InterMat Staff

Episode 19 of The MatBoss Podcast with Chad Dennis brings the return of college roommate Jason Laflin to talk about the recently drawn NCAA Division I college pairings. About MatBoss: Created by coaches for coaches, MatBoss for iPad® integrates wrestling stats directly into the video you record for each match, completely replacing the need for labor-intensive pencil and paper scoring systems. It's the wrestling stats app our sport has been waiting for. Focus on coaching, not busy work Improve through video analysis Make data an advantage Eliminate scoring errors Increase exposure Become a digital coach For more information, visit MatBossApp.com. Follow MatBoss on Twitter and subscribe to the show @MatBossApp | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | Google Play Music | RSS

Kurt Angle after winning a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta (Photo/Photo/Michel Lipchitz, AP) Kurt Angle, 1996 Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA heavyweight wrestling champ for Clarion University who has been a major figure in professional wrestling for two decades, has revealed his plans to retire from the squared circle next month. Angle said he will have his last pro match at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday, April 7 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. just outside New York City. Angle made the announcement on Monday Night Raw in his hometown of Pittsburgh. "At WrestleMania, I will compete in my farewell match," Angle said prior to his victory over Apollo Crews. "I'd like to thank WWE. I'd like to thank every WWE Superstar I've shared a locker room with. And most importantly, I wanna thank each and every one of you," he told the WWE Universe. "You made it so much for me. I literally had the time of my life." A final opponent has yet to be announced. Angle signed with WWF (World Wrestling Federation, predecessor to today's World Wrestling Entertainment) in 1998. Prior to that, Angle crafted a career of significant accomplishments in amateur wrestling spanning more than two decades. One indicator of that greatness: he is just one of four wrestlers in American history to ever win a Junior World Championship, an NCAA Championship, a World Championship and an Olympic gold medal. He achieved all four of these milestones by age 26 ... joining Dave Schultz, John Smith and Kenny Monday. Kurt Steven Angle started wrestling at age seven. As a wrestler at Mt. Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh, Angle was a three-time PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) state wrestling championships qualifier, placing third as a junior, and winning the state title as a senior in 1987. After graduating from Mt. Lebanon, Angle enrolled at Clarion University in western Pennsylvania. Wrestling for coach Bob Bubb, Angle compiled an impressive 116-11-2 record for a 91 percent winning percentage. Among Angle's accomplishments: three-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) titles, four Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) championships, and a three-time NCAA All-American, winning the heavyweight title in 1990 and 1992. For all these achievements, Angle was named PSAC Wrestler of the Year three consecutive years (1990-92). During his high school and college career, Angle also made a name for himself in freestyle competition. Angle was the 1987 USA Junior Freestyle champion, a two-time USA Senior Freestyle champion, and the 1988 USA International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles Junior World Freestyle champion. Kurt Angle raises his arms in triumph after his win in the Olympic finals over Abbas Jadidi of Iran After college, Angle continued his freestyle mat career. In 1995, he won a gold medal at the World Championships. One year later, Angle returned to Atlanta to earn freestyle gold at 200 pounds the 1996 Olympics in thrilling style. He dedicated his medal to his late father as well as Dave Schultz, his murdered mentor/coach. Kurt Angle has received a number of honors for his amateur wrestling accomplishments. In 1997, he was presented with the PSAC Award of Merit (only the third recipient of this award). He has also been honored by the Pennsylvania Classic Hall of Fame, the Clarion University Athletic Hall of Fame and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Hall of Fame. In 2001, Angle was welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla. as a Distinguished Member.

I've covered the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the Pan American Games and the World Cup. But the NCAA Championships are still my favorite wrestling event. The three-day collegiate extravaganza offers so much in terms of excellent wrestling with compelling drama as individuals and teams battle for championships. The event is wrestled in front of sellout crowds and the atmosphere for this year's event will be electric once again with it being held in the wrestling hotbed of Pittsburgh. There are so many interesting storylines to follow again at this year's tournament on March 21-23. Here is a look at some top storylines to watch, in no particular order, at this year's NCAA tournament. Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal shared Big Ten Wrestler of the Year honors (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) The greatness of Nolf and Nickal What a treat it has been over the past four years to watch Penn State superstars Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal. They are two of the most dynamic and dominating wrestlers we've seen at the collegiate level. They go out and wrestle like you're supposed to. They open up, score points and put on a show. The biggest question mark surrounding them is which of those two will win the Hodge Trophy this year as the best collegiate wrestler. Both wrestlers are certainly deserving. Will Spencer Lee do it again? Iowa's Spencer Lee lost in the Big Ten tournament last year before winning a national title as a freshman. Lee lost at Big Tens again, in overtime to Northwestern's Sebastian Rivera in the finals. He also also suffered a late season loss by fall to Oklahoma State's Nick Piccininni. Lee looked good at Big Tens and had the lead late in his finals bout before falling. He obviously knows how to excel on the big stage as a Cadet and Junior world champion. I definitely wouldn't count him out at NCAAs in the 125-pound class. Lee is a Pennsylvania native who also will be wrestling close to home. He will be the No. 3 seed at 125. Yianni vs. McKenna This is one of the matchups most wrestling observers can't wait to see. Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis won nationals last year as a freshman even after severely injuring his knee during the tournament. Yianni is a stud who won two Cadet world titles. Ohio State's Joey McKenna is down to his last shot in college. He won a Junior world silver medal before losing to Logan Stieber in the Final X last year. McKenna is wrestling at a high level. No doubt, this could be a very entertaining match between two really good wrestlers. It would be entertaining for fans to watch if they meet at 141 pounds. Diakomihalis and McKenna are seeded 1-2 for the NCAAs at 141. Gable Steveson will look to bounce back from his Big Ten finals loss to Anthony Cassar of PSU (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) How will Fix and Gable do? It is the first NCAA tournament for freshman studs Daton Fix of Oklahoma State and Gable Steveson of Minnesota. Both wrestlers have been ranked No. 1 and the two age-group world champions certainly have a shot at contending for national titles. Opponents have slowed these guys down and they've been involved in some low-scoring matches. I would love to see both guys open it up more at nationals. That could be the key for both of them in Pittsburgh. They are two of my favorite guys to watch. Fix is seeded No. 1 at 133 and Steveson is seeded third at heavyweight. Who will prevail in loaded 133 division? Fix is the favorite here, but this incredibly loaded weight class also features three wrestlers who have placed second in this tournament. That list includes Nick Suriano of Rutgers, Stevan Micic of Michigan and Ethan Lizak of Minnesota. All three of those guys are ranked in the top five. Plus, you throw in Iowa's Austin DeSanto, who has had an excellent season. Pitt freshman Micky Phillippi is another guy to watch in addition to numerous others like North Carolina State's Tariq Wilson, Wyoming's Montorie Bridges, Ohio State's Luke Pletcher, Iowa State's Austin Gomez and Penn State's Roman Bravo-Young. That weight class alone will be worth the price of admission this year. There will be some great battles in this division. Hall vs. Valencia No doubt, this would be another highly anticipated match. Arizona State's Zahid Valencia defeated Penn State's Mark Hall, a 2017 NCAA champion, with an impressive performance in last year's 174-pound finals. Hall came back with a solid showing to beat Valencia in their nationally televised dual meet this season. Hall is an age-group world champion who is very skilled on his feet, but he's also very good in folkstyle in the top position. The key for Valencia, a Junior world silver medalist, will be to stay off bottom and score the first takedown. These are two accomplished wrestlers and it should be another great matchup if they meet at nationals. Hall is seeded No. 1 and Valencia No. 3 for NCAAs. Alex Marinelli defeated two-time NCAA champ Vincenzo Joseph of PSU to win a Big Ten title (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Bull on a mission Iowa's Alex "Bull" Marinelli has climbed to the top spot at 165 pounds after his impressive Big Ten finals win over two-time NCAA champion Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State. Marinelli beat Joseph for the second time by throwing him to his back with a six-point move. Now can he do it again? Joseph obviously knows how to peak when it counts most and you can bet that he will come back strong from that setback. Both wrestlers face tough roads in a strong weight class, but it would be fun to see these two standouts match up again on Saturday night. Marianelli and Joseph are seeded 1-2 for NCAAs at 165. Marianelli is the 1 seed, but he has a tough draw that could start with a first-round match against two-time All-American Joe Smith of Oklahoma State. Martin's quest for bookend titles Ohio State's Myles Martin won an NCAA title as a freshman. Now he's looking to cap his collegiate career with a second title. Martin reached the finals last year before falling to long-time rival Bo Nickal of Penn State. Martin is the top seed and the favorite at 184 pounds and he is looking very good. He may also need to put up some bonus points if the Buckeyes hope to challenge the Nittany Lions for the title. Micic vs. DeSanto There is no secret there is some bad blood between some of the competitors at 133 pounds. No. 2 seed Stevan Micic of Michigan and No. 7 Austin DeSanto of Iowa are on course to battle in the 133 quarterfinals. DeSanto beat Micic handily early last season while competing for Drexel before falling to him in a one-sided match in the national quarterfinals where DeSanto lost his cool in the closing seconds. If DeSanto beats Micic, he could face another wrestler he had two hard-fought battles with this season in No. 3 seed Nick Suriano of Rutgers. DeSanto beat Suriano in the dual before Suriano returned the favor at Big Tens. Both bouts were intense, physical and emotional matches. DeSanto likely will need to defeat No. 10 seed Roman Bravo-Young of Penn State in the second round to earn a shot at Micic. Will Penn State's run continue? The Nittany Lions are ranked No. 1 and loaded from top to bottom. But crazy things can happen in this three-day tournament. Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Iowa and Michigan are among the teams who will have to be at their absolute peak to knock off Penn State. Coach Cael Sanderson's teams have been so good in March and they're coming off a superb showing at the Big Ten tournament. The Nittany Lions have won the last three national titles and seven of the last eight. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. Wrestling close to home, in Pittsburgh, probably won't hurt the Nittany Lions either. Penn State started its run of titles in 2011 in Philadelphia and its run may continue again this year in its home state of Pennsylvania. It would take something remarkable for someone other than the Nittany Lions to win the team title this year.

This week the NCAA wrestling committee released the at-large bids, seeds, and brackets for the 2019 Division I Wrestling Championships in Pittsburgh. Put mildly, the response has been less than positive. From Shakur Rasheed earning a No. 2 seed after he medically forfeited in the Big Ten finals … to Big Ten eighth-place finisher Mike Carr earning a No. 6 seed, and the improper balancing of the 133-pound bracket, the week was messy for the NCAA. The debacle has reignited the debate around who should oversee the selection of seeds for the NCAAs, but also sheds light on the larger institutional deficiencies facing the NCAA administration of the sport in general. First, this is the process for selecting seeds as it is presented to the coaches, fans, media, and institutions. As I said last year and the year before, there is some amount of subjectivity involved in this formula. For example, there is a human deciding which categories to create and how much weight should be placed on each Coaches know this in advance, which means that they (and fans) can calculate for this subjective input. The more troublesome aspect of the committee's structure is that they are allowed to move wrestlers up and down based on … well, that apart isn't quite clear. When and where the coaches on the committee; Tom Ryan, Rob Hjerling, Brian Smith -- or the administrators; Andy Noel (Cornell), Phil Wile (Wyoming), and Karen Langston (CSUB) find need to adjust the seeds of top wrestlers isn't explicitly stated. I've learned (as have fans of international wrestling) that the moment there is even a golf ball size of grayness in a process there is truck-sized amount of doubt inserted into the process. After seeing what was generated from the formula (was this made available?), the committee then chose areas to adjust. I'm sure that there were some outputs that didn't stand to reason and fans would agree on the outcome, but as we saw there were many (MANY!) that defied explanation. So, when there isn't an objective A+B=C explanation there are questions, and room left to build theories. Fans of wrestling are already susceptible to a good conspiracy theory, which means that a minor one about seeding wouldn't be difficult to create. As such, I won't play out why these particular admins and coaches would want the outcomes we see in the seeds, because it's not provable and highly doubtful. Still, what biases six people hold and what motivations any one of them may have for creating a matchup or outcome is not known. That's why there was a move to a very objective measuring system for seeding. To eliminate that objectivity behind closed doors is to eliminate all those initial efforts. At the core of the NCAA's issues with wrestling and other sports are issues of fairness to athletes and a transparency in decision making. When looking at athlete pay, freedom of transfer, all the way down to seeding of the wrestling tournament, the main theme is that the NCAA keeps its fans, coaches, and stakeholders searching for reason. There is no cat-stroking villain at the helm of the NCAA, but it seems that there is little consideration for the diversity of experience across sports (more on this later) and an attitude that tells those interested that they want our money and our eyeballs, just not our opinions. To your questions … Q: NCAA seeds seem awful this year. What needs to be done? Was seeding every wrestler the right decision? -- Mike C. Foley: Wrestlers 1-33 are outputted by a computer and then movement between 1-16 can be done by the six-member committee (3 coaches, 3 admins) to adjust for head-to-head and other factors. The remaining 16 are in the order the formula dictates. The problem in "seeding" 16-33 is that it gives the perception that there is an appreciable difference in the talent of those wrestlers and that their seed was weighted and considered as much as the top 16 -- which they aren't. There needs to be significantly more pressure put on the NCAA to not use the antiquated processes of other sports lazily and transpose onto the wrestling model. The IOC-IF model is far from perfect, but it appreciates that no central body can properly oversee and administer the minutia of member federations. The NCAA model for sports like wrestling is not healthy, because it's not responsive to the needs of its member bodies. The sport of wrestling, as well as many similar sports, deserve a more knowledgeable, full-time independent body capable of making decisions that provide the most accurate outcomes for seeding, competition structure, seasonality, and more. Coordination with the NCAA would be a centerpiece of that organizational structure, but would always come secondary to the primary needs of the sport. A single rotating six-member committee could never possess enough time, context, or experience to effectively run a sport via a handful of meetings. There are more full-time staff at each of the Division I programs than there are full-time employees running NCAA wrestling. The time is coming for large changes, and while more administration is a costly undertaking it could provide better oversight and help our sport continue its record growth. Q: Is the medical forfeiting at conference tournaments a problem that needs to be addressed when it comes to NCAA seeding? It seems like many wrestlers benefited from medical forfeiting. Any suggestions on what can be done? Should they count as losses? -- Mike C. Foley: No, it shouldn't be a win or a loss. The idea of counting the medical forfeit as a loss is only an issue because there was a negative effect from the action in terms of seeding at the NCAA tournament. If and when the system is improved the medical forfeit issue won't be a factor, because those types of action will be accommodated for in the formula and/or in the seeding room. I hope. Q: I'd like to hear your take on the medical forfeits that seemed to cheapen the Big Ten Championships. I know people will probably focus on Shakur Rasheed, but five other guys medically forfeited their way to an NCAA appearance, including a top-ranked wrestler and second-place finisher from last season. Personally, I think it's bad for the sport and unfair to fans that paid to watch the tournament. I think there is an easy fix. 1. Don't announce the NCAA tournament allocation numbers until after the conference championships. Not knowing if your conference is getting 1 or 8 slots will make all matches matter. 2. If you medically forfeit any match you are no longer eligible for an automatic bid. Your only way to the tournament is through an at-large bid. Your fate is then placed in the hands of the selection committee. The conference also loses that allocation so that it doesn't reward conferences who have guys forfeit. The weight class simply gets one extra at-large bid. -- Matt W. Foley: Again, I think it would be a mistake to overhaul working systems (like pre-conference allocation) in order to eliminate the gamesmanship of the conference medical forfeits. And putting massive penalties in place for all medical forfeits could further hurt wrestlers who are seriously injured at their conference tournament. Would be unfortunate to see them held accountable for the actions of a few bad actors. Q: Nice job on the ESPN broadcast of the ACC Championships. I enjoyed watching. Which wrestler impressed you the most? -- Mike C. Foley: Thank you! I wouldn't normally include a compliment, but I felt proud of the team's work. Having now been on the production side for so many international championships, I appreciate the work that goes into the events and the effort put in by the broadcast team. Just one guy's opinion, but Shawn Kenny is the best play-by-play guy in the sport! Most impressive wrestler from the ACC was Jack Mueller. The OW went to Micky Phillippi, who deserved the praise, but nobody dominated like Mueller. Call it homerism if you like, but he was wrestling at an entirely different level than his opponents and earned more than a few ooh's and ahh's from the crowd. Mueller aside, my heart is now with Pittsburgh heavyweight Demetrius Thomas. He is the most entertaining wrestler at the college level who doesn't wrestle for Penn State and he will become an All-American in Pittsburgh. Constant attacks, great cardio, and just a ton of fun to watch compete. An incredible display of what big man wrestling can and should be! Demetrius Thomas (Photo/Pitt Athletics) Q: Who is this year's big bracket buster and why? -- Ryan P. Foley: Demetrius Thomas. He's the No. 8 seed at heavyweight and will be in the national finals. Q: Our in-state wrestling go-to website Michigan Grappler has our "home state" NCAA qualifier count at 19 which puts us in a respectable fifth place against other traditional wrestling states. If you look at the distribution of NCAA qualifiers' home states, Pennsylvania dominates all the other states by more than double (54). I have a few ideas why that is the case, but would love to read your detailed analysis on the reasons why Pennsylvania is the hotbed of folkstyle wrestling and how it produces such tough wrestlers year after year. -- Brad A. Foley: Why are the Brazilians so good in jiu-jitsu, Russians in freestyle wrestling, and Norway in winter sports? Product knowledge. They've been doing it the best for a long time and that means the correct knowledge is being transmitted to larger local audiences more effectively than in the other competitive markets. The effective communication of technique and strategy as well as high-level testing of that combination will always result in improved outcomes for specific regions. Population density of the East Coast also helps Pennsylvania (and New Jersey) athletes find more competition for less money. A more minor point, but the American rust belt has a number of lower to middle income families, which we know are the most likely to wrestle. Add in a dash of heritage and local pride and voila the recipe is complete for Pennsylvania (and really Western PA) to have the best wrestlers in the nation. Kerry McCoy spent 11 seasons as Maryland's head wrestling coach (Photo/Maryland Athletics) Q: Kerry McCoy seems like a great person, but obviously his results at Maryland weren't where they needed to be. Is it too early to start talking potential candidates to replace McCoy? What are some names you would like to see interview for the job? -- Mike C. Foley: Kerry is the man! About 15 years ago I was in a one-stoplight town in Central Pennsylvania en route to a wedding and the gas station we stopped at was selling Kerry McCoy bobbleheads. From what I understand my friend still has it in her car. McCoy is a great guy and has given his life to our sport. Whatever his next role I know that he'll be successful. Although the coaching side seems to be coming to an end there is a lot for him to do both inside the sport or using lessons from our sport make an impact in the business world, and his community. Were I on the hiring committee or a powerful alumnus, I'd focus on established Division I head coaches. There are a lot of talented assistants, but this is a Big Ten job that requires someone with CEO capabilities along with plenty of mat savvy. I think Chris Ayres, Scott Moore, Jason Borrelli, Matt Storniolo and Coleman Scott should all receive consideration. Were the school to reach for an assistant coach there are plenty that would perform well: Donny Pritzlaff, Jordan Leen, Mark Perry, and J Jaggers, among many more. Q: I read this beautifully written article. And, I couldn't help but draw correlations to wrestling and what helps make the sport so important. The best coaches today are fathering their athletes so nicely. And, that's why we see one story after another of great caring, sportsmanship, comradery, love, and true masculinity. So, uncharacteristically, I thought I'd reach out and share. By the way, I was raised to "act like you've been there before" … hand the ball to the ref, shake the other coaches' hand, and respect the opponent. I do not usually appreciate victory displays. But Chandler Rogers' celebration after his victory over Iowa was brilliant, charismatic, and heartfelt. I think deep down, he knew his fate, and wanted to go out his way. He made me a fan. -- James H. Foley: I really enjoyed that article. Though Medium says it wasn't the most highlighted portion, I found that "People are chronically lonely even though they're more connected than ever" is a sentiment I find more and more writers and thinkers discussing. Like when I first moved to NYC in 2005 I remembered someone telling me how incredible it was to live in a city of 8 million people and still feel totally, completely, and helplessly alone. For many people the internet is starting to create that same effect -- healthy bubbling life all around, and only misery and loneliness in their own sphere. The article also touches (a lot) on the idea of these warriors and balancing that against emotional intelligence and vulnerability. In my experience, wrestlers are more often like this than most any other sport. There is a deep sensitivity among most high-level wrestlers often because like soldiers they can see the rational limit of their strength, most have been disabused of the notion that they are the toughest on the planet, leaving them to realize there are a number of similar notions that are likely also untrue. I've seen it in Turkey, Russia, Mongolia, Iran … everywhere. The wrestler who works hard not because they are infallible, or immune to pain, but because they realize the only way they can be a good father, brother, wrestler is to explore those deficiencies and improve upon them -- whether physical, intellectual, or emotional. Anyway, great read. Chandler Rogers after picking up a fall in his final match at Oklahoma State (Photo/Oklahoma State Athletics) Loved the Chandler Rogers celebration, and if that is true I think that moment become even more genuine and awesome. Q: If the numbers are correct, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, the number of girls that wrestle in high school is roughly 6.74 percent of all the total number of high school participants. With roughly 31 percent girl participants coming from one state (California). Is the expansion at the college level for women's wrestling outpacing the high school participants? And what can we do as the U.S. wrestling community to help grow girls wrestling at the youth and high school level to create healthy sustainable college opportunities for girls who would like to wrestle in college? -- Rob M. Foley: That's a thoughtful question. The growth of women's wrestling is probably growing at a faster pace if you consider it only against previous women-only wrestling opportunities for women at both levels. The women's programs being added could also be seen as just playing "market catch-up" in giving an acceptable percent of women wrestlers a chance to compete in college. The growth at the high school level is also in its infancy, since many programs need validation from their state federations who are the ones sanctioning women's-only state tournaments. When state and local tournaments are better established more girls will experience the sport at their school and that in turn will drive further engagement with the sport. Also, the success of #WrestleLikeAGirl indicates that there are going to be more and more state federations getting on board with the concept of a state tournament. The process is no longer being handled alone in each state, there is a database of knowledge and organizational skill at their back.

Big Ten champion Bo Nickal tops the Most Dominant Wrestler category (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has released updated standings for the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded March 23 at the Division I Wrestling Championships. The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. For results to be counted they must come against opponents in the same division (i.e. Division I vs. Division I). Ties in the falls and tech falls categories are broken based on the aggregate time. Bo Nickal (5.24 average team points) and Jason Nolf (5.15) of Penn State will enter the NCAA Championships ranked as the top two in the race for most dominant. Both wrestlers won Big Ten Championships over the weekend and will be No. 1 seeds at nationals. Virginia 125- pounder Jack Mueller reached the 17-match minimum by winning the ACC championship and has compiled 4.94 team points per match while going 17-0 to rank third. Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State and Daniel Lewis of Missouri round out the top five. The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. Points per match are awarded as follows: * Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss) * Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss) * Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss) * Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss) Central Michigan heavyweight Matt Stencel earned a fall in the semifinals on his way to a Mid-American Conference championship and enters the NCAA Championships leading Division I with 18 falls. George Mason 165-pounder Colston DiBlasi also had a fall at the Eastern Wrestling League Championships to stay within one of Stencel with 17. Missouri 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman tallied falls in the semis and final to win the MAC championship and is third with 16 falls. Lock Haven 141-pounder Kyle Shoop increased his lead to three in the race for most tech falls with 15 this season, three more than Daton Fix of Oklahoma State with 12, while Nicolas Piccininni of the Cowboys has 11 and Quentin Perez (Campbell) and Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) each have 10.

The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are just around the corner, and this year Pittsburgh (Pa.) is hosting the biggest event in the sport of wrestling on March 21-23. As one of the largest wrestling hot spots in the U.S., the southwestern Pennsylvania area is accustomed large wrestling events, such as the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic and WPIAL tournament. With the elevated level of competition amongst the top guys in the country, there are sure to be some incredible matches. But, as any wrestling fan knows, there can be a lot of downtime between sessions (check out the full daily schedule here). That's why you need a list of the best things to do in Pittsburgh during the NCAA Wrestling Championships, including fan fest, dining, nightlife, and attractions. Fan Fest If you're a fan of college wrestling, then you need to attend the Fan Festival. When you're not watching wrestling at PPG Paints Arena, then head over to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center for a fully immersive college wrestling experience. Participate in fan events such as the WIN Magazine Memorabilia Show, Team USA wrestling practices, NWCA Coaches Clinic featuring Kyle Dake, and all-star autograph sessions. You'll see wrestling greats like Dan Gable, Bruce Baumgartner, and Jordan Burroughs. You can also check out the Hodge Trophy, known as the Heisman Trophy of the college wrestling world. Fan Fest is a great place to check out wrestling off-the-mat, but it's also a nice area to meet friends, grab a drink, and relax. There will also be big screens to view all of the action with replays. The best part? It's free to the public! Get the full Fan Festival schedule here. Dining Pittsburgh was named the 2019 Food City of the Year by the San Francisco firm af&co., and there's a reason for that. The food scene is Pittsburgh is vibrant to say the least. And food is important to most wrestling fans since the majority of us are former participants of the sport who had to cut weight for many years. So, here's the lowdown on where you should eat in between every session. Before the morning rounds, you will want to grab something to eat for breakfast so that you can enjoy all of the early-afternoon action. If you're by the arena, then Buford's Kitchen is the go-to place for BBQ pulled pork bowls and fried green tomatoes. Just an Uber-ride down the road are Pamela's Dinner and DeLuca's Diner, two breakfast joints in the Strip District made famous by celebrity visitors. Former President Obama visited Pamela's in 2008 to eat their delicious crepes, while Man V Food's Adam Richman took on the massive pancake at DeLuca's. While you're in the Strip District also visit the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company for all sorts of Italian meats and cheeses to take home to your family, or grab a sweet donut treat at Peace, Love, and Little Donuts. Photo/Primanti Bros. As for lunch and dinner, there are plenty of options. Your No. 1 stop must be Primanti Bro's, Pittsburgh's almost famous sandwich. After you've had the sandwich with fries, coleslaw, and meat, you can check out the other destinations around Market Square. Stop into The Yard for gourmet grilled cheese or head to NOLA for New Orleans style food. Just a short walk down the road, you can eat at Sienna Mercato, a three story building with a different dining experience on each level. Emporio is a meatball joint, Mezzo offers gourmet Italian, and Il Tetto is a rooftop bar garden. Further away from the arena you can head to the North Shore or Station Square. One of the North Shore's best restaurants is Burgatory, which offers make-your-own burgers and thick, heavenly milkshakes. Steelers fans may also want to eat at the Jerome Bettis' Grille 36 for a hearty burger. Walk across the Smithfield Bridge to find Station Square's full culinary offerings. Though Italian restaurant Buca di Beppo, original fondue Melting Pot, and Brazilian steakhouse Texas de Brazil aren't native to Pittsburgh, they are all solid choices for dinner plans. If you're trying to stay away from meat due to the Lenten season, check out this article on Pittsburgh's Fish Fry-Days. Bonus: If you have a car, check out one of Pittsburgh's best pizza restaurants, Beto's Pizza, which serves pizza like no other. Order a slice of pizza with cold cheese on top and your mind will be blown! Nightlife The National Wrestling Championships are not just a place to watch the best-of-the-best in college wrestling, it's also a time to catch up with your closest wrestling buddies. After the action is finished each day, head out to a bar to grab a drink. There are bars all over Pittsburgh, including those close to PPG Paints Arena like Red Beard's and Primanti's. Both places are great sports bars that will have fun atmospheres full of wrestling talk. If you're staying on the North Shore, you can visit Tequila Cowboy or McFadden's for a quick drink and some appetizers. The younger wrestling fans may want to head over the the Pittsburgh South Side for bars like Mario's, Jack's, The Flats, Carson City Saloon, or Jimmy D's that offer more music and entertainment. Another fun place to go for German-style food, drinks, and music is the Hofbrauhaus. Other activities So you've check out Fan Fest, eaten for the day, and are tired from last night's nightlife. Now what? For fans of the high school wrestling as well as other sports, visit the Heinz History Center, which hosts the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. Tickets are about $20, but you'll see the best of the Pens, Pirates, Steelers, and other Pittsburgh sports, including legends like Jim Kelly, Bill Cowher, and Dan Marino. You can also find high school programs like Canon-McMillan wrestling, which has a singlet in the museum. Because you are probably full from the Primanti's Sandwich you ate for lunch, feel free to walk off the carbs around the Point Park University fountain or on the North Shore River Trail. Both are great spots to sightsee in the city. However, the best spot to see Pittsburgh's skyline is at the top of Mount Washington. For $5, you can take the Duquesne Incline to the city's overlook locations for a perfect Instagram picture. Other notable attractions are the Andy Warhol Museum, The Mattress Factory, Pitt's Cathedral of Learning, Heinz Field, and PNC Park. The best part about Pittsburgh is that it is full of things to do. Wherever you end up after each session, you're sure to have a great time with fellow wrestling fans!

Photo/VisitPittsburgh.com Pittsburgh: Home to the Steelers ... the Pirates ... the Penguins ... and, for three days this March, home to the biggest college wrestling event of the year, the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The 2019 NCAAs will start Thursday morning, March 21 and conclude Saturday evening, March 23 at PPG Paints Arena in downtown Pittsburgh. The greater Pittsburgh area has a rich tradition of wrestling success at all levels, going back decades. However, it's been more than six decades since the Nationals had been last hosted in what was then known as Steel City ... the 1957 NCAAs at the University of Pittsburgh. (More about that later.) Whether you've never been to Pittsburgh -- or the last time was driving your brand-new '57 Chevy to the Nationals at Pitt -- InterMat thought you might appreciate a little help to make your trip even more of a winner. Getting there Pittsburgh is in far western Pennsylvania, within a day's drive of millions of amateur wrestling fans. The city is just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike -- one of the nation's main east-west routes -- as well as major highways such as I-70, I-76 and I-79. Pittsburgh International Airport is about 20 miles west of downtown. To get from the airport to the city, just take I-376 East through the Fort Pitt Tunnel and over the Monongahela River into the heart of downtown. Once you arrive downtown, two places where you'll find fellow college wrestling fans in Pittsburgh are the PPG Paints Arena ... and the NCAA Fan Fest at the David H. Lawrence Convention Center. Both are located in downtown Pittsburgh, just a few blocks apart. PPG Paints Arena: Home to mat action The venue for the 2019 NCAAs is PPG Paints Arena at 1001 Fifth Ave. on the east side of downtown. First opened in 2010 as Consol Energy Center, this facility which is normally the home of the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins -- along with everything from rock concerts to WWE events -- has a seating capacity of approximately 19,700 fans. Check out the arena before you arrive by visiting the venue's official website which includes info on food and beverage choices, parking and more. NCAA Fan Fest at the convention center When you're not taking in the wrestling action at the 2019 NCAAs at PPG Paints Arena, you'll want to be sure to drop by NCAA Fan Fest. Located at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center at 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd. -- an easy walk from the arena -- NCAA Fan Fest has plenty of attractions of interest to real wrestling fans. Plus it's an unbeatable place to relax, meet friends, grab a drink, a bite to eat and be entertained by wrestling presentations, exhibits, clinics, match replays and other live sports in between championship sessions. Best of all, it's all free. One of the main attractions at NCAA Fan Fest is the WIN Magazine Memorabilia Show. An NCAA championships tradition for nearly 30 years, the WIN Magazine Memorabilia Show features a superstore of wrestling gear and other items, along with memorabilia and historical items. Plus you might just run into some all-time great wrestling legends. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame will also set up shop at NCAA Fan Fest. This year, the Hall will have an exhibit featuring three-time NCAA champions from Pennsylvania colleges ... along with Keystone State natives Nate Carr and Greg Jones who won their national titles at Iowa State and West Virginia, respectively. While in Pennsylvania's second-largest city, might as well meet some of the Keystone State's all-time mat greats. Catch the presentation on the Main Stage at Fan Fest which pays tribute to some of the greatest wrestlers from Pennsylvania. Panelists include NCAA champs Nate Carr and David Taylor, along with Erin Tomeo Vandiver, head women's wrestling coach at Pennsylvania's Wyoming Seminary. That presentation, moderated by Pennsylvania wrestling historian Tom Elling, will be followed by an autograph session featuring these panelists as well as other mat greats from the Keystone State. And, while at Fan Fest, check out the must-see, in-person demonstration of the Resilite ShotSled ... a unique new tool for your wrestling room to help wrestlers focus on enhancing their initial power and penetration habits -- and break right through an opponent on the way to scoring a takedown. Thursday, March 21 3:00-7:00 p.m.: NCAA Fan Fest 3:00-7:00 p.m.: WIN Magazine Memorabilia Show 3:45-4:30 p.m.: National Wrestling Hall of Fame Pennsylvania Wrestling Greats -- Panel Discussion 4:30-5:00 p.m.: National Wrestling Hall of Fame Pennsylvania Wrestling Greats -- Autograph Session 4:30-5:45 p.m.: USA Wrestling Practice Friday, March 22 2:00-7:30 p.m.: NCAA Fan Fest 2:00-7:30 p.m.: WIN Magazine Memorabilia Show 3:15-3:25 p.m.: Resilite ShotShed Demonstration 3:30-4:15 p.m.: All-Star Autograph Session -- Dan Gable, Bruce Baumgartner, Carlton Haselrig 3:30-4:45 p.m.: USA Wrestling Practice 4:45-5:25 p.m.: NWCA Coaches Clinic featuring Kyle Dake 5:30-6:30 p,m.: Semifinals Preview Show featuring Jordan Burroughs Saturday, March 23 1:00-6:30 p.m.: NCAA Fan Fest 1:00-6:30 p.m.: WIN Magazine Memorabilia Show 2:30-3:45 p.m.: USA Wrestling Practice 3:45-4:15 p.m.: USA Wrestling Autograph Session 4:15-5:15 p.m.: USA Wrestling vs. Wyoming Seminary -- Women's Dual Note: All times Eastern (local). Times, participants and other aspects subject to change without notice. Beyond the NCAAs and Fan Fest ... Arriving in Pittsburgh early ... or staying in the city after the 2019 NCAAs are history? Here are some uniquely Pittsburgh area attractions you may want to check out: The Inclines: Pittsburgh is a city of hills. One old-school way to see the city and its three rivers from up high is by riding one of the city's two historic inclines which offer spectacular views. Duquesne Incline: 1197 Carson Street. (412) 381-1665. Monongahela Incline: 8 Grandview Avenue, near the Station Square hotel/shopping/entertainment complex. Roberto Clemente Museum: A native of Puerto Rico, Clemente played 18 seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, becoming both the first Latin American and Caribbean player to be enshrined. He was killed in a plane crash on his way to deliver humanitarian aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua in December 1972. 3339 Penn Ave. To schedule a tour, call (412) 621-1268 or email info@clementemuseum.com. Andy Warhol Museum: Bet you didn't know that one of the leading artists of the mid-20th century -- that guy that gave us paintings of Campbell Soup cans, Marilyn Monroe and other pop art -- was a Pittsburgh native. The largest collection of Warhol's work in the world. 117 Sandusky St. (412) 237-8300. Go-to resources to get more from your Pittsburgh trip Here are some unbeatable sources for more information about the host city of the 2019 NCAAs: VisitPittsburgh.com: Has just about everything you could want, including a digital version of their traditional printed Visitors' Guide with info on eateries and entertainment, attractions, more. Port Authority: Get info on the public transit system for Greater Pittsburgh including buses and the T, the light-rail transit system. The website features a handy trip planner to show you the smartest way to get from Point A to Point B. Pittsburgh International Airport: Website has a wealth of info to help speed you through the airport and into the city, including TSA security wait times, parking information, and airport maps. Visitor Centers: There are two in downtown Pittsburgh where you can visit to pick up brochures and maps, and talk to someone who has the answers to your questions. Fifth Avenue Place: 120 Fifth Avenue | David L. Lawrence Convention Center/East Lobby: 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd. Then and now: 1957 vs. 2019 The last time the NCAA Wrestling Championships were in Pittsburgh was more than six decades ago. The 1957 NCAAs were held at Fitzgerald Field House on the campus of University of Pittsburgh. Let's compare then -- and now -- by the numbers. The Field House could seat 4,100; the PPG Paints Arena has a seating capacity nearly five times greater. Back in '57, 213 wrestlers took to the mats at the Nationals ... compared to 330 this year. Today's fans will enjoy three big days of action, compared to just two days 62 years ago. What were the big stories to come out of the 1957 NCAAs? For local color, you couldn't beat the Peery family: Pitt head coach Rex Peery, and sons Hugh and Ed who wrestled for dear old dad. Ed won the 123-pound title in his home gym -- his third NCAA crown, joining brother Hugh (115-pound champ for Pitt, 1952-54) and dad Rex (118-pound titlewinner for Oklahoma State, 1933-35) as the first and only family to have won a total of nine national mat titles. More history was made at the 147-pound finals, as Simon Roberts of the University of Iowa became the first African-American to win an NCAA title. And a truly historic collegiate career concluded in Pittsburgh when "Dangerous" Dan Hodge won his third 177-pound title for the Oklahoma Sooners, wrapping up a perfect 46-0 overall record, with an incredible 36 falls. Hodge was named Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament for the second straight year ... then, a couple weeks later, appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the only time an amateur wrestler has been featured on the cover of the iconic sports weekly as a wrestler in its more than 65-year history. (And, yes, this is the same Dan Hodge whose name graces the Hodge Trophy given each year to the nation's most dominant college wrestler.)

Championship Saturday Night: ESPN Airs All Championship Matches; ESPN3 Offers Complementary Coverage in Addition to Pregame and Postgame Shows Icons Tim Johnson, Anthony Robles, Jim Gibbons, and Lee Kemp Return; Mike Couzens, Shawn Kenney and Quint Kessenich Anchor the Telecast; Billy Baldwin Back as Guest Analyst ESPN's unprecedented coverage of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships returns this month, with the annual event's three prime-time sessions airing on ESPN, its early sessions on ESPNU and every one of the 640 matches available on ESPN3 via the ESPN App. The nearly 20 hours of competition from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh begins Thursday, March 21, continues Friday, March 22, and concludes with the sport's final day on Saturday, March 23. This year, ESPN3 will add a postgame show to its previously existing pregame show and complementary Championship night coverage, serving fans with even more content on the sport's pinnacle night. Penn State's Dynasty Headlines NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Storylines Penn State seeks its fourth consecutive national championship and its eighth since 2011, as the squad competes in its home state this year. During their championship run, the Nittany Lions have helped elevate the Big Ten, the conference which has won every national championship since 2006. Additional Championships storylines: Three-Peat: In addition to their team accomplishments, a trio of Nittany Lions are vying for their third individual national championships: Jason Nolf (157 pounds), Vincenzo Joseph (165 pounds), and Bo Nickal (197 pounds). Head of the Class: Five wrestlers are going for their second national championship: Iowa's Spencer Lee (125 pounds), Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis (141 pounds) Penn State's Mark Hall (174 pounds), Arizona State's Zahid Valencia (174 pound), and Ohio State's Myles Martin (184 pounds) Return to the Steel City: The NCAA Championships return to Pittsburgh for the first time in more than 60 years, as the city last held the event in 1957. Championship Saturday Night to Offer Prime-time Coverage on ESPN; Pregame, Postgame and Complementary Live Coverage on ESPN3 ESPN's Championship Saturday night coverage will conclude the three-day event, with the network airing each national championship match beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Simultaneously, ESPN3 will offer Off the Mat, a special program providing a combination of live matches, highlights and interviews with newly crowned champions. Off the Mat programming will also surround Championship Saturday night, as ESPN3 debuts the program as a postgame show (approximately 10 p.m.), and the it returns as a pregame show (6:30 p.m.). Earlier in the day, ESPNU and ESPN3 will begin the final day of competition with coverage of the Medal Round at 11 a.m. ESPN Airs Second Round and Semifinals in Prime Time; ESPNU Presents First Round and Quarterfinals ESPN prime-time coverage begins with the Second Round on March 21, at 7 p.m., and continues with the Semifinals on March 22, at 8 p.m. On the same two days, ESPNU will air the First Round at noon and the Quarterfinals at 11 a.m.. As with all sessions, ESPN3 will offer individual feeds of each mat, including all eight mats for the first three sessions and all six mats for the semifinals. Coverage Highlights Include: One Screen, Multiple Mats: TV coverage will often show multiple mats at one time, with a scroll of both individual results and team standings continuously updating in real time: Eye-Popping Graphics: High-energy graphics for multiple wrestlers: Stay Up-to-Date: Standing updates will be provided throughout the telecasts and ESPN3 will have a standings streaming option for the most up-to-date scoring. Also, scoreboard updates will show which wrestlers are competing on which mats: Spotlighting Pittsburgh: ESPN will spotlight the Championships' return to Pittsburgh through both video teases and still photography throughout the telecasts, capturing the most iconic elements of the city. Reporters at Every Mat: ESPN3 will have a reporter stationed at each mat providing commentary for each specific feed to enhance the streaming experience Join the Conversation: Fans can follow the action on Twitter through @NCAAWrestling and join the conversation by tagging their tweets #NCAAWrestling ESPN Analysts among Most Recognized Names in the Sport Tim Johnson: The "voice of college wrestling" returns once again to ESPN's coverage, having been a part of it for more than a decade. Johnson was named the 2007 broadcaster of the year by the National Wrestling Media Association. His broadcasting and leadership roles in the sport of wrestling span more than 30 years, including being the director of wrestling for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as the recipient of the prestigious Order of Merit award honoring a lifetime of contributions to the sport of wrestling. Anthony Robles: Now in his eighth year as an ESPN analyst, the Arizona State graduate is a three-time All-American and a 2011 NCAA National Champion. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2012 and was a Medal of Courage honoree in 2012. Jim Gibbons: A former NCAA Wrestling Coach of the Year, he won an NCAA National Championship as the Cyclones head coach following a collegiate wrestling career where he was a three-time All-American and two-time Big Eight winner at Iowa State. He was inducted in the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003. Lee Kemp: Won three NCAA National Championships as a wrestler at Wisconsin and three gold medals in the World Championships. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1990. Billy Baldwin: The actor, a former standout wrestler at Binghamton University, will be a guest analyst throughout the three days for the third straight year. He was a leader in keeping the sport in the Olympic Games having joined USA Wrestling's Committee to Preserve Olympic Wrestling. For the third consecutive year, Mike Couzens will call the action at the wrestling championships, handling all the prime-time sessions, as well as Thursday's opening round. Shawn Kenney returns to the coverage and will handle the play-by-play for the Quarterfinals and Medal Round. Quint Kessenich will be the reporter on all telecasts. For more information on the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships: http://www.ncaa.com/wrestling.

Mike Carr is seeded No. 6 despite placing eighth at the Big Ten Championships (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) The brackets were released for the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on Wednesday. For the first time, the NCAA committee seeded all 33 wrestlers in the 10 weight classes. The committee examines head-to-head competition (25 percent), quality wins (20 percent), coaches ranking (15 percent), results against common opponents (10 percent), RPI (10 percent), qualifying event placement (10 percent) and win percentage (10 percent). While the committee did well with many seeds, there are some head-scratching seeds. Let's examine some over-seeded wrestlers at this year's NCAAs. Mike Carr (Illinois, 141) NCAA seed: No. 6 InterMat rank: No. 9 Carr has received some generous seeds in the postseason. His best wins during the regular season came over Minnesota's Mitchell McKee and Michigan's Kanen Storr. However, Carr was given the No. 1 seed at the Big Ten Championships over returning All-Americans Nick Lee of Penn State and Joey McKenna of Ohio State. Both Lee and McKenna had far superior regular seasons. At the Big Tens, Carr not only failed to live up to his seed, but he had a disastrous tournament, finishing eighth. He took losses to Chad Red of Nebraska, Tristan Moran of Wisconsin and Max Murin of Iowa. It was almost like the committee gave Carr a mulligan on his performance at the Big Tens. An eighth-place finish in the conference tournament -- with losses to three wrestlers seeded below him -- should not given him a No. 6 seed, especially without any wins this season over wrestlers seeded in the top five. Mason Parris gets his hand raised after a victory against Clarion (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Mason Parris (Michigan, 285) NCAA seed: No. 5 InterMat rank: No. 11 The true freshman heavyweight showed flashes of greatness this season. In his first match out of redshirt, Parris hammered returning All-American Amar Dhesi of Oregon State 11-4. He picked up several ranked wins this season, including a 6-2 victory over All-American Youssif Hemida of Maryland. However, Parris battled inconstancy. He was 0-3 against Northwestern heavyweight Conan Jennings (No. 12 seed) and was split with No. 9 seed Matt Stencel (Central Michigan), but was pinned in the most recent meeting. However, it was his Big Ten performance that makes his No. 5 seed a head-scratcher. Parris opened with a victory over Hemida before losing to Jennings for the third time this season. In the consolation bracket, Parris was pinned by David Jensen of Nebraska, before rebounding to finish seventh. The fact that his NCAA seed (5) is two spots higher than his Big Ten finish (7) seems strange. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern, 157) NCAA seed: No. 3 InterMat rank: No. 5 Deakin had a strong first half of his season and solidified himself as a top-four wrestler at 157 pounds. He won a Midlands title and cruised through the first half of the season undefeated. After Midlands, he dropped matches to Nebraska's Tyler Berger and Penn State's Jason Nolf. While those losses were not unexpected, he took an unexpected loss at the Big Ten Championships to Minnesota's Steve Bleise (which he avenged) and lost by six points Michigan's Alec Pantaleo, who was seeded lower at No. 4. Deakin being seeded over Pantaleo doesn't seem right based on recent results. Larry Early's season highlight was his win over NC State's Hayden Hidlay (Photo/ODU Athletics) Larry Early (Old Dominion, 157) NCAA seed: No. 7 InterMat rank: No. 14 Early's shining moment this season came in late November when he defeated Hayden Hidlay of NC State. At the time, it was Hidlay's first-ever regular season loss. The win catapulted Early up the rankings. However, as the season went on, the victory appeared to be an aberration. Early was blanked (4-0) by Logan Parks of Central Michigan (unranked by InterMat, seeded No. 18). He also fell to Virginia Tech's B.C. LaPrade (No. 17 seed). He entered the MAC Championships as the top seed at 157 pounds. He picked up a couple wins, including avenging the loss to Parks, to reach the finals before losing to Jarrett Jacques of Missouri in the finals. The fact that Early is seeded six spots ahead of Jacques after losing a head-to-head match just a few days ago doesn't make a whole lot of sense. While Jacques' seed (No. 13) seems appropriate, Early's seed seems about seven spots too high. Jamel Morris (NC State, 141) NCAA seed: No. 14 InterMat rank: No. 20 Morris has not lost a match since the calendar turned to 2019 and recently won the ACC title. He's red-hot heading into the NCAAs. So on the surface, a top-15 seed seems reasonable, right? However, a close examination of his results reveals that he lacks quality wins and has some questionable losses. His best wins this season are over the No. 24 seed Mitch Moore of Virginia Tech and the No. 25 seed Josh Finesilver of Duke. His losses have come against Kyle Schoop of Lock Haven (unranked by InterMat, seeded No. 13), No. 30 Nate Limmex, as well as Division II wrestler Jonathan Miller of UNC Pembroke, a wrestler that went 0-2 at the NCAA Division II Championships. While I like the idea of rewarding a wrestler who performed well at his conference tournament, a No. 14 seed seems a bit generous.

The 2019 NCAA Division I Championships will take place at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh The brackets have been released for the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The event takes place March 21-23 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Link: Brackets

Sebastian Rivera of Northwestern earned the No. 1 seed at 125 pounds (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Today, starting at 4 p.m. ET, the NCAA started revealing the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in each weight class. The NCAA's selection show, which will unveil the seeds and brackets, is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and can been be seen at NCAA.com. Below is a look at the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds revealed so far. Note: Refresh to see the latest updates. 125: No. 1 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) No. 2 Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State)

Daton Fix is currently ranked No. 1 at 133 pounds by InterMat (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Freshmen have made huge impacts in recent years at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Penn State's Vincenzo Joseph and Mark Hall won 2017 NCAA titles during their freshman seasons at Penn State. Iowa's Spencer Lee and Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis followed suit by winning championships as freshmen in 2018. College newcomers continue to make big early splashes and much of that can be attributed to having more chances to wrestle internationally. A number of this year's top college freshmen have already excelled on the world stage at the age-group levels. That experience is so valuable and important when dealing with the pressure of the three-day NCAA tournament. There are numerous freshmen highly ranked again this year and don't be surprised to see the trend of freshman national champions continue at the 2019 NCAA tournament in Pittsburgh. It wasn't easy ranking these with so much young talent in college now, but here is a look at my list of the top 10 freshmen entering the NCAA tournament. 1. Daton Fix (Oklahoma State, 133) Fix won a Junior world title and was second to world silver medalist Thomas Gilman at last summer's Final X on the Senior level. And he hadn't even started college yet. Now a redshirt freshman for the Cowboys, Fix has lived up to the hype with a superb season. He's one of the top contenders to win a loaded and deep 133-pound weight class. Fix, highly ranked all season, certainly has the ability and the mindset to win an NCAA title on his first try. 2. Gable Steveson (Minnesota, 285) Steveson is another young star who entered college with a sparkling resume after earning two Cadet world titles and a Junior world title. Steveson is a powerful, talented and explosive wrestler with a huge arsenal of moves and a tremendous upside. The key for Steveson will be to open up more and not let opponents slow him down. He was ranked No. 1 nationally before suffering his first loss against Penn State's Anthony Cassar in the Big Ten finals, but expect him to come back strong during his first trip to the NCAA tournament. Jacob Warner is ranked in the top five at 197 pounds (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) 3. Jacob Warner (Iowa, 197) Warner is another wrestler who benefited from being on a Junior world team. He made an immediate early impact for the Hawkeyes by knocking off three-time All-American Willie Miklus of Iowa State. Warner is a wrestler with a big upside and he's coming off a strong third-place finish at Big Tens. He is ranked in the top five nationally and he's definitely a guy who could contend for high All-America honors at the NCAA tournament. 4. Dom Demas (Oklahoma, 141) Demas turned in one of the most impressive performances this past weekend. He was named Outstanding Wrestler of the Big 12 Championships after locking up and throwing Oklahoma State's Kaid Brock to his back twice in the match's opening minute. Demas scored a dramatic fall on the second throw, ending the match just 56 seconds after it started. Demas will be a tough draw for whoever faces him in Pittsburgh. Micky Phillippi is the lone wrestler to defeat Daton Fix this season (Photo/Pitt Athletics) 5. Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh, 133) Phillippi is another young stud who has been a fixture near the top of the national rankings during his freshman season with the Panthers. Phillippi was named Outstanding Wrestler of the ACC tournament after downing All-American Tariq Wilson of North Carolina State 4-1 in the finals. He scored a key two-point near fall in the third period to prevail. He will receive another boost by wrestling at home with the NCAA tournament in Pittsburgh. 6. Austin O'Connor (North Carolina, 149) O'Connor has been ranked in the top five nationally during a strong rookie campaign with the Tar Heels. He placed second at the ACC tournament after falling to fourth-ranked senior Mitch Finesilver of Duke in the championship match. O'Connor knocked off All-American Justin Oliver of North Carolina State 4-2 in the semifinal round. 7. Patrick Glory (Princeton, 125) Glory capped a superb showing at the EIWA Championships by earning a 10-8 finals win over top-seeded Vito Arujau of Cornell in the 125-pound title bout. Glory has been a consistent performer who has been highly ranked this season. He can put points on the board and he has the potential to make a strong run at the NCAA tournament this season. 8. Trent Hillger (Wisconsin, 285) A fan favorite with his long hair and nickname of "Thor," Hillger has had a superb first season on the varsity for first-year coach Chris Bono at Wisconsin. Hillger has been ranked in the top 10 for much of the season and he placed fourth in a strong heavyweight class at the Big Ten tournament. Hillger is another determined, hard-nosed competitor who is going to keep battling. 9. Vito Arujau (Cornell, 125) Arujau is another young star who has excelled internationally as a Cadet world silver medalist for the U.S. Arujau is a gifted and skilled wrestler who is a difficult matchup. He is another guy who can put a lot of points on the scoreboard in a hurry. He's another stud in a long line of freshman stars at Cornell. He could definitely be in contention at his first national tournament in college. 10. Mason Parris (Michigan, 285) Parris made a big early splash, knocking off then-No. 1 Amar Dhesi of Oregon State during his first match after being pulled out of redshirt. Parris has continued to wrestle well. He finished seventh in a loaded bracket at Big Tens, but Parris is still a guy who can still win some big matches at nationals. He has shown he is capable of wrestling at a high level already in his young career. Other top freshmen to keep an eye on in Pittsburgh: Austin Gomez (Iowa State, 133) Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State, 133) Max Murin (Iowa, 141) Brock Mauller (Missouri, 149) Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State, 149) Anthony Artalona (Penn, 149) Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech, 165) Mikey Labriola (Nebraska, 174) Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh, 184)

Paul Fox, a 2017 All-American and two-time NCAA qualifier, is staying home (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The 45 at-large selections for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were announced on Tuesday. Here is a look at the five best wrestlers who entered Tuesday on the bubble for a berth in the NCAAs and were passed over. 157: Paul Fox (Stanford, 157) Fox, a 2017 All-American and multiple-time NCAA qualifier, is the most accomplished wrestler not to secure an at-large berth. The senior from Gilroy, Calif. dropped a match to his teammate Dominick Mandarino early in the season at the Roadrunner Open, but bounced back to win the Reno Tournament of Champions in December. However, none of his wins in Reno came over NCAA qualifiers. Fox and Mandarino split time at 157 pounds for much of the season. Ultimately, Fox was given the nod at 157 pounds late in the season. However, by that point he missed several opportunities to pick up quality wins at 157 pounds. Mandarino faced three NCAA qualifiers in February … and lost all three matches. Fox needed to place in the top two at the Pac-12 Championships to earn an automatic berth in the NCAAs. Seeded No. 2, Fox fell in the semifinals to Oregon State's Hunter Willits 6-1. He came back to finish third. Jelani Embree (Michigan, 184) Expectations were high for Embree entering this season. He came to Michigan as a top-30 recruit from the Class of 2017. After a strong redshirt season, which included two tournament titles, Embree was expected to step in the Wolverine lineup at 184 pounds and make an immediate impact after the graduation of All-American Domenic Abounader. However, Embree's season was filled with ups and downs. He battled an injury that kept him off the mat for most of December and all of January. In February, Embree reeled off four consecutive victories going into the NCAA Championships to improve his record to 13-4. He entered the Big Ten Championships as the No. 7 seed and needing to place in the top eight to earn an automatic berth. Things couldn't have gone much worse for Embree at the Big Ten Championships. He went 0-3, losing matches to Cameron Caffey of Michigan State, Max Lyon of Purdue and Brandon Krone of Minnesota. Wyatt Koelling (Missouri, 197) Missouri's Koelling entered the MAC Championships as the top seed at 197 pounds, a weight class that received only one automatic qualification spot. He opened his MAC tournament with a 6-2 victory to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Koelling faced 2017 junior college national champion Tim Young of Old Dominion, a wrestler he pinned early in the season. This time, Young avenged the loss, stunning Koelling in tiebreaker, 3-1, to reach the MAC finals. Koelling would bounce back to place third. He finished the season with a record of 22-10. The Utah native had wins this season over 2019 NCAA qualifiers Brett Perry of Buffalo and Christian Brunner of Purdue, as well as three-time NCAA qualifier Corey Griego of Oregon State. Koelling is the lone Tiger not to qualify for the NCAAs. Eight of his teammates earned automatic berths, while a ninth, Connor Flynn, secured an at-large berth at 165 pounds. Shakur Laney (Ohio, 125) Laney qualified for the NCAAs in each of his first two seasons at Ohio University before redshirting last season. He started the season ranked No. 13 at 125 pounds, and many expected him to be in the hunt to become an All-American in his junior season. But it turned out to be a disappointing season for Laney. He dealt with weight issues (missed weight against Iowa State) and inconsistency. Unfortunately for Laney, the highlight of his season came in November when he knocked off Michael McGee of Old Dominion at the Navy Classic. McGee would go on to avenge that loss in the February dual meet before claiming a MAC title a month later. Laney qualified one of four spots for the MAC at 125 pounds. He entered the MAC Championships as the No. 3 seed. He was pinned in his first match by Bryce West of Northern Illinois. He rebounded with a 13-4 win over Jacob Ferri of Kent State to keep his automatic qualification hopes alive. However, his hopes were dashed when he was pinned again his next match by Missouri's Dack Punke, a wrestler he had beaten earlier in the season. Cale Davidson (Wyoming, 197) In mid-January, Davidson looked like a pretty safe bet to qualify for the NCAAs. He had compiled a 22-9 record and notched victories over several quality opponents, including Jay Aiello of Virginia, Malik McDonald of NC State and Sawyer Root of The Citadel, among others. However, things started going south for Davidson in his next competition when he was pinned by West Virginia's Noah Adams in a dual meet. His slide continued into February as he dropped matches to 2019 NCAA qualifiers Josh Hokit of Fresno State Tanner Orndorff of Utah Valley, as well as 2018 NCAA qualifier Jacob Seely. He came into the Big 12 Championships as the No. 8 seed in a weight class with seven automatic qualifiers. After falling 3-0 to top-seeded Preston Weigel of Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals, Davidson needed to pick up two wins in the consolation bracket to secure his automatic spot in the NCAAs. However, he was edged 4-3 in his first consolation match against Anthony McLaughlin of Air Force, which knocked him out of the tournament. He finished his season with a record of 23-15.

Kerry McCoy (Photo/Maryland Athletics) COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Kerry McCoy, who has served as the University of Maryland head wrestling coach for the past 11 seasons, announced on Tuesday he will be stepping down following the NCAA Championships. During his tenure, McCoy guided the Terps to four top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships, three ACC titles, and coached a total of eight Terps to a total of 12 All-American awards, while being named ACC Coach of the Year three times. "Kerry achieved notable accomplishments during his tenure, including managing the move from the ACC to the Big Ten, the top wrestling conference in the nation," said Athletic Director Damon Evans. "As a coach and a mentor, he has helped shape the lives of our wrestling student-athletes and guided these young men to grow academically, athletically and socially. I want to thank Kerry for everything he has done for this university and the Terrapin family, and wish him success in his next endeavor." "It has been an honor to serve as the Head Wrestling Coach at the University of Maryland for the past 11 years," said McCoy. "So many student-athletes, administrators, supporters of the program and fans have impacted my life in a positive way. While looking forward to my next journey, I will cherish the memories and relationships that I have established here and will carry them with me as I go forward." McCoy will continue to serve as head coach through the NCAA Championships, which take place March 21-23 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Immediately following the conclusion of the NCAA Championships, Associate Head Coach Jimmy Sheptock will serve as interim head coach while a national search for Maryland's next head coach is conducted.

Iowa's Sam Stoll received an at-large berth at heavyweight (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA announced the 45 at-large selections for the 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The wrestlers, listed in alphabetical order by weight class, join the 285 student-athletes that qualified automatically through their conference tournament finishes last weekend. The at-large selections were made by the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, rating percentage index, coaches ranking and conference tournament finish. 125: Alonzo Allen Chattanooga 22-9 SoCon Zeke Moisey Nebraska 13-10 Big Ten Rico Montoya Northern Colo. 16-9 Big 12 Cole Verner Wyoming 22-13 Big 12 133: Noah Gosner Campbell 20-8 SoCon Mario Guillen Ohio 17-3 MAC Mason Pengilly Stanford 12-5 Pac 12 Cam Sykora North Dakota St. 20-8 Big 12 141: Matt Findlay Utah Valley 14-2 Big 12 Sam Krivus Virginia 16-10 ACC Nate Limmex Purdue 18-15 Big Ten Corey Shie Army West Point 27-14 EIWA 149: Malik Amine Michigan 11-9 Big Ten Parker Kropman Drexel 10-8 EIWA Shayne Oster Northwestern 12-12 Big Ten Russell Rohlfing CSU Bakersfield 16-11 Pac 12 Matthew Zovistoski Appalachian St. 26-13 SoCon 157: Eric Barone Illinois 16-14 Big Ten Zac Carson Ohio 19-9 MAC Joshua McClure North Carolina 20-11 ACC Justin Thomas Oklahoma 21-9 Big 12 165: Colston DiBlasi George Mason 29-12 EWL Connor Flynn Missouri 20-7 MAC Joseph Gunther Illinois 18-13 Big Ten Nick Kiussis West Virginia 18-10 Big 12 Jonathan Viruet Brown 31-8 EIWA 174: Jake Covaciu Indiana 17-12 Big Ten Joe Grello Rutgers 16-9 Big Ten Hayden Hastings Wyoming 25-13 Big 12 Devin Kane North Carolina 15-13 ACC Jacob Oliver Edinboro 28-5 EWL Travis Stefanik Princeton 19-13 EIWA 184: Cameron Caffey Michigan St. 29-7 Big Ten Dom Ducharme CSU Bakersfield 22-12 Pac 12 Kevin Parker Princeton 22-11 EIWA Tate Samuelson Wyoming 23-7 Big 12 197: Greg Bulsak Clarion 17-6 EWL Rocco Caywood Army West Point 25-6 EIWA Sawyer Root The Citadel 31-14 SoCon Jacob Seely Northern Colo. 13-10 Big 12 Kellan Stout Pittsburgh 12-8 ACC 285: Jake Gunning Buffalo 17-6 MAC Chase Singletary Ohio St. 19-7 Big Ten Sam Stoll Iowa 9-5 Big Ten Jeramy Sweany Cornell 15-8 EIWA

Yianni Diakomihalis raises both arms in celebration after winning the NCAA title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) PRINCETON, N.J. -- 2018-19 Ivy League wrestling champion Cornell swept Wrestler and Rookie of the Year honors and split Coach of the Year with the team that finished second, Princeton, after a vote by the League's coaches. Big Red sophomore Yianni Diakomihalis was unanimously voted Wrestler of the Year, while his teammate freshman Vitali Arujau was tabbed Rookie of the Year. Cornell head coach Rob Koll and Princeton head coach Chris Ayres shared Coach of the Year honors. Diakomihalis is the first-ever Ivy to earn Wrestler of the Year after being named Rookie and Wrestler of the Year the previous season. He is the 19th Big Red to receive the award and the fourth to do so in back-to-back seasons, joining Mark Fergeson (1992, 93), Mack Lewnes (2009, 10) and Cam Simaz (2011, 12). Diakomihalis, the defending national champion at 141 pounds, also received unanimous first-team All-Ivy honors at 141 for the second-straight season. Arujau is the 17th Big Red to be named Rookie of the Year and the third in the past four seasons. He gives Cornell back-to-back such honors for the first time since Nahshon Garrett and Gabe Dean received the award in consecutive seasons in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Arujau, who was also unanimously selected to the first team at 125, went 5-0 in Ivy action this season and clinched a berth to his first-ever NCAA Championships after finishing second at EIWAs. Koll and Ayres share Coach of the Year for the third time in the past four seasons, and the first since 2017. Koll has received the award each of the five years since it was implemented in 2015. The ninth-ranked Big Red won the Ivy League title for the 17th-straight season and finished second at EIWAs. Ayres led Princeton to a No. 19 ranking as well as second-place in the Ivy League standings and a third-place showing at the EIWA championships. A total of 21 All-Ivy recipients are freshmen, sophomores or juniors, so the future is bright for Ivy League wrestling. For Cornell, Arujau and Diakomihalis were joined on the first team by junior Chas Tucker at 133, junior Brandon Womack at 174, sophomore Max Dean at 184, senior Ben Honis at 197 and senior Jeramy Sweany at heavyweight. Princeton, meanwhile, saw junior Matthew Kolodzik (149) and freshman Quincy Monday (157) each earn unanimous first team honors. Brown also placed two on the first team in senior Jon Viruet at 165 and senior Ian Butterbrodt at heavyweight. Penn received five All-Ivy accolades, highlighted by freshmen Anthony Artalona (149) and Ben Goldin (heavyweight) on the second team, while Columbia received three All-Ivy accolades, including second team honors for freshman Matt Kazimir (133) and junior Laurence Kosoy (165). Harvard sophomore Lukus Stricker was selected honorable mention at 133 pounds to represent the Crimson. WRESTLER OF THE YEAR *Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell (So., 141 - Rochester, N.Y.) ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Vitali Arujau, Cornell (Fr., 125 - Syossett, N.Y.) CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR Rob Koll, Cornell Chris Ayres, Princeton FIRST-TEAM ALL-IVY^ 125 - *Vitali Arujau, Cornell (Fr., 125 - Syossett, N.Y.) 133 - *Chas Tucker, Cornell (Jr., 133 - Worcester, Mass.) 141 - *Yianni Diakomihalis, Cornell (So., 141 - Rochester, N.Y.) 149 - *Matthew Kolodzik, Princeton (Jr., 149 - Bellbrook, Ohio) 157 - *Quincy Monday, Princeton (Fr., 157 - Chapel Hill, N.C.) 165 - *Jon Viruet, Brown (Sr., 165 - Springfield, Mass.) 174 - *Brandon Womack, Cornell (Jr., 174 - Scottsboro, Ala.) 184 - *Max Dean, Cornell (So., 184 - Lowell, Mich.) 197 - *Ben Honis, Cornell (Sr., 197 - Syracuse, N.Y.) HWT - Ian Butterbrodt, Brown (Sr., HWT - North Andover, Mass.) Jeramy Sweany, Cornell (Sr., HWT - Vacaville, Calif.) SECOND-TEAM ALL-IVY 125 - Pat Glory, Princeton (Fr., 125 - Randolph, N.J.) 133 - Matt Kazimir, Columbia (Fr., 133 - Auburn Township, Ohio) 141 - Marshall Keller, Princeton (Fr., 141 - Christianburg, Va.) 149 - Anthony Artalona, Penn (Fr., 149 - Seffner, Fla.) 157 - Adam Santoro, Cornell (Jr., 157 - Valhalla, N.Y.) 165 - Laurence Kosoy, Columbia (Jr., 165 - Boca Raton, Fla.) 174 - Travis Stefanik, Princeton (Fr., 174 - Nazareth, Pa.) 184 - CJ Lafragola, Brown (Sr., 184 - Little Egg Harbor, N.J.) 197 - Patrick Brucki, Princeton (So., 197 - Orland Park, Ill.) HWT - Ben Goldin, Penn (Fr., HWT - Orlando, Fla.) HONORABLE MENTION 125 - Carmen Ferrante, Penn (Fr., 125 - Newton, N.J.) 133 - Lukus Stricker, Harvard (So., 133 - Rootstown, Ohio) Doug Zapf, Penn (Fr., 133 - Downingtown, Pa.) 141 - A.J. Vindici, Penn (Sr., 141 - Randolph, N.J.) 149 - Jon Furnas, Cornell (Sr., 149 - Powell, Ohio) 157 - Christian LaBrie, Brown (Sr., 157 - Exeter, R.I.) 165 - Andrew Berreyesa, Cornell (Fr., 165 - Reno, Nev.) 174 - Max Elling, Columbia (Sr., 174 - Bloomsbury, N.J.) 184 - Kevin Parker, Princeton (Jr., 184 - Clifton Park, N.Y.) 197 - Tucker Ziegler, Brown (Sr., 197 - Myersville, Md.) *-unanimous selection ^-first team expanded due to ties in the voting About the Ivy League The Ivy League stands at the pinnacle of higher education and Division I athletics, rooted in the longstanding, defining principle that intercollegiate athletics competition should be "kept in harmony with the essential educational purposes of the institution." Unrivaled in its legacy, The Ivy League provides the true test of academic and co-curricular rigor - fostering an enduring culture that celebrates a storied-tradition, thrives on shared values and holds paramount the academic and personal growth of students. Consistently ranked as the top academic conference and with more national championships than any other collegiate athletic conference (287 team, 546 individual), The Ivy League showcased 98 nationally-ranked programs in 2018-19 and prides itself on sponsoring 33 sports, the highest number of any NCAA conference, with more than 8,000 student-athletes competing annually. The League's world-renowned schools - Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton and Yale - serve as the standard bearers for inspiring and transforming student-athletes to boldly take on the world's challenges and lead lives of great impact. For more information, please visit IvyLeague.com.

NEW YORK -- Beat the Streets Wrestling (BTS), the largest grassroots inner city wrestling program in the United States, and USA Wrestling have announced that tickets for the annual BTS benefit, featuring stars of Team USA vs. NCAA Champions, are on sale beginning today via Ticketmaster. The 10th annual event, to be held on Monday, May 6, at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, serves as both a fundraiser for BTS and to celebrate its athletes as they compete on the biggest stage in the center of the world. Tickets are priced starting at $30. Click here for tickets. A variety of donation packages which include "Grapple in the Garden" tickets are also available at https://www.btsny.org/bts-events or by emailing molalde@btsny.org, beginning at $1000. Doors open on May 6 at 5:30 p.m., with the main event starting at 6 p.m. Beat the Streets, Inc. will invite select members of the 2018 U.S. Men's Freestyle World Team, which placed second in the 2018 World Championships and won seven World medals, as well as select top USA women's wrestlers. The competing athletes from USA Wrestling and NCAA schools will be announced at a later date. "We are pleased to be able to allow so many more fans to experience the BTS 'Grapple at the Garden' in person that the additional capacity at Hulu Theater at MSG provides," said Beat the Streets Executive Director Brendan Buckley. "There are a wide variety of donation levels and ticket seating options to fit fans' budgets. And, the introduction of the NCAA champions as the Team USA opponent will give fans the opportunity to see the next wave of great American wrestlers in action." Beat the Streets Benefit competitions, which began in 2010, have since become a major showcase of the best of international wrestling. This unique and electrifying annual event has helped Beat the Streets raise millions of dollars to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. The first Beat the Streets Benefit was held on the U.S.S. Intrepid, an aircraft carrier docked on the west side of Manhattan. Since then, the benefit has taken place at other notable New York City spots like Grand Central Station and Times Square. Team USA has faced off against teams from around the world including Japan, Cuba, Russia and Iran. Last year, the competition was hosted at the new Pier 17 in the Seaport District and included the highly anticipated Burroughs vs. Chamizo match. The 2018 U.S. World Team, which competed in Budapest, Hungary, featured 2018 World champions Kyle Dake, David Taylor and J'den Cox, 2018 World silver medalist Kyle Snyder, and 2018 World bronze medalists Joe Colon, Jordan Burroughs and Nick Gwiazdowski. Burroughs and Snyder are both multiple Olympic and World champions. Others on the USA team included 2016 World champion Logan Stieber, two-time World bronze medalist James Green and 2017 World silver medalist Thomas Gilman. New York City's Madison Square Garden is one of the most famous sporting and entertainment venues in the world. The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden is an impressive venue with the capacity to seat over 5,000. The theater has hosted notable wrestling events including the 1998 Goodwill Games wrestling competition and the 2017 Grapple at the Garden college wrestling event. About Beat the Streets The mission of Beat the Streets is to develop the full potential of the urban youth and to strengthen the culture of New York City wrestling. BTS works directly with the New York City Department of Education in a public-private partnership to bring the life changing sport of wrestling to over 3,000 New York City student-athletes to help them achieve their personal and athletic goals. Through the operation of wrestling programs in middle and high schools in the five boroughs, BTS and the DOE provide a safe, positive atmosphere in which disadvantaged and at-risk youth can learn the essential life lessons of grit, personal responsibility and teamwork, physical fitness and nutrition, and life-long learning. The goal of fostering strong, well-rounded student-athletes is delivered through coaching, after-school programs, life skills workshops, and summer camps. More information can be found at www.btsny.org. About USA Wrestling USA Wrestling is the National Governing Body for the Sport of Wrestling in the United States and, as such, is its representative to the United States Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling, the international wrestling federation. Simply, USA Wrestling is the central organization that coordinates amateur wrestling programs in the nation and works to create interest and participation in these programs. It has over 230,000 members across the nation, boys and girls, men and women of all ages, representing all levels of the sport. Its president is Bruce Baumgartner, and its Executive Director is Rich Bender. More information can be found at TheMat.com

WCWA national champion Asia Ray is the top seed at 101 pounds (Photo/A.J. Grieves, MatFocus) Link: Preliminary Brackets KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Preliminary brackets for the 2019 NAIA Women's Wrestling National Invitational have been released by the national office. The Invitational, hosted by Jamestown (N.D.), are set to begin on Friday, March 15. The inaugural event will consist of ten weight classes with the team champion based on individual wrestler finishes. Grapplers finishing in the top four in each weight class at the national invitational will be named All-America, with places five through eight earning All-America Honorable-Mention. The brackets are subject to change and are not considered official until ratified by the NAIA-Wrestling Coaches' Association Bracketing Committee. Official brackets are planned for release on Thursday, March 14 on www.naia.org. Menlo College, the 2019 WCWA national champions, have the most No. 1 seeds in the preliminary brackets with four. For additional information on the national championships, click here. Preliminary No. 1 seeds: 101 - Asia Ray (Wayland Baptist) 109 - Alleida Martinez (Menlo College) 116 - Gracie Figueroa (Menlo College) 123 - Macy Higa (Eastern Oregon) 130 - Andribeth Rivera (Campbellsville) 136 - Solin Piearcy (Menlo College) 143 - Maggie Douma (Oklahoma City) 155 - Iman Kazem (Menlo College) 170 - Dymond Guilford (Missouri Baptist) 191 - Chi Chi Nwankwo (Oklahoma City)

Lee Roy Smith Sr., father of Oklahoma State head coach John Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Lee Roy Smith Jr., four-time NCAA champion Pat Smith and three-time All-American Mark Smith, passed away on Sunday evening … just as the Cowboys were winning the 2019 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, their 53rd conference crown. He was 85. Lee Roy Smith (Photo/National Wrestling Hall of Fame)Lee Roy Smith Sr. had suffered a stroke earlier last week. "Tough day," John Smith said after his team had won the Big 12 title in Tulsa Sunday. "But the last thing he asked when he could speak was, he was concerned about the Big 12 tournament. What a great run. A great father, a father of 10. He has about 50 grandchildren, about 15 great-grandchildren. I was lucky to have a father that cared." John Smith watched most of Oklahoma State's seven championship matches from the tunnel, rather than in the corner of the mat, letting his assistants handle the on-mat coaching, according to The Oklahoman, the Oklahoma City daily newspaper. Lee Roy Smith Jr. shared this message on the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's social media pages: "On behalf of my mother, my sisters, my brothers and all of our large family, it is with profound sadness and yet great joy that we share that our beloved father Lee Roy Smith passed into the arms of the angels this evening. He not only practiced his faith, but truly lived it as a shining example of love, loyalty, compassion and service, not only to his family but to all who knew him. We ask for your prayers for him and for all of us who will miss him so dearly. Funeral arrangements are being made and will be shared as soon as they are finalized."

Dick Beyer (Photo/Syracuse University) Dick Beyer, an accomplished wrestler at Syracuse University who went on to become legendary masked professional wrestler "The Destroyer" and "Doctor X", died in his home just outside Buffalo, N.Y. Thursday. He was 88. Born July 11, 1930 in Buffalo, Dick Beyer was a four-sport athlete at Seneca Vocational High School who earned a football scholarship to Syracuse University playing right tackle and defensive guard. It was at Syracuse that the 5'10", 230-pound Beyer also made a name for himself on the wrestling team as heavyweight in the early 1950s. He competed at three EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) championships. At the 1951 EIWAs, Beyer was pinned in the first round by Richard Clark of Cornell University. The next two conference championships, Beyer made it to the heavyweight finals. At the 1952 EIWAs, the unseeded Beyer lost to Princeton's Brad Glass -- 1951 NCAA heavyweight champ -- in the finals, 4-3. The following year, Beyer -- the No. 3 seed in the unlimited weight class -- fell to Werner Seel of Lehigh, 2-1, in the finals. Dick Beyer (Photo/Onandogan yearbook)Beyer did not wrestle at the NCAA championships while at Syracuse. However, he competed at AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) wrestling events in freestyle competition. He was a 1952 AAU Niagara District champion after placing second in the finals the year before. At the 1952 National AAU championships, Beyer placed third at heavyweight (Bill Kerslake was crowned champ) ... while at the 1954 NAAUs, Beyer was runner-up to future Oregon State head coach Dale Thomas in the 191-pound bracket. Beyer was a three-time letterwinner for Syracuse (1951-1953) and was named Syracuse Athlete of the Year in 1953 for his performance on the wrestling mat and football field. (The school, located in upstate New York, eliminated its wrestling program two decades ago.) After graduating from Syracuse, Beyer served as an assistant football coach throughout the 1950s to head coach Ben Schwartzwalder. In 1954, Beyer launched a professional wrestling career that spanned four decades and 8,000 matches. After finding middling success in his early years in the pro ring, a promoter put him in a mask made from a woman's girdle and made him a "heel" (bad guy), first as "The Destroyer" then as "Doctor X" in the Minneapolis-based AWA (American Wrestling Association) headed up by former collegiate mat champ Verne Gagne. Beyer also was the first American to compete in All Japan pro wrestling. From 1984-95, Beyer taught physical education in the Akron, New York Central School District, where he also coached football, wrestling and swimming. He hung up his pro wrestling mask in 1993. Beyer was welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum's George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2014, Beyer received the Zunic Award from his college alma mater. This annual award is presented to a noteworthy former Syracuse University athlete. Dick Beyer is one of a number of amateur wrestlers who parlayed that on-the-mat experience into fame in professional wrestling in the 1950s and 60s, including Dan Hodge, Dick Hutton, and Verne Gagne ... a career path started in the 1920s with amateur greats such as Earl McCready and Ed Don George ... and, in more recent times, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar and Jake Hager (who just left WWE as Jack Swagger for his first pro MMA event in late January.) Dick Beyer -- aka The Destroyer and Doctor X -- is the second former professional wrestler whose passing was announced this past week. King Kong Bundy, a major WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) star in the 1980s and 1990s, passed away Monday, March 4 at age 61. Prior to entering the squared circle, Bundy was a two-time New Jersey regional wrestling champ for Washington Township High School in Gloucester County (1973, 1974) under his birth name Chris Pallies. Thanks to James Rooney and Stephen Stonebraker for their assistance.

Oklahoma State captured the Big 12 title TULSA, Okla. -- Cowboy wrestlers claimed six individual titles at the finals of the 2019 Big 12 Wrestling Championship Sunday night, as No. 2 Oklahoma State finished with 158 team points and a 43.5-point lead over the field to win its seventh consecutive Big 12 team title. OSU's 2019 Big 12 champions include Nick Piccininni (125 pounds), Daton Fix (133), Kaden Gfeller (149), Jacobe Smith (174), Preston Weigel (197) and Derek White (285). It marked the third career Big 12 title for Piccininni and Weigel, the second for White and the first conference titles for Fix, Gfeller and Smith. "This can't get old," coach John Smith said. "Our conference has been historically a great conference in wrestling with a lot of national championships from the Big 8 and now the Big 12. We're proud to continue that tradition of strong wrestling in the Big 12." With the addition of the six individual champions, Oklahoma State now has 108 Big 12 champions and 287 conference champions in its wrestling history. With Fix and Gfeller's titles, OSU now has 25 freshmen conference champions in its history. The run of seven-straight conference tournament titles marks the longest streak in Big 12 wrestling history, as well as OSU's longest stretch of consecutive conference tournament titles since claiming one in eight straight seasons from 1921-1928. The title marks coach John Smith's 21st career conference title, as well as OSU's 51st conference tournament title and 53rd overall conference title in wrestling. Additionally, Oklahoma State has now claimed 17 of the 23 Big 12 tournament trophies that have been awarded in the conference's history as well as the 2012 and 2013 regular season titles in the only years it was awarded. Including the regular season titles, OSU has won a Big 12 championship in 10 straight seasons. Sunday night's final round started with a 2-0 decision from top-seeded Piccininni over No. 2 seed Brent Fleetwood of North Dakota State. After a scoreless first period, Piccininni managed an escape to take a 1-0 lead in the second and sealed his title with a strong full-period ride to close out the third. Piccininni improved to 30-0 this season with the win. The next two title winners for the Cowboys were both freshmen, as Fix won a 4-2 decision over No. 3 Montorie Bridges of Wyoming and Gfeller won 6-5 over No. 3 Jarrett Degen of Iowa State, sealing the win with a takedown inside the final 20 seconds. Fix now sits at 31-1 on the year and Gfeller is 28-4. The Cowboys closed the tournament with titles from three seniors, as Jacobe Smith won a 6-4 decision over No. 3 Taylor Lujan of Iowa State, Weigel won a 10-0 major decision over No. 2 Willie Miklus of Iowa State and White won a 20-5 technical fall over AJ Nevills of Fresno State. Weigel's win pushed his season record to 11-0 as he finished the tournament by outscoring his opponents with a combined score of 41-0. Jacobe Smith and White bettered impressive season records as well, moving to 26-3 and 28-1, respectively. "This is another stepping stone," Weigel said. "It's one closer to nationals, and it's fun. I'm absorbing it all. We have a good team, and I'm proud to be a part of it. It means something, but the big show is next, and it means a lot. Nationals is really where it's at. This doesn't put that All-American status on you." Junior 141-pounder Kaid Brock also reached the finals of this year's tournament, but finished runner-up for a third straight season. The Cowboys now turn their attention to the 2019 NCAA Wrestling Championships, scheduled for March 21-23 in PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Penn. OSU claimed nine automatic berths into the 2019 NCAA Championships this weekend, with every weight other than 157 pounds securing a spot. Final Team Standings 1. Oklahoma State - 158 2. Iowa State - 114.5 3. Northern Iowa - 82 4. Oklahoma - 78 5. Fresno State - 59.5 6. Utah Valley - 59 7. Wyoming - 58 8. North Dakota State - 53.5 9. West Virginia - 46 10. South Dakota State - 18.5 11. Air Force - 18 12. Northern Colorado - 175

125: 1st: Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) dec. Brent Fleetwood (North Dakota State), 2-0 3rd: Alex Mackall (Iowa State) tech. fall Christian Moody (Oklahoma), 18-3 6:41 5th: Jay Schwarm (Northern Iowa) pinned Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado), 1:13 133: 1st: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) dec. Montorie Bridges (Wyoming), 4-2 3rd: Austin Gomez (Iowa State) dec. Matt Schmitt (West Virginia), 5-3 SV 5th: Gary Joint (Fresno State) maj. dec. Jack Skudlarczyk (Northern Iowa), 8-0 141: 1st: Dominick Demas (Oklahoma) pinned Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State), 0:54 3rd: Josh Alber (Northern Iowa) dec. Ian Parker (Iowa State), 2-0 5th: Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado) dec. Caleb Rea (West Virginia), 10-3 7th: Sam Turner (Wyoming) dec. Garrett O'shea (Air Force), 2-1 149: 1st: Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) dec. Jarrett Degen (Iowa State), 6-5 3rd: Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma) dec. Christian Monserrat (West Virginia), 4-2 5th: Henry Pohlmeyer (South Dakota State) by medical forfeit over Khristian Olivas (Fresno State) 7th: Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) maj. dec. Jaron Jensen (Wyoming), 11-3 157: 1st: Chase Straw (Iowa State) dec. Justin Thomas (Oklahoma), 3-2 3rd: Alex Mossing (Air Force) dec. Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma State), 7-4 5th: Jacob Wright (Fresno State) dec. Luke Weber (North Dakota State), 7-5 165: 1st: Demetrirus Romero (Utah Valley) dec. Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State), 8-6 SV 3rd: Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) dec. Branson Ashworth (Wyoming), 2-1 5th: Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Logan Schumacher (Iowa State), 10-2 174: 1st: Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State) dec. Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa), 6-4 3rd: Lorenzo De la riva (North Dakota State) dec. Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley), 10-5 5th: Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) dec. Hayden Hastings (Wyoming), 11-10 184: 1st: Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) dec. Sam Colbray (Iowa State), 4-1 3rd: Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Will Sumner (Utah Valley), 16-3 5th: Jackson Hemauer (Fresno State) dec. Tate Samuelson (Wyoming), 4-2 197: 1st: Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Willie Miklus (Iowa State), 10-0 3rd: Jake Woodley (Oklahoma) dec. Josh Hokit (Fresno State), 3-2 5th: Noah Adams (West Virginia) dec. Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley), 10-7 7th: Anthony Mclaughlin (Air Force) dec. Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado), 6-2 285: 1st: Derek White (Oklahoma State) tech. fall A.J. Nevills (Fresno State), 20-5 7:00 3rd: Tate Orndorff (Utah Valley) dec. Brian Andrews (Wyoming), 5-4 5th: Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State) dec. Brandon Ngati (West Virginia), 2-0 7th: Robert Winters (Northern Colorado) dec. Blake Wolters (South Dakota State), 2-1

Campbell claimed its second SoCon title in three years (Photo/Todd Drexler) BOONE, N.C. -- Behind eight medalists, Campbell held off Appalachian State to claim its second Southern Conference Championship in three years Sunday at the Holmes Convocation Center. All 10 Camels wrestled for medals, including seven CU wrestlers in the championship finals, with eight making the podium. 125 pounder Korbin Meink, Josh Heil at 149, Benjamin Barton at 157 and 184 pounder Chris Kober all earned individual championships. Taking runner-up were Noah Gonser at 133 pounds, Andrew Morgan at 174 and heavyweight Odgerel Batkhishig. Nathan Boston also claimed third at 141 pounds. In addition to the four Camels who earned NCAA automatic bids with conference championships, Morgan also punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships, winning his true place match against Kyle Homet. Cary Kolat was named SoCon Coach of the Year after guiding the Camels to the conference's regular season and tournament championships. Austin McNeill also earned the SoCon Pinnacle Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship winning team. Campbell, who shared the SoCon's regular season championship with Appalachian State and Chattanooga, led by half a point heading into the championship round, and fended off the Mountaineers, who placed six in the finals, with four victories. Appalachian State, meanwhile registered three title wins, including Codi Russell at 133, Randall Diabe at 197 and Cary Miller at 285 pounds. Campbell finished with 95 points, just in front of the Mountaineers' 92.5. Chattanooga ended the day at 62 points, followed by 42.5 for The Citadel, 23.5 for Gardner-Webb, 22.5 for Davidson, while VMI rounding out team scoring with 17 points. Meink went 2-0 on the day, beginning with a 9-3 decision over DeAndre Swinson-Barr from Appalachian State. The sophomore, seeded second, then topped the tournament's 125 pound No. 1 seed, Alonzo Allen 6-0 to claim his first SoCon Championship. Heil also went a perfect 2-0 in the tournament, opening with a tech fall win over The Citadel's Selwyn Porter, 16-1 (4:37), then defeating Chattanooga's Tanner Smith, 6-2. A redshirt sophomore, Heil remained perfect in SoCon Championships action, also sweeping through the 2017 tournament as a freshman. The No. 1 seed at 157, Barton cruised to his first SoCon Championship, posting an 82 decision over Appalachian State's Angel Najar in the semifinals before claiming a 4-1 decision over Davidson's Tony Palumbo, who reached the 157 finals as the No. 6 seed. Kober opened his run with the Camels' quickest fall of the day, pinning Gardner-Webb's Nathaniel Kale in just 30 seconds to advance. The sophomore locked in a finals appearance with a 13-6 decision over Dominic Lampe from Chattanooga, where he avenged his only SoCon loss of the season, edging Alan Clothier of Appalachian State 4-3. With a first round bye, Gonser moved past Chattanooga's Jake Huffine with a 10-0 victory in the 133 semis, where Codi Russell of Appalachian State took the title with a 9-4 decision. Before securing his first NCAA Championships appearance, Morgan collected the third of four first round pins for the Camels, pinning Kyle Kretzer of the The Citadel (2:05). He then defeated Mountaineer Thomas Flitz 8-3, before falling in a 16-6 major decision to SoCon Wrestler of the Year Neal Richards from VMI, taking silver. Batkhishig scored early and often for the Camels, posting a first round fall over Jack Trautman of GWU (1:22) and a 21-9 major decision over Chatt's Connor Tolley. He took runner-up in the finals, falling to Appalachian State's Cary Miller, 8-1. The first Camel on the mat Sunday, Boston started the day by pinning The Citadel's Keegan Connolly in 47 seconds, but a 7-4 quarterfinal loss to 2018 champ Irvin Enriquez sent the redshirt senior to the consolation bracket. He edged VMI's Dom Gallo, 3-1, and GWU's Blake Mulkey, 3-2, to win the consolation finals and earn bronze. Cameron Pine at 165 pounds and 197 pounder Austin McNeill also finished fourth in their respective weight classes. The 2019 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships takes place at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh March 21-23. Wrestling fans can buy and sell official tickets through the NCAA Ticket Exchangeâ„¢. This gives ticket holders who are unable to attend a session a place to safely sell their tickets. Buyers can also get their tickets knowing the tickets are authentic and guaranteed, visit NCAA.com for more information. Final standings 1. Campbell: 95 2. Appalachian State: 92.5 3. Chattanooga: 62 4. The Citadel: 42.5 5. Gardner-Webb: 23.5 6. Davidson: 22.5 7. VMI: 17

125: 1st: Korbin Meink (Campbell) dec. Alonzo Allen (Chattanooga), 6-0 3rd: DeAndre Swinson-Barr (Appalachian State) dec. Derek Shockey (VMI), 6-4 133: 1st: Codi Russell (Appalachian State) dec. Noah Gosner (Campbell), 9-4 3rd: Jake Huffine (Chattanooga) dec. Kyle Gorant (Davidson), 10-3 141: 1st: Chris Debien (Chattanooga) dec. Irvin Enriquez (Appalachian State), 12-7 3rd: Nathan Boston (Campbell) dec. Blake Mulkey (Gardner-Webb), 3-2 149: 1st: Joshua Heil (Campbell) dec. Tanner Smith (Chattanooga), 6-2 3rd: Matthew Zovistoski (Appalachian State) maj. dec. Selwyn Porter (The Citadel), 10-0 157: 1st: Benjamin Barton (Campbell) dec. Tony Palumbo (Davidson), 4-1 3rd: Ryan Resnick (Chattanooga) dec. Rian Burris (The Citadel), 10-7 165: 1st: Tyler Marinelli (Gardner-Webb) maj. dec. Micheal Elliott (Appalachian State), 8-0 3rd: Dazjon Casto (The Citadel) maj. dec. Cameron Pine (Campbell), 15-6 174: 1st: Neal Richards (VMI) maj. dec. Andrew Morgan (Campbell), 16-6 3rd: Kyle Homet (Gardner-Webb) dec. Thomas Flitz (Appalachian State), 6-4 SV 184: 1st: Chris Kober (Campbell) dec. Alan Clothier (Appalachian State), 4-3 3rd: Dominic Lampe (Chattanooga) dec. Conor Fenn (Davidson), 4-2 197: 1st: Randall Diabe (Appalachian State) dec. Sawyer Root (The Citadel), 5-4 3rd: Rod Jones (Chattanooga) dec. Austin McNeil (Campbell), 11-5 285: 1st: Cary Miller (Appalachian State) dec. Odgerel Batkhishig (Campbell), 8-1 3rd: Michael McAleavey (The Citadel) pinned Connor Tolley (Chattanooga), 3:20

Nick Suriano defeated Luke Pletcher to win the Big Ten title at 133 pounds (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) 125: 1st: Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) dec. Spencer Lee (Iowa), 6-4 SV 3rd: Sean Russell (Minnesota) dec. Elijah Oliver (Indiana), 6-0 5th: Travis Piotrowski (Illinois) by medical forfeit over RayVon Foley (Michigan State) 7th: Drew Mattin (Michigan) pinned Devin Schroder (Purdue), 2:11 9th: Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) dec. Ethan Rotondo (Wisconsin), 8-5 133: 1st: Nick Suriano (Rutgers) dec. Luke Pletcher (Ohio State), 4-1 3rd: Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) dec. Austin DeSanto (Iowa), 6-2 5th: Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) by medical forfeit over Stevan Micic (Michigan) 7th: Ben Thornton (Purdue) dec. Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 3-1 SV 9th: Jevon Parrish (Nebraska) dec. Colin Valdiviez (Northwestern), 7-4 141: 1st: Joey McKenna (Ohio State) dec. Chad Red (Nebraska), 9-2 3rd: Nick Lee (Penn State) maj. dec. Mitch McKee (Minnesota), 12-4 5th: Kanen Storr (Michigan) dec. Tristan Moran (Wisconsin), 7-4 7th: Max Murin (Iowa) dec. Michael Carr (Illinois), 3-1 9th: Pete Lipari (Rutgers) dec. Nate Limmex (Purdue), 8-6 149: 1st: Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. Micah Jordan (Ohio State), 8-6 3rd: Pat Lugo (Iowa) dec. Cole Martin (Wisconsin), 11-6 5th: Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) by medical forfeit over Brady Berge (Penn State) 7th: Shayne Oster (Northwestern) dec. Malik Amine (Michigan), 8-6 157: 1st: Jason Nolf (Penn State) maj. dec. Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 12-4 3rd: Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) dec. Kaleb Young (Iowa), 5-3 5th: Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) maj. dec. Steve Bleise (Minnesota), 10-1 7th: Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State) dec. John Van Brill (Rutgers), 5-3 9th: Griffin Parriott (Purdue) dec. Eric Barrone (Illinois), 5-2 165: 1st: Alex Marinelli (Iowa) dec. Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State), 9-3 3rd: Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. Evan Wick (Wisconsin), 2-1 5th: Isaiah White (Nebraska) dec. Te`Shan Campbell (Ohio State), 3-2 7th: Bryce Martin (Indiana) dec. Tyler Morland (Northwestern), 8-3 9th: Carson Brolsma (Minnesota) dec. Joseph Gunther (Illinois), 3-1 174: 1st: Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. Myles Amine (Michigan), 3-2 3rd: Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) dec. Mikey Labriola (Nebraska), 4-2 5th: Dylan Lydy (Purdue) dec. Ethan Smith (Ohio State), 5-3 7th: Drew Hughes (Michigan State) by medical forfeit over Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin) 9th: Joe Grello (Rutgers) pinned Mitch Bowman (Iowa), 2:18 184: 1st: Myles Martin (Ohio State) by medical forfeit over Skakur Rasheed (Penn State) 3rd: Emery Parker (Illinois) dec. Tyler Venz (Nebraska), 5-1 5th: Cash Wilcke (Iowa) by medical forfeit over Nick Gravina (Rutgers) 7th: Max Lyon (Purdue) dec. Mason Reinhardt (Wisconsin), 8-1 9th: Cameron Caffey (Michigan State) dec. Brandon Krone (Minnesota), 7-2 197: 1st: Bo Nickal (Penn State) dec. Kollin Moore (Ohio State), 10-3 3rd: Jacob Warner (Iowa) dec. Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 7-5 SV 5th: Christian Brunner (Purdue) dec. Beau Breske (Wisconsin), 6-0 7th: Brad Wilton (Michigan State) dec. Jake Kleimola (Indiana), 9-5 285: 1st: Anthony Cassar (Penn State) dec. Gable Steveson (Minnesota), 4-3 3rd: Youssif Hemida (Maryland) dec. Trent Hilger (Wisconsin), 3-2 5th: Conan Jennings (Northwestern) by injury default over David Jensen (Nebraska) 7th: Mason Parris (Michigan) dec. Jacob Aven (Purdue), 7-3