InterMat Staff

CEDAR FALLS -- The NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals kicked off on Saturday morning at the UNI Dome on the campus of Northern Iowa University in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Seventy-one teams across five divisions of wrestling (Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and NJCAA) are competing this weekend. Defending Champions Roll Oklahoma State (Division I), Nebraska-Omaha (Division II), and Augsburg (Division III) each back to defend their NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals titles, breezed through their day one duals to advance to tomorrow's semifinals. Oklahoma State, the three-time defending NCAA champions, dominated Kent State in the opening round, 37-6, and then, perhaps more impressively, won their quarterfinal match, 38-3, over Arizona State. The Cowboys finished the day having won 17 of their 20 individual matches. Top-seeded Nebraska-Omaha blasted Fort Hayes State, 24-9, in the opening round. In the quarterfinals, national champions J.D. Naig (165) and Les Sigman (Hwt) recorded pins, which helped propel the Mavericks to a 28-11 victory over eighth-seeded Augustana (South Dakota). Nebraska-Omaha head coach Mike Denney was pleased with his team's overall performance, but also had high praise for his opponents. "These are our first duals of the season," said Denney. "We've wrestled all tournaments up until this point, so we're still kind of adjusting to the dual meet kind of thing. But I'll tell you what, that's one of the best Fort Hayes teams I've seen them have in the 27 years I've been coaching. They have a nice squad. They really do. They performed well against us. And then with Augustana, I don't know how they got seeded eighth. They were second in the nation last year. They returned a bunch of their guys, so we had two tough teams right off the bat." The Mavericks will now face fifth-seeded Central Oklahoma in semifinals. Central Oklahoma defeated fourth-seeded Nebraska-Kearney, 22-11, in the quarterfinals. "I was a little bit surprised (that Central Oklahoma won)," said Denney. "I didn't get a chance to see the match. So I don't know if Nebraska-Kearney was missing somebody or what happened. But it should be a good match-up tomorrow." Augsburg, who entered the event seeded third (behind No. 1 Wartburg and No. 2 UW-La Crosse) crushed their first two opponents. In the first round, the Auggies defeated Augustana (Illinois), 38-3, and then defeated sixth-seeded Cornell (Iowa), 36-3. Augsburg will now take on UW-La Crosse in the semifinals in a battle of Division III heavyweights. Surprise! Nebraska has been the biggest surprise of this year's event. The Huskers, who came in unseeded (and currently ranked 17th in the country by RevWrestling.com), first upset fourth-seeded Iowa, 24-13, in the opening round on the strength of two pins to open the dual and also scored two upsets up top. Paul Donahoe (125) and Patrick Aleksanyan (133) recorded pins, while Jacob Klein (174) and Vince Jones (184) beat a pair of Hawkeyes ranked in the top four in the nation. Klein, a 2004 All-American, defeated No. 3 Mark Perry, 4-3. Jones, a true freshman in his first match out of redshirt, stunned Bradley, 4-3. The Cornhuskers proved their win over Iowa was no fluke by knocking off fourth-seeded Michigan (for the second time this season), 24-16, to advance to the semifinals. So what's their reward for reaching the semifinals? A meeting with top-ranked Oklahoma State on Sunday at 11 a.m. CST. He's Human Troy Nickerson of Cornell has been one of the most talked about freshman in recent years… and for good reason. He entered the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals with an 18-0 record and ranked fifth in the country by RevWrestling.com. But on Saturday afternoon, Nickerson suffered the first setback of his collegiate career, a 3-0 loss to two-time All-American Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma. The two wrestlers battled to a scoreless first period. Hazewinkel began the period in the down position and after Nickerson threw in the legs, the Sooner was able to secure a reversal to go up 2-0. Nickerson chose to start the third period in the neutral position, but was unable to put any points on the scoreboard. Hazewinkel added an additional point for riding time. Sam Hazewinkel"I felt like I wrestled real good, real smart," said Hazewinkel. "I wish that I would have done a little more. I didn't attack as much as I wanted to. But it's a win against a great kid, so I'm not upset." Hazewinkel said that he spent a little bit of time preparing for Nickerson, but didn't want to dwell on the match-up. "I heard something last year that I've been trying to do," said Hazewinkel. "It said, when all you do is watch other people, or all you do is watch your mistakes, than that's what you work on, instead of looking at what you do right. So I was just trying to think about what I do right, rather than what he does." Best Freshman? While a case could certainly be made for Nickerson as the nation's top freshman, an equally strong case could be made for Minnesota's Dustin Schlatter, who shutout two-time All-American and third-ranked Jon Masa of Hofstra, 5-0, in the opening round. In his second match today, Schlatter won by major decision over Iowa State's Jason Knipp, 19-7. The former four-time Ohio state champion now boasts a 24-1 record -- with his only loss coming to Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan at the Northeast Duals. Interestingly, Schlatter will get another crack at DiSalvo, also an Ohio native, when Minnesota wrestles against Central Michigan in the semifinals at 11 a.m. CST. Domination Continues With his four wins (two technical falls and two pins) on Saturday, top-ranked Ben Askren of Missouri (174) ran his season record to 30-0 with 22 pins and six technical falls. Missouri finished the day with a 2-2 record. What a Difference Four Years Can Make Nate Baker was the starting 165-pounder as a freshman for National Duals champion Minnesota in 2002. Now, after being out of the sport for four years, he is back wrestling in this event, but this time for Minnesota-Moorhead (Division II). Baker won both of his matches today, but his team finished a disappointing 0-2. Note: Division I, Division II, Division III ,and NAIA semifinal matches will take place at 11:00 a.m. CST. The finals will take place at 3:00 p.m. NJCAA semifinals took place on Saturday night, with the finals set to take place on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. CST. Semifinal Pairings: Division I: No. 1 Oklahoma State vs. Nebraska No. 2 Minnesota vs. No. 6 Central Michigan Division II: No. 1 Nebraska-Omaha vs. No. 5 Central Oklahoma No. 2 Minnesota State-Mankato vs. No. 6 Ashland Division III: No. 1 Wartburg vs. No. 4 Luther No. 2 Wisconsin-La Crosse vs. No. 3 Augsburg NAIA: No. 1 Lindenwood vs. No. 5 Cumberlands No. 3 Dana vs. No. 7 Missouri Valley Updated Results: Division I Brackets Division II Brackets Division III Brackets NAIA Brackets NJCAA Brackets

With the 2006 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals set to begin on Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa, there are five questions that I would like answered this weekend… 1. Who is the nation's top freshman? Troy NickersonIt has truly been an amazing season for freshmen. Troy Nickerson of Cornell, a true freshman, is currently 18-0 and ranked No. 5 in the country at 125 pounds. The most impressive thing about Nickerson, though, is the ease in which he is winning his matches. Of his 18 wins, seven have come by pin and six by major decision. He'll get his first major test in the first round match-up against Oklahoma's Sam Hazewinkel, who has placed third at the NCAA Championships the past two seasons. Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota, also a true freshman, is 22-1 this season -- with his lone loss coming to No. 5 Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan. Like Nickerson, Schlatter will have his hands full in his opening round match-up against No. 3 Jon Masa of Hofstra. Steve Luke of Michigan, a redshirt freshman, has a 7-2 record and won the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December, which included a win over Alex Tirapelle of Illinois. If Both Michigan and Iowa win their opening round matches, Luke will see NCAA runner-up Joe Johnston in the second round. Redshirt freshman Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State comes in with a 13-5 record at 174, but is coming off a bad 13-0 loss to Mark Perry of Iowa. Mason could potentially meet top-ranked Ben Askren of Missouri in the second round (if the Tigers can get by Arizona State). Obviously, since not all of the top freshmen in the country will be in Cedar Falls this weekend, it wouldn't be fair to use this event as an accurate indicator of who "the best" freshman is, but it should prove to be a good measuring stick for the four freshmen mentioned above. Other freshmen who have made an impact this season include Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro, Mike Poeta of Illinois, and J Jaggers of Ohio State. 2. Is Jon Masa ready to challenge for a national title? Masa, a senior 149-pounder for Hofstra, was granted a one semester Olympic waiver by the NCAA in late November. The Puerto Rico native is a two-time All-American with an abundance of talent. When he's "on," he's one of the best wrestlers in the country -- regardless of weight class. But other times, he wrestles as if he is bored, or merely going through the motions. Case in point, last season he lost to Jeff Harrison of Northern Iowa, 13-4. Admittedly, Harrison was a solid wrestler, but never an All-American, and not someone who Masa should have lost to by nine points! He also lost to non-All-Americans Rayes Gonzalez of Boston and Jeff Owens of Cal Poly. As further of evidence of his inconsistency, he lost to Dustin Manotti of Cornell last season, 6-4 and 16-3. There is no question that Manotti, a three-time All-American, is a very good wrestler, but how can someone as talented as Masa lose by 13 points? Not only did he go on to avenge that loss to Manotti (at the NCAA Championships), but he beat him 11-3! He then proceeded to beat a tough Eric Tannenbaum, 8-1, to finish third at the NCAA Championships. He has been victorious in his only two matches sine returning to the Pride lineup (he did, in Masa-like fashion, lose some matches he shouldn't have while wrestling unattached earlier this season). But in his first match back, he defeated Tannenbaum, 13-4. Now the question is whether or not he can avoid letdown and challenge for the national title. He'll see super frosh Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota in the first round -- in what should be a very intiguing match-up. 3. Who is the front-runner in Division I for the coveted Dan Hodge Trophy presented by WIN Magazine? As I see it right now, looking strictly at Division I, there are five wrestlers who could win this award this season. Those wrestlers include Ben Askren of Missouri (174), Nate Gallick of Iowa State (141), Cole Konrad of Minnesota (Hwt), Ryan Churella of Michigan (165), and Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State (Hwt). Askren, in my opinion, is without question the front-runner for this award right now. He has completely dominated everyone he has faced this season. He is 26-0 with 20 pins. With his next victory, he will break his own school record for consecutive wins, a mark that he set last season. However, he has yet to meet the No. 2 and No. 3-ranked wrestlers in his weight class, Jake Herbert of Northwestern and Mark of Perry of Iowa, respectively, but could potentially face them this weekend. Gallick is a world-class freestyler who has yet to reach his collegiate wrestling goals. The Arizona native, who has placed fifth and second at the NCAA Championships, is currently 19-0 this season with a Midlands title and a victory over his nemesis, Teyon Ware of Oklahoma, at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Konrad is 20-0 this season. More importantly, though, he toppled "The Bear", Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State, for the first time in his career at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Ryan ChurellaChurella has quietly positioned himself as a legitimate contender for the Hodge. He currently boasts an 11-0 record, which includes five pins, two-technical falls, and three major decisions. Entering this season, Churella was ranked third in the country at 165 -- behind two NCAA champions -- Troy Letters of Lehigh and Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State. But both have already lost this season (Hendricks was pinned by Joe Bracamonte of Oregon, but defeated Letters). If everything goes as expected, Churella will face Hendricks in the semifinals, who he lost to in last year's NCAA semifinals. Mocco, last year's Hodge winner, remains undefeated (not counting his exhibition loss to Konrad) at 11-0. If he is able to run the table the rest of the way, without losing to Konrad, he could become the second wrestler (after Cael Sanderson) to win multiple Hodge Trophies. 4. Will wrestling fans show up to a premier collegiate event in a hotbed wrestling state? Wrestling fans often complain about the lack of national coverage the sport receives. I'll admit, I've often complained about it myself. But until we (as wrestling fans) fill up arenas and give the national media outlets (like ESPN) a reason to care about our sport, it will continue to be an afterthought to people outside the wrestling community. Matt Krumrie of TheWrestlingMall.com wrote a very interesting article in December entitled, "Wrestling fans, where are you? Disappointing attendance bad for the sport." The article took a look at the poor attendance figures throughout the country this season. In 2002, Minnesota wrestled against Iowa at the Target Center and drew a record-setting 15,646 fans. This season, Iowa was hoping to shatter that record in a home dual against Oklahoma State last Saturday night. It didn't happen. In fact, the dual drew just over half (8,157) of their goal. It will be interesting to see how well this weekend's event draws in wrestling-rich Iowa. 5. Who, if anyone, can give Oklahoma State the best run for their money at the NCAA Championships? Being that this event is a dual meet format, and the NCAA Championships use a tournament format, the National Duals aren't the best indicator of what will happen in March. Some teams, like Michigan and Cornell, appear to be much better tournament teams than dual meet teams because of the strength of their top individuals. However, this event will allow each of the top teams to showcase their talent against other top teams. The only team ranked in the top five that will not be in Cedar Falls is No. 3 Illinois. Every single dual meet that will take place this weekend will have great individual match-ups. At the conclusion of this event, we'll have a pretty good idea of how great the Michigan middleweights are -- and whether or not they might be able to score enough points to at least challenge the Cowboys. We'll have a pretty good idea as to whether or not the Schlatter brothers, Dustin and CP, can beat highly-ranked wrestlers and challenge for national titles, which would give the Gophers a huge boost. And we'll have a pretty good idea as to whether or not Oklahoma has the overall depth (outside of their top two wrestlers, Sam Hazewinkel and Teyon Ware) to be a threat at the NCAA Championships.

BAKERSFIELD, California – A major decision victory by K.C. Walsh in the final match of the evening propelled the Boise State University wrestling team to a 20-19 win over Cal State Bakersfield in the Broncos first Pac-10 Conference dual of the 2005-06 season Thursday (Jan. 12) night. Boise State improves its overall dual record on the year to 4-1. With the Broncos trailing 19-16 heading into the 184 pound match, Boise State needed at least a win by decision from Walsh to tie the dual. But the senior from Tacoma, Washington, stepped it up a notch posting 16-6 major decision over Brandon Ceremello for four team points and a one-point Bronco victory. Starting with six team points from Casey Phelps when Cal State Bakersfield had to forfeit the match at 197 pounds, Boise State held the lead throughout most of the evening building its margin to as many as nine points at 12-3 after four matches. After an 11-0 major decision win by Ben Cherrington at 157 pounds, Boise State led 16-10 before the host Roadrunners won two straight matches with a major decision and a technical fall (five team points) to take a 19-16 lead heading into the final match. Walsh controlled the final match jumping out to a 10-3 lead at the end of the first period, before extending it to 16-5 at the end of two. Ceremello scored the only point of the third period after Walsh, in the down position for the entire period, was twice warned for stalling. It's now on to southern California for the Broncos on Friday (Jan. 13) for another Pac-10 dual at Cal State Fullerton. Boise State completes its four-day swing through California on Saturday (Jan. 14) with duals against Purdue University and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Following are complete results from the match Boise State 20, Cal State Bakersfield 19 197 – Casey Phelps (BSU) wins by forfeit HWT – Eric Parker (CSUB) dec. Andy Patrick (BSU) 5-2 125 – Cory Fish (BSU) dec. Brandon Zoetewey (CSUB) 4-1 133 – Scott Jorgensen (BSU) dec. Tommy Vargas (CSUB) 4-1 141 – Matt Schumm (CSUB) major dec. Jordan Brock (BSU) 9-0 149 – Anthony Baza (CSUB) dec. Tyler Sherfey (BSU) 9-6 157 – Ben Cherrington (BSU) major dec. Drew East (CSUB) 11-0 165 – Briah Busby (CSUB) major dec. Lex Case (BSU) 9-0 174 – Christian Arellano (CSUB) tech fall Ben Gilliland (BSU) 17-0 184 – K.C. Walsh (BSU) major dec. Brandon Ceremello (CSUB) 16-6

The Adams State College Grizzly wrestling team found that out the hard way as arch-rival Western State College overcame an apparent 12-6 deficit to win the final five matches en-route to a 26-9 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual victory over the visiting Grizzlies on Thursday night in the Mountaineers' Paul W. Wright Gymnasium. The victory allowed the nation's 17th-ranked Mountaineers to remain perfect in duals. Western, which scored three bonus point wins, is now 7-0 overall and 2-0 in RMAC action. ASC, ranked ninth in the nation, was competing in a dual for the first time this season. Leading 9-6 at the intermission, the Grizzlies were about to go up 12-6 with their fourth straight win. With ASC senior Dave Welanko (Clarkston, Mich.) holding a 3-2 lead late in the third period, the Mountaineers flipped the momentum 180 degrees as Mountaineer redshirt freshman Tate Lowe, a late replacement for nationally ranked Camille DuPont, scored the winning takedown with just four seconds left in the 149-pound match knotting the dual at 9. The Mountaineers then used the suddenly-energized crowd as WSC's Zach Lee pinned ASC senior Scott Cleve (Escondido, Calif.) just 16 seconds into the second period of the 157-pound match giving Western State a 15-9 lead and all the momentum in the world. Larry Wilbanks and Charlie Pipher then posted 13-5 major decision wins at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, to clinch the dual before Dillon Waggonner scored a 7-2 win in the 184-pound finale giving the Mountaineers their third straight win in the series. Winners of 11 of the last 12 in the series, the Mountaineers have not dropped a home dual against ASC since Jan. 13, 1994. Welanko, who rejoined the team this week after a 2-year hiatus, scored the opening takedown and took a 3-1 lead in the second period. Lowe then closed the gap to 3-2 with a takedown early in the third period. Looking like he was going to hold off the Mountaineer, Welanko nearly got out of trouble. However, Lowe spun around to take the crowd-energizing 4-3 win. Lowe's momentum carried over to the 157-pound match. In the first period, Lee had taken a 7-1 lead with the throw and nearly pinned Cleve before settling for a 3-point near fall and another takedown later in the period. Using a nearly identical throw as he did in the first period, Lee improved to 12-4 while giving the Mountaineers a 15-9 lead. Wilbanks then scored a 13-5 major decision win over Dusty Vaughn, a replacement for nationally-ranked Evan Copeland (Las Cruces, N.M.), in the 165-pound bout. Vaughn, now 2-3 on the year, was wrestling in a dual for the first time in his ASC career just over an hour away from his hometown of Montrose The wrestlers were scoreless in the first period before Wilbanks went ahead 7-2 with a wild flurry early in the second. Vaughn answered with a reversal to close the gap to 7-4 before a second 2-point near fall early in the third gave Wilbanks a 9-4 edge. He then went up 11-5 with a third-period takedown before accumulating 87 seconds of riding time to give the Mountaineers a bonus point. Pipher then scored five takedowns en-route to his win over James Reynolds (Monte Vista, Colo.) ranked seventh in the nation. Dillon Waggonner then closed out the dual with a 7-2 win over Josh Vialpando (Walsenburg, Colo.) at 184 pounds. The Grizzlies had gone into the intermission with full control of the momentum and a 9-6 lead thanks to wins by senior Rob McCabe (Nucla, Colo.), sophomore Raymond Dunning (Nashville, Tenn.) and junior Brian Pitts (Rio Rancho, N.M.), all former All-Americans. McCabe, ranked eighth in the nation at 125 pounds, put ASC on the board in the third match of the night as he overcame a 4-3 third period deficit to post a 7-4 win over WSC's Eddie Lopez. McCabe, now 10-8, scored a takedown a minute in before riding out Lopez for the rest of the first period. Lopez then came back to cut the deficit to 3-2 with a second period takedown after a McCabe escape before the Mountaineer took the lead with a takedown from the neutral position in the third. However, McCabe tied the match just a few seconds later before scoring a bout-clinching takedown midway through the third stanza. McCabe then rode Lopez out while scoring a riding time point. Dunning, named RMAC Wrestler of the Week earlier in the day, then evened things up at 6 with a convincing 6-0 win over Marques Bravo, a returning national qualifier. After a scoreless first period, the 133-pound Dunning scored an early second period reversal and near fall before riding Bravo for the rest of the match accumulating 3 ½ minutes of riding time. Dunning, now ranked second in the nation, has won five straight bouts while improving to 13-5. Pitts then gave ASC a 9-6 lead with a 9-4 win over Western State's Chirs Freije at 141 pounds. Pitts led 3-1 in the second before Freije tied things up with a late takedown. However, Pitts got out at the buzzer giving him a 4-3 lead. Freije was able to tie things up with an early escape before a final-minute takedown and ensuing turn allowed Pitts to claim the win, his third straight and fifth in his last six. The Mountaineers had taken the early lead and momentum as 197-pound junior Cody Mumma scored the first takedown in the waning seconds of the first period against ASC junior Casey Woodall (Morenci, Ariz.) before the wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third periods. Mumma then scored another takedown midway through the period to wrap up the 5-2 win. Kipp Cullin kept things going for the Mountaineers as he scored a first-period takedown en-route to a defensive 3-2 win over Grizzly senior Heath Soderstrom (Englewood, Colo.) to give WSC a 6-0 lead. The Grizzlies now return home to Plachy Hall for their next five duals, starting Saturday evening at 6 o'clock against Division I Air Force. The Mountaineers will meet Air Force, currently 2-0 in duals, on Friday night in Colorado Springs. Visit ASCGrizzlies.com for the latest news and info on Adams State College Athletics.

The Eastern Michigan University Eagles travel to Cleveland Saturday to face three opponents in the Cleveland State Duals. The Eagles will take on host Cleveland State in the opening match at noon, followed by West Liberty and then Slippery Rock.. The Eagles are 1-4 this season coming off a tough loss to #11 Lehigh last Sunday. Eastern will be led by #17 ranked freshman Sean Clair (22-8) at 125 and #20 ranked junior Jermaine Thompson (7-2) at 149. Captain Phillip Plowman has returned to the lineup at 133 after an injury and looked sharp against Lehigh. Cleveland State is 2-2 following a recent big victory over Ohio State and then a 27-8 loss to Kent State. The Vikings are led by senior Ron Howard (16-6) who is ranked #18 at 184 and the opening meet of the day should be a real teat for both Eastern and Cleveland State. Slippery Rock is 4-5. Their strength is in the upper middle weights where they are led by senior Jason Cardillo (21-9)at 165 and sophomore Jerimiah Frederick (18-12)at 174. West Liberty is a Division II West Virginia school. The Hilltoppers are led by junior Tommy Clark who is ranked #5 nationally in Division II at 174 pounds.

Stanford, Calif. -- Stanford (3-2) will host No. 4 Illinois (1-0) in the Cardinal's home-opener on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion. It will be the Cardinal's second match this season against a ranked opponent, after Stanford opened the season against Missouri in November. "Illinois is coming off their third consecutive Midlands title," noted head coach Kerry McCoy. "They're ranked fourth in the country, but they are probably better than that. Our guys have to stay focused on wrestling hard and wrestling smart and not worrying about what the rankings say. We had a good week of training and we're ready to get this dual meet season going. What a way to start our dual meet season!" With six ranked wrestlers in its probable line-up, Illinois will be intense competition for the Cardinal on Sunday. One of the weekend's biggest match-ups will be at 125 pounds, where Stanford's lone ranked wrestler, sophomore Tanner Gardner (No. 11), will likely face third-ranked Kyle Ott. Another major match for the Cardinal will be at 165 pounds, where Cardinal co-captain Ray Blake, who has already amassed 30 wins this season, will face ninth-ranked Mike Poeta. Coming off a strong performance last week is true freshman Tyler Parker, who will likely face returning All-American Cassio Pero at 141 pounds. In his last bout, Parker battled 14th-ranked Max Meltzer of Harvard to overtime, falling 12-11 in sudden victory. At 174 pounds, Stanford will start either redshirt freshman Luke Feist or fifth-year senior Brennan Corbett against 17th-ranked Donny Reynolds. Feist and Reynolds met in the opening round at Midlands, with Reynolds taking a 4-3 decision. This weekend will also be a reunion off the mat, as first-year Stanford head coach Kerry McCoy and Illinois assistant Jeremy Hunter were both All-Americans at Penn State. Illinois will face Fresno State on Friday night before coming north to take on Stanford. Sunday's Probable Match-Ups 125 -- #11 Tanner Gardner (24-7) vs. #3 Kyle Ott (1-0) or Ryan Klinger (0-2) 133 -- Eric Minnick (3-11) vs. Gabe Flores (1-1) 141 -- Tyler Parker (9-9) or Juston Johnson (1-1) vs. Cassio Pero (7-4) 149 -- Josh Zupancic (14-3) vs. Troy Tirapelle (8-3) or Dan Zeman (3-4) 157 -- Scott Loescher (15-12) vs. #1 Alex Tirapelle (11-1) 165 -- Ray Blake vs. #9 Mike Poeta (13-3) 174 -- Luke Feist (10-11) or Brennan Corbett (5-4) vs. #17 Donny Reynolds (13-4) 184 -- Ryan Hagen (2-11) vs. #3 Pete Friedl (11-1) 197 -- Larry Ozowara (4-5) vs. #8 Tyrone Byrd (12-4) HWT -- Jared Boyer (4-10) vs. Matt Weight (11-6) or Ben Zulauf (7-2)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team is seeded No. 4 in this weekend's Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va. The Mocs, one of eight seeded teams in the National College Division, will face Columbia at 9 a.m. Friday in the Hampton Coliseum. Following the opening match, UTC (5-5-1) will take on either fifth-seeded North Carolina or Cal State-Davis. Other teams in the Mocs' upper bracket include top-seeded Indiana, No. 8-seeded Bloomsburg, Old Dominion and Virginia Tech. The bottom bracket includes seeded teams No. 2 Penn, No. 3 West Virginia, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Drexel, The Citadel, North Dakota State, Rider and Virginia. Head Coach Joe Seay will take a team of 13 wrestlers to Virginia for the competition. Leading the way is junior Matt Keller, a 133-pounder whose national ranking this week improved to No. 6 nationally in the NWCA/Intermat collegiate rankings. He is ranked No. 8 by Wrestling International Newsmagazine. UTC has also returned to the team national rankings at No. 24 in W.I.N.'s top-25 poll. Keller is coming off a 4-0 performance at the Lone Star Duals last week where he was voted the Outstanding Wrestler of the meet. Keller defeated Wisconsin's No. 1-ranked wrestler, Tom Clum, and led the Mocs to a 19-18 victory over the No. 18 Badgers. Also set to compete for the Mocs are Javier Maldonado at 125 pounds, Adam Rains at 133, Michael Keefe at 141, Aaron Martin at 149 and Jake Yost at 157. Daniel Peterson and Justin Otis will split time at 165 pounds, T.J. Sayers will compete at 174, John Davis at 184, Lloyd Rogers and Nick Lorenzano at 197 and Israel Silva at 285. The Mocs went 2-2 at the Virginia Duals in 2005, defeating Old Dominion, 44-0, and No. 12 Missouri, 19-16. UTC lost to Indiana, 30-14 and to Cal State-Bakersfield, 25-11. CHATTANOOGA PROBABLE LINEUP 125 Javier Maldonado (Soph., Kissimmee, Fla., 13-6) 133 Matt Keller (Jr., McDonald, Tenn., 22-7) 133 Adam Rains (Sr., Cleveland, Tenn., 7-6) 141 Michael Keefe (Jr., Ringgold, Ga., 22-6) 149 Aaron Martin (Jr., Pataskala, Ohio, 0-2) 157 Jake Yost (Jr., Soddy Daisy, Tenn., 14-13) 165 Dan Peterson (Sr., Pittsburg, Kansas, 12-8) 165 Justin Otis (Soph., Martinez, Ga., 2-3) 174 T.J. Sayers (Jr., Hueytown, Ala., 8-9) 184 John Davis (Sr., Gainesville, Fla., 8-7) 197 Lloyd Rogers (Soph., Palm City, Fla., 4-11) 197 Nick Lorenzano (Jr., St. Cloud, Fla., 0-5) 285 Israel Silva (Sr., Marysville, Wash., 3-5)

It's nearly impossible to overstate what John Smith has accomplished in the sport of wrestling. As a competitor, he was a two-time NCAA champion, five-time U.S. Nationals champion (in five attempts), World Cup champion, two-time Pan American Games champion, two-time Goodwill Games champion, four-time world champion, and two-time Olympic champion. Simply put, the man dominated the world for six straight years. John SmithIn 1990, he became the first wrestler to win the James E. Sullivan Award as America's top amateur athlete, the first American to be chosen Master of Technique and Wrestler of the Year by the International Wrestling Federation (FILA), and the first wrestler ever nominated for the World Trophy. In 1997, Smith was inducted as a Distinguished Member in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Smith's success has translated into the coaching arena. Since taking over as head coach of the Oklahoma State Cowboys in 1991, Smith has amassed over 200 dual meet wins and four national championships. The top-ranked Cowboys will be looking to win their fourth straight NCAA title this season. From the National Duals in Cedar Falls to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Steve Mocco to brother Pat, RevWrestling.com recently picked the brain of one of America's greatest wrestling icons. Last season at the NCAA Championships, you had one of the most dominating performances in collegiate wrestling history with five national champions and 153 points. Is it realistic to believe that this year's team could end up being better than last year's team? Smith: I don't think that you can really determine that at this time of the year. Obviously, that's a great challenge. And I hope it's a challenge that my team will accept. But a lot of things go into a year. It's really important that you're improving during the year. At this time of the season, it's just really tough to say we could or couldn't be better. For four of your wrestlers, the season began at the NWCA All-Star Classic in November. Three of your national champions, Zack Esposito, Johny Hendricks, and Steve Mocco, lost. Did that serve as a wakeup call to those three wrestlers? Smith: I don't think so. I think we trained really hard. I think we prepared and did a lot of the right things before the season started. I think it was more of an understanding of our thought process individually -- what it was going to take to have a successful year after becoming a national champion. You're in a different pair of shoes after you've won it. And it's about maintaining excellence. With the exception of Mocco, all of your returning national champions have suffered regular season defeats. Does that concern you at all? Smith: Well, you know, if you look at historically my scheduling, I do no favors for my student-athletes to go undefeated. It's a very tough schedule. The last 10 or so years, it's been the toughest schedule in the nation. The schedule is really not set up for an individual to go undefeated. They have to perform each and every week. That makes it much more competitive for anyone on the squad. So, no, it doesn't concern me. There are no surprises up to this point. I believe we're where we need to be right now. The NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals are set to get underway on Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa. What do you try to take away from that event? Are there any questions you want answered about your team? Smith: I don't think there are any questions. I don't need to challenge my team. I believe that they challenge themselves in every way. I hope that they have a passion about winning. I hope that they don't take it for granted … or that they don't look at this like it's not an important event. I think that you can disrespect winning in a way that it can eventually affect your performance. Even though we have won just about everything the last three years, we have to have the passion and drive to do it again, and it starts at the National Duals. Who do you see as the biggest threat to challenge Oklahoma State for the National Duals title? Do you look at one team in particular? Smith: No, I don't. You really can't. I think we have seen this year is shaping up to be a very competitive dual meet environment. If you look at the last couple of years, we've had to wrestle extremely well to win. It came down to heavyweight in a couple of dual meets at the National Duals last year. I don't think there's going to be any difference. I think it's going to be a lot of the same. It's shaping up to be a very competitive dual meet season. You defeated Iowa, 18-14, on Saturday night. How would you characterize your team's performance in the dual? Smith: It's a good win. I think people forget that's an event away from home. That's an event in their home arena. Two very historical programs. They take a lot of pride in wrestling in their building. If you look at the winning percentage in their building, or in ours, you see that's probably some of the highest in any sport. It's important when you go to a place like that and win. I wouldn't grade us an A, but I do believe that you cannot underestimate that it's tougher to go into places like that. Steve Mocco (photo by Johnnie Johnson)Mocco made his first appearance in Iowa City since he left the Iowa program in 2004. What was your reaction to the "not-so-friendly" welcome he received in Carver-Hawkeye Arena? Smith: Well, I really don't have much comment on it. It didn't seem to bother him. I don't think he had his best effort, but I'm sure he's glad that it's behind him now. Mocco was obviously a dominating force coming out of high school. He has had a great collegiate career. He is a two-time NCAA champion who has a chance to join a very elite club of college big men who have won three titles. But there are still the critics out there who say that Mocco hasn't improved all that much since high school. In your estimation, how much has he developed as a wrestler from when he first arrived at Oklahoma State to now? Smith: Well, I think since we've had Steve, he looks at wrestling differently. I do believe that he's enjoying his team and his teammates. In some way, he's become a leader, which I don't think he had spent a lot of time doing before. More importantly than him developing in wrestling, which I do believe he has, I've seen him become much more rounded as a person. In the end, I do believe that it's going to make a big difference in his wrestling. You have had some solid performances this season. You dominated Lehigh, beat Oklahoma, beat Iowa, and won the Reno Tournament of Champions. In your opinion, what has been your team's best performance so far this season? Smith: I don't think we've had that yet. And I'm not sure that I've given them time to have that. I'm still looking for it as a team. But I do not believe at this point that I can really pinpoint a match that looked any different than the rest. I'm still looking for that as we move into the month of January. With the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City this year, does that add to the pressure of winning your fourth consecutive NCAA title? Smith: I think if wrestling at home adds to the pressure, we have problems. It's going to be a sea of orange in Oklahoma City. There are going to be a lot of Cowboys fans behind us. There's no disadvantage to that. Coleman Scott and Nathan Morgan wrestled as true freshmen last season. Is there still a possibility that one or both of those wrestlers could use a redshirt season at some point? Smith: I think so. I think we'll see that in the future. I don't know when. Those two made some sacrifices in stepping out for us last year. And then obviously coming back and going again for us. They've kept the team in focus and have bypassed a redshirt year to keep that team in focus. Nathan Morgan (photo by Johnnie Johnson)Morgan has had a great sophomore season. He currently has a 14-1 record, but doesn't get talked about as much as some of your other top wrestlers. When it's all said and done, how great can he be? Smith: Well, I don't know. I think there needs to be some things that he needs to really concentrate on as far as tactical areas of wrestling. But it's been nice to see those improvements. He's been with us a year and a half. That's it. He's at a very tough weight class. I think that as he grows into his tactical frame of mind, he's going to be where we want him to be. Freshman Brandon Mason has shown flashes of potentially being a great wrestler. He's obviously very tough on top. However, he has struggled at times this season -- like on Saturday night against Mark Perry. How would you characterize his season so far? Smith: You know, it's been good. You look at his record, he has a nice record. He has to do a lot to keep his weight at 174 right now. He's probably a little bit small for the weight. But we think he's going to be real comfortable in it as we approach the second semester and not worry about it. That's the benefit of being a little bit light at the weight. But he's working hard. He's working hard to make some changes. He's had some great matches. He's beaten some good people. He has to earn his confidence, and he's had some matches that he's done that in. I would say that he's wrestling more confidently now than he has all season long. It didn't show a lot at Iowa. He really struggled getting off the mat. I believe that of the 14 points that Perry scored, 11 of them were on the mat, one point for riding time, and the two-point takedown. Those are the things that he needs to work on if he wants to be competitive with those top three. Is Chris Pendleton still in the wrestling room on a daily basis? What has he meant to Mason's development? Smith: Yeah, Chris is here training to make a world and Olympic team. He's in and out because of his freestyle. I think Brandon looks at him. He wants to do more than what Chris did as a freshman. Chris didn't place and had a very average year. I think, at this time, he's a little bit ahead of where Chris was as a true freshman. Jake Rosholt (photo by Johnnie Johnson)Esposito, Rosholt, and Mocco are all graduating after this season. Esposito and Mocco have wrestled quite a bit of freestyle in the off-season. But Rosholt hasn't. Does Rosholt have aspirations to continue wrestling freestyle? Smith: I hope so. I believe that he does. When he came to Oklahoma State, it was something that he was really interested in. I do believe that he still is. The unfortunate part of collegiate wrestling is that it's a long season, such a long grind. He's had a lot of success, obviously. There needs to be some down time. The way we have our tournaments set up for freestyle, it doesn't give our kids much time to take that down time. He hasn't participated recently, but I hope that he will continue after this year. Your brother, Pat, has been a part of your coaching staff for a number of years. Does he have any aspirations of becoming a Division I head coach? Smith: You know, I don't know. I think he's really happy here in Stillwater. He's happy with the role he plays in this program. He's very important. I hope he doesn't while I'm coaching. I hope to have him as long as I'm coaching. If he ever does decide, I would be a proud brother to see him take a head job someday.

It has been a year to the day since a fire destroyed the home of Toby Willis, Founder of Real Pro Wrestling. A lot has happened in that year and I was able to catch up with him and ask him some pointed questions about the state of affairs of RPW. What is going on with RPW? Willis: RPW has been hard at work doing a lot of behind the scenes work. While this logistical work does not always make for great news, it is essential to the long- term health of RPW. However, there are a few things that are big news. What is one big RPW news story right now? Willis: We finally finished our Season One DVD. As far as I know, not only is this the first time good wrestling production came to television, but it is the first time a complete major event has been made available on DVD. Maybe there are videos you can buy, but not that I know of. Putting wrestling on television is only one goal of RPW. The larger goal is making great wrestling accessible to the public. DVDs play a big part of this. For those who missed episodes of RPW, now they can see what they missed. Also we have worked hard on the bonus material for the DVD -- all 28 complete quarterfinal matches. We had to work hard to bring some sub-par backup footage up to quality since we lost about half of our original footage in the fire last year. These 28 bonus matches are the same number of matches we showed in the television show, so in a way, this is like Season 1.5. There were some great matches in the quarters and encourage people to see what was missing from the television broadcast. You mentioned the importance of an in-house post-production component for RPW. Why is that important? Willis: This gives us the ability to do future or even past wrestling events. For example, we'd love to bring out all the past Nationals, Trials and Olympic Events. This will take some dealing making with the entities who own this footage but right now, all these great matches are sitting on the shelves collecting dust. Meanwhile our country's wrestlers lose out from learning from the best, and the fans do not get to see the best compete. It is a shame that we cannot see all the great wrestlers of the past. I've seen a few illegal copies of past Olympics and such, but it is a huge problem that the average wrestler cannot see the matches from the past. Take the 2004 Olympics for example. NBC owns the footage and doesn't put out a DVD. One of RPW's goals is to solve this. What changes can we expect to see from RPW? Doug Schwab of the Iowa Stalkers won the 145-pound title (66 kg) in Season 1. For his efforts, Schwab was also named Most Outstanding Wrestler.Willis: The most obvious change is in our merchandise. Check out our new designs and logos. We also have others working to help us design products such as singlets based on RPW concepts. We did some re-branding ourselves and even reworked some of the team logos and artwork. Based on feedback on Season One, we learned some things worked and others that didn't. We also are planning changes for Season Two to reflect what we learned in the production. Technology continues to race forward and already our computer and software tools for Season Two are significantly improved over our first season. Our website will continue to evolve as well. What is happening with Season Two and television? Willis: The biggest hurdle has been the television front. Not all this is in our hands either. We continue to move this front but quite frankly, are very disappointed in the executives who make the decisions. Our ratings were good for the time and channel we were on for Season One. There is good evidence we can explode if given better channels and time slots. We are making progress though. We are currently involved in meetings with various cable networks looking to hammer out something that makes sense. We will announce our Season Two broadcast plans as soon as we can. From the look and sound of things RPW is actually more than a wrestling show. Can you elaborate on this? Willis: Many people do not understand RPW's larger goal. Yes we have a television show and we had a few matches, but we have a much bigger goal and many bite-size steps to get from start to finish. It is a complex plan but necessarily so due to the fact that the world of wrestling is a huge complex situation. We have many organizations governing a part of this world, some who care for wrestling, others that don't. We also have different styles and seasons, age levels, events, etc. Part of our goal is also to bring sponsors to the table to give wrestling a good financial foundation for the future. While there have been individuals and corporations who have donated considerable funds in the past, for wrestling to prosper, we need the advertising inventory for them to make big budget long term commitments. RPW provides that. We already have some sponsors on board for season two and a few more on the fringe. What can people in the wrestling community do to help not only RPW succeed but wrestling as a whole? Mo Lawal of the Oklahoma Slam defeated Brad Vering of the New York Outrage to claim the 184-pound (84 kg) title in Season 1.Willis: I think there are a number of things that can help our sport but here are a couple of things I believe are critical: A very professional, fresh and cutting edge look and feel product for television, which I believe RPW is. A comprehensive marketing, public relations and advertising package put in place and followed through on. It is not good enough just to have wrestling on television. If the product is not superior, and there is no set plan to market and advertise the show then the ratings will be poor and the networks will think wrestling can't do well on television. This is what has happened in the past and is exactly what is hurting negotiations now. The leaders in the wrestling world need to think further forward than they are…this is a chess match not checkers. We need investors and influential people from within the wrestling world to step up and help wrestling succeed. As I said before, while there have been individuals and corporations who have donated considerable funds in the past, for wrestling to prosper we need to really focus on the business approach to our sport. We (the wrestling investors) have to understand that a "donation" can actually be an "investment" in which returns can be realized. How are you and your family doing since the fire a year ago? Willis: I have been working hard putting my family's life in order. The fire hit us really hard and at this point it looks like it will be about two years before we are back to normal. This is tough for my nine kids who will never have a second chance at childhood. But we have no choice. Wrestling prepared me for hardship so we keep plugging away. Also faith that God will work everything out for good also plays a huge part. One last question. Do you have faith RPW will succeed? Willis: Thankfully true faith is not a blind leap in the dark, contrary to reason and facts. It is simply seeing the conclusions beforehand of what the data points to. With RPW, the data logically points to the conclusion that wrestling can explode and go prime time. We are not at that final destination yet, but we can't get there without faith. We hope our work so far as helped make converts out of people so we… so wrestling can be brought into the promised land. I don't wish to equate wrestling as equal with religion but point out the similarities. It takes intelligence and design to create good things and random chance alone can never get us there. We here at RPW are doing our best to bring about good in wrestling and in all of life. Is that not what coaches, parents, and wrestlers all try to do everyday? I want to thank everyone for their past and continuing support of Real Pro Wrestling.

State College, Pa. -- Penn State Nittany Lion freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) has been named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending Sunday, January 9. Strayer becomes the second Nittany Lion to claim a conference W.O.W. award this year as sophomore All-American Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.) was honored on Nov. 16. Strayer continued the hot start to his rookie campaign by posting a 17-5 major decision over Lehigh's John Stout to help the Nittany Lions throttle No. 11 Lehigh 24-12 in Bethlehem. Two days later, Strayer posted a 6-1 win over No. 10 Mike Mormile of Cornell to help the Lions crush No. 10 Cornell 27-7 in Rec Hall. After last night's win at Lock Haven, Strayer is 14-1 overall. The South Fork, Pa., native is now ranked No. 10 in the country. He is one of three Nittany Lion freshmen who appeared in Penn State's starting line-up for the Lock Haven dual Wednesday night (a 33-7 win in Lock Haven). Penn State is now 8-2 overall and ranked No. 10 in the country. Head coach Troy Sunderland's unit has now won five straight duals, four over ranked teams, by a combined score of 137-40 (winning 38 of 50 bouts). The Nittany Lions will be off until hosting No. 16 Michigan State on Friday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m. The match will be telecast live on WPSU-TV and replayed at various times by CSTV. Two days later, Penn State hosts No. 2 Minnesota in a 1 p.m. tilt in Rec Hall. The dual will be a CSTV national telecast. 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.

Oklahoma State will open the 2006 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals with Kent State of the Mid-America Conference. The Golden Flashes are currently 7-1 on the season after a big win over in-state rival Ohio State. Kent State is the only team in the 16-team field not represented in the current USA Today/NWCA/Intermat Coaches' Poll. This will be the first meeting between the two schools. KSU is 3-4 against current members of the Big 12 Conference, including a 3-0 record against Nebraska. Kent State is led by 184-pounder Alex Camargo. Camargo is currently ranked No. 12 nationally by Amateur Wrestling News and boasts a 19-2 record. Chad Sportelli and Jason Blake have also appeared in the national rankings for the Golden Flashes at 125 and 149, respectively. Oklahoma State head coach John Smith will be looking to make history at National Duals. Smith would tie former head coach Tommy Chesbro for the school's all-time win record with a victory in the first round. Scouting the Field Oklahoma State enters the 2006 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals as the top seed with a 6-0 record. The Cowboys are seeking their fourth consecutive duals title and ninth overall. OSU is the top seed and will meet unranked Kent State in the first round. OSU's opponent in the second round would be either Arizona State or eighth seeded Big 12 rival Missouri. The Cowboys are a combined 65-5 all-time against ASU and MU. It gets tougher for OSU after that. Fourth-seeded Michigan or fifth-seeded Iowa could be waiting for the Cowboys in the semifinals. OSU is coming off of an 18-14 victory over Iowa, while OSU is 7-0 all-time against Michigan. The Cowboys last wrestled Michigan in the semifinals of the 2003-04 National Duals. The championship match would give Oklahoma State its toughest test to date. On the opposite side of the bracket from the Cowboys are No. 2 Minnesota, third-seeded Oklahoma, No. 6 Central Michigan and seventh-seeded Iowa State. Mocco Racks up Falls Cowboy heavyweight Steve Mocco continues to dominate his opponents. After winning the Dan Hodge Trophy his junior because he recorded 17 falls and three technical falls in an undefeated season, Mocco is making a bid for the trophy again. In 11 matches this season, Mocco has recorded eight falls and one technical fall. Both of those matches were to wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Mocco pinned fifth-ranked Jake Hager in 3:41. He recorded two pins with one coming in 16 seconds over Northern Iowa's Tyler Rhodes in OSU's double dual on Jan. 5. That was not his fastest pin at OSU, however, he pinned Tennessee-Chattanooga's Diaz Edwards in 14 seconds in his first match at Oklahoma State. Blackmon takes hold of 184 Rusty Blackmon has taken control of the 184-pound position. This weight class was the biggest question mark coming into the season, but the senior out of Cleveland, Tenn. has made the most of his opportunity. Blackmon has received the nod in five of OSU's six duals and is 3-2 in those duals. Blackmon has had to fight off three other Cowboys who would all like a chance to start for the national champion Cowboys. Blackmon's recent success came in the double dual against Army and Northern Iowa that saw him record a major decision and a fall in 31 seconds. Blackmon is now 13-6 on the season. He recently dropped a 2-1 decision to Iowa's top-ranked Paul Bradley. John Smith Nearing Chesbro's Mark Head coach John Smith is approaching Tommy Chesbro's school record for career wins. Smith entered the season with 220 career wins, needing seven to tie Chesbro's mark. After starting the season 5-0, Smith is two wins away from equaling Chesbro. If the Cowboys remain undefeated, Smith would tie the mark anad pass it at National Duals Jan. 14-15.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's 13th-ranked wrestling team travels to Cedar Falls, Iowa this weekend to take part in the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals--one of the largest wrestling events of the season--for the first time in program history. The 'Cats, who are coming off a dominating 35-13 win at Eastern Illinois Sunday, face No. 8 Iowa State in the first round, which begins at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 14. Takedown Radio will provide live radio coverage throughout the tournament, while Intermatwrestle.com will provide live text coverage. Livesportsvideo.com will webcast the semifinal and final rounds. Northwestern, which looks for its first dual win against the Cyclones this weekend, has met Iowa State only once since the 1984-85 season. Northwestern enters the match with seven wrestlers ranked in the USAToday/NWCA/Intermat poll, while the Cyclones boast four. With Cyclone wrestlers ranked top-10 at the 141-, 157-, 165- and 184-pound weight classes, Northwestern needs big performances from the top to the bottom of its lineup. One of the more intriguing matches of the dual could come at 184 lbs., where 10th-ranked Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) will face Iowa State's ninth-ranked Kurt Backes. Tamillow and Backes have met once before, with Backes taking an 11-7 victory at the 2004 Midlands quarterfinals. Backes brings a 10-4 record into the match, while Tamillow is 13-1 this season. Another pair of top-10 wrestlers meet at the 141-pound weight class, with Northwestern's sixth-ranked Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) set to grapple 2nd-ranked Nate Gallick. Gallick, a 2005 Midlands champion, is a perfect 19-0 this season while Lang has compiled an 11-1 record. Saturday's match marks only the third meeting between the two, as they met at the 2004 Midlands and 2005 NCAA Championships. No. 19 Will Durkee (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) is expected to wrestle Iowa State's eighth-ranked Travis Paulson at 165 lbs. Paulson has posted a 21-1 mark this season, including a third-place finish at the 2005 Midlands. Durkee, who missed facing Paulson in the Midlands semifinals by just one match, is 13-4 this season. All-American Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) looks to keep his 23-match winning streak alive Saturday, when he is expected to meet David Bertolino. Herbert is ranked second in the nation at 174 lbs., while recording a 17-0 mark this season.

FRESNO, Calif. -- Two days before the team heads into the Save Mart Center, the Fresno State wrestling squad had two more matches against Menlo College and Boise State. The Bulldogs had mixed fortunes in the matches, opening the night with a 33-13 win over Menlo College, but dropping the second match to Boise State 32-13. Junior Cody Parker was the top wrestler for the Bulldogs, recording pins in both duals on the night. Fresno State opened quickly in the first dual against Menlo College, as Cory Borges took an 8-5 decision over Mike Rodriguez to get an early 3-0 lead. The Oaks came right back with a decision of their own to tie the match, and a 13-4 major decision from Joe Garcia led Menlo College to a 7-3 lead. The Bulldogs regained the lead with a forfeit at 149, and won two straight matches to bring the score to 16-7 before giving up a forfeit of their own at 174 pounds. Fresno State slammed the door shut on Menlo College in the heavyweights though, as Greg Gifford picked up a 21-6 technical fall at 184, Brandon Halsey made a pin in his first collegiate match at 197, and Parker made the first of his two pins at heavyweight on the night. The Bulldogs began the second dual just as auspiciously as the first, when Cory Borges lasted a full round of double-overtime before making a takedown and a near-fall of Boise State's Cory Fish to grab an early 3-0 lead. Sean Carlson battled through a close match with the heavily favored Scott Jorgensen, but lost 8-2, setting up an even shot for the rest of the match. Fresno State dropped the next three matches after that point. The slide was stopped when Shane Seibert pulled out a late reversal and near-fall against Lex Case to win an 8-0 major decision, but the Bulldogs' forfeit at 174 pounds sealed the match, despite a pin in the final match by Cody Parker against Andy Patrick. In action earlier in the day, Boise State also won their match against Menlo College 36-3. Fresno State continues their homestand on Friday, when the team hosts San Francisco State and No. 4 Illinois at the Save Mart Center. The Bulldogs face the Gators at 5:30 p.m. before taking on the Illini in the main event at 7 p.m. For tickets, look online at www.gobullldogs.com, visit the Save Mart Center box office, or call 278-DOGS. Boise State 36, Menlo College 3 January 11, 2006 125 -- Cory Fish (BSU) dec. Mike Rodriguez (MC), 4-1 133 – Scott Jorgensen (BSU) dec. Alfonzo Paez (MC), 6-2 141 – Joe Garcia (MC) dec. Jordan Brock (BSU), 8-2 149 – Tyler Sherfey (BSU) def. Jon Hayworth (MC) 157 – Ben Cherrington (BSU) dec. Robert Davis (MC), 7-0 165 – Lex Case (BSU) fall Kyle Bickford (MC), 2:54 174 – Ben Gilliland (BSU) dec. Jesse Vasquez (MC), 2-0 184 – K.C. Walsh (BSU) accepts forfeit 197 – Casey Phelps (BSU) dec. Eddie Conner (MC), 9-3 285 – Andy Patrick (BSU) dec. Ben Flores (MC), 4-1 Fresno State 33, Menlo College 13 January 11, 2006 125 – Cory Borges (FS) dec. Mike Rodriguez (MC), 8-5 133 – Alfonzo Paez (MC) dec. Darrell Goodpaster (FS), 4-0 141 – Joe Garcia (MC) m.d. Garrett Spooner (FS), 13-4 149 – Dustin Rocha (FS) accepts forfeit 157 – Charles Jones (FS) dec. Kyle Bickford (MC), 9-4 165 – Shane Seibert (FS) m.d. Robert Davis (MC), 13-1 174 – Gary Nelson (MC) accepts forfeit 184 – Greg Gifford (FS) t.f. Jesse Vazquez (MC), 21-6 (7:00) 197 – Brandon Halsey (FS) fall Eddie Connor (MC), 3:39 285 – Cody Parker (FS) fall Ben Flores (MC), 2:23 Boise State 32, Fresno State 13 January 11, 2006 125 – Cory Borges (FS) dec. Cory Fish (BSU), 8-3 (2OT) 133 – Scott Jogensen (BSU) dec. Sean Carlson (FS), 8-2 141 – Jodan Brock (BSU) dec. Garrett Spooner (FS), 9-4 149 – Tyler Sherfey (BSU) t.f. Dustin Rocha (FS), 16-1 (5:16) 157 – Ben Cherrington (BSU) dec. Charles Jones (FS), 4-2 165 – Shane Seibert (FS) m.d. Lex Case (BSU), 8-0 174 – Ben Gilliland (BSU) accepts forfeit 184 – K.C. Walsh (BSU) fall Greg Gifford (FS), 1:33 197 – Casey Phelps (BSU) def. Brandon Halsey (FS) 285 – Cody Parker (FS) fall Andy Patrick (BSU), 6:16

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The No. 21-ranked Navy wrestling won five straight matches to break open a close meet and cruise to a 33-9 victory over Maryland in front of a raucous 1,121 fans at Halsey Field House on Wednesday night. The win moves Navy's overall record to 8-1 overall, equaling its best start since the 1999-2000 season. Navy recorded two pins, two technical falls and two major decisions en route to the victory. "I was pleased with the way we came out and were aggressive right from the bat," said Navy head coach Bruce Burnett. "John Jarred did a great job setting the tone for us and really got the crowd into it. We have had a tough week with traveling to Texas and having to make weight, but the team really responded and performed well tonight. It was a good performance. "I also want to thank all the fans that made the trip," added Burnett. "We really appreciate the support and it really helps us on the mat. It gave us some extra energy." Jarred, a junior from Kansas City, Mo., opened up the meet with a 17-7 major decision over the Terps' Adam James. The victory was Jarred's ninth major decision of the season and moved his record to a sparkling 25-6 overall. After Maryland scored its first win at 165 pounds, Navy's Matt Stolpinski (Westfield, Mass.) started the Navy run at 174 pounds with a hard-fought 3-2 triumph over Dominic Buckman. Stolpinski scored a takedown with 1:09 left in the third period to escape with the victory and improve his record to 19-5 overall. Jonny Kane (Portland, Maine) then started an "extra-point" run for Navy, as the Mids would win the next four matches by extra margin to put the match out of reach. Kane scored a tech fall over Luke Stauffer at 184 pounds, after recording seven takedowns in the last two periods to give Navy a 12-3 team cushion. At 197 pounds, Chris Pogue (Chesapeake, Va.) wrestled up from 184 pounds for the second straight match, gaining an impressive 14-5 major-decision victory over Maryland's Jerry Afari. With the victory, Pogue improved his dual-meet mark to 4-0 and still has not given up a takedown in his four dual-meet matches this year. Tanner Garrett (Tulsa, Okla.) kept it rolling at heavyweight, picking up his second pin of the year and winning his 30th straight dual meet. Garrett led 11-4, before rolling Maryland's Bryan Reiss onto his back and picking up the fall in 5:58. Garrett now owns a 30-2 record this season and is ranked No. 7 in the country. Alex Usztics (Dauphin, Pa.) completed the run with a fall of his own, over James Knox in 2:31 to give Navy a 28-3 advantage. Usztics scored a takedown 36 seconds into the match, held Knox without an escape, then flipped the Maryland freshman onto his back for the fall. The fall was Usztics' fourth of the season. After Maryland claimed decisions at 133 and 141 pounds, Navy's John Cox (Grand Haven, Mich.) completed the evening with his fifth technical fall of the year, 22-7 over Andrew Schlaffer. Cox improved to 24-7 with the victory. "I thought once again our conditioning was key tonight," said Burnett. "We haven't eased up since we have been back from break and are pushing them pretty hard and they have really responded. They have done a great job through the conditioning and it has paid off during the matches." Navy will face perhaps its toughest challenge of the year this weekend. On Friday night, Navy heads to East Stroudsburg for a 7:00 p.m., tilt with the Warriors. On Saturday, Navy faces 11th-ranked Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa., at 1:00 p.m. #21 Navy 33, Maryland 9 157: Jarred (N) major dec. James, 17-7 165: DeCosmo (M) dec. Dziewiatkowski, 9-4 174: Stolpinski (N) dec. Buckman, 3-2 184: Kane (N) tech fall Stauffer, 21-6 (5:19) 197: Pogue (N) major dec. Afari, 14-5 HWT: #7 Garrett (N) pinned Reiss, 5:58 125: Usztics (N) pinned Knox, 2:31 133: Byrne (M) dec. Knapp, 9-4 141: Krom (M) dec. Manley, 8-2 149: #19 Cox (N) tech fall Schlaffer, 22-7 (7:00)

PISCATAWAY, NJ -- The Rutgers University wrestling team improved its season record to 6-2 Wednesday evening when it won six of 10 matches on the night to defeat EIWA conference opponent East Stroudsburg, 18-14 at the College Avenue Gymnasium. The Scarlet Knights opened the dual-meet with victories in four of their first five matches and jumped out to an early 12-4 lead. During that stretch, 141-pound junior Steve Adamcsik (Chester, NJ) extended his individual winning streak to 12 matches by defeating Alex Bimes, 8-1. Senior Rudy Medini (Colonia, NJ) was impressive in his 184-pound match, breezing past Dave Williams of East Stroudsburg by a 10-4 count. Medini improved his overall record to 16-3, including a team-best 7-0 mark in dual-meet action. The most pivotal match of the night was won by 157-pound sophomore Jamie Lijo (Hopatcong, NJ), who battled the ESU's Mark Smith, a grappler notorious for his ability to pin his opponents. In his match-up with Smith, Lijo gave his team a critical eight-point lead by avoiding the late pin-fall and earning a hard-fought 12-10 decision. Head coach John Sacchi emphasized the importance of Lijo's match. "[Lijo] wrestled a very smart match," Sacchi said. "His opponent was very tough but [Lijo] did a great job of avoiding the pin." Lijo's win turned out to be the difference, as the Scarlet Knights went on to lose three of their last five matches. While Sacchi was pleased with his teams' performance and its 6-2 overall record, he still sees room for improvement in a squad that starts five freshmen. "We wrestled very hard tonight and we are certainly coming along," Sacchi said. "But we still want to be more solid in our technique with the younger kids." With the victory the Scarlet Knights pushed their unbeaten streak to five matches, dating back to the teams' victory at Maryland on Dec. 10. RU is 6-2 on the season, including a 3-2 mark in the highly competitive EIWA conference. The loss dropped the Warriors to 6-6 on the season and gave them a loss in their first EIWA contest of the season. The Scarlet Knights will look to continue their winning ways when they head to West Point, NY on Sunday, Jan. 15 to square off against Army and SUNY Binghamton at 2:00 p.m. Rutgers Wrestling vs. East Stroudsburg University RU 18-ESU14 125: Ryan Jablonski (RU) dec. Matt Swallow (ESU), 3-0 133: Nate Nauroth (ESU) maj. dec. Kellen Bradley (RU), 8-0 141: Steve Adamcsik (RU) dec. Alex Bimes (ESU), 8-1 149: Mike Ferrara (RU) dec. Chris Sullivan (ESU), 7-4 157: Jamie Lijo (RU) dec. Mark Smith (ESU), 12-10 165: Keith Smith (ESU) dec. Matt Pletcher (RU), 4-0 174: Mike Whalen (RU) dec. Dave Sullivan (ESU), 11-9 184: Rudy Medini (RU) dec. Dave Williams (ESU), 10-4 197: Charles Deighton (ESU) dec. Lamar Brown (RU), 5-3; OT 285: Adam Karasevicz (ESU) maj. dec. Mike D'Amico (RU), 12-0

Eighth-ranked Augustana won 6 of the 7 matches contested against Dakota Wesleyan as the Vikings rolled to a 40-6 victory over the Tigers Wednesday night at the Elmen Center. The Vikings, who wrestled only 2 of their normal starters, controlled the action almost the entire night. Chris Trampe, the Vikings� starter at 125 pounds, got Augustana off to a good start with a 17-4 major decision over Andrew Leggott. Following a 6-2 decision by Jeremie Degen at 133 pounds, Andre VanderVelde, the other Viking starter, recorded a 16-6 major decision over DWU�s Spencer Novotny to give Augie an 11-0 lead. Aaron Haddorf kept things rolling at 149 pounds with a 4-1 victory over Thomas Konechne. At 157 pounds, Brandon Kruger then scored 10 points in the second and third periods to claim a 12-3 major decision over Paul Wilson. Dakota Wesleyan was the open at 165 pounds, 174 pounds and 184 pounds, giving the Vikings a 36-0 advantage. Beau Severtson then picked up Augie�s last win of the night by scoring a 13-5 major decision over Andrew Schmaltz. DWU�s lone victory came in the final match of the dual. Wildmike Pata registered a takedown against Augie�s Ray O�Conner midway through the first period and then managed to pin O�Conner in 2:13. Augustana�s next action will be this weekend when the Vikings travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa to participate in the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals on Saturday and Sunday. Augustana 40, Dakota Wesleyan 6 125 pounds: Chris Trampe (Augie) major dec. Andrew Leggott (DWU), 17-4 (Augie 4-0) 133 pounds: Jeremie Degen (Augie) dec. Cameron Nevins (DWU), 6-2 (Augie 7-0) 141 pounds: Andre VanderVelde (Augie) major dec. Spencer Novotny (DWU), 16-6 (Augie 11-0) 149 pounds: Aaron Haddorf (Augie) dec. Thomas Konechne (DWU), 4-1 (Augie 14-0) 157 pounds: Brandon Kruger (Augie) major dec. Paul Wilson (DWU), 12-3 (Augie 18-0) 165 pounds: Ben Caven-Johnson (Augie) won by forfeit (Augie 24-0) 174 pounds: Andrew Sorenson (Augie) won by forfeit (Augie 30-0) 184 pounds: Mitch Lunning (Augie) won by forfeit (Augie 36-0) 197 pounds: Beau Severtson (Augie) major dec. Andrew Schmaltz (DWU), 13-5 (Augie 40-0) Heavyweight: Wildmike Pata (DWU) pinned Ray O�Conner (Augie), 2:13 (Augie 40-6)

Lock Haven, Pa. -– The 10th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers put a 33-7 whipping on Lock Haven on the Bald Eagles' own mat in the 32nd meeting between the two central Pennsylvania rivals. Head coach Troy Sunderland's crew won eight of ten bouts and picked up an outstanding nine bonus points with two tech falls and a pin. The dual began at heavyweight, where Nittany Lion senior Joel Edwards (Upper Darby, Pa.) faced Lock Haven senior Tim Meyers. Edwards scored the first take down :35 into the bout and quickly turned the takedown into three back points and a 5-1 lead. Edwards took Meyers down two more times in the first period and entered the second up 9-2 with a 1:49 riding time edge. Meyers chose down to begin the second period but could not escape Edwards' strong work up top. Edwards nearly pinned Meyers as the period ended, the Nittany Lion senior was up 12-2 with a 3:49 riding time edge entering the third. Edwards chose down to begin the final period and quickly escaped. Continuing to work for bonus points via a technical fall or pin, Edwards continued to dominate the match until a takedown and three back points gave Edwards an 18-2 technical fall at 6:29. The victory put Penn State up 5-0 and improved Edwards' record to 10-2. At 125, Nittany Lion freshman Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) faced off with Bald Eagle Obe Blanc, who entered the dual ranked No. 17 nationally. Pataky notched the first takedown of the bout :40 in and added two back points, then three more back points to go up 7-0 before Blanc needed injury time to break the furious Pataky flurry. Pataky would ride Blanc out and lead 7-0 heading into the second. Blanc chose neutral to start the second but was quickly taken down by Pataky and add two more back points for an 11-0 lead and over three minutes worth of riding time heading into the final period. Pataky chose down to begin the third and quickly escaped. Pataky notched another take down with :50 left and found himself working towards a stunning technical fall of the ranked Bald Eagle. Working hard on top with a guaranteed riding time point, Pataky finished on top and notched an outstanding upset win in fine fashion, a 16-0 technical fall at 7:00. Penn State was up 10-0 and Pataky improved to 12-6. Freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.), ranked No. 10 in the nation, faced Lock Haven sophomore Casey Moore at 133. Moore scored the first takedown of the match at the 2:10 mark but would get reversed quickly by Strayer. Strayer would cut Moore loose and take him down to go up 4-3. The second period began with Moore choosing down. Strayer would work up top long enough to get a solid riding time edge before Moore would escape. Another Strayer takedown would send the bout into the third period with Strayer holding a slim 6-5 lead but amassing a 2:05 riding time edge. The Nittany Lion freshman would take down to start the third and quickly escape to a 7-5 lead. Moore would challenge down the stretch, but Pataky would counter and post a takedown as time wound down and finish with a 10-5 win. The victory put the Nittany Lions up 13-10 and improved Strayer's mark to 14-1. 12th-ranked DeWitt Driscoll (Connellsville, Pa.) took the mat for Penn State against Lock Haven's Brian Ellis. Driscoll quickly posted a takedown and three back points before posting another takedown at the 1:03 mark. The pin put Penn State up 19-0 and improved Driscoll's record to 10-4. At 149, Nittany Lion reserve Jason Lapham (West Chazy, N.Y.) got the call for 10th-ranked James Woodall (St. Dupont, Pa.), who had a graduate course conflict. Lapham faced Lock Haven's Clint Shirk. Lapham scored the first takedown less than a minute into the bout. Shirk would escape to cut the Penn State lead to 2-1. With :10 left in the first period, Shirk would score a takedown to secure a slim 3-2 lead over Lapham entering the second. The Nittany Lion freshman chose down to begin the second but could not break Shirk's hold up top. Shirk would turn Lapham for three back points and a 6-2 lead, all the while building up a large riding time edge. Lapham would not escape in the period and found himself down 6-2 to begin the third. Shirk chose top to begin the third and, after riding Lapham for nearly two minutes, secure three back points as the bout ended to secure a 10-2 major decision and help Lock Haven avoid the shut out. In the night's premier bout, Nittany Lion Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.) faced Lock Haven's Seth Martin in a battle of nationally ranked 157-pounders. Galloway, ranked No. 14, scored the first take down just :20 in. Martin, ranked No. 20, would quickly escape to cut Galloway's lead to 2-1. Martin chose down to begin the second and would escape in short order to tie the score. Galloway would take Martin down a minute into the second, using quick feet to work around behind the Bald Eagle to retake a 4-3 lead (after a Martin escape). Leading 4-3 entering the third, Galloway chose down to begin the third and quickly escape to increase his lead to 5-3. Martin would tie the bout with a takedown, tying the match at 5-5 with :40 left. Galloway escaped to a 6-5 lead with just :24 left and would hold on for a thrilling and hard-fought 6-5 win. The victory would up Penn State's lead to 22-4 and improve Galloway's record to 9-7. Penn State true freshman David Erwin (Urbana, Ohio), making his debut in the national rankings at No. 10, faced Lock Haven's Rory McCoy at 165. Erwin took McCoy down for the first points of the bout and would turn that takedown into three back points and a 5-0 lead. Erwin would turn McCoy again for three and continue his hold on top. Erwin would head into the second with an 8-0 lead and 2:17 worth of riding time. Erwin chose down to begin the second period and quickly reversed McCoy. Continuing to work for a pin, Erwin turned McCoy again before McCoy escaped. Up 13-1, Erwin notched another takedown and turned it into a technical fall with three more back points, winning 19-1 at 4:39. Erwin improved his mark to 18-4 while upping the Nittany Lion lead to 27-4. Junior Nittany Lion James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.), ranked No. 11 nationally, squared off against Lock Haven junior Carlos Ponce at 174. The duo battled evenly through the bouts first period until Yonushonis scored an important take down with just seconds left to take a 2-0 lead into the second. Yonushonis chose down to begin period two and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. He followed that up with a lightening-quick take down to go up 5-0. Ponce would escape to cut the Yonushonis lead to 5-1 and then take him down to cut the lead to just two, 5-3. Yonushonis would notch an important escape with :14 left and entered the third period with a 6-3 lead. Ponce chose down to begin the third and escaped in short order. Yonushonis would pad his lead with a takedown before cutting Ponce free. Leading 8-5 with a minute to wrestler, Yonushonis would ice the bout with another take down. The Nittany Lion junior would post a 10-6 win to up the Lion lead to 30-4 and improve his record to 13-3. Penn State's Eric Bradley (Plaistow, N.H.), ranked No. 1 in the country at 184, squared off against Lock Haven junior Derrick Morgan. Bradley measured his opponent for the first minute before taking Morgan down at the 1:50 mark for a 2-0 lead. Bradley would work up :33 seconds worth of riding time before Morgan escaped and quickly take down the Bald Eagle again to go up 4-1. Bradley continued to dominate the first period and took a 6-2 lead into the second period with 1:11 riding time. Morgan began the second period in the down position and escaped :30 into the period. Fully in control throughout the bout, Bradley turned a Morgan shot into two points of his own with a fine counter move. The Nittany Lion senior rode Morgan out and took an 8-3 lead into the final period. Bradley chose down to begin the third and quickly escaped to a 9-3 lead. A riding time point gave Bradley a strong 10-3 win over Morgan, upping his mark to 3-0 and dropping Morgan to 13-7. The night's final bout featured Nittany Lion reserve A.J. Cummins (Lititz, Pa.) at 197, filling in for the resting No. 7 Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.). Cummins got the first takedown of the night against Lock Haven's Tom Kocher halfway through the first period. Kocher would nearly score after a takedown, but Cummins used his quickness to avoid giving up the points and took a 2-1 lead into the second period. Kocher chose down to begin the second and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. Kocher would fight off a Cummins shot to notch a takedown of his own, taking a 4-2 lead with :56 to go in the second and rode Cummins out. Down 4-2, Cummins chose neutral to begin the final period of the night but was taken down with 1:10 left. Leading 6-2, Lock Haven's Kocher continued to set the pace up top, working up a solid riding time edge and not allowing Cummins an escape attempt. Kocher posted the 7-2 win to drop Cummins to 4-1. The win did not, however, dampen the effect of a convincing 33-7 Penn State victory. Penn State improves to 8-2 with the win while Lock Haven falls to 3-7. The Nittany Lions improve to 28-4 all-time vs. the Bald Eagles. Penn State has now won five straight duals, four over ranked teams, by a combined score of 137-40 (winning 38 of 50 bouts). The Nittany Lions will be off until hosting No. 16 Michigan State on Friday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m. The match will be telecast live on WPSU-TV and replayed at various times by CSTV. Two days later, Penn State hosts No. 2 Minnesota in a 1 p.m. tilt in Rec Hall. The dual will be a CSTV national telecast. 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. #10 Penn State 33, Lock Haven 7 January 11, 2006 – Thomas Fieldhouse – Lock Haven, Pa. HWT: Joel Edwards PSU tech. fall Tim Meyers LHU, 18-2 (6:29) 5-0 125: Brad Pataky PSU tech. fall #17 Obe Blanc LHU, 16-0 (7:00) 10-0 133: #10 Jake Strayer PSU def. Casey Moore LHU, 10-4 13-0 141: #12 DeWitt Driscoll PSU WBF Brian Ellis LHU (1:03) 19-0 149: Clint Shirk LHU maj. dec. Jason Lapham PSU, 10-2 19-4 157: #14 Nathan Galloway PSU def. #20 Seth Martin LHU, 6-5 22-4 165: #10 David Erwin PSU tech. fall Rory McCoy LHU, 19-1 (4:39)` 27-4 174: #11 James Yonushonis PSU def. Carlos Ponce LHU, 10-6 30-4 184: #1 Eric Bradley PSU def. Derrick Morgan LHU, 10-3 33-4 197: Tom Kocher LHU def. A.J. Cummins PSU, 7-2 33-7 Records: Penn State 8-2, Lock Haven 3-7 Up Next for PSU: Home vs. No. 16 Michigan State, Friday, Jan. 27, 7:30 p.m. Please join us in thanking these companies and organizations for helping to make your GoPSUsports Web site Possible. Spirit Ready Keystone Insurers Group Snyder's of Hanover Auto Theft Prevention Authority Emmortal GoPSUsports Online Store Penn State Wings Lions Pride Hersheys Pepsi Pennsylvania DUI Association Toyota

Upper Iowa faces a steep challenge at the 2006 NWCA Cliff Keen Division II National Duals in Cedar Falls Saturday and Sunday. The 17th-ranked Peacocks will open against ninth-ranked and six-seed Ashland University Saturday at 11 a.m. in the UNI-Dome. Upper Iowa and Ashland shared the team title at the 2006 Midwest Classic in Indianapolis last weekend. A win would give Upper Iowa a 3 p.m. quarterfinal match-up with the winner of the Pitt-Johnstown and Central Missouri State dual. Third-ranked Pitt-Johnstown is the tournament's three seed while Central Missouri State is 16th in the country. The championship semifinals, championship finals, third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches will be Sunday. Preliminary, second round and third round consolation duals will be Saturday afternoon and evening. The top NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and NJCAA teams compete at the National Duals. The 16-team Division II field consists of 15 of the top 17 teams in the country, including the top seven. Top-ranked Nebraska-Omaha and second-ranked Minnesota State University Mankato highlight the field. Upper Iowa is coming off a strong showing at the Midwest Classic. The Peacocks crowned three individual champions to share the team title, including Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Wrestler of the Week Tyler Mumbulo at 125 pounds. Mumbulo, seeded fifth at 125 pounds, won his initial match by fall in 1:09. He proceeded to knock off the four, one and two seeds in succession to earn the title. Mumbulo wrapped it up with an 8-6 victory over Ohio Northern's Ty Klofta in the championship finals. C.J. MacNaught, a previous national qualifier, won the 174-pound title. He picked up back-to-back tech fall victories to reach the semifinals before slipping past two-seed Clint Carmony (Ashland) 4-3 in overtime. MacNaught won by medical forfeit over West Liberty's Tommy Clark to claim the championship. Two-time heavyweight All-American Brian Black cruised through his draw. He won by fall in 1:07 and by a 13-3 major decision to reach the semifinals. There, Black was tested before claiming a 9-7 win over Heath Soderstrom from Adams State. Black closed out his bracket with a fall in 5:43 over three-seed Jared Bonnell (Missouri Baptist) in the finals. Kyle Burkle (141 pounds) and Brady Hakeman (165) each finished fourth. Burkle advanced to the semifinals before losing 7-5 to eventual champion J.J. Zanetta from Mercyhurst. Burkle picked up a win in the consolation bracket before narrowly losing 8-7 in the third-place match. Hakeman won his opening match by a 12-3 major decision. He then pinned his quarterfinal opponent in 1:33 before losing to three-seed Eric Lakia (Ashland) 8-4 in the semis. Hakeman earned a 7-3 decision in consolation action before losing 8-6 to finish fourth. Ralph Acosta, a 2002 All-American, advanced to the semifinals at 133 pounds before settling for sixth place. Cory Schmitz also finished sixth for the Peacocks. Dan Goodson battled for seventh place at 197 pounds. While sharing the team title with Ashland, Upper Iowa finished ahead of several top Division II teams, including eighth-ranked Adams State, 12th-ranked Mercyhurst, 10th-ranked Findlay and 19th-ranked Indianapolis. Upper Iowa is an affiliate member of the NSIC in wrestling this season and will be a full league member beginning in 2006-07. Upper Iowa University, located in Fayette, is the only NCAA Division II Institution in the state of Iowa. For more information on the NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals, visit http://unipanthers.collegesports.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/niwa-06-nwca-main.html. The Division II bracket is attached.

North Dakota State will wrestle 25th-ranked Penn in the first round of the Virginia Duals Friday, January 13 at the Hampton Coliseum. The Bison will wrestle at 11:00 EST. Penn is the second nationally-ranked team the Bison will wrestle since their reclassification to Division I. North Dakota State was defeated by Northern Iowa, ranked 13th at the time, 31-6 on Feb. 10, 2005 at the Bison Sports Arena. Penn is 2-1 on the year and features Matt Valenti at 133 pounds. Valenti, ranked 12th in at 133 pounds in the latest USA Today/NWCA NCAA Division I Coaches' Poll, is 14-2 on the season. Penn has defeated Drexel 21-15 and Maryland 34-6 and were defeated by 10th-ranked Penn State 25-6. The winner of the dual will advance to the quarterfinals and meet the winner of the Drexel-Virginia dual on Friday, January 13 at 3:00 EST. The loser of the dual will face the loser of the Drexel-Virginia match at the same time in the consolation bracket. This will be the second consecutive year the Bison compete in the highly competitive Virginia Duals. Last year the Bison went 1-2 at the event, losing to Rider 19-16 and Buffalo 25-15 and defeating Virginia 21-18. The losses to Rider and Buffalo mark the last time NDSU has lost back-to-back matches.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Senior C.B. Dollaway, following three impressive victories in his first weekend of competition for the Arizona State University wrestling team, has been selected as TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week the site announced Wednesday. Dollaway returned to the starting line-up at 184 pounds and defeated two ranked foes in his first week back on the mats. The week opened with Dollaway (Mt. Gilead, Ohio) facing No. 11 Roger Kish of Minnesota in dual held in Minneapolis, Minn. Dollaway controlled the match and walked away with a 3-0 upset of the Golden Gopher. Then, at the Sun Devils on Sunday, Dollaway scored an 8-2 decision over UC Davis' Tyler Bernacchi, the third-ranked wrestler in the Pac-10 Conference, before taking on No. 6 Kurt Backes of Iowa State. In the last bout, Backes recorded a takedown with Dollaway escaping for a 2-1 score. Then, Dollaway bull-rushed the Cyclone All-American, taking him to his back on the mat and securing the fall at 1:06. Dollaway and the Sun Devil will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, for the 2006 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals Saturday and Sunday at the UNI Dome on the campus of Northern Iowa. ASU will open the tournament facing eighth-seeded and ninth-ranked Missouri at 9 a.m. Saturday.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestler Matt Keller was named the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday. Keller went undefeated in four matches this past weekend at the Lone Star Duals in Arlington, Texas, and was named the meet's Outstanding Wrestler. The 133-pounder from McDonald, Tenn., defeated No. 1-rated Tom Clum of Wisconsin in the Mocs' opening dual. He also pinned Whit Dunning of Army, defeated Navy's Sean Knapp and earned a win by injury default in the Harvard match. The junior, ranked as high as No. 8 nationally last week, helped the Mocs to a 3-1 finish in Texas. The Wrestler of the Week award is the third this season for Keller, a transfer from the University of Nebraska. He was also voted the SoCon Wrester of the Month for the month of December. The Mocs compete Friday and Saturday at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va.

Wartburg College seeks its third National Wrestling Coaches Association/Cliff Keen Division III National Duals crown when the tourney invades the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 14 and 15. The Knights (14-0) harbor the top spot in the Jan. 9 NWCA/Brute-Adidas Division III top 30 and are the number one seed. Wartburg receives a bye into quarterfinal round action at 1 p.m. Saturday in the UNI-Dome against either No. 21-ranked Simpson College of Indianola or No. 27-ranked McDaniel College of Maryland. The rest of the upper half of the draw includes No. 29-ranked Coe College of Cedar Rapids, No. 10-ranked UW-Stevens Point, unranked Ohio Northern and No. 5-ranked Luther College of Decorah. The low half of the draw includes defending national duals champion Augsburg College of Minneapolis, Minn., and No. 2-ranked UW-La Crosse. The complete pairings are available at http://www.go-knights.net/wrestling/2006NationalDualspairings.pdf. Takedown Radio will carry the action live both days free of charge through http://www.thewrestlingmall.com/takedownradio/, while live video of selected duals at the tournament will be available at http://www.livesportsvideo.com/duals.asp through a fee-based subscription. Live text coverage of each dual will also be available through www.intermatwrestle.com. * Knights rewind, notes: Wartburg dropped just five individual matches en route to four wins at the 2006 Ursinus North-South Duals Jan. 7. The Knights garnered their 4-0 record behind a 30-9 win over No.9-ranked York College of Pennsylvania, a 37-6 win over the host Bears of Ursinus, a 48-6 victory against SUNY-Oneota and a 53-0 blanking of No. 23-ranked McDaniel College of Maryland. Senior 141-pounder Dustin Hinschberger of Belle Plaine, sophomore 149-pounder Jake Naig of Emmetsburg and senior 174-pounder Scott Kauffman of Emmetsburg each finished with three-or-more wins during the day. Hinschberger led the group with a 4-0 record that included two major decisions and a fall. Wartburg used three pins and two technical falls to assist in a 44-0 shutout of No. 27-ranked Delaware Valley College of Doylestown, Penn., Jan. 6. Junior 197-pounder T.J. Miller of Cedar Falls, en route to receiving special recognition from the Iowa Conference in its Player of the Week announcement Monday, Jan. 9, highlighted the win, upending defending national runner-up Jamal Johnson 8-4. Senior 165-pounder Dustin Bliven of Columbus Junction joined Kauffman and Naig in registering falls, while junior heavyweight Blake Gillis of Spencer and Hinschberger recorded technical falls. Wartburg and Augsburg have met in the finals of the Division III National duals in each of the last five seasons. Augsburg holds a slim 3-2 lead in that span with all but one of the battles being decided by 10 points or less…The Knights turned in their third runner-up effort at last year's meet, held at the Cleveland State University Convocation Center. Wartburg rolled up wins over Case Western Reserve, The College of New Jersey and Luther en route to the final against the Auggies. Augsburg built an 18-3 lead and held off a strong charge for an 18-15 championship round win…The team's No. 1 ranking isn't the only thing fueling the Orange and Black this weekend. Eight individuals are ranked nationally with three, Hinschberger, Gillis and Miller, holding down the No. 1 slot at their respective weights. Senior 125-pounder Tyler Hubbard of Blue Springs, Mo., and Kauffman are each listed at No. 2, while Naig is No. 3 at 149. senior 184-pounder Akeem Carter of Waterloo is No. 4, and freshman 133-pounder Zach McKray of Iowa City is No. 8. * Next up – Wartburg's home campaign continues with a key league battle against rival Luther Friday, Jan. 20. The Knights follow the dual with the Norse with a trip to UW-Stevens Point Saturday, Jan. 21.

Columbia, Mo. -- One week after receiving recognition as Big 12 Wrestler of the Month, junior Ben Askren (Hartland, Wis.) has been named the CSTV: College Sports Televison Student-Athlete of the Week, an honor that "recognizes the unique combination of academic and athletic accomplishment." The Tigers' starter at 174 pounds, Askren is 26-0 and in the midst of one of the most dominating seasons ever put together by a Missouri wrestler. Of his 26 victories, 20 have come by fall, a total that ties the season record he set a year ago. With his next win, Askren will break his own record for consecutive wins, another mark that he set last year. Competing Dec. 2 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Askren broke the Missouri barrier for career falls, recording his 48th pin over Nick Padazan of Pittsburgh. Currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, Askren is a two-time NCAA runner-up, All-American and a Big 12 Champion in 2004. In addition to his exploits on the mat, the junior grappler is a two-time member of the Academic-All Big 12 First Team and a Student Athletic Advisory Committee Representative. Askren was also a member of the 2004 NWCA Academic First Team. "Ben is the type of person who strives to succeed in everything he does, and his success in the classroom and on the mat is a reflection of that," Head Coach Brian Smith said. CSTV, network channel 610 for Columbia residents, will produce a live broadcast of the Tigers' next dual, Jan. 22, against Oklahoma State. Wrestling begins in the Hearnes Center at 2 p.m. CST

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Duke wrestling team suffered its fourth loss of the season, falling to The Citadel, 28-12, on Monday afternoon in McAlister Field House. The Blue Devils fall to 0-4 on the year while the Bulldogs improve to 1-2. Duke picked up wins from freshman Michael Degli Obizzi at 133 pounds and freshman Addison Nuding at 157 pounds. Sophomore Kellan McKeon also earned a victory for the Blue Devils, winning by forfeit in the 125-pound weight class. The dual match started at 141 pounds and the Bulldogs jumped out to a 9-0 lead by winning the first two matches. The Citadel's Matt Bullwinkel pinned junior Antwone Floyd in 4:36, earning six points. Nick Orio followed with a 6-2 decision win over junior Daniel Shvartsman at 149 pounds. Nuding picked up Duke's first win of the day, defeating Chris Humphries, 5-0. The Citadel then extended its lead to 28-3 by winning the next five matches. Dan Thompson recorded a major decision victory over redshirt freshman Aaron Glover at 165 pounds, Darius Caldwell pinned junior Rick Lindquist in 4:07 at 174 pounds and John Dickerson topped redshirt freshman Dan Tulley, 8-3, at 184 pounds. Sophomore Konrad Dudziak fell to Mark Thompson, 2-1, at 197 pounds before John Buck defeated freshman Wade Van Sickle, 3-1, in the heavyweight division. The Blue Devils then earned six points as McKeon won by forfeit at 125 pounds before Degli Obizzi closed out the match with a victory, defeating Michael Arias, 7-6. The Blue Devils will hold their first home dual meet of the season on Tuesday, Jan. 17, hosting N.C. State at 7:30 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Citadel 28, Duke 12 141: Matt Bullwinkel (The Citadel) fall Antwone Floyd (Duke), 4:36 (6-0) 149: Nick Orio (The Citadel) def. Daniel Shvartsman (Duke), 6-2 (9-0) 157: Addison Nuding (Duke) def. Chris Humphries (The Citadel), 5-0 (9-3) 165: Dan Thompson (The Citadel) major decision Aaron Glover (Duke), 15-6 (13-3) 174: Darius Caldwell (The Citadel) fall Rick Lindquist (Duke), 4:07 (19-3) 184: John Dickerson (The Citadel) def. Dan Tulley (Duke), 8-3 (22-3) 197: Mark Thompson (The Citadel) def. Konrad Dudziak (Duke), 2-1 (25-3) 285: John Buck (The Citadel) def. Wade Van Sickle (Duke), 3-1 (28-3) 125: Kellan McKeon (Duke) forfeit (28-9) 133: Michael Degli Obizzi (Duke) def. Michael Arias (The Citadel), 7-6 (28-12)

WILLIAMSPORT, P.A. -- Gettysburg (1-3) fell to #12 Lycoming (8-3-1), 45-6, in non-conference wrestling action on Tuesday. Andrew Goldstein (Easton, PA/Easton), wrestling at the 149 weight class, scored the lone points for the Bullets. He pinned Chris Depietri at 2:34 in the first round. Goldstein, whose record is 14-5, leads the Bullets in wins this season. Lycoming overmatched the Bullets by winning two matches by falls and three matches by major decisions. The Warriors picked up 18 points due to Gettysburg forfeiting at the 125, 133, and 141-pound weight classes. Gettysburg returns to action Saturday at the Ursinus Brute/Adidas Invitational. Matches begin at 10 a.m. Results 125 – Nick Mascellino (L), win by forfeiture 133 – Travis Fenstermacher (L), win by forfeiture 141 – Kyle Hopkins (L), win by forfeiture 149 – Andrew Goldstein (G) wins by fall Chris Depietri (L) – 2:34 157 – Al Wonesh (L) wins by maj. dec. Caleb Seufert (G) – 10-1 165 – Heath Oberlin (L) wins by maj. dec. Joshua Kaplan (G) – 9-1 174 – Derek Crane (L) wins by maj. dec. Aaron Fuchs (G) – 11-3 184 – Tom Daub (L) wins by dec. John Leinberger (G) – 3-0 197 – Bryan Kopesky (L) wins by fall James Stevenson (G) – 4:19 285 – #5 Tommy Snyder (L) wins by fall Mike Pattanite (G) – 2:14