InterMat Staff

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The No. 20 Virginia wrestling team (3-2, 2-2 ACC) closed out the home portion of its 2021 schedule on Friday (Feb. 5), picking up a 42-3 victory over Duke (0-4, 0-4 ACC) at Memorial Gym. Virginia got five bonus-point victories on the night, using four pins and a forfeit to power their way to the dual victory over the Blue Devils. In all, the Cavaliers won nine weight classes in the dual. The match started with a decision from Patrick McCormick (Poquoson, Va.) at 125 pounds before back-to-back pins from Louie Hayes (Orland Park, Ill.) and Brian Courtney (Athens, Pa.). Duke picked up its one victory over the night with a decision from Josh Finesilver at 149 pounds. Virginia then raced down the stretch, claiming the remaining weight classes, including pins from Jake Keating (Naperville, Ill.) at 165 pounds and Quinn Miller (Lilburn, Ga.) at heavyweight in conjunction with a Blue Devil forfeit at 184 pounds to help lock up the win. Virginia will close out the regular season on the road next weekend, traveling to face No. 14 North Carolina in a 6 p.m. dual on Saturday, Feb. 13. MATCH NOTES • The Cavaliers honored four seniors prior to the dual: Sam Book, Cam Coy, Louie Hayes and Drew Peck. • Virginia notched four pins on the night as part of five bonus-point victories that included a forfeit at 184. • Jay Aiello and Louie Hayes each now have four pins on the season through eight individual matches. • Jake Keating picked up his third pin of the season with his first-period pin at 165 pounds. • Quinn Miller, Justin McCoy and Brian Courtney have each won three straight ACC matches. • Virginia has won three straight duals against Duke and leads the all-time series 62-7-2. • Freshman Patrick Noonan made his debut with a decision over Ty Mills in the additional. FROM HEAD COACH STEVE GARLAND "It was a good night. Guys were looking to score points and going to their best positions and best things right away. The biggest thing was guys looking to score points and we were glad to see that tonight. The extra matches were awesome and we had some guys look really solid. You want to see, not just in the 10 matches that are part of the main bout, but guys representing the program well even in the extra matches and they did that tonight." Results: 125: Patrick McCormick dec. Login Agin (Duke), 4-1 | UVA 3, Duke 0 133: No. 12 Louie Hayes pinned Drake Doolittle (Duke), 0:50 | UVA 9, Duke 0 141: No. 16 Brian Courtney pinned Patrick Rowland (Duke), 2:02 | UVA 15, Duke 0 149: Josh Finesilver (Duke) dec. Denton Spencer, 9-2 | UVA 15, Duke 3 157: No. 16 Justin McCoy dec. Brandon LaRue (Duke), 13-6 | UVA 18, Duke 3 165: No. 13 Jake Keating pinned Eric Carter (Duke), 1:42 | UVA 24, Duke 3 174: Vic Marcelli dec. Conor Becker (Duke), 6-3 | UVA 27, Duke 3 184: Michael Battista wins by forfeit | UVA 33, Duke 3 197: No. 8 Jay Aiello dec. Kaden Russel (Duke), 6-2 | UVA 36, Duke 3 HWT: No. 20 Quinn Miller pinned Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke), 3:11 | UVA 42, Duke 3 Additional Matches: 125: Sam Book dec. Login Agin (Duke), 9-5 133: Evan Buchanan dec. Drake Doolittle (Duke), 11-7 141: Patrick Noonan dec. Ty Mills (Duke), 8-3 141: Luca Errico pinned Ty Mills (Duke), 2:57 157: Bryson Neace (Duke) dec. Nic Sansone, 6-3 HWT: Max Fausnaugh (Duke) dec. Jessie Knight, 11-6

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 10 Gopher wrestling team (5-2) won five of the last six matches to defeat No. 13 Illinois (4-2), 25-13, on Friday night at Maturi Pavilion. Fifth-year senior Owen Webster upset No. 7 Zac Braunagel at 184 pounds, while top-ranked heavyweight Gable Steveson pinned sixth-ranked Luke Luffman in just 34 seconds to close out the dual. Sophomore Patrick McKee gave the Gophers an early 3-0 lead with a 4-2 decision against No. 13 Justin Cardani at 125 pounds. Ranked seventh in the nation, McKee trailed most of the match, but used a takedown and two-point near fall with one minute remaining to erase a 2-0 deficit. The Illini responded with three straight wins from ranked wrestlers to take a 10-3 lead, but the duo of Brayton Lee and Andrew Sparks erased the deficit with back-to-back technical falls. Ranked sixth in the country, Lee racked up 10 takedowns in a 26-8 victory at 157 pounds. A true freshman from California, Sparks improved to 6-1 in his rookie season with a 22-7 win at 165 pounds. Junior Jake Allar extended Minnesota's lead to 16-10 with an 8-3 decision against DJ Shannon at 174 pounds, while Webster followed with his third straight win against a ranked foe. The Shakopee, Minn., native recorded the match's lone takedown in the second period and opened the third with an escape to deliver a 3-2 decision. After an Illini decision at 197 pounds, it was time for Steveson to continue his dominance. After recording the second-fastest pin in school history at 13 seconds on January 22, Steveson earned the second-fastest fall of his collegiate career in just 34 seconds. The junior from Apple Valley, Minn., is now 7-0 on the season with a major, two pins and four technical falls. The Golden Gophers will hit the road for the final time in the regular season when they face Wisconsin next Friday at 10 a.m. in Madison. Results: 125: #7 Patrick McKee (UM) dec. #13 Justin Carani (ILL), 4-2 (UM 3, ILL 0) 133: #20 Lucas Byrd (ILL) maj. dec. #19 Boo Dryden (UM), 11-3 (ILL 4, UM 3) 141: #13 Dylan Duncan (ILL) dec. Marcos Polanco (UM), 4-2 (ILL 7, UM 3) 149: #8 Mike Carr (ILL) dec. Michael Blockhus (UM), 5-3 (ILL 10, UM 3) 157: #6 Brayton Lee (UM) tech. fall Johnny Mologousis (ILL), 26-8 6:03 (ILL 10, UM 8) 165: #15 Andrew Sparks (UM) tech. fall Luke Odom (ILL), 22-7 (UM 13, ILL 10) 174: #16 Jake Allar (UM) dec. DJ Shannon (ILL), 8-3 (UM 16, ILL 10) 184: #15 Owen Webster (UM) dec. #7 Zac Braunagel (ILL), 3-2 (UM 19, ILL 10) 197: Matt Wroblewski (ILL) dec. Garrett Joles (UM), 6-4 SV1 (UM 19, ILL 13) HWT: #1 Gable Steveson (UM) pinned #6 Luke Luffman (ILL), 0:34 (UM 25, ILL 13) Extra Matches: 133: Jake Gliva (UM) dec. We Rachal (ILL), 6-2 141: Danny Pucino (ILL) pinned Brent Jones (UM), 6:00 149: Jake Bergeland (UM) dec. Christian Kanzler (ILL), 2-1 174: Bailee O'Reilly (UM) dec. Trey Sizemore (ILL), 11-4 *Extra Matches: Due to only wrestling within the conference, the Big Ten will permit schools to hold extra matches on competition dates. Though they will not count towards dual scoring, they will count towards an individual's varsity record for purposes of seeding for the conference and national tournament.

CLEVELAND -- Never doubt the importance of bonus points when it comes to college wrestling. Central Michigan and Cleveland State split their 10 matches, but the Chippewas scored bonus points in three of their victories for the difference in a 21-15 Mid-American Conference dual victory at the Vikings' Woodling Gymnasium. The Chippewas improved to 3-2. Cleveland State is 0-3. It was the Chippewas' biggest guns who delivered. Fourth-ranked Drew Hildebrandt won on a first-period pin to open the dual at 125 pounds; 12th-ranked Dresden Simon posted a 16-1 technical fall at 141; and fourth-ranked Matt Stencel took a 13-3 major decision at 285. It was the first pin of the season for Hildebrandt, the first tech fall for Simon, and the first major for Stencel. "That's why we won the dual meet," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said, adding that while it's nice that all three won in dominant fashion, "we don't want to have to put those guys in that position that they have to do something out of character for the team to win. We want them to be themselves and wrestle their own match and not have to worry about that. They can take that on their shoulders, but it'd be nice if they didn't have to." Hildebrandt's win staked CMU to a 6-0 lead and the Chippewas never trailed. Their lead was 11-3 after Simon's tech fall and they were up 17-6 following Cramer's win. But Cleveland State won close decisions at 174, 184 and 197 to draw to 17-15 and make things interesting as Stencel, a two-time All-American, took the mat in the night's final bout. CMU also got close hard-fought decision victories from Johnny Lovett (157) and Alex Cramer (165). Both Cramer and Lovett earned a riding-time point in their victories, Cramer 3-1 and Lovett 3-2. In Lovett's case, the riding-time point was the difference. CMU's Jake Lowell dropped an 8-4 decision at 174 after trailing 8-1. Lowell rode his opponent throughout the third period and came within a whisker late in the bout of turning him and making things very interesting. "The nice thing about all of those matches is that Lovett, Cramer and Lowell were really good on top," Borrelli said. "(Lovett) won on a riding-time point and Cramer was good - really good - on top. Even Lowell, he was good on top; he rode the guy the whole third period and was close to turning him. That was the good thing. Those guys wrestled well on top and wrestled really good third periods." All five of the Chippewas' losses were close: Brock Bergelin (133) and Ben Cushman (184) each lost by one point; Landon Pelham (197) lost by two; and Corbyn Munson (149) lost by three. The Chippewas go to Buffalo on Sunday for a double-dual with the Bulls and Edinboro. It is CMU's final competition before the Feb. 27-28 MAC Championships. "I think they'll get better," Borrelli said of his wrestlers, who had not competed since Jan. 17. "It was a shock to the system tonight for some of them. I just felt like it was important for us to get a match in and get a really good blow in. We had guys that were exhausted. You can't simulate what you feel in a match. I felt like that was a pretty good challenge to overcome." In extra matches, CMU's Drew Marten (133) posted a pair of technical fall victories; Hunter Watts (141) captured a 7-4 victory; Mason Breece won two matches, one of which came on a first-period pin; Tracy Hubbard (157) posted two wins, including a 14-5 major decision; Sage Castillo (197) won by pin in 4:13; and Ryan Ringler (184) also posted a victory. Results: 125: Drew Hildebrandt (CMU) pinned Jake Manley, 1:45 133: Logan Heil (CSU) dec. Brock Bergelin, 7-6 141: Dresden Simon (CMU) tech. fall Joseph Caprella, 4:42 16-1 149: Marcus Robinson (CSU) dec. Corbyn Munson, 8-5 157: Johnny Lovett (CMU) dec. Daniel Patten, 3-2 165: Alex Cramer (CMU) dec. Riley Smucker, 3-1 174: Anthony Rice (CSU) dec. Jake Lowell, 8-4 184: DeAndre Nassar (CSU) dec. Ben Cushman, 3-2 197: Ben Smith (CSU) dec. Landon Pelham, 6-4 285: Matt Stencel (CMU) major dec. John Kelbly, 13-3

PITTSBURGH -- No. 14 North Carolina defeated No. 15 Pittsburgh, 23-12, Friday night in Fitzgerald Field House. Top-ranked Austin O'Connor won via pin at 149 pounds, while senior Josh McClure posted a tech fall win at 157 pounds to help highlight Carolina's night. Pittsburgh started with a win at 125 pounds, with Colton Camacho posting two points against Wil Guida in the third period courtesy of an escape and a stall call, putting the Panthers on the board first, 3-0 in the team score. Pitt's No. 4 Mickey Phillippi posted a 4-1 decision over Carolina's Joe Heilmann at 133 pounds before UNC's No. 11 Zach Sherman put the Tar Heels on the board for the first time. The Tar Heel redshirt junior went back-and-forth with No. 17 Cole Matthews until late, but used a strong third period and a late takedown to win, 4-1. After three matches, Pitt held a 6-3 lead. At 149 pounds, No. 1 Austin O'Connor went back-and-forth with Pitt's Luke Kemerer early before securing a takedown and a fall in the second. In his third ACC victory of the season, O'Connor put Carolina in the lead, 9-6. Senior Josh McClure kept UNC's winning ways going at 157 pounds. He used an early takedown and a strong handful of back points to post a 17-0 tech fall, pushing Carolina's lead to 14-6. In an action-packed, back-and-forth match at 165 pounds, No. 11 Jake Wentzel used a third-period score to defeat No. 9 Kennedy Monday, 10-6. That cut UNC's lead in the team score to 14-9. At 174 pounds, Clay Lautt shifted momentum back in Carolina's favor with a 6-2 decision over Jared McGill. Tied 2-2 in the third, he notched an escape and takedown to help UNC carry a 17-9 team score lead into the 184-pound match. There, Devin Kane, in his first match wrestling up at 184, rolled to a gritty 6-3 win over Gregg Harvey. Kane scored late and finished on top to secure a 6-3 decision. After Pitt's No. 7 Nino Bonaccorsi defeated redshirt freshman Max Shaw at 197 pounds, Brandon Whitman finished up the night with a 3-1 win over Pitt's Jake Slinger at heavyweight. Carolina is back on the mat tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. EST against Lehigh. Stay tuned to Twitter (@uncwrestling) for full updates. Results: 125: Colton Camacho (Pitt) dec. Wil Guida (UNC), 2-0 - Pitt leads, 3-0 133: #4 Mickey Phillippi (Pitt) dec. Joe Heilmann (UNC), 4-1 - Pitt leads, 6-0 141: #11 Zach Sherman (UNC) dec. #17 Cole Matthews (Pitt), 4-1 - Pitt leads, 6-3 149: #1 Austin O'Connor (UNC) pinned Tyler Kemerer (Pitt), 4:15 157: Josh McClure (UNC) tech fall Tyler Badgett (Pitt), 17-0 - UNC leads, 14-6 165: #11 Jake Wentzel (Pitt) dec. #9 Kennedy Monday (UNC), 10-6 - UNC leads, 14-9 174: Clay Lautt (UNC) dec. Jared McGill (Pitt), 6-2 - UNC leads, 17-9 184: Devin Kane (UNC) dec. Gregg Harvey (Pitt), 6-3 - UNC leads, 20-9 197: #7 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) dec. Max Shaw (UNC), 9-3 - UNC leads, 20-12 285: Brandon Whitman (UNC) dec. Jake Slinger (Pitt), 3-1 - UNC wins, 23-12 Extra Matches: 141: Connor Alexander (UNC) dec. Jake Cherry (Pitt), 2-1 149: Nick Lirette (UNC) dec. Michael Burnett (Pitt), 5-3 157: Sonny Santiago (UNC) dec. Dallas Bulsak (Pitt), 3-1 165: Sawyer Davidson (UNC) dec. Hunter Kernan (Pitt), 7-6 174: Clay Lautt (UNC) dec. Thomas O'Brien (Pitt), 10-3 184: Devin Kane (UNC) pinned James Lledo (Pitt), 1:46 197: Austin Cooley (Pitt) dec. Mark Chaid (UNC), 9-5

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- In its long-awaited season opener, the Drexel University wrestling team opened its 2020-21 campaign on the road against the Sacred Heart University Pioneers on Friday, Feb. 5 in Connecticut, squaring off in a nontraditional dual matchup. There were 18 individual matches scheduled in Fairfield on Friday as the Dragons picked up wins in 13 of them. Bouts started at 165 pounds and Drexel was especially dominate from 125 pounds to 157 pounds, winning nine of 11 to close out the opener. Evan Barczak garnered the first victory for Drexel, a 19-0 technical fall, at 165 pounds. Michael O'Malley and Natty Lapinski kept the streak going at 174 pounds. O'Malley pinned SHU's Grant Horn in the opening 70 seconds while Lapinski turned in a 4-2 decision in sudden victory. In addition to O'Malley, six total Dragons picked up wins by fall on Friday. Bryan McLaughlin's (197) pin came in third period against SHU's Nick Fierro. Jaxon Maroney (133) needed 3:39 to pin Sacred Heart's Thomas Volpe. Julian Flores (149) took care of SHU's Vincent Milazzo in the opening 1:44. Gabe Onorato (149) turned in a late pin against Tommy Eboli of the Pioneers at 6:57. At 157 pounds, Max Livingston turned in the last win by fall for DU, pinning SHU's Jack Molloy in the first period. Along with Barczak, Antonio Mininno (125) also scored a big win via technical fall, 17-1, against SHU's Cole Meyer. Chandler Olson (133), Luke Nichter (149), Jared Donahue (149) and Parker Kropman (157) scored major decision victories with the latter three coming late in the dual. NEXT UP The Dragons gear up for a Saturday tripleheader tomorrow, Feb. 6. Drexel begins with LIU at noon in Brookville, N.Y. before making the trip to Hempstead, N.Y. to face Bloomsburg at 4 p.m. and Hofstra at 6 p.m. Results: 165 / Scott Jarosz (SHU) def. Luke Scanlan (Drexel) / TF, 18-0 (6:58) 165 / Evan Barczak (Drexel) def. Will Schmidt (SHU) / TF, 19-0 (7:00) 174 / Michael O'Malley (Drexel) def. Grant Horn (SHU) / F, 1:10 174 / Natty Lapinski (Drexel) def. JC Broems (SHU) / D, 4-2 (SV) 184 / Joe Accousti (SHU) def. Josh Stillings (Drexel) / D, 4-2 (SV) 197 / Bryan McLaughlin (Drexel) def. Nick Fierro (SHU) / F, 6:17 285 / Dante DelBonis (SHU) def. Derek Rose (Drexel) / D, 2-0 125 / Antonio Mininno (Drexel) def. Cole Meyer (SHU) / TF, 17-1 (5:28) 133 / Chandler Olson (Drexel) def Kyle Randall (SHU) / MD, 10-0 133 / Jaxon Maroney (Drexel) def. Thomas Volpe (SHU) / F, 3:39 141 / Julian Flores (Drexel) def. Vincent Milazzo (SHU) / F, 1:44 141 / Jordan Carlucci (SHU) def. Tyler Williams (Drexel) / F, 2:39 149 / Luke Nichter (Drexel) def. Raf Lievano (SHU) / MD, 16-2 149 / Jared Donahue (Drexel) def. Chris Naegele (SHU) / MD, 15-2 149 / Gabe Onorato (Drexel) def. Tommy Eboli (SHU) / F, 6:57 157 / Parker Kropman (Drexel) def. Shaun Williams (SHU) / MD, 16-3 157 / Max Livingston (Drexel) def. Jack Molloy (SHU) / F, 2:27 157 / Nick Palumbo (SHU) def. Felix Belga (DU) / MD, 14-1 SCHEDULE Visit the Drexel Wrestling schedule to stay up-to-date this season on recaps/results, live results links, live video links and more. SOCIAL MEDIA Follow the Dragons on social media at @DrexelWresting on Twitter (for live results during matches), Instagram and Facebook.

LEXINGTON, Va. -- App State wrapped up another strong regular season with a sweep of VMI and The Citadel on Friday. The Mountaineers posted a 33-12 victory against the host Keydets before winning 41-3 against the Bulldogs. With a 44-5 league record since the start of the 2014-15 season -- the fifth-best mark in Division I wrestling during that time -- App State has either gone undefeated or lost just one Southern Conference match in seven straight seasons. The Mountaineers closed the 2020-21 regular season at 7-2 overall and 7-1 in SoCon duals. App State won the first seven matches against VMI and totaled seven wins with bonus points to go along with Cody Bond's comeback victory via a 10-9 decision at 157 pounds. Mason Fiscella's pin at 197 pounds gave App State a 41-0 lead against The Citadel in a win highlighted by victories against ranked opponents from No. 19 Jonathan Millner (13-1 major decision against No. 27 Selwyn Porter at 149 pounds) and Julian Gorring (8-3 decision against No. 33 Kyle Kretzer at 184 pounds). Codi Russell (125), Millner and Will Formato (165) went 8-0 in SoCon duals this season, while Sean Carter (6-1 at 133) had the best record in his weight class and Bond (7-1) was one of two starters with just one league loss at 157. At 13-1 overall, the 12th-ranked Formato outscored his opponents 120-9 and didn't allow a takedown in his 13 victories. The postseason begins in three-plus weeks with the SoCon Championships on Feb. 28 at the Holmes Center in Boone, and the NCAA Championships are scheduled to begin March 18 in St. Louis. The 2020-21 wrestling season is presented by Hungry Howies and Penn Station. App State 33, VMI 12 125: #20 Codi Russell (APP) def. Cliff Conway (VMI), 17-1 tech fall (5:00) 133: Sean Carter (APP) def. Luke Fegly (VMI), 14-4 maj. dec. 141: Anthony Brito (APP) def. Frederick Junko (VMI), 12-4 maj. dec. 149: #19 Jonathan Millner (APP) def. Job Chishko (VMI), 10-0 maj. dec. 157: Cody Bond (APP) def. Blake Showers (VMI), 10-9 dec. 165: #12 Will Formato (APP) def. Jon Hoover (VMI), 10-2 maj. dec. 174: #15 Thomas Flitz (APP) def. Joel Diaz (VMI), 16-0 tech fall 184: Zach Brown (VMI) def. Julian Gorring (APP), fall (6:54) 197: Tyler Mousaw (VMI) def. Mason Fiscella (APP), fall (5:47) 285: Michael Burchell (APP) def. Solomon Harris (VMI), 11-1 maj. dec. Extra Matches: 184: Barrett Blakely (APP) def. Chase Mielnik (VMI), fall (0:57) 149: Tristan Pugh (APP) def. Josh Yost (VMI), 11-3 maj. dec. App State 41, The Citadel 3 125: #20 Codi Russell (APP) def. Jordie White (CIT), 20-7 maj. dec. 133: Sean Carter (APP) won by forfeit 141: Anthony Brito (APP) def. Tyler Seeley (CIT), 12-4 maj. dec. 149: #19 Jonathan Millner (APP) def. #27 Selwyn Porter (CIT), 13-1 maj. dec. 157: Cody Bond (APP) def. Grant Speer (CIT), 9-1 maj. dec. 165: #12 Will Formato (APP) def. Ethan Willis (CIT), 17-0 tech fall 174: #15 Thomas Flitz (APP) def. Cole Burke (CIT), 18-0 tech fall (4:00) 184: Julian Gorring (APP) def. #33 Kyle Kretzer (CIT), 8-3 dec. 197: Mason Fiscella (APP) def. Ben Stemmet (CIT), fall (4:03) 285: #32 Michael McAleavey (CIT) def. Michael Burchell (APP), 8-3 dec.

Austin Murphy posted a 2-0 record on Friday (Photo/Jason Williams) CHATTANOOGA, TENN. -- Campbell claimed its third straight Southern Conference Dual Championship, finishing its second consecutive undefeated conference season with wins over Chattanooga and Bellarmine Friday afternoon. Extending its SoCon dual win streak to 16, Campbell (8-1, 7-0 SoCon) topped Bellarmine (1-8, 1-6 SoCon) 47-3 to open the day, then defeated host Chattanooga (7-4, 5-2 SoCon) 17-15 at McKenzie Arena. After posted a season-high 47 points against the Knights, CU overcame a 15-3 deficit to top Chattanooga, winning the final four individual matchups for the sweep. Chattanooga led 15-3 after Andrew Nicholson's 2-1 overtime win at 165 pounds, the Mocs' second win of the match in extra time. Josh Heil's 4-0 win at 141 pounds was CU's only win through the match's first six bouts. At 174 pounds, Austin Murphy jumpstarted the Camels with a first period pin (1:22), topping Carial Tarter, and Caleb Hopkins followed with a 5-2 decision for CU. Chris Kober tied up the team score for Campbell, working a third period takedown to win the 197 bout 4-3 over Logan Andrew, but CU was assessed a one point unsportsmanlike penalty, giving Chattanooga a one point edge heading into the final weight class. Taye Ghadiali sealed the 17-15 win for Campbell, topping Grayson Walthall 4-1 at heavyweight. All nine of Campbell's individual wins against Bellarmine came by bonus points, including five tech falls, three pins and a major decision. CU led 26-0 midway through the lineup after Benjamin Barton's 22-6 tech at 157. Zurich Storm at 125 (18-2), Gabriel Hixenbaugh at 133 (19-4), Heil at 149 (16-1) and Kober at 197 (24-7) also picked up tech falls in the win, while Shannon Hanna at 141, Hopkins at 184 and Ghadiali at heavyweight all registered first period pins. Murphy also notched a major decision at 174. Eric Beck's decision gave Bellarmine its only win at 165. Heil (4-0), Hopkins (7-0), Kober (4-0) and Murphy (7-0) all finished their 2021 SoCon slate undefeated, with Murphy (10-0) and Kober (4-0) also going unbeaten through the regular season. Campbell will be off until the SoCon Championships, set for February 28 in Boone, N.C. Campbell 47, Bellarmine 3 125: Zurich Storm (Campbell) over Adonis Boyd (Bellarmine) TF 18-2 (2:14) (5-0) 133: Gabriel Hixenbaugh (Campbell) over Max Dansereau (Bellarmine) TF 19-4 (4:28) (10-0) 141: Shannon Hanna (Campbell) over Zach Schultz (Bellarmine) Fall (0:47) (16-0) 149: #12 Josh Heil (Campbell) over Mitch Collica (Bellarmine) TF 16-1 (7:00) (21-0) 157: Benjamin Barton (Campbell) over Clayton Catanzarite (Bellarmine) TF 22-6 (5:00) (26-0) 165: Eric Beck (Bellarmine) over Bilal Bailey (Campbell) Dec 5-4 (26-3) 174: #13 Austin Murphy (Campbell) over Devan Hendricks (Bellarmine) MD 14-5 (30-3) 184: Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) over Samuel Woolf (Bellarmine) Fall (0:41) (36-3) 197: Chris Kober (Campbell) over Sam Schroeder (Bellarmine) TF 24-7 (7:00) (41-3) 285: Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) over Charlie Cadell (Bellarmine) Fall (2:02) (47-3) Extra Matches: Campbell vs. Bellarmine 149: Jason Kraisser (Campbell) over Corbin Hale (Bellarmine) Fall (2:44) 157: Troy Nation (Campbell) over Corey Knoth (Bellarmine) TF 18-2 (3:13) 174: Jack Ervien (Campbell) over Alex Rivera (Bellarmine) Dec 8-3 Campbell 17, Chattanooga 15 125: Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga) over Zurich Storm (Campbell) Dec 5-3 (0-3) 133: Colton Landers (Chattanooga) over Gabriel Hixenbaugh (Campbell) Dec 4-0 (0-6) 141: Franco Valdes (Chattanooga) over Spencer Leonhardt (Campbell) SV-1 4-2 (0-9) 149: #12 Josh Heil (Campbell) over Aidan Murphy (Chattanooga) Dec 4-0 (3-9) 157: Weston Wichman (Chattanooga) over Benjamin Barton (Campbell) Dec 7-3 (3-12) 165: Andrew Nicholson (Chattanooga) over Bilal Bailey (Campbell) SV-1 2-1 (3-15) 174: #13 Austin Murphy (Campbell) over Carial Tarter (Chattanooga) Fall (1:22) (9-15) 184: Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) over Matthew Waddell (Chattanooga) Dec 5-2 (12-15) 197: Chris Kober (Campbell) over Logan Andrew (Chattanooga) Dec 4-3 (15-15) 285: Taye Ghadiali (Campbell) over Grayson Walthall (Chattanooga) Dec 4-1 (17-15) Campbell -1 unsportsmanlike conduct following 197 match Extra Matches: Campbell at Chattanooga 141: Chris Rivera (Campbell) over Matthew Williams (Chattanooga) Dec 5-1 149: Jason Kraisser (Campbell) over George Coleman (Chattanooga) Fall (3:59) 157: Troy Nation (Campbell) over Grant Lundy (Chattanooga) MD 16-2

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell wrestling team's home duals against American and Binghamton, scheduled for this Sunday, have been postponed. The postponement comes as a result of the University's shift to remote instruction from Feb. 5-12, along with restrictions in in-person gatherings during that period. Makeup dates will be announced at a later time, provided a scheduling opportunity can be mutually agreed upon by the institutions. Bucknell's next scheduled competition is a dual at Lehigh on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m., followed by the EIWA Championships at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, Pa., on Feb. 26.

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland -- United World Wrestling confirmed this week that due to the CAS decision towards RUSADA the location of the 2022 and 2023 Senior World Championships have been shuffled. Additionally, one of the four Beach Wrestling World Series Stops, originally planned to be hosted by Russia, will be moved. An alternate city is being explored and will be confirmed in the coming weeks. The UWW Bureau approved the candidature of Belgrade, Serbia as the host of the 2023 Senior World Championships. However, due to the same restrictions on the Russian Federation for hosting World Championships in 2021-2022, Belgrade will replace the former city of Krasnoyarsk as the World Championships host for 2022. For 2023 the World Championships host will be reallocated to Russia, with the city to be finalized in the coming months. "We are respectful of the CAS decision, WADA's position and have adapted the schedule accordingly," said UWW president Nenad Lalovic. "We recently held the Individual World Cup in Belgrade with great success and believe that Russia will be a fantastic host nation in 2023." The 2023 World Championships will be the first qualification event for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with the top six finishers in each Olympic weight category qualifying a spot for their nation.

USA Wrestling announced Friday that the organization will provide competition for NCAA Division III wrestlers who lost their opportunity to compete at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, which were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. USA Wrestling's Rich Bender and Bruce Baumgartner released statements. Bender: "USA Wrestling is extremely disappointed and heartbroken about the hundreds of wrestling student-athletes who have lost their opportunity to have their 2020-21 season-ending competition due to the cancellation of the winter sports national championships at the NCAA Div. III level. This is the second straight year that this important group of student-athletes will not have an official national tournament. As the National Governing Body for wrestling in the United States, we feel we have an obligation and responsibility to provide a competition for these athletes. We are poised to step into the breach on behalf of Div. III wrestlers. We have been actively pursuing a number of options that are available to us, working with our partners and stakeholders within the sport. It is our goal to provide a high-quality event for these athletes during this academic season. USA Wrestling has been able to successfully host numerous competitions at many levels, using its COVID-19 Return to Events Guidelines and following local health and government regulations." Baumgartner: "USA Wrestling believes that creating a season-ending tournament for NCAA Div. III wrestling student-athletes fits in line with our mission to "provide quality opportunities for its members to achieve their full human and athletic potential." We clearly understand the role that the NCAA Championships play in the lives of these students. USA Wrestling is eager to help, and believe we have both the resources and ability to assist during this challenging time for the wrestlers and their families. "

Oklahoma State's Kaid Brock opened his season 4-0 before suffering an injury (Photo/Oklahoma State Athletics) It was announced this week that Oklahoma State wrestler Kaid Brock suffered an injury that will end his season and potentially his college career. The injury announcement was the third of Brock's career, which started promising but had been riddled with injuries. His opening match was against Oklahoma's Cody Brewer. Brock won by fall, in what must be the first wrestler to ever open their career defeating an NCAA champion. The NCAA season is usually long and brutal. This one is truncated by plague, but the injuries and disappointments will still be with us in 2021. The act of wrestling -- traveling against your will from your feet to the mat and from your belly to your back -- relies on the resistance of muscles and toughness of the mind. What's most disheartening for Brock and other athletes is that no matter how much your mind can endure, sometimes the body doesn't play its part. As fans we spend a good amount of time on X's and O's, rankings and melodramas, and the managerial side of the NCAA wrestling experience. Brock's career, ending as it might with yet another injury, is a powerful reminder that these 18-23-year-old men and women are on the mats fighting for a spot on the roster, a place in the lineup, a spot on the NCAA tournament, and ultimately the satisfaction to know that they tried their best in each endeavor. I trust that Kaid Brock, no matter the disappointment he must be feeling, recognizes that he's done more than most could ever hope, and gave us all a little inspiration along the way. To your questions … Q: Why did the NCAA cancel the DIII Championships? Are the DII Championships going to follow suit? -- Ethan S. Foley: The NCAA believed that there wasn't enough participation in 2021 season to support the expense (and risk) associated with hosting the 2021 NCAA Division III Championships. That was true in all sports. The NCAA is currently at-risk regarding its treatment of student-athletes and their welfare at-large. The various image rights cases in the courts are an existential threat to the way the NCAA funds its largess for use in the championships of the non-revenue sports. Additionally, COVID has severally restricted their money-making efforts while also leaving them vulnerable to lawsuits for any type of competition management that would put the athletes at-risk. The latter can be overcome when the incentives of the former are in play. Without the money of the larger institutions and TV deals there is an incredibly low incentive for the NCAA to host tournaments where they burn much-needed cash, expose themselves to lawsuits, and probably don't field a large number of programs for participation given their localized debts and obligations from the COVID fallout. The same might happen with Division II sports. When you line up the incentives and the costs it would seem to still be a risky proposition for the NCAA to host 30-plus national gatherings of athletes, coaches, administrators, and fans if there isn't a large financial windfall. I don't know how it'll end up balancing out but given the cost of what it will take to host the Division I Championships I'd be optimistic in saying 50/50. And that's to say nothing of Division I non-revenue sports who are still at risk of finding their year-end tournaments reduced in size or canceled. It's a frustrating time to be alive, much less trying to compete in collegiate athletics, but the organizations that host these events are responsible for the health and safety of those in attendance. If something happens to jeopardize that safety, then they will act accordingly. The national wrestling community has been living in a bit of a bubble when it comes to competitions, camps, clinics, and tournaments. Many of the states with relaxed regulations about COVID also severely under report and do no contact tracing. When tournaments were being held with no quarantining, social distancing, and poor mask etiquette there was a 100% chance of COVID transmission. But no tests, and nobody cared. Just last week a tournament in Louisiana had more than 40 known cases of transmission due to their event. And it was a relatively small tournament. What was the COVID infection rate from the larger tournaments that aren't regulated? We won't know and never will, but we can't lie to ourselves and say that COVID isn't being transmitted at these tournaments and club practices and whatnot. While I understand some people want to move past COVID, the NCAA and institutions who are held liable for their events can't go forward without costly protocols and an increased risk profile. That means tournaments get canceled, teams pull out of competitions, and seasons end early. Wear a mask. Take the vaccine. And let's all enjoy a healthy second half of 2021. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Link: Etched in Stone Podcast Series Kaid Brock pins Cody Brewer Good Throwback to Yazdani Taking 2017 World Title Q: It's the 2021 NCAA Championships. Spencer Lee must tech or pin his opponent to win the match and he's aware of the conditions, but his competition is not (to avoid intentional stalling). Is he favored? -- @theNFish Foley: Are you asking if Spencer Lee -- with the entire weight of Iowa's 2021 titles hope riding on the outcome of the match -- would be able to find a technical fall or pin against an opponent thinking only of NOT letting that happen? If that is the question, then I think there is nothing this poor soul could do to stop Spencer Lee from earning the technical fall. I truly believe that he would win the match via technical fall or pin even if there were not title hopes on the line. The Spencer Lee we have seen so far in 2021 is about the best a wrestler has ever looked at any weight class, for any amount of time, in the history of the NCAA. This is generational excellence. Spencer Lee is stronger, faster, tougher, more technical, and more committed than his peers. That's not to say the rest of the 125-pounders class doesn't have those attributes, I don't think any wrestler at any weight class is as pound-for-pound dominant as Spencer Lee. One influencing factor for this year's performance might be the extra focus on earning the starting spot on the 2021 Olympic squad. To do that he'll need to better former teammate (and current rival?) Thomas Gilman. That won't be an easy match, and it might be one where Lee is the underdog but being underestimated is also motivation to keep pushing himself in the early months of the year. So yes, regardless of the situation I believe that Spencer Lee wins NCAA by technical fall or pin in 99/100 championship simulations. Q: Any idea what impact Tom Brands' positive COVID test will have on the season? Will it affect Iowa's upcoming dual meets? -- Mike C. Foley: Coach Brands said in the press release that he would continue to work from home until it was appropriate for him to return to action. My feeling is that indicates he was exposed much earlier than the release and had already taken factors into account regarding dual meet eligibility and exposure to athletes. No impact on the student-athletes or the outcome of the duals unless one of the athletes is somehow dragged into COVID protocol. Coach Brands has complete control of his team and the lessons of the Hawkeyes aren't lost because there is a substitute coach at the helm. More than most programs, Iowa Hawkeye wrestling is a vibe. Q: With it being Black History Month, who do you view as the five greatest Black wrestlers in American history? -- Mike C. Foley: Here are my top five … 1. Jordan Burroughs 2. Kenny Monday 3. Kevin Jackson 4. J'den Cox 5. Lee Kemp/Dremel Byers Q: Kamaru Usman is a UFC champion who is 12-0 in the UFC. Why doesn't he get more respect? Is it his style? Or personality? Shouldn't he be the face of the organization? --Mike C. Foley: Interesting follow-up on the Black History Month. I think you're probably referencing your own thoughts in the way this question trailed the last. The UFC is about the draw and for whatever the reason fans haven't been as attracted to Usman as they were to Colby Covington. Maybe that's a race thing, and maybe it's because Ben Askren so often tore down Usman? Unclear. What is clear is that Usman has his work cut out for him against Gilbert Burns. The UFC is testing Usman's ground game against one of the most effective jiu-jitsu fighters in the league, who also happens to throw his hands with bad intent. Usman has survived Demian Maia, but Burns will have more opportunities on the ground than did Maia. Both have great wrestling, but Burns is a little better than Maia at bullying the positions on the fence. If he closes distance and gets Usman to the ground, I can see there being an issue for Usman. All that said, I want to see more of Usman in the octagon, but I don't think he has the star power (yet) to be the face. It takes a charisma that so far has eluded him and his fans.

Xtream Arena has been the home to several wrestling events (Photo/Iowa City Area Sports Commission) USA Wrestling is proud to announce that two major national events will be held at the Xtream Arena & GreenState Family Fieldhouse in Coralville, Iowa, March 25-28. The new USA Wrestling High School National Recruiting Showcase will be held there March 25-27, alongside the annual USA Wrestling Girls Folkstyle Nationals, set for March 27-28. Competition will be held March 26-28, with March 25 as a weigh-in day for high school boys competing in the High School National Recruiting Showcase. The USA Wrestling High School National Recruiting Showcase is the culmination of a nine-event series for high school boys and girls. Current and past state champions and National Prep champions (any year) in grades 9-12 automatically qualify for the High School National Recruiting Showcase, but they must pre-register by March 1. The rest of the field will be set through eight qualifiers held earlier in March. Boys will compete in folkstyle, and girls will wrestle freestyle in this event. The USA Wrestling Girls Folkstyle Nationals will feature national competition in six age divisions: USA Junior, 16U, 14U, 12U, 10U, 8U. Each year, the Girls Folkstyle Nationals is one of the largest tournaments for girls in the nation. Numerous high school girls will have an amazing opportunity to compete in two national events during the weekend. Girls who qualify for the National Recruiting Showcase in freestyle will have the opportunity to also compete on the next day in the USA Wrestling Girls Folkstyle Nationals, which has no pre-qualification. Registration for both events open February 4. Both of these tournaments offer a stay-to-play option, where wrestlers will earn an entry fee discount by booking a room with the host hotels first. Please be sure to book your room first, then wait 48 hours after booking your room to register. The hotels will be sending booking confirmation numbers daily which will be used to provide a discount on registration. The Iowa City/Coralville region is considered one of the world's hotbeds for wrestling, and has hosted numerous major USA Wrestling competitions in the past. The Iowa City Area Sports Commission and Think Iowa City, the convention and visitors bureau for the Iowa City/Coralville region, is are serving as the local organizing committee. Most recently, USA Wrestling hosted its Senior Nationals in the same facility, October 9-11, 2020. Families will want to register as soon as possible once registration opens, because there will be registration caps set for both tournaments. Coralville's Xtream Arena is a brand new arena, officially opened in September with seating capacity of 5,100. USA Wrestling will place competition mats in both the Xtream Arena and the GreenState Family Fieldhouse in order to accommodate the large number of participants expected to compete in Coralville. The High School National Recruiting Showcase, will be broadcast by Trackwrestling, while the USA Wrestling Girls Folkstyle Nationals will be broadcast by FloWrestling. Tickets will be available through XtremeArena.com starting on Feb. 12. Watch for more details. These events will be conducted following the requirements of the state and local health authorities, as well as using the safety provisions of the USA Wrestling Return to Events Guidelines. The local organizing committee is in regular communication with its partners at Johnson County public health and University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. USA Wrestling and the local organizers will monitor data and local trends closely leading up to the event.

Iowa head wrestling coach Tom Brands (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa head wrestling coach Tom Brands has tested positive for COVID-19. Brands tested positive during his regularly scheduled rapid antigen test Wednesday morning, followed by a PCR test to confirm the diagnosis. Brands is asymptomatic and will remain home until Feb. 13. Wrestlers, coaches, and staff members are tested daily as part of the Big Ten Conference return to play protocols. Iowa wrestles Sunday in West Lafayette, Indiana, against Purdue and Ohio State. "Our guys are preparing for competition just as they always do. We are ready to go," Brands said. "I will continue to work remotely. We have a good thing going and we are going to keep moving forward. Right now our focus is on Purdue and Ohio State." The top-ranked Hawkeyes are 3-0 this season with five Big Ten duals remaining on the schedule. The Big Ten Championships are March 6-7. The NCAA Championships are March 18-20.

Kyle Dake and Jason Nolf will meet on Feb. 23 at the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club event streamed on Rokfin. The announcement was made Wednesday on Twitter. Dake, a four-time NCAA champion at Cornell, won world titles in 2018 and 2019 at 79 kilograms. Nolf, a three-time NCAA champion for Penn State, has won medals at multiple international events, including a gold at the Pan American Champions and a silver at the Bill Farrell Memorial International. More matches on the NLWC's Feb. 23 card will be announced soon.

On Wednesday, the Division III Administrative Committee, acting on behalf of the Division III Management and Presidents Council, approved the recommendation from the Division III Championships Committee to cancel winter championships for the 2020-21 season, citing low participation. This includes the 2021 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, which were scheduled to take place March 12-13 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The NCAA's announcement can be seen below. Due to low participation numbers among member schools, NCAA Division III winter championships are canceled for the 2020-21 academic year. The Division III Administrative Committee, acting on behalf of the Division III Management and Presidents Council, approved the recommendation from the Division III Championships Committee to cancel all winter championships. The committee has been closely monitoring and discussing the membership's winter sport participation for several months, and it has been providing updates to the councils. The Championships Committee decision was based on the results of a winter declaration form distributed to members about their intention to compete this season in a capacity that would permit them to meet the minimum contest requirements to be eligible for championship selection by the established selection dates. The declaration form was sent to Division III athletics directors Jan. 19 and completed by 98% of the membership. The national championships affected are men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's ice hockey, and wrestling. During its review of the declaration data, the Championships Committee determined participation numbers in all nine winter sports are well below the established threshold to provide a national championships experience. These established thresholds are 60% for men's and women's basketball, men's and women's swimming and diving, and men's and women's indoor track and field, and 70% for men's and women's ice hockey and wrestling. "Today, we made the difficult decision to cancel our Division III winter championships. While some institutions have been able to safely return to sport, the recent declaration form data show that more than half of our division has not returned to winter sport practice and competition to be in a position for NCAA national championship participation," said Fayneese Miller, chair of the Presidents Council and president at Hamline. "This was a very difficult decision to make, and we are saddened to do so. However, none of our winter sports meet the Championships Committee's established thresholds of participation to hold a championship. We are committed to ensuring that our student-athletes have the best possible experience, and, for us, this means having a meaningful number of competitions. We hope this is possible for our spring championship."

The Women's Collegiate Wrestling Coalition has announced the 2021 postseason schedule for the NCAA women's wrestling programs, including the site and dates for the annual national championships, as well as four regional qualifiers which determine the national field. The Cliff Keen National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships (NCWWC) will be hosted by Tiffin University in Tiffin, Ohio on Saturday, March 6.. This will be the second annual national championships event for NCAA programs. Each of the 10 women's college weight classes will have 16 participants, with four wrestlers advancing to the national tournament from each of four regional qualifiers. This will be the first year in which there will be a regional qualification system for the competition. All-American awards will be given to the top eight placewinners in each weight class. Team Awards will be given to the top four teams. Champions from the 2021 NCWWC will qualify to compete in the 2021 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wrestling, which will be held in April. Women's wrestling is an NCAA Emerging Sport at all three divisions. The National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships will serve as the national championships for NCAA women's wrestling programs until the sport qualifies for an official NCAA Championships. McKendree Univ. (Ill.) is the defending NCWWC team champions. The first NWCWC nationals was hosted at Adrian University in Adrian, Mich. in 2020. There will be four Regional Qualifiers hosted during the weekend of February 20-21, held in strategic locations across the nation. The 2021 Regional Qualifiers are: • Northeast Qualifier at Gannon University (Pa.), Saturday Feb. 20 • Southeast Qualifier at Emmanuel College (Ga.), Sunday, Feb. 21 • Southwest Qualifier at McKendree University (Ill.), Sunday, Feb. 21 • Northwest Qualifier at UW-Stevens Point (Wis.), Sunday, Feb. 21 For the NCAA women's postseason, each team will be composed of up to 15 wrestlers. There will be no more than two wrestlers allowed in each weight class. Team scoring will be based upon one per weight (named in advance). The competitions will follow specific COVID-19 protocols, following the NCAA COVID guidelines, which includes a testing regime and other safety procedures. The breakdown of programs for the qualifiers follows (alphabetically): Northeast - Adrian, Davenport, Delaware Valley, Elmira, Gannon, New Jersey City, Tiffin, Trine Southeast - Emmanuel, Ferrum, King, Limestone, Presbyterian Northwest - Augsburg, Carthage, Iowa Wesleyan, Lakeland, North Central, Pacific, UW-Stevens Point Southwest - Colorado Mesa, Fontebonne, Lindenwood, McKendree, Schreiner, Westminster "We are extremely excited for the NCAA women's wrestling post-season. We thank Tiffin University for hosting the NCWWC national tournament this year, and welcome back Cliff Keen Athletic as the presenting sponsor. We applaud the four regional qualifier host universities for their leadership within women's college wrestling. Although it has been a challenging year for college athletics, we look forward to providing these post-season competition opportunities for the student-athletes and their teams," said Julia Salata, president of the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Coalition.

ISU head coach Kevin Dresser with assistants Derek St. John and Brent Metcalf (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) AMES, Iowa -- The Iowa State wrestling team has added another event to its home slate for the 2021 season. Head coach Kevin Dresser announced today the addition of a quadrangular meet on Feb. 14 featuring the 12th-ranked Cyclones, No. 10 Arizona State, No. 16 UNI and Northern Colorado. The Cyclones were originally scheduled to face Big 12 affiliate members UNI and Northern Colorado on Feb. 13 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Because of a scheduling conflict for the Panthers, Iowa State will now host a quadrangular meet with the addition of the Sun Devils to the lineup. The event will feature five duals, as well as extra matches throughout the day. A complete schedule is listed below. Iowa State seniors Ethan Andersen, Sinjin Briggs, Sam Colbray, Jarrett Degen, Gannon Gremmel, Ian Parker, Todd Small and Austin Stotts will be honored for senior day prior to the Iowa State vs. Arizona State dual. Feb. 14 Schedule 11 a.m. | Mat 1: Iowa State vs. Northern Colorado (Big 12 Now on ESPN+) | Mat 2: Arizona State vs. UNI (YouTube Live) 1:30 p.m. | Mat 1: Iowa State vs. Arizona State (Big 12 Now on ESPN+) | Mat 2: Northern Colorado vs. UNI (YouTube Live) 4 p.m. | Mat 1: Iowa State vs. UNI (Big 12 Now on ESPN+) | Mat 2: Extra Matches

In perhaps the most unique season in the conference's long history, the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Championship Tournament will be held off campus for the first time ever. With the member institutions unable to host events of this size, the participating member institutions will meet at Spooky Nook Sports Complex in Manheim, Pennsylvania on Friday, February 26, 2021. For those wondering, this will be the first one-day EIWA tournament since 1909. The ten (10) institutions scheduled to participate will be American, Army West Point, Binghamton, Bucknell, Drexel, Hofstra, Lehigh, Long Island U., Navy, and Sacred Heart. This group includes five of the top seven teams from the 2020 tournament. The Ivy League and Centennial Conference teams will be absent due to their conferences' canceling of all winter sports. The EIWA championship tournament will kick off at 10 a.m. with wrestling on four mats. Session 2 is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. and the championship place matches will begin at 5:30 p.m. One major change from past tournaments -- no spectators or outside media will be permitted at the championship facility. Team contingents will be limited to twenty individuals and the tournament support staff will be similarly restricted. Fans can watch the tournament on FloWrestling (account required). Live bout results will be shown on Flo Arena. Information about seeding, results, and awards will be posted on the EIWA website. Click to order EIWA merchandise

Hunter Bolen defeated Trent Hidlay twice last season, including in the ACC finals (Photo/Virginia Tech Athletics) The shortened college wrestling season is really kicking into high gear. This weekend there are a variety of top duals across the active conferences. The following is the top potential match for each weight class this weekend. 125: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs. No. 12 Devin Schroder (Purdue) These two were the top wrestlers at 125 pounds last season. They both made the finals of the Big Ten tournament. However, Lee had the advantage in the two-match series. He won their first match via 15-0 first-period technical fall and then won the Big Ten title with a 16-2 major decision. Lee's winning ways have continued this season. He has won all three of his matches in under six minutes combined. He has yet to allow an opponent to score a single point and won all matches via first-period fall. While Schroder was clearly the best 125-pound wrestler in the Big Ten a season ago, he has started this season with a few issues. He won his first two matches to start the year but then suffered an upset at the hands of Eric Barnett (Wisconsin). Schroder had a 2-0 lead and was building riding time before allowing a reversal, getting caught on his back and dropping the fall. He then dropped a tight 5-3 match against No. 11 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) before getting back on track with a pin over Nic Aguilar (Rutgers) last weekend. Lee will be a huge favorite in this match. Despite that, his performance here will go a long way to show just how dominant he will be on the year. If he is able to score a fall or technical fall against Schroder, he might be able to make it through the whole season with bonus points in all matches. Prediction: Lee technical fall over Schroder 133: No. 17 Lucas Byrd (Illinois) vs. Boo Dryden (Minnesota) Byrd, a one-time Maryland commit, ended up at Illinois last year after a coaching change. He went 11-4 last year during a redshirt year, and his first year in the lineup has gotten off to a hot start. Byrd won his first four matches over Cayden Rooks (Indiana), Jordan Decatur (Ohio State), Kyle Burwick (Wisconsin) and Nathan Cumings (Purdue). He came back down to earth a bit last week as he dropped a major decision against No. 5 Austin DeSanto (Iowa). However, Byrd looks to be an interesting player at 133 pounds in the Big Ten. Dryden transferred to Minnesota from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M prior to last season. At his previous spot, he was a junior college national champion. In his first year in the lineup for the Golden Gophers, he went 11-7 and failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament. However, this year, Dryden has looked ready to qualify. He has gone 3-2 so far including an impressive 9-2 victory over Alex Thomsen (Nebraska) and a fall over Jackson Cokrell (Maryland). Dryden's size and length will give a lot of 133-pound wrestlers trouble. This will be Byrd's first look at him, which makes Dryden the favorite. The Minnesota representative should be able to avoid the leg attacks and score from his unorthodox ties. However, this is a result that could be switched around tournament time. Prediction: Dryden decision over Byrd 141: No. 8 Dom Demas (Oklahoma) vs. No. 5 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) The Bedlam rivalry may be the next chapter in another individual rivalry. As a redshirt freshman, Demas announced himself as a contender at 141 pounds with a 7-6 decision victory in the Bedlam dual. He then topped that victory with a 54-second fall over Brock at the Big 12 tournament. Following that victory, Demas went on to finish fourth at the NCAA tournament. Last year, he held a 26-4 record going into the NCAA tournament that never materialized. So far this year, he has built a 7-1 record with his only defeat coming by a point against No. 7 Ian Parker (Iowa State). After finishing fifth at his first two NCAA tournaments, Brock fell in the blood round after losing to Demas at the Big 12 tournament. The Cowboy then missed all of last season with an injury. Brock has returned this year and won all four of his matches, a forfeit and three decisions. However, he missed some action last weekend, and the injury bug reportedly might be back in the picture. Brock would love nothing more than to get some revenge here against Demas. Despite Oklahoma State's historic dominance over Oklahoma in this series, Demas has had the edge over Brock. If this match does happen, look for Demas to be the favorite. However, both wrestlers are known to go for big throws so any finish is on the table. Prediction: Demas decision over Brock 149: No. 12 Josh Heil (Campbell) vs. Tanner Smith (Chattanooga) After back-to-back seasons qualifying for the NCAA tournament, Heil is back this year and looking to finish as an All-American. His senior year got off to a rocky start as he dropped a 12-9 decision against No. 11 Bryce Andonian (Virginia Tech) in his first match. However, Heil got back on track with victories over Chon Porter (The Citadel) and David Loniewski (Davidson). Smith also enters this season after qualifying for the NCAA tournament for the last two years. Last year, he went 25-9 with key victories over P.J. Ogunsanya (Army), Russel Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield), No. 19 Graham Rooks (Indiana) and Morgan Fuenffinger (Navy). In his only match this season, Smith scored a 14-2 major decision over Dalton Flint (Emmanuel). 149 pounds will likely be the strongest weight in the SoCon this year. Both Heil and Smith were ranked as well as No. 15 Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State). Heil should be the favorite here since he has slicker offense on the feet. However, Smith is certainly up to the challenge and could make this interesting. Prediction: Heil decision over Smith 157: No. 20 Justin Ruffin (SIU-E) vs. No. 14 Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) Jacques does hold a 2-0 edge over Ruffin in their series, but both matches have been tight. Their first meeting came during the 2019 season in a dual meet. Jacques prevailed, but he needed to score a takedown in sudden victory. The rematch came the following season at the Lindenwood Open. The second match ended in regulation, but it was still a one-score match as the Missouri wrestler took a 3-1 victory. Ruffin has qualified for the NCAA tournament in both of his previous seasons. He has started this season with an 8-1 record that includes two falls, a technical fall and two major decisions. Ruffin's only defeat on the year came against Jalin Harper (Oklahoma State). Jacques has also gotten off to a solid start. The two-time NCAA qualifier holds a 7-1 record with his only defeat coming against No. 3 David Carr (Iowa State). Last weekend, Jacques picked up a pair of decision victories over Jordan Slivka (Ohio) and Anthony Gibson (Northern Illinois). The Missouri wrestler has had the edge in this series, and the smart money would expect him to pick up another win here. However, the tightness of the two previous contests and the growing familiarity makes this a hard match to miss this weekend. Prediction: Jacques decision over Ruffin 165: No. 11 Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 9 Kennedy Monday (North Carolina) The ACC is having a very strong year with five teams currently ranked in the InterMat tournament rankings. Pittsburgh and North Carolina are two of those teams, and both of these wrestlers are a big part of that success. They met twice last season. Monday won the first meeting via an 8-5 score, while Wentzel reversed that result with a 3-2 victory at the ACC tournament. This year, the Pittsburgh wrestler has started his season with a 5-1 record. His only defeat came against No. 15 Thomas Bullard (North Carolina State). Monday was undefeated on the year before dropping a one-point match against former NCAA champion No. 1 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) last weekend. Unlike Wentzel, Monday has already picked up a victory over Bullard as he bested the NC State wrestler with a 4-2 victory. Throughout his career, Monday has had issues with consistency. He will pick up some shocking upsets and then end up on the other side of an upset. If he is at his best, he should be able to keep his distance and score from space against Wentzel. However, considering they split last year, Wentzel is certainly a live underdog. It should be a good gauge for both wrestlers as this is a stacked weight in the ACC. Prediction: Monday decision over Wentzel 174: Joe Grello/Jackson Turley (Rutgers) vs. Drew Hughes (Michigan State) Grello has struggled through injuries during his career, and that might be the case again as he defaulted out of his last match. Even if he is not able to go, his replacement should present an interesting challenge for Hughes. Turley started both duals for Rutgers last weekend and picked up a pair of victories over Emil Soehnlen (Purdue) and Jake Allar (Minnesota). The Allar victory was particularly interesting since he came in as a bit of an underdog and won via 17-2 technical fall. Hughes is a three-time NCAA qualified, but the Big Ten schedule can be rather harsh. He won his season debut with a 4-2 victory over Philip Spadafora (Maryland). However, since that victory, Hughes has dropped back-to-back matches via major decision against Allar and Kaleb Romero (Ohio State). This is the kind of match that could make the difference between qualifying and not inside the always competitive Big Ten. It could be Turley's spot to hold down for now, and he should be able to overwhelm Hughers with offense if the match happens. Prediction: Turley decision over Hughes 184: No. 4 Trent Hidlay (North Carolina State) vs. No. 2 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) Including his redshirt year, Hidlay has only lost six matches in his collegiate career. Two of those losses came against Bolen. Their first meeting came in mid-February last season where Bolen scored a 3-1 victory. The rematch came at the ACC tournament. Bolen won yet again, but it was even closer at 2-1. Hidlay has started this year with three straight victories. He has defeated Michael Battista (Virginia), Gegg Harvey (Pittsburgh) and No. 19 Clay Lautt (North Carolina) all by decision. Bolen will also enter this match with an undefeated record. He has won all six of his matches so far with one major decision and one technical fall. Last weekend, Bolen scored a dominant 8-3 decision over Lautt. Both of their previous meetings were very close, and this one should not be any different. Hidlay normally does a good job of controlling the pace and pulling out tight matches. However, he has not been able to overcome Bolen. Look for Bolen's slight physical edge to carry him again here. However, this should be an interesting rivalry for the rest of the season. Prediction: Bolen decision over Hidlay 197: No. 6 Tanner Sloan (South Dakota State) vs. No. 20 Younger Bastida (Iowa State) As a redshirt freshman, Sloan finished second at the Big 12 tournament, qualified for the NCAA tournament and was given All-America honors following the season. At the Big 12 tournament, he won his first three matches over Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado), No. 12 Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) and Joel Shaprio (Iowa State) before falling against No. 1 Noah Adams (West Virginia) in the finals. He has started this season with an undefeated 10-0 record. Bastida came to Iowa State from Cuba where he was a junior world silver medalist and a U23 world bronze medalist in freestyle. He is making the transition to freestyle for the first time. He has gone 4-3 so far this year. The transition has been difficult, but last weekend, he showed that the hype is real as he had a back-and-forth match against No. 11 A.J. Ferrari (Oklahoma State). Bastida will likely be a work in progress throughout the season. The wrestler that shows up around tournament time might be a tougher challenge than the current edition. This match will be a very tough test. Not only does Sloan have the edge in folkstyle experience, but he also is especially strong riding from the top position. Bastida should struggle, but the experience could be huge for his future development. Prediction: Sloan major decision over Bastida 285: No. 1 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. No. 9 Luke Luffman (Illinois) Steveson has been extraordinarily dominant this season. He has won all six of his matches with bonus points including a major decision, four technical falls and a 13-second fall. Steveson is the clear favorite to make the NCAA finals this season. This match may have been a bit more intriguing before last week. Luffman won his first four matches on the season including a pair of wins over No. 12 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State) and No. 11 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin). However, last weekend, Luffman's momentum came to halt as he fell against No. 3 Anthony Cassioppi (Iowa) via second-period fall. This will be the first time Luffman gets a chance to face off against Steveson in college. It will certainly be a tough night for him as Steveson is a huge favorite. However, Luffman was an accomplished wrestler on the high school level and is rounding into form. Prediction: Steveson major decision over Luffman

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0, 3-0 B1G), ranked No. 3 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, took care of homestanding Wisconsin (1-4, 1-4) in their third straight road dual in a five-day Big Ten road swing. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad won all nine contested bouts on its way to a lopsided 34-6 victory over the Badgers in Madison. The dual meet was originally scheduled for this coming weekend as part of a tri-meet at Michigan. But the Wolverines have paused all athletic activities, postponing the event in Ann Arbor. With Penn State already in Chicago having won two duals in a tri-meet at Northwestern, the team trekked to Madison for today's rescheduled dual. The dual began at 125, where Wisconsin's Eric Barnett won by forfeit as Penn State had no 125-pounders cleared to wrestle during its five-day swing through the Midwest. Nittany Lion Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 3 at 133, put Penn State on the board with an 11-6 decision over Wisconsin's Kyle Burwick. Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Pa), ranked No. 2 at 141, then put Penn State up for good with a 16-1 first period tech fall (3:00) over UW's Trey Escobar, giving the Lions an 8-6 lead. Senior Luke Gardner (Pottsville, Pa.) got the call at 149 for Penn State and used a quick takedown in extra time to post a thrilling 7-5 (sv) win over Wisconsin's Drew Scharenbrock. Junior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 9 at 157, dominated Wisconsin's Garrett Model and rolled to a 12-4 major with 1:22 in riding time. Berge's major put Penn State up 15-6 at the midway point of the dual meet. Freshman Joe Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 6 at 165, continued Penn State's dominance in the next bout, rolling to a 12-3 major over Patrick Spray. Freshman Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), ranked No. 8 at 174, grabbed his third win of the season with a 5-3 victory over Wisconsin's Jared Krattiger. Sophomore Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 3 at 184, met No. 10 Chris Weiler in the dual's marquee match-up and rolled over the Badger. Brooks tallied five takedowns in a 13-3 major with 1:56 in riding time and gave the Nittany Lions a 2-6-6 lead. Freshman Michael Beard (Pottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 197, made his Penn State dual and collegiate debut and put on an offensive show. Beard used four takedowns and four nearfall turns to post an 18-2 technical fall at the 4:43 mark, giving Penn State a 31-6 lead. Sophomore Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 8 at 258, closed out the dual with 4-3 win over Peter Christensen to finish off the Nittany Lions' 34-6 dual meet victory. Penn State rolled up 30 takedowns in nine wrestled matches and gave up only three. The Lions picked up seven bonus points off two tech falls (Nick Lee, Beard) and three majors (Berge, Joe Lee, Brooks). Wisconsin's lone win was the forfeit victory at 125, netting three bonus points. Four extra matches were conducted during the dual meet on a separate mat. This year, with condensed schedules, these extra matches, while not counting towards dual meet scores, are official varsity bouts and count towards NCAA competition minimums. True freshman Beau Bartlett (Tempe, Ariz.) downed Dominic Dentino at 141 in Penn State's first extra bout, winning 13-6 to stay unbeaten on the season. Freshman Terrell Barraclough (Kaysville, Utah) posted a strong 8-3 win over Dan Stilling at 149 and senior Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) dominated Aiden Medora in a 7-0 win with 3:00 in riding time. Sophomore Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.) capped off Penn State's perfect extra-bout run with a 12-2 major over Wisconsin's Seth Vosters at 174. With the 4-0 run in extra bouts, Penn State won all 13 contested contests on the day. Penn State is now 3-0 on the year, 3-0 in Big Ten action. Wisconsin falls to 1-4, 1-4 B1G. The Nittany Lions will return to action on Friday, Feb. 12, when the Iowa Hawkeyes invade Rec Hall for a 9 p.m. Eastern match-up. The dual will air live nationally on the Big Ten Network. Results: 125: Eric Barnett WIS win by forfeit 0-6 133: #3 Roman Bravo-Young PSU dec. Kyle Burwick WIS, 11-6 3-6 141: #2 Nick Lee PSU tech fall Trey Escobar WIS, 16-1 (TF; 3:00) 8-6 149: Luke Gardner PSU dec. Drew Scharenbrock WIS, 7-5 (sv) 11-6 157: #9 Brady Berge PSU maj. dec. Garrett Model WIS, 12-4 15-6 165: #6 Joe Lee PSU maj. dec. Patrick Spray WIS, 12-3 19-6 174: #8 Carter Starocci PSU dec. Jared Krattiger WIS, 5-3 22-6 184: #3 Aaron Brooks PSU maj. dec. #10 Chris Weiler WIS, 13-3 26-6 197: #13 Michael Beard PSU tech fall Andrew Salemme WIS, 18-2 (TF; 4:43) 31-6 285: #8 Seth Nevills PSU dec. Peter Christensen WIS, 4-3 34-6 Extra Matches: 141: Beau Bartlett PSU dec. Dominic Dentino WIS, 13-6 149: Terrell Barraclough PSU dec. Dan Stilling WIS, 8-3 149: Bo Pipher PSU dec. Aiden Medora WIS, 7-0 174: Creighton Edsell PSU maj. dec. Seth Vosters WIS, 12-2 DUAL MEET BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Penn State did not have a 125-pounder cleared to compete this weekend and Wisconsin's Eric Barnett won by forfeit. 133: Junior Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 3 by InterMat, met Kyle Burwick. Bravo-Young opened up the scoring a minute into the bout with a takedown for an early 2-0 lead. The Lion junior dominated the first period, tallying three textbook takedowns on his way to a 6-3 lead after the opening stanza. He chose down to start the second period and quickly turned into a low single to take Burwick down once more for a 9-3 lead. Burwick managed an escape and then fought off a late Bravo-Young shot to keep the bout close after two. Bravo-Young led 9-4 after two. Burwick chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 9-5 score. Bravo-Young then blew through a high shot for an 11-6 lead after cutting the Badger loose. The Lion forced a scramble that ended in a potentially dangerous situation. Burwick fought off Bravo-Young's final efforts and the Lion settled for a solid 11-6 win. 141: Senior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 2 at 141, took on Wisconsin's Trey Escobar. Lee came out fasts, taking Escobar down for an early 2-1 lead. He then picked up a quick second takedown and then turned Escobar for four nearfall to lead 8-1 at the 1:52 mark. Lee turned the Badger again for four more back points and opened up a 12-1 lead at the 1:27 mark. Lee used an arm bar to work Escobar one more time for four more back points to roll to a first period tech fall, winning 16-1 at the 3:00 mark. 149: Senior Luke Gardner (Pottsville, Pa.) took on Drew Scharenbrock at 149. Gardner opened up the action with a first period takedown. Scharenbrock was able to work his way to a quick escape and the action resumed in neutral. Gardner set the offensive tempo throughout the opening period but Scharenbrock was able to keep the Lion from scoring. Gardner shot low as the period ended and Scharenbrock was able to counter the move for a late takedown to lead 3-2 after the opening period. Gardner chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-3 tie. Gardner used a quick shot to take a 5-3 lead but Scharenbrock was able to escape with just :04 left in the period to trail 5-4 after two. Scharenbrock chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 5-5 tie. Gardner took a low single that forced a scramble which ended in a stalemate with 1:07 on the clock. Gardner took another shot at the :25 mark that Scharenbrock countered, forcing a scramble that nearly ended in a takedown for each wrestler but the clock ran out and the bout moved to sudden victory. Gardner wasted no time, shooting low on the Badger and getting a quick takedown just seconds into the sudden victory period to post the 7-5 (sv) win. 157: Junior Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 9 at 157, took on Wisconsin's Garrett Model. The duo battled through an even ninety seconds with neither wrestler finding an opening to score. Berge looked to control the middle of the mat, fighting off two slight Model shots to keep the bout scoreless as the clock moved to the :45 mark. With the bout scoreless after one period, Berge chose down to start the second period and worked his way to an escape and a 1-0 lead. Berge used a low single work Model's leg up to his shoulder and finished off the takedown on the edge of the mat for a 3-0 lead. Model managed an escape at the :45 mark and Berge led 3-1. Berge stepped away from a Model shot, countered and moved behind the Badger and took Model down for another takedown and a 5-1 lead. 5-1, Model chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 5-2 score. Berge quickly moved around the Badger for a third takedown and a 7-2 lead with 1:35 on the clock. Berge maintained control of Model to the 1:05 mark before he escaped to a 7-3 score but Berge quickly took him down again and led 9-4 with :50 left to wrestle. Berge added another takedown with :15 left and pushed his riding time over 1:00. The Lion finished on top and, with 1:22 in time, posted the 12-4 major. 165: Freshman Joe Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 6 at 165, took on Patrick Spray. Joe Lee notched a takedown just :25 into the bout and led 2-1 early. Lee quickly took Spray down again and turned the Badger for two back points to open up a 6-1 lead with 1:51 on the clock. He cut Spray loose, fought off a slight Spray shot, countered the effort and rolled through another takedown to lead 8-2 with :50 left in the period. He turned Spray and rolled him for four back points to lead 12-2 with :45 left. Lee rode Spray out and carried that lead, with 1:52 in time, into the second period. After a neutral start to the second period, Lee and Spray battled through a scoreless minute. The duo wrestled the entire second period and neutral and Lee led 12-2 after two. Lee chose down to start the third period. Spray was able to control Lee for the entire period and picked up a stall point on the way. But Lee's big first period allowed the Lion to roll to the 12-3 major decision. 174: Freshman Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa.), ranked No. 8 at 174, met Wisconsin's Jared Krattiger. Starocci scored quickly, opening up a 2-1 lead in the bout's opening minute. The duo battled evenly for the next minute until Starocci got in on a high single, rolled through the Badger and forced a scramble that ended in a stalemate with :25 on the clock. Leading 2-1, Starocci chose down to start the second period. The Lion quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead and action resumed in neutral. Krattiger got hit with a stall warning but then quickly moved in behind Starocci for a takedown and a 3-3 tie. Starocci quickly escaped and upped his lead to 4-3 with :20 on the clock. Trailing 4-3, Krattiger chose down to start the third period. Starocci proceeded to dominate action from the top position, working offensive control as the clock moved down to the 1:00 mark. After action moved out of bounds at the :57 mark, Starocci needed :09 more riding time to move his riding time edge up over 1:00 and maintained control of Krattiger easily on the reset. The Nittany Lion freshman kept control of the Badger for the entire period and, with 1:48 in riding time, posted a strong 5-3 win. 184: Sophomore Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 3 at 184, took on No. 10 Chris Weiler of Wisconsin in the dual's marquee match-up. Brooks wasted no time taking Weiler down for an early 2-0 lead. Weiler escaped with 2:35 on the clock to get to neutral. Brooks quickly worked into a near takedown but the action moved out of bounds and reset ensued with 1:55 on the clock. Brooks shot low and scored off the reset for a second takedown and led 4-2 at 1:30. He continued his first period dominance with a third takedown at the 1:25 mark to lead 6-3. Brooks picked up a fourth takedown before the period ended and led 8-3 after one with 1:40 in riding time. After a neutral start, Brooks controlled the middle of the mat and used a low shot that Weiler countered and nearly scored on. But action moved out of bounds and the action ensued in neutral with 1:06 left in the period. Brooks scored quickly off the reset and upped his lead to 10-3 while working his riding time up over 2:00. Brooks finished the period on top and led 10-3 with 2:27 in time after two. Brooks chose down to start the third period. He steadily worked his way to an escape :30 into the final period. Brooks finished the match with 1:56 in riding time and rolled to the 13-3 major. 197: Freshman Michael Beard (Pottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 13 nationally, made his Penn State dual meet debut against Wisconsin's Andrew Salemme. The Nittany Lion wasted no time showcasing his offense, taking Salemme down and cutting him loose for an early lead. He quickly added a second takedown and led 4-2 just over 1:00 into his first collegiate bout. Beard rolled through a low double and upped his lead to 6-2 with 1:25 left in the opening period. The Lion then locked Salemme up and rolled him for two back points to up his lead to 8-2 with :40 left on the clock. Beard finished the period off with a four-point turn and led 12-2 with 1:58 in time after one. Salemme chose neutral to start the second period. Beard countered a low shot and notched a takedown with 1:20 left to lead 14-2. Beard rolled Salemme over for two more points for a 16-2 lead, then turned him one more time to end the bout with an 18-2 tech fall at the 4:43 mark in the second period. 285: Sophomore Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 8 at 285, took on Wisconsin's Peter Christensen. Nevills steadily worked his way to a first period takedown at the 1:55 mark to open up a 2-0 lead. Nevills controlled Christensen from the offensive position as he worked his riding time up over 1:00. The Lion sophomore continued to control the Badger for the rest of the period and led 2-0 with 1:54 in riding time after the opening period. Nevills chose down to start the second period. Christensen was able to keep offensive position deep into the second period, killing Nevills' riding time edge in the process. The Badger finished on top and Nevills led 2-0 after two. Christensen chose neutral to start the third period. Nevills quickly moved in on a low single and steadily worked his way into control of Christensen's feet for another takedown and a 4-0 lead with 1:10 on the clock. Nevills maintained control off Christensen to the :20 mark before the Badger escaped. Christensen finished the bout with a takedown but Nevills posted the 4-3 win.

True freshman A.J. Ferrari improved to 7-0 this season after two wins over the weekend (Photo/OSU Athletics) We have progressed through yet another action-packed week of college wrestling. Whether you got your fix for college wrestling by attending a dual in-person, or whether you were streaming multiple matches simultaneously from home (as I did), you likely had a fun weekend. Here are five things that caught my eye from this past weekend (Jan. 29-31) in college wrestling. A.J. Ferrari keeps rolling A biproduct of this wild and wacky COVID-influenced 2021 wrestling season has been fans getting to watch true freshman take to the mat instantly. For some freshman, they have looked as if they needed a redshirt year. Others, like A.J. Ferrari, who was a top high school recruit in the Class of 2020, have been wrestling with poise well beyond their years. In Ferrari's case, he has a perfect 7-0 record, with five bonus-point victories. He has looked very much in control in every match thus far. It always impresses me to see a young guy (no matter how highly rated of a prep prospect he was) excel at an upper weight. Ferrari has done just that so far in 2021. (The entire Oklahoma State team has for that matter.) However, it should be very exciting to see how he finishes at the Big 12 Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, March 6-7. The 197-pound weight class is one of the deeper weights in that conference. I'm very excited to see how these Cowboy freshmen handle postseason play in general. Penn State returned to the mat Finally, the Nittany Lion grapplers safely returned the mat and competed against someone not also wearing Penn State singlet. Penn State emerged from its tri-meet at Welsh-Ryan Arena, in Evanston, Illinois, with a 24-15 win over Indiana and a 29-13 victory over host Northwestern. While they won both duals, they didn't do so as effortlessly as we are used to. PSU lacked the typical dominance we have grown accustomed to during the Cael Sanderson era. In fact, two ranked PSU grapplers suffered losses in the opening match against Indiana. But it's still a bit too early for a true evaluation, all things considered: The Blue and White had to forfeit in the 125-pound class as no wrestler on the roster at that weight was "medically cleared." Similarly, some projected upperweight starters (Michael Beard and Greg Kerkvliet) weren't in action; Additionally, there was some rust as is common in early-season bouts. Lastly, PSU has a very inexperienced starting lineup. While some individual performances may not have gone as expected, it's still very early. Penn State just needs more live reps. But it sure is good to have them back. Big bounce-back performances for Nino Bonaccorsi and Tony Cassioppi As I discussed last week, we saw multiple wrestlers ranked in the top five fall victim to an upset. Then-No. 5 Nino Bonaccorsi of Pitt lost handily, 6-1, to then-unranked true freshman Isaac Trumble of NC State, who was making his college dual debut. Similarly, No. 3 Tony Cassioppi was beaten soundly by No. 1 Gable Steveson, in a 14-6 decision. Clearly, Trumble and Stevson are solid wrestlers. I was more so surprised by how lopsided these respective contests were last weekend. This weekend proved that both Bonaccorsi and Cassioppi had short memories and are not shaken by their recent stumbles. Both the Pitt Panther and the Iowa Hawkeye were able to record marquee individual wins this weekend. Bonaccorsi took out No. 3 Jay Aiello (Virginia), 7-5. For Aiello, the loss ended a streak of winning 24 straight bouts in dual competition. The Chantilly, Virginia product went 14-0 last season and won seven straight matches to end the 2019 campaign. He has won 18 consecutive matches overall dating back to the finals of the Midlands Championships last season. Cassioppi got back to his winning ways with a second-period fall over No. 6 Luke Luffman (Illinois), who was 4-0 prior to the loss. The quartet of Lees within the Big Ten were 7-0 this weekend For the third straight week, Iowa's Spencer Lee looked unbeatable. He now has three first period falls in as many matches. The latest one was a fall at the 2:27 mark of the match over No. 15 Justin Cardani of Illinois. Penn State's No. 2 Nick Lee cruised to a 16-1 technical in his season opener against Indiana's Cayden Rooks. He followed that up with a strong 10-6 win over Northwestern's Frankie Tal-Shahar in his final match of the weekend. Nick Lee's brother, redshirt freshman, No. 6 Joe Lee, who made his varsity debut this weekend for those same Nittany Lions, went 2-0, with a pair of wins by decision, at 165 pounds, in his first weekend as college starter. Minnesota's No. 6 Brayton Lee added two wins by decision to his resume this weekend. First, he defeated Purdue's No. 7 Kendall Coleman via a close 3-2 decision. Then, he followed that up with a 10-7 win over Robert Kanniard of Rutgers. Brayton improves to 5-1 on the year. Brody Teske is settling in nicely at Northern Iowa It seems as though transferring has become commonplace in college athletics. Wrestling is no exception. Brady Teske was one of many elite high school prospects to hit the transfer portal in recent years. Teske, a former Penn State lightweight, brought four Iowa state titles and a more than 170 career wins with him to Happy Valley in 2018. However, Teske quickly realized Pennsylvania wasn't the place for him. He went back home to Iowa and enrolled in UNI. In this, his redshirt sophomore season, his first full season as a starter, he is off to a fast 6-0 record, earning him national recognition by every major ranking outlet. Sunday, Teske got the biggest win of his UNI career: a 6-0 shutout of No. 13 Trevor Mastrogiovanni. Teske controlled the entire match and refused to let Mastrogiovanni score. In the second period, Mastrogiovanni picked the bottom position and Teske rode out the entire period and earned a four-point near fall to take a 4-0 lead after two. He earned an escape and ride time to earn the 6-0 win. Teske remains undefeated on the season with a 6-0 record and a 5-0 mark in duals.

Wisconsin will host Penn State this Tuesday at 4 p.m. CT at the UW Field House. The Badgers were originally schedule to wrestle at Michigan in a tri-meet with Penn State next Sunday, Feb. 7. The dual with Michigan has been postponed and the match with Penn State rescheduled earlier to this Tuesday. Streaming information will be shared as it's made available. As announced earlier, no fans will be allowed in the UW Field House for home matches this season.

BOONE, N.C. -- Dramatic takedowns at the beginning and end of App State's dual with Chattanooga set the stage for a SoCon sweep Sunday in Varsity Gym. The Mountaineers opened Senior Day with a 20-13 victory to hand the Mocs their first league loss, and App State capped the tri-meet with a 54-0 shutout of Presbyterian. Codi Russell, Jonathan Millner, Cody Bond, Will Formato, Thomas Flitz and Michael Burchell enjoyed 2-0 days as the Mountaineers (5-2, 5-1) followed a tight win against a longtime rival with their third shutout in six SoCon duals this season. They recorded five pins and nine wins with bonus points in that matchup. In a showdown between top-25 wrestlers at 125 pounds to open the tri-meet, Russell won 4-3 against Fabian Gutierrez by erasing a 3-2 deficit on a takedown with 53 seconds left and preventing an escape the rest of the way despite several close calls. Millner's major decision, Bond's one-point overtime win, Formato's 6-1 decision and Flitz's major decision gave App State a 17-6 lead with three matches remaining, but the Mountaineers still had work to do in the finale against Chattanooga (7-3, 5-1) after a major decision and a 12-5 victory that narrowly missed being a major decision trimmed the Mocs' deficit to 17-13. They needed a bonus-point win in the heavyweight division to possibly snatch away a team victory, but Burchell broke a 1-1 tie on a takedown with 1:31 left in his 4-1 decision against Grayson Walthall. After Chattanooga won all its matches against Presbyterian, the Mountaineers benefited from pins by Russell, Anthony Brito, Millner, Flitz and Burchell against the Blue Hose. Julian Gorring and Mason Fiscella also picked up six points apiece with wins by forfeit, Formato improved to 11-1 with a tech fall, Bond added a major decision and true freshman Tyler Kellison won a 9-6 decision at 133 pounds in his first career dual start. App State 20, Chattanooga 13 125: #23 Codi Russell (APP) def. #21 Fabian Gutierrez (UTC), 4-3 dec. 133: Colton Landers (UTC) def. Sean Carter (APP), 4-2 dec. 141: Franco Valdes (UTC) def. Anthony Brito, 5-3 (SV-2) 149: #21 Jonathan Millner (APP) def. Aidan Murphy (UTC), 15-5 maj. dec. 157: Cody Bond (APP) def. Weston Wichman (UTC), 7-6 dec. (SV-1) 165: #10 Will Formato (APP) def. Drew Nicholson (UTC), 6-1 dec. 174: #19 Thomas Flitz (APP) def. Carial Tarter (UTC), 17-4 maj. dec. 184: #23 Matthew Waddell (UTC) def, Julian Gorring (APP), 11-2 maj. dec. 197: Logan Andrew (UTC) def. Mason Fiscella (APP), 12-5 dec. 285: Michael Burchell (APP) def. Grayson Walthall (UTC), 4-1 dec. Extra matches: 157: Grant Lundy (UTC) def. Tommy Askey (APP), 6-4 dec. (SV-1) 141: Heath Gonyer (APP) def. Matthew Williams (UTC), 9-0 maj. dec. 149: Tristan Pugh (APP) def. George Coleman (UTC), 8-0 maj. dec. App State 54, Presbyterian 0 125: #23 Codi Russell (APP) def. Benny Gomez (PC), fall (1:11) 133: Tyler Kellison (APP) def. Dominic Chavez (PC), 9-6 dec. 141: Anthony Brito (APP) def. Jacob Brasseur (PC), fall (2:43) 149: #21 Jonathan Millner (APP) def. Reid Stewart (PC), fall (4:48) 157: Cody Bond (APP) def. Zachary Phillips (PC), 11-1 maj. dec. 165: #10 Will Formato (APP) def. Bryton Goering (PC), 18-2 tech fall (4:02) 174: #19 Thomas Flitz (APP) def. Victor Tello (PC), fall (4:04) 184: Julian Gorring (APP) won by forfeit 197: Mason Fiscella (APP) won by forfeit 285: Michael Burchell (APP) def. Will Pontoon (PC), fall (1:56) Extra matches: 133: Caleb Smith (APP) def. Khalid Brinkley (PC), fall (3:20) 149: Tristan Pugh (APP) def. Michael Ramirez (PC), 15-0 tech fall (5:37)

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- After starting the afternoon with a tough one-point loss at 125lbs, the Black Knights climbed their way back to victory in a dominant 26-8 showing against Bucknell on Sunday. Freshman Mark Montgomery was the driving force of the Black Knights momentum at 133lbs, fighting back from a 4-2 deficit in the second period to bring home a 6-4 victory in the final seconds. Montgomery set the stage for three more victories to come at 141, 149 and 157. Lane Peters stepped up to the plate at 141lbs, battling to a 3-2 decision. P.J. Ogunsanya upped the ante at 149lbs, putting up a six-point victory against Matt Kolonid, 11-5. Markus Hartman rounded out the run at 157lbs, taking the first major decision victory of the day from Nick Delp to improve Army's lead to 12-3. Despite a tough loss at 165lbs, the Black Knights never looked back, posting four straight victories from 174-285 to secure a win on the day. Brad Laughlin took a 7-2 decision at 174lbs to start the rally, followed by two major decision victories from the Brown's. Taylor Brown worked his way to a 12-4 major decision over Sam Barnes followed by the largest win margin of the day from J.T. Brown, who dominated Mason McCready at 197lbs, 16-4. Bobby Heald capped off a successful day for the Black Knights at 285lbs, taking a 6-2 victory and closing out a 26-8 win over the Bison. Not only did Army secure a team win through the first 10 bouts but followed up their strong performance with six straight extra-match victories. Results: 125 | Ryan Chauvin vs. Brandon Seidman - (L) 6-5 Decision, 3-0 Bucknell 133 | Mark Montgomery vs. Darren Miller - (W) 6-4 Decision, 3-3 Tie 141 | Lane Peters vs. Kurtis Phipps - (W) 3-2 Decision, 6-3 Army 149 | P.J. Ogunsanya vs. Matt Kolonid - (W) 11-5 Decision, 9-3 Army 157 | Markus Hartman vs. Nick Delp - (W) 12-3 Major Decision, 12-3 Army 165 | Owen Brown vs. Zach Hartman - (L) 15-0 Tech Fall, 12-8 Army 174 | Brad Laughlin vs. Vincent Andreano - (W) 7-2 Decision, 15-8 Army 184 | Taylor Brown vs. Sam Barnes - (W) 12-4 Major Decision, 19-8 Army 197 | J.T. Brown vs. Mason McCready - (W) 16-4 Major Decision, 23-8 Army 285 | Bobby Heald vs. Darian Crosby - (W) 6-2 Decision, 26-8 Army Extra Matches: 141 | Logan Brown vs. David Campbell - (W) 5-3 Decision 149 | P.J. Ogunsanya vs. Logan Sanom - (W) 20-5 Technical Fall 149 | Tanner Craig vs. Joey Gould - (W) 8-5 Decision 157 | Nate Lukez vs. Thomas Spirk - (W) 21-5 Tech Fall (5:00) 174 | Clayton Fielden vs. Frankie Guida Jr. - (W) 9-6 Decision 197 | Bennett Paulson vs. Luke Niemeyer - (W) 16-5 Major Decision Coach Ward's Thoughts: "Proud of the way our guys responded to the message from the coaching staff and proud of the way they fought today. I love seeing us win hard fought third periods and win some tough moments in matches. Mark Montgomery was the man of the match for us. Seeing him continue to train the way he does, keep a positive attitude, and believe in himself late in a match today - proud of him for the way he represented himself out there." Up Next: The Black Knights will head on the road next weekend for a matchup with reigning conference champions, Lehigh University, Saturday at 2 p.m.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The 22nd-ranked Oklahoma wrestling team earned an unblemished 3-0 record at the Little Rock quad-dual after defeating Little Rock, South Dakota State and No. 21 Stanford in dual action. The Sooners were especially good at the heavier weights, compiling a 12-3 record on the day at 174-285. "It was a good day of wrestling for us, any time you can get three wins it is a good day," head coach Lou Rosselli said after improving to 5-3 in 2021. "I think that Stanford is a pretty good team, South Dakota State is always tough and Little Rock has some guys that can present some challenges, so we are happy to get out of here with three victories. Today will help create some momentum as we start to look to Bedlam next Sunday." After narrowly dropping the first match of the dual with Big 12-foe South Dakota State, 7-6, the Sooners (5-3, 2-2 Big 12) used Tony Madrigal's pin at 133 to take a lead that they wouldn't surrender. Following the oss at 125, the Sooners wouldn't surrender a takedown on the scorecard until the match at 165. The win moved Oklahoma back to .500 in conference play heading into the Bedlam showdown on Feb. 7 in Norman. The Sooners dropped their first two bouts in the dual vs. Little Rock but won the final eight bouts, including five by tech fall to dominate the Trojans 34-6. The five tech falls are the most for an Oklahoma team since Rosselli arrived in Norman in 2016, beating the previous high of four, set in a 53-0 drubbing of Sacred Heart in 2017. After another rocky start in dual action, The Sooners stormed back in the second half vs. the Cardinal after trailing 12-3. Troy Mantanona kicked the comeback off with a fall (2:02) at 165 pounds, and the Sooners kept on rolling, winning the dual's final five bouts to claim the 21-12 upset. The win marks the eighth win over a ranked opponent under Rosselli and the first of 2021. Mason Naifeh went 0-3 on the day but was close in each bout, losing each time by just a single point. At 133 pounds, No. 19 Tony Madrigal got the second pin of his career when he put SDSU's Trayton Anderson against the mat in the first period. He ended his day with a pair of losses to Paul Bianchi, 8-5, and an overtime loss to Jason Miranda from Stanford. No. 7 Dom Demas shined on Sunday, defeating No. 22 Clay Carlson (SDSU) via 3-2 decision before securing a 16-1 tech fall vs. Little Rock's Jaylen Carson. In the day's final match, he turned the jets back on to earn a 6-2 decision over Luciano Arroyo (STAN) and give the Sooners their first points of the dual. Demas (7-1, 3-1 Big 12) will look to continue his winning streak vs. Oklahoma State on Feb. 7. No. 13 Mitch Moore opened his day with a pair of wins before suffering his first defeat of the year vs. Stanford's No. 14 Jaden Abas. The junior moves to 7-1 on the season with his two wins. At 157 pounds, No. 11 Justin Thomas won his first two matches by a combined score of 20-0 nothing, including a 16-0 tech fall over Little Rock's Noah Aziere in the first period. He dropped a 5-4 decision to Requir Van der Merwe in the Stanford dual, just his second loss of the season. Troy Mantanona moved into the lineup for the Sooners at 165 pounds on Sunday and defeated Alex Hernandez (LR) via a 6-5 decision in his first bout of the day. But Mantanona shined in the dual with No. 21 Stanford. With his team trailing 12-3 heading into the dual's second half, Mantanona was able to turn Tyler Eischens in the first period and pin him to secure the fall and bring No. 22 Oklahoma within striking distance of the Cardinal. The San Francisco State transfer's win would jumpstart the Sooners' comeback that saw Rosselli's team win out and knock off the Cardinal. "If I had to give a game ball to anyone, it would be Troy," Rosselli said. "Here is a guy who didn't know he was going to be in the starting lineup until we called on him, and he goes and gets a win vs. Little Rock and then pins the guy in the Stanford dual. That pin was huge for us; we were down 12-3 at that time and his pin put us back in the fight and gave us momentum. I'm really proud of him today." In the day's first bout at 165, Jake Stiles fell 22-11 to SDSU's Colten Carlson. No. 22 Anthony Mantanona was downed 7-5 in his first match of the afternoon after surrendering a last-second takedown to SDSU's Cade King. But the All-American bounced back later in the day, winning via 15-0 tech fall over Triston Wills (LR) and 8-7 over Stanford's Jared Hill after escaping at the buzzer. Darrien Roberts made his case to jump into the rankings after going 3-0 on the day and outscoring opponents 28-7, including a 15-0 tech fall over Little Rock's Tanner Mendoza, the first of his young career. The sophomore from Bethlehem, Pa., now boasts a 6-2 record in 2021, and his last win of the day was the 20th of his career. Jake Woodley dropped his match with No. 9 Tanner Sloan (SDSU) 6-1 but got back on track in the afternoon by picking up two wins. He won via 16-1 tech fall over LR's Dylan Johnson and 5-1 over Stanford's Haydn Maley to help deliver the Oklahoma upset. A week after going toe-to-toe with two of the country's best, No. 24 Josh Heindselman proved that he deserved his spot in the rankings by going 3-0 on the day and defeating No. 9 Nathan Traxler (STAN) via 10-5 to finish off the Sooners' victory. "Josh is just such a tough kid who finds ways to win," Rossell said. "There are some things we can improve on the mat, but I know that when that kid steps out onto the mat I know that he is going to give every ounce he has to this team and the Sooners. That's why I like watching him wrestle so much, it's because he goes out there and gives it his all, which is what I want to see." Following the duals, a number of Sooners competed in extra matches for NCAA-qualifying purposes. Caleb Tanner and Willie McDougald both picked up the first wins of their collegiate careers, while five other Sooners picked up victories. The Sooners now turn their focus to No. 5 Oklahoma State, who they'll play host to at 1 p.m. on Feb. 7 inside Lloyd Noble Center. Fans can purchase their Bedlam tickets now.