InterMat Staff

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn -- No. 1 Penn State (4-0, 0-0 B1G) won the 2019 Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn. Head coach Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lions won the team title with a tournament record scoring total to outdistance second place Oklahoma State. The championship is Penn State's eighth in its last eight trips to the tournament. The two-day event started yesterday and concluded tonight in UT-Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena. The Nittany Lions rolled to the team title thanks to crowning six champions. One of those champions became Penn State's all-time pins leader in the process of winning his title and another pinned his way to the crown and another Outstanding Wrestler Award. Twelve of Penn State's 18 entrants at the event placed. The Nittany Lions' team point total of 216.5 is a new Southern Scuffle record as well, crushing the old mark of 198.0 held by Oklahoma State (Penn State had 197.0 during last year's title run). There have been 15 Southern Scuffle's held. Penn State has won it eight times. Sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 4 at 141, won his first Southern Scuffle Championships. He met Lock Haven's Kyle Shoop in the semis and dominated the Bald Eagle veteran, rolling to an 18-4 major decision to advance to the Scuffle finals. In the finals, he met talented Stanford redshirt Real Woods and came away with a hard-fought 6-3 win the title. Lee went 4-0 with a pin and four majors to claim the crown. Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, won his third Southern Scuffle title. He pinned Stanford's Dom Mandarino in the semifinals at the 5:22 mark. The fall was the 54th of Nolf's career, setting a new Penn State all-time record for career pins (breaking the old mark of 53 held by Zain Retherford, David Taylor and Josh Moore). He moved into the finals where he met sophomore teammate Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.). Pipher, wrestling unseeded, advanced to the finals by pinning Ohio's Zac Carson at the 6:21 mark, advancing to the finals with his fourth straight win of the tournament. In the finals, Nolf ended the match quickly, rolling up three four-point near falls to post a 16-1 technical fall at the 2:11 mark. Nolf ends the tourney with a 5-0 record with three pins a tech and a major. He leaves Chattanooga with a new school-record 54 career pins and 99 career wins. Pipher was outstanding at 157, going 4-1 with a tech and a pin to reach the finals and placed second as an unseeded grappler. Pipher started his outstanding tournament run yesterday with a tech fall over the nation's 16th-ranked wrestler. Junior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, won his second straight Scuffle crown. He dominated No. 20 Jesse Dellavecchia of Rider in the semifinals, rolling to a 15-5 major decision to advance to the Scuffle championship. In the finals, he met No. 3 Chance Marsteller of Lock Haven the top-ranked Lion battled his way to a 6-5 win for the title. Joseph went 5-0 with a major and two pins during his tournament run. Junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 174, brought home his third straight Scuffle title. He took on No. 19 Matt Finesilver of Duke in the semifinals and dominated the Blue Devil, rolling to a 6-0 win with nearly 4:00 of riding time. He took on Oklahoma State's Joe Smith in the finals and won a thrilling battle with the two-time All-American Cowboy. Hall and Smith were tied 1-1 late when Hall nailed a quick takedown and immediately locked up a cradle for two quick near fall points, all with less than :20 in the bout. Hall's late fireworks gave him the 5-1 win and his third Southern Scuffle championship. Hall went 5-0 during the tournament with a major and two tech falls. Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 3 at 184, won his second Scuffle crown and his first at 184. He made quick work of No. 17 Sam Colbray of Iowa State in the semifinals, pinning the Cyclone in just 0:45 to advance to the finals. Rasheed, last year's Scuffle champ and OW at 197, met Virginia Tech's Hunter Bolen in the championship finals and walked away with a solid 4-1 win. The victory game Rasheed his second straight Scuffle crown. Rasheed went 4-0 overall with two majors and a pin. He also had a win over a non-collegiate grappler, which does not count towards his record. Senior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 197, pinned his way to his third Scuffle title. Fresh off winning his 100th career bout to cap off day one, Nickal continued his torrid pace, pinning No. 15 Tom Sleigh of Virginia Tech in the semifinals to start day two. Nickal's fourth fall in as many matches came at the 1:12 mark and moved the Lion senior into the Scuffle finals where he met Stanford's Nathan Traxler. Nickal completed the quest to pin his way to the Scuffle title by getting the fall over Traxler at the 2:09 mark, winning his third Scuffle title. Nickal went 5-0, all pins, with four in the first period and one in the second. He leaves Chattanooga with 102 career victories and 50 career pins. Nickal also won his second Scuffle Outstanding Wrestler honor as well as the Gorriaran Award for most pins in the least time (five in 10:32). Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 5 at 285, advanced to the Scuffle finals and placed second. He met No. 16 Matt Voss of George Mason in the semifinals and controlled the action from start to finish, posting a 14-6 major, his fourth in as many bouts, to move to the 2019 Scuffle title bout. In the finals, he met No. 3 Derek White of Oklahoma State and could not overcome a first period White takedown, dropping a hard-fought 3-2 decision to the third-ranked Cowboy. Cassar went 4-1 in his first Scuffle at 285 with four majors, taking second place. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 15 at 133, took third at his first Southern Scuffle. He faced No. 10 Austin Gomez of Iowa State in the semifinals and opened up a big lead with a dominant first period. However, leading 8-3 in the second, the Lion true freshman got caught on the edge of the mat and turned for a fast pin at the 3:57 mark. Bravo-Young rebound with a strong 11-4 win over Stanford's Mason Pengilly in the conso semis and then dominated No. 20 Sean Nickell of Cal Bakersfield in the third place match, rolling to a 10-1 major. Bravo-Young went 5-1 and placed third as the third seed. Redshirt freshman Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 10 at 149, placed third at 285 as well. The Lion freshman met No. 6 Mitch Finesilver in the semifinals and, while notching the only takedown of the bout, dropped a hard-fought 3-2 decision on riding time. Berge faced yet another top ten foe in the consolation semis and was outstanding, posting a 7-4 win over No. 7 Jarrett Degan of Iowa State. The win propelled him into the third place bout where he downed Requir Van der Merwe of Stanford 5-2 for the bronze. Berge, the fourth-seed, went 6-1 with two majors to finish third at his first Scuffle appearance. Senior Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) worked his way to a third place finish at the Scuffle. He met Oklahoma State's Derek White, ranked No. 3 nationally, in the semifinals and lost a hard-fought 4-0 decision. He moved to the consolation semifinals where dominated No. 7 Billy Miller of Virginia Tech, controlling the bout from the start and posting an 8-0 major. He took on No. 16 Matt Voss of George Mason for third and posted a 2-1 win. Nevills ended his tournament with a 5-1 mark, including a major, a tech and a fall. Redshirt freshman Mason Manville (Lorton, Va.) placed at 165 as well, taking seventh as an unseeded wrestler. Manville dominated Columbia's Laurence Kosoy 7-2 in his first conso bout on day two, guaranteeing a place at the Scuffle. He then dropped a hard-fought 8-7 decision to Duke Zach Finesilver in the consolation quarterfinals. He took on Tanner Skidgel of Navy in the seventh place bout and earned an 8-4 win. Manville posted a 4-2 mark with a major during his Scuffle weekend. Redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) went 2-2 at 149. He met Appalachian State's Matt Zovistoski in his first consolation bout of day two and, while leading by one late, gave up a late takedown and then a fall with just one second left to end his tournament. Unattached true freshman Brody Teske (Duncombe, Iowa) went 2-1 on day one, losing in the quarterfinals. The first-year 125-pounder took a medical forfeit (not a loss) in his first consolation bout and did not compete on day two. Sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) went 1-2 with a major at 125 for Penn State. Sophomore 149-pounder Luke Gardner (Pottsville, Pa.), junior 141-pounder Dominic Giannangeli (Murrysville, Pa.) and junior 184-pounder Francisco Bisono (Hauppauge, N.Y.) all competed during day one of the event as well. Penn State won the team title with 216.5 points, a new Southern Scuffle team scoring record. The Nittany Lions went 63-18 overall, including day one's 41-11 mark. Penn State collected 40 bonus wins off 20 majors, six tech falls and 14 pins. The Nittany Lions won their eighth Scuffle title in their last eight trips to the event and set a new tournament scoring record (216.5). Penn State has had the tournament's last four Outstanding Wrestlers: Bo Nickal in 2016, Mark Hall in 2017, Shakur Rasheed in 2018 and Nickal again this year. Ed Ruth (2010) and David Taylor (2012) have also won Scuffle OW honors. Nickal's Gorriaran Award is Penn State's second straight as well. Jason Nolf won last year's Gorriaran as well. Nickal leaves Chattanooga with 102 career wins, the newest member of Penn State's 100-win club. His five pins give him 50 for his career, fifth all-time at Penn State. Teammate Jason Nolf is Penn State's new all-time leader in falls, breaking the record here in Chattanooga. Nolf now has 54 pins for his career. He also has 99 wins, one shy of joining Nickal in the 100-win club. Rasheed now has 26 career pins, tied for 20th all-time at Penn State. Hall, while winning his Scuffle title without a pin, is 18th all-time in falls at Penn State with 28. Joseph, with two pins at the Scuffle, has eight pins this year, more than he had in the previous two seasons combined. The Nittany Lions are 4-0 in dual meets to date and return to action in nine days when they will open up Big Ten action at Northwestern on Friday, Jan. 11, at 8 p.m. (Eastern), 7 p.m. (Central). Penn State returns to Rec Hall two days later against Wisconsin on Sunday, Jan. 13, at 1 p.m. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. 2019 Southern Scuffle January 2, 2019 - McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, Tenn. TEAM STANDINGS (Top 3 - FINAL) 1: PENN STATE - 216.5 2: Oklahoma State - 188.5 3: Iowa State - 104.0

125: Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Luke Werner (Lock Haven), 13-2 Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado) dec. Alex Mackall (Iowa State), 4-0 133: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) tech. fall Sean Nickell (CSU Bakersfield), 18-3 Austin Gomez (Iowa State) pinned Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State), 3:57 141: Nick Lee (Penn State) maj. dec. Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven), 18-4 Real Woods (Stanford) dec. Nicholas Gil (Navy), 3-1 149: Mitch Finesilver (Duke) dec. Brady Berge (Penn State), 3-2 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) tech. fall Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield), 18-3 5:18 157: Jason Nolf (Penn State) pinned Dom Mandarino (Stanford), 5:22 Bo Pipher (Penn State) pinned Zac Carson (Ohio), 6:21 165: Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) maj. dec. Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider), 15-5 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) dec. Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State), 3-1 174: Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. Matt Finesilver (Duke), 6-0 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) dec. David McFadden (Virginia Tech), 11-4 184: Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) pinned Sam Colbray (Iowa State), 0:45 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) dec. Lou Deprez (Binghamton), 3-2 197: Bo Nickal (Penn State) pinned Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech), 1:12 Nathan Traxler (Stanford) dec. Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State), 9-7 285: Anthony Cassar (Penn State) maj. dec. Matt Voss (George Mason), 14-6 Derek White (Oklahoma State) dec. Nick Nevills (Penn State), 4-0

125: Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) tech. fall Jakob Camacho (NC State), 17-0 6:49 Luke Werner (Lock Haven) tech. fall Brody Teske (Penn State), 15-0 5:33 Alex Mackall (Iowa State) dec. Gabriel Townsell (Stanford), 7-5 Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado) maj. dec. Alonzo Allen (Chattanooga), 17-5 133: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) tech. fall Jarrett Trombley (NC State), 25-10 6:47 Sean Nickell (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Mason Pengilly (Stanford), 4-2 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec. Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech), 8-6 SV Austin Gomez (Iowa State) maj. dec. Casey Cobb (Navy), 14-4 141: Nick Lee (Penn State) maj. dec. Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh), 11-3 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) by medical forfeit over Ian Parker (Iowa State) Nicholas Gil (Navy) dec. DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven), 9-6 Real Woods (Stanford) by medical forfeit over Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) 149: Mitch Finesilver (Duke) dec. Requir Van der merwe (Stanford), 5-0 Brady Berge (Penn State) dec. Jared Prince (Navy), 4-3 Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Jarrett Degen (Iowa State), 7-5 SV Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) dec. Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State), 3-2 157: Jason Nolf (Penn State) maj. dec. Jonce Blaylock (Oklahoma State), 21-7 Dom Mandarino (Stanford) dec. BC Laprade (Virginia Tech), 4-3 10:46 Bo Pipher (Penn State) dec. Ben Anderson (Duke), 5-3 Zac Carson (Ohio) dec. Paul Fox (Stanford), 7-5 SV 165: Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec. Shane Griffith (Stanford), 6-4 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) dec. Tyler Marinelli (Gardner Webb), 4-1 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) pinned Zach Finesilver (Duke), 2:20 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) dec. Mason Manville (Penn State), 4-2 174: Mark Hall (Penn State) maj. dec. Marcus Coleman (Iowa State), 14-4 Matt Finesilver (Duke) dec. Vincent Deprez (Binghamton), 9-2 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) dec. Trent Hidlay (NC State), 4-2 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) dec. Jacob Oliver (Edinboro), 7-3 184: Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) maj. dec. Hunter Yeargan (Ohio), 11-0 Sam Colbray (Iowa State) dec. Dom Ducharme (CSU Bakersfield), 9-3 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) dec. Chris Weiler (Lehigh), 5-2 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) dec. Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State), 3-1 197: Bo Nickal (Penn State) pinned Josh Roetman (Navy), 1:47 Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech) dec. Stephen Loiseau (Drexel), 5-2 Nathan Traxler (Stanford) dec. Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado), 7-5 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) pinned Randall Diabe (App St), 5:18 285: Anthony Cassar (Penn State) maj. dec. Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State), 16-5 Matt Voss (George Mason) dec. Billy Miller (Virginia Tech), 3-3 Derek White (Oklahoma State) pinned Thomas Haines (Lock Haven), 4:08 Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. Joey Goodhart (Drexel), 7-1

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Seven Oklahoma State wrestlers advanced to semifinals action at the Southern Scuffle on Tuesday evening, with Chandler Rogers (165), Dakota Geer (197) and Derek White (HWT) each pinning their opponents in the quarterfinals. The Cowboys had a strong outing on the first day of competition, going 38-11 overall. OSU is positioned in second, trailing only Penn State (121.5) in the team race with 111.5 points. Of the 38 bouts, 26 came with bonus points attached. Rogers received a bye to the round of sixteen and pinned Colt Yinger of Ohio and Duke's Zach Finesilver to claim a spot in the semifinals. At 197, Geer earned a technical fall in his first match, then defeated Dylan Reynolds (Edinboro) before pinning Randal Diabe (Appalachian State) in the quarterfinals. White controlled his competition at 285 pounds, winning two technical falls in the earlier rounds before pinning Lock Haven's Thomas Haines. At 125 pounds, redshirt junior Nick Piccinnini outscored his opponents 51-1 on the day. He notched technical falls over Arick Shankles (Edinboro), Cevion Severado (Missouri) and Jakob Camacho (NC State) to advance to the semifinals round. Daton Fix dominated the 133-pound bracket winning two technical falls and recording his first pin of the season over Air Force's John Towmey. Kaden Gfeller notched falls in his first three matches of the day before gutting out a 3-2 decision against Penn State's Jarod Verleeren. Gfeller won the Scuffle title at 141 pounds a year ago wrestling unattached. Joe Smith took his first two matches at 174 pounds by fall and won a tight 4-2 decision over Trent Hidlay in the quarterfinals. Bumping up to 184 pounds, Jacobe Smith fell to Virginia Tech's Hunter Bolen, 3-2, in the quarterfinals. Jonce Blaylock also lost his quarterfinals match with two-time NCAA Champion Jason Nolf. They will begin wrestling in consolations for a shot at podium tomorrow. Dusty Hone is still in the hunt at 149 pounds for the Cowboys. After dropping his first bout of the day to Penn State's Brady Berge, the Cowboy has won four straight matches in the consolation bracket, including a 15-6 major decision to close out the day. The Cowboys return to the mats tomorrow at 10 a.m. local time with a shot at 10 wrestlers claiming spots on the podium. Fans can watch the action on FloWrestling.com or follow along with @CowboyWrestling on Twitter.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- No. 1 Penn State (4-0, 0-0 B1G) is standing tall after the first day of the 2019 Southern Scuffle, presented by Compound Sportswear, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Head coach Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lions sit in first place and have 11 semifinalists at nine weights. The two-day event continues tomorrow, Jan. 2, in UT-Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena. Two Lions notched milestone wins on day one. Senior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas) became the newest member of the Nittany Lion 100-wins club on day one. He picked up three wins (all by fall) to hit the 100 career win mark. Nickal enters tomorrow's second day of the Southern Scuffle with a 100-3 career record. Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.) tied the Penn State record for falls in a career with two pins as well. He has 53 now, tied with Zain Retherford, David Taylor and Josh Moore. He needs one more to own the record alone. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 15 at 133, was solid on day one of the Scuffle, becoming Penn State's first semifinalist with a 3-0 day at 133. Bravo-Young downed Stanford's Dalton Young 4-3, Lehigh's Nick Farro 4-1 and Virginia Tech's Collin Gerardi 8-6 (sv) to move into tomorrow's semifinal round. Sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 4 at 141, went 4-0 on the first day, getting a pin in the first round and then reeling off three straight impressive majors. He majored Pitt's Cole Matthews 11-3 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals tomorrow. Redshirt freshman Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 10 at 149, rolled through the first day of the Scuffle, going 4-0. He had two majors and moved into the semifinals with a strong 4-3 win over No. 17 Jared Prince of Navy in the quarterfinals. Nolf, ranked No. 1 at 157, went 3-0 on day one and tied the Penn State all-time pins list (53) with two quick pins. He then majored Oklahoma State's Jonce Blaylock in the quarters to move into tomorrow's semifinals. Sophomore Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) had an outstanding first day at the Scuffle. He opened up his tournament by rolling over No. 14 Dan Reed of Columbia, posting a 16-0 tech fall at the 3:00 mark. He added wins over Chase Straw of Iowa State and Ben Anderson of Duke to advance to the semifinals. Junior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, went 3-0 at 165. He opened his tournament with two pins, his seventh and eighth of the year, and then downed Stanford's Shane Griffith in the quarterfinals to advance to tomorrow's semis. Junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 174, sailed into the semifinals with three bonus wins. He notched two tech falls by a combined 39-9 in his first two bouts and then majored Iowa State's Marcus Coleman 14-4 in the quarterfinals. Hall's 3-0 day moves him into tomorrow's semifinal round. Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 3 at 184, also advanced to the semifinals. He went 2-0 officially, both major decisions over Joel Shapiro of Iowa State and Hunter Yeargan of Ohio in the quarterfinals. Rasheed also picked up a 12-2 major over non-collegiate wrestler Jonathan Loew, a result that does not count as a win or a loss, nor for any stats or team records. Nickal, ranked No. 1 at 197, picked up three wins on three pins to earn his 100th career victory at Penn State and punch his ticket to the semifinals. Nickal pinned North Carolina State's Tyrie Houghton (3:49) and Lock Haven's Luke McGonigal (1:34) to advance to the quarters. He then picked up win 100 with a third straight fall, this one over Josh Roetman of Navy at the 1:47 mark. Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 5 at 285, went 3-0 on day one, getting three dominating majors over wrestlers from Ohio, Rider and Iowa State to advance to the semifinals tomorrow. Senior Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) also went 3-0 on day one at 285. Nevills was strong, posting a pin, a tech fall and a 7-1 win over No. 17 Joey Goodhart of Drexel in the quarters to move to the semifinals. Redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) went 2-1 on day one. He advanced to the quarterfinals with a first round tech fall and a major in the second round. In the quarterfinals, he lost a close 3-2 decision to No. 12 Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma State and will continue in consos tomorrow. Redshirt freshman Mason Manville (Lorton, Va.) had a strong first day at 165. Manville won his first two bouts, a major and a 6-2 win over Navy's Tanner Skidgel, to move to the quarterfinals where he met No. 3 Chance Marsteller of Lock Haven. Manville battled the ranked Bald Eagle tough but lost 4-2 and will continue in consolation action tomorrow. Wrestling unattached, true freshman Brody Teske (Duncombe, Iowa) took to the mat for the first time this season at 125 and began his tournament with two solid wins (6-3 and 4-3 decisions) to advance to the quarterfinals. He lost to Lock Haven's Luke Werner in the quarters, falling into consolation action tomorrow. Sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) opened up his tournament with a strong major over Drexel's Antonio Mininno at 125 but lost to No. 17 Rico Montoya of Northern Colorado in the second round. He then battled Navy's Aslan Kilic tough before losing a close 7-6 decision to end the tournament with a 1-2 mark. Sophomore Luke Gardner (Pottsville, Pa.) competed at 149, dropping two close decisions to bow out of the tournament. Junior Dominic Giannangeli (Murrysville, Pa.) wrestled at 141, dropping a couple tough decisions. He did pick up a victory against a non-collegiate entry but the win does not count towards his record. Junior Francisco Bisono (Hauppauge, N.Y.) competed at 184, dropping both his matches, including a tough 6-4 (sv) decision to Oklahoma State's Bear Hughes in consolation action. The Nittany Lions lead the team race after the first day with 121.5 points while Oklahoma State is second with 111.5. Iowa State and Lock Haven are tied for third with 60.0 each. Penn State went 41-11 on day one, including a 30-8 first session and an 11-3 second session. The Nittany Lions totaled 29 bonus point wins off 15 majors, five technical falls and nine pins. Action continues starting tomorrow at 10 a.m. with the consolation action followed by the semifinals. Penn State is looking to win its eighth Southern Scuffle title in its last eight trips to the event. The Nittany Lions are 4-0 in dual meets to date and, after tomorrow's Scuffle finale, will open up Big Ten action at Northwestern on Friday, Jan. 11, at 8 p.m. (Eastern) and home against Wisconsin on Sunday, Jan. 13, at 1 p.m. in Rec Hall. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. 2019 Southern Scuffle January 1, 2019 - McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, Tenn. TEAM STANDINGS (Top 3) 1: PENN STATE - 121.5 2: Oklahoma State - 111.5 3: Iowa State - 60.0 3: Lock Haven - 60.0

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Brock Lesnar shoves Daniel Cormier Two MMA giants with UFC titles and amateur wrestling backgrounds in their career resumes may get to meet each other in the Octagon for an actual fight, according to UFC President Dana White. White said a bout between current UFC heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier and former UFC champ (and current WWE Universal Champ) Brock Lesnar is very much a possibility after UFC 232 this past weekend. "No, (Lesnar is) not out of the picture," White said at the post-event news conference at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., site of UFC 232. "Absolutely (he could still fight Cormier). I think he's already under contract with me. We were talking about it, and then he ended up signing a new deal with WWE. "He's in a very unique position because he can play this thing between UFC and WWE," according to White. "And they get right down to the wire, and I think (WWE chairman) Vince (McMahon) throws so much money at him that he says, 'All right, I'll do (WWE) again.' Because this is here no matter what. When he's ready, he can come in here and fight and he's gonna make a (expletive) ton of money here, too. So it makes sense. I'm assuming that's what's going on." That said, White has no plans to wait for Lesnar to take his time making a decision as to a possible return to the Octagon. "One of the things you guys know about me is, I don't wait for anybody. I'm not (expletive) waiting around for anybody. I'm rolling with the business," White said. "Guy doesn't want to fight this year? It's all good. It doesn't matter who you are - how big you are, what your deal is. You don't want to fight, do your thing. When you're ready to fight, you come back and talk to me and we'll figure something out." Why is the president of UFC bringing this up now? The idea of a Cormier-Lesnar UFC bout can trace its roots back to this past July at UFC 226. Lesnar entered the Octagon after Cormier had defeated Stipe Miocic to win the UFC heavyweight Title, shoving the newly-crowned champ... and setting up buzz among MMA fans of a possible grudge match. Until this past weekend, Cormier had held both the UFC heavyweight (265 pounds) and UFC light-heavyweight (205 pounds) titles. On Saturday, Cormier ceased to be a two-division champion when Jon Jones won back the light heavyweight title with a TKO of Alexander Gustafsson in the UFC 232 main event. That quickly set up talk of a third fight between Cormier and Jones, his arch rival... with UFC's White saying, in essence, don't shut the door on a Cormier-Lesnar UFC bout. Both Cormier and Lesnar would bring strong amateur wrestling credentials to a UFC fight. Cormier, 39, was a three-time Louisiana high school state wrestling champ who then became a two-time 197-pound NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) champ for Colby Community College in Kansas. Cormier then transferred to Oklahoma State where he made it to the 184-pound finals at the 2001 NCAA Division I championships, losing to current Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson, 8-4. Cormier was also twice a member of the U.S. Olympic men's freestyle team, placing fourth at the 2004 Athens Olympics, but was unable to compete at the 2008 Beijing Games due to kidney failure. The 41-year-old Lesnar started his mat career at Webster High in South Dakota, placing third at the state championships. He headed north to Bismarck State College in North Dakota, where he won the heavyweight title at the 1998 NJCAA championships. The 6'3", 265-pound collegian caught the eye of J Robinson, then head coach at University of Minnesota. In two years as a Gopher, Lesnar was twice a Big Ten heavyweight champ and two-time NCAA finalist, winning the title at the 2000 NCAAs.

Mike Duroe was an honorary coach for USA at the Freestyle World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) This past year saw the passing of a number of individuals who participated in the oldest and greatest sport in some capacity, whether that was decades ago ... or if they were still active. Stars of the wrestling mat InterMat paid tribute to a number of accomplished former wrestlers in 2018, including Vern Jones, 93, three-time conference champ for Stanford who went on to become a philanthropist ... Art Helf, 86, 1953 NCAA All-American for Franklin & Marshall University (Pennsylvania) … Dr. Ken Faust, 85, Pa. state wrestling champ, four-time EIWA conference championships medalist for Lehigh, and groundbreaking eye surgeon ... Werner Holzer, 81, University of Illinois Big Ten champ and NCAA All-American who was instrumental in the establishment of the U.S. Wrestling Federation ... Bob Mayo, 75, early 1960s Iowa state champ for Grinnell High who later became a professional rodeo champion ... Randy Jeffries, 67, Arizona State mat alum who was serving as a volunteer coach at Durant (Okla.) High at time of death ... and George Kovach, 53, Drexel wrestler who was a three-time East Coast Conference heavyweight champ in the mid-1980s. In addition, two members of the Cornell College Dream Team of 1947 that won NCAA team title that year left us in 2018. Al Partin, 96, heavyweight wrestler at Cornell who went on to coach at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and at Knox College in Illinois, died in mid-October ... while Lowell Lange, a three-time NCAA wrestling champ for the Purple who went on coach the now-defunct varsity mat program at Georgia Tech, passed away Thanksgiving week at age 90. What's more, three members of the Penn State wrestling squad of the early 1950s passed away within weeks of each other in fall 2018, including Don Maurey, 88, who had been was a Pennsylvania state champ and later was an EIWA champ and NCAA All-American for the Nittany Lions ... along with twin brothers Don and Doug Frey (who are listed below among the college coaches). Worthy of special mention is Joy Davids, 85, first woman to be welcomed into the Michigan chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for her decades of service to the sport. Among her accomplishments: being among to establish a youth wrestling club, and managing a number of major youth wrestling tournaments (along with her husband Lee). Stanley Henson at the age of 100 at the NCAAs Then there's Stanley Henson, M.D., three-time NCAA champion wrestler for legendary coach Ed Gallagher at Oklahoma State in the late 1930s, who, at the time of his passing in February at age 101, was believed to be the eldest living collegiate champion in any sport. Henson went on to coach at the U.S. Naval Academy, then became a medical doctor, surgeon and sports medicine pioneer in Colorado for decades. Henson was welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1978, and, in 2017, was presented with the Gallagher Award, presented each year to an Oklahoma State alumnus who exemplifies the spirit and leadership eminent in the tradition of champions. One individual well-known beyond amateur wrestling was Bill Fralic, 56, who died in December after a long cancer battle. Before making a name for himself as an offensive lineman -- first for University of Pittsburgh, then the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions (as well as dabbling in the WWE) -- Fralic was a WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) heavyweight champ who also wrestled at the PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) state championships for Penn Hills High in suburban Pittsburgh. Coaching greats In the past 12 months, InterMat reported on the passing of more than a dozen individuals who served as high school wrestling coaches, active and retired, including Bob Darrah, 89, incredibly successful coach at three Iowa high schools and at Iowa's Simpson College despite never having wrestled ... Bob Siddens, 93, Waterloo West High coach (mentored Dan Gable, among others) who had wrestled at Northern Iowa in the late 1940s and served as mat official ... Mike Milkovich, 96, who built the Maple Heights High program to one of the premier programs in Ohio and beyond ... Stan Mousetis, 88, four-decade prep coach in Pennsylvania who was an EIWA champ at Franklin & Marshall ... Gene Bowman, 88, Pennsylvania high school coach and co-founder of Dapper Dan tournament ... Frank Vulcano, Sr., 89, Chartiers High (Pennsylvania) coach, Lock Haven wrestler and mat official ... Fred Waltermire, 76, long-time coach of storied Perry High mat program (and Oklahoma Sooner wrestler) ... Ken Pagach, 76, who headed up New Jersey's Edison High program for three decades ...Gene Doyle, 77, 47-year coach at three Iowa high schools (including nearly 40 years at Cedar Falls) ... Mike "Biggie" Smith, 71, Newport High (Pa.) wrestler who returned to his alma mater as coach, athletic director at mat official ... Alford Eugene Knight, 71, long-time Oklahoma City high school coach ... Joe Bena, 79, who coached at high schools in upstate New York for a half-century ... Barry Clark, 72, founding coach of varsity wrestling program at Middletown High in Rhode Island ... Mark Jacovittee, 68, Maryland high school coach for more than 50 years ... Jim Day, 64, Berlin High (Conn.) coach for nearly four decades ... Dave Burak, 58, long-time coach at Elmira (N.Y.) schools ... Vincent Altebrando, 51, coach at Walt Whitman High on Long Island ... Dan Youngblood, 51, coach at his prep alma mater, Old Mill High in Maryland ... J.J. Thaw, 44, assistant coach at Norton High in Kansas ... Kevin Gilligan, 40, Maryland high school coach ... Chad Jones, 39, head coach at Hayden High in Colorado ... Ed Piccola, 36, New Jersey wrestling coach at Buxton Athletic Training Center irun by Jeff Buxton ... and Nick Nosbisch, 29, Holly Springs High (N.C.) head coach. In addition to the aforementioned prep coaches, a number of coaches with collegiate coaching experience left us, including Mike Duroe, 63, Cornell College coach for 13 seasons and six-time Olympic freestyle coaching staff member ... Vaughan Hitchcock, 84, former Cal Poly head coach ... James White, 84, head coach at Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania for more than 30 years ... Tony DeCarlo, 77, wrestling coach for nearly 50 years at John Carroll University in Cleveland ... Joe Keeton, 77, former head coach at University of Missouri-Rolla for nearly two decades ... and Bill Racich, head coach at Pennsylvania's Ursinus College who tallied 540 wins in his career. Rande Stottlemyer University of Pittsburgh lost two former head wrestling coaches this year: Rande Stottlemyer, 62, three-time All-American wrestler at Pitt who became Panthers head coach from 1979-2013 ... and Dave Johnson, 82, three-time EIWA champ at Pitt who became the school's head coach in the mid-1960s. Then there are the Frey brothers ... twins who were Penn State mat alums who later went on to collegiate coaching careers in Philadelphia, and died within weeks of each other. Don Frey, 87, was a two-time NCAA All-American for the Nittany Lions who later became head wrestling coach and athletic trainer at University of Pennsylvania ... and Don's twin brother Doug Frey, a New Jersey high school state champ, member of the Penn State team that won the 1953 NCAA team title in their home gym, and long-time head coach at Drexel University. Died in service to us A handful of former wrestlers with military service were taken from us in 2018, including Sen. John McCain, 81, R-Arizona, who, prior to entering politics was a Navy aviator shot down and captured by North Vietnam in 1967 and held prisoner for 5 1/2 years, had wrestled at Episcopal High School (Virginia) and at the U.S. Naval Academy ... Army Sgt. First Class Eric Michael Emond, 39, wrestling alum at BMC Durfee High (Mass.), killed by explosive device serving in Afghanistan ... Spc. Javion Shavonte Sullivan, 24, former wrestler at Fort Mill High (S.C.), killed in a non-combat accident in Iraq ... and Marine Cpl. Donavon Macura, 20, three-time Montana state qualifier, died in Japan while in training. Nicholas Clark, 29, a New York State trooper who was killed in the line of duty while answering a domestic violence call, had been a N.Y. state wrestling champ for Canisteo-Greenwood High. Two men with coaching backgrounds were killed protecting others at much-publicized mass shooting incidents. In February, Chris Hixon, 49, wrestling coach and athletic director at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, was among 17 killed at the south Florida school ... and Sean Adler, 48, former assistant coach at Royal High School in Simi Valley, Calif. was among 12 shot to death at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks where he worked as a bouncer. Olympians In 2018, InterMat paid tribute to a handful of wrestlers who earned distinction by competing in the Olympics. Bill Smith, 89, 1952 U.S. Olympic gold medalist in freestyle, two-time NCAA champ at University of Northern Iowa, and coach at San Francisco's Olympic Club, as well as at high schools and colleges in California ... Pat Lovell, 81, Cal Poly wrestling champ and member of 1964 Olympic U.S. Greco-Roman squad ... Bob Pickens, 75, first African-American to wrestle on a U.S. Olympic Greco team at 1964 Tokyo Games ... Soslan Andrivev, 66, two-time Olympic gold medalist in men's freestyle for Soviets at 1976 and 1980 Games … and Frank Andersson, 62, 1984 Olympic bronze medalist in Greco-Roman for Sweden who later became a professional wrestler. Eli Stickely (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Gone too soon Among the wrestlers past and present who were taken in the prime of life were Larry Quisel, 41, two-time NCAA All-American wrestler (and 2000 NCAA finalist) for the now-defunct program at Boise State, who died of natural causes while on a hunting trip ... Donnie Morgan, 38, Lindenwood University-St. Charles (Mo.) mat alum who lost his battle with leukemia ... Keith Cupp, 35, 2005 NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) 174-pound champ for Cumberland University of Tennessee, the school's first national champ in any sport ... JoeQuan Richardson, 24, a senior at Central Baptist College in Arkansas ... Curtis LeMair, 18, freshman wrestler at South Dakota's Northern State University and past InterMat Classic champ, who died of a previously undetected heart defect ... Davontae Randall, 21, former New Jersey state championships placer for Paulsboro High, murdered in a drive-by shooting ... Eli Stickley, 21, University of Wisconsin wrestler and 2014 Ohio state champ for nationally-ranked powerhouse Graham High School (and member of the legendary Jordan wrestling family), in a single-car crash in western Illinois ... Jack Marsh, Jr., 19, former Eastern Michigan University wrestler, shot to death just east of the campus ... Bryce Sheffer, 19, SIU-Edwardsville wrestler killed in an ATV accident ... Elijah Lacey, 18, Lawrence Central wrestler, shot to death while sitting in his car in an Indianapolis parking lot on Memorial Day ... Bailey Rush, 17, senior wrestler at Nashville's Father Ryan High School, who drowned ... Coby Stevens, 16, Canastota Jr.-Sr. High (New York), in a one-car accident ... and Tommy Williamitis, 16, Dayton (Ohio) Christian wrestler, killed in a head-on car crash. To learn more about any of the individuals named here, simply type the person's name + "InterMat" in your favorite search engine such as Google or Bing.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The pre-seeds for the 2019 Southern Scuffle have been released. The event takes place Tuesday and Wednesday in Chattanooga, Tenn. 125: 1. Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) 2. Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado) 3. Gabriel Townsell (Stanford) 4. Fabian Guttierrez (Chattanooga) 5. Shakur Laney (Ohio) 6. Alex Mackall (Iowa State) 7. Sidney Flores (Air Force) 8. Jonathan Tropea (Rider) 133: 1. Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 2. Austin Gomez (Iowa State) 3. Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) 4. Sean Nickell (CSU Bakersfield) 5. Mason Pengilly (Stanford) 6. Codi Russell (Appalachian State) 7. Anthony DeCesare (Air Force) 8. Matt Kazimir (Columbia) 141: 1. Nick Lee (Penn State) 2. Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) 3. Nick Gil (Navy) 4. Ian Parker (Iowa State) 5. Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) 6. DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven) 7. Garrett O'Shea (Air Force) 8. Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh-Unattached) 149: 1. Mitch Finesilver (Duke) 2. Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) 3. Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) 4. Brady Berge (Penn State) 5. Jared Prince (Navy) 6. Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State) 7. Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield) 8. Matt Zovistoski (Appalachian State) 157: 1. Jason Nolf (Penn State) 2. Paul Fox (Stanford) 3. Dan Reed (Columbia) 4. Dom Mandarino (Stanford) 5. BC Laprade (Virginia Tech) 6. Kolby Ho (George Mason) 7. Alexander Mossing (Air Force) 8. Alex Klucker (Lock Haven) 165: 1. Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) 2. Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) 3. Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) 4. Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) 5. Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) 6. Tyler Marinelli (Gardner Webb) 7. Zach Finesilver (Duke) 8. Colston DiBlasi (George Mason) 174: 1. Mark Hall (Penn State) 2. David McFadden (Virginia Tech) 3. Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) 4. Spencer Carey (Navy) 5. Matt Finesilver (Duke) 6. Trent Hidlay (North Carolina State-Unattached) 7. Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) 8. Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) 184: 1. Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) 2. Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State) 3. Lou Deprez (Binghamton) 4. Sam Colbray (Iowa State) 5. Stanley Smeltzer (Virginia Tech) 6. Chris Weiler (Lehigh) 7. Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech-Unattached) 8. Dominic Lampe (Chattanooga) 197: 1. Bo Nickal (Penn State) 2. Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) 3. Nathan Traxler (Stanford) 4. Stephen Loiseau (Drexel) 5. Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech) 6. Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado) 7. Randall Diabe (Appalachian State) 8. Kyle Gentile (Lehigh) 285: 1. Anthony Cassar (Penn State) 2. Nick Nevills (Penn State) 3. Derek White (Oklahoma State) 4. Billy Miller (Virginia Tech) 5. Matt Voss (George Mason) 6. Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) 7. Joey Goodhart (Drexel) 8. Colin Lawler (North Carolina State-Unattached)

Matthew Kolodzik was one of two Midlands champs for Princeton (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Simply put, 2018 had to end this way. A year that saw Matthew Kolodzik roll through four of the top six seeds at NCAAs and Princeton end long droughts to both Lehigh and Rider fittingly ended Sunday night with the Tiger wrestling program end a 55-year drought by claiming its first Midlands individual champion. And then it ended a 55-minute drought by claiming its second. Top-seeded Matthew Kolodzik, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 149, defeated Northern Iowa's Max Thomsen 3-1 to claim Princeton's first Midlands title, and sophomore Patrick Brucki, currently ranked third at 197, ended the dream run of South Dakota State's Tanner Sloan with a 13-4 major decision to earn the program's second title. Those wins, along with a strong overall performance throughout the team, helped Princeton to its highest-finish ever at Midlands. The Tigers placed fifth overall with 92.5 points, only five behind Wisconsin. "We're headed in the right direction," head coach Chris Ayres said. "We have a few good competitive leaders, and they shined. Other guys had some good moments as well. We had three guys who were terrific this weekend. Now we need 3-4 more guys to make a bit of a jump, and then we can become an incredible team." Kolodzik broke the program drought with an impressive defensive showing and a timely first-period takedown of the third-seeded Thomsen. After a feeling-out process through much of the opening period, Kolodzik got in on Thomsen's legs and secured the takedown with less than 10 seconds left in the period, which kept the third seed from scoring an escape point. Kolodzik escaped quickly in the second to grab a 3-0 lead, and Thomsen added an escape of his own early in the third to draw within two points. The Northern Iowa product tried for a tying takedown, but the two-time All-American put on a brilliant defensive display and fended off one final late shot to complete the 3-1 win. The often-stoic Kolodzik, who avenged a 2017 Midlands loss with a 7-4 semifinal win over Iowa's Pat Lugo, clapped loudly when he was announced as Princeton's first Midlands champion and pointed excitedly to a loud, orange-clad cheering section. "He did a great job," Ayres said. "He's done a lot of our firsts, so I think he has a little added pressure on him, but he handles it so well. He has that clutch gene. Once you bust through like he does, it becomes the normal thing for a program." While Kolodzik's match was dramatic until the final whistle, Brucki seized control immediately against Sloan, who knocked off both the second and third seed to reach the final. The Princeton sophomore captain had his first takedown within the first 10 seconds and didn't stop until he had four in the opening period alone. A variety of shots all landed points for Brucki, who scored a team-best 27 points throughout the weekend -- which would have finished only one point behind Penn for a Top-20 finish. While his championship performance was impressive, it wasn't his only one Sunday. His semifinal was a potential EIWA title preview against sixth-ranked Rocco Caywood of Army, and Brucki was just as overwhelming in a 9-1 major decision. "He's in a special place," Ayres said. "He's not holding back at all. Not even close, that was the best he's wrestled in that finals match. He overwhelmed him, and he had his foot on the pedal the whole time." Patrick Glory had a brilliant weekend of his own, even if he didn't end up on the top of the podium. Glory dropped a semifinal decision to top-ranked Spencer Lee of Iowa, who had teched the Tiger freshman in an earlier dual meet. Lee looked on his way to another tech after a pair of near falls in the first period, but Glory would not go quietly. He scored a reversal and ended up putting Lee to his back in an eventual 12-6 loss. Though disappointed not to reach the final, Glory seemed inspired by the way he finished, and he showed it with a pair of major decisions to place third, including a 14-5 win in the finale over Wisconsin's Connor Brown, the nation's 19th-ranked wrestler. Both Quincy Monday and Kevin Parker dropped their opening matches Sunday and just missed the medal podium after impressive runs to the quarterfinal round. Princeton will return to the mat on Saturday when it competes at the F&M Open, and then the Tigers will return home to prepare for a huge home weekend against both North Carolina (Friday, 7 pm, Dillon Gym) and Oklahoma State (Saturday, 1 pm, Jadwin Gym).

Josh Alber celebrates after winning a Midlands title at 141 pounds (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- For the first time in UNI wrestling history, the Panthers crowned two champions and earned the highest team finish since competing at the Midlands Championships. Josh Alber and Drew Foster led the team to second place and lived up to their top seeds to become UNI's seventh and eighth Midlands champions at the 56th annual tournament today. After a scoreless first period in the 141-pound match, Alber earned an escape in the second and notched two takedowns in the final period to beat Iowa's No. 2 seed Max Murin, 5-2. Foster plowed his way through the 184-pound weight class with a fall, a tech fall and two major decisions before edging out Iowa's Cash Wilcke in the finals, 3-2. Four Panthers competed for a title, the most of any UNI team in program history. In 1992, UNI had two finalists who finished second. This is the first time UNI has crowned two champions. Max Thomsen and Taylor Lujan finished second at 149 pounds and 174 pounds, respectively. Thomsen toppled No. 2 seed Alec Pantaleo of Michigan, 7-4. However, he wasn't able to beat top-seeded Matthew Kolodzik of Princeton, who was third at last year's national championships. Thomsen lost by decision, 3-1. Lujan got on the board early with a takedown against the reigning NCAA champion and the No. 1 seed Zahid Valencia of Arizona State. However, he fell by major decision, 17-7. Lujan ended the tournament with three falls, including two in the first period. Bryce Steiert was seeded fourth and racked up bonus points all weekend at 165 pounds. All of his wins were by major decision, tech fall or fall. The single riding time point in the bronze medal match left Steiert with a fourth-place finish. Michael Blockhus also finished fourth wrestling unattached at 141 pounds. The true freshman opened the tournament with a 15-3 major decision win over No. 6 seed Mike Vanbrill of Rutgers. He fell 8-1 to the No. 5 seed Yahya Thomas of Northwestern to take fourth. Kyle Biscoglia beat three-time NCAA qualifier Elijah Oliver of Indiana in a 3-1 decision for the seventh-place medal at 125 pounds. TEAM SCORING Bonus points helped UNI surge ahead in team scoring finish second to Iowa. Every Panther competing for a medal earned bonus points for the team. The Panthers improved on their fifth-place finishes from 2013 and 1974: Standings: 1. Iowa 184 2. UNI 119.5 3. Northwestern 110 4. Wisconsin 976.5 5. Princeton 92.5 6. Arizona State 83 7. Fresno State 69.5 8. Army 68 9. Illinois 65 10. Campbell 57.5 NEXT UP UNI will face South Dakota State in Brookings, South Dakota, Jan. 11. The Panthers follow it up with a dual against Nebraska on the road. UNI returns home to host Air Force 2 p.m. Jan. 20.

Sebastian Rivera defeated Spencer Lee to win a Midlands title (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Sebastian Rivera and Ryan Deakin sealed their first-career Midlands championships with solid performances on Sunday evening at the Sears Centre Arena. No. 2 Rivera's win came with the most fanfare. He scored early and often against No. 1 Spencer Lee of Iowa, who was undefeated and had not trailed after any period in the season until tonight. Rivera notched three takedowns of the Hawkeye without being taken down once and came away with a 7-3 win over the top-ranked grappler in the nation. The victory was Rivera's first win over Lee in three matchups over the last two seasons. No. 2 Deakin was efficient in his victory over No. 8 Kaleb Young (Iowa), using a consistent and effective strategy to log a 6-2 decision over the Hawkeye. The redshirt sophomore continued his undefeated start to the campaign and came away with the tournament title after finishing third in each of the last two seasons. The win marked the first time that Northwestern has boasted two champions since 2011, when Jason Welch and Lee Munster both won Midlands crowns. NU also sealed its best finish in the team competition since 2014, coming in third behind only Iowa and Northern Iowa. Wrestling for third place, redshirt first-year Yahya Thomas put on a show, notching an 8-1 decision over Michael Blockhus (Northern Iowa - unattached). Thomas placed for the second-straight year, after finishing in sixth place as an unattached wrestler for the Wildcats a year ago. Competing in the event for the first time, true first-year Lucas Davison closed out an impressive weekend with a victory over fourth-seeded Rocco Caywood (Army) in the third-place match. Davison finished with a 5-1 record while wrestling unattached in his Midlands debut. NU is back in action in the new year as the Wildcats will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face off against the Cornhuskers on January 6, 2019.

Iowa captured the team title at the 56th Midlands Championships (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Sophomores Austin DeSanto and Alex Marinelli won individual titles to help Iowa capture the team race at the 56th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Sunday inside the Sears Centre Arena. Iowa scored 184 points to win its 28th Midlands title, 10 of which have been led by head coach Tom Brands. Northern Iowa followed the Hawkeyes with 119.5 points, Northwestern came in third with 110 points and Wisconsin followed in third with 97.5 points. The second-seeded DeSanto grabbed his first Midlands title, winning the 133-pound bracket with a convincing 15-5 major decision over the fourth seed. DeSanto scores 28.5 team points in the tournament. Second-seeded Alex Marinelli earned his second Midlands title in as many seasons, defeating the No. 1 seed Evan Wick, 4-3. "I've waited a long time for that match," said Marinelli. "It killed me to lose so many points at the national tournament to him last year. That match has been marked in my calendar for a long time, I'm happy he wrestled at the Midlands." Spencer Lee, Max Murin, Kaleb Young, and Cash Wilcke placed second in the 125, 141, 157, and 184-pound brackets. No. 5 Pat Lugo and Jeren Glosser placed fourth in the 149 and 157-pound brackets, while Paul Glynn and No. 2 Jacob Warner placed fifth at 133 and 197 pounds. The Hawkeyes return to the mat on Jan. 13, in Minneapolis, Minnesota against Minnesota at 12 pm (CT). Standings: 1. Iowa 184 2. UNI 119.5 3. Northwestern 110 4. Wisconsin 976.5 5. Princeton 92.5 6. Arizona State 83 7. Fresno State 69.5 8. Army 68 9. Illinois 65 10. Campbell 57.5

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The 18th-ranked Wyoming wrestling team finished up action at the South Beach Duals on Sunday afternoon, defeating both Michigan State and SIU-Edwardsville. The Cowboys opened the day with a 20-13 win over the Spartans, before a convincing win over the Cougars in which the Pokes racked up seven bonus point wins. Wyoming (6-3) finished the weekend 3-1, winning two duals on Sunday after knocking off No. 4 NC State in a historic upset in the weekend opener on Saturday morning. "It either does a lot or you let it slip through your fingers," head coach Mark Branch said. "Hopefully this gives our team a sense of confidence because that's something that we struggle with, is do we belong with some of those top-tier teams? When you win them it validates what you're doing. It can do a lot for us if we allow it to, and hopefully we do. Hopefully we don't let this go by without realizing we can compete with the best." The Cowboys will be back in action on Friday, as they host No. 12 North Carolina, Army and American for the Cowboy Shootout, set to begin at 4:30 p.m. MT in the Arena-Auditorium. Cowboys Hold off Michigan State After the Spartans struck first with a win over Cowboy junior Cole Verner by No. 9 Rayvon Foley, Montorie Bridges gave Wyoming the lead at 133 as he unleashed a flurry of scores in the second and third periods to take the 12-4 major decision over Anthony Tutolo. After a scoreless first period, Bridges scored four takedowns and a two-point nearfall over the final two periods to clinch the major. Sam Turner added to the Cowboy advantage at 141, getting the 1-0 decision over Spartan Austin Eicher in a rematch of the Reno Tournament of Champions finals. Turner was able to escape from bottom in the third period to clinch the win. At 149 pounds, Jaron Jensen picked up his first win of the weekend with a 3-2 decision over Jaden Enriquez. After the two grapplers traded escapes from the down position in the second and third periods, Jensen scored on a takedown out of a scramble with under 30 seconds to go in the bout to essentially secure the win. After the Spartans got back on the board thanks to a late takedown from Spartan Jake Tucker on Cowboy Dewey Krueger, senior Branson Ashworth turned in a major decision over Austin Hiles to lock up his third win of the weekend and put the Pokes up, 14-6. The Spartans pulled within one with wins at 174 and 184, but Cale Davidson was able to keep them at bay with a 1-0 win at 197 pounds to stretch Wyoming's lead back to 17-13. Once again, it was up to Cowboy heavyweight Brian Andrews to wrap up the win for the Pokes, needing to hold off Michigan State's Chase Beard to help Wyoming bring home the victory. Thanks in part to a full-period ride out, Andrews was able to edge out Beard, 2-0, to lock up the 20-13 team win. No. 18 Wyoming 20, Michigan State 13 125: No. 9 Rayvon Foley (MSU) dec. Cole Verner (WYO) 7-4 133: No. 12 Montorie Bridges (WYO) MD Anthony Tutolo (MSU) 12-4 141: No. 15 Sam Turner (WYO) dec. Austin Eicher (MSU) 1-0 149: Jaron Jensen (WYO) dec. Jaden Enriquez (MSU) 3-2 157: Jake Tucker (MSU) dec. Dewey Krueger (WYO) 5-4 165: No. 7 Branson Ashworth (WYO) MD Austin Hiles (MSU) 13-5 174: Drew Hughes (MSU) MD Casey Randles (WYO) 15-4 184: No. 14 Cameron Caffey (MSU) dec. Carless Looney (WYO) 10-4 197: Cale Davidson (WYO) dec. Brad Wilton (MSU) 1-0 HWT: No. 19 Brian Andrews (WYO) vs. Chase Beard (MSU) Wyoming Handles SIU-Edwardsville Verner opened the final dual of the weekend with a 13-2 major decision over Austin Macias in the 125-pound match to give Wyoming a 4-0 lead to start. Macias scored a takedown to open the bout, but from that point it was all Verner, as the Cowboy junior ran off 13-straight points to finish off the major. The Cowboys added more bonus points at 133 and 141. Montorie Bridges recorded the first technical fall of his season in a 19-3 technical fall over Jacob Blaha. At 141 pounds, Sam Turner made quick work of Lucas Bernal, pinning the Cougar in 1:40 to stretch the Wyoming advantage to 15-0. The Cougars got on the board with wins at 149 and 157, but Ashworth picked up a big fall in the closing seconds of the first period in his match over Nate Higgins. It marked the first fall of the season for Ashworth. The third pin of the day for the Cowboys came from Hayden Hastings at 174 pounds, as the redshirt freshman dropped Kevin Gschwendtner in 3:33 for the fall. Hastings opened up a 6-0 lead in the bout before eventually turning the Cougar for the second-period pin. It was the first fall of the season for Hastings. Looney made it three-straight pin for Wyoming, with a second-period fall over Sergio Villalobos to boost the Wyoming advantage to 33-6. Cale Davidson followed it up with yet another fall, dropping Christian Dulaney in the first period. Andrews wrapped up the day with a 6-1 decision over Colton McKiernan to finish the weekend at 3-1. No. 18 Wyoming 42, SIUE 6 125: Cole Verner (WYO) MD Austin Macias (SIUE) 13-2 133: No. 12 Montorie Bridges (WYO) TF Jacob Blaha (SIUE) 19-3 141: No. 15 Sam Turner (WYO) fall Lucas Bernal (SIUE) 1:40 149: Tyshawn Williams (SIUE) dec. Jed Loveless (WYO) 13-6 157: Justin Ruffin (SIUE) dec. Dewey Krueger (WYO) 9-4 165: No. 7 Branson Ashworth (WYO) fall Nate Higgins (SIUE) 2:55 174: Hayden Hastings (WYO) fall Kevin Gschwendtner (SIUE) 3:33 184: Carless Looney (WYO) fall Sergio Villalobos (SIUE) 4:35 197: Cale Davidson (WYO) fall Christian Dulaney (SIUE) 2:17 HWT: No. 19 Brian Andrews (WYO) dec. Colton McKiernan (SIUE) 6-1

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- No. 12 North Carolina leaned on Austin O'Connor's two key wins and a late overtime decision from Cory Daniel to pick up team victories against both No. 20 Lehigh and No. 21 North Dakota State on Sunday to wrap up the 2018 South Beach Duals. The Tar Heels (5-3) began the day against No. 20 Lehigh (1-7) and stormed out of the gate. The first four matches went in Carolina's favor, including a 17-7 major decision win for the fifth-ranked O'Connor over LU's Cortlandt Schuyler. UNC picked up 12 key team points in A.C. Headlee and Josh McClure's matches due to a pair of injury defaults. Lehigh was able to win the final five matches of the day, including No. 6 Jordan Kutler's pin of Will MacDonald at 174 pounds, but the major decision from O'Connor and the injury points swung the match in Carolina's favor, a 22-18 win for the Tar Heels. Against North Dakota State, Carolina fell behind early due to wins from two of the country's best lightweights, No. 9 Brent Fleetwood (125) and No. 17 Cam Sykora (133). It looked as though bonus points would make the difference for NDSU (5-3), but Carolina found a way to string together three key wins in the middle of the lineup to shift momentum. The comeback started with Headlee, who fought a tough seven minutes to collect a 6-1 win over Taylor Nein. After that, O'Connor improved his season record to 19-2 with a pin of Jaden Van Maanen in 3:58. Perhaps the most key performance of the day came in the next match when McClure picked up a down-to-the-wire 5-4 decision over Luke Weber. Weber scored late on a reversal and looked as though he had a chance to win, but McClure's riding time point proved to be the difference. After NDSU collected a pair of wins at 165 and 174, No. 11 Chip Ness turned in a strong performance against Michael Otomo. He jumped out to an early 9-0 lead after two periods and never looked back, winning 13-1 to give Carolina a key bonus point in the team score. Ness' win tied the dual at 16 with two matches to go. Chasen Blair fell to NDSU's Cordell Eaton at 197, but Daniel closed out a win for the Tar Heels in dramatic fashion. The first seven minutes of Daniel's match against Brandon Metz were action-packed, but neither could score a takedown despite multiple close efforts. The match went into overtime tied at one, and after a scoreless sudden victory period, Daniel utilized a reversal and a takedown during the tiebreakers to score four points, winning 5-1. Due to O'Connor's previous win via fall, the Tar Heels won the dual on criteria, 20-19. North Carolina will continue its road trip this week and travel west to Laramie, Wyoming, to compete in the Cowboy Shootout. The team will battle Wyoming, American and Army West Point on January 4. Friday night's action will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET. No. 12 North Carolina 22, No. 20 Lehigh 18 125: Joe Heilmann (UNC) dec. Luke Resnick (LU), 3-2 – UNC leads 3-0 133: Gary Wayne Harding (UNC) dec. Brandon Paetzell (LU), 5-2 – UNC leads 6-0 141: A.C. Headlee (UNC) won by inj. def. Luke Karam (LU) – UNC leads 12-0 149: #5 Austin O'Connor (UNC) maj. dec. Cortlandt Schuyler (LU), 17-7 – UNC leads 16-0 157: Josh McClure (UNC) won by inj. def. #20 Josh Humphreys (LU) – UNC leads 22-0 165: Gordon Wolf (LU) dec. Sawyer Davidson (UNC), 12-9 – UNC leads 22-3 174: #6 Jordan Kutler (LU) pinned Will MacDonald (UNC), 4:20 – UNC leads 22-9 184: #8 Ryan Preisch (LU) dec. #11 Chip Ness (UNC), 4-1 – UNC leads 22-12 197: Kyle Gentile (LU) dec. Hunter Queen (UNC), 9-3 – UNC leads 22-15 285: #6 Jordan Wood (LU) dec. #15 Cory Daniel (UNC), 6-4 – UNC wins 22-18 No. 12 North Carolina 20, No. 21 North Dakota State 19 125: Brent Fleetwood (NDSU) maj. dec. Joe Heilmann (UNC), 12-2 – NDSU leads 4-0 133: Cam Sykora (NDSU) maj. dec. Gary Wayne Harding (UNC), 10-0 – NDSU leads 8-0 141: A.C. Headlee (UNC) dec. Taylor Nein (NDSU), 6-1 – NDSU leads 8-3 149: #5 Austin O'Connor (UNC) pinned Jaden Van Maanen (NDSU), 3:58 – UNC leads 9-8 157: Josh McClure (UNC) dec. Luke Weber (NDSU), 5-4 – UNC leads 12-8 165: Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) dec. Sawyer Davidson (UNC), 5-2 – UNC leads 12-11 174: Lorenzo De La Riva (NDSU) tech fall Will MacDonald (UNC), 19-2 – NDSU leads 16-12 184: #11 Chip Ness (UNC) maj. dec. Michael Otomo (NDSU), 13-1 – Tied 16-16 197: Cordell Eaton (NDSU) dec. Chasen Blair (UNC), 7-4 – NDSU leads 19-16 285: #15 Cory Daniel (UNC) dec. Brandon Metz (NDSU), 5-1 – Tied 19-19 *North Carolina wins by first criteria, total wins by fall

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State wrestling team picked up a pair of dual wins to conclude its weekend 3-1 at the South Beach Duals, with a pair of wins over ranked teams. The Pack's day started with a 23-11 win over #22 Utah Valley. NC State won the first two and four of the first five bouts to take an 18-3 lead – the wins included a pin and a tech fall. Utah Valley got the team score to 18-9, but NC State scored decisions in two of the final three matches. NC State closed out the event with a 24-9 win over Indiana. The Hoosiers won the first two bouts to take a 6-0 lead, but NC State closed out the dual winning seven of the final eight matches, with three bonus point wins. Up Next: The Pack returns to dual action on Sunday, January 6 with a trip to #2 Ohio State. The match will be televised on ESPN2. #7 NC State 23, #22 Utah Valley 11 125: Zurich Storm (NCSU) major dec. Josh Jensen; 15-6 – 4-0 133: #4 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) fall Isaiah Delgado; 2:03 – 10-0 141: #11 Matt Findlay (UV) dec. #15 Jamal Morris; 5-3 – 10-3 149: #4 Justin Oliver (NCSU) technical fall Matthew Ontiveros; 18-0 – 15-3 157: #5 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) dec. Grant LaMont; 9-4 – 18-3 165: #11 Demetrius Romero (UV) dec. Thomas Bullard; 8-4 – 18-6 174: #18 Kimball Bastian (UV) dec. Daniel Bullard; 3-2 – 18-9 184: #4 Nick Reenan (NCSU) dec. Will Sumner; 12-7 – 21-9 197: #13 Tanner Orndorff (UV) dec. #16 Malik McDonald; 12-10 – 21-12 285: Deonte Wilson (NCSU) dec. Ashton Seely; 7-4 – 23-11* *- both teams were deducted a team point for loss of control of mat #7 NC State 24, Indiana 9 125: Liam Cronin (IND) dec. Zurich Storm; 10-8 (SV1) – 0-3 133: Paul Konrath (IND) dec. #4 Tariq Wilson; 4-3 – 0-6 141: #15 Jamal Morris (NCSU) dec. #16 Cole Weaver; 7-4 – 3-6 149: #4 Justin Oliver (NCSU) dec. Fernie Silva; 7-3 – 6-6 157: #5 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) major dec. Jake Danishek; 14-5 – 10-6 165: Thomas Bullard (NCSU) dec. Bryce Martin; 3-1 – 13-6 174: Jake Covaciu (IND) dec. Daniel Bullard; 3-2 – 13-9 184: #4 Nick Reenan (NCSU) major dec. Norman Conley; 16-7 – 17-9 197: #16 Malik McDonald (NCSU) dec. Jake Kleimola; 5-1 – 20-9 285: Deonte Wilson (NCSU) major dec. Brandon Streck; 8-0 – 24-9

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fl. - The University of Minnesota finished off the South Beach Duals in historic fashion with a 51-0 rout over Kent State followed by a 36-6 victory over No. 22 Utah Valley. The Gophers 51-0 victory was the program's first time scoring over 50 points since a Nov. 29, 2008 dual against Portland State and the first time notching a shutout since Nov. 24, 2012 against Itasca Community College. Eight Gophers went 2-0 on the day. Three of them, 125-pound Sean Russell, 133-pound Ethan Lizak, and heavyweight Gable Steveson went undefeated throughout the weekend of duals. The Gophers were one of only two teams at the South Beach Duals that went 4-0 on the weekend, including three victories over ranked teams. Minnesota finished the weekend winning 32 of their possible 40 bouts. Kent State Dual The Gophers routed Kent State in historic fashion as described above. With five pins and nine total bonus point victories the Gophers cruised to victory. 133-pound Ethan Lizak didn't even need a minute to get his first takedown and four-point nearfall. Lizak continued to scramble and ended up with the second period pin to begin a string of pins. Directly after 141-pound No. 5 Mitch McKee one-upped Lizak wasting no time in getting his first period pin after only 1:20. 157-pound Steve Bleise joined the pin party after he got the first period nearfall points and got the actual fall in the second period at the 4:29 mark 174-pound Devin Skatzka also got the fall with only three seconds to spare before the end of the first period. Heavyweight Gable Steveson continued his run of dominance with the Gophers fifth pin of the day and his second consecutive first period pin after finishing off No. 15 Cory Daniel of North Carolina on Saturday. 125-pound Sean Russell continued to hit on his shots with several takedowns in the first period and a couple of four-point nearfalls in the second en route to a 17-2 technical fall. 184-pound Brandon Krone was one of the only Gophers to give up the first points in his bout, but he made sure they were the last points scored by Kent State. Once he got the reversal and was back on top Krone repeatedly turned his opponent for the 17-2 technical fall. 149-pound Tommy Thorn notched his shutout, major decision with a great first period and relentless action throughout the rest of the bout. Thorn's takedown and four-point nearfall to begin the battle wound up being crucial to his victory. 197-pound Rylee Streifel got his third straight dual victory at his new weight and his first with bonus points. He got three takedowns as well as a two-point nearfall on the last two seconds of the second period to lead the way towards a 11-0 major decision 165-pound Carson Brolsma battled against Isaac Bast and he secured the Gophers lone regular decision on the day by a score of 10-4. Utah Valley Dual The Gophers continued to roll in their afternoon dual with eight victories in their ten bouts against Utah Valley. Both Russell and Lizak continued to roll, each earning a technical fall to start the Gophers off quick once again. Russell now has a seven match winning streak while Lizak's streak sits at five. McKee followed their routs up with a hard fought battle with No. 11 Matt Findlay and wound up on top due to a quick reversal and nearfall after starting on bottom. Thorn notched his second victory of the day with a dominant 14-4 major decision over Landon Knutzen that gave him three victories and only one loss on the weekend. Bleise accomplished the same feat due to a Utah Valley injury while he was leading. Skatzka calmly took control of his match with a spladle that lasted nearly 30 seconds but couldn't get the fall. He finished with a 13-4 major decision. Krone got his second victory of the day with a high-scoring decision, 12-4, over Will Sumner with several nearfalls and over three minutes of riding time Steveson continued his undefeated season due to a forfeit. The Gophers two losses came in close battles from Brolsma and Streifel against two of Utah Valley's ranked wrestlers. Both wrestlers had leads going into the third period but couldn't close out the upsets. Kent State Dual (51-0): 125: No.6 Sean Russell tech. fall Jake Ferri (17-2) 133: No. 8 Ethan Lizak fall (3:18) Tim Rooney 141: No. 5 Mitch McKee fall (1:20) Cory Simpson 149: No. 20 Tommy Thorn major dec. Kody Komara (9-0) 157: No. 11 Steve Bleise fall (4:29)_Richard Jackson 165: Carson Brolsma dec. Isaac Bast (10-4) 174: No.15 Devin Skatzka fall (2:57) Dylan Barreiro 184: Brandon Krone tech. fall Lane Hinkle (17-2) 197: Rylee Streifel major dec. Shane Mast (11-0) HWT: No. 2 Gable Steveson fall (1:44) Spencer Berthold No. 22 Utah Valley (36-6): 125: No. 6 Sean Russell tech. fall Josh Jensen (20-3) 133: No. 8 Ethan Lizak tech. fall Isaiah Delgado (16-1) 141: No. 5 Mitch McKee dec. No. 11 Matt Findlay (11-6) 149: No. 20 Tommy Thorn major dec. Landon Knutzen (14-4) 157: No. 11 Steve Bleise injury default (5:47) over Grant Lamont 165: No. 11 Demetrius Romero SV-1 (12-1) over Carson Brolsma 174: No. 15 Devin Skatzka major dec. No. 18 Kimball Bastian 184: Brandon Krone dec. Will Sumner (12-8) 197: No. 13 Tanner Orndorff dec. Rylee Streifel (5-4) HWT: No. 2 Gable Steveson (forfeit)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- No. 6 Mizzou Wrestling capped a dominant weekend at the South Beach Duals by defeating No. 8 Cornell, 22-9, in a top-10 dual Sunday afternoon. The dual win improved Mizzou to a perfect 10-0 this season and extended its winning streak to 30 consecutive duals, dating back to 2016-17. In all, Mizzou defeated three ranked teams at the South Beach Duals, including a pair of top-15 opponents Sunday. Below are the match-by-match results for the weekend: vs. Kent State – W, 44-0 (won all 10 bouts) vs. No. 21 Lehigh – W, 21-12 (won six of 10 bouts) vs. No. 13 Purdue – W, 41-3 (won nine of 10 bouts) vs. No. 8 Cornell – W, 22-9 (won seven of 10 bouts) Mizzou outscored its four opponents, 128-24, over the four duals on South Beach. Mizzou won 32 of 40 individual bouts over the weekend with 16 of the 32 wins earning team bonus points. "I'm very proud of the way our young men competed this weekend," head coach Brian Smith said. "We wrestled some very good teams and won some big duals and got a lot big individual wins. Tomorrow we will go to the beach and have a great time as a team." Against Cornell, Mizzou won bouts at 133, 149, 157, 165, 174, 184 and 197 pounds. Below is a match-by-match breakdown of the results: Results: 125: #13 Vitali Arujau (Cornell) won by decision over Dack Punke (Missouri), 4-2 (sv1) 133: #9 John Erneste (Missouri) won by decision over #13 Chas Tucker (Cornell), 4-2 141: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by decision over #3 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri), 3-1 149: #13 Brock Mauller (Missouri) won by decision over Chris Schoenherr (Cornell), 6-1 157: Jarrett Jacques (Miissouri) won by decision over #18 Fredy Stroker (Cornell), 8-5 165: #13 Connor Flynn (Missouri) won by major decision over Milik Dawkins (Cornell), 10-0 174: #4 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) won by decision over #14 Brandon Womack (Cornell), 6-0 184: Dylan Wisman (Missouri) won by decision over #6 Max Dean (Cornell), 7-6 197: Wyatt Koelling (Missouri) won by decision over Jake Taylor (Cornell), 7-4 285: Jeramy Sweany (Cornell) won by decision over #13 Zach Elam (Missouri), 3-2 Mizzou will be off until Jan. 11 when it heads to Athens, Ohio, for a dual with the University of Ohio.

Alex Marinelli is one of eight semifinalists for Iowa (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Eight University of Iowa wrestlers advanced to the semifinals in the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Saturday night inside Sears Centre Arena, placing the Hawkeyes at the top of the team race after day one. Spencer Lee got the ball rolling in the second session with a technical fall in 2:23 as the top seed at 125 pounds to advance to the semifinals. No. 2 Austin DeSanto added bonus points with a 13-3 major decision and Paul Glynn earned a 4-0 decision as both advanced to the semifinals of the 133-pound bracket. No. 2 Max Murin and No.2 Cash Wilcke both picked up decisions to advance to the semifinals in the 141 and 184-pound brackets. Fifth-seeded Pat Lugo advanced due to an injury default at 149. With over three minutes of riding time, No. 2 Kaleb Young recorded his third technical fall of the tournament to move onto the semifinal round in the 157-pound bracket. In the 165-pound bracket, No. 2 Alex Marinelli won, 8-6, in sudden victory one to advance to the semifinals,where he will face the No. 3 seed, Joshua Shields (Arizona State). Vince Turk, Jacob Warner, and Tony Cassioppi fell to the back side of the bracket where there are five Hawkeyes vying for a spot in the third-place match. Four Hawkeyes were eliminated during the second round. Competition resumes with Session III tomorrow at 12 p.m. (CT). The Midlands Championships is streamed online at BTN2Go and at FloWrestling.com. Live results are available at TrackWrestling.com. The tournament in broadcast on AM 800 KXIC and stream on hawkeyesports.com via Hawkeye All-Access.

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Virginia wrestling team (6-4) opened the South Beach Duals with a pair of strong performances on Saturday, posting wins over West Virginia (1-6) and No. 22 Utah Valley (6-3). It was the first day of a two-day event for the Cavaliers. Virginia defeated the Mountaineers 26-13 in the first dual of the day before coming right back to the mat for a 26-19 win over nationally-ranked Utah Valley. The Cavaliers got four wins by pinfall on the afternoon, including two pins from junior Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas), and pins from sophomores Louie Hayes (Orland Park, Ill.) and Sam Martino (Colonial Heights, Va.). Sophomore Jake Keating (Naperville, Ill.) also turned in two tech falls to help power Virginia to the pair of victories. Sophomore Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) also went undefeated on the day, including a critical win over No. 13 Tanner Orndorff of Utah Valley. Virginia will return to action on Sunday, closing out the South Beach Duals with matches against SIU-Edwardsville and No. 21 Lehigh. The duals will be held at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. "We've been knocking on the door for two years now and we've come so close in so many duals, it feels good for our guys to pull that one out today (vs. No. 22 Utah Valley)," said Virginia head coach Steve Garland. "Utah Valley has been beating ranked teams all year. They are tough and well coached. We knew it would be a scrappy dual and it was. We had a lot of heroes today and bonus-points were the difference. Jack, Louie, Sam and Jake started us strong and then Jay iced the dual for us with a gritty win over a top 13 ranked opponent. Today was huge for our program and I'm proud of our guys." Mueller, the fifth-ranked wrestler at 125 pounds, got Virginia off to a strong start in both duals of the day with pins in each match. Against West Virginia, Mueller got the pin in the first period before the Mountaineers would sandwich a pair of decisions around a decision from junior Sam Krivus (Greensburg, Pa.), who is ranked No. 17 at 141 pounds. At 157 pounds, Keating then turned in his first tech fall of the day to open up the gap in the overall score to 14-7 in favor of the Hoos. Following a decision by West Virginia at 165 pounds, the Cavaliers rattled off three straight wins from freshman Robby Patrick (Ligonier, Pa.) at 174 pounds, senior Chance McClure (Commerce, Ga.) at 184 pounds and seventh-ranked Aiello at 197 pounds to secure the win over the Mountaineers. Virginia shot out of the gates in the dual with the Wolverines of Utah Valley, getting back-to-back pins from Mueller and Hayes to start the competition. A win for Utah Valley in a matchup of top-15 wrestlers at 141 pounds got the Wolverines on the board, but the pin from Martino and another tech fall from Keating pushed Virginia out to a 23-3 lead in the dual. Utah Valley would cut into the lead with three straight wins at 165 pounds, 174 pounds and 184 pounds, but Aiello would then lock up the victory with an 8-6 decision in sudden victory over No. 13 Tanner Orndorff. Virginia 26, West Virginia 13 125: No. 5 Jack Mueller pinned Joey Thomas (WVU), 2:25 – UVA 6, WVU 0 133: Matthew Schmitt (WVU) dec. Louie Hayes, 5-2 – UVA 6, WVU 3 141: No. 17 Sam Krivus dec. Lukas Martin (WVU), 10-4 – UVA 9, WVU 3 149: Christian Monserrat (WVU) major dec. Michael Murphy, 10-0 – UVA 9, WVU 7 157: Jake Keating tech fall Zach Moore (WVU) , 16-1 - UVA 14, WVU 7 165: Nick Kiussis (WVU) dec. No. 18 Cam Coy, 9-2 - UVA 14, WVU 10 174: Robby Patrick dec. Josh Ramirez (WVU), 9-5 - UVA 17, WVU 10 184: Chance McClure over Jackson Moomau (WVU), Injury Default – UVA 23, WVU 10 197: No. 7 Jay Aiello dec. Noah Adams (WVU), 9-5 – UVA 26, WVU 10 HWT: Brandon Ngati (WVU) dec. Tyler Love, 1-0 – UVA 26, WVU 13 Virginia 26, No. 22 Utah Valley 19 125: No. 5 Jack Mueller pinned Josh Jensen (UVU), 0:58 – UVA 6, UVU 0 133: Louie Hayes pinned Isaiah Delgado (UVU), 5:52 – UVA 12, UVU 0 141: No. 11 Matt Findlay (UVU) dec. No. 17 Sam Krivus, 11-4 – UVA 12, UVU 3 149: Sam Martino pinned Matthew Ontiveros (UVU), 4:46 - UVA 18, UVU 3 157: Jake Keating tech fall Grant LaMont (UVU), 22-4 (7:00) – UVA 23, UVU 3 165: No. 11 Demetrius Romero (UVU) dec. No. 18 Cam Coy, 6-4 – UVA 23, UVU 6 174: No. 18 Kimball Bastian (UVU ) major dec. Drew Peck, 10-2 – UVA 23, UVU 10 184: Will Sumner (UVU) over Chance McClure, disqualification - UVA 23, UVU 16 197: No. 7 Jay Aiello dec. No. 13 Tanner Orndorff (UVU), 8-6 (sv-1) – UVA 26, UVU 16 HWT: No. 9 Tate Orndorff (UVU) dec. Robert Scherer, 12-5 – UVA 26, UVU 19

The Michigan State wrestling team is out to their best start in eight years following a pair of dual meet victories on Saturday, December 29 at the South Beach Duals in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. MSU defeated Southern Illinois Edwardsville, 28-11, in their morning dual before outlasting West Virginia, 23-16, in their afternoon session at the Broward County Convention Center. With a pair of wins the Spartans are now 4-0 for the first time since the 2010-2011 season in which they opened the year with wins over Shippensburg, Harvard, Binghamton and Northern Illinois. Michigan State is back in action at the South Beach Duals on Sunday, December 30 with an 11 a.m. ET dual against No. 18-ranked Wyoming and a 1 p.m. ET dual against Kent State. A win over Wyoming would give the Spartans their best start to a season since 1973-74 in which they started 11-0. Freshman Rayvon Foley earned bonus points for the Spartans in each of their Saturday duals, defeating Austin Macais of SIUE, 15-0, and Joey Thomas of West Virginia, 19-4. Michigan State earned two falls against SIUE with Anthony Tutolo earning his first of the season and Drew Hughes earning his eight pin of the year. Redshirt Senior Austin Eicher picked up two wins on Saturday to improve his dual record to 2-1 on the season. Eicher earned a 11-0 major decision against SIUE's Lucas Bernal to pick up his first dual win of the year. Continuing his undefeated season is redshirt freshman Cameron Caffey who's 11-3 major decision over SIUE's Sergio Villalobos improved his season record to 16-0. Redshirt sophomore's Jake Tucker and Christian Rebottaro each picked up decision for MSU as Tucker defeated West Virginia's Zach Moore, 3-0, while Rebottaro bested SIUE's Colton McKiernan, 13-7. Michigan State 28, Southern Illinois Edwardsville 11 125: Rayvon Foley tech. fall Austin Macias, 15-0, MSU leads 5-0 133: Anthony Tutolo by fall (4:50) Jake Blaha, MSU leads 11-0 141: Austin Eicher major dec. Lucas Bernal, 11-0, MSU leads 15-0 149: Tyshawn Williams dec. Jaden Enriquez, 10-6, MSU leads 15-3 157: Justin Ruffin dec. Jake Tucker, 2-1, MSU leads 15-6 165: Nate Higgins dec. Logan Ritchie, 13-7, MSU leads 15-9 174: Drew Hughes by fall (1:56) Kevin Gshwendtner, MSU leads 21-9 184: Cameron Caffey major dec. Sergio Villalobos, 11-3, MSU leads 25-9 197: Christian Dulaney dec. Brad Wilton, 10-7, MSU leads 25-11* 285: Christian Rebottaro dec. Colton McKiernan, 13-7, MSU leads 28-11 *1 point was subtracted from SIUE following the bout at 197. Michigan State 23, West Virginia 16 125: Rayvon Foley tech. fall Joey Thomas, 19-4, MSU leads 5-0 133: Matthew Schmitt dec. Anthony Tutolo, 3-2, MSU leads 5-3 141: Austin Eicher dec. Lukas Martin, 8-3, MSU leads 8-3 149: Christian Monserrat dec. Jaden Enriquez, 8-6, MSU leads 8-6 157: Jake Tucker dec. Zach Moore, 3-0, MSU leads 11-6 165: Nick Kiuss dec. Austin Hiles, 5-1, MSU leads 11-9 174: Josh Ramirezz dec. (SV-1) Drew Hughes, 4-2, WVU leads 12-11 184: Cameron Caffey wins by forfeit, MSU leads 17-12 197: Noah Adams major dec. Brad Wilton, 11-0, MSU leads 17-16 285: Chase Beard inj. (2:33) David Smith, MSU leads 23-16

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Indiana wrestling team took down No. 12 North Carolina at the South Beach Duals on Saturday. Key Moments • The Hoosiers fell behind 13-0 as North Carolina won the first four bouts of the dual match. • Senior Jake Danishek pinned Josh McClure to get the Hoosiers six points. • The Hoosiers tied the dual 13-13 with a major decision, 18-5, by Jake Cavaciu. • Indiana took their first lead of the dual with a 3-2 decision by Norman Conley to put Indiana up 16-13. • Jake Kleimola put Indiana up 19-13 with a 4-1 decision. Notes • Indiana improves to 3-3 overall and North Carolina drops to 3-2. • The Hoosiers last ranked win came February 19, 2017 against #20 Appalachian State, 21-12. Prior to that it was against #20 Minnesota on December 11, 2015. • The last top-15 win for Indiana came on Feb. 25, 2008 when the No. 21 Hoosiers beat No. 10 Northwestern, 24-14. • Jake Danishek won his 12th match of the season and got his fourth pin of the season. Danishek has won his last five matches. • Norman Conley's 3-2 decision came against returning All-American and #11 Chip Ness. • Bryce Martin has won five of his last six matches and improves to 11-4 on the season and 4-2 in dual matches. • Martin and Danishek are a combined 8-4 in dual matches. • Jake Covaciu won his first dual match at Indiana with an 18-5 major decision. Covaciu a two-time Indiana State Champion, transferred from Wisconsin. >Up Next Up next the Hoosiers continue dual action tomorrow against #8 Cornell, #7 North Carolina State and #20 North Dakota State. Results: 125: Joe Heilmann (UNC) dec. Liam Cronin (IU) 7-6 133: Gary Wayne Harding (UNC) MD Paul Konrath (IU) 15-7 141: AC Headlee (UNC) dec. #16 Cole Weaver (IU) 2-1 149: Austin O'Connor (UNC) dec. Breyden Bailey (IU) 7-4 157: Jake Danishek (IU) Fall Josh McClure (UNC) 6:23 165: Bryce Martin (IU) dec. Sawyer Davidson (UNC) 5-2 174: Jake Covaciu (IU) MD Will MacDonald (UNC) 18-5 184: Norman Conley (IU) dec. #11 Chip Ness (UNC) 3-2 197: Jake Kleimola (IU) dec. Hunter Queen (UNC) 4-1 285: #15 Cory Daniel (UNC) dec. Rudy Streck (IU) 8-2

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- No. 6 Mizzou Wrestling completed a perfect 2-0 outing during day one of the South Beach Duals, downing No. 21 Lehigh, 21-12, Saturday afternoon. After going 2-0 on the day, Mizzou has now won 28 consecutive duals, a streak that dates back to the 2016-17 season. The win was Mizzou's third over a top-25 opponent this season; Mizzou downed No. 17 Illinois to open the year and beat No. 14 Virginia Tech on Nov. 16. Coupled with Mizzou's 44-0 win over Kent State to open the weekend, Mizzou won 15 of 20 bouts on the day, winning the two duals by a combined score of 65-12. The team did not allow a bonus point win by its opponents on Saturday and earned nine bonus point wins in 20 bouts. Below is breakdown of the Lehigh dual: Results: 125 Pounds – Dack Punke (3-3) vs. Jaret Lane – W, 9-2 | 3-0 133 Pounds – No. 9 John Erneste (9-2) vs. Brandon Paetzel - L, 5-2 | 3-3 141 Pounds – No. 3 Jaydin Eierman (12-1) vs. Luke Karam – W, 21-5 Technical Fall (6:47) | 8-3 149 Pounds – Brock Mauller (18-1) vs. Cortlandt Schuyler – W, 9-5 | 11-3 157 Pounds – Jarrett Jacques (15-5) vs. No. 20 Josh Humphreys – W, 5-4 | 14-3 165 Pounds – No. 13 Connor Flynn (11-3) vs. Gordon Wolf – W, 12-3 Major Decision | 18-3 174 Pounds – No. 4 Daniel Lewis (13-1) vs. Jordan Kutler – W, 8-1 | 21-3 184 Pounds – Dylan Wisman (11-5) vs. Ryan Preisch – L, 9-2 | 21-6 197 Pounds – Wyatt Koelling (9-7) vs.Kyle Gentile – L, 5-2 | 21-9 Heavyweight – No. 11 Zach Elam (15-2) vs. Jordan Woods – L, 2-0 | 21-12 Mizzou has a huge day on tap tomorrow as it will wrap up action at the South Beach Duals against No. 8 Cornell and No. 13 Purdue. The match with the Boilermakers will be at 10 a.m. (CT) while the Cornell dual will be at noon (CT).

FT. LAUDERDALE, FLA. -- The NC State wrestling team split a pair of duals on the first day of action at the South Beach Duals in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In the opening match, #7 NC State fell on criteria to #18 Wyoming, 22-21. Both teams won five bouts, and Wyoming overcame a 21-12 deficit with two points left to get the team win. The Cowboys secured a pin at heavyweight and the tiebreaker was most pins, which Wyoming had a 2-1 advantage. NC State came back in the second dual and defeated #13 Purdue, 27-13. The Wolfpack won six of the first seven matches of the dual to jump out to a 27-3 lead. Among the seven wins were four bonus point wins, and a pair of pins. Up Next: NC State will have two more duals tomorrow, as the Wolfpack will face #22 Utah Valley at 11 a.m. and then Indiana at 1 p.m. #18 Wyoming 22, #7 NC State 21 125: Cole Verner (WYO) fall #7 Sean Fausz; 2:20 – 0-6 133: #4 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) dec. #12 Montorie Bridges; 6-5 – 3-6 141: Sam Turner (WYO) dec. #15 Jamal Morris; 8-1 – 3-9 149: #4 Justin Oliver (NCSU) fall Jed Loveless; 2:20 – 9-9 157: #5 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) tech fall Dewey Krueger; 21-6 – 14-9 165: #9 Branson Ashworth (WYO) dec. Thomas Bullard; 8-1 – 14-12 174: Daniel Bullard (NCSU) major dec. Hayden Hastings; 15-3 – 18-12 184: #4 Nick Reenan (NCSU) dec. Careless Looney; 8-5 – 21-12 197: Cale Davidson (WYO) dec. #16 Malik McDonald; 8-6 – 21-15 285: #20 Brian Andrews (WYO) fall Deonte Wilson; 2:43 – 21-22* Wyoming wins on criteria, most falls (2-1) #7 NC State 27, #13 Purdue 13 125: #7 Sean Fausz (NCSU) dec. #18 Devin Schroder; 7-1 – 3-0 133: #4 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) fall Bjorn Schroeder; 2:59 – 9-0 141: Nate Limmex (PUR) dec. #15 Jamal Morris – 9-5 – 9-3 149: #4 Justin Oliver (NCSU) major dec. Parker Filius; 10-0 – 13-3 157: #5 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) tech fall Austin Nash; 17-1 – 18-3 165: Thomas Bullard (NCSU) dec. Cole Wysocki; 5-1 – 21-3 174: Daniel Bullard (NCSU) fall Tanner Webster; 2:59 – 27-3 184: Max Lyon (PUR) dec. Rod Davis; 8-3 – 27-6 197: #9 Christian Brunner (PUR) major dec. #16 Malik McDonald; 14-3- 27-10 285: Jacob Aven (PUR) dec. Deonte Wilson; 3-1 – 27-13

The University of Minnesota kicked off the South Beach Duals with their first day of competition and went 2-0 over a pair of ranked teams. The Gophers defeated No. 16 Lehigh 25-9 before finishing off No.12 North Carolina 29-1. Five Gopher wrestlers won both of their matches on the day. The Gophers only dropped three matches in each of the duals respectively with only one coming by bonus point. Lehigh Dual The Gophers began their South Beach experience with a 25-9 victory over No. 16 Lehigh. Making a big return from injury was 141-pound Mitch McKee. McKee got the pin at 2:16 showing off his freestyle wrestling experience and strength with his effort to get the pin. In his first dual down at 197-pounds Rylee Streifel made an immediate impact with an upset of No. 10 Jake Jacobson. Streifel dominated the third period and racked up riding time to clinch a 1-0 victory. Showing off his motor 165-pound Carson Brolsma rallied from a deficit to begin the third period. Brolsma clawed back and a takedown with seven seconds remaining gave him the scintillating victory. 125-pound Sean Russell kicked off the event with three first period takedowns which resulted in a 6-2 lead after the first period. Russell continued to takedown Lehigh's Jaret Lane with ease as he added to his point total. After amassing over 3:30 in riding time Russell left with a 20-9 major decision. 133-pound Ethan Lizak got the first takedown in his match and never let his opponent escape. After the first period Lizak already held a 4-0 lead with 2:17 of riding time. Lizak finished off the bout with a 7-0 victory and over four minutes of riding time. 149-pound Tommy Thorn grinded out a 7-3 victory by decision over Cortlandt Schuyler. Thorn battled in the back-and-forth affair to secure the victory. Heavyweight Gable Steveson continued his undefeated start with a 9-4 victory over No. 6 Jordan Wood, an NCAA qualifier and nearly All-American last season. 174-pound Devin Skatzka fell to No. 6 Jordan Kutler while 184-pound Brandon Krone dropped his dual by a narrow two-point margin to No. 8 Ryan Dreisch. Making his first start since the Oklahoma State dual Steve Bleise fell 5-3 to No. 20 Josh Humphreys. North Carolina Dual The Gophers continued their dominance and string of bonus points in their second dual of the day with a 29-11 victory over North Carolina that included four bonus point victories. The Gophers got revenge after losing to North Carolina at last years South Beach Duals. At heavyweight Steveson continued his dominant freshman campaign with a pin of No. 15 Cory Daniel after only 1:43. Steveson now sits at 16-0 to begin his college career. After debuting at the weight earlier in the day Streifel continued to impress with a 6-1 decision over Chasen Blair. Streifel finished the day without allowing a takedown. Russell continued his attacking ways at the top of the lineup and nearly notched the technical fall but finished with another high scoring major decision. Once again living up to his nickname, "Backpack Lizak", Lizak got the first takedown of the match and never let his opponent escape. Lizak repeatedly turned his opponent for nearfall points and finished up with an impressive 18-0 technical fall. After dropping his earlier bout, Bleise fought back for his first victory since Nov. 18 after surgery for a broken hand. Brolsma continued to show his expertise in tight matches with a narrow, 4-2 victory over North Carolina's Sawyer Davidson. Brolsma didn't allow a takedown and finished with his second victory of the day. Skatzka bounced back from his earlier loss with a dominant victory that saw him getting three separate four-point nearfalls. His final nearfall, which ended the match at 17-0, was a beautiful cradle. While he won a tight match earlier in the day by the same score, Thorn dropped a hard-fought battle. In the same boat was Brandon Krone who lost due to the one point awarded for his opponent's riding time. McKee dropped his match after a couple early mistakes made it difficult to recover. McKee fought to secure overtime, but fell in the sudden victory session. North Carolina was deducted a team point during the 141-pound bout for unsportsmanlike conduct. Lehigh Dual: 125: No.6 Sean Russell major dec. Jaret Lane (20-9) 133: No. 8 Ethan Lizak dec. Brandon Paetzel (7-0) 141: No. 5 Mitch Mckee fall (2:16) over Luke Karam 149: No. 20 Tommy Thorn dec. Cortlandt Schuyler (7-3) 157: No. 20 Josh Humphreys dec. No.11 Steve Bleise (5-3) 165: Carson Brolsma dec. Gordon Wolf (10-8) 174: No. 6 Jordan Kutler dec. No.15 Devin Skatzka (7-3) 184: No. 8 Ryan Dreisch dec. Brandon Krone (5-3) 197: Rylee Streifel dec. No. 10 Jake Jacobson (1-0) HWT: No. 2 Gable Steveson dec. No. 6 Jordan Wood (9-4) North Carolina Dual (29-11): 125: No. 6 Sean Russell major dec. Joe Heilmann (14-3) 133: No. 8 Ethan Lizak tech. fall Gary Wayne Harding (18-0) 141: AC Headlee fall (7:35) No. 5 Mitch McKee 149: No. 5 Austin O'Connor dec. No. 20 Tommy Thorn (7-3) 157: No. 11 Steve Bleise dec. Josh McClure (8-6) 165: Carson Brolsma dec. Sawyer Davidson (4-2) 174: Devin Skatzka tech. fall Will MacDonald (17-0) 184: No. 11 Chip Ness dec. Brandon Krone (8-7) 197: Rylee Streifel dec. Chasen Blair (6-1) HWT: No. 2 Gable Steveson fall (1:43) No. 15 Cory Daniel