InterMat Staff

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- No. 15 Illinois wrestling won decisively, 29-6, at No. 25 Rutgers on Friday night for its fourth straight dual victory. Senior Travis Piotrowski (133), ranked seventh-nationally in his weight class, pinned ninth-ranked Sammy Alvarez in the first period (2:43) to extend the Illini lead at the time to 9-0. The Illini also saw wins Friday from redshirt freshman Justin Cardani (125), redshirt junior Dylan Duncan (141), redshirt senior Eric Barone (157), redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel (165), redshirt senior Joey Gunther (174), redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel (185) and freshman Luke Luffman (285). Illinois is now 8-3 overall and 5-2 in Big Ten duals. "The guys did great; there was a lot of energy and we were offensive," said head coach Jim Heffernan. "It was about as complete as we've wrestled all year as a team. (Justin) Cardani and Travis (Piotrowski) really set the tone beating their two best guys out of the gate. Travis' win really got our guys excited." Redshirt freshman Justin Cardani got the Illini on the board to start the night with a win over Nicolas Aguilar. Ranked 21st nationally, Cardani recorded a first period takedown to take the initial lead over 17th-ranked Aguilar. Tied in the third period, Cardani was able to escape, and went on to win the match by decision, 3-2. Cardani is now 13-6 on the season, 9-2 in duals, and 6-1 in Big Ten bouts. Next up in the 133-pound bout was a top-10 matchup between No. 7 Travis Piotrowski and No. 9 Sammy Alvarez. Piotrowski was able to turn Alvarez late in the first period, and secured the win by fall 2:43 into the match. Piotrowski moves to 20-2 on the season, and remains perfect in dual bouts at 11-0. With a 9-0 lead, Redshirt junior Dylan Duncan looked to keep the momentum going in the 141-pound bout against JoJo Aragona. Duncan tallied three takedowns, an escape and tacked on the riding time point in a dominant, 8-0 major decision shutout. Ranked No. 11 nationally at 141-pounds, Duncan is now 16-6 on the season, including 6-1 in Big Ten bouts. Redshirt senior Eric Barone was strong defensively in his 157-pound bout against Michael Van Brill. After a scoreless first, Barone was on top in the second. He didn't allow Van Brill to escape, which would prove to decide the match. With the score tied at 1-1 at the end of the third, Barone was able to win the bout with the riding time point, earned largely through a tough effort on top in the second. Barone's 2-1 decision over Van Brill put Illinois in front, 16-3, at the intermission. Redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel was opposed by Brett Donner in the first match after the intermission. Braunagel took the lead initially with a takedown in the first, and added a point for an escape in the second. Donner tied the match at 3-3 late in the third with a takedown, but Braunagel was able to escape in the final seconds, earning a 4-3 decision victory. Ranked 13th nationally, Braunagel is now 18-6 on the season, including 8-3 in dual matchups. Redshirt senior Joey Gunther added to the Illinois lead with a win in the 174-pound bout over Willie Scott. Gunther turned in a strong defensive effort, and won the match in a 1-0 decision over Scott. Gunther, ranked 14th nationally, moves to 14-5 this season with tonight's win. Redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel was up next in a ranked matchup with Billy Janzer. At the end of three periods, the score was tied at 1-1, with No. 14 Braunagel and No. 12 Janzer only having each earned a point with escapes. After a scoreless Sudden Victory-1, the bout went to Tiebreaker-1. Braunagel started on top, and didn't allow Janzer to escape in his 30 seconds. Switching to bottom, Braunagel was able to escape, and tacked on two more points with a takedown. His strong performance in the tiebreaker period earned him the 4-1 victory. Braunagel's record now stands at 16-7 this season. Freshman Luke Luffman closed out the Illinois win with a dominant performance in the heavyweight bout. Ranked 25th nationally, Luffman tallied five takedowns en route to an 11-3 major decision over Alex Esposito. Luffman is now 14-6 in his true-freshman campaign. Up next No. 15 Illinois will look to extend its win streak, taking on Maryland on Sunday, February 9. The dual is set to begin at 1 p.m. CT, and will be broadcast on BTN +. Results: 125: No. 21 Justin Cardani (ILL) dec. No. 17 Nicolas Aguilar, 3-2 | ILL 3, RU 0 133: No. 7 Travis Piotrowski (ILL) Fall No. 9 Sammy Alvarez (RU), 2:43 | ILL 9, RU 0 141: No. 11 Dylan Duncan (ILL) major dec. JoJo Aragona (RU), 8-0 | ILL 13, RU 0 149: Nick Santos (RU) dec. Mousa Jodeh (ILL), 8-2 | ILL 13, RU 3 157: Eric Barone (ILL) dec. Michael Van Brill (RU), 2-1 | ILL 16, RU 3 165: No. 13 Danny Braunagel (ILL) dec. Brett Donner (RU), 4-3 | ILL 19, RU 3 174: No. 14 Joey Gunther (ILL) dec. Willie Scott (RU), 1-0 | ILL 22, RU 3 184: No. 14 Zac Braunagel (ILL) TB-1 No. 12 Billy Janzer (RU), | ILL 25, RU 3 197: No. 19 Jordan Pagano (RU) dec. No. 30 Matt Wroblewski (ILL), 5-0 | ILL 25, RU 6 285: No. 25 Luke Luffman (ILL) major dec. Alex Esposito (RU), 11-3 | ILL 29, RU 6

It was a historic night in front of a large Pitt-Johnstown Sports Center crowd on Friday. Pitt-Johnstown wrestling Coach Pat Pecora earned his 617th career win and snapped a 46-year-old record to become college wrestling's all-time winningest coach when his fourth-ranked Mountain Cats dealt 11th-ranked Mercyhurst a 22-12 Alumni Night setback. Pitt-Johnstown improved to 20-3 overall and 6-0 in the PSAC. Fifth-ranked Connor Craig's major decision over Trever Begin in the 184-lb. match put the Mountain Cats on top by 16 with just two bouts remaining to seal the historic victory. Pecora broke Dale Thomas' all-time wins record among coaches in all divisions, including NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, NAIA, and Junior College. Thomas surpassed Kent State Coach Joe Beglia's 284 victories in 1974 to take over as the all-time wins leader. Thomas, who coached from 1956-1990, ended his career with a 616-168-13 overall record. In his 44th season at Pitt-Johnstown, Pecora is 617-151-5. "Pitt-Johnstown congratulates our legendary wrestling Coach, Pat Pecora, for a historic achievement - the all-time winningest NCAA coach! We are enormously proud of this monumental accomplishment, which stands as a testament to his great work ethic, inspirational leadership, spirited enthusiasm, and love for his wrestling teams and UPJ. It is only fitting that the record that had stood for decades was shattered here in Johnstown, PA - a place that symbolizes the grit, hardiness, courage, and resilience of Coach P., his champion wrestlers, and our entire community. Coach P.'s victory reminds us that this place is the home of champions, past, present, and future," said Dr. Jem Spectar, President of Pitt-Johnstown. Fourth-ranked Brendan Howard gave the Mountain Cats a quick 3-0 lead with a 10-4 decision over Jacob Ruggeri at 125 lbs., but eighth-ranked Eric Bartos held off Matt Siszka, 5-2, at 133 to tie it. Pitt-Johnstown regained the lead with Jacob Ealy's 3-1 decision over 2019 All-American Alexis Soriano that started a streak of three consecutive Mountain Cat wins. Top-ranked and two-time National Champion Chris Eddins picked-up his 99th career win when he dealt Alex Samson a 10-2 major decision loss at 149 lbs. to make it 10-3, and Nate Smith got a late take down to secure a 9-1 major decision victory over Michael Clark at 157 lbs. that increased the lead to 14-3. In a battle of a pair of ranked wrestles at 165 lbs., Mercyhurst fifth-ranked Logan Grass snapped the three-match losing streak with a 5-4 win over fourth-ranked Devin Austin. Pitt-Johnstown bounced right back with a pair of major decisions. Sixth-ranked Brock Biddle defeated Nick Konyk, 10-1, at 174 lbs., and Craig, a 2019 NCAA National Champion, sealed he match with his 8-0 victory. With the match already decided, Mercyhurst got a 10-4 decision win at 197 lbs. from eighth-ranked Luke McGonigal and a 6-3 decision by No. 3 Jake Robb at 285 lbs. to close it out and set the final at 22-13. The Lakers are now 10-4 overall and 4-2 in the PSAC. Pitt-Johnstown closes out the 2019-20 regular season and celebrate Senior Night with a PSAC match again Gannon on February 15. Results: 125 lbs. #4 Brendan Howard (UPJ) Decision Jacob Ruggeri (MU) 10-4 3-0 UPJ 133 lbs. #8 Eric Bartos (MU) Decision Matt Siszka (UPJ) 6-2 3-3 TIE 141 lbs. Jacob Ealy (UPJ) Decision Alexis Soriano (MU) 3-1 6-3 UPJ 149 lbs. #1 Chris Eddins (UPJ) Major Decision Alex Samson (UPJ) 10-2 10-3 UPJ 157 lbs. Nate Smith (UPJ) Major Decision Michael Clark (MU) 9-1 13-3 UPJ 165 lbs. #4 Logan Grass (UPJ) Decision #4 Devin Austin (UPJ) 5-4 13-6 MU 174 lbs. #6 Brock Biddle (UPJ) Major Decision Nick Konyk (MU) 10-1 17-6 UPJ 184 lbs. #5 Connor Craig (UPJ) Major Decision Trever Begin (MU) 8-0 22-6 UPJ 197 lbs. #8 Luke McGonigal (MU) Decision Alex Delp (UPJ) 10-4 22-9 UPJ 285 lbs. #3 Jake Robb (MU) Decision Allan Beattie (UPJ) 6-3 22-12 UPJ

MADISON, Wis. -- The Penn State Nittany Lions (9-2, 6-1 1G), ranked No. 2 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, rolled through No. 4 Wisconsin (10-4, 3-4 B1G) in a top-five Big Ten dual meet in Madison. The Lions used three victories over ranked opponents to post a 29-10 win over the homestanding Badgers. The Lions won seven of ten bouts, including the final five to erase a small halftime deficit on their way to the lopsided dual meet victory. Penn State is wrapping up of a run of four-of-five road duals in 16 days, including action at Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. All rankings listed are InterMat, the official wrestling rankings of the Big Ten Conference. The dual began at 125 where freshman Brandon Meredith (Limerick, Pa.) dropped a 4-0 decision to Eric Barnett. Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 2 at 133, then met No. 1 Seth Gross in one of the dual's many anticipated matchups. The duo put on a show that ended with Bravo-Young nearly notching a last-second takedown, not getting the call as time ran out, and dropping a close 6-5 bout. Junior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 2 at 141, then dominated No. 7 Tristan Moran. The Lion notched two takedowns and a number of nearfalls in posting a 14-1 major decision with 4:29 in riding time over the ranked Badger to cut the Wisconsin lead to 6-4. Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) gave Penn State the lead at 149 with a 3-2 win over No. 15 Cole Martin. Verkleeren battled the ranked Badger evenly for the entire bout and used a late takedown to post the win, giving Penn State a 7-6 lead. Junior Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) dropped a 13-4 major to Garrett Model at 157 and Penn State trailed 10-7 at halftime. Senior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, met No. 3 Evan Wick in another marquee bout. Joseph controlled the action from start to finish. The Lion senior used two takedowns, a reversal, a stall point and 4:08 in riding time to roll to an 8-0 major decision and put Penn State back on top, 11-10. Senior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 2 at 174, then stretched Penn State's lead to 17-10, pinning Wisconsin's Jared Krattiger at the 4:16 mark. True freshman Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 7 at 184, extended the Penn State lead, posting a 3-2 win over Badger senior Johnny Sebastian. Brooks used a takedown in the third period for the bout's key points. Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 18 at 197, clinched the dual meet victory with a solid 6-0 win over Wisconsin's Taylor Watkins. Rasheed's win put Penn State up 23-10 with just one bout. True freshman Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 15 at 285, received a forfeit victory at 285 and Penn State posted the dominant 29-10 victory in Madison. Penn State had an 11-7 takedown edge and won seven of ten bouts, including the last five. The Nittany Lions picked up eight bonus points off a forfeit (Nevills), a pin (Hall) and two majors (Lee, Joseph). Penn State is now 9-2 overall, 6-1 in the Big Ten. Wisconsin falls to 10-4, 3-4 in the conference. Penn State visits Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m. Eastern / 1 p.m. Central, in another BTN national telecast. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. Results: 125: Eric Barnett UW dec. Brandon Meredith PSU, 4-0 0-3 133: #1 Seth Gross UW dec. #2 Roman Bravo-Young PSU, 6-5 0-6 141: #2 Nick Lee PSU maj. dec. #7 Tristan Moran UW, 14-1 4-6 149: Jarod Verkleeren PSU #15 Cole Martin UW, 3-2 7-6 157: Garrett Model UW maj. dec. Bo Pipher PSU, 13-4 7-10 165: #1 Vincenzo Joseph PSU maj. dec. #3 Evan Wick UW, 8-0 11-10 174: #2 Mark Hall PSU pinned Jared Krattiger UW, WBF (4:16) 17-10 184: #7 Aaron Brooks PSU dec. Johnny Sebastian UW, 3-2 20-10 197: #18 Shakur Rasheed PSU dec. Taylor Watkins UW, 6-0 23-10 285: #15 Seth Nevills PSU win by forfeit 29-10 Attendance: 3,073 Records: Penn State (9-2, 6-1 B1G); Wisconsin (10-4, 3-4 B1G) Up Next for Penn State: at #6 Minnesota, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2 p.m. Eastern/1 p.m. Central (BTN) BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Freshman Brandon Meredith (Limerick, Pa.) battled freshman Eric Barnett at 125. Meredith fought Barnett off early as the Badger tried to lock up the Lion off the whistle and take him to the mat. After breaking contact, the duo continued to work the middle of the mat as the first minute passed. Meredith took a shot that Barnett stepped away from, reshot at the 1:00 mark and then fought off a slight Barnett shot at the :55 mark. After a reset for blood time, the duo battled evenly for the final seconds and the bout moved to the middle stanza tied at 0-0. Meredith chose down to start the second period. He got called for stalling :30 into the period and Barnett maintained control as the clock hit 1:00. Barnett finished the period on top. Tied 0-0, Barnett chose down to start the second period, quickly escaped and then took Meredith down to open up a 3-0 lead. Meredith was unable to work free of Barnett's ride and the Badger, with 3:15 in riding time, posted a 4-0 victory. 133: Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 2 at 133, battled Badger senior Seth Gross, who entered the dual ranked No. 1. Bravo-Young came out and shot quickly, nearly scoring, but Gross broke free during a scramble. Gross looked to connect on a low shot but Bravo-Young countered, nearly notching another takedown but the scramble ended in another stalemate. Bravo-Young took a low shot, Gross countered with control of the Lion's arm and took him down for two points. Gross turned Bravo-Young for two near fall but the Lion scrambled his way to a reversal and Bravo-Young trailed 5-2 after cutting Gross loose. Leading 5-2, Gross chose down to start the second period and Bravo-Young cut him to a 6-2 score. Bravo-Young blew through a high shot and cut the Gross lead to 6-4 at the 1:10 mark. Bravo-Young controlled the action on top and closed out the period trailing 6-4, with 1:16 in riding time. Bravo-Young chose neutral to start the third period and quickly forced a scramble with another shot. The Lion appeared to take Gross down but no call was made and action resumed in the middle of the mat. Bravo-Young appeared to take Gross down as the final seconds wound down but no takedown was awarded. Bravo-Young had 1:16 in riding time but dropped the hard-fought 6-5 decision. 141: Junior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 2 at 141, met No. 7 Triston Moran. Lee nearly took Moran down at the 2:20 mark with a fast shot but the Badger worked his way out of trouble. Lee was undeterred however and took a 2-0 lead with a takedown on the Badger logo. Lee then controlled the action on top, forcing a stall call and then turning the Badger for two near fall points. Lee put together a dominant ride, building his riding time up over 2:00 and ending the period on top. Lee chose down to start the second period and quickly worked his way into a reversal to up his lead to 6-0. Moran escaped to a 6-1 score. Lee countered a slight Moran shot and picked up another takedown and led 8-1 with 2:29 in time after two. Moran chose down to start the third period and Lee went to work on top. He picked up a stall point and then turned the Badger for four back points to up his lead to 13-1. Lee finished the period on top and, with 4:29 in riding time, rolled to a 14-1 major. 149: Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) took on No. 15 Cole Martin at 149. The duo battled evenly for over 1:00 before Martin took a shot that led to a scramble on the Badger logo. Verkleeren almost finished off a counter takedown but a stalemate was called at the 1:50 mark. Verkleeren worked the middle of the mat for the next minute, took a high single at :30, but Martin defended the shot and the bout moved to the second period tied 0-0. Martin chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. The bout continued past the 1:00 mark in the middle of the mat, with Verkleeren looking for an opening on offense. The second period ended with Martin leading 1-0. Verkleeren chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 1-1 tie. Martin took a high shot that Verkleeren defended and the clock moved below the 1:10 mark. Martin took a low single that nearly connected, but Verkleeren was solid on defense. The Lion sophomore then worked in on a shot, finished off the takedown. Martin was able to escape as the period ended but Verkleeren's late takedown was enough as the Lion posted the thrilling 3-2 win. 157: Junior Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) met Garrett Model at 157. Model took an early lead with a takedown in the opening seconds. Pipher escaped to a 2-1 score at 2:16 and action resumed in neutral. Pipher battled the Badger evenly in neutral and looked to have a takedown with a locked cradle at the :40 mark. But no takedown was awarded and the bout continued past the :30 mark with Pipher trailing by one. Model added a second takedown at :15 and finished the period on top to lead after the first period. Pipher chose down to start the second period but Model was able to control the action until the 1:10 mark. Pipher escapade and Model forced a scramble with a quick shot that ended in a stalemate. Pipher gave up a stall point and then Model tacked on a late takedown to lead 7-2 with 1:48 in time after two. Model chose neutral to start the third period. The Badger took Pipher down with 1:10 to open up a 9-2 lead and clinch his riding time edge. Pipher escaped but Model tacked on one more takedown and, with 2:34 in time, posted the 13-4 major. 165: Senior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, met Badger Evan Wick, who entered the dual ranked No. 3. The duo battled evenly for the first minute with Joseph steadily looking for an opening on offense. The Lion found it and took a 2-0 lead with 1:50 on the clock with a takedown. Joseph then controlled the action from the top and built up over 1:00 in riding time while forcing Wick into a stall warning. The Lion finished the period on top and carried that lead, with 1:51 in time, into the second period. Wick chose top to start the second period and Joseph took advantage. The Lion senior worked his way into a reversal, steadily scrambling his way to control. He forced a second stall and led 5-0 at the :30 mark. Joseph finished the period on top and led 5-0 with 2:55 in time. Joseph chose neutral to start the third period. He worked the middle of the mat for a minute and then took a low single that led to a takedown and a 7-0 lead. With clinched riding time, Joseph controlled the action from the top position, looking for a turning combination. Joseph settled for a third rideout and, with 4:08 in riding time, rolled to an 8-0 major over third-ranked Wick. 174: Senior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 2 at 174, met Wisconsin freshman Jared Krattiger. Hall worked neutral for the first minute and broke through for a takedown and a 2-0 lead at the 1:50 mark. Krattiger escaped on a reset and cut the lead to 2-1 as the clock moved past 1:20. Hall took a late shot and, after a bit of scrambling, finished the period with a takedown to lead 4-1 after one. Krattiger chose down to start the second period and Hall dominated the action from the top position. He worked the clock down under 1:00 and then turned Krattiger to his back. Hall turned the Badger, worked his shoulders flat and got the pin at the 4:16 mark. 184: True freshman Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 7 at 184, faced off against Wisconsin senior Johnny Sebastian. Sebastian took the bout's first shot but Brooks easily forced a stalemate at 2:30 The Lion freshman battled the Badger senior evenly for the next minute-plus, looking for a takedown. Sebastien forced a stalemate with 1:00 on the clock with the bout still tied 0-0. Sebastien was able to step back from a flurry of Brooks shots late in the period and the bout moved to the second tied 0-0. Brooks chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. The Lion got in on a low single and worked to pull the fleeing Badger back on to the mat. But Sebastien was able to fight off the shot and Brooks continued to lead by just one as the clock hit :30. Trailing by one, Sebastien chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 1-1 score. Brooks continued to shoot, forcing Sebastian into defense. The Lion's offensive pressure paid off at the 1:10 mark as a low shot led to a takedown and a 3-1 lead. Brooks controlled the action from the top until the :28 mark when Sebastien escaped to a 3-2 score. Brooks finished off the bout in neutral and posted the 3-2 victory. 197: Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 18 at 197, battled Wisconsin senior Taylor Watkins. Rasheed took Watkins down quickly, taking a 2-0 lead early and going to work on top. The Lion senior built up 1:00 in time while looking for a chance to turn the Badger for back points or more. Rasheed appeared to turn Watkins but no back points were given and the Lion led 2-0 at the 1:10 mark. Rasheed forced Watkins into a stall warning and finished the period on top to lead 2-0 with 2:48 in riding time. Rasheed chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. The duo battled evenly for the entirety of the second period and Rasheed carried that lead and 2:44 in riding time into the third period. Watkins chose neutral to start the third period. Rasheed fought off a high Watkins shot, forcing a scramble that led to a takedown for the Lion senior at the :20 mark. Rasheed finished the period on top and, with 3:05 in time, rolled to the 6-0 win. 285: True freshman Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 15 at 285, did not get a chance to take on No. 5 Trent Hillger and won by forfeit.

PITTSBURGH -- The 10th-ranked University of Pittsburgh wrestling team won seven of 10 bouts en route to a 23-10 victory over Virginia Friday night at the Fitzgerald Field House. With the win, Pitt improves to 8-3 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. Virginia falls to 7-5 overall and 0-3 against ACC foes. "It was a good win," said head coach Keith Gavin. "We are in a tough conference, so anytime you get a win in the conference is good. I think there were a lot of really good matches out there and that's what you're seeing in the ACC. These duals are getting tightly contested because everyone in the conference is doing a good job. It's good for the fans, it's good for our guys to be challenged, and they responded well tonight." Virginia took an early lead, winning the first match of the night at 125 pounds. Sixth-ranked redshirt sophomore Micky Phillippi put Pitt on the board, earning his sixth win over a ranked opponent this season. Phillippi used two escapes and three takedowns in an 8-4 decision No. 20 Louie Hayes at 133 pounds. No. 24 redshirt freshman Cole Matthews fed off Phillippi's win to record Pitt's second win of the night. Matthews used a takedown with 24 seconds left in the third period to take a 4-2 lead and go on to win in a 4-3 decision over Brain Courtney, giving Pitt its first lead of the night. Moving to 149 pounds, redshirt sophomore Dallas Bulsak wrestled a scoreless bout in his second career dual appearance versus No. 31 Denton Spencer. Bulsak lost in a 1-0 decision decided by riding time. At 157 pounds, 28th-ranked redshirt senior Taleb Rahmani used a takedown and four nearfall to take an early 6-0 lead in the first period over No. 27 Justin McCoy. McCoy battled back in the third period, but Rahmani's early lead was enough to lift him to a 7-5 decision for his 12th win of the season and put the Panthers back in the lead, 9-8. Pitt took its largest lead of the match at the conclusion of 165 pounds when 10th-ranked redshirt junior Jake Wentzel defeated Cam Coy in an 8-2 decision to put Pitt ahead 12-8. Moving to 174 pounds, No. 24 redshirt junior Gregg Harvey scored a takedown and an illegal hold violation against Virginia would give him an early 3-0 lead over Vic Marcelli. Harvey then used a takedown and two nearfall in the third period to come away with the 8-3 decision. Ninth-ranked redshirt sophomore Nino Bonaccorsi recorded his ninth major decision of the season after defeating Michael Battista, 19-7. Bonaccorsi scored eight takedowns and a reversal in the win, boosting Pitt's lead to 19-8 in the team race. Virginia was deducted a team point for control of mat, bringing the score to 19-7. Virginia then won its final bout of the night at 197 pounds. At heavyweight, ninth-ranked senior Demetrius Thomas fell behind early in the first period. He battled back to earn his seventh major decision, 13-4. The Panthers return to action Sunday, Feb. 9 when they host Davidson at 2 p.m. at the Fitzgerald Field House. Results: 125: #2 Jack Mueller (UVA), tech. fall Louis Newell (UP), 16-0, 4:56 - Virginia leads 5-0 133: #6 Micky Phillippi (UP) dec. #20 Louie Hayes (UVA), 8-4 - Virginia leads 5-3 141: #24 Cole Matthews (UP) dec. Brain Courtney (UVA), 4-3 - Pitt leads 6-5 149: #31 Denton Spencer (UVA) dec. Dallas Bulsak (UP), 1-0 - Virginia leads 8-6 157: #28 Taleb Rahmani (UP) dec. #27 Justin McCoy (UVA), 7-5 - Pitt leads 9-8 165: #10 Jake Wentzel (UP) dec. Cam Coy (UVA), 8-2 - Pitt leads 12-8 174: #24 Gregg Harvey (UP) dec. Vic Marcelli (UVA), 8-3 - Pitt leads 15-8 184: #9 Nino Bonaccorsi (UP) maj. dec. Michael Battista (UVA), 19-7 - Pitt leads 19-7* 197: #7 Jay Aiello (UVA) dec. Kellan Stout (UP), 3-1 - Pitt leads 19-10 285: #9 Demetrius Thomas (UP) maj. dec. #24 Quinn Miller (UVA), 13-4 - Pitt wins 23-10 *Virginia was deducted a team point for control of mat

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The No. 4 Sun Devil wrestling team found its stride in the back half of the lineup, securing the win over Little Rock, 38-9 at the Jack Stephens Center on Friday night. ASU notched seven bonus-point wins, including three-straight pins from Anthony Valencia, Zahid Valencia, and Kordell Norfleet to secure win No. 11 and push its winning streak to six matches. Opening the match, redshirt sophomore Brandon Courtney continued to find success in what has been a breakout year for the Goodyear, Ariz. product as he notched his 11th bonus-point win of the season with a technical fall over Jayden Carson of Little Rock. Little Rock, who is competing in its inaugural season as a division one program, would answer with three straight victories at 133, 141 and 149 to take the lead 9-5, with Jacori Teemer on deck. At 157, Teemer added takedown after takedown to eventually secure his 10th career win in an ASU singlet and put the Sun Devils up 10-9 after notching his second technical fall of the year. Redshirt senior Josh Shields (157) kept his foot on the gas out of the break, earning his 9th bonus-point win and placing his name amongst the all-time ASU greats, tying for 5th all-time in career bonus wins with 56 after picking up the major decision over Thomas Lisher, 16-5. The Valencia brothers picked up back-to-back pins for the second time in a dual meet this season, with A. Valencia doings so in just 1:36 and Z. Valencia taking down his opponent at 5:25. A. Valencia joins Shields for 5th all-time in bonus wins with 56. Chicago native Kordell Norfleet followed the lead of his teammates, adding the third pin of the night in 1:14 for the fourth-fastest fall of the season by an ASU wrestler. At heavyweight, Little Rock put up no contest with a forfeit and gave Tanner Hall the night off to secure the win for the Sun Devils. The Sun Devils will head up north to face No. 24 Missouri on Sunday, February 9 at 1 p.m. MST to round out the weekend. The bout can be streamed live on ESPN3. Results: 125: #8 Brandon Courtney TF Jayden Carson (Little Rock) 20-4 (6:20) 133: Paul Bianchi (Little Rock) DEC Josh Kramer (ASU), 8-6 141: Connor Ward (Little Rock) DEC Cory Crooks (ASU), 12-4 149: Tyler Brennan (Little Rock) Josh Maruca (ASU), 4-2 157: #15 Jacori Teemer (ASU) TF Thomas Lisher (Little Rock), 17-2 (4:52) 165: #6 Josh Shields (ASU) MD William Edgar (Little Rock), 16-5 174: #9 Anthony Valencia (ASU) FALL Tristan Tadeo (Little Rock), 1:36 184: #1 Zahid Valencia (ASU) FALL Matthew Muller (Little Rock), 5:25 197: #9 Kordell Norfleet (ASU) FALL James Johnson (Little Rock), 1:14 HWT: #4 Tanner Hall wins by forfeit

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Bookend pins from Drew Hildebrandt and Matt Stencel keyed a 24-15 Mid-American Conference dual-meet win for the Central Michigan wrestling team over Buffalo on Friday at McGuirk Arena. It was the fourth straight win for the Chippewas, who improved to 6-4, 6-2 MAC. Buffalo is 7-9, 3-5. The Chippewas entertain Kent State, 6-10, 2-5, in a MAC dual on Sunday (2 p.m.) at McGuirk. Big Wins Both pins from Hildebrandt and Stencel came in the first period. Hildebrandt's win at 125 pounds gave the Chippewas a 6-0 lead, and Stencel's (285) clinched the dual. "The thing that sparks us, it's been the same thing all year, with Hildebrandt starting us off with a pin and we always know Matt's a pinner on the back end so we're pretty confident," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "Even as the other team builds momentum, we feel like we can shut the door pretty good." It was the 13th pin of the season for Stencel and the seventh for Hildebrandt. Both are ranked No. 1 in the MAC and both have won seven-consecutive matches. Stencel is ranked fourth nationally and he entered Friday's dual tied for third in the nation in pins. On a Roll Hildebrandt, who is ranked ninth nationally, upped his dual-meet record to 10-0 including 8-0 in the MAC. Four of his last five wins have come via pins. He leads the Chippewas with 26 wins against just three losses. "He can still get better, you can always get a little bit better," Borrelli said, adding that Hildebrandt's junior-season surge is due at least in part to two major factors: The confidence that he gained by qualifying for the NCAA Championships last season, and the addition of volunteer assistant coach Tim Lambert, a Michigan native who was a four-time NCAA qualifier while wrestling at Nebraska from 2014-17. "Last year (Hildebrandt) competed in the national tournament for the first time and he got a taste of that and I think he realized that he can compete with the best people in the country and he's just built on that all year," Borrelli said. "Tim Lambert's helped him tremendously and our other lightweights; he's helped Dresden (Simon) a lot too. You've got to give the credit to the athletes first, but then our assistant coaches are doing a really good job." Key Match CMU redshirt sophomore Jake Lowell posted a tough 6-4 decision at 174 pounds, putting the Chippewas back in front, 15-12. It was the second-consecutive win for Lowell, who is 5-13. He posted his first career dual-meet win on Sunday at Cleveland State. "Confidence is huge in this sport," Borrelli said. "I think the win at Cleveland State helped him a lot, a whole lot, and the win tonight, he can build on that too. It doesn't matter what your record is, it's how you feel and how you're competing and the way you're preparing and he's doing the right things." Taking Control Buffalo re-tied the meet, 15-15, with a decision win at 184. CMU's Landon Pelham then posted a 4-2 victory at 197 to put the Chippewas up, 18-15. Stencel followed with his pin to close the meet. The Chippewas won six of the 10 matches. They got an 8-7 win from Dresden Simon at 141 and a 4-2 victory from Logan Parks at 157. Simon, who is ranked 15th nationally, trailed 7-5 in the third period and then got an escape and then a takedown with 19 seconds remaining. New Faces Borrelli inserted three unfamiliar faces in the lineup: Brock Bergelin (133), Mason Breece (141) and Blake Montrie (165). Bergelin, a redshirt sophomore, battled 20th-ranked Derek Spann before succumbing, 4-0; Breece, a redshirt freshman who wrestled – and won – his first match in a dual last weekend at Cleveland State, also wrestled well before falling, 5-3. "We wanted to give those guys an opportunity and just give some of our guys that have been grinding through the season a little bit of a break," Borrelli said. Homestretch Sunday's meet with Kent State is the Chippewas' last MAC dual of the season. They entertain Michigan State in a nonleaguer on Friday, Feb. 21. The MAC Championships are March 7-8 at Northern Illinois. "I think we're getting better," Borrelli said. "We're gaining confidence in ourselves. We always have setbacks, we always have things that we feel like we've got to improve on. This is our fourth dual-meet win in a row, hopefully we can make it five and then get ready for Michigan State. "I think we're building. We feel like we're pretty capable in five weight classes. We have five other weight classes where we've got to improve. There's very little margin of error for us. If one of our guys that we're really counting on doesn't do well, somebody's got to pick us up. Tonight that was Jake Lowell." Results: 125: Drew Hildebrandt (C) pinned Jordan Reyes, 2:24 133: Derek Spann (B) dec. Brock Bergelin, 4-0 141: Dresden Simon (C) dec. Marcus Robinson, 8-7 149: John Arceri (B) dec. Mason Breece, 5-3 157: Logan Parks (C) dec. Michael Petite, 4-2 165: Troy Keller (B) pinned Blake Montrie, 6:56 174: Jake Lowell (C) dec. Bryson Alsteen, 6-4 184: Pete Acciardi (B) dec. Ben Cushman, 7-5 197: Landon Pelham (C) dec. Sam Schuyler, 4-2 285: Matt Stencel (C) pinned Logan Rill, 46 seconds

PHILADELPHIA -- Wins in three of the final five matches, along with clutch bonus points in all three of those wins, were key to powering Columbia Wrestling (5-3, 5-2 EIWA/0-1 IVY) to a well-earned 19-16 Eastern Collegiate Wrestling Association road win at Drexel (6-8, 2-4 EIWA) on Friday, Feb. 7 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Columbia recorded wins from sophomore Joe Franzese (184), sophomore No. 29 Joe Manchio (125), first-year Angelo Rini (133), sophomore No. 27 Matt Kazimir (141) and first-year Kyle Mosher (157), with Rini, Kazimir and Mosher's wins all coming after the midway point of the match. "We told the guys coming in that bonus points were going to be key and that this is what this dual was going to be," said John Huemer Assistant Coach of Wrestling Kyle Massey. "Going in we knew that we would need to take our opportunities when they were there, and we took those when we had them. "Along with getting our own opportunities, we did a good job of eliminating those situations for Drexel, where we could have given up more points, but our guys stayed in the fight and we did a great job in that aspect. Overall it was a good test for the guys to face a tough match and get a solid win against a good team within our conference so that we could see where we are at." HOW IT HAPPENED: The match opened up at 174 pounds, with first-year Lennox Wolak taking on Drexel's Michael O'Malley, and early on O'Malley looked to be in control, but as was a testament to how the Lions would battle throughout the night, Wolak came on strong during the second half of the match to avoid a technical fall, losing in a major decision, 13-5, to give Drexel an early 4-0 lead. Immediately following the 174-pound bout, Franzese took care of business at 184 pounds, winning via a 6-2 decision over Owen Brooks to get Columbia on the board, at 4-3 in Drexel's favor. The next two matches would go the way of Drexel, but both would only be decisions, factors that would be key later on the match since it meant that Columbia would keep the score close throughout. At 197 pounds, sophomore Sam Wustefeld battled to a 6-3 decision loss to Bryan McLaughlin and at 285 pounds, sophomore Danny Conley fought off Sean O'Malley, and despite falling 6-2, Conley, much like Wustefeld, battled to keep it at a decision and because of not giving up bonus points the Lions only trailed 10-3 as the lineup flipped. Manchio got the Lions back on the board, battling against a foe he has faced many times during his pre-college career, but coming away with a 3-2 decision over Antonio Mininno to move the Lions closer to the Dragons. But it was at 133 pounds were the tide turned, with Rini recording a solid technical fall victory, 18-1, over Chase Shields, to push the Lions in front, 11-10, a spot the Lions would sit for the remainder of the match. At 141 pounds, Kazimir kept the ball rolling for Columbia, snagging a win via major decision, 9-0, over Julian Flores, and despite first-year Andrew Garr falling via a 6-1 decision to Nick Widmann at 149 pounds, Columbia was still in position to pull off the win, leading 15-13 heading into the final two matches. The battle at 157 pounds, with Mosher taking to the mat, was the match that punched the ticket for Columbia's win, as Mosher picked up a key bonus point, winning via a major decision, 11-3, over Parker Kropman, putting Columbia up six points, at 19-13, meaning that Drexel would have to earn a pin at 165 pounds to push the match to criteria. Knowing this heading into his match, junior Riley Jacops battled hard, fighting off No. 21 Ebed Jarrel at every turn, and despite falling via a 7-2 decision, Jacops' hard work avoiding the pin or any other bonus points helped lock up Columbia's 19-16 team win in the opening match of a three-match weekend. Results: 174 | Michael O'Malley (Drexel) def. Lennox Wolak (Columbia), maj. 13-5 184 | Joe Franzese (Columbia) def. Owen Brooks (Drexel), dec. 6-2 197 | Bryan McLaughlin (Drexel) def. Sam Wustefeld (Columbia), dec. 6-3 285 | Sean O'Malley (Drexel) def. Danny Conley (Columbia), dec. 6-2 125 | No. 29 Joe Manchio (Columbia) def. Antonio Mininno (Drexel), dec. 3-2 133 | Angelo Rini (Columbia) def. Chase Shields (Drexel), TF 18-1 141 | No. 27 Matt Kazimir (Columbia) def. Julian Flores (Drexel), maj. 9-0 149 | Nick Widmann (Drexel) def. Andrew Garr (Columbia), dec. 6-1 157 | Kyle Mosher (Columbia) def. Parker Kropman (Drexel), maj. 11-3 165 | No. 21 Ebed Jarrell (Drexel) def. Riley Jacops (Columbia), dec. 7-2 UP NEXT: Columbia will remain on the road with a Saturday, Feb. 8 Ivy League doubleheader, starting with Penn in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 11:30 a.m., before hoping in the vans and heading to Princeton, New Jersey to face No. 16 Princeton with that match starting at 4 p.m. Penn's match will be broadcast on ESPN+, while Columbia's match at Princeton is on ESPNU.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern secured its second Big Ten victory of the season with a 24-15 win over Michigan State in front of a Wildcat-laiden crowd on Senior Night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The 'Cats won six of the 10 bouts on the night, four of which were bonus-point victories. The dual was headlined by major decisions from Alec McKenna, No. 1 Ryan Deakin and No. 13 Lucas Davison and a victory by disqualification for No. 18 Shayne Oster. The 'Cats took an early lead after senior Alec McKenna dominated in a 10-2 major decision -- complete with two takedowns and a four-point nearfall -- over Matt Santos. After a tight first two periods, McKenna blew the bout open with an escape, takedown and a four-point nearfall in the third, adding the riding time point to earn the major decision. No. 16 Yahya Thomas started fast in his matchup against Alex Hrisopoulos, recording two takedowns in the first period. He kept the lead throughout en route to a 5-2 win by decision to extend the home team's lead. After a close first period for Deakin, the consensus No. 1 ranked wrestler in the nation entered the second up 2-1 but then got to his offense. Holding a lead in the final period, he took it up a notch with a trio of takedowns, with the third coming in the closing seconds of the match. The flurry gave Deakin yet another win by major decision, his seventh in nine dual matches. At 165 pounds, Oster came back from a 6-0 deficit to win by disqualification against Drew Hughes, adding six more team points for NU. He wrestled tough in the third period to force a series of stalling calls on Hughes, with the fifth awarding Oster the victory. The senior has now won four consecutive duals in Big Ten action. Lucas Davison started strong in the 197 bout with two takedowns in the first period against Nick May. After a tight second frame, Davison recorded a takedown and four nearfall points in the final seconds of the third period to notch a 12-2 major decision. Davison remains undefeated in the conference, improving to a perfect 9-0 in duals this season. In the final bout, No. 11 Michael DeAugustino clinched the victory for the 'Cats with a steady win over Logan Griffin. He started fast with an early takedown and remained strong throughout the dual, earning a 6-3 decision to close out the night. With the win, Northwestern improves to 4-5 in dual action this season. The Wildcats will be back in action this Sunday, Feb. 9 as they take on No. 6 Ohio State at the Covelli Center in Columbus. Results: 133 | Garrett Pepple (MSU) dec. Dylan Utterback (NU), 8-4 | MSU 3, NU 0 141 | Alec McKenna (NU) maj. dec. Matt Santos (MSU), 10-2 | NU 4, MSU 3 149 | #16 Yahya Thomas (NU) dec. Alex Hrisopoulos (MSU), 5-2 | NU 7, MSU 3 157 | #1 Ryan Deakin (NU) maj. dec. Jake Tucker (MSU), 12-4 | NU 11, MSU 3 165 | #18 Shayne Oster (NU) win by DQ over Drew Hughes (MSU) | NU 17, MSU 3 174 | #24 Lane Malczewski (MSU) win by inj. def. over Tyler Morland (NU) | NU 17, MSU 9 184 | #9 Cameron Caffey (MSU) dec. Jack Jessen (NU), 5-0 | NU 17, MSU 12 197 | #13 Lucas Davison (NU) maj. dec. Nick May (MSU), 12-2 | NU 21, MSU 12 285 | Christian Rebottaro (MSU) dec. Jack Heyob (NU), 6-4 | NU 21, MSU 15 125 | #11 Michael DeAugustino (NU) dec. Logan Griffin (MSU), 6-3 | NU 24, MSU 15

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- The Bloomsburg University wrestling team snapped a three-match losing skid with an impressive 37-11 victory over visiting Virginia Military Institute on Friday night at the Nelson Field House. With the win, the Huskies improved to 3-6 overall while the Keydets dropped to 4-10 on the season. Bloomsburg used four bonus-point victories - three falls and a forfeit - and added three decisions and a major decision for the lopsided victory as the Huskies improved to 3-1 in the all-time series against VMI. Freshman Christian Gannone (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor), redshirt freshman Josh Mason (New Ringgold, Pa./Blue Mountain), and sophomore Aaron Coleman (Iselin, N.J./John F. Kennedy Memorial) earned the pins while 11th-ranked redshirt senior Trevor Allard (Mexico, N.Y./Mexico) didn't need to break a sweat to improve to 18-1 on the season as he picked up the forfeit win to close out the night. Senior Kyle Murphy (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) opened the night with a hard-fought 4-2 victory over VMI's Max Gallahan in the 197-pound match. After a scoreless first period, Murphy scored an escape and a takedown in the second period as he took a 3-1 lead into the third. Gallahan cut the deficit to one with an escape but Murphy was able to shut down Gallahan the rest of the way and earned a riding-time point for the 4-2 win. Murphy improved to 8-12 on the season. The 285-pound bout proved to be, arguably, the most exciting match of the night but redshirt sophomore Jarrett Walters (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) ultimately succumbed to VMI's Chris Beck via pinfall with three seconds left in regulation as the Keydets took a 6-3 lead. Scoreless heading to the third, Walters chose top and quickly turned Beck over for four back points. However, the VMI senior responded with a reversal and a pair of takedowns - the latter of which he turned into the fall. But, the Huskies rattled off six consecutive victories from that point to take control of the night. Gannone started the string by pinning John McGarry with 49 seconds left in the first period to give Bloomsburg a 9-6 lead. It was the first collegiate fall for Gannone, who improved to 9-10 overall. Mason followed with his team-leading eighth pin of the season as he needed only 64 seconds to knock off Cliff Conway to give the Huskies a 15-6 advantage. It marked the 13th victory of the year for the redshirt freshman. Freshman Marlon Argueta-Diaz (Meriden, Conn./Orville H. Platt) earned the first major decision win of his collegiate career at 141 pounds as he defeated Noah Roulo by an 18-5 final. The freshman led 3-0 after one period but scored seven points in the second and eight more in the third to pull away. He improved to 8-9 on the season. Sophomore Aaron Coleman (Iselin, N.J./John F. Kennedy Memorial) continued the string of wins with a first-period fall over Seth Fillers as Bloomsburg took a 25-6 advantage. It was his fourth fall of the season as he improved to 8-7 on the year. Sophomore Alex Carida (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown) followed with a 8-3 decision over Will Lawrence at 157 pounds and senior Nate Newberry (Biglerville, Pa./Biglerville) earned a 4-0 win over Jon Hoover at 165 pounds as the Huskies extended their advantage. Both Carida and Newberry improved to 12-8 overall. VMI's Neal Richards ended the Bloomsburg streak with a technical fall at 174 pounds to cut the Huskies' margin to 31-11. Richards picked up his 31st victory over the season. Allard closed the night with his forfeit win at 184 pounds for the final margin of victory. Allard improved to 18-1 on the season - 9-0 in duals - and moved to 90-42 in his collegiate career as he continues to close in on 100 victories. Bloomsburg will get right back to work on Sunday afternoon, February 9, when it heads to Sacred Heart University for a dual against the Pioneers. Action gets underway at 2:00 p.m. Results: 197: Kyle Murphy (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) (BLOOM) decision over Max Gallahan (VMI), 4-2 285: Chris Beck (VMI) fall over Jarrett Walters (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) (BLOOM), 6:57 125: Christian Gannone (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) (BLOOM) fall over John McGarry (VMI), 2:11 133: Josh Mason (New Ringgold, Pa./Blue Mountain) (BLOOM) fall over Cliff Conway (VMI), 1:04 141: Marlon Argueta-Diaz (Meriden, Conn./Orville H. Platt) (BLOOM) major decision over Noah Roulo (VMI), 18-5 149: Aaron Coleman (Iselin, N.J./John F. Kennedy Memorial) (BLOOM) fall over Seth Fillers (VMI), 1:47 157: Alex Carida (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown) (BLOOM) decision over Will Lawrence (VMI), 8-3 165: Nate Newberry (Biglerville, Pa./Biglerville) (BLOOM) decision over Jon Hoover (VMI), 4-0 174: Neal Richards (VMI) technical fall over Anthony Vetrano (Middletown, N.J./Middletown North) (BLOOM), 19-2 (3:10) 184: #11 Trevor Allard (Mexico, N.Y./Mexico) (BLOOM) wins by forfeit

CLEVELAND -- The Northern Illinois University wrestling team rallied from an early deficit to post a 24-6 victory over Cleveland State at Woodling Gymnasium Friday night. The Huskies improve to 10-4 on the season and 5-2 in Mid-American Conference action. NIU's 10 wins are the most for the program since 2014-15 when NIU picked up its 10th win in the penultimate dual of the regular season. The Huskies have three more duals remaining this season. "The guys wrestled tough," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "It was a great team win. I liked the grit out of our guys tonight." NIU fell behind 6-3 after dropping two of the first three bouts. However, McCoy Kent and Mason Kauffman won their matches at 149 and 157, respectively, with Kauffman winning his bout, 3-1, in overtime to put the Huskies up 9-6. NIU never looked back. Izzak Olejnik won his match at 165, 6-2, and Kenny Moore posted a 7-3 win at 174. Brit Wilson earned a 10-4 victory over DeAndre Nassar at 184, while Gage Braun battled for an 8-6 decision at 197. Max Ihry capped the Huskie victory with a 4-3 victory in double overtime The Huskies return to action Sunday when NIU travels to Athens, Ohio to take on the Bobcats of Ohio. The match begins at 1 p.m. CT and will be shown on ESPN+. Results: 125: Bryce West (NIU) dec. Logan Heil (CSU), 10-6 133: Justin Patrick (CSU) dec. Caleb Brooks (NIU), 4-3 141: Evan Cheek (CSU) dec. Anthony Gibson (NIU), 4-2 149: McCoy Kent (NIU) dec. Gus Sutton (CSU), 6-2 157: Mason Kauffman (NIU) dec. Brady Barnett (CSU), 3-1 SV 165: Izzak Olejnik (NIU) dec. Riley Smucker (CSU), 6-2 174: Kenny Moore (NIU) dec. Chase Archangelo (CSU), 7-3 184: Brit Wilson (NIU) dec. DeAndre Nassar (CSU), 10-4 197: Gage Braun (NIU) dec. Ben Smith (CSU), 8-6 285: Max Ihry (NIU) dec. John Kelbly (CSU), 4-3 SV-2

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. -- Trailing the entire match, the Rider University wrestling team won the final four bouts to take a 20-17 comeback win over MAC foe Lock Haven Friday night at the Thomas Fieldhouse. With the win, the Broncs' seventh-straight, Rider improves to 10-2 (6-1 MAC), while the Bald Eagles are now 7-6 (3-3 MAC). Lock Haven opened the night claiming bonus points at 125, 133 and 141, giving the Bald Eagles a 14-0 lead. Rider would take its first points of the match at 149 and 157. Gino Fluri (Blairstown, NJ/North Warren Regional) defeated Lock Haven's Brock Port, 4-3, while Jesse Dellavecchia (Great River, NY/East Islip [Binghamton]) would claim victory over Alexander Klucker by major decision, 8-0. Following the intermission, Lock Haven won a decision at 165. However, Rider won the final four matches at 174, 184, 197 and 285 to grab the victory. Dean Sherry (Brick, NJ/Brick Township) won by decision, 5-2, over Jared Siegrist, before George Walton (Franklin, NJ/Bound Brook) earned an 8-5 decision over Raymond Bernot. Ethan Laird (Waterford, PA/General McLane) defeated Parker McClelland, 9-2, to close the Broncs' deficit to one, before Ryan Cloud (Brookville, OH/Northmont) completed the comeback with a 10-1 major decision over Trey Hartsock. Quotes & Notes "Tonight was a team win. We got put on our heels with a questionable pin called at 133, but the team rallied well and won. We just have to keep grinding because it's just what you do during this time of year! We will get back in the practice room tomorrow to prepare for our dual on Sunday." - Rider Head Coach John Hangey - With the win, the Broncs now lead the all-time series with Lock Haven, 16-10, including nine of the last 10 meetings. - Rider returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 9, when they play host to Rutgers in Alumni Gym for a dual set to begin at 7 p.m. Results: 125: #15 Luke Werner (LH) maj. dec. #28 Jonathan Tropea (RID), 15-4; Lock Haven leads, 4-0 133: #28 DJ Fehlman (LH) WBF Richie Koehler (RID), at 4:49; Lock Haven leads, 10-0 141: #20 Kyle Shoop (LH) maj. dec. #25 Peter Lipari (RID), 12-4; Lock Haven leads, 14-0 149: Gino Fluri (RID) dec. Brock Port (LH), 4-3; Lock Haven leads, 14-3 157: #4 Jesse Dellavecchia (RID)maj. dec. #29 Alexander Klucker (LH), 8-0; Lock Haven leads, 14-7 165: Austin Bell (LH) dec. Joe Casey (RID), 5-2; Lock Haven leads, 17-7 174: #18 Dean Sherry (RID) dec. #32 Jared Siegrist (LH), 5-2, Lock Haven leads, 17-10 184: George Walton (RID) dec. Raymond Bernot (LH), 8-5; Lock Haven leads, 17-13 197: #7 Ethan Laird (RID) dec. Parker McClellan (LH), 9-2; Lock Haven leads, 17-16 285: Ryan Cloud (RID) maj. dec. Trey Hartsock (LH), 10-1; Rider wins, 20-17.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The fourth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team won seven of ten bouts, including two by pinfall, to defeat No. 14 Purdue 31-9 at Mackey Arena on Friday night. The meet began at 125 with Alex Thomsen squaring off against No.6 Devin Schroder. Schroder, a redshirt junior from Grand Rapids, Mich., scored a takedown in all three periods and notched an 8-2 decision to give Purdue an early 3-0 lead. No. 14 Ridge Lovett (133) recorded the first dual meet pin of his career just under four minutes into his match against Travis Ford-Melton. The Purdue freshman attempted to use an underhook on Lovett, but the Husker true freshman carried his momentum forward, taking Ford-Melton to his back. After a brief scramble, Lovett was awarded the pin, earning six team points for the Huskers. Zak Hensley got the call at 141 on Friday night, taking on Purdue's Parker Filius. Filius scored first and second-period takedowns and piled up over three minutes of riding time en route to a 6-1 decision victory. No.16 Collin Purinton (149) then faced No.18 Griffin Parriott in one of three bouts between ranked wrestlers on the night. The senior from Banks, Ore., netted two nearfall points in the first period and tallied four takedowns overall to push past Parriott by a final score of 13-6. A second consecutive match-up of ranked wrestlers followed at 157 with No.18 Peyton Robb taking on No.7 Kendall Coleman. Fans were robbed of a full match, however, when the two grapplers' heads inadvertently collided 15 seconds into Period 2. Coleman was taken back to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion and was unable to continue wrestling, giving Robb the victory by injury default. No.5 Isaiah White (165) returned to the mat for the first time since his match-winning pin against Ohio State on Feb. 2. White, a senior from Chicago, Ill., posted his second consecutive pin, winning by fall over Tanner Webster one minute, 22 seconds into their match. Following White's pin, No. 6 Mikey Labriola and No. 4 Dylan Lydy renewed their rivalry at 174. The two were quite familiar with one another coming into Friday's match. Lydy defeated Labriola twice at the 2017 Midlands Championships during Labriola's redshirt season. Labriola avenged those losses the following season, defeating Lydy in the second tiebreaker period at both the 2019 Big Ten Championships and 2019 NCAA Championships. The pair met once more earlier this season at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev., where Lydy got past Labriola 3-1 in sudden victory on Dec. 7. On Friday night, Lydy came out on top once again. After trading escapes over the first five minutes, Lydy scored two takedowns in the third period and earned a 5-2 victory. No. 11 Taylor Venz (184) and Max Lyon were scoreless after Period 1, but Venz scored an escape, a takedown, and piled up over one minute of riding time in Period 2 to win by a final margin of 4-1. No. 5 Eric Schultz (197) rebounded nicely from his first dual meet loss of the season, scoring a 15-6 major decision victory against Purdue's Jared Florell. Schultz scored four points in Period 1, three points in Period 2 and then exploded for eight points in the match's final period. To cap off the night, David Jensen (HWT) took the mat for a third consecutive dual. He built a 9-0 lead over Thomas Penola through two periods, but Penola roared back, scoring three takedowns and a pair of stall points in the third. Jensen held on, however, scoring a takedown and one point for riding time to win 12-8. With the win, the Huskers move to 8-3 overall with a 3-3 mark in conference action while Purdue slips to 11-5 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten. The Huskers will be back in action on Sunday when they travel to nearby Bloomington, Ind., to take on the Hoosiers (1-8, 1-7 Big Ten). The dual will begin at Noon and can be streamed online via BTN+ (subscription required). Results: 125: #6 Devin Schroder (PUR) dec. Alex Thomsen (NEB), 8-2 (NEB 0, PUR 3) 133: #14 Ridge Lovett (NEB) pinned Travis Ford-Melton (PUR) (3:57) (NEB 6, PUR 3) 141: Parker Filius (PUR) dec. Zak Hensley (NEB), 6-1 (NEB 6, PUR 6) 149: #16 Collin Purinton (NEB) dec. #18 Griffin Parriott (PUR), 13-6 (NEB 9, PUR 6) 157: #18 Peyton Robb (NEB) injury default #7 Kendall Coleman (PUR) (NEB 15, PUR 6) 165: #5 Isaiah White (NEB) pinned Tanner Webster (PUR) (1:22) (NEB 21 PUR 6) 174: #4 Dylan Lydy (PUR) dec. #6 Mikey Labriola (NEB), 5-2 (NEB 21, PUR 9) 184: #11 Taylor Venz (NEB) dec. Max Lyon (PUR), 4-1 (NEB 24, PUR 9) 197: #5 Eric Schultz (NEB) major dec. Jared Florell (PUR), 15-6 (NEB 28, PUR 9) 285: David Jensen (NEB) dec. Thomas Penola (PUR), 12-8 (NEB 31, PUR 9)

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – South Dakota State wrestlers reeled off three consecutive pins in the middle weights, propelling the Jackrabbits to a 29-15 victory over West Virginia in Big 12 Conference dual action Friday night at the WVU Coliseum. The Jackrabbits improved to 9-5 overall and 5-2 in Big 12 duals as they won for the eighth time in their last 10 outings. West Virginia dropped to 3-9 overall and 0-4 in league competition. Leading 6-3 through three matches, SDSU took control of the dual in the 149-pound bout as ninth-ranked Henry Pohlmeyer began the pinning streak with a first-period fall against the Mountaineers' Seth Hogue. After giving up an early takedown, Pohlmeyer countered with a reversal and four-point near-fall before getting another turn to put Hogue's shoulders to the mat in 2 minutes and 8 seconds. Peyton Smith had a flair for the dramatic in pushing the Jackrabbits' lead to 18-3 heading into intermission. The sophomore 157-pounder trailed West Virginia's Alex Hornfeck, 3-2, late in the match before coming up with the go-ahead takedown with about 10 seconds remaining and then snapping Hornfeck over to his back for a pin with a single second remaining. Out of the intermission, Tanner Cook continued his pinning prowess as he posted a second-period fall against 25th-ranked Nick Kiussis. It was Cook's 12th pin of the season – and seventh in dual competition – as he improved to 14-3 overall. Also picking up a bonus-point victory for the Jackrabbits was 16th-ranked Zach Carlson in the 184-pound matchup. Carlson held a 2-0 lead through one period against Hunter DeLong, but pulled away for an 18-3 technical fall in the final two periods with a reversal, two takedowns and a pair of four-point near-falls. Danny Vega, ranked 24th at 125 pounds, opened the dual with a 15-10 decision over Joey Thomas, while Zach Price followed with a 6-4 decision against Lucas Seibert at 133 pounds. West Virginia got on the board in the 141-pound matchup as Caleb Rea outlasted the Jackrabbits' Clay Carlson, 2-1, in a match decided in an overtime tiebreaker. Rea managed to escape midway through first half of the tiebreaker, then kept Carlson from escaping in the latter half. The Mountaineers also received victories by decision from 174-pounder Scott Joll and Sean Mullican at heavyweight. Second-ranked Noah Adams was awarded a win by forfeit at 197 pounds as the Jackrabbits' Tanner Sloan, who is ranked 18th in the weight class, was held out of Friday's match after suffering an injury last week in a dual at Oklahoma State. UP NEXT The Jackrabbits close out their final dual road trip of the season by wrestling Sunday afternoon at Ohio. Start time is set for 2 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Central) at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio. NOTES SDSU remained undefeated against West Virginia in dual competition, improving to 5-0 since the squads' first meeting during the 2015-16 season The Jackrabbits upped their dual record against Big 12 opponents to 29-12 since joining the conference at the start of the 2015-16 season Pohlmeyer recorded his second consecutive pin in improving to 15-4 overall and 8-2 in duals Zach Carlson upped his season record to 19-5 overall and a team-leading 11-3 mark in duals The Jackrabbits entered the weekend 21st in the dual rankings by WIN Magazine and 25th in Intermat's dual rankings Results: 125: #24 Danny Vega (SDSU) dec. Joey Thomas (WVU), 15-10 133: Zach Price (SDSU) dec. Lucas Seibert (WVU), 6-4 141: Caleb Rea (WVU) dec. Clay Carlson (SDSU), 2-1 [TB-1] 149: #9 Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) def. Seth Hogue (WVU), by fall 2:08 157: Peyton Smith (SDSU) def. Alex Hornfeck (WVU), by fall 6:59 165: Tanner Cook (SDSU) def. #25 Nick Kiussis (WVU), by fall 4:25 174: Scott Joll (WVU) dec. Cade King (SDSU), 8-3 184: #16 Zach Carlson (SDSU) tech. fall Hunter DeLong (WVU), 18-3 [7:00] 197: #2 Noah Adams (WVU) won by forfeit 285: Sean Mullican (WVU) dec. Blake Wolters (SDSU), 5-2

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Holding a two-point lead heading into the final bout, So. Deonte Wilson got a late takedown and scored a 5-2 decision at heavyweight to give No. 2 NC State a 19-14 win over No. 9 North Carolina in a top-10 ACC battle in Reynolds Coliseum. NC State wrestling set a new attendance record of 4,383 fans, who saw the Pack improve to 13-0, and 3-0 in ACC action. The dual started at 125 pounds in a battle of redshirt-freshmen. NC State's Jakob Camacho scored a takedown in the first, and added two more in the third to start the Pack with a 9-4 decision. UNC evened the dual after two bouts, as Jamie Hernandez got a third period ride out to down Jarrett Trombley 2-0. No. 11 R-Jr. Tariq Wilson scored a top-10 win at 141 pounds, as he defeated No. 10 Zach Sherman 6-0. With a 1-0 lead to start the third, Wilson scored a pair of two-point near falls and got a third period ride out for the win. The Tar Heels evened it once again, as No. 3 Austin O'Connor used two second second period takedowns for the 6-5 win over Matt Grippi at 149 pounds. No. 2 R-Jr. Hayden Hidlay scored his seventh ranked win of the season, a 9-2 decision over No. 15 A.C. Headlee. Hidlay scored a four-point move in the first, and added a takedown in the third after a second period ride out. At the halfway point, it was NC State 9-6 over UNC. The first bonus point match of the night went to No. 16 Kennedy Monday at 165 pounds, as he scored a 20-5 tech fall over Tyler Barnes to give the Tar Heels an 11-9 lead with four bouts left. NC State retook the lead after the 174-pound bout, as No. 18 Daniel Bullard scored a takedown in both the second and third periods, and after ride time was added in, it was an 8-4 decision. The Pack's bonus point win on the night came at 197 pounds, as No. 3 R-Fr. Trent Hidlay scored a 13-5 major decision. Hidlay had three takedowns in the first and two more in the the third and added in 2:28 of ride time. A 7-0 UNC win at 197 pounds made the dual come down to the final bout. Up Next The Pack will return to home action next weekend for its third straight top-10 ACC dual, when the Pack hosts No. 7 Virginia Tech Friday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum. Results: 125: Jakob Camacho (NCSU) dec. Joey Melendez; 9-4 - 3-0 133: Jamie Hernandez (UNC) dec. Jarrett Trombley; 2-0 - 3-3 141: #11 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) dec. #10 Zach Sherman; 6-0 - 6-3 149: #3 Austin O'Connor (UNC) dec. Matt Grippi; 6-5 - 6-6 157: #2 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) dec. #15 A.C. Headlee; 9-2 - 9-6 165: #16 Kennedy Monday (UNC) tech fall Tyler Barnes; 20-5 - 9-11 174: #18 Daniel Bullard (NCSU) dec. Clay Lautt; 8-4 - 12-11 184: #3 Trent Hidlay (NCSU) major dec. Joey Mazzara; 13-5 - 16-11 197: Brandon Whitman (UNC) dec. #20 Nick Reenan; 7-0 - 16-14 285: Deonte Wilson (NCSU) dec. Andrew Gunning; 5-2 - 19-18 Attendance: 4,383 (a new NC State Wrestling Reynolds Coliseum record)

Alex Facundo after winning bronze at the Cadet Worlds for the second straight year (Photo/Kadir Caliskan, United World Wrestling) Two-time Cadet world medalist Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) verbally committed to Penn State on Friday morning. The nation's No. 1 ranked wrestler at 170 pounds is also a two-time state champion, a 2018 Super 32 Challenge champion, and won back-to-back bronze medals at the Cadet World Championships in 2018 and 2019. Facundo's commitment marks yet another class where the Nittany Lions have gotten at least one of the true elite wrestlers to Happy Valley. He made the announcement on Instagram.

Seth Gross, ranked No. 1, is expected to meet No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young on Friday night (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Last weekend's wild match between No. 1 Iowa and No. 3 Penn State showed off just how great the college wrestling dual season can be. This weekend there are several more top duals including No. 2 North Carolina State versus No. 9 North Carolina and No. 3 Penn State versus No. 8 Wisconsin. The following previews some of the top individual matches from this weekend. 125: No. 20 Nic Aguilar (Rutgers) vs. Jonathon Tropea (Rider) Aguilar is currently sitting right on the edge of the InterMat rankings. He has managed to hold on despite a three-match losing streak in the Big Ten. Even though he has struggled recently, he has had a solid redshirt freshman season. He has defeated the likes of Malik Heinselman (Ohio State), Joey Prata (Virginia Tech) and Gage Curry (American). Tropea got off to a hot start to the season. He won five of his first six matches and picked up a signature win over No. 13 Patrick McKee (Minnesota). Tropea has cooled off a little bit as the season has gone on. However, the redshirt junior still holds a 15-9 record and has been in and out of the rankings. A match like this could have an impact on qualification and allocations. Both wrestlers have shown that they have the potential to knock off top opposition, but they have struggled with consistency. The dual between Rutgers and Rider should be an interesting in-state clash, and this match is one of the many strong individual contests. Look for Tropea to get it done thanks to his experience. Prediction: Tropea (Rutgers) decision over Aguilar (Rutgers) 133: No. 1 Seth Gross (Wisconsin) vs. No. 2 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) After a December loss against No. 3 Austin DeSanto (Iowa), Gross has gotten back on track and gone on an extensive winning streak. At the Midlands, he got revenge over DeSanto and also knocked off No. 5 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern). Since that tournament Gross has won all five of his matches with bonus points. In his last outing the Wisconsin wrestler needed only 1:12 to pin Travis Ford-Melton (Purdue). Bravo-Young defeated DeSanto last weekend via injury default. Regardless of how one feels about that victory, he has had a very impressive season. He holds a 15-0 record and has picked up bonus points in nine of those matches. Bravo-Young has also defeated the likes of No. 9 Sammny Alvarez (Rutgers) and No. 14 Ridge Lovett (Nebraska). In terms of traditional neutral wrestling, Bravo-Young may have the advantage. He has solid leg attacks and gets to them frequently. However, finishing against Gross is not an easy task. On top of that, Gross always has the opportunity to make a difference from the top position. This will be an interesting match that could have an impact on seeding at the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. Prediction: Gross (Wisconsin) decision over Bravo-Young (Penn State) 141: No. 5 Dom Demas (Oklahoma) vs. No. 6 Ian Parker (Iowa State) Demas started the season as the No. 1-ranked wrestler at this weight class. He has dropped a few matches and now finds himself fifth. Two of his losses have come against No. 1 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) and No. 4 Mitch McKee (Minnesota). His only real surprising loss came against unranked Caleb Rea (West Virginia) a few weeks back. Despite the losses Demas has gone 19-3 with wins over No. 20 Michael Blockhus (Northern Iowa), No. 19 Mitch Moore (Virginia Tech) and No. 8 Chad Red (Nebraska). Parker has held his own most of this season and built an impressive 15-2 record. Since the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, he has won eight straight matches. During the run, he has knocked off Moore, Dusty Hone (Oklahoma State) and No. 12 Josh Heil (Campbell). These two met back in December at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Demas surprisingly won the bout via technical fall. It was the third meeting between the two wrestlers and the previous matches were both decisions. Parker won the first in sudden victory. Demas won the second at the Big 12 tournament, 8-4. Was the technical fall victory a sign of the growing gap between the wrestlers or just an odd occurrence? Parker has the chance to answer that question here. Prediction: Demas (Oklahoma) decision over Parker (Iowa State) 149: No. 2 Pat Lugo (Iowa) vs. No. 9 Kanen Storr (Michigan) Lugo has bounced back from his first loss of the season with back-to-back decision victories over Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State) and Alex Hrisopoulos (Michigan State). While neither decision came with bonus points, neither match was particularly close either. Other than his lone loss against No. 1 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State), Lugo has been dominant and defeated the likes of No. 7 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State), No. 12 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) and No. 3 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina). Storr was originally set to redshirt this season, but he returned to the starting lineup following the first semester. Since the Midlands, he has gone on a six-match winning streak with his last three wins coming with bonus points. In his last match, Storr picked up a 17-1 technical fall over Gerard Angelo (Rutgers). The knock on Lugo is that he can be a bit too conservative at times. However, he has done a lot better working on top this year and riding. He may not be getting turns, but his riding ability has helped him build and hold leads. Storr is a tough out, but he will likely struggle to score against Lugo's noted defense. Prediction: Lugo (Iowa) decision over Storr (Michigan) 157: Jacori Teemer (Arizona State) vs. N0. 12 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) Teemer had a tough start to his redshirt freshman season. He went 4-4 through his first eight bouts. However, Teemer has settled things down recently and won five of his last six matches. His only loss during the stretch came against No. 3 David Carr (Iowa State). In his last match, he put up 19 points against Tyler Eischens (Stanford) and won via technical fall. Jacques dropped from 10th to 12th in the rankings this week following an overtime loss against formerly unranked No. 20 Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State). Despite the loss, Jacques has put together a 21-5 record that includes a signature win over No. 10 Larry Early (Old Dominion). Prediction: Jacques (Missouri) decision over Teemer (Arizona State) 165: No. 16 Kennedy Monday (North Carolina) vs. No. 10 Thomas Bullard (NC State) The match between No. 9 North Carolina and No. 2 North Carolina State is perhaps the premier dual of the weekend. If North Carolina has any hope of pulling the upset, they will likely need points from Monday. The redshirt junior picked up his biggest win of the season two weeks ago when he scored a technical fall over No. 6 David McFadden (Virginia Tech). However, Monday then turned around and surrendered a fall against No. 15 Zach Hartman (Bucknell). Bullard has always been stout defensively and hard to score on. He had some impressive wins early this season over the likes of Ethan Smith (Ohio State) and Joe Lee (Penn State). However, he has wrestled only three times since the Southern Scuffle. Monday has the offense to get this victory. He will need to make sure to not give up points on counters. Bullard is tough to score on, but if Monday is intelligently persistent he can win the bout. Prediction: Monday (North Carolina) decision over Bullard (NC State) 174: No. 6 Michael Labriola (Nebraska) vs. No. 4 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) The series between Labriola and Lydy has been extensive and competitive. The two first met at the Midlands during the 2017-2018 season. They faced off twice in the tournament with Lydy taking a pair of decisions. Their third match came at the 2019 Big Ten tournament. This time Labriola scored a 4-3 overtime victory. Larbiola repeated that feat with another 4-3 victory at the NCAA tournament. Lydy got back in the win column in the rivalry this year as he scored a 3-1 sudden victory decision over the Nebraska wrestler at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Labriola recently dropped a pair of matches against No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) and No. 2 Mark Hall (Penn State). However, he has gotten back on track with two victories. In his last match, he scored a 3-1 decision over No. 7 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State). Lydy has gone 26-1 on the season with his only loss coming against Kemerer. Since losing to the Iowa wrestler, he has won five straight matches. Lydy's strong defensive ability has been key to his success in this series. He holds position well and is extremely hard to score on. However, this year he has also turned on his offense. This will be a close match, but look for Lydy to do just enough to edge Labriola in their sixth collegiate match. Prediction: Lydy (Purdue) decision over Labriola (Nebraska) 184: No. 12 Billy Janzer (Rutgers) vs. No. 15 Zach Braunagel (Illinois) Janzer has gone 17-5 on the season and is currently riding a three-match winning streak. After falling against No. 7 Aaron Brooks (Penn State), Janzer defeated Jakob Hinz (Indiana), Max Lyon (Purdue) in over time and No. 20 Jelani Embree (Michigan). Braunagel has alternated wins and losses since the Midlands. He dropped a match against Brooks before recovering to tech Hinz. He then dropped a match against No. 14 Rocky Jordan (Ohio State) before bouncing back against Embree. Last weekend Braunagel lost to No. 8 Cam Caffey (Michigan State) on Friday and then beat Jack Jessen (Northwestern) on Sunday. While Braunagel has not been particularly consistent, he has shown that he can take out wrestlers at a certain level. When the competition has been overly tough he has struggled, but he should have enough offense to score a victory over Janzer. This match could have seeding and qualification implications come tournament time. Prediction: Braunagel (Illinois) decision over Janzer (Rutgers) 197: No. 3 Patrick Brucki (Princeton) vs. No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell) Brucki has gone 14-2 to start his junior season. One of those losses came against No. 6 Jacob Warner (Iowa), which he avenged at the Midlands. Since the Midlands, where Brucki finished third, he has won four straight matches including a victory over No. 20 Nick Reenan (NC State). Darmstadt took some losses early in the season after missing the entire previous year with injury. Following the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, he has started looking more and more like himself. He has won seven of his last eight matches with his only defeat coming via injury default. During the stretch he has also scored two falls and a technical fall. These two wrestled once before. During the 2017-2018 the two met in a dual meet match, and Darmstadt scored a 9-6 victory. Since then Brucki has worked to build himself into more of an offensive threat. However, Darmstadt's reach and length will continue to be a problem. If he is healthy, he should be able to take this one. Prediction: Darmstadt (Cornell) decision over Brucki (Princeton) 285: No. 2 Mason Parris (Michigan) vs. No. 3 Anthony Cassioppi (Iowa) For those that consider No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) to be the clear favorite at this weight, the match between Parris and Cassioppi is the battle for the clear No. 2. Both are undefeated and have picked up multiple ranked wins over the course of the season. Parris has started this season with a perfect 22-0 record. It includes eight victories via fall. He has already defeated No. 8 Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh), No. 4 Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) and No. 6 Tanner Hall (Arizona State). Cassioppi recently shut the door on Penn State with a match sealing win over No. 15 Seth Nevills (Penn State). Like Parris he holds an undefeated record, which currently stands at 15-0 with five falls. In addition to his win over Nevills, he has also bested Stencel, No. 14 Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) and No. 5 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin). These two met in a match at Fargo in the summer of 2018. In the freestyle match, Cassioppi got off to a hot start with a takedown and two quick turns to take a 6-0 lead. Parris then got on the board with a sweep takedown. Cassioppi then scored another six points with a head pinch to win 12-2. On one hand, it was a first-period tech under freestyle rules. On the other hand, each wrestler only scored one takedown. Parris has clearly been developing and learning on the job. However, Cassioppi's ability to ride and scramble should help him pull off a slight upset. Prediction: Cassioppi (Iowa) decision over Parris (Michigan)

Wartburg after defeating Augsburg on Thursday night in Waverly, Iowa (Photo/Wartburg Athletics) WAVERLY, Iowa -- Wartburg and Augsburg. They are the two most dominant wrestling programs at the NCAA Division III level. Wartburg has captured 14 national titles and Augsburg 13. For the past quarter-century, no other team has won a DIII national title. That trend may continue this year with Wartburg ranked No. 1 and Augsburg No. 2. The powerhouse programs battled once again Thursday night with Wartburg earning a dramatic 19-14 win before a packed house of 1,800 fans at Levick Arena. The Knights also defeated the Auggies 24-15 last month at the National Duals After Thursday's dual, Wartburg leads the series with Augsburg 22-16. The Knights have won 10 of the last 11 meetings, including the last three. Here are my top takeaways from Thursday's dual meet: Final match decides it The hard-fought dual between elite programs came down to the final bout at 141 pounds. Wartburg held a 16-14 lead, meaning the winner of bout No. 10 would lead his team to victory. Wartburg's Brady Fritz scored a clutch single-leg takedown with 59 seconds left to down national champion David Flynn of Augsburg 3-2. Fritz held off Flynn in the closing seconds, raising his arms as the sellout crowd erupted in cheers. Fritz also defeated Flynn at the National Duals. Highlight reel move propels Rumph Top-ranked Kristian Rumph of Wartburg executed a spectacular four-point move early in the match on his way to downing No. 2 Victor Gliva 8-6 at 133. The hard-charging Gliva fought back and trailed 6-4 late in the bout before Rumph drove in on a textbook double-leg takedown with 40 seconds left. Rumph prevailed 8-6, waving his arms after time expired as the Wartburg fans stood and cheered. Auggies start fast Augsburg started the dual with a win at 149 pounds as No. 3 Aaron Wilson downed Nick Meling 7-3. Meling was down 7-0, but avoided giving up a major decision with an escape and takedown in the final period. Epps looks dominant Two-time national champion Ryan Epps scored an early takedown and near fall en route to scoring a 15-0 technical fall over Martine Sandoval at 157. Epps led 6-0 after one period and 13-0 after two. He's looking primed to end his career with a third national title. Jeske, Benick not in lineup The Auggies wrestled without two-time national champion Lucas Jeske (165) and national champion Lance Benick (197). Augsburg coach Jim Moulsoff said the wrestlers were held out of the dual because of injuries and illness. He said both wrestlers are expected back for the Auggies. No .1 Vassar edges No. 2 Briggs Top-ranked Tanner Vassar of Augsburg shot in on a double-leg attack and finished for a takedown to earn a 3-1 win over No. 2 Kyle Briggs of Wartburg at 184. Vassar broke a 1-1 tie with just over a minute left and then rode Briggs out to clinch the triumph. That gave the Auggies a commanding 14-3 lead at intermission. Woods delivers for Knights Trailing by double digits in the dual, fourth-ranked Kobe Woods delivered a much-needed spark for Wartburg at 197. Woods fired in on a leg attack for the first takedown and took control from there in downing Wyatt Richardson 8-2. Big boy battle The heavyweight battle at 285 featured No. 9 Jordan Brandon of Wartburg against Tyler Kim of Augsburg. Brandon spun behind Kim for a first-period takedown and that was the difference in his 3-2 victory. Forsyth earns tough win The much-anticipated matchup between Jeske and sixth-ranked Max Forsyth of Wartburg didn't happen. But Forsyth still had his hands full against Augsburg's Moses Madimba. Forsyth held off Madimba's takedown attempt in the final seconds to escape with a 1-0 win at 165. Nielsen gains command Fifth-ranked Solomon Nielsen of Augsburg struck for two first-period takedowns en route to a 6-2 triumph over Paul Calo at 174. That gave the Auggies an 11-3 lead through the dual's first four matches. Little guy comes up big Eighth-ranked Brady Kyner of Wartburg scored an early takedown and rideout to take charge in his 125-pound bout against Justin Stauffacher. Kyner struck again on a second-period leg attack to build a 4-1 lead. He added three takedowns in the third period to win by a 12-4 major decision. Final word The Knights won the final five matches of the dual to prevail, but the Auggies were missing two national champions. Augsburg returns 120 points from last year's national championship team, including four national champions. But Wartburg is determined to come back strong after a tough finish at the 2019 national tournament. No doubt, the DIII nationals will be fun to watch next month. And Wartburg and Augsburg figure to be right in the thick of it. 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.

Last weekend's Iowa-Penn State dual lived up to the billing, with the dual meet decided at heavyweight. Upsets, injuries, and gutsy performances abound -- much to the delight of fans, of which a whopping 340K were estimated to have watched the match live on BTN. Those are real numbers -- and real numbers drive advertising dollars, which (as has been discussed ad nauseum) helps wrestling keeps it position on college campuses. The long view is great, but the short view is better. For those optimistic enough to believe college wrestling could emerge from its self-limiting group think, there is clear evidence that a robust, consumer-focused dual meet national championship could draw huge national numbers. Those viewers are future wrestlers, donors, parents, alumni, and fans. It's not a lack of imagination that's holding our community back. It's not even the NCAA, per se. The real limitation is that NCAA Division I coaches have far too much influence on the long-term plans of the sport. While coaches are vital to keeping the rules fresh and providing day-to-day perspectives, they are paid to win within their contracted years and those with six-figure salaries aren't willing to play a parlor game with a 30-year mortgage and two kids in travel swimming. Think of how absurd it would be if Andy Reid were to choose the playoff format for the NFL. Maybe the Patriots do this, I don't follow much, but the point is that in most other sports leagues it's the politically appointed figures who are the drivers of fundamental changes. In wrestling and the NCAA there seems to be a lack of motivation from up top to enforce change, and such incredible resistance from successful teams as to make it intractable. What's our goal here, guys and gals? Are we OK for some throwaway national coverage during the NCAA Basketball Tournament, or do we want more? As a habit wrestlers are often satisfied, and in this case they (or we) shouldn't be complacent with some very middling numbers at the NCAAs when it's proven again and again that dual meets can sell vastly more tickets, earn more in TV revenue, and create many more storylines. We can do this, and I'm sure that when it's done we'll look back and think of how foolish it was to waster all this time, money, and opportunity on doing nothing. To your questions … Maryland wore their new two-piece uniforms for a dual meet against Pitt on Dec. 20 (Photo/Greg Fiume) Q: Do you like the two-piece uniforms Maryland has worn? Are you surprised more college wrestling teams aren't using two-piece uniforms? -- Mike C. Foley: The Maryland Terrapins looked great in their new uniforms. Coach Alex Clemsen mentioned in an interview that some guys were hesitant but that they grew to like them pretty quickly. I doubt that infers they will replace the team's singlet, but it's a fist step and opens the door for other programs (Hey, U.Va!) to implement their own two-piece, though to be fair it's tough to imagine getting those approved, paid for, and delivered for the end of this season. I think that we will see another half dozen use the two-piece next year, and double again every season after that. Once the high schoolers coming up prefer them to singlets (and they might) you'll see the opinion of the team influence the game day sartorial choices of the coach. Who amongst us wouldn't go out and buy a rash guard and shorts with a Pokémon-inspired Spencer Lee Iowa two-piece uniform? Q: Roman Bravo-Young will (potentially) get a crack at Seth Gross Friday. Do you think RBY can knock off Gross? And what are your thoughts on RBY's title chances in March? -- Mike C. Foley: First, I think that DeSanto was legitimately injured when RBY turned DeSanto's foot during the first exchange. Grabbing any part of the foot should be illegal (as in international) and action should be stopped when it happens. Now, I also think that RBY came out hotter than DeSanto, and I dare say that DeSanto looked flat on his feet to start the match. Given those small glimpses I think that RBY is the favorite in their next matchup and that he can (of course!) knock off Gross. While not all Penn State wrestlers improve, when they tend to start rolling like this they have a step improvement curve and typically find big results. Don't be surprised if RBY gets the win Friday, or if he's making the quick jog out to the center of the mat in Minnesota. He's ready. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME I get that its harmless fun, but I'd rather see Jordan Burroughs or Adeline Gray on SportsCenter Link: Wrestlers get DQ'd Fun video from Italian wrestling federation to promote this week's European Championships Link: Wrestling takes Rome! Q: I came across a tweet of yours where you were talking about the Austin DeSanto vs. Roman Bravo-Young match. It made me stop and think about a few things. 1. How much does injury affect the outcome of the season? 2. Just how many top-quality wrestlers do we have not competing right now because of injury? 3. Is the sport of wrestling in its rules and design doing all it can to ensure the safety of its athletes? I can answer 1 and 2 myself. 1. A LOT! 2. More than most fans probably realize. 3. What do you think about it? -- Steve S. Foley: I want to think that the NCAA and high school associations have the best interest of the wrestlers in the forefront of their rules decisions, but I'm not that confident. I know that there are many, many well-intentioned men and women reviewing rules and spending their time in gyms refereeing matches and overseeing tournaments, but I'm often disappointed in the absolute stupidity we still seem to value on the mat. For example, the most common rebuttal to declaring a move should be reviewed because it's too violent or injurious is to hearken back to one's personal days competing. That whipsaw nostalgia defense will do nothing to protect athletes because it's an emotional response to an inquiry that can be discussed using sciences like physiology, biomechanics and statistics. Still, those arguments are drowned about by appeals for "toughness." What's tough about having your ACL torn? Or getting a concussion? Those injuries and recovery times are in no way indicative of one's ability to wrestle, nor is it a firm conclusion that your opponent who implemented a suspect move, is a better technician or competitor than you. It's lunacy to watch a kid with double grapevines in put their elbow in the back of a kid's neck and say, "Yeah, maybe stop the action." No. Kick that kid -- and every other kid -- out of the tournament. Same goes for a number of positions where I think the rules body and the referees left to interpret them have been given too much leeway and kids are being injured. The overriding question we have to ask ourselves in these meetings is how this impacts the health of the athlete. I think we are all OK with a half nelson, but less-so with cranking a knee against the joint. I hope that we find a new approach to these rules in the future and that we can work with more speed to correct errors in the rule book once they've been exposed. The NCAA currently reviews rules every two years, which means that it could be 20+ months between an obvious dangerous situation being exposed and there being a meaningful change implemented. That's far too long. Stanford's Real Woods is ranked No. 3 at 141 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: Stanford has a couple outstanding freshmen in Real Woods (141) and Shane Griffth (165). Woods has just one loss, which came to No. 1 Luke Pletcher in OT. Griffith is undefeated. Do you see either as a potential finalist in March? If so, who do you think has a better chance? -- Mike C. Foley: Whoa. Real Woods is very, very good at wrestling. To see what Pletcher has been doing to opponents this year and then balance that against how Woods fared in their early season dual meet I think he's the No. 2 wrestler in the country and likely to face Pletcher in the NCAA finals. Forgiving that he doesn't have the same level of opponents as many in the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC I think his style is too difficult to digest on first take and that's exactly how most of his opponents will be coming at him in March. (Also, I know that Nick Lee is talented and well-coached, I just think Real Woods is next level.)

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- With the dual coming down to the final match, redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Adam Kemp came through in the clutch for the Bulldogs with a hard-fought 3-2 win to lift Fresno State past Wyoming, 22-19 at the UniWyo Sports Complex on Thursday evening. Despite forfeiting both 125 and 197 pounds, Fresno State (9-7, 4-1 B12) tallied six wins in the dual getting bonus points win from Brandon Martino at 174 pounds and DJ Lloren at 141 pounds. Martino got the dual started with his second major decision of the season while Lloren recorded his first career fall as a Bulldog. Kemp, Josh Hokit (Hwt.), Greg Gaxiola (149 lbs.) and Jacob Wright (157 lbs.) added wins by decision. How It Happened With the dual getting started at 174 pounds, Martino got the 'Dogs rolling with a 8-0 major decision over No. 11 Hayden Hastings. A takedown in each period along with an escape and riding time point were enough for the Clovis native's second-straight win over a top-12 opponent after defeating No. 11 Samuel Colbray from Iowa State at home last Friday. With Wyoming (7-8, 3-2 B12) getting on the board with a major decision at 184 pounds by No. 32 Tate Samuelson over Dominic Kincaid and receiving a forfeit at 197 pounds, the Cowboys took a 10-4 lead. Hokit cut Wyoming's lead in half with a 3-2 win over No. 18 Brian Andrews as the senior two-sport athlete saw his first action since Jan. 17 against Duke. A third-period takedown by Hokit proved to the difference as Andrews was limited to two escapes. With the Cowboys' taking a 16-7 lead after another forfeit by the 'Dogs at 125 pounds, the Cowboys took their largest lead of the match at 19-7 after a 4-0 win by No. 8 Montorie Bridges over Gary Joint. It was all Fresno State from their as the 'Dogs won the final four matches of the dual. Lloren got the Bulldogs' back on the winning track with a fall over redshirt freshman Trevor Jeffries in 4:29 to cut the Wyoming lead to 19-13. Gaxiola followed with a 4-1 win No. 26 Jaron Jensen as the redshirt junior used a first-period takedown and an escape in the third period along with 1:14 of riding time for his 14th win of the season. Wright tied the match at 19-19 with a 7-4 win over No. 33 Dewey Krueger as the redshirt sophomore broke a 3-3 tie in the third period with an escape, takedown and riding time point to send the dual to a winner-take-all final match. After a scoreless first period, Kemp chose bottom to start the second period, quickly escaped and added a takedown for a 3-0 lead. Facing redshirt freshman Cole Moody, the Cowboy wrestler was able to escape and added another escape in the third period, but Kemp held on for a 3-2 win. Notables Fresno State improves to 13-1 all-time against Wyoming. The Bulldogs move to 1-0 on the road this season. The 'Dogs improve to 4-1 in Big 12 duals. Fresno State has won nine of its last 12 duals. Lloren runs his record to 20-4 and notced his seventh win by bonus points. Attendance at the UniWyo Sports Complex on Thursday was 547. Up next Fresno State heads to North Dakota State (6-3, 3-1 B12) on Saturday for a Big 12 dual at 5 p.m. PT at the Scheels Center. Results: 174: No. -/-/20/- Brandon Martino (FS) maj. dec. No. 10/12/12/11 Hayden Hastings (WYO), 8-0 | FS 4, WYO 0 184: No. 32/-/-/32 Tate Samuelson (WYO) maj. dec. Dominic Kincaid (FS), 9-0 | FS 4, WYO 197: No. 26/24/-/27 Stephen Buchanan (WYO) won by forfeit | WYO 10, FS 4 HWT: No. 11/11/12/9 Josh Hokit (FS) dec. No. 18/21/-/26 Brian Andrews (WYO), 3-2 | WYO 10, FS 7 125: Jake Svihel (WYO) won by forfeit WYO 16, FS 7 133: No. 7/8/8/8 Montorie Bridges (WYO) dec. Gary Joint (FS), 4-0 | WYO 19, FS 7 141: No. 22/23/15/13 DJ Lloren (FS) won by fall over Trevor Jeffries (WYO), 4:29 | WYO 19, FS 13 149: No. -/-/-/29 Greg Gaxiola (FS) dec. No. 26/-/-/32 Jaron Jensen (WYO), 4-1 | WYO 19, FS 16 157: No. 18/-/17/14 Jacob Wright (FS) dec. No. 33/-/-/- Dewey Krueger (WYO), 7-4 | FS 19, WYO 19 165: Adam Kemp (FS) dec. Cole Moody (WYO), 3-2 | FS 22, WYO 19 - Rankings by NCAA Coaches Panel Ranking/FloWrestling/InterMat/Trackwrestling

WAVERLY, Iowa -- The No. 1-ranked Wartburg wrestling team earned a 19-14 comeback victory over No. 2 Augsburg University Thursday evening at Levick Arena in the Annual "Battle of the Burgs" dual match. Down 14-3 after the fifth bout, the Orange & Black closed out second half with victories, capped off by a Brady Fritz 3-2 decision over the Auggies' David Flynn to seal the five-point triumph. "I wanted the guys to understand that the score doesn't mean anything at that point," said head coach Eric Keller regarding his message to the team during the intermission following an Augsburg win at 184 lbs. "The only thing that mattered was the very next match. A lot of times these duals are back-and forth which carries its own emotions, but to be in that type of deficit and come back the way we did, that was special." Trailing by nine points, five-straight wins by Kobe Woods, Jordon Brandon, Brady Kyner, Kris Rumph, and Fritz guided the Knights to victory. A 12-4 major decision from Kyner put Wartburg in just a one-point deficit at 14-13 prior to Rumph and Fritz decisions. Results: 149 -- #3 Aaron Wilson (AUG) over Nick Meling (WAR) DEC 8-3 157 -- #2 Ryan Epps (AUG) over Martine Sandoval (WAR) TF 15-0 165 -- #6 Max Forsyth (WAR) over Moses Madimba (AUG) DEC 1-0 174 -- #5 Solomon Nielsen (AUG) over Paul Calo (WAR) DEC 6-2 184 -- #1 Tanner Vassar (AUG) over #2 Kyle Briggs (WAR) DEC 3-1 197 -- #4 Kobe Woods (WAR) over Wyatt Richardson (AUG) DEC 8-2 HWT -- #9 Jordon Brandon (WAR) over Tyler Kim (AUG) DEC 3-2 125 -- #8 Brady Kyner (WAR) over Justin Stauffacher (AUG) MD 12-4 133 -- #1 Kris Rumph (WAR) over #2 Victor Gliva (AUG) DEC 8-6 141 -- #4 Brady Fritz (WAR) over #5 David Flynn (AUG) DEC 3-2

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- The Lock Haven University wrestling team (7-5, 3-2 MAC East) got off to another quick start and recorded key bonus points as the Bald Eagles proved too strong for visiting Edinboro University (9-8, 1-4 MAC East), and won the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Eastern Division dual, 25-13. No. 32 Jared Siegrist (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) recorded a 33-second pin at 174, while No. 15 Luke Werner (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) and No. 20 Kyle Shoop (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Springs) notched tech falls at 125 and 141, respectively. Overall, the Bald Eagles won six of 10 bouts in the big win over their longtime rivals. It marked LHU's second straight win over Edinboro in dual action. No. 28 DJ Fehlman (Warren, Pa./Warren), No. 29 Alex Klucker (Summerdale, Pa./East Pennsboro) and Austin Bell (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) all added wins for Lock Haven. Shoop's victory marked career-win No. 124, which ties him for second all-time in school history. Both Fehlman and Siegrist remained unbeaten in MAC dual action. Tonight's dual started at 285 pounds and Edinboro jumped out to a 3-0 lead despite an outstanding effort from Trey Hartsock (Lewistown, Pa./Mifflin County). No. 25 Jon Spaulding of Edinboro edged out Hartsock 9-3 for the win. The Bald Eagles then rattled off three straights wins at 125, 133 and 141, including first period tech falls from Werner and Shoop. Werner – ranked No. 15 - needed just 1:13 to take down Lucas Rodriguez 18-0 at 125. The win put Lock Haven on top 5-3. Fehlman – ranked No. 28 at 133 - grinded out a hard-fought 7-2 decision at 133. Leading 6-2 after two, Fehlman rode out the third period for the win and extended the LHU lead to 8-3. Shoop - the nation's No. 20th ranked 141 pounder - scored a quick takedown, and he never looked back on the way to the 16-0 (1:45) tech fall over Richie Gomez. Shoop's bonus points put the Bald Eagles up 13-3. At 149, Edinboro's Tyler Vath edged Brock Port (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte), 6-1 and cut the LHU lead to 13-6. No. 29 Klucker won a thriller at 157. A third-period escape put the Bald Eagle up 4-3 and a late-bout takedown sealed the win as Klucker tallied the 6-4 decision. Klucker's win sparked another three-bout win streak for LHU. Bell dominated Derek Ciavarro at 165 on the way to a 6-0 win. After a scoreless opening period, Bell rode out the second period and scored four near-fall points midway through the second. Siegrist – ranked No. 32 – put on a show at 174. He earned a takedown at the opening whistle and led 4-1, before locking up the pin just 33 seconds in. The Bald Eagle wins at 157, 165 and the Siegrist-pin at 174 pushed LHU's lead to 25-5. Following the Lock Haven win in the 165-pound bout, Edinboro was deducted a team point. Edinboro picked up wins in the final two bouts, including a tech fall at 184. At 197, Dylan Reynolds edged out Parker McClellan (Altoona, Pa./Altoona), 8-4, but the Bald Eagles had already locked the team victory up. The Bald Eagles will get little time to rest as they will return to action tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 7) at 7 p.m. when they host Rider University in another important MAC East dual. Results: 285: #25 Jon Spaulding (EU) dec. Trey Hartsock (LHU) 9-3 / EU 3-0 125: #15 Luke Werner (LHU) tech fall Lucas Rodriguez (EU) 18-0 (1:13) / LHU 5-3 133: #28 DJ Fehlman (LHU) dec. Tye Varndell (EU) 7-2 / LHU 8-3 141: #20 Kyle Shoop (LHU) tech fall Richie Gomez (EU) 16-0 (1:45) / LHU 13-3 149: Tyler Vath (EU) dec. Brock Port (LHU) 6-1 / LHU 13-6 157: #29 Alex Klucker (LHU) dec. Peter Pappas (EU) 6-4 / LHU 16-6 165: Austin Bell (LHU) dec. Derek Ciavarro (EU) 6-0 / LHU 19-5* 174: #32 Jared Siegrist (LHU) pinned Anthony Chambers (EU) 0:33 / LHU 25-5 184: Cody Mulligan (EU) tech fall Ray Bernot (LHU) 18-1 (7:00) / LHU 25-10 197: Dylan Reynolds (EU) dec. Parker McClellan (LHU) 8-4 / FINAL, 25-13 *Edinboro deducted a team point after 165-pound bout Records: Edinboro (9-8, 1-4 MAC East) Lock Haven (7-5, 3-2 MAC East) Attendance – 523 LHU NOTES: Earlier today (Thurs, Feb. 6), the Mid-American Conference released its February weight class individual rankings and team rankings … As a team, the Bald Eagles are projected to finish third at the 2020 MAC Championships … Overall, five Bald Eagles were listed in the individual rankings, including Luke Werner and DJ Fehlman, who were ranked No. 2 at 125 and 133, respectively … Kyle Shoop was ranked No. 3 at 141 and both Jared Siegrist (174) and Corey Hazel (184) were ranked No. 4 … For full rankings, visit https://getsomemaction.com/ … This 2019-20 season marks Lock Haven's first as a member of the MAC … Last March (2019), it was announced that Lock Haven, along with the other members of the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL), would be joining the Mid-American Conference (MAC) for the sport of wrestling this season … It was a historic moment for college wrestling and one that made the MAC the second largest wrestling conference in the country … In the sport of wrestling, the MAC's Eastern Division is made up of Bloomsburg, Clarion, Edinboro, George Mason, Lock Haven, Rider and Old Dominion … The Western Division consists of Buffalo, Central Michigan, Cleveland State, Kent State, Missouri, Northern Illinois, Ohio and SIU-Edwardsville … The 2020 MAC Wrestling Championships will be held March 7-8 and will be hosted by Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.

Team captain Spencer Carey's win by fall in the third match of the night set the tone for the Navy wrestling team (7-4, 3-1 EIWA) and provided a lead the Mids would not relinquish en route to a 23-14 win over George Mason (7-6) Thursday evening at the Recreation Athletic Complex in Fairfax, Va. Navy fell behind 3-0 when GMU's Kolby Ho dealt Jack Stanton-Taddeo an 11-5 loss in the opening match of the evening at 157 pounds. The Mids answered a match later when freshman Brian Case earned one of the biggest wins of his career, beating redshirt senior Ryan Yorkdale in sudden victory, 3-1. Case scored his match-winning takedown just 13 seconds into the extra frame to level the match at three apiece. Carey stepped to the mat where he met a much taller Anthony Lombardo. Carey nearly had a pin early in the match, but came away with back points. He built a 9-2 advantage and with just eight seconds remaining, Carey scored the pin. The Carey win gave Navy a 9-3 advantage and the Mids would never trail again in the match. "I am most impressed with the continued growth that I am seeing week to week in the team," said sixth-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "We have a fierce competitor as our team captain leading the way. Spencer's match tonight showed what it means to compete the entire bout. His fall was a great turnaround after a bit of a slow start in the first two matches. I thought the team rallied behind his fire tonight." The Highlights • The Midshipmen moved to 7-4 in dual competition this season, having earned wins in each of their last three duals. • Navy has wrestled four consecutive duals on the road - Lehigh (L, 23-9), American (W, 24-21), Drexel (W, 23-15) and George Mason (W, 23-14) - and will again be away from home on Sunday when it battles Duke. • Navy is now 11-0 all-time against the Patriots, including 4-0 at GMU's home venue. • Navy led by as many as 12 (20-8 and 23-11) and trailed by as many as 3 (0-3). There was just one tie in the match (3-3). • The Mids won 6 of the 10 matches, including bonus-point victories by Spencer Carey (174) and Jacob Koser (197). • Making just his third career dual appearance, freshman Brian Case (165) earned his first career dual victory with a 3-1 win in sudden victory over redshirt senior Ryan Yorkdale. He dropped a tough 8-6 decision in sudden victory just a week ago to American's Timothy Fitzpatrick. • Spencer Carey posted the 17th win by fall of his career, edging out the final buzzer by just eight seconds. Three of Carey's last four victories have come by fall (4:38 vs. Dominick Esposito at All-Academy Championship // 3:24 vs. Conner Allshouse in American dual // 6:52 vs. Anthony Lombardo in George Mason dual). in sudden victory. • Rookie Jacob Koser (197) won his eighth consecutive match with a dominant effort against Ram Montalvo. Koser, who held a 12-1 advantage after the first period, earned the 17-1 tech fall in just over four minutes and is now 5-0 in matches ending by tech falls. He improved to 17-5 overall and owns a team-best 9-2 mark in dual action. • John Birchmeier (285) pushed his dual mark to above .500 with a 7-4 win over Jake Slinger. Winner of five of his last six matches, Birchmeier stands 16-8 on the year and 6-5 in dual competition. • Logan Treaster (125) weathered a tough match against GMU's Talha Farooq (9-4) and is now just one win shy of the 20-win milestone (19-7, 8-3). • Cody Trybus (141) used patience in earning a 3-1 win over Alex Madrigal, the nation's leader in tech falls (10). The two met earlier this season with Madrigal taking a 5-2 decision at the Southern Scuffle. Trybus was the aggressor throughout Thursday's match and secured his 18th win over the season with the match-winning takedown with under 30 seconds remaining in the match. More From Coach Sharratt • Jacob Koser got the fans out of their seats with his aggressive leg attacks and dominant top game. He, too, is improving every week in multiple positions and has the mentality and drive to keep climbing through the end of March. • John Birchmeier had a physical match tonight and really showed where he is at as far as physical endurance to compete for seven minutes, as well as some very strong leg attacks. He competes like a 125-pound athlete and is very exciting. • Logan Treaster wrestled well and opened up scoring points in some positions that he has been unwilling to attack from earlier this season. He remains strong and steady in his improvement and adding new dimentions will certainly add to his game. • Cody Trybus wrestled the most solid "NAVY WAY" bout of the night. He brought the fight for all seven minutes against a secure ranked opponent. He attacked early and often and made his own luck in the third period with his composure and unwavering physical pace. Results: 157 | Kolby Ho dec Jack Stanton-Taddeo (NAVY), 11-5 // GM 3-0 165 | Brian Case (NAVY) dec Ryan Yorkdale, 3-1 SV // Tied 3-3 174 | Spencer Carey (NAVY) fall Anthony Lombardo, 6:52 // Navy 9-3 184 | Paul Pierce tech fall Andrew Buckley (NAVY), 20-5 (6:05) // Navy 9-8 197 | Jacob Koser (NAVY) tech fall Ram Montalvo, 17-1 (4:07) // Navy 14-8 285 | John Birchmeier (NAVY) dec Jake Slinger, 7-4 // Navy 17-8 125 | Logan Treaster (NAVY) dec Talha Farooq, 9-5 // Navy 20-8 133 | Josh Jones dec Casey Cobb (NAVY), 9-8 // Navy 20-11 141 | Cody Trybus (NAVY) dec Alex Madrigal, 3-1 // Navy 23-11 149 | Colston DiBlasi dec Val Park (NAVY), 5-2 // Navy 23-14 What's Ahead • Navy will make the drive to North Carolina on Sunday where it faces Duke (0-12, 0-2 ACC). Slated for 2:00 pm, the match will be held at Northwood High School in Pittsboro, N.C.

It's official: The Iowa Board of Regents has approved the University of Iowa's plans to build a new wrestling training facility for its storied Hawkeye mat program, one week after the Big Ten school first announced its intention to replace the existing wrestling room inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. On Wednesday, the Board of Regents for the State of Iowa granted approval for the university to begin planning for a new, separate structure for the wrestling program, to be located just south of Carver-Hawkeye, and connected to the iconic arena -- where the Hawkeyes will continue to host home dual meets -- by an underground tunnel. The new two-level, 37,000-square-foot facility will feature workout facilities, training areas, locker rooms, and office space, along with a Hall of Champions that will showcase the program's legendary history, including 23 NCAA team titles and 35 Big Ten Conference team titles ... along with 84 NCAA individual champs, and 335 NCAA All-American honors. According to a statement issued by the school, the wrestling program has already raised $9 million to construct the new wrestling training facility, which, according to initial reports, is expected to have a total price tag of $17-$20 million ... all to be paid for by gifts to the UI athletics department, which is self-sustaining, and separate from the university general fund. Here's how the University of Iowa explained its plan to generate gifts to construct the new Hawkeye wrestling training facility: "Carver Circle, the Iowa Wrestling facility campaign, will raise funds to meet the needs of one of the most successful athletic programs in the country. UI will now begin planning a new facility adjacent to Carver-Hawkeye Arena that supports Iowa Wrestling's championship standards and validates Iowa City's reputation as the greatest wrestling city in the world.” Those wishing to contribute to the construction of the new Hawkeye wrestling training facility may do so online.

Kyle Crutchmer weighing in at Bellator 233 (Photo/Bellator) Add former Oklahoma State wrestler Kyle Crutchmer to the card at Bellator 239. The two-time Big 12 mat champ and NCAA All-American for the Cowboys will take on Scott Futrell in a 175-pound contract weight preliminary bout at the Bellator event at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackervile, Okla. in two weeks -- Friday, Feb. 21, according to MMAjunkie.com and confirmed by Bellator. The 26-year-old Crutchmer brings a perfect 5-0 record in his professional mixed martial arts career launched in June 2018. His most recent bout was his debut in the promotion at Bellator 233 in November 2019, with a unanimous decision over Robert Gidron. Since turning pro after college, Crutchmer has trained at American Kickboxing Academy with fellow former Oklahoma State mat standout Daniel Cormier as his wrestling coach. Crutchmer's opponent, Scott Futrell, has a 9-8 pro MMA record in a career going back to 2014. The 28-year-old has suffered three consecutive losses. Crutchmer joins a wrestler-rich Bellator 239 event. At the top of the card is Ed Ruth, three-time NCAA champ for Penn State, in a welterweight (170-pound) match vs. Yaroslav Amosov… as well as Tyrell Fortune, twice a junior college national wrestling champion and a NCAA Division II titlewinner, who will be facing Tim Johnson in a heavyweight bout. In addition, in a 135-pound preliminary card match, Shawn Bunch, two-time NCAA All-American at Edinboro University, will go up against Keith Lee. This week has been one for Crutchmer to celebrate. In addition to being announced for Bellator 239, Kyle Crutchmer will be welcomed into the Union (High School) Athletic Hall of Fame -- along with his father Kevin Crutchmer, Kyle's high school wrestling coach -- this weekend in Oklahoma.

Kirk Douglas (second row, second from left) was a member of the St. Lawrence University wrestling team Kirk Douglas was a man of many achievements: a star of over 70 films, nine Broadway plays, and nearly a dozen TV programs ... as well as author, producer and 2011 recipient of an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in film. However, few may know that the man who played a professional boxer and a Roman slave-turned-gladiator in movies was once a college wrestler who, decades later, was welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla. Douglas died Wednesday, Feb. 5 at age 103. Born Issur Danielovitch in Amsterdam, N.Y. in December 1916, the man who became Kirk Douglas was the only son of illiterate Russian immigrants. He discovered acting by performing in high school plays. He also found time to compete on his high school wrestling team. After graduating from high school, Douglas hitchhiked north to St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., where he was admitted and given a college loan, according to his 2,000-word obituary in the New York Times which said "his rugged good looks and muscular intensity made him a commanding presence in films like 'Lust for Life,' 'Spartacus' and 'Paths of Glory.'" In a 2015 interview with what is now HuffPost, the actor said that "chutpah" and "$164 that I could put towards tuition" made it possible for him to enroll at the college in far northern New York State during the depths of the Great Depression. The future Hollywood icon wrestled as Isadore Demsky and worked as a janitor to meet school expenses. "He credits wrestling for the discipline and physical fitness necessary to perform his vigorous acting roles," according to Douglas' National Wrestling Hall of Fame biography. He was welcomed into the Stillwater, Okla. Hall as an Outstanding American in 1992. In 1980, Kirk Douglas was welcomed into the St. Lawrence University Athletics Hall of Fame. "An outstanding wrestler for four years as an undergraduate Kirk Douglas led an active campus life in addition to his athletic endeavors," according to his St. Lawrence Hall of Fame biography. He was also a member of the school's German Club, and, no surprise, participated in drama productions on campus. "Undefeated as a senior wrestler, he was president of Thelmo, Chairman of the Campus Council, Chairman of the Freshman Orientation Committee and listed in Who's Who Among American College Students as a senior." In addition, Douglas was elected president of the student body in his junior year, a first for the St. Lawrence campus. Douglas graduated from St. Lawrence with a bachelor's degree in English in 1939. The University also awarded him an honorary degree in 1958. Kirk Douglas' impact at his college alma mater is still felt decades after he arrived on campus. "Kirk Douglas has been transcendently generous to St. Lawrence University and remained committed to his alma mater and our students throughout the decades," said St. Lawrence University President William L. Fox upon learning of Douglas' death. "Kirk knew that diversity made St. Lawrence and the world stronger because of his own background and experiences. Every Laurentian can certainly say, 'I am Spartacus.'" In 1999, Kirk Douglas and his second wife Anne established the Kirk Douglas Scholarship at St. Lawrence University to help young people from backgrounds similar to Douglas' during the Great Depression. They increased the scholarship substantially as part of the Campaign for Every Laurentian with an additional donation, bringing the total to $7.5 million. According to the school, the Kirk Douglas Scholarship is specifically meant to promote diversity on campus by giving awards to underrepresented students who excel academically. Kirk Douglas' college alma mater had repaid his generosity. In 2014, St. Lawrence University named its newest building and residential facility Kirk Douglas Hall. Appropriately, the residence hall also includes the popular Spartacus Café.