InterMat Staff

GRANTHAM, Pa. -- Four student-athletes won individual titles to lead the Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team to the Southeast Regional title Saturday at Hitchcock Arena. Freshman Kyle Slendorn, senior Troy Stanich, junior Brett Kaliner and sophomore Michael Dooley each won the gold medal in their respective weight classes. Graduate student Thomas Poklikuha, senior Dylan Van Sickell and sophomore Akhil Vega finished in the top-three in their respective weight classes as a program-record seven Ducks advanced to the national championship tournament. As a team, the Ducks finished first among the 20 competing teams, totaling 163.5 points to win the regional title over Washington and Lee University by 33.5 points. Hosting Messiah College placed third with 123.5 points, while Washington & Jefferson College (80.5) and Ferrum College (78) rounded out the top-five. The regional championship is the second in program history. Head Coach Joe Favia was named the Southeast Region Coach of the Year prior to the tournament, while assistant coach Anthony Bonaventura was named the region's top assistant coach. Kaliner was named the regional's Most Outstanding Wrestler. "It was a strong finish on day two," Favia said. "Everyone who competed this weekend contributed to our team's ability to distance ourselves from the pack. This morning, we set the tone, putting six into the finals and the guys never looked back." "Bruce showed no quit, wrestling hard for sixth," Favia continued. "Tom and Dylan dropped their matches in the finals, but put forth the effort necessary to build on going into the NCAA's. The four champions left no doubt as to why they are the best in their class and Akhil showed a level and desire that I've been waiting for him to unleash for two years. Akhil is a true student of the sport and when he puts that fight into his skill set, it's a deadly combination. All in all, we have put ourselves in the position we needed going into the championships. We'll take the weekend to recover then make our final push towards Cedar Rapids." Slendorn captured his first regional championship at 133 pounds. The Howell, New Jersey native began his day with a third-period pin of Ferrum's Levi Englman. Slendorn was ahead 4-2 through two periods before scoring an escape and a takedown in the first 25 seconds of the third period. The takedown led to a four-point nearfall just prior to the pin. Slendorn closed out afternoon with a hard-fought 6-4 victory over Delaware Valley's nationally-ranked Kordell Rush in the championship bout. Rush scored the first points of the bout with a takedown in the opening minute, only for Slendorn to escape. Slendorn scored a reversal to account for the only scoring in the second period, before each side scored two points in the third. Slendorn added the riding time point to account for the final margin of victory. Stanich scored a major decision and a pin to capture his third regional title. Stanich began his day with a 17-2 major over Washington & Lee's Bryce Crew to advance to the championship. The Ducks' 141-pounder accumulated 15 of his 17 points over the final two periods. In the championship bout, Stanich scored a takedown of Greesboro's Hai Slu in the final minute of the opening period, before scoring the pin six seconds later. Kaliner captured his third regional title with a pair of dominating technical falls. The West Chester, Pennsylvania native scored a 26-7 victory over Lycoming's Joe Santomarco when the bout was stopped in the final period. Kaliner was even more impressive in the 149-pound championship, building a 20-2 lead over Washington & Jefferson's Michael Heinl at the time of the second-period stoppage. Each of Kaliner's 26 wins have come with bonus points. After capturing silver in his first season on Castle Point, Dooley advanced to his second straight national tournament after topping the field at 197. The Phillipsburg, New Jersey native began his day with his third straight major decision with a 10-0 shutout of Washington & Jefferson's Alex Donahue. Dooley captured the championship with a first-period pin of Alvernia's Tonee Ellis. Dooley allowed just five points over his four matches Van Sickell advanced to the 157-pound championship with a first-period pin of Lycoming's Trevor Corl. The Little Silver, New Jersey native scored a takedown in the opening seconds of the match and then turned Corl just over 90 seconds in, scoring a four-point nearfall just prior to the pin. In the championship, Washington & Lee's Ryan Luth scored a four-point nearfall in the final minute of the opening period to take a 6-0 lead. An aggressive Van Sickell scored three takedowns in the final period, but Luth totaled four escapes to prevent Van Sickell from scoring additional points en route to a 15-8 decision victory. Van Sickell placed second to reach his third national championship. Poklikuha advanced to the national championship tournament by beginning his day with a 15-1 major decision over Washington & Lee's Shane Connors. The West Creek, New Jersey native compiled a 10-0 lead through two periods before Connors scored an escape in the final minute of the third period. His run to a regional title ended in the championship bout with a 10-2 setback to Johns Hopkins' Dominick Reyes. Poklikuha advances to his third NCAA championship. Needing to win three matches to reach his first national championship tournament, Vega posted a pair of decision victories and a technical fall to qualify for nationals. Vega began his day with an 8-6 victory over Ferrum's J.D. McMillin, accumulating five points in the opening period to claim the victory. The Cupertino, California native posted his second tech fall with a 23-4 victory over Washington & Jefferson's Emmanuel Dovshek; Vega was leading 23-4 at the time of the second-period stoppage. Vega closed out his remarkable run through the consolation bracket with a 9-5 decision over York's Jared Kuhns. Vega used a pair of two-point nearfalls to take a 6-1 lead after the first period. Parola opened his day against the 184-pound bracket's top seed, Rexx Hallyburton of Washington & Lee and fell via a hard-fought 5-3 decision. A takedown in the first minute of the third period proved to be the difference in the match. The Moscow, Pennsylvania native dropped a pair of decisions to finish in sixth. Up Next: Wrestling opens the NCAA Division III Championship on March 13.

A former University of Michigan wrestler has claimed that he was dismissed from the team 45 years ago for alerting the then-head wrestling coach of his being sexually abused by a university doctor at the time. Tad Deluca was one of three former Wolverine wrestlers who spoke at a press conference Thursday hosted by a Denver-based law firm in suburban Detroit. At the press conference, Deluca disclosed that, after writing a nine-page letter which revealed repeated sexual assaults by Dr. Robert Anderson during medical exams, that the Wolverines' head wrestling coach had him booted from the team. Deluca said that he had told his coach, Bill Johannesen, and then-athletics director Don Canham, that "something is wrong with Dr. Anderson ... Regardless of what you go in there for, he always makes you drop your drawers." During these exams, Deluca said Anderson had routinely fondled him and given him unnecessary rectal exams. Deluca went on to say that coach Johannesen humiliated him for speaking out about Anderson by reading his letter out loud to the rest of the team in 1975 ... then, according to NBC News, informing the wrestler that he was no longer on the team and had lost his full-ride scholarship. At this week's press conference, the former Wolverine wrestler then read part of a second letter to the university -- written in 2018 -- where he quoted his former coach as saying, "Mr. Deluca, you will not return to my wrestling room whether your scholarship is in effect. You will not be known as an athlete." "Those few minutes in front of my friends and teammates, the coach stripped away everything I had ever been," Deluca told reporters at the press conference. In an interview with the Ann Arbor News on Tuesday, Feb. 25, Johannesen said he didn't recall any letter about Anderson and has never taken away a full-ride scholarship from anyone. He said the only wrestler he remembers kicking off the team during that time frame was removed for missing practice. Johannesen also said that he had personally seen Anderson for treatment and there was "never any kind of impropriety." "I personally heard nothing in my four years as an athlete there ... and then as a coach ... never any accusations," Johannesen told the newspaper Tuesday. At this week's press conference in Southfield, Mich., Deluca said he was moved by the #MeToo movement to write a letter in 2018 to current Athletic Director Warde Manuel. "I spoke up by letter in July 1975 and was ignored and denigrated by the University of Michigan," Deluca said. "I spoke up again by letter in 2018 ... I'm here today to speak up again to let the University of Michigan know that I will not be ignored again. "Everyone who was abused by this doctor -- the doctor everyone knew was abusing athletes and students -- should speak up and let everyone know they will not be ignored. It has to stop." Police in Washtenaw County -- home to the University of Michigan and the city of Ann Arbor -- launched an investigation into Anderson in 2018 based on Deluca's second letter. But Steven Hiller, the county's assistant chief prosecuting attorney, said no charges could be filed because Anderson died in 2008 and none of the alleged offenses were within the state's six-year statute of limitations. That said, the police investigation noted that University of Michigan employees were "aware of rumors and allegations of misconduct" by Anderson. And last week, University of Michigan President Mark Schlissel issued an apology on behalf of the university to anyone harmed by Anderson, saying, "As a physician, scientist, father and university president, I condemn all sexual misconduct, especially instances that occur under the purview of our public mission. This type of conduct is reprehensible, and whether it takes place now or in the past, it is unacceptable ..." Deluca is one of nearly a dozen other male former Michigan student-athletes who have now come forward to say they too were victimized by Anderson. At least three of them were once wrestlers: Deluca, Thomas Evashevski, and Andy Hrovat, an NCAA All-American wrestler and member of the U.S. men's freestyle wrestling team who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, who disclosed his experiences with Anderson last week. Parker Stinar, attorney with the Denver law firm of Wahlberg, Woodruff, Nimmo & Sloane -- which is representing Deluca and several other former Michigan athletes -- said they have not yet filed a lawsuit but has scheduled a meeting with the university's general counsel that will happen "in the near future." Meanwhile, the university has encouraged anyone who may have been affected by Anderson to call the hotline at 866-990-0111 or the Steptoe & Johnson law firm at 202-419-5162 or UofM@steptoe.com. Steptoe & Johnson was retained not to defend the university, but to conduct an independent, external investigation, according to University of Michigan spokesman Mark Fitzgerald.

INDIANAPOLIS -- As familiar as it has become, winning the Regional Tournament is still a great feeling for Notre Dame College wrestling. The Falcons came away with the team victory, scoring 127.5 points on Saturday, while six wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Division II Tournament. Notre Dame has now won four consecutive Regional Tournament team titles and they have taken home the biggest trophy in seven of the eight Regional Tournaments since joining the NCAA Division II in the 2012-13 season. The wrestlers who placed in the top-3 in each of the weight classes qualified for the NCAA DII Tournament. The Falcons had six qualifiers with Hunter Bray (133 lbs.), Kelan McKenna (141), Taylor Misuna (157), Jordon Tague (165), Tony Vezzetti (184) and Jared Campbell (285). Hunter Bray is ranked No. 1 at 133 lbs. and he continues to add to his accolades this season. Bray went up against Ashland's Lawrance Dudgeon in the First Place Match. Not only was Bray going for the win, but Ashland University was also approaching NDC in team points. The Falcons' grappler and Dudgeon were tied at zero after the first period. Bray earned one for an escape in the second period before Dudgeon earned one in third. Bray won the match with a takedown late in the third period. Kelan McKenna entered the day fifth in the nation at 141. He cruised through the first three matches, winning them all by major decisions, including a 12-4 victory over No. 11 Chandler Minnard, of Ashland. Against Branson Proudlock (Findlay) in the First Place Match, McKenna had two takedowns in the first period, totaling four points. He added on and won by a score of 7-2. At 157, No. 6 Taylor Misuna received a bye and then won the next round by decision. His toughest battle came in the semifinal when he went up against No. 9 Dawson Combest, of Indianapolis. In that bout, Misuna was trailing 4-2 after two periods. With less than 10 seconds left, he put two points on the scoreboard with a takedown of Combest. He would win in Sudden Victory-1, with another takedown. Misuna then won the First Place Match against Trey Grine, of Tiffin. Jared Campbell also took home the top spot at 285. The No. 2 ranked wrestler defeated Jeremy Splix (Indianapolis) with a 13-0 major decision before pinning West Liberty's Chase Logan, 35-seconds into the match. He would take the trophy via forfeit. At 184, No. 6 Tony Vezzetti did not receive a bye, but he won by tech fall (17-1), major decision (14-3) and decision (8-5) to get to the First Place Match. He faced No. 5 Aidan Pasiuk, from Ashland. Vezzetti fell behind 4-3 after two periods, and took second place in the region. Jordon Tague is also heading to the National Tournament after he placed third at 165. He went 3-1 on the day and faced Christian Price (Ashland) in the Third Place Match. The two were scoreless after one and then Tague had two takedowns in the second period. He won by a score of 8-3. Alonzo Turner took fourth place at 174 while Sandro Ramirez (149) and Michael Viramontes (197) both earned Fifth Place. "I'm happy for the wrestlers, coaches, parents and fans today for their support and effort," Head Coach Sonny Marchette said. "Everyone of them did what it took to bring home the Regional Championship. The coaches were in sync and the guys did what they came to do. I'm very happy with where the program is heading as a whole and we look forward to seeing what we can do at the National Tournament." Notre Dame heads to the NCAA Division II National Tournament on March 13-14. The tournament will be held in Sioux Falls, S.D. Team Scores 1 Notre Dame 127.5 2 Tiffin 122 3 Ashland 121.5 4 Indianapolis 115.5 5 Lake Erie 87.5

PEMBROKE -- Nick Daggett (125 pounds), Logan Seliga (133) and Nick Kee (197) all posted unblemished runs through their respective tournaments, while three of their teammates registered runner-up finishes, to lead a dominating performance for the UNC Pembroke wrestling team that helped the Braves capture the NCAA Super Region II title on Saturday at Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Tyler Makosy (149), Kaleb Warner (165) and Brandon Sloop (184) all fell on the wrong end of close matches in their respective bracket's championship bout, but their performances will still give the Black & Gold six representatives at next month's NCAA Division II Championships in Sioux Falls, S.D. It is the fourth-straight year that UNCP has sent multiple qualifiers to the sport's biggest stage, and the second-most qualifiers under head coach Othello "O.T." Johnson. UNCP's 10 entries in Saturday's event combined to register 18 bonus-point victories – a dominating performance that helped the Black & Gold amass 142 team points across the three sessions. Belmont Abbey claimed the runner-up spot with 95 points, while Limestone was third with 93-1/2 points. The Braves sent nine of its 10 entries to the podium following the event, included in which were fourth-place tallies by Jonathan Miller (141), Sammy Peticos (157) and Ryan Monk (285). The top-3 finishers from each weight class punched their ticket to the NCAA Championships. The 2020 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships will be held in the Denny Sanford Premier Center, March 13-14, in Sioux Falls. Championship pairings will be announced next week.

Pitt-Johnstown sent six wrestlers into the finals and came away with four champions and a total of eight NCAA national Tournament qualifiers on their way to winning to the 2019-20 NCAA Division II Super Region I Tournament title, Saturday at Mercyhurst University. Pitt-Johnstown, which claimed its 23 NCAA Regional championship and second straight under Head Coach Pat Pecora, finished with 147.5 points, 17 points better than second-place Gannon. Pitt-Johnstown finished first with 147.5 points, while Gannon (130.5 pts.), Mercyhurst (116 pts.), Seton Hill (108 pts.), and East Stroudsburg (52.5 pts.) rounded out the Top-5 in the 11-team field. Brendan Howard (125 lbs.), Jacob Ealy (141 lbs.), Chris Eddins (149 lbs.), and Brock Biddle (174 lbs.) all won individual championships, while Tyler Warner (133 lbs.) and Connor Craig (184 lbs.) were regional runners-up, and Devin Austin (165 lbs.) and Allan Beattie (285 lbs.) placed third to qualify for the National Tournament in Sioux Falls, SD on March 13-14. Pitt-Johnstown also got a fourth-place finish from Alex Delp at 184 lbs. and a fifth-place finish from Jacob Burgette at 157 lbs.). 125: 2019 All-American and top-seeded Brendan Howard received a first round bye, then won a 10-1 major decision over Alderson-Broaddus' Noah Hodges in the quarterfinals. Howard then reach the finals with a 6-2 decision over Seton Hill's Frank Bonura, before winning his second straight Regional Title with a 9-4 win over Jacob Dunlap (Gannon). 133: 2019 National Champion and No. l seeded Tyler Warner picked pinned Mustafa Hamid (American International) and Bodee Tolbert (Shippensburg) in a combined 2:33 to advance to the semifinals, where he held off Seton Hill's Vincent Distefanis, 3-2. However, Kutztown's Collin Wick got a takedown in overtime Eddins, Christo upset Warner, 4-2 , in the title bout at 133 lbs. 141: Jacob Ealy, the No.1 seed at 141 lbs., opened with a bye and a 17-0 technical fall at 5:33 over East Stroudsburg's Matthew Rosa. In the semifinals, Ealy dealt Nick Young (Gannon) a 13-2 major decision loss, then won a regional championship as a true freshman with a 6-4 decision over Mercyhurst's Alexis Soriano. 149: Two-time National Champion Chris Eddins got a first round bye, then coasted into the finals with a 16-0 technical fall over Gannon's Nick Young and 4-0 decision over American International's Joel Morth. In the finals, Eddins scored an 8-0 major decision over Gannon's Dom Means to claim his third regional championship. 157: Jacob Burgette opened with a 9-6 win over Brandon Connor (Millersville), but suffered a 4-3 loss to Seton Hill's Logan McCoy in the quarterfinals. Burgette came back to defeat Mitchell Camp (Kutztown), 6-2 in the second round of the consolations and Alderson-Broaddus' Dalton Pearl, 3-1, in the consolation quarterfinals. However, Mercyhurst's Mike Clark won a 9-7 decision in the consolation semifinals. Burgette answered to place fifth when he defeated East Stroudsburg's Marquan Payne, 11-8. 165: Devin Austin, a two-time All-American, pinned Kutztown's Connor Rogovich at 1:50 in the first round and East Stroudsburg's Nick Weikel at 4:50 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Austin suffered a tough 7-5 sudden victory loss to Gannon's Alex Farenchak which sent him to the consolation semifinals where he reached the third-place match with a 3-2 decision over Alec Shaw (Seton Hill). Austin became a four-time national qualifier after an 8-3 decision over Jarrett Feeney (Millersville). 174: Returning All-American Brock Biddle got a first round bye and a 16-0 technical fall at 2:35 over Kutztown's Anthony Emig to secure a spot in the semifinals. Biddle followed with an 11-2 major decision over Brandon Matthews (Seton Hill) to set up a finals match with East Stroudsburg's Mike Raccioppi, the national No.1-ranked wrestler at 174 lbs. Biddle pulled off the upset and downed Raccioppi, 8-3, to win the championship at 174 lbs. 184: Connor Craig, a 2019 National Champion, eased into the semifinals with a 17-0 technical fall over Isaiah Collins (American International) in the opening round and a fall at 3:52 over Shippensburg's Austin Klucker in the quarterfinals. Craig was tested in the semis, but scored a 3-0 Sudden Victory 1 win over Joel Leise (Gannon). However, Elliot Riddick (East Stroudsburg) upset the defending national champion, 3-2, in the championship bout at 184 lbs. 197: Following a first round by, Alex Delp defeated Alexi Castro (Shippensburg), 8-3 in the quarterfinals, then lost a 9-2 decision to top-seeded Luke McGonigal (Mercyhurst). An 8-5 win over American International's Raul Martinez advanced Delp to the third-place match, where Seton Hill's Nathan Bowlen held off Delp, 10-6. 285: Allan Beattie got an opening round bye, but suffered a 7-2 loss to Josh Walls (Millersville) in the quarterfinals. Another bye in the second round of the consolations set up a matchup with Fairmont State's TJ Boyd in the consolation quarterfinals where he won a 4-1 decision over Fairmont State's T.J. Boyd. Beattie then pinned Shippensburg's Derek Berberick 2:01 into the first period to reach the third-place match, before qualifying for his first national tournament with an overtime takedown to knock off Seton Hill's Jacob Beistel, 3-1. Team Scores 1 Pitt.-Johnstown 147.5 2 Gannon 130.5 3 Mercyhurst 116.0 4 Seton Hill 108.0 5 East Stroudsburg 52.5 6 Kutztown 46.0 7 Millersville 42.5 8 American Int`l 42.0 9 Shippensburg 41.0 10 Alderson Broaddus 28.0 11 Fairmont St. 9.0

KEARNEY, Neb. -- The sixth-ranked Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team won the NCAA Super Region VI Championships and qualified seven for the NCAA's Saturday night at the Health & Sports Center. This was the second straight year UNK hosted the 10-team event. The top three finishers in each of 10 weight classes advance to the NCAA Championships, held March 13-14 in Sioux Falls. UNK tallied 148.0 points to easily outdistance Western Colorado(106) for the team title. Colorado Mesa (88) was third with Colorado School of Mines fourth (84.5). Coming in first was Geneva senior Jarrod Hinrichs (285 lbs.), Lincoln junior Wesley Dawkins (133 lbs.), Iowa junior Josh Portillo (125 lbs.), Colorado junior Sam Turner (149 lbs.) and Pennsylvania junior Jacob Wasser (157 lbs.) with Iowa junior Matt Malcom (165 lbs.) the lone Loper runner up. Battling his way through the backside to finish third was Lincoln junior Jonathan Killingsworth (141 lbs.). Seeing their 2019-20 season come to an end today were Delaware graduate transfer Anthony Mancini (184 lbs.), Illinois sophomore Andrew Demos (197 lbs.) and Kansas sophomore Terrell Garraway (174 lbs.). "These tournaments are tough on the heart of the coaches … very emotional. You have your ups and downs. On a positive note we were projected to have seven qualifiers and we got those through," UNK head coach Dalton Jensen said. Wasser (15-6), heading to his first national tournament, was the most unlikely champion as he trailed in his first two matches. He used a reversal and a 2-point near fall in the final 16 seconds to edge Adams State's Natrelle Demison, 6-4. That proved to be the warmup because Wasser next pinned top-seed and fourth-ranked Maxamillian Schneider of San Francisco State at 2:45. At the time of the fall Schneider was up 10-4. The good day continued for Wasser as Payton Tawater of Colorado Mesa forfeited the first place match. "Both of his wins came against higher seeded guys. That doesn't happen without all the stuff he's dealt with the last two years. He had some things, injuries and defeats, not go his way and he's overcome it. When you look at the whole story, the last three or four years and not just today, we're really proud of him," Jensen said. Ranked 12th-nationally but battling a significant injury, Killingsworth (Lincoln S.E.) managed four wins to punch his NCAA ticket. He came out on top by scores of 2-0, 6-1, 7-3 and 4-2 with a reversal at 1:10 in the third period allowing him to win the third place match over Western Colorado's Jason Hanenberg. The 4-2 victory puts him at 24-7 on the season. "John is probably the standout in my mind because he was in a cast three days ago. We cut it off and threw him out there today and he qualified in a very tough weight class," Jensen said. "Really impressed with his performance but at the same time your heart goes out to the three guys we're leaving at home." AD Marc BauerHinrichs (19-4), also ranked 12th in his class, had a 4:08 fall to start the day but went overtime to outlast CSU-Pueblo's Gavin Nye, 5-3. Hinrichs moved ahead for good with an escape in the second tie-breaking period and then finished Nye off with a takedown. In the finals he used an escape and two penalty points to defeat fourth-ranked Weston Hunt of Colorado Mines. At 125 pounds seventh-ranked Portillo (26-7) didn't have any nail-biters, majoring his first two opponents and then rolling past sixth-ranked Patrick Allis of WCU, 11-4, in the finals. Earlier this year Portillo fell to Allis by a 10-4 score at the Buffalo County Fairgrounds. Next fourth-ranked Dawkins (26-9) had another donnybrook with former Loper= and current CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolve D'andre Brumfield. The two squared off at last year's regional and national tournaments with Dawkins winning 7-6 thanks to a reversal with 25 seconds left. Brumfield had erased a 5-2 deficit with four points in the third but a last second shot came after the clock hit zero. Dawkins then pinned Jonathan Andreatta of Adams State in only 31 seconds to come in first. Finally among the national qualifiers, ninth-ranked Turner (8-1) had a major and tech fall before having to using a third period escape and riding time to beat Chase Clasen of Chadron State, 2-0, in the 149 pounds finals. Malcom (30-8) suffered a rare defeat to a Division II opponent in the 165 pound finals, 7-6. The match featured four video reviews with an early 4-1 Malcom lead being wiped off the board. Colorado Mesa's Fred Green (10-9), formerly of Virginia, won thanks to a five-point third period that featured a takedown and reversal. "Matt wrestled well and got put into a situation where maybe a call didn't go his way. A four-point swing is tough to overcome against a good competitor," Jensen said. "He kept fighting hard." The second-ranked Mancini completes his lone season in Kearney at 15-4 and with a fourth place finish at 184 pounds. Garraway (20-12) came in fourth a weight lower with Demos (21-17) ending up in sixth place. "Anthony had a great season for us and (his losses) are tough to swallow. He probably put a little too much pressure on himself … he's a much better wrestler than he showed today," Jensen said.

The St. Cloud State University wrestling team captured its fourth consecutive NCAA Division II regional championship and its seventh title since 2011 on Saturday, Feb. 29 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Huskies tallied 155.0 points to earn the team title while SCSU wrestlers claimed seven individual titles at the meet. In addition, St. Cloud State coach Steve Costanzo was named the NCAA Division II Super V Regional Coach of the Year. St. Cloud State SCSU will be sending a total of nine wrestlers to the upcoming NCAA Division II championships as the Huskies look to bring back their third consecutive national title and fifth since 2015. At the regional, SCSU gained a championship in the 133-pound bracket with a 3-2 victory by No. 2 Garrett Vos over No. 3 Justin Folley of Upper Iowa. Vos ended the tournament with a 3-0 record and will be making his second consecutive trip to the NCAA nationals. At 141-pounds, SCSU's Joey Bianchini won top honors with a 15-4 major decision over No. 9 Hunter Burnett of Augustana. Bianchini scored a 3-0 record at the regional and will be making his first trip to the NCAA finals on March 13-14. SCSU's No. 2 James Pleski gained his third consecutive NCAA regional crown with a thrilling 3-2 victory over No. 3 Kyle Rathman of Minnesota State, Mankato in the title bout. Pleski was 3-0 at the regional and is a three-time All-American for the Huskies. The titles continued at 157-pounds with a first place finish by No. 2 Jake Barzowski, who scored a 4-2 win over No. 10 Braydon Huber of U-Mary. Barzowski was 3-0 in regional action and will be making his second consecutive trip to the NCAA finals. At 165-pounds, No. 3 Devin FitzPatrick added a title to his resume with a 10-4 victory over No. 12 Shane Gantz of UW-Parkside. He was 3-0 at the NCAA regional and will also be making his second consecutive trip to the NCAA championships. SCSU's No. 4 Kolton Eischens placed first for the Huskies at 174-pounds as he charted a 10-0 major decisions over U-Mary's No. 8 Phillip Springsteen. Eischens was 3-0 in regional play and is a two-time All-America award winner for the Huskies. At 184-pounds No. 3 Tyree Overton gained bonus points with a 23-10 major decision over Minnesota State's Trevor Turriff in the title bout. Overton posted a 3-0 record at the regional and will be making his second trip to the NCAA finals for SCSU. In action at 197-pounds, Noah Ryan placed second after dropping a close 5-2 decision to No. 2 Nick Baumler of Upper Iowa in the title match. Ryan was 2-1 in regional action and will be making his first trip to the NCAA tournament in 2020. At 285-pounds, SCSU's No. 10 Ezayah Oropeza punched his ticket to the NCAA tournament with a third place finish and a 4-1 record in regional competition. In the bout for third place, Oropeza posted a fall at 1:58 against David Griffet of Minnesota State. At 125-pounds, SCSU's Brandon Betancourt placed fourth with a 2-2 record at the regional. In the third place match, Betancourt lost a 4-3 match against Trenton McManus of Minnesota State. The Huskies will next travel to the 2020 NCAA Division II wrestling championships, which will be held in Sioux Falls, S.D. at the Denny Sanford Premiere Center. For more details on tickets and other information regarding the NCAA championships, please visit: https://goaugie.com/sports/2020/1/10/2020-ncaa-wrestling-championship.aspx Regional Team Scores: SCSU 155.0 Upper Iowa 125.5 Augustana 96.5 Minnesota State 93.0 UW-Parkside 73.0 MSU Moorhead 60.5 Mary 55.0 Northern State 37.0 Minot State 20.0 Southwest Minnesota State 14.5

ADRIAN, Mich. -- The No. 6 nationally ranked Baldwin Wallace University wrestling team placed first out of 18 teams at the NCAA Division lll Central Region Championships, hosted by Adrian (Mich.) College, inside the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center. With the championship, BW has now won two regional titles in the last three years. In addition to BW placing first, head coach Jamie Gibbs and assistant coach Jason Zastrow were named Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year. The Yellow Jackets were led by senior All-American and three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference 197-pounder Zeckary Lehman (Akron/Revere), as he placed first with 23 points. He grabbed a 13-0 major decision in his first-round bout. For his quarterfinal, he claimed a 5-2 decision and advanced to the championship match after a 3:40 pin in his semifinal bout. The senior seized an 8-0 major decision in his first-place bout to move onto nationals. Junior three-time All-OAC and Academic All-OAC 149-pounder Stanley Bleich (North Ridgeville/Elyria Catholic) placed first with 21 points, and grabbed a 9-3 decision in his opening bout. Bleich seized a 5-3 decision in his quarterfinal match and a 6-3 decision over No. 5 Luke Hernandez of the University of Mount Union in his semifinal to advance to the championship bout. Bleich grabbed an 11-1 medical forfeit over No. 3 Zachary Cooper of Alma (Mich.) College to take first place and a spot in nationals. Bleich is now No. 15 on BW's all-time career wins list with a record of 96-18. Freshman All-OAC 125-pounder Jack Stanley (Brecksville/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) placed second with 17 points and won his first-round bout with a forfeit. The freshman took his quarterfinal match with a 2-0 decision, and with a 6-5 decision over the No. 1 individually-ranked Carlos Champagne of Wabash (Ind.) College, Stanley advanced to the championship bout. Stanley fell in the first-place bout to 4-3 decision for a second-place finish and a trip to nationals. Senior All-American, Academic All-OAC and No. 4 nationally-ranked 133-pounder Charlie Nash (Norwalk) placed second with 16.5 points and started his regional with a 15-0 technical fall, before snagging a 4-3 decision in his quarterfinal bout. In his semifinal match, Nash notched a narrow 7-6 decision. Nash dropped his first-place bout to a 3-1 sudden victory but will advance to nationals. Junior 157-pounder Dalton Leightner (Ravenna/Rootstown) earned a second place spot with 15 points. He started his regionals with a 6-4 decision and followed that up with a 9-5 decision in his quarterfinal bout. With a 2-1 decision over No. 6 Sam Gross of John Carroll University in his semifinal, Leightner advanced to the championship match. The junior dropped the first-place bout to a 6-3 decision, but will move onto nationals. Freshman 184-pounder Doug Byrne (Wickliffe) earned a third-place finish with 16.5 points. He won his first-round match with a 4-0 decision and grabbed his quarterfinal bout with a 4:10 pin. Byrne dropped his semifinal to an 11-6 decision. In his consolation semis the freshman secured a 3:50 pin and punched his ticket to nationals with a 5-2 decision for third place. Freshman All-OAC 174-pounder Luke Salmon (Sandusky/Perkins) placed fourth with 14 points. He seized a 13-0 major decision in his opening round bout, and in his quarterfinal, he seized a 4-2 sudden victory to move onto the semis. Salmon dropped his semifinal to No. 3 Darden Schurg of Wabash by way of an 18-5 major decision. In his consolation semifinals, he won by way of 15-0 tech fall. The freshman dropped his third-place bout to a tight 3-2 decision. Senior All-OAC 165-pounder Benjamin Hooff (Worthingon/Thomas Worthington) placed fourth with 13.5 points. He secured a 43 second pin to open his regionals and in his quarterfinal bout he grabbed a 3-2 decision. In his semifinal bout, Hooff fell to No. 1 Kyle Hatch of Wabash, by way of a 3:46 pin. The senior won his consolation semi with a 2-1 tiebreaker before falling in the third-place bout to a 3-1 sudden victory. Hooff has moved into BW's top-25 career wins list with a mark of 79-47. Sophomore 285-pounder Jarod Miller (Greenville, Pa./Reynolds) earned a sixth place finish with 13 points as he pinned his opponent in 2:22 to start his regionals. The sophomore fell I his quarterfinal to a 10-2 major decision. He won his second-round consolation match with a 2:22 pin and followed that up with a 9-1 decision in his third-round consolation. Miller dropped his consolation semis to an 8-0 major decision. Junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC 141-pounder Tanner McHugh (New Ringgold, Pa./Tamaqua) earned an eighth place finish with 4.5 points. He secured a 3-1 decision in his opening match before falling in his quarterfinal. He dropped the seventh place bout to an 8-4 decision. BW will hit the mats next on Friday and Saturday, March 13 & 14 for the NCAA Division III Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Matches are set to begin at 9 a.m on both days.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 3-ranked Augsburg University men's wrestling team claimed an NCAA Division III regional title for the 18th straight year, qualifying individuals in eight weight classes, including four regional champions, to the national championships at the NCAA Upper Midwest Regional, completed on Saturday at Si Melby Hall. FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1. Augsburg (Minn.) 196.5; 2. Wisconsin-La Crosse 157.5; 3. Wisconsin-Whitewater 116.0; 4. Wisconsin-Eau Claire 100.0; 5. University of Chicago (Ill.) 85.0; 6t. Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) 82.0; 6t. Wisconsin-Stevens Point 82.0; 8. Wisconsin-Platteville 79.0; 9. Wheaton (Ill.) 59.0; 10. Elmhurst (Ill.) 50.5; 11. Wisconsin-Oshkosh 44.0; 12. Saint John's (Minn.) 35.5; 13. Concordia-Wisconsin 17.0; 14. Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) 11.0; 15. Pacific (Ore.) 7.5; 16. Lakeland (Wis.) 2.5; 17. St. Olaf (Minn.) 0.5. LOCATION: Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis. HOW IT HAPPENED Tanner Vassar is in position to pin his opponent during a 2019-20 Augsburg mens wrestling match.• Augsburg, ranked No. 3 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national poll, won the 17-team regional with 196.5 points. Augsburg has won the team title in its NCAA regional every year since starting regional competition in the 2002-03 season. • With its eight national tournament qualifiers, Augsburg has had seven or more national tournament qualifiers in 17 of the last 18 seasons. Augsburg had four regional champions, two runners-up and two third-place finishers. The top three finishers in each weight class qualify for the national tournament. • Augsburg wrestlers went 16-7 in Saturday's action, with six pins, a technical fall and two major decisions. In the two-day tournament, the Auggies combined for a 37-8 record, with 17 pins, a technical fall and eight major decisions. • Augsburg Co-Head Coaches Jim Moulsoff and Tony Valek Upper Midwest Regional Tournament Coach of the Year award, while the Augsburg assistant coaching staff shared the Tournament Assistant Coach of the Year award with Adam Latella of Wisconsin-Whitewater. • In qualifying for the national tournament for the second time by winning the regional title at 149 pounds, Augsburg's Aaron Wilson (SR, Oak Grove, Minn./St. Francis HS) also earned the tournament's Most Falls in Least Time award, as he claimed four pins among his five victories in the meet in 10:01. Wilson, ranked No. 4 nationally at 149 pounds, reached a career milestone with his 100th career victory in the semifinals, then scored a 5:58 pin of Jimmy McAuliffe of Elmhurst (Ill.) in the finals. Now 101-30 in his collegiate career, Wilson improved to 30-1 on the season, including 14 pins, nine technical falls and two major decisions. He previously qualified for the national tournament in the 2015-16 season at 141 pounds. • Top-ranked 184-pounder Tanner Vassar (SR, Maple Lake, Minn./Maple Lake HS) earned his third trip to the national tournament with his first regional title, scoring a third-period 15-1 technical fall in the semifinals and a medical forfeit win in the finals. Now unbeaten at 31-0, Vassar is 124-29 in his college career. Of his 31 wins, 21 are bonus-point triumphs (17 pins, four technical falls, two major decisions). Vassar is a two-time All-American, having finished seventh at 174 in 2018 and fifth at 174 in 2019. • Defending 141-pound national champion David Flynn (SR, Jordan, Minn./Jordan HS (Scott West)) earned his fourth straight trip to the national tournament with his second regional title. The No. 6-ranked 141-pounder nationally, Flynn scored a 3-1 win in the semifinals, then scored a 4-2 victory over No. 3-ranked Hazen Rice of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a takedown with nine seconds left in sudden-victory overtime. Now 17-3 on the season, Flynn is 90-19 in his three-and-a-half seasons at Augsburg, and 118-33 in his overall college career (including a semester spent at Division I North Dakota State in 2016-17). In addition to his national title last year, Flynn also finished third nationally in 2016-17. Solomon Nielsen attempts to lift his opponent for a throw during a 2019-20 Augsburg mens wrestling meet.• Solomon Nielsen (JR, Luverne, Minn./Luverne HS) earned his second straight trip to the national tournament with his first regional title at 184 pounds. Ranked No. 5 nationally at 174, he claimed two dominant wins over nationally-ranked opponents on Saturday, with a 14-7 triumph over No. 6-ranked Evan Lawrence of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the semifinals, and an 11-3 major decision win over No. 2-ranked Jaritt Shinhoster of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the finals. Nielsen is now 21-2 on the season and 78-18 in his career. He was a national tournament qualifier at 184 last season. • At 157, two-time defending national champion Ryan Epps (SR, Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls HS) earned his fourth straight trip to the national tournament with a second-place regional finish. Ranked No. 2 nationally at 157, Epps reached the final with a 9-0 major decision win, then suffered a 7-6 overtime loss to top-ranked Grant Zamin of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the finals. After riding the full 30 seconds in his portion of the second overtime, Epps scored an escape four seconds into Zamin's portion, but gave up a takedown with 16 seconds left and could not escape to tie the match. Epps is now 28-2 on the season and 141-13 in his college career. Epps won regional titles in his first three seasons as an Auggie. • Defending 197-pound national champion Lance Benick (JR, Scandia, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) earned his second straight trip to the national tournament with a second-place regional finish. He earned his national berth with a 4-3, come-from-behind win over Colten Cashmore of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the semifinals, scoring the decisive takedown with two seconds left in the bout. In his first action this weekend after being sidelined for more than a month due to injury, he took a medical default in the title bout. Benick is now 5-2 on the season and 45-10 in his Auggie career. • Two-time defending 165-pound national champion Lucas Jeske (SR, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS), currently ranked No. 3 nationally, suffered a 15-6, major decision loss in the semifinals, but rallied back to gain his fourth straight trip to the national tournament with a third-place finish. He scored a 2:59 pin in the consolation semifinal, then claimed one of the most dramatic come-from-behind finishes of his career in the third-place match against Nathan Wynsma of Wisconsin-Platteville. Trailing 14-0 with 1:45 left in the second period, Jeske scored a reversal and two 2-point near-falls to trail 14-6 after two periods. He then scored a dramatic pin with 58 seconds left in the third period to clinch the national berth. Jeske is now 9-3 on the season and 96-12 in his college career. In addition to his two national titles, Jeske finished third nationally in 2016-17, and has three regional titles to his credit. • In one of the most challenging weight-class brackets of the tournament, No. 2-ranked 133-pounder Victor Gliva (SR, Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS) earned his fourth straight national tournament berth with a third-place finish. He was edged 7-5 by No. 5-ranked Noah Becker of Saint John's in the semifinals, but rallied back with a 1:49 pin in the consolation semifinals, then scored an 8-5 win over Josh Stnger of Wisconsin-La Crosse in the third-place match. Gliva is now 25-5 on the season and 114-27 in his college career. He has earned All-American honors twice in his Auggie career, finishing eighth at 125 in 2018 and fifth at 125 in 2019. • Two Auggie first-year wrestlers saw their seasons end on Saturday. Heavyweight Tyler Kim (FY, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) finished in fifth place, finishing his season at 24-9, and 125-pounder Justin Stauffacher (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Belle Plaine HS (Scott West)) finished in sixth place, ending his season at 17-11..

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Augsburg University men's wrestling team was dominant in the first day of the 2020 NCAA Division III Upper Midwest Regional, with nine of its 10 wrestlers alive in championship contention on Friday. TEAM SCORES AFTER DAY 1: 1. Augsburg 107.5; 2. Wisconsin-La Crosse 80.5; 3. Wisconsin-Whitewater 69.0; 4. Wisconsin-Stevens Point 59.0; 5t. Chicago (Ill.) 57.5; 5t. Wisconsin-Eau Claire 57.5; 7. Wisconsin-Platteville 55.5; 8. Concordia-Moorhead 53.5; 9. Wheaton (Ill.) 39.0; 10. Elmhurst (Ill.) 36.5; 11. Wisconsin-Oshkosh 27.5; 12. Saint John's 25.0; 13. Concordia-Wisconsin 16.0; 14. Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) 11.0; 15. Pacific (Ore.) 7.5; 16. Lakeland (Wis.) 2.5; 17. St. Olaf 0.5. LOCATION: Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis. HOW IT HAPPENED • The No. 3-ranked Auggies went 21-1 with 18 bonus-point victories in the first day of the two-day event. Augsburg wrestlers claimed 11 pins, six major decisions and a forfeit on Friday. • Aaron Wilson (SR, Oak Grove, Minn./St. Francis HS), ranked No. 4 nationally at 149 pounds, improved to 28-1 on the season with three wins, all by first-period pin. Of his 28 wins, Wilson has 12 pins, nine technical falls and two major decisions. He is now 99-30 in his collegiate career. • Top-ranked 184-pounder Tanner Vassar (SR, Maple Lake, Minn./Maple Lake HS) remained unbeaten at 29-0 with a pair of pins. Vassar now has 17 pins on the season, and is now 122-29 in his college career. • Two-time defending 165-pound national champion Lucas Jeske (SR, St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville HS), currently ranked No. 3 nationally, scored a second-period pin and an 11-1 major decision to advance to the semifinals, improving to 7-2 on the season and 94-11 in his Auggie career. • Defending 141-pound national champion David Flynn (SR, Jordan, Minn./Jordan HS (Scott West)) also had a second-period pin and a 9-0 major decision win on Friday to move to the semifinals. Flynn, ranked No. 6 nationally, is now 15-3 on the season with six pins, two technical falls and four major decisions. • Making his first collegiate postseason appearance, 125-pounder Justin Stauffacher (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Belle Plaine HS (Scott West)) claimed a second-period pin and an 11-2 major decision to improve to 17-8 on the year. • At 157, two-time defending national champion Ryan Epps (SR, Cannon Falls, Minn./Cannon Falls HS) improved to 27-1 with a forfeit win and a pin, his 11th of the year. Epps, ranked No. 2 nationally at 157, has won 10 matches in a row and is now 140-12 in his collegiate career. • No. 2-ranked 133-pounder Victor Gliva (SR, Farmington, Minn./Farmington HS) improved to 23-4 on the year with a first-period pin and a 3-2 win on Friday, advancing to the semifinals. • Solomon Nielsen (JR, Luverne, Minn./Luverne HS) moved to 21-2 on the year with a pair of major decisions, winning 11-3 and 11-0. He is ranked No. 5 nationally at 174 pounds. • Defending 197-pound national champion Lance Benick (JR, Scandia, Minn./Totino-Grace HS) returned to the lineup after injuries sidelined him for a month, and reached the semifinals with two victories, including an 11-0 major decision. He improved to 4-2 on the season and 44-10 in his Auggie career. • Tyler Kim (FY, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley HS) went 2-1 on Friday to remain in contention for a third-place finish and a national tournament berth. He scored a first-period pin in his opening match, then rallied back in the wrestlebacks with a 3-2 win. Kim is now 22-8 on the season.

Nearly two years after the first victims of former Ohio State team physician Richard Strauss came forward -- and decades after the reported sexual assaults took place -- the Columbus-based school's trustees took a critical step to resolving the matter once and for all. On Thursday, the Ohio State trustees passed a resolution authorizing the board chairman to approve a settlement with Strauss' victims. "The resolution puts the university in a position to expedite a settlement and suggests the parties could be nearing an agreement," the Columbus Dispatch reported Thursday. Dr. Richard Strauss served as team physician at Ohio State from the mid-1970s through the late 1990s. Allegations of sexual misconduct against male athletes in nearly a dozen sports, including wrestling, were first made public in April 2018 ... with the first lawsuit being filed in July of that year. In subsequent years, nearly a dozen suits have been filed, involving more than one hundred plaintiffs, most of them past Buckeye athletes, but also involving at least one college wrestling referee who alleged that Strauss had masturbated in front of the mat official in the shower room at St. John Arena on the Ohio State campus in 1994. On a parallel track, the Ohio House of Representatives is discussing a bill to eliminate the statute of limitations for victims of sexual assault -- including Strauss' victims -- so that they may sue for damages. Strauss died in 2005.

The brackets have been released for the 2020 NJCAA Wrestling Championships. The event takes place March 6-7 at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Link: Brackets Schedule Friday, March 6, 2020 9:30 a.m. First Round Noon* Second Round TBA First Round Consolations/Second Round Consolations 6:15 p.m. Quarterfinals/Third Round Consolations 8:30 p.m.* Fourth Round Consolations Saturday, March 7, 2020 10:30 a.m. Championship Semifinals/Consolation Quarterfinals 12:00 p.m.* Consolation Semifinals 1:15 p.m. Consolation Finals 3rd & 4th, 5th & 6th, 7th & 8th 7 p.m. Championship Finals

Wrestling Twitter was aghast Wednesday after the NCAA revealed a mockup for the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships that, putting it kindly, failed to impress. The intention of the graphic was to excite fans about the possibility of 40K-plus wrestling fans packed into a football stadium to enjoy their favorite sport. However, due to Oregon Trail-worthy graphics the net effect for many fans (including me) was to take the mockup literally. Which in our defense you'd expect when the official Twitter account for the host organization released the information less than a month before the start of the action. While the quality was akin to the stick figure drawings, it was all the inconvenient items left out that irked the masses. Prime among the exclusions were the head table, scorer's tables, score clocks, and coaches' chairs. There was also a noticeable lack of TV cameras, photographers, and the staff necessary to escort wrestlers to and from waiting areas. Another concern was the warmup area for the wrestlers. While the mockup still shows eight mats, they are separated by wide gaps of floor space -- a tough pill for anyone who has ever tried to warm up on the mats in previous years and found them already a little tight. But in the end it was the message the image was trying to send about epic crowds and increased exposure that lends itself to constructive critique. The idea of more seats equating to anything more than increased revenue is likely misplaced. There is probably a small bump in secondary news stories that cover the number of people attending, but it'll be marginal especially when compared to the impact of improved fan experience in the arena. Revisiting the setup for the field of play, AV interactions with the audience, and ensuring a full social media experience is available would likely promote the sport (and the NCAA) in a more productive way. Let's also not forget that adding a dual meet championship, moving to a single semester, and avoiding the start of the basketball season would all be better revenue generators for the NCAA and create more opportunities for fans to watch healthy wrestlers compete. Baby steps? Maybe. I can see this being the first big initiative of many more, but to get to a new place college wrestling needs its stakeholders to agree on new initiatives. That, unfortunately, is a gap even wider than the floor space between the mats in Minneapolis. To your questions … Wrestlers from Team Taylor at the inaugral AWL event (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Q: It seemed like AWL had some potential as a professional wrestling league, but seems to have folded. Why has it been so difficult to create a sustainable wrestling league in the United States? Where have the organizations gone wrong or made the biggest missteps? -- Mike C. Foley: In journalism we call this an evergreen topic -- one that will always be relevant to readers. Seven years after the launch of several leagues and we are no closer to implementing a sustainable wrestling league here in the states. Each has failed for their own reasons, but one major reason is there hasn't been proper alignment of incentives between the athletes, networks (streaming and linear), and sponsors. The stakes need to be high enough to interest the athletes to not only participate but to train for and promote the event. In the past the athletes have been focused on maximizing their personal return (fair) but they haven't always delivered proper promotion. Likewise sponsors are adding money, but not activating on those dollars which means they see absolutely zero positive feedback. Our Olympic athletes aren't always able to hop off the four-year cycle and dedicate time. So what's the best solution? It could be a Joes vs. Sports Stars method where local income producing competitions are held between jiu jitsu fighters, strongmen, CrossFit guys, and rugby players. Allow the individuals to dress up how they like and treat it as a festival setting. Use a TBD takedown-focused style and allow for lots of creativity and promotion. Events in major cities will draw sponsors and the best of the best -- usually former wrestlers -- graduate to a national stage where they take on current champions of this TBD style and some of America's biggest mat stars. This system allows for maximum return on sponsorship dollars, IG-worthy events, and a sustainable mode for supporting our sport's biggest stars while also distributing the sport to a larger audience. If interested in making this happen, please send me an email! Greg Kerkvliet wrestling Jordan Wood at the U23 Nationals (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Q: It sounds like there is a possibility Greg Kerkvliet enters the Penn State lineup at heavyweight for the postseason. Do you see him as a game changer, someone who could help put the Nittany Lions in the thick of the team race? -- Mike C. Foley: I don't. I'm all for dramatic WWE surprise walkouts but this would be unprecedented in our sport's history to transfer, sit, and suddenly be eligible come plat season. How is this OK? I could never have transferred from U.Va. to UNC and expected to wrestle in the same season. Kerkvliet is unquestionably very talented but that talent hasn't been on the collegiate mats. To debut at the Big Tens is like never having ice skated and then expecting to impress Michelle Kwan on a first date. That's not to say Kerkvliet couldn't win a match or two more than Nevills at the NCAAs, but does that guarantee Penn State will overcome Iowa? Is risking his redshirt worth the squeeze? Not my call, but I think this isn't a well thought out plan, and it's bound to end with some bruised egos. Q: What did you make of Iowa State not sending most of their starters to a dual meet against Missouri last Saturday, instead sending key starters to their home open? It seems as though there was gaming going on, getting some starters questionable wins to increase their chances to qualify for the NCAAs. -- Mike C. Foley: We all know this was a blatant disregard for how the wrestling world works, but look around you. Look at the world -- nothing matters in a battle of morality. The only thing is winning or the perception that you did everything you could to WIN. We don't have right and wrong. We have winning and losing. Exploitation of anything so long as it helps get another tick in the W column. I'm saddened and disappointed that the Iowa State administration allowed this to happen, and I think that the NCAA should take aggressive measures to ensure than it doesn't happen again and that the results of the tournament are invalidated. Q: Is Zahid Valencia out of the Olympic Team Trials in April? -- Josh K. Foley: Yes. Given the timing and initial reports, his positive test would have been international, which would preclude his participation. However, there is an appeal process and he's very able to submit to that process and possibly be vindicated. The entire episode is regrettable. I hope that there is something pending that could vindicate him or at least dampen the disappointment of his teammates and fan base. Q: There have been a lot of media reports about how the coronavirus could cancel the Olympic Games. Do you see this as a real possibility? -- Mike C. Foley: As of now there is no real indication the Olympic Games will be moved or canceled. Some sporting events, especially those in Asia, are being canceled or reassigned to other nations. The virus is spreading rapidly, but the vitality and severity have yet to be determined. Death rates range from two percent to four percent of infections. In the scope of sports, it's an unrealistic risk to ask for those infections to spread for the benefit of game playing. But if we're honest with ourselves we also have to recognize that that the virus' two-week incubation makes it perfect for a drip-drip of developing news that creates fear. Japanese school closings, unknown transmission sources in the USA, and the quarantine of northern Italy all drive the fear that makes it difficult for political leaders to sanction activity. I think the decision point will be June 1. That's 90 days from now, which would imply a further knowledge of how the disease is behaving and a more accurate indication of its deadliness. If things are still gloomy you could expect that some news might be expected.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has announced the qualifier allocations for the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as listed in the chart below. Each qualifying tournament was awarded automatic bids per weight class based on current year data. Each wrestler was measured on the following: Division I winning percentage at the weight class; ratings percentage index (RPI); and coaches' ranking. For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his conference tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each conference was awarded a minimum of one automatic bid per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA tournament spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at the tournament based solely on place-finish. After all of the conference tournaments have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 47 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 10, while brackets and seeding will be announced on NCAA.com at 6 p.m. on March 11. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition; quality wins; coaches' ranking; results against common opponents; RPI; qualifying event placement; and winning percentage. Qualifiers per conference The coaches' rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, EIWA, MAC, Pac-12 and SoCon), which is double the voters that had previously been used for the coaches' panel rankings. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have participated in at least five matches against Division I opponents in the weight class and have wrestled within the last 30 days to be ranked. The RPI is a calculation that considers a wrestler's winning percentage, opponent winning percentage (strength of schedule) and opponent's opponent winning percentage (opponent's strength of schedule). Only matches against Division I opponents at the designated weight class count towards the RPI and a wrestler needs to have wrestled 15 matches to be ranked. Seth Gross of Wisconsin (133 pounds), Ryan Deakin of Northwestern (157) and Kollin Moore of Ohio State (197) are all ranked No. 1 by both the coaches and in the RPI. The remaining top-ranked wrestlers by the coaches are Spencer Lee of Iowa (125), Nick Lee of Penn State (141), Sammy Sasso of Ohio State (149), Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State (165), Michael Kemerer of Iowa (174), Taylor Lujan of Northern Iowa (184) and Gable Steveson of Minnesota (heavyweight). The remaining top-rated wrestlers in the RPI include Pat Glory of Princeton (125), Luke Pletcher of Ohio State (141), Pat Lugo of Iowa (149), Shane Griffith of Stanford (165), Jordan Kutler of Lehigh (174), Hunter Bolen of Virginia Tech (184) and Mason Parris of Michigan (heavyweight). For tickets or more information about the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Minneapolis, visit http://www.ncaa.com/wrestling. A full description of the entire selection process is in the 2020 Division I Wrestling Championships Pre-Championships Manual at NCAA.org.

Charles "Biff" Walizer, a man who made a name for himself as a wrestler and wrestling coach within Pennsylvania and beyond, passed away Friday, Feb. 21. He was 78. Charles "Biff" WalizerBorn in Salona, Pa. in September 1941, Walizer wrestled at Bald Eagle Nittany High School in Mill Hall, where he was a 4-year varsity starter with a record of 40-5-0 before graduating in 1959. At Lock Haven State College (now Lock Haven University), Walizer won three College Conference Championships and two NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) championships with a record of 72-10-1. Just as impressive: Walizer was never pinned in high school or college. Beyond success in high school and college, Walizer also qualified to wrestle off for the 1964 Summer Olympics, but unfortunately, due to a car falling on him, he was not able to compete, according to the funeral home obituary. Upon graduating from Lock Haven in 1963, Walizer launched his long and successful coaching career, starting at Alexandria Bay, N.Y. A year later he moved to Titusville, Pa. where he coached from 1964-1969 with a record of 42-19-1. Walizer could claim his first undefeated team in 1968. Walizer moved back to his hometown of Mill Hall where he taught and coached at Bald Eagle Nittany High School from 1970-1995, leading his wrestlers to a record of 252-136-5. Walizer could claim 53 District 6 Champions, 20 Regional winners and seven State Titlists. He coached three undefeated seasons: 1976-77, 1992-93 and 1993-94. Biff also coached the Pennsylvania Cadet and Junior National teams in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling for eight years. In addition to accumulating winning results, coach Walizer tallied a number of impressive honors. He was a District 6 Coach of the Year for eight years as well as Pennsylvania State Coach of the Year twice. Walizer was inducted into the NAIA National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1993, the Clinton County Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, the District 6 Hall of Family in 1999, the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015, and the West Branch Valley Chapter of the Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. Tom Elling, the dean of Pennsylvania wrestling, shared his thoughts about the legendary wrestler and coach with attendees at the Walizer's funeral service on Wednesday… and with InterMat. "Charles 'Biff' Walizer was a throwback," Elling told InterMat. "He was hard-nosed and lived every day that way. From riding bulls to breaking horses to riding motocross motorcycles to having wrestled an orangutan (and beating it), Biff was a warrior. He was successful as a high school wrestler at Bald Eagle-Nittany High School and as part of the Lock Haven State's 'Fearsome Foursome' of Gray Simons, Fred Powell and Jack Day. "Biff's most notable win was over a West Liberty W.Va. wrestler by the name of Bobby Douglas. Yes, THAT Bobby Douglas. And about a year ago, Bobby heard Biff wasn't doing well so he phoned him. "Wrestlers are tight. Biff's viewing looked like a reunion of Pennsylvania wrestling who's who. Dozens of his former wrestlers lined up to pay their last respects and to tell their favorite Biff stories. There was only one Biff. He will be sorely missed." Walizer is survived the love of his life for 25 years, Becky Smith, along with eight children (including Biff Wilson Walizer who wrestled for Penn State in the late 1990s), eleven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Although services have already taken place, memorial contributions may be made to Mat Town Wrestling, the Clinton County S.P.C.A. or any charity of choice.

Mark Hall leads the Most Dominant standings in Division I (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has released updated standings for the 2020 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the respective Division I, II and III Wrestling Championships. The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. A 2:33 fall by Penn State 174-pounder Mark Hall over American moved him to 4.85 average team points per match and first place in the race for most dominant in Division I. Hall's teammate Nick Lee is second with 4.67 points at 141 pounds, while Princeton's Pat Glory averages 4.65 points at 125 pounds for third. With limited action in Division II over the last week there was no change in the standings for most dominant in Division II. Two-time national champion Chris Eddins Jr., of Pittsburgh-Johnstown leads with an average of 4.74 points. McKendree 197-pounder Ryan Vasbinder and Notre Dame (Ohio) heavyweight Jared Campbell complete the top three in the division. Division III Most Dominant Wrestler is led by Coast Guard 165-pounder Nicholas Moreno with 5.40 team points per match, followed by Troy Stanich of Stevens with 5.32 and Robert Areyano of Central (Iowa) with 5.25. The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of team points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled with a minimum of 16 matches to be ranked. Points per match are awarded as follows. * Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss) * Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss) * Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss) * Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss)

MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 26, 2020 -- JROB Intensive Wrestling Camps and Trackwrestling have announced the lineup of featured guests at the 7 IN 7 PRE-GAME PARTY at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, which will take place on Wednesday, March 18, at 7 p.m. at The Barn at Cowboy Jack's Saloon and Restaurant in Minneapolis. Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer (ESPN: "Wrestling Shaped Mike Zimmer") Olympic Gold Medalist and 15-time National Champion Head Coach Dan Gable Wrestle Like A Girl Founder, Army veteran, and two-time World Bronze Medalist Sally Roberts Four-time Gopher All-American and current undefeated Bellator MMA fighter Logan Storley Spartan Races Founder and best-selling author Joe De Sena Army Ranger, Purple Heart recipient, and former MSU-Mankato wrestler SGT (Ret.) Tom Block Olympic Gold Medalist Randy Lewis National Wrestling Hall of Fame member and medical entrepreneur John Bardis (emcee) The event brings together passionate wrestling fans from across the country to celebrate the NCAA Wrestling Championships. While fans socialize, high-impact personalities with connections to wrestling will share what the sport means to them in seven-minute interviews on stage. "I'm thrilled to be a part of this powerful event that amplifies the best of wrestling before the men's NCAA Championships while growing the sport alongside J Robinson," said Wrestle Like A Girl Founder Sally Roberts. "Wrestling is important because it strengthens the fabric of America and builds our next generation of leaders, regardless of gender, and that's something we can all champion." The guest lineup features speakers from across the wrestling world, including two -- Sally Roberts and Tom Block -- with a military background. "I am beyond excited to be part of this new event that celebrates the impact of wrestling," said SGT (Ret.) Tom Block. "It truly is the best sport because it's unforgiving and immensely rewarding all at once. I'm stoked to be able to share how wrestling gave me the tools to become an Army Ranger and serve in the elite 75th Ranger Regiment." Event proceeds will be gifted to TakeDown Cancer, an initiative of the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund. "All of us at the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund would like to take this opportunity to thank J Robinson for partnering with TakeDown Cancer," said Randy Shaver, KARE 11 news anchor and founder of the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund. "Each dollar raised makes an impact on the lives of Minnesota's Cancer Community! Thank you to J Robinson." A limited number of tickets for the event are available to the general public at 7in7party.com. Tickets cost $15 and include one free drink per 21+ guest. About JROB Intensive Wrestling Camps Since its founding in 1978, JROB Intensive Wrestling Camps has trained more than 50,000 wrestlers with a training philosophy that focuses on developing technical skill, physical preparation, building mental toughness, and life skills. Founded by three-time NCAA national champion wrestling coach J Robinson, JROB now operates 12 summer wrestling camps in locations across the country. Learn more at jrobinsoncamps.com. About Trackwrestling Trackwrestling is part of SportsEngine, Inc., an NBC Sports Group company, and is considered the go-to resource for the sport of wrestling, providing the latest in wrestling stats and content, in addition to live streaming and archived video services at www.Trackwrestling.com. Trackwrestling is the official event management system for the National Wrestling Coaches Association and is used to manage more than 9,500 wrestling events each year. Trackwrestling's services are used as the official scoring systems for more than 35 state high school tournaments, the NCAA Divisions I, II and III Championships and is the official streaming partner of United World Wrestling. SportsEngine, Inc. is the leading provider of sport relationship management software for more than a million youth sports organizations, leagues, governing bodies, and associations. Learn more at: www.sportsengine.com. About TakeDown Cancer TakeDown Cancer donations contribute to the work of The Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund which supports cancer research, prevention, treatment and other community needs throughout the state of Minnesota. Learn more at takedowncancer.org.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- (Qualifiers by weight class | Qualifiers by school | Qualifiers by conference) The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes (NAIA) has officially announced the qualifiers for the 2020 NAIA Wrestling National Championships hosted by Visit Wichita on Tuesday. The 63rd annual event takes place March 6-7 at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan. Conference champions in their respective weight class earn an automatic berth to the national championship. Conferences received additional allocations based on the amount of wrestlers ranked in each weight class in the final regular-season coaches' poll. In addition to the automatic qualifiers, each conference was allowed three at-large individuals from any weight class. A 14-member national selection committee selected the remainder of the 240-wrestler field. Eight-time defending national champion Grand View (Iowa) will be taking a full roster of 12 grapplers to the national championships. Reinhardt (Ga.) joins the Vikings with a full roster. Menlo (Calif.) is taking the third-most wrestlers with 11, while Campbellsville (Ky.), Life (Ga.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Southeastern (Fla.) are a close fourth, taking a roster of ten. The Mid-South Conference led all conferences with 61 individual qualifiers. The Cascade Collegiate Conference was second with 51 qualifiers. Preliminary brackets will be announced Friday, Feb. 28.

Ohio State's Kollin Moore will bring a perfect 24-0 record into the postseason (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Finishing unbeaten for an entire college wrestling season is no easy feat. Just four wrestlers did it last year. But a much larger number of competitors are on track to complete the 2019-20 season with a zero in the loss column. This year's list is loaded with top-level wrestlers. There are 14 NCAA Division I wrestlers who will carry unbeaten records into the postseason. Just for fun, we are ranking the undefeated wrestlers most likely to finish this season without a defeat. Here is my list, in order of the most likely wrestlers to go unbeaten: 125: Spencer Lee (Iowa) 15-0 The two-time NCAA champion hasn't been seriously challenged this season. His toughest match was his most recent bout, a 12-3 major decision over No. 4 Nick Piccininni of Oklahoma State on Sunday night. It won't be easy for Lee, but he's the heavy favorite to win NCAAs again at 125 pounds. Lee has a knack for peaking when the stakes are highest. 197: Kollin Moore (Ohio State) 24-0 A national finalist last year, Moore has been one of the most dominant wrestlers in the country this season. He's a strong, physical and hard-charging wrestler who has been a force on the international level in freestyle as well. Moore is right on track to be a national champion this season. 141: Nick Lee (Penn State) 18-0 You can't help but love the way this guy wrestles. He gets after it. He gave up an early takedown to top-ranked Luke Pletcher of Ohio State before taking control for the rest of the match in earning an impressive win. Lee is the total package with his high level of technique, toughness and tenacity. He is going to be difficult to beat. 165: Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) 13-0 Joseph won two NCAA titles before finishing second last season. He's bounced back with a terrific season where he's had impressive wins over All-Americans Alex Marinelli of Iowa and Evan Wick of Wisconsin. Joseph is a tough matchup with his strength and stamina. He's a difficult opponent to wrestle and he's tough to score on. Minnesota's Gable Steveson had an undefeated regular season for the second straight year (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) 285: Gable Steveson (Minnesota) 12-0 Steveson is the most talented wrestler in the country in any weight class. He's a mobile and explosive wrestler who I really believe can make a run at an Olympic medal this year. He's that good. If he stays on the attack, he will win his first NCAA title. He will face a tough challenge with unbeaten Mason Parris of Michigan in his weight class. 174: Michael Kemerer (Iowa) 13-0 The two-time All-American has come on strong late in the season after bumping up two weight classes. Kemerer earned a huge victory over NCAA champion and three-time finalist Mark Hall of Penn State in a dual meet this season. No doubt, the talented Hall will be determined to avenge that loss in the postseason. Kemerer is starting to peak after being out with an injury last season. 157: Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) 18-0 Deakin has ascended to the No. 1 ranking with a superb season. Staying there will be a challenge with past NCAA finalist Hayden Hidlay of North Carolina State and talented freshman David Carr of Iowa State ready to challenge for the title. Deakin is a veteran with strong credentials who is certainly capable of being the top guy in late March. 285: Mason Parris (Michigan) 26-0 Is there a more improved wrestler in the country than Parris? He won a Junior world title over the summer before putting together an impressive regular season for the Wolverines. Parris is really good, but Minnesota's Gable Steveson is going to be difficult to beat. I wouldn't count Parris out though. He's a tough, gritty wrestler who is fun to watch. And he keeps improving. 149: Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) 10-0 This weight class is still fairly wide open, but Kolodzik is a proven wrestler capable of reaching the top of the podium. But there are a number of evenly matched guys in this balanced weight class. Kolodzik has placed third and fifth at nationals. He's won his share of matches at the NCAA meet. He is definitely someone who can make a title run this year. 125: Pat Glory (Princeton) 20-0 Glory is excellent in the top position and his style could create problems for Iowa's Spencer Lee. If Lee has a weakness, it is when he's on bottom. Glory needs to avoid being taken down if he matches up with the Iowa standout and then hope he can prevail with his strength in the top position. 125: Jack Mueller (Virginia) 12-0 This is another veteran capable of winning his share of big matches. He proved that last year in reaching the NCAA finals before falling 5-0 to Iowa's Spencer Lee. Mueller is very good, but he's also in the same weight as one of the nation's best pound-for-pound wrestlers in Spencer Lee. 133: Chas Tucker (Cornell) 28-0 Tucker has had a heck of a season and he's an excellent wrestler, but he's also ranked fifth behind four studs from the Big Ten. Tucker would need a superb performance to surpass the guys ahead of him, but you never know. Crazy things are known to happen this time of year. Tucker is definitely capable of making a big splash next month. 197: Noah Adams (West Virginia) 29-0 The second-ranked Adams may not receive the recognition he deserves, but he's had an outstanding season. Adams has made big gains with his wrestling. He's won his share of big matches and he now has a big opportunity in front of him at the 2020 NCAA Championships. I wouldn't count him out. Stanford's Shane Griffith is an undefeated freshman ranked No. 3 in the country (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 165: Shane Griffith (Stanford) 26-0 Griffith has had a superb season, but he's in a loaded weight class that includes two-time NCAA champion Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State along with a number of other high All-Americans. But you never know. A freshman wasn't expected to win this weight class last year, but that didn't stop Virginia Tech freshman Mekhi Lewis from reaching the top of the podium at 165. Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year.

Always dreamed of being able to go the NCAAs ... but only have time to take in a single session? Now you can! The 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are now offering college wrestling fans the opportunity to purchase single-session tickets in advance ... online. For the first time in recent history, you can purchase tickets for any of the six sessions for the 2020 NCAA D1s, to be held Thursday, March 19 through Saturday, March 21 at US Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis. Each day will feature two sessions ... culminating with Session 6 -- the championship finals -- on Saturday night. You can also purchase tickets for all six sessions as a package online. Want to enhance your fan experience at the 2020 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships? Check out The NCAA Experience managed by PRIMESPORT. The NCAA Experience is an exclusive, 2-hour pre-session party located in the DeltaSky360 Club featuring early entry to U.S. Bank Stadium (30 minutes prior to general public), a limited open bar, delicious pre-match tailgate food, meet-and-greet with NCAA wrestling legends, photo opportunity with the NCAA Championships trophy and more! The NCAA Experience fan hospitality will open 60 minutes prior to each session. Tickets for The NCAA Experience may be purchased in advance online. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships have always been THE big event on the U.S. amateur wrestling calendar. Now, this year, the championships will be bigger than ever ... thanks to the 2020 NCAAs being held for the first time in an indoor football stadium -- US Bank Stadium in downtown Minneapolis. This totally enclosed venue -- which resembles a huge, glassy Viking ship -- has a seating capacity of 66,860 for football, and 72,711 for the 2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball Final Four. These seating capacities are more than three times that of typical basketball/hockey arenas that have hosted NCAA Division I championships for the past few decades. And that means significantly greater numbers of amateur wrestling fans will have the opportunity to witness in THE major event of the college wrestling season in person. And, while you're at the 2020 NCAAs, check out the free Fan Festival at the Armory, just two blocks west of US Bank Stadium. This annual festival -- held this year on Friday-Saturday, March 20-21 -- has so much for fans to take in. Watch Team USA wrestlers practice, attend autograph sessions and a coaches clinic, buy wrestling memorabilia, and take part in an NCAA semifinals preview show. Free and open to the public, the Fan Festival will be an added food and beverage outlet for wrestling fans between sessions.

Kegan Koshiol and McKinley EricksonTwo St. Croix Falls High School wrestlers were killed on their way to work out with their teammates before school Friday. Kegan Koshiol and McKinley Erickson died when their SUV hit a patch of ice, ran off the road, flipped over, and struck a series of trees in St. Croix Falls on the western Wisconsin border with Minnesota, northeast of Minneapolis-St. Paul. Koshiol and Erickson were slated to travel with the rest of their team to state sectionals at Edgar, Wis. just west of Wausau. The tragic news was shared on the Facebook page of the St. Croix Falls Wrestling Booster Club. Erickson was a junior, and a standout athlete in football, wrestling and track, according to WCCO-TV. The CBS affiliate in the Twin Cities described Koshiol as "a well-loved freshman, and a strong wrestler. His friends say he had interest in one day serving in the military as a pilot." St. Croix Falls wrestling coach Joe Raygor says the wrestling team decided to honor Erickson and Koshiol by competing at the sectionals in Wausau. "We kind of left it up to the kids to come today," Raygor said. "We had two opt out because they couldn't overcome the grief, but we had eight kids come down today. We talked about that sometimes it's not the easy choice, but you have to do what's really hard. We left it up to the kids, we told them we loved them, they came down here, they're ready to fight, and they're wrestling hard. We had both families reach out and tell us they wanted the boys to wrestle hard and they're supportive from home. You know, that's pretty powerful. The big thing that we preach is family. This is a horrible thing, but it reminds us of the family piece." Upon arriving in Edgar, the team was greeted with condolences from schools around the state of Wisconsin, WSAU-TV of Wausau reported. Both coaches and wrestlers used the tournament as an opportunity to honor their teammates and come closer together. Four of the wrestlers from St. Croix Falls made it to the finals of the sectional tournament which gives them an automatic bid to the state tournament which starts Thursday at Kohl Center on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Memorial services were recently announced.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Senior Pat Lugo wrapped his senior day with a fall and the top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team wrapped its undefeated regular season (13-0) with a 34-6 win over No. 10 Oklahoma State on Sunday. Pat Lugo (Photo/Brian Ray, HawkeyeSports.com)Lugo made short work in his home finale, decking No. 6 Boo Lewallen in two minutes, 21 seconds. "Very special. My first pin in Carver actually. It was cool," Lugo said. "There were a lot of fans cheering. It was a good night, but the job is not finished. We've got Big Tens, nationals. I want to get my hand raised, do the same thing in Minnesota." Lugo's pin was one of two Hawkeye falls and one of six bonus-point victories. Iowa opened the dual with a combination of major decision, fall, major decision, fall. Iowa led 20-3 at intermission, and held a 28-point advantage by the end, matching its largest margin of victory over the Cowboys in 25 years. "Get the bonus points. When you get the clamps on the guy you make him pay. There were some good things there," said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. Spencer Lee and Alex Marinelli both earned top 10 wins. Lee used one takedown, six nearfall points and three minutes of riding time to defeat No. 4 Nick Piccininni, 12-3, at 125. Marinelli exchanged escapes with No. 6 Travis Wittlake before breaking a 1-1 tie with a takedown in the final minute at 165. Austin DeSanto won by fall, pinning No. 14 Reece Witcraft in two minutes, 38 seconds at 133. Max Murin scored five takedowns and a season-high 15 points in is 15-4 major decision over No. 12 Dusty Hone at 141. Michael Kemerer and Tony Cassioppi also won by major decision. Kemerer racked up five minutes of riding time in a 12-2 win over No. 13 Joe Smith at 174, and Cassioppi closed the dual with an 11-1 major at 285. Jacob Warner also won by decision, 8-3, at 197. Oklahoma State won decisions at 157 and 184. The dual was Iowa's final home dual of the season. A single-season record 87,979 wrestling fans came through the gates of Carver-Hawkeye Arena in 2019-20, a new NCAA average attendance record of 12,568. "We had a great schedule and our fans showed up from the get-go," Brands said. "We had 10,000-plus for Chattanooga and we have to continue that next year. We have to get ready to give our fans something to be excited about going into this postseason and put some exclamation marks on these next two tournaments" UP NEXT Iowa competes at the 2020 Big Ten Championships in Piscataway, New Jersey, on Marcy 7-8. The NCAA Championships are March 19-21 in Minneapolis. NOTABLES The 28-point margin of victory ties for the fourth largest in the series against Oklahoma State, and matches the largest since a 31-3 victory in 1995. Iowa wrestlers finished the dual season with a combined 108-22 record. Iowa completed its 22nd undefeated season at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes are 262-25 since moving into the arena in 1983. Iowa set an NCAA average attendance record, averaging 12,568 in seven duals. The 87,979 fans through the gates is also a school single-season record. Spencer Lee scored bonus points for the 14th time in 15 matches. He outscored his opponents 183-13 in the regular season. Austin DeSanto earned his second pin of the season. He has scored bonus points in 11 of 14 wins. Pat Lugo improved to 9-1 against ranked opponent and earned his sixth top 10 win of the season. Marinelli earned his fourth top 10 win of the season. Michael Kemerer improved to 13-0 and has won 32 straight duals. Results: 125 -- #1 Spencer Lee (IA) major dec. #4 Nick Piccininni (OKST), 12-3; 4-0 133 -- #3 Austin DeSanto (IA) pinned Reece Witcraft (OKST), 2:39; 10-0 141 -- #5 Max Murin (IA) major dec. Dusty Hone (OKST), 15-4; 14-0 149 -- #2 Pat Lugo (IA) pinned #6 Boo Lewallen (OKST), 2:21; 20-0 157 -- Wyatt Sheets (OKST) dec. #5 Kaleb Young (IA), 9-4; 20-3 165 -- #2 Alex Marinelli (IA) dec. #6 Travis Wittlake (OKST), 3-2; 23-3 174 -- #1 Michael Kemerer (IA) major dec. #13 Joe Smith (OKST), 12-2; 27-3 184 -- #14 Anthony Montalvo (OKST) dec. Nelson Brands (IA), 8-2; 27-6 197 -- #6 Jacob Warner (IA) dec. #16 Dakota Greer (OKST), 8-3; 30-6 285 -- #3 Tony Cassioppi (IA) major dec. Austin Harris (OKST), 11-1; 34-6 Records: Iowa (13-0), Oklahoma State (13-3) Attendance: 13,109

AMES, Iowa -- No. 19 Iowa State (10-5, 7-1 Big 12) ended its dual season on a bright note with a 22-16 victory over North Dakota State (10-4, 5-2 Big 12) in wrestling action Sunday evening in Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State won six matches and the takedown battle, 16-7. The win gave the Cyclones a share of the Big 12 dual title at 7-1. How It Happened Iowa State fell down 7-0 after dropping the first two matches at 157 and 165 pounds. Sam Colbray recorded three points for the Cyclones at 174 pounds with a 7-3 victory over Luke Weber. Colbray recorded a pair of takedowns in the third period to improve his season record to 14-7. Marcus Coleman dominated his match in a 15-4 win over T.J. Pottinger at 184 pounds. Coleman was the aggressor from the start, taking down Pottinger in the first 16 seconds while adding back points. He ended the match with five takedowns overall. Gannon Gremmel tied the match at 10-10 with a victory over Brandon Metz at 285 pounds. Gremmel led 1-0 after two periods and Metz chose neutral to begin the third. Gremmel sealed the deal with a takedown nine seconds into the period and stayed on top until the final horn for a 4-0 triumph. Alex Mackall tallied a 6-3 victory over McGwire Midkiff in the 125-pound match, notching a pair of takedowns and a reversal. Todd Small got an early takedown in the 133-pound match, but after a takedown by Cam Sykora moments later, Small's leg got tangled and the match ended by injury default at the 1:24 mark. At 141 pounds, Ian Parker wasted little time in his pin over Sawyer Degen. Parker was up 6-1 after the first period and got the pin in the third period with a cradle after his fourth takedown. Parker improves to 18-3 on the season. Jarrett Degen secured the win with a 4-3 victory over Jaden Van Maanen at 149 pounds. The score was tied at 3-3 heading into the final period, but Degen rode out Van Maanen to avoid the escape and get the extra point for riding time. Next Up Iowa State will start preparation for the 2020 Big 12 Championship, March 7-8 at The BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Results: 157: Jared Franek (NDSU) maj. dec. Isaac Judge (ISU), 11-2 165: Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) dec. Chase Straw (ISU), 8-1 174: Sam Colbray (ISU) dec. Luke Weber (NDSU), 7-3 184: Marcus Coleman (ISU) maj. dec. T.J. Pottinger (NDSU), 15-4 197: Cordell Eaton (NDSU) dec. Joel Shapiro (ISU), 3-2 285: Gannon Gremmel (ISU) dec. Brandon Metz (NDSU), 4-0 125: Alex Mackall (ISU) dec. McGwire Midkiff (NDSU), 6-3 133: Cam Sykora (NDSU) inj. def. Todd Small (ISU), 1:24 141: Ian Parker (ISU) pinned Sawyer Degen (NDSU), 6:16 149: Jarrett Degen (ISU) dec. Jaden Van Maanen (NDSU), 4-3

No. 14 Princeton broke a 23-match skid to No. 25 Rutgers and picked up the program's first win over the Scarlet Knights since 1990, closing the dual-match season with a win to finish 9-4 and complete the New Jersey sweep, with wins over Rutgers and Rider, for the first time since the 1982-83 season. The Tigers have faced those teams in the same season 18 times since the last sweep, including every year since the sweep through the 1989-90 season, again in the 2005-06 season, and again annually since 2009-10. Princeton opened with a decision from third-ranked Patrick Glory at 125 but saw Rutgers get the next two to take a 6-3 lead. Then came the only match of the night that didn't end in a decision, as fourth-ranked Matthew Kolodzik turned in a first-period pin against Gerard Angelo to put Princeton in front, 9-6. Its significance didn't become clearer until later in the match, but it ended up swaying the night Princeton's way. Kolodzik's win began a three-match win streak for Princeton that included decisions for fourth-ranked Quincy Monday at 157 and Grant Cuomo at 165, with Cuomo's coming by a point, 8-7. That put Princeton ahead 15-6, and after Rutgers' Willie Scott had a decision win at 174, Travis Stefanik, who had the clincher in the Ivy title-winning dual against Cornell two weeks earlier, put Princeton up 18-9 with a 5-2 decision at 184. Princeton had a scare when third-ranked Patrick Brucki suffered an injury early in his match, but he continued and nearly won, falling 10-9 to limit Rutgers' gain to making it 18-12. With one match to go, Brucki's outcome was the clincher for Princeton, though the coaching staffs would have had to consult their rule books and do some quick addition to know that. Had Rutgers won by pin at heavyweight, the first criteria, victories, wouldn't have decided it as each team would have five. The second criteria would have been no help either, as each team would have had one pin and four decisions each. The third criteria, though, went Princeton's way by the thinnest of margins, as Princeton racked up 48 points in its non-pin matches to Rutgers' 47. It didn't come to that. Aidan Conner battled Rutgers' Matthew Correnti to a 6-3 decision, with Correnti's win making it just 18-15. Princeton will have next weekend off before heading to EIWAs at Lehigh, where the team has finished third each of the last three years behind Lehigh and Cornell in either order, giving Princeton its best finish at the event since its 1978 title. Results: 125: #3 Patrick Glory (Princeton) wins by decision over #20 Nicolas Aguilar (Rutgers), 10-5 133: #10 Sammy Alvarez (Rutgers) wins by decision over Sean Pierson (Princeton), 7-5 141: Zach Firestone (Rutgers) wins by decision over Marshall Keller (Princeton), 5-2 149: #4 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) wins by fall over Gerard Angelo (Rutgers), 2:55 157: #4 Quincy Monday (Princeton) wins by decision over Mike Vanschenkbrill (Rutgers), 8-5 165: Grant Cuomo (Princeton) wins by decision over Brett Donner (Rutgers), 8-7 174: Willie Scott (Rutgers) wins by decision over Nate Dugan (Princeton), 6-1 184: Travis Stefanik (Princeton) wins by decision over #13 Billy Janzer (Rutgers), 5-2 197: #19 Jordan Pagano (Rutgers) wins by decision over #3 Patrick Brucki (Princeton), 10-9 HWT: Matthew Correnti (Rutgers) wins by decision over Aidan Conner (Princeton), 6-3

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Senior Trey Keeley, junior Charlie Faber, and sophomore Jack Bokina all posted major decisions as Brown University wrestling rallied past Sacred Heart University, 18-15, in its regular season finale on Sunday afternoon at the William H. Pitt Center. Trailing 12-3 after the first half of the dual, the Bears (4-8, 4-7 EIWA) won four of the meet's final five bouts to come back and defeat the Pioneers (8-6, 3-5 EIWA), closing out a 2-0 weekend that included a 19-18 victory over Harvard yesterday. The Bears concluded the regular season with three wins in their final four duals. "It's nice to be able to close the regular season with back-to-back wins and with wins in three of our last four matches," Brown head coach Todd Beckerman said. "Just like yesterday against Harvard, we needed all 10 guys to win tonight. We can take this momentum with us when we head to EIWAs in two weeks." Keeley (Washington, Ill.) tallied his 12th win of the season, second win of the weekend, and third major decision of the year. Faber (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) notched his 13th win and fifth major decision of the year. Bokina (Mattituck, N.Y.) registered his 17th win of the year, and his team-high sixth major decision of the season completed the Bears' comeback. Junior Nino Bastianelli (Marysville, Mich.) recorded his 17th win of the year and second win of the weekend while freshman Ricky Cabanillas (Whippany, N.J.) charted his team-best 22nd win of the year, sixth straight victory, and second win of the weekend. After Sacred Heart opened the dual – which began at 165 pounds – with three straight victories, Bastianelli began the Bears' comeback with a 7-2 decision over Rob Hetherman at 197 pounds, bringing Brown within 9-3. Following a Pioneer victory in the heavyweight division, Keeley started the Bears' run of four wins in five bouts with an 11-0 shutout major decision over Sean Faraon at 125 pounds, cutting the margin in the team score to 12-7. Faber followed with another major decision, topping Kyle Randall, 15-4, at 133 pounds and slicing the Bears' deficit to 12-11. SHU countered with a win at 141 pounds, moving up 15-11, before Brown answered with back-to-back wins to close the meet. Cabanillas pulled the Bears within 15-14 in the team score behind a 3-1 victory over Nick Palumbo at 149 pounds. Bokina then sealed the team triumph behind a 13-0 shutout major decision over Will Schmidt at 157 pounds. Next, Brown competes at the EIWA Championships at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., from March 6-7. Results: 165: Brandon Levesque (S) def. Matt Lattanze (B), Dec. 5-1 (SHU 3-0) 174: Joe Accousti (S) def. Cade Wilson (B), Dec. 7-2 (SHU 6-0) 184: Kyle Davis (S) def. Aaron Wolk (B), Dec. 6-3 (SHU 9-0) 197: Nino Bastianelli (B) def. Rob Hetherman (S), Dec. 7-2 (SHU 9-3) 285: Connor Fredericks (S) def. Thomas Mukai (B), Dec. 4-0 (SHU 12-3) 125: Trey Keeley (B) def. Sean Faraon (S), MD 11-0 (SHU 12-7) 133: Charlie Faber (B) def. Kyle Randall (S), MD 15-4 (SHU 12-11) 141: Gerard Daly (S) def. Hunter Kosco (B), Dec. 5-1 (SHU 15-11) 149: Ricky Cabanillas (B) def. Nick Palumbo (S), Dec. 3-1 (SHU 15-14) 157: Jack Bokina (B) vs. Will Schmidt (S), MD 13-0 (Brown 18-15)