAAs and had seven starts for the Hoosiers behind senior All-American Pat DeGain. With DeGain's graduation, Herman looks to dominate the heavyweight starting position in 2006. •"JUST" IN TIME• Sophomore Justin Curran had a solid weekend at the Missouri Open, going 3-1 and finishing third at the event at 184. Curran's sole loss came against 11th-ranked Alex Clemson of Lindenwood while pins decided two of his three wins. Curran wrestles at a weight that has three individuals vying for the position, as Curran, junior Josh Buuck and redshirt freshman Heath Vandeventer are grappling for the starting spot. Buuck has the most college experience between the three, but all three Hoosiers have shown promise throughout their careers. Curran's early success only forecasts a good future for the weight class at Indiana, showing no matter who takes the spot in the lineup, it will be a Hoosier who knows how to win. •NATIONAL EXPOSURE• The Indiana Wrestling team opens the season ranked in all four preseason polls, with Amateur Wrestling News tabbing the Hoosiers 10th. The Wrestling Mall and W.I.N. Magazine polls both notched IU in the 11th-place spot, while the NWCA-InterMat preseason poll ranked the Hoosiers 16th. The Hoosiers garnered the preseason rankings after finishing ninth last year at the NCAA Championships (58.5). Indiana returns one national champion, two All-Americans and five NCAA qualifiers overall from last year's top-10 squad. •REPEAT PERFORMANCE• Indiana 125-pound national champion Joe Dubuque returns for his senior season and looks to defend his national championship from a year ago. The Bloomfield, N.J., native became the first Indiana national champion since Brian Dolph grappled to the title in 1991 and looks to be the first Hoosier to achieve back-to-back titles in a career. Charlie McDaniel (1935-38) is the only Hoosier to win two NCAA crowns (1935 and 1938) during his stint at IU, and one of only three Hoosiers to garner All-American status three times (Millard Duffy, 1935-36,38; Brian Dolph, 1987-90). Dubuque looks to join the ranks of some of the best Hoosier grapplers ever to don the Cream and Crimson. •HOOSIERS IN THE RANKINGS• Four Hoosier grapplers enter the 2005-06 season ranked among the nation's elite. Leading all Hoosiers is two-time All-American Joe Dubuque, who ranks first in all four preseason polls (TWM, AWN. W.I.N., NWCA). The senior also looks to defend his national title from a year ago. At 157, sophomore All-American Brandon Becker (3/5/5/5) received top-five nods from all four preseason audiences, with his highest of third coming in TWM preseason poll. The feat marks the first time Becker has received preseason recognition after grappling in his first year of competition as a redshirt freshman in 2004-05. Sophomore NCAA qualifier Max Dean entered the polls at 15/16/16/14 for the first preseason rankings of his career. The 165-pound Dean looks to make another run at the NCAA Championships in 2006, this time with the goal of All-American status on his mind. Rounding out the preseason accolades is senior Brady Richardson at 197. Richardson makes the move from 174 and garnered a 20th- and 11th-place ranking in the TWM and NWCA polls, respectively. Richardson, who wrestled at 174 in 2004 and 2005 and qualified for the NCAA Championships in both seasons, is looking to make his mark at his new and stronger weight division. •TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER• Head coach Duane Goldman named seniors Joe Dubuque and Brady Richardson as the 2005-06 team captains. Both Hoosiers enter the senior campaign with high goals for not only the team, but have individual expectations. Dubuque looks to become the first Hoosier to garner back-to-back NCAA titles, the second (Charlie McDaniel, 1935 and 1938) Hoosier to garner two national crowns in a career and only the fifth IU grappler to receive All-American honors three-times during their stint at IU. Richardson looks to garner his first All-American accolade after qualifying for the postseason the last two years at 174. Goldman says the Vincennes, Ind., native looks stronger and more comfortable in his new weight class and has all the potential to achieve his 2006 goals. •RECORDS WILL "FALL"• Seniors Joe Dubuque and Brady Richardson are looking to etch their names in the Hoosier record book this coming season. Dubuque stands just nine falls away from entering the all-time Indiana list for most pins in a career, while Richardson is 15 away from an appearance in the history book. Dubuque and Richardson currently stand at 15 and nine falls , respectively, their careers. Viktor Sveda (1998-2002), one of the program's most decorated wrestlers, owns the record with 47. The seniors look to be the fourth and fifth graduating seniors in five years to etch their name in the IU career pins record book. Sveda took the top spot in 2002 (47), current IU volunteer coach Coyte Cooper tabbed third on the list in 2004 (37) and last year's All-American Pat DeGain finished in fourth in 2005 (35). •LOOKING FOR THE "W"• Senior national champion Joe Dubuque currently stands at an 86-17 career record. Dubuque falls just 19 wins outside of the top 10 all-time most wins in a career record book. Should Dubuque garner 19 wins in his senior campaign, the Hoosier will tie current 10th-ranked IU grapplers Mark Galyan (1978-1982) and Scott Holman (1986-1990) on the list at 105. Also looking to end his career in record-setting fashion is two-time All-American Brady Richardson. Richardson currently stands at 76 wins in his career, 29 wins out of the top-10 record book. Viktor Sveda (1997-2002) currently holds the all-time record with 149. •A TALL MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB• Indiana wrestling is looking at one of its toughest schedules under Duane Goldman's leadership. The Hoosiers, once the Big Ten season starts, open the campaign against currently unranked Ohio State (Jan. 20) and Purdue (Jan. 22). The Hoosiers then take on six straight ranked opponents in No. 6/4/4/4 Illinois (Jan. 27), No. 4/6/3/5 Iowa (Jan. 29), No. 5/5/6/6 Minnesota (Feb. 5), No. 12/13/12/12 Penn State (Feb. 10), No. 13/12/13/11 Northwestern (Feb. 17) and No. 3/3/5/3 Michigan (Feb. 19) to close out the regular season. •BIG SHOES TO FILL• Indiana's starting lineup has a few key changes from last year's roster, which leaves the young Hoosier grapplers with some big shoes to fill. At 133, 2004 starter Brian Dyer left the IU program and has now left the spot open for either another redshirt freshman Andrae Hernandez. At 141, both seniors Mike Simpson and Cameron Sakon graduated to leave the weight class vacant. Looking to fill the opening will be either junior Ian Campbell or senior Nick Spatola, who is the only one of the two with collegiate experience. At 174, a weight usually filled by current senior Brady Richardson who moved to 197, is now open for sophomore Marc Bennett, who will be looked upon to carry the load for the Hoosiers. After an early graduation, Andy Rios vacated the 184-pound starting spot, leaving room for either junior Josh Buuck, sophomore Justin Curran or redshirt freshman Heath Vandeventer. The final opening poses the greatest to fill in not only talent, but leadership. Senior Pat DeGain, who filled the heavyweight division and achieved All-American status in his senior season, leaves the weight class open for sophomore Dave Herman. Herman had seven starts in 2004-05 behind DeGain, going 6-1 in his appearances on the mat.

GAFFNEY, S.C. -- The Limestone College wrestling team beat Belmont Abbey, 33-15, on Wednesday afternoon at the Timken Center. Limestone evens its record to 1-1 this season with today's victory. "The guys wrestled well, and wrestled hard," said Saints head coach Ben Stehura of his team's first win of the season. "Overall I'm pleased with our performance." Limestone sophomores Brent Clausing (Miamisburg, Ohio/Miamisburg HS) and Joby Shreckhise (Grottoes, Va./Ford Defiance HS) and freshmen Miles Corey (Fairfax, Va./Woodson HS) and Mike Walsh (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Jupiter Christian HS) won their matches. Belmont Abbey forfeited three matches in the 149 lb., 157 lb. and 197 lbs. weight classes. Clausing (125) won a major decision, 10-0, against the Crusader's Chris Neidermeier while Shreckhise (165) beat Brian West, 9-4. Corey (174) won against Tim Stanton, 18-4, and Walsh (184) had a win against Mark Blair, 10-6. "The upperweights showed a lot of heart today," pointed out Stehura. The Saints will host UNC Pembroke on Tuesday, November 29 in Gaffney, S.C., at the Timken Center. The match will begin at 7 p.m.

I guess I can finally say that the season has finally started. How do I know this? Well, I had to make it down to weight for the first time this year last Friday night for a home dual against Bacone College. There is one thing I can always count on every time I make weight for a dual or a tournament -- a feeling of euphoria as the coldest water and Gatorade I can find come rushing down my throat. I think many wrestlers would agree that there are not many things better than this, besides winning, of course. Since being in college, I have always had one problem, which is maintaining my weight. It doesn't fluctuate up and down like many -- it dips below my wrestling weight. After I make weight the first time, it seems like I can never get above that weight. Last year, wrestling 174 pounds, I would rarely be above it, and many times I would weigh around 168 pounds after practice. Now, this isn't always a bad thing. It is nice when you can eat full meals the night before weigh-ins, or even the morning of weigh-ins before stepping on the scale, but it always felt like I was smaller than everyone else. I think this year is going to be a little different. As I mentioned in an earlier Rev Blog, I try to eat right, 5-7 times a day and stay hydrated at the same time. This was a little difficult to do when Friday came around and I was still five pounds over. When I came to Dana, I was introduced to a new way of doing things I had never done before, which is practicing before dual meets. Obviously, this isn't a full-out practice with live wrestling and conditioning, but a good, hard drilling practice to really get loosened up and get those last pounds off before stepping on the scale. At first, I thought this was a bit ridiculous, working out the day of a meet, but then I realized that I was working out anyway most of the time on my own to make the weight in high school, and I really started to like the idea of practicing before weigh-ins. Anyway, after working out Friday morning, I was able to eat breakfast and lunch, and get ready for our hour-long practice before weigh-ins. I felt a little sluggish during the workout, but I got down to weight, which is always a big relief for any wrestler the first time. However, it was especially relieving for me as most of the summer I saw the scale tipping 205 pounds … actually figuring I would end up at 184 pounds. At 174 pounds, Marshall Marquardt pinned Tim Flick of Bacone College at 4:23.We weighed in and got ready to go. We were up against the 11th ranked team in the nation, but our coach always preaches to never take anyone lightly, because if you aren't ready to go, you can always get beaten. I could tell that we were ready as a team. We were relaxed, but intense at the same time. It's just one of those things you start to recognize in your teammates faces when you have been around for a while. You know if they are ready to go … and we were. We started off at 125 pounds, and never looked back, dropping only one match to Bacone at 133 pounds. I told my coach that I was going to go after my first collegiate technical fall ever, but when I saw my chance to go for the pin, I took it. I felt satisfied with my match as I did my cool down, and yet I was still somewhat disappointed because I knew I could have accomplished my match goal of a tech fall. I think it is very important to set short-term goals for yourself -- which is another idea our coaches preach to us. I try to set goals for myself every day, whether it is not getting taken down or scored on in a 45-minute grind match, or staying after to get 50 more repetitions on my stand-up, I believe setting goals make you a better wrestler. You may not always reach these goals, but it seems like you try that much harder to make things happen, than when you just go into a practice or match with no intentions on how you want to perform. I am sure that most of you go into a match with the main goal of winning, but next time try to set a goal for yourself, such as getting 10 takedowns on your opponent, or not allowing your opponent to score offensively on you. I like to do this in practice as well, when I get ready to wrestle a match against my teammate. I think it helps me prepare better for actual dual meets or tournament matches. These are just little things that seem to make a world of difference in my practices and matches. Until next time, keep getting better. Marshall Marquardt Past Entries: Entry 4 (11/9/05) Entry 3 (10/26/05) Entry 2 (10/13/05) Entry 1 (10/1/05)

High School kids can't compete with college wrestlers. There is a huge difference between high school and college wrestling. How many times have we all heard these normally true, if cliché, statements? They are pretty much taken as fact in the wrestling world. Except to this year's senior class, that is. Perhaps the biggest story of the preseason is the stunning success that high school wrestlers have been having against collegiate and international competitors. Three high school seniors have particularly defied conventional wisdom with their performances this preseason: Henry Cejudo, Mike Grey, and Jonathan Reader. Henry Cejudo Henry CejudoThis fall, Henry Cejudo has stunned the wrestling world by putting together the most impressive performances against international competition since Cary Kolat. Henry-mania started when this 18-year-old crushed Jason Powell at the Sunkist Open in October. Yes, that Jason Powell -- the same one who won NCAA's in 2004 with a technical fall over Kyle Ott in the finals. To put this win in perspective, Jason Powell was in essentially the same position as Cejudo is today, six years ago -- the top lightweight in the nation, winner of five Junior Nationals titles. Powell has had six years in the Nebraska program since, in which he became a three-time All-American and an NCAA champion. It would have seemed like no contest … and it was, in fact, no contest. However, no one would have foreseen that it would be Cejudo who would emerge the dominant winner, by a tally of 4-0, 3-4, 8-2. While he later dropped two matches to former NCAA runner-up Luke Eustice and highly-ranked Matt Azevedo -- Cejudo was very competitive in both matches. Again, the important thing to remember here is that we are talking about a high school kid wrestling against former NCAA All-Americans who are now in their mid-20's and attempting to make the U.S. World or Olympic Team. But the best was yet to come. Not one to avoid a challenge, Cejudo next ventured to the NYAC Holiday Tournament in New York. Just in case you thought the first match was a fluke, Cejudo dominated Powell again -- this time by scores of 3-3, 6-0. The next round, Cejudo was pitted against Besik Kudukhov from Russia. Kudukhov was the Junior World champion in 2005 -- a tournament in which Cejudo placed fifth. Before you consider this a black mark on Cejudo's record, bear in mind that this is a tournament for wrestlers who are between the ages of 17 and 20, and Cejudo was 17 when he competed there. This was also higher than all current collegians who competed there were able to place, including NCAA fourth place-finisher Eric Tannenbaum. Simply put, wrestlers from other countries are much more experienced in freestyle at this age -- making this tournament exceedingly difficult. Cejudo showed just how rapid his unthinkable progression has been by blasting the Russian by a score of 3-1, 7-0 to advance to the finals. In the finals, Cejudo was pitted against another Russian opponent, Ekhkhtur Badamsakian. Badamsakian had advanced to the finals without yielding a single point. This included wins over the aforementioned Luke Eustice and collegiate star Mark McKnight. Surely, it seemed, Cejudo's run would come to an end, given that Eustice just beat Cejudo at the Sunkist Open -- and this Russian competitor had shutout Eustice. Instead, Cejudo capped off his unbelievable weekend by destroying Badamsakian in the finals by a score of 1-2, 4-1, 10-2. Let's put these numbers in perspective. High schooler Henry Cejudo racked up 15 points, while allowing only five, against a competitor that neither Eustice nor McKnight could score on. Altogether, in his unfathomable three-match run against NCAA champ Powell, Junior World champ Kudukhov, and Badamsakian, Cejudo outscored the opposition 34-9. Not since Cary Kolat has a high school wrestler been this impressive against international competition. It seems likely that Cejudo is the third best 121-pounder (55 kg) in the USA right now -- and that is presuming that neither Sammy Henson nor Eric Akin retire. Should Henson retire, in this writer's view, Cejudo has a legitimate chance to make the U.S. World Team this spring. Mike Grey Mike GreyIt has never been a secret that despite winning a Cadet and Junior National Freestyle title, Mike Grey of Delbarton, New Jersey, was best in folkstyle. A brutal mat wrestler, this season Grey will likely become single-division New Jersey's first four-time state champion. During that run, Grey has only had a single loss, to High School Nationals and Junior Nationals Freestyle champion Franklin Gomez, in overtime, at the 2004 Beast of the East. Grey has never been in danger of losing in his rugged home state. No one, however, could have anticipated what Grey would accomplish at the East Stroudsburg Open on Nov. 19. All Grey did was compile a 5-1 record to place third. Most notably, Grey beat Jeremy Mendoza of Arizona State. Mendoza was one win from becoming an All-American last season. Grey also knocked off Ross Gitomer, formerly of Blair Academy, in the first round. Gitomer was a High School Nationals and Junior National Freestyle runner-up last spring. Grey's only loss was to the eventual champion, Tim Haas of Penn State, by a score of 5-2. A Cejudo/Grey match-up on the horizon? Given how much these young wrestlers' stock has risen, a Cejudo/Grey match-up would be by far the most anticipated match of the year. Both wrestlers are expected to compete at 125 pounds, so a match-up at High School Nationals in April would be on the horizon. Given that Cejudo is beating NCAA champions and Junior World champions, and in 2004 scored a technical fall over Grey in freestyle, it might seem that Grey stands little to no chance. Not so fast. Clearly, at this point, the gap between these competitors is huge in freestyle. However, Cejudo is also much less focused on folkstyle at this point, and Grey, as discussed above, is much more proficient in folkstyle. While his best hope on his feet is probably to slow down the lightning-fast Cejudo -- if Grey can get his offense from the mat rolling, a lot of takedowns could be made up quickly. Indeed, the last time Cejudo was defeated by a high school wrestler, it was in folkstyle (that loss coming to Ben Ashmore at the Brute Nationals in the spring of 2004). The bet here, however, is that Cejudo will prove to be on a different level even in his weaker style (folkstyle) and defeat Grey handily. It is also interesting to note that while Grey's win over Mendoza was very impressive, Cejudo handled Mendoza quite easily in freestyle at Sunkist, prevailing by a margin of 1-0, 4-0. A win like this is almost ho-hum for Cejudo these days. Jonathan Reader This writer published an article in October in which it was declared that there were a "super-seven" who clearly stood out from all other competitors. Jonathan Reader was ranked No. 10, and therefore, not listed as part of this "super-seven." At the Harold Nichols/Cyclone Open on November 12, Reader proved this writer wrong. Competing in a tournament near the school he will attend next fall (Reader has committed to wrestle for Iowa State), Reader stunned the competition to place second. Along the way, he defeated defending Division II national champion Patrick Allibone of Nebraska-Omaha by a score of 6-4. Reader also defeated tough redshirt freshman Moza Fay of Northern Iowa by an identical 6-4 score to reach the finals. Ironically, in the finals, Reader matched up with future teammate Trent Paulson of Iowa State. Paulson finished fourth last season at the NCAA's in the toughest weight in the nation, 157 lbs. Tough as Reader was, the expectation was for the 22-years-old Paulson to destroy the 17-year-old Reader. Instead, Reader hung tough, losing by a respectable 10-6 margin. Paulson then preceded to shutout returning NCAA runner-up Joe Johnston in the Kaufman-Brand Open finals. Reader now moves into a more appropriate rank of No. 4 senior in the nation. As good as Reader is, a number of stiff challenges loom for him at High School Nationals. The 160-pound weight class will likely be the toughest in the nation this season. His foremost challenger will likely be two-time Junior National Freestyle All-American David Rella of Walsh Jesuit High School in Ohio. Rella himself has shown the ability to compete against older competition, placing second at the FILA Junior Nationals, where he defeated NCAA qualifier Joey Hooker among others. He also has wins over two of last year's top seniors, Alton Lucas and Donnie Jones, to his credit. Rella is currently the No. 9 rated senior in the Rev Power Rankings. Another top challenger to Reader will be Ryan Patrovich of New York. Patrovich emerged from a loaded bracket in Fargo to place second in the freestyle competition, knocking off High School Nationals champion Travis Hammons among others. Patrovich is currently the No. 12 rated senior in the nation in the Power Rankings. Nos. 17 and 18 rated seniors Mack Lewnes and Neil Erisman, both former Cadet Nationals Freestyle champions, are also expected to be competing at 160. Erisman won two of three bouts against Hammons last season, one of those wins by technical fall. It seems likely that there has never been a preseason where high school wrestlers have had so much success against collegiate and international wrestlers. Reader, Grey, and most of all, Cejudo, have startled the wrestling world with their successes against older competition. Of course, their rivals surely believe that their successes will only paint a bigger bull's-eye on these wrestlers. The bet here is that they will miss that mark. Whatever happens, their preseason successes have made this season a lot more interesting before it has even started.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Just off an impressive showing at the East Stroudsburg Open, the University of North Carolina wrestling team returns home to host the annual Carolina Open Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. at Carmichael Auditorium. Admission to the event is free, and finals are expected to begin around 6 p.m. Several in-state opponents join the Tar Heels in the field, as Duke, UNC Greensboro, Appalachian State, Campbell and Davidson are all expected to compete. Carolina is paced by junior heavyweight Spencer Nadolsky, who is 11-1 on the young season with seven pins. He placed third at last weekend's East Stroudsburg Open. Sophomore Alex Maciag is coming off a second-place finish at 174 and is 6-2 on the season. Other Tar Heels off to a quick start include 197-pounder David Dashiell, who is 7-2, and redshirt freshman Vincent Ramirez, who is 8-3 at 141 pounds after two weekends of action. Following the Carolina Open, the Tar Heels return to the mat at Penn State's Nittany Lion Open, Sunday, Dec. 4.

PROBABLE LINEUPS Iowa Hawkeyes (0-0-0 Overall, 0-0-0 in Big Ten) Wt. Name Yr. Hometown (HS/Last School) Record 125 Trent Goodale Sr. Osage, IA (Osage) 0-1 OR Lucas Magnani Jr. Long Island, NY (St. Anthony's/Brown) 1-2 133 Daniel Dennis Fr. Ingleside, IL (Grant) 4-2 OR Gabe Ruhkala Sr. Loomis, CA (Del Oro) 0-2 141 Alex Tsirtsis So. Griffith, IN (Griffith) 4-1 149 Ty Eustice Sr.. Blue Earth, MN (Blue Earth) 5-0 157 Joe Johnston Sr. Prairie Village, KS (Shawnee Mission E.) 4-2 165 Eric Luedke Jr. Colby, KS (Colby/Colby CC) 5-1 OR Cole Pape Sr. Maquoketa, IA (Maquoketa) 4-2 174 Mark Perry So. Stillwater, OK (Blair Academy, NJ) 0-0 OR Ben Stedman Jr. Sioux City, IA (Bishop Heelan) 1-2 184 Paul Bradley Sr. Tama, IA (South Tama) 0-0 197 Adam Fellers Sr. Fort Dodge, IA (Fort Dodge) 0-2 HWT Matt Fields So. Lowden, IA (North Cedar) 2-1 OR Ryan Fuller Jr. Lisbon, IA (Lisbon) 2-2 Arizona State Sun Devils (3-1-0 Overall, 1-0-0 in Pac-10) Wt. Name Yr. Hometown (Last School) Record 125 Jeremy Mendoza Sr. Temecula, CA (Temecula Valley) 6-1 133 Adam Hickey So. Mayfield, OH (Mayfield) 4-4 141 Jason Robbins Fr. Orlando, FL (Oviedo) 3-1 149 Pat Payne So. Poway, CA (Poway) 4-3 157 Kevin Gaughan Jr. Mesa, AZ (Red Mountain) 4-3 Brian Stith Jr. Hampton, VA (Frank W. Cox) 0-0 165 Patrick Pitsch So. Spanaway, WA (Spanaway Lake) 8-1 174 Alex Pavlenko *Fr. Mesa, AZ (Marcos de Niza) 2-4 OR Jamie Robbins Jr. Mesa, AZ (Mountain View) 2-2 184 Jason Trulson So. Fountain Hills, AZ (Fountain Hills) 4-2 197 Ryan Bader Sr. Reno, NV (McQueen) 5-4 HWT Cain Velasquez Sr. Yuma, AZ (Iowa Central CC) 9-0 THIS WEEK Iowa (0-0) will open the 2005-06 dual meet season Saturday at Arizona State (3-1). The meet will be held at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, AZ, and start at 7 p.m. (CT). ON THE AIR Radio - Morrie Adams and four-time Hawkeye all-American Mark Ironside will call this season's action live on AM-800 KXIC. To listen to the broadcast online, go to the wrestling schedule page on www.hawkeyesports.com. Broadcasts are available using the CSTV All-Access subscription, which can be purchased for $6.95 per month or $49.95 per year. ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS Arizona State is 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Pac-10, with wins over Pacific-Oregon (38-6), Southern Oregon (28-9) and Portland State (43-6) and a loss to Lehigh (29-7). Head Coach Thom Ortiz is 46-27-1 in five seasons at Arizona State. The Sun Devils are led by returning all-Americans Brian Stith (157), Ryan Bader (197) and Cain Velasquez (Hwt.) Velasquez, who is 9-0 this season, won the heavyweight division at the East Stroudsburg Open in Stroudsburg, PA, last weekend. THE SERIES Iowa leads the series with Arizona State, 20-1-1, winning the last 14 meetings. The Hawkeyes are 8-1-1 against the Sun Devils in Tempe. Iowa's last win in the series was a 29-10 decision in Iowa City last season. Arizona State's last win in the series was a 22-18 decision, in Tempe, in 1988. HAVEN'T WE MET? Here are past results of potential Iowa-Arizona State matchups: 125 Lucas Magnani (I) is 0-1 vs. Jeremy Mendoza (ASU) Mendoza maj. dec. Magnani, 14-0, at 2004-05 dual 157 Joe Johnston (I) is 1-1 vs. Brian Stith (ASU) Stith dec. Johnston, 9-7, at 2003-04 dual Johnston dec. Stith, 8-5, at 2004-05 dual Hwt. Matt Fields (I) is 1-0 vs. Cain Velasquez (ASU) Fields dec. Velasquez, 4-3, at 2004-05 dual Hwt. Ryan Fuller (I) is 0-1 vs. Cain Velasquez (ASU) Velasquez dec. Fuller, 6-1, at 2003-04 dual LAST MEETING Iowa opened the 2004-05 dual season November 27 with a 29-10 victory over Arizona State in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes recorded their 775th dual win in school history with the victory. Arizona State fell to 0-1 with the loss. It was the Carver-Hawkeye Arena debut for seven Hawkeyes, and Iowa went 8-2 overall on the evening. The results: Iowa 29, Arizona State 10 174 Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. Rick Renzi (ASU), 8-5 184 Paul Bradley (I) dec. C.B. Dollaway (ASU), 9-7 sv 197 Ryan Bader (ASU) pinned Dane Pape (I), 2:23 Hwt. Matt Fields (I) dec. Cain Velasquez (ASU), 4-3 125 Jeremy Mendoza (ASU) maj. dec. Lucas Magnani (I), 14-0 133 Mario Galanakis (I) pinned Adam Hickey (ASU), 1:29 141 Alex Tsirtsis (I) maj. dec. Chris Frieje (ASU), 10-2 149 Ty Eustice (I) dec. Patrick Williams (ASU), 6-3 157 Joe Johnston (I) dec. Brian Stith (ASU), 8-5 165 Mark Perry (I) maj. dec. Patrick Pitsch (ASU), 14-3 LAST WEEK Senior Ty Eustice (149) and freshman Ryan Morningstar (157) were Iowa's two individual champions at the 2005 Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha, NE. Iowa sent 26 competitors to the tournament, which featured 650 wrestlers from 42 teams, making it the nation's largest single-day collegiate tournament. It was Eustice's first competition of the season, while Morningstar placed third at the Spartan Open in Dubuque earlier this month. Eustice scored a major decision and four decisions en route to his 149-pound open division title, improving to 5-0 on the season and 88-26 in his career. Morningstar scored two pins, a technical fall and two decisions on his way to the 20-and-under division title at 157. He is now 9-1 on the season. Also placing for Iowa in the open division were sophomore Alex Tsirtsis (141-2nd), senior Joe Johnston (157-2nd), junior Eric Luedke (165-3rd), senior Cole Pape (165-4th) and sophomore Matt Fields (Hwt.-2nd). Placing for the Hawkeyes in the 20-and-under division were freshmen Thomas Magnani (125-5th), Daniel Dennis (133-5th) and Dan Erekson (197-3rd), and redshirt freshmen Jacob Neuzil (174-5th) and Michael Bucklin (Hwt.-6th). 2005 NWCA All-STAR CLASSIC Hawkeye seniors Joe Johnston (157) and Paul Bradley (184) competed at the 40th annual NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps Monday night in Stillwater, OK. Both wrestlers lost close matches. Johnston faced Illinois' Alex Tirapelle in what was a rematch of the 2005 NCAA Championship quarterfinals. Johnston scored an escape in the second period, but Tirapelle tied the match at 1-1 with an escape of his own to start the third period. Tirapelle then scored a takedown with 1:15 left in the match. Johnston escaped to make the score 3-2, but could not score in the final minute. Tirapelle received a point for riding time to win, 4-2. Tirapelle is now 4-2 against Johnston in his career. Bradley lost to Illinois' Pete Friedl, 4-3, in the first meeting between the two. Friedl scored a takedown in the first period and an escape in the second to take a 3-0 lead. Bradley scored an escape and a takedown late in the third period, but Friedl escaped with 30 seconds left for the 4-3 win. 2005 NWCA All-Star Classic Results Hwt. - Tervel Dlagney (UNK) dec. Josh Leadingfox (UCO), 6-3 125 - Sam Hazewinkel (Oklahoma) dec. Nick Simmons (Michigan St.), 6-2 133 - Darrell Vasquez (Cal Poly) dec. Mack Reiter (Minnesota), 6-3 141 - Nate Gallick (Iowa St.) dec. Teyon Ware (Oklahoma), 3-1 149 - Eric Tannenbaum (Michigan) dec. Zack Esposito (Oklahoma St.), 7-3 157 - Alex Tirapelle (Illinois) dec. Joe Johnston (Iowa), 4-2 165 - Matt Nagel (Minnesota) dec. Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma St.), 5-3 174 - Jake Herbert (Northwestern) dec. Jacob Klein (Nebraska), 8-5 184 - Pete Friedl (Illinois) dec. Paul Bradley (Iowa), 4-3 197 - Jake Rosholt (Oklahoma St.) dec. Joel Flaggert (Oklahoma), 8-3 Hwt. - Kole Conrad (Minnesota) dec. Steven Mocco (Oklahoma St.), 4-1 TB-1 HEAD COACH JIM ZALESKY Jim Zalesky is in his ninth season as head coach at the University of Iowa. He has a school and career record of 116-27 (.811). Named National Coach of the Year in 1998 and 1999, and Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2004, he has led the Hawkeyes to three NCAA (1998-00) and three Big Ten titles (1998, 2000, 2004). Zalesky has coached 10 NCAA Champions, 20 Big Ten Champions and 40 all-Americans at Iowa. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in June 2004, the University of Iowa Letterman's Club Hall of Fame and the Iowa High School Athletic Association Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1994. A three-time national champion and one of Iowa's 15 four-time all-Americans, Zalesky was an assistant coach and head recruiter at Iowa under Dan Gable for seven seasons (1991-97). He was named Assistant Coach of the Year by the N.W.C.A. in 1992 and 1997. Undefeated as a junior and senior, Zalesky ended his career on an 89-match winning streak. IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY Iowa's overall dual meet record is 784-202-30 (.786) in 93 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 20 national titles, including nine of the last 15, and 31 Big Ten titles. Iowa's 47 NCAA Champions have won a total of 73 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 13 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes' 99 Big Ten Champions have won a total of 180 conference individual titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 24 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa's 127 all-Americans have earned all-America status 258 times, including 16 four-time, 27 three-time and 29 two-time honorees. PACK THE PLACE - BREAK THE RECORD The Hawkeyes will try to regain the dual meet national attendance record when they host defending NCAA champion and top-ranked Oklahoma State on January 7. Match time is set for 7:30 p.m. The current national attendance record of 15,646 was set February 1, 2002, when Iowa wrestled at Minnesota. IOWA TICKET INFORMATION Season tickets and single meet tickets for Iowa's seven home duals are on sale at the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-424-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com. University of Iowa students will be admitted free of charge for all duals except Oklahoma State. Season Tickets - $56 - General Public; $49 - University Faculty & Staff Single-Match Tickets (Advance Purchase)* - $8 - Adults; $4 - Youth Single-Match Tickets (Gate Purchase)* - $10 - Adults; $5 - Youth Group Rates* - $4 - Per person with a group of 15 or more * Iowa vs. Oklahoma State tickets are $10 each. The group rate for the Iowa vs. Oklahoma State dual is $5 per person. CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Jim Zalesky, Troy Steiner, Tim Hartung, Luke Eustice and Mike Zadick earned a total of six NCAA titles, 10 Big Ten titles and 15 all-America honors. Their combined college career wrestling record is 596-90-1 (.881), including four undefeated seasons. HAWKEYES LEAD NATION IN ATTENDANCE Iowa wrestling fans love their Hawkeyes, and have no problem coming out to show it. Iowa led the nation in home dual meet attendance last season, posting a season average of 5,073 fans per home dual. Oklahoma State was second (4,542) and Lehigh third (2,488). The Hawkeye's ability to draw crowds on the road has helped 10 schools set dual attendance records. In 2004-05, Cal Davis (5,150) and Illinois (3,573) set records when they hosted the Hawkeyes. The other eight schools are Minnesota (15,646 - 2002), Iowa State (14,507 - 1982), Penn State (11,245 - 1996), Northern Iowa (10,200 - 1976), North Dakota State (6,307 - 1992), Pennsylvania (5,109 - 2002), Wisconsin (4,800 - 1978) and Cleveland State (3,620 - 1987). Iowa has been a part of the 35 largest recorded dual meet crowds, helping to set the national attendance record 10 times. The current attendance record of 15,646 was set February 1, 2002, when Iowa wrestled at Minnesota. Thirty-two of the top 35 matchups were with intra-state rival Iowa State. The Hawkeyes have also wrestled in front of 44 of the 47 recorded dual crowds over 10,000. In 2004-05, Iowa competed in 11 of the top 20 reported dual crowds, hosting six (Iowa State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Indiana and Arizona State) and visiting for five (Oklahoma State, Cal-Davis, Illinois, Penn State and Northern Iowa).

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COLUMBIA, Mo. -- University of Illinois redshirt-freshman wrestler Mke Poeta won the Missouri Open title at 157 pounds, Sunday, as the Illini opened the 2005 season on a high note. The Illini had 11 wrestlers place in the tournament despite missing their four All-Americans from the lineup. Poeta (Highland Park, Ill.) won four straight matches at 157 pounds, taking advantage of a forfeit by Mike Chandler of Missouri in the finals to win his second consecutive Missouri Open title. For the second straight year, junior 174-pounder Donny Reynolds (Frankfort, Ill.) finished in second place, this time losing to No. 1-ranked Ben Askren of Missouri, 25-10. Senior Tyrone Byrd (Clinton, Ill.) battled through the championship bracket for a second-place finish at 197, dropping a 3-1 decision to At 149 pounds, redshirt-freshman Troy Tirapelle (Clovis, Calif.) recovered from an early loss to win five matches in a row and earn a third place finish with a 5-2 decision over Chris Seta of Campbellsville University. Junior heavyweight Matt Weight (Batavia, Ill.) placed third with his 7-2 decision over Brad Farmer of Oklahoma. Junior Matt Winterhalter (Durand, Ill.) finished the day in fourth place at 174 pounds, while 141-pound junior Joel Karr (Clinton, Ill.) placed fifth. Senior heavyweight Matt Fletcher (Peru, Ill.) took sixth. The Illini also saw great success in the freshman division as Nick Guida (Allentown, Pa.) won five straight matches at 174 pounds, downing No. 2 seed Matt Cauley of Lindenwood University to win his first collegiate title. Clint Arlis (Batavia, Ill.), 149 pounds and heavyweight John Wise (Pittsfield, Ill.) placed second, while 184-pounder Jake Norman (Batavia, Ill.) placed fourth and heavyweight Andy Greenawalt (Naperville, Ill.) placed fifth. The Illini return to action on Dec. 2-3 as they travel to the Las Vegas Invitational. MISSOURI OPEN 1st: Mike Poeta (157); 2nd: Donny Reynolds (174); Tyrone Byrd (197); 3rd: Troy Tirapelle (149), Matt Weight (Hwt.); 4th: Matt Winterhalter (174); 5th: Joel Karr (141); 6th: Matt Fletcher (Hwt) FRESHMAN DIVISION 1st: Nick Guida (174); 2nd: Clint Arlis (149), John Wise (Hwt.); 4th: Jake Norman (184); 5th: Andy Greenawalt (Hwt.)

Last year at this time junior Darrell Vasquez was living with the realization that he would have to sit out an entire season due to illness. One year later he is celebrating a victory over the No. 3 ranked 133 pound wrestler in the country. Vasquez, who was added to the NWCA All Star Classic to fill in for Wisconsin's Tom Clum, defeated Mack Reiter of Minnesota, 6-3 in what could be a taste of things to come for the former All-American. Vasquez, ranked fifth in the country in the NWCA/Intermat and W.I.N. poll, finished second the Pac-10 championship in 2004, and followed that up with a fourth-place finish in the national championships. He led the team with a 30-7 record, as well as a 9-1 record in dual matches. Reiter, who is ranked No. 3 in both the NWCA/Intermat poll and the W.I.N. poll is coming off a 2005 season standout freshman season that saw him capture the Big Ten title in convincing fashion by pinning top-seeded Mark Jayne of Illinois in the finals. Reiter was also an All-American, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Big Ten Championship's Most Outstanding Wrestler, and his 40 wins on the season was the fifth-highest total in school history. The 6-3 victory will likely move Vasquez up in national polls, and he will now seriously be considered a national champion contender. Including Reiter, twenty All-Americans appeared in the classic , including five defending national champions. Vasquez was also successful in Cal Poly's annual Green vs. Gold scrimmage last Thursday, pinning sophomore Eric Melgares at 5:51. The Mustangs as a team are currently ranked No. 21 in the country by NWCA/Intermat wrestling. Vasquez has only continued the hot start for the 2005-06 season as sophomore Chad Mendes and junior Matt Monteiro both took first place last weekend in the Fullerton Open. Mendes is No. 12 in the country at 125 pounds, while Monteiro is No.15 at 197. Cal Poly will continue its season Wednesday Nov. 30, taking on Pac-10 member, Cal State Fullerton in the first dual match of the season, with a start time of 7 p.m.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- In front of a home Oklahoma State crowd, junior/sophomore Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS), a member of the University of Michigan wrestling team, defeated the Cowboys' top-ranked Zack Esposito 7-3 at the National Wrestling Coaches Association's 40th annual All-Star Classic on Monday (Nov. 21) at Gallagher-Iba Arena. In a rematch of last season's 149-pound NCAA semifinal, which Esposito won 7-2 en route to his first NCAA individual championship, Tannenbaum, ranked third preseason in all major polls, rallied from a two-point deficit to post six points in the third frame and claim the biggest win of his collegiate career to date. Esposito struck first after a scoreless first period, scoring on a reversal early in the middle frame to take a 2-0 advantage. Tannenbaum freed himself to cut the lead to one point and warded off further OSU attacks late in the period. Starting in the down position to begin the third period, Tannenbaum took control of the match, scoring a quick reversal and adding a pair of back points to steal away the lead for good. After Esposito pulled away to earn the one-point escape, Tannenbaum scored again on a takedown late in the period and rode out the Cowboy wrestler to secure the win in his first action of the 2005-06 campaign. Tannenbaum is the 29th Wolverine wrestler to compete at the annual all-star meet and the third in as many years. His win marked the first U-M all-star win since Otto Olson and Andy Hrovat each collected big victories at the 2002 event. At that meet, Hrovat earned a 7-5 decision against Indiana's top-ranked Viktor Sveda. The Wolverines will kick off the season on Saturday (Nov. 26) against Big Ten Conference rival Penn State in State College, Pa. The match is slated for a 1 p.m. start at the Nittany Lions' Rec Hall.

Stillwater, Okla. -- Iowa State's second-ranked Nate Gallick defeated Oklahoma's top-ranked Teyon Ware, 3-1, at 141 pounds at the 40th annual NWCA All-Star Classic in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Gallick, a two-time All-American and two-time Big 12 champion, has won six of seven matches in his career against Ware, a two-time national champion. Gallick has beaten Ware the past two years in the finals at the Big 12 Championship and topped the Sooner at the 2004 NCAA Championships for fifth place. Gallick also downed Ware in 2004 in Norman, Okla., for his first loss since capturing the 2003 NCAA title. The Tucson, Ariz., native beat defeated and gave him his first loss of the season in Ames last season when the Cyclones routed Oklahoma, 30-6. Ware beat Gallick in the finals at the 2005 NCAA Championships. Gallick only needs 18 more wins to become ISU's 29th wrestler to reach 100 career victories. His next opponent will be Iowa's sophomore NCAA qualifier Alex Tsirtsis at the Dec. 2 dual in Ames. Tsirtsis is coming off a runner-up performance at the Kaufman-Brand Open where he downed No. 18 Josh Wooton from Northern Illinois in the semifinals but was major decisioned in the finals by Virginia Tech's David Hoffman. Gallick topped Tsirtsis in Iowa City last season, a 2-1 overtime battle, and dealt the freshman his first official loss since junior high.

NORMAN, Okla. -- Three Sooner wrestlers competed in the 40th annual NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps. The event took place inside Oklahoma State's Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla., on Monday night. Representing the Sooners were Sam Hazewinkel, Teyon Ware and Joel Flaggert. "Sam was outstanding tonight in the way he dominated someone of the caliber of Nick Simmons," said head coach Jack Spates. No. 3 ranked Hazewinkel at 125 pounds defeated No. 4 ranked Nick Simmons of Michigan State, 6-2, in the opening match of the night. Hazewinkel defeated Simmons last year at the All-Star Classic by a score of 2-0. Hazewinkel claimed the match by scoring two takedowns and two escapes. "This was a good way to start out the year defeating a ranked opponent," said Hazewinkel. "I need to keep it going and build off of this win." No. 1 ranked Ware, wrestling at 141 pounds, was defeated by No. 2 ranked Nate Gallick of Iowa State, 3-1 in a rematch of last season's 141 pound NCAA Title match, which Ware won 3-2. Tonight Gallick scored on an early takedown at the end of the first period and Ware was only able to score an escape in the second period, which was followed by a Gallick escape to finish the match. Flaggert, ranked No. 2 at 197 pounds, was defeated by No. 1 ranked Jake Rosholt of Oklahoma State, 8-3. Rosholt scored on an early takedown and later on a reversal and Flaggert was never able to overcome the defecit. "This is a great experience and a great event for our guys to compete in and it's only going to help us down the road," continued Spates. "Teyon and Joel will learn a lot from this experience and be better for it." The Sooners will be hosting the 35th annual Oklahoma Open on Thanksgiving weekend.

STILLWATER, OK -- Hawkeye seniors Joe Johnston (157) and Paul Bradley (184) competed at the 40th annual NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps Monday night in Stillwater, OK. Both wrestlers lost close matches in the competition. Johnston faced Illinois' Alex Tirapelle in what was a rematch of the 2005 NCAA Championship quarterfinals. Johnston scored an escape in the second period, but Tirapelle tied the match at 1-1 with an escape of his own to start the third period. Tirapelle then scored a takedown with 1:15 left in the match. Johnston escaped to make the score 3-2, but could not score in the final minute. Tirapelle received a point for riding time to win, 4-2. Tirapelle is now 4-2 against Johnston in his career. Bradley lost to Illinois' Pete Friedl, 4-3, in the first meeting between the two. Friedl scored a takedown in the first period and an escape in the second to take a 3-0 lead. Bradley scored an escape and a takedown late in the third period, but Friedl escaped with 30 seconds left for the 4-3 win. Iowa will open the 2005-06 dual meet season Saturday at Arizona State. Match time is scheduled for 8 p.m. (CT) in Tempe, AZ. The Sun Devils are 3-1-0 on the season.

Junior Cole Konrad handed two-time defending NCAA Champion Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State his first loss since his freshman season at the NWCA/Marines All-Star Classic on Monday night in Stillwater, Okla. Konrad earned a 4-1 double overtime decision at heavyweight. Senior All-American Matt Nagel also defeated defending NCAA Champion Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State by a 5-3 decision at 165 pounds. In double overtime, Konrad earned a penalty point after Mocco was called for hooking his hands to take a 2-1 lead and then scored a reversal with nine seconds to go to earn the 4-1 victory. Mocco has not lost a collegiate match since the championship match of his freshman year in 2002. Mocco had defeated Konrad in all three meetings a year ago, including an overtime victory in the finals at the NCAA Championships. At 165 pounds, Nagel avenged a loss to Hendricks last season with a 5-3 victory. In sudden death overtime, Nagel earned a takedown with four seconds to go to earn the win. At 133 pounds, Cal Poly's Darrell Vasquez defeated Minnesota All-American Mack Reiter by the score of 6-3. Vasquez took a 4-1 first-period lead on a pair of takedowns and held on for the win. This was the 40th annual NWCA/Marines All-Star Classic. The event attempts to pit the top two wrestlers in each weight class. The Golden Gophers begin their dual meet season on Saturday at the Northeast Duals.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State hosted the 40th annual NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps on Monday night, but its wrestlers struggled in front of the home crowd of 4,854 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena. Jake RosholtThe key to success was being an underdog as the lower ranked wrestler won seven of the ten matches. Of the six matches involving the top-ranked wrestler at their weight class, Jake Rosholt was the only one to come out victorious when he defeated Joel Flaggert at 197. The night started with a heavyweight exhibition match involving two Division II wrestlers. Tervel Dlagnev of Nebraska-Kearney scored a 6-3 decision over Central Oklahoma's Josh Leadingfox. Then the All-Stars took the mat starting with Oklahoma's third-ranked Sam Hazewinkel and Michigan State's fourth-ranked Nick Simmons. Hazewinkel scored twice on shots initiated by Simmons and used it to propel him to a 6-3 victory. The round of upsets started at 133 where fourth-ranked Darrell Vasquez of Cal Poly, who sat out all of last season with an illness, used two first period takedowns to stun Minnesota's third-ranked Mack Reiter. Second-ranked Nate Gallick of Iowa State defeated Oklahoma's top-ranked Teyon Ware for the fifth time in his career. Ware's only victory over Gallick came in the NCAA finals last season. Zack Esposito was the first Cowboy to take the mat at 149. Esposito scored the first points over Michigan's Eric Tannenbaum with a reversal in the second period. However, in the third period Tannenbaum got a reverse of his own that put Esposito on his back for a four-point move and a 5-3 lead in the match. Tannenbaum added a takedown and finished off the upset with a 7-3 decision over No. 1 Esposito. Alex TirapelleIllinois' Alex Tirapelle showed why he was a two-time All-American before last season as he defeated Iowa's top-ranked Joe Johnston. Johny Hendricks was OSU's second top-ranked wrestler to hit the mat when he faced Minnesota's Matt Nagel at 165. The bout was the first overtime match of the night. Neither wrestler could score in the first sudden victory period, and both wrestlers added escapes in the tiebreaker period. Hendricks had the riding time advantage heading into the second round of overtimes, but it did not matter as Nagel scored a takedown with four seconds left in the second sudden victory period and won 5-3. Third-ranked Jake Herbert of Northwestern was one of the few matches that held to form as he controlled Nebraska's Jacob Klein from the beginning and earned an 8-5 decision. Illinois' Pete Friedl scored the first takedown on Iowa's Paul Bradley. Bradley eventually tied the match, but Friedl took the lead with an escape with 35 seconds remaining and No. 4 defeated No. 2 at 184. It was Bedlam at 197 with the top two wrestler being from Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. OSU's Rosholt jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a takedown and a reversal and coasted over OU's Flaggert. "My match was OK," Rosholt said. "I did not stay focused for the whole seven minutes. That is something I identified that I need to work on." OSU's Steve Mocco and Minnesota's Cole Konrad went at it at heavyweight in the last match of the night. The two wrestlers went into a tiebreaker, but this time the result was different then the past few times. Konrad took a one point lead when Mocco was called for locked hands, and Konrad iced it when he scored a reversal to earn a 4-1 overtime decision over top-ranked Mocco. "Tonight, OSU wrestlers had trained hard for this and did everything we could, but we didn't do it hard enough," Oklahoma State 165-pounder Hendricks said afterward. "We did not do the extras, like myself. I thought I was doing what I needed to do, but tonight showed me that even if you work hard, it doesn't mean anything. You have to work smart too. Tonight, we did not do what we needed to, but we have time to change and that's the main thing." 40th annual NWCA All-Star Classic presented by the United States Marine Corps Monday, Nov. 21, 2005 Stillwater, Okla. • Gallagher-Iba Arena Attendance: 4,854 125 -- Sam Hazewinkel, (Oklahoma) dec. Nick Simmons, (Michigan State), 6-2 133 -- Darrell Vasquez (Cal Poly) dec. Mack Reiter (Minnesota), 6-3 141 -- Nate Gallick (Iowa State) dec. Teyon Ware (Oklahoma), 3-1 149 -- Eric Tannenbaum (Michigan) dec. Zack Esposito (Oklahoma State), 7-3 157 -- Alex Tirapelle (Illinois) dec. Joe Johnston (Iowa), 4-2 165 -- Matt Nagel (Minnesota) dec. Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State), 5-3 174 -- Jake Herbert (Northwestern) dec. Jacob Klein (Nebraska), 8-5 184 -- Pete Friedl (Illinois) dec. Paul Bradley (Iowa), 4-3 197 -- Jake Rosholt (Oklahoma State) dec. Joel Flaggert (Oklahoma), 8-3 Hwt -- Cole Konrad (Minnesota) dec. Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State), 4-1 Exhibition Match: Hwt -- Tervel Dlagnev, (Nebraska-Kearney) dec. Josh Leadingfox, (Central Oklahoma), 6-3 Related: RevWrestling.com correctly predicts seven of the 10 matches, including Darrell Vasquez over Mack Reiter and Cole Konrad over Steve Mocco upsets. Read Story.

There were few surprises at the Green - White Wrestle Offs Saturday, November 19 at Bowen Field House. Returning starters Phillip Plowman (133), Nick Conklin (141), Jermaine Thompson (149), Tony Lyssiotis (197) and Charlie Walker (285) all reclaimed their starting roles. Conklin, who is struggling early in the season, had the toughest tome of it and went into overtime to defeat junior Ahmed Joumma, who has wrestled well in open tournaments recently. True freshman Sean Clair grabbed the starting spot at 125 when he pinned fellow freshman Jack Cassedy to start the meet. At 157 newcomer Justin Brandel defeated Quinn Guernsey and at 165 redshirt freshman R. J. Pratt defeated Don Funk. In an exhibition at 174/184, Josh Lewis beat transfer John McClure. The Green edged the White squad 17-16.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Members of the Virginia Tech wrestling team competed in the Kaufman-Brand Open, hosted by The University of Nebraska Omaha, at Lee & Helene Sapp Fieldhouse all day Saturday. The one-day event is the nation's largest single-day collegiate meet. The field was broken into two brackets - an Open Division and a 20&Under Division. In the Open Division, senior David Hoffman, fresh off a title at the West Virginia Open, continued his strong start with a title at the 141-pound class by going 5-0. Brent Metcalf (149 pounds) and Steve Borja (184 pounds) both took third place for the Hokies. Mike Faust placed sixth at the heavyweight class. In the 20&Under Division, Tech's Iowa connection came through, picking up two titles and a runner-up finish. Dan LeClere took the title at 141 pounds, Jay Borschel won the 174-pound class and Joe Slaton took second at 133 pounds. Additionally, John Laboranti took fourth place at 197 pounds. 125 pounds: Tech had two wrestlers compete in the Open Division. Sophomore Justin Staylor went 0-2 on the day. He opened with a 17-2 technical fall loss to Mimi Miller of Bacone before falling 5-4 to Dustin Greenmeyer of Fort Hays State. Redshirt sophomore Christian Smith went 1-2 on the day. He opened with a 2-0, sudden victory over Chris Trampe of Augustana. He then dropped a 4-2 decision in the tiebreaker to Bryce Leonhardt of Wyoming and a 6-3 decision to Luke Magnani of Iowa. 133 pounds: The Hokies had two wrestlers compete in the 20&Under Division in this weight class. Wrestling unattached, Slaton, a freshman from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, went 5-1 to place second. He opened with a 10-3 win over Wyoming's Cory VomBaur before beating Mike Bizzle of Oklahoma State, 3-2. He then downed Shawn Tsutsumi of Dana, 5-2 and picked up a 10-2 major decision over Tony Valdez of Iowa Central. In the semifinals, he beat Max Hiatt of Northern Illinois, 5-1. In the finals, he lost to Kenny Jordan of Nebraska-Lincoln, 4-2. Representing Tech, Sheridan Moran went 2-2 on the day. He opened with an 11-3 major decision over Sonny Silva of Dana before losing a 14-3 major decision to Daniel Dennis of Iowa. He bounced back with a 6-5 win over Josh Prichard of Luther College before being eliminated with a 9-5 loss to Skylair Lappe of Chadron State. 141 pounds: Wrestling in the Open Division, Hoffman continued his early-season success at a new weight class by winning his second title in as many weeks. He opened with a 15-8 decision over Greg Romano of Nebraska Lincoln before beating Northern Iowa's Ryan Osgood, 6-2. In the quarterfinals, he beat Kyle Evans of Central Oklahoma 5-1 before downing Dustin Hinchsberger of Wartburg, 4-2, to reach the finals. There, he upset 13th-ranked Alex Tsirtis of Iowa with a 14-3 major decision in which he got back points, to claim the title. Hoffman has bumped up from 133 pounds and is now 10-0 on the year at this new weight. Not to be outdone, LeClere, a freshman from Coggin, Iowa, wrestled unattached in the 20&Under Division and won that title by going 5-0. He opened with a 3:16 fall of Bacone's Travis Kirby before beating Nick Kulseth of South Dakota State, 4-2. He then picked up a 15-5 major decision over Justin Lemmer of Chadron State. In the semifinals, he held on for a 6-5 win over Northern Iowa's Brett Robbins. In the finals, he beat Nebraska-Omaha's Sim Bribieseca, 3-1, to claim his first collegiate title. 149 pounds: Wrestling unattached in the Open Division, Metcalf didn't disappoint in his first major tournament, taking third place by going 5-1. He opened with a 14-9 decision over Cater Downing of Wyoming before beating Justin Wood of Central Oklahoma, 11-4. He then downed Ryan King of Augustana, 10-6 before falling in a controversial semifinal match. Wrestling national No. 4 and senior Ty Eustice of Iowa, he fell 2-1 after the referee gave a penalty point to Eustice because of a headgear grab by Metcalf. In the wrestlebacks, he pinned BJ Jackson of Oklahoma State at the 2:33 mark and then picked up a 9-3 win over Indiana's Andy Haukenberry to take third. 157 pounds: Wrestling unattached in the Open Division, freshman Dave Kiley went 1-2 on the day. He opened with a loss to an Independent Addison Negley, coming in a fall at 1:49. He bounced back to beat David Crowley of Oklahoma State, 7-1, but was eliminated with a 5-3 loss to John Latham of Chadron State. 165 pounds: The Hokies had two wrestlers in the 20&Under Division at this class. Mark Czarny went 0-2, falling 4-0 to Keenan McCurdy of Nebraska-Kearney and 8-3 to Zach Sikes of Central Oklahoma. Wrestling unattached, T.H. Leet went 2-2. He opened with a 6-4 loss to Kevin Wainscott of Oklahoma State before coming back to pick up a 9-1 major decision over John Terronez of Buena Vista. After beating Taylor May of Nebraksa-Kearney, 4-2, he was eliminated when he fell 3-2 to Isaac Copeland of Dana. 174 pounds: Wrestling unattached in the 20&Under Division, Borschel, a freshman from Marion, Iowa, went 5-0 to claim his first collegiate title. He opened with two pins, a 3:45 fall of Wyoming's Dan Barone and a 3:50 fall of Iowa's Jacob Neuzil. He then picked up a 4-0 win over Dan Hospodka of Nebraska-Kearney. In the semifinals, he pinned Craig Brester of Nebraska-Lincoln at the 3:58 mark before earning a 17-6 major decision in the title match over Tommy McCarty of Labette. 184 pounds: Wrestling unattached in the Open Division, Borja took third place by going 5-1. He started with a 16-4 major decision over Jon Westerby of Chadron State before beating Derek Lalowski of Northern Illinois, 6-3. After picking up a 3-0 win over KC Walsh of Boise State, he fell to Jason Lulloff of Wisconsin-Lacrosse, 9-2. In the wrestlebacks, he pinned Oklahoma State's Clay Keher at the 1:03 mark and then beat Oklahoma State's Jack Jensen 5-3 to take third. 197 pounds: Tech had two guys go in the 20&Under Division at this class. Representing Tech, Laboranti went 4-2 in placing fourth. He opened with a pin at the 1:59 mark over Chad Emery of St. Cloud State before picking up a 4-2 decision over Alec Bonander of Luther College. He then picked up a 3-1 decision over Jared Shelton of Oklahoma State. In the semifinals, he dropped a 13-3 major decision to Levi Wofford of Nebraska-Lincoln. In the wrestlebacks, he beat Tim Winker of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, 5-1, but was pinned in the third-place match by Dan Erekson of Iowa at the 1:49 mark. Wrestling unattached, Matt Woods went 2-2. He lost his opener 7-1 to Jon Jones of Iowa Central, but then won two straight. He pinned Chad Woods of St. Cloud State at the 1:16 mark and then picked up a 4-2 decision over Andy Moore of Wisconsin-LaCrosse before getting pinned by Dan Erekson of Iowa at the 1:28 mark. 285 pounds: Wrestling in the Open Division, Faust took sixth place. The redshirt senior opened with a 6-4 win over Joe Sapp of Northern Illinois before he beat Ryan Fuller of Iowa, 5-2. In the semifinals, he lost in three overtimes to No. 7 Matt Fields of Iowa, 6-5. He then lost two straight in the wrestlebacks, a 3-1 sudden victory defeat to Tervel Diagnev of Nebraska-Kearney and a medical forfeit to Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State. Wrestling unattached in the 20&Under Division, Mark Logan went 2-2. In his opener, he fell 6-2 to Jordan Hein of Wisconsin. He bounced back to pin William Weber of Labbette at the 2:36 mark before beating Jake Madrinich of Luther College, 13-9. He was eliminated when he was pinned by John Miller of Labatte at the 1:21 mark. The Hokies will now open the dual meet portion of their schedule next week, participating in the Journeyman/Brute Northeast Collegiate Duals in Guilderland Center, N.Y., on Saturday, Nov. 26. Tech will open with No. 6 Minnesota (9:30 a.m.), followed by No. 13 Central Michigan (11:30 a.m.), American (1:30 p.m.) and No. 3 Pitt-Johnstown of Division II (5 p.m.).

OMAHA -- Sophomore Roger Kish and true freshman Dustin Schlatter claimed titles at the Kaufman- Brand Open in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday night. Kish won the 184-pound title in the open division, while Schlatter earned the 149-pound crown in the 20-and-under division. The Kaufman-Brand Open is the largest single-day collegiate wrestling event in the nation. Kish remained perfect on the season with four straight wins, including a 5-3 decision against Wisconsin-Lacrosse's Jason Lullof in the finals. Kish posted his second major decision of the tournament by an 11-1 score against John Koonns of Minnesota State- Mankato in the semifinals. Five other Golden Gophers placed in the open division. Junior Andrew Domingues is attempting to replace two-time All-American Bobbe Lowe at 125 pounds. He claimed second in the tournament after being narrowly defeated by fifth-ranked Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State in the finals, 4-2. Sophomores C.P. Schlatter (157) and Gabriel Dretsch (174) placed fourth, while sophomore Manuel Rivera (141) and redshirt freshman Travis Lang (125) placed fifth. In the 20-and-under division, Dustin Schlatter cruised to the finals with three pins, a technical fall and a major decision. He claimed the title with a 14-7 decision against Northern Iowa's Joseph Cornejo. The top recruit in the nation, Schlatter is expected to be in the starting lineup next week when Minnesota begins its dual meet season at the Northeast Duals. Minnesota also had two more true freshmen place in the 20-and-under division. Bloomington native Jayson Ness earned second place at 125 pounds after a slim 3-2 loss against Oklahoma State's Tyler Shinn in the finals. Glencoe native Nate Matousek placed fifth at 165 pounds. The Golden Gophers return to the road next week when they travel to New York for the Northeast Duals. Golden Gopher Placewinners Open Division: 1st – Roger Kish (184) 2nd - Andrew Domingues (125) 4th – C.P. Schlatter (157) 4th – Gabriel Dretsch (174) 5th – Travis Lang (125) 5th – Manuel Rivera (141) 20-and-Under Division: 1st – Dustin Schlatter (149) 2nd – Jayson Ness (125) 5th – Nate Matousek (165) )