InterMat Staff

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- No. 12 Mizzou Wrestling (3-0) opened its 2021 campaign with a bang Sunday, cruising to three dual victories over South Dakota State, North Dakota State and Oregon State. The Tigers improved as the afternoon progressed, beginning with a 33-9 win over the Jackrabbits. Mizzou then followed with a 38-3 triumph against the host Bison and capped its day with a 43-0 shutout victory over the Beavers. Overall, Mizzou tallied an impressive 10 triumphs over nationally ranked opponents, highlighted by a 12-0 major decision victory over No. 7 Devan Turner by redshirt junior Matt Schmitt. Redshirt Junior Allan Hart accounted for two of the Tigers' ranked wins, taking down the nation's No. 16 and No. 23 ranked foes at 141 pounds. Junior Brock Mauller, redshirt sophomore Peyton Mocco, redshirt freshman Sean Harman, redshirt sophomore Jeremiah Kent and redshirt sophomore Zach Elam all produced an unscathed 3-0 record in Sunday's duals. The Tigers continued their dominance into extra matches between the four programs following the traditional duals. Mizzou was victorious in eight of nine total supplemental contests with all results counting towards their 2021 individual records. True freshmen Josh Edmond, Colton Hawks, Keegan O'Toole and Duwayne Villalpando each tallied victories in their Mizzou debuts. Edmond and O'Toole both picked up wins in dual competition, while Hawks and Villalpando recorded victories in extra matches. HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN SMITH On Sunday's season-opening success… "First, we're just grateful to be here and competing. It took a lot of work by a lot of people to get us to this point. I brought up 18 wrestlers this weekend, seven of which were freshmen. When you walk out of the building with three dual wins and everyone is healthy, I'm definitely pleased. To be this young and this competitive, it's fun to be a part of." On the COVID-19 pandemic impacting the program this offseason… "It has affected us. It has affected everyone in the world. Last season we had our season shut down right before NCAA Championships. We came back this past July and have been really getting after it since September. We're getting tested three to four times a week and have faced a lot of challenges. We do the best we can considering the circumstances. But we're so thankful to be competing and I'm really proud of them." NO. 12 MIZZOU OVER (RV) SOUTH DAKOTA STATE, 33-9 125: No. 19 Connor Brown over Daniel Vega by 14-5 major decision 133: No. 30 Zach Price over No. 11 Matt Schmitt by 7-5 decision 141: No. 16 Allan Hart over No. 23 Clay Carlson by 14-4 major decision 149: No. 3 Brock Mauller over Hunter Marko by 8-2 decision 157: Keegan O'Toole over No. 24 Cade DeVos by fall (2:10) 165: No. 16 Peyton Mocco over Kenny O'Neil by 11-1 major decision 174: No. 26 Sean Harman over Cade King by 10-4 decision 184: No. 22 Jeremiah Kent over Nick Casperson by fall (1:47) 197: No. 8 Tanner Sloan over Canten Marriott by fall (2:37) HWT: No. 7 Zach Elam over Blake Wolters by 6-0 decision NO. 12 MIZZOU OVER (RV) NORTH DAKOTA STATE, 38-3 125: Noah Surtin over Ryan Henningson by fall (3:47) 133: Kellyn March over Trey Crawford by 7-4 decision 141: Josh Edmond over No. 24 Dylan Droegemueller by 14-5 major decision 149: No. 3 Brock Mauller over Jaden Van Maanen by 12-3 major decision 157: No. 13 Jarrett Jacques over No. 13 Jared Franek by 5-2 decision 165: No. 16 Peyton Mocco over No. 22 Luke Weber by 11-5 decision 174: No. 26 Sean Harman over Austin Brenner by 9-3 decision 184: No. 22 Jeremiah Kent over Gary Wokojance by 16-0 technical fall (4:54) 197: No. 19 Wyatt Koelling over Michael Nelson by 9-1 major decision HWT: No. 7 Zach Elam over No. 15 Brandon Metz by fall (4:30) NO. 12 MIZZOU OVER OREGON STATE, 43-0 125: No. 19 Connor Brown over No. 26 Brandon Kaylor by 8-6 decision 133: No. 11 Matt Schmitt over No. 7 Devan Turner by 12-0 major decision 141: No. 16 Allan Hart over No. 16 Grant Willits by fall (0:36) 149: No. 3 Brock Mauller over Lane Stigall by 9-5 decision 157: No. 13 Jarrett Jacques over No. 20 Hunter Willits by 3-2 decision 165: No. 16 Peyton Mocco over Dillon Ulrey by injury default (4:21) 174: No. 26 Sean Harman over Colton Beisley by 7-2 decision 184: No. 22 Jeremiah Kent over Ryan Reyes by 4-3 decision 197: No. 19 Wyatt Koelling over J.J. Dixon by fall (3:36) HWT: No. 7 Zach Elam by forfeit EXTRA MATCHES 125: Tanner Jordan (SDSU) over Noah Surtin by 7-6 decision 133: Trey Crawford over Trayton Anderson (SDSU) by 4-2 decision (SV1) 141: Josh Edmond over Daniel Kimball (SDSU) by 9-4 decision 141: Josh Edmond over Rylee Molitor (SDSU) by 15-8 decision 157: Keegan O'Toole over Jack Thomsen (SDSU) by 18-3 technical fall 174: Martell Boone over Jesse Shearer (NDSU) by 8-6 decision 184: Duwayne Villalpando over Noah Cressell (NDSU) by 13-0 major decision 184: Colton Hawks over Jacob Schoon (SDSU) by 1-0 decision 197: Colton Hawks over Cole Witzig (NDSU) by 6-3 decision #TIGERSTYLE TAKEAWAYS Mizzou improved to 4-2 all-time against South Dakota State, 4-0 versus North Dakota State and 6-1 against Oregon State following Sunday's tri-dual sweep. After falling in last year's season opener, Mizzou got back to its winning ways Sunday when kicking off a campaign. The Tigers won eight consecutive season openers from 2011-18 and nine of their past 10 overall. UP NEXT Mizzou is right back in action Friday (Jan. 8) with its 2021 home-opening duals. The Tigers will host No. 21 Central Michigan and Wyoming at 3 p.m. CT and 5 p.m. CT, respectively. Visit MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou Wrestling. You can also find the Tigers on social media by liking us on Facebook (Mizzou Wrestling) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@MizzouWrestling).

TEMPE -- The No. 10 Sun Devil wrestling team claimed their first victory of the 2021 season over Little Rock, 38-3, in Desert Financial Arena Saturday afternoon. "I think overall it was a good match and competed well," head coach Zeke Jones said. "We came and did what we were supposed to do. Our conditioning was solid and I think we wrestled well in all three positions and I liked our mentality." ASU notched five bonus-point wins, including three pins from Sun Devils Jacori Teemer (157), Cade Belshay (184) and Kordell Norfleet (197) to secure the win. Opening the match, redshirt junior Brandon Courtney (125) was put to the test against Jayden Carson, but was ultimately able to pull away to notch a 15-11 decision victory to put the Sun Devils on the board. Transfers Michael McGee (133) and Peter Lipari (141) made their debut in Sun Devil singlets as they claimed wins over their Little Rock counterparts. Redshirt senior Cory Crooks continued the success on the mat as Crooks extended ASU's lead to 13-0 over Little Rock with a decision win. He would be undefeated on the day with a second victory in the extra matches. After 38 seconds on the mat, Teemer would pin James Aziere to claim the first pin of the 2021 season while adding six points to the team score. Redshirt senior Anthony Valencia (165) kept his foot on the gas out of the break, earning his first bonus-point win this year and placing his name amongst the all-time ASU greats, tying for 9th all-time career bonus wins with 47 after picking up the technical fall over Alexander Hernandez, 20-3. Little Rock would follow-up with their lone victory on the day in the 174 weight class with Triston Wills defeating redshirt freshman Zane Coleman to put the Trojans on the board. This was the first dual as a Sun Devil for the Oklahoma native, Coleman. Redshirt senior Cade Belshay would top Teemer's pin time by one second to claim the fastest fall on the day. The Sun Devils didn't stop there as Chicago native Kordell Norfleet followed the lead of Teemer and Belshay, adding the final pin of the night in 1:41. "That's what makes Sun Devil Wrestling great. Guys like Teemer, Valencia and Norfleet come every day and are smashing machines, you can see why they are well skilled in all their areas, they put the work in to pay their dues and they get rewarded when they compete." At heavyweight, redshirt freshman Cohlton Schultz stepped onto the mat for the first time as a Sun Devil and closed out the dual for ASU with a solid 2-0 victory over Gabriel Beyer. With the individual matches in play for the NCAA Tournament, Courtney, McGee, Crooks, Valencia, Norfleet and Schultz are all 2-0. True freshman Jesse Vasquez also made an appearance with a 12-6 decision victory over Joseph Bianchi in 149. The Sun Devils will head to Norman to face No. 20 Oklahoma on Friday, January 8 at 6 p.m. MST. The bout can be streamed live on Fox Sports Arizona Plus. Remember to follow all of the action by following the team at @ASUWrestling on Twitter. Results: 125: Brandon Courtney (ASU) over Jayden Carson (UALR) (Dec 15-11) 133: Michael McGee (ASU) over Paul Bianchi (UALR) (MD 10-2) 141: Peter Lipari (ASU) over Conner Ward (UALR) (Dec 6-0) 149: Cory Crooks (ASU) over Kyle Prewitt (UALR) (Dec 9-3) 157: Jacori Teemer (ASU) over James Aziere (UALR) (Fall 0:38) 165: Anthony Valencia (ASU) over Alexander Hernandez (UALR) (TF 20-3 5:21) 174: Triston Wills (UALR) over Zane Coleman (ASU) (Dec 7-1) 184: Cade Belshay (ASU) over Zane Davis (UALR) (Fall 0:37) 197: Kordell Norfleet (ASU) over James Johnson (UALR) (Fall 1:41) 285: Cohlton Schultz (ASU) over Gabriel Beyer (UALR) (Dec 2-0) Post-dual results: 125: Brandon Courtney (ASU) over Hasan Krigger (Little Rock) (TF 24-8 7:00) 133: Michael McGee (ASU) over Jaylen Carson (UALR) (MD 19-5) 149: Cory Crooks (ASU) over Joseph Bianchi (UALR) (Dec 3-1) 149: Kyle Prewitt (UALR) over Julian Chlebove (ASU) (MD 21-8) 149: Jesse Vasquez (ASU) over Joseph Bianchi (UALR) (Dec 12-6) 165: Anthony Valencia (ASU) over Zeke Beach (UALR) (Fall 0:37) 174: Tanner Mendoza (UALR) over Ryan Moltz (ASU) (Dec 9-3) 174: Tanner Mendoza (UALR) over Alex Torres (ASU) (Dec 6-5) 174: Triston Wills (UALR) over Ryan Moltz (ASU) (TF 17-1 2:55) 197: Kordell Norfleet (ASU) over Brooks Sacharczyk (UALR) (TF 20-4 5:20) 197: James Johnson (UALR) over David Palosika (ASU) (MD 14-1) 197: Brooks Sacharczyk (UALR) over David Palosika (ASU) (MD 16-3) 285: Josiah Hill (UALR) over Chad Porter (ASU) (MD 10-2) 285: Gabriel Beyer (UALR) over Chad Porter (ASU) (Dec 4-1) 285: Cohlton Schultz (ASU) over Josiah Hill (UALR) (Fall 1:11)

BOONE, N.C. -- The Virginia wrestling team opened the 2021 season on Saturday (Jan. 2) with 23 wrestlers in competition at the Appalachian State Individual Quad at Varsity Gym in Boone, N.C. Wrestlers from Virginia and The Citadel joined competitors from host Appalachian State in the round-robin format competition. No champions were crowned for the event. It was the first competition of the season for both the Mountaineers and the Cavaliers, while The Citadel had a pair of dual meets in the fall. Virginia had 11 wrestlers go undefeated on the day and the Cavaliers combined for 29 bonus-point victories in 70 total matches wrestled. NOTES FROM THE MAT • The Cavaliers had 11 wrestlers go undefeated on the afternoon, including 10 wrestlers that went at least 3-0. • Both No. 14 Louie Hayes (Orland Park, Ill.) and Jake Keating (Naperville, Ill.) went 4-0 on the day. • Of the 29 bonus-point wins for UVA: 13 were by fall and nine were by technical fall. Seven were major decisions. • Four Cavaliers had two pins: Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.), Brian Courtney (Sayre, Pa.), Hayes and Justin McCoy (New Paris, Pa.) • Hayes turned in bonus-point wins in all four matches, recording two pins, a technical fall and a major decision. One of his victories came against 2020 SoCon Freshman of the Year and preseason All-SoCon selection Sean Carter. • Aiello, Courtney and McCoy all had two first-period pins as part of the undefeated outings. • Freshmen Dylan Cedeno (Fair Lawn, N.J.) and Hudson Stewart (Goode, Va.) went 3-0 in their UVA debuts. Cedeno had a pin and a major decision, while Stewart added a technical fall. • Miller's wins included a 4-0 decision over preseason All-SoCon selection Michael McAleavy. • Keating's victories included a win over 2020 NCAA qualifier Dazjon Casto of The Citadel. • For the day, 29-of-48 wins by UVA wrestlers were by bonus points. FROM HEAD COACH STEVE GARLAND "I am really happy leaving Boone today," said Virginia head coach Steve Garland. "We had a ton of guys wrestling today and got the matches we needed. There is nothing like competition to show you where you are as a team. Our leaders showed up today. Captains Louie Hayes, Brian Courtney and Jay Aiello were dominant all day. Justin McCoy was looking for bonus points all day as well. Quinn Miller and Michael Battista had some quality wins and we had some young guys, like Hudson Stewart and Dylan Cedeno for example, who looked great. The biggest thing is we now have some concrete action items and attack areas we need to work on this week, so we'll get back to work on Monday."

BOONE, N.C. -- Unbeaten days from Codi Russell, Thomas Flitz, Caleb Smith and Francis Morrissey, coupled with Will Formato's overtime win in a matchup of Southern Conference standouts, highlighted the season-opening performances at the App State Individual Quad event Saturday in Varsity Gym. Wrestlers from App State, Virginia and The Citadel combined to participate in more than 100 matches in an event that featured a round-robin format, with most competitors getting in three matches and some taking the mat as many as four times. Formato went 2-1 at 165 pounds, winning by a 16-0 tech fall against Virginia's Loudon Hurt and dropping a 7-5 decision against Virginia's Jake Keating (who had 42 wins in his first two competitive seasons) before earning a 3-1 decision against The Citadel's Dazjon Casto thanks to a takedown with six seconds left in the Sudden Victory-1 period. Formato executed a second-period escape with Casto at 57 seconds of riding time, and Casto tied the match with an escape early in the third period. In a SoCon dual last season, Formato also won in overtime against Casto, who qualified for the 2020 NCAA Championships. Along with Formato, the other Mountaineers with two wins Saturday were Mason Fiscella (2-1 with two pins at 197 pounds), true freshman Tristan Pugh (2-1 with two first-period pins at 149), Anthony Brito (2-1 at 141 pounds), Ramon Rodriguez (2-1 at 197), Julian Gorring (2-2 at 184 pounds), Cody Bond (2-2 at 157 pounds) and true freshman Tommy Askey (2-2 at 157). Flitz's 3-0 showing at 174 pounds included wins by decision against Virginia's Robby Patrick (6-2), The Citadel's Cole Burke (11-6) and 2019-20 Virginia starter Vic Marcelli (7-3). Making his official debut at 125 pounds, Russell posted a 3-0 record with an 18-1 tech fall against Virginia's Trey Lane, a 17-4 major decision against Virginia's Patrick McCormick (who went 12-5 for the Cavaliers at 125 last season) and an 11-3 major decision against Virginia's Sam Book, who entered this season with a 39-24 career record. Smith also produced an unbeaten mark at 125, going 4-0 with a major decision, two decisions and one medical forfeit. He started his day with a 4-1 decision against McCormick. A true freshman at 149 pounds, Morrissey had a second-period pin of The Citadel's Andrew Barnett, a 7-2 decision against Virginia's Patrick Evans and a 16-1 tech fall against The Citadel's Sabastian Collazo. Six App State wrestlers split their two matches: Sean Carter (1-1 at 133 pounds with an early takedown in a loss to 14th-ranked Louie Hayes of Virginia and a 6-4 decision against Virginia's Evan Buchanan), Tyler Kellison (1-1 at 133), Isaac Byers (1-1 at 141), Joshua Spurlin (1-1 with one pin at 141), Jack Campbell (1-1 with one pin at 149) and Jackson Boles (1-1 at 174).

BLACKSBURG -- Over 10 months from its last dual meet, Virginia Tech wrestling started 2021 the right way with a 28-6 win over Campbell in Cassell Coliseum Saturday afternoon. The eighth-ranked Hokies won eight matches over the Fighting Camels, including two bonus-point victories. MATCH HIGHLIGHTS Making his dual debut, freshman Sam Hillegas won in convincing fashion, pinning his opponent Shannon Hanna in 4:17. The Pittsburgh product was a two-time Pennsylvania state champion before signing with the Hokies in November 2019. After taking an Olympic redshirt for the 2019-20 season, 2019 NCAA Champion Mekhi Lewis returned to Cassell Coliseum and won a 13-4 major decision over Austin Kraisser. Lewis used a four-point near fall to separate himself and lead 10-2 after the first period. A reversal in the third and riding time gave Lewis the bonus-point victory. In the only ranked matchup of the day, No. 20 Bryce Andonian upset No. 9 Josh Heil via 12-9 decision. The two combined for six takedowns in what was a back-and-forth match, but Andonian was able to hold off Heil's late comeback attempt and start the season with a top-10 victory. Sam Latona and Andy Smith won by decision in their dual debuts. Latona, a redshirt freshman, took a 5-3 decision while the freshman Smith won 12-7. After missing all last season due to injury, Korbin Myers got back on the mat Saturday and earned a 4-1 decision win over Gabe Hixenbaugh. Myers had a takedown and an escape and held the riding time advantage to open the season with a victory. Results: HWT: No. 17 John Borst (VT) dec. Taye Ghadiali (CAM), 6-3 125: No. 18 Sam Latona (VT) dec. Zurich Storm (CAM), 5-3 133: No. 10 Korbin Myers (VT) dec. Gabe Hixenbaugh (CAM), 4-1 141: Sam Hillegas (VT) WBF Shannon Hanna (CAM), 4:17 149: No. 20 Bryce Andonian (VT) dec. No. 9 Joshua Heil (CAM), 12-9 157: Ben Barton (CAM) dec. Connor Brady, 7-4 165: No. 1 Mekhi Lewis (VT) MD Austin Kraisser (CAM), 13-4 174: Austin Murphy (CAM) dec. Kolton Clark (VT), 6-4 184: No. 2 Hunter Bolen (VT) dec. Caleb Hopkins (CAM), 4-3 197: Andy Smith (VT) dec. Levi Hopkins (CAM), 12-7 UP NEXT The Hokies will travel to Morgantown, W.Va., next week for a quad-meet with West Virginia, Ohio and Kent State. More information on the meet to be announced.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team opened the 2020-21 season with a 48-0 sweep over Emmanuel College today. UTC won every match, plus four extra exhibition bouts, at Maclellan Gym. It was exactly 300 days ago the Mocs last competed at the Southern Conference Tournament on March 8 in Boone, N.C. UTC finally got its regular season underway, after a delayed start for all of NCAA Wrestling. "It was great to compete today," stated head coach Kyle Ruschell. "A lot of hard work over these last 10 months, but I was happy to see our guys make weight and go out there and compete." Senior Fabian Gutierrez set the tone early with a tech fall (16-0) over Anthony Cruz in the opening period. Junior Colton Landers followed that with a 13-3 major decision over Allen Stone. Junior Franco Valdes had a 6-1 decision over Nicholas Voiles at 141, followed by junior Tanner Smith's 14-2 major decision over Dalton Flint. Smith enters the season ranked No. 21 in the Flo Wrestling rankings. After a forfeit at 157, junior Drew Nicholson scored a tech fall (18-3) over Jonathan Oldknow at 165. Another forfeit at 174 was followed by No. 13 Matthew Waddell's first period pin over Markis Hill at 184. Freshman Logan Andrew closed out the dual with a 14-7 decision over Seth Bell, followed by another forfeit at 285. "I wanted to see how our guys would come out," stated Ruschell when asked about the goals of today's competition. "Some of them were a little nervous and some were just right. We know what we can start working on and we are ready to get prepared for the rest of the year." Gutierrez (125), junior Aidan Murphy (133), freshman Weston Wichman (157) and junior Hunter Fortner (174) all won exhibition matches after the dual. Murphy and Wichman both pinned their opponents, while Gutierrez and Fortner scored tech falls. Today's match was broadcast on ESPN+ and a link to the replay is available at the top of the page. Up next for the Mocs is a trip to Stillwater, Okla., for a quad dual against Oklahoma State, Oregon State and Little Rock on Sunday, Jan. 10. Results: 125: No. 19 Fabian Gutierrez (UTC) over Anthony Cruz (EC) (TF 16-0 4:00) 133: Colton Landers (UTC) over Allen Stone (EC) (MD 13-3) 141: Franco Valdes (UTC) over Nicholas Volies (EC) (Dec 6-1) 149: No. 21 Tanner Smith (UTC) over Dalton Flint (EC) (MD 14-2) 157: Weston Wichman (UTC) over (EC) (For.) 165: Andrew Nicholson (UTC) over Jonathan Oldknow (EC) (TF 18-3 7:00) 174: Hunter Fortner (UTC) over (EC) (For.) 184: No. 13 Matthew Waddell (UTC) over Markis Hill (EC) (Fall 1:01) 197: Logan Andrew (UTC) over Seth Bell (EC) (Dec 14-7) 285: Grayson Walthall (UTC) over (EC) (For.) Extra Matches: 125: Fabian Gutierrez (UTC) over Eli Horton (EC) (TF 16-1 2:57) 133: Aidan Murphy (UTC) over Martrez Huff (EC) (Fall 2:53) 157: Weston Wichman (UTC) over Jonathan Oldknow (Fall 2:53) 174: Hunter Fortner (UTC) over Hayden Snowden (EC) (TF 16-0 3:00)

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo wrestling team finally opened the season on Saturday afternoon and looked impressive in a 20-12 win over Mid-American Conference foe Ohio. A number of new faces made their dual debut for the Bulls. One of those Bulls making their debut was freshman Tristan Daugherty. The Peoria, IL native earned a 2-0 decision of Gio DiSabato in the first match of the day at 125. Daugherty used an escape and the riding time point to earn his first career win. After dropping a decision at 133, the Bulls sent Derek Spann to the mat at 141. The redshirt-senior was bumped up a weight class this season after wrestling at 133. After giving up an early takedown, Spann took control for the remainder of the match and earned a 7-2 decision. Ty Raines, also making his dual debut, had the most exciting match of the day, which helped swing the momentum into the Bulls favor. The redshirt-freshman was leading for most of the match before Ohio's Alex Mosconi got a late takedown to tie things up and force overtime. Raines wasted little time to get a takedown and earn the sudden victory. Michael Petite cruised to a 24-9 technical fall over Andrew Knick at 157. Petite jumped out to an 11-4 lead after the first period and never looked back. Ohio won the next two matches to cut the UB lead to 14-9. However, Pete Acciardi righted the ship for the Bulls by earning a 6-2 decision over Carson Brewer at 184 lbs. Acciardi was in control of the match the entire time. Toby Cahill cemented the victory with an 8-2 decision over Jordan Earnest. Cahill trailed 2-1 after the second period, but took control of the match with a reversal early in the third period. "That was a great team win," head coach John Stutzman said. "I'd like to thank everyone for making this possible. Thanks to our guys for following the protocols to wrestle and thanks to our training staff and administration for all they do." The Bulls will next host Cleveland State next Sunday at Alumni Arena. Results: 125 – Tristan Daugherty (UB) won by decision over Gio DiSabato (OU), 2-0 133 – Mario Guillen (OU) won by decision over Caleb Svingala (UB), 7-3 141 – Derek Spann (UB) won by decision over Conor McCrone (OU), 7-2 149 – Ty Raines (UB) won by sudden victory over Alex Mosconi (OU), 8-6 SV-1 157 – Michael Petite (UB) won by technical fall over Andrew Knick (OU), 24-9 (5:50) 165 – Colt Yinger (OU) won by decision over Noah Grover (UB), 5-4 174 – Logan Stanley (OU) won by decision over Marcus Petite, 4-1 184 – Pete Acciardi (UB) won by decision over Carson Brewer (OU), 6-2 197 – Jake Walker (OU) won by decision over Sam Mitchell (UB), 7-2 285 – Toby Cahill (UB) won by decision over Jordan Earnest (OU), 8-2

Happy New Year. The NCAA Division I wrestling season will start in earnest this week, with several programs competing in dual meets, triangulars and quadranglers. The goal of the meets is to limit the amount of cross-contamination of possibly COVID positive wrestlers, while also allows for the maximum number of matches and fewest number of travel dates. For those in folkstyle wrestling withdraw it will be a fun week of action. The qualification process for the NCAAs is (to put it mildly) confusing. The system will consist of a five-year historic review of the conference to determine how many spots can be pre-allocated to the conference, above and beyond the conference champion allocation (70 in total). The number of these pre-allocated spots will range from 170 to 240 depending on the number of athletes the NCAA will allow to compete at the tournament. There will also be 40 at-large selections made by the committee. You can find the full allocation review at the NCAA website here. While many are happy to have the season returning, there should be a collective acknowledgement of the dangers the season will present to wrestlers, coaches, administration, and support staff -- to say nothing of the sport in general. Each known instance of COVID transmission from the NCAA football season was well-documented. Their benefit was that with so many people on the field the contact tracking wasn't as obvious as it will be if an outbreak happens during a meet. Should that occur we should expect media scrutiny about the safety of wrestling during a raging pandemic. When there is an outbreak, I'm fearful for both the health of the athletes and the negative perception of the sport it will cause. The NCAA and its member institutions seem prepared to take on that challenge and I'm optimistic that they will have sanitary controls that encourage distancing and the limitation of unnecessary risk. However, as I've seen in seven years of traveling to various countries to attend wrestling events, no standard is so well-written as to not be willfully ignored. Also, a reminder from my sardonic Algebra teacher who wrote dark witticisms on the chalkboard each day to greet students, "Smile. Tomorrow will be worse." To your questions … Adeline Gray and Tamyra Mensah-Stock at a Beat the Streets event in 2017 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: What do you think of the Adeline Gray vs. Tamyra Mensah-Stock match on Jan. 9? How do you see it going? -- Mike C. Foley: I think Adeline Gray would only accept a match she was confident she could win via leg lace. Which, to be fair, is basically any match. Adeline is the type of match that Tamyra needs to remind her to improve her par terre defense. Two years ago Tamyra would lose because she didn't trust her offense and made mistakes on the edge of the mat. Heading into the Olympic Games her biggest obstacle might be a lack of focus when in par terre almost BECAUSE she's so good on her feet and trusts her ability to score there. For Adeline, preparing for Tamyra is great preparation for the Olympic Games. She fell short in 2016 but not because she was outwrestled -- she just didn't meet the moment. In facing someone as talented as Tamyra on a site with all her fans watching it'll give Adeline a feel for that big pressure moment she'll need to master come Tokyo this summer. I think she'll meet the moment next week and in Tokyo. As will Tamyra. Q: What was the biggest wrestling story of 2020? -- Mike C. Foley: Tough to see any story outstripping COVID and the impact it has had on two NCAA wrestling seasons. The loss of the 2020 NCAA Championships and the truncated 2021 schedule is a once-in-a-century type of occurrence. The last postponement of the NCAA championships was in the 1940's due to World War II. Let's hope that with vaccinations we can get to a 2021-2022 with a stable schedule and fans back in arenas. The important thing to remember is that the vaccinations only work when we as a society choose to take them. Do your best to avoid the false information spreading about the vaccines and put trust in the incredible doctors and researchers who've performed a miracle in creating a safe, effective vaccine in record time. Don't be these people. Q: Who do you think will be the breakout star of the college wrestling season? -- Mike C. Foley: The Cubans. They have tremendous talent, resources at their disposal, and are both ready-made media stories for the press come March 18. From our staff article this week: Yonger Bastida (Iowa State, 197) Bastida, a native of Cuba, won a silver medal at the 2019 Junior World Championships in freestyle. He has notched wins in his freestyle career over the likes of NCAA champion Kyven Gadson, two-time-All-American Hayden Zillmer and three-time NCAA qualifier Blaize Cabell. Anthony Echemendia (Ohio State, 141) Like Bastida, Echemendia is an immensely talented freestyle wrestler from Cuba. He has more folkstyle experience than Bastida having competed as a high school senior in Arizona. Echemendia posted a perfect 52-0 record and won a state championship in 2019. The article also mentions A.J. Ferrari who I'd agree will be a breakout performer this year, though I don't think he has as much ability to penetrate the mainstream as the Cubans will. Still he's a top five finisher with an unintentionally hilarious trove of social media posts, with more sure to come. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Wowza Kudukhov vs. Gomez Q: Will fans be permitted to attend the college postseason events (conference championships, NCAAs)? -- Mike C. Foley: My guess is you'll see some limited attendance at the conference championships, but only a family-based attendance at the NCAAs. There isn't much logic in cramming people into the arena. Our demographic is dramatically older than you'd expect and with that will come increased vulnerability to COVID. Best guess? The NCAA will allocate the same division of tickets to each school, but only give them a percentage of their full allocation. There would also need to be distancing protocols, masks, and other sanitary conditions met. Q: What are your thoughts on the Captains' Cup in mid-February? -- Mike C. Foley: Amazing format. Perfect for women's wrestling, which doesn't have as deep of rosters in their RTC's, but has plenty of competitors. Allowing for a captain's choice model will generate plenty of discussion about the talents of each athlete and how they might match up at each weight class and against their Canadian opponents. We've been blessed with plenty of innovation in 2020 and I'm happy to see that extending into the New Year with the Captains Cup.

The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) will formally recognize women's wrestling as an emerging sport, along with competitive cheer (coed), clay target shooting (coed) and men's volleyball. Below is the release from the NJCAA. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- During the December NJCAA Board of Regents meeting, the board considered increasing the association's sports offerings following a survey to membership to gauge interest. Following the Board of Regents' vote, the NJCAA will formally recognize competitive cheer (coed), clay target shooting (coed), men's volleyball, and women's wrestling as emerging sports within the association.  "The NJCAA is excited to offer competitive cheer, clay target shooting, men's volleyball, and women's wrestling as emerging sports," stated Dr. Christopher Parker, NJCAA President & CEO.  "Athletics is a vital driver of enrollment for many NJCAA member colleges. The addition of these four sports will also provide a pathway to increase opportunities for student-athletes around the country." Each of the new emerging sports have garnered interest amongst NJCAA member colleges as club sports in recent years.  Survey results from NJCAA membership showed an interest from membership in declaring for each of the sports, with enough programs planning to begin programs over the next three years to sustain sponsored sport status. Programs will be permitted to field teams beginning in the fall of 2021 under the recognized emerging sport distinction.  There will not be an NJCAA championship opportunity during the 2021-22 academic year, however, teams will have the opportunity to participate in various season-ending events, whether through the sport's national governing body or another organization. The timeline to begin NJCAA championships will vary based on sport, depending on participation. The NJCAA will form sport committees for competitive cheer, clay target shooting, men's volleyball, and women's wrestling in preparation for the 2021-22 academic year.  These committees will be tasked with navigating all areas of strategic planning for the emerging sports including trends in sponsorship, commitment periods, sports procedures, and recommended timelines. The adoption of the four emerging sports follows the NJCAA's addition of beach volleyball in April 2018.  Prior to beach volleyball, the association last added half marathon and women's lacrosse in 2003-04.  The NJCAA currently sponsors 28 sports across three divisions with 52 national championship events.  

Yonger Bastida (right) wrestling at the Junior World Championships in 2019 (Photo/Kadir Caliskan, United World Wrestling) Every year there are wrestlers who begin the NCAA season unranked and finish as All-Americans. Sometimes wrestlers begin the season as backups before earning a spot in the lineup and eventually place on the podium in March. Here's a look at five unranked potential All-Americans. Yonger Bastida (Iowa State, 197) Bastida, a native of Cuba, won a silver medal at the 2019 Junior World Championships in freestyle. He has notched wins in his freestyle career over the likes of NCAA champion Kyven Gadson, two-time-All-American Hayden Zillmer and three-time NCAA qualifier Blaize Cabell. There is no denying Bastida's talent, but his success in college wrestling in 2021 will depend on how quickly he can adapt to a wrestling style (folkstyle) that is foreign to him. The 197-pound freshman might be able to win a lot matches on his feet, but will likely have to learn to ride and get off the bottom in competitive matches. In addition, Bastida still has to earn the starting spot in the Cyclone lineup over two-time NCAA qualifier Marcus Coleman. The two are expected to wrestle off for the spot soon. Both looked strong in the Iowa State wrestle-offs held Dec. 23. Bastida recorded a 9-1 win over true freshman Cody Fisher. He had four takedowns and over four minutes of riding time. Coleman rolled to a 16-2 major decision over Hunter DeJong. Anthony Echemendia battled two-time world medalist James Green at the RTC Cup (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Anthony Echemendia (Ohio State, 141) Like Bastida, Echemendia is an immensely talented freestyle wrestler from Cuba. He has more folkstyle experience than Bastida having competed as a high school senior in Arizona. Echemendia posted a perfect 52-0 record and won a state championship in 2019. After initially committing to Iowa State, Echemendia landed in Columbus and is expected to compete for the Buckeyes at 141 pounds. After a long layoff, Echemendia faced Evan Henderson in FloWrestling's event on Nov. 14 and lost 8-3. He then competed with the Ohio RTC at the RTC Cup in Cincinnati, where he lost by technical superiority to James Green in his only match. Echemendia has the talent to compete with the nation's best college wrestlers right out of the gate. He has put himself in a strong position to succeed with access to excellent coaching and training partners at Ohio State. Echemendia and Sammy Sasso could provide a dynamic one-two punch in the middle of Ohio State's lineup for years to come. A.J. Ferrari (Photo/Oklahoma State Athletics) A.J. Ferrari (Oklahoma State, 197) Ferrari was the nation's No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2020 when he committed to Oklahoma State in the fall of 2019. The supremely confident Texan is expected to step into the Cowboy lineup as a true freshman at 197 pounds. After finishing his high school career with a record of 96-1, Ferrari competed in the UWW Junior Nationals in November, winning the 92-kilogram title in dominant fashion. He went 4-0 and outscored his opponents 37-1. Ferrari has the skills -- along with world-class coaching and top training partners -- to make an immediate impact in college wrestling. He will face some formidable opponents in the Big 12 Conference before his first postseason. Seven of the nation's top-20 197-pounders, including No. 1-ranked Noah Adams of West Virginia, are in the Big 12. Nelson Brands defeated Iowa State's Sam Colbray last season (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Luns.com) Nelson Brands (Iowa, 184) Iowa's Nelson Brands, the son of two-time world champion and Iowa associate head coach Terry Brands, had a strong start to his redshirt freshman campaign in 2019-20. Brands opened his season with wins over 2020 NCAA qualifiers Matthew Waddell of Chattanooga and Sam Colbray of Iowa State. He went 2-2 at the Midlands Championships, taking losses to Zac Braunagel and teammate Cash Wilcke. The Hawkeyes had a logjam at 184 pounds last season with Austin Assad, Brands and Wilcke all vying for the spot. Eventually Assad took control of the spot and placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships to earn an automatic berth to the NCAAs. Brands and Assad faced off in freestyle at the HWC Showdown Open on Nov. 1, with Brands earning a 9-0 shutout. Brands followed it up with a runner-up finish at U23 Nationals in mid-November, losing in the 79-kilogram finals to three-time All-American David McFadden. If Brands is able to earn a spot in the Hawkeye lineup, look for him to vie for All-America honors. Codi Russell is a two-time NCAA qualifier (Photo/App State Sports) Codi Russell (Appalachian State, 125) Codi Russell, the younger brother of All-American Sean Russell, is a two-time NCAA qualifier and 2019 SoCon champion. He spent the first three seasons of his career at 133 pounds but has made the move down to 125 pounds for his senior campaign. He enters the season unranked but could enter the rankings early in the season and climb quickly if he starts hot. Five more unranked wrestlers to watch: Gabriel Tagg (North Carolina, 133) Yahya Thomas (Northwestern, 149) Requir Van der Merwe (Stanford, 157) Austin Kraisser (Campbell, 165) Rocky Elam (Missouri, 197)

NEW BRIGHTON, Minn. -- The National Wrestling Media Association has announced its annual award winners for the 2019-20 season. The NWMA is the national professional organization for journalists who cover the sport of amateur wrestling. This includes reporters, editors, publishers, webmasters, photographers, broadcasters, athletic communications professionals and other media professionals who share an interest and involvement in the sport. The organization was founded in 1989. This past offseason, the NWMA opted to reorganize several awards categories, and develop new categories that recognize and celebrate the advances and innovations from the sport's media outlets. This year's honorees include two innovators in wrestling coverage from both the print and online industries, a familiar voice, a new voice, a prominent beat writer, breakthrough performances and longtime sports information professionals. Shane SparksShane Sparks of the Big Ten Network and Trackwrestling earns his second honor as the NWMA's Broadcaster of the Year and his first since 2011. Sparks' colleague at Trackwrestling/SportsEngine, Richard Immel, wins his first Photographer of the Year award. He is also a previous recipient of the now-retired New Media Specialist honor. Tom Housenick of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania is the 2019-20 Journalist of the Year, while longtime professional sports information directors Stacie Michaud of Navy and Chris Caputo of Pitt-Johnstown are honored for their work in the respective Division I and Small College SID of the Year awards. PA Power Wrestling, which had been nominated numerous times for Website of the Year, takes the first Outlet of the Year award. Outlet of the Year combines the previous awards for Website and Publication of the Year into a singular award. Ryan Warner's Wrestling Changed My Life podcast is the first winner of the Podcast of the Year, a category much needed due to the rise of the medium within the sport. The NWMA also announced the creation of Spotlight Awards, which recognize individuals or organizations who have gone above and beyond just the normal categories and the awards themselves cater to the recipient. Wreaper Wrestling in honored for its work in promoting women's wrestling with a spotlight as a Breakthrough Outlet, while Brant Parsons, a workhorse for the Orlando Sentinel earns a spotlight for his Innovative Journalism, using his technical knowledge and love of the sport to create a culture of wrestling news at the paper and its online presence to promote wrestling. The highest award the NWMA presents is its Jay Hammond Memorial Service Award, which is given to the late Dan McCool, who spent a long career as a writer at the Des Moines Register and an author of several wrestling books. Wisconsin native Justin Tritz is also honored as he recently stepped away from TrackWrestling, the company he helped create from a small project aimed at helping seed tournaments to one of the world's foremost information hubs in the sport. "It's extremely rewarding to honor those who give their time and effort to the sport of wrestling to cover it in a rapidly evolving media landscape," said Jason Bryant, President of the NWMA. "This year's group might be some of the most distinguished in terms of their high level of work spanning decades, not just any single year. We're pleased that longtime nominees finally punch through and new leaders in the wrestling media have emerged. The field of nominations might be the most robust we've ever seen. Ultimately, the individual winners were voted on by their peers and while everyone was deserving, we're honored to recognize these outstanding individuals and outlets." Outlet of the Year: PA Power Wrestling The brand PA Power Wrestling is not a new one as founder Jeff Upson started the PA Power Rankings back in 2005 while he was a student at Central Dauphin High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The name became a professional reality in 2012 and the relevance and coverage of PA Power Wrestling has advanced significantly since 2016 as the site brought on veteran journalist and former college wrestler Eric Knopsnyder. The site has done live coverage, rankings, previews, four different podcasts covering different aspects of the state and has moved into events with The Surge and True Power. PA Power has provided Pennsylvania-focused coverage from some of the sport's top events, including the NCAA Tournament, Junior Worlds, Fargo, PIAA and Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling tournaments and looks forward to helping make the sport more accessible to the masses. NWMA on PA Power: "Pennsylvania has an insatiable appetite for high school wrestling, which is evidenced by the sheer number of websites covering or posting about the sport. PA Power has risen to the forefront of wrestling coverage in Pennsylvania. They bring a new school approach to their content, but with the polish of seasoned journalism. The crew at PA Power also makes sure they focus on as many different angles within the state as possible. It's full of great information and packaged well." Journalist of the Year: Tom Housenick, The Morning Call The rugged Lehigh Valley is one of the biggest high school wrestling hotbeds in the nation and it's also one of the most competitive beats among the local news media from both Pennsylvania and New Jersey. King's College graduate Tom Housenick has been with the Allentown (Pa.) Morning Call since 2008, 20 years after starting his career as a sports writer. He's had two runs covering high school wrestling, handling the beat again since 2016. He's covered 11 state championships and four state team championships-Coincidentally (or not?) all won by teams within his coverage area. Some of his best work isn't match coverage, but his development of feature stories, highlighting some of the behind-the-scenes stories involving wrestlers and their families. Recently, his coverage of the high school wrestling scene and how COVID-19 has impacted it has drawn eyes nationwide. NWMA on Housenick: "Tom isn't the first writer from the Lehigh Valley to win this honor and he won't be the last. In fact, his work is so strong, that it might not be his last. It's one of the most competitive beats in all of wrestling and Tom's work isn't just solid, it's next level good. With the newspaper business downsizing all over the country, we see papers in the Lehigh Valley still covering wrestling with the intensity its passionate fan base desires. There is a professional sports type of competitiveness for breaking news and pumping out eye-grabbing features in the region. Like the wrestlers, if you're one of the best wrestling writers in this region, you're one of the best in the country." Broadcaster of the Year: Shane Sparks, Big Ten Network A Wisconsin native, Sparks has held a number of roles with commentary and broadcasting, starting with his initial project at BadgerStateWrestling.com, which garnered him the Broadcaster of the Year Award in 2011. Now a two-time recipient, Sparks has been a sideline and play-by-play voice for the Big Ten Network and has worked the World Championships and World Cup for NBC Sports, Trackwrestling and events for USA Wrestling, to name a few. Sparks' energetic style and genuine love for the sport has been one of his signatures. NWMA on Sparks: "What else can you say about Shane? If you ran a blood test on him, you'd find a steady stream of wrestling chatter and caffeine. The guy has one speed and he is meticulous in his preparation (and his attire) and he's become a voice synonymous with wrestling. Shane is a guy who could win this every year if we allowed for it, but he's also a humble guy who isn't afraid to ask questions and try to better himself continually." Photographer of the Year: Richard Immel, Trackwrestling A Midwest City, Oklahoma native and now Minnesota resident, Immel has served in a number of roles in wrestling media and marketing and promotions over the last eight years. His foray into photography in 2017 made an instant splash. As the Marketing Manager for Trackwrestling, he's got access to some of the top events in the world. A current Vice President of the NWMA, Immel started as an intern with Flowrestling before working full-time for USA Wrestling as its Communications Manager. He was a vital force in the Committee to Preserve Olympic Wrestling in 2013 and has a diverse skill set that's led him to working events for United World Wrestling. Immel was previously honored by the NWMA in 2014 as its New Media Specialist of the Year. NWMA on Immel: "Richard is a natural wrestling photographer. His background as a wrestler gives him the instincts and timing that it takes to shoot fast-paced action predictively. His work at USA Wrestling, and his outgoing personality, gave him access to the athletes where he built strong, lasting friendships. That familiarity and care shines through in his artistry of wrestling photography." Podcast of the Year: Wrestling Changed My Life hosted by Ryan Warner Ryan Warner's podcast, Wrestling Changed My Life, has a simple presence. That theme has permeated the nearly 200 individual episodes he's released since November of 2018. Warner, an Illinois native, hustles to create dynamic podcast documentary series' as well as his twice-weekly interview show, which features some of the biggest names in the sport and also highlights people who Warner uses to showcase their lesser known stories about the value of the sport. Warner is working with the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and USA Wrestling with its recently launched Etched in Stone series. NWMA on Wrestling Changed My Life: "This sport has literally thousands of unique stories it can tell. Ryan's premise is so effective because it's based around the core question of "how wrestling changed your life?" His ability to get to the heart of the story as well as pull some deep conversations out of his guests makes this a funny, heartfelt, "dust in your eye" at times listen . The show is well-produced, energetic and is a must-listen for fans and media alike. It's pretty much a guarantee you're going to learn something." Division I SID of the Year: Stacie Michaud, Navy Stacie Michaud is in her 23rd year at the United States Naval Academy and currently serves as an Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information. She has been the primary media contact for the Navy wrestling program for 16 of those 23 years where she has worked alongside five different head coaches including National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductees Bruce Burnett and Cary Kolat, who is in his first season leading the Midshipmen. In addition to working with wrestling, she is the primary media contact for Navy's men's lacrosse, men's golf and squash programs, and is the secondary contact for the football program. NWMA on Michaud: "Stacie's one of the most professional, complete and concise people in the sport. She doesn't get the benefit of student volunteers like many Division I programs have at their disposal in the sports information industry. In a department with 33 sports, staff can be spread thin but Stacie has always been able to deliver when it comes to information about Navy wrestling. She's a true professional with her craft." Small College SID of the Year: Chris Caputo, Pitt-Johnstown Chris Caputo grew up in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and for the past 22 years, he's been back in his hometown as the Sports Information Director at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown. Caputo was thrust immediately into the legacy of Pitt-Johnstown wrestling, as his first year on the job, the Mountain Cats won the NCAA Division II national championship. Caputo's handled the media duties for numerous regional championships in Johnstown and has coordinated events around the legendary Carlton Haselrig and coach Pat Pecora, who last year set the college wrestling record for most dual meet wins as a college wrestling coach. Caputo manages 15 sports as a one-man shop at UPJ but still finds time to work on a number of committees for the school and wrestling. Consistently one of the top SIDs regardless of division, Caputo's level of professionalism and his attention to detail with wrestling continues to make him one of the best in the country. NWMA on Caputo: "Chris is always a true professional and has always provided fantastic coverage for perennial D2 power Pitt-Johnstown for so many years. We are fortunate to have SIDs like Chris in D2 wrestling. We truly appreciate his great work to promote and support our sport." Spotlight Award for Innovative Journalism: Brant Parsons, Orlando Sentinel Brant Parsons is a sports community manager for OrlandoSentinel.com and a high school wrestling reporter. He has covered high school wrestling for the Sentinel since 2004, moving his coverage from local to statewide in 2015. When eventually moving into a full-time job as a manager of sports content for the Orlando Sentinel website in the summer of 2006, he asked to continue covering wrestling and was given full and eager approval. Now he runs one of the most successful sections on all of OrlandoSentinel.com with its legion of subscribers and vocal supporters. The coverage still includes results and schedules but now also includes Top 20 rankings for each weight class in all three classes. In the last year, girls and all-class rankings have also been added to the site that also includes features and news stories across the sport that is now covered year-round and not just during the high school season. NWMA on Parsons: "The work Brant has been able to do to promote interest and coverage of wrestling in Florida through his role at the Orlando Sentinel is outstanding. It's a testament to pushing for more and getting the opportunity to show how viable wrestling coverage is for the high school level. Brant's work also shows how much content wrestling fans will consume if they're given the opportunity. It's our belief that wrestling in Florida has improved because the awareness and coverage of the sport has improved, in part because of the work he's done there." Spotlight Award for Breakthrough Outlet: Wreaper Wrestling Wreaper Wrestling is an outlet focused on the world of women's wrestling. Their aim is to inspire athletes with a cutting-edge brand for women's wrestling. Through the site's social media and website offerings, they promote any and all senior-level domestic/international events and tournaments and highlight individual wrestlers and teams. Founded by Lara-Lay Hinojosa and husband Arthur, Wreaper started up in March 2018 and has since added senior-level competitors Lauren Mason and Dymond Guilford to the production team. NWMA on Wreaper Wrestling: "We've had a rise in the coverage of women's wrestling over the past two years and Wreaper Wrestling has been helping to push that bar higher. They're everywhere they can possibly be with content that's aimed at telling the stories and hearing the voices behind those stories. They're off to a great start and have set a pretty solid pace for what is now expected of media dedicated to women's wrestling." The Jay Hammond Memorial Service Award is a recognition and service award to media professionals for their work in the effort to educate and enhance the sport of wrestling through media. Jay Hammond Memorial Service Award: Dan McCool, Des Moines Register The following is the obituary for Dan McCool from Legacy.com, who passed away on May 4, 2020 Dan was born on August 31, 1959 in Clarion, Iowa to Robert and Kitty McCool. After high school Dan dedicated his life to the sport of wrestling. He enjoyed many sports, but wrestling was #1 for him. He began his journalism career as a reporter/photographer in North Dakota, then moved on to Knoxville, Iowa, and eventually to the Cedar Falls Record. Following that, he was able to spend 30 years as a reporter for the Des Moines Register, where he covered wrestling at the high school, college and international level. He also reported on baseball, football and boxing, among other sports. Following his newspaper career, he had the opportunity to write three books about wrestling in Iowa, most notably chronicling 100 years of the Iowa high school state tournament. His toughest challenge on winter weekends during wrestling season was picking just one (or two if he could) wrestling tournaments to attend. If he could have been at all of them at once, he would have. Dan was always concerned about doing good for the sport of wrestling and shied away from the personal recognition people often wanted to give him for his work. He also loved oldies music, photography and travel, both for business and pleasure. NWMA on McCool: "There are about as many words we could say about Dan's impact on wrestling coverage in Iowa as there are words he'd written during his long career around the mats. Dan's gruff wit could be taken many ways, but some of the things he enjoyed most were simply sitting down and talking wrestling. Dan's presence will be missed." Jay Hammond Memorial Service Award: Justin Tritz, Trackwrestling The following is taken from Justin Tritz's sign-off column on Trackwrestling.com on April 9, 2020. Eighteen years ago I set out on that journey with little more than ambition and the work ethic instilled in me from my childhood on a farm and my experiences in the sport of wrestling. I had no idea where that path would lead, but I knew I was going to apply the same principles I learned throughout my wrestling career to the success of Trackwrestling. As you can imagine, the journey was filled with challenges. Each one of these challenges forced us to grow and adapt, and over time Trackwrestling grew to be a household name throughout the wrestling world. It is impossible to put 18 years of your life into something and not ask yourself whether or not it was successful. Considering the fact that success is relative, I personally believe my journey was a huge success. First and foremost, my wife and I have three fantastic, healthy children, and we have provided our family with everything we needed up to this point in our lives. The wrestling world has a tool to provide the most comprehensive historical record of any sport and it allows me as a fan, coach, and parent to stay up to date with pretty much everything happening in the sport. Trackwrestling is now owned and operated by a company that can manage the growth and provide the stability needed to ensure the longevity of the entire system. In the end, what made it all successful was the people I met and the friendships I formed along the way. Not only did I form relationships that will last a lifetime, but those same relationships helped stabilize Trackwrestling in the face of our biggest challenges and I will be forever grateful for both. All of these people know who they are, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate all of you. I am excited for the future of Trackwrestling! We have assembled an incredible team that's fully committed to further building and supporting it. Together with SportsEngine and NBC Sports (the ownership group of Trackwrestling), the company is well-positioned for long term stability and growth. - JT NWMA on Tritz: To really break down the impact Justin had on wrestling would take a long, long time. His innovations transformed tournament coverage, operations and live event video. When Fargo went to an easily readable, live-updated format through Trackwrestling, it was one of the seminal moments in how much better that monstrous event got covered. Justin created new ways to run events more efficiently and also found ways that enabled the media to cover those tournaments more thoroughly as well. Trackwrestling is one of those companies that when you look back 20 years from now, you're going to wonder how we ever did things the old way - and Justin's a big reason why we don't do it the old way."

Austin Gomez gets his hand raised after beating Iowa's Austin DeSanto (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) AMES, Iowa -- After a series of injuries, and concern for his health, Iowa State wrestler Austin Gomez has decided to medically retire from the sport of wrestling. "I had to sit down with myself, our athletic trainer, doctors, coaches, and my family to make this decision," Gomez said. "Although I feel like I have so much more fight left in me, my health has to come first when dealing with this injury. I thought I'd wrestle until my body told me I couldn't do it anymore, but God has a different plan for me than I did for myself. Wrestling has taken me so far in life and I can't thank the Iowa State staff for everything they have done for me while being able to compete." "We want nothing but the best for Austin," head coach Kevin Dresser said. "His health and well-being is first and foremost. Although we only saw him on the mat for a short period of time, he brought all of us a lot of excitement with his style of wrestling. We look forward to his continued involvement in our program and the impact he will have on his teammates." Gomez goes out as an endeared Cyclone. His high pace and big-move mantra we're crowd pleasers at Hilton Coliseum. In 2019, Gomez qualified for the NCAA Championships at 133, wrestling to the round of 12. He finished the season with a 24-7 record, while going 11-3 in dual competition. That year he tallied 11 bonus-point wins, including four major decisions, four technical falls and three pins. His pin over Roman Bravo-Young at the 2019 Southern Scuffle was named one of the top-10 matches of the season by FloWrestling. The Carol Stream, Ill., native was also a force in freestyle, qualifying for the 2018 Junior World Team at 57 kilograms. "Wrestling has taught me so much in life when it comes to discipline, toughness, accountability, and so much more. It has made me into the man I am today. I can't thank my dad enough for introducing me to this sport and teaching me what I love to do." "The next step is to teach what I learned about this sport to kids and other wrestlers around the country. My plan is to stick around the Iowa State Wrestling program for as long as I can and support my team and help them accomplish their goals. It was a good run, but I'm excited for the next chapter in my life."

Mikey Racciato (Photo/Pitt Athletics) PITTSBURGH -- The University of Pittsburgh wrestling program is mourning the death of 2015 ACC champion and former Pitt student-athlete Mikey Racciato, who has passed away at the age of 26. "We are all saddened to hear this terrible news," Pitt wrestling head coach Keith Gavin said. "We offer our condolences to the Racciato family and Mikey's friends. Although I did not have the privilege of coaching Mikey, I know he was loved by his teammates, coaches and fans during his time here. He certainly made an impact and will be dearly missed." "Mikey's personality lit up the room," said Pitt wrestling assistant coach Drew Headlee, who coached Racciato for several seasons. "He always knew how to make everyone laugh. On the mat, he was dangerous from every position, so you could never count him out of any match." A native of Pen Argyl, Pa., Racciato competed for the Panthers from 2013-17. He was a two-time qualifier for the NCAA Wrestling Championships and earned the 2015 ACC title at 149 pounds. Racciato developed a reputation in high school as one of the most exciting prep wrestlers in the country. His accomplishments at Pen Argyl High School included multiple individual Pennsylvania state titles, with Racciato accumulating a 184-8 career record during that time and nearly 100 of those wins coming by fall. Well known throughout the wrestling community for his scrambling talents and ability to pin any opponent, Racciato only furthered his status as a thrilling athlete at the University of Pittsburgh. While at Pitt, he entered the starting lineup almost immediately as a true freshman and became beloved by Pitt wrestling fans for his mastery of the big moment. Along with the sudden victory in his ACC championship match against North Carolina's Christian Barber, Racciato will also be remembered for his pin of Penn State All-American James English in a dual and his first-period fall of Oklahoma State national finalist Josh Kindig that propelled the Panthers to an incredible upset victory over the Cowboys in a dual meet on Jan. 19, 2014.

Dan Hodge never lost a match in college, won an Olympic medal and is the only wrestler to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. But his most impressive feat may have come after he celebrated his 80th birthday. He demonstrated his ability to crush an apple with one hand. Dan HodgeHodge, who passed away on Christmas Eve at age 88, was an outstanding athlete and person who lived an incredible life. He will be remembered as one of the most legendary and successful competitors in the history of wrestling. He was a larger-than-life presence, on and off the mat. The Perry, Oklahoma native won a state high school title in 1951 before going on to a phenomenal collegiate career at the University of Oklahoma. In college, the 6-foot-1 Hodge went 46-0 with 36 pins. He won three NCAA titles at 177 pounds, pinning all three of his opponents in the finals. He twice was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. He was a strong, tough, physical and intimidating wrestler who many of his opponents feared. He wrestled the way you were supposed to, dominating opponents with a relentless, attacking style. He was regarded as a ferocious but disciplined wrestler during his competitive days. He didn't mess around when he stepped on the mat. His goal was simply to pin his opponent as quickly as possible. Hodge captured a silver medal for the United States at the 1956 Olympics. He was on course to win the gold before suffering a controversial setback in the finals. Hodge appeared frequently in recent years at the NCAA Championships and during Hall of Fame events in Stillwater, Oklahoma and Waterloo, Iowa. He was a fantastic storyteller with a charisma and humility to match. Hodge appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on April 1, 1957. He remains the only amateur wrestler to appear on the cover of SI. The Hodge SI cover is a collector's item that is a prized possession of any wrestling fan who has it. Hodge went on to wrestle professionally for two decades, winning numerous championships. He also excelled in boxing while winning national titles in that sport. Hodge's name has been associated with the top award in college wrestling for the past quarter-century. The Dan Hodge Trophy has been presented annually since 1995 by WIN magazine to the top college wrestler in the U.S. It's "The Heisman Trophy" of wrestling and is an honor that carries great significance in the sport. The trophy was created by WIN founder Mike Chapman, who authored a book on Dan Hodge. The list of Hodge Trophy winners is impressive. It includes Olympic gold medalists Cael Sanderson and Jordan Burroughs along with world champions Stephen Neal, David Taylor, Kyle Dake and Logan Stieber. The criteria for winning the Hodge Trophy not only focuses on wins and losses, but on a dominant style of wrestling. Pinning opponents, a Hodge staple, factors heavily into determining the winner of the prestigious trophy each season. Hodge performed his remarkable feat of crushing an apple seemingly countless times, including during the NCAA tournament. It was definitely something to see when he would perform his signature feat, crowds would cheer and Hodge would flash a huge smile. That was priceless. Anyone who was fortunate enough to meet Hodge and shake his hand immediately learned how strong the man's grip was. You also would learn what a class act he was. And a true gentleman. Dan HodgeThe sport of wrestling was so fortunate and blessed to have Hodge as one of its leading ambassadors. He embodied all of the characteristics you would want in a great champion. He loved wrestling and all of the great life lessons that the sport teaches. He was a great representative of the sport. Dan Hodge was a champion in every way, shape and form. It's awesome that his legacy will live on with the Hodge Trophy. He was one of the best wrestlers and people in the history of the sport. He made a tremendous impact in wrestling, long after he retired from competition. He definitely will be missed. Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games, written 10 books and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year.

Jordan Burroughs defeated Zahid Valencia at FloWrestling's event on Nov. 14 (Photo/Justin Hoch, JHoch.com) 2020 was a year like no other. And the wrestling community certainly felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with the cancellation of the NCAA Championships and the postponement of the Olympic Games. High school wrestling is back in full swing, the college season is about to start and big international events are set to start happening in early 2021 leading into the Tokyo Olympics. Here are my thoughts and reflections with the holidays just around the corner: Jordan Burroughs is 32 years old, but the four-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist is still really good. He likely will have to beat two-time world champion Kyle Dake to make his third straight Olympic team, but Burroughs is still wrestling at an extremely high level. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Kudos to FloWrestling, Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and so many others for holding these live wrestling events during the pandemic. These events have given the wrestlers an opportunity to compete in live matches and also provided the fans with a chance to watch some top-level wrestling. I can't wait for the college season to start, in all three levels. The Iowa Hawkeyes missed out on an opportunity to win the NCAA title they were expected to win in 2020. The Hawkeyes, led by superstar Spencer Lee, will be favored again. But Penn State may have something to say about it. I'm also looking forward to seeing Wartburg, Augsburg, Loras and others battle for supremacy in Division III. And I want to see how DII plays out with St. Cloud State and Nebraska-Kearney expected to make a run at the gold trophy in March. Is this the year the U.S. Greco-Roman team returns to the medal podium at the Olympic Games? Don't be surprised if it happens in Tokyo. I wish there would have been a way for the U.S. to compete in the Individual World Cup event that was recently held. There was some great competition with some of the world's elite wrestlers taking part. The Olympic Trials are going to be incredibly competitive. With only six weight classes, and with the U.S. doing so well at the World Championships in recent years, there are going to be some unbelievable battles in almost every weight class. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds. Hopefully, wrestling can add more weight classes at the Olympics in the future. Five-time world champion Adeline Gray was dominant at Senior Nationals (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Five-time world champion Adeline Gray is ready to make a run at Olympic gold. She has come back from a setback at the 2016 Olympics to win her fourth and fifth world titles. Look for her to make a run at the title in Tokyo. David Taylor has always been one of my favorite wrestlers with his wide-open, relentless style. The 2018 world champion is back now, and he's bigger and stronger. I'm eager to see how he fares as he pursues Olympic gold. I miss the atmosphere, excitement and electricity of a packed venue for a wrestling event. Hopefully, we will be back to that soon. For now, let's just appreciate the fact that competitions are able to be held. And athletes once again have an opportunity to pursue their hopes and dreams. Girls' wrestling needs to be sanctioned at the high school level in every state. Women's wrestling has been in the Olympics since 2004 and there is no reason that females shouldn't have the same opportunities as males. More states continue to sanction the sport, but states like Iowa and Nebraska need to follow suit. What are you waiting for? Needing to get your wrestling fix? Get your hands on one of the great books on the sport that are available now. My personal favorite is the book -- AFSOON -- that I collaborated on with wrestling trailblazer Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston on her remarkable journey. We have received excellent reviews and feedback on the book. The newly released book -- Wrestling the Alphabet -- also has generated a great deal of interest. It is a quick, interesting and historic read for parents to share with their kids. And a book on legendary Wartburg coach Jim Miller is coming out soon. Ohio State coach Tom Ryan also has an interesting book -- Chosen Suffering -- that came out in 2020. Check any or all of these out if you can. And look for more awesome books on wrestling to be released in 2021. What a tremendous honor for Dan Gable to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He not only is arguably the best wrestler and coach of all-time, Gable is still the biggest name in the sport. And he remains an incredible ambassador for wrestling. It was an honor that certainly was well-deserved. Dan Gable personifies everything that is so special about wrestling. He's a good, decent, hard-working man who is a phenomenal person. In a rough year like 2020, it was amazing to see it end with Coach Gable receiving such a high honor at the White House. He personifies greatness in every way, shape and form. He's the best. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! Stay safe and let's hope for plenty of memorable moments in 2021. Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games, written 10 books and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year.

Zain Retherford defeated Bajrang Punia at the fourth NLWC event (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion Kyle Snyder was back on the mat. And we had an intriguing matchup of Zain Retherford against Bajrang Punia. Those were among the standouts we saw as the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club put on another entertaining wrestling event on Tuesday night in State College, Pa. The event was shown live on Rokfin. It was the fourth event the NLWC has hosted over the past few months. Here is a recap of Tuesday's bouts: Franklin Gomez df. Malik Amine, VPO1 5-2 Gomez, a past world silver medalist, continues to bump up in weight and continues to excel. He scored an early pushout and followed with a leg attack for a takedown. He led 3-0 at the break over a solid opponent in Amine. Gomez scored on a slick re-attack to lead 5-0 early in the second period. Amine turned Gomez and gained two exposure points late in the bout. Gomez prevailed 5-2 in a good opening bout. Michael Beard df. Nick Reenan, VPO1 10-6 Beard charged out aggressively, converting on a pair of early leg attacks to lead 6-2 in the first minute. The wrestlers each scored two points on an exchange initiated by a shot from Beard. That gave the Penn State wrestler an 8-4 lead. Beard is an impressive looking young wrestler. He added another takedown in the final minute to build his lead to 10-4. Reenan scored a late takedown, but Beard prevailed by a 10-6 score. Kyle Snyder tech. Ty Walz, VSU 10-0 Snyder, coming back from an injury, looked very strong in his return. He powered to a quick 3-0 lead with a pushout and leg attack for a takedown. Snyder is hungry to be the best in the world again and it showed in a dominant performance against a quality opponent. Snyder built a 5-0 lead after one period and made it look easy. He increased the lead to 7-0 with a strong attack early in the second period. Snyder is a workhorse and kept the pressure on. He added two more points in a scramble to lead 9-0 and then scored a pushout to prevail 10-0. Snyder put on a show - he's an incredible wrestler. He's definitely on track to win another Olympic gold medal. Emma Bruntil df. Jen Page, VPO1 2-1 Bruntil spun behind Page to score the match's first takedown late in the first period. She led 2-0 at the break. Page closed within 2-1 in the second period of a tactical, low-scoring match. Bruntil controlled the center of the mat and was strong defensively in earning a 2-1 win over a veteran in Page. Carter Starocci tech. Daniel Bullard, VSU1 13-2 Starocci has been impressive in previous events and that trend continued Tuesday. He's an impressive young prospect. Starocci shot in on a double before switching off into a single to score a takedown. That gave him a 3-0 lead late in the first period. Bullard countered for a two-point turn before Starocci scored a reversal to lead 4-2 at the break. Starocci shot in on a single-leg attack before finishing to lead 7-2 with two minutes to go. He followed with another single and finish for a 9-2 advantage. He added two more leg attacks and takedowns to win 13-2. Starocci turned in another strong performance. Hayden Hidlay df. Brady Berge, VPO 5-0 Hidlay came out on the attack, but Berge slowed him down during a low-scoring start to the bout. Hidlay powered in on a shot to score a pushout just before time ran out in the first period. He led 2-0 at the break. Hidlay doubled his lead with a leg attack and finish with just under two minutes left. He added a late pushout to earn a hard-fought 5-0 victory. Nick Lee df. Tariq Wilson, VPO1 14-10 This was another match that fans were really looking forward to watching. Wilson came out firing off the first whistle, scoring on an early leg attack to lead 2-0. Lee came right back with a takedown to tie the bout in the first minute. Wilson countered with his second takedown to lead 4-2. Lee came back with a single-leg attack and takedown to tie it 4-4. He added a leg lace in the same sequence to lead 6-4. Lee continued to push the pace and converted off a leg attack to lead 8-4 late in the first period. Wilson shot in on a single to start the second period for a pushout, but Lee came back again for a leg attack to lead 10-5. Lee hit a takedown and transitioned to a lace to lead 14-6 with just over a minute to go. Wilson continued to battle, scoring a takedown to draw within 14-8 with 38 seconds left. He added another takedown with 10 seconds left. Lee held off Wilson 14-10. It was an action-packed bout between two excellent wrestlers. Jane Valencia df. Xochitl Mota-Pettis, VPO1 4-4 Valencia is another wrestler who has excelled in these events. Mota-Pettis countered a shot and spun behind Valencia to score the opening takedown. Mota-Pettis hit an ankle pick early in the second period to build a 4-0 lead. Valencia responded with two takedowns in the final minute, including one with two seconds left, to win 4-4 by criteria. Valencia came back strong and found a way to prevail. Co-main event Roman Bravo-Young df. Aljamain Sterling, VPO1 6-4 RBY met Sterling, who competes in mixed martial arts, in an interesting matchup. Sterling launched Bravo-Young with a lateral drop to lead 4-0. RBY scored a takedown late in the three-minute first period to draw within 4-2. He scored another TD early in the second period to tie the match. Bravo-Young scored on a pushout to led 5-4 with just over a minute left in the second period. RBY won the wrestling bout 6-4. The third period featured a submission format where Sterling took control early from the top position. He was able to submit RBY to win the final period. Kudos to both of these guys for making this match happen between two superb competitors. Main event Zain Retherford df. Bajrang Punia, VPO1 6-0 This promised to be a great matchup with Retherford, a world team member, battling a two-time world medalist in Punia. Retherford spun behind early for the opening takedown and led 2-0 at the break. He fired in for a takedown and followed with a leg lace to lead 6-0 early in the second period. Punia, ranked No. 2 in the world, nearly had a takedown midway through the second period before Zain fought him off. Great performance by Retherford against an excellent opponent and a great way to cap the evening. Final word It was another excellent night of wrestling with a ton of matches featuring top-level talent. Great work on the broadcast, particularly the analysis by David Taylor. He brings so much passion, knowledge and enthusiasm to the broadcast. The "match" between Santa Claus and The Grinch was a fun way to keep everything light during the main event. Once again, the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club put on an excellent event featuring high-caliber matches. It was great to see Kyle Snyder back in action and Zain Retherford looked really good. Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games, written 10 books and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year.

Aljamain Sterling compiled a record of 87-27 at SUNY Cortland (Photo/SUNY Cortland Athletics) Like many successful MMA fighters, Aljamain Sterling got his start in the wrestling room. The UFC bantamweight contender will return to his roots for a freestyle match against Penn State's Roman Bravo-Young on Tuesday. After a successful high school wrestling career at Uniondale High School in New York, Sterling chose to wrestle on the Division III level. His collegiate career began at Morrisville State before moving to SUNY Cortland. In the end, he finished as a two-time All-American and threw in a few amateur MMA fights along the way. The following looks back at some of the key moments from the collegiate wrestling career of Sterling. Freshman year at Morrisville State (2007-2008) Aljamain Sterling's collegiate wrestling career began in 2007 at Morrisville State. At the time, the school was transitioning from a junior college to a four-year institution, and therefore the athletic department was moving from NJCAA to NCAA Division III. To help ease the transition, the program added over 30 freshmen and a high profile transfer named Jon Jones. Jones, the eventual UFC champion, had won a NJCAA title in 2006 for Iowa Central. Sterling was a member of the freshman class, and per a preview from D3Wrestle.com, he was expected to split time with New York state placer Mike Smith at 133 pounds. As a freshman, he had some moments, including a fourth-place finish at the RIT Invitational. Sterling entered the bracket as the No. 2 seed and defeated his first two opponents before running into Josh Pauling (Wilkes) in the semifinals. Pauling would go on to win the tournament. Even though Sterling showed promise during his first year on the college mats, Morrisvile was not allowed to compete in the NCAA tournament due to the transition from NJCAA. Following the season, Sterling chose to transfer to Cortland. Aljamain Sterling rides his opponent (Photo/SUNY Cortland) Sophomore year at Cortland (2008-2009) After moving to Cortland, Sterling started his career with an extremely active November. In the first month of the season, he wrestled in three open tournaments with his best performance coming at the Oneonta Invitational. In the bracket, he scored three straight bonus point victories over Michael Slabinski (Gettysburg), Alex Pittera (Worcester Poly) and Richard Wingert (Worcester Poly) to make the finals. Sterling then forfeited to teammate Dave Colagiovanni to finish second. Sterling traded the starting job at 133 pounds back and forth with Colagiovanni. However, as the calendar moved to January, it appeared as if Sterling had locked it down. He started all four of Cortland's duals at the North-South Duals and picked up three straight bonus point wins over Michael Testa (Johns Hopkins), Peter Caruso (McDaniel) and Jack Bostrom (Gettysburg). In late February the Cortland squad entered the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference tournament, and Sterling indeed secured the nod at 133 pounds. For the season, the conference was allocated 15 qualifying spots for the NCAA tournament. The champion of each weight class would automatically qualify, and the final five wild card selections would be awarded by the coaches. Sterling got off to a hot start with victories over Eric Grecco (Lycoming) and Glen DiStefano (Brockport) and found himself in the finals. His opponent, Chad Winowich of Ithaca was already quite familiar. Prior to the conference tournament final, Sterling and Winowich had already wrestled three times. Their first meeting came at the season-opening Ithaca Invitational where Winowich scored a 2-0 decision victory. The rematch occurred at the New York State Collegiate Championships, and Winowich took a 4-3 decision. Less than a month before the conference tournament, the two wrestled in a dual. Once again, Winowich handed Sterling a decision loss this time by an 8-3 score. In the 133-pound final of the conference tournament, Winowich improved to 4-0 against Sterling with a 6-2 decision. Sterling would go on to win the true second match, but the coaches did not reward his efforts with a wild card. He missed out on the NCAA tournament for the last time in his collegiate career. Three months after the conference tournament, Sterling made his amateur MMA debut and defeated Vincent Morales. Junior year at Cortland (2009-2010) Sterling returned for his junior season, and it was clear for the start he was on a mission. After 0-4 against Winowich during his sophomore season, he defeated his rival in the finals of the season-opening Ithaca Invitational. The early season victory set the tone for Sterling. After winning all three of his matches at the North-South Duals on Jan. 9, he found himself ranked third in Division III at 133 pounds, which was the highest ranking of his career up to that point. After suffering a loss later that month against Joseph Grippi (Springfield), his ranking dropped down to 10th as he headed into yet another meeting with Winowich. The two faced off on Feb. 27 in a dual between Cortland and Ithaca. Sterling was once again able to best his rival as he scored a 3-1 victory. The win locked up the No. 1 seed for Sterling at the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Tournament. He plowed through his first match as he scored a 16-0 technical fall over Joe Beaumont (RIT) in the opening period. Sterling then edged Eric Velez (Brockport) by 1-0 decision. Those two victories set up a finals rematch against Winowich. Despite going 2-0 against Winowich as a junior, Sterling was not able to get in done in the finals of the conference tournament. The Ithaca wrestler took the victory by 3-1 decision. Unlike the previous year, Sterling was awarded a wild card by the conference coaches and advanced to the NCAA tournament. Sterling entered the NCAA tournament as an unseeded wrestler. He drew the No. 2 seed Nathan Fitzenreider (North Central) in the opening round. Despite the seeming long odds, Sterling pulled the upset with a 1-0 decision victory. Sterling then fell out of the championship bracket with a 3-2 decision loss against Nicholas Nothern (Cornell College). After falling to the consolation bracket, Sterling secured All-America status with a fall over Grippi who had previously defeated him during the year. The Cortland wrestler returned for the second day of competition at the NCAA tournament. Sterling won his first bout over Corey Brown (Thiel) to set up yet another rematch with Winowich. This time Sterling pulled out a 4-2 decision and advanced to the third-place match. There he came up short against William Livingstone (Centenary) and finished fourth. Following his first All-American season, Sterling continued his amateur MMA career. He suffered defeat for the first time against Zechariah Lange via split decision, but he avenged the defeat as well. For the summer, he went 5-1 to improve his amateur record to 6-1. Aljamain Sterling finished his career at SUNY Cortland as a two-time All-American (Photo/SUNY Cortland Athletics) Senior year at Cortland (2010-2011) Sterling began his senior season ranked at 133 pounds, but he actually moved up to 141 early in the year. After winning the season-opening Ithaca Invitational, he entered the East Stroudsburg Open. At the time, the tournament featured a wide range of competitors including Division I teams. Sterling finished fifth in the tournament and went 2-1 against Division I opponents. He dropped a match against Mike Greck of Millersville, who was in their last year at Division I, but defeated Bradley Molina (Maryland) and Nicholas Murray (Virginia Tech). During his senior year, Sterling wrestled a bit more sparingly, but he was still clearly a contender in the 141-pound division. Even though he no longer had to deal with his old rival Winowich, he found himself facing off against another Ithaca wrestler in Jeremy Stierly. He handed Sterling a 5-2 defeated in a late February dual meet. Due to that defeat, Sterling entered the conference tournament as the second seed. He won his first two matches over Jon Khoury (Brockport) and Josh Bressler (Messiah) to set up a rematch against Stierly in the finals. Unfortunately for Sterling, he was unable to correct the previous result and finished second after a 2-0 defeat. For the second straight season, Sterling received a wild card invitation to the NCAA tournament. Sterling entered his final NCAA tournament as the third seed. The previous year, he upset the second seed as an unranked wrestler. This time, he found himself on the other side of the upset as he dropped a 3-1 decision against Nick Garber (Waynesburg). Despite the defeat, Sterling fought his way back to the consolation bracket and ended up finishing sixth. The former Uniondale High School product finished his collegiate career at Cortland with an 87-27 record. At the time, those 87 wins ranked 11th on the all-time Cortland wins chart. On April 21, 2011, about a month and a half after the NCAA tournament, Sterling made his professional MMA debut and picked up a win over Sergio da Silva. He would build an 8-0 professional record before signing with the UFC in 2014.

Bajrang Punia defeated Zain Retherford at the Matteo Pellicone (Photo/Kadir Caliskan, United World Wrestling) The Nittany Lion Wrestling Club (NLWC) returns with its fourth event on Rokfin. The card features some very interesting individual matches, including Roman Bravo-Young against UFC contender Aljamain Sterling, Kyle Snyder returning from injury against Ty Walz and multiple-time world medalist Bajrang Punia taking on multiple-time NCAA champion Zain Retherford. The event also features a series of matches between competitors for the NLWC and the Wolfpack WC. The following is a match-by-match preview of the top matches from the event. Roman Bravo-Young vs. Aljamain Sterling This match reportedly started with a troll tweet. Sterling responded to an open challenge of sorts from Bravo-Young, and now the match is actually happening. Sterling has been a professional MMA fighter since making his debut in 2011, and he is currently one of the top contenders in the UFC's bantamweight division. He joined the promotion in 2014 and has built an 11-3 record with the company, and he is currently riding a five-fight winning streak. Like many domestic MMA fighters, Sterling comes from a wrestling background. After starting his college career at Morrisville State, he transferred to Cortland for his final three years of eligibility. While there, he was one of the top competitors at the Division III level and finished his career as a two-time All-American with a record of 87-27. Bravo-Young has started for Penn State since joining the program for the 2019 season. After finishing eighth and becoming an All-American as a true freshman, he made improvements for his second year. As a sophomore, he went 20-2 with his only two losses coming against Seth Gross and Sebastian Rivera. He appears to be a contender at 133 pounds for the upcoming season. This year Bravo-Young has picked up an 8-1 victory over Jack Mueller on the undercard of the Dake vs. Chamizo show and a quick 10-0 victory over Shelton Mack on the second NLWC show. So far this year we have seen both current MMA fighters Darrion Caldwell and Bubba Jenkins return to their roots for freestyle matches. Caldwell lost 9-2 against Luke Pletcher, while Jenkins dropped a 10-0 match against Jason Nolf. It is clearly hard to bounce between sports, and Sterling's credentials are not as impressive as Caldwell or Jenkins. Bravo-Young has clearly improved since coming to Penn State, and his dynamic offense should be enough to carry him to a quick victory here. Prediction: Bravo-Young VSU over Sterling Per Bravo-Young's Twitter, the two will follow the wrestling match with a three-minute Brazilian Jiu Jitsu match. The full ruleset has not been announced, but one would have to assume that a submission grappling match would favor Sterling. Of his 19 professional MMA victories, eight have come via submission. However, it is hard to see him scoring a submission inside three minutes. BJJ Match Prediction: Draw Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Jane Valencia vs. Xochitl Mota-Pettis In March, Valencia punched her ticket to the upcoming Olympic Games by winning the Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament at 57 kilograms. Since then she has competed in a pair of matches hosted by the NLWC where she trains. On the debut NLWC show, she picked up a somewhat surprising 6-6 criteria victory over Julia Salata. Valencia returned on the second show and dominated Vayle-Rae Baker on the way to a 13-2 match-termination victory. Mota-Pettis burst onto the scene at the 2020 Senior Nationals. In the quarterfinals, she scored an upset with a fall over world silver medalist Alli Ragan in the quarterfinals. Mota-Pettis kept that momentum going all the way to the finals where she came up short against Lauren Louive. One month later, she returned for both the U23 and Junior Nationals. Mota-Pettis picked up the tournament title in the U23 tournament and finished second in the junior division. Valencia seems to have gotten better every time she has wrestled since joining the NLWC. However, she is facing off against another competitor on an upward trajectory. Mota-Pettis is still refining her game, but she can score from any position and should be able win enough scrambles to take this match. Prediction: Mota-Pettis VPO1 over Valencia Zain Retherford vs. Bajrang Punia Retherford's year got off to a tough start as he failed to qualify the 65-kilogram weight through the Pan American Olympic Qualification tournament. However, the three-time NCAA champion has gotten back on track on NLWC shows. On the club's first show, he scored a 3-2 victory over Alec Pantaleo. Retherford returned on the third NLWC show and scored a dominant 10-0 victory over returning veteran Reece Humphrey. Bajrang is a three-time world medalist for his native India. He made the trip to the U.S. to enter FloWrestling's 150-pound 8-Man Challenge. Bajrang won the tournament with wins coming over Pat Lugo, Anthony Ashnault and James Green. He allowed his first two opponents to score only one point combined before scoring an 8-4 win over Green in the finals. Previously this year, Bajrang won the Matteo Pellicone tournament and took a silver medal at the Asian Championships. This will be a big step up in competition for Retherford. His opponents on the first two NLWC shows have been solid, but Bajrang is a true world title contender. Retherford showed in his series against Yianni Diakomihalis last year that he can get to his shots and defend against scrambling. He will certainly need that here against Bajrang. However, the world medalist simply has too many ways to score and should take this one. Prediction: Bajrang VPO1 over Retherford Kyle Snyder (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Kyle Snyder vs. Ty Walz Snyder got off to a strong start to the year with a gold-medal performance at the Pan American Championships. He defeated his four opponents by a combined 46-8 score. The three-time world/Olympic gold medalist then returned to action in September on an NLWC show. On that card, he scored a quick 12-0 victory over Michael Macchiavello. Snyder then entered the 2020 Senior Nationals. Snyder started off dominantly with three quick wins, but he then fell behind Kyven Gadson by a 5-0 score and bowed out with an injury. Walz placed seventh at the 2020 Senior Nationals with wins over Joseph Reimers, Lucas Davison and Nick Reenan. The former three-time All-American for Virginia Tech then joined the unified SERTC/NJRTC team for the inaugural RTC Cup. At the event, Walz picked up a pair of victories over Jacob Cardenas and also defeated Tim Dudley. Snyder and Walz wrestled at the 2019 Dan Kolov tournament, and Snyder dominated on the way to a 12-1 victory. It is hard to see how this match will be any different, but it should be a good gauge to see where Snyder is on his return from injury. Prediction: Snyder VSU1 over Walz Jen Page vs. Emma Bruntil Page has also been a regular on these NLWC shows. On the debut show, she scored a 14-10 victory over Desiree Zavala in what was a wild match. Page returned in November for the third NLWC show and bested Laura Mason by a 10-4 score. Outside of that, the NLWC competitor also entered the 2020 Senior Nationals where she brought home a gold medal. Page dominated her way through the bracket until the finals. There she scored a 4-3 victory over prodigy Macey Kilty. As a freshman at McKendree this past season, Bruntil won a national title at the Cliff Keen WCWC Women's National Championships. A few months prior, she won the 2019 Senior Nationals at 62 kilograms. She recently faced off against Kilty on the debut Tar Heel Wrestling Open show. Despite previously holding a victory over Kilty, Bruntil allowed her opponent to control the match. Kilty ultimately took the bout by a 3-0 score. Bruntil's best results usually come when she is able to slow down the pace of a match and edge out her opponents. That likely will not be an option here against Page. Her ability to score from all positions has only gotten better recently. Look for her to score throughout this contest on the way to a solid victory. Prediction: Page VPO over Bruntil NLWC vs. Wolfpack WC Matches Nick Lee vs. Tariq Wilson As a junior at Penn State, Lee went 20-1 with his only loss coming against Luke Pletcher at the Big Ten tournament. He likely would have been a favorite to at least make the NCAA tournament if it occurred. During the season, Lee took a break to enter the 2019 Senior Nationals where he placed third with victories over Ethan Lizak, Jaydin Eierman and Frank Molinaro. Lee wrestled on the third NLWC show and scored a dominant 10-0 victory over veteran Brandon Wright. After making a surprising run to a third-place finish at the NCAA tournament as a redshirt freshman, Wilson is still looking to return to those heights. This past year, he went 24-6 as a junior and qualified for the NCAA tournament through the ACC. Following the season, the NWCA awarded him with honorable mention All-American status. Wilson recently returned to action at the RTC Cup. At the event, he represented the SERTC/NJTRC and dropped matches against Yianni Diakomihalis and Alec Pantaleo. This could be a high-paced match with a lot of scoring. Both wrestlers are at their best when they are moving forward and getting to legs. Lee is the clear favorite, and he should be able to finish cleanly. Prediction: Lee VSU1 over Wilson Brady Berge vs. Hayden Hidlay Berge has dealt with injuries throughout his time at Penn State. In his three seasons, he only wrestled more than 10 matches once. As a redshirt freshman, he went 20-5 and qualified for the NCAA tournament. However, last year he wrestled only two matches. Prior to last season, Berge won a spot on the U23 world team. Berge also represented the U.S. at the 2018 Junior World Championships and brought home a bronze medal. Hidlay went 28-1 last year at NC State with his only loss coming against Ryan Deakin. It was his third-straight All-American season, and he will be looking for an NCAA title as a senior. At the 2020 Senior Nationals, Hidlay finished third and picked up victories over the likes of Rick Durso, David Carr and Evan Wick. He then joined the Wolfpack Wrestling Club for the RTC Cup where he split a pair of matches. He scored a victory over Jevon Balfour but dropped a match against Logan Massa. Berge has shown promise throughout his career when he is healthy. However, he will really be up against it here. Look for Hidlay to control this match from start to finish. Prediction: Hidlay VSU1 over Berge Carter Starocci vs. Daniel Bullard After a strong redshirt season last year, Starocci is expected to join the Penn State starting lineup this year. In that season, he went 19-0 and won all four of the tournaments he entered including the Southern Scuffle. On these NLWC shows, he has been matched against former collegiate All-Americans and looked great. First, Starocci pinned Devin Skatzka. He then returned to action and upset Chance Marsteller. Bullard went 24-6 for NC State last season. Following the season, the NWCA awarded him with honorable mention All-American honors. During the year, he scored signature victories over the likes of Brandon Womack, Clay Lautt, Cody Hughes and Neal Richards. Bullard is expected to start once again for NC State at 174 pounds. Starocci has run through his opposition so far, and there is little reason to expect that momentum to stop here. Look for the Penn State wrestler to get to his attacks out of the ties and dominate this match. Bullard usually does a good job of controlling pace and space in his matches, but that will be tough here. Prediction: Starocci VPO over Bullard Michael Beard vs. Nick Reenan This will be Beard's third appearance on an NLWC show. He faced off against former Clarion wrestler Greg Bulsak on the second NLWC show and scored a 10-9 come-from-behind victory. Beard then filled in as a late replacement for Bo Nickal against Nate Jackson and dropped a 7-0 match. Last year at Penn State, Beard redshirted and went 11-3. He scored impressive victories over Dakota Geer and Jordan Pagano. Reenan is a two-time NCAA qualifier for NC State, but he has been derailed by injuries. Last year he wrestled only 10 matches and finished with a 5-5 record. Despite the injuries, Reenan has had some impressive results on the freestyle side of things. In 2018 he won the 2018 World Team Trials Challenge tournament with victories over Ryan McWatters, Joe Rau and Richard Perry. He then challenged David Taylor at Final X and came up short in his bid for the world team. If he is all the way back from injuries, Reenan would be the favorite in this match. Beard has had some solid results, but this would be one of his biggest victories to date. Look for this one to get off to a slow start with Reenan pulling out some late offense and taking the win. Prediction: Reenan over Beard Greg Kerkvliet vs. Deonte Wilson After an extensive recruitment and transfer process, Kerkvliet has finally found his home at Penn State. During his redshirt year last year, he placed fifth at the U23 World Championships and third at the 2019 Senior Nationals. Kerkvliet has really shined on these NLWC shows. He has been entirely dominant as he scored 10-0 match-termination victories over both Youssif Hemida and Demetrius Thomas. Wilson qualified for the NCAA tournament in his second year as a starter. He went 19-9 for NC State last year and picked up key wins over John Borst, Andrew Gunning and Quinn Miller. Kerkvliet is the clear favorite in this match. He has dominated his competition so far this offseason, and he might be able to challenge Mason Parris and Gable Steveson for heavyweight supremacy on the collegiate level this year. Prediction: Kerkvliet VSU over Wilson

Bajrang Punia was presented with a check for $25,000 after winning Flo's 8-Man Challenge (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) AUSTIN, Texas -- Indian wrestling star Bajrang Punia is making the most of his month-long stay in the United States. The top-seeded Bajrang came through to win FloWrestling's 8-Man Challenge at 150 pounds on Friday night, beating James Green in the championship match, 8-4, in a battle of multiple-time world medalists. He earned $25,000 by winning the title. Bajrang Punia gets a front headlock on James Green in the finals (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) The 26-year-old Bajrang got on the scoreboard first against with a two-point exposure. Green responded with two consecutive takedowns to go up 4-2 before Bajrang picked up a takedown of his own to take a 4-4 criteria lead into the break. Bajrang came out strong in the second period, getting a takedown and turn to go up 8-4. Green was in deep on a shot late, but Bajrang was able to fend off the attack and earn the victory. Bajrang advanced to the finals with a 9-0 shutout over Anthony Ashnault. He led 3-0 at the break before breaking the match wide open in the second period with a four-point move. Bajrang then added a two-point exposure to win by nine. He opened his night with a 6-1 win over Pat Lugo. Bajrang scored with a two-point exposure in the opening period, before adding a takedown and turn off a gut wrench in the final period. James Green defeated Alec Pantaleo to reach the finals (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Green earned his spot in the finals with a 4-2 win over Alec Pantaleo. The two-time world medalist at 70 kilograms scored the match's only takedown in the first period and led 2-1 at the break. He scored with consecutive two step outs in the second period to extend his lead to 4-1. With a minute remaining, Pantaleo inched closer with a step out, but Green would hold on for the win. The 28-year-old Green, who recently announced his intention to move down to 65 kilograms for an Olympic run, was dominant in his opening match against Bryce Meredith, picking up a first-period technical superiority, 10-0. After Green built a quick 6-0 lead, he fired off a double leg and scored four points to finish the match. Alec Pantaleo defeated Anthony Ashnault to finish third (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Pantaleo bounced back from his semifinal loss to finish third, beating Ashnault 8-1. The former Michigan three-time All-American picked up two takedowns in the first period to lead 4-0 at the break. He added a third takedown with just over a minute remaining before turning Ashnault with a gut wrench. Earlier in the day, Pantaleo won a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle on criteria over Jordan Oliver in the quarterfinals. After Oliver scored off the activity clock, Pantaleo picked up a step out to take a criteria lead. Oliver grabbed a 2-1 lead in the second period after scoring again on the activity clock. Pantaleo retook the lead with a takedown before Oliver responded with a takedown off an ankle pick. With 11 seconds left, Pantaleo drove Oliver out for a step out to take the criteria lead. He then fought off Oliver's attacks to earn the victory. Ashnault edged Evan Henderson 6-6 on criteria in the quarterfinals. The 2019 NCAA champion and four-time All-American for Rutgers scored first with a step out before getting a takedown to lead 3-0 at the break. Henderson battled back in the second period, but ultimately came up just short, as Ashnault scored the final point. There were two women's wrestling matches on the card, which took place after the 8-Man Challenge quarterfinals and semifinals. Tiare Ikei throws Amy Fearnside before securing the fall (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Tiare Ikei, a 2019 U.S. Open champion and 2018 cadet world medalist, used a big throw to earn a second-period fall over Amy Fearnside. The 19-year-old Hawaiian led 1-0 at the break. In the second period, Ikei capitalized on Fearnside's aggressiveness, hitting a lateral drop before securing the fall. Jacarra Winchester cruised to a 10-0 technical superiority over Lauren Louive (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) World champion Jacarra Winchester cruised to a first-period 10-0 technical superiority over Lauren Louive in the second women's wrestling match. Winchester picked up four takedowns, with the final one coming in the last second of the opening period, which ended the match. FloWrestling's next event is set for Jan. 9, which will be headlined by Jordan Burroughs vs. David Taylor in a battle of world champions. Women's wrestling results Tiare Ikei df. Amy Fearnside, VFA 3:36 Jacarra Winchester df. Lauren Louive, VSU 10-0 8-Man Challenge results Quarterfinals: Bajrang Punia df. Pat Lugo, VPO1 6-1 Anthony Ashnault df. Evan Henderson, VPO1 6-6 Alec Pantaleo df. Jordan Oliver, VPO1 4-4 James Green df. Bryce Meredith, VSU, 10-0 Semifinals: Bajrang Punia df. Anthony Ashnault, VPO 9-0 James Green df. Alec Pantaleo, VPO1 4-2 Third place: Alec Pantaleo df. Anthony Ashnault, VPO1 8-1 Championship: Bajrang Punia df. James Green, VPO1 8-4

Abdulrashid Sadulaev after winning a gold medal at the 2019 World Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The Individual World Cup wraps up today in Belgrade with the freestyle finals, including 97 kilograms where Abdulrashid Sadulaev looks to continue his three-year winning streak. No wrestler has continued to capture the imagination of the international wrestling community more than Sadulaev. From that first steam rolling of the competition at the 2013 Cadet World Championships, to the first senior world title in 2014, and even the 2017 loss to Kyle Snyder, there is no wrestler in the world that is more admired, pursued, discussed, respected, emulated, and sought after than the Russian captain. Americans want to see Sadulaev beaten. Maybe by J'den Cox, maybe Kyle Snyder, but the aim of fans is to have the Stars and Stripes upend arguably the best wrestler of the past ten years. That type of singular focus by the United States media and fans on an exalted athlete is what could make the 2021 Tokyo Games the most watched wrestling event in history. Those lofty expectations come with an assumption that the United States puts its 97-kilogram representative into the Olympic finals against Sadualev. But should it happen the broader international media won't hesitate to make the matchup a marquee event for that day of the Olympic Games. We've seen this before. When Rulon faced Karelin at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney the media was in attendance. The IOC president was even in the audience. The match wasn't meant to be a Miracle on Ice Olympic redux; rather a coronation of Alexander Karelin, who over 13 years had gone unscathed on the mats, as the greatest wrestler who ever lived. That moment was vanquished by an antiquated rule set and a rotund midwestern belly, but gave rise to the now most-fabled moment in wrestling's long history. For the wrestling purist the Karelin loss didn't sit well. The Soviet-then-Russian wrestler was beyond anything we'd seen before: strong, intelligent, and fierce. His posters were in the workout rooms of Americans and his Sports Illustrated articles read over-and-over again. I know of one wrestler who'd named his mother's dog "Karelin." That mismatch and outcome won't be what is drawing eyes to a potential USA vs. Sadulaev matchup. The draw is the intrigue that the sport has built around these characters and how their story has developed in front of our eyes like no other story in wrestling history. Just think, every match Sadulaev has wrestled is on video, as is every match from Snyder and Cox. There are no dark spots or unknown results. The clarity of their story and the detail in which it can be told can be molded for a variety of audiences, bringing in those quadrennial crowds that make our sport one of the most discussed at each Games. The ecosystem created around wrestling has worked to create stars and provide easy access points to fans around the world. When I started working with then-FILA in 2013 we had 5,000 Facebook fans, no streaming, and zero impact on the sports landscape. This week, IOC president Thomas Bach said United World Wrestling was the seventh-best international federation in sports. The media probably plays a small role in that, but I think it's important. The ranking by the IOC shows that we will be part of the Olympic program for as long as we'd like to continue to tell stories, innovate, provide equal opportunities and develop the sport in new regions. So, when you're watching Sadulaev in today's finals think about all of that. How far we've come, where we can go, and the feeling you'll be experiencing when next summer an American beats "The Tank" on the biggest sporting stage in the world with tens of millions of eyeballs ooh'ing and aww'ing the whole time. To your questions … Q: 57 kilograms in the United States seems pretty balanced. Seth Gross defeated Thomas Gilman Wednesday night. Vito looked great at the RTC Cup. Spencer Lee and Daton Fix are there and possibly Joe Colon. If you had to predict now, who will wrestle for the Olympic spot? -- Mike C. Foley: I agree. The depth, especially when you focus on their battles with each other, makes 57 kilograms one of the most intriguing weights in the United States. Let me throw a little cold water on the discussion of the weight. Unless the United States representative does something at the Ranking Series event in Poland, or another international event prior, whomever is sent won't be a heavy favorite to medal. There are a lot of talented 57-kilogram wrestlers in the world right now, with Zaur Uguev head-and-shoulders above them all. While I think that Daton, Spencer, and to a lesser extent Vito, could make waves at the Olympics they are far from being an outright medal contender. Again, that's unless the representative who emerges also scores some significant international wins before July. I feel like I have a bias, but for my money Spencer Lee is the most likely to win the spot, represent the United States, and medal at the Olympic Games. He's a generational talent and though he's been off the mats for a bit he's well-equipped to win the weight here at home. Only caveat to that is the growth of Vito as evidenced by his outstanding wins at the RTC Cup. Should he keep up the progression, and the seeding separates them, I'd expect a final between Vito and Spencer. Q: What do you make of the match at the NLWC event between RBY and UFC fighter Aljamain Sterling? Six minutes of wrestling and three minutes of BJJ. With Sterling having a big following, it seems like a good way to bring more attention to wrestling. -- Mike C. Foley: The mixed-style events are always an interest to fans, but like watching a pit bull fight a puma there is something that always feels icky about the scene. The matchup -- unless there is something I'm not aware of -- pits RBY (who doesn't know any jiu-jitsu) against Sterling (who is a black belt) for three minutes. Are there rule considerations? No heel hooks or chokes? No submissions at all? While Sterling isn't a top-flight jiu-jitsu competitor he is a fantastic fighter and the black belt would indicate a higher-than-average competency on the mat. Sterling should have little issue finding a submission. In the wrestling portion, I'm sure it'll be a nice RBY victory not unlike we saw when Caldwell stepped on the mat against Luke Pletcher. There might be flashes, but otherwise it shouldn't be a tightly competed match. As for attention … sure. Sterling is a big name, but I think wrestling has progressed past the point of always needing sideshow events to draw in new fans. We do perfectly fine building on our core audience and retaining them with solid production values and quality, meaningful matchups. Chasing the outliers gives us a false sense that their money and attention is more valuable than our own, and that's not the case. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME He's not easy on the eyes, but Eric Olanowski is crushing these recaps Uguev is no joke Destribas won … Q: What do you think of Russia's doping ban being reduced from four years to two years? What does this mean for international wrestling? -- Mike C. Foley: There is far too much political entanglement to the story of Russia, doping, and the Olympic Games for me to give you an answer that would be somehow more enlightening than what was already put online by CAS and investigators. In short, they seemed to have cheated but have made changes to their anti-doping programs and a two Olympic Games ban was deemed bad enough. After reviewing the case, CAS halved the number of years. There isn't much impact on international wrestling outside of not having to hear the Russian anthem after each gold medal. Truthfully, I think that stings for the athletes who feel national pride in what they have achieved. The wrestlers will still compete, but with no national representation it must be under a neutral flag. The only decision to be determined is whether or not the 2022 World Championships will still be held in Krasnoyarsk. I don't think that has been sorted since it was awarded prior to the announcement of the investigations. Watch the UWW homepage for announcements when its made clear by the IOC what needs to occur. Q: Were you surprised Yoel Romero was cut by the UFC? Bellator picked him up. -- Mike C. Foley: No. The UFC goes through a mass culling four-times a year and Yoel, while explosive and fun to watch, is long in the tooth and wasn't lining up for another championship run. Bellator's lineup is exciting and he'll have plenty of opportunity for good money matchups and a place for him to showcase his full talent. I'd always had the impression that Yoel was given the opportunities but wasn't able to fully match the moment. Maybe in Bellator he'll have less pressure and find big victories that eluded him in the Octagon. Love Yoel and hope to see him fight many more times.

Jordan Oliver gets in on a shot on Bajrang Punia at the Matteo Pelicone in Rome (Photo/Kadir Caliskan, United World Wrestling) FloWrestling will host its second 8-Man Challenge on Friday. This time, it will be for competitors 150 pounds and under. The field features multiple world medalists as well as some of the top domestic wrestlers. The following is a match-by-match preview of the opening round and projection for the following rounds of the tournament. Bajrang Punia vs. Pat Lugo Bajrang is a three-time world medalist who represents his native India in international competition. In the most recent World Championships, he brought home a bronze medal in the 65-kilogram division. Bajrang defeated Krzystzof Bienkowski, David Habat and Son Jong-choi before falling in the semifinals to eventual silver medalist Daulet Niyazbekov from Kazakhstan. Over the years, Bajrang has faced off against multiple American wrestlers and holds wins over the likes of Zain Ratherford, Joey McKenna and Jordan Oliver. Regardless of how this tournament plays out, Bajrang already has his next date booked. He will face off against Zain Retherford on the Dec. 22 NLWC show. Lugo was certainly a contender for the NCAA title at 149 pounds last year before the cancellation of the NCAA tournament. He had a 21-1 record on the season and won the Big Ten title. In the finals of that tournament, he avenged his only loss of the season against Sammy Sasso. During the year, he also knocked off the likes of Brayton Lee, Jarrett Degen and Austin O'Connor. Since the end of the folkstyle season, Lugo has picked up a pair of high profile domestic freestyle victories. First he defeated Luke Pletcher with a one-sided 5-0 victory. Lugo then returned on the debut HWC Showdown Open show and defeated Matt Kolodzik via a 7-2 score. Bajrang really excels at turning an opponent's leg attacks into points. Even if Lugo is able to clear hands and get to his leg attacks, he may struggle if he gets caught up in scrambles. Look for this one to start out at a slow pace before Bajrang starts winning exchanges and taking the bout. Prediction: Bajrang VPO1 over Lugo Evan Henderson vs. Anthony Ashnault Henderson has had a very strong 2020 season so far. Back in January, he brought home a bronze medal from the Henri Deglane tournament in France. Henderson then returned to action for the 2020 Senior Nationals and made a somewhat surprising run to the finals. Along the way, he scored victories over Dayne Morton, Doug Zapf, Ian Parker, Rob Mathers and Jaydin Eierman before ultimately coming up short against Andrew Alirez in the finals. The two-time All-American at North Carolina then took an 8-3 victory over Anthony Echemendia on the undercard of the Jordan Burroughs vs. Zahid Valencia card. Ashnault bounced back from an injury suffered at the 2019 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament this year. He entered the Pan American Championships back in March and won the tournament. In his four matches, Ashnault scored three falls and a 12-2 technical superiority. He was set to return to action this summer, but he pulled out of a match with another injury. The former NCAA champion for Rutgers is reportedly healed and ready to go for this tournament. This should be an interesting contrast of styles. If Ashnault is able to create distance and score takedowns from the outside, he should be able to take this one. However, Henderson does well when he is able to get to the ties and muck up the bout. If he can get his hands on Ashnault, he should be able to make it his match and take it. Prediction: Ashnault VPO1 over Henderson Jordan Oliver vs. Alec Pantaleo After an eventful 2019, Oliver has only wrestled in a few events this year. He began 2020 with a silver medal performance at the Matteo Pellicone. At the event, Oliver outscored his first three events by a combined 21-0 score before running into Bajrang in the finals. Oliver's only other action came at the Rumble on the Rooftop card where he dropped a lackluster match against Jason Nolf. During the 2019 year, the former NCAA champion won medals at the Dan Kolov0Nikola Petrov tournament, Bill Farrell Memorial and Senior Nationals. In his first full post-college year, Pantaleo has been active on the domestic freestyle circuit. The three-time All-American for Michigan faced off against Zain Retherford on the debut NLWC show back in September. It was a close match, but the former Penn State wrestler took a 3-2 decision. Pantaleo returned earlier this month for the RTC Cup. He won all four of his matches at the event as he bested Kevin Jack, Brayton Lee, Tariq Wilson and Matthew Kolodzik, and his team, the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club, won the event. Pantaleo's frame and style makes him very hard to score against in freestyle. He holds stance very well, and wrestlers have trouble getting under him. With that being said, Oliver mixes up his leg attacks well and scores against even the best at this weight. This one might be close, but in the end Oliver will be the aggressor. That should be enough to escape with a victory. Prediction: Oliver VPO1 over Pantaleo Bryce Meredith vs. James Green Meredith finished his collegiate wrestling career in 2018 as a three-time All-American and two-time finalist, but that has not stopped him from challenging some top college wrestlers this year. He began the year with a match against incoming Penn State freshman Beau Barlett on the second NLWC show. Meredith took the match 8-6. The former Wyoming wrestler then returned at the HWC Showdown Open show and defeated Iowa All-American Austin DeSanto via an 11-3 score. Meredith then took a step up in competition and dropped a bout back-and-forth bout against Seth Gross on the debut WRTC Underground show. Green also challenged a top current college star as he faced off against Alex Marinelli on the HWC show. While the bout was close at time, Green exploded for a four-point move and took the bout 5-4. The two-time world medalist then joined the combined NJRTC/SERTC team for the RTC Cup. Green went 2-2 at the event with wins over Brayton Lee and Anthony Echemendia as well as a pair of losses against Yianni Diakomihalis. Meredith is adapting his scrambling folkstyle tactics to freestyle. At times this helps him score points during odd exchanges. However, it might get him into trouble against Green. The veteran has the experience on the freestyle circuit and has shown he can finish his takedowns while avoiding scrambles. Look for Green to be in the driver's seat throughout this match. Prediction: Green VSU over Meredith Projected Semifinals Bajrang Punia vs. Evan Henderson This should be an interesting semifinal. Unfortunately for Henderson, his best path to victory seems to play into Bajrang's game. If Henderson is able to muck it up and create scramble situations, he may end up giving up a fair share of points to Bajrang. This one could be closer than most expect, but Bajrang should be able to take it. Prediction: Bajrang VPO1 over Henderson Jordan Oliver vs. James Green Considering Green is moving down to 65 kilograms for the Trials, this could be a preview of a key match on the path to the Olympic team. With that being said, Green has never really looked like himself cutting this far down in weight. Even at the RTC Cup, which had an allowance, he did not appear to be in peak form. Green's saving grace here is that Oliver does not always push the pace. However, he could control the pace and turn this into a one-move match. Prediction: Oliver VPO1 over Green Projected Finals Bajrang Punia vs. Jordan Oliver These two have met previously with their most recent encounter coming at the Matteo Pellicone. In that bout, Oliver was able to score the first points and close the gap. Unfortunately for him, Bajrang kept coming with his attacks. He ended up scoring on a counter off an Oliver shot and held on to win. Oliver will need to keep attacking for six minutes to win this one, and it will hard to keep that pace against someone as active as Bajrang. Prediction: Bajrang VPO1 over Oliver

Seth Gross edged Thomas Gilman in the main event of WRTC Underground 2 (Photo/Stacy Schiesl Photography) Another exciting of wrestling, featuring top senior-level and college athletes, produced an entertaining night of competition. Wisconsin RTC Underground 2 was held on Wednesday and was broadcast live on Rokfin. A full card of competition was contested, with competition for both men and women. An undercard of youth bouts was followed by the main card. The main event featured a battle between world silver medalist Thomas Gilman and NCAA champion Seth Gross. The match ended up deadlocked 4-4 with Gross prevailing on criteria. That was among many hard-fought, competitive matches on a fun night of wrestling. Here is a recap of Wednesday night's event: 182: Graham Calhoun dec. Tanner Mendoza, 12-10 Calhoun charged out aggressively in a battle of top young wrestlers. Mendoza fought back before Calhoun took charge with a series of turns to lead 11-4 after a wild first period. Mendoza rattled off six straight points to close within 11-10, but Calhoun added a late point to win 12-10. It was an action-packed opening match between two guys who pushed the pace. It was a great way to open the evening. 150: Dresden Simon tech. Aiden Medora, 12-1 Medora powered in for the opening takedown to lead 2-0 in the first minute. Simon turned Medora to his back and then scored on a succession of turns to finish a quick 12-1 tech. That was an impressive showing by Simon in a dominating performance. Katelynn Gunderson tech. Mateah Roehl, 15-4 Roehl came out with a pair of quick attacks to take a 4-0 lead. Gunderson came right back, hitting a four-point move to lead 5-4. Gunderson executed a four-point throw just before time ran out to lead 11-4 after one period. Gunderson shot in for a takedown and followed with a leg lace to win 15-4. It was a strong showing by Gunderson after she fell behind early in the bout. 150: Joey Bianchi dec. Joe Zargo, 12-4 Biachi and Zargo let it fly and battled in a high-scoring match. Bianchi went up 9-4 early in the second period with an aggressive attack. Bianchi added a pushout to lead 10-4 with a minute to go. Bianchi looked impressive with his re-shots. He added a late takedown on a counter in the final seconds to prevail 12-4. That was an entertaining match to watch. 197: Chris Weiler pinned Kobe Woods This was an interesting match to watch between a pair of veteran college wrestlers. Weiler, who transferred from Lehigh to Wisconsin, battled a Wartburg College standout in Woods. Weiler struck first with an early pushout on a counter. Woods turned Weiler to his back briefly before Weiler came right back to lead 4-2. Weiler then locked up a cradle to record the fall midway through the first period. Weiler looked strong against a quality opponent. 135: Paul Bianchi dec. Kyle Burwick, 10-5 Bianchi struck first, scoring an early takedown. Bianchi is an impressive looking young wrestler. He finished a takedown off a single-leg shot late in the first period to lead 6-1. Burwick fired in strong right off the whistle to start the second period. He scored a takedown and turn to draw within 6-5. These matches continue to be excellent with plenty of action. Bianchi responded with a takedown to lead 8-4 with just over two minutes left. Bianchi continued to attack, converting a single into a takedown to lead 10-5 with a minute to go. Great showing by Bianchi. He's a tough wrestler. The Bianchi brothers went 2-0 on Wednesday. 130: Drew Hildebrandt dec. Eric Barnett, 10-4 This was another bout that fans were looking forward to with a pair of top-level lightweights. Hildebrandt has excelled at Central Michigan and he struck early for a takedown. Hildebrandt followed with another blast double to lead 4-0 at the break. Hildebrandt spun behind with a slick maneuver to lead 6-0 with two minutes left. Barnett came right back to score a takedown and turn near the edge to move within 6-4 with 1:25 left. This is another awesome bout to watch. The explosive Hildebrandt powered back with a leg attack to lead 8-4 with a minute left. Hildebrandt looked very sharp in earning a 10-4 victory over a tough foe. 145: Kylie Welker tech. Amor Tuttle, 10-0 Welker powered out to quick 4-0 lead with a takedown and turn against a strong young opponent in Tuttle. Welker is an excellent prospect and it showed. Welker spun behind for a takedown to lead 6-0. She followed with a gut-wrench and then another to earn a quick 10-0 win. It's going to be interesting to see how Welker fares moving forward. She's a gifted young wrestler. 132: Ronna Heaton dec. Koral Sugiyama, 10-7 This was another matchup that fans were interested in seeing. Heaton, a Cadet world champion, was headlocked early and trailed 4-0 against Sugiyama. Heaton came back with a single-leg attack and finish to draw within 5-3. Heaton followed with another textbook single and finish to even the match 5-5 after one period. Heaton took her first lead on a pushout early in the second period. She continued to attack, scoring a takedown to lead 8-5. This was another match where the athletes didn't hold back. Sugiyama came back with a pushout to draw within 8-6 with 30 seconds left. Heaton won a late scramble to earn a takedown for a 10-7 victory. That was a heck of a match between two good wrestlers. 173: Evan Wick tech. Kennedy Monday, 16-5 Monday fired in on a quick single to lead 1-0 on a stepout. Monday followed with a leg attack and takedown to take a 3-0 lead over Wick, a three-time All-American for Wisconsin. Down 5-0, Wick countered with a leg attack and turn to climb within a point of Monday. Wick continued the momentum, scoring a pair of takedowns to lead 8-5 early in the second period. Wick kept pouring it on, finishing with a turn to win 16-5. He scored 16 unanswered points after falling behind early. Wick continues to make improvements and looked superb against Monday. 114: Erin Golston dec. Maria Vidales, 7-1 Golston, a veteran on the Senior level, shot in to score a quick takedown. She followed by winning a scramble to earn a second TD and lead 4-0. Vidales stayed in the match and was within 4-1 early in the second period. Golston came back to take a 5-1 lead midway through the period before adding a late takedown to win 7-1. Golston prevailed over a worthy opponent in women's freestyle. Seth Gross defends a shot from Thomas Gilman (Photo/Stacy Schiesl Photography) 132: Seth Gross dec. Thomas Gilman, 4-4 The featured match promised to be a great battle between two outstanding wrestlers. Gilman opened the scoring with a single and stepout to lead 1-0. Gilman was the aggressor and was in on a handful of shots, but only led 1-0 at the break. Gross countered a shot for a takedown to lead 2-1 with just over two minutes left. Gross countered a shot with a turn for exposure to lead 4-2. Gilman fired back with a single and stepout to draw within 4-3 with 1:09 left. Gilman tied it 4-4 on a pushout with 30 seconds left. Gross held criteria at this point. Gilman may have had a pushout with 12 seconds left, but it was not awarded and Gross prevailed 4-4 on criteria. The match was at 132 pounds, nearly seven pounds above the international weight class of 57 kilograms they would meet at in the Olympic Trials. It will be interesting to see what happens if they meet again in the spring. Final word I've watched a number of these events and this may have been the best that I have seen in terms of action. The wrestlers really got after it in every match and it was an enjoyable night of wrestling. Kudos to everyone involved who put this on. Great job by veteran Joe Miller on the broadcast. He did a great job keeping us informed and he is someone who is very knowledgeable about the sport. Following the event, Wisconsin head wrestling coach Chris Bono tweeted that WRTC Underground 3 will take place Jan. 20. Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games, written 10 books and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year.

Thomas Gilman wrestling at the Pan American Olympic Qualifier (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The Wisconsin RTC is back with their second event on Rokfin. WRTC Underground 2 features a main event between NCAA champion Seth Gross and world silver medalist Thomas Gilman. The rest of the card features some interesting tests for the members of the WRTC as well as the Wisconsin team. The following is a match-by-match preview of the show, which takes place Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. Graham Calhoun vs. Tanner Mendoza Calhoun signed with Wisconsin back in November 2019, and it appears as if he could be taking a gap year and spending this year with the Badger RTC since he does not appear on the official roster. At the high school level, he was a two-time state placer in Indiana and finished his career with a 133-9 record. Calhoun recently competed at Junior Nationals at 79 kilograms where he dropped a pair of matches against Jaden Bullock and Gage Hockett. Mendoza will be a true freshman for Arkansas Little Rock this upcoming season. The former high school student at Valiant College Prep was an Arizona state champion and won NHSCA nationals as a junior. Like Calhoun, Mendoza also wrestled at 79 kilograms in the recent Junior Nationals. He went 3-2 on the day with all three of his victories coming by way of match termination. His run through the consolation bracket came to an end with a one-point loss against Penn starter Neil Antrassian. Based on their finishes alone at Junior Nationals, Mendoza should be the favorite in this match. He showed an interesting mix of clean takedowns and freestyle-specific scoring techniques in the tournament, and that should be enough to take the victory here. Prediction: Mendoza VPO1 over Calhoun Dresden Simon vs. Aidan Medora Simon has one year of eligibility remaining at Central Michigan. This past season, he went 29-8 and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time. During the year, Simon picked up victories over the likes of Kyle Shoop (Lehigh), Michael Blockus (Northern Iowa), Carter Happel (Iowa) and Grant Leeth (Missouri). He culminated the season with a title at the MAC tournament. After the season, the NWCA awarded Simon with second-team All-American honors. Medora is a new addition to the Wisconsin program. He was a two-time state champion in Wisconsin who finished his high school career with a 105-4 record. Medora finished second at Fargo in 2017 at the cadet level. He recently competed at the Junior Nationals and went 3-2 with victories over Danny Fongaro, Austin Keal and Cade Schmitz. This will likely be a tough test for Wisconsin's true freshman. Simon clearly took a step forward this past season, and his All-American finish reflects that progress. He does a good job of holding his stances and moved even the toughest wrestlers he faced in the ties. That will likely be too much for the young wrestler to contend with. Prediction: Simon VPO1 over Medora Mateah Roehl vs. Katelynn Gunderson Roehl will be the freshman at North Central this upcoming season. The Wisconsin native wrestled on the high school level at Johnson Creek. In 2017, she entered Folkstyle Nationals and pulled out a sixth-place finish after coming up short against Lizette Rodriguez in the fifth-place match. Last year, she wrestled at Fargo in the 122-pound division. She went 3-2 with two match-termination wins but failed to place. Gunderson wrestles collegiately for Lakeland. She sat out her first season on campus with an injury but returned to the starting lineup last year. Gunderson finished fourth at the North Central College Open, which was her best finish of the year. She represented the Muskies at the 2020 WCWA Nationals, but she went 2-2 and failed to place. This is a match that could easily be a preview for the upcoming season. Gunderson has the experience on the college level, and that might end up being the difference in this contest. Prediction: Gunderson VPO1 over Roehl Pete Christensen vs. Jake Rau Christensen is expected to step into a starting role for Wisconsin at 197 pounds this year. Last season, he went 8-9 as a true freshman and started in three duals. He returned to freestyle for the first time since 2018 on the debut WRTC Underground show. For the event, he moved up to heavyweight on late notice to wrestle Danny Chaid. Christensen scored some early points, but Chaid took over and finished the bout 14-4. Rau is a two-time Wisconsin state champion who will begin his collegiate career at Itasca Community College. During his senior year at 220 pounds, he went 38-2 and finished his career with 139 total victories. Look for Christensen to be the favorite in this match after filling as the underdog in his last match. Rau might have a bit of a size advantage against the 197 pounder, but Christensen's experience on the college level should widen the gap in this one. Prediction: Christensen VPO1 over Rau Joe Zargo vs. Joey Bianchi Like Calhoun, Zargo might be using this season as a sort of gap year since he signed with Wisconsin but is not listed on their roster. He signed with Wisconsin as a highly ranked recruit out of Bergen Catholic. Before the first WRTC Underground show, he went 4-2 at Junior Nationals. On the show, he scored a quick 10-0 victory over NC State's Hunter Lewis. Bianchi joined his older brother at Arkansas Little Rock this past season. He redshirted and went 4-5 on the year, and he was the runner-up at the season opening Oklahoma City Open. On the high school level, Bianchi finished fourth at Fargo in Greco back in 2018. He recently entered the 2020 Junior Nationals in freestyle and went 3-2. These two actually met at Junior Nationals. In that match, Bianchi managed to make it to the second period. However, Zargo was dominant throughout and took it via a 13-2 score. Look for Zargo to be just as dominant in this second meeting. Prediction: Zargo VSU over Bianchi Chris Weiler vs. Kobe Woods Weiler was a two-time NCAA qualifier for Lehigh. Following this past season, the NWCA awarded him with third-team All-American honors. Over the offseason, he transferred to Wisconsin for his final year. The 184-pounder went 17-7 last season with key wins over Cade Belshay (Arizona State), Tanner Harvey (American) and Louie DePrez (Binghamton). He is expected to hold down the 184-pound spot for the Badgers this year. Woods spent his first two years of college wrestling at Purdue before transferring to Wartburg before the 2018-2019 season. This past year Woods went 18-7 as the 197-pound starter for the Division III powerhouse. He has one season of college eligibility remaining. At the high school level, Woods was an Indiana state champion and made the finals of the 2015 Cadet World Team Trials. He recently entered U23 Nationals and wrestled his way to a fourth-place finish. Despite the fact that Woods has always seemed to have better results in freestyle, Weiler should be the favorite in this match. Woods went 0-2 against Division I competition last season, and Weiler appeared to be competitive against some of the top wrestlers at his weight. Prediction: Weiler VPO1 over Woods Kyle Burwick vs. Paul Bianchi Burwick redshirted last season for Wisconsin. He went 16-6 on the year and picked up key wins over Minnesota's Boo Dryden and Rutgers' Malcolm Robinson. On the high school level, Burwick finished his career as the top-ranked wrestler at 126 pounds with a 293-18 record. The North Dakota native was also a five-time state champion. Burwick recently competed at Junior Nationals. He made the quarterfinals before dropping an 8-8 match on criteria against No. 3-ranked high school junior Jesse Mendez. After three seasons at North Dakota State, Bianchi joined Little Rock for their first season on the mats. Last year, he went 13-7 in his first year up at 133 pounds and picked up key victories over Dryden and Jamie Hernandez (North Carolina). Bianchi ended his season with a second-place finish at the Pac-12 tournament. This should be an interesting match between a former North Dakota prep and a former North Dakota State competitor. Burwick is expected to enter the starting lineup for Wisconsin this year, and this match could say a lot about his prospects going forward. He had some strong performances during his redshirt season, but he will be facing wrestlers on Bianchi's level on the regular as a starter in the Big Ten. Look for Burwick to pull out the victory here, but the veteran will not make it easy on him. Prediction: Burwick VPO1 over Bianchi Eric Barnett vs. Drew Hildebrandt Barnett started as a true freshman this past season for Wisconsin. He finished with a 21-11 record highlighted by wins over Alex Thomsen (Nebraska), Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) and Christian Moody (Oklahoma). As a prep, Barnett finished with a 185-3 record and was a Fargo champion. This past season Hildebrandt qualified for the NCAA tournament for the second time. He finished the year 31-3 and won the MAC tournament. After the Midlands Tournament, he did not lose another match and finished the year on a 12-match winning streak including wins over Logan Heil (Cleveland State), Cameron Valdiviez (Missouri) and Killian Cardinale (Old Dominion). Following the year, the NCWA awarded Hildebrandt with first-team All-American honors. The two met this past season at the Midlands. In that meeting, Hildebrandt won a solid 9-4 victory. Barnett scored the first takedown of the match, but the Central Michigan representative really took over after that. Despite that result, expect this confrontation to be closer. Hildebrandt does a lot of his best work from the top position. He still scored from neutral in their first meeting, but a takedown contest will be a tighter affair. Prediction: Hildebrandt VPO1 over Barnett Kylie Welker vs. Amor Tuttle Welker had quite the year in 2019. She won the Cadet Women's Nationals in May to earn a spot on the world team. She then brought home a bronze medal from the Cadet World Championships with a 59-second fall over Uzbekistan's Laylokhon Sobirova in the bronze-medal match. Welker moved up the junior level this year and finished second at Junior Nationals last month. She defeated her first three opponents by a combined 32-0 before running into multiple-time world medalist Macey Kilty in the finals. Tuttle is a two-time Fargo placer. In 2019, she finished fifth after defeating Sydney Harper in the fifth-place match. The Minnesota native entered both U23 and Junior Nationals last month. Somewhat surprisingly, she won a bronze medal in the U23 bracket despite an eighth-place finish on the junior level. In the U23 tournament, Tuttle picked up victories over Brianna Csontos and Skie Rice. Despite Tutte's finish at U23 Nationals, Welker remains a strong favorite in this match. She has proven herself to be one of the top high school wrestlers in the country, and she will get the opportunity to show it in this bout. Prediction: Welker VSU over Tuttle Ronna Heaton vs. Koral Sugiyama Heaton comes into this match with a lot of momentum. She finished second at the 2020 Senior Nationals after coming up short against Katherine Shai. Heaton then entered the U23 Nationals and ran the table on the way to the tournament title. Along the way, she defeated Anja Tschohi, Tiare Ikei and Cheyenne Sisenstein. Heaton is also a two-time cadet world medalist after winning gold in 2015 and silver in 2016. Sugiyama finished her collegiate career at Campbellsville in 2019 with a second-place finish at the NAIA tournament. She followed that up by finishing fourth at the 2019 U23 Nationals. Sugiyama returned this year for U23 Nationals and made the finals before coming up short against Desiree Zavala. In the semifinals, she picked up a very impressive 16-6 tech over Gracie Figueroa. Heaton is still looking for senior level international success to match her accomplishments at the age level, but she appears to have made strides recently. Weight may play a factor in this bout since Sugiyama was up at 59 kilograms for U23s, while Heaton was all the way down at 53 kilograms. With that being said, Heaton should be able to make a difference with her turning ability and take this match. Prediction: Heaton VPO1 over Sugiyama Evan Wick vs. Kennedy Monday Wick comes into this event after having some mixed results at the RTC Cup. He represented the Gopher WC at the event and went 1-2. He defeated NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis but dropped a pair of matches against Logan Massa and Tommy Gantt. Prior to the RTC Cup, Wick had a very strong performance at U23 Nationals. The former Wisconsin All-American won the tournament with victories over Jacori Teemer and Danny Braunagel. Monday's last action was a shootout match against former Duke wrestler Mitch Finesilver. The two faced off on the first Tar Heel Wrestling Club event on Dec. 4. Both wrestlers put major points on the board, but Finesilver took the 13-11 victory. The North Carolina wrestler went 20-8 this past season. The two-time NCAA qualifier will have one more shot at All-American status this upcoming year. Monday does his best work when he is able to create distance and shoot from the outside. Unfortunately for him, Wick is extremely long and does a good job getting his hands on people. On top of that, Wick should be able to reliably score if he is able to get on top in this bout. Prediction: Wick VPO1 over Monday Maria Vidales vs. Erin Golston Vidales is a senior for Emmanuel. Last year she took an Olympic redshirt, and is expected to return to the lineup this season. Vidales is a two-time WCWA All-American after finishing third as a freshman and second as a sophomore. At the recent U23 Nationals, she finished third in the 50-kilogram division with wins over Valerie Acosta, Sydney McGhee, Jaclyn McNichols, Ashley Gooman and Aleeah Gould. Golston had been scheduled for a faceoff with Sarah Hildebrandt on the HWC Showdown Open. However, Hildebrandt pulled out at the last minute. Golston went on to pick up a quick 10-0 victory over Devyn Gomez on the show. The veteran is a three-time junior world medalist. She moved up the senior level after winning a junior world silver in 2013. During the 2019 season, she scored silver medals at the Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov tournament, the Pan American Championships and the Bill Farrell Memorial International. Over the past year, Golston has not been particularly active, but she has been a regular on the senior level for some time now. Look for Vidales to maybe give her some trouble early, but Golston should be able to control this match from start to finish. Prediction: Golston VPO1 over Vidales Seth Gross vs. Thomas Gilman Gross went 3-1 at the RTC Cup. He scored dominant victories over Darian Cruz, Zach Sanders and Jakob Camacho before running into Nahshon Garrett in the finals. The match was close early, but Garrett was able to score a four-point takedown to seal the 12-4 victory. Following his final college season where he went 27-2 and picked up another All-American season, Gross returned to freestyle at Beat The Streets. He engaged in a back-and-forth battle against Joe Colon and ultimately dropped a 21-15 match. Gross got back on the winning track with a 10-7 victory over former collegiate rival Bryce Meredith. Gilman recently moved from the Hawkeye Wrestling Club to the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Since the move, the former Iowa All-American and world silver medalist has wrestled on a pair of NLWC shows. On the debut show, he scored a 14-4 match termination victory over Cruz. Gilman then returned on the third show from the club and scored a fall over Frank Perrelli. This should be an interesting clash of styles. Gross certainly has the wider variety of ways to score, but he will also find himself at a disadvantage in a takedown battle. If Gross can introduce a level of scrambling into the match, he certainly has a chance. However, it is more likely that Gilman will slow the action down and try to win by controlling the ties. It should be a good barometer for where both wrestlers are with the Olympic Team Trials at 57 kilograms on the horizon. Prediction: Gilman VPO1 over Gross

Evan Wick will face Kennedy Monday at Wisconsin RTC Underground 2 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The match order has been set for WRTC Underground 2, which will take place Wednesday, Dec. 16, in Wisconsin. It will be broadcast live on Rokfin. The undercard matches are slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. CT, with the main card set for 7 p.m. CT. The event is headlined by Seth Gross vs. Thomas Gilman. Below is the match order: Undercard (6:30 p.m. CT) Hunter Wagner vs Amryn Nutter Gavin Davis vs Maddox Goebel Brady Harper vs Lincoln Swick Main Card (7 p.m. CT) Graham Calhoun vs. Tanner Mendoza Aiden Medora vs. Dresden Simon Katelynn Gunderson vs. Mateah Roehl Peter Christensen vs. Jake Rau Joe Zargo vs. Joey Bianchi Chris Weiler vs. Kobe Woods Kyle Burwick vs. Paul Bianchi Eric Barnett vs. Drew Hildebrandt Kylie Welker vs. Amor Tuttle Ronna Heaton vs. Koral Sugiyama Kennedy Monday vs. Evan Wick Erin Golston vs. Maria Vidales Seth Gross vs. Thomas Gilman

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) announced the cancellation of all 2021 winter state championships, including wrestling, and postponed all high-risk sports, which includes wrestling. Below is the announcement from the NYSPHSAA. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) announces the cancellation of all 2021 Winter State Championships and the postponement of all high-risk sports until authorization is granted by state officials. The NYSPHSAA Officers rendered these decisions with input from the NYSPHSAA membership and the 11 Section Executive Directors. "When examining the feasibility of Winter State Championships, it became apparent that travel and overnight accommodations would create a unique challenge for our member schools," said Dr. Robert Zayas, NYSPHSAA Executive Director. "At this time, we must prioritize maximizing student participation without a focus on championship events." The Association's decision to postpone all high-risk sports until authorization is granted was reinforced by the increase in infection and hospitalization rates across the State. The New York State Department of Health has determined the following NYSPHSAA-endorsed sports to be high risk: basketball, boys lacrosse, competitive cheerleading, football, ice hockey, volleyball, and wrestling. The cancellation of the Winter State Championships (bowling, basketball, boys swimming & diving, competitive cheerleading, gymnastics, indoor track & field, ice hockey, skiing, and wrestling) addresses membership concerns associated with increased travel, hotel accommodations, transportation logistics and the planning for meals. Furthermore, venue capacity limitations and social distancing restrictions make it increasingly difficult to ensure the safety of student-athletes, coaches, and families. "As an educator, I am witnessing first-hand the challenges our member schools are facing each day in addressing this pandemic," said Julie Bergman, NYSPHSAA President. "It is important we continue listening to the concerns being expressed by our membership when making decisions impacting interscholastic athletics." Low- and moderate-risk regular season sports continue to be permitted. The 2021 NYSPHSAA Spring State Championships remain scheduled at this time.