InterMat Staff

Jimmy Kennedy competing at the 2016 Olympic Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) EVANSTON, Ill. -- Jimmy Kennedy has been added to the coaching staff of the Northwestern wrestling team as a volunteer assistant coach, Head Coach Matt Storniolo announced. "I am thrilled to welcome Jimmy to our coaching staff," said Storniolo. "He was a phenomenal competitor, both in college and on the senior level, and I have no doubt that he will achieve the same success as a coach. Jimmy will make an immediate impact in the development of our student-athletes. We could not be more excited to welcome him to our Wildcat Wrestling family." A three-time All-American, Kennedy began his successful wrestling career nearby at Grant Community High School in Fox Lake, Illinois. At the University of Illinois, he qualified all four years for the NCAA Championships. Kennedy finished in the top-five in the nation in 2008, 2009, and 2011 and recorded 119 wins against only 24 losses in his career. Kennedy comes to the 'Cats after wrestling for the New York Athletic Club, where he most recently placed second at the World Team Trials in 2017. He was a U.S. World Team member in 2014 and, in 2016, was a U.S. Open Champion. "I couldn't be more excited to join the staff here at Northwestern," said Kennedy. "It is my goal to help these young men meet and exceed their current goals and expectations. I look forward to the opportunity to build relationships with each and every one of them and to hopefully be the type of coach that inspires them to be great at everything they do, not just wrestling." Coming off an 11-win season, Northwestern is set to start their 2018-19 campaign on Nov. 4 at North Dakota State. The season will include a return to the new Welsh-Ryan Arena, which is undergoing $110 million in renovations.

Barlow McGhee EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- SIUE wrestling Head Coach Jeremy Spates has added a former Mid-American Conference champion to his coaching staff. Barlow McGhee, a 2016 MAC champion for Missouri at 125 pounds, joins the SIUE coaching staff as an assistant beginning with the 2018-19 season. "Barlow is originally from the state of Illinois and wrestled right down the road at Missouri," said Spates. "We are always looking to keep local talent in the area so it was an easy hire. He has competed and won at every level and has been around big-time programs. He is going to be a great coach and more importantly is a great person. He is going to fit right into our system and be a strong addition to the staff." McGhee boasted a collegiate record of 74-46 at Missouri, winning 10 times by a major decision and twice by fall. He closed out the 2017-18 season with his third straight appearance at the NCAA Championships. "I'm extremely blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of this program," said McGhee. "I hope to bring a lot of what I've learned over the years and help the young men in this program succeed not only on the mat but also in life." The 2016-17 season featured 19 victories for McGhee. He placed fifth at the MAC Championships. He also was a champion at the Edinboro Open. His top season for victories was the 2015-16 season with 24. That included a 5-1 mark in MAC duals. His run to the NCAA Championships that season featured a 125-pound MAC title by defeating No. 5 Northern Iowa's Dylan Peters in the championship match. A prep standout in Rock Island, Illinois, McGhee was a state champion at Rock Island High School his senior season (120 pounds) in 2013 after taking second his junior year (113 pounds) and third his sophomore year (103 pounds). He also is a three-time place winner at the Fargo USA Wrestling Cadet Junior National Championships, placing sixth (2010), fourth (2011) and eighth (2012). McGhee earned a bachelor's degree in 2018 from Missouri in psychology.

Bryce Abbey A four-time NCAA Division II All-American wrestler will be competing on comedian Kevin Hart's "TKO: Total Knock Out" TV series tonight (Aug. 17). Bryce Abbey, who wrestled at University of Nebraska-Kearney from 2002-05, will be vying for a potential prize purse of $150,000. Abbey, dubbed the "Wrestling Champ" on "TKO" according to Nebraska.TV, must get through an obstacle course faster than four others, all while they try to take each other down on the CBS prime-time series. If Abbey scores the fastest time on his episode, he can win a $50,000 cash prize. If his time stacks up as one of the five fastest for the season, he competes in a "Battle Royale" for a chance at an additional $100,000. Here's how the CBS website describes the summer series: "TKO: Total Knock Out' features people from all walks of life, where one player races through daunting obstacles while four other contestants are manning battle stations along the course, firing over-the-top projectiles in an attempt to knock them off and slow them down." Abbey's mat background may serve him well in the physical challenges that are integral to "TKO." The Goodland, Kansas native -- who wrestled at 125 pounds for the Lopers -- is one of six UNK wrestlers to earn NCAA All-American honors four times, placing no lower than fifth at four national championships. What's more, Abbey ranks second on the school's all-time wins list with 134 victories, just behind two-time U.S. Olympian Tervel Dlagnev. Abbey was a member of four teams that placed in the top 10 at the Division II national championships, including a runner-up finish in 2003, and helped the Lopers win the national duals that year. For all his on-the-mat accomplishments, Abbey was inducted into the UNK Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. Abbey is still connected to the school where he earned All-American honors as a Lopers wrestler. He currently serves as UNK's Employee Health and Wellness Director and is an assistant professor in the Kinesiology and Sport Science department. He and his family reside in Kearney.

In a move that surprised many in the wrestling community, Iowa State head wrestling coach Kevin Dresser fired associate head coach Mike Zadick. Interviews with Dresser indicated that the two men had differing views on where to take the program. Zadick's response seemed to confirm that the two men fell out of their working, and possibly personal, relationship. "There were occasions that others made decisions that I believed were contrary to the best interests of ISU. I expressed my beliefs as was required of me in my position as the associate head coach. As I now understand, the expression of my beliefs is the genesis of the alleged conflict that led to my premature dismissal. "I elected not to resign from ISU because my actions did not warrant dismissal. Additionally, had I accepted ISU's offer to resign, I would be sending a message to the athletes that I coached contrary to the character traits that I endeavored to instill in them." Zadick appears to think that Coach Dresser was acting outside what Zadick thought was the best interest of the Iowa State wrestling program -- something that hasn't been elaborated on in the days that followed the announcement. What is interesting is Zadick's emphasis on character, which is a buzzword for the NCAA and its member institutions when considering investigations. There are plenty of universities that have come under larger investigations due to indications of even minor infractions -- Oklahoma State in the 1990's being only the most recent and consequential large-scale investigation -- wrestling need not see another. Let's hope that nothing larger is sparked, and that what might be a simple disagreement in leadership style and direction of the program simply ended in this public affair. While the firing exposes Iowa State and Coach Dresser to unwanted attention, it seems the partnership suffered from garden variety insubordination, which is (and always will be) a sufficient justification for a firing. Best of luck to Coach Zadick and Coach Dresser. The sport is better with these men in our sport and in good standing. To your questions … Aaron Pico was a runner-up at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com Q: In February, Valentin Kalika posted a photo on Instagram with Aaron Pico. He included the hashtag #2020. Obviously, Pico is focused on MMA, but do you think he will make an Olympic run in 2020? -- Mike C. Foley: I don't think that Valentin and Pico are especially close at the moment. Pico is training in California, working his way towards a Bellator belt and Valentin is in New York at the New York Regional Training Center working with Helen Maroulis and other top-level talent. Anything may have motivated the post, but I don't think that we will see Pico step away from the cage for a shot at the 2020 Olympics. If he does, I think that he'd have a chance to win some matches in qualification, but I'm less certain he would have the same tactical advantage as someone who is training and competing year-round. Specifically, I think that Logan Stieber and Zain Retherford would be tough matchups for Pico if he hadn't been training and competing in freestyle for at least nine months prior. But hey, anything can happen and Pico's return to the sport would be certain to bring increased media attention to the trials and the Olympic Games. Q: Virginia high school cancels varsity football season. How do you think it affects wrestling? Hard to then sell "wrestling helps football players." Do we sell as a sport for kids who still like contact sports? -- @Zach_Goldrosen Foley: I think that the overall loss will be small. Wrestling has recruitment opportunities with much more promise such as an expanding Beat the Streets program, women's wrestling and a growing online presence. Football, however, is screwed. This is just the first of many changes fans will see as mothers and fathers in higher socioeconomic areas ether refuse to allow their children to play (or become litigious) after a coach is unable to protect their child from a concussion. With considerable financial risks I'm guessing that the actuaries pricing out policies won't be able to get an affordable insurance cost to some districts and that those districts will simply drop the sport. Football will survive, but it will become a highly regionalized game played in Deep South, Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Others may also choose to keep it for a while longer, but in my lifetime the sport will cease to exist in most public schools and will be let in only a handful of colleges. I have no idea what will become of the NFL, but they too may buckle under the weight of future lawsuits based in the consequences of head trauma. Q: Any guesses on who Kyle Ruschell might add to his coaching staff at UTC? Heath Eslinger did a solid job. The Mocs were always a SoCon power, but struggled to break through to become a national power. Do you think the program can reach even higher levels with Ruschell? -- Mike C. Foley: The Southern Conference and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is not immune to success, but there are several geographical factors working against a meteoric rise like we saw in the ACC and specifically at NC State after the hiring of Pat Popolizio. The major difference between a mega program like Virginia Tech and the likes of Chattanooga is funding and how a lack of cash can affect a range of services available to the athletes. Top-tier programs require significant budgets for their listed coaching staffs (minimum of $400K for four coaches) and significant opportunity for their club coaches to make money from a local pool of athletes. If you live in an area without a natural draw of athletes, then that secondary income for club coaches or RTC athletes is diminished. Chattanooga has a decent pool of local athletes, but as of yet isn't a successful RTC. Competition budgets, recruiting dollars and expenses related to upkeep of your facility are also additional costs that top programs either don't eat directly, or are not a significant portion of discretionary spending. I don't know the numbers for Chattanooga, but one has to think that even with a tradition of alumni giving the program is not running on a blank check. Maybe the toughest sell right now for Chattanooga or other SoCon school is location. The Deep South just isn't synonymous with wrestling like Pennsylvania or Iowa, and that means it's easy for athletes, coaches, parents and fans to forget about their success or programmatic viability. When you're not getting the customers to look at your product on their own, it's always a tougher sell even when they are engaged in the process. All this doesn't exclude the SoCon, Chattanooga or Coach Ruschell from future success. It just means that his staff hires won't be the most important of his decisions. I think that a big-name assistant could indicate increased financial investment by the UTC, but it's already August and luring top name alumni donors and the coaching staff may take another 6-12 months. Overall, I think Chattanooga is in a stable and healthy position. Athletes go to NCAAs they win dual meets and they compete well on the road. Kudos to Coach Eslinger for a job well done and best of luck in his new career! MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME On the podcast bro culture: "This is the podcast bro ethos: Ditch your ideologically charged identity. Accept your evolutionary programming. Take responsibility for mastering it, and find a cosmic purpose. "I'm not saying it's only personal responsibility that matters, but you have to start there," Mr. Marcus told me. But wait -- how does cutting down carbs and tossing kettlebells set me up to serve the universe? Here is where the podcast bros get metaphysical." Marcelo Garcia took down Otto Olsen. The submission, a rear naked choke you see in the video, is also very cool, but not as cool as the arm drag takedown. More below on jiu-jitsu and wrestler's weird relationship to the sport. Q: As someone who (like yourself) has found and fallen in love with jiu-jitsu/submission grappling, why don't you find more Division I wrestlers entering the sport after their wrestling careers are over? There are only a handful of guys that I ever meet and/or see in this huge pool of BJJ competitors. It seems like it would be a logical transition and most gyms will offer high-level wrestlers the ability to train for free given some knowledge exchange occurs. It's great because my skillset is deemed so valuable due to the rarity, but there are plenty of high-level Division I wrestlers out there that I think would fall in love with the sport and be competitive immediately. Thoughts? -- Brandon G. Foley: I've spent a lot of column inches on my love of jiu-jitsu and agree that it's very odd that more wrestlers don't involve themselves in the sport. Though there is a subculture to jiu-jitsu that can be a little odd (same with wrestling!), I think that the quality and sustainability of the workout -- and the mental challenge of the chess match within the competition -- is absolutely without comparison for active adults. I think that we see fewer wrestlers transitioning to jiu-jitsu after graduation because our athletes are dogged by negative associations with wrestling. Too many of us love the struggle, but not the sport. There are notable examples of those who love wrestling thoroughly, but there is a larger subsection of wrestlers who learned to hate a lot about the sport: grueling practices, extreme dieting, academic sacrifice, etc. I think that the jiu-jitsu non-competitors tend to be nervous about losing out on a normal life they already lost in college. Most have been on the mats since they were 5 years old and despite the advantages you mentioned training in jiu-jitsu sounds like some special version of hell. I agree about the transferrable skill set and absolute joy found through the sport. I was 30 when I started rolling jiu-jitsu and it took me a lot of time to embrace it as an activity that could bring me happiness. Now I roll five days a week and focus my lifting and cardio on ways to help my body to be better in practice. I don't compete often, but someday soon I'll throw myself into a Master's division for some fun rolls and a test of my skill level. Still, for now, I'm happy to help my teammates with their wrestling and give them a look they don't get to see very often. Good luck in all your training and I hope that our positive experiences bring more of our friends and teammates back to the mats! Q: What did you think about the $14 million in expenses for USA Wrestling and their $15 million budget? -- Aaron V. Foley: First, I would say congrats. Anything over $3 million is considered a serious budget for any national federation in wrestling, let alone five times that amount. That USA Wrestling meets its budget is certainly something that any family or individual balancing a checkbook can appreciate. Diving a little deeper into the numbers for USA Wrestling I think there are few key points. The first is that the budget increase has to do with the United World Wrestling calendar and which World Championships fall into which budget year. For example, the 2019 budget will include both the 2018 and 2019 Junior Worlds, since the former are in September and the latter in August. That, plus the bump to 10 weights and other scheduling abnormalities means a higher budget. The good news is that USA Wrestling runs at a profit of around five percent of the total operating budget. That money is meant to be spent, but like anyone else you need some short-term savings for unexpected costs. One example of a new cost was Safe Sport which provides monitoring and clearance services for a variety of USA Wrestling coaches, staff members and media. Overall, the financial health of USA Wrestling looks to be the best its ever been. With Bruce Baumgartner re-elected to lead the organization and a slew of gold medals on the mat the future is bright for the red, white and blue. Q: Andy Hrovat announced his retirement from the sport yesterday. What kind of impact do you think he has had on the sport? -- Josh C. Foley: All retirements deserve a congratulations and Andy has been exceptional in his service to the sport of wrestling. From collegiate athlete to Olympian, and collegiate assistant to international coach, he's done plenty for the sport and made those around him better. Wishing Silent H and his family all the best in their next career, and no matter if he's no longer working in the sport he will always be one of us.

Bill Smith, Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler, two-time NCAA champ for University of Northern Iowa, respected coach and National Wrestling Hall of Fame honoree, will be welcomed posthumously into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame, the organization announced this week. Smith passed away in late March at age 89. The MVC Hall of Fame honor is just the latest for Smith, who was welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1978. Prior to that, Smith was inducted into the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame on 1972, and the Iowa High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1977. Bill Smith (Photo/NWHOF)By any measure, Smith's career as a wrestler and coach was truly hall of fame-worthy. Born in Portland, Oregon in September 1928, William Thomas Smith launched his wrestling career at Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs, Iowa where he placed twice at the Iowa state wrestling championships, once as runner-up and another year in third place. He was recruited by Bill McCuskey, head wrestling coach at UNI (then called Iowa State Teachers College). While at the Cedar Falls, Iowa school, Smith won back-to-back NCAA Division I championships at 165 pounds in 1949 and 1950, compiling a near-perfect 52-0-1 collegiate career record. Smith made a name for himself in freestyle as well, as a three-time National AAU Freestyle champion at 165 pounds from 1949-51. The following year, Smith won the gold medal in freestyle at 160.5 pounds at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Four years later, Smith won the U.S. Olympic trials at 174 pounds -- pinning Oklahoma Sooner superstar Dan Hodge in the finals -- but later was declared ineligible for the Games because he already had worked as a coach, breaking the rules defining "amateur athletics" of that era. Smith's coaching career was also incredibly varied. He served as a high school coach in Illinois, Michigan and California ... at the college level in Nebraska and California ... and as a long-time coach and athletic director at the Olympic Club of San Francisco. In addition to Bill Smith, other athletes to welcomed into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame include Kristi Cirone (Illinois State), Dolph Pulliam (Drake), Kent Williams (Southern Illinois), John McNichols (Indiana State) and Joe Stowell (Bradley). The MVC Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be Friday, March 8, 2019 at Stifel Theatre in St. Louis. Tickets are available through the MVC office at (314) 444-4300.

Garett Kiley (Photo/Bennett Scarborough) GREELEY, Colo. -- Head Coach, Troy Nickerson announced the hiring of Garett Kiley as an assistant coach for Northern Colorado wrestling and the promotion of Michael Moreno to the primary assistant coach. Kiley joins the UNC staff after serving as an assistant coach at Campbell University for the past two seasons. In the 2017, Kiley helped to guide Campbell to its first ever Southern Conference Championship and All-American at the NCAA Championships. During Kiley's seasons, Campbell had seven wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships. Prior to his stint at Campbell, Kiley was the director of operations for Iowa State University where he worked with Nickerson and Moreno on staff. Kiley was the director of operations for both the university and the Cyclone Wrestling Club. Kiley has been moving up the ranks in college wrestling with assistant head coaching jobs at Concordia University in Nebraska and Wayland Baptist University in Texas. At Wayland Baptist, Kiley served as an assistant coach for both the men's and women's wrestling program. He graduated from Simpson College in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education and in 2013 he earned his Master of Arts in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University-Irvine. Moreno is starting his second season at UNC and has already made an impact in the program's growth. In the 2017-18 season, UNC had its best finish in the NCAA Championships since returning to Division 1, tying for 38th. The Bears also had their best finish at the Southern scuffle, tying for 12th. The team had success in the classroom as well, ranking 15th in cumulative GPA by the National Wrestling Coaches Association. UNC also defeated Moreno's alma mater Iowa State for the programs first win against a traditional Big 12 Conference school. To stay up to date with Northern Colorado wrestling visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter with @UNCBearsWrestle.com.

USA Wrestling held its annual Board of Directors meeting at the Colorado Springs Marriott in Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday, August 11. The meeting was conducted by President Bruce Baumgartner of Edinboro, Pa. Elections were held for USA Wrestling officers, at-large positions on the Board of Directors, as well as openings on the Executive Committee and the Governance Committee. Bruce BaumgartnerBaumgartner was re-elected by acclamation as President. Baumgartner was a two-time Olympic champion and three-time World Champion as an athlete, a Div. I college wrestling coach and athletic director, and a long-time Board member for USA Wrestling. This is Baumgartner's second straight two-year term as president, and he previously served two terms as president from 1998-2002. Elected as First Vice President was Mark Reiland of Iowa City, Iowa. Elected Second Vice President was Greg Strobel of Bethlehem, Pa. Elected as Secretary was Kerry McCoy of University Park, Md. Elected as Treasurer was Van Stokes of Clarksville, Tenn. McCoy will be serving as an officer of USA Wrestling for the first time, while all of the other officers elected have previously held at least one term as an officer of the organization. Each of the officers will serve a two-year term. Elected to the Board of Directors as at-large members were Jordan Burroughs of Lincoln, Neb., Joan Fulp of El Granada, Calif., Don Reynolds of Frankfort, Ill., Mike Juby of Hutchinson, Kan., Eric Guerrero of Norman, Okla. and Bill Swink of Spotsylvania, Pa. All are first-time Board members except Juby. One position on USA Wrestling's Executive Committee was up for election, with Mike Juby of Hutchinson, Kan. winning that election. Three individuals were elected to open positions on the USA Wrestling Governance Committee: Duane Morgan of Hollister, Calif., Jim Considine of Carol Stream, Ill. and Bill Grant of Inverness, Fla. At the conclusion of the election, Baumgartner thanked four leaders who completed their service on the Board of Directors at the conclusion of the meeting: Duane Morgan of Hollister, Calif., Dave Black of River Falls, Wis., Jim Considine of Carol Stream, Ill. and Chris Kallai of Wadsworth, Ohio. In the President's Welcome to kick off the Board meeting, Baumgartner thanked those within USA Wrestling for their leadership during a successful year. "We have had an unbelievably good year, in the year between our Board meetings. The support of our volunteers and our staff is really what makes USA Wrestling great, as we provide our young wrestlers, both men and women, the opportunity to grow, not just as athletes but as people. It is the grass roots of our organization which provides the foundation to all levels of USA Wrestling, and allows athletes like Jordan Burroughs and Helen Maroulis to do what they do for our country. I thank you all for your hard work and dedication. I am very proud to be associated with this organization," said Baumgartner. In his Executive Director report, Rich Bender thanked Baumgartner for his leadership, and the credibility that his service brings to the organization. He also thanked the Board of Directors for their impact on USA Wrestling and the sport. "It is a pleasure to work every day in an organization that has few agendas. We might disagree on some things at times, but at the end of the day, everyone involved in our organization and our grassroots leadership wants one thing - for kids to experience the greatest sport on earth. It is inspiring for me to be a part of that, and to serve as your Executive Director. I also thank the staff at USA Wrestling and the effort they put forth each day for kids and for wrestling," said Bender. Bender commented upon the year which has concluded, and the vision for the future. "Our competitive success was historic. Our 32 medals across all age-groups and all styles is an all-time high. We have run the business with financial accountability, and, from a business perspective, we are on very solid footing. We continue to set the pace within the Olympic movement for our member services and how we provide resources and benefits for kids, coaches and adult members. As we look forward to the next year and the next Olympic quadrennium, we will continue to work hard to push the sport forward. We will discuss SafeSport here, and how vital that is for our long-term sustainability and success. Women's wrestling continues to be in the forefront of our opportunities to grow the sport. Greco-Roman wrestling is a priority for us to establish a platform and program for which the United States can achieve the same competitive success as in freestyle. I continue to challenge everyone in this room, and on our staff, to innovate and find new ways to move wrestling forward," said Bender. During his report, Bender led the Board in a moment of silence for a number of wrestling leaders who passed away in the last year, including past Board of Directors members Mike Duroe and Chuck Elvin, USA Wrestling state leaders John Carlson and Bob Siar, Olympic champion Bill Smith, plus Hall of Fame inductees Dr. Stanley Henson, Bill Nelson, Frank Bertucci, Tony Gizzoni, Bill Weick and John Harmon, among others. In his Treasurer's report, Duane Morgan reviewed the fiscal year which is now concluding, and thanked staff and the Finance Committee for their outstanding work. "USA Wrestling has had another banner year. We have had back-to-back successful years financially. Staff has done a fantastic job. They stick to budget. They control expenses at all levels. That has paid off with dividends on our bottom line. Staff has used all the internal controls and stay tight to their procedures which leads to accountability. They have worked tirelessly to find different sources of revenue. We have good oversight on our financials and investments," said Morgan. On behalf of the Finance Committee, Morgan presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2019 budget, which was approved by the Board of Directors unanimously, and included $14,682,219 in revenue and $15,276,666 in expenses. Secretary Van Stokes, who chairs USA Wrestling's Long-Range Planning Committee, presented a draft USA Wrestling 2018-2024 Strategic Plan. Stokes provided information on a meeting in Colorado Springs from June 10-11, where members of the Long-Range Planning Committee, the USA Wrestling Executive Committee, USA Wrestling staff directors and four facilitators from the U.S. Olympic Committee met to discuss strategic planning and create the new document. Stokes thanked USOC staff members Avery Wilson, Denise Parker, Michelle Hurtado and Davis Tutt for their leadership and input during the process. Stokes asked the Board of Directors for feedback on the draft document, which will be revised as needed and sent to the Long-Range Planning Committee for action this fall. He expects a final document to be prepared for review and approval by the Executive Committee during the upcoming fiscal year. "We are in a process, and this is not just a document," said Stokes. "We are all responsible for this Strategic Plan." USA Wrestling staff overseeing National Teams, Sponsorship, Fundraising, State Services, Communications and Events provided updated reports on their department's activities and their vision for future programs. Director of Safe Sport Dan Prochnow introduced USA Wrestling's new Safe Sport Handbook, and explained all of the important content in the document which includes policies and procedures for the organization to follow to keep its athletes and members safe. The Board of Directors voted to adopt the handbook, which will be made available to all levels of the organization and to the public. Chairperson Louis Rosbottom presented the 2018 Junior Olympic Wrestling Committee Board Report, which was developed during its meeting at the USA Wrestling State Leaders Conference, which was held alongside the Board of Directors meeting at the Marriott. Five recommendations which were approved by the Board of Directors, which included: • Cadet Regionals and Nationals will have all matches consisting of two 2-minute periods • Junior Regionals and Nationals will have all matches consisting of two 3-minute periods • Specifications for singlets used at Regional and National competitions were approved, including a requirement that male competitors wear a high-cut singlet and female competitors wear a girls-cut singlet. • Schoolboy/girl National Duals will move one week later in June to avoid conflicts with regional events • Reimbursements for officials at the 2019 Cadet/Junior Nationals will be made directly to officials The biggest change regarding the 2018-19 USA Wrestling membership year is that there will no longer be coach memberships nor will there be official memberships. Instead, there will be a Wrestling Leader membership, which will allow for an individual to coach and officiate with the membership. Reports to the Board of Directors were made by various constituent organizations and committees within USA Wrestling. In the National Wrestling Hall of Fame report, Lee Roy Smith announced that two legends from the United States would be inducted into the UWW International Wrestling Hall of Fame during ceremonies in Budapest, Hungary in October: Olympic and World champion freestyle wrestler Kenny Monday and long-time medical professional Dr. Bernie Feldman.

WESTMINSTER, Md. -- Mason Goretsas has been named McDaniel College's head wrestling coach, announced by Director of Athletics Paul Moyer on Wednesday. Mason Goretsas"As we made our way through this search process, we quickly determined that elevating Mason was a strong option," Moyer said. "The knowledge he has of the program and wrestling in Carroll County is unmatched. From growing up around Green Terror wrestling to his time as a student-athlete and coach at McDaniel, we know that Mason will continue the proud tradition of our program." Goretsas, a 2015 graduate of the College, is elevated to head coach after spending the last four seasons as an assistant on staff. "I am very excited for this opportunity to continue my journey with McDaniel College and this program," Goretsas said. A local product, Goretsas was a two-time Maryland state champion for North Carroll High School before starting his collegiate career at the University of Maryland. Goretsas returned home in the fall of 2011. He wrestled for the Green Terror for three seasons, posting a 67-27 record at McDaniel. He was a two-time placefinisher at the Centennial Conference championship. He finished fourth at 141 in 2012 before also earning a fourth-place showing at 149 in 2014. Goretsas graduated with his bachelor of science degree in exercise science in 2015 and completed his masters in kinesiology this past spring. Goretsas assumes the duties of head coach immediately.

Luke Smith served on the EMU staff for seven seasons (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) When one door closes, another one opens. That's the case with Luke Smith. When Eastern Michigan announced it was eliminating its wrestling program immediately at the end of the 2017-18 season, the long-time Eagle assistant coach found a new opportunity open up at California State University, Bakersfield as an assistant coach. And now the former Eagle is now a Roadrunner. When Smith got the bad news about EMU wrestling's fate, he contacted Manny Rivera, Cal State Bakersfield head coach. "I didn't know what his next step was or what, but when he reached out to me, right away I was like, 'Hey, are you serious?'" Rivera told the Bakersfield Californian . "... I knew bringing him in would be huge for our program." "I've had a long relationship with Manny," Smith said. "We've been friends since our (collegiate) competition days when our schools were battling. … Just always stayed in touch and kind of picked each other's brains. We had similar philosophies so I knew it would be a good fit and a good opportunity." Smith partially fills the places of former assistants Sean Boyle and Jeff Silveira. Boyle was hired by the University at Buffalo. Luke Smith brings an impressive wrestling/coaching resume to CSUB. At Chippewa Falls High in Wisconsin, Smith was a two-time state champion, finishing his career with a 117-2 record. In addition, Smith finished fourth at the Greco-Roman Olympic Trials in 2004 and also captured fourth place at the Senior Freestyle World Team Trials in 2006. Smith then headed east to Central Michigan University, where he was a four-time NCAA Division I championships qualifier at 125 pounds. He was the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year for the 2004-05 season. After graduating from CMU in 2008, Smith served as a volunteer assistant coach at his college alma mater for one season before heading to Old Dominion University in Virginia as a volunteer coach for two seasons. In 2011, Smith was named as an assistant coach of the Eastern Michigan mat program, where he served for seven seasons before the program got the axe in March 2018.

Damion Hahn (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) In the second episode of The Mat Boss Podcast, Chad Dennis talks with South Dakota State head wrestling coach Damion Hahn. They discuss what attracted Hahn to SDSU, what he looks for in recruits, how top recruits deal with pressure, as well as how he views youth results, wrestlers being held back, showing emotion on the mat and more. 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 | Stitcher | Spreaker | Google Play Music | RSS

Deral Brown NEWBERRY -- Newberry College head wrestling coach Cy Wainwright announced the hiring of Deral Brown as an assistant coach. Brown, a former wrestler at Newberry, joins the staff from State University of New York College at Cortland where he was an assistant coach for the past two seasons. In two seasons at SUNY Cortland, he coached nine NCAA qualifiers, three NCAA All-Americans, and one NCAA National Champion. He also assisted in leading the Dragons to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Division II Championships in 2017. Prior to SUNY Cortland, Brown was the head wrestling coach at Fort Dorchester High School during the 2014-15 season. At Fort Dorchester, he was named South Carolina's 4A Wrestling Coach of the Year after leading the team to a first-place finish at the South Carolina state championship. Brown was a four-year starter during his career at Newberry. Brown was a two-time NCAA qualifier and NCAA All-American after a fourth-place finish in the 149-pound bracket at the NCAA Division II Championships in 2013. Brown holds the school record for major decisions and is currently tied with Bryant Blanton for the most wins in program history with 143 overall. Brown, a native from Elgin, S.C., wrestled for Lugoff-Elgin High School in South Carolina where he was a three-time state champion.

Brady Berge defeated David Carr on his way to making the Junior World Team (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) One of the toughest tasks for a head coach is rebuilding the lineup after the departure of seniors and other changes. Very few teams return an intact starting ten from a previous season, and the 2018 trophy teams are not an exception. Penn State, Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan and NC State will all have a few questions to answer in terms of their lineup. The following looks at those questions and some possible answers. Penn State Biggest question mark: Brady Berge at 149 It is never easy to step into the lineup and replace a three-time NCAA champion, but that is the task ahead of Brady Berge. After signing with Penn State as a top-ten recruit, Berge sat out last season and redshirted. However, during his redshirt campaign, he competed in only one tournament. At the Princeton Open, he won four matches, but dropped a bout against Mike D'Angelo (Princeton). This past summer, Berge put his best foot forward and earned a spot on the U.S. Junior World Team. In the finals, he avenged a previous freestyle loss against Austin O'Connor (North Carolina). There are few questions about Berge's skill and experience on the mat. However, weight might end up being a concern. His summer freestyle success came at 70 kilograms (154.32 pounds), and he competed as high as 160 pounds in high school. In order to crack the lineup and give the Nittany Lions the best shot to win another title, Berge will need to make 149 pounds and be effective. Ohio State Biggest question mark: 165/174 Ohio State will need to replace three starters from last season, including four-time All-Americans Nathan Tomasello, Bo Jordan and Kyle Snyder. Depending on how things play out, they could end up with solid replacements at each weight. At 125, Lucas Hunter went 21-5 as a reserve and multiple-time Fargo champion Malik Heinselman could also earn the sport, although he is expected to redshirt. At heavyweight, former top-ten recruit Chase Singletary should be ready to go after putting together a 21-3 record as a redshirt freshman. Things get interesting at 165 and 174 pounds. With Jordan leaving a spot open at 174 pounds, many expected blue chip prospect Ethan Smith to step into the starting lineup at the weight. However, now it looks like last year's starter at 165 pounds, Te'Shan Campbell, might move up. This would open a hole at 165 pounds for the Buckeyes. Elijah Cleary is currently the leading candidate to go at 165 pounds if Campbell moves up. He has gone 19-10 over the last two seasons as a reserve. Iowa Biggest question mark: 157 For the past two seasons 157 pounds has been held down by All-American Michael Kemerer. However, now the word is that he will move up to 174 pounds. The opening at 157 pounds appears to be the Hawkeye's biggest question mark going into the season. The leading candidate for the role is Kaleb Young who spent the last two season competing mostly at 165 pounds with the occasional move up to 174 pounds. If he can make the weight, he should be able to hold down the starting spot Another candidate is Jaren Glosser who went 13-4 competing at 149 pounds last season Michigan Biggest question mark: Heavyweight Replacing a heavyweight like Adam Coon is not an easy task. The Wolverines think they have the guy in Mason Parris. However, they likely want to redshirt him instead of throwing into the lineup as a true freshman. This leaves a pretty sizable opening at heavyweight for Michigan. The squad had two other heavyweight than Coon wrestle last year, Zachery Nemec and Luke Ready. Nemec went 6-6 and Ready went 4-5. NC State Biggest question mark: 125 to 141 Many coaches would likely envy the Wolfpack's depth between 125 and 141. There appears to be five high-level wrestlers and only four spots available. Last season at 125, Tommy Cox spent most of the year in the starter's role for dual matches, but Sean Fausz ended up being the representative at the ACC and NCAA tournaments. It seems to be a tough cut to 125, so a move to 133 would seem like a natural choice. However, Tariq Wilson burst onto the scene last year and picked up a surprising third-place finish. It is hard to imagine that NC State would not want him in the lineup next season. The current outlook at 141 appears to be for Jamel Morris to hold down the spot. He spent some time in the starting lineup last season at 133 before giving way to Wilson. It might be tough for the Wolfpack to sort out the lineup between 125 and 141 but they will almost certainly have talented and accomplished wrestlers across the weights.

The 53rd Annual NWCA All-Star Classic is right around the corner, and that means that college wrestling is officially on the horizon. We don't have a host site, or matchup, but we do know that the All-Star Classic participants show up ready to perform at the NCAA Championships. Last year, NWCA All-Star Classic participants produced 11 All-Americans and three NCAA titles. We expect the matchups to be announced in the coming weeks, but before that happens, we took a shot at laying out ten match-ups that should happen at the 2018 NWCA All-Star Classic. Ronnie Bresser edged Spencer Lee at the Midlands (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) 125: Spencer Lee (Iowa) vs. Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) The reigning 125-pound NCAA champion Spencer Lee suffered two losses during his true freshman campaign. His first college loss came at the hands of Oregon State's Ronnie Bresser at the Midlands Championships. He suffered his second loss at the Big Ten Championships to four-time NCAA All-American and 2015 NCAA champion, Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State). Lee avenged his loss to Tomasello in the semifinals of the national tournament but has yet to get his hand back on Bresser to try and avenge that 3-2 loss. 133: Seth Gross (South Dakota State) vs. Tariq Wilson (North Carolina State) One of the fan favorites from a season ago was Tariq Wilson of North Carolina State. The long and lengthy true freshman lost six of eight matches coming into Cleveland but knocked off three top-five wrestlers on his way to a third-place finish. In the semifinals, Wilson accomplished what very few wrestlers have been able to do over the past two seasons, and that was to score multiple takedowns on Seth Gross. Wilson snatched up the left leg of Gross with ease, scoring five takedowns, while nearly stunning the No. 1 seed before giving up the fall in overtime. 141: Joey McKenna (Ohio State) vs. Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) One has to imagine that reigning NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) will be out for a significant portion of the season after tearing his ACL against Jaydin Eierman in the semifinals. After taking out graduated seniors, next in succession is reigning Big Ten champion and two-time All-American Joey McKenna and two-time All-American and two-time MAC champion, Jaydin Eierman. These two split their pair of career meetings. Eierman handled then Stanford Cardinal, McKenna 8-0 at the 2016 NCAA Championships. Mckenna rebounded and closed out last season with a 7-2 victory over the Tiger in the third-place bout of the NCAA Championships. 149: Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) vs. Grant Leeth (Missouri) With the departure of two-time Hodge Trophy winner Zain Retherford (Penn State) and four other top-eight finishers, Matthew Kolodzik and Grant Leeth are two of the favorites to take supremacy over the 149-pound weight class. These two are no strangers to each other, as Princeton's two-time All-American Matthew Kolodzik defeated Grant Leeth in the NCAA quarterfinals, 4-3 and went on to finish in third-place. In mid-May, both Leeth and Missouri learned that he would be award two additional years after facing a catalog of injuries, including a neck injury that required surgery to fix a herniated disk that was causing repetitive stingers. Jason Nolf repeated as NCAA champion, defeating Hayden Hidlay in the NCAA finals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 157: Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. Hayden Hidlay (North Carolina State) This would be a rematch of the NCAA finals where Nolf defeated Hidlay, 6-2. Coming into Saturday night in Cleveland, and taking out the injury default "loss" that sidelined Jason Nolf for nearly half the season, these two entered the NCAA finals with a combined record of 52-0. 165: Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) vs. Evan Wick (Wisconsin) Without question, reigning two-time NCAA champion Vincenzo Joseph is one of the most electrifying and dangerous wrestlers in the country on his feet. Joseph has shown that he can hit his inside trip on anyone from anywhere. While Joseph is dominant on his feet, Wick controls matches on the mat. The Badger used his top-work to pummel Iowa's Alex Marinelli (19-6) and Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) on his way to a third-place finish in Cleveland. 174: Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) vs. Mark Hall (Penn State) Zahid capped off his unblemished run to an NCAA title last year by nearly majoring Hall in the NCAA finals, 8-2. That was their second meeting of the year after Zahid snuck past Hall 3-2 in the 52nd Annual NWCA All-Star Classic. Zahid, with his two wins last season, gained the 2-1 (college) career advantage against Hall. 184: Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. Myles Martin (Ohio State) These two have met nine times, with Nickal winning seven of those bouts. Most recently, Nickal scored the fall over Martin in the finals of last year's NCAA Championships, clinching Penn States' third straight team title and seventh in eight years. Kyle Conel defeated Kollin Moore twice at the NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 197: Kollin Moore (Ohio State) vs. Kyle Conel (Kent State) Kent State's Kyle Conel returned to wrestling after sitting out the 2016-17 season and entered the national tournament as an unseeded wrestler, but went on to become an All-American. His third-place run included four upset wins over seeded wrestlers, with two of those big wins coming against No.1 seed Kollin Moore of Ohio State. 285: Amar Dhesi (Oregon State) vs. Nick Nevills (Penn State) The departure of Adam Coon (Michigan), Jacob Kasper (Duke) and Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), along with the questions surrounding Sam Stoll (Iowa), heavyweight is another weight class that finds itself wide open. Heading into the season, the most intriguing heavyweight match-up is between Amar Dhsei and seventh-place finisher Nick Nevills. Dhesi, the returning third-place finisher knocked off third-seeded Nick Nevills, 4-2, making the NCAA semifinals and capturing his second career All-America honor.

Seven individuals involved in wrestling in the state of Oklahoma have been announced as inductees into the Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2018. Dale Estep, Tony Macias, Greg Newell, Darren Peaster and Nick Williams were chosen for Lifetime Service to Wrestling, while John Henry Ward will receive the Outstanding American award and Larry Tettleton will be presented the Medal of Courage honor. The Lifetime Service to Wrestling award is awarded annually to coaches, officials and contributors who have given a minimum of 20 years of service to wrestling. The Outstanding American honor is given to former wrestlers who are highly successful and use the disciplines learned in wrestling in their profession and the Medal of Courage is presented to a wrestler or former wrestler who has overcome what appear to be insurmountable obstacles. Meet the honorees Dale Estep was a two-time state champion wrestler at Geary High School and competed collegiately at Colorado's Adams State for two years before returning to the state to attend Southwestern Oklahoma, where he graduated. He took over as head coach at Noble High School in 1968 and held that post for 22 years, racking up an impressive 223-38 dual record. Estep's teams had 15 top-10 state tournament finishes and he coached 12 state champions along with 21 All-Staters. In all, he spent 34 years at Noble as a coach, teacher and athletic director. Estep also served a long stint as a state coordinator for the International Wrestling Exchange program that brought teams from Japan, New Zealand, Germany and Poland to Oklahoma. Tony MaciasTony Macias was a four-time state qualifier at perennial powerhouse Perry High School in the late 1950s, finishing with a 62-8-1 career record and winning a state championship before going to University of Oklahoma. He earned All-America honors as a sophomore before injuries cut short his career. Macias began a long coaching career while still attending OU, starting the Noble High School program in 1960 before going on to coach at Guthrie High School and Southeast High School. He led Southeast to a state title and two state runner-up finishes. He returned to Perry to open a restaurant that he ran for the next 44 years before his death in Sept. 2017. Greg Newell, a Kansas native, graduated from Bethany College in his home state before launching a 25-year coaching career. His first seven years as coach were at Larned, Kan. before moving to Durant, Okla. in 1980. Newell started the school's physical education program in 1982 and worked as a wrestling official for four years before returning to coaching in 1986 when he began both the junior high and high school wrestling programs at Durant. He went on to coach in Durant for 18 years before his retirement, building a competitive program that resulted in dozens of former wrestlers going on to become coaches themselves. Newell still works closely with Durant wrestling, serving as radio broadcaster for the team's events. Darren Peaster was a three-time state placer at Claremore High School before going on to earn All-America honors at both Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and Central Oklahoma. Peaster graduated from UCO in 1987 and spent three years as an assistant coach with the Bronchos before going into the high school ranks. He was an assistant for two years at Ponca City and four at Choctaw, then became Putnam City High School's head coach for two years before going to Catoosa High School in 1998. In eleven seasons at Catoosa, he guided the team to two dual state crowns and a like number of state tournament championships. Peaster racked up 254 career wins, coaching one four-time state champion and several three-time winners before retiring from coaching in 2013. Nick Williams was a three-time state placer in high school (becoming state champ as a senior), then became a three-year letterman at Oklahoma State in the mid-1990s before embarking on a lengthy coaching career that continues today. He spent one year at Mangum and six at Madill before taking over the Altus High School program in 2004. Williams' teams have won 14 district titles and five regional championships and he's had seven top-four state tournament teams, including a pair of runners-up. He has coached 20 state champions, 19 All-State participants and 11 high school All-Americans in compiling a 223-78 dual record. Williams has served as vice president of the Oklahoma Wrestling Coaches Association in addition to coaching in the All-State dual. John Henry WardJohn Henry Ward was a 1965 state champion for Tulsa Rogers High School who went on to becoming a two-sport collegiate All-American at Oklahoma State. He was a two-time Big Eight champion and placed third in the national tournament in 1969 for the Cowboys, then earned All-America honors on the gridiron that fall at defensive tackle. Ward was a first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 1970 and played on two Super Bowl teams during a six-year career in the NFL. Ward, a member of both the OSU Athletics Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, died in 2012 after a battle with cancer. Larry Tettleton was born with limited physical abilities on his right side and saw very limited action on the mat, but his contributions to the sport are substantial. Larry's disability hasn't affected his positive attitude, his enthusiasm for teaching and coaching or his motivational skills. Tettleton got involved in wrestling as a junior high manager and continued in that role throughout high school and college, where he helped Central Oklahoma to the 1992 NCAA Division II national championship. Tettleton spent a dozen years as an assistant coach at Edmond North High School, and 11 years as head junior high coach in Edmond, having compiled an impressive 130-23 dual record with eight conference championships, two state titles and one Oklahoma Junior High Coach of the Year award. Tettleton has coached 15 individual state champions, and two collegiate national champions. In 2012 he became a mat official. Induction in October These 2018 Oklahoma Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame honorees will be inducted during a banquet Oct. 14 at the former Jim Thorpe Museum and Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame, 4040 N. Lincoln, in Oklahoma City. A reception begins at 3 p.m., with dinner at 4 p.m. and the induction ceremony at 5 p.m. Reservations are $55 per person and can be purchased online at www.ok-nwhof.ticketleap.com or by contacting Howard Seay at c4dcowboys@aol.com or 918-639-8868.

Bubba Jenkins (Photo/Bellator) Two weeks after InterMat reported that Bubba Jenkins had signed with Brave Combat Federation, we now know who he will be facing in his new organization. Jenkins, winner of the 157-pound crown for Arizona State at the 2011 NCAA Division I Championships, will face Elias Boudegzdame for Brave's featherweight (145-pound) championship at BRAVE 16 in Abu Dhabi on Friday, Sept. 21 as part of a co-main event featuring welterweight champion Carlston Harris taking on Jarrah Al-Selawe. Jenkins brings an MMA career record of 12-4-0 with 5 knockouts, 3 submissions, and 4 decisions to his Brave promotional debut ... while Boudegzdame is 15-4-0 with 13 of those wins coming by way of submission and two by knockout. In reporting on the upcoming title fight between Jenkins and Boudegzdame, Sportskeeda wrote, "The bout showcases a submission specialist facing an elite wrestler. Jenkins will have the advantage in the striking department which can force Boudegzdame to adopt a new game plan to face the challenger." Prior to signing up with Brave, Jenkins had fought in Bellator MMA and Absolute Championship Berkut (ACB). He has also coached 'Team Jones' on the seventeenth season of the UFC produced the TV series "The Ultimate Fighter." Prior to launching his MMA career, Jenkins had wrestled at Penn State before transferring to Arizona State to complete his college mat career. It was as a Sun Devil senior that Jenkins pinned former Penn State teammate David Taylor to win the title at the 2011 NCAAs. Immediately after that win, Jenkins announced plans to enter MMA.

Aaron Pico (Photo/Bellator) Less than a week after his 22nd birthday, Aaron Pico will face former title challenger Leandro Higo at Bellator 206 at SAP Center in San Jose on Saturday, Sept. 29. Pico, the amateur wrestling phenom turned top MMA prospect, will go up against "his toughest test yet" (to quote CageSidePress.com) in Higo, who has fought for the Bellator featherweight (145-pound) title twice, losing to current champ (and former college mat champ) Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 195 earlier this year ... and an earlier opportunity against then-champ Eduardo Dantas fell through at Bellator 177 when Higo missed weight. That bout went ahead at catchweight. That said, Higo is not taking Pico lightly ... but expects to come out on top. In Higo's Instagram message shared by MMAjunkie.com Sunday, the fighter -- shown with his arm raised in victory inside the cage -- wrote, "Going up in weight September 29th vs rising star Aaron Pico. Respect to him, but it'll be my hand raised as the winner, just like in this photo. I'm ready to shock the world and remind you I'm here to be a champion ..." Pico signed with Bellator in November 2014 as an 18-year-old while he was still focused on wrestling. The Los Angeles area native had earned numerous national and international freestyle wrestling titles, but decided to forego a collegiate career. Pico's pro MMA career got off to a rough start. The former Golden Gloves amateur boxing champ was submitted by Zach Freeman in the first 24 seconds of their fight at Bellator 180 in June 2017. However, since then, Pico has won his three fights by first-round KO or TKO. Higo is 18-4 overall, and 1-3 in Bellator competition.

A GoFundMe page has been established for twin girls -- both middle-school wrestlers -- who were killed in a house fire outside San Francisco last weekend. Tran sistersThe fundraising website is intended to help pay for funerals for Trinh and Tram Tran, 14, and their mother, Mau Dao Tran, all who died in the fire in their home in Vallejo, Calif. about 3 a.m. last Sunday. Funds are also intended to assist a fourth member of the family, Vy Tran, eleven-year-old sister of the twins who survived the fire and is recovering from her injuries, as well as the family's father, Tuan Tran. Both Trinh and Tram had wrestled at Hogan Middle School in Vallejo, where they made many friends. Their wrestling coach, Jason Guiducci, described each of the Tran twins to local TV station KPIX . "Trinh was the soft-spoken but strong silent type, Tram was the bubbly, uplifting type," Guiducci told the CBS affiliate serving the San Francisco Bay area. "But you knew that they loved everyone here and everyone loved them in return, there was no way you couldn't love those kids." A video tribute to Trinh and Tram Tran -- including many images of the twins in action as wrestlers -- is available for viewing online. According to Vallejo Police, officers smelled smoke while on routine patrol. They found the Tran home engulfed in flames, family members still inside. On Wednesday, Vallejo Police announced they are investigating the fire as a homicide. No suspects have been named, and no arrests made.

Zion Clark, a college wrestler born without legs, is the subject of a documentary short now being shown on Netflix. The eleven-minute film "Zion" is the story of the 20-year-old wrestler now competing at Kent State University's Tuscarawas Campus in New Philadelphia, Ohio. Zion Clark was born with caudal regression syndrome, a condition that impairs development of the lower half of the body. Given up for adoption as a baby, Clark was bounced around from foster home to foster home. "It was not the ideal situation," the wrestler said. However, Clark says he lives by the motto, "no excuses," which is tattooed on his back. "The obstacles I face in wrestling prepare me for everyday life," Clark is quoted at an official Kent State website. "Wrestling teaches me patience and persistence." Clark was introduced to wrestling at age 7, and continued his mat career at Massillon Washington High School in Ohio. As a freshman and sophomore, he had no wins. As a junior, the tide began to turn and he started to win a few matches. By the end of his junior year, he started thinking about college ... and became serious about training. Clark concluded his high school career with a 33-15 record. Now Clark is a business major at Kent Tuscarawas, and wrestling at 125 pounds for the Golden Eagles. "Zion is one of the most coachable wrestlers I have ever coached," said his college coach Dave Schlarb. "He has a can-do attitude that never waivers. He is a remarkable team player that is willing to do anything needed to help the team succeed." Nominated for Short Film Grand Prize at the famed Sundance Film Festival, the documentary film "Zion" has pinned down several awards, including Best Documentary Short at Atlanta Film Festival, Best Short Film at Omaha Film Festival, and the Audience Award -- Special Recognition at Aspen's ShortsFest. To watch a preview, click here.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Four-time national qualifier and 2015 All-American Dan Neff has joined the Navy wrestling staff as an assistant coach it was announced by fifth-year Navy wrestling head coach Joel Sharratt on Friday. Neff arrives in Annapolis having spent the last two seasons at Bucknell serving as a volunteer assistant coach. Dan Neff"I am honored to have the opportunity to coach at the United States Naval Academy," said Neff. "This is an extremely storied program and I am excited to be a part of its climb up the national ladder. There is a great coaching staff in place with a great deal of talent and leadership on the team. I am eager to roll up my sleeves and get to work." "I am excited to add Dan to my staff and believe he will make an immediate impact in the wrestling room," said Sharratt. "As an All-American, he understands the commitment to a championship lifestyle we hold in the Navy program. Dan has a strong desire to be a top-level coach and his decision to join our program speaks volumes about his commitment to excellence. He has great intensity and is driven for success and that's contagious among the young team we have retuning in 2018-19. "The timing of this allows for an immediate impact with the talent we have around the weight Dan lives and trains at. He will push guys like Nicholas Gil, Jared Prince and Quentin Hovis on a daily basis to perform at their very best." Neff was part of a Bucknell program that saw one of its most successful stretches in program history. The Bison reached double digits in the win column for four straight seasons, including 2016-17 when they closed out the year with a 12-4 mark, including a 9-1 record against EIWA competition. That same season Bucknell placed sixth at the EIWA Championships and sent four wrestlers to the NCAA Championship in St. Louis. There, Tyler Smith finished one victory shy of earning All-America status at 141 pounds. The Bison struggled with injuries throughout the 2017-18 campaign, though Smith once again was a bright spot in the Bucknell lineup. Smith put together the 11th undefeated dual season in school history (16-0) and became Bucknell's seventh EIWA runner-up, falling to eventual national champion Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell in the title bout. For the second year in a row, Smith fell one match shy of becoming an All-American, bowing out in the Blood Round. While at Bucknell, Neff also served as a coach and resident athlete of the Buffalo Valley Regional Training Center in Lewisburg. There he organized and conducted practice sessions, coached multiple high school dual teams, volunteered for Lewisburg Elementary wrestling and competed personally at the senior and international level. A four-time NCAA qualifier and 2016 graduate of Lock Haven University, Neff garnered All-America honors in 2015 after placing eighth in the 149-pound weight class at the 2015 NCAA Championship. In doing so, he became the school's 39th All-American overall and the first since 2007. Additionally, the Quarryville, Pa. native was the 2016 Eastern Wrestling League Champion at 149 pounds and earned PSAC Freshman of the Year honors in 2012. He finished his career 11th on Lock Haven's all-time wins list with a 109-46 record. Neff also had a remarkable high school career, becoming Solanco High School's first PIAA State Champion after winning the 3A 135-pound crown in 2011. He amassed a 150-19 high school record which stands as the fifth-best mark in Lancaster County history.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa head wrestling coach Tom Brands announced Friday that Quinn Hollan has been named interim strength and conditioning coach for the 2018-19 season. Hollan most recently served as a performance analyst for the Iowa football program on Chris Doyle's strength and conditioning staff. Prior to joining the Hawkeyes in February, 2018, Hollan was an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Western Kentucky. He earned a bachelor's of science degree in exercise science from Northern Iowa in 2014, and a master's of science in sport pedagogy from Mississippi State in 2016. He is a 2010 graduate of Mid-Prairie High School in Wellman, Iowa.

Kyle Ruschell (Photo/Wisconsin Sports Information) University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Mark Wharton announced that Kyle Ruschell has been offered and accepted the position of Head Wrestling Coach for the Mocs. Ruschell replaces Heath Eslinger, who stepped down to pursue other interests on July 19. "We had an outstanding pool of candidates for this position, which is a testament to the type of program Heath built over the last nine years," stated Wharton. "This was a very difficult decision, but in the end, Kyle became the clear choice to lead our program. "I talked to a lot of individuals throughout the wrestling community, both locally and nationally, and it was clear that Kyle is ready for the challenge to lead our program. His credentials as a coach and athlete are outstanding, and he has a clear vision that fits within our athletics department." Ruschell joined the Mocs staff in June as assistant coach. He was elevated to Interim Head Coach on July 19, following Eslinger's resignation. He spent the previous eight seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin. A former member of the U.S. National Team (2014-15), he was a two-time All-American for the Badgers (2007-10). "I am extremely honored to be named the next head coach of UTC wrestling," stated Ruschell. "The support for this program is amazing, and I am excited for the future. "I want to thank Mark Wharton for believing in my leadership and vision for this program, and Heath Eslinger for showing me what the Mocs are all about. Chattanooga is a special place and I cannot wait to get to work. Go Mocs!" As a member of the Wisconsin coaching staff, Ruschell helped five Badgers earn seven All-American honors. Four times in his tenure, Wisconsin finished in the top 20 at the NCAA Tournament, including a 13th-place showing in 2013. Ruschell helped Isaac Jordan win his first Big Ten championship in 2015 and earn four All-American honors. Jordan was the program's first Big Ten champion since Trevor Brandvold in 2011. Ruschell also coached Evan Wick to a third-place finish at NCAAs in 2018, along with Ryan Taylor and Connor Medbery to 2015 All-American honors. In 2017, the Badgers sent nine wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, marking the program's highest number of qualifiers since 2007. Ruschell has twice competed in the World Team trials in Fargo, N.D., most recently in 2018. He made the U.S. National Team in 2014. He placed third in the U.S. Open and third in Phase II of the World Team Trials after beating two-time national champion Kellen Russell from Michigan and national team member Frank Mollinaro, who was a national champion for Penn State. In the fight to "Save Olympic Wrestling", Ruschell was asked to be a representative for the sport at the Kentucky state capital as they passed a state bylaw to keep wrestling in the Olympics. The Crittenden, Ky. native was a four-time NCAA championship qualifier for the Badgers, earning All-America honors twice at 149 lbs. The four-year letter winner served as team captain his junior and senior seasons. Ruschell is the only two-time All-American from Kentucky and the state's highest placer in the NCAA Division I championships. At Ryle High School, Ruschell was a two-time state and four-time conference champion. He and his wife, the former Allie Johnson, were married in June of 2017.

Kenny Anderson MOUNT VERNON -- Three-time NCAA champion Kenny Anderson has moved into a full-time assistant coaching role on Cornell College's wrestling staff for the 2018-19 season, it was announced by interim head coach Brent Hamm. Anderson will serve as the lead assistant for Cornell's storied program, which owns nine Top-20 NCAA team finishes in the past 12 years. Anderson was a part-time assistant in 2017-18, when the Rams landed three all-Americans and placed 17th in the NCAA team race. "I am very excited to have Kenny Anderson on board full-time as the lead assistant," Hamm said. "He fits our coaching staff very well and is easy to connect with. He is a great technician and a huge asset to our program." Anderson had an exceptional three-year career competing at Wartburg, winning NCAA individual titles in 2012 (125 pounds), 2013 (133) and 2014 (133). He helped lead the Knights to three consecutive NCAA team championships during that span. Anderson, a three-time Iowa Conference Wrestler of the Year honoree, was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 2014 Central Region Championships. As a junior, he was named USA National Wrestler of the Week by TheMat.com. "Kenny loves wrestling," Hamm said. "His passion for the sport and desire to be successful is why he accomplished so much as an athlete. These undeniable qualities are going to make him a great coach for the Cornell Rams." Anderson lost only three individual matches in three seasons at Wartburg, and avenged them all. He was captain of the 2013-14 team. Anderson graduated from Wartburg in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in fitness management. He remained in Waverly as an assistant coach at Wartburg from 2015-17. During that time, the Knights compiled a 57-1 dual record, won three NWCA National Duals championships and two NCAA team titles (2016, 2017). Wartburg was NCAA runner-up in 2015. Anderson was on the 2017 Wartburg staff named Central Region Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year. A native of Billerica, Mass., Anderson was a three-time Massachusetts state champion, three-time New England finalist and one-time New England champion. He was enshrined in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2011.

LANCASTER, Pa. -- Franklin & Marshall wrestling coach Mike Rogers announced the addition of Tyson Dippery to the Diplomats' coaching staff for the 2018-19 season. "We are excited to have Tyson joining our program," said Rogers. "He has strong connections with the local wrestling community and had a very successful wrestling career at both the high school and collegiate level. Tyson has competed for some of the most competitive programs in the nation, and we believe that experience will allow him to make an immediate impact on our student-athletes." Dippery competed at Division I Rider University, where he graduated in May 2018 with a Bachelor's degree in Sociology. Throughout his five-year collegiate career, Dippery compiled a 101-48 career record. He transferred from Rutgers University where he was a 2016 NCAA Qualifier at 149 lbs. and a Big Ten Championships place winner – finishing sixth. A native of Harrisburg, Dippery was a two-time PIAA State Finalist for wrestling-powerhouse Central Dauphin High School, graduating with the most wins in both school and district three history with 183. He was a three-time Fargo All-American, placing twice in Greco and once in Freestyle.

It is never too early to look at the upcoming NCAA wrestling season on Matside. On Monday, the Iowa Hawkeyes picked up yet another top-100 commit as Abe Assad announced his intentions. To discuss the Hawkeye's recent momentum, Richard Mann chats with the proprietor the Iowa Wrestling Fan Blog, Todd Conner. Richard and Todd discuss Iowa's recent success on the recruiting trail, the status of Sam Stoll, the impact of transfer Austin DeSanto, Michael Kemmerer potentially moving up to 174 pounds and what the Hawkeyes need to do to contend for a national title. Follow InterMat on Twitter and subscribe to the show @InterMat | Apple Podcasts | iHeartRadio | Google Play Music | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS

Russian Nationals wrapped up last weekend and fans who watched the online stream were treated to some of the year's best freestyle wrestling. The tournament winners at eight of the ten weights will represent Russia at the 2018 World Championships in Budapest, with wrestlers at 61 kilograms and 65 kilograms entering a tournament next month to decide the final two tickets. Though Russian Nationals boasts incredible depth the starting Russian side wasn't as end-to-end impressive as we saw in 2015 or 2016. In fact, it's reminiscent of their 2017 squad which lost the team title to the United States by only a few points. Either the Russians or regressing or Team USA's growth is raising the bar higher than some Russians can reach. I wrote last week about how much David Taylor has improved over the past year. He's stronger, more creative and just better all-around than anyone he's met all season. It should reassure American wrestling fans that when contrasting Taylor style, pace and ability with that of his Russian counterpart Dauren Kurugliev there is simply no positive comparison to draw for the Dagestani. Overall, Kurugliev lacks any indicators that he could even reach a world final against Taylor, much less be competitive or hold any advantage. Maybe I drank some Taylor family juice mixes, but after watching Kurugliev struggle mightily to get past his finals opponent I fail to see how anyone could reasonably conclude that the Russians are sending a viable threat to Budapest. Maybe Hassan Yazdanicharati is Taylor's only real competition, but even there I'd back Taylor as the heavy favorite. The Russian Nationals also gave us a peek at the 2018 version of a 97-kilogram Abdulrashid Sadualev. I discuss more below, but the two-time world champion and Olympic champion was a lesser version of the Russian Tank that rolled through Las Vegas and Rio. There is still a lot of talent in the Russian lineup, the soft spots were glaring. At 74 kilograms an undersized, out-of-shape Zaurbek Sidakov limped onto the world team after a controversial call gave him the edge over longtime rival Khetik Tsabolov. Sidakov is a bronze medalist at best, but he's not matching the firepower of Jordan Burroughs -- and unless he draws him in the first two rounds, I'm doubtful the duo will match up because Burroughs is the best 74-kilogram wrestler in the world. No question. There are other holes, too. Batyrbek Tsakulov has a win over Kyle Snyder's nemesis Aslanbek Alborov, but is slow and unimaginative on the mat. Heavyweight Anzor Hizriev once again won the starting spot for Russia but is incredibly average by Russian standards. Zaur Uguev is a better than average 57k-kilogram wrestler but failed to place in 2017 and there is no reason to think he'll cruise through the brackets in Budapest. He's a bronze medalist at best. No question this is a softer-than-normal Russian lineup, but there are still five potential world champions, including Sadualev. Whoever comes out at 61 kilograms and 65 kilograms will be the automatic favorite to win Worlds and 79-kilogram starter Akhmed Gadzhimagamedov might be the most impressive wrestler in the world not named Taylor. At 70 kilograms it's impossible to conceive of Magomedrasul Gazimagamedov not making the finals. Here is the full Russian lineup for the 2018 World Championships in Budapest: 57: Zaur Uguev 61: Rashidov/Idrisov 65: Bekbulatov/Chakaev 70: Magomedrasul Gazimagamedov 74: Zaurbek Sidakov 79: Akhmed Gadzhimagamedov 86: Dauren Kurugliev 92: Batyrbek Tsakulov 97: Abdulrashid Sadulaev 125: Anzor Hizriev To your questions … Abdulrashid Sadulaev at the 2017 World Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: How did you think Abdulrashid Sadulaev looked at Russian Nationals? Last year he looked like he hadn't grown into 97 kilograms yet. Does he look bigger this year? -- Mike C. Foley: Sadualev cruised in the finals, beating Batciev with little issue. However, he looked tired and slow on the first day of competition. Why is unclear, but he might just be getting used to the weight, or his opponents felt that much worse on the second day than they did on the first day. The growing pains we are seeing from Sadualev right now are the same we saw from David Taylor in 2016 and 2017. All the techniques are there, the conditioning seems to be in place, but there is a lack of sustained strength. Like with Taylor, his performance isn't a reflection of work ethic or talent as it is a body struggling to oxygenate and optimize new muscle tissue. From my vantage point the biggest difference in Sadualev's growth pattern is that he doesn't seem to have the frame to be a fully actualized 97-kilogram wrestler. Whereas Taylor could hang muscles on his then-lanky frame, Sadulaev looks to be growing wider through the chest. That growth is fine, but he's not the same barrel-chested monster that you see with Kyle Snyder, and that might mean he's getting close to topping out on his size and strength. We'll see how he looks in three months, but I think there is a chance he could be in deep water early in the tournament. Everyone wants to see the rematch, but there are hurdles. Also, it's not too soon to remind fans that because Sadualev has not yet competed internationally at 97 kilograms in 2018 and he won't be seeded in the bracket. Like last year both he and Snyder are going to be added through the random draw. That won't happen in 2019, but with each missing the majority of ranking series events their placement will be left to chance. Q: How do you think Pittsburgh will do as a host for the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships? I've never been to Pittsburgh, but plan on going to NCAAs next March. -- Mike C. Foley: My guess is that the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be the most enjoyable and well-run since the 2016 NCAA Championships in New York City. This is one of America's most passionate wrestling cities and with proximity to so many East Coast fans we are bound to see a passionate, sold-out arena. Also, Pittsburgh is a very fun city for fans to enjoy. The restaurants and bars are welcoming, well-priced and there is a variety of cuisines to try. I'm not sure I'll make the trip, but given the distance (and my already packed schedule) there is a higher likelihood of me making the trek to Pittsburgh than to somewhere in the Midwest. I imagine a lot of East Coast wrestling fans are equally excited about the shorter commute. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Sadulaev v. Batciev Kyle Snyder discusses pressure … Artistic recap of the 2018 European Junior Championships Q: It's been a while since you have had anything nice to write about Henry Cejudo. I am thinking Saturday's performance will inspire you give the champ his props. -- Jacob R. Foley: Henry Cejudo is incredibly talented, but he's always needed to work hard in order to have his talents shine. Missing weight as often as he did and backing out of fights (along with rumors of not working hard in practice) led to valid criticism. Today Cejudo is focused and fighting with purpose. I suspect he'll vacate this belt and move up a weight class, but I think that will largely be determined by what the UFC decided to pay him for a bantamweight defense against Demetrious Johnson. It will be much more difficult for him to break into the featherweight ranks with a budding social media rivalry breaking out between Dominick Cruz and T.J. Dillashaw -- a fight that most fans want to see. Cejudo can't rest on any of these his achievements. Fighters who lose the hunger to train and stay disciplined often end up canvassed. The challenge for Cejudo will be to create a new goal that he'll work every day to attain. At most Cejudo has a five-year window with which he can earn top dollar as an MMA fighter, and likely even less. That's not a lot of time, but if he shows up in future fights like he did last weekend he'll ensure himself of larger checks and even more cultural influence. Q: Did Kyle Crutchmer and Logan Storley have amateur MMA fights before going pro? If not, what is your opinion on them jumping straight into the pros? In your opinion, who is the better MMA fighter: Storley or Crutchmer? -- Gregg Y. Foley: Logan Storley did not need time in the amateur ranks and based on his recent performance neither did Kyle Crutchmer. I think that for non-athletes -- especially those who have never competed in combat sports -- a tour through the amateur ranks can help the adjustment period. For these guys they are accustomed to the hard work and are only developing new skills, not adopting to new training techniques or lifestyle as someone coming off the street. Also, it's incredibly difficult to find fights for former collegiate wrestlers. Crutchmer has had this difficulty at the pro level, and even his latest opponent came in a whopping 15 pounds over, arguably to help negate the advantage of Crutchmer's wrestling. Finding fights at the amateur level, especially anything challenging, is near impossible for these wrestling elite graduating to MMA.