InterMat Staff

FERRUM, Va. -- Acting Director of Athletics Gary Holden has announced the hiring of Logan Meister as assistant wrestling coach at Ferrum College. A former Panther wrestler, Meister returns to Ferrum after a year as graduate assistant wrestling coach at McDaniel College. At McDaniel, Meister was responsible for the Green Terror wrestling strength & conditioning program, helped lead practices, coached at competitions, conducted film reviews and was involved with every aspect of recruiting. Meister is certified in Red Cross CPR and First Aid, as well as through the National Academy of Sports Medicine as a certified personal trainer. He is currently working towards certifications through the National Strength & Conditioning Associating (NSCA) and the Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialists (CSCS). Meister is also a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Conditioning Specialist. Meister wrestled from 2014-17 for Ferrum, and is the most decorated wrestler in the short six-year history of the program. He qualified for the NCAA Div. III Wrestling as a freshman in 2014, then advanced again to the championships in 2016 and 2017. To date he is Ferrum's only three-time NCAA qualifier. Meister's 2016 season was a highlight reel as he won the prestigious Pete Willson-Wheaton Memorial Tournament in Illinois, became Ferrum's first-ever regional champ at the East Regional and placed sixth at the NCAA Tournament to become the College's first-ever All-American wrestler. Meister excelled off the mat at Ferrum as well, earning Dean's List honors all eight semesters, Academic All-Conference four times from the USA South Athletic Conference, Academic All-State from the Virginia Sports Information Directors in 2017 and he graduated with Cum Laude honors. He was named to the national Wrestling Coaches Association Academic All-America team in 2017, then closed out his career when he earned the 2017 Ferrum College President's Cup. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to return to my alma mater and continuing to build the legacy we have created," said Meister. "Proud to be a Panther!" Meister spent the 2017-18 season as a volunteer assistant coach under Head Coach Nate Yetzer and Associate Head Coach Ryan Riggs before beginning his work at McDaniel.

DANVILLE, Va. -- Averett University Director of Athletics Meg Stevens announced Wednesday the hiring of former assistant Blake Roulo as the new men's wrestling head coach. Roulo, who joined the Averett wrestling team as an assistant coach in July 2017, becomes the second head coach in the program's history. "I would like to thank Meg Stevens and the Department of Athletics for the opportunity to be the next wrestling head coach at Averett University," Roulo said. "I am excited to build on the momentum of the last two years that coach Tommy Owen established. We will continue to strive for excellence in everything we do academically and athletically while producing young men that our community will be proud of." As an assistant, Roulo was instrumental in helping three Averett wrestlers to qualify for the Division III national championships for the first time in the program's two-year existence. Roulo also helped mentor one Virginia Duals Outstanding Wrestler and one Southeast Conference Wrestler of the Week. In addition, he coached several individual open tournament champions. "Coach Roulo did a great job as an assistant with the program the last two seasons," Stevens said. "He's a passionate coach who cares about our student-athletes on and off the mat. His knowledge of Averett will help him continue to develop our wrestling program and build off our past success." Roulo came to Averett from Southern Virginia University, where he was an assistant coach for one season and helped guide the Knights to five program records during the 2016-17 season. His coaching experience also includes time as a camp counselor and clinician with the Ken Chertow Wrestling Camps, as a Patriot Elite RTC student coach at George Mason and private sessions, camps and clinics since 2011. A native of Petersburg, Virginia, Roulo wrestled collegiately at Division I George Mason University, where he was a four-year starter and four-time all-conference selection. He finished second in the conference in 2012 and 2013, fifth in 2015 and fourth in 2016. Roulo was ranked as high as No. 12 in the NCAA rankings and qualified for the 2013 NCAA Tournament. In 2015, he finished fifth at the Greco Roman University Nationals in Akron, Ohio. Prior to his time at George Mason, Roulo was a four-time National High School Coaches Association national champion and was named the NHSCA Wrestler of the Year in 2011 while also becoming a four-time Olympic style Fargo All-American. Roulo earned his bachelor's degree in history from George Mason in 2016. He finished his master's degree in business administration from Averett in 2019. "When an opportunity such as this one presents itself, we are delighted to have developed talented professionals like Coach Roulo within our own Averett community," Averett President Dr. Tiffany M. Franks said.

KENOSHA, Wis. -- Director of athletics Michelle Manning announced the hiring of Alberto Quiros as Carthage College's next men's, and first-ever women's wrestling coach Thursday morning. "I am thrilled to have Alberto join the Carthage family as our new men's and women's wrestling coach," said Manning. "His passion to mentor student-athletes in competition and in life, combined with his past coaching and CCIW experience, made him a great choice to lead the next chapter in our wrestling programs." Quiros joins the Carthage staff after spending two years at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill. as the head coach of the men's and women's wrestling teams. Hired just one year after each program was added at the college, he was given the task of building two teams from the ground up. Before joining MacMurray's staff, Quiors spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Augustana College, where he had been a volunteer coach for three years prior after graduating from the school in 2012. "I am excited about the future of Carthage wrestling and grateful to join the Carthage family," said Quiros. During his senior year at Augustana, Quiros was crowned the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) champion and outstanding wrestler of the year. He was a runner-up at the 2012 NCAA Great Lakes Regional, and qualified for the National Championship. He graduated from Augustana with a bachelor of arts in psychology and history.

On Thursday afternoon Professor Matthew Mitten, an arbitrator assigned by the American Arbitration Association, ruled that officials improperly allowed a challenge at the conclusion of the second bout of the Final X 65-kilogram match between Yianni Diakomihalis and Zain Retherford. As a consequence, Professor Mitten ruled that the result of the second match was nullified, and that USA Wrestling will schedule a completion of the 65 kilograms match at a time to be determined soon. Retherford will go into that match with a 1-0 lead in a best-of-three series.

TALLINN, Estonia -- Macey Kilty will wrestle for her second age-group world title. The 18-year-old from Wisconsin was dominant in her three matches on Thursday at the Junior World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. She advanced to the finals at 65 kilograms with a fall over Hanna Sadchanka of Belarus in the semifinals. Kilty led 1-0 after the opening period, and then shot a single leg early in the second period, scoring a takedown before driving Sadchanka over for the fall. Prior to the semifinals, Kilty had a pair of technical superiorities. Kilty secured her fourth world medal. At the Cadet level, Kilty won gold and bronze at the Cadet level and a silver at the Junior level. Alyvia Fiske reached the semifinals at 72 kilograms before losing by fall to 2017 and 2018 Cadet world champion Yuka Kagami of Japan. After a scoreless first two minutes, Fiske was placed on the activity clock, which is when Kagami locked up a cradle and picked up a fall. She will wrestle for a bronze medal on Friday. Three other American women opened their tournaments on Thursday but failed to advance past the first day. Gracie Figueroa (53 kilograms), Cameron Guerin (57 kilograms) and Alara Boyd (62 kilograms) all won their first match before losing their second. All three were all eliminated when the wrestlers who defeated them failed to reach the finals. Jayden Laurent dropped her bronze-medal match at 68 kilograms to Khanum Velieva of Russia, 9-1. She finished the tournament with a 2-2 record.

Gerry Abas (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Episode 34 of The MatBoss Podcast is with four-time All-American and three-time NCAA Division I finalist Gerry Abas of Fresno State. Abas talks about his start in wrestling in the Bay Area and how his speed, quickness and flash on the wrestling mat had its foundations in breakdancing in the 1980s. Abas talks about his classic match and loss to Iowa's Lincoln McIlravy, coaching his younger brother Stephen at Fresno State, watching the school drop the program and his feelings about it at the time. Abas also talks about his son Jaden and what we can expect from him on the next level.

David Carr after winning a gold medal at the Junior Worlds (Photo/Kadir Caliskan, United World Wrestling) TALLINN, Estonia -- A day after falling just short of a gold medal at the Junior World Championships, the United States crowned a pair of world champions on Wednesday in Tallinn, Estonia. David Carr (74 kilograms) and Mason Parris (125 kilograms) came through to win gold medals on the final day of freestyle competition at the Junior World Championships. In addition, three other Americans claimed medals in freestyle on Wednesday. Lucas Davison (92) earned a silver medal, while Gabriel Tagg (61 kilograms) and Trent Hidlay (86 kilograms) took home bronze medals. Vito Arujau (57 kilograms) won a silver in freestyle on Tuesday. The United States finished in second place in the freestyle team standings, one point ahead of Iran. Russia captured the freestyle team title by 46 points. Carr, who will be heading into his redshirt freshman season at Iowa State, held on to beat Jintaro Motoyama of Japan 5-4 in the finals at 74 kilograms. Motoyama scored first with a step out before Carr picked up a takedown to grab a 2-1 lead, which he took into the break. Midway through the second period, Carr fired off a shot and secured a takedown to go up 4-1. The Japanese wrestler injured his leg trying to defend, which caused a break in the action. When action resumed, the two continued to battle without any scoring until the final five seconds. Motoyama scored a takedown on the edge of the mat with five seconds remaining, and then a couple seconds later added a step out, making the score 4-4, but giving Carr the lead on criteria. Japan challenged call, which was upheld, giving Carr the world title. It marks the fourth straight year in which the Unites States has won a gold medal at 74 kilograms in freestyle at the Junior World Championships. Mark Hall won gold in 2016 and 2017, while Mekhi Lewis claimed gold in 2018. Mason Parris after winning gold at the Junior Worlds (Photo/Kadir Caliskan, United World Wrestling) Parris, an NCAA qualifier as a true freshman for Michigan, capped off a dominant tournament at 125 kilograms with a fall in the finals over Iran's Amir Zare, a 2018 Cadet world champion. The first 30 seconds of the match saw the two wrestlers trade step outs, with Zare scoring the second one to take the criteria lead. A short time later, Parris took a shot and dumped Zare to his back and held him there for the fall. Prior to finals, Parris had three technical superiorities and outscored his opponents by a combined score of 33-2. Davison, who wrestles for Northwestern, dropped a close match in the finals at 92 kilograms to Russia's Alan Bagaev, 5-4. Bagaev scored first off the activity clock. Davison took the lead on criteria late in the first period after scoring with a step out. He added to his lead in the second period after Bagaev was unable to score on the activity clock. However, moments after the activity clock expired, the Russian secured a takedown off a duckunder to go up 3-2 with one minute and twenty seconds left. Davison kept the pressure on and scored a step out with 50 seconds remaining to make the score 3-3. With 30 seconds remaining, Bagaev took a shot that resulted in a flurry, with the Russian getting two points and Davison getting one, which would close out the scoring. It is the second time in three years that Northwestern wrestler has finished with a silver medal at the Junior World Championships. Ryan Deakin earned a world silver medal in 2017. Tagg, who is entering his freshman year at North Carolina, earned the bronze medal at 61 kilograms with a 15-4 technical superiority over Goderdzi Dzebiashvili of Georgia. The Georgian jumped out to a 4-0 lead after two takedowns. But Tagg battled back to grab a 5-4 lead at the break on the strength of a step out and two takedowns of his own. In the second period, Tagg secured a takedown to go up 7-4 before locking up a leg lace and turning the Georgian three times. Tagg then closed out the technical superiority with a takedown. Hidlay, who will be entering his redshirt freshman season at NC State, was impressive in shutting out Ivars Samusonoks of Latvia 9-0 to win bronze at 86 kilograms. Hidlay scored a takedown in the first period and led 1-0 at the break. He pulled away in the second period, scoring three more takedowns and a step out to win by nine. Hidlay's only loss in the tournament came in the semifinals to Russia's Alik Sebzukhov, 4-3. Laurent to wrestle for bronze, 4 others eliminated It was a tough day for the American women as only one wrestler, Jayden Laurent, remains alive for a medal. Laurent reached the semifinals at 68 kilograms before losing 11-1 to Meerim Zhumanazarova of Kyrgyzstan. She will wrestle for bronze on Thursday. Laurent opened with a 9-0 win over Gulsezim Bukhayeva of Kazakhstan before getting a fall in the quarterfinals over Thamires Martins Machado of Brazil. Korinahe Bullock, competing at 76 kilograms, started her tournament with a 10-0 technical superiority over Soeun Kim (Korea). She then lost her next match by fall in the quarterfinals against Qian Jiang of China in the quarterfinals. Bullock was eliminated when Jiang lost in the semifinals. Alleida Martinez (50 kilograms), Alex Hedrick (55 kilograms) and Michaela Beck (59 kilograms) all lost their first matches and did not earn a repechage match.

Alex Dieringer gets in on a shot against Kyle Dake at the U.S. Open in 2018 (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) After a much publicized and somewhat controversial delay, returning world champion Kyle Dake and Hodge Trophy winner Alex Dieringer will finally meet to determine the final vacant spot on the 2019 U.S. World Team. While Dake has had a decisive advantage in their head-to-head meetings so far, some factors have shifted towards Dieringer recently. The following is a by-the-numbers preview of the bout, which takes place Saturday at Round Rock High School outside of Austin, Texas. The numbers include all matches tracked by USA Wrestling since each wrestler left the NCAA ranks. Head-to-head history Dake has won all four of their meetings so far. However, Dieringer has very clearly been closing the gap. Their first meeting was a 10-0 technical fall, but their last match was 5-5 and decided on criteria. In their last bout at the 2018 U.S. Open both wrestlers scored a clean takedown. Towards the end of the match, Dieringer got in deep on a shot and both wrestlers exposed. Dake's points came last so he took the bout on criteria. Since last match Following that match Dake went on to make the 2018 U.S. World Team and win his first gold medal. He has not competed since the 2018 World Championships, but he will come into this match against Dieringer having gone 10-0 with five technical falls and two falls in his last 10 bouts. Dieringer came up short in his bid for a rematch with Dake at Final X. He ran into fellow NCAA champion Zahid Valencia in the finals of the 2018 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament and dropped a pair of matches. However, since those losses, he has gone 18-1 with his only loss coming against returning world bronze medalist Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov (Russia). Record since college Since leaving Cornell, Dake has posted a 62-14 record with seven of those losses coming against rival No. 2 (at 74 kilograms) Jordan Burroughs. Of those 62 wins, Dake has won 32 via technical fall and three by fall. Only two of his 14 losses have been via match termination with both coming against Burroughs. Dieringer's record since college currently stands at 57-12, which means that 30 percent of his losses on the circuit have come against Dake. He already has more falls (four) and technical falls (33) than his opponent on Saturday. Of his 12 losses, only two have been technical falls with one coming against Dake and the other coming against Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani (Iran). Match points* Over the same stretch, Dieringer has averaged 7.89 points for and only 1.94 points against. In his his wins, he is averaging 9.23 points for and 1.11 points against. His biggest issue in his losses has been his offense. He has allowed his opponents to score 5.58 points against him in losses, but he averages only 2.00 points per match in his losses. In order to be successful against Dake he will likely need to find a way to put up points. That might be tough since he has scored only six points total in four matches against the world champion. Despite being one of the best defensive wrestlers in the sport, Dake has actually allowed slightly more points per match than Dieringer. Through 76 matches on the freestyle circuit, he has allowed his opponents to average 2.48 points against him while scoring 7.23 points per match. In his victories, that rate balloons to 8.32 points per match. *These numbers exclude matches that ended via fall. Matches by year There are two key factors working in favor of Dieringer heading into the Saturday bout. First, Dieringer has been much more active recently. He has already wrestled 14 matches this year, while Dake has yet to step on the mat in competition. The other factor that could give Dieringer some confidence is that he seems to be continually improving. In 2019 so far, he has posted his best winning percentage since leaving Oklahoma State. Then again, Dake had perhaps his best season last year as well.

Mike Hatcher (center) spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach at Cal Poly (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling head coach Kyle Ruschell announced the addition of Mike Hatcher as head assistant coach today. Hatcher was previously a volunteer assistant with the Mocs from 2009-13, and spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Cal Poly. "Mike Hatcher brings a wealth of knowledge on and off the mat to our programs," stated Ruschell."His experience in terms of recruiting, fundraising, and outreach, not to mention his strong relationships within our own community, are invaluable assets during this exciting time for Chattanooga Wrestling!" Hatcher returns to Chattanooga after serving coaching stints at Grand Canyon University and Cal Poly.He has had a plethora of experience, training both collegiate and senior-level freestyle athletes.Hatcher was a member of four national championship teams (1991-96) at the University of Iowa, where he wrestled for the legendary Dan Gable. "I am extremely proud to accept the position of Head Assistant Wrestling Coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga," said Hatcher. "My previous experience in Chattanooga has provided me with the insight as to how special this city is and the amazing student-athletes the University attracts. "I look forward to assisting the members of our current and future rosters in achieving their goals and allowing the program to scale to new heights. Coach Ruschell has a strong vision and passion for the Chattanooga Wrestling program, which I am excited to be part of. I am very grateful for the opportunity he has given me, and the confidence he has in me to be an asset to the success of our program." During the last three seasons at Cal Poly, Hatcher served as an assistant coach under UTC alum Jon Sioredas.There, he helped five Mustang athletes earn bids to the NCAA Championships, including two-time national qualifier, Tom Lane, who narrowly missed attaining All-American status in Pittsburgh last season.He also assisted in landing a Top 25 recruiting class this past season according to the Open Mat. Hatcher previously coached at UTC from 2009 to 2013 under former head coach Heath Esslinger.During his time in Chattanooga, he helped guide the Mocs to three Southern Conference Tournament titles while producing 14 individual conference champions and 17 NCAA qualifiers.During his tenure, he also served as the Director of the Chattanooga Wrestling Club, which produced more than 30 state champions, 60 state placers and 10 All-Americans. On the freestyle circuit, Hatcher spent five years as Director of Olympic Regional Training Centers in Tennessee, Arizona, and California.He has been a very active member of USA Wrestling, having held positions on both the board of directors and as the state chairman. While competing at the University of Iowa, he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Physical Education and Dean's List honors his senior year.Hatcher then went on to teach high school physical education and health for 10 years.He spent four years in Iowa at Durant High School and six years in Florida at Martin County High School, Krop High School, and Coral Glades High School.

Vito Arujau was edged 3-2 in the finals by Japan's Toshiya Abe (Photo/Gabor Martin, United World Wrestling) TALLINN, Estonia -- For the second time in his wrestling career, Vito Arujau will leave an age group world championship with a silver medal. Arujau, a silver medalist at the 2016 Cadet World Championships, was edged 3-2 in the gold-medal match of the Junior World Championships on Tuesday in Tallinn, Estonia. The Cornell All-American faced Japan's Toshiya Abe in the finals at 57 kilograms. Abe scored the only point of the first period off the activity clock. Arujau came back to take the criteria lead in the second period after scoring off the activity clock. With under 20 seconds left, Abe took a shot and finished for a takedown on the edge of the mat with 13 seconds remaining. Arujau was aggressive in the final 10 seconds as Abe retreated, which resulted in a caution and one point for Arujau before the clock ran out, giving the Japanese wrestler a one-point victory. Arujau became the first medalist for the United States at this year's World Championships. On Monday, he reached the finals by dominating returning world champion Akhmed Idrisov of Russia in the semifinals. Arujau placed fourth at the U.S. Open this year. David Carr advanced to the finals at 74 kilograms (Photo/ Kadir Caliskan, United World Wrestling) Carr, Davison, Parris advance to finals On Tuesday, three more Americans advanced to the finals in freestyle, while two others will wrestle for bronze medals. The United States started Tuesday by winning their first 12 matches and placing five wrestlers in the semifinals. David Carr, Lucas Davison and Mason Parris all won their semifinal matches, while Gabriel Tagg and Trent Hidlay lost in the semifinals and will wrestle for bronze. Carr, a 2016 Cadet world bronze medalist, needed just 43 seconds to earn a 10-0 technical superiority in his semifinal match at 74 kilograms against returning world champion Khadzhimurad Gadzhiyev of Azerbaijan. Earlier in the day, Carr had wins over Russia's Devid Betanov and Iran's Mohammad Nokhodilarimi (16-7). He will meet 2018 U23 World bronze medalist Jintaro Motoyama of Japan in the finals. Davison faced Mongolia's Batmagnai Enkhtusvshin in the semifinals at 92 kilograms. He raced out to an early 8-0 lead after picking up a takedown, which he followed up with three straight gut wrenches. A short time later, the Mongolian picked up a takedown and then hit a gut wrench to make the score 8-4, before Davison stepped over and secured the fall in one minute and 14 seconds. Davison has dominated his competition thus far. In addition to his semifinal fall, he has wins of 10-0 and 7-1. He will battle 2017 Cadet world champion Alan Bagaev of Russia in the gold-medal match. Parris punched his ticket to the finals at 125 kilograms with a 13-2 technical superiority over Turkey's Pasa Ekrem Karabulut in the semifinals. He had technical superiorities in his first two matches and has outscored his opposition 33-2 in three matches. In the finals, Parris will face Amir Zare of Iran, a 2018 Cadet world champion and 2018 Youth Olympic Games silver medalist. Tagg dropped his semifinal match at 61 kilograms to Japan's Kaiki Yamaguchi, 12-2. It was competitive in the first period as Yamaguchi led 3-2 at the break. But the Japanese wrestler blew the match open in the second period and earned the technical superiority. Tagg reached the semifinals with a pair of technical superiorities before edging Iran's Mahdi Shirazi 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Hidlay lost a close semifinal match to Russia's Alik Sebzukhov, 4-3. The American led 1-0 after the opening period. Sebzukhov came back with a takedown in the second period, which was challenged by the U.S. The call stood and Sebzukhov went up 4-1. Hidlay would score a late takedown, but ultimately come up a point short. Hidlay had outscored his opponents 26-1 leading up to the semifinals. Alleida Martinez (50 kilograms), Alex Hedrick (55 kilograms), Michaela Beck (59 kilograms), Jayden Laurent (68 kilograms) and Korinahe Bullock (76 kilograms) open their tournaments on Wednesday in women's wrestling. Wednesday's medal matches in freestyle are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. local time/11 a.m. ET.

Virginia Tech's Mekhi Lewis celebrates after beating Alex Marinelli of Iowa in the NCAA quarterfinals (Photo/Juan Garcia) BLACKSBURG -- Junior world champion and NCAA champion Mekhi Lewis will not compete for Virginia Tech in the upcoming 2019-20 season and will instead use an Olympic redshirt to train and qualify for the 2020 United States Olympic Team Trials on April 4-5, 2020 in State College, Pennsylvania. Lewis' gold medal performance at the 2018 Junior World Championships met one of USA Wrestling's four criteria for an Olympic redshirt. Lewis will retain his year of NCAA eligibility through the athletics activity waiver. The waiver allows student-athletes to train for senior level competition - in this case the Olympic Trials - and retain one year of eligibility from the NCAA. "After speaking with my coaches, mentors and family, I feel like I'm ready to jump into this Olympic year with both feet," Lewis said. "I didn't take this decision lightly. I understand that making the 2020 Olympic team and competing for Team USA in Tokyo will be difficult, but I know that deep down I can get the job done. Thank you to the Hokie Nation for your support. I'm looking forward to doing what I do for the Hokies in 2020-21!" "As the head wrestling coach at Virginia Tech and the director of the Southeast Regional Training Center, I have a strong obligation to put Mekhi in the best position possible to accomplish his goals," Virginia Tech wrestling head coach Robie said. "Mekhi is a special talent and he has the ability to become the best in the world. Taking this year to focus solely on freestyle wrestling, international competition and preparing for the Olympic Trials is ultimately the best thing for his development." Lewis, who will still be training in Blacksburg with the Southeast Regional Training Center, will next travel to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado for a 10-week training camp before his first scheduled competition at the Dmitry Korkin International in Yakutia, Russia on Oct. 10-13. His first Olympic Trials qualifying event will be the Bill Farrell Memorial Open in New York City from Nov. 15-16. "The Olympic games is the pinnacle in the sport of wrestling and as an athlete, you have limited opportunities at it," Robie continued. "Mekhi Lewis is ready, and I think he is among the best in the world. We are excited to support him in his quest to win Olympic gold." In 2018-19, Lewis pieced together one of the more memorable seasons in the history of Virginia Tech athletics. The Bound Brook, New Jersey native began the year by winning a gold medal at the 2018 Junior World Championships in Trnava, Slovakia. He returned to the Hokies and turned in a 20-2 record during the regular season before claiming the ACC championship at 165 pounds. Lewis entered the 2019 NCAA Championships as the No. 8 seed and after advancing to the quarterfinals proceeded to knock the No. 1, No. 4 and No. 2 seeds in succession to win Tech's first individual NCAA title in wrestling. Lewis' 7-1 decision in the finals over two-time defending champion Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State helped him seal NWCA Most Outstanding Wrestler honors. The Hokies return four NCAA qualifiers from last year's squad, including two-time ACC champion and three-time All-American David McFadden and ACC Freshman of the Year Mitch Moore. Robie, the reigning ACC Coach of the Year, signed a consensus top five recruiting class that features four prospects who finished in the top 100 of FloWrestling's Class of 2019 Big Board.

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Scott A. Koppenhafer -- a former Colorado high school wrestler who went on to compete at Adams State University -- was killed in combat this weekend, the Marine Forces Special Operations Command announced Sunday. He was 35. Koppenhafer, a critical skills operator with 2nd Marine Raider Battalion, suffered fatal wounds after becoming engaged in gunfire while supporting Iraqi Security Forces. The incident is still under investigation. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Scott A. KoppenhaferPrior to joining the Marine Corps, Koppenhafer crafted a successful wrestling career. At Mancos High School in southwest Colorado, Koppenhafer was a three-time Class AA state tournament placer, placing sixth at 125 pounds as a freshman, then second at 130 his sophomore year and at 135 as a junior, according to a November 2001 article from the Cortez Journal. Scott Koppenhafer continued his academic and athletic career at Adams State University, wrestling for the Grizzlies NCAA Division II mat program where he was a teammate of older brother Travis Koppenhafer, who recently had served as a volunteer wrestling coach for the Anamosa, Colo.-based school. Scott Koppenhafer wrestled at Adams State for three seasons; during that time he was able to earn his bachelor's degree with an eye to joining the Marines just that much faster, according to the school. After graduating from Adams State in 2005, Scott Koppenhafer signed on with the Marine Corps. He had spent the past 10 years as a MARSOC (United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command) critical skills operator. Before joining the Marines special operations, he was a machine gunner with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, and later as a scout sniper, completing deployments with both the 31st and 11th Marine Expeditionary Units. Over the years, Koppenhafer had earned numerous honors, including two Bronze Star medals with Combat Distinguishing Device, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals with Combat Distinguishing Device, one Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, one Humanitarian Service Medal, two Combat Action Ribbons, four Good Conduct Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and six Sea Service Deployment Ribbons. Just last year, Koppenhafer had been named MARSOC Operator of the Year for 2018. Scott Koppenhafer is survived by his wife and two children. "Our most sincere thoughts are with the family and teammates of Gunnery Sergeant Koppenhafer during this difficult time," a Marines spokesperson said Sunday. "MARSOC is providing care and support to Gunnery Sergeant Koppenhafer's family; we urge respect for their privacy as they grieve this incredible loss." Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.

Oklahoma State head coach John Smith with Nick Piccininni at the NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) STILLWATER -- Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith was named a finalist for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame class of 2019, USA Wrestling announced on Monday. The two-time Olympic champion and four-time World gold medalist competed at 62 kilograms at the 1988 Seoul Games and the 1992 Games in Barcelona in addition to wrestling at the World Championships from 1987 to 1991. Smith owns more World-level gold medals than any other American wrestler and is one of only three U.S. wrestlers to win two Olympic golds. To this day, he holds the record for consecutive World/Olympic titles with six. The Cowboy head coach was a two time Pan American and Goodwill Games champion as well. In 1990 coach Smith became first wrestler in history to win the James E. Sullivan Award. The honor is presented annually to the country's most outstanding amateur athlete. In the same year, Smith was named the USOC Sportsman of the Year. The Del City, Okla., native served as a coach on multiple World Championship staffs, most recently in 2017 as a women's freestyle World Team coach. He was named USA Wrestling Women's Co-Coach of the Year for his role with that team. Team USA fans can cast their vote at TeamUSA.org/Vote from today through Sept. 3, to help determine the class of 2019. This year's class will mark the first inducted into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame since 2012. The fan vote counts for 10 percent in the weighted total, and 60 percent is made up of Olympians and Paralympians. The remaining 20 percent comes from members of the USOPC family and media. The finalists include 15 Olympians, nine Paralympians and three teams. The class of 2019 will be announced on Monday, Sept. 23, and inducted on Friday, Nov. 1, during a ceremony in conjunction with the all-alumni U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team Reunion in Colorado Springs. Red carpet arrivals, interviews and the induction awards dinner at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center will be open to the media; credential information will be available in October. Opening in early 2020, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado, will become the new permanent home for the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame.

Dylan Peters (middle) spent two seasons as an assistant at Central Michigan (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Dylan Peters has been hired to lead the Simpson wrestling program as its next head coach, Director of Athletics Bob Nutgrass announced. Peters arrives after serving as an assistant coach at Central Michigan University over the last two seasons. "The Simpson Athletic Department is excited to have Dylan Peters as our new head wrestling coach," Nutgrass said. "Dylan was outstanding in the interview process and the search committee was very impressed with his philosophy and vision for our wrestling program. With his excitement, work ethic and love of the sport, we are certain he will build our wrestling tradition." Peters becomes the 18th coach in program history and takes over for Nate Hansen, who resigned after seven seasons with the Storm. Hansen guided Simpson to seven wins in 2014-15, the most since the 2005-06 campaign and finished with an overall record of 23-84. "I'm excited for the opportunity to be a part of the Simpson program," Peters said. "I am looking forward to meeting the team and getting to work right away. Simpson has the facilities and location to be one of the best teams in the conference. I have had the honor of working and training under two great coaches, Doug Schwab and Tom Borrelli, and look forward to passing along the knowledge and skills that I have gained from them." During his stint with Central Michigan, Peters has helped coach 10 NCAA qualifiers, while one received All-American recognition in 2019. Peters worked under head coach Tom Borrelli, who owns a 329-151-7 career mark in 28 seasons at the helm for the Chippewas. Peters was recruited by Iowa and Minnesota to join their wrestling programs during high school, but ultimately chose to attend the University of Northern Iowa. Going to Cedar Falls, Iowa paid off for Peters as he earned two All-American honors and was a four-time NCAA qualifier. Peters climbed the record books with the Panthers and graduated in fourth place with 18 pins in a season and ended fifth all-time with 38 career pins. His 38 pins were the third most among active Division I wrestlers when he graduated in 2017. He saw success early in his career with the Panthers and racked up a 20-5 record during his freshman season. The next season in 2013-14, Peters had a career-high 34 victories and had a perfect 13-0 dual record, while sweeping the Mid-American Conference duals at 7-0 as a redshirt freshman. Peters finished the year with 18 pins to garner his first All-American honor with a sixth-place nod and was the team's first freshman to receive the distinction since 1996. He also won a MAC title at 125-pounds. During the season, he improved on his career's fastest pin of 19 seconds. As a sophomore, he tallied his second trip to the NCAA tournament after receiving second-place at the MAC Championships. The following year, Peters garnered his second All-American nod to become the 33rd Panther to do so. He piled up six top-20 victories, including his season's fastest fall against No. 5 Ryan Millhof of Oklahoma in 1:03 at the NCAA Championships. As a senior, he took second at the MAC Championships to cement his place at the NCAA tournament for a fourth time. Aside from the accolades on the mat, Peters shined in the classroom as well, earning National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic recognition three times and Academic All-MAC honors on two different occasions. As a prep wrestler at Denver-Tripoli High School in Denver, Iowa, Peters recorded an impressive career record of 195-1 and won three state titles, while making the state tournament four times. Peters graduated in 2017 from Northern Iowa with a degree in human movement and exercise science. Peters and his fiancé, Haley, reside in Des Moines and plan to marry on Aug. 17, 2019. The Peters File Hometown: Denver, Iowa High School: Denver-Tripoli Education: B.S., Northern Iowa, 2017 Playing Experience: Northern Iowa, 2012-17 Coaching Career 2019: Simpson College, head coach 2017: Central Michigan University, assistant coach

Vito Arujau gets his hand raised after advancing to the finals at 57 kilograms (Photo/Kadir Caliskan, United World Wrestling) TALLINN, Estonia -- Twenty-year-old Vito Arujau shined brightly on the opening day of the Junior World Championships, reaching the gold-medal match at 57 kilograms. The Cornell All-American advanced to the finals in freestyle with a dominant 8-1 victory over returning world champion Akhmed Idrisov of Russia. Idrisov scored first off the activity clock just over two minutes into the match to grab the early 1-0 lead. Arujau fired off a single leg a short time later and elevated Idrisov before putting him down for a takedown. Late in the first period, Idrisov got to Arujau's leg and nearly finished for a takedown, but Arujau fended it off and took a 2-1 lead into the break. The opening minute of the second period saw a tremendous amount of action but no scoring. Arujau added to his lead midway through the final period with an exposure to go up 4-1. He added another exposure with just over 40 seconds remaining to go up 6-1. Ten seconds later, Arujau shot a single leg and converted it to a takedown to go up by seven points with under 30 seconds remaining, which would close out the scoring. It was a difficult road for Arujau on the opening day. He opened his tournament by facing three-time Cadet world medalist Giorgi Gegelashvili of Georgia. Arujau hung on to win that match 4-3. He then edged Asian silver medalist Vijay Patil of India, 9-8, in the quarterfinals. Arujau's father Vougar was a two-time world champion and 1996 Olympic bronze medalist in freestyle for the Soviet Union. Arujau will face Japan's Toshiya Abe in the finals on Tuesday. The final round is scheduled for 6 p.m. local time/11 a.m. ET. Four other Americans failed to advance to medal matches in freestyle on Monday. Aaron Brooks, a gold medalist at the 2017 Cadet World Championships, dropped his first match to Abubakr Abakarov of Azerbaijan, 5-3, at 79 kilograms. Both wrestlers won silver medals at last year's Junior World Championships. Brooks led 1-0 at the break after scoring with a step out. Abakarov came back in the second period with a takedown to grab a 2-1 lead. A short time later, Brooks hit a headlock and scored two points before Abakarov rolled through and picked up a reversal to take the lead on criteria. With 45 seconds left, Abakarov scored a takedown and held on for the win. Brooks' medal hopes were dashed when Abakarov lost in the quarterfinals to Russia's Amkhad Tashukhadzhiev. Yahya Thomas went 1-1 at 65 kilograms. He started his day with a 5-2 win over Adilet Zhaparkulov of Kyrgyzstan. In the round of 16, Thomas faced Turan Bayramov of Azerbaijan. Thomas led 1-0 after the first period, but Bayramov came out strong in the second period, scoring two takedowns and a four-point throw to win 9-1. Bayramov then lost on criteria in the quarterfinals, which eliminated Thomas from the competition. Brayton Lee was edged 3-2 in his opening match against Ashraf Ashirov of Azerbaijan at 70 kilograms. Lee led 2-0 at the break after scoring off the activity clock and with a step out. Ashirov battled back in the second period, scoring first off the activity clock and then getting a takedown off a bodylock with just under 20 seconds remaining. Lee was eliminated when Ashirov dropped his next match. Tanner Sloan lost his first match at 97 kilograms to Feyzullah Akturk of Turkey, 12-2. His competition came to a close when Akturk lost in the semifinals. Five more American freestyle wrestlers will open their competitions on Tuesday: Gabriel Tagg (61 kilograms), David Carr (74 kilograms), Trent Hidlay (86 kilograms), Lucas Davison (92 kilograms) and Mason Parris (125 kilograms).

Oklahoma State wrestling can claim the most NCAA team titles (34) and the most individual national champions (134) ... yet still uses one of the oldest wrestling facilities in college wrestling (eight decades old). Mike Holder, Oklahoma State's athletic director, has big dreams for building a completely new facility for the storied Cowboy wrestling program ... a new structure that could be constructed to the east of Gallagher-Iba Arena (present home for the school's wrestling room, weight room and locker facilities), in the greenspace between the iconic arena (dedicated in 1939) and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum. In an interview Thursday with Seth Duckworth of Pistols Firing, Holder made clear that he is not looking to build a new wrestling arena such as those recently constructed at Ohio State and Indiana University ("we have the best wrestling arena in the world") but what Duckworth referred to as a stand-along practice facility. OSU AD Holder is thinking big. "I want to build something that's a clear span, a room with 8 or 10 mats, and you could train not only our team, but a club team, or Olympic team, or World team, and try to draw athletes from all over the world to come to Stillwater to train for wrestling competitions," Holder told Pistols Firing's Duckworth. "Whether it be collegiate or international. Maybe you'll add women's wrestling someday? That's growing." "I want to build for the next 100 years, not the next 20-30," said Holder. What's the possible cost of this kind of structure? Holder provided an estimate of about $40 million for the new wrestling facility. With that kind of potential price tag, this project would need more than crowdfunding, according to Holder. He envisions a significant, multi-million-dollar donation from a single individual (or a handful of individuals) with very deep pockets. Despite that challenge, Holder thinks the time is right. "Since 1938 when we built Gallagher Hall, we haven't done anything for wrestling," Holder told Pistols Firing. "We took it for granted, and it's still been successful. But when you have something that's that valuable, then you should continue to invest in it and we've put it off far too long -- 81 years is long enough." The Stillwater NewsPress -- the local town newspaper -- agrees. "Division I wrestling has become an uphill battle of three teams -- Ohio State, Oklahoma State and Iowa -- trying to track down the behemoth of Penn State," wrote Sports Editor Jason Elmquist right after the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. "Oklahoma State wrestling has found itself in an arms race -- both within the college wrestling landscape and within its own athletic department -- and it is still standing at the starting line. "The Cowboy wrestling program has been treated like the kid brother of the family, being given third-generation hand-me-downs and asked to win at the highest level with it. "Holder admitted last spring that wrestling has been forgotten by the athletic department for generations. And he, the builder of all things new in Oklahoma State Athletics, needs to move now to help get the wrestling program back in title contention from the ground up. "If he wants Oklahoma State Cowboy wrestling to truly be 'King of the Hill' in college wrestling, that commitment needs to be more than a repurposed locker room. The program needs a dedicated wrestling complex that dwarfs that of those being built by wrestling programs that have nowhere near the tradition of Oklahoma State wrestling."

Jordan Burroughs gets his hand raised after winning a gold medal (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LIMA, Peru -- The United States freestyle wrestling team closed out the Pan American Games with a bang, collecting three gold medals and a bronze on Saturday in Lima, Peru. Olympic champions Jordan Burroughs (74 kilograms) and Kyle Snyder (97 kilograms), along with two-time world medalist Nick Gwiazdowski (125 kilograms), won gold medals. Pat Downey (86 kilograms) earned a bronze. Saturday's medal haul came a day after freestyle wrestlers Daton Fix (57 kilograms) won a gold and Jaydin Eierman (65 kilograms) claimed a bronze. For Burroughs, it was his third Pan American Games gold medal and he accomplished it on the seven-year anniversary of winning gold at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In the finals, Burroughs topped 2011 world silver medalist Franklin Gomez of Puerto Rico, 4-1, in the gold-medal match at 74 kilograms. The 31-year-old Burroughs scored the only point in the first period off a step out. In the second period, took the lead on criteria after scoring off a caution on Burroughs for fleeing the hold. Burroughs scored with a step out a short time later to retake the lead. He then added a takedown with 30 seconds left and held on for a three-point victory. Earlier in the day, Burroughs picked up a pair of technical superiorities to reach the finals. Snyder, a 2016 Olympic champion and two-time world champion, found himself in a 3-0 hole at the break in his finals match at 97 kilograms against Jose Diaz Roberti of Venezuela. Diaz scored a takedown and added a step out in the first period. Snyder, though, dominated the second period, scoring nine unanswered points to win comfortably. Snyder's run to the finals included a 3-1 semifinal victory over three-time world medalist Reineris Salas Perez of Cuba and a 10-0 technical superiority over Puerto Rico's Evan Ramos. Gwiazdowski was unchallenged on Saturday, picking up three technical superiorities at 125 kilograms while outscoring his opposition 30-0. In the finals, Gwiazdowski dominated two-time world medalist (Greco-Roman) Oscar Pino Hinds of Cuba, 10-0. Pat Downey finished with a 2-1 record, earning the bronze medal at 86 kilograms. He opened his tournament with a 14-4 technical superiority over Angus Arthur of Jamaica. In the semifinals, Downey was defeated by Cuba's Yurieski Torreblanca Queralta, 7-2. Facing Alexander Moore of Canada in the bronze-medal match, Downey locked up a throw and scored four points before securing the fall. The United States finished the Pan American Games with 15 medals across all three styles of wrestling, which was second to Cuba.

Kayla Miracle with the American flag after winning gold at the Pan American Games (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LIMA, Peru -- Four wrestlers took the mat for the United States on Friday at the Pan American Games. All four left with medals, three being gold. Kayla Miracle (62 kilograms) and Tamyra Mensah-Stock (68 kilograms) captured gold medals in women's wrestling. Daton Fix won gold in freestyle, while Jaydin Eierman earned a bronze. Miracle was dominant throughout the tournament. After getting a pair of falls in her first two matches, she cruised to a 12-0 technical superiority in the finals at 62 kilograms over two-time Olympic medalist Jackeline Renteria Castillo of Colombia. Tamyra Mensah gets in on a shot in her finals match (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Mensah-Stock, a returning world bronze medalist, claimed her gold medal at 68 kilograms by getting a first-period fall over Olivia DiBacco of Canada. She was unscored upon in her first two matches, getting a 12-0 technical superiority and a fall in the semifinals over Mexico's Ambar Garnica Flores. Pan American Games gold medalist Daton Fix with the other medalists at 57 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Fix was impressive throughout the competition, capping off his gold-medal run at 57 kilograms with an 11-0 technical superiority over Juan Ramirez Beltre of the Dominican Republic. He scored an early takedown and used two gut wrenches to go up 6-0. A short time later, Fix picked up his second takedown of the match, which he followed up with a gut wrench to close out the victory. Earlier in the day, Fix had wins over Brazil's Daniel Alves Do Nascimento (10-0) and Cuba's Reineri Andreu Ortega (4-1). Eierman bounced back from a first-round loss to Cuba's Alejandro Valdes Tobier to win a bronze medal at 65 kilograms. He defeated Argentina's Augustin Destribats 15-4 in the bronze-medal match. After Eierman jumped out to an 8-0 lead, Destribats scored with a four-point throw to make the score 8-4. But the American earned a reversal and then used a leg lace to finish off the technical superiority. Saturday marks the final day of the Pan American Games wrestling competition, with the final four freestyle weight classes being contested.

I'm in Odessa this weekend covering the third stop of the Beach Wrestling World Series, the competitive, prize-bearing circuit for United World Wrestling's burgeoning beach wrestling style. With the Olympic styles in full swing, the Beach Wrestling Odessa stop will have a limited number of competitors, but as with prior events the winners will receive 100, 500, and 250 CHF for taking the top three spots in each of the four men's and women's weight categories. There is always a desire for more competitors and bigger events, but what we are seeing with beach wrestling is something even more unique -- a lot of return competitors. That's powerful for a young sport because it allows us to see familiar faces and follow along in their year-end quest to win the World Championships (Sept. 7-9 in Zagreb) and qualify for the Beach World Games (Oct. 11-13 in Doha). Hopefully the sport can catch fire in untapped wrestling communities as well. Africa has several traditional styles that are very similar. The popularity of those local styles is multigenerational and profound, making wholesale change to freestyle difficult for some. Beach wrestling is a gateway form of international wrestling for many of these nations who would be certain to find success quicker on the beach than the mats, given the lack of ground wrestling. It's all pretty interesting and as we enter the midway point of this first full year of the world series I hope that we can start to find some more fans and build this new and exciting form of the world's oldest and greatest sport. Action starts Friday at 3 p.m. local time and continues with two sessions on Saturday at 10 a.m. local time and 3 p.m. local time. Coverage of the event can be found @uwwbeachwrestling on Instagram and @uwwbeach on Twitter. FloWrestling will be streaming the event live on their platforms. To your questions … Zain Retherford gets in on a shot against Jaydin Eierman in the semifinals of the U.S. Open (Photo/Sandy Slater) Q: What did you make of Jaydin Eierman replacing Zain Retherford for the Pan American Games? -- Mike C. Foley: The most obvious conclusion is that Zain is slightly more injured than previously disclosed/announced/rumored. As for why Team USA didn't bring Yianni, the notification of injury was made after he'd already left for Poland. Interestingly, the event has a strict guideline for who may enter as an injury replacement. Only the names noted in the early forms delivered to the organization are eligible for competition. That rule left the list pretty confined to a few names, hence Eierman getting the nod. Let's hope he crushes! Nestor Taffur wrestling James Green at the World Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: What are your thoughts on Nestor Taffur's win over 2012 Olympic champ Toghrul Asgarov at 74 kilograms? Is Asgarov a medal threat at 74 kilograms? -- Mike C. Foley: Taffur has been training regularly at the NYC RTC and has even gone on the road to train some with Team Georgia. He's likely to wrestle for Colombia at the World Championships at either 74 kilograms or 79 kilograms. I'm not shocked by the results both because Taffur is in excellent shape and well-coached, but also that anytime a wrestler "debuts" at a new weight it takes time for them to adjust. Any loss for Asgarov would have felt unacceptable, but the way he lost made it seem as though he has an uphill climb to make the Olympic lineup for Tokyo 2020. A little pudgy, pretty slow, not as dynamic and while 70 kilograms and 65 kilograms are out of the question, the Azerbaijan staff may want to ask themselves if Asgarov isn't better off wrestling a little leaner in order to retain his timing and reactions. Great win for Taffur! MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Great scrambling Watch the Junior World Championships next week on Trackwrestling! Q: Pan Am Games vs. Pan Am Championships: Can you explain the difference? Is one more prestigious? Is one an Olympic qualifier? It looks like we are sending a stacked squad. -- Nick D. Foley: The Pan Am Games are the quadrennial athletic competition for the Americas, hosted by the Pan Am Committee. The Games are like the Olympics in that they are outside of United World Wrestling's event management and they hold high esteem among the Pan Am nations. In almost all sports winning a Pan Am Games one of these events will mean increased funding from your home nation. In that way the event is more prestigious than maybe a Pan Am Championships, but you cannot qualify for the Olympic Games from the Pan Am Games. The qualification (in wrestling) is World Championships (6), Continentals (8 total), and Last Chance (2). Also note that the continental championships in the Olympic year are not the qualifier, only the continental qualifier, which is everyone from the continent who didn't qualify a spot during the World Championships. The Championships accepts everyone and will host non-Olympic weights, too. Q: With the question about Kyle Conel in last week's mailbag, I have another question along the lines of medical redshirt/hardship. Have you or any readers ever heard of a wrestler getting two extra years like Anthony Cassar was granted? I have heard of many getting one year, but two seems to be unheard of, I would think. To me, it reeks of "Cael getting whatever he wants" with the NCAA. And because of the PSU machine and its domination like the Iowa teams of the late 70's and 80's draws in eyeballs/ratings at the end of the year, along with the fact that the broadcast kept raving on about Cassar and how great of a story he had led to an individual title, it seems to be that he is getting much more favorable treatment on "medical hardship" then others around the NCAA. I would understand him getting one year, but two … really? He'll probably be what … 25 if he uses both years? -- Dustin B. Foley: Not an unfair examination, but I don't think this was a Cael or Penn State-specific ruling. In recent weeks I've spoken to several coaches about medical hardships for sixth-year waivers and the response was pretty reliable: The NCAA doesn't want litigation and would rather grant opportunities to athletes rather than limit them unnecessarily. It's the same idea behind the transfer portal and other recent developments. I wish the NCAA had this mindset when I applied for my fifth-year medical hardship waiver in 2003. Instead of an easy grant they chose to find any way possible to block my hardship, eventually forcing me to go to court to have a (very) obvious bad judgement overturned even as they admitted in conversation there was no reason they shouldn't be able to change it internally. Either way, the NCAA is erring on the side of the athletes, I think that is the most notable change, less that they are assisting Cael and Penn State.

Sarah Hildebrandt claimed the gold medal at 53 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LIMA, Peru -- Whitney Conder and Sarah Hildebrandt added to America's gold-medal count on Thursday at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. Conder and Hildebrandt won gold medals at 50 kilograms and 53 kilograms respectively. The pair joins Greco-Roman wrestler Pat Smith as gold medalists for the United States after the second day of wrestling competition. Jenna Burkert earned a silver medal at 57 kilograms. Whitney Conder with the American flag after winning gold (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Conder claimed her gold medal at 50 kilograms with a convincing 10-2 victory over Cuba's Yusneylis Guzman Lopez, a Pan American Championships gold medalist. It was her second Pan American Games gold medal, after winning in 2015. The 31-year-old American picked up three first-period takedowns to go up 6-0 at the break. Guzman got on the board with a takedown in the second period, before Conder scored an exposure and then added a takedown to win by eight. Conder picked up a pair of technical superiorities en route to reaching the finals. She outscored her opposition 30-2 on Thursday. Hildebrandt, a returning world silver medalist, capped off a dominant performance in Lima with a first-period 10-0 technical superiority over Betzabeth Arguello Villegas of Venezuela in the finals at 53 kilograms. She did not surrender a point through the competition, outscoring her three opponents by a combined score of 28-0. Hildebrandt defeated Carolina Castillo Hidalgo of Colombia (8-0) and Kamila Barbosa of Brazil (10-0) in the first session. Burkert was edged by Ecuador's Lissette Antes Castillo 2-1 in the gold-medal match at 57 kilograms. The three-time World Team member for the United States scored the first point of the match off the activity clock and took a 1-0 lead into the break. But Castillo battled back in the second period, scoring two consecutive steps outs to earn the victory. Burkert reached the finals with two technical superiorities, 10-0 and 11-0. Adam Coon, America's lone Greco-Roman wrestler competing on Thursday, was shut out 8-0 in his first match to Yasmani Acosta Fernandez of Chile, eliminating the returning world silver medalist from the tournament. The United States Greco-Roman team finished the Pan American Games with one gold, one silver and two bronzes.

Deron Winn (Photo/Josh Hedges, Getty Images) Deron Winn is expected to face Darren Stewart at UFC Boston in October, according to multiple media reports ... and the former junior college wrestling champ's Instagram post. The middleweight (185 pound) bout will feature Winn facing off against Stewart at UFC on ESPN 6 to be held at TD Garden in Boston on Friday, Oct. 18, according to TheBodyLockMMA.com, one of the first MMA websites to report on the upcoming fight last week. Winn, 30, is coming off his impressive UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 153 in Greenville, S.C. in late June, earning a unanimous decision over Eric Spicely. (Both fighters earned a $50,000 bonus for that fight ... and were singled out for positive comments from UFC president Dana White.) London-based Stewart has built a 10-4 (1 no contest) pro MMA record, which includes a 3-4 record in UFC events. Prior to launching his pro career in June 2014, "The Dentist" had a perfect 5-0 record in amateur bouts. Stewart's most recent fight was a unanimous decision over Bevon Lewis at UFC 238 in June. Winn, who signed with UFC at Christmastime 2018, is now 6-0 in his pro MMA career, and 1-0 in UFC. Prior to launching his pro career in March 2017, Winn made a name for himself in amateur wrestling, both in freestyle competition ... and in folkstyle, winning two NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) wrestling championships for St. Louis Community College, Meramec.

Jesse Delgado after winning a national championship (Photo/Illinois Athletics) AMES, Iowa -- Today Cyclone Regional Training Center Director, Kevin Dresser, announced the addition of Jesse Delgado as a Resident Athlete of the C-RTC. Prior to the C-RTC, Delgado had been training with the Illinois Regional Training Center. "We have the unique opportunity to hire Jesse as a resident athlete in the short term with the hopes to possibly transition him into a coaching position in 2020," Dresser said. "Jesse's wrestling resume speaks for itself. He is a guy who loves to get on the mat and train. He also has a passion to coach in the very near future. I think he will be a great fit for our entire program. "I am super excited to start this chapter of my life," Delgado said. "The entire Cyclone Wrestling program really excites me." Delgado comes to Ames with a long list of wrestling accolades. As a collegiate wrestler, he was one of the nation's top 125-pounders all four years while wrestling for the University of Illinois. He was a two-time NCAA Champion while competing for the Illini, and earned All-America honors on three occasions. He was twice a Big 10 Champion and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 2013 Big 10 Championships. Delgado will begin training in Ames in mid-August.

Matt Hill (Photo/Matt Durisko) Episode 33 of The MatBoss Podcast is with second-year Edinboro head coach Matt Hill. Host Chad Dennis visits with Hill to talk about the first year at the helm, the pride of the Edinboro program and what he's looking forward to as he heads into year two and the first year in the expanded Mid-American Conference, which absorbed the Eastern Wrestling League. Hill will also talk about the dynamic of the school, where Edinboro is recruiting and the rebuilding process that's going on in Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Pat Smith with the American flag after winning gold at the Pan American Games (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LIMA, Peru -- Pat Smith came through to win gold in Greco-Roman on the opening day of the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. Smith, a two-time World Team member, was one of five American Greco-Roman wrestlers to compete on Wednesday. Three others won medals. G'Angelo Hancock (97 kilograms) claimed a silver, while Ildar Hafizov (60 kilograms) and Ellis Coleman (67 kilograms) won bronze. Joe Rau (87 kilograms) lost in the bronze-medal match. Smith faced Olympian Wuilexis Rivas of Venezuela in the gold-medal match at 77 kilograms. Rivas scored first off an arm throw and led 2-0 at the break. But Smith kept the pressure on in the second period. He found a takedown midway through the period and then added a step out for a 3-2 victory. Earlier in the day, Smith picked up victories over Wair Cuero Munoz of Colombia (4-1) and Emanuel Benitez Castro of Mexico (4-1). Hancock, a 2016 Junior world bronze medalist and three-time World Team member, fell in the finals at 97 kilograms to Gabriel Rosillo Kindelan of Cuba 7-2. The two faced off in April in the finals of the Pan Am Championships, with Kindelan winning by 10-2 technical superiority. On Wednesday, Hancock jumped out to a 2-0 lead after scoring with two step outs. Kindelan came back strong in the second period, scoring with a four-point throw to grab the lead before adding two step outs and an additional point off a failed challenge. Hancock did not surrender a point in his two matches leading up to the finals, picking up a pair of technical superiorities in a combined time of one minute and 34 seconds. He opened with a 9-0 victory over Thomas Barreiro of Canada before getting a 10-0 win over Kevin Mejia Castillo of Honduras. Ildar Hafizov gets his hand raised after winning his bronze-medal match at 60 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Hafizov earned his bronze at 60 kilograms with a 7-2 win over 2015 Junior Pan American champion Emilio Perez Alonzo from Mexico. After scoring a point off a passivity, Hafizov used three gut wrenches to go up 7-0. Perez would get on the board with a takedown in the second period, but that was all he would score. Hafizov dropped his first match of the day to two-time Pan Am bronze medalist Ditcher Toro Castenada of Colombia Ellis Coleman captured a bronze medal at 67 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Coleman captured his bronze at 67 kilograms with a second-period fall over 2017 Pan Am silver medalist Luis De Leon of Dominican Republic. De Leon scored the only point in the first period off a step out. In the second period, Coleman countered a duck-under and put De Leon on his back for the fall. Coleman's lone loss came in the semifinals to 2016 Olympic champion Ismael Borrero Molina of Cuba, which came after beating Joilson De Brito Ramos of Brazil by fall. Rau finished the day with a 1-2 record at 87 kilograms, losing in in the bronze-medal match to 2018 U23 World silver medalist Daniel Gregorich of Cuba 8-2. In the first session, Rau notched a win over Ricardo Cardenas Esquen of Peru 5-3 before losing 8-0 to Luis Avendano Rojas of Venezuela. On Thursday, Adam Coon (130 kilograms) will compete in Greco-Roman. Whitney Conder (50 kilograms), Sarah Hildebrandt (53 kilograms) and Jenna Burkert (57 kilograms) will open the women's wrestling competition. Action is set to begin at 10 a.m. CT.

A GoFundMe page has been established for Ashland D. Tate, a former wrestler at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, who was murdered in suburban St. Louis Friday night. Ashland TateProceeds generated by the fund will help fund the future education of his two young sons. Tate, 35, was found shot while sitting in a car at an apartment complex in Rock Hill, Mo. at about 10 p.m. Friday. He later died in a St. Louis area hospital. Two men have been arrested for the crime. Police report that the accused knew Tate. Born in New Orleans in 1984, Ashland Dennis Tate was a member of the Crusader wrestling team at Brother Martin. "In my opinion, Ashland is easily one of the top five most gifted wrestlers we've ever had," Chuck Stall, Tate's former wrestling teammate at Brother Martin who still works at the all-boys school, told KMOV-TV, the CBS affiliate in St. Louis. Tate grew up in a Boys Hope group home in New Orleans. He later became Executive Director of Boys Hope Girls Hope, an academic boarding house program, at the organization's national headquarters just outside St. Louis. "He just wanted to be on a team. I think he just wanted to be a part of something," Stall continued. "He always did whatever needed to be done, his work, his school, his obligations to his friends and team, but he did it with the biggest smile on his face like that was the greatest thing he could be doing that day and that was infectious." After graduating from Brother Martin, Tate continued his education at University of New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina struck the city in 2005, Boys Hope Girls Hope helped Tate relocate to St. Louis, where he enrolled at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. He graduated from UMSL with a degree in Media Studies. In addition to his work at Boys Hope Girls Hope, Tate was a board member for Youth Bridge Community Foundation and UMSL. What's more, he was involved in supporting the wrestling program at Whitfield School in the St. Louis area, where one of his sons is a team member. Tate is survived by his wife Brenda; their two sons, Rome and Kyi; his mother April; and his sisters, Michelle and Taiche. Visitation for Ashland Tate will take place Thursday, Aug. 8 starting at 1 p.m. Central, with a funeral service at 3 p.m. at the Archway Memorial Chapel, located at 111 Taylor Rd., Hazelwood, Missouri. Immediately following the service there will be a Celebration of Life service at the Boys Hope Girls Hope National office at 12120 Bridgeton Square, Bridgeton, Missouri.