InterMat Staff

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Grand View University Director of Athletics, Troy Plummer, is proud to announce the addition of a women's wrestling program in the near future. Due to the increased interest and participation in the sport of women's wrestling locally and in the NAIA, along with the success of the men's program, Grand View will be adding the sport to give more females to the opportunity to compete collegiately. "We are very excited that we are going to add women's wrestling as the 26th varsity sport at Grand View," says Plummer. "We will be determining the appropriate start date by the end of January, but women will be competing in the sport of wrestling at Grand View in the fall of 2019 or 2020." This is the tenth varsity program Plummer has added since becoming Director of Athletics in 2007. Grand View will become only the second college in the state of Iowa to offer a women's wrestling program in addition to Waldorf University. The NAIA dubbed women's wrestling as an invitational sport beginning in the 2018-19 academic year. The decision was unanimously approved in April of 2018 by the NAIA's National Administrative Council at the NAIA National Convention. The NAIA has more member institutions sponsoring women's wrestling than any other intercollegiate athletics association. Invitational status officially puts women's wrestling under NAIA purview. This means the sport will begin competing and developing the protocols and framework needed for championship status. A national women's wrestling invitational will be hosted annually. Once a sport has 40 teams and has completed two years at invitational status, it may apply for championship status. Nick Mitchell started the men's program in 2008 and since then Grand View has claimed seven-straight NAIA National Championships, crowned 36 NAIA Individual National Champions and produced 82 All-Americans.

No. 1 Richard Figueroa after winning a title at the Zinkin Classic (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) An absolutely loaded field that features the vast majority of the state finals contenders in California, plus many of the best wrestlers from the western third of the United States, along with a few excellent teams from the rest of the country will convene in Clovis (Calif.) this Friday and Saturday for the annual Doc Buchanan Invitational. While recent years have seen excellent fields assemble in Central California the first weekend of January, this year's field is clearly the best yet. Six of the nation's top twelve teams will be present, along with nine nationally ranked teams in total. Nationally ranked teams include No. 3 Bergen Catholic (N.J.), No. 4 Montini Catholic (Ill.), No. 8 Buchanan, No. 10 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), No. 11 Gilroy, No. 12 St. John Bosco, No. 20 Clovis, No. 37 Selma, and No. 42 Pomona (Colo.). On the individual side of the coin, every weight with the exception of 106 pounds features at least one nationally ranked wrestler. In total the field is projected to feature 42 nationally ranked wrestlers, including a pair ranked No. 1 nationally and another pair ranked No. 2 nationally. Two weights are projected to feature six nationally ranked wrestlers. Below is a weight-by-weight overview of this robust field. Wrestlers are from California unless noted. 106: Joseph Cangro/Alex Almedya (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Jake Gioffre (Buchanan), Zeth Romney (Chaminade), Laz Maldonado (Clovis West), Danny Nini (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), Nick Gonzalez (Montini Catholic, Ill.), Bayden Abell (Oakdale), Ryan Luna (St. Francis) 113: No. 1 Richard Figueroa (Selma), No. 8 Nick Kayal (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 14 Tim Levine (St. John Bosco), No. 17 Vince Cornella (Monarch, Colo.); Carlos Negrete (Buchanan), Hayden ZInkin (Clovis West), Justin Mourtinsen (Clovis), Chance Lamer (Crescent Valley, Ore.), Max Black (Douglas County, Colo.), Jayden Gomez (Gilroy), Angel Lozado (Jefferson, Colo.), Jake Wohltman (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), Christian Cabuag (Monta Vista Christian), Blake Fredrickson (Windsor) 120: No. 4 Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), No. 8 Maximo Renteria (Buchanan), No. 16 Tristan Lujan (Selma); Joey Cruz (Clovis North), Alejandro Santillan (Grandview, Colo.), Steele Dias (Green Valley, Nev.), Will Edmiston (Lake Norman, N.C.), Nain Vazquez (Montini Catholic, Ill.), Savion Dixon (Paloma Valley), Izzy Tubera (Pitman), Wyatt Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.), Antonio Lorenzo (St. John Bosco) 126: No. 4 Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 12 Dylan Ragusin (Montini Catholic, Ill.), No. 15 Aaron Nagao (Esperanza), No. 17 Devin Murphy (Clovis North), No. 20 Daniel Cardenas (Pomona, Colo.); Christian Nunez (Bishop Amat), Hunter Leake (Buchanan), Brandon Paulson (Clovis), Cole Reyes (Bakersfield Frontier), Victor Jacinto (Gilroy), Jimmy Ramirez (Jefferson, Colo.), Mosha Schwartz (Ponderosa, Colo.), Alex Ramirez (Rowland), Eric Rivera (Selma), Isaac Salas (St. John Bosco) 132: No. 12 Ryan Franco (Clovis North), No. 13 Justin Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), No. 20 Henry Porter (Oakdale); George Ruiz (Buchanan), Gianni Petrucelli (Clovis), Tyson Humphreys (Layton, Utah), Dylan Burnoski (Montini Catholic, Ill.), Justin Pacheco (Pomona, Colo.), Cleveland Belton (St. John Bosco), Sammy Heywood (Wasatch, Utah) 138: No. 6 Chase Saldate (Gilroy), No. 9 Chris Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), No. 20 Marcos Polanco (Bishop Amat); Tyler Deen (Buchanan), Luciano Arroyo (Calvary Chapel), Tommy McCormick (Churchill County, Nev.), Kyle Parco (De La Salle), Fabian Santillan (Grandview, Colo.), Terrell Barraclough (Layton, Utah), Ricky Torres (Oakdale), Jaden Le (Rancho Bernardo), Stockton O'Brien (Wasatch, Utah) 145: No. 2 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo), No. 9 Cael Valencia (St. John Bosco), No. 10 Theorius Robison (Pomona, Colo.), No. 13 Legend Lamer (Crescent Valley, Ore.), No. 15 Fidel Mayora (Montini Catholic, Ill.), No. 20 Dawson Sihavong (Bullard); Wade Unger (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Joseph Martin (Buchanan), Elijah Blake (Del Oro), John Fox (Gilroy), Noah Castillo (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), Luka Wick (San Marino) 152: No. 6 Jake Stiles (Montini Catholic, Ill.), No. 8 Sonny Santiago (St. John Bosco), No. 11 Isaac Wilcox (Olympus, Utah); Joseph Zargo (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Max Anderson (Clovis), Daniel Vizcarra (Gilroy), Tyler Badgett (Rancho Bernardo), Antonio Segura (Regis, Colo.) 160: No. 3 Matthew Olguin (Buchanan), No. 4 Coltan Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.), No. 5 Jace Luchau (Selma); Wyatt Pfau (Brush, Colo.), Mike Chiaramonte (Clovis), Ankhaa Erikhmandakh (De La Salle), Noah Blake (Del Oro), Maxwell Wilner (Fountain Valley), Max Aguirre (Bakersfield Frontier), Nathan Villarreal (Gilroy), Justus Scott (Green Valley, Nev.), Kai Bele (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), Troy Mantanona (Palm Desert) 170: No. 11 Trent Munoz (Trabucco Hills), No. 18 Drake Engelking (Longmont, Colo.); Sean McCormick (Churchill County, Nev.), joseph Barnes (Gilroy), Desmond Bowers (Green Valley, Nev.), Mark Cardwell (Monache), Gabe Martinez (Oakdale), Kiran Srikanth (Pullman, Wash.), Christian Rodriguez (Selma) 182: No. 5 Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 18 Trent Tracy (Bakersfield Frontier, Calif.); Tyler Gianakopulous (Cloivs), Trevor Swier (Montini Catholic, Ill.), Franklin Cruz (Pomona, Colo.), Landon Davis (Sprague, Ore.), Nathan Haas (St. John Bosco) 195: No. 2 Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 3 Peter Christensen (Montini Catholic, Ill.), No. 4 Ryan Reyes (Gilroy), No. 14 Jacob Good (Clovis), No. 15 Nathan Dugan (Lake Norman, N.C.), No. 20 Chase Stegall (Northwest Cedar Hill, Mo.); Connor Bourne (Faith Lutheran, Nev.), Kyle Richards (Folsom), Logan Andrew (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), Alec Hargreaves (Rocky Mountain, Colo.), Santos Cantu (Sprague, Ore.) 220: No. 4 Victor Jacquez (Bellarmine); Guillermo Escobedo (Bishop Amat), Erich Osteen (Chaminade), Kade Carlson (Corner Canyon, Utah), Maika Tauteoli (Pleasant Grove, Utah) 285: No. 1 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.); Ben Dooley (Churchill County, Nev.), Levi Markey (Del Campo), Nicholas Villarreal (Gilroy), John High (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Keegan Wilkinson (Pleasant Grove, Utah)

Penn State claimed its third straight NCAA team title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Most of us are inundated with what seems like never-ending waves of negative news stories 'year round. However, as we look back at 2018, there were news events in amateur wrestling definitely worth remembering ... and celebrating. Growth of high school wrestling Participation levels for both boys and girls in high school actually went up this past year when compared to the previous year. According to the NFHS, a total of 262,126 student-athletes participated in high school wrestling in the U.S. -- 245,564 boys, and 16,562 girls -- for the 2017-18 school year. By comparison, during the 2016-17 academic year, a total of 259,391 high school students wrestled nationwide --14,587 girls, and 244,804 boys. That translates into an overall increase of 2,735 more athletes involved in wrestling this year vs. last year, with 760 more boys and 1,975 more girls taking to the mat. Growing numbers of college wrestling programs ... High school athletes wishing to continue wrestling in college will find more opportunities in the new year, thanks to decisions made by a number of schools to add wrestling to their varsity sports roster -- including a handful of women's wrestling programs. Here are the new programs InterMat reported on in 2018 which are expected to take to the mat in fall 2019: Arizona Christian University, an 800-student private school located in Phoenix, not only announced the formation of a new men's mat program, but also has hired a coach to head up the program, Travis Patrick. Davis & Elkins College, a private 850-student school in Elkins, West Virginia, will establish a new men's program. Delaware Valley University, a private, 2,000-student school situated in /Doylestown, Pa., will now have a women's wrestling program. East Stroudsburg University -- part of the Pennsylvania public university system, with 7,300 students -- will add a women's program to join the existing men's program. Gannon University, a Catholic school with approximately 4,500 students located in Erie, Pa., announced in January 2017 it would be adding a new women's program to accompany the already-active men's mat program. North Central College, a four-year liberal arts college with 2,600 students located in Naperville, Ill. just west of Chicago, will now have a women's program to join the existing men's program. Texas Wesleyan University, a private university in Ft. Worth with an enrollment of approximately 3,400 students, is adding both men's and women's programs. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, a four-year public school in north-central Wisconsin with a student enrollment of nearly 10,000, will now have a women's program to go with the existing men's wrestling program. … including new programs in Division I This spring, the wrestling community was understandably upset with Eastern Michigan University's decision to axe its wrestling program, effective immediately. However, as Gary Abbott pointed out in his year-in-review feature for the official USA Wrestling website, that bad news was offset with the establishment in 2018 of men's and women's programs at Presbyterian College, a private four-year NCAA Division I school located in South Carolina, with Mark Cody coaching both programs. Abbott also mentioned California Baptist which is now in the process of transitioning from NCAA Division II to D1, and while not eligible to send wrestlers to the NCAA D1 championships, is currently competing at the Div. I level. Two other schools -- Augustana of South Dakota, and Long Island University in New York -- announced this fall their plans to move from D2 to D1. Lastly, Abbott reminded readers that the new Div. I program at University of Arkansas-Little Rock will begin competing in fall 2019. Repeat team title winners at 2018 NCAAs The three team champions in each Division of the 2018 NCAA wrestling championships found themselves in familiar territory -- at the top of the final standings. Penn State wins third straight Div. I title: The Nittany Lions found themselves in familiar territory at the top of the team standings at the conclusion of the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. However, the title race between Cael Sanderson's team and Big Ten rival Ohio State was not decided until the 184-pound finals. Penn State had four individual champs: Zain Retherford at 149 pounds (his third title), Jason Nolf at 157, Vincenzo Joseph at 165, and, at 184, Bo Nickal. There were two freshman champs: Iowa's Spencer Lee at 125, and Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis at 141. Ohio State's Kyle Snyder became only the fifth three-time heavyweight champ. St. Cloud State claims third Div. II crown in four years: The Minnesota-based program managed to take the team title in Cedar Rapids' US Cellular Center at the 2018 NCAA Div. II championships despite going 0-3 in the finals. Cleveland's Notre Dame College placed second. A total of 36 schools managed to have at least one wrestler who earned All-American honors. Wartburg wraps up seventh Div. III title in eight years: Iowa's Wartburg College claimed its 14th national D3 team title at Cleveland's Public Auditorium. The Knights left with three individual champs: Brock Rathbun at 133 pounds, Cross Cannone at 149, and, at 197, Kyle Fank. Celebrating significant honors in 2018 Among the honors bestowed upon individuals in the US amateur wrestling community in 2018 ... 2018 Hodge Trophy, presented by WIN Magazine and Culture House publishing to their choice for top collegiate wrestler of the year, went to Zain Retherford of Penn State. It was the second straight year Retherford had been presented with the award, named in hour of Dan Hodge, all-time great college and Olympic wrestler of the 1950s. 2018 AAU Sullivan Award, presented each year since 1930 to the nation's top amateur athlete by the Amateur Athletic Union, went to Ohio State heavyweight Kyle Snyder. Snyder is the fourth wrestler to have earned the Sullivan, joining John Smith, Bruce Baumgartner, and Rulon Gardner. In addition, Snyder was named Ohio State Male Athlete of the year, and Big Ten Male Athlete of 2018. 2018 ESPY Best Coach Award was presented posthumously in July to Chris Hixon, wrestling coach and athletic director at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, along with fellow coaches Aaron Feis and Scott Beigel. All three were among the 17 killed in the mass shooting at the Parkland, Fla. school in February 2018. It is the first time in the 25-year history of ESPN's sports award show that the coaching honor had been presented to a deceased coach.

Alex Sebahie, a New Jersey state championships medalist and former Rider University wrestler, was killed in a one-car crash on New Year's Day. He was 21. Alex SebahieA four-time NJSIAA Individual Wrestling Championships qualifier for Paramus High, Sebahie was killed in a crash after he drove off the Garden State Parkway and hit a utility pole early New Year's Day, according to New Jersey State Police. Sebahie was driving northbound on the Parkway at about 4:15 a.m. New Year's Day when his Nissan Altima went off the road and hit the pole near mile marker 70. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Sebahie wrestled at Paramus High from 2012-2016, tallying over 100 wins. At the New Jersey state championships, he placed eighth at 132 pounds in 2014 and sixth at 138 pounds in 2015. Sebahie earned a partial scholarship at Rider University, where he was on the wrestling roster at the Lawrence, N.J. school for a portion of the 2016-17 season but has not been with the program for the last two years, Rider sports information director Greg Ott told InterMat. The following message was posted on the Rider Bronc wrestling Twitter account: "Our condolences go out to the Sebahie family in light of their recent tragedy involving their son Alex. Although he was only a Bronc for a short time, he was part of our family. #onceabroncalwaysabronc" Paramus High wrestling coach Chris Falato weighed in with his memories of Alex Sebahie. "He was an incredible part of our program and an incredible person," Falato told the Daily Voice. "He touched the lives of everyone in the program." Nick Suriano, 125-pound finalist for Rutgers University at the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships who was a four-time New Jersey state champ for Bergen Catholic High, said the following about his friend also from Paramus: "Alex was always real and respectful to me -- it went both ways. I always had respect for Alex, his brothers and his family. We climbed the rec and high school ranks together -- although at different schools, still representing Paramus. "My family and I extend our deepest condolences to the Sebahie family." Issa Sebahie, Alex Sebahie's father, told the Daily Voice that prayers from the wrestling community have been a comfort. "I just want the wrestling community to know I am devastated and hurt more then words and been crying for hours because I lost my son and my best friend and the only thing that is cheering me up is all the prayers and support the wrestling community is giving us." . "Thank you hope no one will ever feel what I feel. Thank you and god bless all of you and your children." Services for Alex Sebahie have been announced. Family will receive friends on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019 from 4-8 p.m.at the Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 113 South Farview Ave., Paramus, N.J. The funeral will take place Monday, Jan. 7 at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of the Visitation R.C. Church, 234 N Farview Ave. in Paramus. A GoFundMe page has been established to help the Sebahie family with funeral expenses.

Adeline Gray claimed a gold medal at the World Championships (Photo/Larry Slater) The year 2018 will go down in history as significant for girls' and women's wrestling. This past year, there was tremendous growth on all levels, from high school to college to international competition. Explosive growth in high school girls' wrestling By any measure, opportunities for girls to compete in the oldest and greatest sport at the high school level have grown tremendously. In terms of sheer numbers of individual athletes, more high school girls took to the mat this past school year than in the previous year. During the 2017-18 school year, 16,562 girls wrestled at 2,351 schools around the country, according to the annual National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) participation survey. By contrast, 14,587 girls wrestled at the high school level during the 2016 17 academic year. That's a growth of nearly 2,000 additional female wrestlers at the prep level in just one year. What's more, there are greater opportunities for girls to compete at the highest level in more states. At the beginning of 2018, six states had separate state wrestling championships for girls: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Tennessee, Texas and Washington State. In the past year, eight additional states announced the establishment of a girls' state championships: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, and Oregon. That means a total of fourteen states will have a state championship for female wrestlers in 2019. Greater opportunities for women wrestlers in college In 2018, InterMat reported on a handful of colleges that had announced the addition of women's wrestling to their roster of varsity sports: Gannon University, a Catholic school with approximately 4,500 students located in Erie, Pa., announced in January 2017 it would be adding a new women's program to accompany the already-existing men's mat program. North Central College, a private liberal arts school just outside Chicago in Naperville, Ill. With approximately 3,000 students, will launch its women's program for the 2019-20 school year. Joe Norton, NCC's men's coach since 2014, will also coach the women's team. Texas Wesleyan University revealed in November plans to add both men's and women's wrestling to its sports roster in fall 2019. This private college in Ft Worth, which claims to be the first school anywhere in the Lone Star State to offer wrestling scholarships, has 3,400 students. East Stroudsburg Universityis one of two schools in Pennsylvania to add a women's mat program for 2019. Anibal Nieves, who coaches the already established men's program at ESU,will also be responsible for the new women's program. This public four-year university has 7,300 students. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point announced in November the addition of a women's program which will take the mats this fall. UWSP men's coach Johnny Johnson will coach the women as well. This public university in north-central Wisconsin is home to 9,700 students. Delaware Valley University, a private college in Doylestown, Penn. with approximately 2,000 students, revealed it would be launching a new women's mat program for the 2019-2020 season ... and had already hired Pennsylvania native Caitlyn Baker as head coach. By our count, these new programs mean that there will be a total of 50 women's programs competing in the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) effective this fall. Success at the 2018 Worlds In October, the 2018 UWW World Championships in Budapest was a major success for the entire Team USA ... with four U.S. women earning medals in freestyle competition at the ultimate international wrestling event of the year. Adeline Gray won gold at 76 kilograms/167 pounds ... while Sarah Hildebrandt earned a silver medal at 53 kilograms/116 pounds. Mallory Velte and Tamyra Mensah-Stock winning bronze medals at 62 kilograms/136 pounds and 68 kilograms/149 pounds, respectively. For Gray, it was her fourth gold medal in World competition, becoming the fourth U.S. wrestler to have earned gold four times. Gray joins John Smith, Tricia Saunders, and Jordan Burroughs. More good news in 2018 Other news from the past year that's worth celebrating: Kristie Davis welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame: In June 2018, Kristie Davis, a two-time World champion and nine-time World medalist, became only the second woman to be installed as a Distinguished Member of the Stillwater, Okla. wrestling hall, joining women's wrestling pioneer Tricia Saunders. Wrestle Like A Girl on the TODAY show: In January, the third hour of NBC's TODAY show featured a six-and-a-half-minute segment to Wrestle Like a Girl, the organization devoted to encouraging girls and young women to participate in the sport, with an interview with WLAG founder Sally Roberts, and a video segment which took viewers inside a WLAG wrestling camp.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- With nearly 320 wrestlers from 84 teams converging this weekend on the Kentucky Expo Center and Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky, the name Mat Mayhem remains an adequate descriptor of what's to come on January 4-5 as NUWAY hosts the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals presented by the United States Marine Corps and Defense Soap. Five different collegiate wrestling divisions will come to Louisville for the first time in a dual meet advancement format to crown a national dual meet champion as the draws were also released on Wednesday. This year's field features 65 ranked teams, with the three of the five divisions competing in 16-team brackets. Division III will stage a 24-team bracket, while the women's teams, which compete in the Olympic freestyle style, compete in a 12-team bracket. Brackets & Event Links Division II (PDF | Web) Division III (PDF | Web) NAIA (PDF | Web) NJCAA (PDF | Web) Women (PDF | Web) WHAT: NUWAY hosts the 2019 NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals presented by the Marines and Defense Soap WHEN: January 4-5, 2019 WHERE: Freedom Hall & Exhibition Hall - Kentucky Expo Center, Louisville, Kentucky TICKETS: All-Session Adult ($45), All-Session Student ($25); Single Day Adult ($25), Single Day Student ($17). WATCH: Trackwrestling.com (PPV) / Fox College Sports (Tape Delay) INFO: bit.ly/MatMayhem2019 SOCIAL: #MatMayhem COMPETING TEAMS: Division II (16): Central Oklahoma, Fort Hays State, Gannon, Indianapolis, Limestone, Lindenwood, McKendree, Nebraska-Kearney, Notre Dame College, Pitt-Johnstown, Seton Hill, St. Cloud State, Upper Iowa, UW-Parkside, West Liberty, Wheeling Jesuit Division III (24): Augsburg, Augustana (Ill.), Baldwin Wallace, Centenary, Chicago, Coe, Greensboro, Heidelberg, Ithaca, Johns Hopkins, Johnson & Wales, Luther, Millikin, Mount Union, Olivet, Roger Williams, UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Whitewater, Wabash, Wartburg, Westminster, WPI, York (Pa.) NAIA (16): Baker, Bethany (Kan.), Campbellsville, Grand View, Indiana Tech, Life, Lindsey Wilson, Marian, Midland, Missouri Valley, Providence (Mont.), Southeastern, Southern Oregon, U. of the Cumberlands, Williams Baptist, York (Neb.). NJCAA (16): Barton, Cowley, Harper, Itasca, Jamestown (N.Y.), Joliet, Labette, Muskegon, Nassau CC, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, Northwest Kansas Tech, Rochester (Minn.), Southwestern Oregon, Spartanburg Methodist, Triton, Western Wyoming Women (12): Campbellsville, Emmanuel, Gannon, King, Life, Lyon, McKendree, Missouri Valley, Nassau CC, Southern Oregon, U of the Cumberlands, Wayland Baptist Here is a breakdown of what to look for in each respective division. Division II Top Bracket St. Cloud State is looking to win its third straight National Duals crown and a fifth overall. Currently riding a Division II-best 35-match win streak, the Huskies will be the top seed and open with Seton Hill in a rematch of last year's final which St. Cloud State won 41-0. The Huskies (7-0) also bring a Division II-best eight nationally ranked wrestlers to Louisville, led by top-ranked 125-pounder and 2016 NCAA Division II champion Brett Velasquez and top-ranked 197-pounder Vince Dietz, a Division II runner-up a year ago. The winner of the dual will face the winner of the Upper Iowa-West Liberty dual in the quarterfinals. Upper Iowa, seeded eighth, has four nationally ranked wrestlers to contend with, led by Justin Foley at 133 and Dalton Hahn at 184 pounds. The pair comes in ranked seventh. There's one matchup between ranked foes that could take place and that's at 197 pounds where West Liberty's Logan Kemp is ranked seventh and Upper Iowa returning All-American Nick Baumler is ranked No. 12. Despite its amazing wrestling tradition, the Mountain Cats of Pitt-Johnstown have never finished higher than third at the National Duals. That third-place finish came back in 2016 and longtime coach Pat Pecora's squad will come to Louisville with five ranked wrestlers, including top-ranked returning Division II national champion Chris Eddins at 149 pounds. The Mountain Cats open with Fort Hays State, which has placed in the top eight just once in school history. Coach Chas Thompson's team finished fifth back in 2014. The key matchup is a possible national final at 133 pounds as 2017 All-American Brandon Ball is ranked second for Fort Hays State, while UPJ counters with third-ranked Joey Alessandro. The winner of this dual will advance to the quarterfinals to face either Indianapolis or No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney. While Nebraska-Kearney is ranked No. 1 in Division II, that ranking is based on a tournament point projection by how teams' individual wrestlers are slotted in the rankings. The Division II Coaches Association seeded the National Duals based on dual strength as each region had a representative submit their votes for the top eight seeds. The Lopers will face a UIndy team that could make things interesting as the Greyhounds have three ranked wrestlers in the mix. The Lopers boast a pair of top-ranked wrestlers - Matt Malcolm at 157 and Calvin Ochs at 165. The top matchup comes at heavyweight as UIndy's Dylan Faulkenberg comes in ranked third, ahead of returning All-American and fifth-ranked Jarrod Hinrichs. Bottom Bracket Third-seeded Notre Dame College is loaded again as the Falcons have five ranked wrestlers and return All-Americans Kelan McKenna (133), Tony Vezzetti (184) and Kameron Teacher (285). They'll face UW-Parkside, which returns All-Americans Airk Furseth (133) and James Lehman, who was an All-American at 197 last season, but has competed at 184 this year. The winner will advance to face either No. 6 Lindenwood or Wheeling Jesuit. While Seton Hill was the unseeded team making a run to the finals last year, the year prior, it was Wheeling Jesuit that crashed the party. The Cardinals again find themselves unseeded, opening up with No. 6 Lindenwood. With 11 wrestlers ranked between the two teams and three matches head-to-head involving ranked wrestlers, the key for advancing in this tight dual will be bonus points. Third-ranked Carlos Jacquez of Lindenwood has been on fire recently, winning the Midwest Classic. He'll face fifth-ranked Cole Laya. Danny Swan was a solid fifth at the Midwest Classic and he'll match-up with returning All-American Tyler Warner of Wheeling Jesuit at 133. The dual could come down to a pair of ranked heavyweights as Wheeling Jesuit has a strong presence with returning national champion Terrance Fanning. Lindenwood can counter with 11th-ranked Courvosier Morrow. The rest of that quarter bracket involves seventh-seeded Central Oklahoma squaring off with Gannon and second-seeded McKendree drawing Limestone to open the round. UCO has placed in the top eight 15 times and was a 2002 winner of the event. The Bronchos (yes, with an h) have three ranked individuals, while Gannon's top individual is fifth-ranked George McGuire at 157 pounds. McKendree is a solid No. 2 seed and the Bearcats are looking to set a new program record for highest men's finish. The team finished fifth in 2017, while the school's women's program has two National Duals titles to its credit. McKendree has been bolstered by the availability of Michael Pixley, a past NAIA national champion who transferred from Grand View and had previously been an NAIA finalist at Lindsey Wilson. With no ranked wrestlers, Limestone will have a monumental task ahead of itself should the Saints want to be this season's Cinderella. Division II Ranked Wrestlers/Matchups No. 1 St. Cloud State vs. Seton Hill 125: No. 1 Brett Velasquez (SCSU) 133: No. 11 Garrett Vos (SCSU) 141: No. 9 Travis Swanson (SCSU) 149: No. 2 James Pleski (SCSU) 157: No. 7 Jake Barzowski (SCSU) 165: No. 4 Devin Fitzpatrick (SCSU) 174: No. 3 Kolton Eischens (SCSU) 197: No. 1 Vince Dietz (SCSU) No. 8 Upper Iowa vs. West Liberty 125: No. 10 Maleek Williams (UIU) 133: No. 7 Justin Foley (UIU) 184: No. 7 Dalton Hahn (UIU) 197: No. 12 Nick Baumler (UIU) vs. No. 7 Logan Kemp (WLU) No. 5 Pitt-Johnstown vs. Fort Hays State 141: No. 3 Joey Alessandro (UPJ) vs. No. 2 Brandon Ball (FHSU) 149: No. 1 Chris Eddins (UPJ) 157: No. 4 Efe Osaghae (FHSU) 165: No. 9 Devin Austin (UPJ) 174: No. 7 Brock Biddle (UPJ) 197: No. 6 Levi Niebauer (UPJ) No. 4 Nebraska-Kearney vs. Indianapolis 125: No. 2 Josh Portillo (UNK) 141: No. 4 Jon Killingsworth (UNK) 149: No. 7 Jacob Wasser (UNK) vs. No. 9 Kyle Barkovich (UIndy) 157: No. 1 Matt Malcolm (UNK) 165: No. 1 Calvin Ochs (UNK) 184: No. 5 Zach Stodden (UNK) vs. No. 8 Brody Connor (UIndy) 285: No. 3 Dylan Faulkenberg (UIndy) vs. No. 5 Jarrod Hinrichs (UNK) No. 3 Notre Dame College vs. UW-Parkside 125: No. 11 Joe Arroyo (UWP) 133: No. 2 Kelan McKenna (NDC) vs. No. 10 Airk Furseth (UWP) 141: No. 8 Jose Rodriguez (NDC) 174: No. 6 Cornell Beachem (NDC) 184: No. 2 Tony Vezzetti (NDC) vs. No. 11 James Lehman (UWP) 285: No. 1 Kameron Teacher (NDC) No. 6 Lindenwood vs. Wheeling Jesuit 125: No. 3 Carlos Jacquez (LU) vs. No. 5 Cole Laya (WJU) 133: No. 3 Tyler Warner (WJU) vs. No. 8 Danny Swan (LU) 149: No. 4 Gavin Londoff (LU) 165: No. 10 Keegan Driscoll (WJU) 174: No. 11 Connor Craig (WJU) 184: No. 10 Colton Clingenpeel (LU) 197: No. 11 Jared McKindley (LU) 285: No. 2 Terrance Fanning (WJU) vs. No. 11 Courvosier Morrow (LU) No. 7 Central Oklahoma vs. Gannon 157: No. 5 George McGuire (GU) 184: No. 4 Heath Gray (UCO) 197: No. 4 Colton Looper (UCO) 285: No. 8 Blake Berryhill (UCO) No. 2 McKendree vs. Limestone 125: No. 8 Marcus Povlick (McK) 133: No. 9 Charles McNeal (McK) 149: No. 6 Isaiah Kemper (McK) 157: No. 9 Nate Smalling (McK) 174: No. 2 Nick Foster (McK) 184: No. 3 Michael Pixley (McK) Division III Top Bracket With 24 teams in the Division III field, the top eight seeds have opening round byes. That being said, the depth of Division III is continually growing, but the power still remains centered around "The Burgs" - Augsburg and Warburg. Combined, they've won all previous 17 iterations of the Division III National Duals and they're seeded 1-2 again this year. No. 1 Augsburg brings eight ranked wrestlers, including two No. 1's to Louisville, while No. 2 Wartburg has six ranked wrestlers and a pair of top-ranked competitors. Augsburg, the retuning National Duals champions, will draw the winner of the Chicago-Centenary dual. Centenary comes to the event with the nation's top-ranked 197-pounder and All-American Etiini Udott. Chicago has two ranked wrestlers, including All-American Steve Bonsall at 157. No. 8 York College of Pennsylvania will see the opening-round winner between UW-La Crosse and Augustana (Ill.). Key matchup to watch there is featuring a pair of returning Division III All-Americans - Augustana's Adarios Jones, who placed third in 2017, and fourth-ranked Konrad Ernst of UW-La Crosse. Ernst was sixth last year. York is led by three-time Division III All-American Gregory Warner at 149 pounds and the Spartans will bring three ranked wrestlers and a formidable dual squad to Louisville. No. 5 Wabash has four ranked wrestlers, including top-ranked All-American Darden Schurg at 174 pounds. The Little Giants will have an opening-round bye and face the winner of the dual between Luther and No. 12 UW-Whitewater. The Warhawks are in their first year under head coach Matt Zwaschka and bring two ranked wrestlers to the field, including All-American Mike Tortorice at 125 pounds. No. 4 Ithaca has four returning All-Americans and leading the Bombers are Ben Brisman, a returning NCAA Division III national champion who comes in ranked No. 2 at 141 pounds, along with top-ranked All-American Jake Ashcraft at 184 pounds. Marty Nichols' squad awaits the winner of the dual between Johns Hopkins and No. 13 Olivet College. Bottom Bracket No. 3 Johnson & Wales has emerged out of Rhode Island and staked a claim to be a perennial contender in Division III. The Wildcats have five wrestlers ranked in the top seven, including returning national champion Jay Albis at 125 pounds. With four returning All-Americans and a battle-tested squad, the Wildcats are a threat down low to always jump out to a big lead. They face the winner of the Heidelberg-Millikin dual. Millikin has three ranked wrestlers - Chris Williams (141), Braden Birt (157) and Keajon Jennings (197) - all of whom are returning All-Americans. No. 11 Roger Williams will face first-time entrant Greensboro College in the opening round with the winner facing No. 6 Mount Union. Roger Williams' wrestler to watch is 165-pound Taylor Shay, who's ranked fourth in the country. Mount Union is off to 10-0 start. Jairod James won the program's second-ever individual Division III national championship a year ago and is recently off a seventh-place finish at the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, where he became the first wrestler in school history to place at the prestigious event. James' brother Jordin is ranked ninth at 133 pounds. No. 7 Baldwin Wallace has an opening-round bye and will face the winner of the dual between Westminster and No. 10 Coe. Baldwin Wallace has been on the rise the last half decade, led by head coach Jamie Gibbs. Second-ranked Anthony Arroyo is a two-time All-American. Coe should be heavy favorites over Westminster, which is in just its second year as a program led by head coach Mike Eierman. No. 2 Wartburg will have an opening-round bye and will face either No. 15 WPI or UW-Eau Claire. The Knights, winners of 11 Division III National Duals titles, have reached the championship round in each of the last 17 years. They're 5-6 against Augsburg in finals and 6-0 against everyone else. Top-ranked Brock Rathbun (133) and Cross Cannone (157) are returning national champions. Division III Ranked Wrestlers/Matchups No. 1 Augsburg - BYE 125: No. 6 Victor Gliva (Augsburg) 133: No. 2 Sam Bennyhoff (Augsburg) 141: No. 3 David Flynn (Augsburg) 149: No. 1 Alex Wilson (Augsburg) 157: No. 6 Aaron Wilson (Augsburg) 165: No. 1 Ryan Epps (Augsburg) 184: No. 4 Tanner Vassar (Augsburg) 197: No. 4 Lance Benick (Augsburg) No. 16 U. of Chicago vs. Centenary 157: No. 3 Steve Bonsall (Chicago) 174: No. 9 Kyle Peisker (Chicago) 197: No. 1 Etiini Udott (Centenary) No. 9 UW-La Crosse vs. Augustana (Ill.) 157: No. 9 Grant Zamin (UW-La Crosse) 285: No. 3 Adarios Jones (Augustana) vs. No. 4 Konrad Ernst (UW-La Crosse) No. 8 York (Pa.) - BYE 149: No. 7 Greg Warner (YCP) 184: No. 5 Frankie Krauss (YCP) 197: No. 10 Hasan Alic (YCP) No. 5 Wabash - BYE 133: No. 10 Riley Lomenick (Wabash) 141: No. 10 Owen Doster (Wabash) 149: No. 8 Griffin Schermer (Wabash) 174: No. 1 Darden Schurg (Wabash) No. 12 UW-Whitewater vs, Luther 125: No. 3 Mike Tortorice (UWW) 174: No. 6 Nick Bonomo (UWW) No. 13 Olivet vs. Johns Hopkins 133: No. 8 Ricky Cavallo (JHU) No. 4 Ithaca - BYE 125: No. 5 Ferdinand Mase (Itahca) 141: No. 2 Ben Brisman (Ithaca) 184: No. 1 Jake Ashcraft (Ithaca) 285: No. 5 Jake O'Brien (Ithaca) No. 3 Johnson & Wales - BYE 125: No. 2 Jay Albis (JWU) 141: No. 7 Joe Ferinde (JWU) 149: No. 3 Da'Mani Burns (JWU) 184: No. 3 Khamri Thomas (JWU) 197: No. 5 Michael DiNardo (JWU) No. 14 Millikin vs. Heidelberg 141: No. 4 Chris Williams (MU) 157: No. 8 Braden Birt (MU) 184: No. 9 Dylan Roth (Heidelberg) 197: Keajion Jennings (MU) No. 11 Roger Williams vs. Greensboro 165: No. 4 Taylor Shay (RWU) No. 6 Mount Union - BYE 133: No. 9 Jordin James (UMU) 174: No. 2 Jairod James (UMU) No. 7 Baldwin Wallace - BYE 149: No. 5 Stanley Bleich (BWU) 165: No. 2 Anthony Arroyo (BWU) 197: No. 9 Zachary Lehman (BWU) No. 10 Coe vs. Westminster 133: No. 4 Brock Henderson (Coe) 157: No. 10 Cole Erickson (Coe) 174: No. 5 Jake Voss (Coe) No. 15 WPI vs. UW-Eau Claire 157: No. 4 Tyler Marsh (WPI) 184: No. 6 Dan Wensley (WPI) No. 2 Wartburg - BYE 125: No. 10 Brady Kyner (Wartburg) 133: No. 1 Brock Rathbun (Wartburg) 157: No. 1 Cross Cannone (Wartburg) 165: No. 9 Mike Ross (Wartburg) 174: No. 4 Kyle Briggs (Wartburg) 197: No. 6 Kobe Woods (Wartburg) NAIA Top Bracket The NAIA is unique in the way it allows more than one wrestler per weight class to qualify for its year-end national championships. With a max of 12 wrestlers, it also provides teams with various options when it comes to dual meets. The NAIA also ranks 20 wrestlers and of the 200 ranked wrestlers in the nation, 116 are expected to compete in Louisville. Grand View, the top seed, is looking for the record-breaking eighth straight National Duals title. They share the record with Division III Wartburg, which won consecutive titles between 2011-2017. Grand View's dual meet win streak currently sits at 67 in a row and the squad's last loss came in the fall of 2013 to Division I Iowa State. They'll open with Bethany of Kansas, which has three ranked wrestlers. Best match in the opener could be top-ranked Ryan Niven against Bethany's 11th-ranked Brandon Lawson-Archuleta. Grand View has 12 wrestlers ranked in the Top 20. The winner of the Grand View-Bethany dual will face the winner of the Missouri Valley-Southern Oregon dual. While ranked lower by one spot in the NAIA rankings, Southern Oregon comes in as the No. 8 seed and this one should be a back-and-forth affair as six of the weights will feature head-to-head matchups between ranked wrestlers. Southern Oregon is led by returning All-Americans Chandler Michael at 149 and Hunter Hodges at 165. Missouri Valley's big gun is returning All-American Jesse Gomez, who's ranked second at 285. A Mid-South Conference battle will open up the action for fifth-seeded Lindsey Wilson as the Blue Raiders face off with Campbellsville. Nine of the 10 weights feature ranked wrestlers, with five head-to-heads. Lindsey Wilson boasts top-ranked heavyweight Brandon Reed, while Campbellsville has a young squad led by 2017 All-American Jaedin Sklapsky, who enters the event ranked No. 12 at 149 pounds. The winner will advance to face Williams Baptist or fourth-seeded University of the Cumberlands. With 15 wrestlers ranked in the Top 20, the Williams Baptist-Cumberlands dual has the opportunity to be tight, despite the ranking discrepancy. The Patriots and head coach Chris Fleeger are led by returning national champion Hayden Lee at 125 and top-ranked 149-pounder Tres Leon, who was named the NAIA Wrestler of the Week after his performance at the Division I-dominated Midlands championships. Lee and Leon are two of four All-Americans in the Cumberlands' lineup. They're joined by 197-pounder Eric Deluse and heavyweight Quandre Chisolm. Arkansas' Williams Baptist finished second at the National Duals a year ago and was hit hard by graduation and the transfer of two-time finalist Demetrious Thomas to Division I Pittsburgh. Bottom Bracket Fans are still struggling with the name change, but the University of Providence doesn't seem to have any identity crisis with its wrestling program. Formerly known as Great Falls, the Argonauts are seeded third and will open with Marian, a third-year program making aggressive strides to be nationally competitive. Providence has five wrestlers ranked in the top 10, including returning NAIA runner-up Adrian Lyons-Lopez. Keep an eye on 12th-ranked Brandon James of Marian at 133. He has a very successful high school career and had stops in Division I before landing on the Indianapolis campus. The winner there will face either No. 6 Life or Baker University in the quarterfinals. Life is led by the program's first national champion, Nosomy Pozo, who returns at 157 pounds. Baker has a returning champ of its own in the form of 174-pounder Lucas Lovvorn, who will match up with fifth-ranked Lucius Van Rensburg. No. 7 Midland is solid down low, with three wrestlers ranked in the top four at 125, 133 and 141 pounds, respectively. The Warriors face an up-and-coming Southeastern squad which saw the program earn its first individual All-Americans last season and two of them return - Dylan Chatterton at 157 pounds and Ethan Owen at 141. Owen will have one of the tallest orders, facing off with David Berg, the second-ranked wrestler in the country at the weight. Berg was third at last season's NAIA championships at 133, while Owen was seventh at 141. California products Julian and Jonas Gaytan are solid at 125 and 133 for Midland, as noted above. No. 2 Indiana Tech has been second at the National Duals two of the last three seasons, but the Warriors were just seventh last year. They will open with Cumberland University in the first round, a squad that features just three ranked individuals compared to Indiana Tech's 12. Six of Indiana Tech's wrestlers are ranked in the top 10, highlighted by returning NAIA runner-up Erique Early. All-Americans Sawyer Miller (125), Gaige Torres (141) and Justin Atkinson (149) also pace the Warriors. NAIA Ranked Wrestlers/Matchups No. 1 Grand View vs. Bethany (Kan.) 125: No. 1 Justin Portillo (GV) 133: No. 1 Shiquan Hall (GV)/ No. 4 Trevor Murano (GV) vs. No. 19 Trey Edwards (Bethany) 141: No. 3 Eric Clarke (GV) 149: No. 2 Devin Reynolds (GV)/No. 3 Josh Wenger (GV) 157: No. 4 Steven Lawrence (GV)/No. 7 Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (GV) 165: No. 1 Ryan Niven (GV) vs. No. 11 Brandon Lawson-Archuleta (Bethany) 174: No. 3 Lawton Benna (GV) 197: No. 1 Evan Hansen (GV) 285: No. 5 Cooper Thomas (GV) vs. No. 20 Brix Brickey (Bethany) No. 8 Southern Oregon vs. Missouri Valley 125: No. 10 Francisco Barrera (SOU) 133: No. 7 Zachary Durbin (MVC) 141: No. 10 Casper Sherow (MVC) vs. No. 13 Devin Poppen (SOU) 149: No. 4 Chandler Michael (SOU) vs. No. 19 Seth Johnson (MVC) 165: No. 12 Hunter Hodges (SOU) vs. No. 19 Elias Vaoifi (MVC) 174: No. 14 Dalton Tipton (MVC) 184: No. 10 Tristan Ramberg (MVC)/No. 14 Dayton Brown (MVC) vs. No. 18 Calvin McKinnis (SOU) 197: No. 4 Tanner Fischer (SOU) vs. No. 20 Terry Martin (MVC) 285: No. 2 Jesse Gomez (MVC) vs. No. 17 Max Hane (SOU) No. 5 Lindsey Wilson vs. Campbellsville 125: No. 11 Jordan Martinez (CU) vs. No. 14 Cagen Wallace (LW) 133: No. 10 Marvin Galette (CU) vs. No. 15 Brady Moser (LW) 141: No. 5 Trent Johnson (LW) 149: No. 12 Jaedin Sklapsky (CU) 157: No. 8 Derrick Smallwood (LW) vs. No. 15 Michael Diemer (CU) 174: No. 10 Brett Bradford (LW) vs. No. 19 Mahlic Sallah (CU) 184: No. 16 Aaron Mosley (CU) 197: No. 13 Avery Buckman (LW) 285: No. 1 Brandon Reed (LW) vs. No. 10 Ashton Mutuwa (CU) No. 4 U. of the Cumberlands vs. Williams Baptist 125: No. 3 Hayden Lee (UC) 133: No. 6 Tanner Irwin (WB)/No. 17 Jaitlan Pitts (WB) 149: No. 1 Tres Leon (UC) 157: No. 6 Bobby Ehman (UC) vs. No. 12 Kyle Lee (WB) 165: No. 9 Tristan Macri (UC) vs. No. 20 Tristan Kole Meador (WB) 174: No. 18 Jonathan Stewart (WB) vs. No. 20 Jarod Swank (UC) 184: No. 8 Jeff Haley (WB) 197: No. 6 Eric Deluse (UC) vs. No. 8 Benjami Turnbough (WB) 285: Quandre Chisolm (UC)/No. 12 Aaron Johnson (UC) No. 3 Providence (Mont.) vs. Marian 125: No. 16 Christopher Sharp (Marian) 133: No. 12 Brandon James (Marian) 141: No. 18 T.J. Baun (UP) 149: No. 6 Shonn Roberts (UP) vs. No. 9 Noah Warren (Marian)/No. 15 Bailey Moore (Marian) 157: No. 5 Casey Dobson (UP) 165: No. 2 Adrian Lyons-Lopez (UP) vs. No. 16 Trezdon O'Neal (Marian) 174: No. 15 Jack Servies (Marian) 184: No. 12 Randy Keesler (UP) 197: No. 5 John Hensley (UP) vs. No. 13 Zachary Worm (Marian) 285: No. 4 Mathew Hopkins (UP)/No. 13 Justin Harbison (UP) vs. No. 16 Ethan Bunce (Marian) No. 6 Life vs. Baker 125: No. 9 Devaughn Sapien (Life) vs. No. 20 Emmanuel Brown (Baker) 141: No. 20 Chase Zemenak (Life) 149: No. 17 Mason Calvert (Life) 157: No. 1 Nosomy Pozo (Life)/No. 16 Syd Ohl (Life) 165: No. 13 Osvani Ley (Life) 174: No. 1 Lucas Lovvorn (Baker) vs. No. 5 Lucius Van Rensburg (Life) 184: No. 5 Jacob Smith (Baker) 197: No. 3 David Dow (Baker) vs. No. 9 Dialo Matsimela (Life) 285: No. 15 Bradon Hill (Life) No. 7 Midland vs. Southeastern 125: No. 5 Jonas Gaytan (Midland) vs. No. 13 Jaaziel Santana (SEU) 133: No. 4 Julian Gaytan (Midland) 141: No. 2 David Berg (Midland) vs. No. 6 Ethan Owen (SEU) 149: No. 13 Jake Watters (SEU) 157: No. 9 Dylan Chatterton (SEU) 165: No. 7 Dominique Evans (Midland) 174: No. 9 Stephon Gray (Midland) 184: No. 11 Jason Davids (SEU) 197: No. 12 Luis Peguero (SEU)/No. 17 Jesse Pryor (SEU) No. 2 Indiana Tech vs. Cumberland U. 125: No. 2 Sawyer Miller (IT) 133: No. 3 Erique Early (IT) 141: No. 4 Gaige Torres (IT)/No. 14 Matthew Miller (IT) vs. No. 17 Keyshawn Laws (CU) 149: No. 5 Justin Atkinson (IT)/No. 10 Robert Humphrey (IT) 157: No. 10 Mason Gaines (IT) 165: No. 6 Jacob Gross (IT) 174: No. 13 Jake Weimer (IT) vs. No. 12 Nathan Walton (CU) 184: No. 8 Thomas Dull (IT)/No. 15 Josue Hill (IT) vs. No. 19 John Olivieri (CU) 197: No. 11 Oscar Martinez (IT) NJCAA Top Bracket Despite winning the last five National Duals titles, Clackamas is unable to attend this season, which opens the door for a new winner for the first time since 2013, when Labette claimed the title. While Northeastern Oklahoma A&M isn't familiar with winning National Duals titles in its short history, NEO head coach Joe Renfro is. He led Labette to that 2013 title before taking over the restarted program at NEO. The Golden Norsemen will be heavy favorites to advance past Itasca Community College of Minnesota. The top individual matchup pits top-ranked Zeke Silva of NEO against fourth-ranked Corey Schmidt at 197 pounds. Boo Dryden (133) and Alex Kauffman (184) are returning All-Americans. The NEO-Itasca winner will face either No. 8 Labette or Triton. Only three ranked wrestlers will be featured in the Triton-Labette dual, but one of them is top-ranked Dillon Prutch of Labette at 125 pounds. Second-ranked Tyree Johnson of Triton was third last year at the NJCAA championships. Fifth-seeded Barton has come on the scene in a hurry. The fourth-year program features three ranked wrestlers, including returning All-American Gage Gomez at 133 pounds. Barton was fifth a year ago, while Muskegon's best finish was seventh in 2012. The winner will face either fourth-seeded Nassau Community College or second-year Joliet Junior College. Nassau, winners of a number of non-scholarship NJCAA championships over the years, made its return to the National Duals last year and finished eighth. Coach Paul Schmidt's Lions will face a Joliet quad with a rich history that head coach A.J. Blahut is trying to recapture. Nassau's top gun is top-ranked Michael Abidin at 174 pounds, while Joliet's lineup features sixth-ranked Rodsean Graham. Bottom Bracket No. 3 Northwest Kansas Tech has noted international feel as two of its three ranked wrestlers hail from Mongolia. They'll face Jamestown Community College of New York in the opening round. Top-ranked Munkbhat Bat-Ederene finished second in the NJCAA championships a year ago at 133 pounds, while the Mavericks also highlight the lineup with second-ranked Bat-Erdene Boldmaa at 141 pounds. The top matchup here comes at 184 pounds where second-ranked Cameron Page of Jamestown will face sixth-ranked Charles Small of Northwest Kansas Tech. The winner of this dual will face either No. 6 Harper or Spartanburg Methodist. Spartanburg Methodist coach Matt Oliver brings two ranked wrestlers to the event with fourth-ranked Tramon Jenkins at 125 and seventh-ranked Caleb Spears at 174. Harper's Michial Foy was third a year ago at the national championships. No. 7 Rochester is a slight favorite over Southwestern Oregon as the dual features just two wrestlers who are ranked and both of them are Rochester YellowJackets. Second-ranked Shane Siewert is one to watch at 174 for Rochester. The winner of the dual will face either second-seeded Western Wyoming or Cowley Community College. Cowley's been ambitious this year, wrestling duals against Division I, Division II and NAIA schools. Maybe being battle-tested will help as Western Wyoming comes into the event with seven wrestlers ranked and very lofty goals this season. Returning All-American Jaxon Cole (125) is one of three wrestlers ranked third in the nation. He's joined by Sam Freeman at 157 and heavyweight Landon Brown. NJCAA Ranked Wrestlers/Matchups No. 1 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M vs. Itasca 125: No. 6 Mason Naifeh (NEO) 133: No. 2 Boo Dryden (NEO) 149: No. 1 Kendon Lee (NEO) 184: No. 1 Alex Kauffman (NEO) 197: No. 1 Zeke Silva (NEO) vs, No. 4 Corey Schmidt (ICC) 285: No. 7 Antonio Andrade (NEO) No. 8 Labette vs. Triton 125: No. 1 Dillon Prutch (LCC) 149: No. 2 Tyree Johnson (Triton) 285: No. 8 Chris Colvin (Triton) No. 5 Barton vs. Muskegon 133: No. 8 Gage Gomez (Barton) 157: No. 7 Gable Howerton (Barton) 174: No. 5 Gage McBride (Barton) No. 4 Nassua vs. Joliet 125: No. 5 Barreiro Jorge (Nassau) 174: No. 1 Michael Abidin (Nassua) 197: No. 6 Rodsean Graham (Joliet) No. 3 Northwest Kansas Tech vs. Jamestown (N.Y.) 133: No. 1 Munkbat Bar-Erdene (NWKT) 141: No. 2 Bat-Erdene Boldmaa (NWKT) 184: No. 2 Cameron Page (JCC) vs. No. 6 Charles Small (NWKT) No. 6 Harper vs. Spartanburg Methodist 125: No. 4 Tramon Jenkins (SMC) 165: No. 1 Michael Foy (Harper) 174: No. 7 Caleb Spears (SMC) No. 7 Rochester vs. Southwestern Oregon 157: No. 8 Elijah Hollins (Rochester) 174: No. 2 Shane Siewert (Rochester) No. 2 Western Wyoming vs. Cowley 125: No. 3 Jaxon Cole (WWCC) 133: No. 5 Joe Revelli (WWCC) 149: No. 7 Jake Thompson (WWCC) 157: No. 3 Samuel Freeman (WWCC) 165: No. 6 Jace Anderson (WWCC) 197: No. 8 Connor Kirkland (WWCC) 285: No. 3 Landon Brown (WWCC) Women Top Bracket Last year, Campbellsville broke through and ended King's four-year reign at the top of the women's division. McKendree, the runners-up the past two seasons, looks poised to become just the sixth women's program to win a women's National Duals title. Much like the NAIA where numerous wrestlers from one team can be ranked at a weight class, McKendree brings 15 wrestlers to the event who appear in the most recent Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) rankings. Age-group world medalists Alexis Porter (143) and Alex Glaude (155) are ranked No. 1 as is talented freshman Felicity Taylor at 116 pounds. The top four teams get byes in the 12-team field, so McKendree's hammers will await the winner of the Southern Oregon-Missouri Valley dual. Interestingly enough, Southern Oregon and Missouri Valley meet in the opening round of the NAIA portion of the National Duals as well on the men's side. The dual will feature five ranked wrestlers, four of them from Southern Oregon. Sienna Ramirez is a returning WCWA All-American for SOU, while Missouri Valley's Shamera McTier comes in ranked ninth at 155 and was accomplished on the age-group levels. No. 4 Emmanuel will have a first-round bye. The Lions have one of the nation's most exciting wrestlers in top-ranked Abby Nette at 130 pounds. Cadet World medalist Kayla Marano (143) is a returning All-American, while Hannah Gladden (155) is looking for a breakout season. The Lions will face the winner of the Campbellsville-Nassau dual. Fifth-seeded Campbellsville, last year's WCWA and National Duals champions, were hit hard with graduation, but still return All-Americans McKayla Campbell (109), Koral Sugiyama (123), Alexia Foca (155) and Mariah Harris at 170. Nassau, which is still working on building its roster numbers for its fledgling program will struggle in dual meets. Bottom Bracket Third-seeded King has been one of the nation's most successful women's college programs, putting numerous wrestlers on to U.S. World and Olympic teams. While the Tornado have an opening-round bye, they could make things interesting as they'll bring 10 ranked wrestlers at seven weights with some depth to bump wrestlers around to create more favorable matchups. Returning All-Americans to watch are second-ranked Nicole Joseph at 136 and Allison Petix at 130. King will see the winner of the dual between longtime participant and No. 6 seed University of the Cumberlands and first-year Gannon, coached by Cumberlands alum Christen Dierken. The Patriots will be decided favorites against the start-up Golden Knights. Keep an eye on returning All-Americans Kelly-Ann Jimenez and Bridgette Duty at 136 pounds as well as Anna Naylor at 155. Second-seeded Wayland Baptist has an opening-round bye so the Pioneers will await the winner of the dual between seventh-seeded Life and Lyon. Wayland Baptist brings ranked wrestlers at six weights, including the top-ranked 101 pounders with No. 1 Asia Ray, a Junior world bronze medalist and No. 2 Nina Pham. National champion Brittany Marshall helps secure the upper weights at 170 as does the arrival of Paige Baynes, last year's national champion at 191 pounds who transferred in from Grays Harbor. Life has started to become a national player on the women's wrestling scene. The Running Eagles had three All-Americans last year and have three ranked wrestlers coming into the dual with Lyon. The top individual match there comes at 101 pounds with ninth-ranked Faye Cherrier taking on 10th-ranked Kassidy Ramirez of Lyon. WCWA Ranked Wrestlers/Matchups No. 1 McKendree - BYE 101: No. 6 Natalie Reyna (McK) 109: No. 6 Vanessa Ramirez (McK)/No. 10 Allissa Maldonado (McK) 116: No. 1 Felicity Taylor (McK)/No. 6 Theresa Rankin (McK) 123: No. 10 Alexia Ward (McK) 130: No. 2 Brenda Reyna (McK) 136: No. 6 Michelle Camacho (McK) 143: No. 1 Alexis Porter (McK) 155: No. 1 Alex Glaude (McK)/No. 8 Jasmine Bailey (McK) 170: No. 7 Syndee Kimber (McK)/No. 8 Kori Bullock (McK) 191: No. 3 Brandy Lowe (McK)/No. 6 Destane Garrick (McK) No. 8 Southern Oregon vs. Missouri Valley 109: No. 9 Carol Johnson (SOU) 116: No. 10 Tara Othman (SOU) 135: No. 7 Gladdys Palma (SOU) 143: No. 9 Sienna Ramirez (SOU) 155: No. 9 Shamera McTier (MVC) No. 5 Campbellsville vs. Nassau 109: No. 3 McKayla Campbell (CU) 123: No. 9 Koral Sugiyama (CU) 155: No. 9 Alexia Foca (CU) 170: No. 4 Mariah Harris (CU) 191: No. 9 Alexandra Castillo (CU) No. 4 Emmanuel - BYE 101: No. 5 Angelina Gomez (EC) 116: No. 8 Kasey Baynon (EC) 130: No. 1 Abby Nette (EC) 143: No. 4 Kayla Marano (EC) 155: No. 4 Hannah Gladden (EC)/ No. 5 Felicity Bryant (EC) No. 3 King - BYE 101: No. 7 Jaclyn McNichols (KU) 116: No. 5 Makayla Welch (KU) 123: No. 4 Cheyenne Sisenstein (KU)/No. 7 Briana Kellin (KU) 130: No. 7 Alyssa Aceval (KU)/No. 9 Allison Petix (KU) 136: No. 2 Nicole Joseph (KU) 143: No. 3 Ashlynn Ortega (KU)/No. 5 Ana Luciano (KU) 170: No. 10 Nia Crosdale (KU) No. 6 U. of the Cumberlands vs. Gannon 116: No. 9 Jessica Rodriguez (UC) 136: No. 5 Kelly-Ann Jimenez (UC)/No. 8 Bridgette Duty (UC) 155: No. 7 Anna Naylor (UC) 191: No. 10 Jessie Kirby (UC) No. 7 Life vs. Lyon 101: No. 9 Faye Cherrier (Life) vs. No. 10 Kassidy Ramirez (Lyon) 123: No. 8 Sierra Powell (Life) 191: No. 7 Stephanie Pantoja (Life) No. 2 Wayland Baptist - BYE 101: No. 1 Asia Ray (WBU)/No. 2 Nina Pham (WBU) 109: No. 4 Rhonda Johnson (WBU) 116: No. 7 Mayra Ramirez (WBU) 123: No. 6 Jathiya Isaac-Thomas (WBU) 170: No. 1 Brittany Marshall (WBU) 191: No. 1 Paige Baynes (WBU)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The Oklahoma State wrestling team collected a second-place team finish at the 15th Annual Southern Scuffle on Wednesday, with four wrestlers bringing home titles at their respective weights. The Cowboys finished with 188.5 points, with only Penn State finishing ahead at 216.5. We had some tough matches the second day, and we definitely saw that the competition is stiff,” said coach John Smith. “I like the way that we performed. I think we can really grow from this two-day tournament. It was definitely our toughest competition up to this point, and most of it was good.. little bit of ugly, but I'm definitely looking forward to going back and analyzing the last two days because we got a lot information we can get better with.” Action resumed at McKenzie Arena, where the Pokes positioned seven wrestlers in the semifinals a day earlier. Derek White (285), Nick Piccininni (125), Daton Fix (133) and Kaden Gfeller (149) each took top honors in their brackets. Five wrestlers advanced to the finals, with Jacobe Smith and Dakota Geer wrestling for third and Jonce Blaylock for fifth. No. 3 White picked up a significant, 3-2, win over Penn State's Anthony Cassar. The fifth-ranked Nittany Lion was undefeated prior to the finals bout, and White scored the match's lone takedown. White advanced to the finals after upending Nick Nevills (PSU), 4-0. It was the first of four consecutive titles for the Cowboys, with Piccininni winning a 7-2 decision over Rico Montoya of Northern Colorado to claim first at 125 pounds. The Cowboy earned a 13-2 major decision in the semifinals over Luke Werner (Lock Haven), marking his fourth bonus-point win of the tournament. At 133, Fix won the title with a 6-3 decision over Iowa State's Austin Gomez. Fix teched his way through the semis earlier in the day, defeating Sean Nickell, 18-3, in less than four minutes. Fellow redshirt freshman Gfeller claimed his second-consecutive Scuffle championship with a 3-2 decision over Duke's Mitch Finesilver. The Cowboy had a solid showing at 149 pounds, earning three pins and technical fall en route to his title. “Finals were good… winning four of the five,” Smith said. “We were a little conservative in a couple of them, but we had good effort in the finals. I thought we wrestled well.” In the first finals bout of the evening, Joe Smith lost a 5-1 decision to returning NCAA Champion Mark Hall. Smith had an impressive showing at the tournament with two falls and a semifinals win over David McFadden of Virginia Tech. Jacobe Smith and Geer finished fourth, and Blaylock finished fifth at 157 pounds. OSU returns to action in 10 days, when it travels to the east coast for duals at Princeton and Rutgers. The Cowboys wrestle back-to-back days in New Jersey.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn -- No. 1 Penn State (4-0, 0-0 B1G) won the 2019 Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn. Head coach Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lions won the team title with a tournament record scoring total to outdistance second place Oklahoma State. The championship is Penn State's eighth in its last eight trips to the tournament. The two-day event started yesterday and concluded tonight in UT-Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena. The Nittany Lions rolled to the team title thanks to crowning six champions. One of those champions became Penn State's all-time pins leader in the process of winning his title and another pinned his way to the crown and another Outstanding Wrestler Award. Twelve of Penn State's 18 entrants at the event placed. The Nittany Lions' team point total of 216.5 is a new Southern Scuffle record as well, crushing the old mark of 198.0 held by Oklahoma State (Penn State had 197.0 during last year's title run). There have been 15 Southern Scuffle's held. Penn State has won it eight times. Sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 4 at 141, won his first Southern Scuffle Championships. He met Lock Haven's Kyle Shoop in the semis and dominated the Bald Eagle veteran, rolling to an 18-4 major decision to advance to the Scuffle finals. In the finals, he met talented Stanford redshirt Real Woods and came away with a hard-fought 6-3 win the title. Lee went 4-0 with a pin and four majors to claim the crown. Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, won his third Southern Scuffle title. He pinned Stanford's Dom Mandarino in the semifinals at the 5:22 mark. The fall was the 54th of Nolf's career, setting a new Penn State all-time record for career pins (breaking the old mark of 53 held by Zain Retherford, David Taylor and Josh Moore). He moved into the finals where he met sophomore teammate Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.). Pipher, wrestling unseeded, advanced to the finals by pinning Ohio's Zac Carson at the 6:21 mark, advancing to the finals with his fourth straight win of the tournament. In the finals, Nolf ended the match quickly, rolling up three four-point near falls to post a 16-1 technical fall at the 2:11 mark. Nolf ends the tourney with a 5-0 record with three pins a tech and a major. He leaves Chattanooga with a new school-record 54 career pins and 99 career wins. Pipher was outstanding at 157, going 4-1 with a tech and a pin to reach the finals and placed second as an unseeded grappler. Pipher started his outstanding tournament run yesterday with a tech fall over the nation's 16th-ranked wrestler. Junior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, won his second straight Scuffle crown. He dominated No. 20 Jesse Dellavecchia of Rider in the semifinals, rolling to a 15-5 major decision to advance to the Scuffle championship. In the finals, he met No. 3 Chance Marsteller of Lock Haven the top-ranked Lion battled his way to a 6-5 win for the title. Joseph went 5-0 with a major and two pins during his tournament run. Junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 174, brought home his third straight Scuffle title. He took on No. 19 Matt Finesilver of Duke in the semifinals and dominated the Blue Devil, rolling to a 6-0 win with nearly 4:00 of riding time. He took on Oklahoma State's Joe Smith in the finals and won a thrilling battle with the two-time All-American Cowboy. Hall and Smith were tied 1-1 late when Hall nailed a quick takedown and immediately locked up a cradle for two quick near fall points, all with less than :20 in the bout. Hall's late fireworks gave him the 5-1 win and his third Southern Scuffle championship. Hall went 5-0 during the tournament with a major and two tech falls. Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 3 at 184, won his second Scuffle crown and his first at 184. He made quick work of No. 17 Sam Colbray of Iowa State in the semifinals, pinning the Cyclone in just 0:45 to advance to the finals. Rasheed, last year's Scuffle champ and OW at 197, met Virginia Tech's Hunter Bolen in the championship finals and walked away with a solid 4-1 win. The victory game Rasheed his second straight Scuffle crown. Rasheed went 4-0 overall with two majors and a pin. He also had a win over a non-collegiate grappler, which does not count towards his record. Senior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 197, pinned his way to his third Scuffle title. Fresh off winning his 100th career bout to cap off day one, Nickal continued his torrid pace, pinning No. 15 Tom Sleigh of Virginia Tech in the semifinals to start day two. Nickal's fourth fall in as many matches came at the 1:12 mark and moved the Lion senior into the Scuffle finals where he met Stanford's Nathan Traxler. Nickal completed the quest to pin his way to the Scuffle title by getting the fall over Traxler at the 2:09 mark, winning his third Scuffle title. Nickal went 5-0, all pins, with four in the first period and one in the second. He leaves Chattanooga with 102 career victories and 50 career pins. Nickal also won his second Scuffle Outstanding Wrestler honor as well as the Gorriaran Award for most pins in the least time (five in 10:32). Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 5 at 285, advanced to the Scuffle finals and placed second. He met No. 16 Matt Voss of George Mason in the semifinals and controlled the action from start to finish, posting a 14-6 major, his fourth in as many bouts, to move to the 2019 Scuffle title bout. In the finals, he met No. 3 Derek White of Oklahoma State and could not overcome a first period White takedown, dropping a hard-fought 3-2 decision to the third-ranked Cowboy. Cassar went 4-1 in his first Scuffle at 285 with four majors, taking second place. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 15 at 133, took third at his first Southern Scuffle. He faced No. 10 Austin Gomez of Iowa State in the semifinals and opened up a big lead with a dominant first period. However, leading 8-3 in the second, the Lion true freshman got caught on the edge of the mat and turned for a fast pin at the 3:57 mark. Bravo-Young rebound with a strong 11-4 win over Stanford's Mason Pengilly in the conso semis and then dominated No. 20 Sean Nickell of Cal Bakersfield in the third place match, rolling to a 10-1 major. Bravo-Young went 5-1 and placed third as the third seed. Redshirt freshman Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 10 at 149, placed third at 285 as well. The Lion freshman met No. 6 Mitch Finesilver in the semifinals and, while notching the only takedown of the bout, dropped a hard-fought 3-2 decision on riding time. Berge faced yet another top ten foe in the consolation semis and was outstanding, posting a 7-4 win over No. 7 Jarrett Degan of Iowa State. The win propelled him into the third place bout where he downed Requir Van der Merwe of Stanford 5-2 for the bronze. Berge, the fourth-seed, went 6-1 with two majors to finish third at his first Scuffle appearance. Senior Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) worked his way to a third place finish at the Scuffle. He met Oklahoma State's Derek White, ranked No. 3 nationally, in the semifinals and lost a hard-fought 4-0 decision. He moved to the consolation semifinals where dominated No. 7 Billy Miller of Virginia Tech, controlling the bout from the start and posting an 8-0 major. He took on No. 16 Matt Voss of George Mason for third and posted a 2-1 win. Nevills ended his tournament with a 5-1 mark, including a major, a tech and a fall. Redshirt freshman Mason Manville (Lorton, Va.) placed at 165 as well, taking seventh as an unseeded wrestler. Manville dominated Columbia's Laurence Kosoy 7-2 in his first conso bout on day two, guaranteeing a place at the Scuffle. He then dropped a hard-fought 8-7 decision to Duke Zach Finesilver in the consolation quarterfinals. He took on Tanner Skidgel of Navy in the seventh place bout and earned an 8-4 win. Manville posted a 4-2 mark with a major during his Scuffle weekend. Redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) went 2-2 at 149. He met Appalachian State's Matt Zovistoski in his first consolation bout of day two and, while leading by one late, gave up a late takedown and then a fall with just one second left to end his tournament. Unattached true freshman Brody Teske (Duncombe, Iowa) went 2-1 on day one, losing in the quarterfinals. The first-year 125-pounder took a medical forfeit (not a loss) in his first consolation bout and did not compete on day two. Sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) went 1-2 with a major at 125 for Penn State. Sophomore 149-pounder Luke Gardner (Pottsville, Pa.), junior 141-pounder Dominic Giannangeli (Murrysville, Pa.) and junior 184-pounder Francisco Bisono (Hauppauge, N.Y.) all competed during day one of the event as well. Penn State won the team title with 216.5 points, a new Southern Scuffle team scoring record. The Nittany Lions went 63-18 overall, including day one's 41-11 mark. Penn State collected 40 bonus wins off 20 majors, six tech falls and 14 pins. The Nittany Lions won their eighth Scuffle title in their last eight trips to the event and set a new tournament scoring record (216.5). Penn State has had the tournament's last four Outstanding Wrestlers: Bo Nickal in 2016, Mark Hall in 2017, Shakur Rasheed in 2018 and Nickal again this year. Ed Ruth (2010) and David Taylor (2012) have also won Scuffle OW honors. Nickal's Gorriaran Award is Penn State's second straight as well. Jason Nolf won last year's Gorriaran as well. Nickal leaves Chattanooga with 102 career wins, the newest member of Penn State's 100-win club. His five pins give him 50 for his career, fifth all-time at Penn State. Teammate Jason Nolf is Penn State's new all-time leader in falls, breaking the record here in Chattanooga. Nolf now has 54 pins for his career. He also has 99 wins, one shy of joining Nickal in the 100-win club. Rasheed now has 26 career pins, tied for 20th all-time at Penn State. Hall, while winning his Scuffle title without a pin, is 18th all-time in falls at Penn State with 28. Joseph, with two pins at the Scuffle, has eight pins this year, more than he had in the previous two seasons combined. The Nittany Lions are 4-0 in dual meets to date and return to action in nine days when they will open up Big Ten action at Northwestern on Friday, Jan. 11, at 8 p.m. (Eastern), 7 p.m. (Central). Penn State returns to Rec Hall two days later against Wisconsin on Sunday, Jan. 13, at 1 p.m. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. 2019 Southern Scuffle January 2, 2019 - McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, Tenn. TEAM STANDINGS (Top 3 - FINAL) 1: PENN STATE - 216.5 2: Oklahoma State - 188.5 3: Iowa State - 104.0

125: Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Luke Werner (Lock Haven), 13-2 Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado) dec. Alex Mackall (Iowa State), 4-0 133: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) tech. fall Sean Nickell (CSU Bakersfield), 18-3 Austin Gomez (Iowa State) pinned Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State), 3:57 141: Nick Lee (Penn State) maj. dec. Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven), 18-4 Real Woods (Stanford) dec. Nicholas Gil (Navy), 3-1 149: Mitch Finesilver (Duke) dec. Brady Berge (Penn State), 3-2 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) tech. fall Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield), 18-3 5:18 157: Jason Nolf (Penn State) pinned Dom Mandarino (Stanford), 5:22 Bo Pipher (Penn State) pinned Zac Carson (Ohio), 6:21 165: Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) maj. dec. Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider), 15-5 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) dec. Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State), 3-1 174: Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. Matt Finesilver (Duke), 6-0 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) dec. David McFadden (Virginia Tech), 11-4 184: Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) pinned Sam Colbray (Iowa State), 0:45 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) dec. Lou Deprez (Binghamton), 3-2 197: Bo Nickal (Penn State) pinned Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech), 1:12 Nathan Traxler (Stanford) dec. Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State), 9-7 285: Anthony Cassar (Penn State) maj. dec. Matt Voss (George Mason), 14-6 Derek White (Oklahoma State) dec. Nick Nevills (Penn State), 4-0

125: Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) tech. fall Jakob Camacho (NC State), 17-0 6:49 Luke Werner (Lock Haven) tech. fall Brody Teske (Penn State), 15-0 5:33 Alex Mackall (Iowa State) dec. Gabriel Townsell (Stanford), 7-5 Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado) maj. dec. Alonzo Allen (Chattanooga), 17-5 133: Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) tech. fall Jarrett Trombley (NC State), 25-10 6:47 Sean Nickell (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Mason Pengilly (Stanford), 4-2 Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec. Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech), 8-6 SV Austin Gomez (Iowa State) maj. dec. Casey Cobb (Navy), 14-4 141: Nick Lee (Penn State) maj. dec. Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh), 11-3 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) by medical forfeit over Ian Parker (Iowa State) Nicholas Gil (Navy) dec. DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven), 9-6 Real Woods (Stanford) by medical forfeit over Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) 149: Mitch Finesilver (Duke) dec. Requir Van der merwe (Stanford), 5-0 Brady Berge (Penn State) dec. Jared Prince (Navy), 4-3 Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Jarrett Degen (Iowa State), 7-5 SV Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) dec. Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State), 3-2 157: Jason Nolf (Penn State) maj. dec. Jonce Blaylock (Oklahoma State), 21-7 Dom Mandarino (Stanford) dec. BC Laprade (Virginia Tech), 4-3 10:46 Bo Pipher (Penn State) dec. Ben Anderson (Duke), 5-3 Zac Carson (Ohio) dec. Paul Fox (Stanford), 7-5 SV 165: Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec. Shane Griffith (Stanford), 6-4 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) dec. Tyler Marinelli (Gardner Webb), 4-1 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) pinned Zach Finesilver (Duke), 2:20 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) dec. Mason Manville (Penn State), 4-2 174: Mark Hall (Penn State) maj. dec. Marcus Coleman (Iowa State), 14-4 Matt Finesilver (Duke) dec. Vincent Deprez (Binghamton), 9-2 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) dec. Trent Hidlay (NC State), 4-2 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) dec. Jacob Oliver (Edinboro), 7-3 184: Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) maj. dec. Hunter Yeargan (Ohio), 11-0 Sam Colbray (Iowa State) dec. Dom Ducharme (CSU Bakersfield), 9-3 Lou Deprez (Binghamton) dec. Chris Weiler (Lehigh), 5-2 Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) dec. Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State), 3-1 197: Bo Nickal (Penn State) pinned Josh Roetman (Navy), 1:47 Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech) dec. Stephen Loiseau (Drexel), 5-2 Nathan Traxler (Stanford) dec. Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado), 7-5 Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) pinned Randall Diabe (App St), 5:18 285: Anthony Cassar (Penn State) maj. dec. Gannon Gremmel (Iowa State), 16-5 Matt Voss (George Mason) dec. Billy Miller (Virginia Tech), 3-3 Derek White (Oklahoma State) pinned Thomas Haines (Lock Haven), 4:08 Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. Joey Goodhart (Drexel), 7-1

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Seven Oklahoma State wrestlers advanced to semifinals action at the Southern Scuffle on Tuesday evening, with Chandler Rogers (165), Dakota Geer (197) and Derek White (HWT) each pinning their opponents in the quarterfinals. The Cowboys had a strong outing on the first day of competition, going 38-11 overall. OSU is positioned in second, trailing only Penn State (121.5) in the team race with 111.5 points. Of the 38 bouts, 26 came with bonus points attached. Rogers received a bye to the round of sixteen and pinned Colt Yinger of Ohio and Duke's Zach Finesilver to claim a spot in the semifinals. At 197, Geer earned a technical fall in his first match, then defeated Dylan Reynolds (Edinboro) before pinning Randal Diabe (Appalachian State) in the quarterfinals. White controlled his competition at 285 pounds, winning two technical falls in the earlier rounds before pinning Lock Haven's Thomas Haines. At 125 pounds, redshirt junior Nick Piccinnini outscored his opponents 51-1 on the day. He notched technical falls over Arick Shankles (Edinboro), Cevion Severado (Missouri) and Jakob Camacho (NC State) to advance to the semifinals round. Daton Fix dominated the 133-pound bracket winning two technical falls and recording his first pin of the season over Air Force's John Towmey. Kaden Gfeller notched falls in his first three matches of the day before gutting out a 3-2 decision against Penn State's Jarod Verleeren. Gfeller won the Scuffle title at 141 pounds a year ago wrestling unattached. Joe Smith took his first two matches at 174 pounds by fall and won a tight 4-2 decision over Trent Hidlay in the quarterfinals. Bumping up to 184 pounds, Jacobe Smith fell to Virginia Tech's Hunter Bolen, 3-2, in the quarterfinals. Jonce Blaylock also lost his quarterfinals match with two-time NCAA Champion Jason Nolf. They will begin wrestling in consolations for a shot at podium tomorrow. Dusty Hone is still in the hunt at 149 pounds for the Cowboys. After dropping his first bout of the day to Penn State's Brady Berge, the Cowboy has won four straight matches in the consolation bracket, including a 15-6 major decision to close out the day. The Cowboys return to the mats tomorrow at 10 a.m. local time with a shot at 10 wrestlers claiming spots on the podium. Fans can watch the action on FloWrestling.com or follow along with @CowboyWrestling on Twitter.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- No. 1 Penn State (4-0, 0-0 B1G) is standing tall after the first day of the 2019 Southern Scuffle, presented by Compound Sportswear, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Head coach Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lions sit in first place and have 11 semifinalists at nine weights. The two-day event continues tomorrow, Jan. 2, in UT-Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena. Two Lions notched milestone wins on day one. Senior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas) became the newest member of the Nittany Lion 100-wins club on day one. He picked up three wins (all by fall) to hit the 100 career win mark. Nickal enters tomorrow's second day of the Southern Scuffle with a 100-3 career record. Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.) tied the Penn State record for falls in a career with two pins as well. He has 53 now, tied with Zain Retherford, David Taylor and Josh Moore. He needs one more to own the record alone. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 15 at 133, was solid on day one of the Scuffle, becoming Penn State's first semifinalist with a 3-0 day at 133. Bravo-Young downed Stanford's Dalton Young 4-3, Lehigh's Nick Farro 4-1 and Virginia Tech's Collin Gerardi 8-6 (sv) to move into tomorrow's semifinal round. Sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 4 at 141, went 4-0 on the first day, getting a pin in the first round and then reeling off three straight impressive majors. He majored Pitt's Cole Matthews 11-3 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals tomorrow. Redshirt freshman Brady Berge (Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 10 at 149, rolled through the first day of the Scuffle, going 4-0. He had two majors and moved into the semifinals with a strong 4-3 win over No. 17 Jared Prince of Navy in the quarterfinals. Nolf, ranked No. 1 at 157, went 3-0 on day one and tied the Penn State all-time pins list (53) with two quick pins. He then majored Oklahoma State's Jonce Blaylock in the quarters to move into tomorrow's semifinals. Sophomore Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) had an outstanding first day at the Scuffle. He opened up his tournament by rolling over No. 14 Dan Reed of Columbia, posting a 16-0 tech fall at the 3:00 mark. He added wins over Chase Straw of Iowa State and Ben Anderson of Duke to advance to the semifinals. Junior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, went 3-0 at 165. He opened his tournament with two pins, his seventh and eighth of the year, and then downed Stanford's Shane Griffith in the quarterfinals to advance to tomorrow's semis. Junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 174, sailed into the semifinals with three bonus wins. He notched two tech falls by a combined 39-9 in his first two bouts and then majored Iowa State's Marcus Coleman 14-4 in the quarterfinals. Hall's 3-0 day moves him into tomorrow's semifinal round. Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 3 at 184, also advanced to the semifinals. He went 2-0 officially, both major decisions over Joel Shapiro of Iowa State and Hunter Yeargan of Ohio in the quarterfinals. Rasheed also picked up a 12-2 major over non-collegiate wrestler Jonathan Loew, a result that does not count as a win or a loss, nor for any stats or team records. Nickal, ranked No. 1 at 197, picked up three wins on three pins to earn his 100th career victory at Penn State and punch his ticket to the semifinals. Nickal pinned North Carolina State's Tyrie Houghton (3:49) and Lock Haven's Luke McGonigal (1:34) to advance to the quarters. He then picked up win 100 with a third straight fall, this one over Josh Roetman of Navy at the 1:47 mark. Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 5 at 285, went 3-0 on day one, getting three dominating majors over wrestlers from Ohio, Rider and Iowa State to advance to the semifinals tomorrow. Senior Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) also went 3-0 on day one at 285. Nevills was strong, posting a pin, a tech fall and a 7-1 win over No. 17 Joey Goodhart of Drexel in the quarters to move to the semifinals. Redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) went 2-1 on day one. He advanced to the quarterfinals with a first round tech fall and a major in the second round. In the quarterfinals, he lost a close 3-2 decision to No. 12 Kaden Gfeller of Oklahoma State and will continue in consos tomorrow. Redshirt freshman Mason Manville (Lorton, Va.) had a strong first day at 165. Manville won his first two bouts, a major and a 6-2 win over Navy's Tanner Skidgel, to move to the quarterfinals where he met No. 3 Chance Marsteller of Lock Haven. Manville battled the ranked Bald Eagle tough but lost 4-2 and will continue in consolation action tomorrow. Wrestling unattached, true freshman Brody Teske (Duncombe, Iowa) took to the mat for the first time this season at 125 and began his tournament with two solid wins (6-3 and 4-3 decisions) to advance to the quarterfinals. He lost to Lock Haven's Luke Werner in the quarters, falling into consolation action tomorrow. Sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) opened up his tournament with a strong major over Drexel's Antonio Mininno at 125 but lost to No. 17 Rico Montoya of Northern Colorado in the second round. He then battled Navy's Aslan Kilic tough before losing a close 7-6 decision to end the tournament with a 1-2 mark. Sophomore Luke Gardner (Pottsville, Pa.) competed at 149, dropping two close decisions to bow out of the tournament. Junior Dominic Giannangeli (Murrysville, Pa.) wrestled at 141, dropping a couple tough decisions. He did pick up a victory against a non-collegiate entry but the win does not count towards his record. Junior Francisco Bisono (Hauppauge, N.Y.) competed at 184, dropping both his matches, including a tough 6-4 (sv) decision to Oklahoma State's Bear Hughes in consolation action. The Nittany Lions lead the team race after the first day with 121.5 points while Oklahoma State is second with 111.5. Iowa State and Lock Haven are tied for third with 60.0 each. Penn State went 41-11 on day one, including a 30-8 first session and an 11-3 second session. The Nittany Lions totaled 29 bonus point wins off 15 majors, five technical falls and nine pins. Action continues starting tomorrow at 10 a.m. with the consolation action followed by the semifinals. Penn State is looking to win its eighth Southern Scuffle title in its last eight trips to the event. The Nittany Lions are 4-0 in dual meets to date and, after tomorrow's Scuffle finale, will open up Big Ten action at Northwestern on Friday, Jan. 11, at 8 p.m. (Eastern) and home against Wisconsin on Sunday, Jan. 13, at 1 p.m. in Rec Hall. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. 2019 Southern Scuffle January 1, 2019 - McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, Tenn. TEAM STANDINGS (Top 3) 1: PENN STATE - 121.5 2: Oklahoma State - 111.5 3: Iowa State - 60.0 3: Lock Haven - 60.0

Link: Brackets A Twitter List by InterMat

Brock Lesnar shoves Daniel Cormier Two MMA giants with UFC titles and amateur wrestling backgrounds in their career resumes may get to meet each other in the Octagon for an actual fight, according to UFC President Dana White. White said a bout between current UFC heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier and former UFC champ (and current WWE Universal Champ) Brock Lesnar is very much a possibility after UFC 232 this past weekend. "No, (Lesnar is) not out of the picture," White said at the post-event news conference at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., site of UFC 232. "Absolutely (he could still fight Cormier). I think he's already under contract with me. We were talking about it, and then he ended up signing a new deal with WWE. "He's in a very unique position because he can play this thing between UFC and WWE," according to White. "And they get right down to the wire, and I think (WWE chairman) Vince (McMahon) throws so much money at him that he says, 'All right, I'll do (WWE) again.' Because this is here no matter what. When he's ready, he can come in here and fight and he's gonna make a (expletive) ton of money here, too. So it makes sense. I'm assuming that's what's going on." That said, White has no plans to wait for Lesnar to take his time making a decision as to a possible return to the Octagon. "One of the things you guys know about me is, I don't wait for anybody. I'm not (expletive) waiting around for anybody. I'm rolling with the business," White said. "Guy doesn't want to fight this year? It's all good. It doesn't matter who you are - how big you are, what your deal is. You don't want to fight, do your thing. When you're ready to fight, you come back and talk to me and we'll figure something out." Why is the president of UFC bringing this up now? The idea of a Cormier-Lesnar UFC bout can trace its roots back to this past July at UFC 226. Lesnar entered the Octagon after Cormier had defeated Stipe Miocic to win the UFC heavyweight Title, shoving the newly-crowned champ... and setting up buzz among MMA fans of a possible grudge match. Until this past weekend, Cormier had held both the UFC heavyweight (265 pounds) and UFC light-heavyweight (205 pounds) titles. On Saturday, Cormier ceased to be a two-division champion when Jon Jones won back the light heavyweight title with a TKO of Alexander Gustafsson in the UFC 232 main event. That quickly set up talk of a third fight between Cormier and Jones, his arch rival... with UFC's White saying, in essence, don't shut the door on a Cormier-Lesnar UFC bout. Both Cormier and Lesnar would bring strong amateur wrestling credentials to a UFC fight. Cormier, 39, was a three-time Louisiana high school state wrestling champ who then became a two-time 197-pound NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) champ for Colby Community College in Kansas. Cormier then transferred to Oklahoma State where he made it to the 184-pound finals at the 2001 NCAA Division I championships, losing to current Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson, 8-4. Cormier was also twice a member of the U.S. Olympic men's freestyle team, placing fourth at the 2004 Athens Olympics, but was unable to compete at the 2008 Beijing Games due to kidney failure. The 41-year-old Lesnar started his mat career at Webster High in South Dakota, placing third at the state championships. He headed north to Bismarck State College in North Dakota, where he won the heavyweight title at the 1998 NJCAA championships. The 6'3", 265-pound collegian caught the eye of J Robinson, then head coach at University of Minnesota. In two years as a Gopher, Lesnar was twice a Big Ten heavyweight champ and two-time NCAA finalist, winning the title at the 2000 NCAAs.

Mike Duroe was an honorary coach for USA at the Freestyle World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) This past year saw the passing of a number of individuals who participated in the oldest and greatest sport in some capacity, whether that was decades ago ... or if they were still active. Stars of the wrestling mat InterMat paid tribute to a number of accomplished former wrestlers in 2018, including Vern Jones, 93, three-time conference champ for Stanford who went on to become a philanthropist ... Art Helf, 86, 1953 NCAA All-American for Franklin & Marshall University (Pennsylvania) … Dr. Ken Faust, 85, Pa. state wrestling champ, four-time EIWA conference championships medalist for Lehigh, and groundbreaking eye surgeon ... Werner Holzer, 81, University of Illinois Big Ten champ and NCAA All-American who was instrumental in the establishment of the U.S. Wrestling Federation ... Bob Mayo, 75, early 1960s Iowa state champ for Grinnell High who later became a professional rodeo champion ... Randy Jeffries, 67, Arizona State mat alum who was serving as a volunteer coach at Durant (Okla.) High at time of death ... and George Kovach, 53, Drexel wrestler who was a three-time East Coast Conference heavyweight champ in the mid-1980s. In addition, two members of the Cornell College Dream Team of 1947 that won NCAA team title that year left us in 2018. Al Partin, 96, heavyweight wrestler at Cornell who went on to coach at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and at Knox College in Illinois, died in mid-October ... while Lowell Lange, a three-time NCAA wrestling champ for the Purple who went on coach the now-defunct varsity mat program at Georgia Tech, passed away Thanksgiving week at age 90. What's more, three members of the Penn State wrestling squad of the early 1950s passed away within weeks of each other in fall 2018, including Don Maurey, 88, who had been was a Pennsylvania state champ and later was an EIWA champ and NCAA All-American for the Nittany Lions ... along with twin brothers Don and Doug Frey (who are listed below among the college coaches). Worthy of special mention is Joy Davids, 85, first woman to be welcomed into the Michigan chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for her decades of service to the sport. Among her accomplishments: being among to establish a youth wrestling club, and managing a number of major youth wrestling tournaments (along with her husband Lee). Stanley Henson at the age of 100 at the NCAAs Then there's Stanley Henson, M.D., three-time NCAA champion wrestler for legendary coach Ed Gallagher at Oklahoma State in the late 1930s, who, at the time of his passing in February at age 101, was believed to be the eldest living collegiate champion in any sport. Henson went on to coach at the U.S. Naval Academy, then became a medical doctor, surgeon and sports medicine pioneer in Colorado for decades. Henson was welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1978, and, in 2017, was presented with the Gallagher Award, presented each year to an Oklahoma State alumnus who exemplifies the spirit and leadership eminent in the tradition of champions. One individual well-known beyond amateur wrestling was Bill Fralic, 56, who died in December after a long cancer battle. Before making a name for himself as an offensive lineman -- first for University of Pittsburgh, then the Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions (as well as dabbling in the WWE) -- Fralic was a WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) heavyweight champ who also wrestled at the PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) state championships for Penn Hills High in suburban Pittsburgh. Coaching greats In the past 12 months, InterMat reported on the passing of more than a dozen individuals who served as high school wrestling coaches, active and retired, including Bob Darrah, 89, incredibly successful coach at three Iowa high schools and at Iowa's Simpson College despite never having wrestled ... Bob Siddens, 93, Waterloo West High coach (mentored Dan Gable, among others) who had wrestled at Northern Iowa in the late 1940s and served as mat official ... Mike Milkovich, 96, who built the Maple Heights High program to one of the premier programs in Ohio and beyond ... Stan Mousetis, 88, four-decade prep coach in Pennsylvania who was an EIWA champ at Franklin & Marshall ... Gene Bowman, 88, Pennsylvania high school coach and co-founder of Dapper Dan tournament ... Frank Vulcano, Sr., 89, Chartiers High (Pennsylvania) coach, Lock Haven wrestler and mat official ... Fred Waltermire, 76, long-time coach of storied Perry High mat program (and Oklahoma Sooner wrestler) ... Ken Pagach, 76, who headed up New Jersey's Edison High program for three decades ...Gene Doyle, 77, 47-year coach at three Iowa high schools (including nearly 40 years at Cedar Falls) ... Mike "Biggie" Smith, 71, Newport High (Pa.) wrestler who returned to his alma mater as coach, athletic director at mat official ... Alford Eugene Knight, 71, long-time Oklahoma City high school coach ... Joe Bena, 79, who coached at high schools in upstate New York for a half-century ... Barry Clark, 72, founding coach of varsity wrestling program at Middletown High in Rhode Island ... Mark Jacovittee, 68, Maryland high school coach for more than 50 years ... Jim Day, 64, Berlin High (Conn.) coach for nearly four decades ... Dave Burak, 58, long-time coach at Elmira (N.Y.) schools ... Vincent Altebrando, 51, coach at Walt Whitman High on Long Island ... Dan Youngblood, 51, coach at his prep alma mater, Old Mill High in Maryland ... J.J. Thaw, 44, assistant coach at Norton High in Kansas ... Kevin Gilligan, 40, Maryland high school coach ... Chad Jones, 39, head coach at Hayden High in Colorado ... Ed Piccola, 36, New Jersey wrestling coach at Buxton Athletic Training Center irun by Jeff Buxton ... and Nick Nosbisch, 29, Holly Springs High (N.C.) head coach. In addition to the aforementioned prep coaches, a number of coaches with collegiate coaching experience left us, including Mike Duroe, 63, Cornell College coach for 13 seasons and six-time Olympic freestyle coaching staff member ... Vaughan Hitchcock, 84, former Cal Poly head coach ... James White, 84, head coach at Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania for more than 30 years ... Tony DeCarlo, 77, wrestling coach for nearly 50 years at John Carroll University in Cleveland ... Joe Keeton, 77, former head coach at University of Missouri-Rolla for nearly two decades ... and Bill Racich, head coach at Pennsylvania's Ursinus College who tallied 540 wins in his career. Rande Stottlemyer University of Pittsburgh lost two former head wrestling coaches this year: Rande Stottlemyer, 62, three-time All-American wrestler at Pitt who became Panthers head coach from 1979-2013 ... and Dave Johnson, 82, three-time EIWA champ at Pitt who became the school's head coach in the mid-1960s. Then there are the Frey brothers ... twins who were Penn State mat alums who later went on to collegiate coaching careers in Philadelphia, and died within weeks of each other. Don Frey, 87, was a two-time NCAA All-American for the Nittany Lions who later became head wrestling coach and athletic trainer at University of Pennsylvania ... and Don's twin brother Doug Frey, a New Jersey high school state champ, member of the Penn State team that won the 1953 NCAA team title in their home gym, and long-time head coach at Drexel University. Died in service to us A handful of former wrestlers with military service were taken from us in 2018, including Sen. John McCain, 81, R-Arizona, who, prior to entering politics was a Navy aviator shot down and captured by North Vietnam in 1967 and held prisoner for 5 1/2 years, had wrestled at Episcopal High School (Virginia) and at the U.S. Naval Academy ... Army Sgt. First Class Eric Michael Emond, 39, wrestling alum at BMC Durfee High (Mass.), killed by explosive device serving in Afghanistan ... Spc. Javion Shavonte Sullivan, 24, former wrestler at Fort Mill High (S.C.), killed in a non-combat accident in Iraq ... and Marine Cpl. Donavon Macura, 20, three-time Montana state qualifier, died in Japan while in training. Nicholas Clark, 29, a New York State trooper who was killed in the line of duty while answering a domestic violence call, had been a N.Y. state wrestling champ for Canisteo-Greenwood High. Two men with coaching backgrounds were killed protecting others at much-publicized mass shooting incidents. In February, Chris Hixon, 49, wrestling coach and athletic director at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, was among 17 killed at the south Florida school ... and Sean Adler, 48, former assistant coach at Royal High School in Simi Valley, Calif. was among 12 shot to death at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks where he worked as a bouncer. Olympians In 2018, InterMat paid tribute to a handful of wrestlers who earned distinction by competing in the Olympics. Bill Smith, 89, 1952 U.S. Olympic gold medalist in freestyle, two-time NCAA champ at University of Northern Iowa, and coach at San Francisco's Olympic Club, as well as at high schools and colleges in California ... Pat Lovell, 81, Cal Poly wrestling champ and member of 1964 Olympic U.S. Greco-Roman squad ... Bob Pickens, 75, first African-American to wrestle on a U.S. Olympic Greco team at 1964 Tokyo Games ... Soslan Andrivev, 66, two-time Olympic gold medalist in men's freestyle for Soviets at 1976 and 1980 Games … and Frank Andersson, 62, 1984 Olympic bronze medalist in Greco-Roman for Sweden who later became a professional wrestler. Eli Stickely (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Gone too soon Among the wrestlers past and present who were taken in the prime of life were Larry Quisel, 41, two-time NCAA All-American wrestler (and 2000 NCAA finalist) for the now-defunct program at Boise State, who died of natural causes while on a hunting trip ... Donnie Morgan, 38, Lindenwood University-St. Charles (Mo.) mat alum who lost his battle with leukemia ... Keith Cupp, 35, 2005 NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) 174-pound champ for Cumberland University of Tennessee, the school's first national champ in any sport ... JoeQuan Richardson, 24, a senior at Central Baptist College in Arkansas ... Curtis LeMair, 18, freshman wrestler at South Dakota's Northern State University and past InterMat Classic champ, who died of a previously undetected heart defect ... Davontae Randall, 21, former New Jersey state championships placer for Paulsboro High, murdered in a drive-by shooting ... Eli Stickley, 21, University of Wisconsin wrestler and 2014 Ohio state champ for nationally-ranked powerhouse Graham High School (and member of the legendary Jordan wrestling family), in a single-car crash in western Illinois ... Jack Marsh, Jr., 19, former Eastern Michigan University wrestler, shot to death just east of the campus ... Bryce Sheffer, 19, SIU-Edwardsville wrestler killed in an ATV accident ... Elijah Lacey, 18, Lawrence Central wrestler, shot to death while sitting in his car in an Indianapolis parking lot on Memorial Day ... Bailey Rush, 17, senior wrestler at Nashville's Father Ryan High School, who drowned ... Coby Stevens, 16, Canastota Jr.-Sr. High (New York), in a one-car accident ... and Tommy Williamitis, 16, Dayton (Ohio) Christian wrestler, killed in a head-on car crash. To learn more about any of the individuals named here, simply type the person's name + "InterMat" in your favorite search engine such as Google or Bing.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The pre-seeds for the 2019 Southern Scuffle have been released. The event takes place Tuesday and Wednesday in Chattanooga, Tenn. 125: 1. Nick Piccininni (Oklahoma State) 2. Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado) 3. Gabriel Townsell (Stanford) 4. Fabian Guttierrez (Chattanooga) 5. Shakur Laney (Ohio) 6. Alex Mackall (Iowa State) 7. Sidney Flores (Air Force) 8. Jonathan Tropea (Rider) 133: 1. Daton Fix (Oklahoma State) 2. Austin Gomez (Iowa State) 3. Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) 4. Sean Nickell (CSU Bakersfield) 5. Mason Pengilly (Stanford) 6. Codi Russell (Appalachian State) 7. Anthony DeCesare (Air Force) 8. Matt Kazimir (Columbia) 141: 1. Nick Lee (Penn State) 2. Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) 3. Nick Gil (Navy) 4. Ian Parker (Iowa State) 5. Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) 6. DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven) 7. Garrett O'Shea (Air Force) 8. Cole Matthews (Pittsburgh-Unattached) 149: 1. Mitch Finesilver (Duke) 2. Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State) 3. Jarrett Degen (Iowa State) 4. Brady Berge (Penn State) 5. Jared Prince (Navy) 6. Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State) 7. Russell Rohlfing (CSU Bakersfield) 8. Matt Zovistoski (Appalachian State) 157: 1. Jason Nolf (Penn State) 2. Paul Fox (Stanford) 3. Dan Reed (Columbia) 4. Dom Mandarino (Stanford) 5. BC Laprade (Virginia Tech) 6. Kolby Ho (George Mason) 7. Alexander Mossing (Air Force) 8. Alex Klucker (Lock Haven) 165: 1. Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) 2. Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) 3. Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) 4. Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) 5. Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) 6. Tyler Marinelli (Gardner Webb) 7. Zach Finesilver (Duke) 8. Colston DiBlasi (George Mason) 174: 1. Mark Hall (Penn State) 2. David McFadden (Virginia Tech) 3. Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) 4. Spencer Carey (Navy) 5. Matt Finesilver (Duke) 6. Trent Hidlay (North Carolina State-Unattached) 7. Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) 8. Marcus Coleman (Iowa State) 184: 1. Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) 2. Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State) 3. Lou Deprez (Binghamton) 4. Sam Colbray (Iowa State) 5. Stanley Smeltzer (Virginia Tech) 6. Chris Weiler (Lehigh) 7. Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech-Unattached) 8. Dominic Lampe (Chattanooga) 197: 1. Bo Nickal (Penn State) 2. Dakota Geer (Oklahoma State) 3. Nathan Traxler (Stanford) 4. Stephen Loiseau (Drexel) 5. Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech) 6. Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado) 7. Randall Diabe (Appalachian State) 8. Kyle Gentile (Lehigh) 285: 1. Anthony Cassar (Penn State) 2. Nick Nevills (Penn State) 3. Derek White (Oklahoma State) 4. Billy Miller (Virginia Tech) 5. Matt Voss (George Mason) 6. Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) 7. Joey Goodhart (Drexel) 8. Colin Lawler (North Carolina State-Unattached)

Matthew Kolodzik was one of two Midlands champs for Princeton (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Simply put, 2018 had to end this way. A year that saw Matthew Kolodzik roll through four of the top six seeds at NCAAs and Princeton end long droughts to both Lehigh and Rider fittingly ended Sunday night with the Tiger wrestling program end a 55-year drought by claiming its first Midlands individual champion. And then it ended a 55-minute drought by claiming its second. Top-seeded Matthew Kolodzik, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 149, defeated Northern Iowa's Max Thomsen 3-1 to claim Princeton's first Midlands title, and sophomore Patrick Brucki, currently ranked third at 197, ended the dream run of South Dakota State's Tanner Sloan with a 13-4 major decision to earn the program's second title. Those wins, along with a strong overall performance throughout the team, helped Princeton to its highest-finish ever at Midlands. The Tigers placed fifth overall with 92.5 points, only five behind Wisconsin. "We're headed in the right direction," head coach Chris Ayres said. "We have a few good competitive leaders, and they shined. Other guys had some good moments as well. We had three guys who were terrific this weekend. Now we need 3-4 more guys to make a bit of a jump, and then we can become an incredible team." Kolodzik broke the program drought with an impressive defensive showing and a timely first-period takedown of the third-seeded Thomsen. After a feeling-out process through much of the opening period, Kolodzik got in on Thomsen's legs and secured the takedown with less than 10 seconds left in the period, which kept the third seed from scoring an escape point. Kolodzik escaped quickly in the second to grab a 3-0 lead, and Thomsen added an escape of his own early in the third to draw within two points. The Northern Iowa product tried for a tying takedown, but the two-time All-American put on a brilliant defensive display and fended off one final late shot to complete the 3-1 win. The often-stoic Kolodzik, who avenged a 2017 Midlands loss with a 7-4 semifinal win over Iowa's Pat Lugo, clapped loudly when he was announced as Princeton's first Midlands champion and pointed excitedly to a loud, orange-clad cheering section. "He did a great job," Ayres said. "He's done a lot of our firsts, so I think he has a little added pressure on him, but he handles it so well. He has that clutch gene. Once you bust through like he does, it becomes the normal thing for a program." While Kolodzik's match was dramatic until the final whistle, Brucki seized control immediately against Sloan, who knocked off both the second and third seed to reach the final. The Princeton sophomore captain had his first takedown within the first 10 seconds and didn't stop until he had four in the opening period alone. A variety of shots all landed points for Brucki, who scored a team-best 27 points throughout the weekend -- which would have finished only one point behind Penn for a Top-20 finish. While his championship performance was impressive, it wasn't his only one Sunday. His semifinal was a potential EIWA title preview against sixth-ranked Rocco Caywood of Army, and Brucki was just as overwhelming in a 9-1 major decision. "He's in a special place," Ayres said. "He's not holding back at all. Not even close, that was the best he's wrestled in that finals match. He overwhelmed him, and he had his foot on the pedal the whole time." Patrick Glory had a brilliant weekend of his own, even if he didn't end up on the top of the podium. Glory dropped a semifinal decision to top-ranked Spencer Lee of Iowa, who had teched the Tiger freshman in an earlier dual meet. Lee looked on his way to another tech after a pair of near falls in the first period, but Glory would not go quietly. He scored a reversal and ended up putting Lee to his back in an eventual 12-6 loss. Though disappointed not to reach the final, Glory seemed inspired by the way he finished, and he showed it with a pair of major decisions to place third, including a 14-5 win in the finale over Wisconsin's Connor Brown, the nation's 19th-ranked wrestler. Both Quincy Monday and Kevin Parker dropped their opening matches Sunday and just missed the medal podium after impressive runs to the quarterfinal round. Princeton will return to the mat on Saturday when it competes at the F&M Open, and then the Tigers will return home to prepare for a huge home weekend against both North Carolina (Friday, 7 pm, Dillon Gym) and Oklahoma State (Saturday, 1 pm, Jadwin Gym).

Josh Alber celebrates after winning a Midlands title at 141 pounds (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- For the first time in UNI wrestling history, the Panthers crowned two champions and earned the highest team finish since competing at the Midlands Championships. Josh Alber and Drew Foster led the team to second place and lived up to their top seeds to become UNI's seventh and eighth Midlands champions at the 56th annual tournament today. After a scoreless first period in the 141-pound match, Alber earned an escape in the second and notched two takedowns in the final period to beat Iowa's No. 2 seed Max Murin, 5-2. Foster plowed his way through the 184-pound weight class with a fall, a tech fall and two major decisions before edging out Iowa's Cash Wilcke in the finals, 3-2. Four Panthers competed for a title, the most of any UNI team in program history. In 1992, UNI had two finalists who finished second. This is the first time UNI has crowned two champions. Max Thomsen and Taylor Lujan finished second at 149 pounds and 174 pounds, respectively. Thomsen toppled No. 2 seed Alec Pantaleo of Michigan, 7-4. However, he wasn't able to beat top-seeded Matthew Kolodzik of Princeton, who was third at last year's national championships. Thomsen lost by decision, 3-1. Lujan got on the board early with a takedown against the reigning NCAA champion and the No. 1 seed Zahid Valencia of Arizona State. However, he fell by major decision, 17-7. Lujan ended the tournament with three falls, including two in the first period. Bryce Steiert was seeded fourth and racked up bonus points all weekend at 165 pounds. All of his wins were by major decision, tech fall or fall. The single riding time point in the bronze medal match left Steiert with a fourth-place finish. Michael Blockhus also finished fourth wrestling unattached at 141 pounds. The true freshman opened the tournament with a 15-3 major decision win over No. 6 seed Mike Vanbrill of Rutgers. He fell 8-1 to the No. 5 seed Yahya Thomas of Northwestern to take fourth. Kyle Biscoglia beat three-time NCAA qualifier Elijah Oliver of Indiana in a 3-1 decision for the seventh-place medal at 125 pounds. TEAM SCORING Bonus points helped UNI surge ahead in team scoring finish second to Iowa. Every Panther competing for a medal earned bonus points for the team. The Panthers improved on their fifth-place finishes from 2013 and 1974: Standings: 1. Iowa 184 2. UNI 119.5 3. Northwestern 110 4. Wisconsin 976.5 5. Princeton 92.5 6. Arizona State 83 7. Fresno State 69.5 8. Army 68 9. Illinois 65 10. Campbell 57.5 NEXT UP UNI will face South Dakota State in Brookings, South Dakota, Jan. 11. The Panthers follow it up with a dual against Nebraska on the road. UNI returns home to host Air Force 2 p.m. Jan. 20.

Sebastian Rivera defeated Spencer Lee to win a Midlands title (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Sebastian Rivera and Ryan Deakin sealed their first-career Midlands championships with solid performances on Sunday evening at the Sears Centre Arena. No. 2 Rivera's win came with the most fanfare. He scored early and often against No. 1 Spencer Lee of Iowa, who was undefeated and had not trailed after any period in the season until tonight. Rivera notched three takedowns of the Hawkeye without being taken down once and came away with a 7-3 win over the top-ranked grappler in the nation. The victory was Rivera's first win over Lee in three matchups over the last two seasons. No. 2 Deakin was efficient in his victory over No. 8 Kaleb Young (Iowa), using a consistent and effective strategy to log a 6-2 decision over the Hawkeye. The redshirt sophomore continued his undefeated start to the campaign and came away with the tournament title after finishing third in each of the last two seasons. The win marked the first time that Northwestern has boasted two champions since 2011, when Jason Welch and Lee Munster both won Midlands crowns. NU also sealed its best finish in the team competition since 2014, coming in third behind only Iowa and Northern Iowa. Wrestling for third place, redshirt first-year Yahya Thomas put on a show, notching an 8-1 decision over Michael Blockhus (Northern Iowa - unattached). Thomas placed for the second-straight year, after finishing in sixth place as an unattached wrestler for the Wildcats a year ago. Competing in the event for the first time, true first-year Lucas Davison closed out an impressive weekend with a victory over fourth-seeded Rocco Caywood (Army) in the third-place match. Davison finished with a 5-1 record while wrestling unattached in his Midlands debut. NU is back in action in the new year as the Wildcats will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face off against the Cornhuskers on January 6, 2019.

Iowa captured the team title at the 56th Midlands Championships (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- Sophomores Austin DeSanto and Alex Marinelli won individual titles to help Iowa capture the team race at the 56th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Sunday inside the Sears Centre Arena. Iowa scored 184 points to win its 28th Midlands title, 10 of which have been led by head coach Tom Brands. Northern Iowa followed the Hawkeyes with 119.5 points, Northwestern came in third with 110 points and Wisconsin followed in third with 97.5 points. The second-seeded DeSanto grabbed his first Midlands title, winning the 133-pound bracket with a convincing 15-5 major decision over the fourth seed. DeSanto scores 28.5 team points in the tournament. Second-seeded Alex Marinelli earned his second Midlands title in as many seasons, defeating the No. 1 seed Evan Wick, 4-3. "I've waited a long time for that match," said Marinelli. "It killed me to lose so many points at the national tournament to him last year. That match has been marked in my calendar for a long time, I'm happy he wrestled at the Midlands." Spencer Lee, Max Murin, Kaleb Young, and Cash Wilcke placed second in the 125, 141, 157, and 184-pound brackets. No. 5 Pat Lugo and Jeren Glosser placed fourth in the 149 and 157-pound brackets, while Paul Glynn and No. 2 Jacob Warner placed fifth at 133 and 197 pounds. The Hawkeyes return to the mat on Jan. 13, in Minneapolis, Minnesota against Minnesota at 12 pm (CT). Standings: 1. Iowa 184 2. UNI 119.5 3. Northwestern 110 4. Wisconsin 976.5 5. Princeton 92.5 6. Arizona State 83 7. Fresno State 69.5 8. Army 68 9. Illinois 65 10. Campbell 57.5

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The 18th-ranked Wyoming wrestling team finished up action at the South Beach Duals on Sunday afternoon, defeating both Michigan State and SIU-Edwardsville. The Cowboys opened the day with a 20-13 win over the Spartans, before a convincing win over the Cougars in which the Pokes racked up seven bonus point wins. Wyoming (6-3) finished the weekend 3-1, winning two duals on Sunday after knocking off No. 4 NC State in a historic upset in the weekend opener on Saturday morning. "It either does a lot or you let it slip through your fingers," head coach Mark Branch said. "Hopefully this gives our team a sense of confidence because that's something that we struggle with, is do we belong with some of those top-tier teams? When you win them it validates what you're doing. It can do a lot for us if we allow it to, and hopefully we do. Hopefully we don't let this go by without realizing we can compete with the best." The Cowboys will be back in action on Friday, as they host No. 12 North Carolina, Army and American for the Cowboy Shootout, set to begin at 4:30 p.m. MT in the Arena-Auditorium. Cowboys Hold off Michigan State After the Spartans struck first with a win over Cowboy junior Cole Verner by No. 9 Rayvon Foley, Montorie Bridges gave Wyoming the lead at 133 as he unleashed a flurry of scores in the second and third periods to take the 12-4 major decision over Anthony Tutolo. After a scoreless first period, Bridges scored four takedowns and a two-point nearfall over the final two periods to clinch the major. Sam Turner added to the Cowboy advantage at 141, getting the 1-0 decision over Spartan Austin Eicher in a rematch of the Reno Tournament of Champions finals. Turner was able to escape from bottom in the third period to clinch the win. At 149 pounds, Jaron Jensen picked up his first win of the weekend with a 3-2 decision over Jaden Enriquez. After the two grapplers traded escapes from the down position in the second and third periods, Jensen scored on a takedown out of a scramble with under 30 seconds to go in the bout to essentially secure the win. After the Spartans got back on the board thanks to a late takedown from Spartan Jake Tucker on Cowboy Dewey Krueger, senior Branson Ashworth turned in a major decision over Austin Hiles to lock up his third win of the weekend and put the Pokes up, 14-6. The Spartans pulled within one with wins at 174 and 184, but Cale Davidson was able to keep them at bay with a 1-0 win at 197 pounds to stretch Wyoming's lead back to 17-13. Once again, it was up to Cowboy heavyweight Brian Andrews to wrap up the win for the Pokes, needing to hold off Michigan State's Chase Beard to help Wyoming bring home the victory. Thanks in part to a full-period ride out, Andrews was able to edge out Beard, 2-0, to lock up the 20-13 team win. No. 18 Wyoming 20, Michigan State 13 125: No. 9 Rayvon Foley (MSU) dec. Cole Verner (WYO) 7-4 133: No. 12 Montorie Bridges (WYO) MD Anthony Tutolo (MSU) 12-4 141: No. 15 Sam Turner (WYO) dec. Austin Eicher (MSU) 1-0 149: Jaron Jensen (WYO) dec. Jaden Enriquez (MSU) 3-2 157: Jake Tucker (MSU) dec. Dewey Krueger (WYO) 5-4 165: No. 7 Branson Ashworth (WYO) MD Austin Hiles (MSU) 13-5 174: Drew Hughes (MSU) MD Casey Randles (WYO) 15-4 184: No. 14 Cameron Caffey (MSU) dec. Carless Looney (WYO) 10-4 197: Cale Davidson (WYO) dec. Brad Wilton (MSU) 1-0 HWT: No. 19 Brian Andrews (WYO) vs. Chase Beard (MSU) Wyoming Handles SIU-Edwardsville Verner opened the final dual of the weekend with a 13-2 major decision over Austin Macias in the 125-pound match to give Wyoming a 4-0 lead to start. Macias scored a takedown to open the bout, but from that point it was all Verner, as the Cowboy junior ran off 13-straight points to finish off the major. The Cowboys added more bonus points at 133 and 141. Montorie Bridges recorded the first technical fall of his season in a 19-3 technical fall over Jacob Blaha. At 141 pounds, Sam Turner made quick work of Lucas Bernal, pinning the Cougar in 1:40 to stretch the Wyoming advantage to 15-0. The Cougars got on the board with wins at 149 and 157, but Ashworth picked up a big fall in the closing seconds of the first period in his match over Nate Higgins. It marked the first fall of the season for Ashworth. The third pin of the day for the Cowboys came from Hayden Hastings at 174 pounds, as the redshirt freshman dropped Kevin Gschwendtner in 3:33 for the fall. Hastings opened up a 6-0 lead in the bout before eventually turning the Cougar for the second-period pin. It was the first fall of the season for Hastings. Looney made it three-straight pin for Wyoming, with a second-period fall over Sergio Villalobos to boost the Wyoming advantage to 33-6. Cale Davidson followed it up with yet another fall, dropping Christian Dulaney in the first period. Andrews wrapped up the day with a 6-1 decision over Colton McKiernan to finish the weekend at 3-1. No. 18 Wyoming 42, SIUE 6 125: Cole Verner (WYO) MD Austin Macias (SIUE) 13-2 133: No. 12 Montorie Bridges (WYO) TF Jacob Blaha (SIUE) 19-3 141: No. 15 Sam Turner (WYO) fall Lucas Bernal (SIUE) 1:40 149: Tyshawn Williams (SIUE) dec. Jed Loveless (WYO) 13-6 157: Justin Ruffin (SIUE) dec. Dewey Krueger (WYO) 9-4 165: No. 7 Branson Ashworth (WYO) fall Nate Higgins (SIUE) 2:55 174: Hayden Hastings (WYO) fall Kevin Gschwendtner (SIUE) 3:33 184: Carless Looney (WYO) fall Sergio Villalobos (SIUE) 4:35 197: Cale Davidson (WYO) fall Christian Dulaney (SIUE) 2:17 HWT: No. 19 Brian Andrews (WYO) dec. Colton McKiernan (SIUE) 6-1

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- No. 12 North Carolina leaned on Austin O'Connor's two key wins and a late overtime decision from Cory Daniel to pick up team victories against both No. 20 Lehigh and No. 21 North Dakota State on Sunday to wrap up the 2018 South Beach Duals. The Tar Heels (5-3) began the day against No. 20 Lehigh (1-7) and stormed out of the gate. The first four matches went in Carolina's favor, including a 17-7 major decision win for the fifth-ranked O'Connor over LU's Cortlandt Schuyler. UNC picked up 12 key team points in A.C. Headlee and Josh McClure's matches due to a pair of injury defaults. Lehigh was able to win the final five matches of the day, including No. 6 Jordan Kutler's pin of Will MacDonald at 174 pounds, but the major decision from O'Connor and the injury points swung the match in Carolina's favor, a 22-18 win for the Tar Heels. Against North Dakota State, Carolina fell behind early due to wins from two of the country's best lightweights, No. 9 Brent Fleetwood (125) and No. 17 Cam Sykora (133). It looked as though bonus points would make the difference for NDSU (5-3), but Carolina found a way to string together three key wins in the middle of the lineup to shift momentum. The comeback started with Headlee, who fought a tough seven minutes to collect a 6-1 win over Taylor Nein. After that, O'Connor improved his season record to 19-2 with a pin of Jaden Van Maanen in 3:58. Perhaps the most key performance of the day came in the next match when McClure picked up a down-to-the-wire 5-4 decision over Luke Weber. Weber scored late on a reversal and looked as though he had a chance to win, but McClure's riding time point proved to be the difference. After NDSU collected a pair of wins at 165 and 174, No. 11 Chip Ness turned in a strong performance against Michael Otomo. He jumped out to an early 9-0 lead after two periods and never looked back, winning 13-1 to give Carolina a key bonus point in the team score. Ness' win tied the dual at 16 with two matches to go. Chasen Blair fell to NDSU's Cordell Eaton at 197, but Daniel closed out a win for the Tar Heels in dramatic fashion. The first seven minutes of Daniel's match against Brandon Metz were action-packed, but neither could score a takedown despite multiple close efforts. The match went into overtime tied at one, and after a scoreless sudden victory period, Daniel utilized a reversal and a takedown during the tiebreakers to score four points, winning 5-1. Due to O'Connor's previous win via fall, the Tar Heels won the dual on criteria, 20-19. North Carolina will continue its road trip this week and travel west to Laramie, Wyoming, to compete in the Cowboy Shootout. The team will battle Wyoming, American and Army West Point on January 4. Friday night's action will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET. No. 12 North Carolina 22, No. 20 Lehigh 18 125: Joe Heilmann (UNC) dec. Luke Resnick (LU), 3-2 – UNC leads 3-0 133: Gary Wayne Harding (UNC) dec. Brandon Paetzell (LU), 5-2 – UNC leads 6-0 141: A.C. Headlee (UNC) won by inj. def. Luke Karam (LU) – UNC leads 12-0 149: #5 Austin O'Connor (UNC) maj. dec. Cortlandt Schuyler (LU), 17-7 – UNC leads 16-0 157: Josh McClure (UNC) won by inj. def. #20 Josh Humphreys (LU) – UNC leads 22-0 165: Gordon Wolf (LU) dec. Sawyer Davidson (UNC), 12-9 – UNC leads 22-3 174: #6 Jordan Kutler (LU) pinned Will MacDonald (UNC), 4:20 – UNC leads 22-9 184: #8 Ryan Preisch (LU) dec. #11 Chip Ness (UNC), 4-1 – UNC leads 22-12 197: Kyle Gentile (LU) dec. Hunter Queen (UNC), 9-3 – UNC leads 22-15 285: #6 Jordan Wood (LU) dec. #15 Cory Daniel (UNC), 6-4 – UNC wins 22-18 No. 12 North Carolina 20, No. 21 North Dakota State 19 125: Brent Fleetwood (NDSU) maj. dec. Joe Heilmann (UNC), 12-2 – NDSU leads 4-0 133: Cam Sykora (NDSU) maj. dec. Gary Wayne Harding (UNC), 10-0 – NDSU leads 8-0 141: A.C. Headlee (UNC) dec. Taylor Nein (NDSU), 6-1 – NDSU leads 8-3 149: #5 Austin O'Connor (UNC) pinned Jaden Van Maanen (NDSU), 3:58 – UNC leads 9-8 157: Josh McClure (UNC) dec. Luke Weber (NDSU), 5-4 – UNC leads 12-8 165: Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) dec. Sawyer Davidson (UNC), 5-2 – UNC leads 12-11 174: Lorenzo De La Riva (NDSU) tech fall Will MacDonald (UNC), 19-2 – NDSU leads 16-12 184: #11 Chip Ness (UNC) maj. dec. Michael Otomo (NDSU), 13-1 – Tied 16-16 197: Cordell Eaton (NDSU) dec. Chasen Blair (UNC), 7-4 – NDSU leads 19-16 285: #15 Cory Daniel (UNC) dec. Brandon Metz (NDSU), 5-1 – Tied 19-19 *North Carolina wins by first criteria, total wins by fall

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State wrestling team picked up a pair of dual wins to conclude its weekend 3-1 at the South Beach Duals, with a pair of wins over ranked teams. The Pack's day started with a 23-11 win over #22 Utah Valley. NC State won the first two and four of the first five bouts to take an 18-3 lead – the wins included a pin and a tech fall. Utah Valley got the team score to 18-9, but NC State scored decisions in two of the final three matches. NC State closed out the event with a 24-9 win over Indiana. The Hoosiers won the first two bouts to take a 6-0 lead, but NC State closed out the dual winning seven of the final eight matches, with three bonus point wins. Up Next: The Pack returns to dual action on Sunday, January 6 with a trip to #2 Ohio State. The match will be televised on ESPN2. #7 NC State 23, #22 Utah Valley 11 125: Zurich Storm (NCSU) major dec. Josh Jensen; 15-6 – 4-0 133: #4 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) fall Isaiah Delgado; 2:03 – 10-0 141: #11 Matt Findlay (UV) dec. #15 Jamal Morris; 5-3 – 10-3 149: #4 Justin Oliver (NCSU) technical fall Matthew Ontiveros; 18-0 – 15-3 157: #5 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) dec. Grant LaMont; 9-4 – 18-3 165: #11 Demetrius Romero (UV) dec. Thomas Bullard; 8-4 – 18-6 174: #18 Kimball Bastian (UV) dec. Daniel Bullard; 3-2 – 18-9 184: #4 Nick Reenan (NCSU) dec. Will Sumner; 12-7 – 21-9 197: #13 Tanner Orndorff (UV) dec. #16 Malik McDonald; 12-10 – 21-12 285: Deonte Wilson (NCSU) dec. Ashton Seely; 7-4 – 23-11* *- both teams were deducted a team point for loss of control of mat #7 NC State 24, Indiana 9 125: Liam Cronin (IND) dec. Zurich Storm; 10-8 (SV1) – 0-3 133: Paul Konrath (IND) dec. #4 Tariq Wilson; 4-3 – 0-6 141: #15 Jamal Morris (NCSU) dec. #16 Cole Weaver; 7-4 – 3-6 149: #4 Justin Oliver (NCSU) dec. Fernie Silva; 7-3 – 6-6 157: #5 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) major dec. Jake Danishek; 14-5 – 10-6 165: Thomas Bullard (NCSU) dec. Bryce Martin; 3-1 – 13-6 174: Jake Covaciu (IND) dec. Daniel Bullard; 3-2 – 13-9 184: #4 Nick Reenan (NCSU) major dec. Norman Conley; 16-7 – 17-9 197: #16 Malik McDonald (NCSU) dec. Jake Kleimola; 5-1 – 20-9 285: Deonte Wilson (NCSU) major dec. Brandon Streck; 8-0 – 24-9

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fl. - The University of Minnesota finished off the South Beach Duals in historic fashion with a 51-0 rout over Kent State followed by a 36-6 victory over No. 22 Utah Valley. The Gophers 51-0 victory was the program's first time scoring over 50 points since a Nov. 29, 2008 dual against Portland State and the first time notching a shutout since Nov. 24, 2012 against Itasca Community College. Eight Gophers went 2-0 on the day. Three of them, 125-pound Sean Russell, 133-pound Ethan Lizak, and heavyweight Gable Steveson went undefeated throughout the weekend of duals. The Gophers were one of only two teams at the South Beach Duals that went 4-0 on the weekend, including three victories over ranked teams. Minnesota finished the weekend winning 32 of their possible 40 bouts. Kent State Dual The Gophers routed Kent State in historic fashion as described above. With five pins and nine total bonus point victories the Gophers cruised to victory. 133-pound Ethan Lizak didn't even need a minute to get his first takedown and four-point nearfall. Lizak continued to scramble and ended up with the second period pin to begin a string of pins. Directly after 141-pound No. 5 Mitch McKee one-upped Lizak wasting no time in getting his first period pin after only 1:20. 157-pound Steve Bleise joined the pin party after he got the first period nearfall points and got the actual fall in the second period at the 4:29 mark 174-pound Devin Skatzka also got the fall with only three seconds to spare before the end of the first period. Heavyweight Gable Steveson continued his run of dominance with the Gophers fifth pin of the day and his second consecutive first period pin after finishing off No. 15 Cory Daniel of North Carolina on Saturday. 125-pound Sean Russell continued to hit on his shots with several takedowns in the first period and a couple of four-point nearfalls in the second en route to a 17-2 technical fall. 184-pound Brandon Krone was one of the only Gophers to give up the first points in his bout, but he made sure they were the last points scored by Kent State. Once he got the reversal and was back on top Krone repeatedly turned his opponent for the 17-2 technical fall. 149-pound Tommy Thorn notched his shutout, major decision with a great first period and relentless action throughout the rest of the bout. Thorn's takedown and four-point nearfall to begin the battle wound up being crucial to his victory. 197-pound Rylee Streifel got his third straight dual victory at his new weight and his first with bonus points. He got three takedowns as well as a two-point nearfall on the last two seconds of the second period to lead the way towards a 11-0 major decision 165-pound Carson Brolsma battled against Isaac Bast and he secured the Gophers lone regular decision on the day by a score of 10-4. Utah Valley Dual The Gophers continued to roll in their afternoon dual with eight victories in their ten bouts against Utah Valley. Both Russell and Lizak continued to roll, each earning a technical fall to start the Gophers off quick once again. Russell now has a seven match winning streak while Lizak's streak sits at five. McKee followed their routs up with a hard fought battle with No. 11 Matt Findlay and wound up on top due to a quick reversal and nearfall after starting on bottom. Thorn notched his second victory of the day with a dominant 14-4 major decision over Landon Knutzen that gave him three victories and only one loss on the weekend. Bleise accomplished the same feat due to a Utah Valley injury while he was leading. Skatzka calmly took control of his match with a spladle that lasted nearly 30 seconds but couldn't get the fall. He finished with a 13-4 major decision. Krone got his second victory of the day with a high-scoring decision, 12-4, over Will Sumner with several nearfalls and over three minutes of riding time Steveson continued his undefeated season due to a forfeit. The Gophers two losses came in close battles from Brolsma and Streifel against two of Utah Valley's ranked wrestlers. Both wrestlers had leads going into the third period but couldn't close out the upsets. Kent State Dual (51-0): 125: No.6 Sean Russell tech. fall Jake Ferri (17-2) 133: No. 8 Ethan Lizak fall (3:18) Tim Rooney 141: No. 5 Mitch McKee fall (1:20) Cory Simpson 149: No. 20 Tommy Thorn major dec. Kody Komara (9-0) 157: No. 11 Steve Bleise fall (4:29)_Richard Jackson 165: Carson Brolsma dec. Isaac Bast (10-4) 174: No.15 Devin Skatzka fall (2:57) Dylan Barreiro 184: Brandon Krone tech. fall Lane Hinkle (17-2) 197: Rylee Streifel major dec. Shane Mast (11-0) HWT: No. 2 Gable Steveson fall (1:44) Spencer Berthold No. 22 Utah Valley (36-6): 125: No. 6 Sean Russell tech. fall Josh Jensen (20-3) 133: No. 8 Ethan Lizak tech. fall Isaiah Delgado (16-1) 141: No. 5 Mitch McKee dec. No. 11 Matt Findlay (11-6) 149: No. 20 Tommy Thorn major dec. Landon Knutzen (14-4) 157: No. 11 Steve Bleise injury default (5:47) over Grant Lamont 165: No. 11 Demetrius Romero SV-1 (12-1) over Carson Brolsma 174: No. 15 Devin Skatzka major dec. No. 18 Kimball Bastian 184: Brandon Krone dec. Will Sumner (12-8) 197: No. 13 Tanner Orndorff dec. Rylee Streifel (5-4) HWT: No. 2 Gable Steveson (forfeit)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- No. 6 Mizzou Wrestling capped a dominant weekend at the South Beach Duals by defeating No. 8 Cornell, 22-9, in a top-10 dual Sunday afternoon. The dual win improved Mizzou to a perfect 10-0 this season and extended its winning streak to 30 consecutive duals, dating back to 2016-17. In all, Mizzou defeated three ranked teams at the South Beach Duals, including a pair of top-15 opponents Sunday. Below are the match-by-match results for the weekend: vs. Kent State – W, 44-0 (won all 10 bouts) vs. No. 21 Lehigh – W, 21-12 (won six of 10 bouts) vs. No. 13 Purdue – W, 41-3 (won nine of 10 bouts) vs. No. 8 Cornell – W, 22-9 (won seven of 10 bouts) Mizzou outscored its four opponents, 128-24, over the four duals on South Beach. Mizzou won 32 of 40 individual bouts over the weekend with 16 of the 32 wins earning team bonus points. "I'm very proud of the way our young men competed this weekend," head coach Brian Smith said. "We wrestled some very good teams and won some big duals and got a lot big individual wins. Tomorrow we will go to the beach and have a great time as a team." Against Cornell, Mizzou won bouts at 133, 149, 157, 165, 174, 184 and 197 pounds. Below is a match-by-match breakdown of the results: Results: 125: #13 Vitali Arujau (Cornell) won by decision over Dack Punke (Missouri), 4-2 (sv1) 133: #9 John Erneste (Missouri) won by decision over #13 Chas Tucker (Cornell), 4-2 141: #1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell) won by decision over #3 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri), 3-1 149: #13 Brock Mauller (Missouri) won by decision over Chris Schoenherr (Cornell), 6-1 157: Jarrett Jacques (Miissouri) won by decision over #18 Fredy Stroker (Cornell), 8-5 165: #13 Connor Flynn (Missouri) won by major decision over Milik Dawkins (Cornell), 10-0 174: #4 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) won by decision over #14 Brandon Womack (Cornell), 6-0 184: Dylan Wisman (Missouri) won by decision over #6 Max Dean (Cornell), 7-6 197: Wyatt Koelling (Missouri) won by decision over Jake Taylor (Cornell), 7-4 285: Jeramy Sweany (Cornell) won by decision over #13 Zach Elam (Missouri), 3-2 Mizzou will be off until Jan. 11 when it heads to Athens, Ohio, for a dual with the University of Ohio.