InterMat Staff

No. 16 Tuttle won its fourth consecutive Kansas City Stampede title (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Champions came from five states and ten schools, but when all was said and done, No. 16 Tuttle (Okla.) stood on top of the 40-team field at this weekend's Kansas City (Mo.) Stampede with 686 points. The Tigers were one of two teams to crown three champions in the tournament. Earning titles were Junior National freestyle All-American Ryder Ramsey (132), No. 2 Dustin Plott (170), and 2017 state champion Carson Berryhill (195). Plott earned Outstanding Wrestler honors with his performance this weekend. He advanced from pool action on Friday with a pair of first period pins in as many matches. Another pair of first period pins early on Saturday propelled him to the semifinal round, where it was a 3-0 victory over No. 10 Grayden Penner (Liberty, Mo.). Then on Saturday night, it was a 3-1 victory over No. 7 Troy Fisher (Goddard, Kansas), who had beaten No. 5 Mason Reiniche (Baylor Schoo, Tenn.) 5-3 in overtime in his semifinal bout. Three additional Tuttle wrestlers finished in the top three, No. 16 Luke Surber (152) was second, while Garrett Steidley (120) and Brody DeArmond (145) finished third. Additional top nine placers for the Tigers were a pair in fifth with single wrestlers taking sixth, seventh, and ninth. Also having three individual champions was Buford (Ga.), which finished seventh with 383 points. Those titles were won in consecutive weight classes by Nick Stonecheck (145), Charlie Darracott (152), and Blaine Bergey (160); Darracott beat No. 16 Surber 4-2 in his championship bout. Runner-up team honors in the tournament went to No. 38 Liberty (Mo.), a fast emerging squad in the first month of the 2018-19 season. The Blue Jays beat two previously ranked teams to win the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Wrestling Classic two weekends ago, and then beat No. 14 Park Hill (Mo.) 31-29 in a Thursday night dual meet though they only won six bouts. The lone champion for Liberty on their way to 619.5 points was No. 17 (at 120) Jeremiah Reno in the 113 pound weight class. Their next highest placer was Easton Hilton (106), who took third, while four wrestlers earned fourth. Four additional wrestlers placed in the top eight, single wrestlers in sixth and seventh, with a pair taking eighth. Third place in the standings went to No. 14 Park Hill (Mo.) with 449.5 points, and the Trojans were led by No. 4 Devin Winston (182), who beat No. 15 Rocky Elam (Staley, Mo.) 2-1 in the tiebreaker in his championship bout. Five other wrestlers placed in the top six for Park Hill, a single wrestler each taking second through sixth. The other nationally ranked team in the field, No. 39 Goddard (Kansas) finished in fourth with 420 points, led by a pair of runners-up in Jason Henschel (113) and No. 7 Troy Fisher (170); Henschel upset No. 20 Logan Ashton (Buford, Ga.) 3-0 in the semifinal round. Goddard added single wrestlers in third, fourth, seventh, and ninth. Additional weight class champions were No. 6 Jordan Williams (Collinsville, Okla.) at 106 pounds, Kyler Brewer (Staley, Mo.) at 120, No. 7 Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) at 126, Gabe Hixenbaugh (Thompson, Ala.) at 138, Cade Lautt (St. James Academy, Kansas) at 220, and Teaguen Wilson (Perry, Okla.) at 285.

Hosting the Zinkin Classic this weekend, No. 9 Buchanan (Calif.) ran through a field that featured five other nationally ranked teams without real challenge. The Bears sprinted out on day one advancing nine wrestlers to the semifinals. Then on day two, four of those wrestlers won weight classes, and they put ten total onto the medal stand (top eight finishes). Winning titles for Buchanan were freshmen Jack Gioffre (106) and Joseph Martin (145), No. 10 Maximo Renteria (120), and No. 3 Matthew Olguin (160). Renteria and Olguin beat nationally ranked wrestlers from Selma in their championship bouts, Renteria 5-2 over No. 19 Tristan Lujan and Olguin 6-0 over No. 5 Jace Luchau. Additional placers for the Bears were a trio in third, a pair in fourth, another pair in fifth, and one in eighth. Second place in the tournament standings went to No. 10 Gilroy (Calif.) with 209.5 points and eight placers, despite No. 9 Chase Saldate (138) having to default out of the tournament in the quarters and two-time state placer Joseph Barnes (170) being absent from the lineup. Leading the way were a pair of weight class champions, No. 4 Ryan Reyes (195) and Nicholas Villarreal (285); Reyes beat No. 14 Jacob Good (Clovis) 4-2 in his finals bout. Other placers included tournament runner-up John Fox (145), a wrestler placing third, two in fifth, and two in seventh. Finishing third was No. 18 Clovis (Calif.) with 197 points, and seven placers from the starting lineup. Three Cougars wrestlers finished as runners-up, Giano Petrucelli (132), Tyler Gianakopolous (182), and No. 14 Jacob Good (195). Other placers were an individual in third, two in fourth, and one in seventh. Clovis also had two non-starters place, the pair placed eighth at 132 and 152 pounds respectively; while they were also without returning state medalist Justin Mourtinsen (113). Fourth in the standings went to No. 35 Selma (Calif.) with 194.5, and the Bears were led by No. 2 Richard Figueroa, who steamrolled through the 113 pound weight class with four pins and a 16-1 technical fall in five tournament matches. Three other wrestlers advanced to the finals, all losing to nationally ranked opposition - Lujan, Luchau, and Christian Rodriguez (170). Rodriguez upended No. 14 Mark Cardwell (Monache, Calif.) 2-1 in the semifinal before losing 5-3 to No. 9 Trent Munoz (Trabucco Hills, Calif.) in the championship bout. Also placing for Selma were a pair of wrestlers in fifth. Finishing an impressive fifth with eight placers was Toppenish (Wash.). They were led by tournament runner-up Haiden Drury (126). Other placers were two each in third, sixth, and seventh along with a single wrestler in fourth. No. 12 in the country St. John Bosco (Calif.) finished eighth with 94 points, but wrestled with a skeletal lineup. They had a pair of weight class champions in No. 12 (at 145) Cael Valencia and Nathan Haas at 152 and 182 respecitvely. However, they were without at least four significant starters, two of whom are nationally ranked in No. 13 Timothy Levine (113) and No. 9 Sonny Santiago (152). The remaining nationally ranked team in the field was No. 46 Clovis North (Calif.), who finished sixth with 163.5 points, led by weight class champions in No. 17 Devin Murphy (126) and No. 11 Ryan Franco (132). Their other placers were freshmen, who finished third at 120 and fifth at 113. Rounding out the weight class champions were Marcos Polanco (Bishop Amat, Calif.) at 138 pounds, No. 9 Trent Munoz (Trabucco Hills, Calif.) at 170, and Mike Ruiz (Villa Park, Calif.) at 220.

Deron Winn shoots a fireman's carry on Hayden Zillmer at the World Team Trials (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Deron Winn, two-time national junior college wrestling champ who has been fighting in mixed martial arts since May 2017, has signed a contract to compete for UFC. Winn, who revealed his retirement from amateur wrestling by placing his shoes on the mat after competing at the first-ever American Wrestling League event in Cedar Rapids late last month, posted this message on his Facebook account Thursday afternoon, along with a photo of him about to sign papers: "Hello UFC middleweights. My name is Deron Winn. Happy to announce I'm finally in the big leagues!" In Ultimate Fighting Championships and other professional MMA organizations, middleweight has a top weight limit of 185 pounds. Winn won his two NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) titles for St. Louis Community College, Meramec at 184 pounds. However, at the AWL event in November, the 29-year-old Winn wrestled at 92 kilograms/202 pounds ... and has competed as a light-heavyweight at 205 pounds in his pro MMA career. No word yet as to when Winn will make his debut in the UFC Octagon. Since launching his pro MMA career 18 months ago, Winn has compiled a perfect 5-0 record ... winning his first four bouts with a TKO in the first round. However, in his most recent match in November, Winn earned a unanimous decision over veteran Tom Lawlor in a co-main event at Golden Boy Promotions' inaugural MMA event. Winn brings impressive wrestling credentials to UFC. The Liberty, Mo. native was a three-time Missouri high school state champ who later went on to national success at St. Louis/Meramec. Winn was in contention for a spot on the 2016 U.S. Olympic men's freestyle wrestling squad. "A guy like me, with my wrestling credentials, at first I was just getting opponents off 'Oh maybe he just only knows how to wrestle and he can't fight yet,'" Winn told MMAfighting.com. "But I'm 4-0 with four first-round finishes. So, now it's even harder for me to get fights. The last guy I fought, I knocked out on the feet. Now they're scared of multiple things." Winn, a member of the American Kickboxing Academy, has been guided to success in his pro MMA career by two giants in wrestling and UFC: trainer Kevin Jackson, former UFC champ and Olympic gold medalist, and, as mentor, Daniel Cormier, dual UFC champ and 2008 Olympic wrestler.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- A pillar of coach Tom Borrelli's philosophy with his wrestlers is aggression and bonus points. That made the difference on Friday at McGuirk Arena. CMU's Matt Stencel recorded a first-period pin in the 285-pound match and those six team points proved to be the difference as the Chippewas topped Northern Illinois, 18-15, in CMU's first Mid-American Conference dual of the season. The teams split the 10 matches, but Stencel was the lone wrestler on either side to record bonus points. "We knew this was going to be a real close match and we figured it would come down to bonus points," Borrelli said. "We actually had it going five and five and bonus points would win it. And that's what happened." It was the second straight dual victory for the Chippewas, who are 2-2. NIU is 2-5. PIN TO WIN It was the eighth pin of the season for Stencel, who improved to 9-3 and is ranked 16th nationally. It came in 42 seconds, his second fastest of the season. Seven of his pins have come in the first period. Stencel's victory put the Chippewas ahead, 15-9, with three matches remaining (the meet began at 149). KEY MATCH CMU sophomore Landon Pelham (197) preceded Stencel's match with a 3-2 victory, his second consecutive and the first of his career on his home mat. He improved to 3-6 and his victory evened the meet score at 9-9. "That was probably the match of the dual meet for us," Borrelli said. "Pelham's going in 2-6. That's a big win for him and the team. That was a tossup match, a really big tossup match." OTHER VICTORIES The Chippewas also got victories from Drew Hildebrandt (125), Logan Parks (157) and Jordan Atienza (184). It was the fourth straight win for Hildebrandt, who improved to 8-4; Parks has won five of his last six matches and is 8-5; Atienza is also 8-5. MAKING STRIDES The Chippewas' Brock Bergelin (133), Drew Marten (141) and Collin Lieber (174) -- all three of whom are redshirt freshman -- lost close matches in battles that went down to the wire. None of the three surrendered bonus points, a critical factor in a tight dual, and both Bergelin and Lieber were facing opponents they had lost to earlier this season. Bergelin dropped a 7-4 decision to senior Alijah Jeffery, while Lieber fell, 4-2, to Brit Wilson, who entered the meet 8-1 and ranked second in the MAC at 174. Bergelin had lost to Jeffery, 9-2, earlier this season at the Michigan State Open; Lieber had dropped a 9-3 decision to Wilson at the same tournament. "Wilson's the best kid on their team," Borrelli said. "He beat Lieber pretty good at Michigan State. Collin closed the gap really well. Bergelin really closed the gap on (Jeffery). He took the kid down and it was 5-4 (late in the third period) and he was thinking, 'Hey I can win this thing.' He's thinking right. That's what you want. "We wrestled (NIU) a good bit at the Michigan State Open. When we walked away from that tournament we were like, we probably can't beat them in the dual meet. We saw a lot of improvement." Results: 125: Drew Hildebrandt (C) def. Bryce West, 8-4 133: Alijah Jeffery (N) def. Brock Bergelin, 7-4 141: Anthony Cheloni (N) def. Drew Marten, 3-0 149: McCoy Kent (N) def. Dresden Simon, 5-3 157: Logan Parks (C) def. Mason Kauffman, 3-1 165: Kenny Moore (N) def. Bret Fedewa, 7-2 174: Brit Wilson (N) def. Collin Lieber, 4-2 184: Jordan Atienza (C) def. Will Feldkamp, 5-3 197: Landon Pelham (C) def. Max Ihry, 3-2 285: Matt Stencel (C) pinned Caleb Gossett, 42 seconds

CLARION, Pa. -- The 24th-ranked University of Pittsburgh wrestling team continued its winning way Friday night as the Panthers downed Clarion, 39-3. With the win, the Pitt improves to 5-0 as Clarion slides to 2-3 on the year. For the fourth time this season, Pitt allowed just one win by its opponent, todays coming at 165 pounds. Three Panthers pinned their opponents in the win, including seniors LJ Bentley (141) and Robert Lee (149), and junior Demetrius Thomas (285). "I think we wrestled aggressively tonight," said head coach Keith Gavin. "We competed hard and continued to try to score points. This has been a good first semester for us and we have a lot to build off of when we get back from this holiday break." Pitt won the first five bouts, which featured a technical fall by sixth-ranked Micky Phillippi at 133 pounds and back-to-back pins by Bentley at 141 pounds and Lee at 149 pounds. Clarion's lone win came at 165 pounds as redshirt sophomore Jake Wentzel dropped a 7-4 decision to Evan Delong. Redshirt junior Gregg Harvey got the Panthers back on track with a 7-3 decision over Taylor Cahill at 174, bringing the team score to 23-3. Pitt collected with at 184 and 197 pounds, thanks to a major decision by 13th-ranked Nino Bonaccorsi and a decision by redshirt junior Kellan Stout. Thomas capped off the night with his sixth pin of the season and improves to 17-2, as the Panthers cruised to the 39-3 victory. Pitt resumes action in the New Year at Oklahoma Sunday, Jan. 6 before traveling to North Dakota State Jan. 12 and South Dakota State Jan. 13. Results: 125: Brendon Fenton (UP) def. Gavin Park (CU), SV-1, 6-4 - Pitt leads 3-0 133: #6 Micky Phillippi (UP) tech. fall Seth Koleno (CU), 20-5, 6:40 - Pitt leads 8-0 141: LJ Bentley (UP) pins Andrew Gapas (CU), 2:44 - Pitt leads 14-0 149: Robert Lee (UP) pins Jalin Hankerson (CU), 2:40 - Pitt leads 20-0 157: #10 Taleb Rahmani (UP) dec. Avery Shay (CU), 9-4 - Pitt leads 23-0 165: Evan Delong (CU) dec. Jake Wentzel (UP), 7-4 - Pitt leads 23-3 174: Gregg Harvey (UP) dec. Taylor Cahill (CU), 7-3 - Pitt leads 26-3 184: #13 Nino Bonaccorsi (UP) maj. dec. Tyler Bagoly (UP), 14-4 - Pitt leads 30-3 197: Kellan Stout (UP) dec. Shae Bloom (CU), 5-0 - Pitt leads 33-3 285: #13 Demetrius Thomas (UP) pins Toby Cahill (CU), 6:18 - Pitt wins 39-3

If you're on Twitter you've probably seen it, the video, that as of Friday night had been viewed nearly six million times, of a black high school wrestler who had to cut off his dreadlocks in order to compete in a match. The rules call for anyone who has hair longer than a certain length to wear a hair net. In this case the referee, who is white, said the hair net wasn't enough and a trainer or coach cut Andrew Johnson's dreads moments before he took the mat. Johnson competed, won the match, was cheered by the crowd and supported by his teammates. Andrew Johnson gets his hair cutBut look closely at the video. Johnson, a wrestler at Buena Regional High School in New Jersey, is not happy he "took one for the team." Instead he looks mortified, embarrassed and upset. Now of course it's only hair. It will grow back, but look at it from the point of view of a teenager. As a teen, identity is everything and identity is wrapped up in appearance. Johnson's dreadlocks might be a point of particular pride in his look and more importantly in his cultural affinity. The social media outrage for what happened and specifically for referee Alan Maloney, who enforced what's being called an "antiquated and racist" rule was swift and came from all corners. Chance the Rapper weighed in, so did NCAA champion wrestler Seth Gross, as well as InterMat writer and All-American wrestler T.R. Foley. All of them agree on one thing -- this is racially motivated. In answering to those who say rules are rules and the ref was just enforcing them, Gross responded with the following observations: that those things should be dealt with at the pre-match weigh-ins, that this particular referee was suspended two years ago for racist slurs and that he wouldn't allow Johnson to wrestle even with a hair net. Wrestling is a niche sport struggling to grow its audience and its participation level. Much has been debated about the singlet as a deterrent to recruiting teens who see them as not cool. That might be problematic, but this is on another level. This is the kind of public perception that puts wrestling on its back. And it comes at a time when the numbers for female wrestlers are taking off both in college and high school. Girls high school wrestling participation numbers have grown for 29 consecutive years. Last season, 16,562 girls participated in wrestling, which was an increase of 1,975 athletes from the year before. But there are positives here. Everyone in the gym cheered that wrestler on and rallied around him. His coach and his teammates were clearly 100 percent behind him, supporting him and celebrating him as he came off the mat. This is the picture of wrestling that participants and fans know. This is what needs to go viral rather than the view of the sport as backward and racist, one where a ref can pick a rule to enforce arbitrarily to humiliate a young man of color. Inquiring minds want to know if that same referee enforced the rule calling for all wrestlers who wear braces to wear both a top and bottom mouth guard? Did he enforce the rule about shoe laces being covered? The incident should be investigated and if it's found this referee did not enforce all rules equally, but instead focused on this as a chance to single out a black wrestler for shame and punishment, then of course, Maloney has to go. He should be banned from the sport. To its credit the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association recommended that Maloney be sidelined until a review is conducted, according to a NJ.com article. According to that same article the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights has opened an investigation. But the bigger picture is that high school wrestling needs to look at the rules, especially this one, and ask if the original purpose is still served and if the rule helps or hurts the sport. The rule says a wrestler's hair can't exceed the length of a normal shirt collar in the back, it can't extend below the earlobes on the sides and in the front cannot extend below the eyebrows. If it does it must be put in a covering or hair net. According to Anthony Clarke, the head clinician for the Illinois High School Association and member of the National Federation of High Schools rules committee, the original purpose of this was to shield opponents from diseases such as lice. Later in the '60's and '70's it was for aesthetics. Wrestling wanted its athletes to have a clean-cut look, but the rule hasn't kept up with the times. Clarke, who is black, said it was "overkill" what happened to Johnson. Now wrestling needs to let its hair down and there's optimism that is exactly what might happen. Changes to this particular rule had already been in the works. Clarke said a change was submitted last year, but was too gender specific to female wrestlers. It will be revised and resubmitted so no other young person will have to endure what Johnson did under the guise of a rule. Clarke noted that student-athletes wrestle with their hair uncovered in practice for two hours a day. He said it no longer makes sense that they would need to cover it for a six-minute match. The more difficult problem and much more difficult fix for the sport is the insidiousness of racism. Unfortunately, that is not unique to wrestling and will not go away with a rule change.

Michael Colaiocco seeks to become just the third wrestler to win four Beast of the East titles (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) In its 26th edition, the Beast of the East is going to truly live up to its name. The nation's top three ranked teams are present in the field, as are seven wrestlers currently ranked No. 1 nationally in their weight class. Even so, national No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.) enters the tournament as strong favorites to win this event for the 23rd time over the course of its existence. Directly challenging the Buccaneers will be No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) and No. 3 Bergen Catholic (N.J.), along with seven other nationally ranked teams: No. 8 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), No. 11 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.), No. 25 Elyria (Ohio), No. 30 Mt. St. Joseph's (Md.), No. 37 Brecksville (Ohio), No. 40 Northampton (Pa.), and No. 43 Delbarton (N.J.) Though he is not ranked No. 1, Michael Colaiocco of Blair Academy (N.J.) seeks to become just the third wrestler to win four titles at this tournament; he would join Buccaneer alum Mark Grey and Bergen Catholic alum Nick Suriano, who is currently ranked third nationally at 133 for Rutgers. Standing in the way of No. 4 Colaiocco at 126 pounds could be six additional nationally ranked wrestlers, including national No. 1 Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) Howard beat Colaiocco last season when the teams met in a mid-January dual meet, one in which Bergen Catholic emerged with the upset at home. At the Beast of the East, Howard lost 4-3 to Sammy Alvarez (St. Joseph Montvale, N.J.) in the quarterfinal round; Alvarez enters the tournament ranked No. 5 overall in this weight class. Additional ranked wrestlers slated to compete are No. 9 Ryan Jack (Danbury, Ct.), No. 11 Dylan Shawver (Elyria, Ohio), No. 14 Sean Pierson (Nazareth, Pa.), and No. 16 Drew Munch (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) Six others join Colaiocco in hunt of a repeat Beast of the East crown come Saturday and Sunday. One of those would be Kurt McHenry (St. Paul's, Md.), who is ranked No. 1 nationally at 113 pounds, and won this weight class last year at the tournament. Among the challengers to McHenry will be last year's 106-pound champion Nick Kayal (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), along with five additional ranked wrestlers -- all within the top twelve of the country. They include No. 4 Anthony Ferrari (Blair Academy, N.J.), No. 5 Troy Spratley (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), No. 8 Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.), No. 9 Dean Peterson (St. John Vianney, N.J.), and No. 12 Nico Nardone (Delbarton, N.J.) Another of the top ranked wrestlers is Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.), who competes at 120 pounds, and is after his first title at the Beast of the East despite having won titles this season and last season at the Walsh Ironman. Last year, Mastrogiovanni lost 4-3 in the Beast of the East final to McHenry, a loss that was avenged in the National Prep final. Six other nationally ranked wrestlers are in the hunt at 120: No. 4 Ryan Crookham (Notre Dame - Green Pond, Pa.), No. 5 Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), No. 7 Anthony Clark (Delbarton, N.J.), No. 9 Dylan Cedeno (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 11 Lachlan McNeil (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), and No. 15 Eddie Ventresca (Pope John XXIII, N.J.). It should be noted that Cedeno may be ineligible for this tournament due to NJSIAA regulations related to transfer. Yet another Blair Academy wrestler ranked first nationally is Shayne Van Ness, winner of the Walsh Ironman two weeks ago at 132 pounds. Among the six other nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class is returning tournament champion No. 5 Nick Raimo (Camden Catholic, N.J.). Also present are No. 4 Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), No. 6 Julian Chlebove (Northampton, Pa.), No. 15 Justin Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), No. 16 Kenny Herrmann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), and No. 18 Mick Burnett (Elyria, Ohio). Unranked wrestlers to watch include sophomore Justin Mastroianni (New Canaan, Ct.) and freshman Nick Vafiadis (New Kent, Va.) Also ranked first nationally is Jojo Aragona (Pope John XXIII, N.J.), who is slated to compete at 138 pounds. The Rutgers signee is featured in a weight class that could have six other nationally ranked competitors. That group is headlined by a pair of Junior National freestyle All-Americans, No. 3 Connor McGonagle (Timberlane, N.H.) and No. 5 Lucas Revano (Camden Catholic, N.J.); others include No. 7 Travis Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.), No. 8 Chris Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), No. 10 Jonathon Miers (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), and No. 18 Matt Lackman (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) It should be noted that Miers has yet to compete for the Blue Knights this season. Additional contenders include home state star Jackson Dean (Caesar Rodney, Del.), a Cadet freestyle All-American this summer; along with state medalist Devon Britton (Northampton, Pa.), who beat Lackman 8-2 in dual meet action on Thursday night. An additional No. 1 is Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), 2017 champion of the Super 32 Challenge and winner of the Walsh Ironman two weeks ago. Anderson leads a field at 145 pounds that also includes returning tournament champion Ricky Cabanillas (DePaul Catholic, N.J.), who is ranked No. 8 nationally. Another pair of ranked wrestlers are possible to be present, No. 4 Joshua Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) and No. 7 Ryan Vulakh (Pope John II, Pa.). A pair of Lehigh Valley underclassmen merit mention as well, junior Andrew Cerniglia (Notre Dame - Green Pond, Pa.) and sophomore Jager Condomiti (Northampton, Pa.) Rounding out the top-ranked wrestlers nationally in the field is A.J. Ferrari (Blair Academy, N.J.), who headlines a 195 pound weight class that also features national No. 2 Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic, N.J.); Ferrari was at a different school last year, so he was not at the Beast, while Cardenas was runner-up at 182 pounds losing 4-3 to Blair Academy's Leonardo Tarantino. An additional contender at this weight class could be Zac Brown (Eastern View, Va.) The last two defending champions not already mentioned are Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.) and John Birchmeier (Broad Run, Va.). Ramirez is ranked No. 3 nationally at 170 pounds, and is joined by just one other nationally ranked wrestler in his weight class, No. 15 Luke Nichter (Chambersburg, Pa.). An additional contenders to watch are Junior National double All-American Jake Stefanowicz (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) and Junior National freestyle All-American Luca Pontone (Belmont Hill, Mass.) Birchmeier, ranked No. 8 nationally, is the lone ranked wrestler in this field at 285 pounds. Below are the additional nationally ranked wrestlers expected to compete at the Beast of the East this weekend. 106: No. 2 Alex Almeyda (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 11 Kelly Dunnigan (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.), No. 17 Richard Fedalen (McDonogh, Md.), and No. 19 Evan Holloway (New Kent, Va.) Note: Dunnigan may be ineligible due to NJSIAA rules related to transfer 152: No. 14 Victor Voinovich (Brecksville, Ohio) 160: No. 9 Domonic Mata (Blair Academy, N.J.) 182: No. 6 Darrien Roberts (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), No. 7 Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 8 Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.), No. 17 Jack Parr (St. Paul's, Md.) 220: No. 2 Owen Trephan (Blair Academy, N.J.), No. 5 Hunter Catka (Sun Valley, Pa.), No. 8 Jacob Kaminski (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), No. 13 Andy Smith (Christiansburg, Va.)

With the holidays in full swing the wrestling community is beginning the process of pulling back from the mats, logging off Twitter, and enjoying their friends and family. From spiked eggnog for mom and dad, to wind sprints reliving high school glory for college wrestlers, the holiday season gives us time to remember those in our lives who've impacted our journey on and off the mat. This week, in the middle of reading books, my wife asked me to tell a story to our daughter. I think my wife knows that my daughter won't remember the words -- or the message -- but I'm guessing she wanted me to practice for when she does and that these dry runs might prove useful. Given that it's the holiday season, I thought of my family -- specifically my four brothers -- and what they meant to my development, specifically within wrestling. My senior year in high school I had it in my head that I'd be a state champion. I wasn't especially great at wrestling, having only picked up the sport as a freshman, but I'd placed at the state tournament the year before and was motivated by a teammate (who'd also placed) and believed that I could win a state title. To get this done I trained hard and wrote messages of affirmation on the ceiling in my bedroom, on the mirror of the shared bathroom, and scribbled notes in all my homework. Come February of my senior year I was undefeated in my weight class and ranked second in the state. I was channeling Rhonda Byrne's "The Secret" before she or I knew the book existed! I kept a strict diet, never partied, and ran three times a week at 6 a.m. For lunch I'd eat a small sandwich, drink chocolate milk, and pop a vitamin pack I'd purchased at GNC. Like most people obsessed with something I also tended to drone on at the dinner table about every possible inanity that may, or may not, affect my ability to earn that state title. By February my year was going to plan. The district tournament was held at my high school, Brooke Point in Stafford, Virginia (Go Blackhawks!), with regionals the next weekend, and states the final weekend of the month. I was at home, I was motivated, and I was absolutely certain that my vision board simply told the future. The district tournament was a big deal at our high school. Friends and frenemies alike showed up to watch the finals that night. The full offering of my brothers attended, along with my parents, paternal grandparents, girlfriend, girlfriend's twin sister, girlfriend's parents, and girlfriend's maternal grandparents (who I certainly knew, but they lived in New Jersey and were well into their 80's). There was also the Free Lance Star out of Fredericksburg, yearbook photographer, and a handful of teachers that I respected and whose classes I enjoyed. The stands were filled and I was facing North Stafford's Dustin Qualls, a (no joke) 6'5" 145-pound wrestler with dyed Carolina blue hair. Their team was the best in our district, but I'd beaten him handily in the dual meet and felt well-prepared for the district finals. Sandwich eaten. Chocolate milk drank. Vitamins popped. Unfortunately for me, Dustin had a coach who the season before had transferred down from a high school in Pennsylvania. Bill Swink, now well-known for his state champion and national contender programs at Colonial Forge, had just started coaching at North Stafford. In my style Coach Swink saw holes and like a good coach had learned Dustin up on a few simple ways to shut down what middling offense I had, and how to ride me from one end of the mat to the other. I don't remember much of the match, but I've never forgotten the feeling of panic and the dread. By the third period I was more than five points out of the match with no clear understanding of what to do to score. Whatever tools I had at my disposal had been nullified by Thing No. 1 and was left to flounder -- my shot attempts looking like a toddler lunging forward and grasping at air as his brother palms his forehead and chuckles. The match ended, and I stood stunned as they raised Stringbean's hand in front of my mother, father, four brothers, paternal grandparents, girlfriend, girlfriend's twin sister, girlfriend's parents, girlfriend's 80-year-old maternal grandparents, teachers, students, friends and frenemies. I jogged to the other side of the mat to shake Coach Swink's hand and then sprinted to my side, leaping past the seats on the basketball floor, running until I hit the chilly night air. I unstrapped my singlet and looked out at the lights of the football field and sobbed. Partly from the embarrassment and partly in fear that all that hard work had gone to utter waste. The 6 a.m. sprint workouts on the treadmill, the extra takedowns every day at practice, the caloric restriction, and the absolute realignment of what was focusing my life. And it should be mentioned that I was still in limbo about what college I was going to attend! Who would want a guy who couldn't win at the district tournament, I thought. My coach, a kind man named Mike Smoot, lumbered outside after the next match and got me to recompose myself. He didn't say much. He kind of just chuckled and said some things about chalking it up to a learning experience and getting him next week. But he did end on a helpful quip. He told me that in his estimation I was too high strung. "Go eat a cheeseburger," he said then laughed and walked inside. I eventually recomposed myself and went back to the gym. After the finals I chatted with family and friends about the match, too glum to smile and wanting only to climb into my bed and hope this was all a horrible nightmare. Bedtime came, and I remember sleeping hard -- the only payoff for an emotional and physically taxing day. The next morning, I woke up around 7 a.m. to help my brothers and father build an extension on our home. We were hanging joists and the entire family was expected to be outside by 7:30 a.m. (probably earlier) to pitch in. I laid in bed for a moment and looked at my ceiling and winced as I read "Tim Foley 145-pound STATE CHAMPION" staring back at me. My stomach sank. I dreaded the thought of leaving my room, much less going to school on Monday. I finally roused myself and planned for the bathroom, knowing that those same words would be written in on the mirror. I steeled myself and opened the door. The door to the bathroom was closed, but it was adorned with a newspaper clipping from that morning's Free Lance Star sports section, "Foley loses as North Stafford takes district title." Accompanying the headline was a photo of a 6'5" high schooler with blue hair pushing me around the mat. I'd have cried from anger, but at that same time my dad yelled upstairs for me to get my butt outside and my brother walked by and punched me in the side. And so the day started. My brothers harangued me for the next ten hours, "You know who COULD reach that joist? Dustin Qualls," and "T, if you'd dyed your hair would it have negated his power?" Comic geniuses. Anyway, the lesson was simple: nobody cares. You don't get a pass on the day's work, or playful ribbing just because you lost a match. You're loved, we support you, but you're not special or to be treated differently because you lost (though I did win my school's end-of-the-year sportsmanship award for not freaking out, so that's something!). So that's the story I told my daughter and one of the stories I think about when I think about my brothers during the holidays, their candor and that unique sibling way of saying, "I love you." To your questions … Vito Arujau defeated Roman Bravo-Young in the U23 World Team Trials finals (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Q: Higher NCAA finish: Vito Arujau (Cornell) at 125 pounds or RBY (Penn State) at 133 pounds? -- Mike C. Foley: Wonderful question with which to take bets! I'm a believer in both of them but will give the edge to RBY! Q: I'm watching Penn State maul Arizona State here and thinking why not flip the script on stalling? Instead of a stalling call, award an aggression point to the offensive wrestler. It's a bit of a spin on the freestyle rule of a step out which rewards the aggressor and places emphasis on aggressive wrestling rather than penalizing someone for doing nothing. Even the freestyle rule is flawed because it's arguably a tactic to be less aggressive first as matches are often decided on two shot clocks when the last point wins. This also rewards offensive wrestling and not just the person doing just a bit more than the other wrestler, which is when you'll often see a stall call. Make the wrestler earn that point through action, not through their opponent's inaction! Thoughts? -- Andy S. Foley: Andy, you got it! Check out the Greco-Roman rules! They are made to benefit aggressive wrestling. Also, with freestyle the attempts and techniques do tend to be rewarded, whereas in college wrestling the final control is the most valued of the maneuvers. For example, if I throw someone for what would be a five-point freestyle move, on a college mat, I'd also need to control them. In essence, I'd have to think about how to control after the throw BEFORE I attempt the throw. I like the creativity but my concern about awarding a direct point for "aggression" is that there might be some gaming of that system, too. We already see a lot of half shots to draw stalling calls, would that be relieved by awarding an aggression point? It's unclear, but I'm suspicious! Q: Thoughts on Jack Mueller pulling his redshirt and competing at 125 pounds? Where do you see him fitting into the national landscape at 125 pounds? -- Mike C. Foley: Jack Mueller has pulled his redshirt and moved to 125 pounds and Louie Hayes is up to 133 pounds. There was an injury in the lineup and the wrestlers and Coach Garland thought that Mueller was prepared for the season and that the team would perform well with his leadership. Sometimes the best laid-out plans need adjustment and the U.Va. coaching staff is doing their best to adapt. As for Mueller, I don't think many 125-pound wrestlers are happy to hear he's back in the national conversation. He's brutal on top, has been training with less stress and comes into the season with just over a semester remaining to make the podium. Mueller won his first outing on Thursday night, beating his Mizzou opponent by fall and looked every bit the part of an All-American wrestler! MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Rivalries of 2018 History Makers of 2018 Q: Could Nick Nevills transfer at midseason like Mason Smith just did from Arizona State to Campbell University? -- Robert G. Foley: I don't understand how Mason Smith transferred midseason, unless he never actually enrolled at Arizona State (he came from Central Michigan) and was therefore able to start because he never wrestled a match. My instinct says "absolutely not" unless there are unforeseen, behind-the-scenes developments which the larger wrestling community doesn't know about. Q: What was the biggest wrestling story of 2018? Biggest internationally and domestically. -- Mike C. Foley: On the international side the buildup towards the rematch between Abdulrashid Sadulaev and Kyle Snyder was probably the biggest storyline, followed by Frank Chamizo's ongoing rivalry with Jordan Burroughs. On the domestic side I think it's the ongoing domination of the Penn State wrestling program. Q: What is the difference between Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and WCWA? -- Gregg Y. Foley: I answered this question about one year ago. Division I athletes tend to receive full athletic scholarships. Division II athletes can receive full athletic scholarships, but mostly see partial athletic scholarships. Division III athletes cannot receive athletic scholarships. Also, Division I schools must sponsor seven men's sports and seven women's sports, while Division II must sponsor five men's sports and five women's sports. The NAIA is a wholly different association of colleges and universities with the ability to grant partial scholarships. There is much more to the distinction (and ways to receive a fully paid education) at each level, but in broad terms the amount of athletic scholarship and spending is the biggest distinguisher. As for the WCWA that is the Women's College Wrestling Association, which oversees women's college wrestling in the United States and parts of Canada.

Missouri's Daniel Lewis secured a fall to give the Missouri Tigers the victory (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Sixth-ranked Mizzou Wrestling entered the final bout of its dual against Virginia in unfamiliar territory, trailing 21-17. Needing bonus points to win or tie the match, fourth-ranked 174-pounder Daniel Lewis earned a pin 1:14 into the opening period to give Mizzou a come-from-behind, 23-21 win, moving its winning streak to 26 consecutive duals. That streak dates back to the 2016-17 season. Mizzou improves to a perfect 6-0 this season. The dual was contested at Park Hill High School in Kansas City, Mo., the alma mater of Mizzou 133-pounder John Erneste. Erneste was one of five Mizzou wrestlers to earn wins as the team claimed points at 133, 141, 149, 174 and 184 pounds. Four of the five wins earned bonus points for the Tigers, including pins from Lewis and Jaydin Eierman (141), which was a key factor in the team score. "We kind of struggled in a couple of matches, ones we felt we should have had," head coach Brian Smith said. "I knew Virginia was coming to wrestle. They pulled a couple kids out of redshirt. Last year we had a dual with them that went down to the wire. They seem to have our number a little bit. When I was sitting with Daniel before the match, he was complaining that we were ending the match at 174 pounds. After his pin, I looked at him and told him: that that was why we wanted him last." The dual started a 184 pounds and RS junior Dylan Wisman came out and set the tone for Mizzou, winning his ninth consecutive bout by major decision, 10-2. During his personal nine-bout win streak, he has earned bonus points in eight. At 197, Wyatt Koelling went toe-to-toe with the nation's eighth-ranked wrestler, Jay Aiello. He scored a big-time reversal with less than a minute remaining in the third period and forced overtime, but Aiello scored a takedown midway through the frame to earn the win. That was the first of three straight wins for Virginia, which opened a 12-4 lead after a pin by Jack Mueller over Mizzou's Dack Punke at 125. Erneste then stole the show in front of his hometown crowd with a dominant, 9-0 major decision win over Louie Hayes, doing so in his old high school gym. He was dominant throughout the bout and exited the mat to a standing ovation. More importantly it cut Virginia's lead to 12-8 moving to 141 pounds. Eierman then ignited the capacity crowd with his fifth pin of the season, giving Mizzou the lead back at 14-12. Brock Mauller then improved to 16-1 in his true freshman season with a 4-0 win at 149. Another true freshman, Jarrett Jacques then took the mat and led, 7-4, moving to the third, but was pinned with just 25 second remaining as Virginia regained the lead, 18-17, with two bouts remaining. Virginia claimed a win a 165 as Luke Fortuna lost a 6-1 decision to No. 18 Cam Coy. That set the stage for Lewis, who earned an early takedown and quickly turned it into the match-winning pin. Results: 184 Pounds - Dylan Wisman (10-4) vs. Will Schany (12-8) - W, 10-2 - | 4-0 197 Pounds - Wyatt Koelling (8-6) vs. No. 8 Jay Aiello (10-3) - L, 11-9 (SV-1) | 4-3 Heavyweight - No. 11 Zach Elam (14-2) vs. Quinn Miller (5-4) - L, 6-3 | 4-6 125 Pounds - Dack Punke (1-3) vs. Jack Mueller (1-0) - L, Fall (2:55) | 4-12 133 Pounds - No. 9 John Erneste (8-1) vs. Louie Hayes (7-3) - W, 9-0 (MD) | 8-12 141 Pounds - No. 3 Jaydin Eierman (10-1) vs. Gray Hart (8-6) - W, Fall (2:19) | 14-12 149 Pounds - Brock Mauller (16-1) vs. Michael Murphy (3-3) - W, 4-0 | 17-12 157 Pounds - Jarrett Jacques (13-5) vs. Jake Keating (8-5) - L, Fall (6:25) | 17-18 165 Pounds - Luke Fortuna (3-7) vs. No. 18 Cam Coy (11-5) - L, 6-1 | 17-21 174 Pounds - No. 4 Daniel Lewis (10-1) vs. Drew Peck (9-3) - W, Fall (1:14) | 23-21 UP NEXT Mizzou will be off over the holiday before heading to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the South Beach Duals from Dec. 29-30. Mizzou will wrestle Lehigh and Kent State that Saturday before wrestling Purdue and Cornell Sunday. For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on social media (@MizzouWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook).

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- It marked back-to-back seasons with an Outstanding Wrestler at the Reno Tournament of Champions for the Wyoming wrestling team, as 141-pounder Sam Turner claimed top honors at the tournament on Thursday. It marked the first such honor for Turner and served as a repeat at 141 for the Pokes as Bryce Meredith earned the accolade last season. Sam Turner (right) was named Outstanding Wrestler"It was a pretty good day," Turner said. "I started out feeling a little bit of the weight cut this morning, but as I got deeper into the tournament I stared to put things together and feel good, feel hydrated. Going into that semifinals match, I decided I was going to wrestle my match and not look at Kaid Brock any differently (than anyone else). I think that really paid off and it's good this time of year to build confidence because what matters is March. These wins are good to get, but I think the biggest takeaway is confidence." As a team, Wyoming placed six wrestlers at the tournament. Aside from Turner, Cale Davidson (197) and Brian Andrews (HWT) both took second after advancing to the finals in their respective weight classes. Junior Dewey Krueger took fourth at 157, Cole Verner took fifth at 125 and Casey Randles took sixth at 174. In all, five Cowboy grapplers finished higher than their pre-tournament seeding. Wyoming finished third at the event behind Oklahoma State and Michigan State, despite only bringing 12 wrestlers compared to Oklahoma State's 20 and Michigan State's 18. Wrestling unattached, true freshman Tate Samuelson placed as well coming in third at 184 pounds. He was one of only nine unattached wrestlers in the field to finish on the podium. The Cowboys got off to a strong start to the day, with 11 of 12 attached wrestlers advancing to the round of 16. Dewey Krueger and Casey Randles each recorded falls in their round of 64 pigtail matches to start the event off on a high note for the Pokes. In the following round, the team combined for three falls, two tech falls and a pair of major decisions as just short of a dozen Cowboys moved on. Six Cowboys advanced into the Reno quarterfinals with wins in the following round. Cole Verner earned his second fall of the day with a second-period pin of Fresno State's Jeremy Trinh at 125 pounds. Sam Turner followed it up with an 8-4 decision over Durbin Lloren of Utah Valley to advance. Krueger routed Stanford's Tyler Eischens in a 20-9 major decision at 157, followed by an 11-2 major for Hayden Hastings over MSU-Northern's Chris Nile. At 197, Cale Davidson took a 6-4 win over Nick May of Michigan State, and heavyweight Brian Andrews finished off the round with a dominant, 18-2 technical fall over Southern Oregon's Max Hane. Wyoming pushed four attached wrestlers, along with true freshman Tate Samuelson into the tournament semifinals. After Turner advanced on a medical forfeit, Krueger kept rolling at 157 with a 10-8 decision over Grandview's Steven Lawrence. Competing unattached, Samuelson earned his third win of the day at 184, defeating Tanner Harvey of American, 8-5. At 197 pounds, Davidson earned his second victory of the season over Oklahoma State's Andrew Marsden, knocking off Marsden, 9-5. Finally, Andrews turned in another dominant performance at heavyweight with a shutout, 6-0 win over Chase Trussell. Three Cowboys grabbed wins in the semis, highlighted by a 5-4 upset of two-time All-American and ninth-ranked Kaid Brock of Oklahoma State by Cowboy Sam Turner. Davidson and Andrews also picked up wins, with Davidson dropping No. 2 seed Sawyer Root of The Citadel, 6-4, and Andrews dispatching of Grandview's Cooper Thomas, 5-1, in sudden victory. In the finals, Davidson and Andrews came up short to strong foes from Oklahoma State, but Turner tallied a dominant shutout of Michigan State's Austin Eicher with a couple of takedowns and plenty of riding time on the way to a 6-0 decision. The Cowboys will be back in action on Dec. 29-30 when they travel to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the South Beach Duals. While in the Sunshine State, the Pokes will face No. 6 Cornell, No. 4 NC State, Michigan State and SIUE.

FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota State University welcomed Oregon State to Fargo for a non-conference battle. NDSU would grab an early lead and never relinquish it, winning seven of ten matches, on their way to a 31-13 victory. The dual started at 149, where NDSU's Jaden Van Maanen would meet Zac Evans of Oregon State. Van Maanen used multiple takedowns to build a strong early lead, before recording the fall at 5:55. Oregon State would try to fight back at 157, with Hunter Willits taking on Nick Knutson. Willits, an NCAA Qualifier, came in as the heavy favorite in this one, but it was Knutson who would strike first. Knutson notched a takedown in the first minute of the match and looked to take a 2-1 lead to the second period. However, with 10 seconds left in the period, Willits would respond with a takedown of his own to take a 3-2 lead into the second period. The second period didn't see much separation between the two combatants. In the third, Willits was able to extend his lead and ultimately secure the 10-4 victory to get Oregon State on the board. No. 17 Andrew Fogarty took on Aaron Olmos at 165, where it would be all Fogarty. Fogarty used a first period takedown and two four point near falls to build a 10-0 lead after the first period. The second period saw Fogarty get another turn and secure the fall. 174 brought Lorenzo De La Riva and Colt Doyle to the mat. De La Riva seemingly is in a seven-minute scramble for most of his matches, and that largely happened again tonight. De La Riva led throughout the match and wound up winning more scrambles than he lost on his way to a 11-7 win. NDSU gave redshirt sophomore Michael Otomo his first start in a NDSU singlet. He would meet Myles Terry for Oregon State. Otomo did a good job with his leg attacks and fended off some late upper body attacks from Terry, to secure a hard fought 10-6 win. Cordell Eaton looked to get back on track vs Bob Coleman, after losing two close matches last week against Air Force and Wyoming. Behind the strength of several takedowns, Eaton got back on track, as he raced to a 12-3 major decision. At heavyweight, Brandon Metz would meet former Northern Colorado heavyweight Jamarcus Grant. Metz had a substantial size advantage in this one and would use it over and over. Metz was able to notch an early lateral drop for six points, and he would not look back from there. Metz was generally able to stuff any attack by Grant and use his size to score on counters. Grant was able to hit a very nice super duck in the last thirty seconds, but it wasn't enough as Metz secured the 15-6 major Decision. Oregon State All American Amar Dhesi did make the trip with the Beavers and did confirm that we will see him back on the mat in the second semester. 125 was billed as the marquee match of the night, as No. 3 Ronnie Bresser squared off with No. 9 Brent Fleetwood. These two veteran 125s wrestle very close to the mat and are tough to create scoring chances off of. The first period didn't see a ton of action, as Bresser took more attacks, but Fleetwood controlled the center more. Fleetwood was able to fire off a nice counterattack against Bresser and was able to briefly get to a standing single that Bresser would fight out of it. After a scoreless first period, Bresser would register a quick escape to get the scoring started. Following a restart, Bresser hit a powerful snap down and immediately jumped to a cow catcher and was able to put Fleetwood on his back and record the fall. Bresser showed impeccable defense throughout the match and good power and explosion when an opening arose. NDSU looked to get back on track at 133 with 19th-ranked Cam Sykora taking on Kegan Calkins. Calkins would get the first takedown, but it was all Sykora from there. Following the opening takedown, Sykora would use multiple takedowns and turns to outscore Calkins 19-1 the rest of the way and get the tech fall. The final match of the night saw Grant Willits take on Sawyer Degen. Degen was making his first start in a Bison uniform and was looking to make a memorable debut, like Michael Otomo. It wasn't to be, as Willits led this one from start to finish while securing a dominating 13-0 major decision. NDSU returns to action at the South Beach duals while Oregon State is off until a dual against Michigan. Results: 149: Jaden Van Maanen (North Dakota State) pinned Zach Evans (Oregon State), 5:55 157: Hunter Willits (Oregon State) dec. Nick Knutson (North Dakota State) 10-4 165: #17 Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State) pinned Aaron Olmos (Oregon State), 3:24 174: Lorenzo De La Riva (North Dakota State) dec. Colt Doyle (Oregon State), 11-7 184: Michael Otomo (North Dakota State) dec. Myles Terry (Oregon State), 10-16 197: Cordell Eaton (North Dakota State) maj. dec. Bob Coleman (Oregon State), 12-3 285: Brandon Metz (North Dakota State) maj. dec. Jamarcus Grant (Oregon State), 15-6 125: #3 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) pinned #9 Brent Fleetwood (North Dakota State), 3:43 133: #19 Cam Sykora (North Dakota State) tech. fall Kegan Calkins (Oregon State), 19-3 141: Grant Willits (Oregon State) maj. dec. Sawyer Degen (North Dakota State), 13-0

RENO, Nev. -- Oklahoma State wrestlers earned twelve top-four finishes at the 23rd Reno Tournament of Champions on Thursday with seven bringing home top honors. The Cowboys sent 24 competitors to the event with four wrestling unattached. The No. 3 Cowboys outscored second-place finisher Michigan State, 204.5-150.5. "Some of them looked tough and good wrestling," said coach John Smith. "It helps us evaluate. I think we saw some guys who looked pretty good, pretty sharp, pretty physical. I thought Daton Fix looked solid. Kaden Gfeller stretched his scores out. Chandler Rogers didn't have much in his bracket but just tore through it." Chandler Rogers dominated the 165-pound bracket, notching falls in four of his five bouts, including a 2:04 pin in the finals over Ryan Niven of Grandview. Nick Piccininni was also lethal at 125 pounds, earning three technical falls and a pin on the day. He defeated Michigan State's RayVon Foley, 4-1, in the finals. Piccininni remains undefeated this season and has garnered five technical falls to date. Also earning first place for OSU was 133-pound Daton Fix. The Cowboy won a first-round technical fall before advancing to the quarterfinals due to an opponent's disqualification. He won another technical fall before collecting a major decision in the semifinals. The redshirt freshman won his finals match, 10-4, over Anthony Tutolo of Michigan State. Kaden Gfeller won his second open tournament of the year and first at 149 pounds, defeating teammate Dusty Hone, 13-5, in the 149-pound finals. Gfeller won each of his six matches with bonus points, collecting three technical falls, two pins and a major. Hone won a major and pair of decisions before running into Gfeller. Dakota Geer finished on top at 197 pounds with a 5-4 decision over Wyoming's Cale Davidson. Geer recorded two falls and a technical fall Joe Smith wrestled for the first time in more than a year at 174 pounds where he notched three technical falls, a fall and a major decision. He and Jacobe Smith reached the finals match in their bracket bud did not wrestled and tied for first place. Jacobe Smith won a pair of major decisions and falls before reaching the finals. "I thought Joe wrestled pretty well for it being a year since he wrestled last … just a lot of aggression. Jacobe seemed to have slow first periods, then in the second and third periods really picked it up." Freshman Anthony Montalvo ultimately finished fourth at 184 after collecting four decisions and falling short in the semifinals to the eventual runner-up. Montalvo lost the third-place bout, 4-1, to Tate Samuelson, who was competing unattached as well. Jonce Blaylock also reached the finals for OSU but came up short against Stanford All-American Paul Fox. Kaid Brock dropped his semifinals bout with Sam Turner of Wyoming, 5-4, but came back to win a 21-5 technical fall in the third-place bout with Brody Lamb (unattached). Derek White put an exclamation point on the Cowboys' tournament win with a 6-2 decision over Wyoming's Brian Andrews. After going 70 matches without a pin, White collected first fall against Oklahoma, and his second and third career falls came in the opening rounds of action. He also won a major decision in the semifinals. "I don't think I'm totally satisfied, but I think we got a lot of information that we can take and continue to try and develop," Smith said.

ATHENS, Ohio -- A pin by redshirt freshman Alec Hagan (Eureka, Mo.) and a two-point victory by redshirt junior Zac Carson (Akron, Ohio) helped the Ohio wrestling team (2-2) overcome Chattanooga (1-2), 22-19, in the Bobcats' 2018-19 home opener this evening at the Convocation Center. "It was a good win," said 22nd-year head coach Joel Greenlee. "We injury defaulted at '84 and were winning the match and got pinned at '25. Those things don't help, and it takes a little wind out of your sails, but we came back and got a fall and got a win at the end. It was exciting. It was fun. It was a good way to kick off our break." Freshman Colt Yinger (Nelsonville, Ohio) made his Bobcat debut at the Convo, earning a 12-4 major decision win over senior Trey Watson at 165 pounds to get the evening started. "He was in our kids club when he was little and has wrestled in the Convo and been to most of the matches in the Convo," said Greenlee of the local product Yinger. "It was nice for a big crowd from Nelsonville to come out and support him. He looked good." Redshirt sophomore Joe Terry (Pickerington Ohio) helped the Bobcats extend their lead to 7-0 courtesy of an 8-5 decision over freshman Hunter Fortner at 174. Chattanooga cut the Ohio advantage to one point when junior Dominic Lampe won by medical default at 184. The Bobcats answered with back-to-back victories, however. Redshirt junior Nate Hall (Lewis Center, Ohio) defeated senior Rodney Jones by an 8-3 decision at 197, then redshirt senior Zack Parker (Felton, Del.) earned a 3-1 decision win over senior Connor Tolley at 285 to make it a 13-6 lead for Ohio. Momentum shifted in favor of the Mocs after a pin by sophomore Fabian Gutierrez at 125 shaved Ohio's lead back to one point. Chattanooga then took a 19-13 lead after junior Jake Huffine picked up a 13-1 major decision victory at 133 and junior Chris Debien came away with a 4-3 decision win at 141. Hagan came up big for the Bobcats at 149, though, pinning freshman Mason Wallace in just 45 seconds to even the score back up. "Going into the match, I knew I needed to help my team out with a win," said Hagan. "Going in there, I tried to get to my attacks as early as possible and get to my stuff on top. I did, and I got the pin and helped the team win. I just needed to do my job." Carson then sealed the victory for Ohio by defeating freshman Ryan Resnick at 157 with a 10-8 decision win. "He's gotten so much better," said Greenlee of Carson. "He's gotten better by leaps and bounds in the last month. I think he's going to make a lot of noise at the NCAA tournament." Ohio will ring in 2019 by traveling to Chattanooga, Tenn., to participate in the Southern Scuffle Jan. 1-2. Results: 165: Colt Yinger (Ohio) def. Trey Watson (Chattanooga), 12-4 maj. dec. (4-0). 174: Joe Terry (Ohio) def. Hunter Fortner (Chattanooga), 8-5 dec. (7-0) 184: Dominic Lampe (Chattanooga) default (7-6) 197: Nate Hall (Ohio) def. Rodney Jones (Chattanooga), 8-3 dec. (10-6) 285: Zack Parker (Ohio) def. Connor Tolley (Chattanooga), 3-1 dec. (13-6) 125: Fabian Gutierrez (Chattanooga) def. Shakur Laney (Ohio), fall, 6:55 (13-12) 133: Jake Huffine (Chattanooga) def. Trevor Giallombardo (Ohio), 13-1 maj. dec. (13-16) 141: Chris Debien (Chattanooga) def. Kyran Hagan (Ohio), 4-3 dec. (13-19) 149: Alec Hagan (Ohio) def. Mason Wallace (Chattanooga), fall, 0:45 (19-19) 157: Zac Carson (Ohio) def. Ryan Resnick (Chattanooga), 10-8 dec. (22-19)

Kevin Parker was thrown into the fire over his first two seasons as a starting upperweight in a loaded EIWA field. He may have been singed now and then, but he never gave in. On Thursday night, his growth manifested itself in front of a packed Dillon Gym, and he made sure he burned a second long losing streak for the Princeton wrestling team this season. Less than a month removed from ending a 14-match losing streak to league rival Lehigh, Princeton used a dramatic pin from Parker and bonus points in four of five wins to end an 18-match losing streak to county rival Rider in the Tigers' 2018-19 home debut. A pair of tight wins at 165 and 174 helped Rider grab a 15-14 lead entering Parker's match against Michale Fagg Daves, who Parker had defeated en route to a Tiger Open win in the opening weekend of the season. Despite being the early aggressor, it was Fagg Daves who held a 2-0 lead after a late takedown in the second period and looked to give Rider a significant lead with two matches to go. The fall came 58 seconds into the second period, and it opened the door for third-ranked 197-pounder Patrick Brucki, who was more than happy to slam it shut on the Broncs. Just as he did in Bethlehem on Nov. 30, Brucki clinched the team win with a 12-5 decision, which moved him to 11-0 on the season. Those two were able to clinch the win thanks to a strong first half of the match by their Princeton teammates. Freshman Patrick Glory made quick work of his Dillon debut, as he pinned Jonathan Tropea 1:59 into his 125-pound match to open a 6-0 lead. A forfeit and a tight loss at 141 gave Rider a brief lead, but top-ranked junior Matthew Kolodzik returned the advantage with a dominant 18-3 technical fall at 149. Princeton knew it would need one more victory from its young starters before Parker and Brucki took the mat, and they got it at 157 from freshman Quincy Monday. Four of Monday's last five losses have come by three points or fewer, so he was no stranger to close matches. Monday scored an early takedown of Gino Fluri, but then battled into a tough third period with a slim 3-2 edge. He wasn't going to let this one get away, and he took Fluri down one more time to secure a 6-2 win. Embedded video Sophomore Dale Tiongson gave 20th-ranked Jesse Dellavecchia a scare in a 6-2 loss, and freshman Travis Stefanik gave up a late takedown to fall 7-5 at 174. Those decisions gave Rider a slim, and short-lived, 15-14 lead when Parker took the mat. Moments later, Princeton was on its way to a third dual win of the season. The Tigers will head home for a few days before beginning final preparations for the Midlands Championships, which will take place in Chicago Dec. 29-30. Check back with GoPrincetonTigers.com for a full preview leading up to the event. Results: 125 - #14 Patrick Glory (P) WBF Jonathan Tropea 1:59 133 – Anthony Cefelo (R) wins by forfeit 141 – Travis Layton (R) dec. Marshall Keller 3-2 149 - #1 Matthew Kolodzik (P) TF Evan Fidelibus 18-3 (7:00) 157 – Quincy Monday (P) dec. Gino Fluri 6-2 165 – #20 Jesse Dellavecchia (R) dec. Dale Tiongson 6-2 174 – Dean Sherry (R) dec. Travis Stefanik 7-5 184 – Kevin Parker (P) WBF Michale Fagg Daves 3:58 197 - #3 Patrick Brucki (P) dec. Ethan Laird 12-5 285 – Ryan Cloud (R) WBF Obinna Ajah 1:46

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- The George Mason wrestling team won its second dual of the day, defeating Atlantic 10 rival Davidson, 34-6, at Belk Arena in Davidson, N.C. Mason (4-2, 1-1 EWL) took the lead over Davidson (2-4, 0-1 SoCON) when redshirt freshman Cornelius Schuster began the match with a 6-0 decision over freshman Noah Satterfield at 174 pounds. After the Wildcats picked up a decision at 184 pounds, Mason redshirt sophomore Eli Spencer won by fall over Davidson freshman Finlay Holston at 197 pounds. In the heavyweight match, Mason redshirt senior Matthew Voss led Wildcats freshman Mitchell Tripp 6-1 after the first period and 9-2 after two periods. Voss posted a 10-4 decision to win his second match of the day and increase the Patriots match-score lead to 12-3. At 125 pounds, Mason redshirt sophomore Talha Farooq won by fall over Davidson senior Zamir Ode. Mason freshman Mel Ortiz then recorded a 10-6 decision over Wildcats freshman Kyle Gorant at 133 pounds to give the Patriots a commanding 21-3 match-score advantage. The Wildcats won a high-scoring match at 141 pounds with a 22-20 decision. At 149 pounds, Mason redshirt senior Tejon Anthony led Davidson senior Aidan Conroy 4-1 after one period and 10-4 going into the third. Anthony stayed perfect on the day, earning a 16-5 major decision to increase the Patriots lead to 25-6. At 157 pounds, freshman Kolby Ho rallied for a victory, scoring five unanswered points in the third period for a 5-1 decision over Wildcats senior Tony Palumbo. In the final match of the night, Mason redshirt junior Colston DiBlasi won by fall over Wildcats freshman Erik Eva at 165 pounds. The Patriots won eight of 10 bouts in the match, with three of the victories by pin and one by major decision. Mason has won each of the last five duals against Davidson. The Patriots return to action in the New Year, competing at the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Results: 174 | Cornelius Schuster (Mason) decision over Noah Satterfield (Davidson), 6-0 | 3-0 Mason 184 | Conor Fenn (Davidson) decision over Paul Pierce (Mason), 6-3 | 3-3 197 | Eli Spencer (Mason) fall over Finlay Holston (Davidson), 2:32| 9-3 Mason 285 | Matthew Voss (Mason) decision over Mitchell Trigg (Davidson), 10-4 | 12-3 Mason 125 | Talha Farooq (Mason) fall over Zamir Ode (Davidson), 2:50 | 18-3 Mason 133 | Mel Ortiz (Mason) decision over Kyle Gorant (Davidson), 10-6 | 21-3 Mason 141 | Caleb Ziebell (Davidson) decision over Julio Alegria (Mason), 22-20 | 21-6 Mason 149 | Tejon Anthony (Mason) major decision over Aidan Conroy (Davidson), 16-5 | 25-6 Mason 157 | Kolby Ho (Mason) decision over Tony Palumbo (Davidson), 5-1 | 28-6 Mason 165 | Colston DiBlasi (Mason) fall over Erik Eva, 2:34 | 34-6 Mason

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. -- In the first of two duals on Thursday, the George Mason wrestling team defeated Gardner-Webb, 30-13, at Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, N.C. Mason (3-2, 1-1 EWL) fell behind Gardner-Webb (2-3, 0-0 SoCON) after the Runnin' Bulldogs began the match with a decision at 174 pounds. At 184 pounds, Mason freshman Paul Pierce led Gardner-Webb freshman Christian Slater 4-0 after the first period and 9-1 going into the third. Pierce recorded a 12-3 major decision to give the Patriots a 4-3 lead. The Runnin' Bulldogs notched a 12-4 major decision at 197 pounds to take a 7-4 advantage in the match. Mason redshirt senior Matthew Voss started fast in the heavyweight matchup against freshman J.T. Trautman, scoring an early takedown in the first period. Voss closed out the match with a pin at 2:14 to put the Patriots in front to stay. Redshirt sophomore Talha Farooq then won by forfeit at 125 pounds to increase the Patriots match-score lead to 16-7. Mason freshman Mel Ortiz led Runnin' Bulldogs freshman Brandon Bright 2-0 after the first and 8-3 after the second on the way to a 10-4 decision at 133 pounds to make the score 19-7. After Gardner-Webb picked up a decision at 141 pounds, Mason redshirt senior Tejon Anthony stormed out to a 6-1 first-period advantage over freshman Connor Schiess. Anthony won by fall at 4:44 to increase the Patriots lead to 25-10. At 157 pounds, Mason freshman Kolby Ho built a 6-1 first-period lead over freshman Chase McKinney. Ho increased the advantage to 10-3 after the second and won by technical fall, 20-5. The Runnin' Bulldogs ended the day with a decision at 165 pounds, but the Patriots claimed a 30-13 win in the first meeting between the two teams since 2014. The Patriots won six of the 10 bouts, earning bonus points in four of the matches. Mason is back in action later this evening, facing Davidson at 7 p.m. at the Belk Arena in Davidson, N.C. Results: 174 | Kyle Homet (GWU) decision over Cornlius Schuster (Mason), 9-4 | 3-0 Gardner-Webb 184 | Paul Pierce (Mason) decision over Christian Salter (GWU), 12-3 | 4-3 Mason 197 | Anthony Perrine (GWU) major decision over Eli Spencer (Mason), 12-4 | 7-4 Gardner-Webb 285 | Matthew Voss (Mason) fall over J.T. Trautman (GWU), 2:14 | 10-7 Mason 125 | Talha Farooq (Mason) won by forfeit | 16-7 Mason 133 | Mel Ortiz (Mason) decision over Brandon Bright (GWU), 10-4 | 19-7 Mason 141 | Blake Mulkey (GWU) over Julio Alegria (Mason), 12-7 | 19-10 Mason 149 | Tejon Anthony (Mason) fall over Conrad Schiess (GWU), 4:44 | 25-10 Mason 157 | Kolby Ho (Mason) technical fall over Chase McKinney (GWU), 20-5 (5:59) | 30-10 Mason 165 | Tyler Marinelli (GWU) decision over Colston DiBlasi (Mason), 5-0 | 30-13 Mason

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BLACKSBURG -- Five straight wins from 165 pounds through heavyweight kicked off the match between and it helped carry No. 14 Virginia Tech to a 24-9 win over West Virginia on Wednesday evening in Morgantown, W.Va. Bonus point wins, all by major decision, came from redshirt freshman Mekhi Lewis at 165 pounds, redshirt senior Zack Zavatsky at 184 and redshirt sophomore B.C. LaPrade at 157. Lewis and Zavatsky have each registered bonus points in their last three starts in duals. MATCH NOTES The Hokies clinched the riding time point in eight of the 10 bouts. For the second straight dual, the coaches agreed to draw and this time the match started 165 pounds. It worked out in the Hokies favor as Lewis got things started with a 15-2 major over Nick Kiussis. Redshirt junior David McFadden followed with a workmanlike 8-2 decision before Zavatsky's major, redshirt senior Tom Sleigh's 3-1 decision at 197 and redshirt senior Billy Miller's 4-0 decision at heavyweight. After a loss at 125, redshirt sophomore Kyle Norstrem was in a battle in his first career bout at 133 where he tied at 2-2 with a minute left. He used double-overs to throw KJ Fenstermacher for a two-point takedown and secured four near fall to take an 8-2 lead. With the riding time point, Norstrem claimed the 9-2 decision. LaPrade carried momentum from his over Princeton's Quincy Monday as he dominated West Virginia's Zach Moore in a 14-2 major decision. Next, the Hokies will have competitors at both the Franklin & Marshall Open on Jan. 5 and the prestigious Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga from Jan. 1-2. Results: 165: Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech) over Nick Kiussis (West Virginia) (MD 15-2) 174: David McFadden (Virginia Tech) over Josh Ramirez (West Virginia) (Dec 8-2) 184: Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) over Hunter DeLong (West Virginia) (MD 15-6) 197: Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech) over Noah Adams (West Virginia) (Dec 3-1) 285: Billy Miller (Virginia Tech) over Brandon Ngati (West Virginia) (Dec 4-0) 125: Joey Thomas (West Virginia) over Joey Prata (Virginia Tech) (SV-1 4-2) 133: Kyle Norstrem (Virginia Tech) over KJ Fenstermacher (West Virginia) (Dec 9-2) 141: Lukas Martin (West Virginia) over Dom Latona (Virginia Tech) (Dec 8-7) 149: Christian Monserrat (West Virginia) over Ryan Blees (Virginia Tech) (Dec 4-1) 157: BC LaPrade (Virginia Tech) over Zach Moore (West Virginia) (MD 14-2)

Brock Zacherl (Photo/Clarion Athletics) CLARION, Pa. -- Clarion wrestling coach Keith Ferraro announced today that due to injuries sustained earlier in the season, Golden Eagle wrestlers Brock Zacherl and Taylor Ortz will miss the remainder of the 2018-19 season. Neither has competed since the Cliff Keen Invitational earlier this month. The program hopes Zacherl and Ortz will be eligible for a medical hardship and an extra year of eligibility, which they intend to apply for at the appropriate time. "We're disappointed that Brock and Taylor won't be able to compete with us for the rest of the season," Ferraro said. "We will look to the rest of our lineup to step up this year, and we hope to have both guys back in the future." Both Zacherl and Ortz were NCAA qualifiers in 2018, with Zacherl also reaching the NCAA Championships in the previous two seasons as well. Zacherl reached as high as fifth in the national rankings this season after an impressive showing at the Cliff Keen Invitational, while Ortz continued his ascendance with an exceptional performance there as well.

No. 1 Cohlton Schultz recently won a title at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) The Reno Tournament of Champions annually serves as a great showcase for high school and college wrestling. This year's program at the Reno (Nevada) Events Center is no exception. Thursday is the college event, with high school taking over on Friday and Saturday. A plethora of high school teams from fourteen states, plus one from Canada, will be among those in attendance at the tournament. Headlining the field are three nationally ranked teams: No. 17 Allen (Texas), No. 24 Poway (Calif.), and No. 42 Pomona (Colo.); additional teams meriting attention include Choctaw (Okla.), Crook County (Ore.), and Pueblo County (Colo.) Two wrestlers ranked first nationally at their respective weight classes headline the field, Super 32 Challenge champion Stevo Poulin (Shenendehowa, N.Y.) at 106 pounds and Junior World Greco-Roman medalist Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) at 285. 21 additional ranked wrestlers feature in the field, with 13 of 14 weight classes projected to feature at least one ranked wrestler. Below is a weight-by-weight listing of wrestlers to watch. 106: No. 1 Stevo Poulin (Shenendehowa, N.Y.), No. 5 Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas), No. 20 Andrew Gonzales (Poway, Calif.), Zach Espalin (Chandler, Ariz.) 113: No. 16 Vince Cornella (Monarch, Colo.), No. 17 Brendon Garcia (Pueblo County, Colo.), Chance Lamer (Crook County, Ore.), Brock Bobzien (Poway, Colo.), Kase Mauger (Twin Falls, Idaho), Davion Chavez (Alamosa, Colo.), Braeden Williams (Blanchard, Okla.), Cole Jensen (Payson, Utah), Devin Griffen (Spanish Springs, Nev.) 120: Carson Sauriol (Poway, Colo.), Hunter Mode (Crook County, Ore.), Steele Dias (Green Valley, Nev.) 126: No. 19 Mosha Schwartz (Ponderosa, Colo.), No. 20 Daniel Cardenas (Pomona, Colo.), Aaron Nagao (Esperanza, Calif.), Jason Miranda (Poway, Colo.), Brandon Owens (Grundy, Colo.) 132: No. 19 Henry Porter (Oakdale, Calif.), Fabian Santillan (Grandview, Colo.), Colt Newton (Choctaw, Okla.), Kyle Parco (De La Salle, Calif.), Nathan Bonham (Pueblo County, Colo.), Joe Chavez (Alamosa, Colo.), Rush Fannon (Colony, Alaska), Sammy Heywood (Wasatch, Utah) 138: No. 14 Trent Dooley (Allen, Texas), James McClain (El Paso Franklin, Texas), Terrell Barraclough (Layton, Utah), Ricky Torres (Oakdale, Calif.), Luciano Fuslo (Homer, Alaska) 145: No. 14 Legend Lamer (Crescent Valley, Ore.), Stockton O'Brien (Wasatch, Utah), Tyson Humphreys (Layton, Utah), Jaxon Garoutte (Pueblo County, Colo.), Dyllan Fuchs (Spring Creek, Nev.) 152: No. 5 Theorius Robison (Pomona, Colo.), No. 11 Aaron Gandara (Poway, Calif.), No. 12 McKay Foy (Altamont, Utah), No. 17 Christian Hudson (South Anchorage, Alaska), Ezekial Williamson (Jerome, Idaho), Hayben Lieb (Bethel, Alaska), Gabe Fiser (Grundy, Va.), Zak Kohler (Wasatch, Utah) 160: No. 4 Coltan Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.), No. 13 Isaac Wilcox (Olympus, Utah), No. 17 Ian Carlos (North Salem, Ore.), Kiernan Shanahan (Shenendehowa, N.Y.), Justin Wood (Carlsbad, N.M.), Kekauna Fauret (Columbia, Idaho), Justus Scott (Green Valley, Nev.), Nathan Moore (White River, Wash.) 170: No. 13 Gabe Martinez (Oakdale, Calif.), Sean McCormick (Churchill County, Nev.), Desmond Bowers (Green Valley, Nev.), Franklin Cruz (Pomona, Colo.), Max Wheeler (White River, Wash.) 182: No. 10 Zane Coleman (Choctaw, Okla.), No. 20 Ryan Cosio (Temecula Valley, Calif.), Dax Bennett (Harrisburg, Ore.) 195: No. 20 Jonathon Fagen (Fruitland, Idaho), Connor Bourne (Faith Lutheran, Nev.), Santos Cantu (Sprague, Ore.), Drake Barbee (Stilwell, Okla.) 220: No. 18 Maika Tauteoli (Pleasant Grove, Utah), Nathaniel Deasey (Chandler, Ariz.), Chris Island (Vacaville, Calif.), Jeff Guthrie (Spring Creek, Nev.) 285: No. 1 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.), Ben Dooley (Churchill County, Nev.), Skylar Hughes (Columbia, Idaho), Keegan Wilkinson (Pleasant Grove, Utah), Mike McCowen (Grundy, Va.)

This is the last weekend of competition before the Christmas holiday (that comes about on Tuesday, Dec. 25), and when some states will start their shutdown period. Below is the list of scheduled contests for Fab 50 teams during the week of Dec. 19-25. No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.) -- travels to Newark (Del.) for the Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) -- travels to Newark (Del.) for the Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 3 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) -- travels to Newark (Del.) for the Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 4 Cincinnati LaSalle (Ohio) -- travels to Machesney Park (Ill.) for the Dvorak Memorial on Saturday and Sunday No. 5 St. Edward (Ohio) -- travels to St. Ignatius (Ohio) for a dual meet on Thursday No. 6 Montini Catholic (Ill.) -- travels to Machesney Park (Ill.) for the Dvorak Memorial on Saturday and Sunday No. 7 Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) -- travels to No. 23 Davison (Mich.) for a dual meet on Friday No. 8 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) -- travels to Newark (Del.) for the Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 9 Buchanan (Calif.) -- travels to Central (Calif.) for a dual meet today, hosts the Zinkin Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 10 Gilroy (Calif.) -- travels to Buchanan (Calif.) for the Zinkin Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 11 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) -- travels to Emmaus (Pa.) for a dual meet today, hosts No. 40 Northampton (Pa.) in a dual meet on Thursday, travels to Newark (Del.) for the Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 12 St. John Bosco (Calif.) -- travels to Buchanan (Calif.) for the Zinkin Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 14 Park Hill (Mo.) -- hosts No. 38 Liberty (Mo.) in a dual meet on Thursday, competes in the Kansas City (Mo.) Stampede at Hy-Vee Arena on Friday and Saturday No. 16 Tuttle (Okla.) -- competes in the Kansas City (Mo.) Stampede at Hy-Vee Arena on Friday and Saturday No. 17 Allen (Texas) -- competes in the Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions on Friday and Saturday No. 18 Clovis (Calif.) -- hosts Clovis East (Calif.) in a dual meet tonight, travels to Buchanan (Calif.) for the Zinkin Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 19 Simley (Minn.) -- hosts quad meet on Friday against St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.), Bemidji (Minn.), and Foley (Minn.) No. 20 Brighton (Mich.) -- hosts tri-meet today against Rockford (Mich.) and Linden (Mich.), hosts the Manning Vieauf Memorial Duals on Saturday No. 21 Paulsboro (N.J.) -- travels to Overbrook (N.J.) for a dual meet today, hosts Collingswood (N.J.) in a dual meet on Friday No. 22 Kasson-Mantorville (Minn.) -- hosts Pine Island (Minn.) in a dual meet on Thursday No. 23 Davison (Mich.) -- hosts No. 7 Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) in a dual meet on Friday, hosts the Genesee County Tournament on Saturday No. 24 Poway (Calif.) -- competes in the Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions on Friday and Saturday No. 25 Elyria (Ohio) -- travels to Newark (Del.) for the Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 26 Parkersburg South (W.Va.) -- hosts tri-meet against Nelsonville-York (Ohio) and St. Clairsville (Ohio) today, travels to University (W.Va.) along with East Fairmont (W.Va.) for tri-meet on Friday No. 27 Wadsworth (Ohio) -- travels to Hudson (Ohio) for double-dual along with Twinsburg (Ohio) on Thursday No. 28 Erie (Pa.) Cathedral Prep -- travels to Erie (Pa.) McDowell for dual meet today, hosts the Rambler Duals on Saturday No. 29 Chicago (Ill.) Mt. Carmel -- travels to Machesney Park (Ill.) for the Dvorak Memorial on Saturday and Sunday No. 30 Mount St. Joseph's (Md.) -- travels to Newark (Del.) for the Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 31 Howell (N.J.) -- hosts Freehold Boro (N.J.) in a dual meet today, travels to Bishop Ahr (N.J.) for a dual meet on Friday, travels to Sparta (N.J.) along with Jackson Memorial (N.J.) for a tri-meet on Saturday No. 32 Marmion Academy (Ill.) -- hosts Hope Academy (Ill.) in a dual meet on Friday, hosts a multi-team dual meet event on Saturday No. 33 South Plainfield (N.J.) -- hosts East Brunswick (N.J.) in a dual meet today, travels to South Brunswick (N.J.) for a dual meet on Friday No. 34 Indianapolis (Ind.) Cathedral -- travels to Columbus East (Ind.) for a dual meet on Friday No. 35 Selma (Calif.) -- travels to Buchanan (Calif.) for the Zinkin Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 36 Reynolds (Pa.) -- travels to Franklin Area (Pa.) for a dual meet on Thursday No. 37 Brecksville (Ohio) -- travels to Hudson (Ohio) for double-dual along with Twinsburg (Ohio) on Thursday, travels to Newark (Del.) for the Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 38 Liberty (Mo.) -- travels to No. 14 Park Hill (Mo.) for a dual meet on Thursday, competes in the Kansas City (Mo.) Stampede at Hy-Vee Arena on Friday and Saturday No. 39 Goddard (Kansas) -- competes in the Kansas City (Mo.) Stampede at Hy-Vee Arena on Friday and Saturday No. 40 Northampton (Pa.) -- travels to Stroudsburg (Pa.) for dual meet today, travels to No. 11 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) for a dual meet on Thursday, travels to Newark (Del.) for the Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 42 Pomona (Colo.) -- competes in the Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions on Friday and Saturday No. 43 Delbarton (N.J.) -- travels to Newark (Del.) for the Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 44 Shakopee (Minn.) -- travels to Lakeville North (Minn.) for double dual on Thursday against Burnsville (Minn.) and Eastview (Minn.) No. 45 Don Bosco (Iowa) -- travels to Denver (Iowa) for double dual on Thursday against East Marshall (Iowa) and Union (Iowa) No. 46 Clovis North (Calif.) -- hosts Clovis West (Calif.) in a dual meet tonight, travels to Buchanan (Calif.) for the Zinkin Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 49 Stoughton (Wis.) -- competes in the Badger State Invitational on Saturday at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. No. 50 Evansville (Ind.) Mater Dei -- hosts Perry Meridian (Ind.) in a dual meet on Friday Off this week: No. 13 Southeast Polk (Iowa), No. 15 Broken Arrow (Okla.), No. 41 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), No. 47 Waverly-Shell Rock (Iowa), No. 48 St. Paris (Ohio) Graham

Coleman Scott (Photo/UNC Athletics) CHAPEL HILL -- Fourth-year head wrestling coach Coleman Scott has signed a contract extension with the University of North Carolina, Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham announced today. Scott, a four-time All-American and 2008 national champion at Oklahoma State and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, led the Tar Heels to their best NCAA finish in more than two decades last spring. UNC has signed or is announcing: • contracts and/or contract extensions with 11 head coaches, including Scott's extension, which runs through 2020-21; • personal service contracts for head coaches with Nike; • a 10-year extension with Nike; • and a 12-year extension with Learfield Communications. All of the contracts, and a licensing agreement and labor standards agreements with Nike, are available on GoHeels.com.

Jody Strittmatter with Vincenzo Joseph, Jason Nolf and Spencer Lee Jody Strittmatter of Young Guns Wrestling Club in Pennsylvania talks with Chad Dennis on The MatBoss Podcast. Strittmatter will talk development of the club, the goals and mission behing Young Guns, which has recently produced NCAA champions Spencer Lee (Iowa), Jason Nolf (Penn State) and Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State). Strittmatter started his career at Division II Pitt-Johnstown where he won a national title before transferring to Iowa and placing twice at the NCAA Division I Championships. About MatBoss: Created by coaches for coaches, MatBoss for iPad® integrates wrestling stats directly into the video you record for each match, completely replacing the need for labor-intensive pencil and paper scoring systems. It's the wrestling stats app our sport has been waiting for. Focus on coaching, not busy work Improve through video analysis Make data an advantage Eliminate scoring errors Increase exposure Become a digital coach For more information, visit MatBossApp.com. Follow MatBoss on Twitter and subscribe to the show @MatBossApp | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | Google Play Music | RSS

Last Friday's dual meet between Penn State and Arizona State featured a match between the last two champions at 174 pounds. In the fourth collegiate meeting, Mark Hall evened the series against Zahid Valencia with a dominant 4-0 decision. To discuss the match and the season outlook for Penn State, Richard Mann chats with Clay Sauertieg of Black Shoe Diaries who was in Rec Hall for the match. In addition to the Hall vs. Valencia match, Richard and Clay discuss the start of Roman Bravo-Young's collegiate career, Brady Berge's postseason prospects and the Anthony Cassar new home at heavyweight. Follow InterMat on Twitter and subscribe to the show @InterMat | Apple Podcasts | iHeartRadio | Google Play Music | Stitcher | Spreaker | RSS

EDINBORO, Pa. -- Kent State earned its first road victory of the season Tuesday night, downing Edinboro 26-12 at McComb Fieldhouse. In a traditionally tough environment, the Golden Flashes (4-5) won six matches with pins from Andrew McNally and Tim Rooney. "Our intensity was as high as it's been all year," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said. "As a team, it was the best we've looked. And when you're going really hard, you can win a lot of matches." Setting the tone for looking his best this season was sophomore 157-pounder Richard Jackson, who opened the dual with a 12-7 decision over Tim Suter. The Flashes never trailed as Isaac Bast (165) extended the team lead to 6-0 with 7-2 victory over Fritz Hoehn. Two matches later, McNally (184) chalked up his ninth pin of the year, using a unique side cradle in the first period. Sophomore Lane Hinkle (197) bumped up a couple of weight classes from his normal spot, but only lost by decision. Redshirt freshman heavyweight Spencer Berthold also helped his team by keeping his match close in a 5-2 decision against Jon Spaulding, who pinned him just three days earlier. "Spencer continues to get better," Andrassy said. "With Lane and Spencer keeping their matches close, it kept Edinboro from getting too much momentum." Kent State then came away with bonus points in three of the last four matches, beginning with a 16-5 major decision from sophomore Jake Ferri (125). Rooney (133) followed with a pin early in the second. Sophomore Cory Simpson (141) gave up a takedown in overtime, before redshirt freshman Kody Komara ended the night with a 14-5 major decision over Chris Matzke. The Flashes return to action Dec. 28-29 at the South Beach Duals. Results: 157 Richard Jackson (Kent State) over Tim Suter (Edinboro) Dec. 12-7 165 Isaac Bast (Kent State) over Fritz Hoehn (Edinboro) Dec. 7-2 174 Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) over Dylan Barreiro (Kent State) Dec. 3-2 184 Andrew McNally (Kent State) over Zach Ancewicz (Edinboro) Fall 1:32 197 Dylan Reynolds (Edinboro) over Lane Hinkle (Kent State) Dec 8-3 285 Jon Spaulding (Edinboro) over Spencer Berthhold (Kent State) Dec 5-2 125 Jake Ferri (Kent State) over Lucas Rodriguez (Edinboro) MD 16-5 133 Tim Rooney (Kent State) over Richie Gomez (Edinboro) Fall 3:33 141 Carmine Ciotti (Edinboro) over Cory Simpson (Kent State) SV-1 7-5 149 Kody Komara (Kent State) over Chris Matzke (Edinboro) MD 14-5