InterMat Staff

Lock Haven won its first EWL title since 1997 EDINBORO, Pa. -- The nationally-ranked Lock Haven University wrestling team crowned three individual champions and nine Bald Eagles placed as LHU powered its way to the 2018 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) team title. It marked the second EWL championship in school history and the first since the Bald Eagles won the title in 1997. Ronnie Perry (Christiana, Pa./Solanco), Alex Klucker (Summerdale, Pa./East Pennsboro) and Corey Hazel (Spring Mills, Pa./Penns Valley) all claimed individual EWL titles while Chance Marsteller (New Park, Pa./Kennard-Dale) and Thomas Haines (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco) both placed second. Those five along with Kyle Shoop (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Springs) all booked trips to the NCAA Division I Championships. The six NCAA qualifiers mark the most since LHU had six in 2005 and the three individual EWL champions are the most since the Bald Eagles also had three in 2001. Perry's title marked the second straight season he claimed an individual title. Last season he won the 141-pound title. He's also now a three-time NCAA championship qualifier and will make his second straight trip the sports' biggest stage. For Shoop and Haines, it also marks back-to-back NCAA trips. Klucker, Hazel and Marsteller will all make their NCAA debuts for Lock Haven later this month in Cleveland. Tristan Sponseller (East Berlin, Pa./Bermudian Springs), who hadn't competed since the Virginia Duals on January 12, returned to the Bald Eagle lineup and took third at 197. He was 3-1 on the day. Shoop was third at 141 and earned a trip to the NCAA tournament. He was 3-1 on the day. Luke Werner (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) was fourth at 125 after going 2-2 and DJ Fehlman (Warren, Pa./Warren) added a fourth-place finish at 133. Perry, ranked No. 15 nationally, entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed at 149 and received a bye into the semifinals. In the semifinals, he downed Justin Yorkdale (George Mason) in dominating fashion. He won by tech fall 19-4 (5:54). In the finals, Perry rolled past Clarion's Taylor Ortz 8-3. With the win, Perry became a two-time EWL champ and three time NCAA qualifier. His two wins today also ran his career total to 100 as he became the 20th member of LHU's 100-win club. Klucker, ranked No. 33 nationally, was the No. 3 seed at 157 and moved into the finals after a pair of wins. He opened the day with a win (INJ. DEF) over Cleveland State's John Vaughn and followed it up by knocking off No. 2 seed BJ Clagon of Rider, a former All-American. Klucker downed Clagon 8-3 in the semifinals. In the finals, Klucker took down No. 1 seed (No. 25 DI) Andrew Shomers of Edinboro in thrilling fashion. Klucker needed just 52 seconds before he earned the fall and individual EWL crown. The win helped Klucker book his first trip to the NCAA tournament. Hazel entered the day as the No. 1 seed at 184. He's ranked No. 22 in the nation and after a first-round bye, he downed Bloomsburg's Trevor Allard 7-4 in the semifinals. In the finals, Hazel used a sensational effort and six-point second period to drop Clarion's Greg Bulsak, 6-1. With the win, Hazel claimed the 184-pound title and booked a trip to the NCAA tournament. Marsteller, the top-seed at 165, rattled off two dominating wins to earn a spot in the 165-pound finals. He majored Garrett Griffith 14-4 to open the day, before downing Georgio Poullas (Cleveland State) 7-3 in the semifinals. In the finals, Marsteller, ranked No. 5 nationally, locked up with Chad Walsh of Rider. Walsh is ranked No. 6 in the nation and Walsh's only loss of the regular season came to Marsteller when the two met in the dual meet in late January. Walsh edged Marsteller 2-1 thanks to one minute of riding time in the finals tonight. The loss to Walsh pushed Marsteller into a "true-second place bout" for NCAA qualifying purposes. Although it had no impact on the team score, Marsteller held nothing back and went right back to work and posted 10-2 major decision over Clarion's Max Wohlabaugh. The win secured Marsteller's trip to the NCAA championships, his first trip as a Bald Eagle. Haines, ranked No. 13 nationally and the No. 2 seed at 285, used a pair of hard-fought wins to earn a spot in the finals where he met his biggest EWL rival in Edinboro's Billy Miller. Haines opened the tournament with a 10-0 major decision over Bruce Graeber (Bloomsburg) and in the semifinals, Haines edged George Mason's Matt Voss 4-2. In the finals vs. the top-seed Miller, the Fighting Scot escaped with a hard-earned 4-2 win. UP NEXT: The 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships are scheduled for Thursday, March 15 - Saturday, March 17 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. On Tuesday, March 6, the NCAA will announce the at-large bids for the championships. Check www.GoLHU.com in the coming days for more information regarding the NCAA tournament. FINAL TEAM SCORES 1. Lock Haven, 81.5 pts. 2. Rider, 72.5 pts. 3. Edinboro, 72 pts. 4. Clarion, 55 pts. 5. Bloomsburg, 28 pts. 6. Cleveland State, 25.5 pts. 7. George Mason, 15 pts. MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER Evan Cheek, Cleveland State

Appalachian State won the team title at the SoCon Championships CHARLESTON, S.C. -- It's a SoCon Sweep for Appalachian State's wrestling team. After wrapping up a third straight regular season championship in the same venue last month, App State completed a sweep of Southern Conference titles by winning the eight-team championship tournament with 110.0 points on Saturday at McAlister Field House. Second-place Chattanooga finished 22 points behind the Mountaineers, who benefited from individual titles by top-seeded senior Forrest Przybysz at 174 pounds and fourth-seeded tournament MVP Irvin Enriquez at 141 pounds. Redshirt freshman Alan Clothier joined Przybysz and Enriquez in clinching an NCAA Championships berth by securing the SoCon's second automatic spot at 184 pounds. App State dominated the 10 weight classes with eight finalists, four more than the second-place total, and two wrestlers in third-place matches. As a result, JohnMark Bentley was named the league's coach of the year for the third time in the last four seasons and the fourth time in his nine seasons as the Mountaineers' head coach. "Today was a great day for Appalachian," Bentley said. "We came in, and our guys responded. They were ready to go this morning. We had really good quarterfinal and semifinal rounds to put eight in the finals and placed all 10 of our guys in the top four in the tournament. That's really important as far as the team title. I just can't say enough about our guys because we have a young group and have a lot of these guys coming back. We're growing and continuing to improve." The 2018 team joined the groups from 2016, 2003, 2001 and 1997 as two-way champions in the Southern Conference. In addition to Przybysz, Enriquez and Clothier, App State was also represented by De'Andre Swinson-Barr (125 pounds), Codi Russell (133 pounds), Gavin Londoff (149 pounds), Angel Najar (157 pounds) and Cary Miller (285 pounds) in championship matches. An at-large berth into the NCAA Championships is still possible for Randall Diabe, who finished third at 197 pounds thanks to an escape in the Tiebreaker-2 period against Campbell's Chris Kober, and Laken Cook placed fourth at 165 pounds. Enriquez opened with an 11-2 major decision against SIUE's Dakota Leach and reached the final with a 3-1 upset of top-seeded Chattanooga standout Mike Pongracz, who had claimed a victory by major decision against Enriquez during the regular season. Enriquez then won by a 14-3 major decision against Campbell's Jonathan Ryan in the final. "I came in here and obviously had some nerves, but I knew I could win this tournament," Enriquez said. "I knew people were going to sleep on me. I came here to have fun, wrestle as hard as I could and attack. It paid off." Przybysz, who competed at the NCAA Championships two years ago as a sophomore, secured a return trip with an 11-1 major decision against The Citadel's Robert Tywater, a 5-1 decision against Gardner-Webb's Christian Maroni and a 3-2 decision against Campbell's Andrew Morgan. Morgan officially took a 2-1 lead on a takedown with 1:02 left in the final, but Przybysz already had a point locked up for riding time. He executed an escape with 45 seconds left to regain control and win his first conference title. "I can't even describe how much better it is to go out like this than had I lost," said Przybysz, who also received the Pinnacle Award that goes to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA on the championship team. "It's just a night-and-day difference." Clothier dropped an 8-2 decision against Chattanooga's Bryce Carr, the SoCon Wrestler of the Year, after recording a 10-1 major decision against Gardner-Webb's Cole Graves in the semifinal round and a 4-2 decision against Campbell's Charlie Andrews in the opening round. Since Clothier hadn't faced third-place finisher Conor Fenn of Davidson during the tournament, they concluded the event by wrestling for the league's second automatic NCAA berth at 184 pounds, and Clothier won by an 11-3 major decision. Diabe, who went 7-0 against his SoCon competitors during the regular season, is one wrestler who could still join three of his teammates in Cleveland from March 15-17. With 33 wrestlers filling every bracket at the NCAA Championships, there are five at-large spots available for the 197-pound wrestlers who don't qualify automatically, and those selections are based on head-to-head competition, quality wins, coaches' ranking, results against common opponents, RPI, qualifying event placement and winning percentage. Those announcements are scheduled for Tuesday. As a No. 5 seed, Swinson-Barr had the most improbable run to the championship round Saturday. He collected a third-period pin against VMI's Clifton Conway and moved on to the final because of a medical forfeit by SoCon freshman of the year Korbin Meink from Campbell. Russell followed an 18-1 technical fall against The Citadel's Nicholas Long with an 11-5 decision against reigning SoCon champion Chris Debien, and Londoff reached his final thanks to a Tiebreaker-1 takedown that helped him claim a 4-2 semifinal win against The Citadel's Tyler Buckiso. Londoff started his day with a first-period pin of VMI's Kevin Keaveney. Najar had technical falls by scores of 20-2 and 20-3 to advance to his final, and Miller posted an 11-0 major decision against Chattanooga's Connor Tolley in the semifinals after winning with a first-period pin against VMI's Jake Tomlinson in the opening round.

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The Lehigh wrestling team scored bonus points in 9-of-10 first round wins and advanced eight wrestlers to the semifinals to lead the team race after day one of the EIWA Championships Saturday at Hofstra's Mack Sports Complex. The Mountain Hawks scored 19 bonus points, by way of eight falls, and three major decisions, with seven of the eight pins coming in Saturday's morning session. Lehigh finished day one with 88.5 points and holds an 8.5 point lead over Cornell heading into the final day of competition. The Mountain Hawks posted a 19-3 record on the tournament's opening day. "Overall a good day," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "We have eight in the championship bracket and one on the back side. We've put ourselves in a good position but we have to wrestle really well tomorrow. "We needed bonus points," Santoro added about the day's early bonus barrage. "We knew they'd be available early in the tournament, and sometimes on the back side. We needed to take advantage of that. Our guys were looking for them and did a nice job getting them." Senior Darian Cruz led the way with falls in both of his matches Saturday to reach the semifinals at 125. Cruz built a 14-0 lead over Navy's Aslan Kilic in the semifinals before picking up Lehigh's eighth pin early in the third period. He will face Binghamton's Joe Nelson in the semifinals Sunday morning. Lehigh's two other top seeds, sophomore Jordan Kutler (174) and junior Ryan Preisch (184) were part of the group of eight that advanced to the semifinals. Both wrestlers opened with first period falls in their opening bouts. Kutler needed a strong second period ride to defeat Drexel's Austin Rose 2-0 in the quarterfinals, while Preisch was in control throughout in an 8-1 win over Bucknell's Drew Phipps. Freshman heavyweight Jordan Wood joined Cruz as the lone Mountain Hawks to post two bonus point wins Saturday. Wood opened with a first period fall over Binghamton's Sean Dee before riding a strong third period to a 10-2 major decision over Princeton's Christian Araneo. Next up for Wood is defending champion and No. 3 seed Garrett Ryan of Columbia. Second seeded junior Scott Parker advanced to the semifinals in his bid for a second EIWA title. Leading late, Parker left no doubt by pinning Princeton's Jonathan Gomez with four seconds remaining in his first bout, before recording a takedown in each period to defeat Navy's Cody Trybus 7-4 in the quarterfinals. Parker will next face No. 3 seed Josh Terao of American in the semifinals. Freshman Luke Karam and junior Cortlandt Schuyler made the semifinals as No. 3 seeds at 141 and 149, respectively. Karam won by major decision in his opener against Hofstra's Vinny Vespa, then edged Joe Russ of Binghamton thanks to a strong third period ride. He will look to avenge a loss to Bucknell's Tyler Smith in Lehigh's season opener last November. Schuyler was the lone Mountain Hawk not to score bonus points on Saturday, holding off Zach Krause of Brown 6-4 before posting a solid 6-3 win over Harvard's Hunter Ladnier. He will next face No. 10 seed Frank Garcia of Binghamton. Lehigh's eighth semifinalist is freshman Chris Weiler, who needed just 29 seconds to pin Joe Toci of Sacred Heart, then dominated Jeric Kasunic of American with more than four minutes of riding time in an 8-1 decision. Wins by Preisch and Weiler in the quarterfinals make them Lehigh's first two automatic NCAA qualifiers. Sunday's semifinal round will feature two head-to-head matchups: Kutler and Brandon Womack at 174 and Weiler against top seed Ben Darmstadt at 197. Juniors Ian Brown and Gordon Wolf both opened with bonus point wins before suffering close losses in the quarterfinals. A second period ride out was the difference as Brown lost to Brown's Justin Staudenmayer 2-1 at 157 with riding time the deciding point. Brown was then eliminated by Binghamton's Tristan Rifanburg. Wolf held a late lead on riding time against Navy's Drew Daniels in the quarterfinals at 165, but a stall warning sent the match to overtime and Daniels converted a double leg takedown to win 5-3. He fell into an early 6-0 hole against Binghamton's Vincent DePrez in the second round of consolations, but battled back to claim a 12-10 decision. While Lehigh and Cornell both have eight semifinalists, Wolf is the only wrestler on either team currently alive in the consolations. "We have to put guys in the finals," Santoro said. "We have eight in the semifinals. They have eight in the semifinals. It's basically even and will come down to how many guys can punch through. It's a big day tomorrow. For both teams. Both teams know what's at stake and both teams will wrestle hard tomorrow. We just have to be ready for the dog fight." The EIWA Championships conclude Sunday at Hofstra's Mack Sports Complex. Session three, featuring the championship semifinals and two rounds of consolations, begins at 10 a.m. while the final session with bouts for first, third and fifth place will begin at 3 p.m. Video for the entire tournament is available on FloWrestling.org while Lehigh will offer audio of the finals session on ESPN Radio of the Lehigh Valley (1230/1320/1160-AM) and ESPNLV.com. Top Five Teams 1. Lehigh 88.5 2. Cornell 88 3. Princeton 56.5 4. Drexel 53 5. Navy 52

TULSA, Okla. -- The Oklahoma State wrestling team qualified six Cowboys to the finals of the 2018 Big 12 Wrestling Championship Saturday, wrapping up day one of the two-day event in first place with a 28.5-point lead on the rest of the field. OSU's six finalists are the most of any team in the 12-team event, with no other school having more than three. Cowboy finalists include Nick Piccininni (125 pounds), Kaid Brock (133 pounds), Dean Heil (141 pounds), Boo Lewallen (149 pounds), Chandler Rogers (165 pounds) and Derek White (heavyweight). Heil and Piccininni both already have Big 12 titles to their credit, with Heil winning each of the last three at 141 pounds and Piccininni winning at 125 pounds as a freshman last season. It marks the third Big 12 finals for Rogers, who has twice finished runner-up, and the second for Brock, who finished runner-up at 133 pounds last year. Lewallen and White are making their first appearances in the Big 12 finals, with this season also marking their first appearances at the event. Also of note, Rogers, Heil and Brock will compete in rematches of last year's Big 12 finals at their respective weight classes, with Rogers facing North Dakota State's Andrew Fogarty, Heil facing Wyoming's Bryce Meredith and Brock facing South Dakota State's Seth Gross. Rogers earned his spot in the finals after he picked up his team-leading 11th pin of the season in a first-period fall over Utah Valley's Demetrius Romero. The Cowboy opened with a pair of takedowns before turning Romero to his back to seal the match. "Pins are always something that changes the momentum and builds a lot of confidence," Rogers said. "I'm just going in with the same attitude. Whatever happens, happens. At this point in the year, you've got nothing to lose. You've kind of just got to go for everything and not hold anything back." Piccininni started the evening with a bang for the Cowboys as he turned a tight bout into an 11-3 major decision with a late takedown and four-point nearfall at the horn against No. 4 Christian Moody of Oklahoma. It was his 11th bonus-point win of the season and places him in the Big 12 finals for the second-straight season. "Nick had a little bit of a slow start and strong finishes in both of his matches" head coach John Smith said. "The match was a little bit tight and he went and scored the last takedown and back points so those are the things you like to see. You aren't leaving it in the hands of a ref. You're separating the scores and making sure you get your hand raised so that's good for him" Kaid Brock will wrestle in the 133-pound finals for the second-straight season after recording a 6-2 decision over Wyoming's Montorie Bridges. Brock was able to record a couple of takedowns in the win over Bridges -- a rematch of the December contest in Cheyenne, Wyo., that Bridges took, 11-10. Heil will attempt to become the ninth Cowboy in school history to win four conference titles on Sunday, as he's set to match up with rival Bryce Meredith for the second consecutive season. Heil edged No. 3 seed Josh Alber of Northern Iowa, 2-0, in a tight match to advance. Lewallen recorded a thrilling, 10-4 win over Oklahoma's Davion Jeffries in sudden victory on Saturday night to move onto the finals. After ending regulation tied at four, the redshirt sophomore was able to convert a takedown and quick four-point nearfall with just seconds remaining to lock up the win and move onto his first career conference finals appearance. Lewallen will take on Northern Iowa's Max Thomsen in the finals on Sunday. "It was a tough match. People wrestle a little differently in postseason," Smith said. "You've got to expect a little bit of a tougher match. If you don't continue to score, you find yourself in overtime and tied. I'm happy with where he's at. He's wrestling a guy that made the semifinals last year so it's a chance to build your confidence and see where you're at going into the NCAA Championships." White will also be competing in his first career Big 12 finals on Sunday, as he scored three takedowns en rout to an 8-1 win over Utah Valley's Dustin Dennison in the heavyweight semis. He will face Fresno State's AJ Nevills in the championship bout, who he defeated in the Cowboy win over the Bulldogs last month. "Derek is continuing to score points and you like to see that against the competition," Smith said. "These are probably not the guys he's going to need to beat at the NCAA Championships but you're seeing him stretch the score, which you like to see. You don't want to see your athlete wrestling to his competition." Saturday's second session also brought tough losses for Keegan Moore and Jacobe Smith to higher-ranked foes. Smith and Moore both took leads at one point in their matches against top-seeded Taylor Lujan and Drew Foster, respectively, but came up just short of moving on to the finals. Preston Weigel also dropped a tough, semifinal match to West Virginia's Jacob Smith, 4-3. The Cowboys will continue their Big 12 title defense Sunday at noon with consolation action. The finals will be wrestled at 6 p.m.

125: Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) by medical forfeit over Nick Suriano (Rutgers) Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) dec. Spencer Lee (Iowa), 2-1 133: Stevan Micic (Michigan) tech. fall Jason Renteria (Nebraska), 19-3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. Mitch McKee (Minnesota), 6-4 SV 141: Joey McKenna (Ohio State) dec. Nate Limmex (Purdue), 6-0 Michael Carr (Illinois) dec. Nick Lee (Penn State), 10-6 149: Zain Retherford (Penn State) maj. dec. Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State), 10-0 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. Ryan Deakin (Northwestern), 7-2 157: Micah Jordan (Ohio State) pinned Michael Kemerer (Iowa), 5:48 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) by medical forfeit over Jason Nolf (Penn State) 165: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) dec. Richie Lewis (Rutgers), 8-5 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec. Logan Massa (Michigan), 5-4 174: Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern), 4-1 Myles Amine (Michigan) pinned Bo Jordan (Ohio State), 5:30 184: Bo Nickal (Penn State) dec. Emery Parker (Illinois), 5-2 Myles Martin (Ohio State) dec. Dom Abounader (Michigan), 7-3 197: Kollin Moore (Ohio State) dec. Kevin Beazley (Michigan), 5-3 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) maj. dec. Christian Brunner (Purdue), 10-2 285: Adam Coon (Michigan) pinned Sam Stoll (Iowa), 2:12 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) maj. dec. Nick Nevills (Penn State), 14-5

125: Louie Hayes (Virginia) dec. Lorenzo Bentley (Pittsburgh), 3-1 SV Sean Fausz (NC State) dec. Kyle Norstrem (Virginia Tech), 9-3 133: Jack Mueller (Virginia) dec. Dom Forys (Pittsburgh), 6-0 Dennis Gustafson (Virginia Tech) dec. Tariq Wilson (NC State), 7-5 141: Kevin Jack (NC State) dec. Nick Zanetta (Pittsburgh), 2-0 Brent Moore (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. A.C. Headlee (North Carolina), 11-2 149: Troy Heilmann (North Carolina) dec. Sam Krivus (Virginia), 3-0 Ryan Blees (Virginia Tech) dec. Beau Donahue (NC State), 6-4 157: Hayden Hidlay (NC State) dec. Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh), 6-4 SV Mitch Finesilver (Duke) dec. Kennedy Monday (North Carolina), 6-0 165: David McFadden (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh), 13-4 Zach Finesilver (Duke) dec. Andrew Atkinson (Virginia), 8-3 174: Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) dec. Daniel Bullard (NC State), 7-4 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) dec. Matt Finesilver (Duke), 11-5 184: Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh), 15-3 Pete Renda (NC State) dec. Chip Ness (North Carolina), 4-2 197: Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Alec Schenk (Duke), 13-4 Michael Macchiavello (NC State) dec. Daniel Chaid (North Carolina), 5-3 285: Jacob Kasper (Duke) by injury default over Ryan Solomon (Pittsburgh) Cory Daniel (North Carolina) dec. Michael Boykin (NC State), 3-2

125: Nick Suriano (Rutgers) dec. Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 9-2 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) dec. Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern), 3-2 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) maj. dec. Luke Welch (Purdue), 14-3 Spencer Lee (Iowa) pinned RayVon Foley (Michigan State), 2:43 133: Stevan Micic (Michigan) maj. dec. Ben Thornton (Purdue), 10-2 Jason Renteria (Nebraska) dec. Scott Delvecchio (Rutgers), 3-1 Mitch McKee (Minnesota) dec. Corey Keener (Penn State), 9-4 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 4-3 141: Joey McKenna (Ohio State) dec. Vince Turk (Iowa), 4-0 Nate Limmex (Purdue) dec. Chad Red (Nebraska), 6-4 Michael Carr (Illinois) dec. Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), 8-6 Nick Lee (Penn State) maj. dec. Cole Weaver (Indiana), 13-3 149: Zain Retherford (Penn State) maj. dec. Steve Bleise (Minnesota), 14-1 Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State) dec. Colton McCrystal (Nebraska), 7-6 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) maj. dec. Eleazar Deluca (Rutgers), 11-1 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. Alfred Bannister (Maryland), 4-3 157: Michael Kemerer (Iowa) maj. dec. John Van Brill (Rutgers), 15-5 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) dec. Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 4-3 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) dec. Andrew Crone (Wisconsin), 7-3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) maj. dec. Jake Short (Minnesota), 15-2 165: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) dec. Isaiah White (Nebraska), 7-4 Richie Lewis (Rutgers) dec. Evan Wick (Wisconsin), 6-4 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) maj. dec. Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), 18-10 Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. Alex Marinelli (Iowa), 8-6 SV 174: Mark Hall (Penn State) pinned Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 0:47 Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) dec. Dylan Lydy (Purdue), 2-1 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. Devin Skatzka (Indiana), 9-5 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) dec. Joey Gunther (Iowa), 8-3 184: Bo Nickal (Penn State) pinned Brandon Krone (Minnesota), 1:25 Emery Parker (Illinois) dec. Nick Gravina (Rutgers), 5-2 Dom Abounader (Michigan) dec. Tyler Venz (Nebraska), 6-4 Myles Martin (Ohio State) tech. fall Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin), 23-8 197: Kollin Moore (Ohio State) dec. Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 10-4 Kevin Beazley (Michigan) pinned Hunter Ritter (Wisconsin), 6:29 Christian Brunner (Purdue) dec. Cash Wilcke (Iowa), 8-2 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) dec. Zack Chakonis (Northwestern), 11-8 285: Adam Coon (Michigan) maj. dec. Rylee Streifel (Minnesota), 12-2 Sam Stoll (Iowa) dec. Youssif Hemida (Maryland), 8-1 Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. Conan Jennings (Northwestern), 5-0 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) maj. dec. Shawn Streck (Purdue), 17-6

View all the results from the NCAA Division I conference tournaments. . Big Ten Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 Venue: Jack Breslin Student Events Center (East Lansing, Mich.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates | Pick 'Em Contest Big 12 Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 Venue: BOK Center (Tulsa, Okla.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates MAC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 Venue: McGuirk Arena (Mount Pleasant, Mich.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EIWA Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 Venue: David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex (Hempstead, N.Y.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates ACC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 Venue: Carmichael Arena (Chapel Hill, N.C.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EWL Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 Venue: McComb Fieldhouse (Edinboro, Pa.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates SoCon Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 Venue: McAlister Field House (Charleston, S.C.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates Pac-12 Wrestling Championships Date: Sunday, February 25 Venue: Gill Coliseum (Corvallis, Ore.) Event Website | Results

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DES MOINES, Iowa -- (Brackets | Team Scores |

The brackets have been released for the 2018 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, which take place Saturday-Sunday in Tulsa, Okla. Link: Brackets

The brackets have been released for the 2018 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The event takes place Saturday-Sunday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan. Link: Brackets

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Rasoul Khadem (left) coaching Hassan Yazdani Cherati at the Olympics (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The head of Iran's wrestling federation has resigned after criticizing the authorities for letting athletes be punished because of his nation's ban on facing Israeli opponents, according to multiple media reports. Rasoul Khadem, an Olympic gold medalist for Iran who was reelected as president of the wrestling federation just two months ago, wrote a letter published on the organization's website, suggesting he had been forced from the job, stating "apparently it is not going to work out" because of "my awkward mentality." "I cannot lie. Sometimes the best way to take a stand is not to stand," he also wrote. Upon learning of Khadem's resignation, the councils for freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling said they were resigning en masse, the semiofficial ISNA Iranian news agency reported. These resignations are a product of an incident at the 2017 U23 World Senior Wrestling Championship in Poland last November, in which Iran's Alireza Karimi-Machiani, 23, was wrestling Alikhan Zhabrailov of Russia when a sideline coach told him to lose the match so that he would not have to wrestle an Israeli opponent in the next round. Iran does not recognize the state of Israel and forbids its athletes from competing against Israelis at international sports events.

The conference tournaments are this weekend around the country and important pilgrimages are being made by fans from Fresno to Pittsburgh. More than the NCAA tournament this weekend gets the loyal fan bases, families and friends to engage with wrestling in a community-driven, competitive atmosphere. Though a lot of attention is paid to who qualifies for the NCAA tournament in Cleveland the conference tournament weekend has several traditions and rivalries for athletes and fans to celebrate. Regionalism, tribalism and even clannism are at the heart of traditional sports contests. Which tight association of people are better at a certain game or skill has for centuries been the chosen non-violent form of local rivalry. For much of human history it was wrestling that defined which tribe was the strongest, and even which leaders were chosen to take men into combat. Today we see that regional conflict at the conference level more than the national, which helps connect us to the athletes and memories of the sport. Wrestling always been an important measuring stick for tribes to settle rivalries. Today those tribes are schools and the only real association among the team members is what they create for themselves behind the banner of their school colors. In modern American sport these conference championships are symbolic of that regionalized tradition to compare ourselves to our neighbors. It's special and should be distinguished as much as the more glamorous national tournament. Whether you're an ACC wrestling fan, Big Ten wrestling follower, or a lifelong MAC enthusiast, I wish you a weekend filled with close friends and compelling competition. To your questions … Jason Nolf (Photo/Juan Garcia) Q: What did you make of Jason Nolf's interview this week? Do you see him winning the Big Ten title this weekend? -- Mike C. Foley: The initial question Nolf was asked in that video isn't audible, but it seemed his response was that he hadn't been cleared for competition. That might just be an oversight, or maybe not necessary, but if I were a Penn State die-hard fan it would concern me that this box isn't checked. I think there is a one percent chance that he wins the Big Ten title, because I don't think he will finish out the tournament. He'll likely make his way to the quarterfinals and default. Q: Would you rather see a takedown be worth 3 points or allow the top wrestler to choose to go back to neutral during a natural stoppage (out of bounds, stalemate, etc.) without awarding a point since it would not be an "escape." #maketakedownsgreatagain -- @WallyBach Foley: I don't know that we need to give points for escapes, but what informs my opinion is likely just an outsized love for the current freestyle rules. The real root of the problem is riding time. Why would we want to slow down the pace of these matches all for a single point? Of course, if you eliminated riding time then you'd also have to find a new criterion for tied matches that go past double overtime. The current system keeps track of riding time, but more than keep track it places people into a literal "ride out." Sticking with today's historical opening, I can tell you that ride outs trace back to the Catch-as-Catch-can origins of American wrestling, but in light of new information (the wild successes of freestyle) I wonder if the other great American tradition (adopting new and better things) won't eventually inform a better opinion on how to solve these tied matches. Certainly, we can all agree that draping your body on an opponent shouldn't be the ultimate determinant of wrestling greatness. But what is the other option? Will American wrestling fans see the power of criteria to drive action and eliminate the need for costly overtime? I'm doubtful, but then again, we are a nation of change so no idea should be left unconsidered. Q: Riding time/top wrestling. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I don't hate top wrestling and riding time the way others seem to hate it. Maybe my perspective is different, but I find it impressive when someone like Spencer Lee completely dominates a wrestler the caliber of Nathan Tomasello while on top. Not everything has to be so fast paced. I love watching a hammer on top eventually wear a wrestler down while working for turns even if it never ends in a turn; and if he has hammered him for 5 minutes, I'm OK with that wrestler earning a point. Thoughts? -- Jared W. Foley: I was a top wrestler, but I can no longer support riding time. While I agree that there is an element of domination with staying on someone's back, I don't think that it's a compelling argument for dominance unless the bottom man has face-to-face attacks, a la jiu-jitsu. What if we cut the difference and gave 30 seconds to work and then put them back on their feet with one point going to the wrestler who is released from bottom. Add to that that if one wrestler can accumulate 2 minutes of riding time then you can allow for a point. That should disincentive the riding time point while still allowing for a point to be given to the wrestlers who display real top dominance. Q: What do you make of the decision to move the Beat the Streets event from Times Square to the newly-renovated Pier 17 at South Street Seaport? -- Mike C. Foley: Moving an event indoors will allow for a much better fan experience, while maybe sacrificing some of the shock Times Square seemed to generate. Overall, this should allow for better crowd control, seating assignment and fan experience. The venue is supposed to be nice and I'm sure that Brendan Buckley and his staff are prepared to make this into another impact event for the sport of wrestling! Q: Guessing you get hundreds of emails a day, but it would be greatly appreciated if you could answer a question for me and settle a long standing debate. In your opinion, what are the top 3 toughest weights for NCAA in order? I think 125 is the toughest followed by 174, 141, 165 (has got increasingly better as year went on). -- Kevin C. Foley: Dozens. Hundreds would prompt me to set my eyebrows on fire. I'm prone to conflate "best" with "most intriguing," but either way the weight classes are those with the most compelling storylines: 125, 141 and 165. The number of guys who can win at each of these weights, and the uncertainty behind seeding prompts a lot of healthy fan discussion. 125 storylines: Can Spencer Lee really win this thing in his true freshman year? Can he stop NATO, who is on a quest for his fourth Big Ten title? If Lee wins this weekend, can he do it again in March? Would that upset be enough to generate a surprise Iowa comeback? I'm affirmative on all my own questions, but then again, we haven't event talked about the defending NCAA Champion (Darian Cruz) and the possibility that the top seed Nick Suriano could steamroll everyone. 141 storylines: Bryce Meredith vs. Kevin Jack in the semifinal of all semifinals. Will two-time NCAA champion Dean Heil come back to life in Cleveland, or does he slip away during his senior season? Will Yianni do like many Cornell wrestlers before him and deliver a virtuoso performance on the national stage? Oh, wait … what about Jaydin Eierman and Joey McKenna? 165 storylines: Imar looks for his third and to get revenge on Cenzo Joseph. "The Bull" Alex Marinelli looks to make Iowa Great Again, while Chance Marstellar lurks in the background, able to knock off any wrestler at any time. Layers on layers here. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Beautiful Watch, then read ... I've flown more than half a million miles in the past five years, visiting some 50-plus countries and spending an average of 200 days on the road. You can be certain that I have recommendations for how to pack. However, my real passion is poo-poo'ing obnoxious packing tips provided by 24-year-old listicle creators at Buzzfeed ripoffs. The above video is terrible. The pioneer of packing stupidity who dreamed up these complicated how-to's was either muling drugs as a previous profession, or was locked away in Brazilian jail and given limited access to toiletries. They say the best part of adventure travel is the panning and the stories told afterward, but spending four days in a workshop in the hopes of MacGyver'ing an empty glue bottle to hold tampons on hundred dollar bills is time poorly spent. Also, the level of preparation put into packing for a Mexican beach vacation seems to have inspired way too much time watching TAKEN and not enough time looking at actual crime statistics or using the side of your brain with the ability to rationalize danger. I wish that instead of crappy, uplifting, free-to-use jingles there was a narrator explaining where this person was headed. In my experience you don't want to go anywhere that requires you to hide money. I hid money once leaving a country. That was South Sudan and it was during the start of that country's current civil war and it was something like $7,000. I hid it under a bag of chocolate in my backpack and you know what? It worked. The shakedown came (as expected) but once the soldier saw chocolate he was off-task and snatched my bag of Hershey's instead of the seven grand. Anyway, has this person thought through what would happen if a TSA agent decided to open your zip-tied bag and found hundred-dollar bills stuffed in a variety of heath care products and everyday items. They would be certain to pull you off the plane and ask about the items in your bag. This person drilled a hole in a bar of soap and slipped in a $100! WHAT THE HELL! Traveling overseas is not a Jason Bourne exercise in preparing to take out a Nigerian leader on his yacht in the middle of the ocean. Traveling overseas is about not being an idiot and how to apply a modicum of discipline and restraint when inundated with new, stimulating inputs. I've been mugged, but it was because I got careless about my location (favela) and time of night (late) -- not a home invasion where I was left for dead but was saved by the $20 in my soap-on-a-rope. Real travel advice isn't that appealing: Don't drink too much, don't take unnecessary risks and call your bank before you leave. Add in the common sense stuff like trying not to cross dark streets in tourists districts and you're 90 percent of the way to a happy holiday. Oh, and when packing just do less and carry less. Put your wallet, phone and keys exactly where you do when you are in the states. Why in the good hell -- with everything else going on around you -- would you want to constantly be patting yourself down looking for where you hid your burner cell? The only function that serves is to tip off would-be robbers where to find valuables. Hiding money is stupid. A good money tip is to keep small local currency loose in your pocket. This way you don't pull out $900 each time you go to pay a street vendor $1 for a bottle of water. The other piece of advice is to never (not ever) pack a small plastic bag for each day of the week you are traveling. This little tidbit in the video is deliciously dumb. What if it's cold on a Tuesday? Rains on Wednesday? Will you dip into that rolled-up clothing to find the long sleeve shirt? What chaos will that cause! This person also has about 37 plastic bags. Why? Is it raining in their Eagle Creek? The only useful tip in this insufferable video is to cover your liquids with Saran Wrap. That's smart. The other stuff, like hiding money in a pack of gum or half-eaten can of Pringles (what the hell, people?!) is a sure way to donate $200 to a Parisian landfill. Delete this video. The Internet is infuriating. Rasoul Khadem coaching at the Freestyle World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: Were you surprised that Rasoul Khadem stepped down as head of Iran's wrestling federation? -- Mike C. Foley: The body politic in Iran is not my specialty, and I think that even those who report on the nation find it infuriating as it's both idealistic and corrupt (much like our system). What Rasoul seemed to do was take a stand that it wasn't fair to punish athletes or force them to lie, when the government could just state as national policy that it wouldn't compete against Israel. Rasoul wanted high-level clarity, got none, and as a man of principle he made good on a promise to step aside. Terrible for the sport of international wrestling, but I'm hopeful that this too will get resolved and we'll see Rasoul back in the federation soon.

Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell is pre-seeded No. 1 at 141 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The pre-seeds for the 2018 EIWA Championships at Hofstra University have been determined. Here are the weight-by-weight results. All wrestlers who received votes are shown. 125: 1. Darian Cruz, Lehigh 2. Trey Chalifoux, Army West Point 3. Gage Curry, American 4. Zack Fuentes, Drexel 5. Joe Nelson, Binghamton 6t. Noah Baughman, Cornell 6t. Nolan Hellickson, Harvard 8. Aslan Kilic, Navy 9. Matteo DeVincenzo, Princeton 10. Trey Keeley, Brown 133: 1. Austin DeSanto, Drexel 2. Scott Parker, Lehigh 3. Josh Terao, American 4. Chaz Tucker, Cornell 5. Lane Peters, Army West Point 6. Gianni Ghione, Pennsylvania 7. Cody Trybus, Navy 8. Jacob Nicholson, Binghamton 9. Hunter Kosco, Brown 10. Ryan Friedman, Harvard 11. Chris Scorese, Columbia 141: 1. Yianni Diakomilhalis, Cornell 2. Tyler Smith, Bucknell 3. Luke Karam, Lehigh 4. Nicholas Gil, Navy 5. AJ Jaffe, Harvard 6. Joe Russ, Binghamton 7. Kizhan Clarke, American 8. Austin Harry, Army West Point 9. Pat D'Arcy, Princeton 10. Brett Kulp, Franklin & Marshall 11. Julian Flores, Drexel 149: 1. Matthew Kolodzik, Princeton 2. Will Koll, Cornell 3. Cortlandt Schuyler, Lehigh 4. Jared Prince, Navy 5. Michael Sprague, American 6. Hunter Ladnier, Harvard 7. Trevor Elfvin, Drexel 8t. Jacob Macalolooy, Columbia 8t. Joe Oliva, Pennsylvania 10. Frank Garcia, Binghamton 157: 1. Mike D'Angelo, Princeton 2. Markus Scheidel, Columbia 3. Justin Staudenmayer, Brown 4. Fredy Stroker, Cornell 5t. Garett Hammond, Drexel 5t. Ian Brown, Lehigh 7. Zack Davis, Navy 8. Lucas Weiland, Army West Point 9. Eric Hong, American 10t. Joe Velliquette, Pennsylvania 10t. Paul Klee, Sacred Heart 12. Tristan Rifanburg, Binghamton 165: 1. Jon Jay Chavez, Cornell 2. May Bethea, Pennsylvania 3. Jonathan Schleifer, Princeton 4. Gordon Wolf, Lehigh 5. Drew Daniels, Navy 6. Vincent DePrez, Binghamton 7. Andrew Mendel, Army West Point 8. Ebed Jerrell, Drexel 9. DJ Hollingshead, Bucknell 10. Tyler Tarsi, Harvard 11. Jon Viruet, Brown 174: 1. Jordan Kutler, Lehigh 2. Jadaen Bernstein, Navy 3. Ben Harvey, Army West Point 4. Brandon Womack, Cornell 5. Tyrel White, Columbia 6. Josef Johnson, Harvard 7. Sage Heller, Hofstra 8. Anthony Lombardo, Binghamton 9. Austin Rose, Drexel 10. Nick Stephani, Bucknell 11. Josh Young, Franklin & Marshall 184: 1. Max Dean, Cornell 2. Ryan Preisch, Lehigh 3. Steve Schneider, Binghamton 4. Alex DeCiantis, Drexel 5. Christian LaFragola, Brown 6. Michael Coleman, Navy 7. Joe Heyob, Pennsylvania 8. Drew Phipps, Bucknell 9. Noah Stewart, Army West Point 10. Kanon Dean, Harvard 11. Kevin Parker, Princeton 197: 1. Ben Darmstadt, Cornell 2. Patrick Brucki, Princeton 3. Frank Mattiace, Pennsylvania 4. Chris Weiler, Lehigh 5. Jeric Kasunic, American 6. Stephen Loiseau, Drexel 7. Rocco Caywood, Army West Point 8. Steban Cervantes, Navy 9. Nezar Haddad, Hofstra 10. Tucker Ziegler, Brown 285: 1. Mike Hughes, Hofstra 2. Jordan Wood, Lehigh 3. Garrett Ryan, Columbia 4. Jeramy Sweany, Cornell 5. Brett Dempsey, American 6. Antonio Pelusi, Franklin & Marshall 7t. Ian Butterbrodt, Brown 7t. Christian Araneo, Princeton 9. Tyler Hall, Pennsylvania 10. Andrew Piehl, Navy 11. Robert Heald, Army West Point The coaches will meet tomorrow afternoon at Hofstra to review the pre-seeds and make adjustments. The seeds will remain preliminary until locked in at weigh-ins on Saturday morning. Eight wrestlers will be seeded in each weight class.

This weekend seven of the eight NCAA Division I conferences host their conference tournaments. These tournaments determine not only the conference champions but also who will end up at the NCAA tournament. In addition to qualification, many of the bouts will help clear up the seeding picture for the championship tournament. There are many anticipated matchups for this weekend. It is impossible to predict what matches will end up happening. However, the following is a look at the most anticipated match from each conference tournament. Big Ten: No. 1 Adam Coon (Michigan) vs. No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) at 285 For the third consecutive season, many expected Snyder to plow through the competition at heavyweight. This seemed like an extremely likely scenario until he suffered an upset against Coon in last month's dual meet. These two faced off in the Big Ten final two years ago with Snyder winning via 7-4 decision. This year's final is likely to be a rematch and a preview of the upcoming NCAA final. Bryce Meredith defeated Dean Heil in December (Photo/Troy Babbitt) Big 12: No. 1 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) vs. No. 7 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) at 141 Prior to this season, Heil had won four straight matches against Meredith. However, when the two met back in December, Meredith took home the 2-1 victory in overtime. Since then Meredith has gone undefeated, while Heil has uncharacteristically struggled at times. Of their five matches, four have been decided by two points or less. No matter what happens this match will likely be close and dramatic. EIWA: No. 6 Austin DeSanto (Drexel) vs. No. 10 Scotty Parker (Lehigh) at 133 If this match ends up happening it will be a first time bout. Parker did not wrestle in the Lehigh-Drexel dual meet. DeSanto has come in as a true freshman and gone 23-4. Since the Southern Scuffle, he has won seven straight matches with three technical falls. Parker is the returning EIWA champion at this weight, but he has been out of the lineup with injuries. This bout would be an interesting match between an experienced veteran and an energetic true freshman. MAC: No. 3 Grant Leeth (Missouri) vs. No. 4 Justin Oliver (Central Michigan) at 149 Since a tough showing at the Lindenwood Open, Leeth has moved his way up the rankings and knocked off multiple ranked wrestlers including Oliver. The two met in late January, and Leeth won a 3-1 decision. They previously wrestled during the 2015 season, and Oliver won via major decision This is one of the highest ranked potential matchups in the MAC, and it could end up having major seeding implications for the NCAA tournament. ACC: No. 1 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 3 Mike Macchiavello (North Carolina State) at 197 Haught finished his regular season with a one-point victory over Macchiavello. The season did not end for Macchiavello with that match. He returned two days later and defeated No. 4 Kollin Moore (Ohio State). Now both wrestlers are ranked in the top three and considered contenders for the NCAA title. Their first match was a tight affair, and a rematch appears to be similarly close. EWL: No. 5 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) vs. No. 6 Chad Walsh (Rider) In late January, Marsteller handed Walsh his only loss of the season. Since the loss, Walsh has gotten back on the winning track with six straight wins including a fall over No. 8 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota). Marsteller has been strong all season. He holds a 37-1 record on the season with his only loss coming against the redshirting Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa). These two are two of the three highest ranked wrestlers in the EWL and just happen to be in the same weight class. SoCon: No. 20 Forrest Przybysz (Appalachian State) vs. Andrew Morgan (Campbell) Przybysz is one of only three ranked SoCon wrestlers. He went 20-7 on the season, and he did not lose a SoCon match. In January, he faced off against Morgan in the dual meet, and the two put on quite the show. Przybysz ended up taking the decision victory, but they combined for 24 points in the match. If these two meet again at the SoCon tournament, they could end up running up the score once again.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- (Official Brackets | Live Video Stream) Official brackets for the 2018 NAIA Wrestling National Championships have been released. Session I action inside the Jacobson Exhibition Center starts at 10 a.m. CST. The 61st event consists of four sessions, concluding Saturday with the championship finals at 7 p.m. All matches at the national championships will be stream live via Trackcast. To access that stream, click here. Additionally, the championship session will also be distributed on ESPN3 (www.watchespn.com). Official brackets were verified and approved by the NAIA-Wrestling Coaches Association Bracketing Committee Wednesday afternoon. Championship Notes • Fifty-three teams are represented at this year's national championships. • There will be 46 All-Americans in action, including three-time honorees Jake Sinkovics of Cumberlands (Ky.) (133 pounds) and Dean Broghammer of Grand View (Iowa) (285 pounds). • Five national champions from 2017 return for the 2018 event - Josh Wenger of Grand View (Iowa) (141 pounds), Grand Henderson of Grand View (165 pounds), Lawton Benna of Grand View (174 pounds), Evan Hansen of Grand View (197 pounds) and Brandon Weber of Montana State-Northern (157 pounds). • Grand View (Iowa) enters the national championship looking for a seventh-straight team title. If the Vikings are victorious, they will become only program in NAIA history to accomplish the feat and only the fourth program in collegiate wrestling history. The other programs to do so are NCAA Division I Iowa (nine-straight 1978-86), NCAA Division I Oklahoma State (seven-straight 1937-1949) and then-NCAA Division II Cal Poly (seven-straight 1968-1974). • Grand View and Missouri Valley both bring a full roster of 12 individuals to the national championships. Cumberlands, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Williams Baptist (Ark.) are next with 11 wrestlers competing. • There have been 19 programs to previously claim the team title. Former NAIA members Adams State (Colo.) and Central State (Okla.) each took home eight, which is the most in the 61-year history of the event. Of the current NAIA programs, Grand View and Montana State-Northern are tied for the lead with six each. • Former NAIA member Simon Fraser (B.C.) boasts the most individual champions with 39, while Southern Oregon is second with 36, followed by Montana State-Northern with 30. • In 2017, Grand View set a new national championship team scoring record with 234.5 points. The previous mark was 210.

Grand Junction, Colo. -- Colorado Mesa University today announced the addition of women's wrestling to its portfolio of 28 varsity teams that compete at the Division II level. The Mavericks will field an all-female team beginning fall 2018. CMU is the first university in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference to institute a varsity women's wrestling program, one of only 15 in the West and fewer than 50 who offer the program in the U.S. "We believe in the transformative power of athletics to propel women into positions of power in the future," said CMU President Tim Foster. In fact, 96 percent of women who are senior managers and executives played sports at some level during their education according to an Ernst and Young survey. "We know that the leadership skills, confidence and self-esteem gained as a student-athlete has a powerful impact on young women long after their time as student-athletes is finished. We're in this for the long-game," Foster said. The addition of a women's team marks a new era for one of CMU's longest standing sports programs. Initiated in 1939, CMU grapplers won nine conference championships from 1947 to 1988. The program was dropped in 1992, reinstated in 2006 and, in 2015, James Martinez earned CMU's first NCAA national championship. "As Mavericks, we pride ourselves on not settling for the status quo," said Kris Mort, co-athletic director and senior women's administrator at CMU. "The addition of women's wrestling enables CMU to continue to be a leader in higher education and Division II athletics," Mort said. The addition of the women's program will not affect the existing men's program. "We are and will become an even more sought-after wrestling program by diversifying our program and offering a female team that provides access and opportunities to young women that few other colleges do," said Chuck Pipher, head men's wrestling coach. "I am thrilled for this expansion of our program and the growth of popularity of a sport I dearly love," he said. A search for the inaugural head coach opened February 28.