InterMat Staff

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- No. 1 Penn State (2-0, 0-0 B1G) made its first-ever visit to Bucknell (2-2) for a dual meet and dominated the homestanding Bison in sold out Sojka Pavilion. The Nittany Lions won nine of ten bouts, including three pins, to roll to a 42-3 victory in Lewisburg, Pa. The dual was wrestled in front of a sellout crowd of 4,279 in Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion. The crowd is the largest wrestling crowd in Bucknell history and the third largest in Sojka Pavilion history. The dual began at 125 where Lion sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) picked up his first dual win as a Nittany Lion. Schnupp used two takedowns, including a late one, to post a 5-2 win over Bucknell's Geo Barzona to give Penn State a lead it would never relinquish. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.) stayed hot at 133, rolling to a 21-7 major over David Campbell. Sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 4 at 141, was also impressive, posting a 15-5 major over Bucknell's Matthew Kalonia. Red-shirt freshman Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 13 at 149, made his Penn State dual meet debut, picking up a strong victory. Berge dominated Joey Schiele, posting a 25-10 technical fall at the 6:21 mark to put Penn State up 16-0 after four bouts. Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, stayed perfect on the year with a second period pin over BU's Zach Hartman. Nolf's pin at the 3:49 mark gave Penn State a 22-0 lead heading into intermission. With top-ranked Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.) not feeling well, sophomore157-pounder Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) moved up to 165 for the Lions. Pipher was strong in the match but could not overcome BU's D.J. Hollingshead, who put Bucknell on the board with a 10-5 win. Junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 2 at 174, put on a takedown clinic on his way to a 20-7 major decision over Nick Stephani with over 3:00 in riding time. Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 4 at 184, notched his fifth takedown of the year, picking up the fast fall over Kyle Inlander at the 0:31 mark. Senior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 197, continued to dominate his new weight. Nickal rolled up seven takedowns to post a 16-6 major decision over Drew Phipps, giving the Lions a 36-3 lead. Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 5 at 285, closed out the dual with a fast fall of his own, pinning Brandon Stokes in just 0:32. Cassar's pin allowed the Nittany Lions to walk away with a with a resounding 42-3 win. The Nittany Lions posted a lopsided 51-3 takedown advantage. Penn State has now won 47 straight dual meets dating back to the end of the 2014-15 season. Penn State is now 2-0 overall while Bucknell falls to 2-2. The Nittany Lions host No. 10 Lehigh on Sunday, Dec. 2, in sold out Rec Hall. The match-up will air live nationally on the Big Ten Network and begins at 1:30 p.m. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. Results: 125: Devin Schnupp PSU dec. Geo Barzona BU, 5-2 3-0 133: Roman Bravo-Young PSU maj. Dec. David Campbell BU, 21-7 7-0 141: #4 Nick Lee PSU maj. Dec. Matthew Kalonia BU, 15-5 11-0 149: #13 Brady Berge PSU tech fall Joey Schiele BU, 25-10 (6:21) 16-0 157: #1 Jason Nolf PSU pinned Zach Hartman BU, WBF (3:49) 22-0 165: D.J. Hollingshead BU dec. Bo Pipher PSU, 10-5 22-3 174: #2 Mark Hall PSU maj. dec. Nick Stephani BU, 20-7 26-3 184: #4 Shakur Rasheed PSU pinned Kyle Inlander BU, WBF (0:310 32-3 197: #1 Bo Nickal PSU maj. dec. Drew Phipps BU, 16-6 36-3 285: #5 Anthony Cassar PSU pinned Brandon Stokes BU, WBF (0:32) 42-3 Attendance: 4,279 (new Bucknell wrestling record) Records: Penn State 2-0; Bucknell 2-2 Up Next for Penn State: home vs. #10 Lehigh, Sunday, Dec. 2, 1:30 p.m. in Rec Hall BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) took on Bucknell's Geo Barzona at 125. Schnupp and Barzona battled in the middle off the mat for the opening minute before Schnupp took an early lead with a takedown at the 1:45 mark. Barzona escaped to a 2-1 score and action continued on the Bison logo in the middle of the mat. Schnupp continued to shoot, connecting on a low single. But Barzona was able to force a scramble that ended in a stalemate with :40 left in the opening period. Trailing by one, Barzona chose down to start the second period. Schnupp was able to control the action from the top position for :30 before Barzona escaped to a 2-2 tie. Schnupp was also hit with a first stall warning during the Barzona escape. Schnupp countered a slight Barzona shot to keep the bout tied 2-2 as the clock moved below :30. Barzona tried to turn a late shot into a takedown but Schnupp fought it off to head into the third period tied 2-2. Schnupp chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 3-2 lead. He then turned into Barzona and forced a scramble in front of the Penn State corner with a low shot. Barzona nearly scored but Schnupp was able to return to neutral and the bout continued to the 1:00 mark with Schnupp leading 3-2. Schnupp nearly locked up a cradle on the edge of the mat but Barzona was able to work his way out of bounds to force a reset with :35 on the clock. Schnupp continued to shoot, using a low single to bring Barzona down for a bout clinching takedown and a 5-2 win. 133: True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.) faced off against David Campbell at 133. Bravo-Young attacked quickly, taking the Bucknell wrestler down for an early 2-0 lead just :20 into the bout. The Lion freshman the controlled the action from then let Campbell loose and worked his way to a second takedown and a 4-1 lead with 1:00 left in the opening period. Bravo-Young closed out a dominant first period with one more takedown and led 6-2 with 2:06 in time after one period. Campbell chose down to start the second period and Bravo-Young cut him loose to a 6-3 score. The Lion freshman quickly tacked on two more takedowns to up his lead to 10-4 with 1:16 left in the middle period. Bravo-Young added one more takedown with :18 left to lead 12-5 with nearly 3:00 in riding time after two periods. He chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 13-5 lead and the poured on the offense. Bravo-Young added another takedown and then fought off a solid Campbell shot with :50 left, forcing a scramble in front of the Bucknell corner that ended with a Penn State takedown. He would add one final takedown and 3:06 in riding time to roll to a 21-7 major decision. 141: Sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 4 at 141, met Matthew Kalonia. Lee scored twice in the opening minute, bolting out to an early 4-1 lead on Kalonia. He cut Kalonia loose again, worked on his feet for a few moments and blew through a strong shot for a third takedown and a 6-2 lead with 1:10 left in the opening period. Lee carried that lead into the second stanza, along with 2:17 in riding time. Lee chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 7-2 lead. He then notched his fourth takedown and began working on a strong ride with 1:00 on the clock. He picked up a point on a second Kalonia stall, all while working for a chance to turn the Bison for back points. Kalonia fought off the tilt long enough to kill the clock and Lee led 10-2 with 3:06 in time after two. Kalonia chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 10-3 score. But Lee continued to pour on the offense. The Lion sophomore used a quick low shot to take Kalonia down for a 12-3 lead. He then cut him loose at the 1:05 mark and took him down again quickly to lead 14-4 with over 4:00 in riding time. Lee 149: Redshirt freshman Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 13 at 149, met Bucknell's Joey Schiele. Berge wasted no time opening up a big lead, notching two quick takedowns in his Penn State dual debut to open up an early 4-1 lead in just 1:00 of action. Berge then worked his riding time edge up to 1:25 before cutting Schiele loose, only to take him down quickly to lead 6-2 with :55 left in the opening period. Berge picked up a penalty point and added one more takedown to lead 9-3 with 2:15 riding time after one period. Berge chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 10-3 lead. He rolled up two fast takedowns and led 14-4 with 1:00 on the clock. Berge continued to press Schiele, forcing the Bison to the edge of the mat. Berge led 14-5 with 2:45 riding time after two and cut Schiele to start the third period. He turned quickly into a takedown, cut Schiele again, and took him down an eighth time to lead 18-7 with 1:25 on the clock. He took Schiele down a total of 11 times on his way to a 25-10 technical fall at the 6:21 mark. 157: Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, met Bucknell freshman Zach Hartman. Nolf put on an offensive show early, rolling up three takedowns in the opening minute-plus to lead 5-2 before the midway point of the first period. Hartman countered with a takedown that cut Nolf's lead to 6-5. Nolf then escaped to a 7-5 lead with :45 left to wrestle in the opening period. Leading 7-5, Nolf chose down to start the second period. Hartman was able to keep Nolf down for :30 before the Lion escaped to an 8-5 lead. Nolf fought off a quick Hartman shot, quickly gained control of the Bison's shoulders and, from a standing position, turned him to his back on the mat for a pin. Nolf got the fall at the 3:49 mark, his fifth of the year. 165: With top-ranked Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.) not feeling well, sophomore Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) moved up to 165 and took on Bison senior D.J. Hollingshead. Pipher scored quickly, taking Hollingshead down for an early 2-0 lead. But the Bison reversed Pipher to briefly tie the bout before Pipher escaped to a 3-2 lead, all within the first :45 of the opening stanza. The duo battled evenly for the next minute-plus with neither man finding an opening. Leading 3-2 after the opening period, Pipher chose down to start the second stanza and escaped at the :55 mark. Pipher's escape gave the Lion a 4-2 lead. Hollingshead had 1:04 in riding time but picked up a stall in the process. Trailing 4-2, Hollingshead chose down to start the third period, needing a quick escape. Pipher was able to control the Bison until the 1:52 mark before he escaped to a 4-3 Pipher lead, with the riding time point erased. Pipher fought off a high Hollingshead shot at the 1:20 mark, but the Bison was able to work his way to the two points and a 5-4 lead with :45 on the clock. Pipher escaped to a 5-5 tie but Hollingshead had 1:04 of riding time, all with :27 left in the bout. Pipher battled for a late takedown to grab the win, but Hollingshead was able to hold off the Lion, adding a late four-point move to post a hard-fought 10-5 win. 174: Junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 2 at 174, met Bucknell's Nick Stephani. Hall opened up an early 2-1 lead with a quick takedown in the opening period. He controlled the action in the middle of the mat, stepping away from a slight Stephani shot, using an underhook and adding a second takedown with :40 left in the period. Leading 4-1 with over 1:00 in riding time after one, Hall chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. Hall bulled his way to a third takedown at the 1:05 mark, cut Stephani loose and then added a fourth takedown with :30 left. Not content, Hall picked up fifth takedown and rode Stephani out to lead 11-3 with 2:04 in riding time after two periods. Stephani chose down to start the third period and Hall cut him loose to an 11-4 score. The Lion junior notched another takedown off a scramble, cut Stephani loose and went on to roll to a 20-7 major decision with 3:06 in riding time. 184: Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 4 at 184, battled Bucknell junior Kyle Inlander. Rasheed made quick work of the Bison grappler. He took Inlander down in the opening seconds and then wrapped up a cradle for the fall at the 0:31 mark. The pin was Rasheed's fifth of the year. 197: Senior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 197, took on Bison junior Drew Phipps. Nickal and Phipps battled evenly for the opening seconds, but the Lion senior's relentless offense resulted in a takedown and an early 2-1 lead. Nickal picked up a second takedown at the 1:00 mark and then rode Phipps out to lead 4-1 with 1:44 in riding time after one period. Leading by three, Nickal chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. He quickly defended a Phipps shot, stepped back from a low double and worked his way into control of the Bison's shoulders. Nickal worked his way around for a takedown and a 7-1 lead with :50 left in the middle stanza. He rode Phipps out and led 7-1 with 2:22 in time after two. Phipps chose down to start the third period and Nickal cut him loose to a 7-2 score. He turned a solid high single into a takedown and then cut Phipps loose to a 9-3 score. Nickal added two more takedowns to up his lead to 13-4 with the clinched riding time point with :18 left to wrestle. He added one final takedown and, with riding time, posted a 16-6 major decision. 285: Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 5 at 285, met Bucknell's Brandon Stokes. The Lion senior put an exclamation point on the dual meet by taking the Bison big man down quickly, turning him to his back and picking up Penn State's third fall of the dual. Cassar got the pin in just 0:32 to put a capstone on Penn State's dual victory.

No. 5 Logan Massa of Michigan advanced to the quarterfinals at 165 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LAS VEGAS -- The quarterfinal matchups are set at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Tonight's session -- which includes quarterfinals and consolation matches -- is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. PT. Note: InterMat ranking is listed, not tournament seed. 125: No. 2 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) vs. No. 17 Drew Mattin (Michigan) No. 9 Zeke Moisey (Nebraska) vs. Brent Fleetwood (North Dakota State) No. 5 Sean Russell (Minnesota) vs. No. 12 Travis Piotrowski (Illinois) No. 3 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) vs. No. 15 Devin Schroder (Purdue) 133: No. 3 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) vs. No. 16 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) No. 9 John Erneste (Missouri) vs. Noah Gonser (Campbell) No. 7 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) vs. No. 13 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) No. 5 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) vs. No. 15 Chas Tucker (Cornell) 141: No. 2 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) vs. No. 18 Dom Demas (Oklahoma) No. 8 Josh Alber (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 9 Nicholas (Gil Navy) No. 7 Mike Carr (Illinois) vs. Sam Turner (Wyoming) No. 3 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) vs. No. 20 Kanen Storr (Michigan) 149: No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) vs. Alec Opsal (Air Force) No. 6 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 7 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) No. 4 Grant Leeth (Missouri) vs. No. 8 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) No. 3 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) vs. No. 9 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) 157: No. 3 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) vs. Griffin Parriott (Purdue) No. 8 Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh) vs. Eric Barone (Illinois) No. 6 Kennedy Monday (North Carolina) vs. No. 16 John Van Brill (Rutgers) No. 5 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. No. 19 Hunter Willits (Oregon State) 165: No. 5 Logan Massa (Michigan) vs. No. 15 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley) No. 10 Isaiah White (Nebraska) vs. No. 12 Joey Gunther (Illinois) No. 9 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 13 Connor Flynn (Missouri) No. 6 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) vs. No. 14 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) 174: No. 3 Myles Amine (Michigan) vs. No. 19 Matt Finesilver (Duke) No. 11 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) vs. Spencer Carey (Navy) No. 9 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 16 Brandon Womack (Cornell) No. 4 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) vs. No. 20 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) 184: No. 1 Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs. No. 18 Lou DePrez (Binghamton) No. 8 Chip Ness (North Carolina) vs. No. 9 Max Dean (Cornell) No. 5 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 10 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) No. 3 Taylor Venz (Nebraska) vs. No. 13 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) 197: No. 3 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) vs. No. 20 Ben Honis (Cornell) No. 13 Christian Brunner (Purdue) vs. Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley) No. 14 Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech) vs. Greg Bulsak (Clarion) Eric Schultz (Nebraska) vs. Jay Aiello (Virginia) 285: No. 2 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) vs. No. 19 A.J. Nevills (Fresno State) No. 13 Cory Daniel (North Carolina) vs. Jake Boyd (Oklahoma) No. 16 Tate Orndorff (Utah Valley) vs. Brian Andrews (Wyoming) Chase Singletary (Ohio State) vs. Matt Stencel (Central Michigan)

Link: Brackets Live Blog Cliff Keen Las Vegas InvitationalÂ

Got a fan of the great Dan Gable on your holiday gift list? Place your bid on your choice of any of a handful of items signed by the legendary wrestler and coach. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum is offering five truly unique items, available for online bidding via eBay, just in time for holiday gift-giving. What could be easier? These gifts will win the hearts of your Gable fanatic. And... all proceeds from these auctions directly benefit the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum, a not-for-profit organization committed to advancing the sport of wrestling, located in Waterloo, Iowa, Gable's hometown. Get in on the bidding now. Auctions end Thursday, Dec. 6 at approximately 1 p.m. Central; each item's bid deadline may be different, so be sure to check the deadline for the item(s) of interest to you. Signed "Dan Gable: Competitor Supreme" poster True Gable fanatics would be thrilled to pin this item to their wall: a vintage poster for the wrestling documentary "Dan Gable: Competitor Supreme" which features the Iowa wrestling team in action. This vintage poster is signed by ALL of the iconic wrestlers featured in the documentary, including Dan Gable, Tom and Terry Brands, Troy and Terry Steiner, Tom Ryan (now Ohio State head coach) and many more. To bid on this poster, click here. Signed "Iowa: The State of Wrestling" poster The perfect gift for the fan whose wrestling roots are deep in the state of Iowa... the new "Iowa: The State of Wrestling" poster. This one-of-a-kind 24" x 36" poster celebrates Iowa's rich wrestling tradition with images of ten Iowa coaching legends. Everyone featured on the poster has signed it ... with the exception of Mike Duroe, who passed away shortly after the poster was created. Dan Gable, one of Duroe's best friends, signed the poster by Duroe's image with a special note. To bid on this poster, click here. Signed Dan Gable action figure As a coach and wrestler, Dan Gable was a rare talent... just like this alternate edition of a Dan Gable action figure. Only 100 of this version of the Gable action figures were created ... and this one -- No. 72 out of 100 -- -is the only one numbered in gold. To bid on the action figure, click here. Signed GQ featuring Dan Gable Surprised to learn Dan Gable was once featured inside GQ? So was he; he didn't remember being featured in the men's fashion magazine. Gable was highlighted in the June 1984 issue of "Gentleman's Quarterly" with his college wrestling coach, Harold Nichols, of Iowa State. To bid on the magazine, click here. The original Gable Munich Helles lager print template When Single Speed Brewery of Waterloo, Iowa crafted the new Gable Munich Helles Lager, it had two rules: it had to be good ... and it had to be gold. This is the original (and one and only) print template when Single Speed Brewery created the can for the lager. We've also thrown in the first empty can pulled off the line for the Gable Museum. Cheers! To bid on this item, click here. Questions? Contact the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum at (319) 233-0745 or dgmstaff@nwhof.org. Good luck!

The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational takes place this weekend with more than 30 teams from around the country sending wrestlers to the premier first-semester tournament of the season. Over the past 20 years the significance of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational has remained constant. When I was in college (1999-2004) we would have wrestle-offs to see who would and would not attend the tournament, though it's fair to say that most of those wishing to attend (myself included) had ulterior motivates for wanting to go out west. For me it was not only to see what the fuss was about, but also to fly on a plane, something I'd only done once as a child with only a vague recollection. For others it was poker, gambling and nightlife. Despite the ancillary reasons one may want to wrestle at the CKLV tournament, the competition was always instructive as to where your summer training had placed you in the current season. Going out west meant (and still means) wrestling against Pac-12 opponents you may otherwise not see. Even East Coast schools who compete in select pockets will attend the CKLV, which allows other regional teams to see a broad swath of opponents and styles. Now that the tournament is live streamed, the CKLV this year will also be the first tournament for many fans to see some of the big conferences compete, including the Big Ten, ACC, Pac-12, Big 12, and the EIWA. I know that I'll use the tournament as my first opportunity to jump headlong into the season's matchups, micro-dramas and maybe even participate in some light betting. Hope everyone enjoys the wrestling. Remember that one-hundred percent of the kids you see on the mat can't wait to hit the casino. To your questions … Q: Any idea what kind of crowd AWL I will draw on Friday night? Have you heard much about ticket sales? Are you taking Zain Retherford or Jordan Oliver? -- Mike C. Foley: No idea on ticket sales or online signups for the livestream. Will be interested to see who shows up to watch these American guys wrestle. We all want this to work! As for Zain and Jordan, I see Zain as the two-point favorite. He's been battling in the Penn State room and seems to be hyper-focused on competing. He's a recent World Team member and at only 23 years old could become a mainstay of the USA program for the next several years. At 28, Jordan is a bit older, but even after a one-year suspension (that kind of lasted two years), he's still hungry for a seat at the table. I'm not underestimating his ability to make an impact, I just think that Zain can be a very physical wrestler for anyone to face, especially someone with even a touch of ring rust. How this plays out on the mat is anyone's guess, but I'll go with Oliver scoring the first takedown, then Zain, then a few step outs for Zain who then shoots late, kills the clock and comes away with a two-point victory. But when a guy of Jordan's talent is motivated you can't count him out of any match. No matter who shows up in Cedar Rapids or buys online, I can tell you that I'll be watching. Q: So, suppose I have enough bankroll to set up a 95-kilogram (catch weight) match between J'den Cox and Abdulrashid Sadulaev at Beat the Streets next year. Who wins? Methinks Cox could win, say, 3 or 4 times out of 10? -- Irv O. Foley: If you got that type of dosh you should give Beat the Streets a ring. I'm sure they'd love to pick up that phone call! I think you're a little high at 35 percent. While Cox can give Sadulaev trouble with his defense, you are underestimating the Russian's mat intelligence. There is a lot that can happen inside a 30-foot circle, but more often than not it's Sadulaev dictating pace, direction and offensive scoring opportunities. In a match against Cox he would know about the flexibility and likely get him on the back foot early and press him to the edge, take shots and get back to his feet. I'd be happy to take the step out points against a guy like that, and I think that's a game plan Sadulaev could execute. What could Cox's plan be for dealing with that forward pressure? Right now he tends to plant his feet and use the overhook side to whip opponents out of bounds. Is he doing that to Sadulaev? I'd be skeptical he could pull it off with any efficacy. In the semifinals he gave up a takedown to Alireza Karimimachiani when he wasn't able to overhook. But yes, I would watch! Pay up! Q: What potential matchup are you most excited about in Vegas this weekend? -- Mike C. Foley: The 125-pound weight class and seeing how Louie Hayes does. With so much international wrestling in my life, I have admittedly less time to watch all the collegiate action. However, when I do it's to focus on how my Hoos are doing in major tournaments. I think that Hayes has a real chance to break out this season and with four other wrestlers in the top 10 competing in Vegas I think he'll have the type of challenge necessary to prepare him for the rest of the season and NCAAs in March. Q: I saw the video of Frank Chamizo and Aaron Pico training together. It was fun to watch. I know in an August mailbag you wrote that you don't think Pico will make a run at the 2020 Olympics. Has your opinion changed at all? Or do you think the Pico wrestling ship has sailed? -- Mike C. Foley: Awesome! I shot and edited that video, which means I also spoke to Aaron for a bit during and after the training session. I learned that Pico DOES want to compete for the 2020 Olympic team, but that would be dependent on how he's feeling in 9-12 months. His desire to compete comes with several caveats. If he's the Bellator champion (and I think he will be), training for the Open and the Olympic Team Trials will be difficult due to paying promotional commitments. He'd also have to look at relocating, finding training partners and getting out on the international circuit. What I will say is the "thing" that Pico has on the wrestling mat has NOT disappeared. He lost the Olympic spot in the third match via criteria to Frank Molinaro. That was a weird style matchup for Pico and he lacked the power to fight through some of the positions, but Frank won't be the threat in 2020 and Pico has (in his own words) gotten "twice as strong the last two years." Zain, JO and Logan Stieber are all standing in his way, but from what I just watched with Pico training against Chamizo and Lavion Mayes there is absolutely no doubt that he could win the spot, and with less wrestling-only preparation than any other wrestler in the sport. Iowa and Iowa State wrestlers shake hands after the Hawkeyes won 35-6 in Ames last season (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Q: Iowa won every contested match against Iowa State last season. ISU's only win was a forfeit. Do you think the Cyclones will be competitive against Iowa on Saturday? I'm especially looking forward to the Austin DeSanto vs. Austin Gomez match at 133 pounds. -- Mike C. Foley: The Battle for Austin should be an interesting match, but I don't see Gomez dealing well with the DeSanto heat. I know he's taken some well-deserved jabs for past behavior, but I'm guessing with those issues squared away and a modest improvement in conditioning and focused training DeSanto will be a wrecking ball all season. Won't Willie Miklus be favored over Jacob Warner? That'll be a great match. Also, Pat Lugo and Jarrett Degen could be a solid W for Iowa State. With Kemerer out of the lineup, Iowa State could conceivably snag four matches, but it's more likely an 8-2 match score. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Good humor Link: 2018-2019 NCAA Wrestling All Ear Team Frank Molinaro vs. Aaron Pico (third match) Preview of the Iowa vs. Iowa State Q: Something a bit different to hit you with today. Here is a study of wrestlers trying to make spots on the Canadian World teams (that study which there is a link to is from 1979). Thoughts? Hope you all are doing well. Thanks for the work you do in getting wrestling news out to the masses! -- Aaron S. Foley: The part of this study that immediately stuck out to me was the definition of open-skill and closed skill sport. "… open-skill activities like wrestling, badminton and hockey are those in which skills are primarily executed in an ever-changing, interactive environment. Therefore, in open-skill activities, the athlete attempts to develop a repertoire of patterns that match particular environmental stimuli that are encountered during the execution of that skill (e.g., performing a back-hand swing in response to a serve). In contrast, closed skills, such as gymnastics, high-jumping, and diving, are defined as occurring when the environmental surroundings remain constant." That is a brilliant description of what separates the sporting community. Certainly, there are a number of ways that we can differentiate between sports, but this grouping of open and closed skills is informative and useful. As for the study itself, I'll leave it for interested readers to dissect and discuss, but I did appreciate that the researchers were able to note that more international tournaments were a predictor of the confidence of an athlete. And that confidence, combined with the elimination of other psychological approaches, was likely most effective in creating improved outcomes for elite wrestlers. Q: I was looking at the Big Ten schedules and noticed that Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State all wrestle a dual against each other. Iowa does not wrestle any of them in a dual. How does something like this happen? These are marquee matchups and Iowa does not see any of them. They wrestle Oklahoma State and that is great. What about Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan? -- Greg B. Foley: Iowa doesn't make its Big Ten schedule and is aligned with certain schools through the Big Ten East and the Big Ten West. The East features Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. The West features Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska. The schools are allowed to schedule themselves independent of their divisional requirements, but that is the discretion of the coaches and athletic directors. Q: Do you see Anthony Cassar as USA's top contender for the 97-kilogram spot and THE guy to dethrone Kyle Snyder? -- Dan C. Foley: Woah, that's quite a LEAP in expectations in that Cassar was 16-2 last season as a backup! Snyder loses one match and all of a sudden Penn State fans smell blood in the water. I guess that if you want to get VERY optimistic you could point to his pretty steep trajectory in high school and what looks like an All-American senior season to say he could emerge as a top contender … at 125 kilograms … in 2024. Q: Is Mason Smith still at ASU? Thanks! -- Steven H. Foley: He has left the program and is back in Michigan. End note A very special thanks to Tom Brands and his family for this kind gift for my daughter Quinn! Please note that this is how my daughter lives her life: lounge position, sweatpants tucked into socks, drink at the ready.

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- The George Mason wrestling team earned a win in its Eastern Wrestling League opener with a 24-11 victory over Bloomsburg on Thursday at the Nelson Field House in Bloomsburg, Pa. Mason won seven of the 10 bouts on the night to improve to 2-0 on the season. After the Huskies took an early lead with a major decision at 125 pounds, Mason freshman Mel Ortiz won in a tiebreaker, 5-4, over Lewis Williams at 133 pounds. The score was tied 2-2 heading into the third period before Ortiz took the lead with an escape point. After Ortiz was whistled for stalling with 20 seconds left, the match went to overtime, before Ortiz secured the victory. Bloomsburg increased its match score advantage to 7-3 with a decision at 141 pounds. The Patriots then earned victories in the next four bouts, three with bonus points, to take control of the match with a 15-7 lead. At 149 pounds, redshirt senior Tejon Anthony picked up a 16-4 major decision over Grant Bond. Anthony led 8-4 after two periods and recorded five takedowns in the match. Freshman Kolby Ho followed with a 14-5 major decision against Nate Newberry at 157 pounds, while redshirt junior Colston DiBlasi notched a 15-4 major decision over Alex Carida at 165 pounds. At 174 pounds, junior Philip Stolfi recorded an 8-6 win in sudden victory. Stolfi secured a takedown in the final seconds of the third period to send the match to overtime, where he scored a takedown with 35 seconds left for the victory. After the Huskies picked up a major decision at 184 pounds, the Patriots finished the night with decisions at 197 and 285 pounds. Mason redshirt junior Eli Spencer outlasted Klye Murphy for a 6-4 decision and redshirt senior Matthew Voss registered a 5-2 decision over Bruce Graeber. Voss improved to 10-0 on the season. Spencer led 2-0 heading into the third period. After Murphy tied the match with an escape and reversal, Spencer scored two takedowns to pick up the win. Voss took the lead in his match with a takedown and near fall with a minute remaining in the first period. He added an escape point in the second period to earn the victory. The Patriots will remain on the road and are back in action when they take on Lock Haven on Friday at 7 p.m. at Thomas Fieldhouse. Results: 125 | Willy Gerard (Bloomsburg) major decision over Talha Farooq (Mason), 16-7 | 4-0 Bloomsburg 133 | Mel Ortiz (Mason) decision over Lewis Williams (Bloomsburg), TB-1, 5-4 | 4-3 Bloomsburg 141 | Aaron Coleman (Bloomsburg) decision over Julio Alegria (Mason), 8-5 | 7-3 Bloomsburg 149 | Tejon Anthony (Mason) major decision over Grant Bond (Bloomsburg), 16-4 | 7-7 157 | Kolby Ho (Mason) major decision over Nate Newberry (Bloomsburg), 14-5 | 11-7 Mason 165 | Colston DiBlasi (Mason) major decision over Alex Carida (Bloomsburg), 15-4 | 15-7 Mason 174 | Philip Stolfi (Mason) decision over Anthony Vetrano (Bloomsburg), SV-1 8-6 | 18-7 Mason 184 | Trevor Allard (Bloomsburg) major decision over Paul Pierce (Mason), 12-4 | 18-11 Mason 197 | Eli Spencer (Mason) decision over Kyle Murphy (Bloomsburg), 6-4 | 21-11 Mason 285 | Matthew Voss (Mason) decision over Bruce Graeber (Bloomsburg), 5-2 | 24-11 Mason

Michigan's Myles Amine topped Missouri's Daniel Lewis for third place at the NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The first major tournament of the college wrestling season takes place this weekend. Many ranked teams, including No. 2 Ohio State, No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Minnesota and No. 8 Missouri, will head to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which takes place Friday and Saturday. However, there are still some key matches taking place as part of dual meets. The following is a preview of the featured match in every weight class this weekend. Note: Potential match at Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational is denoted with asterisk (*). 125: No. 6 Louie Hayes (Virginia) vs. No. 12 Travis Piotrowski (Illinois)* Hayes is undefeated on the season and holding down a spot in the top 10. However, he has only wrestled three matches on the season. His last action came in Virginia's dual against Wyoming where he defeated Cole Verner via a 10-2 major decision. This will be Hayes' first tournament action since falling against Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) in the blood round last season. Piotrowski is another ranked wrestler who has not seen much action. In fact, Piotrowski is yet to wrestle this season, but he is registered for this tournament. Last season, he went 2-2 at the NCAA tournament, but scored victories over No. 17 Drew Mattin (Michigan) and Brian Courtney (Arizona State). If Hayes is right and not battling weight issues, he should be able to defeat Piotrowski. However, Piotrowski is long for 125 pounds, and that can be a wildcard. On top of that, he has been through the Big Ten ringer, so he is more than prepared for this type of match. Hayes is the favorite, but the result of this match will tell fans a lot about his prospects this season. Prediction: Hayes (Virginia) dec. Piotrowski (Illinois) 133: No. 14 Austin Gomez (Iowa State) vs. No. 10 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) Even though Gomez has started his collegiate wrestling career with 12 straight wins, eight as a redshirt and four to start this season, he remains somewhat unknown. He has yet to face any really tough competition, but he certainly has the pedigree. Gomez was one of the few recruits from Kevin Jackson's last recruiting class to stick with the Cyclones after Kevin Dresser became head coach. The former Junior freestyle national champion will get his first real test in an Iowa State singlet here. DeSanto transferred to Iowa in the offseason to fill an obvious need at 133 pounds. So far, he has won all four of his matches in a Hawkeye singlet. Naysayers will look at his one-point match against Tim Rooney (Kent State) and say that perhaps he is not living up to expectations. However, the winner of this match appears to be well positioned to make a run at All-American status this season. The result of this match will likely tell us a lot about both wrestlers. DeSanto comes in as the favorite since he already has a season of collegiate wrestling under his belt, and his motor is an undeniable asset. This will be Gomez's toughest folkstyle match in at least two years. If he can pull it off, he might be a contender this year at 133 pounds. Prediction: DeSanto (Iowa) dec. Gomez (Iowa State) 141: No. 2 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) vs. No. 3 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri)* These two are expected to have a lot to say about who ends up in the NCAA finals at 141 pounds, and they have a history. Last season, the two faced off in the third-place match after both fell in the semifinals. McKenna won that match via a 7-2 score. However, the previous year, Eierman majored McKenna 8-0 in the blood round and prevent him from becoming an All-American. Both wrestlers are undefeated on the season. McKenna needed to pull out a 3-2 victory over No. 9 Nicholas Gil (Navy) in his first action of the season. Eierman's toughest test so far was a 12-10 decision over No. 7 Mike Carr (Illinois). The Missouri wrestler also pinned returning All-American No. 10 Sa'Derian Perry (Old Dominion). This match represents a pretty sizable divergence in style. McKenna likes to slow matches down and control positions. Eierman can explode at any minute and catch opponents on their back. In their last meeting McKenna's style won out, and he seems to have perfected that style in the interim. Prediction: McKenna (Ohio State) dec. Eierman (Missouri) 149: No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) vs. No. 3 Micah Jordan (Ohio State)* Ashnault missed last season due to injury, but he is back this year for his delayed senior season. He has started things off with a bang as he has put together five falls and one technical fall in his six matches this season. In his last action, he pinned Ryan Burkert (Hofstra) in the second period. Ashnault has previously defeated the likes of Cole Martin (Wisconsin), Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) and No. 1 Matt Kolodzik (Princeton). Jordan is looking to make noise at 149 this season after spending last season up at 157. So far, he has won all seven of his match with two falls and two technical falls. In his last match, Jordan picked up his biggest win of the season as he majored No. 10 Josh Maruca (Arizona State). Ashnault is a bit of an unknown at 149 pounds this season. He is coming off missing an entire year, and prior to this year his entire career had come at 141. Jordan has looked very impressive down at 149 pounds so far this season, and he should be considered the favorite. However, Ashnault should be his toughest test so far this season. Prediction: Jordan (Ohio State) dec. Ashnault (Rutgers) 157: No. 3 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) vs. No. 8 Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh)* This will be Berger's first tournament action of the season. So far, the returning All-American has gone 5-0 in dual matches. In his last match, he scored a 14-1 major decision over Dewey Krueger (Wyoming). Last season, Berger finished third at the NCAA tournament behind only No. 2 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) and No.1 Jason Nolf (Penn State). Rahmani has gotten off to a strong start to this season with a pair of bonus point victories. First he knocked off Wyatt Gerl (CSU Bakersfield) with a major decision and then returned and decked Pat Schoenfelder (Northern Iowa). Last season, Rahmani qualified for the NCAA tournament, but he went 1-2 and failed to place. His draw did him no favors as his losses came against the number-one seed Hidlay and the second-seeded Joey Lavallee (Missouri). Rahmani might surprise some people this season, but Berger will most likely end up being a bridge too far. The Nebraska wrestler has lost only match against a non-Big-Ten opponent since December of last year. That opponent ended up winning the national title at this weight. Prediction: Berger (Nebraska) dec. Rahmani (Pittsburgh) 165: No. 6 Logan Massa (Michigan) vs. No. 10 Isaiah White (Nebraska)* After struggling with injuries last season, Massa is looking to get back on track this season. He already has a ranked win on the season. In his second match of the season, Massa defeated No. 11 Cole Walter (Lehigh). In his first season for Michigan, Massa placed third in the NCAA tournament, but last season he failed to place after qualifying. White came closer to All-American status last season than Massa, but he still fell in the blood round. However, unlike Massa, he has struggled to start the year. He has gone only 1-3 with losses coming against No. 20 Ebed Jarrell (Drexel), No. 2 Evan Wick (Wisconsin) and No.6 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming). Massa and White wrestled once last season. It was a low-scoring match that Massa ended up winning 3-1 in sudden victory. The Michigan wrestler clearly was not at his best last season, and he still found a way to score the takedown in overtime. White desperately needs a win and some momentum, but he will likely not find it against Massa. Prediction: Massa (Michigan) dec. White (Nebraska) 174: No. 3 Myles Amine (Michigan) vs. No. 4 Daniel Lewis (Missouri)* Amine established himself as the third best wrestler at 174 pounds last season, but he needed overtime to do it. Amine and Lewis met in the third-place match of the NCAA tournament. The bout was tied at two each at the end of regulation, and Amine pulled it out in sudden victory. The Michigan wrestler took some losses last season, but over the last two months of the season he only dropped matches against No. 2 Mark Hall (Penn State) and No. 1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State). Lewis entered the NCAA tournament undefeated and fell against Hall and Amine. So far this season, both wrestlers are undefeated. It will always be an interesting match when these two run into each other. Both wrestlers are somewhat conservative on the feet and look to score points from the top position. Just like their NCAA tournament match, this one will likely be decided by who can score the takedown with the match on the line. Prediction: Amine (Michigan) dec. Lewis (Missouri) 184: No. 20 Jelani Embree (Michigan) vs. No. 3 Taylor Venz (Nebraska)* Embree went 15-2 last year during his redshirt season with his only two losses coming against No. 6 Nick Reenan (NC State) and No. 14 Dakota Greer (Oklahoma State). So far this season, Embree has gone 5-1. In his last match, he scored an 8-3 decision over Andrew Price (Lehigh). Going into last season, there were probably not a lot of people who thought Venz would break through and finish fourth the NCAA tournament. However, this season he is not sneaking up on anybody. He has started his sophomore season with an undefeated 5-0 record including a fall over Owen Brooks (Drexel). In his last match, he scored a 7-1 decision over Carless Looney (Wyoming). Embree has looked solid so far during his brief collegiate wrestling career. However, in the few occasions he has stepped up against highly ranked opposition, he has struggled. Venz is a legitimate contender at this weight, and he should be able to take this match. His ability to turn from the top is real difference maker, and that might play a role in this match. Prediction: Venz (Nebraska) dec. Embree (Michigan) 197: No. 3 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) vs. No. 8 Nathan Traxler (Stanford)* The tournament will be the first action of the college season for Moore. He had been kept out of the lineup in preparation for the U23 World Championships. Moore wrapped up that freestyle tournament with a silver medal, and now he is ready to concentrate on college wrestling. Last season, he was one of the favorites to take the title at 197 pounds, but he ended up dropping a pair of matches against No. 2 Kyle Conel (Kent State) and finishing fourth. Traxler's redshirt freshman season was tough at times, but he still pulled off a 19-12 record and qualified to for the NCAA tournament. He entered this season ranked and has looked the part so far. Traxler has gone 6-1 with two falls and two technical falls. His lone loss on the season came against No. 7 Patrick Brucki (Princeton) at the Princeton Open. Moore is a clear favorite going into this match. However, the bout should be a good early season test for the returning All-American. His performance in this match and the rest of the tournament could set the tone for his season. Prediction: Moore (Ohio State) maj. dec. Traxler (Stanford) 285: No. 5 Anthony Cassar (Penn State) vs. No. 6 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) After taking a commanding 7-2 victory over teammate and returning All-American Nick Nevills at the Keystone Classic, it looks like Cassar could the guy at heavyweight going forward for Penn State. The former 197-pound wrestler also defeated NCAA qualifier No. 15 Joey Goodhart (Drexel) via major decision in that tournament. Wood came up one match short of All-American status last year as he defaulted out against No. 4 Youssif Hemida (Maryland) in the blood round. This year, the former Junior World Team member has gone 4-0, which includes a victory over No. 16 Tate Orndorff (Utah Valley) at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic. Cassar is still a bit of an unknown at heavyweight. However, his talent and ability is likely to shine through as the season progresses. Wood is a skilled and accomplished heavyweight, but he is on the smaller end of the scale. Cassar's struggles might appear against larger heavyweights, but against wrestlers of Wood's size, he should be able to prevail. Prediction: Cassar (Penn State) dec. Wood (Lehigh)

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Michigan State wrestling team continued its strong start to the 2018-19 campaign on Wednesday, November 28, defeating Buffalo by a final score of 23-12 in the first dual meet of the season. MSU won six bouts, three of which earned the Spartans bonus points. Michigan State started the evening strong as sophomore Rayvon Foley remained undefeated on the season by earning a 10-2 major decision over Kyle Akins. Foley, who is currently ranked No. 10 at 125 pounds by InterMat, previously defeated Akins, 8-6, in the Spartans' dual against the Bulls last season. Redshirt senior Anthony Tutolo was narrowly defeated by Derek Spann at 133 pounds despite a lopsided 11-5 tally. The bout between Tutolo and Spann was tied at 5-5 heading into the final 30 seconds, but a takedown and a four-point near fall secured victory for Buffalo with just 16 seconds left in the third period. MSU rattled off a pair of wins at 141 and 149 pounds to take a 10-3 lead over the Bulls. Redshirt sophomore Alex Hrisopoulos and redshirt freshman Jaden Enriquez earned decisions over John Arceri and Jason Eztevez respectively. Enriquez scored a takedown on Estevez with 18 seconds left in the third period to earn three points for the Spartans. Buffalo claimed victory at 157 to narrow Michigan State's lead to 10-6, but the Spartans bounced back in a big way by winning at 165, 174 and 184. Redshirt junior Logan Ritchie secured three points for MSU by scoring four points in the third period of his 9-5 defeat of Noah Grover. At 174, redshirt sophomore Drew Hughes got the crowed on its feet by pinning Jake Lanning in 32 seconds. Redshirt freshman Cameron Caffey secured more bonus points for Michigan State being earning a major decision (14-3) over Logan Rill at 184. Caffey, who entered Wednesday's dual ranked No. 15 by InterMat, continued his unbeaten start to the season at 9-0. Buffalo rounded out the dual by earning points at 197 and 285. Results: 125: Rayvon Foley (MSU) major dec. Kyle Akins (UB), 10-2; MSU leads, 4-0 133: Derek Spann (UB) dec. Anthony Tutolo (MSU), 11-5; MSU leads, 4-3 141: Alex Hrisopoulos (MSU) dec. John Arceri (UB), 7-3; MSU leads, 7-3 149: Jaden Enriquez (MSU) dec. Jason Estevez (UB), 7-6; MSU leads, 10-3 157: Alex Smythe (UB) dec. Jake Tucker (MSU), 5-4; MSU leads, 10-6 165: Logan Ritchie (MSU) dec. Noah Grover (UB), 9-5; MSU leads, 13-6 174: Drew Hughes (MSU) fall (:32) Jake Lanning (UB); MSU leads, 19-6 184: Cameron Caffey (MSU) major dec. Logan Rill (UB), 12-4; MSU leads, 23-6 197: Sam Schuyler (UB) dec. Nick May (MSU), 8-2; MSU leads, 23-9 285: Jake Gunnig (UB) dec. Christian Rebottaro (MSU), 7-4; MSU leads, 23-12

STILLWATER, Okla. -- The National Wrestling Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday that United States Military Academy graduate and former U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant Steve Cannon will be honored as the organization's Outstanding American for 2019. The Hall of Fame's Outstanding American award is presented to those individuals who have used the disciplines of wrestling to launch notable careers in other walks of life, such as science and technology, business and industry, government and the military, and the arts and humanities. Cannon joins Distinguished Members Carl Adams, Rich Lorenzo, Brandon Paulson and Townsend Saunders, Meritorious Official David Errett, Order of Merit recipient Dr. David Curby and Medal of Courage recipient James McCloughan, who were announced on October 29. The Class of 2019 will be inducted at the 43rd Annual Honors Weekend on May 31-June 1, 2019 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. For more information on Honors Weekend, please telephone (405) 377-5243. "Steve Cannon epitomizes what the honor of Outstanding American symbolizes to our Hall of Fame, sport and nation," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. "He has distinguished his life by example and is the type of role model we can hope future generations will seek to emulate." Cannon was captain of both the football and wrestling teams at Ramapo High School in Wyckoff, New Jersey, earning All-State honors in football and All-County honors in wrestling. He lettered two years in wrestling at the United States Military Academy and scored a perfect score on every Army Physical Fitness Test for four years. Leading into his senior year, he was selected to lead Cadet Basic Training and later earned the position of Cadet Regimental Commander for 4th Regiment, placing 1,000 cadets under Cannon's leadership. Cannon, who graduated with honors and received his bachelor's degree in economics from West Point, passed U.S. Army Ranger School and officer training before being assigned to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment along the West German-Czech border. He was on the border when the Cold War ended in 1989. After completing his military service, Cannon returned to the United States in 1991 and began his career in the automotive industry as the assistant to the President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz North America, the same CEO role he would attain nearly 20 years later. He moved to Germany and became the first American to join a team tasked with the design, development, production and launch of the M Class, which would be the first Mercedes-Benz series to be manufactured in the United States. He then led a team that chose Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as the manufacturing site. After the successful launch of the M Class, Cannon became director of marketing for debis Financial Services and later left Mercedes-Benz to serve as principal for The Richards Group, the largest independent full-service advertising agency in the United States. Cannon returned to Mercedes-Benz USA in 2007 as chief marketing officer and he and his team moved the brand into some of the most prestigious platforms in sports, including The Masters, The U.S. Open tennis tournament and the PGA Championship. In 2011, Cannon was named CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, becoming only the second American to lead the company. Under his leadership, Mercedes-Benz USA experienced double-digit growth and for the first time in the company's history achieved a No. 1 ranking in customer satisfaction by the American Customer Satisfaction Index. He also oversaw the relocation of Mercedes-Benz USA's headquarters from New Jersey to metro Atlanta. He was named CEO of AMB Group, LLC, which is the parent company of Arthur M. Blank's for-profit businesses in December of 2015 and began his duties in February of 2016. Cannon oversees all business operations of the National Football League's Atlanta Falcons; Atlanta United of Major League Soccer; Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium that is home of the Falcons and United; and retailer PGA TOUR Superstore. He is also on the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation's board of directors. Opened in 2017, Mercedes-Benz Stadium has played host to sports and entertainment events of every kind and will be in the world spotlight as host of the Super Bowl in 2019 and the NCAA Men's Final Four in 2020. MBS was previously the site of the College Football Playoff Championship game in 2018 and is the first professional sports stadium in North America to achieve LEED Platinum Certification by the United States Green Building Council. Mercedes-Benz Stadium has the lowest concessions prices in professional sports and boasts a top overall ranking in the NFL and MLS voice of the fan surveys for quality, variety, speed of service and value. The MBS Food & Beverage Experience was honored as Sports Breakthrough of the Year by Sports Business Journal in 2018 and several professional and collegiate teams and venues across the country have since followed its lead with dramatic food and beverage pricing adjustments. Cannon and members of his West Point's Class of 1986 founded the Johnny Mac Soldiers Fund in 2014. What began as a small effort to help one fallen classmate's family has grown into an organization that has raised more than $17 million. The organization honors military service and sacrifice by providing scholarships to veterans and military family members, particularly children of our nation's fallen and disabled. A tireless champion of America's armed forces and their families, Cannon also serves on the national board of directors for TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors) and has led efforts to make the Atlanta Falcons' military outreach efforts the benchmark in the NFL. In 2018, Cannon and Falcons coach Dan Quinn led the first NFL team-directed USO Tour, visiting soldiers at various bases throughout Iraq and Kuwait. National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum America's shrine to the sport of wrestling, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum was founded as a nonprofit organization in 1976 to honor the sport of wrestling, preserve its history, recognize extraordinary individual achievements, and inspire future generations. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame has museums in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Waterloo, Iowa. The Stillwater, Oklahoma, location reopened in June 2016 following a $3.8 million renovation and now features interactive exhibits and electronic kiosks, as well as the opportunity to watch NCAA Championship matches from the 1930s to present day. It also has the John T. Vaughan Hall of Honors where the greatest names in wrestling are recognized, including iconic granite plaques presented to Distinguished Members since the Hall of Fame opened in 1976. The museum has the largest collection of wrestling artifacts and memorabilia in the world, including the most collegiate and Olympic wrestling uniforms. Wrestling truly is for everyone and the diversity and accessibility of the sport continues to be highlighted through exhibits featuring females, African Americans, Native Americans, and Latino Americans. There is also a library featuring historical documents, including NCAA guides and results, as well as books on the sport. For more information about the Hall of Fame, please visit www.NWHOF.org.

Eighteen months after his death, former University of Wisconsin-Parkside wrestling coach Jim Koch will be honored with the unveiling of a newly upgraded wrestling room named in his honor as the program's founding coach. The newly renovated Jim Koch Wrestling Center will be dedicated at a public ceremony this Friday, Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at UW-Parkside's Sports and Activities Center. Students, athletes, and others within the community are invited to attend free of charge, but are encouraged to register in advance online. A reception, featuring a cash bar consisting of beer, wine and soda as well as light appetizers, will take place outside the Jim Koch Wrestling Center starting at 6:15 p.m. The newly upgraded wrestling room will now feature a custom-built subfloor and new, custom-fitted wrestling mats. In addition, there will be a new visual history of the UW-Parkside Rangers wrestling program, including new displays which will recognize the long and storied program history, including national champions, All-Americans, Academic All-Americans, and team successes, along with a new plaque honoring coach Jim Koch's accomplishments, and new signage identifying the room. "The Jim Koch Wrestling Center is a first-class facility that will have both an immediate and lasting impact on our program," UW-Parkside head wrestling coach Corey VanGroll told InterMat. "I really believe that we now have arguably one of the best rooms in the entire country." "Our alumni, supporters, and family of Coach Koch's raised $100,000 to make this project a reality." Director of Athletics Andrew Gavin will kick off the dedication ceremony at 6:30 p.m., followed by coach VanGroll, who will share details about the new facility. In addition, redshirt senior wrestler James Lehman, Dan Koch, Donna Namath and Chancellor Deborah Ford will share their thoughts on the Jim Koch Wrestling Center throughout the evening. Koch, the first ever coach of the UW-Parkside wrestling program, was at the helm for 41 years before retirement in 2011, making him the longest-tenured collegiate wrestling coach in Wisconsin state history. He died at the age of 69 in March 2017 after he was struck by a car during a morning run in St. Louis during the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. By any measure, Koch's time on campus was successful. He coached 128 NCAA Division II All-Americans, oversaw 68 national tournament appearances and coached 14 individual national champions. Koch's teams finished the season in the top 10 in the national rankings 23 times, as he posted an overall dual meet record of 277-168-8. Ten times he was named Wisconsin/Midwest Regional Coach of the Year, and in 1971, he was named Amateur Wrestling News Collegiate Rookie Coach of the Year. In addition, Koch served as president of both the NAIA and NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association. Parkside hosted the national tournament three times during Koch's tenure. Koch also earned enshrinement in four wrestling Hall of Fames: the NCAA Division II, the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), the District 14 NAIA and the George Martin Wisconsin Wrestling. In 2003, he was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. University of Wisconsin-Parkside is a four-year public university located in southeast Wisconsin, between Racine and Kenosha in Somers, Wis. The school has an enrollment of approximately 4,700 students. UW-Parkside sports teams -- including the wrestling program -- compete in NCAA Division II.

Two top wrestlers from Ohio's Elyria High School -- ranked No. 16 in the nation by InterMat -- have been dismissed for the year, the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reported Tuesday. Both wrestlers -- Jordan Crace and Farouq Muhammed -- are seniors who had transferred to Elyria from other Ohio high schools, and recently signed college letters of intent with NCAA Division I wrestling programs. Elyria athletic director Heather Beck confirmed to the Chronicle that both athletes will not wrestle for the Elyria Pioneers and head coach Erik Burnett this season, but would not disclose why they were dismissed from the team. Jordan Crace, InterMat's No. 5 wrestler in the nation at 145 pounds, had transferred from Graham High School in St. Paris, Ohio (the No. 26 program in InterMat's national rankings). He sat out part of his junior year to become eligible to wrestle at Elyria as a senior this season. Crace won the 120-pound Ohio state champion in Division II as a sophomore, having placed third at 106 at state as a freshman. Crace also finished as a Walsh Jesuit Ironman finalist at 126 pounds in 2017. After transferring to Elyria, Crace was a two-time All-American this summer -- placing sixth at the nationals in Fargo, N.D., and going 7-0 at the Junior freestyle national duals -- and placed third last month at the preseason Super 32 tournament in North Carolina. Crace recently signed his National Letter of Intent to wrestle for Michigan State University next year. Farouq Muhammed competed for two years at Shaker Heights High School in the eastern Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights before transferring to Elyria and sitting out the first half of last season as a junior. Muhammed placed sixth at 145 pounds in the Ohio Division I state tournament as a freshman with the Shaker Heights Red Raiders. Since enrolling at Elyria last season, Muhammed placed fourth in the state at 152 pounds, had a third and a pair of fifth-place finishes during national Greco-Roman competition and won a Greater Cleveland Conference championship. Just before Thanksgiving, Muhammed signed his letter of intent to wrestle for Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania. Both Crace and Muhammed could still compete this season as both attended Elyria on open enrollment. The Ohio High School Athletic Association has a one-time exemption to its transfer rule that allows athletes to compete without penalty if they transfer back to a school located within their home district. Elyria High School is a public high school located in the city of Elyria, approximately 30 minutes west of Cleveland. Elyria High serves grades 9-12. It has an enrollment of approximately 2,100 students.

Ohio State's Myles Martin won a title in Las Vegas last year and is pre-seeded No. 1 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The pre-seeds have been released for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which takes place Friday and Saturday at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Note: Final seeds are subject to change following weigh-ins on Friday. InterMat ranking is listed to the right. 125: 1. Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) -- No. 2 2. Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) -- No. 3 3. Sean Russell (Minnesota) -- No. 5 4. Louie Hayes (Virginia) -- No. 6 5. Zeke Moisey (Nebraska) -- No. 9 6. Travis Piotrowski (Illinois) -- No. 12 7. Devin Schroder (Purdue) -- No. 15 8. Drew Mattin (Michigan) -- No. 17 9. Gabe Townsell (Stanford) -- No. 20 10. Jay Schwarm (Northern Iowa) -- NR 11. Cole Verner (Wyoming) -- NR 133: 1. Stevan Micic (Michigan) -- No. 2 2. Nick Suriano (Rutgers) -- No. 3 3. Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) -- No. 5 4. Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) -- No. 7 5. John Erneste (Missouri) -- No. 9 6. Montorie Bridges (Wyoming) -- No. 11 7. Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh) -- No. 13 8. Chas Tucker (Cornell) -- No. 15 9. Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) -- No. 16 10. Dylan Duncan (Illinois) -- No. 17 11. Ben Thornton (Purdue) -- No. 18 12. Cam Sykora (North Dakota State) -- No. 19 13. Colin Valdiviez (Northwestern) -- NR 14. Sean Nickell CSU Bakersfield -- NR 141: 1. Joey McKenna (Ohio State) -- No. 2 2. Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) -- No. 3 3. Mike Carr (Illinois) -- No. 7 4. Josh Alber (Northern Iowa) -- No. 8 5. Nicholas Gil (Navy) -- No. 9 6. Matt Findlay (Utah Valley) -- No. 12 7. Chad Red (Nebraska) -- No. 13 8. Dom Demas (Oklahoma) -- No. 18 9. Nate Limmex (Purdue) -- No. 19 10. Kanen Storr (Michigan) -- No. 20 11. Yahya Thomas (Northwestern) -- No. NR 149: 1. Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) -- No. 2 2. Micah Jordan (Ohio State) -- No. 3 3. Grant Leeth (Missouri) -- No. 4 4. Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) -- No. 6 5. Mitch Finesilver (Duke) -- No. 7 6. Brock Zacherl (Clarion) -- No. 8 7. Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) -- No. 9 8. Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) -- No. 17 9. Ryan Blees (Virginia Tech) -- No. 16 10. Josh Heil (Campbell) -- No. 19 11. Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield) -- No. NR 12. Jared Prince (Navy) -- No. NR 157: 1. Tyler Berger (Nebraska) -- No. 3 2. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) -- No. 5 3. Kennedy Monday (North Carolina) -- No. 6 4. Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State) -- No. 7 5. Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh) -- No. 8 6. John Van Brill (Rutgers) -- No. 16 7. Hunter Willits (Oregon State) -- No. 19 8. Griffin Parriott (Purdue) -- No. NR 165: 1. Logan Massa (Michigan) -- No. 5 2. Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) -- No. 6 3. Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) -- No. 9 4. Isaiah White (Nebraska) -- No. 10 5. Joey Gunther (Illinois) -- No. 12 6. Connor Flynn (Missouri) -- No. 13 7. Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) -- No. 14 8. Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley) -- No. 15 9. Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State) -- No. 16 10. Jonathan Viruet (Brown) -- No. 17 11. Cam Coy (Virginia) -- No. 18 12. Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh) -- No. NR 174: 1. Myles Amine (Michigan) -- No. 3 2. Daniel Lewis (Missouri) -- No. 4 3. David McFadden (Virginia Tech) -- No. 5 4. Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) -- No. 9 5. Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) -- No. 11 6. Dylan Lydy (Purdue) -- No. 13 7. Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) -- No. 14 8. Brandon Womack (Cornell) -- No. 16 9. Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley) -- No. 18 10. Matt Finesilver (Duke) -- No. 19 11. Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) -- No. 20 184: 1. Myles Martin (Ohio State) -- No. 1 2. Taylor Venz (Nebraska) -- No. 3 3. Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) -- No. 5 4. Chip Ness (North Carolina) -- No. 8 5. Max Dean (Cornell) -- No. 9 6. Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) -- No. 10 7. Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) -- No. 13 8. C.J. LaFragola (Brown) -- No. 16 9. Lou DePrez (Binghamton) -- No. 18 10. Jelani Embree (Michigan) -- No. 20 197: 1. Kollin Moore (Ohio State) -- No. 3 2. Nathan Traxler (Stanford) -- No. 8 3. Corey Griego (Oregon State) -- No. 9 4. Stephen Loiseau (Drexel) -- No. 10 5. Christian Brunner (Purdue) -- No. 13 6. Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech) -- No. 14 7. Jackson Striggow (Michigan) -- No. 16 8. Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) -- No. 17 9. Ben Honis (Cornell) -- No. 20 10. Eric Schultz (Nebraska) -- No. NR 11. Zach Chakonis (Northwestern) -- No. NR 285: 1. Gable Steveson (Minnesota) -- No. 2 2. Conan Jennings (Northwestern) -- No. 11 3. Jeramy Sweany (Cornell) -- No. 12 4. Cory Daniel (North Carolina) -- No. 13 5. Joey Goodhart (Drexel) -- No. 15 6. Tate Orndorff (Utah Valley) -- No. 16 7. Matt Stencel (Central Michigan) -- No. 17 8. A.J. Nevills (Fresno State) -- No. 19 9. Zach Elam (Missouri) -- No. 20

Bob Darrah, successful Hall of Fame wrestling coach in Iowa at three high schools and at Simpson College despite never having wrestled in high school or college, passed away Monday, Nov. 26 at his home in Indianola, Iowa. He was 89. Bob DarrahRobert L. Darrah was born in Chariton, Iowa, the son of Glenn and Murine Darrah. Chariton High School did not have a wrestling program, nor did Westmar College in LeMars, Iowa where Darrah attended from 1958 to 1962. It's difficult to sum up Darrah's incredibly successful three-decade coaching career in approximately 100 words, but the Indianola (Iowa) Chamber of Commerce website did a pretty good job in April 2018: "Coach Bob Darrah never wrestled in high school or college, but in coaching over 30 years of high school wrestling his teams won 95 percent of their matches. Coach Darrah's teams compiled a dual meet record of 340-17-2. That career winning percentage is the best for Iowa high school wrestling coaches. Few coaches in any sport can claim this level of success over three decades and at three different high schools. "After coaching at Morning Sun, Urbandale, and Dowling high schools, Darrah was recruited to the collegiate level by the administration and boosters of Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. At Simpson, he coached men's wrestling, and took on women's golf." The Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in Cresco -- which honors wrestlers, coaches and officials with ties to the sport in the state of Iowa -- described Darrah as "a self-taught, self-made, outstanding and successful wrestling coach." Darrah started his career as a wrestling coach at Morning Sun in 1962, where, as a first-time mat mentor, led his wrestlers to a 50-3 record in five seasons, never losing a home meet. In 1967, he moved to Urbandale, where in two seasons, his wrestlers won 21, lost 2, and tied once. In 1969, Darrah arrived at Dowling Catholic High School in Des Moines, where he coached for two decades. His dual meet record at Dowling was 268 wins, 12 losses and one tie. Darrah coached 169 state qualifiers including at least 12 Iowa state champion wrestlers. His team won four state team titles and three state dual team titles. After 30 seasons of coaching high school in Iowa, Darrah took his coaching talent to Simpson College south of Des Moines. In five seasons, he led the Simpson wrestlers to an impressive 86-25-1 overall record until his retirement. Darrah also coached women's golf at the college. What made Darrah so successful -- and respected -- as a wrestling coach? "Number one, he's a tremendous motivator," Ron Gray, long-time assistant and eventual replacement at Dowling, told wrestling writer Dan McCool for his 2011 book on the Iowa state wrestling tournament, "Reach for the Stars." "He'd get you to do anything. You'd run through a brick wall for him. The second thing was it was an advantage that he didn't wrestle because, as a wrestler, sometimes I think maybe we can't do this, maybe this won't work. He never had that attitude. He didn't have the limitations that being a wrestler would necessarily impose on you in your thought process." Beyond Darrah's coaching accomplishments, his wrestling resume is impressive. Among his many honors: 1988 Amateur Wrestling High School Coach of the Year, 1978 Iowa High School Coach of the Year, 1986 Iowa High School Hall of Fame, 1989 National High School Athletic Association High School Coach of the Year, 1990 Westmar College Hall of Fame, 1991 Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame, and, in 2006, induction into the Glen BIrand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. In addition, Darrah owns the distinction of having at least two wrestling rooms named in his honor: at Dowling, and at Simpson College. If that weren't enough, Bob Darrah shared his story in the 2017 book "Bobby D: It's Not the Destination, It's the Journey. Ready? Wrestle!" by the legendary coach. Visitation for Robert L. Darrah will take place 4 to 8 p.m., Friday, November 30, 2018 at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 210 R63 Hwy in Indianola. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at a later date following the wrestling season, date and time to be determined. Memorials may be sent to Coach Bob Darrah Endowment Fund for Tuition Assistance at Dowling Catholic High School, 1400 Buffalo Road, West Des Moines, IA 50265.

Fred Feeney (Photo/Deanne Moore) Fred Feeney, a wrestling official from Ohio, joins The MatBoss Podcast to talk about wrestling rules. About MatBoss: Created by coaches for coaches, MatBoss for iPad® integrates wrestling stats directly into the video you record for each match, completely replacing the need for labor-intensive pencil and paper scoring systems. It's the wrestling stats app our sport has been waiting for. Focus on coaching, not busy work Improve through video analysis Make data an advantage Eliminate scoring errors Increase exposure Become a digital coach For more information, visit MatBossApp.com. Follow MatBoss on Twitter and subscribe to the show @MatBossApp | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | Google Play Music | RSS

Joey McKenna defeated Jaydin Eierman for third place at the NCAAs (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) This weekend's slate is highlighted by the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, but also includes some anticipated dual meets between in-state rivals. Here is a look at what to watch this weekend in college wrestling. Friday-Saturday Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (noon) Aside from any conference championship weekend or the national tournament, the toughest weekend of the year is here, and all eyes will be on the Las Vegas Convention Center as it's set to host 13 of InterMat's top-25 tournament teams at the 2018 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Of those 13 top-25 teams heading to compete in the Sin City, five teams find themselves sitting inside the top 10. To further paint the picture of just how tough this weekend is going to be, InterMat ranks 20 wrestlers at each weight, totaling 200 top-20 guys. This weekend, 114 of those wrestlers will be competing for a CKLV title. Arguably, three of the toughest weight classes of the tournament are 133 pounds, 174 pounds and 184 pounds. At 133 pounds, there are 12 ranked wrestlers, and three of them have reached the big stage on Saturday night at the NCAA Championships. Michigan's second-ranked Stevan Micic reached the 133-pound finals a year ago, while third-ranked Nick Suriano (Rutgers) and seventh-ranked Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) each fell short in the previous two 125-pound finals. In addition to the three NCAA finalists, Ohio State's 2018 NCAA fourth-place finisher and fifth-ranked Luke Pletcher, and Missouri's ninth-ranked John Erneste (Missouri) will also compete at this weight class. Though four of the five top-10 guys are from the Big Ten Conference, the only previous head-to-head match-up is between Stevan Micic and Luke Pletcher. These guys have met four times. Micic owns the 3-1 advantage, with his most recent win coming in the last year's NCAA semifinals when the Wolverine beat the Buckeye 8-4 to make it to the finals. When predicting the pre-seeds, one can only imagine that Micic will be given the top seed, with Suriano, Pletcher, and Lizak following in the second, third and fourth spots respectively. If this holds, and each guy wrestles to his seed, I see Micic eking out a win over Lizak, and Suriano narrowly sliding past Pletcher to set up a Micic and Suriano final. I'll give Micic the upper-hand in this match for two reasons. One, this is their first time wrestling. Secondly, I think it's complicated to not only prepare but also to make in-match adjustments to counter Micic's unorthodox style. These two will meet again on Feb. 17 when Michigan travels to Rutgers. Taking into consideration travel, the time of year, and it being (potentially) the second time these two have met, I'll say Suriano evens the score at one apiece heading into the Big Ten Championships. Another weight class to keep an eye on is 174 pounds where 12 ranked guys are also entered. Though it doesn't have a previous NCAA finalist, 174 pounds does feature a trio of guys who have claimed All-American honors multiple times. They are Myles Amine, Daniel Lewis and David McFadden. Michigan's third-ranked Amine reached the consolation finals in back-to-back years, improving on his fourth-place finish in 2017 with a third-place finish last year. Missouri's fourth-ranked Lewis is looking to become a four-time All-American after he finished his previous three years in fourth, fifth, and fourth respectively. The third multiple-time All-American entered at this weight is Virginia Tech's fifth-ranked David McFadden. The Hokie, who returned to action in 2018 after redshirting in 2017, added a fifth-place finish to his resume a season ago after wrapping up the 2016 NCAA Championships in sixth place. The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational will be McFadden's first tournament back after representing the United States at 74 kilograms at the U23 World Championships which were held in Bucharest, Romania. The Hokie two-time All-American does have an 8-4 win over Lewis at the 2016 CKLV, but without seeing him have at least one match to transition back to folkstyle, it's tough to pick him as the favorite over two of the best mat wrestlers in the nation in Amine and Lewis. Amine defeated Lewis 4-2 in sudden victory in the third-place bout at the 2018 NCAA Championships, giving him a slight advantage to win the CKLV title at 174 pounds. A third deep weight class to watch is 184 pounds. Of the eight returning 184-pound All-Americans, six are entered in this tournament. The six returning All-Americans in 2018 placement order are Myles Martin (Ohio State), Emery Parker (Illinois), Taylor Venz (Nebraska), Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech), Chip Ness (North Carolina), and Max Dean (Cornell). The only two who are not registered are Penn State's two-time NCAA champion Bo Nickal (now competing at 197 pounds) and Michigan Dom Abounader who has since graduated. On a side note, in addition to six top-10 wrestlers, 141 pounds was scheduled to feature Cornell's returning NCAA champion and top-ranked Yianni Diakomihalis. The sophomore made his season debut last weekend, going 3-0 after sitting out for nearly nine months post reconstructive surgery on a torn ACL that he suffered in the first minute of his NCAA quarterfinals match against two-time NCAA champion, Dean Heil. On Tuesday, Diakomihalis wrote on Twitter, "Won't be wrestling in Vegas this weekend. Should be back for everything else though!" Though Diakomihalis won't be competing, 141 pounds does have a pair of two-time All-Americans who met in last year's NCAA consolation finals. They are Ohio State's second-ranked Big Ten champion and returning third-place finisher Joey McKenna and Missouri's third-ranked Jaydin Eierman. Saturday No. 23 Iowa State at No. 4 Iowa (3 p.m.) For the first time since taking over as Iowa State's head coach, Kevin Dresser leads his Cyclones into Carver-Hawkeye Arena to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk dual. Last year in Ames, the Hawkeyes won nine of 10 bouts -- which included four bonus-point victories -- to defeat their in-state rivals 35-6. The Cyclones lone victory came at 197 pounds when Sam Colbray received a forfeit. Though the Hawkeyes are still favored to win the dual meet, Iowa State brings three ranked wrestlers into Iowa City. They are No. 14 Austin Gomez (133), No. 12 Jarrett Degen (149) and No. 5 Willie Miklus (197). The Cyclones will rely on their fifth-ranked three-time All-American transfer Miklus to add a much-needed spark. In his first Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk dual, Miklus could square off against Iowa's No. 11 Jacob Warner at 197 pounds. These two previously met last season at the Lindenwood Open where Warner knocked off Miklus, 16-7. In addition to Warner, Iowa's lineup is littered with ranked wrestlers. Leading the way for the Hawkeyes are top-ranked wrestlers Spencer Lee (125) and Sam Stoll (285). Other ranked wrestlers for Iowa inlcude No. 10 Austin DeSanto (133), No. 16 Max Murin (141), No. 11 Pat Lugo (149), No. 13 Kaleb Young (157), No. 4 Alex Marinelli (165) and No. 11 Cash Wilcke (184). Also of note, Iowa announced on Tuesday that two-time All-American and sixth-ranked Michael Kemerer (174) would be having season-ending surgery. Iowa leads the series 64-16-2 and is 32-5-1 in Iowa City. Other potential ranked matchups: 133: No. 10 Austin DeSanto (Iowa) vs. No. 14 Austin Gomez (Iowa State) 149: No. 11 Pat Lugo (Iowa) vs. No. 12 Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) 197: No. 11 Jacob Warner (Iowa) vs. No. 5 Willie Miklus (Iowa State) Sunday No. 8 Lehigh at No. 1 Penn State (1:30 p.m.) The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are set to head to Happy Valley in search for their 35th win over Nittany Lions, and first since the 2009-10 season. Sunday's dual meet will be the 107th time these two have met, with Penn State owning the 69-34-3 advantage. Last season, Lehigh jumped out to an early 15-0 lead, picking up bonus points in two of the first three matches, but ultimately lost six of the final seven matches and fell short, 23-19. This year there will be four matches where top-10 wrestlers will compete against each other, and they'll all be on the back side of the dual. The match to pay attention to will be at 174 pounds when Penn State's two-time NCAA finalist and 2017 NCAA champion Mark Hall takes on Lehigh's 2018 All-American and seventh-ranked Jordan Kutler. These wrestlers have met a pair of times, with Hall getting his hand raised both times. Hall beat Kutler, 3-2 last December's dual and followed that win up a month later with a 4-0 shutout over the Mountain Hawk at the Southern Scuffle. Other potential top-10 matchups: 157: No. 1 Jason Nolf vs. No. 10 Gordon Wolf 174: No. 2 Mark Hall vs. No. 7 Jordan Kutler 184: No. 4 Shakur Rasheed vs. No. 7 Ryan Preisch 285: No. 5 Anthony Cassar vs. No. 6 Jordan Wood Other potential ranked matchups: 165: No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph vs. No. 11 Cole Walter 197: No.1 Bo Nickal vs. No. 15 Jake Jacobsen

Saturday marks the first major in-season event for all the teams in this 16-team field. Schools from six different states will convene at Gardner Edgerton High School in Kansas for the annual pool-to-bracket event. Competition will start with four pools of ideally four wrestlers each, with the wrestlers earning the same place in pool competition paired up for a semifinal and then final match. Four of the teams in this field are nationally ranked -- No. 12 Broken Arrow (Okla.), No. 14 Southeast Polk (Iowa), No. 20 Allen (Texas), and No. 47 Goddard (Kansas). Broken Arrow will be without the back half of their starting lineup due to advancing to the state final in football on Friday night, while Allen will be without a few starters (not sure which ones) due to their football team playing a state playoff game this weekend. Below is a listing of the top wrestlers expected to compete in the event come Saturday by projected weight class. 106 - No. 4 Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas), Bryce Cockrell (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Nathan Rubino (Skutt Catholic, Neb.) 113 - Jackson Cockrell (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Jason Henschel (Goddard, Kansas), Devin Harmison (Southeast Polk, Iowa), Caden Garcia (Allen, Texas) 120 - Rance Waigand (Allen, Texas), Blazik Perez (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Joel Jesuroga (Southeast Polk, Iowa), Eli Rocha (Platte County, Mo.), Jordan Fisher (Goddard, Kansas), Zachary Keal (Mill Valley, Kansas) 126 - Keegan Slyter (Olathe North, Kansas), Gabe Martinez (Allen, Texas), Jared Hill (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Lucas Glover (Goddard, Kansas), Caleb Lazure (Skutt Catholic, Neb.), Joshua Pence (Manhattan, Kansas) 132 - No. 15 Reece Witcraft (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Noah Yeamans (Allen, Texas), Camden Baarda (Southeast Polk, Iowa) 138 - Blake Gonzalez (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Nicholas Stoltenberg (Skutt Catholic, Neb.), Jace Fisher (Goddard, Kansas), Nathan Marchand (Southeast Polk, Iowa) 145 - Trent Dooley (Allen, Texas), Ryan Strickland (Southeast Polk, Iowa), Cayleb Atkins (Goddard, Kansas) 152 - No. 11 (at 160) Lance Runyon (Southeast Polk, Iowa), Bubba Wilson (Manhattan, Kansas), Elise Brown Ton (Allen, Texas), Nolan Craine (Goddard, Kansas) 160 - No. 14 (at 152) Cade Devos (Southeast Polk, Iowa), Trevor Dopps (Goddard, Kansas) 170 - No. 6 Troy Fisher (Goddard, Kansas), Alex Van Dyke (Skutt Catholic, Neb.) 182 - Nate Dooley (Allen, Texas), Cayden Atkins (Goddard, Kansas) 195 - Gabe Christenson (Southeast Polk, Iowa), Matthew Muller (Fayetteville, Ark.), Eli Jansen (Skutt Catholic, Neb.) 220 - Trenton Willert (Goddard, Kansas), Marcos Fisher (Dodge City, Kansas) 285 - Johnny Green (Allen, Texas), Evan Darville (Dodge City, Kansas)

Michael Kemerer battling Jason Nolf in the NCAA quarterfinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa junior Michael Kemerer is scheduled to have surgery this week and will miss the 2018-19 NCAA wrestling season. The announcement came Tuesday from head coach Tom Brands. "We always do what's best for our athletes and this is what is best for Kemerer," Brands said. "He is as good a wrestler as there is in the country, and that is a credit to him doing things the right way. I know he is driven to come back even stronger and we will do everything we can to help him along the way." "I'm disappointed I won't be on the mat with my teammates this season, but I am 100 percent committed to my rehab and recovery so I can return to the mat in 2019," Kemerer said. "I have complete faith in my teammates, coaches, and medical staff, and they have faith in me. I will continue to give them all the very best that I have, on and off the mat." Kemerer is a two-time All-American from Murrysville, Pennsylvania. He placed third as a redshirt freshman and fourth as a sophomore at the NCAA Championships. He has a career record of 60-6, competing at 157 pounds in 2017 and 2018. He was projected to be Iowa's starting 174-pounder in 2019. Kemerer has not competed this season. He will seek a medical hardship waiver at the end of the season. Iowa hosts Iowa State on Saturday at 2 p.m. (CT) in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.

The online sportsbook BetDSI has released college wrestling betting odds for this weekend's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The event takes place on Friday and Saturday at the Las Vegas Convention Center. How betting works: If betting on a wrestler listed with a minus (-) sign, you must risk that number amount to profit $100 (and get your stake back). For example, risking $20 on Joey McKenna would result in a profit of $10 if he wins the title at 141 pounds. If betting on a wrestler listed with a plus (+) sign, for every $100 you risk, you profit that amount. For example, risking $20 on Grant Leeth (+600) would result in a profit of $120 if he wins the title at 149 pounds. If betting "Field" in a weight class, you receive all the wrestlers not listed with odds. Note: Betting odds are subject to change. Odds are listed under Sportsbook-Futures-Wrestling. To create a BetDSI account, click here.

As the end of November will be upon us, and December begins on Saturday, the first week of competition is here for the majority of states across the country. Below is a listing of scheduled competitions for teams ranked within the Fab 50 national high school team rankings. No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. -- travels to St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.) on Saturday for the Caruso Invitational No. 2 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. -- competes in dual meet at Union Endicott (N.Y.) on Wednesday, competes in the Lake Norman (N.C.) Duals on Saturday No. 4 Cincinnati (Ohio) LaSalle -- competes in the Franklin (Ohio) Invitational on Saturday No. 5 St. Edward, Ohio -- hosts No. 32 Parkersburg South (W.Va.), Massillon Perry (Ohio), and Westerville North (Ohio) for quad meet on Saturday No. 6 Montini Catholic, Ill. -- travels to Providence Catholic (Ill.) for quad meet, along with Bowen (Ill.) and No. 33 Chicago (lll.) Mt. Carmel No. 11 Park Hill, Mo. -- hosts No. 12 Broken Arrow (Okla.a) for dual meet on Friday, hosts the Park Hill Duals on Saturday No. 12 Broken Arrow, Okla. -- with the back half of the lineup competing in the state football title game on Friday night, this may be subject to change; scheduled to travel to Owasso (Okla.) for dual meet on Thursday, travel to No. 11 Park Hill (Mo.) for dual meet on Friday, compete in the Gardner-Edgerton (Kansas) Invitational on Saturday No. 14 Southeast Polk, Okla. -- travels to Ames (Iowa) for dual meet on Thursday, compete in the Gardner-Edgerton (Kansas) Invitational on Saturday No. 16 Elyria, Ohio -- host double dual on Saturday, will face Tiffin Columbian (Ohio) and Perrysburg (Ohio) No. 17 Clovis, Calif. -- compete in the Newbury Park (Calif.) Invitational on Saturday No. 20 Allen, Texas -- though missing some wrestlers due to continued advancement in the state football playoffs, compete in the Gardner-Edgerton (Kansas) Invitational on Saturday No. 21 Simley, Minn. -- travels to No. 42 Apple Valley (Minn.) for dual meet on Friday, compete in multi-team event at New Prague (Minn.) on Saturday No. 23 St. John Bosco, Calif. -- travels to Westminster (Calif.) for the Cossareck Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 25 Wadsworth, Ohio -- hosts Streetsboro (Ohio) and Massillon (Ohio) for tri-meet on Friday No. 26 St. Paris Graham, Ohio -- competes in the Marysville (Ohio) Duals on Saturday No. 27 Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa -- hosts West Delaware (Iowa) for dual meet on Thursday, travels to Cedar Falls (Iowa) for the Keith Young Invitational on Saturday No. 28 Mt. St. Joseph's, Md. -- competes in the King George (Va.) Duals on Saturday No. 30 Marmion Academy, Ill. -- hosts tri-meet against Oak Park (Ill.) Fenwick and Providence Catholic (Ill.) on Friay; hosts quad aganst St. Rita (Ill.), Wheaton North (Ill.), and Marist (Ill.) on Saturday No. 31 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. -- travels to Stewartville (Minn.) for dual meet on Thursday, competes in the Winona (Minn.) Invitational on Saturday No. 32 Parkersburg South, W.Va. -- travels to No. 5 St. Edward (Ohio) for quad meet on Saturday, along with Massillon Perry (Ohio) and Huntington (W.Va.) No. 33 Chicago (Ill.) Mt. Carmel -- travels to Marian Catholic (Ill.) for dual meet on Friday, travels to Providence Catholic (Ill.) for quad meet on Saturday along with No. 6 Montini Catholic (Ill.) and Bowen (Ill.) No. 34 McDonogh, Md. -- hosts the Ray Oliver Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 36 Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral -- travels to Lawrence Central (Ind.) for dual meet on Tuesday, hosts the Super 6 Invitational duals on Saturday No. 38 Pomona, Colo. -- hosts Bear Creek (Colo.) for dual meet on Thursday No. 42 Apple Valley, Minn. -- hosts No. 21 Simley (Minn.) for dual meet on Friday No. 43 Clovis North, Calif. -- travels to Vacaville for the Larry Nelson Classic dual tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 44 Millard South, Neb. -- competes in the Sergeant Bluff-Luton (Iowa) Invitational on Saturday No. 45 Poway, Calif. -- competes in the Newbury Park (Calif.) Invitational on Saturday No. 46 South Dade, Fla. -- No. 47 Goddard, Kansas -- competes in the Gardner-Edgerton (Kansas) Invitational on Saturday No. 48 Arlington Martin, Texas -- travels to Burleson Centennial (Texas) for dual meet on Tuesday No. 49 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. -- travels to Washington (Ill.) for multi-team event on Saturday Season is yet to start: No. 3 Bergen Catholic (N.J.), No. 7 Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.), No. 15 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.), No. 18 Brighton (Mich.), No. 19 Paulsboro (N.J.), No. 22 St. Joseph Montvale (N.J.), No. 24 Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep, No. 29 Davison (Mich.), No. 35 South Plainfield (N.J.), No. 37 Reynolds (Pa.), No. 40 Howell (N.J.), and No. 41 Delbarton (N.J.) Not competing: No. 8 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), No. 9 Buchanan (Calif.), No. 10 Gilroy (Calif.), No. 13 Tuttle (Okla.), No. 39 Brecksville (Ohio), and No. 50 Staley (Mo.)

Jerry Boland ELKINS -- Director of Athletics Jamie Joss has announced the addition of wrestling as the 24th varsity sport offering at Davis & Elkins College on Monday, as well as the hiring of Jerry Boland as the program's first head coach. The Senators will receive support for some of the startup costs from the National Wrestling Coaches Association and allied partners beginning competition in the 2019-20 academic year. "We are thrilled to add men's wrestling to our athletic program and elated to have Coach Boland lead our program," Joss said. "The addition of wrestling will provide opportunities for wrestlers throughout the region to compete at the collegiate level and an additional pathway for our student-athletes to compete for Mountain East Conference and NCAA Championships." Boland, a member of the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame, will be coming to Elkins after 14 years as a high school wrestling coach and five years as an administrator in the Evesham Township School District in New Jersey. "We are pleased to welcome Coach Jerry Boland to lead the first wrestling program at D&E," said D&E President Chris A. Wood. "The 2019-20 academic year promises to be an exciting one as we begin play in the Mountain East Conference and, now, with the addition of our 24th varsity sport." Overall, Boland has 20 years of coaching wrestling at various levels and also has served as an official for eight years. "I am truly honored and excited to become the first head wrestling coach at Davis & Elkins College," said Boland. "I want to thank President Wood, Director of Athletics Jamie Joss, and the rest of the selection committee for having the faith in me to build this program. "I also want to thank my wife, Michelle, my family, and all of those who supported me along this journey. I am looking forward to being a part of Senator Nation and leading young men to successful careers both on and off the mat." During his time in high school wrestling, Boland has coached three New Jersey State Championship teams at Camden Catholic High School. He has also led the Camden Catholic and Cinnaminson High School programs to six more conference championships. Boland has coached several individual district and regional champions at both schools, as well as three individual state champions at Camden Catholic. He has a career coaching record of 146-34. A two-year team captain and four-year starter in college, Boland was an NCAA Division III All-American at Lycoming College in the mid-90s and was a two-time NCAA Tournament qualifier. "Jerry's experience as an All-American and Hall of Fame high school and college wrestler, and successful high school coaching career at his alma mater will be critical in building the foundation of a successful program on and off the mat, "Joss added. "Coach Boland embodies our four pillars of Education-Engagement-Character-Competition. We look forward to welcoming Jerry and his family to the Elkins community." Boland recently completed the 2018 National Wrestling Coaches Association Leadership Academy, where he worked closely with mentor Jack Spates, former head coach of the University of Oklahoma wrestling program. A 2016 inductee of the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame, Boland is a USA Wrestling certified club coach and a New Jersey state certified high school wrestling official. He is also a member of the South Jersey Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association, where he has served as an executive member. Boland graduated from Lycoming College with a bachelor's degree in Psychology in 1998. He also earned his master's degree in Educational Leadership from Grand Canyon University in 2010. Boland and his wife Michelle, along with their four boys, Gavin (13), Caden (10), Brennan (9), Owen (4), will be relocating to Elkins. The addition of wrestling also expands the Davis & Elkins Athletics Department's sport offerings to 24, coming a year after women's triathlon and women's golf emerged for the 2018-19 year. Other recent additions have included men's and women's indoor and outdoor track in 2016-17 and women's acrobatics & tumbling in 2017-18. What others are saying about Jerry: Mike Moyer - NWCA Executive Director "I want to congratulate the Davis & Elkins administration for selecting a phenomenal coach to lead their newly established men's wrestling program. Coach Boland is one of an elite group of coaches to receive a full scholarship to attend our prestigious NWCA CEO Leadership Academy. The Senators wrestling program is in great hands." Jack Spates - Former University of Oklahoma Head Coach "Davis & Elkins has hit a home run. Jerry Boland is a coach with great expertise and incredible passion for our sport and for young people. Look for great things to come from this program." John Hangey - Rider University Head Coach "Jerry has always wanted to be a college head wrestling coach. He has tremendous passion and knowledge for the sport. He will be a great leader for the student athletes and wrestling program at Davis & Elkins College." Gary Papa - National Wrestling Hall of Fame member; Camden County College Head Coach "I have had the unique pleasure of knowing Jerry Boland as a student/athlete, member of my coaching staff, and as a friend. I was the Head Wrestling Coach at Jerry's alma mater, Camden Catholic, when he competed in high school, and later on, when his college days were over, I was fortunate enough to have Jerry as an assistant coach on my staff at CCHS. I have always found Jerry to be one of my hardest working, dedicated, wrestlers and he brought the same work ethic to my coaching staff. Jerry is a true family man and a great friend that you can always count on to make the right decisions and do the right thing. I congratulate Davis & Elkins for their foresight in naming Jerry Boland as their new Head Wrestling Coach" Davis & Elkins College, related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), is a private liberal arts college located in Elkins, the heart of the West Virginia Highlands. D&E Athletics has 24 varsity sports with affiliations to the NCAA Division II, Great Midwest Athletic Conference, USA Triathlon and the NCATA, as well as a future affiliation to the Mountain East Conference beginning in 2019-20.

Zain Retherford (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) The new American Wrestling League bills itself as "The Greatest Wrestling Show on Earth!" That remains to be seen, but the new AWL does provide another opportunity for international wrestlers in the U.S. to gain exposure. Along with winning a little bit of cash. Each of the AWL participants will collect $2,500 to wrestle in the freestyle wrestling event, which will be streamed live on Trackwrestling.com. The winners will pick up an additional $5,000. The inaugural AWL event is scheduled to be held on Friday (Nov. 30) at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. Newly crowned world champions David Taylor and Kyle Dake drafted the athletes that will compete in the AWL. Unfortunately for the fans, neither Taylor nor Dake will be competing in the first AWL event. None of the seven freestyle medalists from last month's World Championships are competing. Even with the lack of star power, there are a number of top wrestlers who will be competing. Adam Coon, who won a world silver medal last month in Greco-Roman wrestling, is scheduled to compete at heavyweight. He will face veteran Dom Bradley. One of the best matchups will involve a bout between past NCAA champions Jordan Oliver and Zain Retherford. Past Iowa Hawkeye national champions Tony Ramos and Cory Clark also are expected to square off. Another intriguing battle will feature two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez and three-time NCAA champion Alex Dieringer. It's too bad Dake and Taylor won't be competing. It is understandable with the event coming just a few weeks after they won world titles, but if you want "The Greatest Wrestling Show on Earth!" you should put the best wrestlers on the card. A Dake-Taylor match alone would be worth the price of admission. As a wrestling fan, it would be awesome to see. I applaud the initiative for trying to put a professional league together and I think it could succeed in this country with the right formula. But you need your best wrestlers to be a part of it. The AWL event should still be a good show with some high-level wrestling, but it could offer so much more. Here are my predictions for the AWL I event: 57 kilograms: Frank Perrelli (Team Dake) vs. Nico Megaludis (Team Taylor) Perrelli is a tough, hard-nosed veteran with a ton of experience and Megaludis is a strong competitor who could definitely contend for a world team spot. This has the makings of an entertaining match with two little guys who know how to scrap and get after it. My pick: Megaludis 61 kilograms: Tony Ramos (Dake) vs. Cory Clark (Taylor) This is the match that many of the Iowa fans will be most intrigued about. Ramos is a past NCAA champion for the Hawkeyes who has made two U.S. world teams. Ramos left Iowa City for the University of North Carolina after losing to former Hawkeye Daniel Dennis at the 2016 Olympic Trials. A year later, Ramos lost to former Hawkeye Thomas Gilman at the World Team Trials. Now Ramos will face Clark, a 2017 NCAA champion for Iowa that he knows well. This is the match I am looking forward to most in this dual. It should be interesting to watch. My pick: Clark 65 kilograms: Jordan Oliver (Dake) vs. Zain Retherford (Taylor) This is expected to be another match between two wrestlers with legitimate chances to make the world and Olympic team the next two years. Oliver has been as high as second on the U.S. ladder and Retherford made the 2017 world team. These are two highly skilled wrestlers who have the potential to medal on the world stage. This is a match you won't want to miss. My pick: Retherford 70 kilograms: James Green (Dake) vs. Brandon Sorensen (Taylor) Green is a two-time world medalist who is coming off a disappointing performance at the World Championships. It's good to see Green competing in this event. This could be an interesting match with Sorensen wrestling just up the road from where he competed at the University of Iowa. Sorensen is a good prospect who can be lethal when he opens up. Green is an explosive athlete who also is tough to score on. My pick: Green 74 kilograms: Richie Lewis (Dake) vs. Tommy Gantt (Taylor) Lewis proved his mettle by becoming a surprise gold medalist at the U23 World Championships. He will be the favorite here against Gantt, who has experienced some success on the freestyle circuit. It will be interesting to see how Lewis progresses and fares on the Senior level. My pick: Lewis. Isaiah Martinez (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) 79 kilograms: Isaiah Martinez (Dake) vs. Alex Dieringer (Taylor) If both wrestlers open up and let it fly, this could be the best match on the card. Martinez is a very dynamic and athletic wrestler. Dieringer is a wrestler with an impressive skill set and a huge upside. Martinez is coming up a weight class after being second on the ladder behind Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg. Dieringer may have a size advantage over Martinez and that may be the difference in this bout. My pick: Dieringer 86 kilograms: Nick Heflin (Dake) vs. Sam Brooks (Taylor) Heflin is a wrestler who has held his own internationally and Brooks is another top prospect who has made two age-group world teams. Both of these wrestlers have big moves in their arsenals and could put on a heck of a show for the fans. Brooks is a fan favorite who has wrestled well in Iowa. My pick: Heflin. 92 kilograms: Deron Winn (Dake) vs. Mike Macchiavello (Taylor) Winn has been a solid freestyle wrestler for a number of years, but he has competed only part-time in wrestling while he pursues a career in mixed martial arts. Macchiavello was a surprise winner at the NCAA Championships. He's a very physical wrestler who is tough to match up against. My pick: Winn 97 kilograms: Jacob Kasper (Dake) vs. Kyven Gadson (Taylor) Kasper looks like he could excel internationally. Gadson is a potential world medalist, but with Olympic and world champion Kyle Snyder in the same weight class it will be difficult for him to even make a U.S. team. This is a homecoming of sorts for Gadson, an Iowa native who won an NCAA title for Iowa State. Look for Gadson to try and put on a show for his fans. My pick: Gadson 125 kilograms: Dom Bradley (Dake) vs. Adam Coon (Taylor) This also has the makings of another interesting and compelling match. Bradley is a veteran who is still a very good wrestler. Coon is coming off an outstanding performance at the World Championships where he pinned four straight opponents en route to the finals. Coon is on a roll right now and look for that trend to continue. My pick: Coon 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.

STILLWATER -- Four Oklahoma State wrestlers made their Gallagher-Iba debuts on Sunday as the Cowboys defeated Wyoming, 27-6, in their first home dual of the season. Kaden Gfeller and Dakota Geer came away with bonus-point wins, and Andrew Shomers and Daton Fix both collected wins by decision over ranked opponents. "That is kind of what you live for," coach John Smith said. "I thought Dakota and Andrew did a good job, just have to focus at the end of the third period, and I thought (Daton) worked through the match with common sense. He did pretty good defending when his opponent got to his legs." The dual started with a shootout at 141 pounds with No. 6 Kaid Brock defeating Wyoming's Sam Turner, 14-10. The redshirt junior scored five takedowns in the first period and added another in the third. At 149 pounds, Kaden Gfeller remained undefeated with a major decision over Jaron Jensen. Shomers notched his first win against a ranked opponent this season with a 3-1 decision over No. 19 Dewey Krueger. He was awarded two points for stalling in the bout and road out the entire second period to finish the bout with about four minutes of time on top. "It was a big cultural change," Shomers said. "I wrestled at a small school, and there was about 100 people at each match, so being here on Thanksgiving weekend and have a crowd like that was really exciting." Redshirt sophomore Dakota Geer won his third major decision of the season, defeating Carless Looney, 14-4, in his first OSU home dual. Looney got an early first-period takedown, but No. 14 Geer responded with a reversal and went on to score three more takedowns and two back points in the closing periods. "There's definitely a different atmosphere here than at Edinboro," Geer said. "There were a lot more people, which makes it more exciting. I like it … I like it here." In the afternoon's finale, No. 6 Daton Fix won a much-anticipated bout with 11th-ranked Montorie Bridges, 3-0. Fix was awarded a point after two stalling calls in the first and rode the returning All-American through the second period. Fix was able to escape in the third and notched a point for riding time. At 165 pounds, No. 6 Chandler Rogers lost his match to ninth-ranked Branson Ashworth, 4-1, in the pair's third meeting. In the next bout No. 8 Jacobe Smith squeaked out a 6-5 decision over Hayden Hastings following a last-second, third-period reversal. Andrew Marsden fell to Cale Davidson, 8-5, in the 197-pound matchup. No. 3 Derek White scored three takedowns to win his bout with Brian Andrews, 8-2, before Nick Piccininni collected the Cowboys' third bonus-point win of the day, in a 12-4 major decision over Cole Verner. OSU returns to GIA on Dec. 9, for Bedlam. The Cowboys take the mat at 12:30 p.m., and the match will air live on ESPNU. Results: 141: No. 6 Kaid Brock (OSU) dec. Sam Turner (WYO), 14-10 149: No. 15 Kaden Gfeller (OSU) MD Jaron Jensen (WYO), 9-1 157: No. 18 Andrew Shomers (OSU) dec. No. 19 Dewey Krueger (WYO), 3-1 165: No. 9 Branson Ashworth (WYO) dec. No. 6 Chandler Rogers (OSU), 4-1 174: No. 8 Jacobe Smith (OSU) dec. Hayden Hastings (WYO), 6-5 184: No. Dakota Geer (OSU) MD Carless Looney (WYO), 14-4 197: Cale Davidson (WYO) dec. Andrew Marsden (OSU), 8-5 285: Derek White (OSU) dec. Brian Andrews (WYO), 8-2 125: No. 3 Nick Piccininni (OSU) MD Cole Verner (WYO), 12-4 133: No. 6 Daton Fix (OSU) dec. No. 11 Montorie Bridges (WYO), 3-0

BOONE, N.C. -- Freshman Joe Heilmann's first dual win as a Tar Heel helped lead No. 15 North Carolina to a 28-7 win over Appalachian State. The win gives UNC a 3-0 record to start the year for the first time since the 2005-06 season. The dual started at 149 pounds, giving No. 9 Austin O'Connor the opportunity to start the afternoon strong. He stormed out of the gate and picked up bonus points in his win, a major decision that would start a run of five straight victories for the Tar Heels. Josh McClure (165) and No. 8 Chip Ness (184) both won with major decisions before the intermission, while No. 6 Kennedy Monday (157) and Devin Kane (174) grinded out wins to give UNC an 18-0 lead at the break. The second half of the dual was capped by standout performances from Heilmann and No. 13 Cory Daniel. Heilmann broke out early with a 6-point first period and never looked back. He held strong the rest of the way, rolling to a 14-5 win. Daniel was tied with App State's Cary Miller late in the third period, but was able to find a way to win late. With under ten seconds to go, he scored on a quick takedown and held on as the buzzer sounded. A.C. Headlee finished the afternoon with a 7-0 win at 141 pounds, capping off a 28-7 win for the Tar Heels. "This was a team win. It's one you love to see," head coach Coleman Scott said. "Everyone who took the mat today came to win and it showed. You have to give credit to Joe Heilmann for picking up bonus points for us, and starting the day with Austin O'Connor's big win was huge. I'm proud of this team. They're showing everyone who we think we can be this year." The Tar Heels will head to Las Vegas this weekend for the 2018 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Results: 149: #9 Austin O'Connor (UNC) maj. dec. Jonathan Millner (APP), 14-3 – UNC leads 4-0 157: #6 Kennedy Monday (UNC) dec. Angel Najar (APP), 5-1 – UNC leads 7-0 165: Josh McClure (UNC) maj. dec. Joe Accousti (APP), 10-1 – UNC leads 11-0 174: Devin Kane (UNC) dec. Thomas Flitz (APP), 6-5 – UNC leads 14-0 184: #8 Chip Ness (UNC) maj. dec. Alan Clothier (APP), 10-2 – UNC leads 18-0 197: Randall Diabe (APP) maj dec. Hunter Queen (UNC), 10-2 – UNC leads 18-4 285: #13 Cory Daniel (UNC) dec. Cary Miller (APP), 3-1 – UNC leads 21-4 125: Joe Heilmann (UNC) maj. dec. Andy Richard (APP), 14-5 – UNC leads 25-4 133: Codi Russell (APP) dec. James Szymanski (UNC), 4-3 – UNC leads 25-7 141: A.C. Headlee (UNC) dec. Irvin Enriquez (APP), 7-0 – UNC wins 28-7

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota wrestling team notched their first home victory of the season in dominating fashion with five bonus point victories en route to a 35-6 dual victory over South Dakota State. It is the Gophers' second time scoring over 30 points in a dual this season after a 33-3 victory over Air Force on Nov. 9. Wrestling hard throughout the match and scoring early points were a key stressed by coach Brandon Eggum throughout this week, so he was pleased to see the Gophers put the plan into action. "I'm really impressed with the team's energy from the start until the end," Eggum said. "Those bonus points are big when it comes to the Big Ten Championships or the NCAA Tournament so getting in that mindset early is important. They were thinking about scoring." 125-pound No.5 Sean Russell got the Gophers started early in the dual with a 18-3 victory. Russell got the first takedown of the match and scored two nearfalls within the first period. After taking a sizable first period advantage Russell scored a technical fall less than a minute into the second period for his first career victory at Maturi Pavilion. "Coach said he wanted our guys shooting in the first three seconds so I was focused on just doing that and coming out hard to set the tone for the rest of the team," Russell said. 133-pound Ethan Lizak, ranked seven in the nation, took a quick lead with two nearfalls in the first period over Spencer Huber. After a stellar first two periods Lizak's reversal to start the third period gave him the necessary 15 points for a technical fall. Lizak had accumulated over three minutes and 30 seconds in riding time. No.5 Mitch McKee continued the Gophers roll at 141-pounds with a first-period (2:28) pin of Rylee Molitor after an early nearfall. At 174-pound No. 20 Devin Skatzka got his first victory at Maturi Pavilion since transferring to the university in a dominating 16-0 technical fall victory over Brett Bye. No. 2 Gable Steveson got his first takedown only ten seconds into the match and then got another only 20 seconds later. By the end of the first period the freshman heavyweight held a 12-3 advantage. Steveson finished off his technical fall 24 seconds into the second period. No. 17 Tommy Thorn notched a victory for the Gophers with an 11-5 minor decision over No. 14 Henry Pohlmeyer with over three minutes of riding time. Thorn had lost to Pohlmeyer in the Daktronics Open final early this season. After dropping bouts early in the season both Carson Brolsma and Dylan Anderson got their first home victories of the year. Brolsma got four takedowns plus the riding time point for a 10-3 win. Anderson rode out Samuel Grove for the entire second period and then escaped Grove's ride after less than ten seconds towards an 8-2 victory. Making his first dual start of the season was 157-pound Miles Patton. Patton battled in a close match with Colten Carlson but fell in the third period for the Gophers first dropped bout of the day to put the Jackrabbits on the board. 184-pound Owen Webster dropped his decision with Zach Carlson by a score of 8-6. Even in the matches the Gophers dropped, Eggum was proud of the effort. "Even in those I thought the guys made a lot of progress," Eggum said. "Our bottom wrestling was good and something we talked about this week was getting out from the bottom faster and being more aggressive. It's not so much technique as it is attitude." The Gophers hit the road for Cliff Keen Invitational this upcoming weekend in Las Vegas. Their next home dual will be against Rutgers on January 6. Results: 125: No. 5 Sean Russell tech. fall Gregory Coapstick 18-3 | Minnesota 5-0 133: No. 7 Ethan Lizak tech. fall Spencer Huber 16-0 | Minnesota 10-0 141: No. 5 Mitch McKee fall (2:28) over Rylee Molitor | Minnesota 16-0 149: No. 17 Tommy Thorn dec. No. 14 Henry Pohlmeyer 11-5 | Minnesota 19-0 157: Colten Carlson dec. Miles Patton 10-5 | Minnesota 19-3 165: Carson Brolsma dec. Logan Peterson 10-3 | Minnesota 22-3 174: No. 20 Devin Skatzka tech. fall Brett Bye 16-0 | Minnesota 27-3 184: Zach Carlson dec. Owen Webster 8-6 | Minnesota 27-6 197: Dylan Anderson dec. Samuel Grove 8-2 | Minnesota 30-6 285: No. 2 Gable Steveson tech. fall Blake Wolters 18-3 | Minnesota 35-6

Deron Winn continues to find success in both amateur wrestling and professional MMA. Here's how MMA website Sherdog.com opened its description of Winn's latest MMA win: "Accomplished wrestler Deron Winn continues to impress, as he dominated longtime veteran Tom Lawlor for three rounds in a light heavyweight tussle" at the first-ever MMA event put on by boxing legend Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Saturday night. Despite giving up 5" in height and a decade of MMA experience, Winn earned a unanimous decision over Lawlor, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, to improve his overall record to 5-0. "Winn brutalized 'Filthy Tom's' face for the first two rounds, using solid boxing while opening cuts under both eyes," Sherdog.com reported. "Lawlor never managed to find a rhythm offensively, and Winn made it worse in the third with a pair of easy takedowns. Lawlor (10-7) threatened with a guillotine in the final round, but Winn was too savvy to be tapped." Deron WinnBloodyElbow.com wrote, "Deron Winn turned in an excellent performance here against the accomplished Lawlor. Winn dominated on the feet for the first round and a half, bloodying Lawlor up with his fists. Midway through round 2, Lawlor seemed to come alive, scoring some shots of his own, but it wasn't enough. In round 3, Lawlor tried to make it a slugfest, and had some success, only to see Winn switch gears and use his wrestling to take it down. Lawlor had a nice guillotine in the 3rd, but once Winn escaped that, he kept on the pressure until the final second." Winn's bout vs. Lawlor was his first to go the distance, having dispatched his first four MMA opponents with first-round TKOs. "I just want to let LA know -- mark your calendars, this is the day you witnessed a star be born," Winn said after the victory. "I really wanted to show off my power tonight. Tom is a vet -- he can run his mouth, but he's a tough fighter. For a guy like me, I knew I had to connect my punches to knock him out. After I landed a couple, I realized I was going to have to rumble with him." Later Saturday night, Winn posted the following on his Facebook page: "Toughest test of my life tonight. Thank you to everybody involved in my journey and success. I love you guys so much. When I'm training, working hard and everything behind the scenes.. i do this for us, for my family, for all my close friends, my wrestlers at all ages I love you guys and thanks for inspiring me to push myself to the limits. This is only the beginning." Both Winn and Lawlor brought amateur wrestling backgrounds to this MMA event. Prior to launching his MMA career eleven years ago, Lawlor, 35, was a three-time NCWA (National Collegiate Wrestling Association) mat champ, winning titles in 2003, 2004 and 2005 at University of Central Florida. Winn, 25, was a three-time Missouri state wrestling champ for Liberty High School outside Kansas City. Winn then enrolled at St. Louis Community College, Meramec where he was a two-time NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) champ. At the 2008 NJCAA Nationals, Winn was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the championships. Winn continues to compete in amateur wrestling. In fact, on Nov. 30, Winn will face Michael Macchiavello, 2018 NCAA Div. I champ at 197 pounds for North Carolina State, in the premiere event of American Wrestling League in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.