InterMat Staff

READING, Pa. -- Alvernia University Director of Athletics Bill Stiles announced on Friday the hiring of Kriss Bellanca as the Head Wrestling Coach of the Golden Wolves. Bellanca joins the Alvernia staff following 12 seasons with Division II Kutztown University. "Coach Bellanca is a lifelong educator, and shared our vision of what a successful Division III wrestling program looks like," said Stiles. "He is committed to the development of the whole-student athlete - academically, athletically, spiritually, and socially. His familiarity with our primary recruiting markets and his extensive network of wrestling contacts in those areas will serve Alvernia." At Kutztown, Bellanca was the primary recruiter and was responsible for bringing in five NCAA Division II National Champions, 19 NCAA Division II All-Americans, and 40 NCAA Qualifiers. He also coached 56 wrestlers to podium finishes in the PSAC, and 62 NCAA Region One place winners. Kutztown also finished in the Top 20 in the NCAA on nine occasions, and in the top five in the region on eight occasions, during Bellanca's time with the program. Bellanca, a Berks County native, was a PIAA place-winner at Reading High School, and was a Team PA member. Bellanca wrestled for Bucknell University, but transferred to Kutztown University when Bucknell was preparing to drop Division I wrestling. With Kutztown, Bellanca finished his career in the top-15 in all-time wins. He finished third on two occasions in NCAA Regionals, and also had a second place finish in the regional tournament. Bellanca graduated with honors in 2001 from Kutztown University with a degree in Elementary Education. He worked in the Muhlenberg school district for 19 years as a teacher and behavior specialist. He also has seven years of experience coaching at the high school level with Wyomissing. With the Spartans, Bellanca coached nine PIAA State qualifiers and four PIAA State medalists, including a PIAA State Finalist in 2007. Bellanca is the founder and director of the nationally-recognized Steel Mat Club, where he trained a number of Pennsylvania State Champions, All-Americans, and National Tournament qualifiers. "I am grateful for all those who participated in the search and interview process," said Bellanca. "I want to thank Bill Stiles and the Athletic Department for trusting me to lead the Golden Wolves Wrestling program. It was amazing to learn about Alvernia University through this process and exciting to hear of the vision, support, and resources Alvernia has in providing its student-athletes a quality and holistic education." "I am committed to guiding student-athletes toward becoming champions in the classroom, on the wrestling mat, as well as socially and spiritually" added Bellanca. "It will be an honor to be part of this new journey full of many 'firsts' for Alvernia University Wrestling." Bellanca begins his work with Alvernia immediately. The Golden Wolves inaugural season gets underway on Sunday, November 3rd at the Lycoming Tournament. The full 2019-20 schedule will be released later this summer.

Andre Gonzales became a double champion at 106 pounds (Photo/John Sachs-Tech-Fall.com) FARGO, N.D. -- Andre Gonzales (California) has yet to wrestle in a state final in high school, but is leaving Fargo as a national champion in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at 106 pounds. Gonzales, a state third-place finisher in one-class California, claimed a Junior freestyle title earlier this week and capped off a double title in Fargo on Friday afternoon by winning the Junior National Greco-Roman championship over Ryan Rowland (Florida), 5-2. Gonzales took a 1-0 lead into the break. He extended his lead to 5-0 after a four-point throw in the second period. Rowland would score two points late off a caution but ultimately fall short. Gonzales was one of three Fargo double champions in the Junior division. Also winning double titles were Anthony Echemendia (Arizona) and Luke Luffman (Illinois). Anthony Echemendia nearly securd a fall after a four-point throw (Photo/David Peterson, Minnesota/USA Wrestling) Echemendia won in dominant fashion at 145 pounds, picking up a 10-0 technical superiority in the finals over Edward Scott (Pennsylvania). The 19-year-old Cuban scored with a body lock early in the match and nearly secured a fall before settling for four points. He then used three turns -- the final one a gut wrench -- to end the match. Echemendia was an undefeated state champion this past season for Sunnyside High School in Arizona. Luffman, who will attend Illinois, dominated Spencer Trenary (Iowa) in the finals at 285 pounds, winning by 10-0 technical superiority. He built a 9-0 lead after the opening period and put the match away 40 seconds into the second period with a step out. Three wrestlers won their second straight as Junior National Greco-Roman champions: Chayse La Joie (Michigan) at 120 pounds, Ridge Lovett (Idaho) at 138 pounds and Jace Punke (Illinois) at 220 pounds. La Joie, a three-time state champion, won his second straight title with a 12-2 technical superiority over Fargo freestyle champion Anthony Molton (Illinois) at 120 pounds. He went up 8-2 in the first period and then used a four-point throw in the second period to end the match. Lovett, a Nebraska signee, won his second straight title with a 10-0 technical superiority over Cade Lucio (California) in the finals at 138 pounds. After going up 6-0, Lovett threw Lucio for four points to finish the match in two minutes. Lovett became a 10-time All-American in Fargo. Punke repeated as champion by earning a medical forfeit in the finals at 220 pounds over Braxton Amos (West Virginia), a five-time Fargo champion and the nation's No. 2 senior. Illinois won its 12th straight team title in Junior Greco-Roman, finishing with 61 points. Iowa finished second in the team standings, 15 points behind Illinois, and had a pair of champions: Brandon O'Brien (100) and Cade DeVos (160). O'Brien exacted some revenge on Daniel Sheen (Illinois) en route to winning the title at 100 pounds. After Sheen defeated O'Brian in the freestyle finals, the 16-year-old Iowan flipped the result in the Greco-Roman finals, winning 8-5 in a back-and-forth match. Sheen led 3-0 at the break. O'Brien grabbed the lead in the second period after a takedown and gut wrench. Sheen quickly regained the lead. But with 20 seconds left, O'Brien picked up a takedown and then scored with a gut wrench to win by three. DeVos, a South Dakota signee, used a strong first period to pace him to a 5-1 victory in the finals over Ryan Cody (Florida). DeVos scored his first point off a passivity and then two used a gut wrench to score two turns and go up 5-0. Cody would score his only point in the second period off a passivity. Nebraska crowned two champions: Camden Russell (126) and James Burks (152). Camden Russell defeated InterMat Classic champion Cael Swensen to win the title (Photo/David Peterson, Minnesota/USA Wrestling) Russell captured the title at 126 pounds by topping InterMat Classic champion Cael Swensen (Minnesota) 8-5 in the finals. Swensen went up 3-0, but Russell battled back to take a 3-3 criteria lead before scoring with a four-point throw. Swensen would score two points late off a throw, but Russell would hang on for the win. James Burks knocked off returning champion Cael Carlson (Photo/David Peterson, Minnesota/USA Wrestling) Burks turned in a very impressive finals performance, beating returning Junior Greco-Roman champion Cael Carlson (Minnesota) 11-0 in the finals at 152 pounds. He went up 4-0 with a takedown and gut wrench and then continued to pile on the points, scoring with a step out, then arm throw before ending the match with a four-point move. Billy Sullivan throws Sheldon Seymour (Photo/David Peterson, Minnesota/USA Wrestling) Billy Sullivan (Nevada) was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament after rolling to the title at 113 pounds with a 12-0 technical superiority over Sheldon Seymour (Pennsylvania), a 2018 U16 Greco-Roman national champion. Sullivan becomes Nevada's second Junior Greco-Roman champion ever. He scored with two four-point throws in the first period and then closed out the match by scoring two points off an arm throw. Haiden Drury (Washington) won his second consecutive Fargo Greco-Roman title, but first at the Junior level. He edged Mosha Schwartz (Colorado) 4-3 in the finals at 132 pounds. Drury scored first off a passivity, but Schwartz came back to take the lead after countering a gut wrench attempt by Drury and scoring two points. In the second period, Schwartz extended his lead to 3-1 before Drury scored a takedown to grab a criteria lead. He then held on for the win. Chris Foca (New Jersey), a state champion for Bergen Catholic, made quick work of Jacob Anderson (Alaska) in the finals at 182 pounds. He scored a takedown off a drag and then used a gut wrench to score two turns and go up 6-0. He closed the match with a four-point move. Foca, who is headed to Cornell, was a runner-up in the Junior Greco-Roman competition last summer. Angel Garcia (Pennsylvania) shut out Lance Runyon (Iowa) 7-0 to earn the title at 170 pounds. Garcia scored a takedown off a drag to go up 2-0. He then went up 4-0 after a caution and two. Garcia then scored with a step out and late score after Runyon tried a late desperation throw. At 195 pounds, Vincent Baker (Georgia), who will wrestle collegiately for Duke, picked up a 13-2 technical superiority in the finals over Artem Loginov (California). Placement Match Results 100: 1st: Brandon O'Brien (Iowa) dec. Daniel Sheen (Illinois), 8-5 3rd: Kaleb Casey (Wisconsin) dec. Christan Forbes (Oklahoma), 15-11 5th: Michael Longo (Connecticut) tech. Carson Nishida (Illinois), 11-1 4:28 7th: Cael Keck (Missouri) dec. Robert Gardner (Pennsylvania), 11-8 106: 1st: Andre Gonzales (California) dec. Ryan Rowland (Florida), 5-2 3rd: Jeremy Bockert (Alaska) tech. Chad Bellis (Illinois), 17-6 5:54 5th: Caleb- Coyle (Nebraska) dec. Quade Smith (Utah), 9-2 7th: Kenny Sailas (Colorado) tech. Steven Foster (Pennsylvania), 11-0 1:55 113: 1st: Billy Sullivan (Nevada) tech. Sheldon Seymour (Pennsylvania), 12-0 2:02 3rd: Joseph Couch (Maryland) dec. Angelo Lozado (Colorado), 10-4 5th: Nathan Rubino (Nebraska) dec Christian Decatur-luker (North Carolina), 6-3 7th: Gary Steen (Pennsylvania) dec. Richard Treanor (North Carolina), 10-1 120: 1st: Chayse La Joie (Michigan) tech. Anthony Molton (Illinois), 12-2 3:37 3rd: Jakason Burks (Nebraska) tech. Cooper Flynn (Tennessee), 10-0 2:34 5th: Chris Kim (Pennsylvania) dec. Grant Treaster (Kansas), 6-4 7th: Zach Keal (Kansas) pinned Christian Cabuag (California), 2:40 126: 1st: Camden Russell (Nebraska) dec. Cael Swensen (Minnesota), 8-4 3rd: Adam Allard (Iowa) dec. Nick Masters (Georgia), 11-11 5th: Brody Norman (Illinois) dec. Tj Long (Oklahoma), 5-3 7th: Theorius Robison (Colorado) pinned Chase Randall (Washington), 2:40 132: 1st: Haiden Drury (Washington) dec. Mosha Schwartz (Colorado), 4-3 3rd: Kellyn March (South Dakota) tech. Caleb Gross (Wisconsin), 10-0 0:29 5th: Tarrell Wallace jr (Florida) dec. Ezekiel Hulet (Illinois), 12-4 7th: Preston Martin (Kansas) dec. Khyler Brewer (Missouri), 10-8 138: 1st: Ridge Lovett (Idaho) tech. Cade Lucio (California), 10-0 2:00 3rd: Caden Mccrary (Georgia) dec. Joshua Saunders (Missouri), 7-4 5th: Robby Vaughn (Washington) inj. dft Antonio Segura (Colorado) 7th: Bretli Reyna (Florida) tech. Logan Hatch (Wisconsin), 13-1 5:37 145: 1st: Anthony Echemendia (Arizona) tech. Edward Scott (Pennsylvania), 10-0 1:20 3rd: Chandler Mooney (Minnesota) dec. Payne Carr (Kentucky), 16-10 5th: Luke Odom (Illinois) dec. Chance Mclane (Montana), 4-1 7th: Vincent Zerban (Illinois) tech. Aaden Valdez (Colorado), 10-0 1:51 152: 1st: James Burks (Nebraska) tech. Cael Carlson (Minnesota), 11-0 1:59 3rd: Aaron Gandara (Arizona) dec. Kaden Reetz (Wisconsin), 14-9 5th: Grigol Khochiashvili (Pennsylvania) dec Kevin Contos ii (Ohio), 13-10 7th: Maxwell Kristoff (Illinois) pinned Steven Villalobos (Florida), 0:55 160: 1st: Cade DeVos (Iowa) dec. Ryan Cody (Florida), 5-1 3rd: Adrian St.germain (Washington) pinned Weston Milnes (Colorado), 1:43 5th: Cael Valencia (California) inj dft Jace Luchau (California) 7th: Wyatt Pfau (Colorado) inj dft Caleb Waddell (Georgia) 170: 1st: Angel Garcia (Pennsylvania) dec. Lance Runyon (Iowa), 7-0 3rd: Nevan Snodgrass (Ohio) tech. Nico Zavala (California), 15-4 4:10 5th: Caden Rogers (Pennsylvania) tech. Dajun Johnson (Wisconsin), 10-0 0:35 7th: Greyden Penner (Missouri) dec. Jaden Bullock (Virginia), 10-6 182: 1st: Christopher Foca (New Jersey) tech. Jacob Anderson (Alaska), 10-0 0:42 3rd: Colton Hawks (Missouri) dec. Josh Labarbera (Illinois), 8-6 5th: Kalyn Jahn (Wisconsin) tech. Jackson White (Missouri), 10-0 0:24 7th: Ashton Habeil (Florida) pinned Trevor Swier (Illinois), 1:58 195: 1st: Vincent Baker (Georgia) tech. Artem Loginov (California), 13-2 4:19 3rd: Isaac Trumble (Nebraska) dec. Matthew Kaylor (North Dakota), 14-8 5th: Jonovan Smith (California) tech. Denzel Mabry (California), 11-1 6:00 7th: Kasten Grape (Nebraska) inj dft. Matthew Cover (Ohio) 220: 1st: Jace Punke (Illinois) inj dft. Braxton Amos (West Virginia) 3rd: Gabe Christenson (Iowa) tech. Cade Lautt (Kansas), 11-1 2:02 5th: Cody Fisher (Iowa) pinned Cabe Dickerson (Oklahoma), 5:57 7th: Jacob Christensen (California) tech. Ramin Abraham (Illinois), 10-0 1:12 285: 1st: Luke Luffman (Illinois) tech. Spencer Trenary (Iowa), 10-0 3:40 3rd: Nash Hutmacher (South Dakota) inj dft Donovan King (Michigan) 5th: Alex Coleman (Ohio) pinned Joey Slackman (New York), 0:40 7th: Ryan Johnson (Texas) inj. dft. Aydin Guttridge (Illinois) Outstanding Wrestler: Billy Sullivan (Nevada), 113 pounds Most Falls in Least Time: Preston Martin (Kansas), 132 pounds, 6 falls in 10:26 Team Standings (Top Five) 1. Illinois 61 2. Iowa 46 3. California 44 4. Nebraska 38 4. Pennsylvania 38

Jason Tsirtsis at the 2018 NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- IU head coach Angel Escobedo has announced the addition of three time All-American and NCAA Champion Jason Tsirtsis as a volunteer assistant coach. Tsirtsis, a native of Crown Point, Ind., where he won four state championships in high school, started his college career at Northwestern where in his redshirt freshman season he won the NCAA Championship at 149 lb. That year, in 2014, Tsirtsis also was the Big Ten Champion, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Intermat Freshman of the Year and Midlands Champion. Tsirtsis concluded his collegiate career in 2017-18 with Arizona State as an All-American with a seventh-place finish at NCAAs. He was named the Comeback Wrestler of the Year at the NCAA Championships by FloWrestling. I'm very excited to add Jason Tsirtsis to our staff," Escobedo said. "Since day one, our focus has been to keep the best kids in state and I believe having an Indiana legend like Jason will help achieve this goal. He will work directly with our middle weights (149-165) and we are excited to have him join our program." "I am extremely excited to join the wrestling family down in Bloomington," Tsirtsis said. "Angel has done a great job at changing the culture within the program and I'm thrilled to help further the growth and development of our wrestlers. I can't wait to get down to Bloomington!"

Clarissa Chun is all smiles at the Azraq Refugee Camp (Photo/T.R. Foley) I'm in Jordan this week providing coverage for United World Wrestling's refugee-focused efforts at the Azraq Camp close to the Syrian border. The project is the first of its kind for United World Wrestling, who in recent years has sought to contribute a number of wrestling initiatives to developing nations around the world but had yet to enter into providing programming for displaced people. With some help from other international federations located in the area, wrestling was able to implement a project. The project is still underway, but one of the ambassadors for this trip is Olympic bronze medalist and USA Women's National Team assistant coach Clarissa Chun. While I'm here to make a short documentary, write articles, and oversee the creation of other media assets, Chun is here primarily to give back through the sport she loves. As such, I thought that hearing from her about this camp, women's wrestling, upcoming World Championships and more might be something the readers of the column would value. So instead of your questions, these are mine. Hope you enjoy. To my questions … Clarissa Chun interacts with children at the Azraq Refugee Camp Q: We are here in Amman and just spent our first day interacting with children at the Azraq Refugee Camp. What is your Day 1 takeaway? What was your favorite moment? -- Foley Chun: I was impressed! Especially with the guy wrestlers. We showed up in the middle of training and they had something like four days and they looked amazing. So strong. So athletic. They had like a week of training and with the short amount of time I was impressed. I guess I would have wanted to see some more female-led interaction too, but culturally I'm not sure the protocol. I don't know how they feel about women on the mats and what they require for clothing. Still, for me the best part was just playing with the girls. Roughhousing and kind of doing little body awareness drills, running around and playing tag. That whole moment was probably the best part. These girls were hungry for sport, or maybe just fun. And you could feel they were the sweetest, kindest kids. I mean they were offering us water. Giving kisses. Giving hugs. You could sense their toughness, or resilience. We were off to the side as the boys practiced and they were asked to not interrupt so we tried to copy and just have fun. The whole day was full of laughter. Whatever they've gone through I couldn't tell their struggles or hardship in that moment. I could just feel them being curious. They were unsure of what we were there for, but once we mixed in they wanted more. Clarissa Chun coaching the USA women's wrestling team at Beat the Streets (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: Wrestling has a way of creating positive life-affirming values. Hard work, discipline, appreciation for others are some of the outcomes. What values have you learned and what do you hope to see these children develop through this type of programming? -- Foley Chun: I think discipline. You could feel their toughness. They have that in them, but I feel like that with discipline some of them will see better futures. I want them to know the values of what's good in the world, what's morally right, what's proper. Not to learn self-defense of wrestling and apply it in a negative way. Use these lessons for something good. I don't want them starting fights and creating hardships for themselves or their families. One thing I thought was cool was meeting one of the taekwondo girls who was a black belt and had come from a family of seven. That sport is huge here and she'd done so much. I want that for the sport of wrestling and for these girls. Q: United World Wrestling or outside, what are some ways you or the wrestling community can assist these types of development projects? I work in media and sometimes I can be a little overwhelmed with who is doing what project and why, so feel free to speak generally or specifically. -- Foley Chun: I kind of asked myself and my partner Waylon that today. Could I be here? Could I live here and help these kids every day? I don't know. I guess what I do know is what I feel. I feel that this is a great opportunity for them, but I imagine what my life would be like if it was flipped upside down by war. And it hurts me to feel that. I mean what is the follow-up after this? Who will come in and make this a consistent thing? Who is the person in their life to help them through this struggle? Overall, it was interesting to have the conversation of whether you can commit to this type of lifestyle. Hopefully this isn't their forever, but I think it's tough to think about the possibility they spend their childhood here. I think that UWW and taekwondo are trying to start something positive and bring positivity into the world and I think that with some second efforts wrestling will make these types of countries and situations a priority Clarissa Chun with her bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) Q: You mentioned to me a few days ago that you often get noticed in Hawaii. How does that feel? Does having that celebrity status give you hope for the future of women's wrestling? Also, is it because you wear your Olympic bronze medal from London to the restaurants and bars? -- Foley Chun: Haha. That's not me! I don't feel like I'm a star. I feel like I'm known in the wrestling community there because of what's happened on and off the mat since the Olympics. Hopefully what I can help others from Hawaii like Tiare Ikei, but I'm not home to show the moves often. I hope my journey inspires them. I do a clinic every year, some high schools and the tournaments. I enjoy it. I don't forget that being from Hawaii and wrestling are elements of my path. I will say, it was weird going back this last time and I was like, 'Man, I'm the old person in the stands!' Wasn't that long I was on the mat and was learning and thinking about how I could wrestle more. Now I'm in the stands. It all happens too fast. I just want them to have more opportunities, especially the girls and women in Hawaii. I hope that coming from Hawaii that some of these girls can get a college education and wrestle like I did. Back to the refugees, though, I think of what doors could open if these kids could wrestle and get a college education on the backs of their athletic efforts. Some of those girls ... man, I just love thinking of what they can do. I always get teary-eyed. That's what's so good about wrestling. You don't need much to do it and there is no limit to what you can achieve. Q: On that point, what is the best example you have of where women's wrestling was, and where it is today? -- Foley Chun: Women's wrestling in the U.S. is opening doors because more people are understanding what it's about. I was fortunate coming from Hawaii because I didn't have to struggle for acceptance so it's harder for me to say because I didn't have to fight with coaches for mat time and all that nonsense. When I graduated, Missouri Valley offered me a scholarship. And that was a big, new deal. I think there are just more of those same opportunities available now to more people. I actually think social media changed a lot of people's minds in the wrestling community and outside. The whole movement of strong women being naturally accepted is here now, like 'I am a woman, I am strong.' That's not something that was known or was utilized as a movement when I was in school. I always felt like there was a fight to have. We were always proud to be strong female athletes, but now there is an energy behind us all. It's like the Women's World Cup and Megan Rapinoe's speech. I have purple hair. We are White. Black. Lesbian. Straight. There is not one type of woman that does this. Being accepted as a full human who just happens to be a woman -- that's cool. I mean even in my family my parents are all-in for my wrestling. That maybe came from the judo mentality of all on the mat together. But my pau-pau (grandmother in Chinese) just didn't understand why I was wrestling. She thought it was too physical to put yourself through. The concept of judo seemed like a martial art, while wrestling maybe wasn't. I don't know. Maybe if she had been exposed to these strong women then her thinking would have been more accepting. Q: Where can it go? -- Foley Chun: Everywhere hopefully. Here. The Middle East. I think the effort needs to be consistent and worldwide. I feel like some people already enjoy women's wrestling more than men's wrestling, so I think that more people opening their minds to the idea that this is all the same sport. This is all wrestling. Happy to see it start happening in the United States. To put this in focus, I know girls who in the past ten years have been rejected from training at men's programs and now those same programs have plenty of women! Takes time, I think. Q: Seems to me that all these new women's wrestling programs need some coaches. Are you concerned about coaching education for women? What are the main issues moving forward in order to professionalize coaching? -- Foley Chun: Coaching education, period. I think that regardless of their level, these coaches can be women. But, and this is important, I think that coaching education is vital. I love taking courses, not only can I share my knowledge, but I always pick up new and important things from coaches across sports. I feel that coaching is evolving through things like Safe Sport and concussion protocols. Overseas the profession of coaching is something you study in college, and I think that's something we need more of across even women's wrestling. Maybe all of wrestling could benefit from that education. Another thing is that it's not good to think that only former college women wrestlers should coach. I'm excited that more women want to coach. I feel that if it's something they are passionate about they can be successful. Whether this is something they can continue to do and share their experiences, or something they learn I think that we can achieve more female role models. Q: Tell me about Team USA's chances in Nur-Sultan and then on to Tokyo. -- Foley Chun: We have a team that can win it. Really. We have experience, young talent, and we are closing the gap within that top three. Jacarra, Sarah, Tamyra, Kayla … oh my gosh, all of them. They are all getting better at wrestling. That's the key. Watch out!

Robert Perez III (California) repeated as 16U Greco-Roman champion (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) FARGO, N.D. -- In two weeks, Robert Perez III, the nation's No. 1 freshman, will compete at the Cadet World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, so he headed to Fargo for a tune-up. The tune-up resulted in Perez capturing his second straight 16U Greco-Roman title on Thursday, beating Matthew Singleton (Georgia) 7-2 in the finals at 145 pounds, the same wrestler he defeated to make the Cadet World Team. Singleton led 1-1 on criteria with under a minute remaining before Perez scored an exposure off a front headlock to grab the lead. Singleton picked up a reversal to make the score 3-2. Perez would score a four-point throw in the finals seconds to win by five. Minnesota's Jore Volk (100), Oklahoma's John Wiley (138) and Ohio's Seth Shumate (195) capped off double titles in Fargo by winning 16U Greco-Roman stop signs on Thursday. Volk won his title by beating Benjamin Aranda (Illinois) 4-1 in the finals at 100 pounds. Aranda scored the first point off a step out, but Volk came right back with a four-point throw, which turned out to be enough to get the victory. Wiley, a runner-up last summer in the 16U Greco competition, topped Cody Chittum (Tennessee) 4-1 to earn his title at 138 pounds. Chittum grabbed an early lead after a step out, but Wiley took the criteria lead at the break. He added to his lead with a step out in the second period. With 15 seconds left, Chittum attempted a throw, which Wiley countered and nearly secured the fall before time expired. Shumate, the nation's No. 4 sophomore, capped off a dominant run to the title at 195 pounds with a 10-0 technical superiority in the finals over Isaiah Anderson (Washington). He scored with two four-point throws before ending the match with a gut wrench in just over a minute. Illinois won the team title in the 16U Greco-Roman competition for the seventh straight year, finishing five points ahead of runner-up California. Bradley Gillum (160) was the lone champion for Illinois. He defeated Adam Ahrendsen (Iowa) 6-3 in the finals at 160 pounds. California and Minnesota both had three champions. Ray Ray Harris (94) and Brock Bobzien (113) won titles for California before Perez became the Golden State's third champion. Harris won by 14-3 technical superiority in the finals at 94 pounds over 16U freestyle champion Cael Hughes (Oklahoma). Bobzien needed just 40 seconds to earn a 10-0 technical superiority in the 113-pound finals against Isaiah Kainoa Medina (California) at 113 pounds. In addition to Volk, Caleb Thoennes (88) and Gavin Nelson (170) won titles. Thoennes (Minnesota) shut out Hunter Taylor (Kansas) 6-0 in the finals at 88 pounds. Gavin Nelson (Minnesota) after winning the title at 170 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Nelson, a third-place finisher in the InterMat Classic, hung on to beat Tate Picklo (Oklahoma) 7-6 in the finals at 170 pounds. After Nelson went up 7-0 in the opening period, Picklo battled back. He threw Nelson to his back with a minute remaining and nearly secured a fall, but had to settle for two points, which put him down a point. But Nelson held strong position and took the victory. Robert Weston (Georgia) was named Outstanding Wrestler of the event. He cruised to a first-period 11-0 technical superiority in the finals over Jared Simma (Kansas) at 152 pounds. Weston did not surrender a point in the Greco-Roman competition and won every match by technical superiority or fall. Jacob Barnes (Oregon) won the title at 285 pounds with a 31-second fall over Hayden Copass (Illinois). It halted Copass' bid at a 16U Triple Crown. Other champions included Christian Tanefeu (North Dakota) at 106 pounds, Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) at 120 pounds, Ramon Ramos (Arizona) at 126 pounds, Michael Kilic (Georgia) at 132 pounds, Nicholas Feldman (Pennsylvania) at 182 pounds and Gage Cook (Washington) at 220 pounds. Placement Match Results 88: 1st: Caleb Thoennes (Minnesota) dec. Hunter Taylor (Kansas), 6-0 3rd: Grigor Cholakyan (California) dec. Alan Koehler (Minnesota), 6-4 5th: Kolby Warren (Missouri) tech. Cael Alderman (Kansas), 11-0 3:39 7th: Kyison Garcia (Utah) tech. Cosmo Damiani (New York), 11-0 2:00 94: 1st: Ray Ray Harris (California) tech. Cael Hughes (Oklahoma), 14-3 3:39 3rd: DJ Gillett (Oregon) tech. Coleman Nogle (Maryland), 12-1 2:34 5th: Kenneth Hendriksen (Texas) dec. Christopher Martino (Idaho), 5-4 7th: Carson Wagner (Pennsylvania) dec. Joey Showalter (Wisconsin), 9-6 100: 1st: Jore Volk (Minnesota) dec. Benjamin Aranda (Illinois), 4-1 3rd: Kannon Webster (Illinois) dec. Beau Mantanona (California), 4-3 5th: Kai Owen (Florida) tech. Keith Smith (Nebraska), 12-12 7th: Brayden Sonnentag (Wisconsin) dec. Trason Oehme (South Dakota), 5-3 106: 1st: Christian Tanefeu (North Dakota) dec. Kyle Rice (Idaho), 7-4 3rd: Zeth Romney (California) dec. Greyson Clark (Wisconsin), 11-9 5th: Horacio Godinez (Washington) dec. Joseph Fernau (Illinois), 4-0 7th: Jacob Van dee (Pennsylvania) tech. Marlon Yarbrough (Ohio), 14-4 1:40 113: 1st: Brock Bobzien (California) tech. Isaiah kainoa Medina (California), 10-0 0:40 3rd: Stevie Barnes (Iowa) dec. Trae Mcdaniel (Tennessee), 6-3 5th: Gabe Whisenhunt (Oregon) by forfeit over Dante Rigal (New York) 7th: Damian Mendez (Kansas) dec. Abraham Hinrichsen (Illinois), 8-6 120: 1st: Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin) tech. Kayd Craig (Idaho), 12-2 3:13 3rd: Joey Cape (Illinois) dec. Hunter Garvin (Iowa), 11-8 5th: Richard Fedalen (Maryland) dec. David Panone (Georgia), 9-6 7th: Q'veli Quintanilla (Washington) tech. AJ Smith (Minnesota), 15-4 2:00 126: 1st: Ramon Ramos (Arizona) tech. Gavin Drexler (Wisconsin), 13-2 2:53 3rd: Colin Roberts (Ohio) dec. Kaleb Larkin (Arizona), 4-3 5th: Conor Goucher (Washington) pinned Ethan Fernandez (New Jersey), 12-2 3:58 7th: Nicco Ruiz (California) dec. Maximilian Leete (Massachusetts), 3-2 132: 1st: Michael Kilic (Georgia) dec. Jack Milos (Illinois), 8-5 3rd: Ivan Morris (Colorado) pinned Jaden New (Alabama), 4-1 1:57 5th: Kyle Boeke (Minnesota) tech. Kyle Dutton (Missouri), 12-2 1:18 7th: Robert Avila (Iowa) tech. Mateo De la pena (Washington), 11-1 3:37 138: 1st: John Wiley (Oklahoma) dec. Cody Chittum (Tennessee), 4-1 3rd: Garrison Dendy (Georgia) dec. Nick Hamilton (Iowa), 5-3 5th: Matthew Bianchi (Wisconsin) dec. James Johnston (Michigan), 12-11 7th: Daniel Cardenas (Colorado) tech. Preston Owens (Idaho), 11-0 1:33 145: 1st: Robert Perez III (California) dec. Matthew Singleton (Georgia), 7-2 3rd: Paniro Johnson (Pennsylvania) dec. CJ Hamblin (Washington), 8-6 5th: Matthew Rodriguez (California) dec. Jared Stricker (Wisconsin), 7-3 7th: Cael Berg (Minnesota) tech. David Capron (Illinois), 11-0 1:19 152: 1st: Robert Weston (Georgia) tech. Jared Simma (Kansas), 11-0 1:42 3rd: Kamdyn Munro (Georgia) dec. Caden Ernd (Illinois), 9-5 5th: David Brooks (Missouri) pinned Ryder Rogotzke (Minnesota), 4-0 0:36 7th: Derek Matthews (Idaho) tech. Robert Major (Illinois), 12-1 2:34 160: 1st: Bradley Gillum (Illinois) dec. Adam Ahrendsen (Iowa), 6-3 3rd: Nicholas Hall (Delaware) pinned Colton Lindquist (Alaska), 6-2 1:59 5th: Fernando Villaescusa (Arizona) dec. Kaleb Smith (Idaho), 12-3 7th: Dawson Mathews (Georgia) pinned Gunner Endicott (Ohio), 5-4 1:35 170: 1st: Gavin Nelson (Minnesota) dec. Tate Picklo (Oklahoma), 7-6 3rd: Leonard Pinto (Pennsylvania) dec. Evan Canoyer (Nebraska), 14-7 5th: Damion Schunke (South Dakota) dec. Andrew Wenzel (Illinois), 2-1 7th: Michael Altomer (New York) pinned Thomas Stewart (Maryland), 4-4 1:25 182: 1st: Nicholas Feldman (Pennsylvania) dec. Jack Darrah (Missouri), 4-1 3rd: Owen Warren (South Dakota) dec. Wyatt Voelker (Iowa), 16-12 5th: Michael Tal-shahar (Florida) tech. Branson Britten (Texas), 10-0 1:26 7th: Isaiah Huus (North Dakota) tech. Maxwell Gourley (Pennsylvania), 12-0 2:31 195: 1st: Seth Shumate (Ohio) tech. Isaiah Anderson (Washington), 10-0 1:10 3rd: Evan Bates (Indiana) dec. Tom Culp (Illinois), 14-10 5th: Andrew Blackburn-forst (Illinois) dec. Jordan Hilford (California), 12-8 7th: Leighton Jones (Indiana) dec. Corbin Phelps (Texas), 11-4 220: 1st: Gage Cook (Washington) dec. Kolby Franklin (Pennsylvania), 6-4 3rd: Chase Horne (Georgia) dec. Dustin Swanson (Pennsylvania), 9-0 5th: Jaren Rohde (Wisconsin) pinned Riley Ucker (Ohio), 8-0 3:06 7th: Juan Mora (California) dec. Chase Thompson (Florida), 3-1 88: 1st: Jacob Barnes (Oregon) pinned Hayden Copass (Illinois), 4-0 0:31 3rd: James Howard (Tennessee) dec. Griffin Liddle (Iowa), 11-1 2:38 5th: Michael Fanz (Missouri) FOR Gavin Layton (Minnesota) 7th: Jacob Moore (Arizona) dec. Ryan Elrod (Ohio), 4-2 Outstanding Wrestler: Robert Weston (Georgia), 152 lbs. Most Falls: Mendez (Kansas) 4 falls at 113 lbs. Team Standings (Top Five) 1. Illinois 64 2. California 59 3. Georgia 46 4. Minnesota 42 5. Pennsylvania 37

Donny Wichmann Donny Wichmann, champion wrestler and assistant coach at Augsburg University who only recently was announced for induction into the National Wrestling Coaches Association NCAA Division III Hall of Fame, passed away Tuesday at age 53. For the past four years, Wichmann had been battling glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. A memorial service and celebration of Wichmann's life will be held on Saturday, Aug. 17 at Si Melby Hall on the Augsburg campus at 715 23rd Ave South in Minneapolis. The Augsburg wrestling program posted this message on its Facebook page Wednesday afternoon: "We are sad to share that we have lost an amazing athlete, coach and man. We are so grateful for all that Donny Wichmann has done for the Augsburg community and our wrestling program. He will forever be an Auggie and we will miss him tremendously. Thank you, Donny; rest peacefully ❤️" Born in Marshall, Minn., Wichmann was a three-time Minnesota state high school tournament qualifier and a third-place finisher at 119 pounds in 1984. However, it was at Augsburg that Wichmann truly made a name for himself as a wrestler and member of the Auggie coaching staff. Donny Wichmann was a three-time MIAC champion and 1989 All-American Considered one of the top middleweight wrestlers in Augsburg history, Wichmann won 137 matches in his Auggie career, claiming three MIAC (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) individual titles -- 1986 and 1987 at 142 pounds, and 1989 at 150 pounds -- while winning MIAC Tournament Most Valuable Wrestler honors in both 1987 and 1989, and the most falls award in 1987. Wichmann earned All-American honors with a fourth-place finish at 150 pounds in the 1989 NCAA Division III National Championships, and was instrumental in helping the Auggies place third in the team standings at the NCAAs. For these accomplishments, Wichmann was named an Augsburg co-Honor Athlete in 1989. That same year, Wichmann earned his bachelor's degree from Augsburg, having majored in marketing and management. After completing his on-the-mat career, Wichmann served as an Augsburg men's wrestling assistant coach for 19 seasons, first under head coach Jeff Swenson from 1989-2007, then for head coach Mark Matzek from 2008-09. With Wichmann on staff, the Auggies won 10 NCAA Division III national titles, while finishing second seven times, third once and fourth once ... the beginning of the Augsburg wrestling dynasty. In addition, during Wichmann's tenure, the Auggies could claim 134 Division III All-Americans and 34 individual national champions. Incredibly, that nearly quarter-century relationship between Donny Wichmann and Augsburg may have been cut short after only two years as a wrestler ... if it hadn't been for Jeff Swenson. Here's how InterMat owner and senior editor Andrew Hipps described the situation in a November 2015 profile of Wichmann which was written not long after Wichmann's cancer diagnosis: "Donny won a conference championship as a sophomore in 1986. But that spring he was ready to leave Augsburg. The program had fallen on hard times. Augsburg went from an NCAA runner-up finish in 1984 to 16th place in 1986. "I was just going to leave Augsburg, leave wrestling and go to Arizona State, go to school down there and enjoy the nice weather," said Donny. "Around that time Swenson was getting calls about returning to Augsburg to become the head wrestling coach again. "Swenson, while weighing his decision, met with Donny. "I told Donny if he stayed with the program that I was going to come back as the head coach," said Swenson, a national champion wrestler at Augsburg in 1979. "That's the kind of respect that I had for Donny." "Both Donny Wichmann and Jeff Swenson made the decision to return to Augsburg. "I knew that he was the glue that I needed in order to come back and lead the Augsburg wrestling program after I had left it after my first four years," said Swenson. "It was always a special relationship." For his accomplishments and contributions to the success of the Auggie mat program, Wichmann had earned significant honors in the past decade. He was welcomed into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. Just last year, Wichmann was presented with the State Medal of Courage Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Minnesota Chapter at a ceremony in Austin, Minn. Less than two weeks ago, it was announced that Wichmann would be inducted as a member of the Class of 2019 of the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III Hall of Fame. He will be welcomed posthumously during a ceremony on Aug. 3 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In addition to his involvement with Augsburg wrestling, Wichmann owned his own wrestling equipment and apparel company, DW Wrestling Products, and worked for Gopher Stage Lighting, a lighting equipment supplier in Minneapolis. Wichmann leaves behind a wife, Mindy, who he married in 2000. Andrew Hipps offered this tribute to Donny Wichmann on Facebook Wednesday: "Donny Wichmann, who was recently inducted into the NCAA Division III Wrestling Hall of Fame, passed away last night. He was such a wonderful person who made the world a better place. I first met him when I was a kid. He was this cheerful, super friendly guy selling gear at youth wrestling tournaments. Always had a huge smile on his face. Then later he coached my brother Jeremy on the Augsburg wrestling team. Donny's impact will be felt for years to come. I saved a voicemail from him that he left me in 2015 after I wrote an article on him. He ended the voicemail with, 'Anything I can do for you, you let me know.' He meant it. That's the kind of person Donny was."

Joey Palmer wrestling in the semifinals of the U.S. Open (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- University of Maryland head wrestling coach Alex Clemson announced the addition of three-time NCAA qualifier Joey Palmer to his staff as a volunteer assistant coach on Wednesday. A native of Covington, Wash., Palmer helped lead Oregon State to a second-place finish in the Pac-12 as the Beavers' volunteer assistant, while also producing five NCAA qualifiers for the 2017-18 season. "I'm really excited to complete my staff with the addition of Joey," head coach Alex Clemsen said. "Joey recently took third at the U.S. Open and I know that he wants to continue to compete at an extremely high level. Having that mindset and work ethic on display everyday inside the Mark A. Andersen Wrestling Room will be priceless." Palmer was a three-time NCAA qualifier and Pac-12 champion at 133 pounds while a member of the Oregon State wrestling program, in addition to being a two-time Pac-12 Conference All-Academic selection. In his senior season, he went 3-2 at the NCAA Championships, just missing All-American honors. Palmer won the 133 pound Pac-12 Championship his senior year, and finished his collegiate career with an 88-48 record. Most recently, Palmer finished third at the U.S. Open in the senior men's division and qualified for the 2019 World Team Trials. "Joey wants to coach and help our athletes get better in every facet of their lives," Clemsen said. "That's what excited me the most about him and the way he can help us build Maryland Wrestling and jump start Turtle Power. Lastly, Joey has his master's degree and really values education. Coaching at one of the premier academic institutions in America, he can help our young men navigate the rigors of being a true student-athlete." Palmer received his undergraduate degree from Oregon State in 2017 with a degree in Human Development/Family Science paired with Education, and received his Master's Degree in Special Education in 2019 while teaching English and academic skills for special education students at Tahoma High School. During his prep years, Palmer was a two-time Washington 4A state champion, and a member of the 4A State Championship team at Tahoma High School. The addition of Joey Palmer rounds out head coach Alex Clemsen's coaching staff alongside assistants Nick Brascetta and Devin Mellon, whose hires were announced in late May.

Shelton Mack NEW YORK -- Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli, on Wednesday, July 17, announced the addition of a new member to the Columbia Wrestling coaching staff, with the hiring of Shelton Mack as a Volunteer Assistant Coach for the upcoming 2019-20 season. "Shelton is the perfect addition to the Columbia wrestling program," said Tanelli. "His thoughtfulness and disposition, in addition to his great wrestling background, will provide much for our men to learn from. He brings very valuable coaching and recruiting experience from both the Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten conferences that we look forward to incorporating within our team." Mack comes to Columbia after spending the 2018-19 season on the Maryland staff. During the previous season, Mack helped heavyweight Youssif Hemida place third at the 2019 Big Ten Championships and with Mack's help, Hemida earned 2019 All-American honors following the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Before joining the Maryland staff, Mack spent three seasons, from 2015-18, at Virginia as a member of the Cavalier staff. Mack's success at Virginia included developing NCAA All-Americans Jack Mueller and George DiCamillo. During his collegiate career, Mack was a three-time NCAA Qualifier at the University of Pittsburgh. He recorded 84 wins while wrestling at 133 pounds for the Panthers and qualified for the NCAA Championships in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Mack reached the round of 12 in 2012 before falling one-win shy of All-American status. He earned a career-best 26 wins during his senior season and went 2-2 at the NCAA Championships, where he took eventual national champion Tony Ramos of Iowa down to the wire before narrowly falling, 3-1. Mack is currently training to make the United States World and Olympic teams, and he most recently placed fourth at the 2019 World Team Trails (61kg). In 2014, Mack finished third at 133 pounds at the ACC Championships. He previously recorded back-to-back runner-up finishes at the EWL Championships in 2012 and 2013. A native of Meadville, Pa., Mack graduated from Pitt in 2015 after double majoring in sociology and history. FOLLOWING THE LIONS: Stay up to date on all things Columbia Wrestling by following the Lions on Twitter (@columbiaWR), Instagram (@columbiawr) and on Facebook (@ColumbiaAthletics).

Emily Shilson gets her hand raised after picking up a technical superiority to claim the title at 106 pounds (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) FARGO, N.D. -- Emily Shilson made it look easy in Fargo. The 18-year-old Minnesotan capped off a dominant run through the Junior freestyle competition on Wednesday in Fargo with 10-0 finals victory over Faith Cole (Missouri) in just over a minute in the finals at 106 pounds. It was Shilson's sixth technical superiority shutout in six matches. She outscored her opposition 60-0 and earned the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler award. Shilson becomes the second six-time Fargo girls champion, joining Teshya Alo (Hawaii). Last summer, Shilson won a Cadet world title and then became the first U.S. wrestler to win a Youth Olympic Games gold medal. She is headed to Augsburg University. Shilson was one of three repeat champions in the women's Junior freestyle competition. Also repeating were a pair of Texans, Xochitl Mota-Pettis (127) and Gabrielle Holloway (225). Mota-Pettis dominated Lana Perez (Hawaii) 14-1 in the finals at 127 pounds. She led 8-1 at the break and put the match away in the second period after a four-point hip toss. Holloway came back to defeat Isabeau Shalack of Illinois, in the finals at 225 pounds. Shalack led 1-0 at the break, but Holloway came back to get a fall in the second period. At 138 pounds, Alara Boyd (Indiana), a multiple-time Cadet world medalist, won the title at 138 pound with a first-period fall in the finals over Morgan Norris (Nevada). U.S. Open champion Tiare Ikei (Hawaii) claimed the title at 117 pounds with a first-period fall over Jennifer Soto (California). Ikei finished the tournament with two falls and three technical superiorities in five matches. Kennedy Blades, the Outstanding Wrestler in the U16 women's wrestling competition, cruised to the title at 164 pounds with a 10-0 technical superiority in the finals over Tristan Kelly (Colorado). Blades did not surrender a single point en route to winning the title. Washington won its first team title ever in the women's Junior freestyle competition in Fargo, fishing with 65 points, 12 points ahead of runner-up Illinois. Washington finished with 14 All-Americans, but only one champion, Kaylee Moore. She topped follow Washington wrestler Viktorya Torres 8-4 in the finals at 132 pounds. Placement Match Results 100: 1st: Sage Mortimer (Utah) pinned Rayana Sahagun (Michigan), 0:34 3rd: Jessica Corredor (Florida) tech. Elizabeth Dosado (Virginia), 10-0 1:33 5th: Heaven Fitch (North Carolina) tech. Amanda Newcomb (Kansas), 15-5 4:55 7th: Estrella Dorado Marin (Colorado) tech. Valerie Carreon (Texas), 13-3 3:19 106: 1st: Emily Shilson (Minnesota) tech. Faith Cole (Missouri), 10-0, 1:08 3rd: Emily Mendez (Washington) pinned Jenavi Alejandro (Nevada), 2:29 5th: Caitlyn Walker (Pennsylvania) pinned Tehani Soares (Nevada), 1:10 7th: Julianne Moccia (Maryland) pinned Tatyana Ortiz (Pennsylvania), 4:08 112: 1st: Montana Delawder (Pennsylvania) dec. Josie Bartishofski (Wisconsin), 9-3 3rd: Nichole Moore (Kansas) VPO1 Trinity Berry (Virginia), 13-10 5th: Jaslynn Gallegos (Colorado) tech. Alexis Janiak (Illinois), 10-0 2:37 7th: Lexy Beadles (California) pinned Torieonna Buchanan (Indiana), 2:19 117: 1st: Tiare Ikei (Hawaii) pinned Jennifer Soto (California), 2:04 3rd: Camille Fournier (Texas) tech. Holly Beaudoin (Washington), 17-7 5:15 5th: Phoenix Dubose (Washington) tech. Molly Williams (Washington), 10-0 2:29 7th: Adriana Dorado Marin (Colorado) tech. Jazmin Mercado (Washington), 10-0 1:54 122: 1st: Gabrielle Skidmore (Wisconsin) dec. Nanea Estrella (Hawaii), 5-2 3rd: Payton Stroud (Washington) tech. Riley Dalrymple (New York), 10-0 5:24 5th: Emily Paulino (Hawaii) inj dft Leilah Castro (Ohio) 7th: Brelane Huber (Idaho) tech. Katie Gomez (California), 11-1 4:54 127: 1st: Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Texas) tech. Lana Perez (Hawaii), 14-1, 4;25 3rd: Waipuilani Beauchamp (Hawaii) pinned Mia Macaluso (New York), 0:15 5th: Amor Tuttle (Minnesota) tech. Sydney Harper (Texas), 13-2 1:15 7th: Andrea Schlabach (Ohio) inj. dft. Asia Nguyen-smith (Illinois) 132: 1st: Kaylee Moore (Washington) dec. Viktorya Torres (Washington), 8-4 3rd: Louisa Schwab (Illinois) tech. Emma Walker (Tennessee), 10-0 2:44 5th: Avia Bibeau (Pennsylvania) pinned Grace Pauls (New York), 1:13 7th: Nonnie Justice (Missouri) tech. Elleni Johnson (Utah), 10-0 1:02 138: 1st: Alara Boyd (Indiana) pinned Morgan Norris (Nevada), 1:32 3rd: Sara Sulejmani (Illinois) tech. Aine Drury (California), 10-0 2:12 5th: Esther Han (Missouri) pinned Chloe Ogden (Florida), 2:10 7th: Maggie Palmore (Maryland) tech. Kya Rybachek (Minnesota), 12-1 2:57 144: 1st: McKenzie Cook (Alaska) dec. Jerzie Estrada (Colorado), 8-7 3rd: Nia Miranda (Texas) dec. Ivy Kraght (Washington), 3-2 5th: Krista Warren (Washington) pinned Annie n. Hua (California), 2:53 7th: Tiyahna Askew (Georgia) pinned Alexandria Hernandez (Washington), 3:41 152: 1st: Tiffani Baublitz (Pennsylvania) dec. Kiley Hubby (Washington), 4-2 3rd: Jewel Gonzalez (New Jersey) dec. Francesca Lopresti (California), 4-2 5th: Alexandria Sanford (Washington) pinned Brooke-lynn Rush (Missouri), 3:50 7th: Michelle Kamyshin (California) dec. Morgan Mayginnes (Kansas), 6-0 164: 1st: Kennedy Blades (Illinois) tech. Tristan Kelly (Colorado), 10-0, 2:40 3rd: Ashley Lekas (Texas) dec. Olivia Robinson (Oregon), 4-1 5th: Mckenzie Samuels (New York) dec. Jennifer Curry (Arizona), 5-0 7th: Ariana Pereira (California) pinned Ava Miller (Missouri), 1:24 180: 1st: Kelani Corbett (Hawaii) dec. Elisa Robinson (Kansas), 8-0 3rd: Jaycee Foeller (Missouri) dec. Brianna Staebler (Wisconsin), 10-2 5th: Joanna Jones (New York) dec. Faith Tuttle (Minnesota), 8-0 7th: Brittyn Corbishley (Texas) pinned Shania Gowan (Florida), 1:56 200: 1st: Gabrielle Hamilton (Illinois) pinned Angela Buenrrostro (California), 1:33 3rd: Olivia Brown (Oklahoma) dec. Juliannah Bolli (California), 8-0 5th: Tatum Heikkila (Washington) tech. Elizabeth Saleapaga (California), 11-0 4:26 7th: Stacey Pgouda (Georgia) tech. Kayvette Osorio (California), 12-0 0:51 225: 1st: Gabrielle Holloway (Texas) pinned Isabeau Shalack (Illinois), 3:37 3rd: Cristina Santoyo (California) pinned Kyleigh Haney (Georgia), 3:33 5th: Hannah Francis (Texas) inj dft. Jasmine Guerrero (California) 7th: Lexie Cole (Missouri) pinned Cassidy Curtiss (California), 1:50 Outstanding Wrestler: Emily Shilson (Minnesota), 106 pounds Most Falls: Caitlyn Walker (Pennsylvania) 6 falls in 7:33 Team Standings (Top Five) 1. Washington 65 2. California 53 3. Texas 44 4. Hawaii 40 5. Illinois 39

Alireza Dabir, 2000 Olympic gold medalist in men's freestyle wrestling, has been elected president of the Iran wrestling federation. Alireza DabirDabir received 31 votes out of 46 in the second round of the election in Tehran on Wednesday to win the position, according to Mehr News, an Iranian news agency. "I'm neither happy nor sad," said Dabir after being voted to head up the Iranian wrestling organization for a four-year term. Dabir takes the helm of the Iran wrestling federation which had been managed by an acting president after Rasoul Khadem stepped down from the post back in November 2018 after Iran wrestling's poor performance at the 2018 World Championships. ' Dabir earned the gold medal in men's freestyle competition at the 2000 Sydney Olympics at 58 kilograms/127 pounds. (Among the wrestlers Dabir defeated on the way to winning that title: Team USA's Terry Brands.) The 42-year-old also won a gold medal at 1998 World Championships in his hometown of Tehran. Dabir also earned three silver medals of World Championships and one silver of Asian Games in the next four years before announcing his retirement.

A view of the Covelli Center (Photo/ ElevenWarriors.com) Be among the first to get an "inside look" at the brand-new Covelli Center and Jennings Wrestling Facility at Ohio State -- and meet Buckeyes head wrestling coach Tom Ryan -- at the Wrestling Open House on Tuesday, July 23, the Buckeye wrestling program announced Tuesday. The event will take place next Tuesday evening from 6-8 p.m. at Covelli Center, located on the Ohio State campus at 2640 Fred Taylor Drive, just east of Ohio 315 at the Lane Avenue exit, in Columbus. Admission is free; parking is $5. Wrestling fans interested in attending the open house should use the entrance at the southwest corner of Covelli Center. The open house is an unbeatable opportunity for fans to get a behind-the-scenes, full-access look at the new home of Ohio State wrestling, including the Covelli Center 3,700-seat arena that will be home to the Buckeye wrestling events… along with the wrestling room, workout facilities and other aspects of the Jennings Wrestling Facility that's part of the same structure. In addition, visitors to the wrestling open house will have plenty of meet-and-greet opportunities… including the chance to talk to head coach Tom Ryan. What's more, there will be fun activities for kids on the Covelli Center concourse. Food will be available for purchase from the Iron Grill BBQ food truck. Ohio State wrestling fans may purchase new season tickets at the open house, as account executives will be on site to answer questions and take orders. Seat selection will follow online later that week by assigned seat selection windows. Covelli Center will host its first dual meet as Ohio State welcomes Stanford on Saturday, Nov. 10.

Abe Assad gets his hand raised after beating Dustin Plott (Oklahoma) to win the title at 182 pounds (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) FARGO, N.D. -- On Tuesday, Abe Assad avenged a recent loss on his way to winning a Junior National freestyle title while leading Illinois to a third straight team championship in Fargo. Assad, a 2018 Cadet world bronze medalist, handled two-time state champion Dustin Plott (Oklahoma) 8-2 in the Junior National freestyle finals on Tuesday afternoon to claim the title at 182 pounds, avenging a loss from the Junior National Duals last month. It marks the second straight year in which Plott finished as a runner-up in the Junior freestyle competition in Fargo. Assad, who signed with Iowa, led 3-0 at the break before adding two takedowns in the finals period to win by six. He was one of four titlists for team champion Illinois. Also winning titles for Illinois were Daniel Sheen (100), Anthony Molton (120) and Luke Luffman (285). Sheen came through to win the title at 100 pounds, edging Brandon O'Brien (Iowa) 2-1 in the finals. He scored his only points off a first-period takedown, but it was enough to get him the victory. Molton, an Old Dominion signee and top-100 recruit from the Class of 2019, won a wild, high-scoring affair, 17-16, over Oklahoma State commit Jakason Burks (Nebraska), a U16 Fargo freestyle champion last summer. Burks led 15-13 with 45 seconds left before Molton picked up a takedown and used a lace to go up 17-15. Burks would score a late point, but Molton would hang on for the victory. Luffman became the lone wrestler to repeat as a Junior National freestyle champion by winning the title at 285 pounds. He topped fellow Illinois wrestler Aydin Guttridge 4-1 in the finals. Ohio finished runner-up to Illinois in the team standings and crowned a pair of champions, Angelo Rini (126) and Paddy Gallagher (160). Both hail from the same high school, St. Edward. Rini, who will be attending Columbia, rolled to a 14-4 technical superiority in the finals at 126 pounds over Ethen Miller (Missouri). After Rini jumped out to a 6-0 lead, Miller battled his back into the match and made it 6-4 in the second period. But a short time later Rini would get a takedown, lock up a lace and turn Miller three times to close out the match. Gallagher, the nation's No. 3 junior, also won by technical superiority in the finals, beating South Dakota State signee Cade Devos (Iowa) 12-2 to take the title at 160 pounds. He used four takedowns and two turns off a lace to get the victory in the first period. California crowned three champions, which was the second most of any state behind Illinois. Winning titles for California were Andre Gonzales (106), Jace Luchau (152) and Jonovan Smith (195). Gonzales, a state third-place finisher, used three four-point moves in the third period to earn a technical superiority over InterMat Classic champion Blake West (Minnesota). Luchau, who will be attending Fresno State, topped John Martin Best (West Virginia) 8-2 in the finals at 152 points, scoring all eight of his points from a pair of four-point moves in the opening period. He was named Outstanding Wrestler of the event. Smith, state runner-up, won his title by defeating Cole Urbas (Pennsylvania) 11-5 in the finals at 195 pounds. Urbas, a three-time state placewinner, trailed by one in the second period before Smith picked up three straight takedowns to blow the match wide open. Two-time state champion Braxon Amos (West Virginia), the nation's No. 2 senior, cruised to the title at 220 pounds, beating Dorian Crosby (Pennsylvania) 10-0 in the finals. It was Amos' fifth Fargo title in as many attempts. Drake Ayala (Iowa), ranked as the nation's No. 21 junior by InterMat, turned in an impressive finals performance at 113 pounds, picking up a 19-8 technical superiority over Nico Provo (Connecticut) in the finals. Provo led 8-7 at the break, but Ayala pulled away in the second period and closed out the victory with a lace. State champion Anthony Echemendia (Arizona), a native of Cuba, won a stop sign at 145 pounds with a 10-4 victory over Victor Voinovich (Ohio), the nation's No. 7 junior. Patrick Kennedy (Minnesota) won the title at 170 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Three-time state champion Patrick Kennedy, the nation's No. 8 senior, was untested in the finals at 170 pounds, winning by 10-0 technical superiority over Gerrit Nijenhuis (Pennsylvania). Kennedy has committed to Iowa. Cornell commit Joshua Saunders (Missouri) won a hard-fought match in the 138-pound finals over Nebraska signee Ridge Lovett (Idaho). Lovett, a four-time state champion, took a 3-1 lead in the second period after scoring a takedown off a slide-by, but Saunders came back with a takedown and turn off a lace to earn the 5-3 victory. Three-time state champion Dominick Serrano (Colorado) won his second straight Fargo freestyle stop sign by beating state champion and top-100 recruit Mick Burnett (Ohio) 10-0 in the finals at 132 pounds. The two wrestlers met in last year's U16 freestyle finals in Fargo, with Serrano winning that meeting 10-0 as well. Placement Match Results 100: 1st: Daniel Sheen (Illinois) dec. Brandon O'Brien (Iowa), 2-1 3rd: Cael Keck (Missouri) dec. Samuel Hayes (Illinois), 6-2 5th: Andrew Dalrymple (Alaska) pinned Cameron Hines (Connecticut), 3:38 7th: Robert Gardner (Pennsylvania) tech. Noah Savageau (North Dakota), 13-2, 3:00 106: 1st: Andre Gonzales (California) tech. Blake West (Minnesota), 19-7, 5:55 3rd: Eli Griffin (Oklahoma) tech. Kelly Dunnigan (New Jersey), 10-0, 0:43 5th: Kenny Sailas (Colorado) pinned Caleb- Coyle (Nebraska), 3:57 7th: Elijah Rivera (New York) dec. Quade Smith (Utah), 8-4 113: 1st: Drake Ayala (Iowa) tech. Nico Provo (Connecticut), 19-8, 4:44 3rd: Jeremiah Reno (Missouri) pinned Yusief Lillie (Washington), 3:00 5th: Joziah Fry (Rhode Island) tech. Aedyn Concepcion (Alaska), 12-0, 1:59 7th: Cruz Aguilar (Oklahoma) tech. Angelo Lozado (Colorado), 10-0, 1:43 120: 1st: Anthony Molton (Illinois) dec. Jakason Burks (Nebraska) 17-16 3rd: Chayse La joie (Michigan) tech. Destin Summers (Idaho), 11-1, 5:23 5th: Jackson Cockrell (Oklahoma) dec. Joseph Thompson (Minnesota), 10-8 7th: Cooper Flynn (Tennessee) dec. Richard Sandoval (California), 6-5 126: 1st: Angelo Rini (Ohio) tech. Ethen Miller (Missouri), 14-4, 4:05 3rd: Wyatt Henson (Missouri) tech. Kyle Burwick (North Dakota), 17-6 5:50 5th: Cameron Johnson (Illinois) tech. Jayden Gomez (California), 14-3 3:56 7th: Carter Young (Oklahoma) tech. Camden Russell (Nebraska), 10-0 0:59 132: 1st: Dominick Serrano (Colorado) tech. Michael Burnett (Ohio), 10-0, 2:58 3rd: Cael Happel (Iowa) tech. Nathaniel Pulliam (Missouri), 11-1 2:01 5th: Mosha Schwartz (Colorado) dec. Domenic Zaccone (Illinois), 11-5 7th: Trey Crawford (Missouri) tech. Drew Roberts (Washington), 12-1 3:20 138: 1st: Joshua Saunders (Missouri) dec. Ridge Lovett (Idaho), 5-3 3rd: Lachlan Mcneil (Pennsylvania) dec. Samuel Hillegas (Pennsylvania), 10-3 5th: Caleb Henson (Georgia) no contest Caden Mccrary (Georgia) 7th: Marcos Polanco (California) pinned Luke Sloan (Texas), 1:37 145: 1st: Anthony Echemendia (Arizona) dec. Victor Voinovich (Ohio) 10-4 3rd: Manzona Bryant (Ohio) pinned Chance Mclane (Montana), 12-3 5:10 5th: Joseph Zargo (New Jersey) tech. Maxx Mayfield (Nebraska), 12-1 1:33 7th: Joshua Ogunsanya (Illinois) tech. Gabe Miller (Pennsylvania), 19-9 5:40 152: 1st: Jace Luchau (California) dec. John Martin Best (West Virginia) 8-2 3rd: Keegan O'toole (Wisconsin) tech. Chase Saldate (California), 14-3 5:51 5th: Daniel Manibog (Texas) tech. Legend Lamer (Oregon), 11-0 1:57 7th: Derek Gilcher (Michigan) tech. Cael Carlson (Minnesota), 17-6 6:00 160: 1st: Paddy Gallagher (Ohio) tech. Cade Devos (Iowa) 12-2, 2:20 3rd: Baylor Fernandes (Illinois) tech. Colby Njos (Minnesota), 14-2 5:22 5th: Dajun Johnson (Wisconsin) tech. David Rubio (Oregon), 11-0 2:36 7th: Luke Surber (Oklahoma) tech. Bilal Bailey (Illinois), 10-0 1:47 170: 1st: Patrick Kennedy (Minnesota) tech. Gerrit Nijenhuis (Pennsylvania) 10-0. 2:20 3rd: Nevan Snodgrass (Ohio) tech. Gavin Kane (Georgia), 10-0 4:44 5th: Alex Cramer (Illinois) dec. Lance Runyon (Iowa), 11-4 7th: Connor Oneill (New Jersey) forfeit Trent Munoz (California) 182: 1st: Abe Assad (Illinois) dec. Dustin Plott (Oklahoma) 8-2 3rd: Parker Keckeisen (Wisconsin) dec. Rocky Elam (Missouri), 6-2 5th: Luke Stout (Pennsylvania) dec. Zach Glazier (Minnesota), 13-9 7th: Christopher Foca (New Jersey) tech. John Poznanski (New Jersey), 12-2 1:55 195: 1st: Jonovan Smith (California) dec. Cole Urbas (Pennsylvania) 11-5 3rd: Ethan Hatcher (Ohio) tech. Isaac Trumble (Nebraska), 10-0 0:38 5th: Vincent Baker (Georgia) tech. Matthew Cover (Ohio), 11-0 3:55 7th: Samuel Mitchell (Wisconsin) pinned Michael Baker (Ohio), 1:04 220: 1st: Braxton Amos (West Virginia) tech. Dorian Crosby (Pennsylvania) 10-0, 2:23 3rd: Cade Lautt (Kansas) tech. Konner Doucet (Oklahoma), 10-0 1:12 5th: Gabe Christenson (Iowa) pinned Daniel Striggow (Minnesota), 5:59 7th: Cody Fisher (Iowa) dec. Cabe Dickerson (Oklahoma), 5-4 285: 1st: Luke Luffman (Illinois) dec. Aydin Guttridge (Illinois) 4-1 3rd: Nash Hutmacher (South Dakota) dec. Spencer Trenary (Iowa), 13-4 5th: Joshua Heindselman (Oklahoma) inj. dft Roberto Pena (Illinois) 7th: Braxton Mikesell (Washington) tech. John Wiese (Oklahoma), 10-0 1:08 Outstanding Wrestler: Jace Luchau (California) Most Falls: Alex Coleman (Ohio) Team Standings (Top Five) 1. Illinois 51 2. Ohio 42 3. Iowa 40 4. Missouri 37 5. Pennsylvania 34

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Fontbonne head men's and women's wrestling coach Amond Prater announced Marcus Hoehn as his assistant coach heading into the 2019-20 season. After winning a Big 12 Conference Championship and Qualifying for the NCAA National Championships for the University of Missouri in 2009, Coach Hoehn moved into coaching at the High School level at Union County in Western Kentucky. Marcus HoehnDuring his five-year tenure, Coach Hoehn guided two KHSAA State Championship Teams, five top-3 KHSAA State Teams, Kentucky's first ever five-time State Champion, three High School National Champions, 14 Individual State Champions, and 21 Individual State Medalists. In the summer of 2014, Coach Hoehn and his wife, Katie, moved back to Missouri in order for her to complete her Master's Degree through Fontbonne. The following spring, Coach Hoehn opened a private wrestling club, Thoroughbred Wrestling Academy, in Maryland Heights. Coach Hoehn has spent the last several years developing youth and high school wrestlers for college success, through running his club, camps, and coaching on Missouri National Teams. Coach Hoehn and his wife, Katie, currently reside in St. Louis with their two-year old daughter, Jameson. Coach Hoehn received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Missouri and in 2012 earned his Master's Degree from Campbellsville University. Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the men's and women's wrestling teams.

Jordan Williams (Oklahoma) came from behind late to win the title at 120 pounds (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) FARGO, N.D. -- A year ago, Jordan Williams (Oklahoma) came from behind late to win a 16U Fargo freestyle title On Monday, Williams did it again. This time it was even more dramatic. Facing Zeke Seltzer (Indiana), a high school state runner-up, in the finals at 120 pounds, Williams trailed 5-2 in the final minute. But the nation's No. 6 sophomore scored two late takedowns -- the final one coming off a slide-by with 10 seconds remaining -- to earn a 6-5 victory and his second straight Fargo freestyle stop sign. Joining Williams as a repeat champion in the 16U freestyle competition was Hayden Copass (Illinois) at 285 pounds. Copass, a state runner-up in high school, dominated Griffin Liddle (Iowa) 11-1 in the finals. He picked up three first-period takedowns and two turns off a lace to grab a 10-1 lead at the break. Copass ended the match early in the second period off a step out. He finished the tournament with four technical superiorities and two falls. Pennsylvania claimed the 16U team title with 61 points and crowned a pair of champions, Leonard Pinto (170) and Kolby Franklin (220). Pinto, the nation's No. 23 junior, topped No. 15 sophomore Rylan Rogers (Washington) 7-1 in the finals at 170 pounds. He led 4-1 at the break after a takedown and exposure before adding a third takedown with just over a minute remaining. Franklin, a 16U Greco-Roman champion last year, secured a second Fargo stop sign by defeating fellow Pennsylvania wrestler Dustin Swanson 10-0 in the finals at 220 pounds. Minnesota finished second in the team standings, 10 points behind Oklahoma, and had a pair of champions, Jore Volk (100) and Bennett Berge (182). Jore Volk defeated Caden Horwath (Michigan) in the finals at 100 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Volk, a runner-up in the 16U freestyle competition last summer, used a trap-arm gut wrench to break open a close match in the second period on his way to a 12-5 victory in the finals against Caden Horwath (Michigan). Volk led 4-0 at the break, but Horwath battled back late to take a 5-5 criteria lead in the second period before Volk earned a reversal and then used a trap-arm gut wrench to score three turns and win by seven. Bennett Berge earned his title with a 10-0 victory in the finals (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Berge, a two-time high school state champion and the nation's No. 19 sophomore, cruised to a 10-0 technical superiority in the finals against Michael Tal-Shahar (Florida). He led 4-0 at the break after a takedown and gut wrench. Berge eventually put the match away in the second period with a lace. Oklahoma crowned the most individual champions with three. In addition to Williams (120), Oklahoma wrestlers Cael Hughes (94) and John Wiley (138) won stop signs. Hughes, who will be a freshman at Stillwater High School, came through to win the title at 94 pounds in dominant fashion, beating Dillon Campbell (Ohio) 12-2 in the finals. Hughes scored eight of his 12 points off a lace. He picked up a takedown in the first period and then used a lace to go up 8-0. After giving up a takedown with a minute remaining in the match, Hughes came back with a takedown of his own before locking up a lace to finish out the technical superiority. Wiley, a high school state champion and the nation's No. 29 sophomore, earned his title by beating No. 50 sophomore Nicholas Vafiadis (Virginia) 10-4 in the finals at 138 pounds. Eight of Wiley's 10 points came in the opening period, which included a four-point throw. Michigan crowned a pair of champions in Braeden Davis (88) and Stoney Buell (152). Davis, a Central Regional freestyle champion, claimed the title at 88 pounds with a 10-0 technical superiority over Alan Koehler (Minnesota). Davis scored a late first-period takedown and led 2-0 at the break. He came out strong in the second period, getting an early takedown before locking up a trap-arm gut wrench for three consecutive turns to end the match. Buell won his title at 152 pounds by beating another Michigan wrestler in the finals, Manuel Rojas, 5-0. Buell scored the only point in the opening period off the activity clock, then two takedowns in the second period gave him a five-point lead. But Rojas mounted a late rally, picking up two late takedowns, with the final one coming in the last second. Wilfried Tanefeu (North Dakota) turned in a dominating finals performance at 113 pounds, winning by 10-0 technical superiority over Gabe Whisenhunt (Oregon) in the first period. He scored a takedown to go up 2-0 and then built his lead to 6-0 off a four-point counter. Tanefeu then finished it off with a takedown and gut wrench. Two of the nation's top five sophomores won stop signs on Monday, No. 2 Nic Bouzakis (Florida) at 126 pounds and No. 4 Seth Shumate (Ohio) at 195 pounds. Bouzakis, a three-time high school state champion, won his crown at 126 pounds with a last-second fall over Ramon Ramos (Arizona). The match was competitive throughout. Bouzakis led 10-9 late in the match before Ramos attempted a desperation arm spin and Bouzakis planted him for the fall. Shumate, a high school state champion and NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion, was untested in the finals at 195 pounds as he cruised to an 11-0 technical superiority over Evan Bates (Indiana). At 106 pounds, Evan Tallmadge (New Jersey) used a strong start to pace him to a 10-8 victory in the finals against Mitchell Neiner (Washington). Tallmadge used a four-point move early to go up 4-0. He then transitioned to a lace to pick up two turns and race out to an 8-0 lead. Neiner came back with an exposure from a front head and then a takedown to make the score 8-4 at the break. Tallmadge extended his lead to 10-4 in the second period. Neiner made it interesting late, picking up a takedown and gut wrench to get within two points, but Tallmadge hung on for the win. T.J. Stewart, the nation's No. 43 sophomore, claimed Maryland's 12th all-time 16U title in freestyle with a 5-0 shutout over Mac Stout (Pennsylvania) in the finals at 160 pounds. Stewart used a takedown and gut wrench to go up 4-0 at the break. He added a point off a caution early in the second period. Daniel Cardenas (Colorado), the nation's No. 7 sophomore, won a stop sign at 132 pounds after finishing as a runner-up last summer at 113 pounds. He defeated Antrell Taylor (Nebraska) 10-8 in the finals at 132 pounds. Cardenas found himself in a 5-0 hole early in the match, but used a trap-arm gut wrench to score eight of his 10 points in a come-from-behind victory. Two-time high school state champion Dean Hamiti Jr. (Illinois) won the title at 145 pounds with a first-period fall in the finals over Matthew Singleton (Georgia). Hamiti held 2-2 criteria lead before throwing Singleton to his back with 40 seconds remaining in the first period to secure the fall. Placewinners 88: 1st: Braeden Davis (Michigan) tech. Alan Koehler (Minnesota), 10-0 2:23 3rd: Kolby Warren (Missouri) dec. Grigor Cholakyan (California), 4-0 5th: Caleb Thoennes (Minnesota) tech. Hunter Taylor (Kansas), 10-0 0:37 7th: Kyison Garcia (Utah) tech. Benjamin Bast (Wisconsin), 10-0 0:43 94: 1st: Cael Hughes (Oklahoma) tech. Dillon Campbell (Ohio), 12-2 3:43 3rd: Tristan Stafford (Arkansas) dec. Codie Cuerbo (Ohio), 10-8 5th: Jaden Pepe (Pennsylvania) tech. Paul Kelly (Arizona), 12-2 2:53 7th: Coleman Nogle (Maryland) tech. Christopher Martino (Idaho), 14-3 3:16 100: 1st: Jore Volk (Minnesota) dec. Caden Horwath (Michigan), 12-5 3rd: Kannon Webster (Illinois) dec. Kai Owen (Florida), 10-1 5th: Beau Mantanona (California) dec. Christian Forbes (Oklahoma), 3-1 7th: Darrell Rochester (Georgia) dec. Koy Buesgens (Minnesota), 5-2 106: 1st: Evan Tallmadge (New Jersey) dec. Mitchell Neiner (Washington), 10-8 3rd: Carter Mccallister (Missouri) tech. Sean Seefeldt (Ohio), 10-0 1:17 5th: Charlie Farmer (Illinois) dec. Joseph Fernau (Illinois), 5-4 7th: Greyson Clark (Wisconsin) tech. Trever Anderson (Iowa), 10-0 2:27 113: 1st: Wilfried Tanefeu (North Dakota) tech. Gabe Whisenhunt (Oregon), 10-0 1:29 3rd: Nash Singleton (Oregon) tech. Levi Haines (Pennsylvania), 10-0 2:00 5th: Brady Hankin (Colorado) pinned Brock Bobzien (California), 1:30 7th: Damian Mendez (Kansas) dec Trae Mcdaniel (Tennessee), 7-4 120: 1st: Jordan Williams (Oklahoma) dec Zeke Seltzer (Indiana), 6-5 3rd: Brennan Van hoecke (Florida) tech. Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin), 10-0 0:33 5th: Rocco Welsh (Pennsylvania) tech. Garrett Grice (Nebraska), 12-2 3:20 7th: Jacob Mann (Missouri) by injury default over Zachary Espalin (Arizona) 126: 1st: Nic Bouzakis (Florida) pinned Ramon Ramos (Arizona), 4:00 3rd: Kyren Butler (Ohio) dec. Ismael Ayoub (Ohio), 8-4 5th: Derrick Cardinal (Minnesota) tech. Ethan Stiles (Illinois), 10-0 2:53 7th: Alejandro Herrera-rondon (Pennsylvania) dec. Eli Rocha (Missouri), 10-5 132: 1st: Daniel Cardenas (Colorado) tech. Antrell Taylor (Nebraska), 10-8 3rd: Matthew Bianchi (Wisconsin) dec. Michael Kilic (Georgia), 7-2 5th: Mitchell Mesenbrink (Wisconsin) dec. Jack Crook (Florida), 6-2 7th: Jack Milos (Illinois) dec. Kage Lenger (Missouri), 9-5 138: 1st: John Wiley (Oklahoma) dec. Nicholas Vafiadis (Virginia), 10-4 3rd: Cody Chittum (Tennessee) pinned Joshua Barr (Michigan), 1:46 5th: Nick Hamilton (Iowa) dec. Thor Michaelson (Washington), 2-1 7th: Preston Owens (Idaho) dec. Cole Becker (Minnesota), 7-0 145: 1st: Dean Hamiti jr (Illinois) pinned Matthew Singleton (Georgia), 1:25 3rd: Paniro Johnson (Pennsylvania) tech. Cael Berg (Minnesota), 13-0 3:19 5th: Gavin Brown (Ohio) tech. Cj Hamblin (Washington), 11-2 7th: Erik Gibson (Pennsylvania) dec. Travis Ragland (Virginia), 10-6 152: 1st: Stoney Buell (Michigan) dec. Manuel Rojas (Michigan), 5-4 3rd: Robert Weston (Georgia) dec. Tyler Lillard (Ohio), 9-5 5th: Kamdyn Munro (Georgia) by injury default over Hunter Lyden (Minnesota) 7th: Jared Simma (Kansas) pinned Brayden Thompson (Illinois), 0:39 160: 1st: Thomas Stewart (Maryland) dec. Mac Stout (Pennsylvania), 5-0 3rd: Clayton Whiting (Wisconsin) dec. Bradley Gillum (Illinois), 2-2 5th: Cayleb Atkins (Kansas) dec. Drake Buchanan (Indiana), 7-6 7th: Nicholas Hall (Delaware) tech. Dawson Mathews (Georgia), 19-9 4:00 170: 1st: Leonard Pinto (Pennsylvania) dec. Rylan Rogers (Washington), 7-1 3rd: Tate Picklo (Oklahoma) dec. Branson Britten (Texas), 9-4 5th: Gavin Nelson (Minnesota) dec. Evan Canoyer (Nebraska), 3-2 7th: Brian Soldano (New Jersey) tech. Damion Schunke (South Dakota), 10-0 0:36 182: 1st: Bennett Berge (Minnesota) tech. Michael Tal-shahar (Florida), 10-0 3:00 3rd: Nicholas Feldman (Pennsylvania) tech. Michael Altomer (New York), 6-0 1:46 5th: Harley Andrews (Oklahoma) tech. Isaiah Huus (North Dakota), 11-0 1:19 7th: Jack Darrah (Missouri) dec. Talmage Carman (Utah), 8-2 195: 1st: Seth Shumate (Ohio) tech. Evan Bates (Indiana), 11-0 2:49 3rd: Noah Pettigrew (Georgia) dec. David Harper (Georgia), 6-0 5th: Bennett Tabor (Minnesota) dec. Wyatt Voelker (Iowa), 4-2 7th: Kaden Glass (Oklahoma) dec. Ashton Davis (Tennessee), 7-4 220: 1st: Kolby Franklin (Pennsylvania) tech. Dustin Swanson (Pennsylvania), 10-0 1:50 3rd: Chase Horne (Georgia) tech. Lucas Walker (Iowa), 10-0 2:12 5th: Riley Ucker (Ohio) tech. Jaren Rohde (Wisconsin), 17-6 4:00 7th: Nathan Taylor (Pennsylvania) by injury default over Gage Cook (Washington) 285: 1st: Hayden Copass (Illinois) tech. Griffin Liddle (Iowa), 11-1 2:05 3rd: James Howard (Tennessee) dec. Ethan Kremer (Kansas), 7-2 5th: Jacob Barnes (Oregon) dec. Jacob Moore (Arizona), 2-1 7th: Gavin Layton (Minnesota) tech. Ryan Elrod (Ohio), 10-0 1:16 Outstanding Wrestler: Nic Bouzakis of Florida, 126 lbs. Team Standings (Top Five) 1. Pennsylvania 61 2. Minnesota 51 3. Ohio 50 4. Georgia 42 5. Illinois 40

Kennedy Blades gets in on a double leg in the finals at 164 pounds (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) FARGO, N.D. -- Four wrestlers repeated as Fargo champions in the women's 16U division on Sunday afternoon. Sterling Dias of Utah (94), Sage Mortimer of Utah (100), Kennedy Blades of Illinois (164) and Olivia Brown of Oklahoma (200) captured their second straight Fargo 16U titles. They were among the 14 champions crowned in the 16U women's wrestling competition, which included a tournament-record 360 competitors, on Day 2 in Fargo. Dias, a 2018 Cadet world bronze medalist, blanked Isabella Morales (Washington) 8-0 in the finals at 94 pounds. She led 6-0 at the break after a takedown and two exposures from a high gut. She added another takedown in the final period. Mortimer, a 2019 UWW Cadet Nationals champion, rolled to a 13-3 technical superiority in the finals at 106 pounds against Shea Reisel (Illinois). After going up 7-3 at the break, Mortimer put the match away in the second period, scoring with a four-point throw and then takedown with just over a minute remaining in the match. Blades, a Cadet World Team member, capped off a dominant tournament with a 29-second fall over Dasia Yearby (South Carolina) in the finals at 164 pounds. She scored two takedowns in the first 15 seconds before locking up a cradle and securing the fall. Blades was unscored upon throughout the competition, picking up three shutout technical superiorities before her fall in the finals. She was named Outstanding Wrestler of the event. Her younger sister Korina Blades claimed the title at 127 pounds, edging Haley Ward (Missouri) 2-2 on criteria in the finals. Brown won by fall over Raina Herzog (Oregon) to earn the title at 200 pounds. She took an 8-0 lead into the break after picking up two four-point, feet-to-back takedowns. With just over a minute remaining, Brown shot a double leg and drove Herzog to her back for the fall. California's champs Jennifer Soto and Hannah Ricioli, along with the coaches, hold the trophy (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) California ran away with the team title in the 16U women's wrestling competition, finishing with 91 points. Winning titles for California were Jennifer Soto (117) and Hannah Ricioli (152). Illinois placed second in the team standings, 44 points behind California. Missouri, Washington and Oregon rounded out the top five. Placewinners 94: 1st: Sterling Dias (Nevada) dec. Isabella Morales (Washington), 8-0 3rd: Heaven Fitch (North Carolina) dec. Eva Diaz (Florida), 12-4 5th: Alexandra Szkotnicki (Maryland) pinned Avery Kibelbek (Tennessee), 1:38 7th: Makayla Young (Ohio) dec. Madison Avila (California), 12-5 100: 1st: Sage Mortimer (Utah) tech. Shea Reisel (Illinois), 13-3, 2:56 3rd: Karina Vang (California) dec. Ella Schmit (Iowa), 8-5 5th: Riley Banyas (Ohio) dec. Logan Farnsworth (Rhode Island), 6-5 7th: Janessa George (Colorado) pinned Marisol Rodriguez (California), 2:25 106: 1st: Faith Cole (Missouri) dec. Alexis Janiak (Illinois), 8-2 3rd: Julianne Moccia (Maryland) pinned Greta Gustafson (California), 2:33 5th: Genesis Cejudo (Arizona) pinned Ava Bayless (Pennsylvania), 4:00 7th: Abbygale Duke (Pennsylvania) dec. Chloe Ayres (New Jersey), 7-0 112: 1st: Amani Jones (Georgia) pinned Arieana Arias (California), 1:10 3rd: Salyna Shotwell (Washington) pinned Lexy Beadles (California), 3:10 5th: Lily Grismer (Montana) pinned Torieonna Buchanan (Indiana), 2:58 7th: Elizabeth Duvall (Texas) dec. Hannah Hall (Florida), 11-5 117: 1st: Jennifer Soto (California) dec. Katie Gomez (California), 2-0 3rd: Adriana Dorado-Marin (Colorado) pinned Claire Dicugno (Washington), 3:09 5th: Ally Fitzgerald (New York) pinned Kaila Del toro (Illinois), 0:44 7th: Anya Knappenberger (Maryland) tech. Jenna Beddow (Washington), 10-0, 3:07 122: 1st: Sofia Macaluso (New York) tech. Kelly Escamilla (California), 10-0, 1:04 3rd: Emily Paulino (Hawaii) dec. Savannah Cosme (Colorado), 6-5 5th: Jaclyn Dehney (New Hampshire) pinned Cayden Condit (Colorado), 1:15 7th: Charlotte Kouyoumtjian (California) dec. Nadine Quijada (California), 6-0 127: 1st: Korina Blades (Illinois) dec. Haley Ward (Missouri), 2-2 3rd: London Houston (Washington) dec. Sofia Brynman-Metcalf (Wisconsin), 6-2 5th: Isabella Amaro (Oregon) dec. Devin Patton (Texas), 5-2 7th: Sarah Savidge (Colorado) tech. Piper Staniford (Oregon), 10-0, 0:49 132: 1st: Nonnie Justice (Missouri) dec. Maddie Kubicki (Missouri), 4-4 3rd: Lily Sherer (Pennsylvania) dec. Elleni Johnson (Utah), 12-9 5th: Athena Willden (California) pinned Anna Krause (New Hampshire), 0:54 7th: Piper Cadden (Arizona) dec. Alicia Pieper (Michigan), 5-2 138: 1st: Reese Larramendy (Nevada) dec. Sara Sulejmani (Illinois), 10-5 3rd: Esther Han (Missouri) dec. Abby Mcintyre (Iowa), 12-8 5th: Annie n. Hua (California) pinned Marissa Jimenez (Idaho), 1:02 7th: Veronica Whitacre (New Jersey) dec. Mariah Wahl (Montana), 2-0 144: 1st: Destiny Rodriguez (Oregon) pinned Kayley Rada (Michigan), 0:50 3rd: Ella Nichols (Connecticut) dec. Sydney Manos (Illinois), 8-0 5th: Ayala Wolak (Ohio) pinned Alexandria Hernandez (Washington), 0:43 7th: Rose Cassioppi (Illinois) pinned Samantha Archer (Missouri), 1:18 152: 1st: Hannah Ricioli (California) dec. Dakota-Marie Dinielli (Connecticut), 8-7 3rd: Mariyah Casados (California) dec. Annabel Garcia (California), 10-2 5th: Jillian Wold (Texas) inj. dft. Abigail Bolling (Missouri) 7th: Shannon Workinger (Washington) tech. Amanda Pace New Jersey (New Jersey), 12-1 1:32 164: 1st: Kennedy Blades (Illinois) pinned Dasia Yearby (South Carolina), 0:29 3rd: Alivia White (Washington) pinned Alyssa Arana (California), 3:50 5th: Alycia Pidgeon (Washington) pinned Kiersten O'neill (Indiana), 3:09 7th: Leilani Hernandez (Texas) dec.Mckenzie Samuels (New York), 6-0 180: 1st: Brianna Staebler (Wisconsin) dec. Brittyn Corbishley (Texas), 3-2 3rd: Sam Calkins (California) pinned Fiona Mcconnell (Oregon), 1:21 5th: Kailyn Garrett (Michigan) pinned Riley Dempewolf (Indiana), 2:50 7th: Cheyenne Meade (Ohio) pinned Brooke Leedahl (North Dakota), 1:12 200: 1st: Olivia Brown (Oklahoma) pinned Raina Herzog (Oregon), 3:45 3rd: Millie Peach (Iowa) pinned Sujeydy Matos (New York), 1:27 5th: Debranna Bealer (Alaska) dec. Cassidy Curtiss (California), 2-2 7th: Brooke Bennett (Missouri) pinned Andrea Smith (Florida), 0:51 Outstanding Wrestler: Kennedy Blades (Illinois), 164 Most Falls: Greta Gustafson (California), 5 falls in 5:27 at 106 Team Standings (Top Five) 1. California 91 2. Illinois 47 3. Missouri 42 4. Washington 40 5. Oregon 25

Kyle Snyder defeated Ali Shabanibengar of Iran to win the gold medal at 97 kilograms (Photo/Gabor Martin, United World Wrestling) ISTANBUL, Turkey -- The United States closed out a strong performance at the Yasar Dogu by winning three gold medals in freestyle on the final day of competition. World champions Jordan Burroughs (74 kilograms), J'den Cox (92 kilograms) and Kyle Snyder (97 kilograms) claimed titles on Sunday. Burroughs, a 2012 Olympic champion and four-time world champion, received a forfeit in the finals against Italy's Frank Chamizo, a two-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist. Burroughs previously won a Yasar Dogu gold medal in 2016. A year ago, Burroughs fell to Chamizo in the Yasar Dogu finals before coming back to beat him in the bronze-medal match at the World Championships. Cox, a returning world champion, closed out a dominant performance at the Yasar Dogu by claiming a 10-0 technical superiority over Bendeguez Toth of Hungary in the gold-medal match at 92 kilograms. The 24-year-old Olympic medalist picked up four technical superiorities in four matches and did not surrender a point, outscoring his opposition 43-0. In the gold-medal match, Cox secured two takedowns in the first period and led 4-0 at the break. He added two more takedowns in the second period before finishing the match with a gut wrench. After winning bronze medal in the event last year, Snyder, an Olympic champion and two-time world champion, earned a gold medal by topping Ali Shabanibengar 2-1 in the finals at 97 kilograms. Just after the opening whistle, Snyder fired off a single-leg attack and scored a takedown 10 seconds into the match. Shabanibengar would find his first point -- a step out -- with just over two minutes remaining in the match, but was unable to score again and Snyder took the one-point victory. Pat Downey fell short in the bronze-medal match at 86 kilograms, losing 7-6 to Osman Gocen of Turkey. Downey led 6-2 in the second period before Gocen rallied late to pull out the victory. The United States finished the Yasar Dogu with six gold medals overall. Forrest Molinari won gold in women's wrestling on Friday at 65 kilograms. On Saturday, Yianni Diakomihalis (65 kilograms) and Alex Dieringer (79 kilograms) captured gold medals.

Ed Ruth scored a TKO victory at Bellator 224 (Photo/Bellator) It was a mixed night for former Big Ten wrestlers at Bellator 224 at WinStar Casino in Thackerville, Okla. Friday night, as Penn State mat champ Ed Ruth scored a second-round TKO ... while one-time University of Minnesota wrestler Joel Bauman was submitted in the first round. "Ed Ruth had to take a little punishment along the way, but bounced back from his first career loss with a TKO win," reported MMAjunkie.com. Here's how Sherdog.com described the former Nittany Lion's bout: "Ed Ruth righted the ship after his first professional loss, busting up Kiichi Kunimoto with heavy ground-and-pound in the second round of their welterweight (170-pound) feature. Three-time NCAA wrestling champ Ruth was the dominant man throughout, but the beginning of the end came with a knee strike that dazed the Japanese veteran. Ruth followed him down and blasted him with punches until referee Todd Anderson pulled him off at 3:49." Ruth bounced back from having suffered his first loss in his pro MMA career back in December at the quarterfinals of the welterweight grand prix at Bellator 213, having been submitted by Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Neiman Gracie. With this latest win, Ruth is now 7-1 in a career he launched in November 2016 ... while the 38-year-old Kunimoto, whose MMA career goes back more than a dozen years, drops to 20-8-2, with 1 NC. Bauman, a two-time Minnesota high school state champ who had been a member of the Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling team until being ruled ineligible by the NCAA for profiting from songs he had written and produced and put up online in 2013, came out on the losing end of his middleweight (185-pound) preliminary bout at Bellator 224. Jordan Young defeated Bauman via submission -- a triangle choke -- at 3:20 of the first round. In a post-fight video analysis posted on Facebook, Bauman said, "I still believe I could win that fight ... I was controlling the pace of the fight but then I made one mistake." "No injuries. I'm ready to go again." "I believe only good will come from this." It was the first loss of Bauman's 3-1 pro career which is less than a year old ... while Young enhances his flawless five-year MMA career to a 11-0 record.

Alex Dieringer won a gold medal at 79 kilograms and outscored his opponents 18-1 (Photo/Gabor Martin, United World Wrestling) ISTANBUL, Turkey -- The United States claimed a pair of gold medals on Saturday at the Yasar Dogu as Yianni Diakomihalis (65 kilograms) and Alex Dieringer (79 kilograms) won in the finals. Nick Gwiazdowski (125 kilograms) finished with a silver. Diakomihalis, a day after winning in dramatic fashion in the semifinals, won in anticlimactic fashion, receiving a medal forfeit in the gold-medal match at 65 kilograms. Dieringer capped off an impressive run to gold with a 4-1 victory in the 79-kilogram finals over Akhsarbek Gulaev of Slovakia. Dieringer scored a takedown midway through the first period and added a step to go up 3-0 at the break. In the second period, Dieringer scored off the activity clock to go up 4-0. With just under 30 seconds remaining, Gulaev drove Dieringer out of bounds for a step out, which was the first point Dieringer gave up throughout the competition. He outscored his opponents 18-1. He will face returning world champion Kyle Dake on Aug. 17 in Austin, Texas, for a spot on the U.S. World Team. Gwiazdowski fell 5-1 in the gold-medal match to Turkey's Taha Akgul, a 2016 Olympic champion and two-time world champion. All the scoring occurred in the first period as Akgul scored with a step out and two takedowns, while Gwiazdowski scored a point off a reversal. The Yasar Dogu wraps up on Sunday. World champions Jordan Burroughs, J'den Cox and Kyle Snyder will wrestle for gold medals. Pat Downey will wrestle for bronze.

World champion J'den Cox was unscored upon en route to reaching the finals at 92 kilograms (Photo/Gabor Martin, United World Wrestling) ISTANBUL, Turkey -- On Saturday, A trio of world champions for the United States advanced to the finals of the Yasar Dogu in Istanbul, Turkey. Jordan Burroughs (74 kilograms), J'den Cox (92 kilograms) and Kyle Snyder (97 kilograms) claimed victories in the semifinals and now stand one win away from gold medals at the Yasar Dogu. Burroughs was dominant in the semifinals, picking up a 12-2 technical superiority over two-time world medalist Yakup Gor of Turkey. Burroughs registered two takedowns in the first period and led 5-0 at the break. He continued to pile on the points in the second period to close out the victory. Earlier in the day, Burroughs was pushed in his quarterfinal match against U23 world champion Taimuraz Salkazanov of Slovakia, but prevailed 6-4. Salkazanov was close to score the go-ahead takedown late, but Burroughs hung on to win. He opened his tournament with a 10-0 technical superiority over Csaba Vida of Hungary. Burroughs, a Yasar Dogu gold medalist in 2016, will now face two-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Frank Chamizo of Italy in the gold-medal match. It will mark the fifth meeting between the two, with Burroughs winning the last meeting in the bronze-medal match at the 2018 World Championships. Cox, a returning world champion, was unscored upon in three matches en route to reaching the finals at 92 kilograms. In the semifinals, Cox faced U23 world champion Shamil Zubairov of Azerbaijan. He used three takedowns and a gut wrench to race out to an 8-0 lead at the break before closing out the match in the second period after scoring off a caution and takedown. He had 11-0 technical superiority wins in the quarterfinals and opening round matches. Cox will meet Bendeguez Toth of Hungary in the finals. Toth won silver medals in both styles at the 2018 World University Championships. Snyder, a 2016 Olympic champion and two-time world champion, reached the finals at 97 kilograms by claiming a 10-0 technical superiority over two-time world bronze medalist Pavlo Oliinyk of Hungary, formerly of Ukraine. Snyder scored with three step outs in the first period and led 3-0 at the break. He continued to roll in the second period, scoring again with a step out before three consecutive takedowns to end the match in the final 20 seconds. In his first match, Snyder rolled to a 13-2 technical superiority over Ivan Yarygin bronze medalist Bakin Sahin of Turkey, scoring with a five-point feet-to-back suplex. He will battle 2018 U23 bronze medalist Ali Khalil Shabanibengar of Iran in Sunday's finals. World Team member Pat Downey also competed for USA on Saturday at 86 kilograms. He dropped his first match to Junior world silver medalist Deepak Punia of India 11-5. With Punia reaching the finals, Downey will have a chance to wrestle for a bronze medal. Sunday's medal matches will take place at 5:30 a.m. ET.

Tyler Warner celebrates after winning the NCAA Division II title at 133 pounds (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Two 2019 NCAA Division II champion wrestlers have transferred from Wheeling Jesuit University to University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, the Pennsylvania-based school announced Friday. Tyler Warner and Connor Craig, both juniors, have left the Cardinals to wrestle for the UPJ Mountain Lions. Both will be eligible to wrestle at Pitt-Johnstown this fall. Warner won the 133-pound title at the 2019 NCAA D2 Championships in Cleveland. The redshirt junior posted a 25-1 overall record this past season, and tallied a 53-10 record in two years as a starter at Wheeling Jesuit. A native of Dennison, Ohio, Warner attended Claymont High School south of Canton, where he was a three-time Ohio state champ. Connor Craig gets his hand raised after winning the NCAA Division II title at 174 pounds (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Connor Craig claimed the 174-pound crown at the D2 championships earlier this year. Craig, also a junior, just completed a 28-1 record in 2018-19, and went 54-9 in his two-year career at WJU. Prior to enrolling at the West Virginia school, Craig graduated from Elder High School in Cincinnati, where he placed fourth at the Ohio state wrestling championships, and was an honor roll student. Warner and Craig join a Pitt-Johnstown lineup that already features Chris Eddins, a two-time national champion, at 149 pounds. "I don't think we've ever had three national champs returning," long-time UPJ head wrestling coach Pat Pecora told Eric Knopsnyder of the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat. "That's a good way to start the season off! I just want to sit back and take it all in. It's like it's too good to be true -- you don't want to think about it." Why did two national champs leave a top-rated program? After all, Wheeling Jesuit had earned second place in the team standings at the 2019 NCAA D2 championships ... while Pitt-Johnstown placed fifth. However, the Wheeling-based university revealed it had hit upon financial difficulties, with the wrestling program a likely casualty. (In reporting on Tyler Warner's transfer this week, the New Philadelphia Times Reporter described the status of the WJU wrestling program as being "in limbo" for the 2019-20 season.) With the cloud of uncertainty over the future of the Wheeling Jesuit mat program, in April its head coach, Danny Irwin -- named D2 Coach of the Year for 2019 -- announced he had accepted the same position at West Liberty University (also located in Wheeling). Before making that move, Irwin had entered his WJU wrestlers into the transfer portal, freeing them up to wrestle for other schools next season, according to the Tribune-Democrat.

The 2019 edition of Fargo -- now officially titled the U.S. Marine Corps Junior and 16U Nationals -- begins this Saturday and concludes next Friday. For a second straight year, the event no longer goes into that following Saturday. In addition, it marks the third consecutive year in which the male wrestlers will contest freestyle before Greco-Roman. A complete schedule can be found here. With the new format, the business part of the week for many of the male athletes is done by late afternoon on Tuesday at the conclusion of Junior freestyle. The freestyle events tend to be much more scrutinized and followed from a folkstyle perspective, as the overall fields have more numbers and talent -- along with the fact that freestyle is much more translatable to folkstyle success (high school and college) than Greco-Roman. Below are seven things to watch in Fargo. 1. The influence of the Cadet and Junior World Championships dates The Cadet World Championships will be held in under three weeks, from July 29-Aug. 4 in Sofia, Bulgaria, while the Junior World event is slated for two weeks thereafter, Aug. 12-18 in Tallinn, Estonia. With the events so close, it would be a stunner to see any Cadet World Team members wrestle in Fargo. For the Juniors it would be less of a surprise, but still unexpected. The dent in depth will be more felt in the Junior division of Fargo then the 16U division. 13 of the 19 athletes that qualified for the Cadet World Championships would have to be competing at the Junior level in Fargo, since they turn 17 during calendar year 2019. Further, that number is eight of the ten that qualified in freestyle: Stevo Poulin (Shenendehowa, N.Y.) -- No. 12 Class of 2021 Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) -- No. 2 Class of 2021 Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) -- No. 11 Class of 2020 Ryan Sokol (Simley, Minn.) -- No. 10 Class of 2021 Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) -- No. 1 Class of 2021 Clayton Ulrey (Lower Dauphin, Pa.) -- No. 60 Class of 2020 Kyle Haas (Maize, Kansas) -- No. 6 Class of 2021 -- qualified in both freestyle and Greco-Roman Hunter Catka (Sun Valley, Pa.) -- No. 29 Class of 2020 It is six of ten, led by Haas, from the Greco-Roman team that are only age-eligible for the Junior division in Fargo: Jett Strickenberger (Discovery Canyon, Colo.) -- double Fargo All-American at the Cadet level in 2017, sixth in Greco and champion in freestyle Connor Knopick (Millard South, Neb.) -- twice top three in Fargo in Greco as a Cadet, third last year and second the year before Parker Decker (Keller, Texas) -- two-time Fargo finalist in Greco, Cadet champ last year and Junior champ in 2017 Daniel Segura (Dublin Scioto, Ohio) -- All-American last year in Fargo as a Cadet in Greco Braxton Mikesell (Central Valley, Wash.) -- double Fargo All-American at the Cadet level last year, Greco champ and third in freestyle, both at 220 The remaining six athletes are age-eligible for the 16U division: Marc-Anthony McGowan (Florida/Blair Academy, N.J.) -- freestyle -- No. 2 Class of 2023 Jesse Mendez (Crown Point, Ind.) -- freestyle -- No. 3 Class of 2022 Mason Gehloff (Waseca, Minn.) -- Greco-Roman -- Cadet Triple Crown winner last year Cory Land (Moody, Ala.) -- Greco-Roman -- No. 27 Class of 2022 Robert Paul Perez (St. John Bosco, Calif.) -- Greco-Roman -- No. 1 Class of 2023 Tate Picklo (Mustang, Okla.) -- Greco-Roman -- No. 18 Class of 2021 There are a select few athletes that qualified for Junior World teams that would be eligible to participate in Fargo this coming week: Gabriel Tagg (Brecksville, Ohio/USOTC) -- freestyle -- No. 42 Class of 2019 Dylan Ragusin (Montini Catholic, Ill.) -- Greco-Roman -- No. 25 Class of 2020 Jack Ervien (White River, Wash.) -- Greco-Roman -- Junior All-American in Greco last year in Fargo Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) -- Greco-Roman -- No. 2 Class of 2019 As one can see, the world level competitions are taking away potential high-end contenders from Fargo weight classes. 2. The lack of graduated seniors in the field An increasing trend in recent Fargo weeks has been the profound lack of notable graduated seniors competing in the Junior tournaments. Much of this is due to colleges bringing in their incoming freshmen early to campus so they can acclimate to college life (i.e. take a couple classes, etc.). When adding these athletes not in the field to the group not competing since they will be competing in World Championships over the month, the Junior division does take a hit in terms of its depth. Yes, there is still a ton of quality in the brackets, and there will be many high-end wrestlers not earning All-America honors. Breakdown of All-Americans by grade in Junior freestyle last year: Class of 2019 (rising seniors): 55, including at least one in every weight; three-plus at all but 100, 113, and 285 Class of 2018 (graduated seniors): 36, with 30 coming from weight classes 145 and up, though 100 and 138 were the only weights without an All-American. Class of 2020 (rising juniors): 21, but only four came above the 138-pound weight class Class of 2021 (rising sophomores): 8; five at 100, two at 106, one at 113 Keegan O'Toole will look to repeat as champion in the Junior freestyle competition (Photo/Jim Thrall) 3. Will there be a repeat champion in the Junior freestyle tournament? Eleven of 15 champions from the 2018 Junior National freestyle tournament are eligible to compete again this year. Six of those wrestlers are recent high school graduates: Eric Barnett (Hortonville, Wis./Wisconsin), Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J./Penn), Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio/Ohio State), Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio/Virginia Tech), Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio/Ohio State), and Luke Luffman (Urbana, Ill/Illinois). From that group, Luffman is the lone wrestler listed on the rosters released by USA Wrestling to suggest that he is expected to participate in Fargo this year. The other five are most likely already engaged in summer programs at their college of choice. The other four will again be in high school next year: Joseph Fischer (South Park, Pa.), Will Guida (St. Paul's, Md./New Jersey resident), Cullan Schriever (Mason City, Iowa), and Keegan O'Toole (Arrowhead, Wis.). O'Toole is the lone athlete from that group of four listed as competing in Fargo this year. However, it would not surprise me if Fischer and/or Guida ended up on the bracket, while Schriever is still in recovery mode after aggravating an injury that occurred at the Cheesehead during in his state semifinal bout almost five months ago. The following Junior Greco-Roman champions are age eligible to compete in this year's event: Eli Griffin (Cascia Hall, Okla.), Brenden Chaowanapibool (Bonney Lake, Wash.), Paxton Creese (Shakopee, Minn.), Chayse LaJoie (Gaylord, Mich.), Austin Almaguer (Kamaikin, Wash.), Ridge Lovett (Post Falls, Idaho), Kyle Parco (de la Salle, Calif.), Cael Carlson (Willmar, Minn.), Alex Cramer (Grayslake Central, Ill.), and Jace Punke (Washington, Ill.). Only three of those ten wrestlers -- Griffin, Creese, and LaJoie -- will be returning to high school next year; the others are graduated seniors. Ending the high school season ranked in that group were Griffin, Lovett, Parco, Carlson, Cramer, and Punke. 4. Class of 2022 "best in show" at the 16U Nationals Seven of the 17 champions from last year's Cadet Nationals in freestyle are age-eligible to seek a repeat title in the 16U Nationals this coming weekend. Considering that Gehloff and Picklo both made the Cadet World Team in Greco-Roman, that number realistically reduces to five possible repeat champs in freestyle at the Cadet level. Three of those wrestlers are top 12 ranked overall in the Class of 2022: No. 6 Jordan Williams (Collinsville, Okla.), No. 11 Nicolar Rivera (Stoughton, Wis.), and No. 12 Noah Pettigrew (Blair Academy N.J./Georgia resident). In Greco-Roman, it is five of the 18 champions that are age-eligible to compete again at the 16U Nationals (Damien and Fabian Lopez of DeKalb, Ill. both advanced to the Cadet Greco-Roman final in the same weight class last year, but did not contest the match). From that group of five, Gehloff and Perez are both on the Cadet World team this year in Greco-Roman, though Perez is listed as competing in Fargo this week. The remaining three wrestlers are all from the Class of 2022: Kenndyl Mobley (North Central, Wash.), Damien Lopez, and No. 21 Kolby Franklin (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.). The remaining age eligible to return Cadet National champions come from last year's freestyle event, Maxximus Martinez (St. John Bosco, Calif.), and Hayden Copass (Westville, Ill.); Martinez is ranked No. 15 overall in the Class of 2023. Copass is also eligible for a Cadet Triple Crown this year, as he won the folkstyle national title at 285 in early spring. 5. Moving on up! Can returning Cadet champions make significant noise at the Junior level this week? Ten of 17 Cadet National freestyle champions from last year are now only age eligible for the Junior competition. It is a very high-profile group with six of those wrestlers inside or right around the top 50 mark of the Class of 2020: No. 24 Dominick Serrano (Windsor, Colo.), No. 28 Rocky Elam (Staley, Mo.), No. 30 Jesse Ybarra (Sunnyside, Ariz.), No. 32 Luke Stout (Mt. Lebanon, Pa.), No. 37 Jakason Burks (Omaha Burke, Neb.), and No. 52 Josh Edmond (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.). Of that group, Elam is eligible for a Junior Triple Crown, having won the folkstyle national title in early spring at 182. Three of the four Class of 2021 wrestlers that were Cadet freestyle champions last year, but are only age eligible for the Junior level are nationally elite: No. 5 Travis Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.), No. 8 Carson Manville (Shakopee, Minn.), and No. 34 Quayin Short (Simley, Minn.); Manville was champion last year in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. Also a returning champion is Nathaniel Deasey (Chandler, Ariz.). Twelve others join Manville as Cadet National champions in Greco-Roman last year, with only being eligible for the Junior competition this year. Two of those qualified for the Cadet World Team in Greco-Roman: Parker Decker (Keller, Texas) and Braxton Mikesell (Central Valley, Wash.). Those other ten are Kaden Ramos (Thunder Ridge, Wash.), Sheldon Seymour (Troy, Pa.), Haiden Drury (Toppenish, Wash.), Davin Rhoads (Louisville, Ohio), Fabian Lopez (DeKalb, Ill.), Brayden Roberts (Parkersburg South, W.Va.), Greyden Penner (Liberty, Mo.), Tyler Hannah (Viroqua, Wis.), and Alex Coleman (Hamilton Ross, Ohio). It should be noted that Rhoads will not be in Fargo this year. Out of the group of Greco-Roman champions, Penner and Seymour are top-100 overall wrestlers in the Class of 2020, ranked No. 53 and No. 83 respectively. 6. Fargo, where incoming freshmen make themselves more known One of the old, and still true narratives, is of Fargo as being a place "where state champions go to die." Also true of Fargo is that it's a place where incoming freshmen can emerge as wrestlers to watch over the four years of their high school career, and beyond that to the next levels. Two of the most obvious candidates would be a pair of wrestlers that are already very well-known in Robert Paul Perez (St. John Bosco, Calif.) and Marc-Anthony McGowan (Blair Academy, N.J./Florida resident). However, these top two overall wrestlers in the Class of 2023 are going to be competing at the Cadet World Championships in less than three weeks, though it should be noted that Perez has registered for both styles at this time. Ranked third in the Class of 2023 is Cody Chittum (Blair Academy, N.J./Tennessee resident). Chittum won a high school state title in Tennessee's private school class in 2018, while competing for McCallie; this spring, he was champion at the 16U level in the Western Regional and third at the Junior level in the Northeast regional. Chittum is registered at the 138-pound weight class in both styles, and competed in that weight class at the regional tournaments. Six additional wrestlers ranked in the top ten of this class are age eligible for Fargo: No. 4 Nasir Bailey (Thornton Fractional North, Ill.), No. 5 Grant Mackay (North Allegheny, Pa.), No. 6 Joshua Barr (Michigan), No. 8 Carter McCallister (Rock Bridge, Mo.), No. 9 Rocco Welsh (Waynesburg, Pa.), and No. 10 Ethan Stiles (Montini Catholic, Ill.). Perez, Barr, and McCallister are joined by Drew Heethuis (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.) and William Baysinger (Illinois) as Class of 2023 to have won Cadet 16U folkstyle national titles this spring. 7. An emerging base of female wrestlers The just completed run of the United States Women's National Team at the FIFA World Cup has placed gender-related sports issues to the forefront of the media conversation. In the sport of wrestling, there is an emerging push for female competitors to gain more of a platform. Most notably this has taken the form of efforts to sanction girls wrestling as a varsity sport in many states across the country. There have been some incremental successes, with multiple state athletic associations providing sanctioning of the sport; while in other states, exploratory steps have taken place to possibly facilitate future state association sanctioning. In terms of Fargo, it will be interesting to see if over the next couple of years this provides a meaningful push to increase the participation numbers in the female events -- especially in terms of individuals that participate (since at present, there seems to be a significant mass of 16U competitors that double dip in the Junior level of competition). One would think that state athletic association sanctioning would create a broader base of participants for Fargo, even though high school is folkstyle and Fargo is freestyle for the females.

Forrest Molinari claimed the gold medal at 65 kilograms (Photo/Gabor Martin, United World Wrestling) ISTANBUL, Turkey -- On Friday, Forrest Molinari became America's first gold medalist at this year's Yasar Dogu in Istanbul, Turkey. The 23-year-old Molinari picked up a 5-2 victory over Natalya Fedeoseeva of Russia, a multiple-time Ivan Yarygin medalist, in the gold-medal match at 65 kilograms. Molinari, who trains with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club, scored first off the activity clock and led 1-0 at the break. In the second period, she extended her lead with a takedown, which she followed up with an exposure, but gave up two points in the process. By winning a gold medal at the Yasar Dogu, Molinari has earned the No. 2 ranking for the World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. The Yasar Dogu serves as a UWW Ranking Series event. Molinari placed fifth at last year's World Championships.

SCRANTON, Pa. -- Lackawanna College will add the area's first and only women's collegiate wrestling program. The College will compete in the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) with 2019-20 set as its inaugural season. WCWA has partnered with 38 colleges across the U.S. and Canada. Lackawanna's home matches will take place at the Lackawanna College Student Union. Kate Fox has been named the first women's wrestling head coach. Coach Fox has assisted with several programs for over 18 years including Lackawanna's men's wrestling program and women's tennis program. "I'm super excited, wrestling has been a passion for many years. I'm happy to have the opportunity to help young women in their college experience," said Coach Fox. In addition to women's wrestling, Lackawanna College recently announced a men's ice hockey program, which will begin in the 2020-21 season. Lackawanna currently competes in 13 varsity sports. "We are constantly looking for ways to set ourselves apart from the competition with options for our student-athletes," said Athletic Director Joya Whittington. "We are excited to give students opportunities that would not have been available to them locally." About Lackawanna College: Founded in 1894, Lackawanna College is a private, accredited college serving the people of northeastern Pennsylvania. With a main campus situated in downtown Scranton, Lackawanna's expanding footprint also includes satellite centers in Hawley, Hazleton, New Milford, Sunbury and Towanda and the Lackawanna College Environmental Education Center in Covington Township. Learn more at www.lackawanna.edu.

Yianni Diakomihalis reached the gold-medal match at 65 kilograms (Photo/Gabor Martin, United World Wrestling) ISTANBUL, Turkey -- The Americans went a perfect 3-for-3 in the semifinals of the Yasar Dogu on Friday to advance three wrestlers to the finals. Yianni Diakomihalis (65 kilograms), Alex Dieringer (79 kilograms) and Nick Gwiazdowski (125 kilograms) will wrestle for gold medals on Saturday in Istanbul, Turkey. Diakomihalis, a two-time Cadet world champion in freestyle, won in dramatic fashion in the semifinals, coming from behind to defeat Ismail Musukaev of Hungary. Musukaev, formerly of Russia, dominated the first period, scoring with a four-point move and taking a 9-0 lead into the break. In the second period, Diakomihalis chipped away against a physically exhausted Musukaev to get within three points before securing a takedown off a double leg with just over a minute remaining, which made the score 9-8 in favor of Musukaev. With 46 seconds remaining, Musukaev backed out of bounds and was called for his third caution, which gave Diakomihalis the victory. In the quarterfinals, Diakomihalis dominated Ali Rahimzade of Azerbaijan by 13-2 technical superiority. Diakomihalis opened with a familiar opponent in Zain Retherford. The two had met three times this year prior to Friday's matchup, with Retherford winning the previous two meetings at Final X in June and Diakomihalis winning in their first meeting in the U.S. Open finals. Retherford struck first with a takedown to take a 2-0 lead. Diakomihalis came back with a step out and Retherford took a 2-1 lead into the break. Diakahomihals took a 3-2 lead with a takedown off a leg attack 25 seconds into the second period. With just over a minute remaining, Diakahomihals found another takedown to go up 5-2. With Retherford draped over his back, Diakahomihals scored a four-point move with just under 30 seconds left to blow the match open. Retherford would add a reversal and late takedown, but it was too little, too late. Diakomihalis will face Haji Ali of Bahrain in the finals. Ali placed fifth at the Asian Championships this year. Retherford earned a spot in repechage due to Diakomihalis reaching the finals. Dieringer reached the gold-medal match at 79 kilograms by shutting out Iran's Bahman Teymouri 4-0 in the semifinals. It marked his second straight shutout victory. Leading 2-0 in the second period of his semifinal match, Dieringer scored a takedown off a counterattack with 45 seconds left and held on for the win. Earlier in the day he rolled to a 10-0 technical superiority in under a minute over Abubakr Abakarov of Azerbaijan. After a scoring a takedown off a dump 30 seconds into the match, Dieringer used a trap-arm gut wrench to end the match with four turns. In the finals, Dieringer will meet Akhsarbek Gulaev of Slovakia. He was a U23 world silver medalist in 2017. Gwiazdowski, a two-time world bronze medalist, defeated India's Sumit Sumit 6-2 in the semifinals at 125 kilograms. Next up for Gwiazdowski: Turkey's Taha Akgul, a 2016 Olympic champion and two-time world champion. Akgul won by technical superiority over Gwiazdowski at the 2017 World Championships in Paris. Saturday's medal round is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET.

Steve Garland (Photo/Matt Riley, Virginia Athletics) CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Virginia head wrestling coach Steve Garland has signed a four-year contract extension through the 2022-23 season, director of athletics Carla Williams announced on Friday (July 12). "Steve Garland is a tremendous representative of our University and a role model for our student-athletes," Williams said. "As a former UVA student-athlete, he understands the challenges in the pursuit of excellence and he knows what it takes to succeed at the highest levels of competition. We look forward to continued growth and success under his leadership." Garland is entering his 14th season at the helm of the Virginia wrestling program after taking the reins prior to the 2006-07 season. He has coached the Cavaliers to a pair of ACC Championships (2010, 2015). In this time, he has also coached wrestlers to 11 All-America honors, 18 individual ACC Championships, two NCAA finals and 76 wrestlers have qualified for the NCAA Championships. "In 2006, when I took over the program, I said this was my dream job and it still is," Garland said. "I don't want to serve anywhere else. My family and I believe God has us here for a reason. I love our team. I love our staff and I am all in with Carla Williams' vision for the future of our athletic department. With the new Master Plan taking shape, we are positioned to accomplish great things at Virginia." This past season, Garland coached junior Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas) to All-America honors for the second time as the 125-pounder advanced to the finals of the NCAA Championship. He is the fourth-ever NCAA finalist for the Cavaliers and second in the past three seasons. Mueller also claimed the ACC Championship at 125 pounds and was one of five wrestlers to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Mueller and 197-pound sophomore Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) both earned national seeds for the NCAA Championships and were the highest-seeded wrestlers at their weight classes in program history. Aiello was the No. 7 seed, while Mueller was the No. 5 seed. Under Garland's tutelage, the Cavaliers have qualified at least five wrestlers for the NCAA Championships in 10 of the last 11 seasons and have had at least one wrestler earn All-America honors in eight of his 14 seasons at the helm of the program, including eight of the last 11 seasons. Virginia has also finished in the top 25 of the team standings at the NCAA Championships in seven of the last 10 seasons.