InterMat Staff

Imagine having the same job at the same place for a half-century. Ron Ryan doesn't have to imagine. He's served as head wrestling coach at Mount Olive High School in Illinois since 1969. Now the 73-year-old has revealed that he plans to submit a letter officially announcing his retirement after 50 seasons on the job. Ryan owns the distinction of being the longest-serving high school wrestling coach at a single school in the state of Illinois, according to the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. Wrestling -- and the world beyond the mats -- has changed a lot since Ryan arrived at the school located between St. Louis and Springfield, the Illinois state capital. The year Ryan became coach of the Mount Olive Wildcats, Richard Nixon had been sworn in as President. Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. The No. 1 TV show was NBC's "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In"; the top movie, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." A new home could be purchased for $27,900; a gallon of gas cost 35 cents. As for the oldest and greatest sport, it's seen its share of changes during Ryan's tenure. "You wouldn't expect a girl to come close to a mat back then," Ryan told the Springfield Journal-Record. "Back then they were statisticians and cheerleaders. That's all they were." Just last weekend, Ryan took five girl wrestlers to participate in a tournament near Peoria. Another change: back when Ryan launched the Mount Olive mat program for the 1969-70 school year, it was a single-school program. Now Mount Olive High -- which has just 131 students -- hosts a co-op program which includes wrestlers from three nearby communities. Ryan did not come to the decision to wrap up his coaching career quickly. "My wife and I have talked about this for four or five years," said Ryan. "But I wasn't going to leave until I knew someone would take it over and run the program and be here and keep it going." The man who will take the helm: current assistant coach Don Harvill. Ryan will host his last home meet on Jan. 9. But that won't be the last time the long-time, legendary coach will make an appearance. He will serve as Grand Marshall for the Grand March at the 2019 Illinois state wrestling championships at the University of Illinois in Champaign in March.

Come this weekend, finally everyone will have started their scholastic wrestling season. Below is the list of scheduled contests for Fab 50 teams during the week of Dec. 12-18. No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.) -- travels to Malvern Prep (Pa.) on Saturday for a tri-meet, along with McDonogh (Md.) No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) -- hosts the X-Calibur Tournament on Saturday and Sunday at Wilkes University No. 3 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) -- travels to Wilkes University (Pa.) for the X-Calibur Tournament on Saturday and Sunday No. 4 Cincinnati LaSalle (Ohio) -- hosts No. 5 St. Edward (Ohio) in a dual meet on Saturday No. 5 St. Edward (Ohio) -- travels to No. 4 Cincinnati (Ohio) LaSalle for a dual meet on Saturday No. 6 Montini Catholic (Ill.) -- hosts Moline (Ill.) and Neuqua Valley (Ill.) in a tri-meet on Thursday, competes in the Marmion Academy (Ill.) Mega Duals on Saturday No. 7 Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) -- competes in the Marmion Academy (Ill.) Mega Duals on Saturday No. 9 Buchanan (Calif.) -- travels to Rancho Bernardo (Calif.) for a dual meet on Thursday, competes in the El Cajon (Calif.) Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 11 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) -- hosts Pocono Mountain West (Pa.) in a dual meet tonight, hosts Stroudsburg (Pa.) in a dual meet on Saturday No. 13 Park Hill (Mo.) -- travels to Blue Springs (Mo.) for a dual meet on Tuesday 12/18 No. 14 Broken Arrow (Okla.) -- compete on the road in a tri-meet against Oklahoma City (Okla.) Capitol Hill and Edmond (Okla.) Santa Fe on Thursday No. 15 Tuttle (Okla.) -- hosts Plainview (Okla.) in a dual meet on Thursday, travels to Enid (Okla.) for the Mid-America Nationals on Friday and Saturday, travels to Choctaw (Okla.) for a dual met on Tuesday 12/18 No. 16 Southeast Polk (Iowa) -- hosts Fort Dodge (Iowa) in a dual meet on Thursday, hosts the Red Owens Invitational on Saturday, travels to Marshalltown (Iowa) for a dual meet on Tuesday 12/18 No. 17 Allen (Texas) -- travels to Rockwall (Texas) for a dual meet tonight, competes in the Keller (Texas) Duals on Saturday No. 18 Brighton (Mich.) -- compete against Dakota (Mich.) and New Boston Huron (Mich.) in double dual meet at Westland (Mich.) John Glenn tonight, compete in the Grappler Gold Invitational at the Lansing (Mich.) Center on Saturday No. 19 Paulsboro (N.J.) -- hosts the John and Betty Vogeding Tournament on Saturday, hosts Audubon (Mich.) in a dual meet on Monday No. 20 Clovis (Calif.) -- travels to Bakersfield (Calif.) for a dual meet tonight No. 21 Simley (Minn.) -- hosts Henry Sibley (Minn.) and St. Thomas Academy (Minn.) in a tri-meet on Thursday, travels to Rochester (Minn.) for the Minnesota Christmas Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 22 St. Joseph Montvale (N.J.) -- compete in the Kingsway Duals on Saturday No. 23 Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep -- compete in the Canfield (Ohio) Holiday Duals on Saturday No. 24 Davison (Mich.) -- competes in the Grappler Gold Invitational at the Lansing (Mich.) Center on Saturday No. 25 Kasson-Mantorville (Minn.) -- travels to Rochester (Minn.) for the Minnesota Christmas Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 26 Poway (Calif.) -- hosts San Marcos (Calif.) in a dual meet on Thursday No. 27 Elyria (Ohio) -- travels to Euclid (Ohio) on Friday for tri-meet, along with Medina (Ohio) No. 28 Parkersburg South (W.Va.) -- travels to Huntington (W.Va.) on Thursday for tri-meet, along with Spring Valley (W.Va.) No. 29 Mount St. Joseph's (Md.) -- competes in the St. Mary's Ryken (Md.) Invitational No. 30 Marmion Academy (Ill.) -- hosts the Marmion Academy (Ill.) Mega Duals on Saturday No. 31 Wadsworth (Ohio) -- travels to Brecksville (Ohio) for dual meet matches against North Royalton (Ohio) and Stow (Ohio) on Thursday, compete in the North Canton (Ohio) Holiday Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 32 Chicago (Ill.) Mt. Carmel -- competes in the Marmion Academy (Ill.) Mega Duals on Saturday No. 33 South Plainfield (N.J.) -- travels to Scotch Plains (N.J.) for a dual meet on Friday, competes in the Morris Knolls (N.J.) Tournament on Saturday No. 34 Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral -- competes in the Indianapolis City Championships on Saturday at Washington H.S. No. 36 Reynolds (Pa.) -- hosts Conneaut Lake (Pa.) in a dual meet tonight, hosts Conneaut (Ohio) in a dual meet on Tuesday 12/18 No. 37 Brecksville (Ohio) -- hosts double dual meet on Thursday, competing against North Royalton (Ohio) and Stow (Ohio) No. 38 Liberty (Mo.) -- hosts Park Hill South (Mo.) and St. Joseph Central (Mo.) in a tri-meet on Tuesday 12/18 No. 40 Howell (N.J.) -- travels to No. 19 Paulsboro (N.J.) for the John and Betty Vogeding Tournament on Saturday No. 41 Delbarton (N.J.) -- competes in the Kingsway (N.J.) Duals on Saturday No. 42 Pomona (Colo.) -- hosts Lakewood (Colo.) in a dual meet on Thursday No. 43 Don Bosco (Iowa) -- competes in the Battle of Waterloo (Iowa) at Young Arena on Friday and Saturday No. 44 Clovis North (Calif.) -- travels to Liberty Ranchos (Calif.) for the Big XII Duals on Saturday No. 45 Waverly-Shell Rock (Iowa) -- travels to Decorah (Iowa) for tri-meet on Thursday, along with Uelvein (Iowa), competes in the Battle of Waterloo (Iowa) at Young Arena on Friday and Saturday No. 46 Apple Valley (Minn.) - travels to Rochester (Minn.) for the Minnesota Christmas Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 47 Millard South (Neb.) -- travels to Grand Island (Neb.) for the Flatwater Fracas on Friday and Saturday, travels to Bellevue East (Neb.) for dual meet on Tuesday 12/18 No. 48 Oak Park Rive Forest (Ill.) -- hosts Glenbard West (Ill.) in a dual meet on Thursday, travels to Hinsdale Central (Ill.) for the Rex Whitlach Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 49 St. Paris (Ohio) Graham -- travels to Kettering (Ohio) Fairmont for the Firebird Classic on Saturday No. 50 Stoughton (Wis.) -- travels to Oregon (Wis.) for dual meet on Friday Off this week: No. 8 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), No. 10 Gilroy (Calif.), No. 12 St. John Bosco (Calif.), No. 35 Selma (Calif.), No. 39 Goddard (Kansas)

The Bok Center will host the Big 12 Championships through 2024 The Big 12 Wrestling Championships will remain at BOK Center in Tulsa through 2024, the Tulsa Sports Commission announced Tuesday. Also known by its official name Bank of Oklahoma Center, the arena has hosted the Big 12 championships since 2017, and had already been scheduled to host the 2019 event on March 9-10. Today's announcement updates an agreement signed earlier this year for BOK Center to serve as the host for the event through 2020. "Based on the experience through the first two years of our partnership with the Tulsa Sports Commission for this to be the preeminent collegiate wrestling championship, continuing our presence in this market speaks to the dedication of all involved," Big 12 associate commissioner Bob Burda said in a press release. "Being able to build upon the foundation already established for the next six years clearly puts a stake in the ground for the Big 12 to grow this championship in Tulsa into the foreseeable future." Vince Trinidad, executive director of the Tulsa Sports Commission, echoed those sentiments, saying, "We have great pride in the lasting relationship we've forged with the Big 12 Conference over the last five years." Until a couple years ago, the Big 12 Wrestling Championships had been held at facilities on member school campuses. In 2016, the event was held at a neutral site, the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. Opened in August 2008, the BOK Center is a 19,199-seat multi-purpose arena in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma's second-largest city.

Zahid Valencia defeated Mark Hall in the NCAA finals last season (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) College coaches only have a few more weeks of holiday distractions to navigate until they are able to regroup and refocus their team's attention back towards wrestling. With Christmas and holiday events right around the corner, this week's college slate is relatively light, but it will still feature at least four ranked duals and Saturday's Cleveland State Open. Friday No. 14 Arizona State at No. 1 Penn State (6 p.m.) The Friday night lights will be shining bright in Rec Hall, but the stars who are set to compete will be shining brighter. Five previous NCAA champions will be in action when the No. 14 Arizona State Sun Devils travel to Happy Valley (Pa.) with hopes of upsetting the top-ranked Nittany Lions. The five wrestlers competing on Friday night that have previously reached the top of the podium at the NCAA Championships are PSU's Mark Hall, Vincenzo Joseph, Bo Nickal, and Jason Nolf, as well as ASU's Zahid Valencia. There will be 11 ranked wrestlers in action, and a trio of top-20 matchups, but none more important than the 174 pound showdown between the Sun Devil's returning NCAA champion and top-ranked Zahid Valencia and 2017 NCAA champion, No. 2 Mark Hall. These two are no strangers to each other. They have met several times throughout their wrestling careers, including three times in college. Their first college meeting was two years ago in the NCAA semifinals where Hall topped Valencia, 4-3. The pair met for a second time at last year's NWCA All-Star Classic where Valencia picked up the victory and evened the score at one match apiece. Their third meeting was in the 2018 NCAA finals where Zahid came out victorious and took the 2-1 advantage. An interesting note regarding Hall's win over the top-ranked Sun Devil in the NCAA semifinals two years ago, it was Valencia's first college defeat, and it still stands as the only one he's faced. Since that loss, Valencia has reeled off 43 straight wins. Aside from the 2018 NCAA finals rematch at 174 pounds, another top-five bout to keep an eye on is at 165 pounds where the Sun Devil's fifth-ranked All-American Josh Shields will scrap it out against two-time NCAA champion and current No. 1, Vincenzo Joseph. Shields brings a 9-1 record into Happy Valley and is coming off a 5-4 loss to Wisconsin's second-ranked returning NCAA All-American, Evan Wick, while Joseph brings an unblemished 7-0 record into this match. Even more impressive than his perfect record this season, Joseph has tallied bonus points in each of those seven matches, scoring six falls and a technical fall. Other ranked wrestlers: 125: No. 7 Ryan Millhof (Arizona State) 141: No. 4 Nick Lee (Penn State) 149: No 11 Josh Maruca (Arizona State) vs. No. 12 Brady Berge (Penn State) 157: No. 1 Jason Nolf (Penn State) 184: No. 4 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) 197: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) 285: No. 5 Anthony Cassar (Penn State) Sunday No. 11 Nebraska at No. 9 North Carolina State (1 p.m.) Coach Mark Manning and his Nebraska Cornhuskers close out their 25 mile I-40 road trip with a top-15 meeting with coach Pat Popolizio's North Carolina State Wolfpack. The No. 11 Cornhuskers are 4-1 on the season, while the ninth-ranked NC State Wolf Pack have a perfect 5-0 record. Half of the ten matches in this dual feature top-20 showdowns and nine of the ten weights have at least one ranked wrestler. The lone weight class that will not feature a top-20 wrestler is heavyweight. Of those five ranked bouts, a pair of matches to highlight are the 157 and 184-pound matches. At 157 pounds, returning NCAA finalist and fourth-ranked Hayden Hidlay (NC State) will square off against two-time NCAA All-American and fifth-ranked Tyler Berger for the third time in their career. Hidlay has won their two previous meetings. Most recently, Hidlay defeated Berger 3-2 to reach the NCAA finals a season ago. The second top-five battle comes at 184 pounds where Nebraska's returning All-American and third-ranked Taylor Venz will strap up against fifth-ranked Nick Reenan (NC State). Venz's Sunday match with Reenan will be his second top-15 match of the weekend. He'll also compete against the University North Carolina's returning All-American Chip Ness (UNC) on Saturday night. Other ranked matchups: 125: No. 11 Zeke Moisey (Nebraska) vs. No. 6 Sean Fausz (NC State) 165: No.6 Isaiah White (Nebraska) vs. No. 18 Thomas Bullard (NC State) 197: No. 9 Eric Schultz (Nebraska) vs. No. 19 Malik McDonald (NC State) Other ranked wrestlers: 133: No. 4 Tariq Wilson (NC State) 141: No. 13 Jamal Morris (NC State) 149: No. 4 Justin Oliver (NC State) 174: No. 9 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) No. 19 Cornell at No. 13 Northern Iowa (2 p.m.) Coach Rob Koll and the No.19 Cornell Big Red travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to take on coach Doug Schwab and the No.13 Northern Iowa Panthers. West Gym will host a trio of top-20 matchups, with the most important one coming at 141 pounds. Cornell's defending NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis, who missed the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational to further prep his rehabilitated torn ACL, is set to make his return against No. 10 Josh Alber (UNI). This will be the third time these two have met. Last season, Diakomihalis defeated Alber 5-2 in the dual, and followed that up with an 8-2 win at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. In addition to the top-15 matchup at 141, the matchups at 174 and 184 will also have wrestlers ranked in the top 20. At 174, UNI's eighth-ranked Taylor Lujan will wrestle No. 14 Brandon Womack (Cornell), while Cornell's eighth-ranked returning All-American, Max Dean (Cornell) will meet seventh-ranked Drew Foster (UNI) for the fourth time in their careers. Dean owns the 2-1 match advantage heading into their fourth bout. Most recently, Dean beat Foster 6-0 to make it to last year's NCAA quarterfinals. Other ranked wrestlers: 133: No. 14 Chas Tucker (Cornell) 149: No. 10 Max Thomsen (UNI) 165: No.12 Bryce Steiert (UNI) 197: No. 3 Jacob Holschlag (UNI)

EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D., announced Monday that the University will add women's wrestling as an intercollegiate sport beginning in fall 2019. Women's wrestling will be ESU's 21st varsity sport. While not recognized as an NCAA intercollegiate sport, it is governed by the Women's College Wrestling Association (WCWA) and is in the process of pursuing emerging sport status from the NCAA. "We are extremely excited to bring women's wresting to ESU," said President Welsh. "High school girls' wrestling participation has grown for 27 straight years and continues to expand. Currently there are 48 college teams that sponsor a varsity women's wrestling program, and most teams have about 30 members by the program's third year. Women's wrestling has been under consideration for some time and we've already developed our schedule for next fall. We are eager to recruit new student-athletes for this opportunity." According to ESU's athletic director, Dr. Gary Gray, ESU wrestling coach Anibal Nieves will initially coach both the men's and women's wrestling teams. Nieves, who earned All-America honors at ESU in 1989 and represented Puerto Rico in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, is in his first year as men's head coach at ESU. His coaching experience includes the previous six years as women's head coach and men's assistant coach at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, Mass. "Coach Nieves' success in coaching both men's and women's wrestling, including four women's national champions at Springfield Technical Community College, gives ESU an excellent opportunity to launch our women's wrestling program while also continuing to build our men's program to a championship level," said Dr. Gray. Dr. Welsh also announced two sports that are also being considered for addition at ESU - acrobatics and tumbling, and esports - as part of the University's Athletics Master Plan. Acrobatics and tumbling offers students the opportunity to develop acrobatic, tumbling and cheer skills and is associated with the National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association (NCATA). Esports is a form of athletic competition involving the use of video games intended to provide opportunities for students to gain a college education. Esports is supported by the National Association of College Esports (NACE), a non-profit association with more than 80 member schools and associated with more than 1,500 student-athletes. The addition of women's wrestling and consideration of acrobatics and tumbling and esports falls under the guidelines of a new Athletics Master Plan for ESU, expected to be finalized early in 2019. The Athletics Master Plan, which has been in development since September 2018, will also address facility changes to improve teaching spaces for two of the University's academic programs - athletic training and exercise science - as well as facility upgrades for student-athletes. "The academic success of our athletic training and exercise science programs requires ESU to re-evaluate the available space in Koehler Fieldhouse and explore options for growth," said President Welsh. "At the same time, the master plan will enable us to assess the needs of our varsity sports and our current facilities in order to determine changes that need to be made that will provide our student-athletes with the capability to remain competitive with other institutions in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and beyond." Facts About Women's Wrestling - Since 1994, the number of women who wrestle in high school has grown from 804 to 16,562 (as of 2018) - Since 2004, women's wrestling is now a recognized Olympic sport. - Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Hawaii, and Washington sponsor a state high school championship. - Women's wrestling participation numbers are higher than the NCAA sponsored sports of crew, fencing, skiing, and rifle and NCAA emerging sports of rugby, sand volleyball, and equestrian. - NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Association) conducts a 16-team National Dual Meet Championship in conjunction with the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals. - NWCA has been instrumental in getting women's wrestling added as a new sport a number of schools - WCWA National Tournament provides competition opportunities for 200+ athletes. - WCWA follow International Freestyle Rules. - WCWA members also compete in USAW Senior and Jr. Fila events. - WCWA college recruiting fair is held during the USAW Girls Folkstyle National. - WCWA members must follow eligibility rules similar to NCAA and NAIA rules.

Spencer Lee won by major decision over Alex Mackall of Iowa State (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Spencer Lee doesn't lose wrestling matches often. But when he does, he comes back with a vengeance. So what did Lee, a returning Cadet world champion, do after he lost in the 2015 Cadet World Team Trials? He came back a few months later and won a Junior world title for the United States. That same resilience was on full display after Lee placed third at the Big Ten tournament as a freshman last season. Lee responded two weeks later to win an NCAA championship for the Iowa Hawkeyes at 125 pounds. "It was an awesome feeling being able to represent the University of Iowa to the best of my ability, and to win with my teammates and family," Lee said. "It was just a lot of excitement and emotions going on. It was a blast competing with my teammates and getting it done. That was the goal, but I have teammates who have the same goals." Now a sophomore, the top-ranked Lee is ready for an encore. He is one of the leaders on a strong Hawkeye team that is ranked fourth nationally. Lee went 22-2 as a freshman and scored bonus points in 75 percent of his wins. He won a loaded 125-pound weight class at the 2018 NCAA Championships that included past champions Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State and Darian Cruz of Lehigh. Spencer Lee defeated Ohio State's Nathan Tomasello to advance to the NCAA finals (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) The No. 3 seed, Lee recorded two technical falls and a fall before avenging a loss from Big Tens by pinning the second-seeded Tomasello in the national semifinals. He then scored a 5-1 win over No. 4 seed Nick Suriano of Rutgers to win an NCAA title as a true freshman. Not bad for a guy who was coming off a serious knee injury and for someone who wasn't pulled out of his redshirt until last January. Lee instantly became a fan favorite in Iowa City with his wide-open, attacking style of wrestling and with his charismatic, magnetic personality. Lee excelled last year despite wearing a bulky black brace on his leg for much of the season. Spencer Lee wore a bulky black brace for most of his true freshman season (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) He still managed to score more points than any other wrestler at the NCAA tournament last March even though he was a true freshman. Lee has developed a penchant for scoring the opening takedown early in the match before lighting up the scoreboard with a succession of turns from the top position. He is lethal at tilting his opponents to their back and piling up near-fall points. He can end a match in the blink of an eye. "That's the plan, right?" Lee said. "Just go out there and score points. The approach doesn't change. You go out there to dominate your opponent and score bonus points for your team." Lee did exactly that during his most recent bout, delivering a big early spark to boost the No. 4 Hawkeyes to a 28-14 win over No. 16 Lehigh on Saturday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The top-ranked Lee powered past Lehigh's Luke Resnick 15-0 in the dual's first match at 125 pounds. Lee started aggressively, scoring an early takedown before turning Resnick numerous times to win by a first-period technical fall. The home crowd of 7,434 fans stood and cheered as Lee put the match away. "I'm the first guy, so I feel like it's my job to get the ball rolling," Lee said. "I need to score as many points as I can and get the team fired up. I feel like that's my job when my match is first." Lee is now 5-0 this season. "It's different this year because last year was my first year in college," Lee said. "I know what to expect now and it's not quite as nerve-wracking. I still get nervous for every match, but you have to be ready to go and ready to compete." Lee's dynamic style of wrestling and his outgoing personality have also resonated with top prospects who are considering wrestling for the University of Iowa. "What Spencer Lee accomplished last season, stepping into the lineup in the middle of the year, that's a pretty powerful recruiting tool," Iowa coach Tom Brands said. "The way he goes about his business, the way he leads by example, the way he competes and the humble nature that is his personality, he's become a terrific ambassador for our program.'' It also sets an example for current Iowa wrestlers. Brands encourages his athletes to "be like Lee." "Spencer goes out and takes what he wants," Brands said. "He inspires guys by scoring a lot of points and turning those into bonus points." Lee has his own individual goals, but he also has lofty aspirations for an Iowa program that is looking for its first NCAA team title since 2010. "We're a team and we're a family, and we love each other," Lee said. "We all want to be national champs, and that's the goal. I feel like we're improving and getting closer to that." Lee also is considered a top contender to make the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team in freestyle wrestling at 57 kilograms/125.5 pounds. Past Hawkeye All-American Thomas Gilman has placed second and fifth at the World Championships the past two years at 57 kilos. Lee owns three age-group world titles in freestyle wrestling. He won Cadet worlds in 2014 before winning Junior world titles in 2015 and 2016. Spencer Lee with Terry Brands and Ben Berhow before his NCAA semifinal match (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) He took time off from competition after the 2018 NCAA tournament and did not compete internationally this past spring and summer. "Obviously, I wanted to compete," Lee said. "But Tom and Terry Brands always know what is best for me and I trust them. So whatever they say, I am going to listen to them and hopefully it propels me to greater heights." Lee would have the option of taking a redshirt or an Olympic redshirt during the 2019-20 college season to focus on international wrestling. "Everyone's goal is to make the Olympic team," he said. "That's obviously one of the main reasons I came to the University of Iowa. We haven't really talked about an Olympic redshirt. When that time comes, I will talk to my coaches and I'm sure we will do what is best for me and what is best for the team." Even with Iowa's rich wrestling history, the Hawkeyes have never had a four-time national champion. The 20-year-old Lee has a long way to go, but it's not an unrealistic goal for the young Hawkeye star. "Spencer's done a lot for our program and he's just getting started," Brands said. "His best wrestling is in front of him." Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year.

Kyle Conel celebrates after pinning Kollin Moore in the NCAA quarterfinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Kent State 197-pound All-American Kyle Conel will miss the remainder of the 2018-19 season and his wrestling career may be over. He has missed most of this season with an injured shoulder. Conel was 2-0 and ranked No. 2 at 197 pounds. Last season Conel compiled a record of 28-8 and placed third at the NCAA Championships. He was an NCAA qualifier in 2016. Conel announced on Twitter that he will be undergoing surgery, which will end his season.

A high school wrestling team has enflamed the passions of some Facebook users … and it's not for their performance on the mat, but for posing for a promotional poster some consider to be inappropriate. Some parents have raised concerns about the poster, featuring wrestlers from Norwalk High School just outside Des Moines posing shirtless in firefighter gear. As the Des Moines Register reported this weekend, parent Danielle Lynn posted an image of the wrestling team poster on Facebook last week, saying it both sexualizes teenagers and is an example of the double standard that exists between male and female students. "Could you imagine the outrage had a girls' team dressed in bikinis and taken a team photo?" she wrote. "This makes me so uncomfortable as a parent. The sexualizing of children and teenagers needs to stop." The post generated more than two dozen replies mostly supporting Lynn's comments before it was removed from social media. In an interview with the Des Moines Register last week, Lynn said, "Some of these boys, I know, are only 13 years old," she said. "And the only girl in the picture, who is a manager for the team, is wearing a T-shirt and jeans, while all of the boys around her are shirtless." As Norwalk High School Athletic Director Al Lammers made clear to the Des Moines Register, this year's wrestling team poster is not produced by the school, its athletic department, nor official booster organizations. "Those posters are produced independently by each program," Lammers told the Register. "The revenue goes to offset the cost of producing the posters. They probably don't break even. The posters are more of a promotion." In fact, the Norwalk wrestlers approached a freelance photographer with the idea for the poster. "They put it together and they decided who was wearing what," said Dale Tunender. "The boys requested to not wear their shirts. These guys are wrestlers. They are proud of what they've done and what they look like." This year's Norwalk wrestling team poster would not be the first time high school or college wrestlers have appeared shirtless in print … or on the mat. A quick search of The Web's Best of Amateur Wrestling -- a website featuring tens of thousands of links, photos, and videos relating to the oldest and greatest sport -- confirms this notion. Among the team posters on display are past promotional posters featuring two bare-chested wrestlers from the University of Iowa arm wrestling ... and the Fighting Scots of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, wearing kilts without shirts. The website also features posters of shirtless wrestlers posing as firefighters. Promotional posters aren't the only places where amateur wrestlers have appeared bare-chested. In the past, wrestlers at a number of college mat programs in the U.S. took to the mat wearing trunks and/or tights -- and no shirts -- including Cornell College of Iowa, the University of Iowa, Iowa State, and what is now the University of Northern Iowa. All-time greats such as Oklahoma's Dan Hodge and Stanley Henson of Oklahoma State usually competed sans shirts … as did thousands of college and high school wrestlers until the mid-1960s. If promotional posters of the past -- as well as images of legendary wrestlers of decades past -- aren't enough, consider what Norwalk High AD Lammers had to say. He hasn't received any complaints about this year's wrestling poster.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Facing its biggest challenge of the season, the Wisconsin wrestling team (6-1, 1-1 B1G) suffered its first dual meet loss on the year, falling, 23-13, to the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0 B1G). The Badgers got on the board first in the dual thanks to sophomore Connor Brown, who returned to action for the first time since suffering an injury against Nebraska on Nov. 16. He celebrated his return by earning a 7-2 decision over OSU's Brakan Mead at 125 pounds. Ohio State won their matches in bunches, beginning with a run in the next three weight classes. Wisconsin's senior Jens Lantz fell to No. 6 Luke Pletcher by a 4-0 decision in which Lantz had some great chances but couldn't capitalize. Pletcher's win was followed by two major decisions for the Buckeyes, with No. 2 Joey McKenna defeating junior Tristan Moran, 14-2, and No. 3 Micah Jordan defeating junior Cole Martin, 14-4. Looking for a way to stop the bleeding, the answer for Wisconsin came from sophomore Zander Wick. At 157 pounds, Wick held off a late attack from Elijah Cleary and recorded a takedown of his own to secure the 7-3 decision. The wins stayed in the family in the next match, as sophomore Evan Wick cruised to a major decision over Ryan Ferro, winning 13-1, to pull Wisconsin within one for the time being. However, Ohio State ripped off another run, one Wisconsin couldn't come back from. First, senior Ryan Christensen was upset by Ethan Smith at 174 pounds, dropping a tight 10-9 decision. That match was followed by a 21-8 major decision for Ohio State's No. 1 Myles Martin over junior Mason Reinhardt, and No. 3 Kollin Moore pinned freshman Andrew Salemme to extend the OSU lead to 23-10. But the dual ended on a high note for Wisconsin at heavyweight. Freshman Trent Hillger lived up to his newly-minted No. 9 ranking by controlling No. 14 Chase Singletary throughout the match and earning a 6-1 decision to finish the day. With the win, Hillger remains undefeated on the season and picked up his third ranked win of the year. Next up, the Badgers will be competing against a lot of high-quality opponents at the Midlands Championships on Dec. 29-30. On today's dual "I don't think we had our best performance tonight, and when you wrestle a team that is as good as Ohio State you need to have your best performance to be able to compete and win." On the first semester "I'm proud of our first semester, the way we've come, the way we've built this program. We've been sky high all semester and this was our first setback. I'm very excited to see how we come back after the break and compete, and then it's time to get ready for the brutal Big Ten season and the NCAA tournament. I'm proud of our guys for the first semester. Tough night tonight, but these guys are winners and they're going to return and we'll be ready to roll." Results: 125: No. 19 Connor Brown (Wisconsin) dec. Brakan Mead (Ohio State), 7-2 133: No. 7 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. Jenz Lantz (Wisconsin), 4-0 141: No. 2 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 14 Tristan Moran (Wisconsin), 14-2 149: No. 3 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 20 Cole Martin (Wisconsin), 14-4 157: Zander Wick (Wisconsin) dec. Elijah Cleary (Ohio State), 7-3 165: No. 2 Evan Wick (Wisconsin) maj. dec. Ryan Ferro (Ohio State), 13-1 174: Ethan Smith (Ohio State) dec. No. 9 Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 10-9 184: No. 1 Myles Martin (Ohio State) maj. dec. Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin), 21-8 197: No. 3 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) pinned Andrew Salemme (Wisconsin), 2:04 285: No. 9 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) dec. No. 17 Chase Singletary (Ohio State), 6-1

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland State University wrestling team returned to dual action Sunday and cruised to a pair of victories in two locations. CSU began the day by taking down visiting Otterbein, 47-6, before making the short trip east to John Carroll and collecting a 33-5 win over the Blue Streaks. Seven Vikings went 2-0 on the day as CSU also had different wrestlers compete at two weights on the day. Redshirt senior Armando Torres (133 pounds), redshirt sophomore Mike Santillo (141), redshirt freshman Brady Barnett (149), redshirt sophomore Nico O'Dor (157), senior John Vaughn (165), junior Chris Morrow and freshman Ben Smith (197) all won twice Sunday. Torres won a pair of technical falls by a combined score of 36-2 while Santillo picked up a pin against Otterbein and a 13-2 major decision against JCU. O'Dor, redshirt sophomore Cameron Lathem (125) and freshman Dimitri Williams (174) all added pins against the Cardinals. Vaughn and Smith both won twice by major decision, the former doing so by a combined score of 27-2 while the latter did so by collecting 33 points in his two bouts. Morrow just missed joining that group as he won both of his bouts by shutout -- 8-0 and 7-0. Barnett added a major decision win after receiving a win via forfeit in the day's opening dual. Redshirt freshman Cody Moosman (125) and redshirt sophomore Colton Carroll (174) each notched wins against John Carroll after sitting out the day's opening dual. Cleveland State will resume action next weekend as it hosts the 14th annual Cleveland State Open Saturday, Dec. 15. Cleveland State 47, Otterbein 6 125: Cameron Lathem (CSU) over Jackson Lakso (OTT) - Fall 4:11 | CSU leads, 6-0 133: Armando Torres (CSU) over Ryan Jakubiak (OTT) - 20-2 TF | CSU leads, 11-0 141: Mike Santillo (CSU) over Santino DiSabato (OTT) - Fall 4:15 | CSU leads, 17-0 149: Brady Barnett (CSU) over N/A (OTT) - Forfeit | CSU leads, 23-0 157: Nico O'Dor (CSU) over Michael Duzzny (OTT) - Fall 4:36 | CSU leads, 29-0 165: John Vaughn (CSU) over Zach Altman (OTT) - 16-2 MD | CSU leads, 33-0 174: Dimitri Williams (CSU) over Sam Shalvey (OTT) - Fall 1:11 | CSU leads, 39-0 184: Chris Morrow (CSU) over Jarrod Setliff (OTT) - 8-0 MD | CSU leads, 43-0 197: Ben Smith (CSU) over Corbin Bunsold (OTT) - 21-10 MD | CSU leads, 47-0 285: Drew Kasper (OTT) over Jacob Adams (CSU) - Fall 3:46 | CSU wins, 47-6 Exhibition 174: Colton Carroll (CSU) over Donny Didion (OTT) - 7-5 dec. Cleveland State 33, John Carroll 5 125: Cody Moosman (CSU) over Kyle Murray (JCU) - 3-2 dec. | CSU leads, 3-0 133: Armando Torres (CSU) over Spencer Dusi (JCU) - 16-0 TF | CSU leads, 8-0 141: Mike Santillo (CSU) over Ian McKenna (JCU) - 13-2 MD | CSU leads, 12-0 149: Brady Barnett (CSU) over Jarrad Lasko (JCU) - 13-5 MD | CSU leads, 16-0 157: Nico O'Dor (CSU) over Daniel Novak (JCU) - 11-5 dec. | CSU leads, 19-0 165: John Vaughn (CSU) over Seth Winkle (JCU) - 11-0 MD | CSU leads, 23-0 174: Colton Carroll (CSU) over Sam Gross (JCU) - 6-4 dec. | CSU leads, 26-0 184: Chris Morrow (CSU) over Jimmy Suhayda (JCU) - 7-0 dec. | CSU leads, 29-0 197: Ben Smith (CSU) over Christian Hipsher (JCU) - 12-4 MD | CSU leads, 33-0 285: Luca Santillo (JCU) over Jacob Adams (CSU) - 15-0 TF | CSU wins, 33-5

USAFA, Colo. -- No. 19-ranked North Dakota State overcame a slow start and won six of the final seven bouts to turn back the Air Force Academy 23-14 in a Big 12 Conference dual on Sunday, Dec. 9, in Clune Arena. NDSU (4-1, 3-1 #Big12WR) is scheduled to host Oregon State at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 20, in the Scheels Center. The middleweights helped to turn the tide for North Dakota State. Trailing 14-7, Jaden Van Maanen (11-4, 4-1) grinded out a 4-1 decision over No. 24 Alex Opsal at 149 pounds for the Bison. Then, NDSU 157 Nick Knutson (6-7, 2-3) gained a reversal with under 5-seconds remaining in the third period for an 8-6 decision over Alex Mossing. The pair entered the third tied at 4-4. Knutson recorded a takedown with 38-seconds left, but Mossing claimed a reversal with 15-seconds left. That cut the deficit to 14-13 Enter North Dakota State No. 17-ranked 165 Andrew Fogarty, who established himself early and then recorded his fourth pin of the season over Marcus Amico at 1:59 to put the Bison ahead 19-14. Fogarty bounced from Friday's loss to improve to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in duals. NDSU sealed the win when 174-pounder Lorenzo De La Riva (9-6, 2-3) scored 16 unanswered points in a 16-2 major decision over Randy Menewether. Air Force (1-2, 1-1 #Big12WR) came out strong and won the first three bouts including a pin at 30-seconds from heavyweight Kayne Hutchison to take a 12-0 lead. North Dakota State No. 8 125-pounder Brent Fleetwood (13-2, 5-0) stopped Sidney Flores 5-0, while No. 17 133-pounder Cam Sykora (12-2, 4-0) posted a 13-2 major decision over John Twomey. Fleetwood and Van Maanen were the only two Bison to win twice over the weekend. Results: 184: Tyler Wiederholt (AFA) dec Tyler McNutt (NDSU), 4-2 197: Andy McLaughlin (AFA) sudden victory-1 #20 Cordell Eaton (NDSU), SV-1 10-4 285: Kayne Hutchison (AFA) fall #24 Brandon Metz (NDSU), 0:33 125: #8 Brent Fleetwood (NDSU) dec Sidney Flores (AFA), 5-0 133: #17 Cam Sykora (NDSU) major dec John Twomey (AFA), MD 13-2 141: Garrett O'Shea (AFA) dec Gavin Sutton (NDSU), 6-1 149: Jaden Van Maanen (NDSU) dec #24 Alec Opsal (AFA), 4-1 157: Nick Knutson (NDSU) dec Alex Mossing (AFA) 165: #17 Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) fall Marcus Amico (AFA), 1:59 174: Lorenzo De La Riva (NDSU) major dec Randy Menewether (AFA) AFA deducted team point, bench misconduct

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team was dominant in its Big Ten Conference opener, claiming eight matches -- four with bonus points -- en route to a 32-7 win against Indiana on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 9) in front of a crowd of 1,208 at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines won their matches in streaks, taking each of the first four bouts before again winning four in a row out of the intermission break. Senior/junior Jackson Striggow headlined with a second-period fall from the bottom position, while fifth-year senior Malik Amine and senior/junior Myles Amine both earned technical falls, outscoring their Hoosier opposition by a combined 37-1 margin. Striggow pinned Indiana's Jake Kleimola at the 3:27 mark of the 197-pound bout for his first fall of the season. With the score knotted at 2 after an IU takedown and U-M reversal in the first, Striggow started down in the second and went head hunting, stacking Kleimola to bring an early end to the match. The Hoosiers were also deducted a team point in the aftermath of the bout. Striggow's match was also the third in a row that produced bonus points at the upperweights for Michigan. Myles Amine, ranked third nationally at 174 pounds, cruised to a 19-1 technical fall against Jake Hinz behind three takedowns and three sets of near fall to end the bout at the 4:30 mark. Amine twice turned Hinz in the second period, off a leg turk early in the frame and again off a cradle to secure the tech-fall margin. Amine is 9-0 on the season. Sophomore/junior Jelani Embree, ranked 19th nationally, also rolled in his 184-pound bout against Norman Conley, using four takedowns, four back points and 3:44 in riding time to win decisively, 14-2. Embree scored on a blast double off the opening whistle and immediately turked Conley for four near fall. He added another double leg in the second and a low single in the third to ice the bonus win and remain unbeaten in dual-meet action. Malik Amine rounded out the Wolverines' bonus winners with an 18-0 technical fall over Michael De La Pena at 149 pounds. Amine, who built his lead with a first-period takedown and second-period reversal, just missed on a leg-turk turn in the second, but went back to it in the third, turning De La Pena three times for 12 points to end the match at 6:52. Michigan opened the dual with three straight decision wins at the lowerweights. Sophomore Drew Mattin, ranked 10th nationally at 125 pounds, took advantage of an early lead to beat Liam Cronin, 9-6, at the opening weight. Mattin scored on a first-period single before putting Cronin in danger from neutral to break the bout open with a four-point move in the second. Senior/junior Stevan Micic, ranked second at 133 pounds, used a big third period to beat Garrett Pepple, 10-4 -- coming just a second shy of a bonus point. With the score tied at 2 after the first period, Micic pulled away with a reversal and rideout in the second and a high crotch in the third. He tilted Pepple late in the third, but earned three one counts. Micic improved to 3-0 on the season. Junior/sophomore Kanen Storr, ranked eighth at 141 pounds, took the dual's marquee match with a 3-1 decision over 15th-ranked -- and Michigan native -- Cole Weaver. After a scoreless first period, Storr used a power half to turn Weaver for two midway through the second period. He lost his riding-time advantage in the third, but escaped to preserve his two-point lead. Storr also is unbeaten in duals this season. After Indiana got on the board with a win at 157 pounds, seventh-ranked senior/junior Logan Massa re-established the Wolverines' momentum after the intermission break with an 8-2 decision over Bryce Martin at 165 pounds. Massa scored on three takedowns -- a pair of head-in-the-hole attacks and a reshot double leg in the waning seconds of the second period. He added 2:44 riding-time advantage. Massa is 3-0 in duals this season. Michigan will resume its dual-meet schedule in the new year, when they head west for non-conference slates at Oregon State and Arizona State. The Wolverines first will take on the Beavers in the fourth annual Joe Wells Classic at 7 p.m. PST on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, in Corvallis, Oregon. U-M will wrap the road swing in Tempe, Arizona, where the Wolverines will take on the Sun Devils at 8 p.m. MST on Saturday, Jan. 5. Results: 125 -- #10 Drew Mattin (U-M) dec. Liam Cronin, 9-6 [U-M, 3-0] 133 -- #2 Stevan Micic (U-M) dec. Garrett Pepple, 10-4 [U-M, 6-0] 141 -- #8 Kanen Storr (U-M) dec. #15 Cole Weaver, 3-1 [U-M, 9-0] 149 -- Malik Amine (U-M) tech. fall Michael De La Pena, 18-0 (6:52) [U-M, 14-0] 157 -- Jake Danishek (IU) major dec. Layne Van Anrooy, 10-2 [U-M, 14-4] 165 -- #7 Logan Massa (U-M) dec. Bryce Martin, 8-2 [U-M, 17-4] 174 -- #3 Myles Amine (U-M) tech. fall Jake Hinz, 19-1 (4:30) [U-M, 22-4] 184 -- #19 Jelani Embree (U-M) major dec. Norman Conley, 14-2 [U-M, 26-4] 197 -- Jackson Striggow (U-M) pinned Jake Kleimola, 3:27 [U-M, 32-3*] Hwt -- Fletcher Miller (IU) major dec. Luke Ready, 12-0 [U-M, 32-7] * Indiana deducted a team point

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- No. 6 Mizzou Wrestling pushed its dual winning streak to 24 and won its 10th straight MAC dual with a 48-0 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville Sunday afternoon (Dec. 9) at the Hearnes Center. Mizzou redshirt junior 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman opened the dual with his fourth pin of the season, SIU-E forfeited at 149 pounds and Mizzou dominated the dual from there, winning all 10 bouts. It was Mizzou's first shutout dual since blanking both Central Missouri (56- -1) and Missouri Valley (52-0) on Nov. 12, 2017. "We wrestled five freshmen today and I can't remember if we ever wrestled five freshmen in a dual since I've been here, so I was pleased," head coach Brian Smith said. "Any time you can get a shutout, it's great. That's what you want to do is go out and win all 10 matches." Eierman opened the dual with four straight takedowns before tallying his fourth fall of the season at the 1:16 mark of the first period. In addition to Eierman, Mizzou picked up bonus point wins at 174 pounds after redshirt senior Daniel Lewis picked up his fifth pin of the season at the 0:35 mark of the first period. Redshirt junior Dylan Wisman made it back-to-back falls, pinning Sergio Villalobos at the 4:23 mark, extending Mizzou's lead to 30-0. Wyatt Koelling made if three straight bonus point wins with a 10-0 major decision, his first of the year, at 197 pounds. Fresh off a third-place finish at the Cliff Keen Invitational last time out, true freshman Zach Elam earned an 11-1 major decision at heavy wieght. He has now won nine straight bouts. At 125 pounds as the dual flipped back to the lighter weights, Cameron Valdiviez earned a technical fall and Allan Hart closed the dual with another technical fall, 16-0, this one coming during the first period after Valdiviez's came in the second. That completed the shutout for the Tigers. Results: 141 – Jaydin Eierman (8-1) vs. Lucas Bernal – W, Fall (1:16) - 6-0 149 – Lane Stigall (5-4) vs. NA – W, Forfeit – 12-0 157 – Jarrett Jacques (12-4) vs. Justin Ruffin – W, Dec. 6-4 (SV) – 15-0 165 – Connor Flynn (8-3) vs. Nate Higgins – W, Dec. 9-7 – 18-0 174 – Daniel Lewis (9-1) vs. Kevin Gschwendtner – W, Fall (0:35) – 24-0 184 – Dylan Wisman (3-4) vs. Sergio Villalobos – W, Fall (4:23) – 30-0 197 – Wyatt Koelling (4-3) vs. Christian Dulaney – W, MD 10-0 – 34-0 HWT – Zach Elam (12-1) vs. Colton McKiernan – W, MD 11-1 – 38-0 125 – Cameron Valdiviez (8-22) vs. Austin Macias – W, TF 15-0 – 43-0 133 – Allan Hart (7-2) vs. Jake Blaha – W, TF 16-0 – 48-0 Mizzou returns home next Sunday after taking the week off for final exams. Mizzou will host Buffalo next Sunday (Dec. 16).

STILLWATER - The Oklahoma State wrestling team recorded its largest Bedlam margin of victory in 26 years Sunday in a 41-2 drubbing of Oklahoma, headlined with three pins from Nick Piccininni (125), Chandler Rogers (165) and Derek White (HWT). "Being from the East Coast, I didn't get to experience Bedlam, but it's a whole different ballgame when you get to experience it," Piccininni said. "I love it. I learned to love it. This is something that as we get older we'll always look back and remember and reflect on, the Bedlam matches. And to go out and dominate, it makes it even sweeter." The dual also marked the 50th Bedlam win of John Smith's career and pushed the all-time series record to 141-27-10. "You appreciate the wins," Smith said. "It is a dual meet we take seriously. I have had teams that have gone in where we thought we would win 6,7 or 8 matches, and it didn't end up that way. We take it seriously, and our guys love it. They respect the fact that it is a meet they expect to win." The Cowboys' first fall of the afternoon came at 125 pounds when No. 4 Piccininni pinned OU's Zach Atencio in 56 seconds. Rogers collected his in 1:53 over the Sooners' Jeremy Thomas, following two first-period takedowns. The afternoon heavyweight finale marked White's first career fall in his final Bedlam dual. He nearly went the distance, but pinned Jake Boyd in 6:18. ""It was big, it's the way you want to start. Nick had a nice single-leg shot, and he fed right into a cradle," Smith said. "Nick did a nice job of taking it slow. He has a heck of a grip for a 125 pounder; his grip is phenomenal. He kept that grip and ran him right to his back. I am excited for Nick." Also notching bonus-point victories for the Cowboys were Daton Fix at 133 pounds, Jacobe Smith (174), and, in his dual-season debut, Preston Weigel at 197 pounds. Fix scored six takedowns in his match against Anthony Madrigal along with a four-point nearfall to win a 20-5 technical fall. Smith won a major decision over OU's Anthony Mantanona, 19-6, in which he also collected more than three minutes of riding time. Weigel took the mat for the first time since wrestling in the OU open, winning a first-period technical fall, 16-1, over Ruston Duke. The Cowboy scored two takedowns and four nearfalls in 2:21. At 141 pounds, redshirt freshman Kaden Gfeller won his third-consecutive dual bout in an 11-6 decision over OU senior Davion Jeffries. Andrew Shomers defeated Justin Thomas, 5-3, and Dakota Geer won a 5-3 major decision over Kayne MacCallum to remain undefeated on the year. The Cowboys return to the mat Dec. 16, to take on the Bears of Northern Colo., in Greeley just before traveling to Nevada for the Reno Tournament of Champions. Results: 125: No. 4 Nick Piccininni (OSU) fall. Zach Atencio (OU), 0:56 133: No. 5 Daton Fix (OSU) TF Anthony Madrigal (OU), 20-5, 6:27 141: No. 16 Dom Demas. (OU) dec. No. 6 Kaid Brock (OSU), 7-6 149: No. 14 Kaden Gfeller (OSU) dec. Davion Jeffries (OU), 11-6 157: No. 19 Andrew Shomers (OSU) dec. Justin Thomas (OU), 5-3 165: No. Chandler Rogers (OSU) fall. Jeremy Thomas (OU), 1:53 174: Jacobe Smith (OSU) MD Anthony Mantanona (OU), 19-6 184: No. 15 Dakota Geer (OSU) dec. Kayne MacCallum (OU), 10-3 197: No. 8 Preston Weigel (OSU) TF Ruston Duke (OU), 16-1, 2:21 285: No. 3 Derek White (OSU) fall. Jake Boyd (OU), 6:18

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Central Michigan wrestling team recorded seven victories including three in which they earned bonus points in downing Maryland, 26-9, in a nonconference dual on Sunday at the Terrapins' Xfinity Center Pavilion. It was the Chippewas' first dual-meet win of the season as they improved to 1-2. They opened the weekend with a 22-18 loss at Virginia on Friday. Maryland is 0-3. "That's the goal, learn how to be successful in going on the road, managing your weight, managing your nerves," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "That's why we do this, to try to get ready for the end of the year. Trying to just develop some consistency and figure how to be successful." CMU sophomore Matt Stencel recorded his second pin of the weekend as he downed Maryland's Mansur Abdul-Malik in 59 seconds at 285 pounds. Stencel recorded a first-period pin on Friday against Virginia and is 8-3 on the season with seven pins. MAJORS The Chippewas' got major-decision victories from redshirt freshman Drew Marten (141 pounds) and sophomore Dresden Simon (149). Simon completed a 2-0 weekend to improve to 3-5 on the season. "He's been frustrated a lot this year," Borrelli said of Simon. "The biggest thing is gaining confidence and believing that you can be successful." Marten led, 4-2, late in his match then got a late takedown and a four-point near-fall to record the major. "Marty didn't wrestle a great match and I know Marty thinks he can wrestle better than that," Borrelli said. "He put the pressure on the guy and that forced (his opponent) to try something and he ended up getting a six-point move at the end." BIG WIN CMU senior Jordan Atienza bounced back from a loss on Friday at Virginia in posting a 6-0 win over Kyle Jasenski, who entered the match 7-2. It was the fifth win for Atienza in his last seven matches as he improved to 7-5 as he worked himself back into shape after offseason shoulder surgery. "Of all the (CMU) guys who had wins today, I feel like Atienza wrestled the best," Borrelli said. "Jasenski is having a pretty good year and Atienza kind of put it on him. He wrestled as good as he's wrestled this year. He's starting to be able to manage a seven-minute match, which is good." FIRSTS Three Chippewas, redshirt freshman Collin Lieber (174), sophomore Landon Pelham (197) and Marten notched their first dual-meet victories of the season against the Terrapins. RANKINGS Stencel is the lone Chippewa who is ranked nationally (19th). Maryland has two wrestlers on their roster who are ranked: Alfred Bannister, who is 18th at 149, and Youssif Hemida, who is fourth at 285. Neither Bannister nor Hamida wrestled against the Chippewas. "That was disappointing for us," Borrelli said. "We need those matches. We need those opportunities." NEXT The Chippewas entertain Northern Illinois on Friday, Dec. 21, in their first Mid-American Conference dual of the season. Results: 125: Drew Hildebrandt (C) dec. Brandon Cray, 6-0 133: Orion Anderson (M) dec.Brock Bergelin, 10-8 141: Drew Marten (C) major dec. Michael Doetsch, 10-2 149: Dresden Simon (C) major dec. Hunter Baxter, 8-0 157: Jahi Jones (M) dec. Logan Parks, 8-6 (SV-1) 165: Philip Sadafora (M) dec. Bret Fedewa, 5-3 174: Collin Lieber (C) dec. Josh Uglade, 12-8 184: Jordan Atienza (C) dec. Kyle Jasenski, 6-0 197: Landon Pelham (C) dec. Niko Cappello, 6-0 285: Matt Stencel (C) pinned Mansur Abdul-Malik, 59 seconds

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- It was a good Sunday for Northern Colorado wrestling as the team went 2-0 to even up their record on the season. UNC started in the morning with an impressive 35-9 win over Virginia Military Institute and followed up with a 21-13 against Hofstra, who hosted the duals today. Dominating the Keydets "I thought we wrestled well and dominated VMI," head coach Troy Nickerson said of the dual. "I'm proud of guys like Mason Hulse, Jordan Robison and Macoy Flanagan for getting their first dual wins." The tone of the dual was set in the first match, as Rico Montoya dominated VMI's Chris Conway in 125 lb bout. Montoya earned the tech fall win, 16-0, in the third period to give UNC a 5-0 lead out of the gate. Sean Cannon kept the fast start going for the Bears in the 133 lb match against Hunter Starner. Cannon would win 5-4 by decision over Starner to extend UNC's lead to 8-0 over the Keydets. Dom Gallo would defeat Owen Lamb in the 141 lb bout with a 4-0 decision win to put VMI on the board, trailing the Bears 8-3. In the 149 lb match, Mason Hulse faced Zach Schmitt and Hulse scored early and often, with a 10-3 lead after the first period. Hulse would win his first career dual match 18-7 by major decision over Schmitt and UNC extended its lead to 12-3. Jordan Robison would take on Jerrod Hunziker in the 157 lb weight class and Robison would score four takedowns in the first period to lead 8-3. Robison did not let the match get past the second period, pinning Hunziker at 4:23 for his first career dual win. UNC's lead ballooned to 18-3. Macoy Flanagan would battle Jakob Kennedy in the 165 lb bout and had a 4-1 lead after the first period. Flanagan would pad his advantage and win a 12-5 decision over Kennedy for his first career dual victory. The Bears continued to build their lead, now up 21-3. Trenton Schultz faced Neal Richards in the 174 lb match, but trailed 14-6 after the first period. Richards would pin Schultz at 4:23 to cut UNC's lead to 21-9. In the 184 lb bout, Dalton Robertson went against Ben Wagner and Robertson built a 6-0 advantage in the first period. Robertson would then pin Wagner at 3:48 and UNC put the dual out of reach for VMI, leading 27-9 with two matches remaining. Jacob Seely faced Chris Beck in the 197 lb match and held a 4-0 lead after the first period. Seely would continue to score and secured the 11-2 major decision win to put the Bears lead at 31-9. Robert Winters Jr. battled Trey Momon in the 285 lb bout and opened with a 4-2 lead after the first period. Winters Jr. would close out the dual with an 11-3 major decision win over Momon. UNC defeated VMI 35-9 for its first dual win of the season. Battling tough against the Pride "Versus Hofstra, we had some adversity," Nickerson said. "Rico got hit with some tricks that cost him the match. Sean Cannon looked great beating an opponent he has never beaten before. Macoy Flanagan and Del Winters won tough matches late." Rico Montoya started the second dual of the day against Dylan Ryder in the 125 lb weight class. Ryder would start fast against Montoya with a 6-0 lead after the first period and went on to win a 13-3 major decision. Hofstra had the early 4-0 lead in the dual. Sean Cannon would take on Trent Olson in the 133 lb bout and lead 1-0 after the first period. Cannon would tack on riding time at the end of the match to win a 3-1 decision and Bears pulled within one of the Pride. Owen Lamb went against Garrett Lambert in the 141 match and Lambert had a 5-0 lead after the first period. Lambert would go on to defeat Lamb 9-5 by decision and Hofstra's lead was now 7-3. In the 149 lb match, Mason Hulse won after Hofstra forfeited the bout and UNC raced ahead of the Pride, 9-7. Now at 157 lb, Jordan Robison took an early lead 3-2 on Chris Mauriello after the first period. The two wrestlers would battle close, but a late takedown from Mauriello on Ribosn gave him the 8-7 decision won and Hofstra was back in front 10-9. Macoy Flanagan meet Ricky Stamm in the 165 lb match and the two were tied at one after three periods. In overtime, Flanagan scored a quick takedown to get the 3-1 sudden victory. The Bears were back in front 12-10. Trenton Schultz went head-to-head with Sage Heller in the 174 bout, with Heller taking an early 2-0 lead in the first period. Heller would defeat Schultz 5-0 by decision to retake the lead for Hofstra, 13-12. Dalton Robertson battled Trey Rogers in the 184 lb match and Robertson had a 2-0 lead after the first period. Robertson was in control for the whole match, winning 8-1 by decision and putting the Bears back in front 15-13. In the 197 lb bout, Jacob Seely faced Nezar Haddad, but would trail 2-1 after the first period. Seely came back with a two-point nearfall and a takedown to win 6-2 by decision. The Bears had some seperation from Hofstra with an 18-13 lead. The final match was in the 285 lb weight class, as Robert Winters Jr. went against Omar Haddad. The two wrestlers were tied at one after the third period and would need overtime to decide the match. Winters Jr. scored a takedown on Haddad to earn the 3-1 sudden victory. UNC won the dual 21-13 to improve its record to 2-2 on the season, going 2-0 on Sunday. "We will need to stay tough heading into tomorrow in order to come away with another victory," Nickerson added. Up Next Northern Colorado will finish its road trip on Monday against Columbia, with the dual starting at 4 p.m. (MST). Northern Colorado 35, VMI 9 125: Rico Montoya over Chris Conway (TF, 16-0) 133: Sean Cannon over Hunter Starner (Dec 5-4) 141: Dom Gallo over Owen Lamb (Dec 4-0) 149: Mason Hulse over Zach Schmitt (MD 18-7) 157: Jordan Robison over Jerrod Hunziker (Fall 4:23) 165: Macoy Flanagan over Ricky Stamm (SV-1 3-1) 174: Neal Richards over Trenton Schultz (Fall 4:23 184: Dalton Robertson over Ben Wagner (Fall 3:48) 197: Jacob Seely over Chris Beck (MD 11-2) 285: Robert Winters Jr. over Trey Momon (MD 11-3) Northern Colorado 25, Hofstra 13 125: Dylan Ryder over Rico Montoya (MD 13-3) 133: Sean Cannon over Trent Olson (Dec 3-1) 141: Garrett Lambert over Owen Lamb (Dec 9-5) 149: Mason Hulse over (For.) 157: Chris Mauriello over Jordan Robison (Dec 8-7) 165: Macoy Flanagan over Ricky Stamm (SV-1 3-1) 174: Sage Heller over Trenton Schultz (Dec 5-0) 184: Dalton Robertson over Trey Rogers (Dec 8-1) 197: Jacob Seely over Nezar Haddad (Dec 6-2) 285: Robert Winters Jr. over Omar Haddad (SV-1 3-1)

FRESNO, Calif. -- The Gophers flew out to Fresno State to defeat the Bulldogs for the second straight season, this time by a team score of 31-6. The Gophers have now scored over 30 team points in two consecutive duals and three out of four this season. The Gophers got two technical falls and a forfeit for bonus point victories. The Gophers night got started with 125-pound Sean Russell who continued his recent run of scoring. Russell immediately got to his offense and got the takedown only 30 seconds into the bout before notching the nearfall. Russell quickly put an end to the match with a second period 16-1 technical fall. 133-pound Ethan Lizak quickly got to his opponents left leg and took a key first period lead. After surrendering a second period takedown Lizak got back to business with a four-point nearfall in the third period to clinch a 9-2 victory with over two minutes of riding time. Against the lone ranked Bulldog Khristian Olivas, 149-pound Tommy Thorn was tied 1-1 after regulation with escapes the only scoring of the match. In sudden victory Thorn battled at the edge of the mat for the game-winning takedown. Making his second consecutive dual appearance in place of the injured Steve Bleise 157-pound Miles Patton held a one-point lead late in the third before extending his lead. Patton's late takedown and nearfall sent the Gophers into intermission leading 14-3. Straight out of intermission 165-pound Carson Brolsma got on the board nearly immediately with a takedown within ten seconds. He followed that up with two more in the period for a 6-2 lead. Brolsma finished up the bout with a 9-5 victory, including riding time. 174-pound Devin Skatzka continued to excel with victory in a close match with Fresno State's Jackson Hemauer. Filling in for usual starter Mitch McKee, 141-pound Brent Jones made his dual debut against Chris Deloza or Fresno State. In an action packed bout Jones got a late takedown but couldn't follow it up with another and he fell 13-11. 184-pound Owen Webster dropped his bout to Jackson Hemauer 4-1 after only two takedowns, but ample riding time for Hemauer. 197-pound Brandon Krone made a victorious return to the lineup after not wrestling since the Oklahoma State dual on Nov. 18. Krone didn't settle after a 4-0 first period lead and rode out the entire second period with a four-point nearfall in the mix. Fresno State forfeited the matchup at heavyweight. Results: 125: No.5 Sean Russell tech. fall Jeremy Trinh 16-1 | Minnesota 5-0 133: No. 8 Ethan Lizak dec. Gary Joint 9-2 | Minnesota 8-0 141: Chris Deloza dec. Brent Jones 13-11 | Minnesota 8-3 149: Tommy Thorn dec. No. 23 Khristian Olivas SV 3-1 | Minnesota 11-3 157: Miles Patton dec. Isaiah Hokit 11-3 | Minnesota 14-3 165: Carson Brolsma dec. Jacob Wright 9-5 | Minnesota 17-3 174: No. 16 Devin Skatzka dec. Ricky Padilla 6-4 | Minnesota 20-3 184: Jackson Hemauer dec. Owen Webster 4-1 | Minnesota 20-6 197: Brandon Krone tech. fall Danny Salas 15-0 | Minnesota 25-6 285: No. 2 Gable Steveson winner by forfeit | Minnesota 31-6

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- The 21st-ranked Wyoming wrestling team picked up its first Big 12 win of the season on Saturday afternoon in the Arena-Auditorium, overwhelming No. 19 North Dakota State, 29-6. The Cowboys (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) took eight of the 10 bouts from the Bison, including bonus point wins from Montorie Bridges, Dewey Krueger and Carless Looney. The Pokes dominated on top as well, earning four full-period rideouts in the dual. "The guys wrestled pretty well," Branch said. "I was pretty worried (coming in) about their energy levels, coming off of a grinding tournament like Vegas and then having a quick turnaround. We had to get busy. I let them have yesterday off because I could see them getting fatigued…Overall, our energy was pretty good. I didn't know what to expect. I looked at it on paper and there were so many unknowns. "What you have is you have guys on both teams that have had their moments, but there is still a lot of inconsistency between them because of a lack of experience. I was pleased, and disappointed in the matches we did lose. I would have never thought that going into the dual, but you feel a little bit of a sour taste that we didn't finish off those two close ones that we lost. We still have a lot we need to improve, but it was definitely a good effort from the guys." The night started at 197 pounds, where redshirt freshman Cale Davidson picked up a 6-3 decision over No. 20 Cordell Eaton. Eaton struck first in the bout, scoring a takedown with 18 seconds left to go in the first period. Davidson was able to get on the board with a second left on the escape, followed by a full second period rideout from the top starting position to keep the score at 2-1 heading into the final frame. From the down position, Davidson picked up a reversal 30 seconds into the third and sealed the match with 33 seconds to go in the bout with a takedown and rideout. Heavyweight Brian Andrews followed up the win by Davidson with a 3-1 sudden victory decision over Brandon Metz to stretch the team score to 6-0. After the two grapplers traded escapes in the second and third periods to get to the end of regulation at one apiece, Andrews got the decisive takedown just 14 seconds into the first sudden victory period. The win moved Andrews to 4-1 in duals this season. At 125 pounds, Cole Verner came up just short of an upset over No. 8 Brent Fleetwood. Verner took a 5-4 lead into the final period as he was able to reverse from bottom after a Fleetwood takedown about a minute into the frame. Fleetwood chose neutral to start the third and came up with a takedown to take the lead with just 15 seconds to go to secure the 6-5 win over the Cowboy. Bridges recorded five takedowns en route to a 12-3 major decision over North Dakota State's Paul Bianchi at 133 pounds to lock up the first bonus point win of the dual for Wyoming and put the Pokes up, 10-3, in the match. It marked Bridges' third major of the season. At 141, Sam Turner ran off six unanswered points following an early takedown for NDSU's Gavin Sutton in the first period. Turner was able to escape quickly and later notch a takedown with five seconds to go to take a 3-2 lead into the second. After riding out the entirety of the second period, Turner scored a reversal from the down starting position in the third and finished off the match with the riding time point for the 6-2 win over Sutton. The Bison got back on the board for what would be the final time at 149 pounds, as Jaden Van Maanen defeated Cowboy Jaron Jensen, 7-5, in sudden victory. Trailing, 3-1, in the third period with riding time in favor of Van Maanen, Jensen was able to tie the match with a couple of takedowns in the final 30 seconds of regulation to force overtime; however, a takedown by Van Maanen six seconds into sudden victory quelled Jensen's comeback. Junior Dewey Krueger saw the mat for a full 1:44 on Saturday as he decked Bison Nick Knutson for a first-period fall to stretch Wyoming's lead to 19-6. Krueger dropped Knutson for the takedown after a handful of shots just over a minute into the bout, catching him on his back for the fall -- his third of the season. Senior Branson Ashworth pushed his record against NDSU's Andrew Fogarty to 4-2 on Saturday with a convincing 6-0 win over the 13th-ranked Bison junior. Ashworth dominated the match, taking down Fogarty with 1:20 to go in the first, then rode out the remainder of the first and entirety of the second to lead 2-0 heading into the final frame. Ashworth escaped from bottom to open the third, before scoring one last takedown with 44 seconds to go to all but lock up the win. At 174 pounds, redshirt freshman Hayden Hastings dominated the third period to drop Lorenzo De La Riva, 7-3. With the score tied at two heading into the frame, Hastings scored the reversal just 17 seconds in. De La Riva would escape about 30 seconds later, but Hastings fought off a number of attacks from the Bison junior before scoring a takedown to secure the win. In the final bout of the night, redshirt freshman Carless Looney dominated NDSU senior Tyler McNutt for the 11-0 shutout major decision. Looney opened the match with a takedown and nearfall to lead, 6-0, after one. After a second-period rideout, Looney scored another takedown and rideout in the third to close out the match on a high note. The Cowboys will return to tournament action for their final tournament of the regular season on Dec. 20 when they head to Reno, Nev., for the Reno Tournament of Champions. Results: 197: Cale Davidson dec. No. 20 Cordell Eaton (NDSU), 6-3 285: No. 20 Brian Andrews sv-1 Brandon Metz (NDSU), 3-1 125: No. 8 Brent Fleetwood (NDSU) dec. Cole Verner, 6-5 133: No. 13 Montorie Bridges major dec. Paul Bianchi (NDSU), 12-3 141: Sam Turner dec. Gavin Sutton (NDSU), 6-2 149: Jaden Van Maanen (NDSU) sv-1 Jaron Jensen, 7-5 157: Dewey Krueger fall Nick Knutson (NDSU), 1:44 165: No. 7 Branson Ashworth dec. No. 13 Andrew Fogarty (NDSU), 6-0 174: Hayden Hastings dec. Lorenzo De La Riva (NDSU), 7-3 184: Carless Looney major dec. Tyler McNutt (NDSU), 11-0

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The fourth-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team doubled up No. 16 Lehigh on Saturday, winning seven-of-eight matches to top the Mountain Hawks, 28-14, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes won the dual's first six bouts, piling up a 25-0 advantage in takedowns and scoring bonus point in five matches. Spencer Lee opened the scoring with a first-period technical fall. He registered a takedown in the first 10 seconds and added three four-point turns to terminate his 125-pound match, 15-0, in 2:30. "I'm the first guy, so I feel like it's my job to get the ball rolling and score as many points to get the team fired up," Lee said. Iowa won by major decision in the next three matches. Austin DeSanto scored eight takedowns in a 19-8 win at 133. Max Murin scored four takedowns and added four nearfall points at in a 14-3 win at 141, and Pat Lugo scored eight points in the final minute of the first period en route to a 12-3 win at 149. DeSanto and Murin both bounced back from losses last week. "I can harder wrestle harder than that pace," DeSanto said. "I want to improve my pace every single match." Murin said he took a monkey see, monkey do approach to getting back on track. The plan he said, was to wrestle every tick of the clock. "I don't have to look very far to see other guys like Marinelli and DeSanto. They do it every match and I knew I had to do the same," Murin said. "The coaches have been on us all week. We had a bad last week but we can't do anything now. We have to learn from it, and I feel we've done pretty good job at fixing our mistakes and capitalizing." Iowa won its fifth match before intermission at 157, where Kaleb Young used a first period takedown and 1:47 of riding time to defeat No. 15 Josh Humphreys, 4-1. The Hawkeyes went 2-3 after the break. Alex Marinelli played catch and release for six minutes, 28 seconds, in a 20-5 technical fall at 165, and Cash Wilcke scored a takedown 43 seconds into sudden victory to win 6-4 at 184. "I think they are realizing that how hard they wrestle is most important. Do you want to wrestle like this and leave it up to chance or do you want to slam the door on these guys," said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. "The higher pace you wrestle, the better your chances. Those matches when you wrestle that type of pace, it's over halfway over through the second period. The thing is you have to keep your foot on the gas pedal." NOTABLES Iowa scored the dual's first 25 takedowns. Lee improved to 5-0 with his fourth technical fall of the season. Lugo won for the first time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Moody was making his second career dual appearance. UP NEXT The Hawkeyes compete at the Midlands Championships on Dec. 29-30 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Results: 125 -- #1 Spencer Lee (IA) tech. fall Luke Resnick (L), 15-0; 5-0 133 -- #12 Austin DeSanto (IA) major dec. Brandon Paetzell (L), 19-8; 9-0 141 -- #20 Max Murin (IA) major dec. Ryan Pomrinca (L), 14-3; 13-0 149 -- #10 Pat Lugo (IA) major dec. Jimmy Hoffman (L), 12-3; 17-0 157 -- #8 Kaleb Young (IA) dec. #15 Josh Humphreys (L), 4-1; 20-0 165 -- #4 Alex Marinelli (IA) tech. fall Cole Walter (L), 20-5; 25-0 174 -- #6 Jordan Kutler (L) major dec. Jeremiah Moody (IA), 12-3; 25-4 184 -- #14 Cash Wilcke (IA) dec. Andrew Price (L), 6-4 SV1; 28-4 197 -- #14 Jake Jakobsen (L) pinned Steve Holloway (IA), 1:01; 28-10 285 -- #6 Jordan Wood (L) major dec. Aaron Costello (IA), 13-3 Records: Iowa (6-0), Lehigh (0-4) Attendance: 7,434

No. 1 Blair Academy won the Walsh Ironman title by 100 points (Photo/Richard Immel) CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- It was a record-setting year for the Walsh Ironman in terms of team quality, as well as for the depth and breadth of the individual talent in the field. Among the 520 athletes were around 30 percent of the nationally ranked individuals, and just under one half of the InterMat Fab 50 national ranked teams were among the 90 schools with full or partial entries in the event. National No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.) won the event by an event-record margin of 100 points over No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.). The Buccaneers had six wrestlers make the finals, and twelve wrestlers earn to eight podium finishes on the way to 276-1/2 points. That performance was not an event record, which would be the 297 points score by St. Edward (Ohio) in December 1999. It actually was the fourth best point total in event history, the third among Blair Academy teams (287 in December 2001, 282 in December 2008). Earning titles for the Buccaneers were No. 3 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (120), No. 7 Shayne Van Ness (132), and No. 1 A.J. Ferrari (195). For Mastrogiovanni, it was a repeat title, and it took a pair of third period takedowns including the match winner with 24 seconds remaining to outlast No. 4 Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) 6-5. It was also a repeat title for Ferrari, who scored two takedowns in each period of a 13-7 victory over No. 4 Peter Christensen (Montini Catholic, Ill.); a late escape and takedown for Christensen made the match seem closer than it was. The sophomore Van Ness, for whom it is his first season as the primary starter, has had a spectacular six week period to make people aware of his true ability level. On the way to winning a title at the Super 32 in late October, he beat three-time tournament champion Adam Busiello in the quarterfinal round. In Saturday afternoon's semifinal round, he used a mid-third period takedown to equalize the bout and then a late third period five-point move to confirm the 11-5 victory over national No. 1 Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio). Then to win the title, he used a four-point toss at the edge of the mat inside the last 30 seconds to beat No. 15 Frankie Tal-Shahar (American Heritage, Fla.); Tal-Shahar used a last second takedown to beat No. 2 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) 5-4 in his semifinal. Runners-up for Blair Academy were No. 2 Michael Colaiocco (126), No. 3 Julian Ramirez (170), and No. 2 Owen Trephan (220). Other medalists included No. 13 Travis Mastrogiovanni (145), Nick Incontera (152), and No. 5 Dominic Mata (160) placing fourth; Ryan Miller (113) in fifth; No. 16 Peyton Craft (182) in seventh; and Daniel Wask (106) in eighth. Or the second place team, Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), No. 10 Darrien Roberts was the Blue Knights' lone finalist and champion. He upended No. 8 Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.), a fellow National Prep runner-up, in the 182 pound final by a 4-2 score; Roberts' first period takedown was the key factor in that victory. Out of eight other placers, No. 8 Troy Spratley (113) and No. 8 Jacob Kaminski (220) each placed third; Lachlan McNeil (120) finished fourth; No. 3 Beau Bartlett (132) earned fifth; while Drew Munch (126), Benny Baker (152), No. 19 Jake Stefanowicz (170), and Michel Doggett (195) each finished sixth. The two teams finishing in joint third, No. 4 Cincinnati LaSalle (Ohio) and No. 15 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.), barely combined to exceed the total of second place Wyoming Seminary, as each team had 90 points. The lone champion between those two teams was No. 2 Ryan Anderson for Bethlehem Catholic at 145 pounds. Anderson started his tournament with two pins and a 12-2 major decision in the round of 16 before a pair of regular decision victories to advance to the final; those came against nationally ranked opponents, 4-2 over No. 18 Trevor Chumbley (Marmion Academy, Ill.) in the quarterfinal and 6-2 over Mastrogiovanni in the semifinal. That was the prelude to the finals program's featured bout between No. 2 Anderson and No. 1 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), whose advancement to the final included a 7-3 win over No. 3 Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio) in the semifinal. Anderson made the finals match a basic non-event after one period as two takedowns and a late near fall that would have been a pin but for the period ending gave him a 7-1 lead. A technical violation and a second stalling against Abas in the second period made it 9-1, while another stall call against Abas in the third period created the final 11-1 margin. Said performance was enough for the Iowa State signee Anderson to be named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 25th Walsh Ironman. Four others joined Ferrari as national No. 1 ranked wrestlers to win titles in the 2018 Walsh Ironman: Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) at 113 pounds, Joshua Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) at 138, Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) at 170, and Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) at 220. Figueroa outlasted state champion Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Seneca Valley, Pa.) 2-1, as a reversal in the second period followed by riding that period out was enough to offset Herrera-Rondon's escape early in the third period. Saunders used a second period near fall and third period escape to outlast Chris Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) 3-0 in his championship bout. For Kharchla, it was two first period takedowns, which he was able to make last in a 5-2 victory over No. 3 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.); in Kharchla's four previous matches during the weekend, he had three wins by technical fall and a 12-3 major decision in the semifinal. Amos earned a repeat title at the Ironman with a 4-2 victory over No. 2 Owen Trephan (Blair Academy, N.J.), the key being a first period takedown; his four previous matches were three pins followed by a 25-10 technical fall in the semifinal. Joining Mastrogiovanni, Ferrari, and Amos as a repeat champion at the Walsh Ironman was No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.), who beat No. 10 Jonathan Birchmeier (Broad Run, Va.) 6-0 at 285 pounds. In his fourth tournament finals appearance, Schultz was held to a scoreless first period before a pair of second period near falls and a third period escape confirmed the title for the Arizona State signee. It was the first match of the tournament that lasted more than 41 seconds, as Schultz reached the final with four pins in a cumulative time of 2:12. No. 2 Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) joined high school teammate Kharchla in winning a weight class title, as the Super 32 champion added gold at the Ironman via a 7-0 domination of No. 6 Jace Luchau (Selma, Calif.). Brady scored a takedown in each period to avenge his loss from the Junior National freestyle tournament from this summer in Fargo. Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 6 Kyle Rowan (Perry, Ohio) at 106 pounds, No. 13 Reece Witcraft (Broken Arrow, Okla.) at 126, and No. 8 Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio) at 152. Each wrestler beat top three ranked in the country opposition in their championship bout. Team Standings: 1- No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.), 276.5 2- No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), 176.5 3- No. 15 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.), 90 (tie) No. 4 Cincinnati La Salle (Ohio) 5- No. 8 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), 82.5 6- No. 5 St. Edward (Ohio), 81 7- No. 29 Parkersburg South (W.Va.), 73.5 8- No. 6 Montini Catholic (Ill.), 73 (tie) St John Bosco (Calif.) 10- No. 32 Elyria (Ohio), 71 (tie) No. 10 Gilroy HS (Calif.) (tie) Selma (Calif.) Other Fab 50 Teams 14- No. 16 Allen (Texas), 67 15- No. 31 Poway (Calif.), 65 17- No. 27 Marmion Academy (Ill.), 55.5 18/T- No. 30 Chicago Mt. Carmel (Ill.), 55 20- No. 11 Park Hill (Mo.), 52 21/T- No. 37 Brecksville (Ohio), 47 No. 25 Mt. St. Joseph's (Md.) No. 36 Reynolds (Pa.) 26/T- No. 24 Wadsworth (Ohio), 44.5 No. 34 St. Paris Graham (Ohio) 35- No. 12 Broken Arrow (Okla.), 38 45/T- No. 47 Arlington Martin (Texas), 26 48/T- No. 38 Pomona (Colo.), 25 Placewinners 106: 1st: No. 6 Kyle Rowan (Perry-Lake County, Ohio) dec. No. 3 Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas), 4-3 3rd: No. 20 Gary Steen (Reynolds, Pa.) dec. No. 8 Diego Sotelo (Marmion Academy, Ill.), 6-2 5th: Richard Fedalen (McDonogh, Md.) dec. Evan Holloway (New Kent, Va.), 5-4, ultimate tiebreaker 7th: Andre Gonzales (Poway, Calif.) dec. Daniel Wask (Blair Academy, N.J.), 8-1 113: 1st: No. 1 Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) dec. Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Seneca Valley, Pa.), 2-1 3rd: No. 8 Troy Spratley (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Timothy Levine (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 3-2 5th: Ryan Miller (Blair Academy, N.J.) over No. 2 Jacob Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) by forfeit 7th: No. 9 Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.) dec. No. 18 Colton Drousias (Chicago Mt. Carmel, Ill.), 5-2 120: 1st: No. 3 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 4 Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), 6-5 3rd: No. 5 Ryan Crookham (Notre Dame-Green Pond, Pa.) dec. Lachlan McNeil (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 3-1, overtime 5th: No. 8 Matthew Ramos (Lockport, Ill.) dec. No. 7 Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 3-2 7th: No. 13 Kysen Terukina (Kamehameha, Hawaii) dec. Carson Sauriol (Poway, Calif.), 6-4 126: 1st: No. 13 Reece Witcraft (Broken Arrow, Okla.) dec. No. 2 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.), 8-5 3rd: No. 7 Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) dec. No. 8 Travis Ford-Melton (Marian Catholic, Ill.), 3-2 5th: No. 16 Dylan Shawver (Elyria, Ohio) dec. Drew Munch (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 8-2 7th: No. 9 Dylan Ragusin (Montini Catholic, Ill.) dec. Mosha Schwartz (Ponderosa, Colo.), 5-2 132: 1st: No. 7 Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 15 Frankie Tal-Shahar (American Heritage, Fla.), 5-1 3rd: No. 1 Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) dec. No. 2 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio), 3-2 5th: No. 3 Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Mick Burnett (Elyria, Ohio), 3-2 7th: No. 18 Kenny Herrmann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) over Henry Porter (Oakdale, Calif.) by medical forfeit 138: 1st: No. 1 Joshua Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) dec. Chris Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 3-0 3rd: No. 7 Chase Saldate (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Trent Dooley (Allen, Texas), 5-2 5th: Matt Lackman (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) dec. Jackson Dean (Caesar Rodney, Del.), 1-0 7th: No. 10 Peyton Hall (Oak Glen, W.Va.) pinned Jaden Le (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), 4:28 145: 1st: No. 2 Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) maj. dec. No. 1 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), 11-1 3rd: Cael Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.) dec. No. 13 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.), 4-1 5th: No. 7 Michael North (Wadsworth, Ohio) over No. 3 Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio) by forfeit 7th: No. 18 Trevor Chumbley (Marmion Academy, Ill.) dec. No. 16 Fidel Mayora (Montini Catholic, Ill.), 2-0 152: 1st: No. 2 Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.) No. 8 Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio) 3rd: No. 13 Aaron Gandara (Poway, Calif.) dec. Nick Incontera (Blair Academy, N.J.), 3-2 5th: Reece Heller (Marian Catholic, Ill.) pinned Benny Baker (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 3:49 7th John Martin Best (Parkersburg, W.Va.) dec. Cole Handlovic (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), 5-4 160: 1st: No. 2 Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) dec. No. 6 Jace Luchau (Selma, Calif.), 7-0 3rd: Kyle Mosher (South Side, N.Y.) pinned No. 5 Dominic Mata (Blair Acaemy, N.J.), 1:10 5th: Noah Blake (Del Oro, Calif.) over No. 7 Thayne Lawrence (Frazier, Pa.) by forfeit 7th: Todd Perry (South Dade, Fla.) maj. dec. Tyler Stoltzfus (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.), 10-2 170: 1st: No. 1 Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) dec. No. 3 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.), 5-2 3rd: No. 18 Nevan Snodgrass (Kettering Fairmont, Ohio) dec. Ashton Habeil (Lake Gibson, Fla.), 7-2 5th: Christian Rodriguez (Selma, Calif.) dec. No. 19 Jake Stefanowicz (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 4-3 7th: Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio) dec. Blake Hopson (Park Hill, Mo.), 3-0 182: 1st: No. 10 Darrien Roberts (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. No. 8 Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.), 4-2 3rd: No. 4 Devin Winston (Park Hill, Mo.) dec. Anthony D'Alesio (Canfield, Ohio), 3-2 5th: Trey Sizemore (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) dec. No. 19 Sam Fisher (Fauquier, Va.), 4-2 7th: No. 16 Peyton Craft (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. Nathan Haas (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 11-4 195: 1st: No. 1 A.J. Ferrari (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 4 Peter Christensen (Montini Catholic, Ill.), 13-7 3rd: No. 3 Ryan Reyes (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Nathan Dugan (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 6-4 5th: Ethan Hatcher (Brecksville, Ohio) dec. Michael Doggett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 5-3 7th: Kolby Franklin (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.) dec. Jack Wimmer (McDonogh, Md.), 3-2 220: 1st: No. 1 Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) dec. No. 2 Owen Trephan (Blair Academy, N.J.), 4-2 3rd: No. 8 Jacob Kaminski (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) maj. dec. No. 14 Andy Smith (Christiansburg, Va.), 9-0 5th: Kade Carlson (Corner Canyon, Utah) dec. Matthias Ervin (Union County, Ky.), 5-1, overtime 7th: No. 12 Tyler Stein (Canfield, Ohio) over Jarin Curtis (Massillon Perry, Ohio) by forfeit 285: 1st: No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) dec. No. 10 Jonathan Birchmeier (Broad Run, Va.), 6-0 3rd: Nicholas Villarreal (Gilroy, Calif.) maj. dec. No. 20 Louden Haga (Parkersburg South, W.Va.), 9-1 5th: Johnny Shafer (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) dec. Max Millin (Massillon Perry, Ohio), 8-3 7th: Andrew Johnson (Poway, Calif.) dec. Caden Hill (Ashland Crestview, Ohio), 5-1

NEW YORK -- The Columbia wrestling team secured bonus point victories in three matches, leading to a 27-12 triumph today over VMI. With the win, the Lions move to 1-0 on the season, while the Keydets drop to 2-5. "For us right now trying to rebuild a culture, we lost a lot of really influential starters in our lineup so it's exciting," said the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli. "To see them step up the way they did, get bonus points, and close out tough, gritty matches is something to be excited about." First-year Joe Manchio got the Lions off to fast start, posting a 10-1 major decision against Clifton Conway III at 125 pounds to improve to 9-4 this season. Shortly thereafter, VMI cut the Columbia lead to 4-3, when Hunter Starner came away with a 4-3 decision against Matt Kazimir at 133. The Lions would win the next four matches, which included a pin in the process. Rookie Danny Fongaro took the next match at 141, defeating Dominick Gallo by a 4-0 decision. Sophomore Riley Jacops impressed at 149, earning a birthday win over Zach Schmitt, 10-4. At 157 pounds, Dan Reed got Jerrod Hunziker on his back in the second period, forcing the official to slap the mat 35 seconds into the frame, making it a 16-3 advantage for Columbia with his first pin of the year. "To come out in our home opener, after taking a year off, it was really exciting to be able to put on a show for our Columbia Wrestling fans," said Reed, who improved to 8-1 this season. After the Reed pin, Laurence Kosoy blanked Jakob Kennedy, 6-0, at 165 pounds, giving the Lions a 19-3 lead for his 10th win this year. The Keydets would make up three points with a victory at 174, before Brian Bonino got those three back with a 8-3 decision at 184. VMI's Chris Beck picked up a third period pin over Michael Bulkin, making it a 22-12 match, before first-year Danny Conley finished off the Keydets with an impressive 16-0 victory in the heavyweight bout for his first career tech fall, helping the Lions earn the 27-12 win. Columbia is back in action at the Blue Gym on Monday, Dec. 10 at 6:00 p.m. in a dual against Northern Colorado. Results: 125: Joe Manchio MD Clifton Conway III, 10-1 (Columbia, 4-0) 133: Hunter Starner DEC Matt Kazimir, 4-3, (Columbia, 4-3) 141: Danny Fongaro DEC Dominick Gallo, 4-0 (Columbia, 7-3) 149: Riley Jacops DEC Zach Schmitt, 10-4 (Columbia, 10-3) 157: Dan Reed FALL (3:35) Jerrod Hunziker (Columbia, 16-3) 165: Laurence Kosoy DEC Jakob Kennedy, 6-0 (Columbia, 19-3) 174: Neal Richards DEC Max Elling, 10-5 (Columbia, 19-6) 184: Brian Bonino DEC Max Gallahan, 8-3 (Columbia, 22-6) 197: Chris Beck FALL (6:38) Michael Bulkin (Columbia, 22-12) HWT: Danny Conley TF (4:51) Tre Momon, 16-0 (Columbia, 27-12)

The Princeton wrestling team dug itself out of an early hole and put forth some impressive performances Saturday afternoon to claim a 28-15 win at Virginia. A dramatic first-period fall by 5th-ranked Patrick Brucki over the 11th-ranked wrestler in the nation, as well as a Top-20 win for Virginia native Marshall Keller, highlighted Princeton's second dual win of the season. After decisions by both Travis Stefanik and Kevin Parker drew Princeton even with the Cavaliers at 6-6, Brucki came out on a mission against Jay Aiello. One day after he posted a win over Virginia Tech's 17th-ranked Tom Sleigh, Brucki took control of Aiello immediately and put his shoulders to the mat only 65 seconds into the match. Sophomore Kendall Elfstrum moved up a weight and gained some momentum for Princeton by limiting Quinn Miller to a decision, and 14th-ranked Patrick Glory got those points (and more) right back with a forfeit win at 125. Keller capped his dream weekend with a second-period pin of Scott Kiyono at 141 pounds, which clinched the dual win for Princeton. Top-ranked Matthew Kolodzik stayed perfect on the season with a 12-1 major decision to cap the match. Princeton will be off this week, and will make its home debut Thursday, Dec. 20, against Rider in a match streamed live on ESPN+. Results: 157: Jake Keating (V) dec. Quincy Monday 10-4 165: Cam Coy (V) dec. Dale Tiongson 6-3 174: Travis Stefanik (P) dec. Robert Patrick 7-5 184: Kevin Parker (P) dec. Will Schany 5-2 197: #5 Patrick Brucki (P) WBF #11 Jay Aiello 1:05 285: Quinn Miller (V) dec. Kendall Elfstrum 12-7 125: #14 Patrick Glory (P) wins by forfeit 133: Brian Courtney (V) WBF Jacob Adkins 0:55 141: Marshall Keller (P) WBF Scott Kiyono 4:17 149: #1 Matthew Kolodzik (P) mdec. Sam Martino 12-1

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- The 25th edition of the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman came to a conclusion on Saturday afternoon near Akron. Below were the results. Team Standings: 1- No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.), 276.5 2- No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), 176.5 3- No. 15 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.), 90 (tie) No. 4 Cincinnati La Salle (Ohio) 5- No. 8 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), 82.5 6- No. 5 St. Edward (Ohio), 81 7- No. 29 Parkersburg South (W.Va.), 73.5 8- No. 6 Montini Catholic (Ill.), 73 (tie) St John Bosco (Calif.) 10- No. 32 Elyria (Ohio), 71 (tie) No. 10 Gilroy HS (Calif.) (tie) Selma (Calif.) Other Fab 50 Teams 14- No. 16 Allen (Texas), 67 15- No. 31 Poway (Calif.), 65 17- No. 27 Marmion Academy (Ill.), 55.5 18/T- No. 30 Chicago Mt. Carmel (Ill.), 55 20- No. 11 Park Hill (Mo.), 52 21/T- No. 37 Brecksville (Ohio), 47 No. 25 Mt. St. Joseph's (Md.) No. 36 Reynolds (Pa.) 26/T- No. 24 Wadsworth (Ohio), 44.5 No. 34 St. Paris Graham (Ohio) 35- No. 12 Broken Arrow (Okla.), 38 45/T- No. 47 Arlington Martin (Texas), 26 48/T- No. 38 Pomona (Colo.), 25 Medal match results: 106: 1st: No. 6 Kyle Rowan (Perry-Lake County, Ohio) dec. No. 3 Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas), 4-3 3rd: No. 20 Gary Steen (Reynolds, Pa.) dec. No. 8 Diego Sotelo (Marmion Academy, Ill.), 6-2 5th: Richard Fedalen (McDonogh, Md.) dec. Evan Holloway (New Kent, Va.), 5-4, ultimate tiebreaker 7th: Andre Gonzales (Poway, Calif.) dec. Daniel Wask (Blair Academy, N.J.), 8-1 113: 1st: No. 1 Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) dec. Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Seneca Valley, Pa.), 2-1 3rd: No. 8 Troy Spratley (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Timothy Levine (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 3-2 5th: Ryan Miller (Blair Academy, N.J.) over No. 2 Jacob Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) by forfeit 7th: No. 9 Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.) dec. No. 18 Colton Drousias (Chicago Mt. Carmel, Ill.), 5-2 120: 1st: No. 3 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 4 Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), 6-5 3rd: No. 5 Ryan Crookham (Notre Dame-Green Pond, Pa.) dec. Lachlan McNeil (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 3-1, overtime 5th: No. 8 Matthew Ramos (Lockport, Ill.) dec. No. 7 Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 3-2 7th: No. 13 Kysen Terukina (Kamehameha, Hawaii) dec. Carson Sauriol (Poway, Calif.), 6-4 126: 1st: No. 13 Reece Witcraft (Broken Arrow, Okla.) dec. No. 2 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.), 8-5 3rd: No. 7 Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) dec. No. 8 Travis Ford-Melton (Marian Catholic, Ill.), 3-2 5th: No. 16 Dylan Shawver (Elyria, Ohio) dec. Drew Munch (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 8-2 7th: No. 9 Dylan Ragusin (Montini Catholic, Ill.) dec. Mosha Schwartz (Ponderosa, Colo.), 5-2 132: 1st: No. 7 Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 15 Frankie Tal-Shahar (American Heritage, Fla.), 5-1 3rd: No. 1 Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) dec. No. 2 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio), 3-2 5th: No. 3 Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Mick Burnett (Elyria, Ohio), 3-2 7th: No. 18 Kenny Herrmann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) over Henry Porter (Oakdale, Calif.) by medical forfeit 138: 1st: No. 1 Joshua Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) dec. Chris Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 3-0 3rd: No. 7 Chase Saldate (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Trent Dooley (Allen, Texas), 5-2 5th: Matt Lackman (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) dec. Jackson Dean (Caesar Rodney, Del.), 1-0 7th: No. 10 Peyton Hall (Oak Glen, W.Va.) pinned Jaden Le (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), 4:28 145: 1st: No. 2 Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) maj. dec. No. 1 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), 11-1 3rd: Cael Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.) dec. No. 13 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.), 4-1 5th: No. 7 Michael North (Wadsworth, Ohio) over No. 3 Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio) by forfeit 7th: No. 18 Trevor Chumbley (Marmion Academy, Ill.) dec. No. 16 Fidel Mayora (Montini Catholic, Ill.), 2-0 152: 1st: No. 8 Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio) dec. No. 2 Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.) 5-2 3rd: No. 13 Aaron Gandara (Poway, Calif.) dec. Nick Incontera (Blair Academy, N.J.), 3-2 5th: Reece Heller (Marian Catholic, Ill.) pinned Benny Baker (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 3:49 7th John Martin Best (Parkersburg, W.Va.) dec. Cole Handlovic (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), 5-4 160: 1st: No. 2 Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) dec. No. 6 Jace Luchau (Selma, Calif.), 7-0 3rd: Kyle Mosher (South Side, N.Y.) pinned No. 5 Dominic Mata (Blair Acaemy, N.J.), 1:10 5th: Noah Blake (Del Oro, Calif.) over No. 7 Thayne Lawrence (Frazier, Pa.) by forfeit 7th: Todd Perry (South Dade, Fla.) maj. dec. Tyler Stoltzfus (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.), 10-2 170: 1st: No. 1 Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) dec. No. 3 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.), 5-2 3rd: No. 18 Nevan Snodgrass (Kettering Fairmont, Ohio) dec. Ashton Habeil (Lake Gibson, Fla.), 7-2 5th: Christian Rodriguez (Selma, Calif.) dec. No. 19 Jake Stefanowicz (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 4-3 7th: Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio) dec. Blake Hopson (Park Hill, Mo.), 3-0 182: 1st: No. 10 Darrien Roberts (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. No. 8 Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.), 4-2 3rd: No. 4 Devin Winston (Park Hill, Mo.) dec. Anthony D'Alesio (Canfield, Ohio), 3-2 5th: Trey Sizemore (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) dec. No. 19 Sam Fisher (Fauquier, Va.), 4-2 7th: No. 16 Peyton Craft (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. Nathan Haas (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 11-4 195: 1st: No. 1 A.J. Ferrari (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 4 Peter Christensen (Montini Catholic, Ill.), 13-7 3rd: No. 3 Ryan Reyes (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Nathan Dugan (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 6-4 5th: Ethan Hatcher (Brecksville, Ohio) dec. Michael Doggett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 5-3 7th: Kolby Franklin (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.) dec. Jack Wimmer (McDonogh, Md.), 3-2 220: 1st: No. 1 Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) dec. No. 2 Owen Trephan (Blair Academy, N.J.), 4-2 3rd: No. 8 Jacob Kaminski (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) maj. dec. No. 14 Andy Smith (Christiansburg, Va.), 9-0 5th: Kade Carlson (Corner Canyon, Utah) dec. Matthias Ervin (Union County, Ky.), 5-1, overtime 7th: No. 12 Tyler Stein (Canfield, Ohio) over Jarin Curtis (Massillon Perry, Ohio) by forfeit 285: 1st: No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) dec. No. 10 Jonathan Birchmeier (Broad Run, Va.), 6-0 3rd: Nicholas Villarreal (Gilroy, Calif.) maj. dec. No. 20 Louden Haga (Parkersburg South, W.Va.), 9-1 5th: Johnny Shafer (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) dec. Max Millin (Massillon Perry, Ohio), 8-3 7th: Andrew Johnson (Poway, Calif.) dec. Caden Hill (Ashland Crestview, Ohio), 5-1

FAIRFAX, Va. -- The University at Buffalo wrestling team took down George Mason, 26-7, at the George Mason Field House on Saturday afternoon. The win completed the Bulls' road trip sweep after defeating Binghamton on Thursday night. The Bulls won the first three matches to take a commanding 11-0 lead in the dual. Kyle Akins, coming off a pin in the Binghamton match, started things off with an 18-3 technical fall over Talha Farooq at 125. Derek Spann kept rolling with an 11-10 decision at 133. The Bulls sophomore rallied from a 10-5 deficit to pull out the one-point win and improve to 6-0 in duals on the season. At 141, John Arceri won his first dual as a Bull, defeating Julio Alegria, 5-2. The Bulls won five of the next six matches and four of those matches were decided in overtime. Alex Smythe won by sudden victory over Kolby Ho, 7-5, at 157. Jake Lanning followed with a 6-4 decision over Cornelius Schuster at 174. Logan Rill earned a 3-1 overtime win over Paul Pierce at 184. Sam Schuyler followed with a 3-1 sudden victory over Eli Spencer at 197. In the final bout, Jake Gunning upset Matthew Voss, ranked eighth in the nation. Gunning got the takedown in overtime for the win. "First, hats off to Coach Beasley and his staff. I have known him for 20 years and he had his team ready for a dog fight," head coach John Stutzman said. "Secondly, I'm proud of my team. They have been through a lot to get to this point in the year. This was a hard road trip and we came out 2-0." The Bulls will hit the mats for the first time against a conference foe next Sunday when the travel to Missouri. Results: 125 - Kyle Akins (Buffalo) technical fall over Talha Farooq (Mason), 18-3 | 5-0 Buffalo 133 - Derek Span (Buffalo) decision over Mel Ortiz (Mason), 11-10 | 8-0 Buffalo 141 - John Arceri (Buffalo) decision over Julio Alegria (Mason), 5-2 | 11-0 Buffalo 149 - Tejon Anthony (Mason) major decision over Jason Estevez (Buffalo), 12-3 | 11-4 Buffalo 157 - Alex Smythe (Buffalo) decision over Kolby Ho (Mason), 7-5 SV-1 | 14-4 Buffalo 165 - Colston DiBlasi (Mason) decision over Noah Grover (Buffalo), 12-6 | 14-7 Buffalo 174 - Jake Lanning (Buffalo) decision over Cornelius Schuster (Mason), 6-4 | 17-7 Buffalo 184 - Logan Rill (Buffalo) decision over Paul Pierce (Mason), 3-1 SV-1| 20-7 Buffalo 197 - Sam Schuyler (Buffalo) decision over Eli Spencer (Mason), 3-1 SV-1 | 23-7 Buffalo 285 - Jake Gunning (Buffalo) decision over Matthew Voss (Mason), 3-1 SV-1 | 26-7 Buffalo

DEKALB, Ill. -- Fighting Illini wrestling picked up its first dual victory of the 2018-19 season Friday, defeating Northern Illinois 24-9 at the NIU Convocation Center in DeKalb. Redshirt sophomore Dylan Duncan picked up six points for the Orange and Blue by pinning Alijah Jeffery in the 133-pound match to give Illinois an early 9-0 advantage. In his first career start, redshirt junior Carver James upset No. 17 Brit Wilson in a 4-3 decision. This is the 20th all-time victory against NIU for Illinois, and the Illini now hold a 20-9 advantage in the all-time series with the Huskies. "That was a tremendous win for Carver James tonight against a very good opponent," said head coach Jim Heffernan. "I also need to mention Emery Parker winning tonight after working out for just one day in the last two weeks prior to the dual. He showed a lot of the leadership and selflessness. We're going to head back to campus and will give these guys a couple days off and let them prepare for final exams." Junior Travis Piotrowski made his first start of the season on Friday, facing a tough challenge from NIU's Bryce West who entered the match 4-1. Piotrowski picked up a quick takedown to take and early 2-0 lead, but West responded with an escape to make the score 2-1 heading into the second. Piotrowski picked up another two points and conceded one to lead 4-2 going into the final period. West came up with a takedown to tie the match at four, but Piotrowski was able to respond late in the period with an escape point with 24 seconds left that proved to be the difference. Piotrowski earned his first dual victory of the season to put the Illini up 3-0. Redshirt sophomore Dylan Duncan got his first start of the season against NIU and made quick work of opponent Alijah Jeffery. Duncan was able to get Jeffery on his back and come away with the pin at 2:07 into the match. The pin was the fastest fall Duncan has recorded in his career and his second victory by fall this season. The pin gave the Illini a six-point pickup and a 9-0 advantage two matches into the dual. The Illini came up short in their next two matches, with redshirt freshman Abdullah Assaf and junior Christian Kanzler dropping their matches against Anthony Cheloni and McCoy Kent at 141-pounds and 149-pounds, respectively. Assaf lost in a 5-3 decision to Cheloni, while Kanzler dropped a heartbreaker in a 3-1 triple overtime decision to Kent. The Huskies picked up six points to make it a 9-6 Illini advantage. Redshirt junior Eric Barone got the Illini back on track in the 157-pound bout by getting out to a quick 2-0 advantage over Mason Kauffman on an early takedown. After leading 2-1 to start the second period, Barone added on to his lead early in the second period with an escape followed by a takedown which put him ahead 5-2. Barone never looked back and was able to close out the matchup with Kauffman with an 8-4 decision victory, putting Illinois ahead of NIU, 12-6. Redshirt junior Joey Gunther had a battle against Kenny Moore in the 165-pound matchup. Moore took the early 2-0 lead in the first after a takedown. Gunther acheived an escape to trail 2-1 heading into the second. After no scoring in the second period, Gunther made another escape to tie the match at two early in the third. Late in the third Gunther had Moore on the ropes, and Moore was called for stalling to give Gunther the late 3-2 lead. Gunther received a point for riding time to end the match, and earned the come-from-behind win in a 4-2 decision. Illinois led 15-6 after the victory by Gunther. Redshirt junior Carver James made his first career start against FloWrestling nationally-ranked No. 17 Brit Wilson in the 174-pound match. After a scoreless first period, James jumped out in front in the second period with an escape and a takedown to take a 3-0 lead. Wilson was able to get a reversal to cut James's lead to 3-2. A key escape by James nearing the end of the second period gave him a 4-2 advantage going into the final period. After an early escape by Wilson to make it 4-3, James was strong defensively the rest of the way and closed out a 4-3 upset decision victory over No. 15 Wilson. The win was the first by James against a ranked opponent, and the victory put the Illini in front 18-6. In his first action since the Lindenwood Open, Emery Parker jumped out to an early 6-0 lead over Will Feldkamp. Parker never relinquished the lead and defeated Feldkamp in the 184-pound matchup in an 8-4 decision to put the Illini ahead 21-6. Parker remains perfect with tonight's win, improving to 7-0 on the season. Redshirt senior Andre Lee picked up the last Illini victory of the evening against Max Ihry in the 197-pound match. The two battled into overtime with the score tied at one a piece. Lee was able to get the takedown in overtime to win a 3-1 decision and give the Illini a 24-6 lead over the Huskies. The win was Lee's team-leading 10th victory of the season. Deuce Rachal would drop a close 2-0 decision to Caleb Gossett in the heavyweight bout, but the Illini had done enough to earn the victory over the Huskies, winning the match 24-9. Tomorrow: Several Illini will compete at the UNI Open tomorrow hosted by Northern Iowa the the UNI Dome at 9 a.m. CT. Wrestling for the Illini will be Mousa Jodeh, Johnny Mologousis, Nick Gasbarro, Tim McCarthy, Jake DiBenedetto, Brian Burns and Matt Wroblewski. Illini wrestlers competing unattached include Justin Cardani, Kenny Kerstein and Zac Braunagel. Results will be posted on Twitter (@illiniwrestling) at the conclusion of the tournament. Looking ahead: After tomorrow, the next action for Illini wrestling will be at the end of the month at the annual Midlands Tournament at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill. on December 29 and 30. Tournament matches begin at 9 a.m. CT on both days. Results: 125: No. 13 Travis Piotrowski (ILL) dec. Bryce West (NIU), 5-4 133: No. 17 Dylan Duncan (ILL) fall Alijah Jeffery (NIU), 2:07 141: Anthony Cheloni (NIU) dec. Abdullah Assaf (ILL), 5-3 149: McCoy Kent (NIU) dec. Christian Kanzler (ILL), 4-2 3OT 157: No. 14 Eric Barone (ILL) dec. Mason Kauffman (NIU), 8-4 165: No. 14 Joseph Gunther (ILL) dec. Kenny Moore (NIU), 4-2 174: Carver James (ILL) dec. No. 17 Brit Wilson (NIU), 4-3 184: No. 2 Emery Parker (ILL) dec. Will Feldkamp (NIU), 8-5 197: Andre Lee (ILL) dec. Max Ihry (NIU), SV-1 3-1 OT 285: Caleb Gossett (NIU) dec. Duece Rachal (ILL), 2-0