InterMat Staff

The Dana College wrestling program made history this weekend by claiming Dana's first ever team national championship by defeating the University of Cumberlands in the NAIA National Duals finals in the UNI-Dome. With a capacity crowd of close to 8,000 spectators, Dana defeated the #6 ranked Cumberlands 22-13 which handed the Dana program and head Coach Steve Costanzo their first national title. The Vikings finished 4-0 in the competition with dual wins over Montana State-Northern, Southern Oregon, Missouri Valley College and University of Cumberlands. The Vikings were ranked No. 4 nationally heading into the competition and received the No. 3 seed in the tournament. Dana narrowly defeated Missouri Valley College in the semifinal round. After losing three straight matches the Vikings needed bonus points to win the dual. Willie Parks (Garden Grove, Calif) delivered a pin in the 184-pound match in 3:41. Blair Alderman (Spokane, Wash.) followed up at 197-pounds with a major decision to secure the dual victory for Dana 19-15 over Mo Valley. Then in the finals, Cumberlands took a significant lead with three straight victories in the lower weights. But Ben Henderson (Federal Way, Wash.) turned the tides for Dana with a win at 157 pounds. Trent Leichleiter (Harvard, Neb.) followed with a win at 165 pounds to bring the team score to 10-9. Dana trailed by just one point until Marshall Marquardt (Altoona, Iowa) pinned his opponent at 174 pounds. Fans were looking for Parks at 184, but Nick Wilkes (Onamia, Minn.) took the mat for Dana and picked up more points for the Vikings with a 9-1 major decision. Parks stepped in at 197 pounds, but lost a close match in which he had a 13-pound disadvantage. Alderman handled the heavyweight match for Dana and again secured the dual victory with a 5-3 win in the match. Craig Trampe (125 Ord, Neb.), Marquardt (174) and Alderman (197) won all four of their matches in the dual tournament. Trampe, unranked among the nation's best 125 pound wrestlers, defeated No. 1 ranked Delrico Choates in the finals by a score of 3-2. Marquardt, also unranked in his weight class, defeated No. 2 ranked David O'Brien of Southern Oregon 15-10 and scored the key fall in the finals over Todd Allen of Cumberlands to put the Vikings in the lead. Alderman, currently ranked No. 6, finished 4-0 in dominating fashion, highlighted by a key major decision against Missouri Valley in the semi-finals to clinch the victory. Alderman also bumped up to heavyweight in the finals and won by a score of 5-2 over Cumberlands' Matt Bishop 5-3. Willie Parks (184) was voted the Outstanding Wrestler for the NAIA division. Parks, the NAIA No. 1 ranked wrestler recorded an important fall in the semi-finals against Josh Johnston of Missouri Valley to help Dana College to a semi-finals victory and launched the team into the national finals. "This was a real team effort. When one guy was down, another picked it up. Everything fell into place for us," said Coach Costanzo. "This is a huge step for our program and our school." The Vikings dual record is now 10-1-1. Dana will host Missouri Valley College Friday night in Blair for the annual "Pack the House Night" at 6 pm. The Vikings will then travel to Northwestern College on Saturday to compete in the annual Northwestern Invitational. University of the Cumberlands (Cumb) 13 Dana College (Dana) 22 125 Craig Trampe (Dana) WBD Delrico Choates (Cumb) D 3-2 133 Mikeal Brooks (Cumb) WBD Sonny Silva (Dana) D 10-9 141 Bradley Cooper (Cumb) WBD Terrence Almond (Dana) M 12-3 149 Dustin Center (Cumb) WBD Jason Lozier (Dana) D 6-2 157 Ben Henderson (Dana) WBD Tommy Hutchinson (Cumb) D 9-6 165 Trent Leichleiter (Dana) WBD Nathanal Jolly (Cumb) D 5-2 174 Marshall Marquardt (Dana) WBF Todd Allen (Cumb) F 1:59 184 Nick Wilkes (Dana) WBD Matt Reis (Cumb) M 9-1 197 Eric Flinchum (Cumb) WBD Willie Parks (Dana) D 12-6 285 Blair Alderman (Dana) WBD Matt Bishop (Cumb) D 5-3 Dana DEFEATS Missouri Valley College in Semifinals 19-15 125 Craig Trampe (Dana) WBD Brandon Nice (Mo Val) D 5-2 133 Jon Gerhold (Mo Val) WBD Sonny Silva (Dana) D 8-4 141 Terrence Almond (Dana) WBD Nathaniel Troupe (Mo Val) D 7-4 149 Jody Ashline (Mo Val) WBD Jason Lozier (Dana) D 11-4 157 Darion Terry (Mo Val) WBD Ben Henderson (Dana) D 6-5 TB0 165 Chad Jennings (Mo Val) WBD Trent Leichleiter (Dana) D 9-2 174 Marshall Marquardt (Dana) WBD Jake Oberfoell (Mo Val) D 6-4 184 Willie Parks (Dana) WBF Josh Johnston (Mo Val) F 3:41 197 Blair Alderman (Dana) WBD Kyle Riley (Mo Val) M 18-7 285 Chris Johnson (Mo Val) WBD Wade Jordan (Dana) D 5-4 Dana College (Dana) 29 Southern Oregon University 6 125 Craig Trampe (Dana) WBD Trevor Lofstedt (S Or) D 2-1 TB0 133 Sonny Silva (Dana) WBD Barry Johnson (S Or) D 4-2 141 Terrence Almond (Dana) WBD Matt Holt (S Or) M 15-3 149 Jason Lozier (Dana) WBD Joey Jannsen (S Or) D 8-4 157 Scott Taylor (Dana) WBD Jimmy Ulrey (S Or) M 13-5 165 Ben Henderson (Dana) WBD Jimmy Grochowsky (S Or) D 3-2 174 Marshall Marquardt (Dana) WBD David O'Brien (S Or) D 15-10 184 Willie Parks (Dana) WBD Rick Story (S Or) D 12-5 197 Blair Alderman (Dana) WBD Grant Thompson (S Or) D 5-1 285 Taylor Wilkerson (S Or) WBF Wade Jordan (Dana) F 4:59 Dana 27 Montana State Northern 13 125 Craig Trampe (Dana) WBD Brock Zollinger (Mon St N) M 15-4 133 Micheal McPeak (Mon St N) WBD Sonny Silva (Dana) M 19-7 141 Terrence Almond (Dana) WBF Colt Hager (Mon St N) F 4:12 149 Chris Smith (Mon St N) WBD Jason Lozier (Dana) D 8-3 157 Ben Henderson (Dana) WBD Ty Aiken (Mon St N) D 10-7 165 Trent Leichleiter (Dana) WBD Aaron Jensen (Mon St N) D 5-0 174 Marshall Marquardt (Dana) WBD Colter Dimas (Mon St N) M 12-3 184 Willie Parks (Dana) WBD Ryan Mattingly (Mon St N) M 12-4 197 Blair Alderman (Dana) WBD Chad Seely (Mon St N) D 11-7 285 Brian Fritchman (Mon St N) WBF Wade Jordan (Dana) F 4:17

OREM, Utah -- Despite having good success on the mat, the Utah Valley State wrestling team fell 23-21 to Northern Colorado Monday night after losing 12 points to forfeits, which proved too costly in the end. The Wolverines came out ahead in four of the seven bouts that took place, but three forfeits (two by UV and one by Northern Colorado) overshadowed what could have been a win for UV. "It's frustrating to lose a match like that," said Utah Valley head coach Cody Sanderson. "We beat them in just about every position. But to give up 12 points on forfeits is just too much to come back from. I'm pleased with our effort but I'm just frustrated with the outcome." The Wolverines jumped ahead early when star 133 pound senior Erkin Tadzhimetov made quick work of Adam Garcia, pinning him 1:51 into the contest. The win boosted his season record to 23-7 as the 20th ranked wrestler (Amateur Wrestling News) has now won seven straight matches. "Erkin did what we needed him to do. We needed those bonus points and went out there and got them," said Sanderson. The match of the night was at 141 pounds, when Wolverine freshman Daniel Polkowske erased an early deficit scoring a takedown with :25 seconds left to win 7-6 over Richard Lohr. That win gave the Wolverines a 15-6 lead. "Polkowske did a great job. He made some mistakes early and got behind but he did an incredible job to come back in the third period," said Sanderson. "In college wrestling to come back from that point just doesn't happen very often, especially with a freshman." Tanner Cowan won his third match in the last four chances when he topped Nathan Gerrard in a competitive match, 4-1, putting UV on top 18-9. "Earlier on in the season Tanner was really struggling with his confidence," said Sanderson. "But the last couple of weeks he has kind of relaxed and refocused and he's gotten some wins." After UNC's Devan Lewis came back in the third period to top Devin Siddoway 6-3, 20th ranked Shawn Hart scored a tech fall over UV's DJ Meis to give the Bears a huge advantage down the stretch. That match put the score at 18-17 Wolverines, but with one forfeit remaining the Bears had a five point advantage. That put all of the pressure on Wolverine senior Ivan Bigney in the final match of the night. Bigney scored a decisive 10-3 win over Tim Sexton in the 184 pound match, but needed to score at least a tech fall to force a tie. "That was one of the best matches that I've seen Ivan wrestle," said Sanderson. "That kid he wrestled is real good. And to win in the fashion that he did, that was impressive." Up next the Wolverines will compete in the Cowboy Duals at Wyoming on Saturday. Their next home match comes on February 4th against South Dakota State.

Team_ 1. Cornell 2. Lehigh 3. Penn 4. Navy 5. Army 6. Harvard 7. American 8. Columbia 125_ 1. Troy Nickerson, Cornell 2. Mike Silengo, Penn 3. Jeff Sato, Columbia 4. Matt Morkel, American 5. Matt Fisk, Lehigh 6. Jeff Schell, Brown 133_ 1. Matt Valenti, Penn 2. Robbie Preston, Harvard 3. Mike Mormile, Cornell 4. Frank Baughan, Army 5. Jeff Santo, Lehigh 6. Nate Nauroth, East Stroudsburg 141_ 1. Cory Cooperman, Lehigh 2. Cesar Grajales, Penn 3. Max Meltzer, Harvard 4. Steve Adamcski, Rutgers 5. Stephen Sutton, Columbia 6. Alex Bimes, East Stroudsburg 149_ 1. Matt Dragon, Penn 2. John Cox, Navy 3. Tom Kniezewski, American 4. Patrick Simpson, Army 5. Matt Ciasulli, Lehigh 6. Ricky Turk, Columbia 157_ 1. Dustin Manotti, Cornell 2. Derek Zinck, Lehigh 3. John Jarred, Navy 4. Andrew Flanagan, Harvard 5. Gene Zannetti, Penn 6. Rudy Rueda, American 165_ 1. Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov, American 2. Steve Anceravage, Cornell 3. Troy Letters, Lehigh 4. Craig Dziewiatkowski, Navy 5. Lior Zamir, Penn 6. Keith Smith, East Stroudsburg 174_ 1. Travis Frick, Lehigh 2. Matt Palmer, Columbia 3. Matt Stolpinski, Navy 4. Luke Hogle, Cornell 5. Matt Herrington, Penn 6. Michael Whalen, Rutgers 184_ 1. Josh Glenn, American 2. Joe Mazzurco, Cornell 3. Louis Caputo, Harvard 4. Rudy Medini, Rutgers 5. Dustin Wiles, Penn 6. David Helfrich, Lehigh 197_ 1. Jerry Rinaldi, Cornell 2. Paul Velekei, Penn 3. Matt Cassidy, Lehigh 4. Jake Butler, Princeton 5. Todd Wisman, Army 6. Chris Pogue, Navy 285_ 1. Tanner Garrett, Navy 2. Bode Ogunwole, Harvard 3. Adam LoPiccolo, American 4. Paul Weibel, Lehigh 5. Nathan Thobaben, Army 6. Adam Karasevicz, East Stroudsburg

Upper Iowa University senior C.J. MacNaught (Walton, N.Y.) was named one of two Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Wrestlers of the Week today. The 174-pounder won all three of his matches for the Peacocks at the NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls Saturday. MacNaught shared the NSIC honor with Tim Johns of Southwest Minnesota State. In Upper Iowa's 22-15 loss to #6 Ashland, MacNaught came through with an 8-5 decision over Clint Carmony. He recorded an 11-3 major decision win over Jesse Sheets in UIU's 19-19 tie with #18 Central Missouri State. MacNaught ended Saturday with a 16-8 major decision over UNC-Pembroke's Richard Alstrom. Upper Iowa defeated UNC-Pembroke 47-0. MacNaught is currently ranked sixth at 174 pounds in the recent Division II Wrestling Coaches Association rankings. Upper Iowa is 13th as a team. Upper Iowa is an affiliate member of the NSIC in wrestling this season and will be a full league member beginning in 2006-07. The Peacocks will travel to Aberdeen, S.D., to battle Northern State in a dual meet Friday at 7 p.m. Upper Iowa University, located in Fayette, is the only NCAA Division II institution in the state of Iowa.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA -- The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that Wartburg College wrestler Dustin Hinschberger (Belle Plaine, Iowa/Belle Plaine) has been named the IIAC Male Athlete of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 15. The Conference also announced the Performers of the Week for each of the Conference's seven sports in competition during the week. Wrestling -- Dustin Hinschberger, Wartburg College, Belle Plaine, Iowa/Belle Plaine Hinschberger, a senior, was named Outstanding Wrestler at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals after posting a 3-0 record with two major decisions and two victories over ranked wrestlers. Hinschberger, the top-ranked wrestler in the 141-pound class, won major decisions over #8-ranked Travis Grawin of Luther (11-3), and Augsburg's Josh Hansen (12-2). Hinschberger won by decision over #2-ranked Dustin Brewer of Simpson (5-2).

Eastern Michigan University will officially open "The Rock", its new Dean L. Rockwell wrestling facility in a dedication ceremony on Saturday, January 21 at 10:30 a.m. in Warner/Bowen Fieldhouse. The ceremony will honor EMU Hall of Famer Dean Rockwell as well as Eastern's 24 former All-American wrestlers. The ceremony precedes the noon triple-dual meets against Eastern Illinois, Duquesne, and Olivet. The ceremony includes a light brunch and ALL SUPPORTERS OF EMU WRESTLING ARE INVITED. The new facility is located in a remodeled portion of Warner Gymnasium and includes a new wrestling room that features two full mats with 18 workout circles, as well as an equipped cardiovascular and training area. The facility also includes a new suite of coaches offices adjacent to the practice room. Later this year, new locker room facilities will also be added. The facility will be known as "The Rock" in honor of Dean Rockwell, who passed away late last year. A sculpture honoring Rockwell and EMU Wrestling's All-Americans, many of whom will attend the ceremony, will be unveiled outside the room at 11:00 a.m. For complete details and a biography of Dean Rockwell, visit the EMU Wrestling web site at http://www.emich.edu/public/wrestling/windex.html

Opponent: Northern Colorado Location: Orem, Utah (Activity Center) Date: Monday, January 16th Time: 7:00pm MST What's on Tap ... Utah Valley State will compete in its 8th dual in 10 days when Northern Colorado comes to town on Monday, ending the Wolverines' busiest stretch of the season. UV is coming into the dual with a 2-6 record having won two of its last three matches. The team had a successful trip to Oregon last week when they beat Portland State on Wednesday before splitting two matches at the Oregon Classic on Friday. The opened the classic with a win over Division-III Pacific before falling to Oregon. Before the trip Utah Valley State was 0-5 in duals on the season, having wrestled three Division-I Top 20 teams and two Division-II Top 20 teams, including 3rd ranked Oklahoma. About Northern Colorado ... The Wolverines and Bears have met four times in duals prior to Monday's matchup, with UNC winning three out of four. Utah Valley won the first meeting ever between the two schools on January 31, 2004 but have lost three in a row including a 27-12 defeat last season in Orem. The two will meet in UV's final match of the season as well, a dual on February 23rd in Greeley, Colorado. Northern Colorado is currently 2-2 on the season after splitting its four matches at the Lone Star Duals on January 7th. Both schools boast ranked wrestlers. Utah Valley State's Erkin Tadzhimetov is currently ranked 20th nationally at 133 pounds by Amateur Wrestling News while UNC sophomore Reece Hopkin is ranked 20th at 197 pounds in the InterMat/NWCA Rankings. Up Next ... Utah Valley State will wrestle at the Cowboy Duals at the University of Wyoming on Saturday, January 21st.

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Frank Baughan, Brian Rowan and Jon Anderson each notched a major decision victory, and nine Black Knights won bouts as Army's wrestling team snapped a four-match winless streak in impressive fashion by defeating visiting Rutgers, 30-3, Sunday afternoon at Christl Arena. The Black Knights, who dented the win column for the first time since downing East Stroudsburg, 27-7, on Dec. 7, improve to 3-3-2 (3-0-0 EIWA). Rutgers, meanwhile, falls to 7-3 (3-3) on the season. "It's good to be back home after a tough road trip to Oklahoma and Texas," said Army head coach Chuck Barbee. "The guys really bounced back well against a tough and well-coached team. We challenged our guys a lot this week and they came out with a vengeance. They stepped it up and they really showed us something this afternoon." William Simpson began the match with a 5-3 sudden victory decision over Ryan Jablonski at 125 pounds. Simpson jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a quick takedown, and he took that two-point advantage into the second period. Following a scoreless second stanza, Jablonski scored three points on a near fall late in the third to assume a 3-2 lead. Simpson earned a point for riding time to force the extra session. He then scored the bout-winning takedown midway through the sudden victory period to earn his 15th win of the season. In the 133-pound bout, Baughan had little trouble with Kellen Bradley as the Black Knight junior claimed a 10-2 major decision. Baughan jumped out of the gates with a pair of takedowns and a near fall to seize a 7-2 lead after the first period and he never looked back en route to the victory. Baughan's triumph extended the Black Knights' edge to 7-0 in the team score. After Lief Gilsdorf dropped a 9-2 decision to Steve Adamcsic at 141 pounds, Army's Patrick Simpson regained the Black Knights' seven-point lead with a 6-0 decision over Mike Ferrara at 149 pounds. Simpson, who is now a team-best 17-5 on the year, registered a takedown and a near fall in the first period and rode that momentum throughout the remainder of the match. Rowan kept the ball rolling Army's way with a 13-3 major decision versus Jamie Lijo in the 157-pound bout. Rowan, a freshman from Langhorne, Pa., used a combination of three takedowns and two near falls to pick up the victory. Anderson breezed past Matt Pletcher at 165 pounds as the Virginia Beach, Va., product captured a 14-4 major decision. Leading 4-1 after two periods, Anderson exploded with four takedowns in the third stanza to earn his third major decision of the year. Anderson's win gave the Black Knights a commanding 18-3 lead through six bouts. Army's domination continued in the 174-pound match as Chad Marzec scored a 4-1 decision over Michael Whalen. It was the first dual match victory of the season for Marzec, who leveled his overall record at 6-6 on the year. Black Knight senior Luke Calvert clinched the match for Army with a 3-1 decision at 184 pounds. The Broken Arrow, Okla., native, who has won three straight bouts and eight of his last nine matches, gave Army an insurmountable 24-3 lead with just two bouts remaining. With the bout all-square at 1-1 and time about to expire, Calvert produced a crucial takedown with just seven seconds remaining in the final period to lock up the win. Senior Charles Martin turned in a workmanlike effort in the 197-pound match versus Lamar Brown and eventually took a 4-1 decision to up Army's lead to 27-3 going into the heavyweight bout. Martin remained perfect on the season in dual matches (2-0), while upping his overall record to 10-6. Freshman Michael Sprigg added the exclamation point with a 3-1 sudden victory decision over Mike D'Amico in the heavyweight bout. After wrestling to a 1-1 standstill after regulation time, Sprigg took D'Amico down to the mat near the conclusion of the sudden victory period. Army has won seven of the last 10 meetings versus Rutgers and the Black Knights lead the all-time series, 27-8-1. Army Defeats Merchant Marine, 45-9 WEST POINT, N.Y. - Luke Calvert, Austin Milster and Michael Sprigg earned wins by fall and Charles Martin secured a technical fall in his bout as Army's wrestling team rolled past Merchant Marine, 45-9, Sunday evening at West Point's Christl Arena. Army, who downed Rutgers earlier in the day, upped its record to 4-3-2 on the season, while Merchant Marine falls to 2-6 this year. With Army leading 12-6, Milster began Army's 33-3 run by pinning Seth Ching in 6 minutes 59 seconds in the 149-pound contest. It was the first dual match victory of the year for Milster, who improved his overall record to 10-6 on the year. Army was awarded a win by forfeit in the 157-pound bout, and the Black Knights held a 24-6 lead halfway through the match. Senior Jon Anderson produced a 12-2 major decision over Troy McGuiness at 165 pounds as Army continued to cruise. Anderson, who improved to 12-3 overall and 5-0 in dual matches with the win, came up with five takedowns during his dominating performance. Nate Van de Venter temporarily halted Army's momentum with a 3-2 decision over Jon Mathias in a hard-fought battle in the 174-pound bout. Calvert pinned Matt Jones in 6:19 in the 184-pound bout. The senior thoroughly dominated his competition, piling up seven takedowns prior to the pin. Martin followed with an effort that was just as dominant as the senior scored a 16-1 technical fall versus Eric Rohan at 197 pounds. Martin jumped all over Rohan, accumulating three near falls and a takedown in the first period. Leading 11-0 after the first stanza, Martin finished the job early in the second period with another takedown and a fourth near fall. Michael Sprigg closed out Army's lopsided victory with a win by fall in 1:29 in the heavyweight bout. Army grabbed a quick 12-0 lead as the match began with Merchant Marine forfeiting the 125- and 133-pound bouts. Merchant Marine got on the scoreboard when Danny Song pinned Lief Gilsdorf in 3:24 at 141 pounds. That was as close as the Mariners would get, however. The Black Knights return to action Jan. 21-22 when they travel to Oswego, N.Y., to compete at the 37th annual New York State Championships. Army is the two-time defending champion at this event, which begins Friday (Jan. 21) at 9 a.m.

Cole Konrad pinned two-time NCAA Champion Steve Mocco to give the second-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team (12-0-0) a 21-14 upset of top-ranked Oklahoma State in the finals at the National Duals. Konrad ended Mocco's 85-match winning streak, while the Golden Gophers snapped the Cowboys' 30-match winning streak. Oklahoma State began its streak following a 17-16 loss to Minnesota on Feb. 22, 2004. The Golden Gophers won their fourth National Duals title and its first since 2002. Last year, Minnesota placed third. Konrad earned his first official win over Mocco. He defeated the OSU wrestler earlier this year in an exhibition match at the NWCA/Marines All-Star Classic. Last year, Mocco defeated Konrad three times, including an overtime decision in the NCAA Championship final. With Minnesota leading 15-14, the heavyweight match started slow. The two wresters traded escapes in the second and third periods, but 26 seconds into the third, Konrad got Mocco in a body lock and used an inside trip to send him to his back. He recorded the pin in 5:34. Konrad would be named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. Konrad's win capped a memorable dual for Minnesota. The Golden Gophers fell behind early as the Cowboys took a 7-0 lead. At 125 pounds, Coleman Scott earned an 11-0 decision against Travis Lang. Things looked bleak for the Golden Gophers following the 133-pound match as sixth- ranked Nathan Morgan held on for a 6-4 win over fourth-ranked Mack Reiter. Reiter trailed 5-1 in the third period, but got back into the match with a takedown to cut the lead to one. Unfortunately, time ran out as Reiter fell to 19-2 on the year. A momentum swing came in the form of sophomore Manuel Rivera. The unranked wrestler upset sixth-ranked Daniel Frishkorn at 141 pounds by a 9-4 decision. Rivera trailed 4-1 after the first period, but turned things around in the second. Rivera got in on an ankle pick and forced Frishkorn to his back. The takedown and near fall gave him a 7-4 lead. It was Rivera's second win this season over Frishkorn. Things got better from there as true freshman Dustin Schlatter knocked off his third top- five ranked wrestler on the weekend. He upset defending NCAA Champion Zack Esposito in an entertaining 8-7 match. Trailing 7-5, Esposito tied the match with a third-period reversal. Schlatter would claim the win though as he earned a point for the escape. Schlatter is now 26-1 on the year. His older brother, C.P., followed with a 2-0 decision against 11th-ranked Kevin Ward at 157 pounds. Ward had beaten Schlatter twice ealier this season. Schlatter rode Ward the entire second period which earned him the bonus point. The Schlatter brothers have combined to go 21-2 this year in duals. Trailing 9-7, the Cowboys regained the team lead as fourth-ranked Johny Hendricks defeated No. 9 Matt Nagel, 8-3, at 165 pounds. Hendricks avenged an earlier loss to Nagel. Esposito broke the match open with a late takedown in the first period. The Golden Gophers climbed back in front for good with three wins in the final four matches. Eighth-ranked Gabriel Dretsch gave Minnesota a 12-10 lead with a 3-1 decision over ninth-ranked Brandon Mason at 174 pounds. Dretsch's third-period takedown proved to be the difference. The lead increased to 15-10 after seventh-ranked Roger Kish earned a 7-3 decision against Brent Parkey. Kish took an early 2-0 lead with a takedown and increased the lead to 5-1 in the second period. The Cowboys won at 197 pounds to set up the heavyweight classic. Two-time NCAA Champion Jake Rosholt collected a 13-5 major decision against Minnesota's Mitch Kuhlman at 197 pounds. The win made the score 15-14 with one match to go. "We told our guys that they had to wrestle with emotion," head coach J Robinson said. "We started slow, but Manuel (Rivera) got us back in the match. Cole (Konrad) went out there with great focus. There's not a guy in the nation that works harder than Cole. Anyone that has watched him in the practice room every week wouldn't be surprised by the result today." Minnesota now returns home to open its Big Ten season. The Golden Gophers will host Northwestern on Friday night at the Sports Pavilion. Minnesota will host Iowa in the annual Border Brawl at Williams Arena on Sunday afternoon. Fans wanting to see the Minnesota-Oklahoma State dual can tune into College Sports Television (CSTV) on Jan. 19.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- The 100th win of Ben Wissel's career highlighted Purdue's victory on the mat over Cal State-Bakersfield, 25-16, in the Icardo Center on the CSUB campus. The win for the Boilermakers competes the non-conference portion of the 2005-06 schedule, with Purdue posting an 8-3 dual record. One year ago, the Boilermakers were 8-12 overall in dual action, 6-6 in non-conference duals. Purdue head coach Jessie Reyes had a sweet homecoming to Bakersfield, as the Boilermaker coach was a two-time national champion while wrestling for the Roadrunners in the 1980s. Reyes is now 2-3 vs. his alma mater, and has won the last two meetings between the schools. Wissel, a senior out of Richmond, Ind., become the 11th Boilermaker grappler to reach the century mark in wins with a 27-12 technical fall over Brandon Ceremello. The 184-pounder joins an elite list of of former Boilermaker wrestlers, a list comprised of Ryan Lange (130 wins), Scott Hinkel (127), Tony Vaughn (115), Dave Walter (111), Frank Laccone (110), Tim Dernlan (104), Joe Lilovich (102), Joe Urso (102), Matt Lindley (101) and Tim McClellan (100). The dual between the Boilermakers and Roadrunners began at heavyweight with a CSUB victory, but Purdue would climb back to a 9-3 team lead after the next three matches. Brandon Tucker's 6-5 decision over Brandon Zoetewey evened the team score at 3-3, setting up a showdown between 133-pounders Chris Fleeger and Tommy Vargas. Vargas, the 2005 Midlands Championships champion, entered the dual ranked 15th in the nation. After a scoreless first period, Fleeger chose bottom to start the second and scored the escape 13 seconds into the stanza for a 1-0 lead. With Vargas choosing a neutral starting position for the third, Fleeger expanded his lead to 3-0 with a takedown 29 seconds in, then road Vargas for the remainder of the period for the riding time point and a 4-0 win. At 141, Jason Cook scored first period takedown and a second stanza two-point nearfall to post a 6-4 win over Matt Schumm. CSUB stormed back into the lead wih wins at 149, 157 and 165, including a major decision at 149 by Anthony Baza and a pin at 165 by Brian Busby. The three wins gave the Roadrunners a 16-9 lead heading into the 174 pound match. Nick Corpe and nationally-ranked Christian Arellano took the mat at 174, and Arellano grabbed an early lead with a takedown just over one minute into the match. Corpe's escape at 1:45 drew the Boilermaker to within one at 2-1, a score that would hold through the end of the period. Arellano escaped to start the third period to take a 3-1 lead, but as the two wrestlers battled near the edge of the mat, Arellano pulled up lame with what appeared to be an injury to his left shoulder. Unable to continue in the match, Corpe was awarded the win by injury default, scoring six team points and tying the score at 16-16. Wissel's match was never really in doubt, as the Boilermaker scored a takedown in the first 13 seconds of the match and went on to score 11 more takedowns during the bout. The double-digit takedown performance was the third of the year for Wissel, whose 340 career takedowns ties him with Alex Coriano (1993-1996) at fourth on the Purdue career list. Wissel also has 122 takedowns this season, the sixth-most in a Purdue season, and is ranked fifth in the nation with a 24-2 record. The dual ended in grand fashion for the Boilermakers as 197-pounder Nathan Moore registered his team-leading sixth pin of the season, a stick of Colton Nichols at the 3:31 of the match. The Boilermakers open the Big Ten dual season next Friday, January 20, in Champaign vs. the Fighting Illini of Illinois. Purdue is next at home on Jan. 22 vs. Indiana.

BUFFALO, NY -- For the second straight match, senior Harold Sherrell (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) posted an upset win over a nationally-ranked competitor, but for the second straight meet, the University at Buffalo lost a narrow decision, this time falling to Southern Conference power UNC-Greensboro, 22-20, in front of 400 fans at Alumni Arena on Sunday afternoon. The upperweight upperclassmen played a pivotal role in the meet for the Bulls (5-3 overall), as the senior trio of Garrett Hicks (Chautauqua, NY/Chautauqua Lake) (184 pounds), Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter) (197 pounds) and Sherrell (heavyweight) posted 13 team points after the team had fallen behind 22-7. Junior Mark Budd (Orrville, OH/Orrville) registered Buffalo's first team points of the meet, as he posted his sixth straight win to set a career high with his 24th win against WrestlingReport.com's 24th-ranked Chris Bencivenga. Budd's six-point second period outburst paced the win. The Spartans (6-1 overall), however, jumped out to a 15-4 lead, as Justin Walp earned a forfeit at 125 pounds, NWCA/InterMat/NWMA's 18th-ranked Kevin Artis earned a fall at 141 pounds and Cody Harrington won a narrow 7-6 decision at 149 pounds. Junior John Cummings (Bay Shore, NY/Bay Shore) posted his sixth straight win with a 5-2 decision against Nathan Berryman at 157 pounds, improving to 15-10 on the season. Cummings took advantage of a first period reversal to turn the tide of the match after falling behind 2-0, bringing Buffalo to within eight at 15-7. The Spartans retook the momentum at 165 pounds, as Mark Ring posted an 8-0 decision over sophomore Mickey Moran (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler Area), who was ranked 26th in the latest WrestlingReport.com poll, giving UNC-Greensboro a 19-7 lead. Moran was hampered by cramps throughout the match, helping Ring to three takedowns. Joe Lowe posted a huge win at 174 pounds, taking a 9-3 decision to give the Spartans a 22-7 lead. Hicks ignited the comeback, providing some senior leadership by posting a 10-2 major decision over 2005 New York State High School Champion Kane Smith, as he posted a 3-point near fall in the third period to clinch the four team points. After Cerminara won by forfeit, the UNC-Greensboro lead was closed to 22-17, senior Sherrell closed the match with his second win over a ranked wrestler in as many matches, as he won a 5-2 decision against NWCA/InterMat/NWMA's 12th-ranked Tyler Shovlin in the meet's finale. The Bulls will look to avenge its second place finish at the New York State Collegiate Championships as they travel to SUNY Oswego for the two-day championships starting Friday at 12:00 pm.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- For the second day in a row, the No. 18 Arizona State University wrestling team took on No. 9 Missouri at the 2006 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals and, just as in the first meeting, needed a fall from heavyweight Cain Velasquez to pull out a victory inside the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. That is exactly what the Sun Devils received as they tied the Tigers on the scoreboard, 21-21, but won on criteria (most near falls recorded) to place seventh in the national event and improve to 7-6 overall on the season. This year's event marked the 14th time the Sun Devils have competed in the tournament and raised their overall record to 32-29. ASU has placed among the Top 8 in nine of their appearances and finished seventh for the fifth time overall. The last time the Sun Devils placed in the tournament was the 2003 event in Columbus, Ohio, where they opened the tournament by defeating Missouri in the first round before finishing seventh. No. 6 Jeremy Mendoza (Sr., Temecula, Calif.) got the Sun Devils on the board first as he recorded a 4-1 decision over No. 18 Austin DeVoe at 125 to stake his squad to an early 3-0 lead. But, just as they did Saturday, the Tigers took the team lead with wins at 133 and 141 as Adam Hickey (So., Mayfield, Ohio) dropped a 10-3 decision to No. 16 Tyler McCormick before Elias Johnson (Jr., Manson, Iowa) was pinned by No. 19 Chris McCormick at 4:27. Trailing 9-3, the Sun Devils needed wins and received two in a row at 149 and 157. In the first bout, Pat Payne (So., Poway, Calif.) picked up a 4-0 decision before No. 7 Brian Stith (Jr., Hampton, Va.) scored an 11-4 decision over Michael Chandler to tie the score at nine. Just as ASU tied the team score, the Tigers again took control as they won the next three bouts to put the Sun Devils on their heels. At 165, No. 11 Patrick Pitsch (So., Spanaway, Wash.) put up a tough fight, but No. 4 Matt Pell scored a 4-1 victory before No. 1 Ben Askren pinned Jamie Robbins (Jr., Mesa, Ariz.) in 3:49 at 174. UM's final win came at 184 as No. 8 C.B. Dollaway (Sr., Mt. Gilead, Ohio) dropped his second bout in a row, this time being edged by No. 17 Raymond Jordan, 3-2, to put the Tigers ahead, 21-9. But the Sun Devils would not go quietly as wins by fall in the last two bouts would tie the team score and force the decision to be based upon criteria factors. No. 14 Ryan Bader (Sr., Reno, Nev.) kept his team alive as he scored a fall over Joey Garrity with one second remaining in the bout, picking up six team points with the fall at 6:59. No. 4 Velasquez (Sr., Yuma, Ariz.) then picked up his second fall of the weekend over Sean Connole, this time at 5:38, to tie the score at 21. After looking through the individual bout statistics, it was determined that ASU was the winner as its wrestlers scored more near fall points. Only one bout featured near fall points being scored and those came during the 197 bout when Bader took his foe down for the third time in the first period and picked up two near fall points in the process. The Sun Devils return home next weekend as they face a pair of Pac-10 foes as the Oregon schools invade Wells Fargo Arena. ASU first faces Oregon State at 7 p.m. Friday before closing out the weekend with a 6:30 p.m. dual with Oregon Sunday evening.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Big Red wrestling team, competing without three-time All-American and tri-captain Dustin Manotti, who is out with an injury suffered against Lock Haven last weekend, went 1-2 at the National Duals on Saturday. Cornell opened the day with a stiff test against No. 3 Oklahoma and stayed with the Sooners but eventually fell 19-15. In the wrestleback bracket, the Big Red topped Northern Iowa 19-15 before falling to Michigan 31-10 to be eliminated. Cornell now has a 2-4 dual meet record. The match with Oklahoma opened with a bout that all eyes were on - Cornell's No. 5 Troy Nickerson against Oklahoma's No. 2 Sam Hazewinkel. Nickerson would lost his first match of the season, falling to Hazewinkel, 2-0. Oklahoma won four of the first five bouts, with the only Big Red victory going to Mike Mormile at 133 pounds. The Big Red then came roaring back into contention with four straight wins. Steve Anceravage (165), Dan Miracola (174), Joe Mazzurco (184) and Jerry Rinaldi (197) each took decisions, bringing the Big Red to within one. Oklahoma's Jake Hager put the match away with a 7-1 win over Cornell's Jim March. In the consolation bracket, the Big Red eliminated host team Northern Iowa, 19-15. Nickerson and Mormile each picked up decisions in the first two bouts. Mike Reish defeated Colby Goetsch 3-2 at 149 pounds. Miracola, Mazzurco and Rinaldi each picked up their second wins of the day with Mazzurco and Rinaldi winning by major decision. The win over Northern Iowa set up a rematch of the Big Red's dual meet opener, when Cornell fell to Michigan 24-13. Nickerson won again, defeating Mike Watts 14-4 for the bonus win, but Mormile was handed his first loss of the day, falling 10-4 to Mark Moos. Michigan won the next five bouts, taking a commanding lead. Mazzurco got the Big Red back in the win column, beating Tyrel Todd, 5-3. Rinaldi won as well, beating Willie Breyer, 4-2. The Big Red will return home to take on EIWA rival and eleventh-ranked Lehigh on Sunday, Jan. 22 at 1 p.m. at Newman Arena.

Cedar Falls, Iowa -- Facing a familiar opponent in the seventh-place dual, the eighth-seeded Tigers turned the tables on the Sun Devis, who knocked Missouri into the consolation bracket Saturday morning. Receiving big victories at 141 and 184 pounds, No. 9 Missouri tied No. 18 Arizona State 21-21 to finish in eighth place, losing a tiebreaker of most nearfalls. The National Duals field included eight of the top ten teams in the country, and featured 15 teams among the 16 that took to the mats Jan. 14-15. Sophomore Tyler McCormick (Leawood, Kan.) picked up Missouri's first dual points with his fourth victory of the tournament at 133 pounds, beating Adam Hickey 10-3. Ranked No. 16, McCormick picked up two points with 1:06 left in the first period, then added another on an escape early in the second frame. Quickly taking the offensive, McCormick caught Hickey's ankle twice to take a 7-1 lead into the final two-minute set, in which each wrestler scored two points. Competing at 141 pounds, redshirt freshman Marcus Hoehn (Farmington, Mo.) picked up three bonus points for the Tigers, pinning Elias Johnson in 4:27. Taking down his opponent three times through the first four minutes, Hoehn stayed with a takedown and forced Johnson to his back, stopping the match before regulation time expired. Once again taking to center mat against No. 11 Patrick Pitsch, No. 4 Matt Pell quickly scored two points in the first 30 seconds, nearly accomplishing a neutral pin during the takedown. Pell, a junior from Luxemburg, Wis, traded escapes with Pitsch throughout the rest of the match, adding an extra point for 3:09 of riding time to earn a 4-1 decision. Opening his match aggressively, junior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) took down Alex Pavlenko five times in the first period to build a 10-5 lead. Choosing down to start the second period, the No. 1 ranked Askren escaped Pavlenko's hold, then resumed his offensive onslaught with a takedown 10 seconds later. Trapping Pavlenko's shoulders on the mat, Askren picked up his 23rd fall of the season in 3:49 The holder of two upset victories in the first day of competition at the National Duals, redshirt freshman Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C) stepped into battle with No. 8 C.B. Dolloway, fighting to a draw through the first three minutes of the bout. After escaping Dolloway's hold early in the second period, Jordan scored on a takedown, heading into the final frame ahead 3-1. Fighting off several takedown attempts by Dolloway as time wound down, No. 17 Jordan completed a superb weekend with his third upset, 3-2 over the No. 8 competitor at 184 pounds. Missouri next competes against No. 1 Oklahoma State at home in the Hearnes Center Jan. 22. Aired live on College Sports Television, network channel 610 for Columbia residents, the bout begins at 2 p.m. CST.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After going 2-0 on the first day of the Virginia Duals as the No. 6 seed, the Ohio State wrestling team (3-5; 0-0 Big Ten) posted a 0-2 record on the second day of competition at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va. Ohio State met four Top 20 wrestlers en route to a 23-15 loss to No. 25 Penn in semifinal action. OSU then met North Carolina in the consolation semifinals and dropped a 28-13 decision. No. 15 Indiana won the Virginia duals after beating Penn, 18-15. After Buckeye Nathan Costello (125) (Sr., Maple Heights, Ohio/Maple Heights) lost 10-4 to the Quakers' Mike Silengo and Reece Humphrey (133) (Fr., Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) gave up an 11-3 major decision to No. 9 Matt Valenti, T.J. Enright (So., Galloway, Ohio/Westland) scored OSU's first three points, taking a 3-1 decision from Penn's Cesar Grajales at 141. No. 7 J Jaggers (Fr., Northfield, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel) followed with a second-period pin (53 seconds) of 16-th ranked Matt Dragon at 149 to give the Buckeyes a 9-7 lead. However, Ohio State was unable to overcome Penn the rest of the way. Steve Wolery (Jr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota West) lost to No. 19 Gene Zannetti, 5-0, at 157 and No. 16th-ranked Steve Sommer (Sr., West Carrollton, Ohio/Dayton Carroll) dropped an 11-5 decision to Lior Zamir at 165. Nathaniel Augustson (Sr., Rio Rancho, N.M./Rio Rancho) was downed by Matt Herrington, 14-6, at 174 and Alex Picazo (Jr., Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) lost to No. 16 Dustin Wiles, 7-2, at 184. With Corey Morrison (Fr., Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights) falling, 6-4, to Paul Velekei at 197, Penn increased its lead, 23-9, and forfeited the heavyweight match-up. The Buckeyes' six points from the forfeit resulted in the final tally. Ohio State's 13 points vs. North Carolina was courtesy of wins from R. Humphrey, Jaggers, Sommer and Augustson. R. Humphrey notched his second major decision of the duals after tallying a 13-5 win over Jared Royer and Jaggers won a close 7-5 decision vs. Chris Ramos. Sommer and Augustson scored back-to-back wins with Sommer defeating Garrett Atkinson, 14-8, and Augustson beating Alex Maciag, 7-6. Costello was up first for the Buckeyes against the Tar Heels and suffered a fall in a 1:13 to Bobby Shaw. Enright lost just his third dual of the year, 4-3, to Vincent Ramirez. Brian Baglio pinned Wolery in 2:06 and Picazo fell to Justin Dobies, 6-2. Morrison was the final wrestler for the Buckeyes and lost to David Dashiell, 14-6. Nail, who was slated to compete at heavyweight, was forced to injury default. Nail went 1-1 on the day after not competing in either of the duals on day two. Wolery saw his first dual meet action of the season vs. Penn and North Carolina and Nail, along with teammate Jaggers, suffered their first dual losses of the year at the Virginia Duals. Both wrestlers, and teammate R. Humphrey, own the Top 3 Buckeye dual records. Jaggers and Nail are 7-1, while R. Humphrey is 6-2. Ohio State will open its Big Ten schedule on the road vs. Indiana. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers will match-up at 7 p.m. Jan. 20 at the University Gym in Bloomington, Ind.

HAMPTON, Va. -- Fifth-seeded North Carolina won three of four matches Saturday to place fourth at the Virginia Duals at Hampton Coliseum. The Tar Heels won their first three bouts but lost to No. 4 seed Chattanooga for the second time in two days in the third-place match Saturday night. Carolina is now 12-3 on the season. The Tar Heels ran off three straight wins - 37-3 over Rider, 20-18 over ACC rival Virginia and 28-13 over No. 6 seed Ohio State - before dropping a 24-13 bout to Chattanooga in the third-place bout. Junior heavyweight Spencer Nadolsky went 4-0 Saturday to improve to a team-best 30-2 on the season. Junior David Dashiell was also unbeaten on the day, as he went 3-0, but the Tar Heels forfeited at 197 to Chattanooga in the third-place bout. Redshirt freshman Vincent Ramirez was 2-0 on the day at 141, but Carolina forfeited in the weight class to both Virginia and Chattanooga. Carolina was 3-1 at 165 pounds, as senior Garrett Atkinson went 1-1 on the day, and junior Deon Barrett was 2-0 versus Virginia and Chattanooga. Sophomore Justin Dobies was also 3-1 on the day at 184 pounds, as was junior Bobby Shaw at 125. The Tar Heels cruised against Rider in their first bout of the day, collecting wins in nine of the 10 bouts. Ramirez and Nadolsky each posted pins in the match. In the second match of the day, Carolina fell behind early, but won four of the final bouts in the match to edge the rival Cavaliers, 20-18. The Tar Heels remained alive thanks to their win over Ohio State, which was highlighted by pins for Shaw and junior Brian Baglio at 157. Dashiell also picked up a big major decision win at 197. In the third-place bout with Chattanooga, Carolina won four bouts, including Nadolsky's 30th win of the season at heavyweight. Carolina returns to action Friday, Jan. 20 against NC State at 7:30 p.m. at Carmichael Auditorium.

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. -- Caleb Seufert (Gaithersburg, MD/Northwest), Mike Pattanite (Tabernacle, NJ/Holy Cross), Andrew Goldstein (Easton, PA/Easton), and Josh Kaplan (Canton, CT/Canton) each had third place finishes to pace Gettysburg's fifth-place finish at the Ursinus Brute/Adidas Invitational on Saturday. Pattanite, wresting at 285 lbs., went 4-1 during the tournament. His highlights included pinning John Russo of Roger Williams in the third-place match and a technical fall over Dan Wilmer of Ursinus. Goldstein's three tournament wins in the 149 weight class came by pinning Morgan Hoffman of Ursinus and beating Ryan Trees of King's and Nick Ryan of Oneonta by major decisions. Kaplan, wresting in the 165 weight class, recorded two falls on the day. He pinned James Woods of Roger Williams in 6:32 and Oneonta's Ryan Higgins in 6:48. Wresting at 157 pounds, Seufert won two one-point matches on the way to his third-place finish. He defeated Dallas Fill of Roger Williams, 6-5, and Centenary's Greg Tierney, 8-7, in the third-place match. John Leinberger (Great Falls, VA/Langley) went 2-2 during the tournament and achieved a fourth-place finish. James Stevenson (Wyncote, PA/Cheltenham) finished the day with a 3-2 record, including a pin of Mike Mariano (King's) in 2:37. Gettysburg returns to action Tuesday at home hosting York and King's. Matches begin at 5 p.m. Team Scores 1. Oneonta (O) 104, 2. Ursinus (U) 93, 3. Roger Williams (RW) 88, 4. New York University (NYU) 68, 5. Gettysburg (G) 56, 6. King's (K) 45, 7. Wesleyan (W) 44, 8. Centenary (C) 39.

ATHERTON -- Helped by senior 157-pounder Kyle Bickford's 3-0 slate, the No. 8 Menlo College men's wrestling team earned victories against NCAA Division II University of Indianapolis and Division III Montclair State (N.J.) to complete Saturday's Menlo Duals at 2-1. A 6-4 decision by senior heavyweight Ben Flores in the final bout of the first dual gave Menlo a 21-18 win against No. 20 University of Indianapolis to open the day. The Oaks fell to the University of Great Falls (Mont.), ranked second nationally by the NAIA, 25-16, before finishing the competition with a 33-12 defeat of Montclair. In other duals, Great Falls (3-0) opened the day with 34-10 defeat of Montclair (0-3) while in round No. 2, Indianapolis (1-2) rode four falls to a 37-12 defeat of Montclair. Great Falls closed competition with a 24-18 win against Indianapolis. Beginning with freshman Mike Rodriguez's 7-3 defeat of Jimmy Nichols at 125 pounds, Menlo never trailed Indianapolis in the opening dual. Shane Perkey gave the Greyhounds a brief 3-3 tie with a 6-4 decision against the Oaks' Alfonso Paez at 133 before Menlo's Pablo Sanchez, ranked sixth at 133 pounds, pinned Indianapolis' Danny Norman at 2:44. Joe Garcia fell to Indianapolis' Charlie Pingleton, 9-5, at 149. Bickford won his match at 157, 7-3, before Robert Davis earned a fall against the Greyhounds' Aaron Brooks at 2:25 to give Menlo an 18-6 advantage. Indianapolis, however, rallied with three successive victories to knot the match, 18-18, before Flores, the NAIA's second-rated heavyweight, decided the dual. In the second dual, Sanchez's fall of Great Falls' Jason Harrington at 1:40 and Garcia's 3-0 decision against Spencer Griffiths gave the Oaks a brief 9-3 lead against the Argonauts. Great Falls, however, captured five of the final seven matches and wins by Bickford (dec. 8-4) and Jesse Vasquez (maj. dec. 16-8) at 184 couldn't lift the Oaks to the upset. Menlo rebounded in the final round, however, snaring eight bout wins from Montclair. Highlighting the effort was Bickford, who became Menlo's lone undefeated wrestler with a 13-4 decision against the Red Hawks' Steve Bradley and the recently-eligible Jon Sanchez, who pinned Mark D'Elia at 184 in 4:24.

CEDAR FALLS -- You couldn't write a better script than the one that unfolded at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. In the Division I championship match, it was top-seeded Oklahoma State vs. second-seeded Minnesota. Two national wrestling powers. Two schools that have won the last five NCAA team titles, wrestling in a seesaw battle, where every point scored was crucial, and would eventually come down to match between the top-two heavyweights in the land. Steve MoccoWhen Minnesota's Cole Konrad and Oklahoma State's Steve Mocco stepped on the mat with the Gophers leading the Cowboys, 15-14, and the National Duals title on the line, it was a fitting ending to an NWCA/Cliff Keen National Dual classic. Konrad and Mocco battled to a scoreless first period. The two behemoths traded escapes in the second and third periods. But less than thirty seconds into the final period, Konrad secured a body lock and executed a beautiful inside trip to put Mocco to his back for the pin. For his efforts, Konrad was named Most Outstanding Wrestler in Division I. Freshman Phenom With the exception of Konrad, Minnesota's talented freshman Dustin Schlatter had perhaps the biggest win of the dual against Oklahoma State, when he defeated defending NCAA champion Zack Esposito, 8-7. Dustin SchlatterIn addition to his victory over Esposito (which he called the biggest win of his career), the 19-year-old Schlatter also defeated No. 3 John Masa of Hofstra and No. 5 Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan. By defeating DiSalvo, he avenged his only loss of the season. Schlatter is currently 26-1 on the season. "I just came into this thing as a heavy underdog," said Schlatter. "I seem to perform well when I'm put in that situation. We've been training really hard as a team, especially over Christmas break, and I think it's really paying off." Sigman and Co. Win Second Straight Title In Division II, top-ranked Nebraska-Omaha won its second straight title by defeating Minnesota State-Mankato in the finals, 20-10. Les Sigman (photo by Johnnie Johnson)Nebraska-Omaha won the first five matches of the dual to take a 15-0 lead. Three-time NCAA heavyweight champion Les Sigman closed out the dual with a 5-1 victory over Tim Kraemer. He was named Outstanding Wrestler in Division II. Sigman is currently 9-0 on the season -- and has won tournament titles at the Kaufman-Brand Open and Midlands Championships against Division I competition. According to Nebraska-Omaha coach Mike Denney, Sigman is still undecided about whether or not he'll wrestle freestyle after his collegiate career is over. "We're not sure yet if he'll wrestle freestyle. He hasn't wrestled a lot of freestyle. There's an adjustment there. You know, he might try it. He wants to finish strong, and we'll see after the season." Some Things Never Change In Division III, Wartburg and Augsburg have traded national titles since 1995 -- and have met in the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals finals every year since 2002. This year, however, according to the seeds, it wasn't supposed to happen. Augsburg was seeded third, behind No. 1 Wartburg and No. 2 UW-La Crosse. But Augsburg defeated UW-La Crosse, 21-15, in the semifinals to face their arch rival in the finals. Wartburg made a statement in the finals by blasting Augsburg, 29-6. With the victory, Wartburg is 17-0 on the season and ranked No. 1 in the country. "We just wrestled really tough," said heavyweight Blake Giills, who closed out the dual with a 16-0 technical fall over Andrew Neumann. "We had two guys who won by seven points, so we could have gotten a few more majors. As a whole, we wrestled tough. It's not over yet. We still have nationals. But I'm happy for today, anyway. According to Gillis, it's never tough to get up for a match against the Auggies. "Augsburg, that's our rival. It's been that way forever. It's probably going to be that way forever. This whole week in practice, that's all we were thinking about, Augsburg, Augsburg, Augsburg." The two teams will meet again on Feb. 1 in Waverly, Iowa. Gillis, who is ranked sixth nationally in the RevWrestling.com All-Division Rankings at heavyweight (and No. 1 in Division III), believes this could be a very special Wartburg team. "If everybody does what they should, and we're capable of, this could be one of the best Wartburg teams ever." Amazingly, Wartburg lost only four individual matches all weekend. NAIA Action Dana College, who entered the event seeded third, claimed the NAIA title over fifth-seeded University of the Cumberlands, 22-13. Cumberlands won three of the first four matches to open the dual, but Dana won five of the remaining six matches -- and picked up a big pin at 174 by two-time NCAA qualifier Marshall Marquardt. Labette Wins NJCAA Title The Labette Cardinals, the reining junior college national champions, won the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals title by defeating top-seeded Northwest Wyoming in the finals, 18-16. Championships Finals Results: Division I: Minnesota 21, Oklahoma State 14 125 -- Coleman Scott (OSU) maj. dec. Travis Lang (MN), 11-0 133 -- Nathan Morgan (OSU) dec. Mack Reiter (MN), 6-4 141 -- Manuel Rivera (MN) dec. Daniel Frishkorn (OSU, 9-4 149 -- Dustin Schlatter dec. Zack Esposito (OSU), 8-7 157 -- C.P. Schlatter (MN) dec. Kevin Ward (OSU), 2-0 165 -- Johny Hendricks (OSU) dec. Matt Nagel (MN), 8-3 174 -- Gabriel Dretsch (MN) dec. Brandon Mason (OSU), 3-1 184 -- Roger Kish (MN) dec. Brent Parkey (OSU), 7 -3 197 -- Jake Rosholt (OSU) maj. dec. Mitch Kuhlman (MN), 13-5 Hwt -- Cole Konrad (MN) pinned Steve Mocco (OSU), 5:26 Division II: Nebraska-Omaha 20, Minnesota State-Mankato 10 125 -- Cody Garcia (Neb-Omaha) dec. Nick Smith (MSU), 6-1 133 -- Dan Hilario (Neb-Omaha) dec. Jeff Pfaffinger (MSU), 3-2 141 -- Mitch Waite (Neb-Omaha) dec. Zach Stevens (MSU), 9-3 149 -- Shane Unger (Neb-Omaha) dec. Travis Puig (MSU), 8-7 157 -- Patrick Allibone (Neb-Omaha) dec. Matt Bitz (MSU), 1-0 165 -- Andy Pickar (MSU) dec. Ross Tapin (Neb-Omaha), 9-7 174 -- JD Naig (Neb-Omaha) dec. Tim Matheson (MSU), 9-3 184 -- John Koons (MSU) dec. Nate Oviatt (Neb-Omaha), 11-0 197 -- Ben Janike (MSU) dec. Nick Edmonds (Neb-Omaha), 5-0 Hwt -- Les Sigman (Neb-Omaha) dec. Tim Kraemer (MSU), 5-1 Division III: Wartburg 29, Augsburg 6 125 -- Tyler Hubbard (WAR) dec. Seth Flodeen (AUG), 12-5 133 -- Zach McKray (WAR) dec. Ben Moss (AUG), 8-1 141 -- Dustin Hinschberger (WAR) maj. dec. Josh Hansen (AUG), 12-2 149 -- Jacob Naig (WAR) dec. Jared Evans (AUG), 3-0 157 -- Jeremy Anderson (AUG) dec. Justin Hanson (WAR), 7-4 165 -- Ryan Valek (AUG) dec. Dustin Bliven (WAR), 8-6 174 -- Scott Kaufmann (WAR) maj. dec. Robbie Gotreau (AUG), 17-5 184 -- Akeem Carter (WAR) dec. Brad Tupa (AUG), 6-3 197 -- T.J. Miller (WAR) maj. dec. Wally O'Connor (AUG), 13-0 Hwt -- Blake Gillis (WAR) tech. fall. Andrew Neumann (AUG), 16-0, 5:00 NAIA: Dana 22, Cumberlands 13 125 -- Craig Trampe (Dana) dec. Delrico Choates (Cumb), 3-2 133 -- Mikeal Brooks (Cumb) dec. Sonny Silva (Dana), 10-9 141 -- Bradley Cooper (Cumb) dec. Terrence Almond (Dana), 12-3 149 -- Dustin Center (Cumb) dec. Jason Lozier (Dana), 6-2 157 -- Ben Henderson (Dana) dec. Tommy Hutchinson (Cumb), 9-6 165 -- Trent Leichleiter (Dana) dec. Nathanal Jolly (Cumb), 5-2 174 -- Marshall Marquardt (Dana) pinned Todd Allen (Cumb), 1:59 184 -- Nick Wilkes (Dana) maj. dec. Matt Reis (Cumb), 9-1 197 -- Eric Flinchum (Cumb) dec. Willie Parks (Dana), 12-6 Hwt -- Blair Alderman (Dana) dec. Matt Bishop (Cumb), 5-3 NJCAA: Labette 18, Northwest Wyoming 16 125 -- Tim Elliott (Lab) pinned Kalen Wilson (NW), 6:34 133 -- Josh Baldridge (Lab) dec. Eric Tapia (NW), 9-6 141 -- Ross Montour (NW) maj. dec. Cavin Cooper (Lab), 15-3 149 -- Cody Moulton (NW) dec. Cory Allison (Lab), 4-3 157 -- Luke Elmore (Lab) dec. Eric Coxbill (NW), 3-1 165 -- Christopher Riding (NW) dec. Alvin Metcalf (Lab), 9-4 174 -- Julius Rios (NW) dec. Tommy McCarty (Lab), 5-3 184 -- Alex Saunders (Lab) dec. Shawn Vincent (NW), 10-8 197 -- Elijah Martinez (Lab) dec. Avery Rodgers (NW), 4-3 Hwt -- Spencer Bowles (NW) dec. Willie Weber (Lab), 8-3 Final Brackets: Division I Bracket Division II Bracket Division III Bracket NAIA Bracket NJCAA Bracket Related Article: NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals Day-One Recap

ATHENS, Ohio -- With pins by Larry Reichard at 197 pounds and Ryan Knapp at 174, the Ohio wrestling team defeated North Carolina State 25-13 Saturday evening in the Convocation Center. Brian Cesear gave the Bobcats an early 4-0 lead with an 11-2 major decision over Jeremy Colbert at 184 pounds. The junior from Amherst, Ohio, leads the team with 14 wins this season against eight losses. Ohio (5-4) jumped out to a 10-0 lead after Reichard pinned Josh Collins in the next match. The redshirt freshman from New Albany, Ohio, completely dominated the contest and was leading 13-0 when the pin occurred with 30 seconds remaining in the second period. "Getting off to that start was huge for us," said Bobcat head coach Joel Greenlee, who improved his career coaching record to 94-64-4 over eight and a half seasons at Ohio. "Reichard has really stepped up since (starter Nick) Terbay has been hurt. We've got two guys at that weight who are awfully tough so that's a good situation to have." At heavyweight, junior Marcus Adelman (Alliance, Ohio) lost a close match to the Wolfpack's Jainor Palma. A two-point reversal by Palma late in the second period proved to be the contest's only points. The Bobcats answered back, though, with three straight wins. Junior 125-pounder Caleb Metcalf (Waterville, Ohio) managed an escape at the very beginning of the third period to squeak out a 1-0 decision over NC State's Jeremy Hartrum to start the Ohio run. Terry Jackson (Uhrichsville, Ohio) followed with an impressive 4-0 shutout of Wolfpack 133-pounder Garrett Cummings. The redshirt freshman recorded a takedown 35 seconds into the match, scored an escape early in the second period and earned a point for riding time to pull out his sixth career victory and improve his dual record to 4-0. In his first match since moving up a weight, Albert Madsen won a 6-2 decision over NC State's Jalil Dozier at 141. The redshirt freshman from Strongsville, Ohio, managed two escapes and two takedowns to come back from an early 2-0 deficit. With the Bobcats leading 19-3 with just four matches left, the Wolfpack began to close the gap with wins at 149 and 157 pounds. True freshman Mike Grandominico (Delaware, Ohio) was leading the 157-pound match 6-5 with 25 seconds remaining but allowed two takedowns at the end- the last coming with just four seconds on the clock - in a 9-7 loss. NC State (6-3) closed the gap to just six points with a 10-2 major decision by Obie Simpson over Ohio's Kent Smith (Bowling Green, Ohio) at 165 pounds. The Bobcat true freshman gave up a takedown on the edge of the mat with just one second remaining to award the bonus point. Leading 19-13 with just one match remaining, Ohio could not afford a pin in the 174-pound match. With the intensity of the 500-plus crowd at a fever pitch, Bobcat sophomore Ryan Knapp (McConnelsville, Ohio) battled Wolfpack 174-pounder Rick Brownlee all over the mat. After escaping from a dangerous position early, Knapp recorded two takedowns and a three-point near-fall to go up 7-1 after the first period. Just 10 ticks into the second period, Knapp took Brownlee down and then pinned him seven seconds later, securing the victory for Ohio. "Knapp has a tendency to get out of control so the last thing I told him was to stay under control," said Greenlee. "Halfway through the first period, I knew somebody was going to get pinned but I wasn't sure who it was going to be. But Knapp kept in control and did a great job." The Bobcats will host their second dual meet of the season this Friday, Jan. 20, against Mid-American Conference rival Northern Illinois. Ohio will square off against the nationally ranked Huskies at 7 p.m. in The Convo. The squad will then travel to Ashland, Ohio, on Jan. 22 for the Wendy's Duals, where they will face Cleveland State at 10 a.m., Lock Haven at 2 p.m. and Ashland at 4 p.m. Ohio 25, NC State 13 184 - Brian Cesear (Ohio) major dec. Jeremy Colbert, 11-2 197 - Larry Reichard (Ohio) fall Josh Collins, 4:30 HWT - Jainor Palma (NC State) dec. Marcus Adelman, 2-0 125 - Caleb Metcalf (Ohio) dec. Jeremy Hartrum, 1-0 133 - Terry Jackson (Ohio) dec. Garrett Cummings, 4-0 141 - Albert Madsen (Ohio) dec. Jalil Dozier, 6-2 149 - Joe Caramanica (NC State) dec. Aaron Gomoll, 6-1 157 - Bryant Reams (NC State) dec. Mike Grandominico, 9-7 165 - Obie Simpson (NC State) major dec. Kent Smith, 10-2 174 - Ryan Knapp (Ohio) fall Rick Brownlee, 4:17

Providence, RI -- The Brown wrestling team (3-3) opened up the home portion of its 2006 schedule on Saturday at the Pizzitola Center, hosting Boston University and American University. The Bears came away with a split, defeating the Terriers 21-16, after falling to the Eagles 25-12 earlier in the day. American also took a 27-18 win over Boston University. Sophomore Leo Saniuk went 2-0 on the day at 197 lbs. with a 5-1 win over American's Tyler Flatt and a 10-1 win against BU's Elijah Videl. Sophomore Levon Mock's 17-0 win over Orey Hall at 285 lbs. helped secure the victory over the Terriers. Freshman John Triggas pinned BU's Bryan Matsurra to give the Bears a 6-0 lead in the first match at 133 lbs. The Terriers followed with two straight wins before senior Mike Savino won at 157 lbs. to give Brown a 9-6 edge. BU went on to score ten points in the next three matches to take a 16-9 lead before Saniuk came through with his major decision victory over Videl. Trailing 16-13, Mock pushed Brown ahead by two, 18-16, with ihs five point victory. Sophomore Jeff Schell ensured the win with a 7-0 victory at 125 lbs. American took seven of ten matches from the Bears to earn its 13 point win. The Eagles recorded three pins to push past BU. Brown will continue action at Rutgers next Saturday. American 25, Brown 12 125-Matt Morkel (American) dec. Jeff Schell (Brown), 3-0 133-Jordan Kipp (American) dec. Dan Appello (Brown), 8-3 141-Mark Savino (Brown) FOR 149-Tom Kniezewski (American) dec. Shawn Cully (Brown), 3-2 157-Rudy Rueda (American) dec. Mike Savino (Brown), 4-3 165-Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (American) major dec. Lenny Marandino (Brown), 17-4 174-Shawn Kitchner (Brown) dec. Anthony Fuschino (American), 9-2 184-Josh Glenn (American) WBF Branden Stearns (Brown), 6:55 197-Leo Sanuik (Brown) dec. Tyler Flatt (American), 5-1 HWT-Adam LoPiccolo (American) dec. Levon Mock (Brown), 8-1 Brown 21, Boston University 16 125-Jeff Schell (Brown) dec. Josh Statum (BU), 7-0 133-John Triggas (Brown) WBF Bryan Matsurra (BU), 1:30 141-Joe Whitaker (BU) dec. Mark Savino (Brown), 6-4 149-Mike Roberts (BU) dec. Mike Ashton (Brown), 5-3 157-Mike Savino (Brown) dec. Justin Blumenthal (BU), 5-2 165-Zach Johns (BU) dec. Shawn Kitchner (Brown), 7-3 174-Chris Tripp (BU) major dec. Matt Gevelinger (Brown), 15-5 184-Tom Sforza (BU) dec. Branden Stearns (Brown), 9-3 197-Leo Saniuk (Brown) major dec. Elijah Videl (BU), 10-1 HWT-Levon Mock (Brown) TP5 Orey Hall (BU),17-0, 3:12 American 27, Boston University 18 125- Matt Morkel (American) dec. Bryan Matsurra (BU), 8-3 133-Bith (American) FOR 141- Carlo Ferrandino (BU) FOR 149- Tom Kniezewski (American) dec Mike Roberts (BU), 8-2 157- Justin Blumenthal (BU) dec. Christopher Stout (American), 6-3 165- Zach Johns (BU) dec Rudy Rueda (American), 5-0 174- Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (American) WBF Chris Tripp (BU) , 1:33 184- Josh Glenn (American) WBF Elijah Videl (BU), (BU), 1:59 197- Tom Sforza (BU) dec. Dwayne Hash-Barberis (American), 12-6 HWT- Adam LoPiccolo (American) WBF Orey Hall (BU), 0:30

The Eastern Michigan University Eagles split their two matches at the Cleveland State Duals Saturday . The Eagles lost to host Cleveland State (4-2) in the opening match 29-12 and then came back to defeat Slippery Rock( 19-15. Eastern (2-5) were again by #17 ranked true freshman Sean Clair (22-8) at 125 pounds. Clair defeated Daryl Hunt 5-4 to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead against Cleveland State but it was all Viking from that point. Eastern did not score again until freshman Josh Lewis pinned Anthony Mestek in their 174 pound match. Junior Tony Lyssiotis, who also won both of his matches Saturday, started out with a 7-2 win over Ishmal Williams at 197 pounds but that was the last scoring by EMU and Cleveland State (4-2) cruised to a 29-12 victory. The Eagles were much stronger against Slippery Rock (4-7), winning 6 of the 10 matches. Clair shut out Chris Clarke 5-0 and ran his season record to 24-8. Captain Phillip Plowman scored the second shutout in a row when he beat Sal Lascari 7-0 at 133. After Nick Conklin lost at 141 pounds, #20 ranked junior Jermaine Thompson had a 16-4 major decision win over Sal Baglio and Captain Chad Roush decision Gerald Christian 6-3 to extend the EMU lead in the meet to 13-4. Slippery Rock came back however and won the next three matches, including one technical fall and one major decision, to take a 15-13 lead into the last two matches. Lyssiotis then stepped up with his second win of the say, defeating Andrew Joseph 6-0 to give Eastern a 16-15 lead heading into the heavyweights. In the deciding match oif the meet, EMU's true freshman Jake Wood scored his second victory in as many week with an exciting 8-7 win over Matt Burkholder to clinch the Eagle victory 19-15. The other scheduled team, West Liberty State, cancelled due to health concerns. For complete results, go to the EMU web site at http://www.emich.edu/public/wrestling/windex.html

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The Pitt Panthers traveled to eastern Pennsylvania this weekend to take on the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in one of the team's most anticipated matches of the season. After some solid victories for both teams in the first six matches, the Mountain Hawks pulled ahead in the final four bouts for a 28-9 victory. Head Coach Rande Stottlemyer felt the team's effort was better in this match, and he was particularly happy with the performances from Mike Ciotti, Ronald Tarquinio, Joey Ecklof and Justin Nestor. Three of those wrestlers put Pitt on the scoreboard, and Tarquinio, despite a tough loss at 141 pounds, fought hard against the No.2-ranked wrestler, Cory Cooperman. Lehigh took an early lead at 125 pounds after Matt Fisk won a 17-0 tech fall over Pitt's Brad Gentzle (Easton, Pa./Easton) at the 6:12 mark. Lehigh was winning 5-0 going into the 133 bout. Senior Mike Ciotti (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) was able to earn three points for the Panthers after a 7-1 decision over Lehigh's John Stout. At 141 pounds, the matchup between Pitt's Ronald Tarquinio (McDonald, Pa./West Allegheny) and Lehigh's Cooperman was the most anticipated bout of the evening. The two went head-to-head earlier this season at the Southern Scuffle where they took the championship match into overtime. Cooperman won that match, 3-2. Tarquinio, again, fought hard in this second matchup, this time losing by a narrow 5-3 decision. Cooperman's victory put Lehigh ahead 8-3. In front of a hometown crowd, freshman Joey Ecklof (Northampton, Pa./Northampton) earned his third dual victory of the season after a 8-3 decision over Lehigh's Trevor Chinn. Ecklof narrowed the scoring gap, adding another three points for Pitt. Another Lehigh Valley local, Sean Richmond (Emmaus, Pa./Easton) faced a tough bout at 157 pounds where he was up against Lehigh's No.11 Derek Zinck. Zinck scored another victory for the Mountain Hawks with a 15-6 major decision, keeping Lehigh in the lead 12-6. Justin Nestor (Transfer, Pa./Reynolds) earned another victory for the Panthers at 165 pounds with a 6-0 shutout over Lehigh's Dave Nakasone. Nestor is now 4-2 in dual wins for the season, moving up in the Pitt record books with 108 career victories. The Mountain Hawks dominated the final four bouts of the evening. Pitt's Nick Padezan (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford) faced No.12 Travis Frick at 174 pounds, where he lost by an 11-3 major decision. At 184, Lehigh's Dave Helfrich won a 5-2 decision over Pitt freshman Kyle Deliere (Cecil, Pa./Canon-McMillan), and at 197 pounds, No. 16 Matt Cassidy won a close 2-1 decision over the Panthers' Mike Heist (Orefield, Pa./Parkland). In the final bout of the evening, Lehigh worked off their momentum as heavyweight Paul Weibel pinned Pitt's Lou Thomas (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg) at the 6:27 mark to give Lehigh the 28-9 victory. The Pitt vs. Lehigh matchup was televised on Fox College Sports Atlantic, and will air locally for Panther fans on FSN Pittsburgh. The re-broadcast is scheduled for noon on Sunday, January 22. The Panthers (2-4, 0-1 EWL) return to Pittsburgh next weekend for a 7:30 p.m. matchup against Michigan State on Friday, January 20.

Fresno, Calif. -- The fourth-ranked University of Illinois wrestling team improved to 3-0 on the season as they defeated Fresno State 37-3 in main event odf tonight's three-team dual. Earlier in the day, the Illini dismantled San Francisco State in their dual, 44-0. The loud crowd at the Save Mart Cener was not only rooting for their home team, but for Alex and Troy Tirapelle and Gabe Flores who all won championships for nearby Clovis High School. The Illini were looking to duplicate the fast start they had in the first session, instead, they got the opposite. Gabe Flores (Madera, Calif.) needed riding riding time to win his match against Sean Carlson, 5-4. However, Cassio Pero's (Chicago Heights, Ill.) 7-2 decision over Garrett Spooner along with Troy Tirapelle's (Clovis, Calif.) pin of Dustin Rocha in 4:15 put the Illini back on the right path and in command of the dual. With senior All-American Alex Tirapelle's (Clovis, Calif.) 7-2 manhandling of Charles Jones, the three local wrestlers were unbeaten in their homecoming. Mike Poeta (Highwood, Ill.) and Donny Reynolds (Frankfort, Ill.) also added big points to the Illini's team score. The two starters won in their 165 and 174 pound matches by forfeit. Senior All-American Pete Friedl (Orland Park, Ill.) was too much for Greg Gifford to handle as Friedl scored every period en route to a 12-6 decision. With the 197 pound match tied at 2-2 at the beginning of the third period, Tyrone Byrd (Clinton, Ill.) scored 5 quick points on an escape, a takedown, and a two-point near-fall to win his match against Brandon Halsey. Illinois' season dual shutout was finally snapped as heavyweight Matt Weight (Batavia, Ill.) dropped a close and controversial decision to Cody Parker, 3-2. In the first period, Weight was called for fleeing the mat and a point was given to Parker--much to the disagreement of the Illini supporters. Then, in the closing seconds of the third period, Weight tried to put a few shots together but the buzzer sounded before he could score. That was the only bump in the road for the Illini. In his125 pound match, senior All-American Kyle Ott (Huber Heights, Ohio), helped the Illini finish strong as he won by major decision over Cory Borges 14-4. Ott exploded out of the gates and quickly scored on two takedowns and a two point near-fall. Ott controlled the frenzied pace of the match and only let Borges score on escape points. The Illini travel to Palo Alto, Calif. to face Stanford on Sunday. Mat time is 11 a.m. CST. The team opens the Big Ten season at home against Purdue on Jan. 20

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The No. 11-ranked Lehigh wrestling team won six of the last eight matches to overcome an early deficit and hand the 21st-ranked Midshipmen just their second dual loss of the year, 20-12, in front of 1,672 fans on Saturday afternoon. Navy, which had won five straight duals entering the contest, fell to 9-1 overall while Lehigh improves to 8-4-1. The loss signaled the end of a grueling stretch for the Mids, having wrestled six dual meets in a seven-day span. "It was a competitive dual, but when you go into a tough place to wrestle against a good team and a noisy crowd, you have to be at the top of your game, and we weren't today. We made mistakes that get magnified against good teams and Lehigh took advantage," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "We had to go in today and take it away from them and we couldn't do it." Navy jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after two weight classes, thanks to the two heaviest weights. Senior Chris Pogue (Chesapeake, Va.), who has made the transition from 184 pounds to 197 pounds, rather seemlessly, scored an impressive 5-3 triumph over 16th-ranked Matt Cassidy in the meet's first match of the day. Following at heavyweight, Tanner Garrett (Tulsa, Okla.) was equally as impressive, tallying an 11-5 victory over Paul Weibel, who has been in and out of the national rankings this year. The win, which improved Garrett's record to 32-2 overall and was his 32nd straight dual-meet victory, gave Navy a 6-0 cushion. Lehigh rallied by winning the next three matches. At 125 pounds, Matt Fisk blanked Alex Usztics (Dauphin, Pa.), 4-0, to trim the team margin to 6-3. Lehigh's John Stout spoiled freshman Joe Baker's (Poway, Calif.) return to the lineup after missing over a year with a shoulder injury, 9-3. And at 141, No. 3-ranked Cory Cooperman was too strong, defeating Spencer Manley by major decision, 15-5. The three victories gave Lehigh a 10-6 lead after five matches. Burnett was happy to see Baker in the lineup, but the freshman ran out of gas late in the match. "He wanted to wrestle today, which was earlier than we thought he'd be able to," said Burnett. "He looked good the first period, but just ran out of gas late in the match.His conditioning will get better with time." John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.), ranked 19th in the country, scored a big 5-4 decision over 16th-ranked Matt Ciasulli to keep Navy in the match, but at 157 pounds, 11th-ranked Derek Zinck returned the favor with a 14-6 major-decision victory over John Jarred for a 14-9 Lehigh lead. At 165 pounds, Craig Dziewiatkowski (Aurora, Ill.) gave Navy some hope with an 11-6 decision over Dave Nakasone. However, at 174 pounds, 18th-ranked Travis Frick edged Matt Stolpinski, 9-6, and at 184 pounds, David Helfrich defeated Matt Parsons, 7-1, to complete the match. Parsons was wrestling for Jonny Kane (Portland, Maine), who "broke out" the night before and failed the skin check before the match. Kane had defeated Helfrich is last year's dual, 13-4. "We fought hard, but just didn't get it done today. We were expecting to win, so that is disappointing," said Burnett. "We have things to fix and we'll improve and be ready for North Carolina and North Carolina State in two weeks." The win was Lehigh's sixth in a row in the series, dating back to the 1999-2000 season.Under Burnett, the Mids are 0-6 against Lehigh, but 23-1 against the other teams in the league. Navy will be off next week, before hosting North Carolina and North Carolina State at Halsey Field House on Saturday, Jan. 28, beginning at 1:00 p.m. For ticket information, call 1-800-US4-NAVY. #11 Lehigh 20, #21 Navy 12 TEAM SCORE 197: Chris Pogue (N) dec. #16 Matt Cassidy, 5-3 N, 3-0 HWT: #7 Tanner Garrett (N) dec. Paul Weibel, 11-5 N, 6-0 125: Matt Fisk (L) dec. Alex Usztics, 4-0 N, 6-3 133: John Stout (L) dec. Joe Baker, 9-3 T, 6-6 141: #3 Cory Cooperman (L) mdec. Spencer Manley, 15-5 L, 10-6 149: #19 John Cox (N) dec. #16 Matt Ciasulli, 5-4 L, 10-9 157: #11 Derek Zinck (L) mdec. John Jarred, 14-6 L, 14-9 165: Craig Dziewiatkowski (N) dec. Dave Nakasone, 11-6 L, 14-12 174: #18 Travis Frick (L) dec. Matt Solpinski, 9-6 L, 17-12 184: Dave Helfrich (L) dec. Matt Parsons, 7-1 L, 20-12