InterMat Staff

The first round of the NCAA tournament always features at least a few upsets, and there are always strong matches right out of the gate. That will almost certainly be the case again this year. Below is a look at the best first-round matchup in each weight class. Note: The ranking listed below is the InterMat ranking heading into the tournament, not the tournament seed. 125: No. 13 Ryan Milhof (Arizona State) vs. Christian Moody (Oklahoma) When Milhof last stepped on the mat at the NCAA tournament, he was wearing an Oklahoma singlet. After earning All-American honors for the Sooners in 2016, he left the program, transferred to Arizona State and redshirted. It is oddly fitting that his return to the mat would come against an Oklahoma wrestler. The two met as teammates at the Oklahoma open in 2016. Milhof won that match with a 14-0 major decision. Since that match, Moody has turned himself into an NCAA qualifier, and this season, he has earned wins over No.11 Zeke Moisey (West Virginia), No. 15 Luke Welch (Purdue) and No. 19 Jay Schwarm (Northern Iowa). 133: No. 15 Bryan Lantry (Buffalo) vs. Jason Renteria (Nebraska) Lantry was one match away from becoming an All-American last season. His campaign for the podium will get off to a tough start. In the first round, he faces Renteria. The freshman missed the first semester, so he has not had much time to show what he can do. However, he went 8-4 on the season with two of his losses coming against No. 2 Stevan Micic (Michigan). There's a chance this could be the most competitive first-round match of the tournament. 141: No. 8 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) vs. Chad Red (Nebraska) Zacherl won his first 28 matches to start this season, but he suffered an upset in the EWL final when he gave up a fall against Evan Cheek (Cleveland State). Zacherl will need to get right in a hurry. Red had a disappointing performance at the Big Ten tournament last weekend and ended up finishing seventh. However, he was a top recruit two seasons about, and he certainly has the pedigree to pull off a first-round upset. 149: No. 5 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) vs. Frank Garcia (Binghamton) Garcia had a surprising run through the EIWA tournament. He upset the second and third seeds Will Koll (Cornell) and Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh) before falling against No. 9 Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) in the finals. With that being said, Deakin is on another level. The junior world silver medalist has only lost to Kolodzik, No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) and No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) this season. He is clearly the favorite here, but some wrestlers are able to turn it on around tournament time. If Garcia can replicate his early round performance from the EIWA tournament, he might be able to turn some heads. 157: No. 6 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) vs. Ian Brown (Lehigh) Pantaleo came into this season as someone who might challenge No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) for supremacy in the 157-pound division. While he ended up having a nice season, things did not get off to a very strong start. In his second match of the season, he suffered an upset against Brown. For Brown, the win turned out to be his biggest victory of the season, and he finished 17-10. Pantaleo is favored to win this rematch, but Brown will certainly try to make lightning strike twice. 165: No. 14 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) vs. No. 20 Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) Not only is this a ranked match up in the first round, but it is also another bout where the unseeded wrestler, Fogarty, won the previous meeting. At the Cliff Keen Invitational back in December, The NDSU wrestler his a six-point move in the first period and hung on for a 7-4 decision victory. Valencia went on to win the Pac 12, while Fogarty finished as the runner up at the Big 12 tournament. Jacobe Smith edged Joey Gunther 3-1 on Jan. 14 (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) 174: No. 11 Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State) vs. Joey Gunther (Iowa) These two met earlier this year, and Smith took a 3-1 decision. There are rarely very many points scored in matches containing Gunther, but he took this to the extreme at the Big Ten tournament. In the bracket, he wrestled six matches. Five of those matches were decided by a point. Two of those matches went deep into overtime. There might not be a lot of points scored in this rematch, but there will almost certainly be drama. 184: No. 17 Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan) vs. Kayne MacCallum (Eastern Michigan) This bout is a rematch of the MAC tournament semifinal. Ellingwood was the second seed, but he fell against MacCallum in sudden victory. MacCallum then went on to knock off No. 16 Canten Marriott (Missouri) and unexpectedly win the MAC title. On one hand, Ellingwood gets a chance for revenge. On the other hand, he has to reverse an extremely recent result to move on in the NCAA tournament. The Central Michigan wrestler had won the previous three meetings between the two. 197: No. 17 Stephen Loiseau (Drexel) vs. No. 14 Daniel Chaid (North Carolina) Chaid is finishing up his collegiate career that saw him wrestler for three schools: Oklahoma, Grand Canyon and North Carolina. There is a strong argument that he deserved a seed at this weight, but the committee did not do him any favors. In the first round, he takes on Loiseau who is part of a resurgent Drexel program that is looking to finish strong at the NCAA tournament. 285: No. 3 Jacob Kasper (Duke) vs. A.J. Nevills (Fresno State) For the first time since 2006, Fresno State will have a wrestler in the NCAA tournament. One of their best shots for an All-American is at heavyweight. Nevills went 25-8 this season and finished second at the Big 12 tournament. His run will get off to a tough start against Kasper. The Duke representative went 35-2 this year and won the ACC title. One of his two losses this season came against No. 4 Nick Nevills (Penn State), who happens to be the Bulldog's brother.

This past weekend at the Division III National Championships saw the NWCA announce five awards; The NWCA National Tournament Coach of the Year, NWCA Assistant Coach of the Year, NWCA Rookie Coach of the Year, National Tournament Outstanding Wrestler, and National Tournament Most Pins in the least amount of time. The winners were announced at the conclusion of the NCAA Division III National Championships. Marty Nichols, an NWCA Leadership Academy Mentor, was named the NWCA National Tournament Coach of the Year. Prior to the tournament Coach Nichols was named recipient of the Theraworx NWCA Coach of the Year. Marty led his Ithaca College Bombers to a third-place finish at this year's National Championships. Coach Nichols was also indicted into the DIII Wrestling Hall of Fame at the annual event held on Thursday evening, prior to the Championships. Baldwin Wallace Assistant Coach, and previous NWCA Leadership Academy graduate in 2015, Jason Zastrow won the NWCA Assistant Coach of the Year. Coach Zastrow helped lead the Yellowjackets to a 15th-place finish at this year's National Championships. Jim Wertman, Delaware Valley head coach, was named the NWCA Rookie Coach of the Year. Jim Wertman was a 2017 NWCA Leadership Academy graduate. This year, he led his team to a 7-10 overall dual meet record. In his inaugural year coaching at Delaware Valley he led his team to a 37th place finish in the National Championships and notched his first national placer and All-American in 133 pounder Brenden Velez. Lucas Jeske, the National Champion at 165 pounds, from Augsburg, was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships. Lucas pinned his first three opponents, which led him to the championship match. Lucas won his championship bout with a 15-0 technical fall win over Ithaca's Nick Velez. Jake Ashcraft, an Ithaca College Bomber, won the award for most pins in the least amount of time. Jake finished in third place, and pinned four out of the six individuals he wrestled. His fastest pin took just one minute and six seconds (1:06). Two of his other pins were garnered in under two minutes each.

Willie Miklus (Photo/Shane Epping) COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Mizzou Wrestling 197-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa) has received a sixth year of eligibility, as announced by head coach Brian Smith Monday. Because Miklus missed the majority of the 2013-14 and 2016-17 seasons due to injuries, the NCAA granted Miklus a sixth year of eligibility for the 2018-19 season, which will be his fourth season of competition. Wrestling at 184 pounds, Miklus earned All-America honors in 2015 and 2016, finishing seventh and sixth, respectively. Among program records, Miklus currently ranks sixth in career technical falls (11) and ninth in falls (27). "Willie is one of those great student-athletes who I can rely on day-in and day-out to help lead the team," said Smith. "I think after the adversity of what he had to go through last year, we weren't sure how he would respond and how he could come back, but he did. When he did suffer the injury, we knew there was a good opportunity he could get a sixth year, so I'm glad to see him be able to come back for another season. The experience and leadership he will provide for our young, talented wrestlers, while being a rock in the lineup at 197 pounds, will be great for the program." After only being able to wrestle in two matches before suffering a season-ending knee injury a season ago, Miklus has roared back onto the scene in 2017-18, this time wrestling at 197 pounds. Coming off his first career conference title at the MAC Championships, the two-time All-American will be making his third NCAA Championships appearance as the sixth-seed in Cleveland later this week. Miklus has wrestled to a record of 21-3 this season, with 16 of his wins coming by bonus points (six falls, seven technical falls and three major decisions). Miklus will be taking a 10-match winning streak with him when he steps onto the mat for his first round matchup against Northern Iowa's Jacob Holschlag in Cleveland. In 2014-15, Miklus earned MAC Freshman of the Year honors after finishing seventh at the NCAA Championships. The Tiger grappler posted a record of 33-9 in his first competitive season, while leading the team with 14 falls. In 2015-16, Miklus earned his second All-America honor after wrestling to a 21-8 record and finishing sixth at the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Miklus missed the final three months of the 2013-14 season due to a shoulder injury. For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling).

Mark Branch (Photo/Ted Brumond, Wyoming Photo Service) IRVING, Texas -- Wyoming's Mark Branch was honored Monday as the Big 12 Wrestling Coach of the Year after leading the Cowboys to another successful season. During the recently completed 2017-18 regular season, the Pokes compiled a 13-3 dual record, including a 7-2 mark against Big 12 foes. Wyoming's 13 dual victories tied for fourth most in a single season in Cowboy history. Additionally, Wyoming's winning percentage of 81 percent is the sixth-best in one season. In its third year as a Big 12 member, UW finished fourth at the Big 12 Championship during the first weekend in March. Archie Colgan (157 pounds) and Bryce Meredith (141 pounds) became the first Cowboys to earn Big 12 titles. In the previous two seasons as a Big 12 member, Wyoming finished fifth at the Big 12 Championship. In his ten seasons, Branch has compiled a 100-49 overall dual record, including a 49-14 mark in conference action. He is just one of four coaches to win 100 duals at the helm of the program. Wyoming has sent 51 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships since Branch took over the program, with ten All-Americans. This is the first Big 12 award for Branch as a coach. He was named the Big 12 Athlete of the Year after his senior season at Oklahoma State in 1997. He was the Western Wrestling Conference Coach of the Year in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

J'den Cox defeated past world champion Mihail Ganev of Bulgaria to win bronze at 86 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) USA Wrestling has named J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo./Titan Mercury WC/Missouri WF) to its 2018 U.S. Men's Freestyle World Cup Team at 92 kg/202.5 lbs. Cox will be on the USA Wrestling team which will compete at the 2018 Freestyle World Cup at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa, April 7-8. The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championship, and will feature the top eight men's freestyle wrestling teams in the world. Cox, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and 2017 World bronze medalist, will be competing in his second Freestyle World Cup. He had a strong 3-1 record in his dual meet matches in the 2016 Freestyle World Cup, held in Inglewood, Calif. Cox won his 2016 Olympic bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and claimed his 2017 World bronze medal in Paris, France. He won a gold medal at the 2016 World Olympic Qualifier in Mongolia, which qualified him for the Rio Olympics. He was second at the 2018 Outstanding Ukrainian Memorial International and was third in the 2016 German Grand Prix. In college, Cox was a three-time NCAA champion and four-time All-American for Missouri. He was the first wrestler to win three NCAA titles in Missouri's history. Cox won his NCAA titles in 2014, 2016 and 2017. He was a four-time Missouri state champion for Hickman High School, the first in Missouri prep history to win four state titles in four different weight classes. USA Wrestling will announce one World Cup participant in each of the 10 weight classes each day through March 14. In addition to these 10 athletes, additional athletes will be added to the team roster, with at least two wrestlers in each weight class. The USA has drawn into Pool A against the nations of Japan, Georgia, and Iran. Pool B consists of teams from Russia, Azerbaijan, Cuba, and Kazakhstan. Iran is the defending World Cup team champions. This will be the first major international event for the U.S. men's freestyle program, since the United States won the team title at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships in Paris, France last August. It was the first World Team Title for the USA in men's freestyle in 22 years and only the third time in history. Ticket opportunities for the World Cup include a Gold all-session package ($225), a Black all-session package ($150), and standard all-session tickets ($75/$50). Tickets are now available on the University of Iowa Athletics website. Visit worldcupiowacity.com for more information on the event. FREESTYLE WORLD CUP At Iowa City, Iowa, April 7-8 U.S. men's freestyle lineup (as of March 12) 57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Thomas Gilman, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) 61 kg/134 lbs. - Kendric Maple, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) 65 kg/143 lbs. - Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) 70 kg/154 lbs. - James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) 74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC) 79 kg/174 lbs. - Kyle Dake, Ithaca, N.Y. (Titan Mercury WC/Finger Lakes WC) 86 kg/189 lbs. - David Taylor, State College, Pa. (Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC) 92 kg/202.5 lbs. - J'den Cox, Columbia, Mo. (Titan Mercury WC/Missouri WF) 97 kg/213 lbs. 125 kg/275 lbs. - National Freestyle Coaches - Bill Zadick, Kevin Jackson and Joe Russell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Honorary Coaches - Dan Gable (Iowa City, Iowa), J Robinson (Minneapolis, Minn.), Mike Duroe (Marion, Iowa) Additional U.S. athletes and delegation members will also be named. J'den Cox previous World Cup results 2016 World Cup, Inglewood, Calif., June 11-12 WIN Pawan Kumar (India), 13-2 tech. fall WIN Alexander Gostiev (Azerbaijan), 3-2 WIN Alireza Karimimachiani (Iran), 6-2 LOSS Dato Marsigashvili (Georgia), 7-4 J'DEN COX Residence: Columbia, Mo. Club: Titan Mercury WC College: Missouri High School: Columbia, Mo. (Hickman) Born: March 3, 1995 Weight Class: 92 kg/202.5 lbs. • 2016 Olympic bronze medalist • 2017 World bronze medalist • 2016 World Olympic Qualifier champion (Mongolia) • Third in 2016 Grand Prix of Germany (2016) • Three-time NCAA champion for Missouri (2014, 2016-17) • Four-time NCAA All-American (2014-17) • Four-time Mid-American Conference champion (2014-17)

Kyle Snyder battles Sean Streck of Purdue in the Big Ten semifinals (Photo/Richard Immel) The first time Kyle Snyder saw an Olympic gold medal was his senior year in high school. Two years later, he had one hanging around his neck. Snyder's achievements on the wrestling mat are unprecedented. He's the youngest Olympic champion in American wrestling history and he's the youngest world champion in U.S. history. And he won one of the biggest matches in World Championships history by knocking off seemingly unbeatable Russian Abdulrashid Sadulaev in 2017. Even with all of Snyder's glowing achievements, that provides no guarantee that the Ohio State senior will capture his third straight NCAA championship on March 17 in Cleveland. "It's never easy -- especially against these big boys at heavyweight," Snyder said. "I love a challenge, and I definitely need to be at my best for this tournament. There are some big, strong guys in this weight class." Too big to compete at the collegiate weight class of 197 pounds anymore, the 5-foot-11, 225-pound Snyder has battled much bigger athletes in the heavyweight class the last three seasons. That group includes massive 6-foot-5, 285-pound Adam Coon of Michigan, who towers over Snyder and handed the Ohio State senior his only loss this season. Kyle Snyder defeated Adam Coon of Michigan in the Big Ten finals (Photo/Richard Immel) Snyder returned the favor with a dramatic overtime win over Coon in the Big Ten tournament finals. Now the stage is set for one final showdown at the national tournament between the two talented seniors. Snyder will be the 1 seed at NCAAs and Coon the 2 seed. Barring an upset, they will end their careers together on the elevated platform in the finals on Saturday night. "I expect to see Coon again in the finals," Snyder said after winning Big Tens. "He's a very tough opponent and it will definitely be a battle if we meet again. We will go back to work in practice to prepare for Round 3, and try to execute our game plan at the NCAA tournament." Snyder is one of the strongest and most powerful wrestlers in his international weight class of 213 pounds. Heavyweight, which has a 285-pound weight limit in college, is a different matter. Coon not only is huge for the weight class, he also is a smart wrestler who moves very well for his size. He's tough to score on and he also doesn't wear down like other heavyweights. "I like to be really active and shoot a lot and push the pace," Snyder said. "But Coon is real heavy and his leg defense is better, so I have to be a little more strategic in how I wrestle him. I won't have to wrestle anyone as big as him again after NCAAs." Coon also has wrestled extensively on the international level, winning a Cadet world title and also medaling at the Junior Worlds. In the overtime battle in the Big Ten finals, Snyder fired in low on a single-leg attack against Coon. Snyder patiently worked his way into position while holding Coon's leg in the air. He then finished for a takedown while keeping his feet just inbounds to score the winning points. Snyder's win prompted this tweet from Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion Jordan Burroughs: "There are two types of people in this world," Burroughs wrote. "Kyle Snyder. And everyone else." That Tweet was liked more than 6,000 times. Snyder's days as a heavyweight are nearing an end. And he's grateful for that. Before he leaves the heaviest weight class, Snyder will look to lead the Buckeyes to another national team title. Snyder placed second at NCAAs as a freshman at 197 pounds when Ohio State hoisted the gold team trophy in 2015. Snyder is the epitome of what you want in a student-athlete. He excels in the classroom, he's polite, personable and respectful, and he has a strong faith. He frequently shares Bible verses on his Twitter page. He also possesses a maturity far beyond his years and is a great ambassador for wrestling with how he carries himself and lives his life. He's the role model you want your kids to emulate. And he's still only 22 years old. "Kyle has a deep desire to focus on producing his best effort," Ohio State coach Tom Ryan said. "He's process driven. He pursues positive thoughts and deletes negative ones. His focus is less on winning than on producing the best version of himself he can." Snyder's most impressive feat came in 2017. That's when he came from behind in the closing seconds to defeat Sadulaev, an Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion in the world finals this past August in Paris. "That was the match I was least nervous for because I was so excited," he said. "I grew up dreaming about wrestling the best wrestlers in the world. It couldn't have been a more hyped-up situation with the team title on the line." Kyle Snyder defeated Abdulrashid Sadulaev to win a world title in Paris (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Snyder rallied for an epic 6-5 win over Sadulaev. That win propelled the United States to its first world freestyle team title since 1995, the year Snyder was born. "It felt really great to win obviously, but I would've been happy with that performance even if I would've lost because I wrestled really well," Snyder said. "I put every ounce of energy I had into that match." Burroughs, one of the greatest American wrestlers of all-time, fully appreciates and marvels at what Snyder has done. "Kyle is the perfect combination of skill and belief," Burroughs said. "He desires the battle. The wrestling is the gift for Kyle, not the winning. Kyle doesn't believe in physical limitations. He thinks he's superhuman, and after watching him over the last three years, he just might be." Snyder brings a refreshing approach to a tough, grueling sport. "I love wrestling," he said. "I want to compete and perform to the best of my ability in every single match. The outcome isn't for me to think about. It's for God to plan. I just have to make the decisions in the moment. That's what I'm called to do." American John Smith won two Olympic gold medals and four world titles from 1987-92. Snyder wants to surpass what the legendary Smith did. "I like doing things people haven't done," Snyder said. "It's something that drives me." For now, Snyder is driven to win individual and team titles in his final weekend in an Ohio State uniform. "The main thrill I get wrestling in college right now is helping the team win," he said. "I love the competition, but to be honest, I really don't like wrestling heavyweight that much. Obviously, I would rather wrestle 213, which is my perfect weight class. I feel like I'm the strongest guy in the world at 213. "Wrestling heavyweight in college is a different challenge, but the team aspect is so fun. I love the wrestlers and coaches we have, and I love the way we do things at Ohio State. It's been awesome to be a part of this program. I feel very confident about our chances to win an NCAA team title in Cleveland." Snyder continues to show a penchant for earning clutch, last-second victories, at the international and collegiate levels. Two years ago in the NCAA finals, he earned a dramatic overtime win over two-time defending champion Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State at Madison Square Garden. Gwiazdowski won a world bronze medal for the U.S. last year at heavyweight. Snyder continues to do what nobody else in the sport has done before. "Once you reach one goal, you need to set another one," he said. "My goal is to be the best wrestler who has ever lived." Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year.

Oklahoma State's Pat Smith became the first four-time NCAA Division I champ (Photo/George Tiedemann, Getty Images) Looking for a sure way to get a discussion going among wrestling fans? Ask this basic question: Who is the single all-time greatest wrestler for each NCAA Division I mat program? The March 15, 2018 issue of Wrestling USA weighed in with its selections for GOAT (greatest of all time) wrestlers for current and a number of discontinued D1 programs. The list is based on factors such as individual NCAA titles, quality of NCAA wins/losses, and overall college records. It does not include current college wrestlers, and, with a few exceptions, does not include wrestlers who competed prior to 1960 "because of a lack of information and personal eyewitnesses." The Wrestling USA list includes just over 100 student-athletes. For purposes of this article, we are sharing the magazine's GOATs for InterMat's current ranking of Top 25 NCAA Division I programs. (The magazine's list is in alphabetical order by school, with a concise write-up for each athlete as to why he was named all-time best for his alma mater.) 1. Ohio State -- Logan Stieber: Three years ago, became only the fourth four-time D1 champ 2. Penn State -- David Taylor: Two-time NCAA champ, four-time finalist 3. Missouri -- Ben Askren: Four-time finalist, twice NCAA champ (2006, 2007) 4. Michigan -- Mark Churella: Three-time NCAA champ (1977-79) 5. NC State -- Nick Gwiazdowski: Three-time NCAA finalist, two-time heavyweight champ (2014-15) 6. Iowa -- Tom Brands: Three-time NCAA champ (1990-92) 7. Lehigh -- Mike Caruso: Three-time NCAA champ (1965-67) 8. Virginia Tech -- Devin Carter: Three-time NCAA All-American and NCAA runner-up in 2014 9. Oklahoma State -- Pat Smith: First-ever four-time NCAA Division I titlewinner (1990-92, 1994) 10. Arizona State -- Dan St. John: The Sun Devils' first two-time NCAA champ (1989, 1990) 11. Cornell University -- Kyle Dake: The only four-time NCAA champ to win titles in four different weight classes (141 lbs. in 2010; 149 in 2011; 157 in 2012; 165 in 2013). 12. Illinois -- Jesse Delgado: Won back-to-back NCAA titles in 2013 and 2014 at 125. 13. Wyoming -- Dick Ballinger: The Cowboys' only NCAA champ, winning the 167 title in 1960. 14. South Dakota State -- Pat Dorn: Back when Division II wrestlers could also compete at the Div. I championships, Dorn was a two-time D2 champ (1987, 1988) who earned All-American status at the 1988 D1 Nationals. 15. Rutgers -- Anthony Perrotti: Two-time NCAA All-American for the Scarlet Knights in 2014 and 2015. 16. Northwestern -- Jake Herbert: Two-time NCAA champ (2007, 2009) and four-time All-American. 17. Nebraska -- Jordan Burroughs: Three-time NCAA All-American, twice a champ (2009, 2011). 2012 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle. 18. Duke -- Conner Hartmann: Three-time NCAA All-American (2014-16). 19. Minnesota -- Damion Hahn: Four-time NCAA All-American, two-time NCAA champ (2003, 2004). 20. Northern Iowa -- Bill Koll: One truly "old-school" legend on this list. Undefeated three-time NCAA champ (1946-48). First two-time NCAA Outstanding Wrestler honoree. 21. North Carolina -- T.J. Jaworsky: Three-time NCAA champ for the Tar Heels (1993-95). 22. Lock Haven -- Gray Simons: Three-time NCAA champ (1960-62) and a two-time Olympian (1960, 1964). 23. Oregon State -- Les Gutches: Three-time NCAA All-American, two-time national champ (1995, 1996). 1996 Olympian. 24. Rider -- John Cavalheira: First Rider wrestler to earn NCAA All-American honors twice (1997, 1998). 25. Central Michigan -- Casey Cunningham: CMU's only national champ, Cunningham won the 157-pound crown at the 1999 NCAAs. In addition to the ranked teams listed above, InterMat wanted to share the names of the honorees from Division I schools that have won at least one NCAA team title in their history: • Iowa State -- Cael Sanderson: The only undefeated four-time NCAA Division I champ, Sanderson won three titles at 184 in 1999-2001, and a fourth at 197 in 2002. • Oklahoma -- Mark Schultz: Three-time NCAA champ, first at 167 in 1981… then twice at 177 in 1982-83. • Michigan State -- Greg Johnson: Three-time NCAA champ at 118 pounds (1970-72). Want to see the entire list? Click on the Wrestling USA link, then scroll through the pages until page 17. Want to see a list of the GOATs of Oregon State? Recently, the Corvallis Gazette-Times put together its list of the dozen best Beaver wrestlers. https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/19847

David Taylor (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) USA Wrestling has named David Taylor (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC) to its 2018 U.S. Men's Freestyle World Cup Team at 86 kg/189 lbs. Taylor will be on the USA Wrestling team which will compete at the 2018 Freestyle World Cup at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa, April 7-8. The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championship, and will feature the top eight men's freestyle wrestling teams in the world. Taylor, a two-time U.S. Open champion, will be competing in his second Freestyle World Cup. Taylor was a 2017 World Cup champion, going 4-0 in his dual meet matches in Kermanshah, Iran. Two of Taylor's wins were against past Olympic champions, with a third against a past World champion. Taylor claimed his U.S. Open titles in 2015 and 2017. He was second in the U.S. World Team Trials in both 2014 and 2017, and placed third in the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. He was third at the 2013 World University Games. Taylor has won two Grand Prix of Spain titles (2015, 2016) and the Paris International title in France in 2017. He compete on the 2007 U.S. Junior World Team while still in high school. In college, Taylor was a two-time NCAA champion and four-time NCAA finalist for Penn State. His NCAA titles came in 2012 and 2014, and he placed second in the NCAA Championships in 2011 and 2013. Taylor also won the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation's top college wrestlers two times, taking this honor in 2012 and 2014. He was a four-time Ohio State champion for St. Paris Graham High School. USA Wrestling will announce one World Cup participant in each of the 10 weight classes each day through March 14. In addition to these 10 athletes, additional athletes will be added to the team roster, with at least two wrestlers in each weight class. The USA has drawn into Pool A against the nations of Japan, Georgia, and Iran. Pool B consists of teams from Russia, Azerbaijan, Cuba, and Kazakhstan. Iran is the defending World Cup team champions. This will be the first major international event for the U.S. men's freestyle program, since the United States won the team title at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships in Paris, France last August. It was the first World Team Title for the USA in men's freestyle in 22 years and only the third time in history. Ticket opportunities for the World Cup include a Gold all-session package ($225), a Black all-session package ($150), and standard all-session tickets ($75/$50). Tickets are now available on the University of Iowa Athletics website. Visit worldcupiowacity.com for more information on the event. FREESTYLE WORLD CUP At Iowa City, Iowa, April 7-8 U.S. men's freestyle lineup (as of March 11) 57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Thomas Gilman, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) 61 kg/134 lbs. - Kendric Maple, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) 65 kg/143 lbs. - Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) 70 kg/154 lbs. - James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) 74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC) 79 kg/174 lbs. - Kyle Dake, Ithaca, N.Y. (Titan Mercury WC/Finger Lakes WC) 86 kg/189 lbs. - David Taylor, State College, Pa. (Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC) 92 kg/202.5 lbs. - 97 kg/213 lbs. 125 kg/275 lbs. - National Freestyle Coaches - Bill Zadick, Kevin Jackson and Joe Russell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Honorary Coaches - Dan Gable (Iowa City, Iowa), J Robinson (Minneapolis, Minn.), Mike Duroe (Marion, Iowa) Additional U.S. athletes and delegation members will also be named. David Taylor's previous World Cup results 2017 World Cup, Kermanshah, Iran, Feb. 16-17 WIN Dato Marsagishvili (Georgia), 8-3 WIN Vladislav Valiev (Russia), 14-4 tech. fall WIN Sharif Sharifov (Azerbaijan), 12-2 tech. fall WIN Hassan Yazdanicharati (Iran), 5:05 pin DAVID TAYLOR Residence: State College, Pa. Club: Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC College: Penn State High School: St. Paris Graham (Ohio) Born: Dec. 5, 1990 Weight Class: 86 kg/189 lbs. • 2017 World Cup champion • Third in 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials • Two-time U.S. World Team Trials runner-up (2014, 2017) • Third in 2015 U.S. World Team Trials • Two-time U.S. Open champion (2015, 2017) • Third in 2013 World University Games • Two-time Grand Prix of Spain champion (2015, 2016) • 2017 Paris International champion • Two-time NCAA champion for Penn State (2012, 2014) • Two-time Dan Hodge Trophy recipient, as nation's best college wrestler (2012, 2014)

St. Cloud State won the NCAA Division II title (Photo/SCSU Athletics) CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- No. 1 St. Cloud State capped a perfect season by winning its third NCAA Division II national championship on Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It's the program's third national title in the last four seasons. The Huskies finished the tournament with 92.5 points, outdistancing defending national champ Notre Dame (Ohio) by 8.5 points. Six St. Cloud State wrestlers became All-Americans, but none won titles. James Pleski (149), Larry Bomstad (157) and Vince Dietz (197) all finished runner-up. All seven wrestlers competing for Notre Dame at the NCAA Division II Championships became All-Americans, with the highest finisher being runner-up Kameron Teacher (285). Ashland and Pitt-Johnstown both crowned two national champions. Ashland's national champions were Bret Romanzak (157) and Luke Cramer (197), while Pitt-Johnstown's were Chris Eddins (141) and Cody Law (157). Nick Becker (174) won his third NCAA Division II national title and finished his career at UW-Parkside with a perfect 89-0 record. Finals Results: 125: Elijah Hale (Central Okla.) tech. fall Maleek Williams (Upper Iowa), 17-2 133: Josh Walker (Upper Iowa) dec. George Farmah (Minnesota St.), 1-0 141: Chris Eddins (Pitt.-Johnstown) dec. Darren Wynn (McKendree), 4-2 149: Daxton Gordon (California Baptist) dec. James Pleski (St. Cloud St.), 5-1 SV 157: Cody Law (Pitt.-Johnstown) dec. Larry Bomstad (St. Cloud St.), 6-3 165: Bret Romanzak (Ashland) dec. Christian Smith (California Baptist), 3-2 174: Nick Becker (UW-Parkside) dec. Nolan Kistler (California Baptist), 8-4 184: Noel Torres (Newman) dec. JaVaughn Perkins (Colorado St.-Pueblo), 3-1 197: Luke Cramer (Ashland) dec. Vince Dietz (St. Cloud St.), 5-1 285: Terrance Fanning (Wheeling Jesuit) dec. Kameron Teacher (Notre Dame), 8-2 Team Standings: 1. St. Cloud St. 92.5 2. Notre Dame (OH) 84 3. California Baptist 70.5 4. Upper Iowa 58 5. Ashland 55 6. Pitt.-Johnstown 54.5 7. McKendree 52 8. Neb.-Kearney 44.5 9. Central Okla. 36.5 10. Minnesota St. 30.5 11. Colorado St.-Pueblo 30 12. Newman 27.5 13. Wheeling Jesuit 25.5 14. Western St. 20.5 15. UNC Pembroke 19 16. Simon Fraser 15.5 17. Kutztown 13.5 18. Northern St. 12.5 19. King (TN) 12 20. Colorado Mesa 11.5 20. Ouachita Baptist 11.5 20. Shippensburg 11.5 23. LIU Post 11 23. West Liberty 11 25. Limestone 10.5

Nick Becker celebrates after winning his third national title CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Redshirt senior Nick Becker made history Saturday night at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, as the Hartford, Wis., native became the only wrestler in Parkside history to win three NCAA Championships. No. 1 Becker defeated No. 2 Nolan Kistler of California Baptist in an 8-4 decision in the championship match while battling a bloody nose throughout the final match. Becker closed out his career as a Ranger with a perfect 89-0 record. Becker, who's brothers Craig Becker and Brad Becker also won national championships at Parkside, joined a long list of national champions in Ranger history. Bill West, who won national titles in 1974 & 1975, is the other Ranger with multiple national championships. As a team, the Rangers would have finished with 74 points, which would have been good for third place behind St. Cloud State (92.5) and Notre Dame (84). Due to conference sanctions, Parkside is ineligible to place in the team standings. Third place would have been the best place in Parkside history, surpassing the fifth place finish in 2010. Along with Becker, four other wrestlers secured All-American honors over the weekend. Frank Yattoni IV suffered an early loss on Saturday, but the senior battled back and earned two straight wins en route to a third place finish. He defeated Upper Iowa's Damian Penichet by major decision in the third place match. Senior Matt Halverson also battled back from an early loss on Saturday to finish in third place after entering the tournament as the No. 11 ranked wrestler at 285. After the loss, Halverson pinned Mitchell Eull of Minot State in just 1:33 before pinning Cody Johnson of CSU-Pueblo in the third place match. Airk Furseth finished in sixth place after going 2-0 on Friday. The sophomore suffered three straight losses on Saturday but ended his season with an incredible 32-8 record and an NCAA Regional Championship. James Lehman went 0-2 on the day but finished in eighth place to garner All-American honors. The redshirt junior finished the seaso

Wartburg claimed its third straight NCAA Division III national title (Photo/Wartburg Athletics) CLEVELAND, Ohio-- Top-ranked Wartburg claimed its third straight title at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships on Saturday night in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the program's 14th national championship overall. Three Knights captured individual national titles: Brock Rathbun (133), Cross Cannone (149) and Kyle Fank (197). Augsburg finished runner-up in the team standings and had five All-Americans, including two national champions: Ryan Epps (157) and Lucas Jeske (165). Jay Albis became Johnson & Wales' first-ever national champion. He claimed his national title by edging Carlos Fuentez of Wheaton in a high-scoring affair, 11-10, in the finals at 125 pounds. Ithaca finished third in the team standings, three points behind runner-up Augsburg. Sophomore 141-pounder Ben Brisman took home the Bombers' first individual national title since 125-pounder Ricardo Gomez won a national title in 2013. He defeated Stevens' top-seed Brett Kaliner 10-7 in the finals. Kaliner had won the two previous meetings this season. Nick Valez, who entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed, finished runner-up at 165 pounds. Stevens and Wabasha rounded out the top five teams. Finals Results: 125: Jay Albis (Johnson & Wales) dec. Carlos Fuentez (Wheaton), 11-10 133: Brock Rathbun (Wartburg) dec. Sam Bennyhoff (Augsburg), 12-5 141: Ben Brisman (Ithaca) dec. Brett Kaliner (Stevens), 10-7 149: Cross Cannone (Wartburg) maj. dec. Gregory Warner (York), 9-1 157: Ryan Epps (Augsburg) dec. Logan Thomsen (Wartburg), 3-1 SV 165: Lucas Jeske (Augsburg) tech. fall Nick Velez (Ithaca), 15-0 174: Jairod James (Mount Union) dec. Jon Goetz (UW-Platteville), 4-1 184: Jordan Newman (UW-Whitewater) maj. dec. Tyler Lutes (Wartburg), 9-1 197: Kyle Fank (Wartburg) dec. Guy Patron (Loras), 8-2 285: Jake Evans (Waynesburg) dec. James Bethel (SUNY Oneonta), 10-5 Team Standings: 1. Wartburg 136.5 2. Augsburg 82 3. Ithaca 79 4. Stevens 55 5. Wabash 44 6. Johnson & Wales (RI) 43.5 7. UW-La Crosse 42.5 8. Messiah 38 9. UW-Whitewater 35 10. Mount Union 34.5 10. SUNY Oneonta 34.5 12. Coe 34 13. Millikin 30.5 14. Wheaton (IL) 29.5 15. Baldwin Wallace 28 16. Brockport 27.5 17. Cornell College 25.5 18. Wesleyan (CT) 24 19. NYU 21 20. Waynesburg 20 21. Loras 19.5 21. UW-Platteville 19.5 23. Coast Guard 19 23. UW-Stevens Point 19 25. York (PA) 18

ALLEN, Texas -- Liberty and Apprentice exchanged the team points lead three times over two days before the Flames clinched the National Collegiate Wrestling Association championship by the smallest of margins on Saturday at the Allen Event Center. Liberty swept the national duals and the national championship for the second time in four years, overcoming three semifinal losses and won the trophy, 157-156.5, just ahead of the No. 1-ranked Engineers. In the 21st edition of the NCWA national event, Liberty's only championship qualifier, Austin Amos, rallied with a penalty point and a reversal in the final period of the 235 final for a critical 4-3 win over Steven Webb of UConn. Webb's loss was his third career runner-up finish in the 235 finals. Apprentice had regained the lead after Ross Graham (197) secured a late win over previously unbeaten Robert LaPeter of Florida State. Graham rallied from a 6-2 deficit with a near-fall and a takedown in the final period for an 8-7 decision. Teammate Colton Messick (125) also claimed a first-place finish, but Chad Simmons (157) dropped an 8-3 decision to Emmanuel's Hunter Quinn. Perennial power Southwestern Oregon ran away with the women's championship, amassing 134 points. Midland, buoyed by Leilani Camargo's pin of Ebony Ayers of Southwestern in the 191 final, was second with 52.5 points. George Vanvalen of Alfred State, who improved to 81-4 over the past two seasons and won the 184 title with a dominant technical fall, was selected as the men's Most Outstanding Wrester. Maine's Samantha Frank, the most decorated women's wrestler in NCWA history, captured her fourth consecutive title at 101 with a 32-second win by fall over North Texas' Alexis Perez. Frank also earned Most Outstanding Wrester for the fourth time. Teammates Ivay Navarro (109), Victoria Smith (123), and Olivia Demars (136) also won individual titles. Michigan-Dearborn's Marina Goocher, dropping in weight class, won at 130 and claimed her third national title. She won the 136-pound division in 2016 and 2017. Men 125: Colton Messick, Apprentice, def. Byron Smith, Middle Tennessee, by majority decision (15-6) 133: Arthur Payne (Mott CC) def. De'Ante Evans, Toledo, by decision (3-1) 141: Deviniare Hayes, Queens, def. Tyler Sage, Florida, by decision (3-1) 149: Zach Blevins, Toledo, def. Ty'Rae Carter, Texas A&M, by decision (10-4) 157: Hunter Quinn, Emmanuel, def. Chad Simmons, Apprentice, by decision (8-3) 165: Javiair White, Rutgers, def. Richard Viruet, Springfield Tech, by decision (10-4) 174: Noah Curreri, Queens, def. Shane Brown, Akron, by decision (3-1) 184: George Vanvalen, Alfred State, def. Jerron Thomas, Mott CC, by technical all (16-1, 3:55) 197: Ross Graham, Apprentice, def. Robert LaPeter, Florida State, by decision (8-7) 235: Austin Amos, Liberty, def. Stevan Webb, UConn, by decision (4-3) 285: Nathan Spinetti, Penn State-Fayette, def. Dylan Stadel, Utah State, by decision (4-2) Final Team Standings: 1. Liberty, 157 2. Apprentice, 156.5 3. Central Florida, 141 4. Brigham Young, 119 5. Queens, 117 6. Springfield Tech, 107 7. Emmanuel, 101 8. Middle Tennessee, 91 8. UMBC, 91 10. Grays Harbor, 87.5 11. Alfred State, 73 12. Grand Valley State, 72 13. Toledo, 62.5 14. Washington State, 55 16. Penn State 50 17. Akron 48 18. UConn 46.5 19. Maine, 43 20. Penn State-Fayette, 42.5 Women 101: Samantha Frank, Maine, def. Alexis Perez, North Texas, by fall (:32) 109: Ivy Navarro, Southwestern Oregon def. Hilary Merrifield, Maine, by decision (14-0) 116: Caitlin Wells, Springfield Tech, def. Luciana Schement, Texas Woman's, by decision (13-2) 123: Victoria Smith, Southwestern Oregon def. Kamele Sanchez, Colorado State, by decision (21-11) 130: Marina Goocher, Michigan, def. Kendal Davis, Colorado State, by decision (6-1) 136: Olivia Demars, Southwestern Oregon, def. Tara Linneman, Springfield Tech, by fall (6:24) 143: Shannon Ripley, Husson, def. Rossana Aguilar, Fresno State, by decision (8-2) 155: Maxine Knetter, Wisconsin def. Sierra Fonger, Maine, by fall (2:54) 170: Cendall Manley, Liberty, def. Saydie Kala, Southwestern Oregon, by fall (4:51) 191: Leilani Camargo, Midland, def. Ebony Ayers, Southwestern Oregon, by fall (4:10) Final Team Standings 1. Southwestern Oregon, 134 2. Midland, 52.5 3. Maine, 51 4. NorthTexas, 43.5 5. Richland, 34 6. Springfield Tech, 33 7. Colorado State 31 8. Liberty, 26 9. Houston, 20.5 10. Fresno State, 19.5 11. Husson, 19 11. Wisconsin, 19 13. Texas A&M, 18.5 14. Michigan-Dearborn, 18 15. Texas State, 17.5 16. Washington, 16.5 17. Texas, 14 18. UCSB, 11.5 19. Texas Tech, 10.5 20. Houston-Downtown, 7

The much-anticipated first-of-its-kind public meeting between two rivals of nearly 50 years ago -- Dan Gable and Larry Owings -- slated for the 2018 NCAA Fan Fest now has a new date ... along with some new details. The new date The 2018 Gable-Owings event will now take place on Saturday, March 17 at 3 p.m., after Session V of the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The location remains the same: Fan Fest in Hall A of the Huntington Convention Center at 300 Lakeside Avenue in downtown Cleveland, a short walk from Quicken Loans Arena, the venue for the Division I Nationals. As event organizer WIN Magazine pointed out in its press release issued Friday, "Wrestling fans attending the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, Ohio, March 15-17, will have the chance to relive arguably the most talked about wrestling match of all time -- the Larry Owings' upset of undefeated two-time NCAA champion Dan Gable in the 1970 NCAA finals. For the first time in history, the two living legends will make a public appearance together ... Match video of the historic bout will be played, and there will be a question-and-answer time with Gable and Owings, followed by autographs." Now, some new details Historical perspective: College wrestling fans from eight to 88 have undoubtedly heard of Owings-Gable ... but may not have realized the significance of this match in collegiate mat history. "In the long and storied history of the NCAA Wrestling Championships, dating back to 1928, there have been hundreds of important matches but only a few have reached legendary status -- contests that fans have discussed over and over for decades," according to WIN Magazine. "And topping the list in the latter category is the showdown that occurred on March 28, 1970 in the 142-pound class. That bout, between Dan Gable of Iowa State and Larry Owings of the University of Washington, is without question the most talked-about match in NCAA wrestling history." The late Jay Hammond, noted wrestling historian and author of the 2005 book "The History of Collegiate Wrestling", has labeled Gable-Owings the greatest upset in NCAA finals history. And, in 2005, a panel of historians concurred, naming the Owings-Gable title bout at the 1970 NCAAs as the single biggest upset in Nationals history. Meet the wrestlers: In its announcement of the date change for the Gable-Owings Fan Fest event, WIN Magazine also provided portraits of the two grapplers battling for the 142-pound title in front of a packed McGaw Hall (now Welsh-Ryan Arena) at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. just outside Chicago. Dan Gable, a senior from Iowa State, was a two-time NCAA champ, about to wrestle his last collegiate match. He brought a winning streak of 180 consecutive wins dating back to his sophomore year in high school. In addition, he had earned a reputation as one of the greatest pinners ever. To most fans, the thought of Gable losing was out of the question, according to WIN. Larry Owings had tremendous credentials of his own. As WIN points out, while Gable's record that season was 31-0, with five straight pins in the 1970 NCAA tourney, Owings was 32-1, and had four pins entering the finals. In addition, the Washington Husky sophomore had made headlines by telling reporters he had come to McGaw Hall with one purpose -- to defeat Dan Gable. This was in an era long before Twitter taunts and video call-outs on Instagram ... and a time when it was rare for any athlete to make bold predictions about an event's outcome, especially in the world of amateur wrestling. The match: Thanks to Gable's undefeated stature -- and Owings' statements to the press -- the match got tremendous advance build-up. According to WIN, ABC televised the match live. (Long before today's live ESPN coverage, NCAA wrestling finals were shown on tape-delay, in highly edited form.) Owings took a quick 7-2 lead but Gable fought back to pull even at 8-8 early in the third period. Owings escaped for a 9-8 edge and then scored on a brilliant flurry-style takedown and even gained crucial back points for a 13-8 lead. Gable escaped and received two points for riding time, making the final score 13-11. (There's the iconic photo of the two wrestlers facing each other at the end of the match, with Owings' hand being raised.) "The match sent shock waves through the arena and across the nation, and has become part of wrestling folklore," WIN stated. "Even people who didn't normally follow wrestling were amazed when they heard wrestling's superstar had lost. Gable received a long and emotional standing ovation as he stood on the awards platform to accept a second-place medal for the first time in his career." Want to know more about Gable-Owings? Check out this InterMat Rewind feature on this epic match.

Kyle Dake battles Jordan Burroughs in the finals of the 2017 World Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) USA Wrestling has named Kyle Dake (Ithaca, N.Y./Titan Mercury WC/Finger Lakes WC) to its 2018 U.S. Men's Freestyle World Cup Team at 79 kg/174 lbs. Dake will be on the USA Wrestling team which will compete at the 2018 Freestyle World Cup at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa, April 7-8. The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championship, and will feature the top eight men's freestyle wrestling teams in the world. Dake, 2016 a U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up, will be competing in his first Freestyle World Cup. His weight class, 79 kg, is one of the two new international weights added to freestyle wrestling this season. He placed second at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at 86 kg. Dake also placed second at the U.S. World Team Trials three times at 74 kg (2013, 2014, 2017). Dake has won international gold medals at the Cerro Pelado International in Cuba in 2014 and the Paris International in France in 2017. Dake boasts a 2016 U.S. Open title and was second in the 2017 U.S. Open. While in high school, he competed on the 2008 Junior World Team in Greco-Roman. In college, Dake was a four-time Div. I national champion for Cornell (2010-2013). He became the first wrestler to win four NCAA titles in four different weight classes. Dake also won the 2013 Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation's best college wrestler. He was a two-time New York state champion for Lansing High School. USA Wrestling will announce one World Cup participant in each of the 10 weight classes each day through March 14. In addition to these 10 athletes, additional athletes will be added to the team roster, with at least two wrestlers in each weight class. The USA has drawn into Pool A against the nations of Japan, Georgia, and Iran. Pool B consists of teams from Russia, Azerbaijan, Cuba, and Kazakhstan. Iran is the defending World Cup team champions. This will be the first major international event for the U.S. men's freestyle program, since the United States won the team title at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships in Paris, France last August. It was the first World Team Title for the USA in men's freestyle in 22 years and only the third time in history. Ticket opportunities for the World Cup include a Gold all-session package ($225), a Black all-session package ($150), and standard all-session tickets ($75/$50). Tickets are now available on the University of Iowa Athletics website. Visit worldcupiowacity.com for more information on the event. FREESTYLE WORLD CUP At Iowa City, Iowa, April 7-8 U.S. men's freestyle lineup (as of March 10) 57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Thomas Gilman, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) 61 kg/134 lbs. - Kendric Maple, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) 65 kg/143 lbs. - Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) 70 kg/154 lbs. - James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) 74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC) 79 kg/174 lbs. - Kyle Dake, Ithaca, N.Y. (Titan Mercury WC/Finger Lakes WC) 86 kg/189 lbs. - 92 kg/202.5 lbs. - 97 kg/213 lbs. 125 kg/275 lbs. - National Freestyle Coaches - Bill Zadick, Kevin Jackson and Joe Russell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Honorary Coaches - Dan Gable (Iowa City, Iowa), J Robinson (Minneapolis, Minn.), Mike Duroe (Marion, Iowa) Additional U.S. athletes and delegation members will also be named. KYLE DAKE Residence: Ithaca, N.Y Club: Titan Mercury WC College: Cornell University High School: Lansing (N.Y.) Born: Feb. 25, 1991 Weight Class: 79 kg/174 lbs. • Four-time NCAA champion for Cornell (2010-13) • 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up (2016) • Three-time U.S. World Team Trials runner-up (2013-14, 2017) • 2016 U.S. Open champion • 2017 Paris International champion • 2014 Cerro Pelado International champion • 2013 Dan Hodge Trophy recipient, as nation's top college wrestler • 2008 U.S. Junior World Team member in Greco-Roman

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Notre Dame College leads the team race at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships after the opening session with 13 points. Host Upper Iowa sits in second with 8 points. California Baptist and St. Cloud State are tied for third place with 7.5 points, while McKendree and Nebraska-Kearney are tied for fifth with 7 points. View the brackets and team scores after the opening session. Link: Brackets Link: Team Scores

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville community is mourning the loss of freshman College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) student Bryce Sheffer, who died from injuries sustained in an ATV accident on Thursday, March 8 near his home in Morganfield, Kentucky. He was 19. Sheffer was a freshman on the SIUE wrestling team. He was able to wrestle unattached through the 2017-18 season, compiling a 10-6 record, while winning six of his last seven matches in open events at 141 pounds. Sheffer enrolled at SIUE after wrestling for Cougars alum Robert Ervin at Union County High School. "It was an honor and a privilege to have Bryce as part of our program," said Jeremy Spates, SIUE wrestling head coach. "We are deeply saddened by his loss and would like to express our heartfelt sympathies to his family and friends. He always will be a part of our team." Information regarding visitation and services will be made available, as they become known. Counseling services are available to students by calling 650-2842 or visiting the Counseling Health Services Office in the Student Success Center lower level adjacent to the Morris University Center.

Vincenzo Joseph gets interviewed by ESPN's Quint Kessenich (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) ESPN continues its long-standing tradition of airing the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, when it televises 19 hours of competition during six highly competitive sessions, including three in prime time, March 15, 16, and 17. For the fourth consecutive year, ESPN will stream every mat, every match via the ESPN app in addition to the television programming, resulting in more than 640 matches available for fans, marking unprecedented coverage of the sport's pinnacle event. Penn State's Reign and a Potential Heavyweight Match for the Ages Headline the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Dominance: Penn State goes for its seventh National Championship in the last eight seasons, which would simultaneously extend the Big Ten's reign to 12 straight National Championships Snyder's Final Matches: Kyle Snyder will compete for Ohio State for the final time, wrapping up a college career where he won two NCAA Championships, won a gold medal at the Olympics and became a two-time World Champion A Heavyweight Matchup: Snyder will most likely face Michigan's Adam Coon in the heavyweight finals, in their third matchup this season. Both wrestlers have one loss on the year, which was to each other. Three Peat: In addition to Snyder, Oklahoma State's Dean Heil (141), Penn State's Zain Retherford (149), and Illinois' Isaiah Martinez (165) all have the opportunity to become three-time national champions Quicken Loans Arena will be hosting the event for the first time, as it returns to Cleveland for the first time since 1998. ESPN's Television and Streaming Coverage ESPN's prime-time coverage begins with the second round on Thursday, March 15, at 7 p.m. ET, the second consecutive year a session from the championships' first day has been televised on ESPN (previously has aired on ESPNU). The semifinals will also air on ESPN on Friday, March 16, before the finals shift to ESPN2 on Saturday, March 17, beginning at 8 p.m. both nights. ESPNU will carry all the championships' earlier sessions each day, beginning with the first round on March 15 (noon), continuing with the quarterfinals on March 16 (11 a.m.) and the concluding with the medal round on March 17 (11 a.m.) Throughout the entire three days, during all six sessions, ESPN3 streams every single mat and match, allowing fans to follow any wrestler and/or school. During the finals ESPN3 will once again offer Off the Mat -- a combination of live matches, highlights and interviews with newly crowned champions (more details below). All television coverage and the every match, every mat feature is available via the ESPN App. ESPN's Coverage Highlights Television coverage will often show multiple mats at one time with a scroll of both individual results and team standings continuously updating fans in real time: ESPN's scroll will let fans know which matchups are coming up next on specific mats: On ESPN3, fans will be provided a menu of current matches, allowing them to choose which one to watch: Team standings will keep fans up-to-date in real time; standing page will be an option on ESPN3 Graphics for various wrestlers Additional Coverage Highlights ESPN3 will have announcers stationed at each mat providing commentary for each specific feed to further enhance the streaming experience. ESPN will utilize still photography throughout the telecasts, capturing the event in a unique way. Fans can follow the action on Twitter through @NCAAWrestling and join the conversation by tagging their tweets #NCAAWrestling Off the Mat -- ESPN3 Special During Finals: ESPN3's Off the Mat during the Championship Finals (March 17 at 8 p.m.) will feature some of college wrestling's most decorated athletes - J.D. Bergman, Jim Gibbons, Lee Kemp, and David Taylor. The former athletes turned commentators will provide viewers a unique perspective of the sport's ultimate finale, along with Kenney who will host. Billy Baldwin will also join the coverage. While also bringing viewers live action, the analysts -- unrestricted by television parameters -- will discuss each match from a tactical and mental standpoint, describing the wrestlers' thought process before, during, and after a finals match. Off the Mat will go behind the scenes, show medal ceremonies and feature an array of guests throughout the night, including newly crowned NCAA National Champions and their coaches. ESPN Analysts: 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. 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. 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 seventh 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: Gibbons is a former NCAA Wrestling Coach of the Year, three-time All-American, two-time Big Eight winner at Iowa State and later won an NCAA National Championship as the Cyclones head coach. 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: A former standout wrestler at Binghamton University turned actor, Baldwin will be a guest analyst throughout the three days for the second 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 second 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. 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 the telecasts. For more information on the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships: http://www.ncaa.com/wrestling

ALLEN, Texas -- Liberty University leads the NCWA Championships after the first day, advancing seven wrestlers into the quarterfinals but using its depth with nine other alive in the consolation rounds for a 74-point total and a moderate cushion over the field. The Apprentice School is comfortably in second place for the moment with 66.5 points, while Central Florida is 14 points back in third with 60 points. Two-time defending champion Emmanuel College is fourth with 56 points, with BYU just behind in fifth at 55.5. Grays Harbor College and Washington State are tied for sixth at 50 points. We have broken down our first-day coverage into separate stories on each weight class on our site. Full coverage of the NCWA Championships is available to watch and follow along at www.arena.flowrestling.org. Wrestling begins again at 9 a.m. Friday with the championship quarterfinals and the two rounds of 16 consolation matches. The championship semifinals are at 7 p.m. The top 20 after Thursday's action is: 1. Liberty 74 2. Apprentice 66.5 3. Central Florida 60 4. Emmanuel College 56 5. BYU 55.5 6t. Grays Harbor College 50 6t. Washington State 50 8t. Middle Tennessee 49 8t. Springfield Tech CC 49 10. Grand Valley State 46 11. Md.-Baltimore County 45.5 12. Queens Univ. of Charlotte 42 13. Colorado State 33 14. Toledo 32 15. Alfred State 31 16. Akron 29 17. Maine 28 18. Florida 27 19. Penn State WC 25.5 20. Iowa State WC 25 125: Seven of the top eights seeds are still alive into the quarterfinals, paced by top-seeded Byron Smith of Middle Tennessee. Smith won three matches Thursday by tech fall, with combined scores of 48-2. The senior from Memphis is a two-time All-American who placed third last year. He will face eight-seed Brandn Felan of Texas A&M in the quarterfinals. Felan is perhaps the Southwest Conference's top wrestler this season, and edged Florida's Raymon Troncoso 12-10 in sudden victory to reach the quarters. UCF has two keys to its championship run in the 125 bracket. Two of the Knights' 10 wrestlers still alive heading into Friday are at 125, with four-seed Timothy Sakow one win away from a fourth consecutive All-American season and third-seeded Jacob Toledo in opposite sides of the quarterfinal brackets. Sakow got a key win over Liberty's Jason Smith in the round of 16 to close Thursday's action, while Toledo won both his matches by tech fall. Colton Messick, the second seed from Apprentice, scored a pin and a decision to reach the quarters at the bottom of the bracket. He'll face Emmanuel's Albert Perez, who as the 10-seed beat West Chester's 7-seed Manuel Canfin in the bracket's only upset of the day. Queen's University of Charlotte has 6-seed Melvin Rubio in the quarters following three pins in Thursday's action, two of them in under a minute and the other in 1:28. Rubio faces Toledo in the quarters. Deonte Carter, the 5-seed, is the other quarterfinalist and won his only match Thursday by fall following a first-round forfeit. 133: Two of the tournament's biggest upsets on the first day came in the 133 weight class. BYU's Colton Tracy helped the Cougars' charge into the top five of the standings with a 6-1 decision over fourth-seeded Emery Cline of Emmanuel. He'll face fifth-seeded and returning All-American Justus Griffith of UCF in the quarters in another key match for the Knights. The bracket's other notable upset based on seeding came in the bottom of the bracket as Kolin Johnson of Apprentice pinned two-time All-American and 3-seed Brendan Hazleton of Grand Valley State in the round of 16. Johnson faces returning All-American Deonte Evans of Toledo in the quarters. Evans topped Liberty's 11-seed Blake Justus in the round of 16, 4-3. Top-seed Arthur Payne of Mott Community College won two tech falls by a 33-2 count to reach the quarters at the top of the bracket, where he'll face 8-seed Demetri Koures of Montana Tech. Koures won three matches Thursday by pin, a tech fall, and a 5-2 decision over Tyler Petrochko of Yale in the round of 16. At the bottom of the bracket are second-seeded Noah Gilbert of Queens, and returning All-American Michael Perdomo of Penn State-Fayette. Perdomo beat Junior Francois of UCF in the round of 16 13-11 by sudden victory. 141: One of the featured quarterfinal matches will come at 141, where at the bottom of the bracket Liberty's 2-seed Reid Stewart will face Apprentice's 10-seed Shalek Colon. Stewart is the front end of the bulk of Liberty's middleweight prowess, and continued his fine season with two major decisions and a first-period pin in the round of 16 for key bonus points for Liberty, while Colon edged 7-seed and returning All-American Nick Reddy of Grand Valley State 10-7 in the round of 16. The winner there could play a big part of the championship picture. The 141-pound bracket provided the day's first upset when Liberty's Ashton Robinson, unseeded outside the top 24 in the bracket, beat 4-seed Michael Harris of Emmanuel in sudden victory, 9-7. Robinson reached the round of 16 before losing to 13-seed Danny Buteau of Husson University. Buteau faces East Carolina's 5-seeded Wesley Hollingsworth in the quarters. Hollingsworth had an efficient Thursday winning 7-2 and 12-4. Deviniare Hayes of Queens blasted into the quarterfinals with a 12-0 major decision over two-time All-American and 14-seed Carlos Garcia of Middle Tennessee to close Thursday's action. Hayes will face Nick Pipes of another first-year NCWA program at Macomb Community College. Pipes, the 6-seed, beat BYU's Tanner Williams 7-6 to reach the quarters, a big loss for BYU. Top-seeded Tyler Sage of Florida reached the quarters with an 8-4 win over Middle Tennessee's Daniel Clark in the round of 16, plus a first-period pin earlier in the day. Sage can help the Gators stay in the top 20 in the standings with a win over Grays Harbor's 8-seed Damon Thomas in the quarters. Thompson gritted out three decisions Thursday. 149: Top-seeded Jay Sheppard of Emmanuel dominated the upper part of the bracket, scoring two pins to reach the quarters to set up a key match between returning All-Americans facing 8-seed Ty Boyd of Apprentice. Emmanuel is a two-time All-American who placed third at 157 pounds last year, while Boyd is a two-time All-American who took fifth at 133 last year. The only unseeded wrestler to reach the quarterfinals came at 149 when Ty'Rae Carter of Texas A&M beat Utah State's Mitchel Egbert 15-3 by major decision in the round of 16. Carter started the day with a 21-7 major decision, then upset Liberty's 4-seeded Chad Cantrell 12-9. Carter takes on Temple's Nick Puliti in the quarters. Puliti, the 5-seed, won by fall and then had two decisions on the first day. Carter is one of two Southwest Conference upstarts in the bracket along with North Texas' Scott Akers, the 6-seed who posted an 11-0 major decision over 11-seed Tyshane Young of Grays Harbor to reach the quarters. Akers will face third-seeded Martin Mitchell of Maryland-Baltimore County on Friday morning. Mitchell posted three pins in his first-day action. Zach Blevins of Toledo is the 2-seed who scored two pins to reach the quarters, and he'll face 10-seed Tyler Weiss of BYU in a key match for the Cougars. Weiss won by fall to open his tournament, then won in sudden victory over UNLV's 7-seed Jared Brathor, 7-5. 157: The top seeds help for the most part in this class, setting up one key match toward the team title race. Chad Simmons, Apprentice's top-seed who cruised to two wins Thursday, faces UCF's Matthew Seymour in the quarters. Both Simmons and Seymour, the 8 seed, are returning All-Americans who look to place in the top four for the first time. Simmons was fifth at 165 last year, while Seymour took fifth at 141 in 2016. Seymour advanced by injury default over another returning All-American, Penn State-Fayette's Ethan Kenney, in the round of 16. At the bottom of the bracket, Hunter Quinn of Emmanuel had a dominating day as the 2 seed, winning by major decision 16-3 followed by a 17-0 tech fall and then a first-period pin in the round of 16. He'll face 10-seed Josh Pine of Grays Harbor, who scored two first-period pins sandwiched around a 6-4 decision to reach the quarters. Pine won in the round of 16 with a 27-second pin. Liberty's 3-seed, Andrew Burgette, faces a tough quarterfinal against 6-seed and returning All-American Dan Ritz of the Penn State Wrestling Club. Ritz won his three Thursday matches by fall while Burgette edged out a 6-5 win over Josh Feuerbacher to reach the quarters. The other quarterfinal pairs 5-seed Azamat Akhmedov of UMBC against 4-seed Dan Vossbein of West Chester. Vossbein scored a tech fall in the round of 32, and Akhmedov had a major decision to open the tournament. 165: The top eight seeds all won in this class to set up a quarterfinal series of matches where all four returning All-Americans in the bracket are still in the championship hunt, plus another match that will have an impact on the team title chase. In the middle of the bracket is a matchup of returning All-Americans as Javiair White of the Rutgers Wrestling Club, the 4-seed, taking on returning All-American JA Jones of Emmanuel. Jones took third in this class last year, while White was third at 174 in 2017. The White-Jones result will have team title implications, as will the pairing at the bottom of the bracket between Liberty's Joseph Scott, the 2 seed, and Mason Brestle of the Maryland Wrestling Club. Scott reached the quarters with a tech fall and a pin in the round of 16, while Brestle reached with two major decisions. The winner there could face Toledo's Taylor Workman, the 6-seed and a returning All-American who placed fourth at this weight a year ago. Workman takes on the 3-seed, Richard Viruet of Springfield Technical CC, who charged through his first-day matches with two tech falls by a 34-0 combined score plus a second-period pin in his opener. The other quarterfinal matches the top seed, Bailey Carlson of BYU, who will be the favorite over 8-seed Peter Becher of East Carolina. Carlson had a tech fall in his opener, then won a big match 6-4 over Liberty's David Cox in the round of 16. Becher won his matches by 9-1 and 12-6 counts. 174: There are two returning All-Americans at 174 and both of them have reached the quarterfinals. But the talk in this class quickly turns to the team race where Liberty, Apprentice, UCF and BYU each have a representative still alive for the title but none of them facing each other in the quarters. Of keen interest is the pairing of Dan Henson of Apprentice, who as the 21-seed is the lowest-seeded wrestler still alive in any championship bracket. Henson advanced by injury default against fifth-seeded and local rival Brandon Buckingham of UMBC, and now faces 4-seed John Prentice of Penn State-DuBois. Prentice is a returning All-American who took fifth at 165 in 2016. Prentice won by 10-3 and 4-1 counts to reach the quarters. Opposite that pairing in the top half of the bracket is Noah Curreri of Queens, who had three first-period pins Thursday to cruise into the quarterfinals. He'll face Edward Maisey of BYU, the 9-seed whose second of two major decisions on the day came as a 17-3 win over eighth-seeded Thomas Hatzipavlides of the Penn State Wrestling Club. At the bottom of the bracket is another feature match between two-time All-American Shane Brown of Akron, the 2 seed, taking on 7 seed Ethan Ahrens of UCF. Brown scored a handful of bonus points Thursday with two pins and a major decision, while Ahrens scored a pin to go with a major decision among his three first-day wins. The other quarterfinal pairs Liberty's 3 seed, Sam Karel, against Springfield Tech's Jacob Berry. Karel had a pin and a tech fall on the first day, while Karel scored a pin and a major decision to reach the quarters. 184: The team title will take an interesting turn following the results of the quarterfinals here. Three returning All-Americans are still alive in the championship side of the bracket, with two of the eight quarterfinalists from UCF and one from Liberty. And they're all on the same side of the bracket. The highlight match here comes at the top of the bracket where George VanValen of Alfred State is one win away from a third All-American finish. He's the top seed and cruised into the quarters with a tech fall and a major decision. VanValen, 39-1 on the season, takes on UCF's Brad Kata, the 8-seed. Kate had a first-period pin and a major decision on the first day. It's a key match for UCF, but it comes against one of the tournament's heavy title favorites. Opposite them is UCF's returning All-American Jarrod Smiley, the 5-seed. Smiley cruised through the first day, but now has one of the tournament's key matches taking on Liberty's Joshua McIlhenny, the 4-seed, in the quarters. At this point in the tournament it's a key match for UCF where it could have both its wrestlers facing off in the semi's. George Andrews of Connecticut is the other returning All-American in the bracket. Seeded sixth, he's advanced with a pin and a tech fall and will face 3-seed Jerron Thomas of Mott Community College. The bottom of the bracket has second-seeded Vincent Levin of Florida Gulf Coast taking on Brenden DeVries, the 7-seed of Grand Valley State. Levin scored a first-period pin and a major decision on the first day. 197: This bracket now has UCF and Apprentice wrestlers in the same half of the bracket awaiting a potential semifinal matchup. Second-seeded Ross Graham of Apprentice blew through two tech falls on Thursday to advance to the quarters, and he'll face Grays Harbor's 7-seed Jack Dahlgren, who had two pins on the first day. UCF's 3-seed Randolph Prud'homme takes on an underdog by seeding but an experienced wrestler in 11-seed Costas Hatzipavlides, a returning All-American from the Iowa State Wrestling Club. Hatzipavlides shocked two-time All-American and 6-seed Jesse Slocum of Akron in the round of 16 with a 10-1 major decision. Top-seeded Robert LaPeter could become Florida State's first NCWA All-American with a quarterfinal win, but it will come in a tough matchup against 8-seed River Robertson of Maine. Robertson is a three-time All-American with top-five finishes at 184 the past three seasons. LaPeter reached the quarters with two first-period pins and a 4-1 decision. Robertson had a pin and a major decision on Thursday. The other quarterfinal pairs upstart 12-seed Broc Dokos of Springfield Tech against returning All-American Sean Kennedy of Middle Tennessee. Dokos rocked the bracket with an 11-1 major decision over Liberty's Taylor Westlake, the 5-seed who took fourth at 184 last year. Kennedy was third at this weight last season, and reached the quarters with a first-period pin in the round of 16 following a tech fall to open his tournament. 235: The 235-pound bracket has been loaded from the start with eight returning All-Americans seeded in the bracket. Seven of them reached the quarterfinals representing a total of 10 All-American honors for what should be a great set of matches toward the close of the Friday morning session. The only reason all eight aren't the quarters is one of them lost to another when Luttere Eglaus of UCF edged Clemson's Danny Falconer 6-4 in the round of 16. Eglaus is the lowest-seeded of the quarterfinalists at 11 but still took Falconer's sixth-seeded spot. Falconer was Clemson's first All-American under the NCWA banner after a fourth-place finish at 197 last year. Eglaus takes on third-seeded Harun Bogdanic, an experienced wrestler from Grand Valley State and a two-time All-American. Just beneath them on the lower half of the bracket are Stevan Webb of Connecticut, a three-time All-American looking for a fourth, and Richie McClendon of Middle Tennessee. Webb, the 2-seed, and McClendon, the 7 seed, each earned two pins on the first day to advance. Austin Amos of Liberty is the top seed, a returning All-American with a pin and a tech fall already under his belt. Amos placed eight at 197 in 2017 and will face Giovanni Guarnero of Winona State, the 9-seed who took sixth at this weight last year. The Ohio State Wrestling Club earned its first All-American last year when Seth Brennock placed fourth in this weight class. He's back as the 4-seed and has already racked up 41 points in two matches winning by tech fall and a 22-10 major decision. He'll face 5-seed Drew Barrett of Queens, who won a narrow 3-1 opener before winning by tech fall in the round of 16. 285: The top two seeds in this class could make for a great championship bout between two two-time All-Americans. But there's another prospective matchup that could be even more appealing with two heavyweights battling each other in the tournament's final match with the team title on the line. Jesse Gaudin of UCF is 27-3 on the season with back-to-back national runner-up finishes the past two seasons. He's the top seed this time around and favored to reach the finals match again. On the other side of the bracket sits 2-seed Dylan Stadel of Utah State, still undefeated at 7-0 on the season with two consecutive third-place finishes in this bracket. Their finals match would be one to see. Gaudin takes on 8-seed Ryan Mattison of Alfred State in the quarters. Mattison already has a pin and a major decision in the tournament. But there's also that possibility that Liberty's 6-seed, Dominic Johnson, could slip into the final as well, perhaps pitting the two heavyweights in position to decide the overall champion between their teams that current sit in first and second place. Johnson has his hands full in the quarterfinals though facing another returning All-American in Donavan Lozada of Springfield Tech. Johnson already toppled another returning All-American in Austin Wells of Middle Tennessee, pinning him following a first-period pin in his opening match. Lozada has two first-period pins, including a 34-second finish in the round of 16. Stadel scored two first-period pins to start the tournament, and now faces UMBC's Chukwudi Kalu, the 7-seed, in the quarters. The other quarterfinal is between the 4- and 5-seeds, Penn State-Fayette's Nathan Spinetti and Grand Valley State's Miguel Correa. Correa got a pin in the opener and edged out 6-0 and 4-2 decisions in the other rounds Spinetti scored a pin in his opening round followed by an 8-0 major decision over the 13-seed.

Jordan Burroughs celebrates after winning a world title at 74 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) USA Wrestling has named Jordan Burroughs (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC) to its 2018 U.S. Men's Freestyle World Cup Team at 74 kg/163 lbs. Burroughs will be on the USA Wrestling team which will compete at the 2018 Freestyle World Cup at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa, April 7-8. The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championship, and will feature the top eight men's freestyle wrestling teams in the world. Burroughs, a 2012 Olympic champion and four-time World champion, will be competing in his sixth Freestyle World Cup. Burroughs has a perfect 23-0 record in his five World Cups, and is recognized as an individual World Cup champion each year. His previous World Cup appearances were in Baku, Azerbaijan (2012), Tehran, Iran (2013), Los Angeles, Calif. USA (2014 and 2015) and Kermanshah, Iran (2017). He is recognized as one of the greatest U.S. wrestlers of all time. Burroughs boasts an Olympic gold medal from the 2012 Olympics in London, England. He claimed World gold medals in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017, and is tied with John Smith and Tricia Saunders for the most Senior World titles in USA history. His five combined Olympic/World titles trails only Smith's six. Burroughs also boasts a 2014 World bronze medal. In addition to winning five World Cups, Burroughs has claimed two Pan American Games titles (2011 and 2015). He added Pan American Championships titles in 2014 and 2016. Burroughs won a U.S. record 69 straight matches to start his career on the Senior level. He won a 2013 World title just a month after breaking his ankle. In 2015, Burroughs was named USOC Male Olympic Athlete of the Year. In college, Burroughs won two NCAA titles (2009, 2011) and three All-American honors for the University of Nebraska. He was the 2011 Dan Hodge Trophy winner as the nation's best college wrestler. Burroughs was a 2006 New Jersey state champion for Winslow Township High School. USA Wrestling will announce one World Cup participant in each of the 10 weight classes each day through March 14. In addition to these 10 athletes, additional athletes will be added to the team roster, with at least two wrestlers in each weight class. The USA has drawn into Pool A against the nations of Japan, Georgia, and Iran. Pool B consists of teams from Russia, Azerbaijan, Cuba, and Kazakhstan. Iran is the defending World Cup team champions. This will be the first major international event for the U.S. men's freestyle program, since the United States won the team title at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships in Paris, France last August. It was the first World Team Title for the USA in men's freestyle in 22 years and only the third time in history. Ticket opportunities for the World Cup include a Gold all-session package ($225), a Black all-session package ($150), and standard all-session tickets ($75/$50). Tickets are now available on the University of Iowa Athletics website. Visit worldcupiowacity.com for more information on the event. FREESTYLE WORLD CUP At Iowa City, Iowa, April 7-8 U.S. men's freestyle lineup (as of March 9) 57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Thomas Gilman, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) 61 kg/134 lbs. - Kendric Maple, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WtC) 65 kg/143 lbs. - Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) 70 kg/154 lbs. - James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) 74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC) 79 kg/174 lbs. - 86 kg/189 lbs. 92 kg/202.5 lbs. - 97 kg/213 lbs. 125 kg/275 lbs. - National Freestyle Coaches - Bill Zadick, Kevin Jackson and Joe Russell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Honorary Coaches - Dan Gable (Iowa City, Iowa), J Robinson (Minneapolis, Minn.), Mike Duroe (Marion, Iowa) Additional U.S. athletes and delegation members will also be named. Jordan Burroughs previous World Cup results 2017 World Cup, Kermanshah, Iran, Feb. 16-17 WIN Jumber Kelashvili (Georgia), 2-2 WIN Murad Suleymanov (Azerbaijan), 3 cautions WIN Atsamaz Sanakoev (Russia), 10-1 WIN Peyman Yarahmadi (Iran), 3-2 2015 World Cup, Los Angeles, Calif,, April 11-12 WIN Unurbat Purevjav (Mongolia), 6-0 WIN Iakubali Shikhdzhamalov (Russia), 10-0 tech. fall WIN Livan Lopez (Cuba), 6-2 WIN Morteza Rezaei Ghaleh (Iran), 10-0 tech. fall 2014 World Cup, Los Angeles, Calif., March 15-16 WIN Varuzhan Kajoyan (Armenia), 16-6 tech. fall WIN Parveen Rana (India), 2:44 pin WIN Ezzatollah Akbari Zarinkolaei (Iran), 7-1 WIN Murat Erturk (Turkey), 2:17 pin WIN Giya Chykladze (Ukraine), 15-4 tech. fall 2013 World Cup, Tehran, Iran, Feb. 21-22 WIN Ali Shabanau (Belarus), 1-1, 5-0 WIN Stefanov Kirov (Bulgaria), 7-0, 6-0 WIN Ezzatollah Akbarizarinkolaei (Iran), 4-0, 2-0 WIN Sohsuke Takatani (Japan), 2-0, 7-1 WIN Jakob Makarashvili (Georgia), 3-0, 2-1 2012 World Cup, Baku, Azerbaijan, May 12-13 WIN Davit Khutsishvili (Georgia) WIN Sadegh Goudarzi (Iran) WIN Demirsin Batuhan (Turkey) WIN Sohsuke Takatani (Japan), 4-5, 3-1, 3-2 WIN Ammet Gadzimagomedov (Russia) JORDAN BURROUGHS Residence: Lincoln, Neb. Club: Sunkist Kids College: Nebraska High School: Atco, N.J. (Winslow Township) Born: July 8, 1988 Weight Class: 74 kg/163 lbs. • Olympic Champion (2012) • Four-time World champion (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017) • Third in 2014 World Championships • Two-time U.S. Olympic Team member (2012, 2016) • Two-time Pan American Games champion (2011, 2015) • Four-time World Cup champion (2012-2015, 2017) • Three-time U.S. Open champion (2011, 2013, 2014) • Two-time Pan American Championships champion (2014, 2016) • Two-time NCAA champion for Nebraska (2009, 2011) • 2011 Dan Hodge Trophy winner, as nation's top college wrestler (2011)

The hard work is done. Only a week until the start of the NCAA Championships and the 330 qualified wrestlers are busy working on final adjustments in preparation for a 2018 title run. Fans are lining up plans to visit their favorite Cleveland watering holes. Journalists are cracking knuckles. It's the best time of the year. The 2018 season has been filled with compelling storylines and subplots, but to me the most important was the growth and success of Lock Haven star Chance Marstellar. It's easy to discuss someone when their failures are headline news, but the courage it's taken Chance to fight back from a near-complete self-destruction is worthy of effusive praise. I spoke with head wrestling coach Scott Moore and he credited Chance with making a series of important lifestyle changes, but more than that he was learning to control his outlook. He's become a good teammate, a leader and someone who accepts setbacks and grows from their experiences. Next week we will all cheer for our favorite programs and maybe a select wrestler or two we find compelling. But I ask that you also take a moment and watch Chance and think about all that he's overcome to make it to Cleveland. Save a cheer for Chance and lets all celebrate the toughness it's taken for this man to make this series of positive life changes. Good luck to all the wrestlers and coaches. And to the fans, I hope you enjoy the show and stay out of the drunk tank. To your questions … Coach Tony Robie led Virginia Tech to the ACC title (Photo/HokieSports.com) Q: Great job on the call at the ACC Championships! I enjoyed watching/listening. What was your biggest takeaway from the ACCs? -- Mike C. Foley: Thanks! Shawn Kenney is one of the best play-by-play guys in the country, and with wrestling as good as we've seen in the ACC it was an exciting call. My main takeaway was that NC State and Virginia Tech are ready to challenge for a team trophy in Cleveland. The Wolfpack wrestlers are always improving their position and working towards extra points. They are also rarely out of position and strike fast from short head and counter positions. As Virginia Tech fans saw, even with a very young team and a coaching change the program is on solid footing. Coach Robie is proving that he has everything necessary to lead this team into the next decade. With five freshmen in the starting lineup and nine qualifiers overall the Hokies are poised to become a dominant force on the national stage for several years to come. Q: What did you make of the timing of Barry Davis' resignation at Wisconsin? Right before the NCAAs seems a little strange to me because of the potential distraction. On a related note, who do you see as potential candidates to replace Davis at Wisconsin? Donny Pritzlaff? Ben Askren? Chris Bono? Troy Steiner? Ken Chertow? -- Mike C. Foley: I thought it was pretty smart. The NCAA tournament is wrestling's biggest job fair. My bet is Barry Alvarez shows up in Cleveland to take introductions with some of the biggest names and get a temperature for who everyone in the community thinks is best suited for the role. You're joking about Ken Chertow, correct? Moving on, I think Donny Pritzlaff jumps out to a lot of folks as being someone with knowledge of the school, wrestling pedigree and proven impact as a coach. Being a Division I head wrestling coach is a mixture of automotive executive, three-star general and cabinet salesman. There are big decisions to make about the economics of the program, stoic leadership necessary to inspire young men, and the ability to charm families and coaches into pushing recruits to your school. Pritzlaff seems able to do all these and do them well. Bono and Steiner will stay put. Askren, with little Division I or high school program coaching experience, is currently not a viable option to lead a Division I program. But maybe he'll fight GSP one day? Q: With the news that Kevin Beazley had to withdraw from the NCAAs, should the committee allow teams to take alternates for the tournament? -- Rocco L. Foley: They are! The NCAA will allow alternates to replace any wrestler who pulls out late or misses weight. Big move by the NCAA to allow for the most competitive field possible. There is some emotional turmoil for the wrestlers who may travel all that way and not compete, but I think that after all they've done to earn the alternate position, it's a modest risk. Q: Can you assess the current state of Pennsylvania (PIAA) wrestling? I've noticed a much smaller number of PA guys in InterMat's high school rankings all year. I just did a quick count, and it looks like there are only 22 PIAA wrestlers (ex- Wyoming Sem, Malvern Prep) currently ranked. It wouldn't seem like a stretch most years to have that many wrestlers from AAA schools alone in the rankings. -- Chris Foley: I wouldn't be able to give you the specifics about the specific competitiveness of PA wrestlers in 2018 vs. their competitiveness in 2012. However, I think that the democratization of wrestling technique videos has meant that new pockets of wrestling excellence are popping up across the nation. That increase in technical acumen and exposure to the rankings bodies could equal fewer Pennsylvania wrestlers in the rankings. That said, I think that Young Guns Wrestling Club has proven to be the best in the nation, right? And that's in PA. Q: Has the conference tournament lost its shine? Does scoring team points in this tournament mean anything? Does winning a team title mean little to nothing anymore? Here's why I ask. In reviewing the Big Ten tournament, there were a total of 16 times where a wrestler lost via injury default or medical forfeit. Only one of these happened mid-match. In one case, both wrestlers (Jason Nolf and Michael Kemerer) defaulted, meaning no one finished in fifth place at 157 pounds. It seems that once a wrestler with an injury (some worse than others) does the minimum amount to qualify for the national tournament, they default out. Granted, Nolf's injury was pretty bad, but had he wrestled in the semifinals or consolation semifinals, he likely would have won and could have gotten Penn State much closer to the tournament title. Instead, he qualified, then defaulted three times. Nick Suriano defaulted three times once he qualified. Also, what is the rule for defaulting, which caused a double forfeit, no fifth-place finisher, and two sixth-place finishers at 157? Couldn't one of them have stepped onto the mat to get the forfeit? Or, because they both defaulted in the previous round, were they required to double forfeit in the fifth-place match? -- Jerry T. Foley: The way coaches and athletes are utilizing the conference tournament as a qualification step for the NCAA tourney is, in a word, regrettable. There should be a higher standard for these athletes set by both their administration, and internally. Yet, forfeiting at the conference level is a problem born of the current system which only values individual scoring at NCAA tournament. We've seen dual meets devalued, early-season matchups avoided and a general lack of marquee matchups as coaches try to protect seeds and/or simply get their wrestler to qualify for March. These forfeits and the impact on the conference tournament all changes with a meaningful dual meet season. Until then we will continue to see gamesmanship within the current system and likely small patches applied by the rules and competition committees. As for the defaulting question: Yes, once you forfeit you are sent to sixth place. Nolf (or whoever) would have to win another match in order to improve on that placement. What definitely needs to change is advancement points. Should a wrestler draw a match against a forfeiting wrestler they should get advancement points plus an additional point for major decision. Q: I saw that SoCon 184 did a true second to determine the second spot allocated to the weight. I didn't think they still did this under these new rules. And not every conference used to do them either. I remember in our day the CAA (doesn't exist anymore) did true second. ACC never did them when you and I were there and still don't to my knowledge. Is this a per conference thing? Or others do them also? -- Frank C. Foley: I'm guessing this is the prerogative of the conference. Would make sense if there were only two spots and second and third place lost to the wrestler. The ACC had never done a true second even when they held the wildcards. Cade Olivas won a California state championship as a freshman (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: I have asked this before and need to ask again. What ever happened to Cade Olivas? -- Justin Z. Foley: Cade was forced to retire due to injury. Q: How are byes scored during the first round of tournaments? Does the individual get any points? Maybe 3 points for a win? So let's say for arguments sake if 4 wrestlers get a first-round bye that's 12 points. But if someone like Zain averages over 5 points per match doesn't this hurt the team. Normally 6 points against a very weak early opponent is the norm for him. Can this affect the outcome of the tournament? -- Mike Z. Foley: There are no points for a bye, but there are no first-round byes at the NCAA tournament, only pigtail matchups. Q: Not much more exciting than watching Mark Hall ride out Bo Jordan at the end of the third period in the PSU-OSU dual. Look at Hall's face as he realizes he's "GOT THIS ONE"…. Listen to the crowd roar as he completes the match RIDING OUT HIS OPPONENT. One of the things that "makes" a wrestler "tough" is the ability to 'get out from the bottom' -- or keeping your opponent there instead -- dominance MATTERS in this sport. No rules changes needed -- just consistent officiating. -- The Doc Foley: I like the rodeo, too. Just don't think this is the type of action of excitement that best indicated who is and is not the better wrestler. Q: What's your favorite round at NCAAs? -- Mike C. Foley: Friday night. No discussion. All-American trophies and trips to the NCAA finals all being played out at the same time. Beautiful, inspiring moments everywhere you look. (Pretty Damn Good) Idea of the Week By Ken from Idaho You've gotten many recommendations on how to "fix" top/bottom wrestling that "some" like to call boring or not attractive to the casual fan. Some die-hards love their riding time, some would like to see no point for intentional release, and we all have our own point of view. When I talked about topics like this with wrestling friends and other coaches, I always like to incorporate the "spirit" of the rules. This is why I liked the neutral danger zone change this year. The ref warning a wrestler their back is exposed and if you can adjust off your back, without giving up a takedown, your opponent does not "control" you, if you cannot not adjust from the near fall criteria, your opponent is controlling you. So let's think of this from a top/bottom point of view with escapes. If bottom wrestler stands to the feet and the top wrestler cannot return bottom wrestler to the mat, does the top wrestler truly "control" the bottom wrestler. So, how is this for an action inducing rule change proposal (that is also easy for a ref to interpret): Bottom wrestler stands to their feet, the top wrestler gets a verbal 5 count to return bottom wrestler to the mat. If after the 5 count, bottom wrestler is not returned to the mat, action is stopped, an escape is awarded for loss of control and wrestle resumes center mat in neutral. This would make the incentive for the bottom wrestler to get to their feet, top wrestlers would be encouraged to quickly return wrestlers to the mat, less out of bounds "technique" as a return to the mat and riding time in college would be riding time, not hanging on while the other guy is on the feet and we go out of bounds time. It is also easy for a ref to implement, easy definition, bottom wrestler has only his feet as supporting points and a verbal five count starts.

C.J. Campbell, head coach of the men's wrestling program at Oklahoma City University, has been fired. C.J. CampbellCampbell posted the news on his Facebook page Wednesday evening, and has confirmed it to InterMat. Oklahoma City University issued this statement to InterMat Thursday afternoon: "OCU athletic director Jim Abbott says, 'Coach Campbell is no longer employed at Oklahoma City University. We are currently searching for our next head coach.'" "I have had the honor and privilege of working with some great people, outstanding coaches, and wonderful student-athletes during my time at Oklahoma City University," Campbell wrote on Facebook. "This year was the most difficult year I have had as a coach. There were several ups and downs and lots of difficult decisions to make. Ultimately my efforts were not enough to withstand the tides of change. I have been fired as the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma City University and will be looking for additional opportunities to continue coaching." Campbell had headed up the men's program at OKCU for the past two years after the departure of long-time head coach Archie Randall, who he had worked for as an assistant coach. Campbell learned of his dismissal Tuesday, upon returning from the 2018 NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) National Championships, where the Stars placed 20th in the overall team standings (an improvement over 2017's 23rd place), with two NAIA All-Americans. Campbell admitted the firing caught him off guard. When asked about the reason for his dismissal, Campbell told InterMat, "In my second year, there was some bad behavior on the part of some wrestlers. Nothing criminal. I had to dismiss them." "I was told I was being let go because of a problem with retention and GPA (grade point average)." "Dismissing those kids ultimately cost me my job." Campbell described the past season as being a "challenging year." "We originally had a 27-man roster, which was pretty typical for the program in recent years," the former OKCU men's coach said. "A total of ten wrestlers left during the season, including three who I dismissed initially for disciplinary reasons." "Coaches need to be responsible for their decisions," Campbell continued. "All those decisions were made from a place of love, and concern for the individual athletes, and for the team as a whole." Campbell said that the program ended the season with an 8-2 dual-meet record. The Stars finished second in the qualifying tournament for the NAIA Nationals. "I wish the person who takes the head coaching position all the best," Campbell said. "We had a strong recruiting class. We signed six before the Oklahoma state championships, all individuals with a high GPA and solid ACT scores." Campbell plans to continue his coaching career that, prior to Oklahoma City University, included a stint at University of Jamestown in North Dakota. "Ultimately I am not ready to give up on my passion of coaching. My life was changed by my wrestling coaches and I wish to continue this journey to give back to this great community. There are too many young people's lives who need to be changed for the better and I feel I am still equipped to make a difference." Founded in 1904, Oklahoma City University is a private, four-year school located in Oklahoma City. The school has an enrollment of approximately 2,800 students.

James Green claimed a silver medal at the World Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) USA Wrestling has named James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) to its 2018 U.S. Men's Freestyle World Cup Team at 70 kg/154 lbs. Green will be on the USA Wrestling team which will compete at the 2018 Freestyle World Cup at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa, April 7-8. The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championship, and will feature the top eight men's freestyle wrestling teams in the world. Green, a two-time World medalist, is competing in his third Freestyle World Cup. At the 2016 World Cup in Los Angeles, Calif., Green had a 4-0 record in his dual meets. At the 2017 World Cup in Kermanshah, Iran, Green finished with a 3-1 record in his bouts. He has a 7-1 career mark at the Freestyle World Cup. He won a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships in Paris, France and a bronze medal at the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. Green also captured a silver medal at the 2014 University World Championships. He won the 2017 U.S. Open. Green has won the Grand Prix of Spain three times (2015-17) and added a gold medal at the 2017 Pan American Championships and the 2017 Outstanding Ukrainian Memorial. In college, Green was a four-time All-American for Nebraska, placing third at the 2014 and 2015 NCAA Championships, and seventh at the 2012 and 2013 NCAA Championships. He was also a 2014 Big Ten champion. Green won a 2011 New Jersey state title for Willingboro High School. USA Wrestling will announce one World Cup participant in each of the 10 weight classes each day through March 14. In addition to these 10 athletes, additional athletes will be added to the team roster, with at least two wrestlers in each weight class. The USA has drawn into Pool A against the nations of Japan, Georgia, and Iran. Pool B consists of teams from Russia, Azerbaijan, Cuba, and Kazakhstan. Iran is the defending World Cup team champions. This will be the first major international event for the U.S. men's freestyle program, since the United States won the team title at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships in Paris, France last August. It was the first World Team Title for the USA in men's freestyle in 22 years and only the third time in history. Ticket opportunities for the World Cup include a Gold all-session package ($225), a Black all-session package ($150), and standard all-session tickets ($75/$50). Tickets are now available on the University of Iowa Athletics website. Visit worldcupiowacity.com for more information on the event. FREESTYLE WORLD CUP At Iowa City, Iowa, April 7-8 U.S. men's freestyle lineup (as of March 8) 57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Thomas Gilman, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) 61 kg/134 lbs. - Kendric Maple, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) 65 kg/143 lbs. - Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) 70 kg/154 lbs. - James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) 74 kg/163 lbs. - 79 kg/174 lbs. - 86 kg/189 lbs. 92 kg/202.5 lbs. - 97 kg/213 lbs. 125 kg/275 lbs. - National Freestyle Coaches - Bill Zadick, Kevin Jackson and Joe Russell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Honorary Coaches - Dan Gable (Iowa City, Iowa), J Robinson (Minneapolis, Minn.), Mike Duroe (Marion, Iowa) Additional U.S. athletes and delegation members will also be named. James Green previous World Cup results 2017 World Cup, Kermanshah, Iran, Feb. 16-17 WIN Levan Kelekhsashvili (Georgia), 10-0 tech. fall WIN Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (Russia), 8-6 WIN David Suynyuchkhanov (Azerbaijan), 10-0 tech. fall LOSS Mostafa Hosseinkhani (Iran), 2-0 2016 World Cup, Inglewood, Calif, June 11-12 WIN Vinod Kumar (India), 10-0 tech. fall WIN Gadzhimurad Omarov (Azerbaijan), 10-0 tech. fall WIN Moustafa Hosseinkhani (Iran), 5-2 WIN David Tlashadze (Georgia), 10-0 tech. fall JAMES GREEN Residence: Lincoln, Neb. Club: Titan Mercury WC College: Nebraska High School: Willingboro (N.J.) Born: Dec. 19, 1992 Weight class: 70 kg/154 lbs. • 2017 World silver medalist • 2015 World bronze medalist • 2014 University World silver medalist • 2016 World Cup champion • 2017 U.S. Open champion • Three-time Grand Prix of Spain champion (2015-17) • Four-time NCAA All-American for Nebraska (2012-15) • 2014 Big Ten champion

Wrestlers, coaches and fans at the Florida high school state wrestling championships paid tribute to Chris Hixon, head wrestling coach and athletic director at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, who was one of 17 murdered by a gunman at the Parkland, Fla. school on Feb. 12. Those in attendance at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee Friday offered a moment of silence for Hixon. Here's how Orlando Sentinel sportswriter Brant Parsons described the scene: Chris Hixon"The day started with a moment of silence and each match ended with hugs from opponents and their coaches. "On Friday at the FHSAA tournament, the wrestling community showed its support again for Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and respect for the wrestlers who chose to carry on after tragedy. Parsons went on to quote MSD acting coach Daniel Sanchez, who had been an assistant until Hixon was slain just over two weeks earlier. "As small as we are, the community opened up their hearts, their arms and their facilities," Sanchez said. "They gave us every resource possible to ensure that we were in the right state of mind and still able to compete." Ironically, the Stoneman Douglas wrestling team originally had been scheduled to have its photo taken the day of the shooting. "We just huddled together," coach Sanchez told the Miami Herald. "I asked them if they wanted to be here, and if so we'll practice. The kids called me later and said they wanted to continue."

Castleton is the top-ranked academic team in Division III wrestling MANHEIM, Pa. -- The National Wrestling Coaches Association released its Top 30 Division III All-Academic teams and the top 189 All-Academic individuals on Tuesday. Coach Scott Legacy's Castleton Spartans lead the team standings, with an average grade-point average of 3.667. The second-year program also boasts four individuals on the NWCA Division III All-Academic team. Following Castleton is Top 30-regular Williams College, which checked in second with 3.651, while Stevens Tech with a solid 3.635. Augsburg was fourth with a 3.628 and Washington & Lee rounded out the top five with an average GPA of 3.616. Individually, Augsburg led all teams with eight wrestlers on the All-Academic Team, followed by Johnson & Wales, Wesleyan and York College (Pa.), who each put six wrestlers on the squad. Nine different schools had five wrestlers represented: Ithaca, NYU, North Central, Ohio Northern, Stevens Tech, Cortland State, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Wisconsin-La Crosse, and Wabash. Overall, 67 different institutions were represented, which accounts for over 64 percent of active Division III wrestling programs nationwide. Nominees must have at least a 3.2 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) for the previous full academic year. Transfers and freshmen are eligible if they've been in residence at their current institution beginning in the fall of 2016. On the competition side, wrestlers much be a national qualifier in 2016-17 and have a minimum win percentage of at least .500. Additionally, wrestlers can also be considered if they placed in the top six at their respective regional tournament, a win percentage of .500 or better and competed in half of the institution's scheduled competition in NCAA championship events. A wrestler can also be considered if they have a win percentage of .670 or better and competed in half of the institution's scheduled NCAA events. "This just continues to show the importance of how athletes in Division III balance their athletic careers and their educational opportunities," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "Division III is the largest in number of teams at the NCAA level and we know these athletes are competing without athletic scholarships and their experiences on the mat and in the classroom exemplify what it means to compete in Division III and in the sport of wrestling." Rounding out the top 10: 6. Milwaukee School of Engineering (3.554), 7. Johns Hopkins (3.549), 8. Case Western Reserve (3.5394), 9. Springfield (3.5206) and 10. Ithaca (3.4969). "The landscape of Division III really can provide student-athletes with exactly what they want, between a smaller, liberal arts college or a larger state school," said Moyer. "We've seen tremendous academic performances in some of our nation's finest academic institutions, and many of them exist in Division III. I like to say that college wrestling provides the next generation of our teachers and coaches, but some of these kids are our next generations of doctors, rocket scientists and biochemists." 2017-18 Individual All-Academic Team Rank Team Team GPA 1. Castleton 3.667 2. Williams 3.651 3. Stevens Tech 3.6365 4. Augsburg 3.628 5. Washington and Lee 3.616 6. Milwaukee School of Engineering 3.554 7. Johns Hopkins 3.549 8. Case Western Reserve 3.5394 9. Springfield 3.5206 10. Ithaca 3.4969 11. WPI 3.494 12. Wabash 3.4901 13. The College of New Jersey 3.4885 14. Thiel 3.4878 15. Oneonta State 3.487 16. Messiah 3.4817 17. Concordia-Moorhead 3.478 18. Baldwin Wallace 3.4755 19. Wesleyan 3.473 20. Ohio Northern 3.471 21. Trinity 3.4553 22. York (Pa.) 3.446 23. NYU 3.4415 24. RIT 3.427 25. Gettysburg 3.424 26. Hunter 3.4182 27. UW-Stevens Point 3.39 28. U.S. Coast Guard Academy 3.385 29. Lycoming 3.369 30. UW-La Crosse 3.365

The 2017 Freestyle World Team Trials took place at the Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb.(Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) AUSTIN, Texas -- Today, FloSports, the innovator in live digital sports and original content, and USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States, announced that Lincoln, Neb., has been selected as one of three cities to host a Final X event. The event will be hosted at the Bob Devaney Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, starting at 6 p.m. CST on Saturday, June 9. The Final X series will determine the 2018 U.S. Senior World Teams in men's and women's freestyle. Exclusive live and on-demand coverage of all three Final X events will be on FloWrestling.com, as well as on the FloSports apps on iOS, Roku and Apple TV 4. The two other Final X events will be held on June 16 in State College, Pa. and June 23 in Bethlehem, Pa. "Final X is an incredible event for wrestling fans, athletes, and the sport itself, " FloSports SVP, Global Rights Acquisition Adam Fenn said. "The top American wrestlers will be at their best to compete for a spot on the World Team, and FloWrestling will be beside every mat, capturing the matches and giving fans the behind-the-scenes coverage they can't get anywhere else." "The 2017 World Team Trials in Lincoln was one of our best events ever," USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender said. "It proved that this great community loves and supports wrestling. With hometown heroes like Jordan Burroughs and James Green battling to make Team USA, 2018 promises to be another great showcase for our sport. Special thanks to Mark Manning, Bryan Synder and the spectacular group of organizers that have worked tirelessly to bring this Final X event to the University of Nebraska." In Lincoln, the top two men's and women's freestyle wrestlers in each of seven weight classes will compete in a best-of-three series, with winners earning spots on the U.S. Senior World Team to compete at the 2018 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Oct. 20-28, 2018. The weight classes assigned to the Final X event in Lincoln are: ● Men's freestyle weight classes (57 kg, 70 kg, 74 kg, 97 kg) ● Women's freestyle weight classes (55 kg, 59 kg, 68 kg) The Team Selection procedures for the U.S. World Teams in both styles allow for 2017 Senior World medalists to advance directly to Final X under certain conditions. In men's freestyle, the 2017 World medalist would have to compete in the same weight class as at the 2017 Worlds. In women's freestyle, the World medalist would have to compete in a specific weight class set by the Team Selection procedures. Based upon these procedures, six athletes could advance directly to the Final X event in Lincoln at the specified weights. Included are 2017 World champions Jordan Burroughs (74 kg men) and Kyle Snyder (97 kg men), 2017 World silver medalists Thomas Gilman (57 kg), James Green (70 kg men) and Alli Ragan (59 kg women), and 2017 World bronze medalist Becka Leathers (55 kg). In weight classes which do not have a 2017 World medalist who qualifies for Final X directly, the winner of the 2018 U.S. Open in Las Vegas, Nevada, April 26-28, will advance to Final X. The Final X field will be finalized at the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament for men's and women's freestyle, set for Rochester, Minn., May 18-20. Both the U.S. Open and the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament will air live and on-demand only on FloWrestling.com. Lincoln has hosted past USA Wrestling events, including the 2017 Freestyle World Team Trials at the Bob Devaney Center. Other USA Wrestling events held in Lincoln were the UWW Junior National Championships in 2000, 2001 and 2004, and the Cadet National Championships in 1995. Many other major wrestling events have been in Lincoln, including the 2000 and 2009 Big 12 Championships and five Big 8 Championships (1960, 1971, 1982, 1990, 1995). To access live and on-demand coverage of Final X, users must sign up to become a monthly or annual PRO subscriber on FloWrestling. Either subscription unlocks access to premium content across the entire FloSports network. For more information, visit FinalX.tv, FloWrestling.com or TheMat.com. About FloSports FloSports, the innovator in live digital sports and original content, partners with event rights holders and governing bodies to unlock a world of sports coverage that true fans have been waiting for. Through live streaming of premier events, original video programming, and weekly studio shows, FloSports is growing the sports, the events, the athletes and the fans. Current verticals under the FloSports header are Basketball, MMA, Football, Wrestling, Track, Gymnastics and more. 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. USA Wrestling is the central organization that coordinates amateur wrestling programs in the nation and works to create interest and participation in these programs. USA Wrestling has more than 232,000 members, including athletes, coaches, officials, parents, fans and others who are actively involved in the sport. Its president is Bruce Baumgartner, and its Executive Director is Rich Bender.