InterMat Staff

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.

What do college wrestlers do when they're about to trade in their singlet for a business suit and enter the world of work and careers? Finding a great professional opportunity that makes the most of your knowledge, skills and passions can be as daunting and challenging as any opponent you've faced on the mat. Now there's a new tool to help wrestlers and athletes in other sports put those skills to work for them in finding a great career position -- and help employers find top talent. It's called InXAthlete. InXAthlete was developed by two former college athletes for Lehigh University -- Max Wessell, an NCAA All-American wrestler and EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) champ, and Cody Ferraro, lacrosse player for the Mountain Hawks. Max Wessell Wasn't Wessell supposed to wrestle in the WWE? Loyal InterMat readers may remember an article at this website back in Sept. 2016, announcing that the former Lehigh heavyweight had reportedly signed a developmental deal with WWE to become a professional wrestler. "I was offered a contract but never signed," Wessell told InterMat in the conference call to discuss InXAthlete. "Instead, Cody and I formed InXAthlete while we were in college together." And so what appears to be the WWE's loss is a gain for student-athletes as well as for organizations seeking individuals with job skills gained from participating in collegiate sports. Cody Ferraro The inception of InXAthlete "I was a lacrosse player, and a former wrestler myself," said Cody Ferraro. "I blew out my wrist. That was the end of my athletic career. "It occurred to me that my athletic career helped me build skills that are appropriate for business," Ferraro continued. "I couldn't help but notice how many companies and organizations were seeking former student-athletes." "However, there was no direct link to finding all possible positions seeking ex-student-athletes," according to Ferraro. "We started InXAthlete while we were in college. It went official in October 2017." Matching student-athletes and the companies that seek to hire them InXAthlete is unique in that it seeks to match former student-athletes seeking a career beyond sports with employers actively seeking candidates who bring the benefits of a sports career to their organization. "For student-athletes, InXAthlete provides 'one-stop shopping' convenience for career opportunities for current athletes, recent grads, or those whose sports careers were in the past," said Wessell. "When an athlete signs up, you indicate the type of employment you're seeking -- full-time job, internship, whatever." "As soon as an athlete fills out the form and sets up a profile, your profile is immediately available for all employers within the system to see." "Companies can set up their search function to meet their specific needs," according to Ferraro. "You can customize search criteria to be as specific as 'seeking former wrestler with a finance degree.' Or you can simply post your job listing without any parameters." "We wanted to make sure the website and software worked seamlessly," said Wessell. "We came up with the idea, and with the guidance of mentors and software development professionals, the idea is now totally functional as InXAthlete." Max Wessell wrestled at Lehigh Providing student-athletes with competitive advantages InXAthlete is designed to serve as a tool to help student-athletes and employers make a connection ... in an efficient, effective way that understands the time constraints of both. "Forbes (business magazine) said that a typical student-athlete spends about 40 hours a week on their sports career -- practice, training, workouts, as well as games or matches," said Ferraro. "That's in addition to 40 hours each week spent on academics -- not just in-class time, but homework, research, writing papers, etc. That's like having two full-time jobs." "Every day, student-athletes are conditioned to excel in terms of goal-setting, determination, being a team player, and other attributes that most employers view as positive," Ferraro continued. "That kind of hard work -- not to mention effective time-management -- is greatly appreciated by large numbers of potential employers," said Wessell. "Many employers value student-athletes for all the hard work they've put in at college." "In the past, student-athletes didn't always have time to attend job fairs or to use other traditional ways college students use to connect with prospective employers," the former Lehigh All-American wrestler added. "However, with InXAthlete, a student-athlete goes from being at a disadvantage to gaining a distinct advantage." InXAthlete: Beautifully simple InXAthlete is designed to be simple and easy to use, for both student-athletes, and for businesses seeking student-athletes. "InXAthlete delivers simplicity in its platform that benefits time-strapped student-athletes," according to Wessell. "We wanted the sign-up process to be quick and easy. For most users, it takes only 5-10 minutes." "What's more, InXAthlete makes it easy for student-athletes to upload a 60-second profile video, allowing them to emphasize unique skills for potential employers." All these benefits are available to student-athlete users of the InXAthlete service ... at absolutely no charge. There's no upfront fee, no finder fees, no per-use charges. Organizations seeking student-athletes to fill available positions will also find a lot to like about InXAthlete. "For businesses, drop-down menus -- not word-search menus -- make it easy for employers to custom-tailor search requests to specific needs," said Wessell. "It's easy, one-step job posting." InXAthlete offers employers two options for payment: pay by job search, or with a monthly fee. InXAthlete is a unique service that is a win-win for both student-athletes, as well as for employers seeking the unique skill-sets available from those who participated in sports in college. To learn more about InXAthlete, visit their website. If you're a student-athlete or former college athlete seeking a career position or an internship, you can sign up for free here. Businesses seeking student-athletes to fill available career opportunities within their organizations can get on board with InXAthlete's online registration.

Two of the very few single class state championships in the United States are being held this weekend, as California and New Jersey conduct their state tournaments. Both states also happen to be among those that produce the most scholastic wrestling talent in the country. With that being the case, it comes as no surprise there are some absolutely stacked brackets at each competition. The New Jersey state tournament starts with a 32-man bracket in each weight class, four wrestlers qualifying from each of eight regions. The top three finishers at each region are eligible to be seeded first through 24th per a set procedure that is based on previous state tournament performance, head-to-head results, and regional finish; those who finish fourth at the regional are the bottom eight seeds. Wrestling starts at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Friday evening, and concludes with the finals on Sunday afternoon. In the Golden State, competition starts from a 40-man bracket with qualifiers allocated to each section per state athletic association guidelines. The top 16 competitors were seeded based on merit, with remaining competitors bracketed per procedures related to separating competitors from the same section, etc. Competition starts on Friday morning at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, with the finals slated for Saturday night. Four weight classes in each of the two state tournaments feature at least three nationally ranked wrestlers. Below is an overview of those weight classes. New Jersey 106 The opening weight this year in the Garden State is most strong with four wrestlers appearing in the national rankings, all outside the top ten, as well as two other competitors that have been ranked during the course of this season. Based on the national rankings, and being the highest returning place-finisher (third last year), No. 12 Nick Kayal (Bergen Catholic) would be the favorite. However, he enters as the sixth seed. The lone "in-state" loss for Kayal this season is to No. 20 Nick Nardone (Delbarton), who is the fifth seed, though the wrestlers have split matches this season. Nardone has two additional "in-state" losses, falling to No. 16 Joey Olivieri (Hanover Park) during the regular season and Quinn Melofchik (Belvidere) in the regional semifinal. Olivieri is the top seed with all three of his losses coming to 113 pound wrestlers ranked within the top ten nationally, while fourth seeded Melofchik has lost to Olivieri in the district and regional finals. In addition, Melofchik lost to third seed Brett Ungar (Hunterdon Central) in mid-January; the lone loss for Ungar came the following to No. 15 Nick Babin (Emerson-Park Ridge) the following week. Babin, who also was a Super 32 placer prior to the season, is undefeated so far this year and the tournament's second seed. An additional key win for Ungar came in the regional final when he beat previously undefeated Dean Peterson (St. John Vianney), who entered last week nationally ranked. The other returning placer in this weight is Justin Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep), the eighth seed. He lost to Peterson in the regular season and has two post-season losses to Babin, and has missed chunks of the season with injury. One sleeper type in this weight class by seed is C.J. Composto, the eleven, though he is a Super 32 placer whose lone loss came this season came to nationally ranked 113 Dylan Cedeno. Based on seeds: Olivieri-Bierdumpfel, Melofchik-Nardone; Ungar-Kayal (Composito), Babin, Peterson Richard Figueroa defeated Jonathan Prata at the Doc Buchanan (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) California 106 The lightweights are always strong out in California, this year proving to be no exception with three nationally ranked wrestlers present across a diversity of age groups. Entering as the top seed is No. 4 Richard Figueroa (Selma). The freshman is undefeated in the state of California with his lone losses coming at the Ironman to Ohio wrestlers ranked first and seventh nationally. Also a Super 32 runner-up, Figueroa beat defending state champion Jonathan Prata (Downey) in the semifinals of the Doc Buchanan. Prata enters the tournament as the fourth seed, though he is ranked No. 9 nationally. Along with losing to Figueroa in the semifinals at Doc Buchanan, he lost the next round to Carlos Negrete (Clovis North). That result places Prata in a position where he will have to clear Figueroa in the semifinal round. Negrete enters as the third seed after placing seventh at the Ironman and fourth at the Doc Buchanan, where his two losses were to Wyatt Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.), who is not a nationally ranked wrestler. In addition to those four losses, he lost to Figueroa in the Central masters final, he lost to No. 19 Blake Fredrickson (Windsor) in the Mid-Cals final, and he has a 2-1 mark against sixth seed Ramiro Castillo (Central). Fredrickson is the second seed in this event, and was a Junior National double All-American this past summer. New Jersey 113 Five nationally ranked wrestlers in this field make it a mess of a weight class. The group is led by last year's 106 pound finalists, No. 5 Anthony Clark (Delbarton) and No. 6 Samuel Alvarez (St. Joseph Montvale). Returning state champion Clark has a pair of losses this season, those coming against national No. 1 Trevor Mastrogiovanni; while Alvarez has only one loss in a contested match this season, that coming to Julian Tagg in the 120 pound Beast of the East semifinal, after he upset Robert Howard in the quarterfinal round. Those are your top two seeds. The next two seeds are a pair of returning state medalists, No. 19 Dante Mininno (Gateway Regional) and Hunter Gutierrez (Lacey). Two-time state placer Mininno is undefeated this season, including a 6-4 win over Gutierrez three weeks ago; while Gutierrez had two additional losses during the season's opening week when competing at 120. Seeded fifth is No. 12 Dylan Cedeno (Fair Lawn), who enters the state tournament undefeated but failed to place last year at state, losing to Gutierrez by fall in the consolation match to place; those two could meet in a quarterfinal come Saturday. The other nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 15 Eddie Ventresca (Pope John Paul XXIII), a returning state placer. However, he enters the tournament seeded seventh due to last week's loss by injury default in the semifinal against Logan Mazzeo (Emerson-Park Ridge), who will be the sixth seed. Mazzeo -- a returning state qualifier in this weight class -- has five losses on the season, two to Alvarez, one to Cedeno, and two that are rather clunky. New Jersey 120 The group of lower weights this year in the Garden State is absolutely stacked, with the first three brackets having 13 nationally ranked wrestlers present in total. The quartet nationally ranked in this weight class has wrestled 140 bouts this year to the tune of just one loss, that being from No. 1 Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic) in the Beast of the East quarterfinals. On the other hand, Howard has four wins over nationally ranked opponents this year, including three against those residing in the top ten (Michael Colaiocco, Nico Aguilar, and Joey Melendez). The other three nationally ranked wrestlers have zero matches combined against returning New Jersey state medalists. Seeded first in this weight is 2016 state champion Joe Manchio (Seneca), who is ranked No. 11 nationally; Manchio lost in the quarterfinal last year to Howard, won his next match, and then defaulted down to eighth place. The second seed is returning state champion No. 10 Antonio Mininno (Gateway Regional), who beat Howard in last year's state final, but has no previous state placements. Howard is seeded third, so we could have a state finals rematch in the semifinal round; while the fourth seed is No. 16 Mitchell Polito (East Brunswick), who placed third last year at 113. The other previous place-winner in this weight class is fifth seed Richie Koehler (Christian Brothers Academy), who placed sixth in the 2015 state tournament. California 132 Nationally ranked wrestlers occupy the top three seeds in this weight class. No. 4 Jesse Vasquez (Santiago Corona) won state last year as a freshman at 113, and has been superb this "season"; he was runner-up in that brutal 132 weight class at the Super 32, beat Carson Manville in the quarters at the Ironman, and picked up a win over nationally ranked Chase Zollman to win the Battle for the Belt. Three-time state medalists No. 12 Zollman (Poway) and No. 13 Alex Felix (Gilroy) are the second and third seeds in this weight class. Zollman has state tournament finishes of seventh, third, and fifth; while Felix has finished third, fourth, and third. Zollman has the head-to-head win over Felix in the finals at the Mid-Cals, that coming by 3-2 decision in the tiebreaker. Two other returning state medalists populate this weight class, fourth seed Elijah Palacio (Edison) was eighth at state last year, while seventh seed Tyler Deen (Buchanan) finished seventh; Palacio was champion last year at the NHSCA Junior Nationals, while Deen added a Junior National freestyle All-American finish. The fifth seed in this weight is Marcos Polanco (Bishop Amat), who was one match away from placing in the 2016 state tournament, and has lost to Palacio seemingly too many times to count this season; they could meet in the quarterfinal. Seeded sixth is two-time previous state qualifier Robert Areyano (Selma), while the ninth seed is Anthony Chavez (Central), who was one match from placing at state in 2016. New Jersey 132 Even though No. 6 Nick Raimo (Hanover Park) is the clear favorite as a two-time state finalist, returning state champion, and one of the best juniors in the country -- this is an overall interesting weight class with two other nationally ranked wrestlers, another pair of wrestlers that have medaled at the state tournament before, and a closely packed challenge pack. Seeded first, Raimo is undefeated on the season with titles at the Beast of the East and Escape the Rock. The other two nationally ranked wrestlers are No. 17 Kyle Slendorn (Howell) and No. 19 Carmen Ferrante (Bergen Catholic), the second and third place finishers in the state weight class that Raimo won last year. However, the pair are projected to meet in the quarterfinal round as the third and sixth seeds. Slendorn was upset 2-1 in the regional final by Bryan Miraglia (Delran), who inherits the second seed despite not making last year's state tournament; the lone loss for Miraglia on the season came to nationally ranked 138 pound wrestler Jojo Aragona. Despite six wins over state medalists from out of state (CA/PA/OH), including one over the nationally ranked Jack Davis, Ferrante drops down to the six seed due to losses at the Beast of the East to returning state placer Lucas Revano (Camden Catholic) and state qualifier Jake Rotunda (Pope John XXIII), who are seeded fourth and fifth respectively. Revano is actually a two-time state placer, placing seventh at the Beast even with that win over Ferrante (losses to Raimo and Rotunda); Revano would avenge that loss to Rotunda the next week, while other two losses came at the Powerade (Joey Silva and splitting matches against a Pennsylvania wrestler. Two of Rotunda's three additional losses were to nationally ranked opposition at the Beast, while his remaining loss came to Patrick Glory on the same day he lost to Revano. A likely "rubber match" for the season between Revano and Rotunda looms in the quarterfinal round on Saturday. The other previous medalist in this weight is Hunter Graf (Hunterdon Central), the tenth seed and an eighth-place finisher in 2016. Another very dangerous wrestler in this weight is returning state qualifier Russell Benson (Raritan), the ninth seed as a regional champion. California 138 Four nationally ranked wrestlers populate this weight class, led by No. 4 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.). The junior, a two-time state medalist (2nd/3rd), was runner-up at the Super 32 prior to the season and runner-up at the Ironman to start the season. He is the top seed in this weight class. Seeded second is returning state fourth place finisher Lawrence Saenz (Vacaville), who is ranked No. 13 nationally, with his two losses on the season coming to nationally ranked 145 pound wrestlers. The third seed is No. 14 Matthew Olguin (Buchanan), state champion at 106 as a freshman two years ago and third at 113 last year; while returning state sixth place finisher Dawson Sihavong (Bullard), ranked No. 17 nationally, is the fourth seed. Olguin has beaten Sihavong the last two weeks for divisional and masters titles. Though Olguin missed chunks of the season, he has just one loss, and that is to the fifth seed in this event, sophomore Sonny Santiago (St. John Bosco). Santiago was runner-up at the Doc Buchanan, beating Olguin in that tournament, as well as another nationally ranked wrestler in Coltan Yapoujian. He could face an interesting round of 16 match against freshman Luka Wick (San Marino), the 12th seed; the pair split matches at the Battle for the Belt, while Santiago out-placed Wick in winning the southern section masters this past weekend. That of course presumes Wick clears returning state placer Joe Romero (Lemoore) in the round of 32. Three other returning state placers populate this weight class. Dalton Lakmann (Foothill) was seventh at state last year and is the sixth seed, Enrique Landeros (Orland) placed sixth at state two years ago and is the seventh seed, while two-time state placer Ricky Torres (Oakdale) is the ninth seed. Lakmann beat Landeros to win the northern section masters title, while Torres was the San Joaquin section runner-up to Saenz. Seeded eighth is returning state qualifier Luis Ramos (Selma), returning state quarterfinalist Ryley Boutain (Benician) is the tenth seed, two-time state qualifier Gabriel Cortez (Northview) is the eleventh seed, and the dangerous Michael Mello (Oak Ridge) is the 13th seed; Mello is a two-time state qualifier and pinned Sihavong at the Zinkin Classic in December. California 195 The three ranked wrestlers in this weight class all reside in the top ten of the national rankings, and have established a clear chasm between themselves and the rest of the statewide field. The seeds happen to go in order of the national rankings: No. 7 Colbey Harlan (Oakdale), No. 9 Tony Andrade (Gilroy), and No. 10 Ryan Reyes (Clovis West). Harlan -- last year's runner-up at 182 pounds -- enters as the clear favorite, as he is 3-0 against the two other contenders in this weight. Harlan beat Reyes in both December and January, 2-1 in the Reno TOC final and 3-1 in the Doc Buchanan final; while he beat Andrade 5-1 in the Battle for the Belt final. Andrade and Reyes were second and third respectively last year in this state tournament weight class, and have split matches during the season; Reyes winning 3-2 in the Doc Buchanan final, and Andrade winning 2-1 in the tiebreaker in the Mid-Cals final. Both wrestlers also have losses to out of state opposition; Andrade getting pinned by Jaylen Woodruff in the Doc Buchanan third place match, while Reyes lost to nationally ranked Jake Thompson in the Powerade semifinal.

Hayden Bronne of Tiffin leads NCAA Division II wrestling in falls with 15 (Photo/Tiffin Athletics) INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has released updated standings for the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the respective Division I, II and III Wrestling Championships. The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. For falls and tech falls to be counted they must come against opponents in the same division. Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time. This week's Most Dominant Wrestler award standings requires a 17-match minimum in the division to qualify. Last year's winner, Zain Retherford of Penn State, has put himself in a strong position to repeat by increasing his average to 5.57 team points per match, which leads all divisions. Penn State is in good position to bring home the trophy, regardless, as Retherford leads four Nittany Lions in the top five. Nick Becker of Wisconsin-Parkside has taken a big lead in Division II after a strong regional performance with an average of 4.95 points at 174 pounds. Pittsburgh-Johnstown 157-pounder Cody Law is second with 4.52 team points per match. Ithaca 184-pounder Jake Ashcraft maintains his lead in Division III with 5.32 points, .12 ahead of Wartburg 165-pounder Mike Ross with 5.20 points. The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. Points per match are awarded as follows. Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss) Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss) Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss) Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss) Hofstra heavyweight Mike Hughes maintains his hold on the Division I lead with 17 falls, which is one more than Retherford and two more than Penn State's Jason Nolf. In Division II, Tiffin 184-pounder Hayden Bronne has ascended to the lead with 15 falls, while Lawrence Phillips of St. Cloud State and Mason Thompson of Central Oklahoma each have 14. Division III features three wrestlers with 21 falls, led by Wesleyan (Connecticut) 197-pounder Devon Carrillo with an aggregate time of 33:19, while heavyweights Jake Evans (Waynesburg) and Isaiah Bellamy (Wesleyan (Connecticut)) are more than 10 minutes behind. Kyle Shoop has staked his claim to the award for technical falls in Division I with 12 at 141 pounds for Lock Haven, two more than NC State's Jamel Morris and North Dakota State's Cam Sykora. Nick Vandermeer of Lake Erie and Connor Craig of Wheeling Jesuit each have nine tech falls in Division II. Vandermeer has increased his significant lead in aggregate time to more than 18 minutes. Johnson & Wales (Rhode Island) 125-pounder Jay Albis has taken sole possession of first place in Division III tech falls with 16, while Messiah's Kyle Koser has 15 followed by Millikin's Bradan Birt and Messiah's Ben Swarr with 14. Awards Standings

With the regular season complete, the only thing left for the NCAA wrestling season are the conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament. The question becomes which wrestlers who finished the regular season at No. 1 will run the table and become NCAA champions? The following is a look at who is most and least likely to accomplish that feat. Zain Retherford (Photo/Juan Garcia) 1. 149: Zain Retherford (Penn State) Other Contenders: No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), No. 3 Grant Leeth (Missouri), No. 5 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern). For the past three seasons, Retherford has basically been a sure thing. He has gone undefeated over those seasons and captured a pair of NCAA titles. This season has been more of the same. He has won all 23 of his matches and scored bonus in 91 percent of those matches. He holds a 5-0 career record against No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) and majored No. 5 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) back in November. He will clearly be the biggest favorite heading into this year's NCAA tournament. 2. 133: Seth Gross (South Dakota State) Other Contenders: No. 2 Stevan Micic (Michigan), No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State), No. 4 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) Gross finished one match short of an NCAA title last season as he lost to Cory Clark (Iowa) in the finals. This season, he has put together an undefeated 21-0 record at 133 pounds. He did bump up in weight to 141 pounds and dropped a match against No. 1 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming). He claimed a 7-1 decision over Stevan Micic (Michigan) at the NWCA All-Star Classic in November, but has not yet faced No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State). 3. 174: Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) Other Contenders: No. 2 Mark Hall (Penn State), No. 3 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) Valencia lost only one match last year. He dropped a one-point match against No. 2 Mark Hall at the NCAA tournament and ended up finishing third. This season both Valencia and Hall are officially undefeated, but Valencia did defeat Hall in an exhibition match at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Another possible contender at this weight is No. 3 Daniel Lewis (Missouri). He has gone undefeated with an 85 percent bonus rate in his first year at 174. However, he has never faced Valencia or Hall. Bo Nickal (Photo/Juan Garcia) 4. 184: Bo Nickal (Penn State) Other Contender: No. 2 Myles Martin (Ohio State) When it comes to Nickal, it is always important to mention No. 2 Myles Martin (Ohio State). The two wrestlers have one of the best rivalries in the sport. However, in their most recent match Nickal dominated and ended up winning a 10-2 major decision. If the Penn State wrestler has finally gotten over the Martin hurdle there should be no stopping him at the national tournament. 5. 157: Jason Nolf (Penn State) Other Contenders: No. 2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), No. 3 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) Without an injury, Nolf would be much higher up this list. He suffered a knee injury against No. 18 John Van Brill (Rutgers) in January and has not returned to the mat. If Nolf competes at this weekend's Big Ten tournament and looks good, he could be a lock to make his third NCAA final and pick up his second NCAA title. No. 2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) has gone undefeated this season, but historically he has struggled against Nolf. No. 3 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) is a bit of a wild card. He has gone undefeated and appears to have made strides coming off his redshirt season. 6. 165: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) Other Contenders: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa), No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) knocking off No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) allows Martinez to move back into the No. 1 spot at 165. So far this season, he has not gotten a chance to avenge his loss to Joseph in last year's NCAA final. The winner of the upcoming Big Ten Championships, should be the favorite at the NCAA tournament. However, at this point, it would be hard to bet on Martinez without seeing the rematch against Joseph. 7. 141: Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) Other Contenders: No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri), No. 3 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell), No. 4 Joey McKenna (Ohio State), No. 5 Kevin Jack (NC State), No. 7 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State), No. 8 Nick Lee (Penn State) For the last few seasons, No. 7 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) has lorded over this division. This year, he has looked extremely vulnerable and dropped four matches. Meredith started the slide for Heil with an overtime victory back in December. The Wyoming wrestler also holds wins over No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) and No. 5 Kevin Jack (NC State), but on the other hand, he dropped a match against No. 3 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell). This ranking says less about Meredith's ability as a wrestler and more about the wide open nature of 141 pounds this season. 8. 125: Nick Suriano (Rutgers) Other Contenders: No. 2 Darian Cruz (Lehigh), No. 3 Spencer Lee (Iowa), No. 4 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) Suriano went undefeated in his sophomore season, but he has been out of action since the first weekend of February. Reports are that he was out with an illness, and he will be back at this weekend's Big Ten Championships. However, with that much of a layoff, nobody knows what to expect from the New Jersey native. While he does hold a win over No. 2 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) last season he has never faced No. 3 Spencer Lee (Iowa) or No. 4 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) in his collegiate career. If he is not at one-hundred percent, he could struggle against any of those three wrestlers. Adam Coon (Photo/David Peterson) 9. 285: Adam Coon (Michigan) Other Contender: No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) Coon did what appeared to be impossible when he defeated world and Olympic champion No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State). With the win, he moved into the No. 1 ranking. However, it is hard to not consider Snyder the favorite. While he has been virtually unbeatable at the collegiate level, he has suffered losses on the international circuit. Despite those losses, he has still turned it on and taken home championships. Coon has had a great career, but Snyder is likely still the favorite at heavyweight. 10. 197: Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) Other Contenders: No. 2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell), No. 3 Mike Macchiavello (NC State), No. 4 Kollin Moore (Ohio State), No. 5 Willie Miklus (Missouri), No. 6 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State), No. 7 Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State) No. 4 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) held the No. 1 ranking for most of the season. However, he suffered a pair of late season losses against Anthony Cassar (Penn State) and No. 3 Mike Macchiavello (NC State) that knocked him off the perch. Haught stepped into the spot despite having been pinned by Moore at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Haught is the deserving No. 1 wrestler, but this weight is wide open. Even after the conference tournaments, it will be hard to determine a favorite.

Chance Marsteller is pre-seeded No. 1 at 165 pounds (Photo/ Tim Barnhart, LHU Athletics) EDINBORO, Pa. -- The Eastern Wrestling League today announced its pre-seeds for the upcoming EWL Championships on Saturday, March 3. Edinboro University is hosting the championships at McComb Fieldhouse. The official list of seeds and brackets for Saturday's EWL Championships will be announced on Friday night. The NCAA previously announced that the EWL has 18 qualifier allocations this year. Here are the pre-seeds as determined by the pre-seed committee. 125: 1. Sean Russell, Edinboro 2. JR Wert, Rider 3. Willy Girard, Bloomsburg 4. Luke Werner, Lock Haven 5. Ibrahim Banduka, George Mason 133: 1. Korbin Myers, Edinboro 2. Anthony Cefolo, Rider 3. Andy Schutz, Bloomsburg 4. DJ Fehlman, Lock Haven 141: 1. Brock Zacherl, Clarion 2. Tyson Dippery, Rider 3. Evan Cheek, Cleveland State 4. Kyle Shoop, Lock Haven 149: 1. Ronnie Perry, Lock Haven 2. Gary Dinmore, Rider 3. Taylor Ortz, Clarion 4. Ryan Ford, Cleveland State 5. Tejon Anthony, George Mason 157: 1. Andrew Shomers, Edinboro 2. BJ Clagon, Rider 3. Alex Klucker, Lock Haven 4. Avery Shay, Clarion 165: 1. Chance Marsteller, Lock Haven 2. Chad Walsh, Rider 3. Nate Newberry, Bloomsburg 4. Georgio Poullas, Cleveland State 174: 1. Ty Schoffstall, Edinboro 2. Dom Rigous, Clarion 3. Dean Sherry, Rider 4. Jared Siegrist, Lock Haven 184: 1. Corey Hazel, Lock Haven 2. Nick Corba, Cleveland State 3. Greg Bulsak, Clarion 4. Trevor Allard, Bloomsburg 197: 1. Ethan Laird, Rider 2. Dustin Conti, Clarion 3. Tristan Sponseller, Lock Haven 4. Dylan Reynolds, Edinboro 285: 1. Billy Miller, Edinboro 2. Thomas Haines, Lock Haven 3. Matt Voss, George Mason 4. Toby Cahill, Clarion

Bryce Carr (Photo/UTC Athletics) University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior 184-pounder Bryce Carr is the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Year, the league office announced today. This honor was determined by a vote of the conference's eight head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own wrestlers. Carr, the 2016-17 league champion at 184 pounds, is ranked No. 12 nationally with an overall record of 23-5. He was a perfect 7-0 in SoCon action, is 11-4 in duals and is tied for the league lead with seven pins. The senior from Dublin, Georgia, was named SoCon Wrestler of the Week twice this season. Carr earned the honor in week one of competition and on Jan. 3 after going 5-1 and finishing third overall in the Southern Scuffle. Carr has six major decisions and three technical falls thus far in the year. Carr is the eighth Moc to earn Southern Conference Wrestler of the Year honors since the award began in 1993. UTC's eight winners are the most in league history, outpacing Appalachian State with seven and VMI with six. Senior teammate Mike Pongracz, ranked No. 33 nationally, was named all-conference at 141 pounds. Pongrancz is 16-10 overall with five major decisions and three technical falls. The senior from Milford, New Jersey, is coming off a 2016-17 redshirt season. As a junior in 2015-16, Pongracz was 22-6 overall, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Pongracz finished the 2017-18 regular season a perfect 6-0 in SoCon duals, helping the Mocs finish second in the SoCon with a 6-1 record. The SoCon Wrestling Championship takes place Saturday, March 3, in Charleston, South Carolina. Doors to McAlister Field House open at 9 a.m. First-round matches are set to begin at 10 a.m., with finals slated to start at 7 p.m. Links for following the action can be found on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com. 2017-18 Wrestler of the Year Bryce Carr, Sr., 184, Chattanooga 2017-18 Freshman of the Year Korbin Meink, 125, Campbell 2017-18 All-Southern Conference Team 125 Korbin Meink, Fr., Campbell 133 John Muldoon, R-Jr., SIUE 141 Mike Pongracz, Sr., Chattanooga 149 Gavin Londoff, So., Appalachian State 157 Angel Najar, Jr., Appalachian State 165 Nate Higgins, R-Jr., SIUE 174 Forrest Przybysz, Sr., Appalachian State 184 Bryce Carr, Sr., Chattanooga 197 Randall Diabe, Jr., Appalachian State 285 Jere Heino, Jr., Campbell 2017-18 All-Freshman Team Joe Accousti, 165, Appalachian State Alan Clothier, 184, Appalachian State Codi Russell, 133, Appalachian State De'Andre Swinson-Barr, 125, Appalachian State Zach Barnes, 149, Campbell Luke Funck, 184, Campbell Korbin Meink, 125, Campbell Anthony Perrine, 197, Gardner-Webb Denton Spencer, 141, Gardner-Webb Cliff Conway, 125, VMI

As we finally make it to the first of March on Thursday, many states are already done with their season, while others are reaching their close this week; Ohio and Pennsylvania will conclude theirs the following week. A group of state tournament events will feature multiple nationally ranked teams competing for the same positions. Below is a listing of those state championships. New Jersey (Friday through Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City): Three nationally ranked teams are present in single class New Jersey: No. 2 Bergen Catholic, No. 15 Delbarton, and No. 43 Howell. While the event is officially unscored, Bergen Catholic is expected to dominate with their 13 state qualifiers; the question is how many of their seven nationally ranked wrestlers (plus Gerard Angelo at 152) win state titles this weekend. Delbarton brings the next most to Atlantic City with 12 of their own, including three nationally ranked wrestlers, two of whom are returning state champions. The interesting "battle" will be for unofficial third with Howell trying to hold off Pope John XXIII and Paulsboro, among others. California (Friday and Saturday at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield): No. 6 Buchanan seeks to win a third consecutive state title over what is arguably the deepest and strongest team field the Golden State has ever seen for its single-class state tournament. The Bears will have to fend off challenges from six other nationally ranked teams - No. 10 Poway, No. 14 Selma, No. 17 Gilroy, No. 31 Oakdale, No. 37 Clovis, and No. 47 St. John Bosco. Minnesota (dual team is Thursday, individual on Friday and Saturday; Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul): The Class AAA dual meet event will feature No. 30 Anoka and No. 40 Shakopee, while No. 32 Apple Valley will join those two teams in the individual event after the Eagles were upset by Shakopee in their dual team section final. The Class AA individual event features No. 33 Kasson-Mantorville and No. 41 Simley, while Kasson-Mantorville is the strong favorite to repeat in dual team after knocking off Simley in their section final. Michigan (Friday and Saturday at Ford Field in Detroit): After steam-rolling their way to state championships in the dual meet event, all three nationally ranked teams will seek to cap off their seasons with dominance in the individual tournament; it should be noted there is no team score in this individual event. No. 9 Detroit Catholic Central is seeking to match/exceed their Division 1 record performance of five state champions, which the Shamrocks have done in three of the previous four years (2014, 2016, 2017); No. 46 Dundee competes in Division 3, and No. 48 Lowell competes in Division 2. Additional nationally ranked team competing in its state tournament this week: No. 7 Lake Highland Prep seeks a Florida Class 1A title. All fourteen wrestlers for the Highlanders have won district and regional titles headed into Friday and Saturday's competition at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. Teams from Ohio and Pennsylvania are in their state qualification tournament this Friday and Saturday. No. 5 St. Paris Graham competes at their Division II district tournament in Wilmington, Ohio. No. 8 St. Edward and No. 20 Brecksville compete in their Division I district tournament in Perrysburg, Ohio No. 11 Bethlehem Catholic competes in the Class AAA Northeast Regional at Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pa. No. 12 Cincinnati LaSalle competes in their Division I district tournament at Kettering (Ohio) Fairmont No. 21 Wadsworth and No. 38 Massillon Perry compete in their Division I district tournament at North Canton (Ohio) Hoover No. 35 Erie Cathedral Prep competes in the Class AAA Northwest Regional in Altoona, Pa. Fab 50 teams that have completed their seasons: No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.), No. 3 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), No. 4 Montini Catholic (Ill.), No. 13 Tuttle (Okla.), No. 16 Malvern Prep (Pa.), No. 18 Choctaw (Okla.), No. 19 Allen (Texas), No. 22 Fort Dodge (Iowa), No. 23 Christian Brothers College (Mo.), No. 24 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), No. 25 Brownsburg (Ind.), No. 26 Park Hill (Mo.), No. 27 Indianapolis Cathedral (Ind.), No. 28 Parkersburg South (W.Va.), No. 29 Broken Arrow (Okla.), No. 34 Portage (Ind.), No. 36 Perry Meridian (Ind.), No. 39 Southeast Polk (Iowa), No. 42 Waukee (Iowa), No. 44 Lincoln East (Neb.), No. 45 Marmion Academy (Ill.), No. 49 Kearney (Neb.), and No. 50 Goddard (Kansas)

Daniel Lewis is one of eight No. 1 seeds for Missouri (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The 2018 MAC Wrestling Championships will be held March 3-4 and hosted by Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Listed below is the pre-seeding for the MAC Wrestling Championship following today's conference call with all eight MAC head wrestling coaches. 125: 1. Michael McGee, Old Dominion 2. Kyle Akins, Buffalo 3. Brock Hudkins, Northern Illinois 4. Drew Hildebrandt, Central Michigan 5. Barlow McGhee, Missouri 6. Tomas Gutierrez, Eastern Michigan 7. Jake Ferri, Kent State 8. Trevor Giallombardo, Ohio 133: 1. John Erneste, Missouri 2. Cameron Kelly, Ohio 3. Bryan Lantry, Buffalo 4. Anthony Tutolo, Kent State 5. Noah Gonser, Eastern Michigan 6. Caleb Richardson, Old Dominion 7. Dresden Simon, Central Michigan 8. Alijah Jeffery, Northern Illinois 141: 1. Jaydin Eierman, Missouri 2. Mason Smith, Central Michigan 3. Alex Madrigal, Old Dominion 4. Tim Rooney, Kent State 5. Mario Guillen, Ohio 6. Sa'Derian Perry, Eastern Michigan 7. Jason Estevez, Buffalo 8. Anthony Rubino, Northern Illinois 149: 1. Grant Leeth, Missouri 2. Justin Oliver, Central Michigan 3. Kade Kowalski, Ohio 4. Kyle Springer, Eastern Michigan 5. Kenan Carter, Old Dominion 6. Nolan Baker, Northern Illinois 7. Nick Monico, Kent State 8. Nick Palumbo, Buffalo 157: 1. Joey Lavallee, Missouri 2. Larry Early, Old Dominion 3. Casey Sparkman, Kent State 4. Colin Heffernan, Central Michigan 5. Cullen Cummings, Ohio 6 - J.J. Wolfe, Eastern Michigan 7. Caden McWhirter, Northern Illinois 8. Eric Fasnacht, Buffalo 174: 1. Connor Flynn, Missouri 2. Zac Carson, Eastern Michigan 3. Logan Parks, Central Michigan 4. Isaac Bast, Kent State 5. Joseph Terry, Ohio 6. Andrew Scott, Northern Illinois 7. Noah Grover, Buffalo 8. Shane Jones, Old Dominion 174: 1. Daniel Lewis, Missouri 2. CJ Brucki, Central Michigan 3. Seldon Wright, Old Dominion 4. Andrew McNally, Eastern Michigan 5. Dylan Barreiro, Kent State 6. Quinton Rosser, Northern Illinois 7. Arsen Ashughyan, Ohio 8. Austin Weigel, Buffalo 184: 1. Canten Marriott, Missouri 2. Jordan Ellingwood, Central Michigan 3. Kayne MacCallum, Eastern Michigan 4. Bryce Gorman, Northern Illinois 5. Brett Perry, Buffalo 6. Antonio Agee, Old Dominion 7. Hunter Yeargan, Ohio 8. Colin McCracken, Kent State 197: 1. Willie Miklus, Missouri 2. Jordan Atienza, Central Michigan 3. Joe Ariola, Buffalo 4. Aaron Naples, Ohio 5. Kyle Conel, Kent State 6. Derek Hillman, Eastern Michigan 7. Noah Bushman, Old Dominion 8. Max Ihry, Northern Illinois 285: 1. Jake Gunning, Buffalo 2. Gage Hutchison, Eastern Michigan 3. Zack Parker, Ohio 4. Stephen Suglio, Kent State 5. Matt Stencel, Central Michigan 6. Ali Wahab, Old Dominion 7. Caleb Gossett, Northern Illinois 8. Wyatt Koelling, Missouri

Tervel Dlagnev coaching Kyle Snyder at the World Championships (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Four former national champions who combined for 528 career wins and a national title-winning coach have been selected for induction into the Jim Koch Division II Hall of Fame, it was announced Tuesday by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches' Association. Wrestlers Tervel Dlagnev of the University of Nebraska-Kearney, Travis Eggers of Upper Iowa University, Kyle Evans of the University of Central Oklahoma and Jason Rhoten of Minnesota State University-Mankato along with former UNK head coach Marc Bauer comprise the 2018 class. The five will be enshrined at the Jim Koch Division II Hall of Fame Banquet, which will be held Thursday, March 8 in Grand Ballroom C of the Cedar Rapids Convention Complex on the eve of start of the 2018 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. The social will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the program to start at 6 p.m. Questions about tickets can be addressed to Brock Wissmiller, UIU Assistant AD for External Affairs, at 563-425-5700 or wissmillerb@uiu.edu. An online registration and ticket site can be found at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nwca-jim-koch-division-ii-hall-of-fame-ceremony-tickets-43096615136. Dlagnev was a four-time All-American heavyweight at Nebraska-Kearney and finished with a with a phenomenal 167-19 record that included 103 bonus-point wins. Dlagnev went 38-8 as a freshman in 2004-05, winning the West Regional title before finishing sixth in the national tournament to earn All-America honors. He repeated as regional champion the next year and ended 42-10 as the national runner-up. Dlagnev capped his career with back-to-back national championships. He went 49-1 in 2006-07 and a perfect 38-0 as a senior, winning a 4-1 decision in his final match to hand the Lopers their first-ever team national championship. He was named NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year following his senior season and was also a four-time NWCA Academic All-American. Internationally, Dlagnev would go on to earn spots on eight United States national teams, winning bronze medals in 2009 and 2014 and finishing fifth in 2010 and 2013. Dlagnev reached the pinnacle of wrestling by making the U.S. Olympic Freestyle team in 2012 and 2016 finishing fifth both years. Eggers was a four-time regional finalist and three-time All-American at Upper Iowa who ended his career with a 100-34 record. He was the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Wrestler of the Year as a sophomore and earned All-America honors that season with a fourth-place finish before coming back the next season to finish as national runner-up. Eggers was NSIC Wrestler of the Year again as a senior in 2009-10 when he went 26-3 and captured both the regional and national championships at 165 pounds in leading the Peacocks to a third-place national tournament finish, their best-ever in Division II. Evans was a four-time All-American and two-time national champion at Central Oklahoma who finished with a 125-20 career record, including a school-record 25 technical falls. Evans captured the Midwest Regional title and finished sixth nationally in 2004-05 in compiling a 24-13 record, then repeated as regional champion and was national runner-up the following season in finishing 30-5. He became the first individual in UCO's rich history to complete a full season undefeated as a junior in 2006-07, putting together a perfect 39-0 campaign in winning the national title and leading the Bronchos to their 15th team championship. Evans capped his career with another sensational season as a senior, going 32-2 with a school-record 11 technical falls in winning a fourth straight Midwest Regional crown and repeating as national champion. Rhoten earned All-America honors four times at Minnesota State and compiled a fabulous 136-23 career record. He finished fourth in the national tournament as a redshirt freshman and then made it all the way to the national finals as a sophomore before losing a close decision to finish as runner-up. Rhoten missed the following year with a broken leg, but returned to finish his career with two dominating seasons. He placed third in the national tournament as a junior and then captured the national title the next season, defeating the two-time defending champion in the finals. Rhoten was named the NCAA Division II North Region Wrestler of the Year as a senior and was he was also a four-time NWCA Academic All-American. He led the Mavericks to three conference championships, three North Division Regional titles and three top-four national finishes (second, third and fourth). Bauer was a three-time All-American wrestler at Nebraska-Omaha, helping lead the Mavericks to their first Division II national championship in 1991 before getting into coaching and teaching. He took over as Nebraska-Kearney's head coach in 1999 and led the Lopers to amazing success during 17 years at the helm, racking up a stellar 218-81 dual record. Bauer directed UNK to 11 top-four national tournament finishes, winning titles in 2008, '12 and '13 while also finishing runner-up five times. The Lopers captured 14 conference/regional championships during his 17-year tenure in addition to claiming the national duals crown in 2003 and '07. Bauer was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Coach of the Year seven teams, Division II Coach of the Year twice and was awarded the Bob Bubb Excellence Award in 2005. He coached 90 All-America honors, including 22 national champions, and had 154 wrestlers named to the NWCA Division II Academic All-America team.

Link: Brackets GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the seeding and brackets for the 2018 ACC Wrestling Championship, which will be held this Saturday at North Carolina's Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Action begins at 11 a.m. Saturday, with the Championship Finals set for 7 p.m. Tickets are priced at $10 for adults. Admission is free for youth 18 and under. ACC students are admitted free with a valid student ID. Virginia Tech, which captured last year's ACC wrestling title, led all schools with four No. 1 seeds, followed by NC State with two. Virginia, Pitt, North Carolina and Duke each had one No. 1 seed. Hokies who earned top seeds include redshirt sophomore David McFadden (West Milford, New Jersey) at 165, freshman Hunter Bolen (Christiansburg, Virginia) at 174, junior Zack Zavatsky (Latrobe, Pennsylvania) at 184 and senior Jared Haught (Parkersburg, West Virginia) at 197. Zavatsky and Haught are both returning individual champions. NC State, ranked sixth nationally, had two No. 1 seeds in senior Kevin Jack (Danbury, Connecticut) at 141 pounds and redshirt freshman Hayden Hidlay (Lewistown, Pennsylvania) at 157. The regular season ACC champion had five of their wrestlers receive a No. 2 seed, giving the Wolfpack seven wrestlers seeded first or second in their weight classes, the most of any school. Gaining No. 2 seeds for the Wolfpack were redshirt junior Sean Fausz (Alexandria, Kentucky) at 125, redshirt senior Beau Donahue (Centreville, Virginia) at 149; redshirt senior Pete Renda (Topton, Pennsylvania) at 184; redshirt senior Michael Macchiavello (Monroe, North Carolina) at 197 and senior Michael Boykin Coatesville, Pennsylvania) at 285. Virginia redshirt freshman Louie Hayes (Orland Park, Illinois), ranked 12th nationally was the top-seeded wrestler at 125. Pitt senior Dom Forys (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), ranked ninth nationally and a returning ACC champion, was the top seed at 133. North Carolina fifth-year senior Troy Heilmann (South Plainfield, New Jersey), ranked eighth nationally, was the top seed at 149. Duke fifth-year senior Jacob Kasper (Lexington, Ohio), ranked third nationally at 285, was the top-seeded heavyweight. Seeds for the 64th Annual ACC Wrestling Championship 125: 1. Louie Hayes, Virginia 2. Sean Fausz, NC State 3. Kyle Norstrem, Virginia Tech 4. LJ Bentley, Pitt 5. Thayer Atkins, Duke 6. James Szymanski, North Carolina 133: 1. Dom Forys, Pitt 2. Dennis Gustafson, Virginia Tech 3. Tariq Wilson, NC State 4. Jack Mueller, Virginia 5. Zach Sherman, North Carolina 6. Josh Finesilver, Duke 141: 1. Kevin Jack, NC State 2. Brent Moore, Virginia Tech 3. A.C. Headlee, North Carolina 4. Nick Zanetta, Pitt 5. Jeremiah Reitz, Duke 6. Sam Martino, Virginia 149: 1. Troy Heilmann, North Carolina 2. Beau Donahue, NC State 3. Ryan Blees, Virginia Tech 4. Sam Krivus, Virginia 5. Robert Lee, Pitt 6. Brandon Leynaud, Duke 157: 1. Hayden Hidlay, NC State 2. Mitch Finesilver, Duke 3. Kennedy Monday, North Carolina 4. Taleb Rahmani, Pitt 5. Fred Green, Virginia 6. Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech 165: 1. David McFadden, Virginia Tech 2. Andrew Atkinson, Virginia 3. Brian Hamann, NC State 4. Jake Wentzel, Pitt 5. Josh McClure, North Carolina 6. Zach Finesilver, Duke 174: 1. Hunter Bolen, Virginia Tech 2. Ethan Ramos, North Carolina 3. Matt Finesilver, Duke 4. Daniel Bullard, NC State 5. Will Schany, Virginia 6. Tommy O'Brien, Pitt 184: 1. Zack Zavatsky, Virginia Tech 2. Pee Renda, NC State 3. Chip Ness, North Carolina 4. Gregg Harvey, Pitt 5. Drew Peck, Virginia 6. Kaden Russell, Duke 197: 1. Jared Haught, Virginia Tech 2. Michael Macchiavello, NC State 3. Danny Chaid, North Carolina 4. Kellan Stout, Pitt 5. Alec Schenk, Duke 6. Jay Aiello, Virginia 285: 1. Jacob Kasper, Duke 2. Michael Boykin, NC State 3. Cory Daniel, North Carolina 4. Ryan Solomon, Pitt 5. Andrew Dunn, Virginia Tech 6. Tyler Love, Virginia

The NCAA announced the field of competitors for the 2018 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championship as well as the brackets revealing who these individuals will compete against. The NCAA Division II Championships take place March 9-10 at U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Link: Brackets

Obe Blanc (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) DOVER, Del. -- Obe Blanc has been named Coach of the Year by the 2018 National Collegiate Open. Blanc serves as an assistant coach at NC State where his athletes have recognized him as being instramental in their training and development throughout the season, in addition to his leadership mat-side during the championship event. With the support of Blanc's mentorship, two Wolfpack wrestlers (Jamel Morris and Malik McDonald) earned National Collegiate Open Championships at the 10th annual event. The two titles moved NC State into a second place tie for the most NCO Champions all-time, sitting one champion shy of category leader Rutgers. The Wolfpack program finished the day with an impressive eight student-athletes claiming All-American honors. Blanc will be presented with the NCO Coach of the Year Battle Axe.

Bryan Pearsall (Photo/Penn Athletics) PHILADELPHIA -- Bryan Pearsall has been elevated to Head Assistant Coach of the University of Pennsylvania wrestling team, head coach Roger Reina announced today. "This is a great day for Penn Wrestling," said Reina. "Our program continues to gain momentum, and positioning talented staff is a top priority. This past summer, one of the first things I did when I became head coach was identify Bryan as someone I wanted as part of our coaching staff. He was a talented wrestler in both folkstyle and freestyle and had quickly established himself as one of the bright young coaching minds in NCAA Division I wrestling. Over this past season, our entire program has benefited from his skills and it was evident that Bryan was the right man at the right time to be named head assistant coach." Pearsall, a Penn State graduate and a member of three NCAA championship teams with the Nittany Lions, was a four-year starter in State College while also competing in freestyle for the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Upon graduation, he began his coaching career at Rutgers before spending the 2014-15 through 2016-17 seasons at Army West Point. "I would like to thank Roger Reina and Matt Valenti for their belief in my ability to perform in this new role," said Pearsall. "The trust we have developed within each other in just one season of working together is something I deeply value. I am grateful to have the opportunity to work with such great leaders who have invested so much towards the success of this program. I have 100-percent faith in the direction of Penn Wrestling. This is the very best combination of premier academics, Division I wrestling, and elite Olympic Regional Training Center in the country. This program has produced Olympic and NCAA champions, EIWA champions, Ivy League champions, along with a host of freestyle and Greco roman All-Americans and national champions over its 110-plus years of competition. We currently have the right leadership in place to ensure that we not only live up to those expectations, but exceed all that was previously accomplished." Pearsall has worked alongside Reina and the Penn coaching staff to produce one of the most highly-regarded recruiting classes in the country. Through just the Early Decision process, Penn has added three Top-100 wrestlers - two of whom are ranked inside the Top-40 - and four wrestlers ranked inside the Top-20 at their respective weight. In addition, Penn's incoming group has excelled in the Olympic styles with a three-time Fargo champion, multiple Fargo All-Americans and a U.S. Cadet World Team member among the nine grapplers already admitted to Penn in the Class of 2022. In addition to his work with the Quakers, Pearsall serves as a coach with the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center and is head coach of the Pennsylvania Cadet Freestyle Team at Fargo. "Our program is extremely invested in the International Styles," said Pearsall. "The Pennsylvania Regional Training Center along with my role coaching the PAWF have allowed me the opportunity to give back to the Pennsylvania wrestling community, which is greatly rewarding for me given that I have come full circle." Pearsall and the Quakers will compete in the 2018 EIWA Championships at Hofstra March 3-4 before competing at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland March 15-17.

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The Big Ten Conference announced the preliminary seeds for the 2018 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 3-4 at Michigan State. Six schools boast at least one top-seeded wrestler, with Penn State leading the way with four top-seeded wrestlers. Ohio State and Penn State will bring a seeded wrestler in each of the 10 weight classes, while Michigan boasts a seeded grappler in nine classes. The pre-seeds, as voted on by the conference's coaches, rank the top eight wrestlers in seven weight classes, along with all 14 starters in three weight classes due to the Big Ten receiving nine or more NCAA Championships qualifier allocations in those classes. Penn State boasts four top-seeded wrestlers, with 149-pounder Zain Retherford, 157-pounder Jason Nolf, 174-pounder Mark Hall and 184-pounder Bo Nickal. Ohio State and Michigan each hold a pair of top seeds. The 133-pounder Stevan Micic and 285-pounder Adam Coon pace the Wolverines, while 141-pounder Joey McKenna and 197-pounder Kollin Moore earned top billing in their weight classes for the Buckeyes. The Fighting Illini's Isaiah Martinez (165), the Hawkeyes' Michael Kemerer (157) and the Scarlet Knights' Nick Suriano (125) round out the group of top-ranked grapplers. This year's field contains a combined 15 Big Ten individual championships (nine wrestlers) and 11 NCAA individual championships (eight wrestlers). In addition, Illinois' Martinez and Ohio State's Nathan Tomasello are looking to become only the 15th and 16th wrestlers in conference history to win four individual titles. For more information on the 2018 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, visit the Big Ten Championships Central page. The complete list of Big Ten Championships pre-seeds can be found below. 125: 1. Nick Suriano, RU 2. Spencer Lee, IOWA 3. Nathan Tomasello, OSU 4. Sebastian Rivera, NU 5. Ethan Lizak, MINN 6. Luke Welch, PUR 7. RayVon Foley, MSU 8. Drew Mattin, MICH 9. Travis Piotrowski, ILL 10. Elijah Oliver, IND 11. Mitch Maginnis, NEB 12. Johnny Jimenez, WIS 13. Brandon Cray, MD 14. Carson Kuhn, PSU 133: 1. Stevan Micic, MICH 2. Luke Pletcher, OSU 3. Mitch McKee, MINN 4. Jason Renteria, NEB 5. Scott Delvecchio, RU 6. Corey Keener, PSU 7. Dylan Duncan, ILL 8. Ben Thornton, PUR 141: 1. Joey McKenna, OSU 2. Nick Lee, PSU 3. Michael Carr, ILL 4. Chad Red, NEB 5. Nate Limmex, PUR 6. Tommy Thorn, MINN 7. Cole Weaver, IND 8. Eli Stickley, WIS 149: 1. Zain Retherford, PSU 2. Brandon Sorensen, IOWA 3. Ryan Deakin, NU 4. Colton McCrystal, NEB 5. Ke-Shawn Hayes, OSU 6. Eleazar Deluca, RU 7. Alfred Bannister, MD 8. Malik Amine, MICH 9. Steve Bleise, MINN 10. Cole Martin, WIS 11. Austin Nash, PUR 12. Eric Barone, ILL 13. Jwan Britton, MSU 14. AJ Raya, IND 157: T1. Michael Kemerer, IOWA T1. Jason Nolf, PSU 3. Alec Pantaleo, MICH 4. Micah Jordan, OSU 5. Tyler Berger, NEB 6. Andrew Crone, WIS 7. Jake Short, MINN 8. John Vanschenkbrill, RU 165: 1. Isaiah Martinez, ILL 2. Alex Marinelli, IOWA 3. Vincenzo Joseph, PSU 4. Richie Lewis, RU 5. Evan Wick, WIS 6. Nick Wanzek, MINN 7. Logan Massa, MICH 8. Isaiah White, NEB 9. Te'Shan Campbell, OSU 10. Jacob Morrissey, PUR 11. Bryce Martin, IND 12. Austin Hiles, MSU 13. Brendan Burnham, MD 14. Mike Sepkle, NU 174: 1. Mark Hall, PSU 2. Bo Jordan, OSU 3. Myles Amine, MICH 4. Dylan Lydy, PUR 5. Johnny Sebastian, NU 6. Devin Skatzka, IND 7. Joey Gunther, IOWA 8. Ryan Christensen, WIS 184: 1. Bo Nickal, PSU 2. Myles Martin, OSU 3. Dom Abounader, MICH 4. Emery Parker, ILL 5. Nick Gravina, RU 6. Tyler Venz, NEB 7. Ricky Robertson, WIS 8. Mitch Bowman, IOWA 197: 1. Kollin Moore, OSU 2. Shakur Rasheed, PSU 3. Cash Wilcke, IOWA 4. Kevin Beazley, MICH 5. Hunter Ritter, WIS 6. Christian Brunner, PUR 7. Zack Chakonis, NU 8. Eric Schultz, NEB 285: 1. Adam Coon, MICH 2. Kyle Snyder, OSU 3. Nick Nevills, PSU 4. Sam Stoll, IOWA 5. Youssif Hemida, MD 6. Conan Jennings, NU 7. Shawn Streck, PUR 8. Rylee Streifel, MINN

Oklahoma State Wesleyan University has named R.J. Sweat as its new head wrestling coach. Sweat replaces Colby Robertson, who abruptly left the position at OKWU in mid-December, in his first season heading up the brand-new wrestling program. The school scrapped its entire 2017-18 season upon Robertson's departure. “I am extremely excited that R.J. is joining our staff to lead our wrestling program,” said Oklahoma Wesleyan athletic director Mark Molder. “His enthusiasm, intensity, and experience are qualities he brings with him as he begins to direct our program.” Prior to being hired by OKWU, Sweat had served as an assistant coach at Coweta and Broken Arrow high schools in Oklahoma. He wrestled at Broken Arrow and at Oklahoma State. ‘This is an incredible opportunity,” said Sweat. “It was a door opened up by God to bring me to Oklahoma Wesleyan. I'm very excited to lead this program and help grow the sport of wrestling in Oklahoma.” Oklahoma Wesleyan revealed its plans to add a men's intercollegiate wrestling program in early December 2016. In late March of this year, the school announced that it had hired Colby Robinson to head up the new program. Prior to coming to Bartlesville, Robinson had been head coach at DeSmet High School in St. Louis, and an assistant at Missouri Baptist. Located in Bartlesville about 45 miles north of Tulsa, Oklahoma Wesleyan University can trace its roots back to 1909. At its website, here's how Oklahoma Wesleyan describes itself: "As an evangelical Christian university of The Wesleyan Church, OKWU models a way of thought, a way of life, and a way of faith grounded in these four pillars (Christ. Scripture. Truth. Wisdom.). We are a place of serious study, honest questions, and critical engagement, all in the context of a liberal arts community that feels like family." The four-year school has approximately 1,300 students, with about half of them at the Bartlesville campus.

A Kansas high school had two of its wrestlers win individual titles at the state championships on Saturday, just days after their popular assistant coach had passed away in his home. Newton High School's 44-year-old assistant coach J.J. Thaw was found dead on his sofa Wednesday morning when he did not report for work, just as eight of his wrestlers were preparing for this weekend's state tournament. Despite losing their beloved assistant coach, Grant Treasler, 113-pound sophomore, and Wyatt Hendrickson, junior at 195, both won individual Kansas state titles in Class 5A competition by pinning their finals opponents. The overall team performance helped Newton High place sixth in the final team standings, with 97.5 team points. Prior to the finals, the state wrestling championships took a minute of silence to honor Thaw, who had been the Railers assistant coach for 15 years. Jermaine J. Thaw had deep roots within Newton, with a family heritage connected to sport. His father Jack Thaw served as head wrestling coach at Newton High from 1974-1996; his mother, JoAnne, is the long-time gymnastics coach at Newton. J.J. Thaw wrestled at Newton, making it to the Kansas state finals three straight years, wining a title in 1991. In addition to serving as an assistant wrestling coach at his high school alma mater, Thaw was a paraprofessional with Newton's adaptive physical education program, working with special needs students. "J.J. was extremely passionate about wrestling his enthusiasm and love for the sport had a major positive impact on many, many people," said former Newton High wrestler and current Hutchinson coach Mike Garcia. Thaw's cause of death has yet to be determined but foul play is not suspected. He had struggled with flu symptoms and a toe infection for the majority of the wrestling season. An autopsy is scheduled for early next week. Services for J.J. Thaw have been announced. Recitation of the Holy Rosary will be 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church following Rosary. Memorial Mass will be 2:00 p.m. Thursday, March 1 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery in Newton.

The pre-seeded brackets have been released for the Big 12 Championships, which take place Saturday and Sunday at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. The pre-seeds are tentative. Seeds will be finalized on Friday evening before the tournament begins. The first session of the event will take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. MT. Link: Brackets

Arizona State captured the Pac-12 title CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Arizona State successfully defended its Pac-12 title, as it captured its 18th Pac-12 wrestling crown overall at the 2018 Pac-12 Wrestling Championships. The ninth-ranked Sun Devils posted 96 points behind six individual Pac-12 champions: Ali Naser (133), Jason Tsirtis (149), Josh Shields (157), Anthony Valencia (165), Zahid Valencia (174) and Kendall Norfleet (184). CSU Bakersfield's Sergio Mendez (125) was honored with the most falls at the Pac-12 Championships, while Oregon State's Amar Dhesi (285) was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships. Oregon State, finished runner-up with 70 points. CSU Bakersfield finished third with 52.5 points, followed by Stanford with 47.5 points and Cal Poly with 37 points. 125 pounds: No. 11 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) def. No. 13 Ryan Millhof (Arizona State). D; 3-2 • Tied 2-2 heading into the third round, Bresser picked up one point for riding time to pull out the win. • Bresser is now a two-time Pac-12 champion adding to his 2015 title, and the only Beaver to hold a title at 125. • Sergio Mendez (CSU Bakersfield) took third place over Gabe Townsell (Stanford) with a fall (2:16). Yoshito Funakoshi (Cal Poly) placed fifth. • The Pac-12 received four allocations at 125 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Bresser, NCAA qualifiers include Millhof, Mendez and Townsell. 133 pounds: No. 15 Ali Naser (Arizona State) def. Mason Pengilly (Stanford). D; 8-3 • Naser led 4-2 after the first round, increased his lead to 5-2 after two rounds, and then pulled off the victory with a 8-3 decision. • Naser becomes just the fifth Sun Devil to win the Pac-12 Championship at 133 pounds, joining Erc Larkin (1999), David Douglas (2001), Mike Simpson (2003) and Dalton Brady (2016). • Sean Nickell (CSU Bakersfield) took third place over Devan Turner (Oregon State) with a decision; 6-3. Ty Schilling (Cal Poly) finished in fifth. • The Pac-12 received two allocations at 133 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Naser, Pengilly also qualifies for the NCAA Championships 141 pounds: Colton Schilling (Cal Poly) def. Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield). MD; 15-6 • Schilling held 4-1 lead after one round, 10-4 after two, then put the bout away with a 15-6 major decision • Schilling, who has posted seven straight wins, becomes the second Mustang to earn the Pac-12 title at 141 pounds and the first since Chad Mendes in 2008. • Jack Hathaway (Oregon State) finished third with a 6-0 decision over Nikko Villareal (Arizona State). Isaiah Locsin (Stanford) placed fifth. 149 pounds: No. 10 Jason Tsirtis (Arizona State) def. Josh Cortez (Cal Poly). D; 3-2 • Tied 2-2 after two rounds, Tsirtis picked up one point early in the third round to hold on for 3-2 decision. • Tsirtis becomes the third Sun Devil in four years to capture the crown at 149 pounds, joining Christian Pagdilao (2015) and Josh Maruca (2017). • Josh Reyes (Oregon State) earned third place with a 11-5 decision over Jake Barry (Stanford). Kalani Tonge (CSU Bakersfield) finished fifth. 157 pounds: No. 5 Josh Shields (Arizona State) def. Hunter Wilits (Oregon State). MD; 10-2 • Scoreless after one round, Shields took a 5-0 lead after two rounds and extended it in the third round for a 10-2 major decision. • Shields, ranked No. 5 by InterMat, successfully defended his crown and joins former Sun Devil Brian Stith (2005, 2007) as a two-time Pac-12 champion at 157 for Arizona State. • Paul Fox (Stanford) picked up a third-place finish with an 8-5 decision over Coleman Hammond (CSU Bakersfield). Jett Moy (Cal Poly) placed fifth. • The Pac-12 received three allocations at 157 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Shields, Wilits and Fox also qualify for the NCAA Championships. 165 pounds: No. 15 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) def. Lorenzo De La Riva (CSU Bakersfield). Fall; 6:11 • Valencia posted a 3-2 lead after the first round, then extended it to 13-5 with a near fall at the end of the second round. He capped the bout with a fall in the third round (6:11) to successfully defend his Pac-12 crown at 165. • Valencia improved his record to 25-8 for the year. • Jared Hill (Stanford) held on for third place with a 10-9 decision over Rodney Williams (Oregon State). Ryan Farina (Cal Poly) finished in fifth. 174 pounds: No. 1 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) def. No. 9 Keaton Subjeck (Stanford). MD; 15-7 • In a bout between two top-ten ranked individuals, Valencia took a 7-4 lead after one, then 9-6 after two rounds before closing out the bout with a 15-7 major decision to defend his title at 174. • Valencia, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 174, stayed undefeated on the year with a 27-0 record this season. • Myles Terry (Oregon State) earned third-place honors with a 2-1 decision over Bryan Battisto (CSU Bakersfield). Ryan Anderson (Cal Poly) finished fifth. • Following the Championships, Subjeck faced Terry in a true second place bout to determine the Pac-12's second of two allocations it received at 174 for the NCAA Championships. Subjeck defeated Terry with a fall (4:23) to join Valencia as NCAA qualifiers. 184 pounds: Kendall Norfleet (Arizona State) def. Matt Wilhelm (Cal Poly). D; 9-4 • Norfleet picked up Arizona State's sixth and final individual crown of the night. • Norfleet is Arizona State's third champion in four years at 184, joining Blake Stauffer (2015, 2016). • Dom Duchame (CSU Bakersfield) picked up third place with a 14-10 decision over Bob Coleman (Oregon State). Austin Flores (Stanford) placed fifth. 197 pounds: No. 11 Corey Griego (Oregon State) def. No. 14 Matt Williams (CSU Bakersfield). D; 11-5 • Griego led 2-1 after one round, pushed it to 10-5 after two rounds, then closed out the bout with a 11-5 decision to successfully defend his conference title at 197. • Griego gives the Beavers their third title in four years, and fifth in seven years, at 197 pounds. • Nathan Traxler (Stanford) placed third with a 9-3 decision over Tom Lane (Cal Poly. Cade Belshay (Arizona State) finished fifth. • The Pac-12 received four allocations at 197 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Griego, Williams, Lane and Traxler also qualify for the NCAA Championships. 285 pounds: No. 7 Amar Dhesi (Oregon State) def. No. 8 Nathan Butler (Stanford). MD; 11-2 • Dhesi jumped out to a 6-2 lead after one round, then cruised to a 11-2 major decision • Dhesi becomes a two-time Pac-12 champion at 285, adding to his 2016 Pac-12 title. • No. 9-ranked Tanner Hall (Arizona State) took third place over Spencer Empey (Cal Poly) with a fall (4:30). Mark Penyacsek (CSU Bakersfield) placed fifth. • The Pac-12 received three allocations at 285 for the NCAA Championships. In addition to Dhesi, Butler and Hall also qualify for the NCAA Championships. Attendance at Oregon State's Gill Coliseum for the first round of the championships was 1,472, while 1,679 fans were in attendance for the evening's championship round.

Ithaca College captured the Mideast Region title ITHACA, N.Y. -- The third-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team was back on the mats inside Ithaca College's Athletics & Events Center on Sunday when it had nine grapplers still alive on the final day of 2018 NCAA Mideast Regional Qualifying. When the blood, sweat and cheers finally died down inside Glazer Arena it was the Bombers that came out on top, qualifying seven wrestlers for the NCAA Division III National Championships en route to taking the Mideast Region Team Championship with 145.0 points. Ithaca entered the day with a healthy lead in the team standings over eventual team runner-up Stevens Institute of Technology. With eight grapplers still alive in the Championship Semifinal Round and another wrestler still battling in the Wrestle-back Rounds, IC seemed poised for a big day on Sunday. The Bombers lived up to most of those hopes, as six wrestlers punched their ticket to Nationals in Cleveland, Ohio, with wins in their respective Semifinal Round bouts during the morning session. Junior 125-pounder Ferdinand Mase, sophomore 141-pounder Ben Brisman (5th NWCA | 4th d3wrestle.com), senior 165-pounder Nick Velez (4th NWCA | 3rd d3wrestle.com), senior 174-pounder Jaison White (8th NWCA), junior 184-pounder Jake Ashcraft (1st NWCA | 1st d3wrestle.com) and junior heavyweight Jake O'Brien (2nd NWCA | 2nd d3wrestle.com) each scored wins in the morning to make the title bout of their respective divisions. The afternoon session was headlined by two performances. Sophomore 133-pounder Tito Colom battled through the wrestle-backs after falling to unanimous No. 1-ranked Troy Stanich of Stevens Institute of Technology in his first matchup of the day; Stanich went on to be named Most Outstanding Wrestler in a vote by the 17 head coaches at the meet. Colom won twice in the wrestle-backs, punching his ticket to the finals after defeating TCNJ's James Goldschmidt in a 5-2 decision in the third-place match. Ashcraft put the cap on Ithaca's dominant team victory with a second-period pin of Cortland's Deuly Espinal in the 184-pound title bout, scoring the Bombers lone regional championship of the afternoon session. With Sunday's performance, the Bombers are poised to have the most wrestlers competing at the National Championships since Ithaca sent eight to the year-end tournament in 2011.

Johnson & Wales won the title at the NCAA Northeast Regional WORCESTER, Mass. -- After opening a 27-point lead on day one, Sunday's day two of the NCAA Northeast Regional was essentially a victory lap for the Johnson & Wales University wrestling team. The fourth-ranked Wildcats ran away from the competition to capture their second-straight championship with 156.5 points. After sending a program-best five wrestlers to nationals last year, Johnson & Wales one-upped itself by qualifying seven wrestlers for the NCAA Championships, March 9-10 in Cleveland, Ohio. JWU's national qualifiers are: junior Jay Albis (125 pounds), senior Joao Vicente (133 pounds), junior Joe Ferinde (141 pounds), junior Adrian Gonzalez (165 pounds), junior Khamri Thomas (184 pounds), sophomore Michael DiNardo (197 pounds) and senior Jonah Aurelio (285 pounds). Albis - who was named Most Outstanding Wrestler - Ferinde and Thomas all won their individual weight class. It was a top-five battle in the finals of 125 pounds. Albis was in control the entire match against second-ranked Peter Del Gallo of Southern Maine, posting a 10-4 decision to win his second regional title. Albis opened the day by beating Roger Williams' Nick Barbaria, 7-4, in the semifinals. At 141 pounds, Ferinde trailed for most of the championship match against NYU's Sean Lyons. A late takedown and two near fall points gave the junior his second-straight title. Ferinde avenged a loss from earlier in the year by beating Castleton's Max Temple, 5-2, in the semifinals. Tied at 3-2 in the second overtime, Thomas got control of Western New England's John Boyle then took him down with six seconds left to win the title at 184 pounds. Thomas punched his ticket with a 14-4 major decision in the semifinals against WPI's Dan Wensley. While the first six national qualifiers knew they had their spot locked up before the finals, the senior Aurelio was either going to win the third-place match and qualify or have his collegiate career come to an end. He scored a takedown of WPI's Nathan Shrewsbury in the second round of overtime for his first trip to the NCAA Championship. Aurelio nearly pulled off the upset of the number one seed, Isaiah Bellamy of Wesleyan in the semifinals, but was defeated 3-1 during the sudden victory period. Riding points decided the winner at 133 pounds. Vicente got a late escape, but NYU's Matthew Noble had exactly one minute of riding time to get the bonus point needed for the victory. Vicente made quick work of Springfield's Ian Tolotti, pinning him in 1:51 to get his spot in the finals. Pulling off a big upset was Gonzalez as he posted a 13-3 major decision over the top seed, Brenan Marion of WPI. He couldn't pull off another upset in the finals as RWU's Taylor Shay took him down in the second round of sudden victory. A strong third period vaulted DiNardo into the finals and a trip to Cleveland as he beat Coast Guard's Jonathan Wagner, 9-3. He came up just short in the championship bout, falling 7-3 to seventh-ranked and top-seeded Devon Carrillo from Wesleyan. Thomas Grippi stayed alive at 149 pounds by beating Justin Cochram of Roger Williams, 10-5, in the consolation bracket. After losing his next match, he came back to earn All-Region honors by pinning Wesleyan's Carter Armendarez in 1:47 Brady Robin won a narrow 1-0 decision over WNEU's Ryan Monteiro in his opening consolation match at 157 pounds. He came up one match short of making the third-place bout, but he picked up his first All-Region award by earning an 11- major decision over Williams' Jake Savoca. The consolation bracket at 174 pounds featured the number two and three seeded wrestlers and unfortunately JWU's Michael Gargano came out on the short end, falling to Roger Williams' Brett Leonard, 6-0.

Wartburg won its sixth straight NCAA regional title DUBUQUE, Iowa -- The No. 1 Wartburg wrestling team six-peated as NCAA regional team champions Sunday with 181.5 points. The Knights qualified nine for the National Championships. Championship Semifinals & Consolation Third Round 125: Brennen Doebel (WB) win by 11-8 dec vs. Brock Henderson (Coe) 133: #3 Brock Rathbun (WB) win by 13-3 maj dec vs. Kyle Clough (Luther) 141: Brady Ruden (Coe) won by fall at 3:46 vs. Martine Sandoval (WB) 149: #1 Cross Cannone (WB) win by 7-1 dec vs. #6 Bradan Birt (Millikin) 157: #2 Logan Thomsen (WB) win by 9-2 dec vs. Egan Berta (North Central) 165: #1 Mike Ross (WB) win by fall at 1:24 vs. Jeremy Vester (Central) 174: #1 Eric DeVos (WB) win by 18-2 tech fall vs. Matt Marcotte (North Central) 184: #2 Tyler Lutes (WB) win by 15-3 maj dec vs. Awais Arain (Loras) 197: #2 Kyle Fank (WB) win by 15-4 maj dec vs. Ethan Cain (Dubuque) 285: Tyler Ortmann (Cornell) won by 5-2 dec vs. #1 Lance Evans (WB) Notes: -Doebel moves his winning streak to six -Doebel, Rathbun, Cannone, Thomsen, Ross, DeVos, Lutes, qualifies for Nationals. -Rathbun moves winning streak to 10 -Rathbun's 20th victory of the season -Sandoval is eliminated -Cannone remains undefeated (29-0) -Ross remains undefeated (21-0) -Ross' 10th fall of the season -DeVos remains undefeated (13-0) -DeVos moves his overall winning streak to 31, which dates back to the National Championship match in 2016 -Lutes moves his winning streak to eight -Fank moved winning streak to 18 -This was Evans' first loss of the season Regional Championships and Third Place 125: Brennen Doebel (WB) won by medical forfeit 133: #3 Brock Rathbun (WB) won by 10-4 dec vs. Brendan Gould (Augustana) 149: Cross Cannone (WB) won by medical forfeit 157: #2 Logan Thomsen (WB) wins by 8-0 maj dec vs. #6 Cole Erickson (Coe) 165: #1 Mike Ross (WB) win by 8-0 maj dec vs. Ben Hewson (Cornell) 174: #1 Eric DeVos (WB) win by 6-2 dec vs. #5 Jake Voss (Coe) 184: #2 Tyler Lutes (WB) win by fall at 4:32 vs. Keajion Jennings (Millikin) 197: #2 Kyle Fank (WB) won by 6-1 dec vs. #3 Guy Patron (Loras) 285: #1 Lance Evans (WB) win by 4-3 dec vs. Emonte Logan (North Central) Notes: -Central Regional Individual Champions: Doebel, Rathbun, Cannone, Thomsen, Ross, DeVos, Lutes, Fank -Rathbun moves winning streak to 11 -Cannone remains undefeated (30-0) -Thomsen moves winning streak to five -Ross remains undefeated (22-0) -DeVos remains undefeated (14-0) -DeVos moves his overall winning streak to 32, which dates back to the National Championship match in 2016 -DeVos is now a three-time Regional Champion -Lutes moves his winning streak to nine -Fank moved winning streak to 19 -The Knights had eight individual Regional Champions, most in program history -Wartburg six-peats as Regional Team Champions, 181.5 pts. -Wartburg has won this event since its inception -Head coach Eric Keller wins Regional Coach of the Year -The Knights have nine qualifiers for the National Championships March 9-10

This weekend, the Berlin High School wrestlers who are participating at the 2018 Connecticut state open will do so without their long-time coach. Jim DayJim Day, who had coached wrestling at the school since 1981, died Thursday at age 64. Day's Redcoats wrestlers finished either first or second in the Connecticut state title race from 1985 to 1994 ... then earned four state team championships from 1999 through 2003. Day could also claim 20 conference crowns and four individual New England tournament champs. In his nearly three decades as wrestling coach at the high school located just outside Hartford, Day tallied nearly 450 victories. Day also served as a special education instructor, and, for a time, was Berlin High's athletic director. "It's a devastating loss," current school athletic director Jeff Mauri, told The Citizen newspaper . "The amount of lives he touched is unmatched." It would appear that coach Day and the community he served were a great match. "He taught a lot of life lessons that get lost nowadays, especially in sports," said former local youth wrestling coach Roger Moss. "It's a gap we're going to have a hard time filing." "I think coaches are successful because they land in a community that has the same values, or at least a group in that community has the same values as the coach does," Day said in a 2011 interview with The Citizen. "I don't think that the level of commitment that I expected in wrestling would have flown in many communities. But in Berlin, that hard-work ethic, focus and passion -- there were a group of people that believed in that. That's why it flourished. It very easily could have failed in another community." Berlin school superintendent Brian Benigni weighed in with his thoughts of the long-time high school wrestling coach. "Jim loved Berlin. And he loved the kids," Benigni told the Hartford Courant. "He died way too young. He was an icon in town. Former teacher. Former athletic director. Excellent coach. He built the wrestling program into one of the best in the state." "Honestly, he was the best coach I ever had," former Berlin wrestler and New England champion Nick Arborio told the New Britain Herald. "He was always in my corner, always giving me advice. He meant the world to me and to the wrestling team. He put his heart and soul into the program." Day was inducted into the New England Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004 and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Connecticut Chapter in 2010 while also becoming the driving force in the creation of Berlin's own athletic hall of fame in 2008, which welcomed him in 2011.

Northeastern Oklahoma claimed the team title at the NJCAA National Championships COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -- Led by nine All-Americans, but no individual champions, Northeastern Oklahoma claimed the team title at the NJCAA National Championships on Saturday, a full 23 points ahead of runner-up Clackamas. Defending champion Iowa Central was third. The team title was clinched during the consolation rounds, as no team could catch Joe Renfro's Norse during the gold-medal finals. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M had only one finalist, returning champion Wyatt Jordan of Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (165), who was soundly defeated in the finals by Troy Keller of Niagra, 10-0. Read complete story on TheMat.com ... Placewinners 125: 1st: Nodir Safarov (Northwest Wyoming) dec. Benny Gomez (Muskegon), 11-7 3rd: Jaxon Cole (Western Wyoming) dec. Boo Dryden (Northeast Oklahoma), 3-0 5th: Marcelino Lopez (Cowley) dec. Dillon Prutch (Labette), 10-9 7th: Esco Walker jr. (North Idaho) dec. Javier Moreno (Ellsworth), 9-7 133: 1st: Todd Small (Iowa Central) pinned Munkhbat Bat-erdene (Northwest Kansas Tech), 4:10 3rd: Gage Gomez (Barton) dec. D'andre Brumfield (Iowa Western), 8-3 5th: Ottis Rollins (Colby) dec. Justin Folley (Ellsworth), 11-7 7th: Jack Karstetter (Northeast Oklahoma) dec. Tramon Jenkins (Spartanburg), 19-16 141: 1st: Austin Anderly (NIACC) dec. Christian Kanzler (Lincoln), 3-2 3rd: Tyree Johnson (Triton) dec. Ralph Tovar (Clackamas), 7-5 5th: Eric Clarke (Iowa Central) M FOR Kevin Kissane (Pratt) 7th: Jake Thompson (Western Wyoming) DEF Cody Karstetter (Northeast Oklahoma) 149: 1st: Kenny Astle (Western Wyoming) pin Michael Zachary (Iowa Western), 3:55 3rd: Kendon Lee (Northeast Oklahoma) pinned David Hollingsworth (Iowa Lakes), 1:05 5th: Jasiah Williams (Clackamas) pinned Christopher Meloni (Nassau), 6:16 7th: Mark Voss (Ridgewater) dec. John Reina (Niagara), 6-3 157: 1st: Kade Sander (Barton) dec. Ethan Karsten (Iowa Central), 5-4, tb2 3rd: Steven Lawrence (Ellsworth) pinned Isaiah Diggs (Clackamas), 4:59 5th: Liam Corbett (Highline) dec. Thomas Stevenson (North Idaho), 7-3 7th: Noah Jackson (NIACC) maj. dec. Tate Allison (Northwest Wyoming), 10-2 165: 1st: Troy Keller (Niagara) maj. dec. Wyatt Jordan (Northeast Oklahoma), 10-0 3rd: Michial Foy (Harper) pinned Dillon Ulrey (Clackamas), 6:40 5th: Jacob Swift (North Idaho) dec. Jose Rodriguez (Iowa Central), 16-9 7th: Sangobunmi Smith (Iowa Lakes) pinned Justin Anderson (Northeastern), 0:18 174: 1st: Dylan Reel (Clackamas) dec. Anthony Collins (Ellsworth), 8-6, sv 3rd: Cody Kingery (Iowa Western) dec. Devin Crawl (Northeast Oklahoma), 5-3 5th: David Kelly (Barton) dec. Michael Abidin (Nassau), 9-7 SV 7th: Cameron Page (Jamestown) dec. Matt Hebel (Western Wyoming), 11-8 184: 1st: Tanner Harvey (Southwestern Oregon) dec. Levi Perry (North Idaho), 14-9 3rd: Nick Maximov (Clackamas) pinned Ottis Peeler (Iowa Western), 5:00 5th: Alex Kaufmann (Northeast Oklahoma) dec. Antrez Clagon (Iowa Central), 1-0 7th: Joseph White (Northwest Kansas Tech) pinned Jeff Oakes (Northwest Wyoming), 4:06 197: 1st: Wade French (Western Wyoming) dec. Tyree Sutton (Iowa Central), 10-8, sv. 3rd: Baker Hadwan (Muskegon) dec. Amos Daigbe (Highline), 3-2 TB2 5th: Mason Hawkins (Rochester) dec. Seth Ham (Iowa Western), 9-8 7th: Zeke Silva (Northeast Oklahoma) dec. Cory Schmidt (Itasca), 8-6 285: 1st: Odgerel Batkhishig (Northwest Kansas Tech) maj. dec. Lisiate Anau (Northwest Wyoming), 10-1 3rd: Brian Andrews (Northeast Oklahoma) maj. dec. Damian Trujillo (North Idaho), 13-3 5th: Bryan Ditchman (Joliet) pinned Darryl Aiello (Clackamas), 1:05 7th: Jonathan Solorzano (Nassau) FOR Jimsher Sidhu (NIACC) Team Standings 1. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 147.5 2. Clackamas 124.5 3. Iowa Central 121 4. Western Wyoming 99.5 5. Iowa Western 86.5 6. North Idaho 80.5 7. Ellsworth 76.5 8. Northwest Wyoming 9. Barton 70.5 10. Northwest Kansas Tech 61 11. Niagara 46.5 12. Iowa Lakes 44 13. Nassau 43 14. Muskegon 42.5 15. Harper 37.5 16. Southwestern Oregon 35 17. NIACC 34.5 18. Rochester 32.5 19. Highline 29.5 20. Spartanburg 26.5 21. Triton 25 22. Joliet 22 22. Pratt 22 24. Labette 20.5 25. Lincoln 19

Gregg Moore, Mike Shearer and Bob Purcell were welcomed into the NJCAA Hall of Fame Two former wrestlers, Gregg Moore and Mike Shearer -- along with long-time Minnesota West coach Bob Purcell -- were welcomed into the National Junior College Athletic Association's Wrestling Hall of Fame at the 2018 NJCAA National Championships at Mid-America Center on the Iowa Western campus in Council Bluffs Saturday night. Gregg Moore was a two-time NJCAA national champion for Triton College in Illinois, becoming the school's first-ever national titlewinner in 1977. The following year, Moore earned the Ernest B Gould Award as the championships' Outstanding Wrestler. In his two-years at Triton, Moore crafted a perfect 78-0 record. The Oak Lawn, Ill. native then completed his collegiate career at University of Jamestown in North Dakota, where he earned All-American honors at the NCAA championships. Michael Shearer became Muskegon Community College's first NJCAA wrestling champ, winning the 123-pound title at the Nationals in 1969. While at Muskegon, Shearer earned a perfect 30-0 dual-meet record, with back-to-back Michigan Community College state championships, then served as an assistant coach at his alma mater for one season before heading west to Iowa State. Bob Purcell served as head wrestling coach at Minnesota West Community and Technical College for 20 seasons, guiding the Bluejays to multiple conference and Region XIII Wrestlers of the Year awards, Region XIII championships, and national tournament qualifiers. What's more, with Purcell at the helm, the Bluejays recorded a graduation rate of 90 percent. For all these accomplishments, Purcell was named the NJCAA Man of the Year in 2014. He retired from coaching in August 2014.