InterMat Staff

Jordan Burroughs wrestling Isaiah Martinez at Final X Lincoln in 2018 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors) It is crazy to think we are just over a year away from the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. It seems like it was just yesterday when Helen Maroulis and Kyle Snyder captured gold medals in wrestling at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As many of you already know, the year before an Olympic Games is hugely important. And the pressure mounts even more on athletes to perform with so much at stake. The World Championships in the year before the Olympics serve as the main qualifier for the Games. The top six finishers in each Olympic weight category at the 2019 World Championships will qualify their countries for the 2020 Olympics. That's what makes the upcoming Final X events for Team USA wrestlers paramount. The Final X winners will make up the 2019 United States World Team. The Final X champions in the 18 Olympic weight classes -- six in men's freestyle, six in women's freestyle and six in Greco-Roman -- will receive the first crack at qualifying the U.S. for the 2020 Olympic Games. There already is plenty at stake when you are battling to make a world team, but this year obviously takes on much more significance with Olympic qualifying spots being contested. Believe it or not, it's become even tougher to qualify for the Olympics in international wrestling. In 2020, only 16 athletes will qualify per weight class. That is a reduction from 2016. Russia qualified the most overall weight classes for the 2016 Olympics with 17 while the U.S. qualified in 14 of 18 weight categories for Rio. The U.S. qualified in all six freestyle Olympic weight classes in 2016 with the Americans making it in four classes in women's freestyle and four divisions in Greco-Roman. In addition to the 2019 World Championships, 2020 Olympic qualifiers include the four continental qualifiers and one last chance qualifier. The top two finishers in each weight class from each of those events also qualify their countries for the Olympics. The U.S. will compete in the Pan American qualifier in early 2020 in weight classes it did not qualify at the 2019 World Championships. The World Championships are hugely important to qualify as many wrestlers as you can. As you can imagine, the pressure magnifies significantly for wrestlers and countries who have to qualify in their continental event or in the last chance meet. In 2016, J'den Cox went overseas in a last chance event and qualified the U.S. for the Olympics in men's freestyle at 86 kg. Cox followed by earning a bronze medal in Rio. In 2008, Justin Ruiz came through with a dramatic win over Cuba at the Pan American qualifier in Greco-Roman. Ruiz then lost to Adam Wheeler at the U.S. Olympic Trials before Wheeler won an Olympic bronze medal in Beijing, China. Just qualifying a weight class for the Olympic Games certainly is not easy. Wrestlers who have been in those situations will tell you how difficult it is. Especially in those final qualifiers where they are not only trying to qualify for themselves but for their country. One interesting scenario for the U.S. this year will be at 86 kilograms. Reigning world freestyle champion David Taylor has been sidelined after a recent knee injury and Pat Downey is expected to replace him at this year's World Championships. Downey is a past Junior world silver medalist and a talented wrestler, but he's obviously not the proven commodity that Taylor is on the Senior level. Another scenario involves Maroulis, who became the first American women's wrestler to win Olympic gold in 2016. The two-time world champion will not compete at the worlds this year after being sidelined by injuries the past two seasons. If the U.S. falls short of qualifying at the World Championships in their weight classes, would Taylor and Maroulis be called upon to help their country qualify for the Olympics in the Pan American and last chance events? The U.S. could potentially have a men's freestyle world team in 2019 with four young wrestlers -- Daton Fix, Yianni Diakomihalis, Bo Nickal and Gable Steveson -- in Olympic weight classes. Each of those guys competed in college this past season. Would those young athletes be ready to step up and deliver at their first Senior World Championships? And qualify the U.S. for the Olympics in their respective weight classes? They definitely could with the high level of success they've had at age-group world events. The U.S. has had plenty of wrestlers do well at their first Senior Worlds. Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Snyder, Kyle Dake and David Taylor all won gold medals in their first trip to the World Championships. No question, this is a huge year for the United States wrestling team and it is no secret that plenty of pressure-packed matches are on the horizon. And that's why the Final X is so important this year in determining the U.S. World Team reps at the 18 Olympic weight classes. The Americans obviously are loaded in men's and women's freestyle right now with a number of superstar athletes. The U.S. Greco-Roman team received a boost from world silver medalist Adam Coon last year and hopes to build on that this year. No doubt, all eyes will be on the 2019 World Championships this fall in Kazakhstan. It will have a significant bearing on what might transpire on the big stage at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The stakes are extremely high and the pressure is definitely on for wrestlers and countries to be at their best this year to set them up for a memorable 2020.

Tamyra Mensah-Stock flexes after weighing in at Final X (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors) MARYSVILLE, Ohio -- RUDIS, the fastest growing athletic apparel brand in wrestling, continues to invest in wrestling and the Olympic Dream by signing its third female wrestler, Tamyra Mensah-Stock. Tamyra is a fierce competitor. She will be competing at this week's Final X at Rutgers as she hopes to secure her spot on the 2019 Wrestling World Team. RUDIS Chief of Staff and Director of the Athletic Program, Matt Dernlan speaks about Mensah-Stock and what it means for the brand. "We are thrilled to add Tamyra to the RUDIS family. It is an honor to continue building our roster of elite athletes. Continuing an already impressive career in the sport, Tamyra will compete in Final X this weekend and we are proud to be by her side." RUDIS Co-Founder and President, Jesse Leng speaks about Mensah-Stock and the alignment with RUDIS. "Tamyra embodies the unique mentality required of an ambitious athlete. She brings both passion and determination to the mat, showing her ability to attain the highest levels of achievement for wrestlers. This mindset is what makes Mensah-Stock a perfect fit for the RUDIS family. We are honored to help elevate women's wrestling by signing our third female athlete this year." Tamyra joins RUDIS after an already accomplished career. Mensah-Stock was a four-time All-American at Wayland Baptist, where she was also a two-time national champion. She won the 2016 Wrestling U.S. Open, which afforded her the No. 1 qualifying spot at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Tamyra also went on to win bronze at the 2018 UWW World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Mensah-Stock has proven she is one to watch for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Serving the amateur wrestling community, RUDIS honors some of the greatest names in the history of the sport including Dave Schultz, Kyle Snyder, Cary Kolat, Brandon Slay, Lincoln Mcllravy, and more. The company states: "Born from wrestling and built for wrestling. RUDIS was created with a single vision in mind: be the most accurate and authentic expression of the sport through apparel. The core values of wrestling govern our every action and drive us to continually innovate, serve, and connect with those who love this sport."

The U.S. wrestling community, including its leading organizations, is celebrating today's announcement from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) concerning women's wrestling. The NCAA's Committee on Women's Athletics (CWA) has "recommended that all three divisions of the NCAA governance structure add women's wrestling as an NCAA emerging sport, effective August 1, 2020." Each NCAA division (Division I, Division II and Division III) will address this recommendation separately, and will determine independently if women's wrestling is added to the division's Emerging Sports list. Beginning in August 2017, a coalition of wrestling organizations, including Wrestle Like A Girl, the National Wrestling Coaches Association, USA Wrestling, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and expanding to include the National Collegiate Wrestling Association, worked together to submit an application to the NCAA CWA for women's wrestling to attain Emerging Sport Status. All of the national leaders in wrestling have supported this effort and supplied information for the bid that was sent to the NCAA CWA, in compliance with all of the requirements of Emerging Sport Status. The wrestling community applauds and thanks the NCAA's Committee on Women's Athletics for its governance and vision in reviewing the women's wrestling application and recommending wrestling for NCAA Emerging Sport Status. The wrestling community celebrates the role Title IX has played in developing women's wrestling opportunities, and pledges to continue to build the sport with that spirit of inclusion until it achieves official Championship status within the NCAA, and thereafter. "This is a great day for wrestling. The recommendation from the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics could impact the lives of thousands of women student-athlete wrestlers for generations to come. We thank the efforts of all the wrestling organizations who have led the charge seeking Emerging Sport Status. USA Wrestling is fully committed to supporting wrestling for women and girls at all levels and is excited about the future. We are encouraged by today's decision, and fully expect it to help accelerate the growth of women's wrestling," said Rich Bender, Executive Director of USA Wrestling. "The NWCA is eternally grateful for all of the collaborative efforts between the wrestling community and the NCAA to make this day possible. This is a great day for countless young women across the nation who are one step closer to having access to an NCAA championship for women's wrestling," said Mike Moyer, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association. "Wrestle Like A Girl and its national partners share in the glory of the women's wrestling recommendation to the NCAA Div. I, II, and III Committees for Emerging Sports Status. Collaborating with state high school athletic associations and the Olympic movement, and powered by Title IX, thousands of women will now have access to the NCAA's annual pool of $2.9 billion in athletic scholarships providing powerful sports experiences and educational opportunities. Wrestling, as a one-on-one contact sport, uniquely teaches women agency over space, voice and body. We are proud to be a leading voice for equality in the sport of wrestling, and at-large," said Sally Roberts, two-time World Bronze medalist, combat veteran and founder of Wrestle Like A Girl." "The National Wrestling Hall of Fame fully supports Emerging Sports status for women's wrestling and takes great pride in sharing the message that wrestling does not discriminate based on gender, size, ethnicity or physical limitations and it is truly a 'Sport For All' and 'Any BODY Can Wrestle'," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. "We look forward to welcoming many more females into the Hall of Fame as women's wrestling continues to grow as a result of this decision." "The NCWA is proud to have been a small part of this collaborative effort to provide women the inclusive opportunity to compete at the highest levels in college sport through the NCAA. With this outstanding victory for wrestling we remain committed in our efforts to the expansion of wrestling opportunities to student athletes at all levels," said Jim Giunta, Executive Director of the National Collegiate Wrestling Association. Currently, there are 23 NCAA programs (varsity or club) that have met the qualifications to be included in the NCAA ESS bid, with a minimum roster size of six, and a competition schedule with at least five contests. An additional 13 NCAA programs are scheduled to add women's wrestling for the upcoming 2020 or 2021 competition season. In addition, dozens of women's wrestling clubs have been established on other NCAA-affiliated campuses and are working towards increasing their rosters and competition schedules. Current varsity or club programs that have met the minimum requirement of a roster size of 6, and 5-contest competition schedule include: Adrian College, Colorado Mesa University, Colorado State University, Dixie State University, Emmanuel College, Ferrum College, Gannon University, King University, Lakeland University, Liberty University, Lindenwood University, MacMurray College, McKendree University, Pacific Lutheran University, Pacific University, Presbyterian College, Simon Fraser University, Tiffin University, Schreiner University, University of Houston, Fresno State University, and University of Texas - Arlington, Texas A&M. NCAA programs that are adding women's wrestling for the upcoming seasons, as of May 30, 2019: 1. Alderson Broaddus University 2019-2020 (Div. II) 2. Augsburg University 2019-20 (Div. III) 3. Davenport University 2020-2021 (Div. II) 4. Delaware Valley University 2019-2020 (Div. III) 5. East Stroudsburg University 2019-2010 (Div. II) 6. Fontbonne University 2019-2020 (Div. III) 7. Iowa Wesleyan University 2020-2021 (Div. III) 8. Limestone College 2019-2020 (Div. II) 9. Lock Haven University 2019-20 (Div. II) 10. New Jersey City University 2020-21 (Div. III) 11. North Central College 2019-2020 (Div. III) 12. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point 2019-2020 (Div. III) 13. Westminster College 2019-2020 (Div. III) Overall, the number of women's college wrestling programs from all college sports associations combined (both existing and announced) is over 83 and growing. Girls and women's wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. There are currently 16 state high school athletic associations that have created or approved official girls state high school wrestling championships, with many other states in-process. With inclusive wrestling opportunities, and girls and women being afforded the opportunity to wrestle other girls and women, female wrestling has grown rapidly in recent years. The high school state associations with sanctioned girls divisions (alphabetically): Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Washington, DC. We encourage more state associations to create or add girls high school divisions to support the female wrestlers in their states. USA Wrestling Girls High School Development Committee co-chairs Joan Fulp and Andrea Yamamoto, (usawgirlssanctioning@gmail.com), as well as Wrestle Like A Girl's Director of Programs Amy Zirneklis (amy@wrestlelikeagirl.org) are uniquely positioned and prepared to assist. Women's college wrestling has existed since the early 1990's, with the first varsity team created in 1993. There have been women's college wrestling national championships, including institutions from all affiliations since 2004. This past year, the NAIA gave invitational sport status to women's wrestling and held its first national invitational championships at Jamestown University in 2019. Women's wrestling has been an Olympic sport since 2004, and will be contested in its fifth Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020. United World Wrestling has conducted Senior World Championships in women's wrestling since 1987. The most recent sport which has been added to the list of NCAA emerging sports was Beach Volleyball in 2010. To date, five women's sports have moved from NCAA Emerging Sports Status to Championship Status: rowing, ice hockey, water polo, bowling and beach volleyball. The NCAA emerging sports process was created in 1994, with a new guide released in September 2016. Under these new procedures, which provided additional guidance and objectivity in the process, wrestling submitted its initial bid in August 2017, followed by a resubmission in August 2018, with two more updates in 2019. Through the combined and unified effort of the wrestling community, today's decision by the NCAA CWA has moved wrestling to the next stage of the process. With the possibility of reaching official Emerging Sport Status in August 2020, the wrestling community is poised to continue the excitement and momentum moving forward.

Competitors shake hands at Minnesota's girls high school state wrestling tournament (Photo/Deb Scherber, Minnesota/USA Wrestling) The NCAA announced on Monday that the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics has recommended women's wrestling as an emerging sport by their member institutions. If adopted, this means that any Division I program that determines it wants to fund women's wrestling will get an immediate Title IX offset, earn Championships Cup points for winning titles, and be afforded all other institutional and governmental advantages assessed with any other sport. The importance of the announcement cannot be overstated. There will be an immediate rush of programs looking to institute a women's program, but the real benefit will be in 5-10 years when the wrestlers who are motivated to compete -- and who can now do so at the youth, state, and NCAA level -- are making an impact on the international stage. The United States will now be in position to knock off Japan. The battle left will be for style. There will be some who want the women to wrestle folkstyle. That would be an awful, terrible, tremendously selfish and plainly dumb idea. Freestyle is women's folkstyle. The sport was brought to them by the international community and rules in 1989 and then cemented with Olympic inclusion in 2004. There is no longstanding history of women wrestling their own (i.e. folk) style of the sport. Only freestyle. Incredible. A monumental day for the sport of wrestling in America. Congrats to USA Wrestling, NWCA, Wrestle Like A Girl, and the thousands of coaches and parents who helped push the cause of women's wrestling over the past several years. But most importantly thank you and congratulations to all the little girls out there who had the grit, determination and confidence to step on the mat and pursue your dream to wrestle like the boys. Without you there would never be this incredible opportunity for the next generation of girls who now have the option to wrestle at the NCAA level. Girls like my daughter who, if she chooses to wrestle, might one day be able to do it at my alma mater. What an absolutely wonderful day for the sport of wrestling.

The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics has recommended that all three divisions of the NCAA governance structure add two sports -- women's wrestling, plus acrobatics and tumbling -- to the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program. If adopted, the sports would join the program Aug. 1, 2020. The committee identifies sports to be added to the Emerging Sports for Women program, which is a pipeline supporting the advancement of women's sports to NCAA championship status. The program also provides athletics opportunities for women and sport-sponsorship options for colleges and universities. Schools also may use an emerging sport to help meet membership minimum sports-sponsorship requirements and financial aid requirements. A sport must have a minimum of 20 varsity teams and/or competitive club teams that have competed in a minimum of five contests to be considered for the emerging sports program. The sport must reach 40 varsity programs to move forward to the NCAA governance structure for championship consideration. The Wrestle Like a Girl organization, in conjunction with USA Wrestling, indicated there are 23 NCAA schools currently sponsoring the sport. The committee applauded the groups for the overall continued growth of women's wrestling, and specifically for the potential growth of the sport at colleges and universities that currently sponsor men's wrestling. They also noted the relatively low cost to sponsor women's wrestling and the organizations' commitment to increasing opportunities for a more diverse student-athlete base and to expanding coaching opportunities for women. The National Collegiate Acrobatics and Tumbling Association currently has 20 NCAA colleges and universities sponsoring the sport, which is a discipline of gymnastics involving tumbling, tosses, acrobatic lifts and pyramids. The Committee on Women's Athletics commended acrobatics and tumbling for showing how its student-athletes already were integrated fully within athletics departments; how they are enjoying experiences comparable to those of other NCAA student-athletes; and how the sport could grow. “On behalf of the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics, I would like to commend the leaders of both the acrobatics and tumbling and the women's wrestling communities and thank them for their extensive work to ensure young female athletes in these sports are able to continue their participation at the collegiate level,” said Julie Cromer Peoples, committee chair and senior deputy athletics director for administration/senior woman administrator at Arkansas. “The CWA worked with representatives of both sports for several years to prepare them for advancement to NCAA emerging sport status, and we encourage all three divisions to support this expansion of opportunities for young women on NCAA campuses that choose to sponsor these sports.” The Emerging Sports for Women program has been in existence since 1994. In the past 21 years, several sports have reached championship status, including beach volleyball, rowing, ice hockey, water polo and bowling. The program currently has three sports: equestrian, rugby and triathlon.

Stephen Abas (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) It's not every day that a high school wrestling program lands a coach who was an Olympic medalist. Stephen Abas, 2008 Olympic silver medalist and three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champion at Fresno State, has been named head wrestling coach at Fresno High School, the Fresno Unified School District announced Friday. "We are excited to welcome Coach Abas to Fresno Unified, knowing that he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with our Fresno High student-athletes," said Fresno Unified Superintendent Bob Nelson. The statement said Abas would take the helm of the Warriors wrestling program at Fresno High immediately. "One of the greatest wrestlers of his generation" is how the 41-year-old Abas is described in his National Wrestling Hall of Fame biography, welcomed as a Distinguished Member of the Stillwater, Oklahoma-based Hall in June 2018. Among his freestyle career highlights: Olympic silver medalist in freestyle competition at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece ... 2003 Pan American gold medalist ... and three-time member of the U.S.A. World Team. Stephen Abas' collegiate mat career was no less impressive. As a wrestler at Fresno State University, Abas was a four-time NCAA All-American, winning three NCAA titles at 125 pounds in 1999, 2001, and 2002. Abas tallied a 144-4 overall record for the Bulldogs, including 46 pins. Abas' career winning percentage of 97.3 percent is also a school record. For all these accomplishments, Abas was named the Fresno State Male Athlete of the Year in 1999 and 2001. What's more, Abas was one of 15 former college wrestlers named to the NCAA 75th Anniversary Team in 2005, joining Tom Brands, Dan Gable, John Smith and Yojiro Uetake among the five honorees in the lightweight (115-141 pound) category. Before launching his collegiate and freestyle wrestling career, Abas won three California high school state championships at Canyon Springs High School in Moreno Valley. Abas can also claim a perfect 3-0 career as a professional mixed martial arts fighter in 2010-2011. Established in 1889, Fresno High School is a public high school located in Fresno, Calif. It has a total enrollment of approximately 2,300 students in grades 9-12.

Greg Kerkvliet works for a pin at Minnesota's state wrestling tournament (Photo/Mary Christen, The Guillotine) Greg Kerkvliet, the nation's No. 1 senior recruit by InterMat, says that he plans to redshirt during the 2019-20 season at Ohio State. He spoke about it after beating NCAA All-American Jordan Wood of Lehigh to win the U23 World Team Trials Tournament at 125 kilograms on Sunday in Akron, Ohio. "I'm going to redshirt, get bigger, stronger," Kerkvliet said in his post-match interview. Ohio State heavyweight Chase Singletary, an NCAA qualifier as a redshirt freshman this past season, claimed the U23 World Team Trials title at 97 kilograms. Five of the top eight heavyweights from the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are eligible to return next season. NCAA champion Anthony Cassar of Penn State was recently granted two more seasons of eligibility by the NCAA, according to a story on NJ.com. Steveson, who qualified for Final X at 125 kilograms, has stated that he plans to compete for the Gophers next season and not to take an Olympic redshirt. Kerkvliet has torn his ACL twice in the last year. He had surgery to repair the first tear last year. He is most recent tear occurred at the Dmitriev Memorial in Russia on March 9. He says he has no plans to get his ACL repaired.

AKRON, Ohio -- The first weekend of June saw many of the nation's finest young wrestling talents convene upon Akron, Ohio, for the UWW Cadet Freestyle Nationals. Wrestlers born in 2002, 2003, and 2004 sought to earn one of ten spots on a world team that will compete in Sofia, Bulgaria come late July into early August. Both returning (age-eligible) Cadet world freestyle medalists qualified for this year's team, though they were both extended to three matches in the best-of-three finals. Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) -- ranked No. 1 overall in the Class of 2021 -- lost 4-2 in the first match of the finals series against Jordan Williams (Collinsville, Okla.); Williams was able to score a takedown late in the first period to level the score at 2-2, and then late in the bout he scored on a counter takedown off a seemingly forced Figueroa attack. In the second match of the series, Figueroa dominated to the tune of a 10-0 technical superiority at the 2:32 mark; while the winner-take-all match was a 6-0 shutout victory for Figueroa. He will compete at the 51-kilogram weight class this summer, after earning world silver last year at 48 kilos. Alex FacundoLast year a Cadet world bronze medalist at 71 kilograms, it was far from an easy journey for No. 2 overall Class of 2021 wrestler Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) to earn a repeat world berth. Facundo needed a step-out with 25 seconds remaining in the bout to outlast Jaxon Smith (Woodland, Ga.) 2-1 in the quarterfinal round, while the match-winning takedown in a 4-3 semifinal victory over A.J. Kovacs (Poly Prep, N.Y.) came with 38 seconds remaining. Facundo lost the first of three bouts in the championship series to Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.), who is ranked No. 7 overall in the Class of 2021. Mastrogiovanni made a takedown and a turn inside the first minute of the bout last in a 4-2 victory over Facundo. The second match started well enough as well, as Mastrogiovanni scored the match's first point early on, before six points in the last minute of the bout gave him a 6-1 victory and forced a third bout. The winner-take-all bout was a decisive 5-0 win for Facundo, who had a 1-0 lead after one period before two takedowns in the second period propelled him to a second straight world team. Those two finals series were the only ones to go the distance. Also returning to the Cadet World Team in freestyle is Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), who will be make a third straight appearance -- all coming at essentially the same weight class (54 kilograms in 2017 and 55 kilos the last two years. Yet to medal at the world level, the 2020 Penn State verbal commit steamrolled his way to the championship series -- five shutout technical superiorities in five bouts. Howard swept the championship series with 6-0 and 5-2 wins over Jesse Ybarra (Sunnyside, Ariz.), who won a Cadet National freestyle title in Fargo last summer. Earning a second world team berth on the week was Kyle Haas (Maize, Kansas), who won a Greco-Roman title on Friday to go with the freestyle title, with both coming at 92 kilograms. Navigating a gauntlet of a weight class, he won a back-and-forth bout in the round of 16 with Cadet double All-American Sam Fisher (Fauquier, Va.) by fall in 3:15; the bout was tied 8-8 at the time. His next two victories came over returning Cadet National freestyle champions, 8-4 over Rocky Elam (Staley, Mo.) in the quarterfinal and a 10-0 technical superiority over Noah Pettigrew (Valdosta, Ga./Blair Academy, N.J.) in the semifinal round. In the other half-bracket, No. 5 overall Class of 2022 Seth Shumate (Dublin Coffman, Ohio) dominated his way to the final as well. It was a 10-0 technical superiority in 2:54 over returning Cadet double finalist Kolby Franklin (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.) in the quarterfinal before a pin in 1:10 over returning Cadet freestyle All-American John Poznanski (Colonia, N.J.), a match in which he led 8-0 at the time. No. 12 overall Class of 2021 wrestler Haas swept the championship series. Haas rallied from a 3-0 deficit with a pair of takedowns inside the last 35 seconds of the bout to win a 4-4 criteria decision in the opening match. Shumate would have a 5-4 lead over Haas in the second match with a minute left before a takedown followed by five turns would yield to Haas winning a 16-5 technical superiority at the 3:57 mark. The lower weight contingent will be led off by No. 1 overall rising freshman Mark-Anthony McGowan (Blair Academy, N.J.), who will be the representative at 45 kilograms. He swept the championship series over Mac Church, an incoming freshman from Waynesburg, Pa. McGowan won the first bout 6-0 before securing a fall at the 2:31 mark of the second bout to confirm the world team spot. The 48-kilogram representative will be Stevo Poulin (Shenendehowa, N.Y.), who is ranked No. 22 overall in the Class of 2021. He had four technical superiorities in four bouts to reach the championship series, where he would face off with Greco-Roman representative Cory Land (Moody, Ala.). That series was similarly non-competitive to Poulin's preliminary matches, as the world spot was confirmed for Poulin by a pin in 1:32 and a 10-0 technical superiority at the 1:14 mark. Continuing his revenge tour in 2019 is Jesse Mendez (Crown Point, Ind.), who is the No. 7 overall Class of 2022 wrestler nationally. In 2018, Mendez failed to place at this tournament, Cadet freestyle in Fargo, and the Super 32 Challenge -- though he was very close to podiums in each event. This year he was an undefeated state champion in high school, won a Cadet National folkstyle title, and was named Outstanding Wrestler of this tournament after winning the 60-kilogram weight class. A shutout technical fall and a dominating fall, each within a minute, placed Mendez into a round of 16 match against returning Cadet National freestyle runner-up Mick Burnett (Elyria, Ohio). Mendez would dominate from start-to-finish in a 13-5 victory. He then dominated his quarterfinal match against yet another returning Cadet National freestyle runner-up, this time scoring a 13-1 technical superiority in 3:23 over Caleb Rathjen (Ankeny, Iowa). The semifinal match was a barnburner against returning Cadet National freestyle champion Dominick Serrano (Windsor, Colo.). Mendez made a five-point throw during the first period last in a 7-7 criteria victory, as Serrano lost in this round for a second straight year. That would set up a finals series against Anthony Ferrari (Allen, Texas), who had very narrow wins in his round of 16, quarterfinal, and semifinal against very tough opposition. With 9-4 and 1-1 (criteria) victories, Mendez relegated Ferrari to a second straight runner-up finish in this tournament. Ryan Sokol (Simley, Minn.), who is ranked No. 20 overall in the Class of 2021 steamrolled his way to the spot at 65 kilos. The Iowa verbal commit reached the finals series with three shutout technical falls and a dominant pin, while needing to rally from a 6-4 deficit with 70 seconds remaining to beat two-time state champion Bryce Hepner (St. Edward, Ohio) in the round of 32. Sokol would sweep Derek Fields (Brunswick, Ohio), a returning Cadet freestyle All-American to earn the spot; an 11-5 decision in the first match before using a front headlock turned into a cradle to secure a pin in 1:34 despite trailing 6-0 before that sequence. Rounding out the Cadet world team are a pair of wrestlers from the Keystone State, Clayton Ulrey (Line Mountain) at 80 kilograms and Hunter Catka (Sun Valley) at 110 kilograms. Finals results 41-45 kg: Marc-Anthony McGowan over Mac Church, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: McGowan dec. Church, 6-0 Match 2: McGowan pinned Church, 2:31 48 kg: Stevo Poulin over Cory Land, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Poulin pinned Land, 1:32 Match 2: Poulin tech. fall Land, 10-0 1:14 51 kg: Richard Figueroa over Jordan Williams, 2 matches to 1 Match 1: Williams dec. Figueroa, 4-2 Match 2: Figueroa tech. fall Williams, 10-0 2:32 Match 3: Figueroa dec. Williams, 6-0 55 kg: Robert Howard over Jesse Ybarra, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Howard dec. Ybarra, 6-0 Match 2: Howard dec. Ybarra, 5-2 60 kg: Jesse Mendez over Anthony Ferrari, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Mendez dec. Ferrari, 9-4 Match 2: Mendez dec. Ferrari, 2-1 65 kg: Ryan Sokol over Derek Fields, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Sokol dec. Fields, 11-5 Match 2: Sokol pinned Fields, 1:34 71 kg: Alex Facundo over Travis Mastrogiovanni, 2 matches to 1 Match 1: Mastrogiovanni dec. Facundo, 4-2 Match 2: Facundo dec. Mastrogiovanni, 6-1 Match 3: Facundo dec. Mastrogiovanni, 5-0 80 kg: Clayton Ulrey over Rylan Rogers, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Ulrey dec. Rogers, 8-4 Match 2: Ulrey dec. Rylan Rogers, 9-4 92 kg: Kyle Haas over Seth Shumate, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Haas dec. Shumate, 4-4 Match 2: Haas dec. Shumate, 16-5 3:57 110 kg: Hunter Catka over Braxton Mikesell, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Catka dec. Mikesell, 7-1 Match 2: Catka dec. Mikesell, 8-0

Five of the ten spots for the U23 men's freestyle World Team were claimed Sunday afternoon in Akron. However, it is unknown which five spots they will be. Five of the trials tournament winners can still be challenged by U23 eligible wrestlers that are competing for a Senior World Team spot in Final X. The wrestlers eligible to challenge include Daton Fix, Yianni Diakomihalis, Ryan Deakin, Bo Nickal, and Gable Steveson. While the aforementioned wrestlers are penciled in for Final X at, 57 kilograms, 65 kilograms, 70 kilograms, 92 kilograms, and 125 kilograms respectively, they have the ability to challenge whichever U23 weight they are inclined to. The U23 World Team will compete at the U23 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, this October. Read complete story on TheMat.com ... Finals Results 57: Gabe Townsell over Danny Vega, 2 matches to 1 Match 1: Vega tech. fall Townsell, 10-0 Match 2: Townsell tech. fall Vega, 12-2 Match 3: Townsell tech. fall Vega, 10-0 61 kg: Chas Tucker over Micky Phillippi, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Tucker dec. Phillippi, 4-0 Match 2: Tucker tech. fall Phillippi, 10-0 65 kg: Jaydin Eierman over Luke Pletcher, 2 matches 1 Match 1: Eierman dec. Pletcher, 8-5 Match 2: Pletcher dec. Eierman, 12-11 Match 3: Eierman dec. Pletcher, 9-6 70 kg: Alec Pantaleo over Jimmy Hoffman, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Pantaleo dec Hoffman, 7-2 Match 2: Pantaleo tech. fall Hoffman, 11-0 74 kg: Brady Berge over Philip Conigliaro, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Berge tech. fall Conigliaro, 11-0 Match 2: Berge tech. fall Conigliaro, 16-4 79 kg: Muhamed McBryde over Anthony Mantanona, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: McBryde dec. Mantanona 6-6 Match 2: McBryde tech. fall Mantanona, 12-2 86 kg: Max Dean over Devin Skatzka, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Dean tech. fall Skatzka, 10-0 Match 2: Dean tech. fall Skatzka, 14-2 92 kg: Jake Woodley over Christian Brunner, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Woodley tech. fall Brunner, 10-0 Match 2: Woodley dec. Brunner, 7-4 97 kg: Chase Singletary over Michael Boykin, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Singletary dec. Boykin, 8-5 Match 2: Singletary dec. Boykin, 10-10 125 kg: Greg Kerkvliet over Jordan Wood, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Kerkvliet dec. Wood, 6-5 Match 2: Kerkvliet dec. Wood, 6-3

TJ Ruschell (center) spent this past season on the Clarion coaching staff (Photo/Clarion Athletics) University of Tennessee at Chattanooga head wrestling coach Kyle Ruschell announced the hiring of former Clarion University assistant coach TJ Ruschell, today. He replaces Hunter Gamble, who took a position outside of coaching after earning his MBA from the UTC Rollins College of Business this spring. TJ is the younger brother of the Mocs second-year head coach. He spent last season as a volunteer assistant at Clarion. There he helped lead the Golden Eagles to a third place conference finish in the regular season. TJ's primary focus was the middleweight classes, which proved beneficial for Clarion as 165-pound senior Evan DeLong qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career. "It's obviously pretty special for me to be hiring my younger brother to be a part of my staff," Ruschell said. "However, the main reason I'm looking forward to him joining UTC Wrestling is the perspective he brings to our sport. We're very different in our approach as coaches and together I believe our guys will get a well-rounded experience that will help elevate us to the level we're working towards." Prior to his time at Clarion, TJ served a brief stint as an assistant coach at Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.). The team finished fifth at the 2018 NAIA Championships with five Blue Raiders earning All-American honors. Ruschell worked closely with 149-pound national champion Cam Tessari, as well as other middleweight wrestlers during his time at Lindsey Wilson. "I am very excited to join the UTC coaching staff and look forward to helping Kyle continue working towards his vision for the Mocs future," said TJ. "I enjoyed watching their fight last season and can't wait to start working with these guys. There is a ton of untapped potential in the area that I am eager to discover. Chattanooga is a great city with amazing people, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it. Go Mocs!" Ruschell competed for the University of Wisconsin from 2012-2017. During his tenure as a Badger he compiled a 54-52 overall record at the 149 and 157-pound weight classes. Although his final season was shortened by a knee injury, TJ came back in December to reach as high as 15th in the FloWrestling rankings while posting a 16-11 overall record and a 5-3 dual meet record. This earned him an at-large bid to the 2017 NCAA Championships in St. Louis. TJ was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten Selection; as well as a National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Academic All-American in 2017. Ruschell graduated from Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics in 2016. He also earned a Master's degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from UW in 2018. A native of Crittenden, Kentucky, Ruschell attended Ryle High School where he compiled a 219-21 career record - the best in school history - and was a four-time state placer and four-time regional champion, winning a state championship his junior season. These impressive credentials earned him an induction into the Ryle High School Athletic Hall of Fame this April.

NEWBERRY -- Newberry wrestling head coach Cy Wainwright has announced the hiring of Daniel Ownbey as the new assistant coach. Daniel OwnbeyOwnbey make his way to Newberry after a one-year stint at Greensboro College where he helped coach four regional placers. Prior to Greensboro College, Ownbey had one-year stints with the N.C. Pride Club, UNC Pembroke, and Ferrum College. During his coaching experience, Ownbey had helped coach a combined eight regional placers and four national qualifiers. "We're excited to bring coach Ownbey to Newberry," said Wainwright. "He brings a lot of knowledge and knows what it takes to compete at the highest level and to become a champion." Ownbey, a 2015 graduate of UNC Pembroke, was a four-time All-American along with being a two-time national champion in the 141-pound weight class. He became UNC Pembroke's first-ever two-time champion, its third four-time All-American, and graduated as the program's third-winningest wrestler with a career mark of 133-18 (.881).

Thirty-seven former Ohio State athletes have filed a lawsuit against the university involving Dr. Richard Strauss, the school's team doctor from 1978 to 1998. According to the lawsuit, which was filed this week in U.S. District Court in Columbus, "OSU had actual notice of and was deliberately indifferent to the fact that Richard Strauss, M.D., an OSU employee, tenured faculty member, and the Associate Director of OSU's sports medicine program, sexually assaulted and abused hundreds of male OSU student-athletes and other male OSU undergraduates for over nineteen years. Moreover, OSU officials aided, abetted, and actively concealed Strauss' sexual predation on OSU's students." Nearly all the names inside the new lawsuit are listed as John Does. Former wrestler Michael DiSabato was the only named plaintiff, according to WBNS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Columbus. A majority of the participants in this latest lawsuit -- approximately two dozen -- were former Ohio State football players. The remaining former student-athletes were Buckeye wrestlers, swimmers, gymnasts and volleyball players. One wrestler -- identified as John Doe No. 6 -- was a member of the Buckeye wrestling squad from 1978-1981. The former Buckeye wrestler states in the lawsuit that he was sexually assaulted by Strauss more than 20 times. He was told by Strauss to drop his pants whenever he visited the doctor, no matter the injury, including when being treated for eye and finger injuries. Sexual assault under the guise of a legitimate medical exam was not the only issue relating to Strauss in his time at Ohio State. There have been reports of inappropriate behavior involving Strauss and others at Larkins Hall, the on-campus home to a number of sports programs, including wrestling, when Strauss was team doctor. John Doe No. 19, an Ohio State wrestler for just one season (1983-1984), is quoted in the lawsuit claiming he was "regularly propositioned in the showers of Larkins Hall by voyeurs and found notes in his locker room asking him to meet up for sex." When he complained to an assistant coach (not named in the lawsuit) about the constant sexual harassment in Larkins Hall, he was told to "grow up" and that he was "not in high school anymore." (The lawsuit states this wrestler gave up the sport after leaving Ohio State.) The lawsuit also reported on the ongoing efforts by former head wrestling coach Russ Hellickson who "repeatedly complained to OSU administrators about the environment in Larkins Hall because the conditions seriously impacted the psyche and morale of his wrestlers." In addition, the lawsuit alleges that Strauss watched wrestling practices, was the first one in the shower once practice ended and stayed in the shower area until the last wrestler finished. For these reasons, coach Hellickson reportedly requested "a separate team shower area." According to the lawsuit, "OSU denied the request." The lawsuit also claimed that Hellickson, "begged to have the wrestling team moved to another building. The lawsuit stated, "OSU denied his request." (Note: The Ohio State wrestling program was eventually relocated to the Steelwood Athletic Training Center a couple miles west of campus in 2002, and, just last week, moved into the brand-new Jennings Family Wrestling Facility at Covelli Center on campus. Larkins Hall was demolished in 2005.) http://intermatwrestle.com/articles/21939 Two weeks ago, a 232-page investigative report was released, stating that 177 individuals had come forward to say that they had been assaulted by Strauss in the two decades he was on staff at Ohio State. The entire 46-page lawsuit is available online. Note that it contains graphic descriptions of groping and other sexual abuse which some may find disturbing.

In May 2018, the University of Regina announced it was eliminating its men's and women's intercollegiate wrestling programs. This May, a wrestler for the now-defunct mat program discovered the team's trophies, plaques and awards in the garbage. The discovery was made by Dane (who asked to be identified only by his first name) behind the Kinesiology Building on the Regina campus. "I wasn't happy to see the team's legacy just discarded and thrown in a dumpster," the former wrestler at the Canadian school told CTVnews.ca. Dane said he was looking for wooden pallets in a dumpster behind the Kinesiology Building, when he found the awards, which included two MVP trophies, multiple plaques from the Cougar Invitational wrestling tournament and several Saskatchewan Amateur Wrestling Association (SAWA) medals. Another former University of Regina wrestler, Inga Hammer, said, "Overall it felt very disrespectful. The university wrestling program had a legacy of success while it was here and when it was canceled last year, it was extremely hard to take." Harold Riemer, the University of Regina's dean of the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies, said those medals, plaques and MVP trophies had been sitting in the office of former assistant coach Dan McGee for a full year after the wrestling program was cut, despite multiple requests for McGee to pick up the awards. The university needed to clear the space for construction work and a decision was made to throw out the awards, according to Riemer. "If you've been on this campus, space is extremely tight. We have, in this building, very, very little storage space and any storage space we have is effectively full right now," Riemer told Regina radio station CJME. "To keep personal belongings on the hope that someone, someday is going to come and grab those personal belongings I don't think is being a good steward of this space." Riemer added there was never any intent to be disrespectful to the students involved in the awards. Former Regina wrestler Dane wants to see the original plaques hanging in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame which has said it would accept the awards rescued from the dumpster. In the meantime, the University of Regina has said the honors are in the process of being sent to the school's archives.

David Taylor announced late last week that he had undergone season-ending knee surgery following his injury during the 2019 Beat the Streets event in New York City. Taylor's announcement left Pat Downey -- winner of the 2019 World Team Trials Challenge Tournament and Taylor's would-be opponent for Final X -- as the de facto 86-kilogram champion and USA representative at the World Championships in Nur-Sultan. While losing Taylor for the World Championships is a disappointment for fans of USA Wrestling, it must be noted that there are serious implications on how his absence will affect Team USA's qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games. As of now Downey can qualify the spot by placing in the top six at the World Championships. While he has a very distant shot at winning the world title, it's reasonable to assume that he could progress to the medal round, which would earn Team USA their ticket at 86 kilograms. However, should he fail to qualify a larger issue may play out over the next several months. Nations who have failed to qualify at the World Championships may attempt to earn their tickets to Tokyo 2020 at the continental qualifier, and if not there, then the Last Chance Qualifier. While it would stand to reason that Downey, not Taylor, would by rule be the wrestler for the continental qualification tournament in Ottawa March 13-15, that regulation hasn't been written. Also, given the severity of Taylor's injury it's unclear if he'd be prepared to compete by March. Still, if it's Downey then he'd be a favorite against most of the Pan Am representatives, save Cuba's Yurieski Torreblanca (who may qualify in Nur-Sultan). But what if he fails to qualify in Ottawa? Well, the Last Chance Qualifier starts April 30 and the USA Olympic team selection process is scheduled for the first week of April. That means whoever makes the team in the Olympic year would have the chance to get back into the starting spot. All of this is barring any changes (known or unknown) to the qualification system. Oh, and if you want to really run loose on what-if's … wrestlers who are qualified for Final X have up until 48 hours before the start of the event to declare injury and reschedule. No matter what they have or have not said in the news. To your questions … Q: Do you expect USA to qualify all 18 weight classes for the 2020 Olympics? -- Mike C. Foley: I don't. This is partly because no country was able to qualify all 18 wrestlers in 2016, and partly because there are just way too many things that can go wrong, especially in Greco-Roman. Russia qualified 17 weights in 2020, USA qualified 14, missing two in women's wrestling and one in Greco-Roman. That might indicate the same problem in 2020, but I think that the women's team will have an easier time qualifying at Worlds than the Greco team. Of course the one massive advantage for the Greco-Roman team is that there just isn't very good Greco-Roman at Pan Ams. Could be an easier ticket for them to punch once it gets to the continental level. Q: Is the nearfall point ever discussed in coming back in freestyle/Greco? Is there a reason they got rid of it? -- @Bloodround Foley: The major rule changes for the sport of wrestling came after the 2013 announcement that wrestling would be removed from the Olympic Games. I wasn't in the room for the actual meetings with the consultants, nor the final votes, but the paperwork kicked off from those meetings showed that there was too much confusion in the rules. I don't remember when the one-point hold was eliminated, but I think that the 2013 rule changes brought on a dominating philosophy that wrestling rules should both err on the side of simplicity and always favor the more aggressive athlete. Given that foundation I'd be very surprised to see any change to one-point techniques, especially in freestyle where the rules have been promoting a lot of action. Adam Coon gets a body lock on Tony Nelson in the U.S. Open finals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: Andy Hrovat tweeted that "(Adam) Coon has made no improvement in his wrestling since entering college." Sour grapes and/or some sort of falling out with the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club? Or is there some truth to his tweet? Based on the fact that he won a U.S. Open title, beat Kyle Snyder in college and made a world final in Greco, seems like he has made improvement. I don't think he could have accomplished any of those things in high school. -- Mike C. Foley: I mean that is an OUTRAGEOUS and patently false statement. Not only must he have improved based on his freshman results versus his senior results, but he also won a world silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. So where he lost before, now he wins. What other metric for "better" could we use? Coon can look clumsy on his feet sometimes, especially in freestyle, but that is more so in recent years as he's stepped into action more as a habit brought over from Greco-Roman. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Presented without comment: "The Man" by Reece Humphrey Q: Biggest pet peeves in wrestling? For me it's music during the finals of UWW events! It makes it so anticlimactic. -- @FRL_Questioner Foley: I've sat through roughly 63,490 minutes of finals matches at United World Wrestling events and had to assume you meant the Russian and Japanese national anthems since those are the most anticlimactic for me! Went back and listened to some matches. What music? The drums for the award ceremony are famous with several other international federations actually stealing the same soundtrack! During the match I did hear the sonic identity (kind of clubby music) in a few and then some softer background sound music in a few other matches. Post a link! Q: Any idea what weight class Frank Staebler will be going in 2020? Looks like he is getting smaller. -- @FrlInquisitor Foley: He's heading down to 67 kilograms for Kazakhstan. Q: I see Townsend Saunders is getting inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame this weekend as a Distinguished Member. His wife Tricia Saunders is a previous inductee. Any idea what family has the most members in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame? -- Mike C. Foley: There are a lot of brothers and father/son combos in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, but I could only find one surname with three related people: Rex Peery and his sons Ed Peery and Hugh Peery.

MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Concordia head coach Quincy Osborn announced that Greg Barner has been named the new full-time assistant coach in the program. Barner fills the position vacated by Osborn after he was hired as head coach. Barner comes to Concordia after serving as the top assistant at Simpson College for two seasons. "When I set out to hire a full-time assistant coach I made a qualities that were priorities for us and Greg really excels in all of those areas," Osborn commented. "He builds meaningful relationships, he's a hard worker, he loves the sport and he has proven an ability to successfully recruit." Before his time at Simpson, Barner was the head coach at Northeastern Junior College in Colorado. Barner was the head coach after the school reinstated wrestling after a 37-year break. He guided Northeastern to a Top25 finish in the country in 2016-17 and during that season Northeastern had one All-American and advanced three wrestlers to the national championship meet. Barner was an assistant coach at Briar Cliff in Iowa before his head coaching position at Northeastern. During his time at Briar Cliff he helped coach two All-Americans and eight national meet qualifiers. "I am excited about the opportune to coach and mentor student/athletes at Concordia," Barner said. "Concordia has a family environment which is built upon relationships. I coach for relationships. That's a huge reason for me being in this profession and wanting to be a part of Concordia Moorhead. I can't wait to start working with Coach Osborn. We speak a similar language, have identical standards and share a common vision for the program." Barner graduated from Central College in 2014 with a major in exercise science and went on to earn his master's degree in business administration from Briar Cliff in 2015. He lettered three times during his undergraduate days at Central. Barner started his college career at Iowa Central Community College where he was a part of two national championship teams and earned All-America honors. Barner will start his position with the Cobbers on June 1.

Ronnie Perry coaching at the NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- Ronnie Perry, a 2018 NCAA Division I national finalist, has been named the Lock Haven University head women's wresting coach. LHU announced last week its plans to add varsity women's wrestling. The team will compete next year during the 2019-20 academic year. Perry, a 2017 LHU graduate, spent this past season (2018-19) as the volunteer assistant coach with the Bald Eagles. Part of Perry's duties as head women's coach will be to still assist with the men's program. As a volunteer assistant with the men's team, Perry helped in all phases of running a top-20 Division I program. His experience and skill in the wrestling room proved invaluable and he also played an important role in fundraising efforts. Perry is both honored and excited, and he looks forward to being a part of this next chapter in LHU athletics. "I am honored to be selected as the new head women's wrestling coach here at Lock Haven University," Perry said. "Currently, women's wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports at the collegiate level and it's rapidly reshaping the world of wrestling. On the heels of winning our second straight Eastern Wrestling League title, second top-20 showing at nationals and having a long tradition of excellence in men's wrestling, it seems appropriate that Lock Haven is opening the door to a new tradition of excellence with the establishment of a women's wrestling program. This is a remarkable opportunity for me to serve a university that has already given me so much." Perry carved his name deep in the LHU history books with a Cinderella-run to the 2018 NCAA Division I finals. Competing at 149 pounds, Perry capped his remarkable Lock Haven career by becoming the first No. 15 seed in NCAA tournament history to reach the finals. Perry's run to the finals and All-American status helped the senior close a brilliant career on the mats and his chapter was an important one in the rise, and the Bald Eagles' return to national prominence. Perry's win in the 2018 EWL finals marked the 100th of his career as he became the 20th member of LHU's 100-win club. Perry closed his senior season in 2017-18 with a 32-4 record and he finished with a 104-32 career record. Following the 2017-18 season, Perry was named both the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and EWL Wrestler of the Year. LHU Director of Athletics Dr. Tom Gioglio is excited about the new program and feels confident in Perry's ability to build a championship caliber team. "I am very excited to have Ronnie Perry officially join our coaching staff," Gioglio said. "Ronnie brings a wealth of wrestling knowledge, successful experience and he has demonstrated that he has the ability to accomplish many different things at a high level. Ronnie's enthusiasm and passion for wrestling will also be a strong asset when recruiting. This is a tremendous opportunity for Ronnie and I know he's going to build a women's program that will reach the same success as our nationally recognized men's program." In May 2017, Perry earned his a degree in business administration and he just recently finished (May 2019) his master's in sport science at LHU. On May 22, Lock Haven officially announced its plans to add women's wrestling as a varsity sport. The addition of women's wrestling brings LHU's sport-sponsorship to 20 sports. Lock Haven currently sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletic programs including NCAA Division I field hockey and men's wrestling. All other sports compete at the NCAA DII level and within the PSAC. In August 2018, Lock Haven announced plans to add women's tennis and women's golf. Women's tennis will begin competition next year (2019-20) and women's golf will begin competition in 2020-21.

Brayton Lee wrestling Sammy Sasso in the UWW Junior freestyle competition in Las Vegas (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Indiana native and 2019 U.S. Junior World Team member Brayton Lee joins The MatBoss Podcast with Chad Dennis this week. Lee talks about his redshirt season at Minnesota and his expected weight class next season, but most of the show focuses on Lee earning the spot to represent Team USA in Estonia later this summer at the Junior World Championships. Lee gets into a tactical and technical discussion about his freestyle wrestling abilities and where that came from. 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

The Big Ten Conference houses some of the most storied wrestling programs in the history of the sport. When Maryland joined the conference in 2014, the Terps wrestling team was not on par with some other conference members, but the program appeared to be on an upswing. Some thought the conference change would help the team compete against the perennial powers. However, the bottom quickly fell out and the losses began to mount. To an outside observer, the situation appears to be a complete rebuild. However, the next program leader will have the opportunity to be guided by both history and opportunity. In 1954, Ernie Fischer became the first wrestling All-American in University of Maryland history. He made the NCAA finals at 167 pounds but came up short against Joe Solomon of Pittsburgh. Two years later the Baltimore native represented the U.S. at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. He went 1-2 with his losses coming against eventual silver medalist Ibrahim Zengin of Turkey and gold medalist Mitsuo Ikeda of Japan. Fischer, who was inducted into the Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989, passed away this past April. He was 88 years old. At the most recent Olympics in 2016, the U.S. finished with two gold medalists: Kyle Snyder and Helen Maroulis. Like Fisher, both Snyder and Maroulis are Maryland natives. However, neither wrestled collegiately for the Terps. While Maroulis' situation speaks to need for a rapid proliferation of NCAA wrestling opportunities for women, the fact that Snyder did not wrestle for the biggest college in his home state remains a sore spot for some local wrestling enthusiasts. A few months prior to winning his Olympic gold medal, Snyder defeated reigning champion Nick Gwiazdowski to become an NCAA champion at heavyweight for Ohio State. In the same tournament, Maryland had a single qualifier. Alex Clemsen coaching at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) On April 23, Maryland named former Missouri assistant Alex Clemsen as the seventh head coach in program history. He takes over a squad that he seen diminishing positive results over the last few seasons of leadership under former coach Kerry McCoy. Despite not being a traditional power in wrestling there is still expectation, history and, of course, opportunity. When Clemsen speaks about his new position, it is hard to not notice both his excitement and practical understanding of the weight of being the top figure at such a program. "Ask me at different times, and I will have different answers, but overall, I am really excited and grateful," he says with a slight chuckle. "I think the biggest word is that I just feel really blessed to be a leader of a Big Ten program and an academic institution of Maryland's caliber." Prior to his five-year stint at Missouri, Clemsen had previous assistant coaching stops at Virginia and Oregon State. Even though this will be his first chance to be a head coach, he feels like his experience has properly prepared him. "I am not sure what is going to change other than going to head coaches' meetings or being on big donor asks, but I may feel different about that in a year," he said. "I know that I have been preparing for this role for literally 14 years. It has been my professional goal, so I have asked for more responsibility from every boss I have had, and a lot of them trust me, empowered me and gave me some pretty good leash and rope. I feel like I have had my hands in just about everything." In addition to Snyder, several other top former Maryland high school wrestlers have managed to slip past the Terps in recent seasons. Myles Martin (Ohio State), Aaron Brooks (Penn State), Kraisser brothers (Campbell) and Kurt McHenry (Michigan) have all gone on to sign with other schools. While an assistant at Missouri, Clemsen made it a point to recruit the Tigers' home state, and he plans to continue that trend at Maryland. Alex Clemsen spent five seasons on Brian Smith's staff at Missouri (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) "I think I am part of the reason why Missouri has done [so well in state] the last five years or so," Clemsen said. "That emphasis has really changed. You know it was maybe not as much of a focus before me, and it was really my primary focus to keep the best kids in the state home, and by and large, we had a lot of success doing that. I think that recruiting success led to a lot more on-mat success. There are plenty of kids in this state who can wrestle at a high level. There are plenty of kids in this immediate region who can wrestle at a really high level, so my biggest goal is to recruit the state and the immediate region to the best of my ability. I think if we do that we will have plenty of success." A common refrain among many in the media was that McCoy was leaving the cabinet basically empty after he announced his departure. The Terps will lose two-time All-American heavyweight Youssif Hemida and former prized recruit Alfred "Baby J" Bannister to graduation, but Clemsen sees some promise in the overlooked roster. "I have had the chance to be with these guys and to run some practices and watch them work out," he said. "I don't want to say pleasantly surprised, but I definitely feel like we have some really great kids on the roster, and we have some good talent and good character that can molded, evolved and grown into some really competitive kids. I told the guys in the room on day one that they -- along with the class that is coming in the fall -- are the 25 to 30 most important wrestlers in the country to me. My job right now is to get these guys to buy in and to really grow and adapt so that we can set the foundation for Maryland wrestling. "It won't be the first or second recruiting class that is the change. It will be the guys that are here right now, because if I can't get them to change, I won't be able get the right recruits. I need these guys on board and all bought in, so I can go find the guys that I can pair with them and continue the trajectory of improving Maryland wrestling." Despite that optimism, it will be a tough road to build the Terps into a contender. When asked about expectations, Clemsen does not want to commit to a specific win total or NCAA placement, but he seems confident that he will have the team moving in the right direction. "I am not going to paint myself into a corner with that, but I think we will be a more competitive product," he said. "I think you will see kids who know the positions better, fight harder, are stronger and in better shape that can give themselves more opportunities to have more success. What that success will look like or how much exactly we will have, I don't have a crystal ball. I can't predict the future, but I think we are going to have more for sure." Alex Clemsen (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) There might not be another Ernie Fischer on the current roster. Clemsen might not be able to convince the next Kyle Snyder to stick around the "Old Line State." However, the new Maryland coach speaks about his plans for the Terps with an uncomplicated and genuine confidence. Being a Division I coach is just as much about technique and tactics as it is about representing and selling the program. Despite this being his first opportunity to be the head coach, he seems to understand that all too well. He did not hesitate to the take the opportunity to have the last word in the interview. "Don't try to make it for a couple of matches," he said bluntly. "Make it to most of them."

Oklahoma State head coach John Smith with Nick Piccininni at the NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Imagine a state that's considered a hotbed of amateur wrestling that has a hall of fame to honor its most famous citizens of great accomplishment ... and none of the inductees has a wrestling background. That's the case in the state of Oklahoma, home to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. This institution, established in 1927, has welcomed hundreds of individuals in nearly a century of its existence ... including 20 athletes and coaches. Not a single honoree has any connection to the oldest and greatest sport. The surprising news was first reported by Seth Duckworth in his "Pistols Firing" blog which weighs in on sports at Oklahoma State University. In his article -- "John Smith, Ed Gallagher and the Hall of Fame Snub No One Is Talking About" -- Duckworth noted that the Oklahoma Hall of Fame had no wrestlers listed in its recently-revealed Class of 2019 honorees. He did a bit of digging ... and discovered that in its 92-year history, the Hall has yet to welcome anyone with an amateur wrestling background, including legendary Oklahoma State wrestling coaches John Smith and Ed Gallagher mentioned in the headline. The 20 individuals with sports backgrounds who reside in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame are names well-known beyond the Sooner State, including early 20th century multisport superstar Jim Thorpe, Major League Baseball Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle and Johnny Bench, and Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Bart Conner, among others. The Class of 2019 includes former pro football players turned politicians Steve Largent and J.C. Watts, among other honorees. Here's how the Hall -- located in Oklahoma City -- describes its mission: "Founded in 1927, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame was created to honor Oklahomans who had given outstanding service to the state during their lifetime and to provide educational programming for students of all ages. Being inducted to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame is Oklahoma's Highest Honor ..." (And, to be absolutely clear ... the Oklahoma Hall of Fame is not affiliated with the University of Oklahoma, nor Oklahoma State, nor any other public institution of higher learning within the state.) Here's what Duckworth had to say about the wrestling-less Oklahoma Hall of Fame: "With all the history of the sport in this state there is not one wrestler in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. That includes the greatest American to ever lace them up in John Smith and the father of modern wrestling Edward Gallagher. My initial dive into this topic started simply with wondering why John Smith wasn't a member? He's the GOAT, he's won more World Titles than any American ever. He's also an elite coach. But after digging further you see that there's not a single wrestler at all that's a member of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. "Ed Gallagher is not a member, no Yojiro Uetake, no Kenny Monday. Even OU (University of Oklahoma) legends Danny Hodge, who the wrestling award equivalent of the Heisman trophy is named after, and Olympic gold medalist Dave Schultz, are not included." According to its official website, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame welcomes nominations from the general public. In the meantime, before the Oklahoma Hall of Fame sees fit to welcome a wrestler or wrestling coach, wrestling fans have two other halls of fame within the state that have honored individuals connected to the sport: the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City ... and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater. The Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame website describes the facility as "a nonprofit organization whose mission is to encourage excellence through sports, academics, health and fitness; preserving our sports heritage while building pride in Oklahoma in the spirit of Jim Thorpe." Established in 1986, the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame has at least a dozen honorees who were involved in the sport as wrestlers, coaches, or, in the case of one member, Bob Dellinger, as a sportswriter who covered the sport for The Daily Oklahoman newspaper and whose name graces the award presented each year since 1960 by Amateur Wrestling News to the nation's top wrestling writer. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame has honored athletes and others who contributed to the ongoing success of the sport since 1976. Despite its location in Oklahoma, the National Wrestling Hall membership is not limited to those who were born and/or competed in the Sooner State. What's more, as Jack Carnefix of the Stillwater Hall pointed out on social media when sharing the link to Seth Duckworth's story about the lack of wrestlers in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, all of the individuals named in his story -- John Smith, Ed Gallagher, Yojiro Uetake, Kenny Monday, Dan Hodge, and Dave Schultz -- have already been inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Chase Pami with his coach Brandon Slay (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) Chase Pami, a multiple-time placewinner in freestyle at the U.S. Open and World Team Trials, announced his retirement from the sport of wrestling on his social media accounts on Wednesday. Pami had been training at Pennsylvania RTC since 2015. He was consistently among the nation's top six wrestlers in his weight class throughout his freestyle career. Pami won gold medals at Grand Prix of Paris and NYAC International, as well as medals at the Dave Schultz Memorial International and Sunkist Kids International Open. He was a member of the 2012 and 2013 USA World Cup teams. As a collegiate competitor, Pami was a two-time All-American for Cal Poly, finishing as an NCAA runner-up at 157 pounds in 2010. The Las Vegas native thanked many people who have been instrumental in his wrestling career. Today I would officially like to announce my retirement from competition. It has been an amazing 23 year ride that has taken me around the world. When I first stepped on the mat in Las Vegas, NV 23 years ago I could have never imagined the journey I would go on. Last month at the US Open it only seemed fitting to end it in the same city I began in. Thank you to all those who have supported me and been a part of my career. Thank you to my youth coaches Pete Durazo and Randy Aleman. Thank you to my high school coaches Mike Garcia and Tim Jeffries. Thank you Gray Maynard! Thank you Matt Azevedo and John Azevedo for recruiting me to Cal Poly. Finally Thank you Brandon Slay you coached me for 7 years. Not only on the mat but off the mat. You have helped me grow in my wrestling and my faith. I love you and appreciate you! Thank you Pennsylvaniartc for your support these last few years. Thank you Sunkist Kids! Kim Martori Wickey you talked me through some tough times and supported my goals. Art and Sue Martori you made it possible for me to travel to countries I never would have went to otherwise. Thank you to USA wrestling and all the people involved for making it possible for athletes like myself to do this. Thank you flowrestling, you guys have been great to me and elevated the sport of wrestling. Dad you were there for so many of my tournaments quietly watching and snacking. I love you Dad. Mom what can I say. This journey never happened without you taking me to some random wrestling tournament. You have always been there and loved me, win or lose. I Love You Mom. Thank you God for giving me this gift to wrestle. You deserve all the Glory! It was you who gave me the grace to wrestle all these years! As I write this my heart hurts because a part of me is still on that mat. But now it's my turn to help others achieve their dreams and help USA be the greatest wrestling country in the world.

Richard Figueroa claimed a silver medal at last year's World Championships (Photo/Martin Gabor, United World Wrestling) Each year the UWW Cadet National Championships serve as a testing ground for the wrestlers that will star during the upcoming season(s) of scholastic wrestling. This weekend's event -- Greco-Roman on Friday with freestyle to follow on Saturday and Sunday -- is no exception to that pattern. Based on the current grade level rankings, the No. 1 overall junior high and sophomore wrestler will be in the field. Also brackets currently feature five of the top nine Junior High wrestlers, eight of the top ten freshmen, and five of the top eight sophomores; the lack of top juniors is due to those wrestlers not being age eligible. Eligibility for this event is for wrestlers that turn 15, 16, or 17 during the 2019 calendar year; these competitors either were Cadets for USA Wrestling events last year, and/or are Cadet (now actually U16)-eligible this year. The tournament serves as a qualifying trials for the Cadet World Championships, which will be held July 29-Aug. 4 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The championship final is a best-of-three series, as it is a direct qualifier, though it should be noted that all matches at this tournament are two two-minute periods in length. Four wrestlers that competed on last year's Cadet World Team are slated to compete this weekend in Akron: Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) in the 51 kilograms weight class, Chance Lamer (Crescent Valley, Ore.) and Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) at 55 klos, and Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) at 71 kilograms. Figueroa was a Cadet world silver medalist last year at 48 kilograms, Howard seeks a third consecutive Cadet World Team in this weight class, while Facundo earned Cadet world bronze in this same weight clast year. A fifth wrestler, Carson Manville (Shakopee, Minn.) is age eligible, but not registered as of yet. Also not yet registered is Ryan Crookham (Notre Dame, Pa.), the nation's top overall freshman. The following is a weight-by-weight overview of the freestyle tournament, based on entries available in the FloArena system as of Tuesday p.m. ET. 45 kilograms (99 pounds): Three of the nation's top Junior High wrestlers, all of whom will be freshmen in the fall, headline the weight class. No. 2 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Blair Academy, N.J.) won a high school state title this year in Florida, and within the previous twelve months was also a Super 32 middle school division champion and a Schoolboy (now U14) national champion in freestyle and Greco-Roman; No. 8 Kannon Webster (Washington, Ill.) and No. 9 Brandon Cannon (Colorado) both have multiple major event titles on the resume. Other impact incoming freshmen include Beau Mantanona (Palm Desert, Calif.), U16 folkstyle runner-up Caden Horwath (Davison, Mich.), Dylan Gilcher (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), and Mac Church (Pennsylvania). The joint favorite in this weight, along with McGowan, is probably Mason Gehloff (Waseca, Minn.); Gehloff was a Cadet Triple Crown winner last year, and won a high school state title this season. Others to watch include Cadet freestyle All-Americans Ben Aranda (DeKalb, Ill.), Christopher Martino (Bishop Kelley, Idaho), Jore Volk (Lakeville North, Minn.), Marlon Yarbrough (Copley, Ohio), and Tristan Stafford (Bentonville, Ark.); as well as Daniel Sheen (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 48 kilograms (105.8 pounds): The clear leader of the pack in this weight class is Stevo Poulin (Shenendehowa, N.Y.), who was third last year in both Cadet FS and UWW Cadet FS. Since then the No. 22 overall Class of 2021 wrestler has won a Super 32 title and earned a second high school title. Other prime contenders in this weight class include Junior folkstyle champion Blake West (Owatonna, Minn.), 2017 Junior folkstyle champion Eli Griffin (Cascia Hall, Okla.), NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion Cory Land (Moody, Ala.), and state champion Peyton Fenton (Elyria, Ohio). Additional wrestlers meriting mention include Carter McCallister (Missouri), ranked No. 14 among Junior High wrestlers after a U16 folkstyle title; Greyson Clark (Kaukauna, Wis.), an impact rising freshman; returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans Kaden Ramos (Thunder Ridge, Idaho), Reid Nelson (Forest Lake, Minn.), and Sean Seefeldt (St. Edward, Ohio); 2017 Cadet freestyle All-American Richard Treanor (William Hough, N.C.); and Super 32 placer Kelly Dunnigan (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) 51 kilograms (112.4 pounds): Though returning Cadet world silver medalist Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) suffered an upset loss during the course of the FloNationals in April, the nation's top overall sophomore is still my pick to represent the United States in Bulgaria come two months from now. Four additional competitors join Figueroa as being grade-level ranked in the field: Cadet National freestyle runner-up Drake Ayala (Fort Dodge, Iowa) is No. 34 in the Class of 2021, Cadet National freestyle champion Jordan Williams (Collinsville, Okla.) is No. 9 in the Class of 2022, Joey Cruz (Clovis North, Calif.) is No. 17 in the Class of 2022, while Levi Haines (Biglerville, Pa.) is No. 20 in the Class of 2022. Additional primary contenders include Kyle Rowan (Perry, Ohio), who was runner-up to Figueroa last year at this tournament; and Sheldon Seymour (Athens, Pa.), third in this event after losing to Rowan in the semifinal round and a two-time Cadet freestyle third place finisher. Others to consider include 2017 Cadet freestyle champion Jett Strickenberger (Discovery Canyon, Colo.); Abraham Hinrichsen (Washington, Ill.) and Max Black (Douglas County, Colo.), both of whom were Cadet freestyle All-Americans last summer; NHSCA Junior National champion Nick Babin (Emerson-Park Ridge, N.J.); state champion Evan Holloway (New Kent, Va.) and Gabe Whisenhunt (Crescent Valley, Ore.); along with incoming freshman Meyer Shapiro (McDonogh, Md.) 55 kilograms (121.25 pounds): Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), ranked No. 17 overall in the Class of 2020, has represented the United States each of the last two years in this weight class. Without a world medal either year, Howard is looking to earn that elusive distinction this go around, though the domestic field is absurdly deep. That depth starts with fellow returning Cadet world participant Chance Lamer (Crescent Valley, Ore.). Ranked No. 50 overall in the Class of 2021, Lamer moves up three weight classes from last year for this weekend's event in Akron. There is an additional returning Cadet world participant Jakason Burks (Omaha Burke, Neb.), as the No. 37 overall Class of 2020 represented the United States at 51 kilograms in Greco-Roman. Four additional members of the field are ranked in their respective grade levels: Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) is ranked No. 2 in the Class of 2022, Cadet National freestyle champion Nicolar Rivera (Stoughton, Wis.) is No. 14 in the Class of 2022, Zeke Seltzer (Indianapolis Cathedral, Ind.) is No. 24 in the Class of 2022, while Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.) is No. 30 in the Class of 2021 and has earned All-America honors twice in freestyle at both the Cadet Nationals and UWW Cadet Nationals. Additional contenders include returning Cadet National freestyle champion Jesse Ybarra (Sunnyside, Ariz.); Casey Swiderski (Dundee, Mich.) and Tommy Curran (DeKalb, Ill.), each of whom were semifinalists in this tournament last year; two-time U16 folkstyle champion Hunter Garvin (Iowa City West, Iowa); Anthony Noto (Honeoye Falls/Lima, N.Y.) and Colton Drousias (Chicago Mt. Carmel, Ill.), returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans who won state titles in high school this year; NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion Nick Fea (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.); National Prep champon Daniel Wask (Blair Academy, N.J.); state champion Korbin Shepherd (Blue Springs, Mo.); as well as impact Junior High wrestlers in Rocco Welsh (Pennsylvania) and Vincent Robinson (Illinois). 60 kilograms (132.25 pounds): Deep does not begin to describe this weight class with twelve grade level ranked wrestlers. However, amidst all this talent, the clear favorite is Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.); the No. 3 overall Class of 2021 wrestler has won titles at the Super 32 Challenge, Walsh Ironman, and Beast of the East in the last seven-plus months. Five other top 20 sophomores join van Ness in the field: No. 11 Joel Vandervere (Warren Township, Ill.); No. 15 Ryan Franco (Clovis North, Calif.), a two-time Cadet National freestyle runner-up; No. 16 Wyatt Henson (Christian Brothers College, Mo.), a returning All-American in this weight class; No. 18 Caleb Rathjen (Ankeny, Iowa), a returning Cadet National freestyle runner-up); and No. 20 Ryan Sokol (Simley, Minn.), a 2017 Cadet National freestyle champion. Five elite Class of 2022 talents also appear in the field, including four of the top seven overall. No. 3 Daniel Cardenas (Pomona, Colo.) was runner-up to Burks last year in Fargo, No. 4 Caleb Henson (Woodland, Ga.) joined Cardenas in making the semifinal round of the Super 32 this past fall, No. 6 Anthony Ferrari (Allen, Texas) was runner-up last year in this tournament at 51 kilograms, while No. 7 Jesse Mendez (Crown Point, Ind.) won the U16 folkstyle title earlier this spring. Returning Cadet freestyle All-American Jake Niffenegger (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) is ranked No. 23 overall among rising sophomores. The most direct threat to van Ness might come from Dominick Serrano (Windsor, Colo.), who is ranked No. 27 overall in the Class of 2020 and a returning Cadet National freestyle champion who placed sixth at 55 kilograms in this event last year. Three other very notable Class of 2020 talents in the field are Cadet National freestyle champion Josh Edmond (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), Cadet National freestyle runner-up Mick Burnett (Elyria, Ohio), and NHSCA Junior National runner-up Keegan Slyter (Olathe North, Kansas). Additional wrestlers to watch include Carter Young (Stllwater, Okla.), a semifinalist in this tournament last year at 51 kilograms; returning Cadet freestyle All-American Drew Roberts (University, Wash.); state champions Hayden Taylor (Solon, Iowa) and Matt Bianchi (Two Rivers, Wis.); U16 folkstyle champion Mitch Mesenbrink (Arrowhed, Wis.); and NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion Ramon Ramos (Valiant Prep, Ariz.) 65 kilograms (143.3 pounds): Compared to the weight class immediately below it with all sorts of high end talent, and the one above it with returning world medalist Facundo among others, this field feels soft in comparison. The favorite here just might be Robert Paul Perez (St. John Bosco, Calif.), a two-time U16 folkstyle champion, and the nation's top overall Junior High wrestler; he was fifth last year in Cadet freestyle at 145 pounds. Four other grade level ranked wrestlers are in the field: Joshua Barr (Michigan), the No. 5 overall Junior high wrestler and a fellow U16 folkstyle champion; Luke Geog (St. Edward, Ohio), ranked No. 21 in the Class of 2022; Vincent Zerban (Christian Brothers College, Mo.), ranked No. 25 in the Class of 2021 and a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American; along with Teague Travis (Father Tolton Catholic, Mo.), a semifinalist last year in this event at 55 kilograms, who is No. 48 in the Class of 2021. Additional wrestlers to watch include a trio of returning Cadet double All-Americans in Chase Warden (Dripping Springs, Texas), Cody Chittum (Blair Academy, N.J.), and Luke Odom (Edwardsville, lll.); two-time state champions Bryce Hepner (St. Edward, Ohio) and D.J. Hamiti (Joliet Catholic, Ill.); Matthew Singleton (Woodward Academy, Ga.), Outstanding Wrestler of the NHSCA Freshman Nationals; state champions Gavin Brown (Legacy Christian Academy, Ohio), John Wiley (Mustang, Okla.), and Nicholas Vafiadis (New Kent, Va.); as well as Antonio Segura (Regis, Colo.), Derek Fields (Brunswick, Ohio), and Joseph Zargo (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) who each were Cadet freestyle All-Americans last summer. 71 kilograms (156.5 pounds): Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) earned a bronze medal at the Cadet World championships last year in this weight. Though he has been challenged on a few occasions this spring in folkstyle and freestyle, the No. 2 overall Class of 2021 is still the favorite to represent the United States in Bulgaria at this weight class. The two most direct threats to Facundo would be fellow top ten rising juniors in No. 7 Travis Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) and No. 8 Cael Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.); Mastrogiovanni was a Cadet freestyle champion last summer, while Valencia was runner-up to Facundo in Junior folkstyle this spring. The next tier of contenders would include A.J. Kovacs (Iona Prep, N.Y.), a state champion and NHSCA Junior runner-up during the past folkstyle season; Cadet National freestyle runners-up John Martin Best (Parkersburg, W.Va.) and Manuel Rojas (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.); Cadet freestyle All-Americans Jackson Dean (Caesar Rodney, Del.) and Jaxon Smith (Woodland, Ga.); along with Joseph Martin (Buchanan, Calif.), who is ranked No. 10 overall in the Class of 2022. Additional wrestlers to watch include state champion Brant Whitaker (Boonville, Mo.) and Elise Brown Ton (Allen, Texas); along with state runners-up Dylan Fishback (Aurora, Ohio) and Jared Simma (St. Thomas Aquinas, Kansas). 80 kilograms (176.4 pounds): Two returning Cadet National freestyle champions from Fargo last summer anchor the field, both are Class of 2021 wrestlers, No. 14 Tate Picklo (Mustang, Okla.) and No. 26 Quayin Short (Simley, Mnn.); Short was also a Junior folkstyle runner-up this spring, while Picklo earned a maiden high school state title during the scholastic season. Another pair of grade ranked wrestlers reside in the field, both are two-time state champions: No. 19 Bennett Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) from the Class of 2022 and No. 33 Greyden Penner (Liberty, Mo.) from the Class of 2020. Seven other Cadet freestyle All-Americans from last summer feature in the field: Super 32 placer Clayton Ulrey (Lower Dauphin, Pa.), NHSCA Junior Nationals champion Colton Hawks (Holt, Mo.), Connor O'Neill (DePaul Catholic, N.J.), Duwayne Villalpando (Maize, Kansas), Jake Null (Dogleville, N.Y.), Josh LaBarbera (Metea Valley, Ill.), and NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion Rylan Rogers (Blair Academy, N.J.). Also in the field are state placers Adrien Cramer (Grayslake Central, Ill.) and Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio), along with state runner-up Ben Vanadia (Brecksville, Ohio). 92 kilograms (202.8 pounds): Though on not as high a level as last year with A.J. Ferrari, Konnor Doucet, Jacob Cardenas, Braxton Amos, and Peter Christensen as anchor figures in the weight class … the field in the second biggest weight class does feature quality depth with eight grade ranked wrestlers. A trio of rising seniors are the lead contenders: No. 28 Rocky Elam (Staley, Mo.), No. 30 John Poznanski (Colonia, N.J.), and No. 48 Silas Allred (Shehandoah, Ind.). Elam was a Cadet freestyle champion last summer, third at the Super 32 Challenge in the fall, beat Hawks for a state title, and was a Junior folkstyle champion in the spring; Cadet freestyle All-American Poznanski placed at the Super 32 Challenge and was runner-up at the state tournament; while Allred placed third in the Super 32 one weight above Elam and was a state champion. There are a pair of ranked wrestlers from the Class of 2021: No. 12 Kyle Haas (Maize, Kansas) can make the case to be the favorite in this weight class, as he has multiple positive results over Elam within the last twelve months and was a Junior folkstyle champion one weight above Elam; while No. 44 Brandon Hoselton (Prairie Central, Ill.) was a Cadet double All-American last summer in Fargo. Three dynamic talents from the Class of 2022 seek to make statements against wrestlers older than them and break out in ways they may not have yet. No. 5 Seth Shumate (Dublin Coffman, Ohio) clearly passed the "eye test" at the Ohio state high school tournament when he earned a major decision in the state championship match; No. 15 Noah Pettigrew (Valdosta, Ga./Blair Academy, N.J.) was a Cadet National freestyle champion this summer; while No. 22 Kolby Franklin (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.) was a Cadet double finalist, winning the Greco-Roman title and losing to Pettigrew in freestyle. Other contenders include state champions Elijah Burns (Commerce, Ga.), Emmanuel Skillings (Broken Arrow, Okla.), and Owen Warren (Yanktown, S.D.); 2017 Cadet freestyle All-American Gavin Carter (Topeka-Washburn Rural, Kansas); Cadet freestyle runner-up Nathan Haas (St. John Bosco, Calif.), a state champion during the scholastic season; NHSCA Junior Nationals Ethan Hatcher (Brecksville, Ohio), who was both a UWW Cadet and Cadet National freestyle All-American last year; and Sam Fisher (Fauquier, Va.), a Super 32 placer and Cadet freestyle All-American. 110 kilograms (242.5 pounds): Leading the way in this heaviest weight class is 2018 state champion Hunter Catka (Sun Valley, Pa.), whose junior season was marred by injury but did end up with a third-place podium finish. Catka was runner-up to Kerkvliet last year in this event, but in Fargo had to default out during the preliminary rounds of freestyle after earning double All-America honors in the summer of 2017. Other contenders include state champions Braxton Mikesell (Central Valley, Wash.) and Danny Striggow (Orono, Minn.); Mikesell was a Cadet Greco-Roman champion last summer, while Striggow was a NHSCA Junior Nationals champion in the spring.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Maryland wrestling coach Alex Clemsen has announced the additions of assistant coaches Nick Brascetta and Devin Mellon to the coaching staff. “I'm excited to add Nick and Devin to our staff,” Clemsen said. “Both coaches bring an immense amount of knowledge and recent wrestling experience that will be valuable in taking our program to the next level on and off the mat. Nick and Devin firmly believe in the culture we are implementing, and I look forward to their arrival in College Park.” Brascetta spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he helped lead UTC to the 2019 regular season Southern Conference title. He also guided Tanner Smith to 2019 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors and Bryce Carr to 2018 Southern Conference Wrestler of the Year honors. “I couldn't be more excited to join Coach Clemsen and the wrestling program at an outstanding academic institution in the most reputable wrestling conference in the NCAA,” Brascetta said. “I look forward to aiding in the development of a new vision for the program and am committed to creating a culture that encourages our student-athletes to be successful both on and off the mat.” He joined UTC in 2016-17 as the Coordinator of Student-Athlete Development. In three seasons he coached 10 NCAA qualifiers and six Southern Conference individual champions. Brascetta is a 2016 graduate of Virginia Tech where he was a three-time All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier for the Hokies. He finished third at the 2016 NCAA Championships at 157 pounds. He was also a three-time ACC Champion during his career at Virginia Tech. A native of Graham, Ohio, Brascetta was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2012 after winning the league title at 149 pounds. He repeated his ACC crown and placed eighth at the NCAAs in 2013, before redshirting in 2014. He won another ACC title at 157 in 2015 and went on to finish fourth at the NCAAs. He earned his degree in Accounting at Virginia Tech and received his MBA from UTC in 2019. Mellon joins the Terrapins after coaching tenures at both Missouri and Oregon State. He wrestled for Clemsen as a senior at Missouri. “I'm excited to be coaching at one of the premier public schools in the greatest wrestling conference in the country,” Mellon said. “I had a great meeting with Mark Sherburne and Alex Clemsen and believe we have all the building blocks to build something great at Maryland. I'm excited to get the program rolling.” While serving as a volunteer assistant coach at Oregon State, Mellon helped coach heavyweight Amarveer Dhesi to All-America status and Pac-12 Wrestler of the Year Honors, while helping the program earn its fifth consecutive conference championship. Mellon wrestled for Mizzou from 2010-15 where he qualified for the NCAA Championships three times (2012, 2014 and 2015) and captured the 2015 MAC Championship at heavyweight. In four years, Mellon compiled a 99-39 record, scoring 17 major decisions and nine falls. In his senior campaign (2014-15), the Lawson, Mo., native posted a 33-11 record and won the MAC Championship after going 3-0 at the tournament. A fixture in the starting lineup for three seasons, Mellon posted 20 or more wins in three of four seasons. Mellon is a native of Lawson, Mo., and graduated from Lawson High School in 2010, where he was a three-time state champion.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- NC State wrestling coach Pat Popolizio has announced the promotion of Adam Hall to associate head coach. Hall joined the Wolfpack in the summer of 2015 as an assistant coach, and since that time NC State has finished in the top-20 at the NCAA Championships in all four seasons Hall has been on staff. "Adam's commitment to this program has elevated him to this position," said Popolizio. "He has shown tireless work ethic, along with being a great role model for all of our student-athletes. He has been instrumental in the success our program has achieved both on and off the mat in the recent years. With people like him, that is how we have been able to move forward as a program." During Hall's time on staff with Wolfpack wrestling, NC State has won both a pair of ACC Championships (2019 and 2016) and a pair of ACC Regular season titles (2019 and 2018). The Pack also won both team trophies in 2018-19 for the first time since 2004, and back-to-back regular season titles for the first time since 2001-02. NC State has also posted four straight seasons finishing in the top-10 in the NWCA Coaches' Poll. The Wolfpack has been ranked in the top-10 in 57 straight polls over the last four seasons. NC State has won 67 of its 75 duals (89.3 percent) the last four seasons. That winning percentage sits fourth-best in the NCAA, and the 67 dual victories leads the nation (the next closest is at 60). On the recruiting trial, NC State's 2016 12-person signing class was ranked the nation's best by both FloWrestling.com and InterMatWrestling.com. In that class, the Pack signed two of the top-six ranked wrestlers in the 2016 recruiting class, and five in the top-66 overall. NC State's 2018 class was ranked No. 3 nationally and featured five wrestlers ranked in the top-100 nationally by InterMat, including four in the top-55, and two in the top-25. The class was also No. 6 by both FloWrestling and TheOpenMat. NC State made it back-to-back top-20 recruiting classes in 2019, as NC State's haul was ranked No. 16 by InterMat and No. 17 by FloWrestling. Four of the nine-member class were ranked in the top-100 nationally.

LITTLE ROCK -- Little Rock head wrestling coach Neil Erisman today announced the addition of Javier Maldonado as the first assistant coach in Trojan program history. "Javier is going to be a great addition to our program," Erisman said. "His knowledge, experience and overall character align with who we are and the direction we are going. He has a unique experience in building a program from scratch as well, so those insights will be invaluable as we build ours. I am thrilled to have Javier and his family here at Little Rock." Maldonado comes to Little Rock after spending the past four seasons as the head coach at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. Maldonado faced a similar challenge as Erisman, building a program from scratch, and led the Fire to a 41-31 dual meet record in his four years. During his tenure at Southeastern, Maldonado mentored 18 national qualifiers with six wrestlers earning NAIA All-America honors. His teams posted a winning record in three of his four seasons, winning 12 dual meets in both 2015-16 and 2018-19, his first and last seasons, respectively. Additionally, Maldonado's programs have succeeded in the classroom as well as the Fire led the Mid-South Conference in scholar-athlete honorees. Under his leadership, Southeastern finished 12th in the 2019 National Wrestling Coaches' Association Scholar All-American rankings with a combined 3.145 GPA for his starting lineup. Prior to his time at Southeastern, Maldonado spent five seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater of Osceola High School in Kissimmee, Florida. During his time with the Kowboys, Maldonado coached seven individual state champions, 22 state place winner and nine All-Americans. As a team, Osceola finished in the top five in the state 3A rankings four times. He also previously served as an assistant coach at Las Cruces High School in New Mexico and as a graduate assistant at NCAA Division I University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Maldonado was a three-time NCAA qualifier at 125 during his collegiate career at Chattanooga, capturing the Southern Conference individual title in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Maldonado posted a 79-31 record during his career with the Mocs, but his successes were not just limited to the mat as he was also a three-time NCWA Academic All-American and All-Southern Conference Academic Team member. The Kissimmee, Florida native was a two-time Florida state champion at Osceola, going 44-1 as a senior. Maldonado was named a Senior Nationals Freestyle All-American and was an Academic Hall of Fame member, notching a pair of district titles. Maldonado joins Erisman as the duo continue the task of building Little Rock's inaugural wrestling roster to begin competition in the fall of 2019. The Trojans have secured a conference affiliation, announcing its invitation to join the Pac-12 last week, and are working to complete Little Rock's inaugural schedule, which will be released later this summer.

Seth Gross (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Seth Gross has a new home. The 2018 NCAA Division I 133-pound national champion announced that he will be finishing his college career at Wisconsin after previously competing for South Dakota State. He was recently accepted into Wisconsin's School of Business. Chris Bono, Gross' former coach at South Dakota State, was hired to lead the Badgers in March of 2018. Gross explained his decision to the website H1Story. This was a big decision to make. Surprisingly the toughest choice I had to make, was not which school I wanted to attend, but rather if I wanted to go back to college and compete, or get a head start on my international career. I know at some point my days of competing will come to an end, so I made the decision after entering the transfer portal that if I went to grad school it would be a top school for one of my passions outside of wrestling, which is business. I wasn't going to do an easy grad program for a year just to wrestle and end up not completing it. So, the past two months have been spent studying for my GMAT entrance exam to make sure I earned a competitive score that would admit me into a top business program. With that being said as of May 24th, 2019, I have been accepted into the Wisconsin School of Business and will be working towards a masters degree in Supply Chain Management. He developed spondylolisthesis and underwent surgery in January. Gross won his NCAA title at 133 pounds in 2018 by defeating Michigan's Stevan Micic 13-8 in the NCAA finals. He was an NCAA runner-up to Iowa's Cory Clark in 2017.