InterMat Staff

AKRON, Ohio -- The U23 Freestyle World Team was determined Sunday afternoon, comprised of seven All-Americans as well as three past World Team members, all of who are also World medalists. After battling against his teammate in the quarterfinals and advancing to the finals off of an 11-0 technical fall, 2017 All-American Jack Mueller went 2-0 against Rayvon Foley. He regrouped after a first-round 8-6 decision to return for a first-period technical fall in the second round of the 57-kilogram finals to secure his spot on the U23 World Team. 2016 Cadet silver medalist Vitali Arujau dominated his 60-kilogram best-of-three series against past World Team member Roman Bravo-Young, racking up two technical falls in under six minutes total, outscoring Bravo-Young 25-4. Read complete story on TheMat.com ... Results 57 kg: 1st: Jack Mueller (CWC) def. Rayvon Foley (MSU), 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Mueller dec. Foley, 8-6 Match 2: Mueller tech. fall Foley, 10-0 3rd: Austin Assad (MRTC) tech. fall Gabe Townsell (Stanford), 10-0 5th: Brandon Paetzell (Lehigh Valley WC) def. Skyler Petry (Minnesota Storm), by injury default 7th: Alex Mackall (Cyclone RTC) def. Dominic La Joie (FLWCP) by injury default 61 kg: 1st: Vitali Arujau (FLWCP) def. Roman Bravo-Young (SWC), 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Arujau tech. fall Bravo-Young, 15-4 Match 2: Arujau tech. fall Bravo-Young, 10-0 3rd: Chas Tucker (Cornell) dec. Sean Fausz (WWC), 9-2 5th: Josh Kramer (Sunkist Kids) def. Nick Piccininni (CRTC/TMWC), by injury default 7th: Jens Lantz (Wisconsin) dec. Steve Polakowski (Minnesota Storm), 5-2 65 kg: 1st: Mitch McKee (GWC) def. Dominick Demas (OKRTC), 2 matches to 0 Match 1: McKee dec. Demas, 6-1 Match 2: McKee fall Demas 3rd: Colton McCrystal (Nebraska) dec. Brock Zacherl (Clarion), 10-6 5th: Kaid Brock (CRTC/TMWC) def. Kevin Jack (WWC), by injury default 7th: Luke Pletcher (tOSU) def. Kaden Gfeller (CRTC/TMWC), 15-9 70 kg: 1st: Hayden Hidlay (WWC) def. Ryan Deakin (NU), 2 matches to 1 Match 1: Hidlay dec. Deakin, 8-4 Match 2: Deakin tech. fall Hidlay, 11-0 Match 3: Hidlay dec. Deakin, 3-2 3rd: Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. Paul Fox (Stanford), 8-4 5th: Pat Lugo (Iowa) tech. fall Alfred Bannister (TWC), 13-3 7th: Matthew Kolodzik (NJRTC) tech. fall Ryan Blees (SERTC-VT), 10-0 74 kg: 1st: Alex Smythe (Bulls WC) def. Evan Wick (Wisconsin), 2 matches to 1 Match 1: Wick dec. Smythe, 7-1 Match 2: Smythe dec. Wick, 7-3 Match 3: Smythe dec. Wick, 6-5 3rd: Kaleb Young (Iowa) dec. Kennedy Monday (THWC), 11-4 5th: Carson Brolsma (Minnesota Storm) dec. Josh Shields (Sunkist), 6-4 7th: Austin Kraisser (Campbell) def. Larry Early (VBRTC) by injury default 79 kg: 1st: David McFadden (SERTC-VT) def. Daniel Lewis (MWRTC), 2 matches to 0 Match 1: McFadden fall Lewis Match 2: McFadden tech. fall Lewis, 15-5 3rd: Kimball Bastian (UVRTC) dec. Joe Smith (CRTC/TMWC), 8-4 5th: Connor Flynn (MWRTC) fall Cole Walter (Lehigh Valley WC) 7th: Te'Shan Campbell (tOSU) dec. Gregg Harvey Jr. (Pittsburgh), 6-2 86 kg: 1st: Myles Martin (tOSU) def. Chandler Rogers (CRTC/TMWC), 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Martin dec. Rogers, 13-9 Match 2: Martin fall Rogers 3rd: Taylor Venz (Nebraska) dec. Max Dean (Cornell), 15-12 5th: Cash Wilcke (Iowa) dec. Alec Schenk (BBWC), 4-2 7th: Austin Fores (Stanford) def. Garrett Lineberger (Unattached) by injury default 92 kg: 1st: Michael Macchiavello (WWC) def. Hunter Ritter (Wisconsin), 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Macchiavello dec. Ritter, 5- Match 2: Macchiavello tech. fall Ritter, 15-5 3rd: Eric Schultz (Nebraska) dec. Christian Brunner (BRTC), 9-0 5th: Jakob Woodley (OKRTC) tech. fall Landon Pelham (Chippewa WC), 10-0 7th: Greg Bulsak (Clarion) tech. fall Anthony Perrine (Bulldog Elite WC), 14-4 97 kg: 1st: Kollin Moore (tOSU) def. Kyle Conel (GPWC), 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Moore tech. fall Conel, 12-2 Match 2: Moore tech. fall Conel, 13-3 3rd: Ben Honis (Cornell) tech. fall Malik McDonald (WWC), 13-1 5th: Kyle Gentile (LVWC) tech. fall John Borst (SERTC-VT), 10-0 7th: Kevin Snyder (tOSU) dec. Andrew Lee (IRTC), 5-2 125 kg: 1st: Youssif Hemida (TWC) def. Matt Stencel (CWC), 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Hemida dec. Stencel, 14-7 Match 2: Hemida tech. fall Stencel, 11-0 3rd: David Jensen (Nebraska) dec. David Orndorff (UVRTC), 10-9 5th: Garrett Ryan (NYCRTC) def. Michael Hughes (B&G) by injury default. 7th: Matthew Voss (Patriot Elite WC) def. Christian Colucci (NJRTC)

Two former college wrestlers -- Gregor Gillespie, and Desmond Green -- came out as winners at UFC Fight Night 131: Rivera vs. Moraes at Adirondacks Bank Center in Utica, N.Y. Friday night. A third ex-amateur wrestler, Jarred Brooks, was KO'd in the second round of his bout. The former Fighting Scot submits Pinchel Gregor GillespieGillespie, a 2007 NCAA champ for Edinboro University, defeated Vinc Pinchel via submission -- an arm-triangle choke -- at 4:06 of Round 2 in their lightweight (155-pound) co-main event. Live coverage from both MMAjunkie.com and Sherdog.com had the former Fighting Scot mat star as the winner throughout their bout before submitting Pinchel. Gillespie -- a three-time EWL (Eastern Wrestling League) champ at Edinboro -- took down Pinchel at the beginning of both the first and second rounds. At the end of the evening, Gregor Gillespie -- a native of upstate New York -- added to his perfect record to become 12-0 in his pro MMA career, and 5-0 in UFC action ...while Vinc Pichel suffers only his second loss vs. 11 wins overall, with a 4-2 record in UFC. Green goes the distance for the win Desmond Green, a two-time MAC (Mid-American Conference) champion for University at Buffalo, earned a unanimous decision over Gleison Tibau in a three-round lightweight fight. The official judges scored it 30-27, 30-27, 29-27 for the three-time NCAA qualifier for the Bulls; in addition, all the reporters providing live coverage from both Sherdog.com and MMAjunkie.com all awarded each round to Green. Sherdog.com reported in its live coverage that Green was "applying slow pressure and holding Tibau out of striking or shooting range" thanks to the long reach of "the Predator." MMAjunkie.com writers just outside the Octagon said, "This remains a boxing match, and Green is just a little more accurate and active. Not much kicking between the two." With the win, Green is now 21-7 in his pro MMA career (and 2-2 in UFC), while Gleison Tibau drops to 33-14 overall, and 16-12 in UFC. Brooks basically knocks himself out The gods were not smiling on "The Monkey God" as Jarred Brooks, at one time a nationally-ranked high school wrestler from Warsaw, Ind., was knocked out in the second round by Jose Torres in their preliminary-round flyweight (125-pound) bout at UFC Utica. Both MMAjunkie.com and Sherdog.com had their fightside reporters scoring the first round for Brooks in their live coverage. However, in what MMAjunkie.com describes as "a crazy turn of events" in Round 2, "(Brooks) lifts his opponent high in the air and leaps forward with a slam to the floor. Impressive move, but Brooks appears to be the one who's rocked, with the back of his head crashing into the canvas. Torres quickly pulls free from his stunned opponent and turns to take the back, punching away at his stunned opponent. Brooks is indeed out, and this fight is over." Score it a KO at 2:55 of Round 2 of the scheduled three-round fight. With the loss, Jarred Brooks is now 13-2 overall in his MMA career, and drops to 1-2 in UFC ...while Jose Torres stays flawless at 8-0 overall and is now 1-0 after his UFC debut.

The Big Bend Community College athletics department is expanding its offerings with the return of men's collegiate wrestling to its sports roster and the addition of women's wrestling. The last time anyone wore a Viking's wrestling singlet, was during the 1994-95 season. The decision to return wrestling to Big Bend was multi-layered and included local interest in the sport as well as the college's legacy of helping student-athletes achieve success inside and outside of the classroom. "For the last five years, Big Bend athletes have had either the best or second-best GPAs in the state of Washington for schools our size," said Athletic Director Mark Poth. "That level of success in the classroom is proof that our coaches recruit not only good athletes, but good people with great character. "We feel as an athletic department that we can continue to grow that success with the expansion of our athletic offerings and with the extreme interest in both men's and women's wrestling in our service area it feels like a win-win situation." Big Bend will be the only collegiate wrestling program in Eastern Washington. The hunt for a head coach for both programs will commence immediately with job postings expected at the beginning of next week (June 4). The hiring of assistants will follow, and recruiting will begin early this summer to fill the 2018-19 roster. The college hopes to recruit roughly 30 athletes this summer and eventually carry 25-30 wrestlers on each roster. "We are excited to return men's wrestling and introduce women's wrestling at the collegiate level," said Big Bend President Terry Leas. "These sports give talented athletes in our service district opportunities to continue their education and wrestling careers beyond high school and we are delighted about this newest addition." Both the men and women will compete collegiately in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) with the women also competing in the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA). Big Bend Community College is a two-year public college located in Moses Lake, Washington. Founded in 1962, Big Bend CC has an enrollment of approximately 4,000 students.

Griffyn Smith, a four-time high school state wrestling champ in Maine, was killed in a one-car crash Thursday night near Weld, Maine. He was 19. Two others in the car -- an 18-year-old driver, and a 17-year-old passenger, were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Griffyn SmithAccording to Maine State Police, the driver lost control of the car on a country road, hit a tree, and flipped over. Troopers said excessive speed was likely a factor. A 2016 graduate of Dirigo High School, Smith won four state titles as a wrestler at the school located in Dixfield, Maine. Just last month, Smith graduated from Central Maine Community College in Auburn with an associate degree as a precision machinist. He was planning to join the Navy this fall. After Griffyn Smith concluded his high school wrestling career, former Lewiston Sun Journal sportswriter Kalle Oakes wrote, "Smith achieved his perfection across three different weight classes and in two enrollment classifications." "I'm so saddened to hear this news," Oakes told her former employer in an email. "Griffyn was a fierce competitor and a soft-spoken, unassuming kid. He was small in stature. To look at him in a crowd you would not have known he was one of the outstanding athletes in the area. He absolutely dominated his weight class in wrestling all four years at Dirigo. The wrestling community at that school is a proud, tight-knit group. I can only imagine how much they are hurting from this news." Another Sun Journal sportswriter shared his recollections of Griffyn Smith. "Griffyn … wasn't a showboater, he just went out and accomplished his goal … win," said Bob McPhee, who described the four-time state champ as being "a joy to speak with and extremely gracious." "Griffyn was a competitor and was determined -- on the mat -- to achieve his goals," McPhee said. "Despite being small in stature, he was in control of his endeavors on (the) mat; proving that an individual doesn't need to be the biggest and strongest to succeed." When he graduated from Dirigo, Smith became the school's winningest wrestler with 193 victories, and the program's first four-time state champ. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Griffyn Smith's family with funeral and burial expenses.

Nick Becker FAYETTE, Iowa -- Nick Becker, a redshirt senior from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, is the 2018 NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year presented by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association. Becker, who earned the honor for the second-straight year, is the tenth recipient and first two-time winner of this award since its inception in 2008. The UW-Parkside icon earned the NCAA Division II Super Region Two Wrestler of the Year all three years that he wrestled for the Rangers. The NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association named four NCAA Division II Regional Wrestlers of the Year last Friday, May 25. The quartet included 157-pound senior Cody Law from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown for NCAA Super Region One, Becker for Super Region Two, 133-pound senior Josh Walker from Upper Iowa University for Super Region Three and 149-pound redshirt-sophomore Daxton Gordon from California Baptist University for Super Region Four. All four earned titles at their respective NCAA Division II Super Regionals and the National Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in early March. Becker capped off another perfect season with a 24-0 record, his third Super Region II title and a third straight NCAA Division II title at 174 pounds. Becker's final win that carried his record to 89-0 as a Ranger came in an 8-4 decision over No. 2 Nolan Kistler of California Baptist University. The Hartford, Wis. product claimed 20 bonus-point wins this season with eight victories by fall, eight by tech fall and four by major decision. Becker is the only wrestler in the UW-Parkside storied history to win three national championships and he will continue to influence the Ranger wrestling program as the graduate assistant moving forward. The Hartford, Wis. product came to Wisconsin-Parkside prior to the 2014-15 season after transferring from Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Mich. During his first season with the Rangers, he wrestled unattached at three tournaments before returning to the varsity mats during the 2015-16 season. As a redshirt sophomore, Becker posted a 41-0 record with 31 of the victories coming with bonus points thanks to 10 falls, 11 tech falls and 10 majors. As a redshirt junior, he went 25-0 with 17 bonus-point wins including 8 falls, 3 tech falls and 6 majors. The previous ten NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association Wrestler of the Year honors went to Nebraska-Kearney heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev (2008), Nebraska-Omaha 157-pounder Todd Meneely (2009), Pittsburgh-Johnstown 133-pounder Shane Valko (2010), Western State 197-pounder Donovan McMahill (2011), Upper Iowa 133-pounder Trevor Franklin (2012), Grand Canyon heavyweight Tyrell Fortune (2013), Kutztown heavyweight Ziad Haddad (2014), Central Oklahoma 165-pounder Chris Watson (2015), Notre Dame 184-pounder Joey Davis (2016) and Becker (2017).

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police are searching for two individuals seen on surveillance video running from the apparent murder of an Indianapolis area high school wrestler. Elijah Lacey, 18, a Lawrence Central High School senior just one week shy of graduation, was found shot dead in a pickup truck in a parking lot at a liquor store Memorial Day afternoon. Elijah LaceyIMPD released the surveillance video Wednesday of the shooting of Lacey which took place at an eastside liquor store Monday, May 26 at approximately 4:30 p.m. Officers said two people arrived in the parking lot of Crown Liquors in a silver Acura sedan at that time, then approached a parked pickup truck. In the video, the two people speak to a man inside the truck. One person walks around and enters the truck on the passenger side. The person at the driver's window suddenly extends an arm into the cab, jumps away from the truck, references wildly toward the window and runs away. The person in the passenger seat also jumps out of the cab and runs away. IMPD officers say the discovered Lacey with at least one gunshot wound inside the truck. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Lacey's mother, Natasha McKinley, told WISH-TV that her son's "passion was wrestling" and that he loved to teach wrestling to younger students. She also said that Elijah Lacey had wrestled for Warren Central High School, a public school on the east side of Indianapolis. TrackWrestling.com lists Lacey as wrestling at 149 pounds. Visitation for Elijah D. Lacey will be held Saturday, June 2 from 10:00 a.m. to noon at Overcoming Church, 2203 Columbia Ave., Indianapolis with the funeral service commencing at noon. Burial will take place in New Crown Cemetery. Meanwhile, IMPD continues its search for the two men on the video which is available for viewing via the WISH-TV link. Viewers who recognize the individuals in the video are urged to contact Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana with anonymous tips 24 hours a day at (317) 262-8477.

Isaiah Martinez won both the U.S. Open and World Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois wrestling head coach Jim Heffernan announced on Friday that two-time NCAA Champion and four-time Big Ten Champion Isaiah Martinez will join the 2018-19 coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. "It is with great pride that we announce the addition of Isaiah Martinez to our staff," said Heffernan. "Being the most successful wrestler in the program's history, we felt it was extremely important to keep Isaiah here to continue his legacy on the coaching side, while still competing internationally. He has great knowledge, experience and an incredible work ethic that will help our program in every aspect. We are lucky to have him continue his next chapter at Illinois." The most decorated wrestler in program history, Martinez joins the Illinois bench after concluding his Illini wrestling career with the highest winning percentage in school history. Winning 97.5 percent of his matches, the 116 victories by Martinez is tied for 10th all-time in Illinois history. "I'm proud and excited to continue to help out the University of Illinois," Martinez said of his addition to the coaching staff. "This is an excellent opportunity to work with a coaching staff and a team that I care dearly for." Earlier this spring, Martinez announced that he is staying in Champaign to continue his international-level career with the Illinois Regional Training Center. Martinez is currently preparing for his Final X, best-of-three series against reigning World Champion Jordan Burroughs on June 9 in Lincoln, Nebraska with a spot on the 2018 World Championships Team on the line. A three-time California state champion in high school, Martinez began his Illinois career with one of the greatest freshman seasons in collegiate wrestling history. Finishing his debut season undefeated with a 35-0 record and a Big Ten and NCAA title, the 157-pounder became the first collegiate wrestler to finish his freshman season without a loss since Cael Sanderson (Iowa State) in 1999. Following the season, Martinez was named Freshman of the Year by the Big Ten, InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News. Martinez added a second NCAA and Big Ten title at 157 pounds as a redshirt sophomore in 2016, culminating with a 6-5 defeat of Penn State's Jason Nolf in the season rubber match at Madison Square Garden. Moving up to 165 pounds for his junior and senior seasons, Martinez again added a third and fourth conference crown to become just the 16th Big Ten wrestler to do so. Combined with Coach Heffernan's four titles, the two became the first coach-athlete duo to both win four Big Ten Championships. Recognized throughout his career for his historic achievements, Martinez was named the 2018 Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient this spring. Additionally, Martinez is a two-time Illinois Dike Eddleman Male Athlete of the Year winner and a two-time Big Ten Wrestler of the Championships. Hailing from Lemoore, California, Martinez graduated with a degree in sociology. In addition to Martinez joining the Illinois coaching staff, former Illini All-American Zac Brunson will begin coaching at the Poeta Training Center in Lake Forest, Illinois that was created and previously ran by current Illinois assistant coach Mike Poeta. Since its inception six years ago, the Center has produced 26 state champions. For complete coverage of Fighting Illini wrestling, go to FIGHTINILLINI.com and follow @IlliniWrestling on Twitter and Instagram.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup starts in two weeks and for the first time since 1986 the United States won't be in the mix. Think of it like watching the U.S. side during the Greco-Roman medal rounds at the World Championships! Easy … I'm teasing. The final game of the FIFA World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world. In 2014 the finals from Rio de Janeiro garnered more than 1 billion views, with a total of 3 billion having watched some or part of the month-long event. Maybe the USA won't be competing, but with more than half the world still tuning into watch there are reasons to watch beyond nationalism. For instance, it's worth pondering how this sport took over the globe so quickly. There are a lot of answers in the book "How Soccer Explains the World" but a few main reasons are obvious to almost any observer. The sport brings in a large number of people for play, with 22 players on the field at once. Soccer can also be played by people of any height, weight, speed or athletic ability. Men and women have equal access to play. Small kids can play from as young as four years old and yet there are still competitive leagues for men in their 60's and 70's. Overall, the sport is accessible, builds good cardio and requires a nice mixture of athleticism and gamesmanship. Being accessible is a massive part of the equation as fans are more likely to watch a sport that they can play and play a sport that they can watch. Wrestling's lesson should be to create a form of the sport that is free and open to more people. One that can be simple and fun for youngsters, but also doable for those who are no longer in peak physical shape. Wrestling as a productive play tool, not just a form of combat. How to do that is trickier. I have my ideas but will save them for a future article. For now we should all get our creative juices flowing and ask ourselves how we might be able to transform and adapt the sport of wrestling so that it can be enjoyed by more people around the world. Don't know who to root for? Try this quiz … Want to engage in the fandamodium? Play the FIFA World Cup Bracket Challenge. To your questions … Hayden Hidlay moments before wrestling in the U.S. Open finals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: Hayden Hidlay is entered in the U23 World Team Trials this weekend. I was impressed with what he did on the senior level this spring. Is he good enough to win a world title this year at the U23 World Championships? That's assuming he make the team. He still has to get by the likes of Ryan Deakin, Matt Kolodzik and others at 70 kilograms. -- Mike C. Foley: The U23 World Championships is probably the second toughest tournament of the entire international calendar. Most every nation's second tier wrestlers are just about 18-23 years old and the high side of that bracket tend to be the top contender for their national team. That means this tournament will be filled with hammers. Stuffed. Hidlay has a good style for competing at the international level. He's strong, makes very few mistakes and is disciplined in his scrambles. Where he might run into trouble is in defending the higher-level attacks and scoring opportunities of the Eastern European wrestlers. I think it takes time to find the right reaction to their exposure creating moves and without an immediate adaptation to a lot of new positions it's tough for wrestlers from the Americas to limit being scored upon. I'm excited to see how Hidlay wrestles at the U23 World Team Trials and really anxious to see how Team USA competes at the U23 World Championships in November. Q: With Mark Cody taking the helm at Presbyterian College, I couldn't find anything on how many scholarships men's and women's wrestling will be allotted. The school announced that the football program will move to non-scholarship in the next few years. Any idea how many scholarships each program will have and is this where they are coming from? -- Frank C. Foley: Hard to say where the money is coming from as I don't have access to the internal documents and nothing was stated online. The fact the football team is doing away with scholarships though would indicate that they are reallocating to other programs. From what I've been told the programs will be fully funded with 9.9 scholarships. Q: Do you think the Russian and/or Iranian freestyle national teams could field 10-man teams that would be competitive with Penn State, Ohio State and the other top teams wrestling folkstyle at next year's NCAA tournament? Assume they have between now and March of 2019 to get ready and access to quality coaching with NCAA limits on practice time. I know they'd be dynamite on their feet, but could they get off bottom/get any points on top? Is one year enough time to deal with funk and all the back exposure they have spent a life time avoiding? -- Bryan R. Foley: Interesting question. I think that we have a few reference points, mainly the Mongolians that came through American and The Citadel in the late aughties. Guys like Sanjaa and Turtogtokh had little on the mat experience prior to their collegiate stints. (Turtogtokh wrestled two years in high school.) While both showed more overall skill on their feet, they definitely lacked the aggression in working from bottom. The biggest difference wouldn't be the skill in escaping from bottom, but the divide in why you would even try to escape from bottom. In freestyle it's not just that par terre defense is different, it's that at its core you're meant to stay flat. In folkstyle the rules attempt to create urgency. After 15 years of no urgency, it can be tough to get a foreign wrestler to work from bottom. Bottom is only half the issue. While freestyle rewards techniques and risk taking, folkstyle rewards control. Throwing someone to their back with a headlock is always four or five points in freestyle, whereas in folkstyle there is a risk of rolling through and giving up two points. That's just one example, but it's vital to keep in mind when adjusting for the amount of scoring possible out of a Russian or Iranian athlete. Overall, I think both could have top ten teams in year one and top five in year two. They are pulling from a much larger field of athletes and would give a lot of individuals who haven't wrestled overseas the type of looks that could spell trouble at the national tournament. Q: After Nick Reenan qualified for Final X, he was asked about facing David Taylor. He mentioned that his main focus is NCAAs next year. I found that a bit odd. I would have thought making the World Team and representing Team USA would have been his primary focus. Do you find it odd that he's more focused on the NCAA season after making it to Final X? -- Mike C. Foley: Yikes! When I clicked to watch (link below) I thought the answer was going to be a folksy reply about wanting to help his team, a la Kyle Snyder, but Reenan kinda doubles down. Either he doesn't think he can win, or he just really doesn't want to be bothered by switching training for a few months before heading into the NCAA season. I'm guessing that there is just a lot of excitement for him right now. Beating opponents who'd beaten him at the U.S. Open, and wrestling really well in all his matches. It's believable that he would just want to jump into the NCAA season as soon as possible and convert this energy to wins for the Wolfpack. To each his own, but I think he should stay confident and focused on the freestyle side of things since he is now on the U.S. National Team and is entitled to training camps, overseas travel and an incredible set of wrestling partners and coaches. You always have to ask yourself, "What would Kyle Snyder do?" MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Nicky Reenan Interview Wrestler Madi Mpho speaks with UN Commission on human rights! Link: MatChat with Mike Powell Q: Are you hearing anything about Little Rock's head coaching search? -- Mike C. Foley: I have heard big names! Don't want to drop them here since I haven't been able to check the status of the interviews, but from what I hear it's attracting a good number of candidates who are optimistic about the area and about the idea of building something 100 percent in their image. Q: A lot of wrestlers have transitioned from college wrestling into successful MMA careers, wrestlers such as Logan Storley, Daniel Cormier, and T.J. Dillashaw. Why do college wrestlers have such success at MMA? Lastly, who do you see as the next five college wrestlers to transition into MMA and be successful? -- Gregg Y. Foley: Wrestlers are successful in MMA for a number of reasons, but the primary reason is the ability to control where the fight goes, knowledge on how to prepare for combat sports, and training histories that allow them a higher starting point than those coming from boxing, jiu-jitsu or other martial arts. The next five … What do you guys think? I haven't heard of many seniors who've made it known that they are going to compete. Q: If we were to have a U.S. Open in folkstyle open to all wrestlers all of ages with a $1 million prize to each winner, who do you think would win in each weight class assuming the current NCAA weight classes? Assume everyone qualified to enter has to actually enter/is healthy enough to compete in a five- round seeded tournament, including coaches/active competitors who might not otherwise do so (e.g. Cael Sanderson, Donny Pritzlaff, Jordan Burroughs, etc.). I'm not asking who would win their prime. I'm asking who do you think would win a U.S. Open in folkstyle today? -- Bryan R. If there was a U.S. Open in folkstyle, would Tony Ramos win the title at 133 pounds? (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Foley: Ahh, in folkstyle that could be a lot trickier. Assuming all the conditions you made are met, while still accounting for an increase in age, here are my predictions: 125: Jesse Delgado 133: Tony Ramos 141: Logan Stieber 149: Zain Retherford 157: Jason Nolf 165: Jordan Burroughs 174: Kyle Dake 184: David Taylor 197: Cael Sanderson 285: Kyle Snyder Q: I'm going on vacation with my wife next week and looking for a good, thought-provoking book to read. Any books you can recommend that will get me thinking differently? -- Mike C. Foley: My wife doesn't think it's possible to read two books at once, but I'm currently attempting it defy her expectations. For non-fiction I'm reading "Bad Blood" … the story of health care startup Theranos and the incredible lengths of deception CEO Elizabeth Holmes' went to grow the company. For fiction I'm trying to break through "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara. From what I can tell it's going to be complicated, big and, apparently, pretty sad. I've had someone recommend "Breathe" to me recently, which a book roughly around surfing. A lot of readers into surfing swear by William Finnegan's autobiography "Barbarian Days."

The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office will not pursue criminal charges against Bergen Catholic High School officials -- including two wrestling coaches -- who have been accused in a civil lawsuit of sexual and verbal abuse at its nationally-ranked wrestling program, according to multiple media reports Thursday. However, a separate 12-count civil lawsuit -- filed in April on behalf of a former Bergen Catholic wrestler who alleged that coaches from the wrestling team engaged in sexual and verbal harassment, while school administrators covered it up -- still stands and in fact can move forward. David Eisbrouch, an attorney for the former wrestler in the lawsuit, told NorthJersey.com that he was not aware of the closing of the investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office. "In the event it has been closed, we feel that it is premature and that a thorough investigation has not been completed," Eisbrouch told NorthJersey.com. "We shall be sending a letter to the acting prosecutor, Dennis Calo, shortly. If necessary, we shall be contacting the Attorney General's Office. It's our intent to pursue all criminal and civil remedies." The Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman did not offer additional comment beyond the announcement issued this week. The original 29-page, 12-count lawsuit, which had been filed in state Superior Court in Bergen County in early April, accuses school officials of conspiring to cover up illegal or inappropriate behavior on the part of school officials, including allegations that coaches shared pornographic images, watched wrestlers strip naked, and sent inappropriate text messages to student-athletes. In addition, that civil lawsuit alleges that officials at Bergen Catholic High and the Newark Archdiocese tried to protect the wrestling coaches from "criminal detection" in a "conspiracy to endanger children." The wrestling program at Bergen Catholic was ranked No. 2 in the nation by InterMat at the end of the 2017-18 season. The Crusaders won the most individual titles at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Wrestling Championships earlier this year, with three. They have won 12 individual titles in the last four years.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Former University of Iowa student-athlete Alex Kanellis has been named strength and conditioning coach of the Hawkeye wrestling program, Iowa head coach Tom Brands announced Thursday. Kanellis was a Hawkeye football letterwinner in 2005 and 2006, and graduated from the University of Iowa in 2009. He earned a master of arts degree in exercise science and health promotion from California University of Pennsylvania in 2015, and has served as the head strength coach at Regina High School in Iowa City since 2010. "I am truly humbled and excited about the opportunity to work with Tom Brands and the Iowa wrestling team," Kanellis said. "It is an emotional time for me. Leaving my position at Regina is extremely difficult, but this is a dream job and a huge opportunity. My focus now is entirely on exceeding the high standards of the Hawkeye program. I take the responsibility seriously and I'm ready to get to work." "We identified an individual that understands and appreciates the value this position adds to our program, specifically our wrestlers," said Brands. "Alex is an expert in his field, and he has learned from two men on campus that I respect tremendously, Kirk Ferentz and Chris Doyle. He knows what we need in our room and we're glad he's on our team." Kanellis's master of arts concentration was in performance enhancement and injury prevention. He has eight years experience designing and implementing speed, strength, and conditioning programs. He is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, and the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Kanellis replaces Travis Rutt on the Iowa staff. Rutt moved to Minneapolis with his family to pursue other professional opportunities.

OWENSBORO, KY. -- Kentucky Wesleyan College Head Wrestling Coach Chris Freije has named Rob McCabe as the program's first assistant coach. The Panthers will begin their inaugural season this fall. McCabe comes to Wesleyan after stops at Imagine High School in Florida and Pagosa Springs High School in Colorado. Under McCabe's direction, three wrestlers won State Titles along with 11 more placing at in their respective State Tournaments. "Rob's work ethic and character are second to none. When looking at laying the foundation for our program, finding the right fit from a character standpoint is paramount. The values of Coach McCabe and his family are a great fit with Wesleyan, and in Owensboro," commented Freije. The Nucla, Colorado native wrestled at Division II power Adams State of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. In 2005, McCabe earned All-American honors after finishing fourth at 125 pounds. He accomplished the same feat in 2006, again at 125 pounds. "From a wrestling standpoint, you'll be hard pressed to find another coach at the Division II level with the competitive credentials and experience that Rob has. He holds a passion for the sport and a comprehensive knowledge of wrestling, nutrition, and proper training habits that will be a huge asset in driving the vision of Wesleyan wrestling to develop leaders and win NCAA Championships. Our goal is to graduate scholar-athletes and win matches at the highest levels. Rob will play a key role in the wrestling program doing its part to meet those standards and I couldn't be more excited to have the McCabe's join the Panther family." After college McCabe became an assistant coach at his alma mater before moving into the high school ranks. While with the Grizzlies he helped seven wrestlers reach the National Tournament, carding five All-Americans, including one national champion. Stay up to date on all your Panther news by following @KWCpanthers on Twitter and by liking the "Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics" Facebook page.

The University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse may now consider Tate Battani as "the one that got away." The team that got him? Iowa State. Tate BattaniBattani, a two-time Iowa high school state championships medalist, had signed a letter of intent to wrestle at UW-La Crosse in April ... but apparently changed his mind, and has now committed to become an Iowa State Cyclone, according to multiple media reports. Battani, a Ballard High School senior, announced his decision on Twitter: "After further consideration I am proud to announce that I will continue my academic and athletic career at Iowa State University!" With the change, Battani will continue his wrestling career in-state, close to home (Ballard High is located in Huxley, Iowa, just south of Ames, home to Iowa State) ... and in NCAA Division I. (UW-La Crosse competes in NCAA Division III.) In Battani, the Cyclones are getting a four-time Iowa state championships qualifier and two-time medalist. This past season, he placed third at state at 160 pounds in Class 2A and was named to the Raccoon River All-Conference team as a senior. Battani concluded his prep career with a 48-8 overall record. Battani has also made a name for himself beyond traditional folkstyle. He placed second at the Iowa Junior freestyle state tournament and first in Greco-Roman at 170 pounds. He also won the Junior Freestyle Northern Plains Regional at 170. Battani is expected to wrestle at either 165 or 174 pounds for the Cyclones.

Deron Winn fell to Hayden Zillmer in the finals of the World Team Trials (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) With one minute left, Deron Winn held a 7-4 lead over Hayden Zillmer in the second match of their best-of-three series at the World Team Trials. Zillmer had won the first match, which meant that Winn would have to hold that lead in order to have any hope of advancing to Final X and facing J'den Cox for a spot on the World Team. Zillmer, a Minnesota native, seemed to feed off his home-state fans in Rochester. He scored with a step out to cut into the lead. He then followed up with a takedown and gut wrench to win the match 9-7. As the clocked ticked down, it was clear that Winn was justifiably worn out. The trials process in freestyle wrestling is seemingly tedious by design. To qualify for the World Team Trials, Winn wrestled five matches and finished fourth at the U.S. Open on April 27-28. He then returned for the World Team Trials three weeks later. In the interim between those events, Winn also made his Bellator MMA debut and won by first-round knockout. Despite packing his schedule with competition, Winn has to be at least somewhat pleased with the results. He earned a win in his big-show MMA debut and earned a spot on the U.S. National Team (top three in the country). To hear him tell it, he was not even sure about going to the Open until the week of the event. Deron Winn battles J'den Cox at the U.S. Open (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) "I almost backed out of the Open and everything, but I actually talked to Coach [Kevin] Jackson on Monday of the week of the Open. He was telling me, 'You know, I think you're going to get a pretty good seed.' I've been there. I've wrestled at the Open six times, and I know how much of a grind it is," Winn said. "I am going to have a bunch of tough guys in a row, and it is going to be a grind. When he said I would get a pretty good seed, I said screw it and I did it." Winn's prediction of a grind proved to be prophetic. At the Open, he won his first three matches before running into Olympic medalist J'den Cox in the semifinals. According to Winn, the two have a history that dates back to their days coming up in Missouri. "Me and J'den kind of have a past, kind of a big brother and little brother past. I actually don't have anything against him. I beat him a couple years ago when he was fresh off his NCAA title, and there was always talk like, who would win?" Winn said. "Obviously, since he had such a great career, I think he is an amazing athlete, I really do, but I like to talk smack. A lot of people know me. I talk smack, but a lot of the time, it is just funny to me. I like messing with guys. I know I get under his skin, because people have told me that he doesn't really like it that much." Tempers flared in the Deron Winn-J'den Cox match at the U.S. Open (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The animosity did not end with talk. With 17 seconds left in the first period, Cox raised up out of his stance and was demonstrably upset about something. While it was unclear at the time, Cox was taking issue with one of Winn's tactics. "I couldn't get through anything he had, so I started digging my thumb into his neck a little bit, not a lot. I've done that 100 times, but I knew I was in his head when he stood up and started freaking out about it. So, you know, I didn't go right back to it, but yeah, I think I get in his head a little bit, which is a good thing," Winn said. "He's a stud, man. I'm going to have to do more than get in his head to beat him." Cox pulled out the match with a 3-0 score. He went on the win the U.S. Open and take a spot in Final X. Winn went on the finish fourth and qualify for the Trials. However, before he could even prepare for that tournament, he had a fight for the second biggest MMA promotion in the world. "I literally got home to Fresno on Sunday night, and then Monday morning I woke up at like 7:30 a.m. and I drove like two and a half hours to San Jose, and I sparred that day with [Daniel Cormier]," Winn said. "Then, I did the last two weeks of camp in San Jose, and I actually fought in San Jose. It was a long time coming, but it was just kind of crazy that it all came together at the same time." Winn signed with Zinkin Entertainment in 2015 with the intention of starting an MMA career following the 2016 Olympics. He made his debut last year and won three fights via first-round knockout. Bellator has been quick to sign wrestlers. The promotion has snatched up several fighters, including Aaron Pico, Joey Davis, Jarod Trice, Romero Cotton, Tyrell Fortune, Tywan Claxton and Ed Ruth, before they have even made their professional MMA debuts. While Zinkin also represents several of these fighters, there was a different plan for Winn. He wanted to fight at middleweight, and his teammates at Dethrone Base Camp, Ruth and Chris Honeycutt, were already competing for Bellator at 185 pounds "The original goal was for me to get to the UFC," Winn said. "With the Bellator guys, Zinkin and them have a really good relationship. We didn't want to sign with Bellator right away, and we were just going to try to get me a few fights to see if I could sign with the UFC or something other than that, but … before I even fought it was super hard for us to get opponents as a high-level wrestler." Winn has developed a close relationship with UFC champion Daniel Cormier over the years. He admittedly models his fighting style after the former Oklahoma State wrestler and considers the man he reflexively calls "DC" to be a big brother figure. On May 19, 2012, Cormier defeated veteran Josh Barnett in the finals of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix. The bout, which took place at an arena then named HP Pavilion, was only Cormier's 10th professional fight. However, in the cage that night, he staked his claim as one of the best heavyweights on the planet. Fast forward to today, and Cormier is the current UFC light heavyweight champion and considered one of the best 205-pound fighters in history. Seven days short of the sixth anniversary of Cormier's victory and in the same arena, now known as the SAP Center, Winn walked to the cage for his first bout in Bellator. He was set to face Ahmed White, who would be making his professional MMA debut. White, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, had also had trouble finding opponents. He had his debut scheduled twice before, but on both occasions, his opponents pulled out. From the start, it was clear that White had the height and reach advantage. He tried to fight on his back foot and threw looping punches from his hip. While White had some limited success with this strategy, it was only a matter of time until Winn caught him with power shots. About halfway through the first round, Winn closed the distance and landed a hard right hook that dropped White. He followed up with punches on the ground. The fight was over. "As the fight went on, I knew that if I just stalked him down ... It is hard to move backwards than forward in a fight. That is just my whole game plan. I am stalking you down. I am cutting you off. Whatever I need to do, feints, fake or grapple, if I need to, and get in and land my big shots, because I have really big power," Winn said. "You watch DC fight, and he's the same way. He comes out kind of relaxed, and a lot of these guys try to fight DC hard by striking a lot in the first round and then they get exhausted, because he is just blocking and walking you down. We are both sturdy. Like [White's] jabs, he connected with them, but they were not hurting me. I was just walking right through them. That's my whole plan, be patient, walk you down, wait until you get tired, smother you, and knock you out." Deron Winn topped Timmy McCall to advance to the finals of the World Team Trials (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) Despite his budding MMA career, Winn still describes himself as obsessed with wrestling. He speaks of long phone calls with Cormier discussing the sport from the youth level to the Olympics. In the fall, the pair, along with former World Team member Shawn Bunch, will take over coaching duties at Gilroy High School, a program that finished this past season ranked No. 12 in InterMat's Fab 50. Winn is already familiar with the lineup and predicting future success. "Gilroy lost a couple kids, but we still have some studs on the team, and we think with our coaching, our next level coaching, we will really develop some of these kids to the next level," Winn said. "Then in the next few years we have some studs coming up to where we will be top five in the country in high school." Competing at a high level in both MMA and freestyle wrestling certainly seems like a tall order. While the two sports have similarities, they are also distinct. At some point, Winn might need to specialize in one or the other. For at least the immediate future, he will try to balance the life of a wrestler and the life of a fighter. With that being said, it is hard to imagine a world in which Winn strays very far from the world's oldest sport. While he did not make Final X at 92 kilograms, he is quick to analyze the match at his weight. Deron Winn shoots a fireman's carry on Hayden Zillmer at the World Team Trials (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) "I just think that Zillmer is a stud, he trains hard, and he goes hard, but I just don't think he has the actual skills to beat J'den," Winn said. "To beat J'den you have to go get him, and I don't think Hayden can. No offense to Hayden. J'den is so hard to score on at this point in his career. That's one thing, I almost score on everyone that I wrestle, but I don't think I even sniffed a takedown against him at the Open."

Donavon Macura Cpl. Donavon Macura, a three-time Montana state wrestling championships qualifier who became a Marine, died while on a training run in Japan last week. He was 20. Macura, a 2016 graduate of Glacier High School in Kalispell who enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after graduation, collapsed during a 3-mile training run near the U.S. Military base in Okinawa, Japan, where he was stationed. His family was not aware of any medical conditions that might have led to his collapse, the Daily Inter Lake newspaper reported Wednesday. "He was definitely excited and proud to be a Marine," Ross Dankers, a Glacier teacher and the school's head wrestling coach, told the Flathead Beacon newspaper. Macura had been a member of the Glacier wrestling team for all four years of high school, and was team captain his senior year, where he wrestled at 160 pounds. He qualified for the Montana Class AA state tournament three times. "He had a great perspective on showing compassion and love to teammates," said Dankers. "He would take care of everyone, regardless of who you were, whether you were the best guy or the worst kid or anyone in between." In addition to wrestling for coach Dankers, Macura also served as a teaching assistant to Dankers in the classroom. "He was just kind of an all-around amazing young man, the type of kid that you would want your own son to be," Dankers said. "He stood for what the Marines stands for: doing the right things, working hard, being disciplined, watching out for each other." "I think (people) could tell, even if they didn't know him, what kind of kid he was." "Donavon was an awesome kid, a leader who took care of others around him," Dankers told the Daily Inter Lake. "He was the kind of kid you wanted your son to be. He loved being a Marine and loved being a wrestler 100 percent." Donavon Macura is survived by his parents, Ken and Marcie Macura. Funeral arrangements have not been made public at this time.

Jacob Kasper after pinning Iowa's Sam Stoll at the NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) There's a long, rich history of collegiate wrestling champs who have managed to find success in the squared circle. Brock Lesnar. Kurt Angle. Dan Hodge. Verne Gagne. Dick Hutton. Earl McCready. We may be about to add Jacob Kasper to that list. The two-time NCAA All-American heavyweight for Duke University is the subject of a nearly 3,000-word profile by K.C. Joyner and just posted at ESPN.com. Titled "In Search of its Next Star: How the WWE Recruited Duke Wrestler Jacob Kasper", the article provides an inside look at how WWE seeks out new talent for its rosters ... by focusing on Kasper and one of WWE's primary recruiters, Gerry Brisco, who wrestled for Oklahoma State in the mid-1960s and now focuses on wooing amateur mat stars into pro ring careers. Jacob Kasper certainly has a lot going for him in his quest to join the WWE. He's the right size: 6'3", 235 pounds. He has impressive amateur wrestling credentials -- a two-time Ohio high school state championships qualifier from Lexington, Ohio (about halfway between Columbus and Cleveland) who, while at Duke, twice earned NCAA All-American honors in 2017 and 2018, and, as a senior, was crowned champ at the prestigious Southern Scuffle and at the 2018 ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) Championships. What's more, Kasper demonstrates an athleticism that is sometimes missing in collegiate heavyweights. A key element: Kasper hasn't always been a heavyweight. When he was a qualifier for the Ohio high school state championships, he tipped the scales at 170 pounds the first year ... then 182 the next. Kasper spent half of his career at Duke wrestling 184. He's weighed in on the matter on Twitter: "The most exciting (& in large part best) upperweights have been guys that wrestled lighter weights. Consequently they developed all skill sets before becoming heavyweights ..." Then there are the intangibles that could also propel Jacob Kasper into WWE success. For starters, pro wrestling has been a lifetime passion of Kasper's. The Duke big man and his two brothers conducted pro-style matches at home (sometimes involving jumping off the roof of their home) ... and that quest for the pro spotlight hasn't faded. "I always thought it would be awesome to perform at a WrestleMania in front of 90,000 fans and leave an impression on them that would last for the rest of their lives," Kasper told ESPN. For Kasper, a WWE career goes beyond fulfilling a lifelong wish; he's got many of the tools that would serve him well in pro wrestling. As K.C. Joyner wrote in his ESPN feature, "Kasper has the personality, athletic ability, willingness to wield a microphone and a number of other factors that make him a special prospect coming out of college." In a sport where most fans appreciate athletes who "get the job done" with minimal flash, fanfare or drama on the mat -- or in mainstream or social media -- Jacob Kasper stands out from the crowd. Consider his shoes, his t-shirts, even his "colorful" sports jackets and bowties that he is sometimes seen wearing away from competition. And while Kasper generally comes across as being polite and respectful -- "Just trying to make my parents proud" he tweeted a few days ago -- the Duke heavyweight wasn't afraid of being perceived as the bad guy in the lead-up to his semifinals match at the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships taking on Ohio State's Kyle Snyder, the youngest American Olympic wrestling gold medalist in history. "Kasper called out Snyder by saying he wanted to 'punch him in the mouth' -- in a competitive sense -- and that alone made Kasper take on the heel role in the amateur wrestling community," Joyner wrote in his ESPN profile. It all has captured the attention of the WWE's Gerry Brisco. "In my nearly 50 years in the wrestling business, I have seen only a few wrestlers who have such powerful personalities that when they come into a room, everyone there knows that person has arrived," Brisco told ESPN. "Jacob Kasper has that type of personality, and he reminds me in many ways of a young John Cena." Yep, the same John Cena that has not only found superstardom in the WWE but has now become a fixture on TV and in movies. It's not beyond Jacob Kasper's vision to imagine a similar career path to Cena's. "His drive toward the future also has him thinking of outside-the-box ways he can improve his stock as a WWE recruit," wrote K.C. Joyner for ESPN. "He can already do a standing front flip and back flip, and Kasper is working with a gymnastics trainer to further expand his abilities. On top of all that, Kasper's mental acumen doesn't take a backseat to his physical talents either, with the former premed student touting three-time NCAA Academic All-American honors." The wrestling-to-rasslin' connection -- a long tradition There's a long history of amateur wrestling champions who transferred that talent into the pro wrestling ring that goes back nearly a century. The first NCAA heavyweight champ -- Earl McCready of Oklahoma State, college wrestling's first three-time titlewinner (1928-1930) -- enjoyed a long pro career after leaving Stillwater. Other collegiate titlists -- Iowa's Joe Scarpello, Minnesota's Verne Gagne and Oklahoma State's Dick Hutton in the 1950s, Oklahoma's Dan Hodge and Oklahoma State's Jack Brisco (Gerry Brisco's brother) in the 1960s, and Chris Taylor, Iowa State heavyweight, in the 1970s -- were among those NCAA champs who enjoyed successful careers as pro wrestlers. The tradition continues. Among more recent examples: WWE's Chad Gable (2012 London Olympics Greco-Roman wrestler Chas Betts), as well as Kurt Angle (1996 Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA heavyweight champ at Pennsylvania's Clarion University), Brock Lesnar (2000 NCAA heavyweight champ for University of Minnesota), and Jack Swagger (who, as Jake Hager, was an NCAA All-American at University of Oklahoma). These days, the WWE seems to cast a wider net beyond amateur wrestling in terms of looking for the "next big thing" for its pro wrestling rings. Back in February, the WWE announced nearly 40 individuals would be put through the paces at a training camp in Orlando. At least three had amateur wrestling backgrounds: Juan Adams, former Virginia Military Institute heavyweight, now in MMA; Derrick Mehmen, a medalist at the Iowa high school state wrestling championships, now also in MMA; and David Viera, an Oregon high school state champ who concentrated on football at Oregon State.

Returning world champ Daniel "Greg" Kerkvliet is a strong favorite at 110 kilograms (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Each year the UWW (formerly FILA) 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 rankings, the No. 1 overall wrestler for junior high, freshmen, and sophomores will be in the field. Also in the field are second-ranked wrestlers for the freshmen, sophomore, and junior groups. Eligibility for this event is for wrestlers that turn 15, 16, or 17 during the 2018 calendar year; these competitors either were Cadets for USA Wrestling events last year, and/or are Cadet-eligible this year. The tournament serves as a qualifying trials event for the Cadet World Championships, which will be held July 2-8 in Zagreb, Croatia -- a date that is significantly earlier than in past years; with that being the case, the championship final will actually be a best-of-three series, though it should additionally be observed that all matches at this tournament are two two-minute periods in length. While the normal consolation prize, a spot in the Pan-American Championships, is not an option -- as those were held this past week -- there are the Youth Olympic Games to be held in mid-October in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The following is a weight-by-weight overview of the freestyle tournament, based on entries available in FloArena as of Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. A significant item to note is the change in weight classes for the Cadet world level this year. The opening weight jumped up three kilograms to 45, which is a jump of almost seven pounds (up to 99). The second weight is up two kilos to 48, which is equivalent to 105.8 pounds; while the third and fourth weights only jumped up one kilo, to 51/112.4 and 55/121.25 respectively. The fifth weight rose two kilos (about 3.5 pounds) to 60/132.25, as did the sixth and seventh weight classes (now at 65/143.3 and 71/156.5). The significant changes occurred with the back three weight classes at the world tournament. Instead of it being 76, 85, and 100 kilos, the back three weights are 80, 92, and 110 kilos (which are 176.4, 202.8, and 242.5 pounds respectively); the United States will no longer stage an unofficial "heavyweight" weight class. 45 kilograms (99 pounds): An incoming freshman that has won everything under the sun headed into high school, Jordan Williams (Oklahoma) is the probable favorite in this weight grouping. The Cadet folkstyle national champion this spring is ranked third overall among Junior High wrestlers, and was a Roller World of Wrestling triple crown winner this school year. Two of the primary contenders are last year's Cadet National freestyle finalists, Drake Ayala (Fort Dodge, Iowa) and Chance Lamer (Crescent Valley, Ore.). Ayala was runner-up to Williams at Cadet folkstyle this spring, and also was fifth at this tournament last year in the opening 42 kilo weight class; while Lamer was fifth in the 100 pound Cadet folkstyle weight that Williams won, and also was runner-up at 42 kilos in this event last year. Other contenders in this weight include incoming freshman Alex Almeyda (New Jersey), fourth at 42 kilos in this event last year and third in Cadet folk at 100 pounds this spring; Junior folkstyle champion Eli Griffin (Cascia Hall, Okla.); 94 pound Cadet folkstyle champion Maxximus Martinez (California), an incoming freshman and Outstanding Wrestler of the Junior High Super 32 this fall; and Stevo Poulin (Shenendehowa, N.Y.), state champion during his freshman year of high school at 99 pounds. 48 kilograms (105.8): Cole Skinner (Ohio) was the world team representative for the United States last year at the opening 42 kilo weight class. He is ranked No. 22 overall in the Class of 2021, though he missed the vast majority of his high school freshmen season due to the combination of training in the international styles and an eligibility issue associated with his online school filing for bankruptcy. However, the favorite in this weight class is Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.), who is ranked No. 6 overall in the Class of 2021; he was runner-up at the Super 32 in the preseason and champion at the Flo Nationals in the post-season, while freestyle exploits in 2017 included a third at 100 pounds in Cadet freestyle and a seventh at 46 kilos in this event last year. Others to watch included Brenden Chaowanapibool (Bonney Lake, Wash.), a two-time state champion at 2016 Junior freestyle All-American; incoming freshman Daniel Wask (New Jersey); state champion Gary Steen (Reynolds, Pa.); state runners-up Jacob Mann (Ladue Horton Watkins, Mo.), third in Cadet folkstyle this spring, and Kyle Rowan (Perry, Ohio), fourth in Cadet freestyle last summer; two-time Cadet freestyle All-American Kase Mauger (Twin Falls, Idaho); and state medalist Sheldon Seymour (Troy, Pa.), third in Cadet freestyle last summer. 51 kilograms (112.4): Super 32 champion Cullan Schriever (Mason City, Iowa), who was a Cadet National freestyle champion at 88 pounds in 2016 enters as the favorite based on the present field; ranked No. 31 overall in the Class of 2020, he also was fourth last year in this tournament at 46 kilos. That said, two-time state placer Matthew Ramos (Lockport, Ill.), a Cadet runner-up last summer at 106 and a placer in this event two years ago, is prime among those to disagree with my first assertion. Two other runners-up from Cadet freestyle last year in Fargo are in the field, Andrew Chambal (Davison, Mich.) and Carter Young (Sand Springs, Okla.); as are returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.), Ryan Miller (Blair Academy, N.J.), and Jakason Burks (Omaha Burke, Neb.). Also in the field are Cadet folkstyle runner-up Nicolar Rivera (Wisconsin), a talented incoming freshman; NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion Tristan Lujan (Selma, Calif.); Super 32 Challenge placer Nick Babin (Emerson-Park Ridge, N.J.); and No. 12 overall Junior High wrestler Anthony Ferrari (Texas). 55 kilograms (121.25): An absolutely loaded weight class is anchored by two of the four Cadet World team members from last year that are eligible to return this year. Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic) and Julian Tagg (Brecksville) are ranked fifth and seventh respectively in the Class of 2020, and competed in last year's world championships at 54 and 50 kilos, though neither was able to medal. The last time the pair actually wrestled each other in competitive matches was 30 months ago when they split bouts between the Super 32 Junior High tournament and the Tulsa Kickoff Classic. Of interest was that Howard was able to make the world team last year as a first-year Cadet, the only wrestler to do so. It should be noted that no first-year Cadet made the team in 2016. Given this field, it is obviously possible that neither wrestler will be the ultimate representative for the United States in this weight class; while it is also plausible that neither could be in the finals bout. One of the many highlights in the challenge pack is the nation's top overall Junior High wrestler, Ryan Crookham (Pennsylvaia), a high school division Super 32 Challenge champion this year at 113 pounds; last year he placed sixth in this event at 46 kilos. Two additional challengers are also elite 2020 wrestlers: No. 8 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) and Dominick Serrano (Windsor, Colo.). Mastrogiovanni is a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American and placed third in this event last year, his lone loss coming by one in the quarterfinal to Tagg; while Serrano was a Cadet National runner-up in Fargo last summer, and a Flo Nationals champion this spring. Another two challengers are returning Cadet National freestyle champions, Zeke Escalera (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) and Noah Surtin (Edwardsville, Ill.); Escalera was champion at 106 and is No. 9 in the Class of 2021, while Surtin won the 113 title and is No. 50 in the Class of 2019. Other grade level ranked wrestlers include three from the current Junior High group -- No. 4 Jesse Mendez (Indiana), No. 7 Joey Cruz (California), and no. 14 Gavin Brown (Ohio) -- along with two from the Class of 2021 in No. 11 Max Renteria (Buchanan, Calif.) and No. 23 Vincent Zerban (Christian Brothers College, Mo.). Additional notables include Junior folkstyle champion Aaron Nagao (Esperanza, Calif.), 2016 Cadet freestyle All-American Caden McCrary (Woodland, Ga.), along with Cadet freestyle All-Americans Nick Masters (Woodward Academy, Ga.) and Caleb Rathjen (Ankeny, Iowa). 60 kilograms (132.25): No. 9 overall Class of 2020 wrestler Josh Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) is the favorite based on the present field. The two-time Super 32 Challenge placer was a Cadet National freestyle champion last summer after placing fourth in this event last year at 58 kilos; he also equated himself very well as a first-year Junior in Las Vegas last month. Prime among the challenge pack is the Cadet freestyle runner-up last year to Saunders, Ryan Franco (Clovis North, Calif.), who is ranked No. 8 overall in the Class of 2021. Another notable in the contending group is Phillip Moomey (Kearney, Neb.), third in Cadet freestyle last year and a Cadet Greco-Roman champion. Also among those in consideration is two-time Cadet freestyle All-American Keegan O'Toole (Arrowhead, Wis.), ranked No. 28 in the Class of 2020. Rounding out the ranked contingent in this field is two-time state champion Reid Ballantyne (Stillwater, Minn.), No. 18 overall in the Class of 2021; and Damien Lopez (Illinois), who is No. 13 among Junior High wrestlers). Additional contenders include Cadet freestyle All-Americans Caleb Tanner (Collinsville, Okla.) and Josh Edmond (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), along with Flo Nationals placer Jordan Hamdan (Hudson, Mich.); Edmond had a couple of significant upset wins last year on the front side of this event, though he did not place, while Hamdan was a Cadet Greco-Roman champion in 2016. 65 kilograms (143.3): The nation's top overall Class of 2021 wrestler Carson Manville is the anchor of this weight class. Last year he was runner-up in this tournament at 58 kilos after upending two-time Fargo Cadet double champion Nick Raimo in the semifinal, and was a Cadet National double champion in Fargo. During the high school season, he picked up wins over Super 32 champions Joey Silva and Ryan Anderson. Four wrestlers stand out as the challenge pack: No. 28 in the Class of 2019 Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio), No. 29 in the Class of 2019 Kevon Davenport (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.), No. 4 in the Class of 2021 Victor Voinovich (Brecksville, Ohio), and No. 21 in the Class of 2020 Fidel Mayora (Montini Catholic, Ill.). Davenport is a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American and placed fourth in this event last year at 63 kilos, while Mayora beat Davenport last year in the Fargo freestyle final after placing seventh at 63 kilos in this event. Voinovich failed to place in this tournament last year, losing to Davenport on the front side, and then placed third in the Fargo weight below Davenport and Mayora; while Andonian has emerged as a dynamo in the last 4-to-5 months, including a scholastic win over Davenport and a Junior freestyle regional final win over Voinovich. However, those five but scratch the surface of high caliber wrestlers in this weight with four others having a grade level ranking. Aidan Medora (St. John's Military Academy, Wis.) is No. 42 in the Class of 2020 after a Cadet freestyle runner-up finish last summer, Luke Surber (Tuttle, Okla.) is No. 47 in the Class of 2020, Luka Wick (San Marino, Calif.) is No. 21 in the Class of 2021 and a returning Cadet freestyle All-American, while Joseph Martin (California) is No. 5 overall among Junior High wrestlers having finished third in Cadet folkstyle at 152. Four additional wrestlers in this weight class were Cadet freestyle All-Americans last summer in Fargo: Alex Mosconi (Indianapolis Cathedral, Ind.), Cade Devos (Southeast Polk, Iowa), Christian Hudson (Caldwell, Idaho), and Michael Weber (Forsyth, Mont.); Devos was a placer in this event last year, while Weber was runner-up in Fargo freestyle last year. A few other names to eye in this weight are Bryce Hepner (St. Edward, Ohio), Chance McLane (Bozeman, Mont.), and Matt Lee (Evansville Mater Dei, Ind.) 71 kilograms (156.5): Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) is an absolute star for having just finished his freshman year of high school. Ranked No. 2 overall in the Class of 2021, he has won Junior and Cadet National folkstyle titles the last two springs, placed fourth at the Super 32 Challenge this past fall, was a Cadet freestyle champion last summer, and beat a two-time state champion to earn state gold as a freshman this winter. However, there is another impact freshman in No. 7 overall Padraic Gallagher (St. Edward, Ohio) that will be among the prime challengers; Gallagher placed at 63 kilos in this tournament last year, and was also a Cadet freestyle All-American in Fargo last summer. Also in this weight are a pair of grade level ranked Class of 2020 wrestlers: No. 25 Aaron Gandara (Cibola, Ariz.) and No. 34 Sonny Santiago (St. John Bosco, Calif.); Gandara was a Cadet National double runner-up last summer in Fargo. Another trio of higher-end rising seniors (Class of 2019) wrestlers were Cadet freestyle All-Americans last summer: state runner-up Trey Munoz (Trabucco Hills, Calif.), three-time state placer Lance Runyon (Southeast Polk, Iowa), along with state champion and Super 32 placer Joshua Otto (Arrowhead, Wis.) Others to watch include Cadet folkstyle runner-up Amado Castellon (Cimarron Memorial, Nev.), Cadet double All-Americans Brett McIntosh (Harrison, Ohio) and Jace Luchau (Selma, Calif.), Junior folkstyle placers Bubba Wilson (Manhattan, Kansas) and Colby Njos (Anoka, Minn.), NHSCA Junior Nationals runner-up Donnell Washington (Portage, Ind.), NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion Graham Calhoun (Plymouth, Ind.), and three-time state champion James Burks (Omaha Burke, Neb.) 80 kilograms (176.4): In the argument for which weight is the "weight of the tournament", this one with four clear elite wrestlers has a legit case to be made. No. 2 overall Class of 2020 wrestlers Patrick Kennedy (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) is the nominal favorite coming into the event having won the Super 32 Challenge and finishing third at this event in the 76 kilo weight class in the last year. Arguably a joint favorite is another placer from the 76 kilo weight class last year, No. 5 overall Class of 2019 wrestler Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.); of interest is that both wrestlers took Travis Wittlake to the brink during last year's tournament. Three other top 30 Class of 2019 wrestlers reside in this field: No. 13 Carter Starocci (Erie Cathedral Prep, Pa.), a Cadet National double champion in Fargo and fifth at 69 kilos in this event last year; No. 16 Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Super 32 runner-up and Greco-Roman runner-up at 76 kilos in this tournament last year; along with No. 30 Darrien Roberts (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), double third in Fargo last summer. Five other wrestlers are grade level ranked in this weight class. Three from the Class of 2020: No. 17 Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan, Pa.), No. 38 Greyden Penner (Liberty, Mo.), and No. 50 Rocky Elam (Staley, Mo.); and a pair from the Class of 2021 in No. 10 Peyton Craft (Blair Academy, N.J.) and No. 14 Kyle Haas (Maize, Kansas). Another pair in this robust -- a description that is putting it mildly -- weight class were Cadet freestyle runners-up last summer, David Key (Brookwood, Ga.) and Jake Logan (New Rochelle, N.Y.); Logan is also a two-time Fargo freestyle All-American and placed at the Super 32 last fall. Two others were Greco-Roman champions and freestyle All-Americans last summer, Abe Assad (Glenbard North, Ill.) and Jonathan Fagen (Fruitland, Idaho). Also meriting attention are state champion Isaiah Alford (Lincoln High, Neb.) and Zach Glazier (Albert Lea, Minn.), Glazier was also a Cadet freestyle All-American last summer. 92 kilograms (202.8): Even with the potential clash of returning world team members at 55 kilos, the showdown here is more anticipated. Part of it is that it is more likely to happen, while the other part is that this pair is just more talented. A.J. Ferrari (Allen, Texas) is the No. 1 overall wrestler in the Class of 2020, while Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) is No. 3 overall; both wrestlers were also champions at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman during the scholastic season. Ferrari was a Junior folkstyle champion this spring at 195 pounds and a Cadet freestyle champion last summer at 170, picking up wins over Kennedy, Nijenhuius, and Assad along the way; while Amos has twice swept to freestyle and Greco-Roman titles in Fargo (195 in 2016, beat Kerkvliet in freestyle in the first round, and then at 220 last year in his first event back after missing 2016-17 due to injury). A third name to watch in this weight class is Flo Nationals champion Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), ranked No. 27 overall in the Class of 2019. Also in this weight class are five other returning Cadet National double All-Americans from last summer: two-time Cadet folkstyle runner-up Gavin Carter (Topeka-Washburn Rural, Kansas), Cadet freestyle runner-up Matthew Cover (Bay Village, Ohio), state champion and Cadet Greco runner-up Peter Christensen (Montini Catholic, Ill.), two-time Cadet freestyle All-American Santos Cantu (Sprague, Ore.), and Junior folkstyle runner-up Wyatt Hendrickson (Newton, Kansas). Others to watch are incoming freshman Kolby Franklin (Pennsylvania) and two-time state placer Gabe Christenson (Southeast Polk, Iowa) 110 kilograms (242.5): Returning Cadet world freestyle champion Daniel "Greg" Kerkvliet (Simley, Minn.) is ranked No. 2 overall in the Class of 2019. He is also going to be the United States' representative at the UWW Junior World Championships at 97 kilos come mid-September in Trnava, Slovakia. The prime contender for runner-up is Luke Luffman (Urbana, Ill.), who has experience in this type of situation as he was the opponent for Amos in both styles last summer in Fargo; the two-time state champion is ranked No. 43 overall in the Class of 2019 and an Illinois verbal commit. Others in this weight class include state champion Hunter Catka (Sun Valley, Pa.), ranked No. 35 overall in the Class of 2020; two-time state champion Andy Garcia (Pueblo East, Colo.); state champion Josh Heindselman (Piedmont, Okla.); and Louden Haga (Parkersburg South, W.Va.), last year's Cadet freestyle runner-up in Fargo.

GREENWOOD -- Lander Athletics today unveiled a plan to add a men's wrestling program to the athletic department. Lander will become just the fourth NCAA Division II wrestling program in the state and will begin competition during the 2019-20 academic year. "This is thrilling news for Lander as we continue to elevate and grow our athletics program," said athletics director Brian Reese. "Men's wrestling will bring an added element to our overall student-athlete experience and will give us another opportunity to field a progam that can compete at a championship level." Lander will begin the process of seeking the program's first head coach with a national search that will conclude by July 1. Lander University is a four-year, public university located in Greenwood, South Carolina. This NCAA Division II school has an enrollment of approximately 3,000 students.

Dan Youngblood, former wrestling champ and coach at Old Mill High School in Maryland, was killed in a boating accident late Saturday night. He was 51. Youngblood of Severna Park, Md., was piloting his 27-foot fishing boat with two friends when they struck a marker in the Severn River near Annapolis at 30 to 40 miles per hour at about 2 a.m. Sunday. Paramedics declared Youngblood dead at the scene. Dan Youngblood celebrates with his team in 2009A champion wrestler at Old Mill High, Youngblood graduated from the Millersville, Md. school in 1985. According to his LinkedIn page, Youngblood went on to the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a member of the Pitt Panthers wrestling team. He graduated from Pitt in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in Computer & Information Sciences & Support Services. Since 1994 Youngblood ran TechMark Systems -- a point-of-sale solutions provider for the restaurant industry -- in Severna Park, Md. Youngblood later returned to his high school alma mater in 1997 as an assistant wrestling coach. A decade later, Youngblood became Old Mill head wrestling coach, replacing Jim Grimm in 2007. According to the Baltimore Sun, Youngblood had at least one champion wrestler each year. He led the Patriots to win six titles in 2009. The newspaper named him Anne Arundel County wrestling coach of the year in 2008 and All-Metro wrestling coach of the year in 2009. Two distinct elements of Youngblood's coaching personality came through in news reports of his death: toughness ... and being part of a family. Former Capital sportswriter Mike Peters remembers Youngblood as "a good man who raised tough wrestlers." "They were aggressive because he coached that way," Peters told the Baltimore Sun. "His energy was exactly what the kids fed off of when they got onto the mat. They were just solid top to bottom. Every time that team took the mat under Dan, they probably were going to do something special." Some of his wrestlers remember a "second father" who created a family feeling among his athletes. Willie Pumphrey, who wrestled for Youngblood from 2006 to 2009, said the team became family. "He made us bond as close as anybody can bond," Pumphrey said. "It's hard. Everybody's calling and making sure everybody's all right." Nic Box, another wrestling protégé of the former Old Mill coach, posted this message on Daniel Youngblood's Facebook page: "Saddened to learn of the news one of my high school coaches has passed on. His teachings on the mat and successful coaching career can only be eclipsed by the success he had at teaching young boys how to be young men. I know my voice is echoed by others when I say thank you for the lessons on and off the mat, coach." The Saturday night accident that took the life of Dan Youngblood was the fifth boating fatality in Anne Arundel County in 2018. The accident investigation is ongoing. Funeral services have not been made public.

Aaron Cashman recently placed at the Junior World Team Trials (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Iowa has added one of the nation's top lightweights to its 2018 recruiting class. On Tuesday, Aaron Cashman, a 2016 Cadet World Team member and InterMat's No. 50 senior recruit, announced his commitment to wrestle for the Hawkeyes. He becomes the third top-100 recruit from the Class of 2018 to commit to Iowa, joining No. 18 Anthony Cassioppi (Hononegah, Ill.) and No. 60 Nelson Brands (Iowa City West, Iowa). The Hawkeys also added transfer Austin DeSanto from Drexel. The class was ranked 13th by InterMat. Cashman, a Minnesota native, spent this past season at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He competed at three college open tournaments at 125 pounds. In February, Cashman claimed a gold medal at the Flatz Open in Austria, going 4-0. Earlier this month he placed fourth in the Junior World Team Trials challenge tournament. Prior to moving to Colorado for his senior year, Cashman captured a Minnesota state championship as a junior, finishing the season with a 39-1 record. He was a state runner-up as a sophomore and a fourth-place finisher as a freshman.

Truman State University Over the years, wrestling mats have been littered with the remains of far too many college wrestling programs that were unceremoniously eliminated by school presidents and athletic directors, too many times without any clear explanation ... and no real opportunity for wrestlers, coaches and alumni to reverse the decision. In early May, Truman State University administrators announced their Bulldog NCAA Division II wrestling program would be eliminated, effective immediately. Now there is a plan -- a written memorandum of understanding -- put together by school administrators, head wrestling coach Dave Schutter, and wrestling team captain Samuel Reeves, which is described as "a proposal to provide possible funding for the wrestling program." The plan was signed by the participants just last week. Originally, Truman State had planned for its more-than-a-half-century-old wrestling program to shut down at the time of the announcement in early May. Upon receiving word that the school located in northeast Missouri had planned to axe the mat program right away, coach Schutter and his wrestlers requested an opportunity to develop a strategy to compete for one more season, and, also, a strategy for the wrestling program to continue as an intercollegiate sport at Truman State into the future. "To meet these goals, the parties agreed to a fundraising strategy to attempt to secure private funding to pay for the full cost of operating the wrestling program," according to the memorandum of understanding. There are two parts of the plan: 1. A short-term effort to raise funds for one more year of competition this coming season (2018-19); 2. A long-term plan to secure gifts to "an endowed fund in an amount sufficient to fully support the team into an indefinite future." The amount to be raised for Part 1 is $75,000, by October 10, 2018. This amount covers continued operation of the Truman State Bulldog wrestling program, including coach Schutter's salary and benefits for the time period July 1, 2018 through March 31, 2019. (Individuals wishing to make a donation to this fund may do so online.) If Part 1 is successful, then the program moves into Part 2, where those wishing to support Truman State wrestling into the long run can make cash donations into an endowed fund held by the Truman State University Foundation. The wrestling program would be supported by interest generated by the fund, without drawing on the fund's principal. If this effort is not successfully completed by March 10, 2019, the Bulldog wrestling program will be eliminated at that time. "Mike Moyer of the National Wrestling Coaches Association was instrumental in helping us fight for what was absolutely necessary," Dave Schutter, head wrestling coach at Truman State since 1990, told InterMat. "There's no arguing -- Truman State has experienced tough times lately, to be sure," Schutter continued. (At the time of announcing the elimination of the wrestling program, school administrators cited a planned $3.1 million cut in state core appropriations, a reduction on top of a $3.8 million cut in the current year.) "However, wrestling does bring in money and good kids. For instance, our wrestling program has won six Academic titles in NCAA Division II." "Our wrestling alumni support us," added Schutter. "We have been in the top five among alumni giving from sports programs. And, right now, there's a school athletic challenge, a fundraising competition among Truman teams. We're in second place right now. Wrestling has won two out of the past four years." "In terms of academics and other qualities you could want in a student-athlete, Truman State wrestling is very successful. We've graduated a lot of doctors and other professionals over the years." To contribute to the Truman State wrestling fund, click here, then choose "Athletics" and then write "Wrestling" in the notes section..

Lou Rosselli coaching Logan Stieber (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Logan Stieber is reuniting with his former coach Lou Rosselli for his Final X battle on June 16 against fellow Ohio RTC wrestler and current Buckeye Joey McKenna. The Oklahoma RTC made the announcement Tuesday on Twitter. Logan's younger brother Hunter Stieber is on Rosselli's coaching staff at the University of Oklahoma. Stieber, a 2016 world champion and four-time NCAA champion, advanced to Final X at 65 kilograms by defeating Jaydin Eierman at the World Team Trials, avenging a loss from the U.S. Open. Stieber's Final X opponent, McKenna, a two-time All-American, won a U.S. Open title by defeating Eierman.

Devin Skatzka (Photo/Indiana University) Devin Skatzka, a two-time NCAA qualifier for Indiana, announced that he is transferring to Minnesota. Skatzka, a native of Richmond, Mich., finished this past season with a 22-13 record at 174 pounds. He placed eighth at the 2018 Big Ten Championships and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, where he went 0-2. As a redshirt freshman, Skatzka placed seventh at the Big Ten Championships to qualify for the NCAAs. He becomes the second NCAA qualifier to announce his decision to transfer to Minnesota, joining Sean Russell, a three-time NCAA qualifier and 2017 All-American for Edinboro. Skatzka was a four-time Michigan state champion. He closed out his high school career as the nation's No. 84 senior recruit in the Class of 2015.

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY -- United World Wrestling (UWW) is pleased to announce its collaboration with the United Nations Human Rights Office to support its campaign for the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Born out of two World Wars, the Declaration is just as relevant today as it was on its first day. To highlight what the Declaration means for people in their everyday lives, the UN Human Rights Office launched a yearlong campaign that will culminate on 10 December 2018 - the actual anniversary date of the adoption of the Declaration. As a partner in the Olympic Movement, United World Wrestling is committed to improving its anti-discrimination efforts, advancing gender equality and promoting fair play within the sport of wrestling. UWW's collaboration with the UN Human Rights Office includes a video interview featuring South African wrestler Ms. Madi MPHO as a Human Rights Champion and a joint call from athletes worldwide to support the #standup4humanrights campaign. A "Wrestling for All" open day event will also be organized in South Africa at the end of the year to mark Human Rights Day. "We have made substantial progress towards gender equality and fair play in wrestling," said Nenad LALOVIC, President of United World Wrestling and executive board member of the International Olympic Committee. "Our goal of this collaboration is to demonstrate our determination to continue our effort to enhance the contribution of sport to the sustainable development of society." Follow us on social media for more information on upcoming events. Visit http://www.standup4humanrights.org to learn more about the campaign and how you can get engaged.

Phil Davis (Photo/Bellator) Former Penn State wrestling champ Phil Davis scored a "picture perfect" "highlight reel" finish over Linton Vassell at Bellator 200 at The SSE Arena in London Friday. Those two phrases were among those used in media reports to describe the former Bellator light-heavyweight (205 pound) titleholder's performance in a bout shown Friday on tape delay in the U.S. on the Paramount network. "Davis used his usual methodical attack to slow Vassell through two rounds," according to MMAjunkie.com. "Then, just 65 seconds into the third, he put his opponent away with a vicious right head kick." MMAfighting.com provided this word picture of the end of Davis' Bellator 200 win. "'Mr. Wonderful' caught Vassell with a picture-perfect right high kick that instantly slept the two-time title challenger." Both MMA websites described the 2008 NCAA champ for the Nittany Lions as being slow and methodical in the first two rounds vs. Vassell. However, as MMAjunkie.com described things, "Davis opened the third frame looking for the kill. It didn't take him long. After throwing some hands, he waited for Vassell to miss and threw a perfectly placed head kick. Vassell went face-first into the canvas and the bout was stopped at the 1:05 mark of Round 3." The 33-year-old Davis -- a two-time NCAA All American while at Penn State -- is now 19-4 overall in his pro mixed martial career, and 6-1 as a Bellator fighter ... while Vassell, 34, drops to 18-7 in his MMA career, and 7-4 in Bellator. Davis has chalked up two consecutive wins since losing the light-heavy crown to fellow former college mat star Ryan Bader (an Arizona State alum) ... and is looking to grab that title back. "Whoever steps in this cage has to deal with me," Davis said. "If that don't scare you, if that don't give you the heebie-jeebies, if that don't keep you up at night -- I don't know what will."

In early May, Missouri's Truman State announced the elimination of its wrestling program, effective immediately. However, efforts are in the works to keep the Bulldogs on the mat ... with an online fundraising effort for the 2018-19 season and beyond. To return to the mat next season, Truman State wrestling needs to raise $75,000 by October 10, 2018. Bulldog fans -- as well as fans of college wrestling everywhere -- can help by making an online donation. It's fast and easy. (Simply choose "Athletics" then write "Wrestling" in the Notes section.) And, your gift can help keep Truman State wrestling moving forward, so the Bulldogs can be stronger than ever. NOTE: This one-year plan is just part of the effort to save Truman State wrestling. To learn more about how the school hopes to assure the continued growth of the Bulldog mat program, check out this InterMat feature: http://intermatwrestle.com/articles/20186 Truman State University is a four-year public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It was originally called Northeast Missouri State but was later renamed after Harry Truman, president of the United States long associated with the state of Missouri. Truman State has an enrollment of approximately 6,300 students. The school's sports programs -- including Bulldog wrestling -- compete in NCAA Division II.