InterMat Staff

FRESNO, Calif. -- The Gophers flew out to Fresno State to defeat the Bulldogs for the second straight season, this time by a team score of 31-6. The Gophers have now scored over 30 team points in two consecutive duals and three out of four this season. The Gophers got two technical falls and a forfeit for bonus point victories. The Gophers night got started with 125-pound Sean Russell who continued his recent run of scoring. Russell immediately got to his offense and got the takedown only 30 seconds into the bout before notching the nearfall. Russell quickly put an end to the match with a second period 16-1 technical fall. 133-pound Ethan Lizak quickly got to his opponents left leg and took a key first period lead. After surrendering a second period takedown Lizak got back to business with a four-point nearfall in the third period to clinch a 9-2 victory with over two minutes of riding time. Against the lone ranked Bulldog Khristian Olivas, 149-pound Tommy Thorn was tied 1-1 after regulation with escapes the only scoring of the match. In sudden victory Thorn battled at the edge of the mat for the game-winning takedown. Making his second consecutive dual appearance in place of the injured Steve Bleise 157-pound Miles Patton held a one-point lead late in the third before extending his lead. Patton's late takedown and nearfall sent the Gophers into intermission leading 14-3. Straight out of intermission 165-pound Carson Brolsma got on the board nearly immediately with a takedown within ten seconds. He followed that up with two more in the period for a 6-2 lead. Brolsma finished up the bout with a 9-5 victory, including riding time. 174-pound Devin Skatzka continued to excel with victory in a close match with Fresno State's Jackson Hemauer. Filling in for usual starter Mitch McKee, 141-pound Brent Jones made his dual debut against Chris Deloza or Fresno State. In an action packed bout Jones got a late takedown but couldn't follow it up with another and he fell 13-11. 184-pound Owen Webster dropped his bout to Jackson Hemauer 4-1 after only two takedowns, but ample riding time for Hemauer. 197-pound Brandon Krone made a victorious return to the lineup after not wrestling since the Oklahoma State dual on Nov. 18. Krone didn't settle after a 4-0 first period lead and rode out the entire second period with a four-point nearfall in the mix. Fresno State forfeited the matchup at heavyweight. Results: 125: No.5 Sean Russell tech. fall Jeremy Trinh 16-1 | Minnesota 5-0 133: No. 8 Ethan Lizak dec. Gary Joint 9-2 | Minnesota 8-0 141: Chris Deloza dec. Brent Jones 13-11 | Minnesota 8-3 149: Tommy Thorn dec. No. 23 Khristian Olivas SV 3-1 | Minnesota 11-3 157: Miles Patton dec. Isaiah Hokit 11-3 | Minnesota 14-3 165: Carson Brolsma dec. Jacob Wright 9-5 | Minnesota 17-3 174: No. 16 Devin Skatzka dec. Ricky Padilla 6-4 | Minnesota 20-3 184: Jackson Hemauer dec. Owen Webster 4-1 | Minnesota 20-6 197: Brandon Krone tech. fall Danny Salas 15-0 | Minnesota 25-6 285: No. 2 Gable Steveson winner by forfeit | Minnesota 31-6

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- The 21st-ranked Wyoming wrestling team picked up its first Big 12 win of the season on Saturday afternoon in the Arena-Auditorium, overwhelming No. 19 North Dakota State, 29-6. The Cowboys (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) took eight of the 10 bouts from the Bison, including bonus point wins from Montorie Bridges, Dewey Krueger and Carless Looney. The Pokes dominated on top as well, earning four full-period rideouts in the dual. "The guys wrestled pretty well," Branch said. "I was pretty worried (coming in) about their energy levels, coming off of a grinding tournament like Vegas and then having a quick turnaround. We had to get busy. I let them have yesterday off because I could see them getting fatigued…Overall, our energy was pretty good. I didn't know what to expect. I looked at it on paper and there were so many unknowns. "What you have is you have guys on both teams that have had their moments, but there is still a lot of inconsistency between them because of a lack of experience. I was pleased, and disappointed in the matches we did lose. I would have never thought that going into the dual, but you feel a little bit of a sour taste that we didn't finish off those two close ones that we lost. We still have a lot we need to improve, but it was definitely a good effort from the guys." The night started at 197 pounds, where redshirt freshman Cale Davidson picked up a 6-3 decision over No. 20 Cordell Eaton. Eaton struck first in the bout, scoring a takedown with 18 seconds left to go in the first period. Davidson was able to get on the board with a second left on the escape, followed by a full second period rideout from the top starting position to keep the score at 2-1 heading into the final frame. From the down position, Davidson picked up a reversal 30 seconds into the third and sealed the match with 33 seconds to go in the bout with a takedown and rideout. Heavyweight Brian Andrews followed up the win by Davidson with a 3-1 sudden victory decision over Brandon Metz to stretch the team score to 6-0. After the two grapplers traded escapes in the second and third periods to get to the end of regulation at one apiece, Andrews got the decisive takedown just 14 seconds into the first sudden victory period. The win moved Andrews to 4-1 in duals this season. At 125 pounds, Cole Verner came up just short of an upset over No. 8 Brent Fleetwood. Verner took a 5-4 lead into the final period as he was able to reverse from bottom after a Fleetwood takedown about a minute into the frame. Fleetwood chose neutral to start the third and came up with a takedown to take the lead with just 15 seconds to go to secure the 6-5 win over the Cowboy. Bridges recorded five takedowns en route to a 12-3 major decision over North Dakota State's Paul Bianchi at 133 pounds to lock up the first bonus point win of the dual for Wyoming and put the Pokes up, 10-3, in the match. It marked Bridges' third major of the season. At 141, Sam Turner ran off six unanswered points following an early takedown for NDSU's Gavin Sutton in the first period. Turner was able to escape quickly and later notch a takedown with five seconds to go to take a 3-2 lead into the second. After riding out the entirety of the second period, Turner scored a reversal from the down starting position in the third and finished off the match with the riding time point for the 6-2 win over Sutton. The Bison got back on the board for what would be the final time at 149 pounds, as Jaden Van Maanen defeated Cowboy Jaron Jensen, 7-5, in sudden victory. Trailing, 3-1, in the third period with riding time in favor of Van Maanen, Jensen was able to tie the match with a couple of takedowns in the final 30 seconds of regulation to force overtime; however, a takedown by Van Maanen six seconds into sudden victory quelled Jensen's comeback. Junior Dewey Krueger saw the mat for a full 1:44 on Saturday as he decked Bison Nick Knutson for a first-period fall to stretch Wyoming's lead to 19-6. Krueger dropped Knutson for the takedown after a handful of shots just over a minute into the bout, catching him on his back for the fall -- his third of the season. Senior Branson Ashworth pushed his record against NDSU's Andrew Fogarty to 4-2 on Saturday with a convincing 6-0 win over the 13th-ranked Bison junior. Ashworth dominated the match, taking down Fogarty with 1:20 to go in the first, then rode out the remainder of the first and entirety of the second to lead 2-0 heading into the final frame. Ashworth escaped from bottom to open the third, before scoring one last takedown with 44 seconds to go to all but lock up the win. At 174 pounds, redshirt freshman Hayden Hastings dominated the third period to drop Lorenzo De La Riva, 7-3. With the score tied at two heading into the frame, Hastings scored the reversal just 17 seconds in. De La Riva would escape about 30 seconds later, but Hastings fought off a number of attacks from the Bison junior before scoring a takedown to secure the win. In the final bout of the night, redshirt freshman Carless Looney dominated NDSU senior Tyler McNutt for the 11-0 shutout major decision. Looney opened the match with a takedown and nearfall to lead, 6-0, after one. After a second-period rideout, Looney scored another takedown and rideout in the third to close out the match on a high note. The Cowboys will return to tournament action for their final tournament of the regular season on Dec. 20 when they head to Reno, Nev., for the Reno Tournament of Champions. Results: 197: Cale Davidson dec. No. 20 Cordell Eaton (NDSU), 6-3 285: No. 20 Brian Andrews sv-1 Brandon Metz (NDSU), 3-1 125: No. 8 Brent Fleetwood (NDSU) dec. Cole Verner, 6-5 133: No. 13 Montorie Bridges major dec. Paul Bianchi (NDSU), 12-3 141: Sam Turner dec. Gavin Sutton (NDSU), 6-2 149: Jaden Van Maanen (NDSU) sv-1 Jaron Jensen, 7-5 157: Dewey Krueger fall Nick Knutson (NDSU), 1:44 165: No. 7 Branson Ashworth dec. No. 13 Andrew Fogarty (NDSU), 6-0 174: Hayden Hastings dec. Lorenzo De La Riva (NDSU), 7-3 184: Carless Looney major dec. Tyler McNutt (NDSU), 11-0

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The fourth-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team doubled up No. 16 Lehigh on Saturday, winning seven-of-eight matches to top the Mountain Hawks, 28-14, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes won the dual's first six bouts, piling up a 25-0 advantage in takedowns and scoring bonus point in five matches. Spencer Lee opened the scoring with a first-period technical fall. He registered a takedown in the first 10 seconds and added three four-point turns to terminate his 125-pound match, 15-0, in 2:30. "I'm the first guy, so I feel like it's my job to get the ball rolling and score as many points to get the team fired up," Lee said. Iowa won by major decision in the next three matches. Austin DeSanto scored eight takedowns in a 19-8 win at 133. Max Murin scored four takedowns and added four nearfall points at in a 14-3 win at 141, and Pat Lugo scored eight points in the final minute of the first period en route to a 12-3 win at 149. DeSanto and Murin both bounced back from losses last week. "I can harder wrestle harder than that pace," DeSanto said. "I want to improve my pace every single match." Murin said he took a monkey see, monkey do approach to getting back on track. The plan he said, was to wrestle every tick of the clock. "I don't have to look very far to see other guys like Marinelli and DeSanto. They do it every match and I knew I had to do the same," Murin said. "The coaches have been on us all week. We had a bad last week but we can't do anything now. We have to learn from it, and I feel we've done pretty good job at fixing our mistakes and capitalizing." Iowa won its fifth match before intermission at 157, where Kaleb Young used a first period takedown and 1:47 of riding time to defeat No. 15 Josh Humphreys, 4-1. The Hawkeyes went 2-3 after the break. Alex Marinelli played catch and release for six minutes, 28 seconds, in a 20-5 technical fall at 165, and Cash Wilcke scored a takedown 43 seconds into sudden victory to win 6-4 at 184. "I think they are realizing that how hard they wrestle is most important. Do you want to wrestle like this and leave it up to chance or do you want to slam the door on these guys," said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. "The higher pace you wrestle, the better your chances. Those matches when you wrestle that type of pace, it's over halfway over through the second period. The thing is you have to keep your foot on the gas pedal." NOTABLES Iowa scored the dual's first 25 takedowns. Lee improved to 5-0 with his fourth technical fall of the season. Lugo won for the first time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Moody was making his second career dual appearance. UP NEXT The Hawkeyes compete at the Midlands Championships on Dec. 29-30 in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Results: 125 -- #1 Spencer Lee (IA) tech. fall Luke Resnick (L), 15-0; 5-0 133 -- #12 Austin DeSanto (IA) major dec. Brandon Paetzell (L), 19-8; 9-0 141 -- #20 Max Murin (IA) major dec. Ryan Pomrinca (L), 14-3; 13-0 149 -- #10 Pat Lugo (IA) major dec. Jimmy Hoffman (L), 12-3; 17-0 157 -- #8 Kaleb Young (IA) dec. #15 Josh Humphreys (L), 4-1; 20-0 165 -- #4 Alex Marinelli (IA) tech. fall Cole Walter (L), 20-5; 25-0 174 -- #6 Jordan Kutler (L) major dec. Jeremiah Moody (IA), 12-3; 25-4 184 -- #14 Cash Wilcke (IA) dec. Andrew Price (L), 6-4 SV1; 28-4 197 -- #14 Jake Jakobsen (L) pinned Steve Holloway (IA), 1:01; 28-10 285 -- #6 Jordan Wood (L) major dec. Aaron Costello (IA), 13-3 Records: Iowa (6-0), Lehigh (0-4) Attendance: 7,434

No. 1 Blair Academy won the Walsh Ironman title by 100 points (Photo/Richard Immel) CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- It was a record-setting year for the Walsh Ironman in terms of team quality, as well as for the depth and breadth of the individual talent in the field. Among the 520 athletes were around 30 percent of the nationally ranked individuals, and just under one half of the InterMat Fab 50 national ranked teams were among the 90 schools with full or partial entries in the event. National No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.) won the event by an event-record margin of 100 points over No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.). The Buccaneers had six wrestlers make the finals, and twelve wrestlers earn to eight podium finishes on the way to 276-1/2 points. That performance was not an event record, which would be the 297 points score by St. Edward (Ohio) in December 1999. It actually was the fourth best point total in event history, the third among Blair Academy teams (287 in December 2001, 282 in December 2008). Earning titles for the Buccaneers were No. 3 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (120), No. 7 Shayne Van Ness (132), and No. 1 A.J. Ferrari (195). For Mastrogiovanni, it was a repeat title, and it took a pair of third period takedowns including the match winner with 24 seconds remaining to outlast No. 4 Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) 6-5. It was also a repeat title for Ferrari, who scored two takedowns in each period of a 13-7 victory over No. 4 Peter Christensen (Montini Catholic, Ill.); a late escape and takedown for Christensen made the match seem closer than it was. The sophomore Van Ness, for whom it is his first season as the primary starter, has had a spectacular six week period to make people aware of his true ability level. On the way to winning a title at the Super 32 in late October, he beat three-time tournament champion Adam Busiello in the quarterfinal round. In Saturday afternoon's semifinal round, he used a mid-third period takedown to equalize the bout and then a late third period five-point move to confirm the 11-5 victory over national No. 1 Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio). Then to win the title, he used a four-point toss at the edge of the mat inside the last 30 seconds to beat No. 15 Frankie Tal-Shahar (American Heritage, Fla.); Tal-Shahar used a last second takedown to beat No. 2 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) 5-4 in his semifinal. Runners-up for Blair Academy were No. 2 Michael Colaiocco (126), No. 3 Julian Ramirez (170), and No. 2 Owen Trephan (220). Other medalists included No. 13 Travis Mastrogiovanni (145), Nick Incontera (152), and No. 5 Dominic Mata (160) placing fourth; Ryan Miller (113) in fifth; No. 16 Peyton Craft (182) in seventh; and Daniel Wask (106) in eighth. Or the second place team, Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), No. 10 Darrien Roberts was the Blue Knights' lone finalist and champion. He upended No. 8 Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.), a fellow National Prep runner-up, in the 182 pound final by a 4-2 score; Roberts' first period takedown was the key factor in that victory. Out of eight other placers, No. 8 Troy Spratley (113) and No. 8 Jacob Kaminski (220) each placed third; Lachlan McNeil (120) finished fourth; No. 3 Beau Bartlett (132) earned fifth; while Drew Munch (126), Benny Baker (152), No. 19 Jake Stefanowicz (170), and Michel Doggett (195) each finished sixth. The two teams finishing in joint third, No. 4 Cincinnati LaSalle (Ohio) and No. 15 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.), barely combined to exceed the total of second place Wyoming Seminary, as each team had 90 points. The lone champion between those two teams was No. 2 Ryan Anderson for Bethlehem Catholic at 145 pounds. Anderson started his tournament with two pins and a 12-2 major decision in the round of 16 before a pair of regular decision victories to advance to the final; those came against nationally ranked opponents, 4-2 over No. 18 Trevor Chumbley (Marmion Academy, Ill.) in the quarterfinal and 6-2 over Mastrogiovanni in the semifinal. That was the prelude to the finals program's featured bout between No. 2 Anderson and No. 1 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), whose advancement to the final included a 7-3 win over No. 3 Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio) in the semifinal. Anderson made the finals match a basic non-event after one period as two takedowns and a late near fall that would have been a pin but for the period ending gave him a 7-1 lead. A technical violation and a second stalling against Abas in the second period made it 9-1, while another stall call against Abas in the third period created the final 11-1 margin. Said performance was enough for the Iowa State signee Anderson to be named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 25th Walsh Ironman. Four others joined Ferrari as national No. 1 ranked wrestlers to win titles in the 2018 Walsh Ironman: Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) at 113 pounds, Joshua Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) at 138, Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) at 170, and Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) at 220. Figueroa outlasted state champion Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Seneca Valley, Pa.) 2-1, as a reversal in the second period followed by riding that period out was enough to offset Herrera-Rondon's escape early in the third period. Saunders used a second period near fall and third period escape to outlast Chris Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) 3-0 in his championship bout. For Kharchla, it was two first period takedowns, which he was able to make last in a 5-2 victory over No. 3 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.); in Kharchla's four previous matches during the weekend, he had three wins by technical fall and a 12-3 major decision in the semifinal. Amos earned a repeat title at the Ironman with a 4-2 victory over No. 2 Owen Trephan (Blair Academy, N.J.), the key being a first period takedown; his four previous matches were three pins followed by a 25-10 technical fall in the semifinal. Joining Mastrogiovanni, Ferrari, and Amos as a repeat champion at the Walsh Ironman was No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.), who beat No. 10 Jonathan Birchmeier (Broad Run, Va.) 6-0 at 285 pounds. In his fourth tournament finals appearance, Schultz was held to a scoreless first period before a pair of second period near falls and a third period escape confirmed the title for the Arizona State signee. It was the first match of the tournament that lasted more than 41 seconds, as Schultz reached the final with four pins in a cumulative time of 2:12. No. 2 Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) joined high school teammate Kharchla in winning a weight class title, as the Super 32 champion added gold at the Ironman via a 7-0 domination of No. 6 Jace Luchau (Selma, Calif.). Brady scored a takedown in each period to avenge his loss from the Junior National freestyle tournament from this summer in Fargo. Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 6 Kyle Rowan (Perry, Ohio) at 106 pounds, No. 13 Reece Witcraft (Broken Arrow, Okla.) at 126, and No. 8 Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio) at 152. Each wrestler beat top three ranked in the country opposition in their championship bout. Team Standings: 1- No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.), 276.5 2- No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), 176.5 3- No. 15 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.), 90 (tie) No. 4 Cincinnati La Salle (Ohio) 5- No. 8 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), 82.5 6- No. 5 St. Edward (Ohio), 81 7- No. 29 Parkersburg South (W.Va.), 73.5 8- No. 6 Montini Catholic (Ill.), 73 (tie) St John Bosco (Calif.) 10- No. 32 Elyria (Ohio), 71 (tie) No. 10 Gilroy HS (Calif.) (tie) Selma (Calif.) Other Fab 50 Teams 14- No. 16 Allen (Texas), 67 15- No. 31 Poway (Calif.), 65 17- No. 27 Marmion Academy (Ill.), 55.5 18/T- No. 30 Chicago Mt. Carmel (Ill.), 55 20- No. 11 Park Hill (Mo.), 52 21/T- No. 37 Brecksville (Ohio), 47 No. 25 Mt. St. Joseph's (Md.) No. 36 Reynolds (Pa.) 26/T- No. 24 Wadsworth (Ohio), 44.5 No. 34 St. Paris Graham (Ohio) 35- No. 12 Broken Arrow (Okla.), 38 45/T- No. 47 Arlington Martin (Texas), 26 48/T- No. 38 Pomona (Colo.), 25 Placewinners 106: 1st: No. 6 Kyle Rowan (Perry-Lake County, Ohio) dec. No. 3 Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas), 4-3 3rd: No. 20 Gary Steen (Reynolds, Pa.) dec. No. 8 Diego Sotelo (Marmion Academy, Ill.), 6-2 5th: Richard Fedalen (McDonogh, Md.) dec. Evan Holloway (New Kent, Va.), 5-4, ultimate tiebreaker 7th: Andre Gonzales (Poway, Calif.) dec. Daniel Wask (Blair Academy, N.J.), 8-1 113: 1st: No. 1 Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) dec. Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Seneca Valley, Pa.), 2-1 3rd: No. 8 Troy Spratley (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Timothy Levine (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 3-2 5th: Ryan Miller (Blair Academy, N.J.) over No. 2 Jacob Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) by forfeit 7th: No. 9 Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.) dec. No. 18 Colton Drousias (Chicago Mt. Carmel, Ill.), 5-2 120: 1st: No. 3 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 4 Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), 6-5 3rd: No. 5 Ryan Crookham (Notre Dame-Green Pond, Pa.) dec. Lachlan McNeil (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 3-1, overtime 5th: No. 8 Matthew Ramos (Lockport, Ill.) dec. No. 7 Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 3-2 7th: No. 13 Kysen Terukina (Kamehameha, Hawaii) dec. Carson Sauriol (Poway, Calif.), 6-4 126: 1st: No. 13 Reece Witcraft (Broken Arrow, Okla.) dec. No. 2 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.), 8-5 3rd: No. 7 Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) dec. No. 8 Travis Ford-Melton (Marian Catholic, Ill.), 3-2 5th: No. 16 Dylan Shawver (Elyria, Ohio) dec. Drew Munch (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 8-2 7th: No. 9 Dylan Ragusin (Montini Catholic, Ill.) dec. Mosha Schwartz (Ponderosa, Colo.), 5-2 132: 1st: No. 7 Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 15 Frankie Tal-Shahar (American Heritage, Fla.), 5-1 3rd: No. 1 Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) dec. No. 2 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio), 3-2 5th: No. 3 Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Mick Burnett (Elyria, Ohio), 3-2 7th: No. 18 Kenny Herrmann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) over Henry Porter (Oakdale, Calif.) by medical forfeit 138: 1st: No. 1 Joshua Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) dec. Chris Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 3-0 3rd: No. 7 Chase Saldate (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Trent Dooley (Allen, Texas), 5-2 5th: Matt Lackman (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) dec. Jackson Dean (Caesar Rodney, Del.), 1-0 7th: No. 10 Peyton Hall (Oak Glen, W.Va.) pinned Jaden Le (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), 4:28 145: 1st: No. 2 Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) maj. dec. No. 1 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), 11-1 3rd: Cael Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.) dec. No. 13 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.), 4-1 5th: No. 7 Michael North (Wadsworth, Ohio) over No. 3 Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio) by forfeit 7th: No. 18 Trevor Chumbley (Marmion Academy, Ill.) dec. No. 16 Fidel Mayora (Montini Catholic, Ill.), 2-0 152: 1st: No. 2 Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.) No. 8 Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio) 3rd: No. 13 Aaron Gandara (Poway, Calif.) dec. Nick Incontera (Blair Academy, N.J.), 3-2 5th: Reece Heller (Marian Catholic, Ill.) pinned Benny Baker (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 3:49 7th John Martin Best (Parkersburg, W.Va.) dec. Cole Handlovic (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), 5-4 160: 1st: No. 2 Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) dec. No. 6 Jace Luchau (Selma, Calif.), 7-0 3rd: Kyle Mosher (South Side, N.Y.) pinned No. 5 Dominic Mata (Blair Acaemy, N.J.), 1:10 5th: Noah Blake (Del Oro, Calif.) over No. 7 Thayne Lawrence (Frazier, Pa.) by forfeit 7th: Todd Perry (South Dade, Fla.) maj. dec. Tyler Stoltzfus (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.), 10-2 170: 1st: No. 1 Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) dec. No. 3 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.), 5-2 3rd: No. 18 Nevan Snodgrass (Kettering Fairmont, Ohio) dec. Ashton Habeil (Lake Gibson, Fla.), 7-2 5th: Christian Rodriguez (Selma, Calif.) dec. No. 19 Jake Stefanowicz (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 4-3 7th: Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio) dec. Blake Hopson (Park Hill, Mo.), 3-0 182: 1st: No. 10 Darrien Roberts (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. No. 8 Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.), 4-2 3rd: No. 4 Devin Winston (Park Hill, Mo.) dec. Anthony D'Alesio (Canfield, Ohio), 3-2 5th: Trey Sizemore (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) dec. No. 19 Sam Fisher (Fauquier, Va.), 4-2 7th: No. 16 Peyton Craft (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. Nathan Haas (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 11-4 195: 1st: No. 1 A.J. Ferrari (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 4 Peter Christensen (Montini Catholic, Ill.), 13-7 3rd: No. 3 Ryan Reyes (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Nathan Dugan (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 6-4 5th: Ethan Hatcher (Brecksville, Ohio) dec. Michael Doggett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 5-3 7th: Kolby Franklin (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.) dec. Jack Wimmer (McDonogh, Md.), 3-2 220: 1st: No. 1 Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) dec. No. 2 Owen Trephan (Blair Academy, N.J.), 4-2 3rd: No. 8 Jacob Kaminski (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) maj. dec. No. 14 Andy Smith (Christiansburg, Va.), 9-0 5th: Kade Carlson (Corner Canyon, Utah) dec. Matthias Ervin (Union County, Ky.), 5-1, overtime 7th: No. 12 Tyler Stein (Canfield, Ohio) over Jarin Curtis (Massillon Perry, Ohio) by forfeit 285: 1st: No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) dec. No. 10 Jonathan Birchmeier (Broad Run, Va.), 6-0 3rd: Nicholas Villarreal (Gilroy, Calif.) maj. dec. No. 20 Louden Haga (Parkersburg South, W.Va.), 9-1 5th: Johnny Shafer (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) dec. Max Millin (Massillon Perry, Ohio), 8-3 7th: Andrew Johnson (Poway, Calif.) dec. Caden Hill (Ashland Crestview, Ohio), 5-1

NEW YORK -- The Columbia wrestling team secured bonus point victories in three matches, leading to a 27-12 triumph today over VMI. With the win, the Lions move to 1-0 on the season, while the Keydets drop to 2-5. "For us right now trying to rebuild a culture, we lost a lot of really influential starters in our lineup so it's exciting," said the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli. "To see them step up the way they did, get bonus points, and close out tough, gritty matches is something to be excited about." First-year Joe Manchio got the Lions off to fast start, posting a 10-1 major decision against Clifton Conway III at 125 pounds to improve to 9-4 this season. Shortly thereafter, VMI cut the Columbia lead to 4-3, when Hunter Starner came away with a 4-3 decision against Matt Kazimir at 133. The Lions would win the next four matches, which included a pin in the process. Rookie Danny Fongaro took the next match at 141, defeating Dominick Gallo by a 4-0 decision. Sophomore Riley Jacops impressed at 149, earning a birthday win over Zach Schmitt, 10-4. At 157 pounds, Dan Reed got Jerrod Hunziker on his back in the second period, forcing the official to slap the mat 35 seconds into the frame, making it a 16-3 advantage for Columbia with his first pin of the year. "To come out in our home opener, after taking a year off, it was really exciting to be able to put on a show for our Columbia Wrestling fans," said Reed, who improved to 8-1 this season. After the Reed pin, Laurence Kosoy blanked Jakob Kennedy, 6-0, at 165 pounds, giving the Lions a 19-3 lead for his 10th win this year. The Keydets would make up three points with a victory at 174, before Brian Bonino got those three back with a 8-3 decision at 184. VMI's Chris Beck picked up a third period pin over Michael Bulkin, making it a 22-12 match, before first-year Danny Conley finished off the Keydets with an impressive 16-0 victory in the heavyweight bout for his first career tech fall, helping the Lions earn the 27-12 win. Columbia is back in action at the Blue Gym on Monday, Dec. 10 at 6:00 p.m. in a dual against Northern Colorado. Results: 125: Joe Manchio MD Clifton Conway III, 10-1 (Columbia, 4-0) 133: Hunter Starner DEC Matt Kazimir, 4-3, (Columbia, 4-3) 141: Danny Fongaro DEC Dominick Gallo, 4-0 (Columbia, 7-3) 149: Riley Jacops DEC Zach Schmitt, 10-4 (Columbia, 10-3) 157: Dan Reed FALL (3:35) Jerrod Hunziker (Columbia, 16-3) 165: Laurence Kosoy DEC Jakob Kennedy, 6-0 (Columbia, 19-3) 174: Neal Richards DEC Max Elling, 10-5 (Columbia, 19-6) 184: Brian Bonino DEC Max Gallahan, 8-3 (Columbia, 22-6) 197: Chris Beck FALL (6:38) Michael Bulkin (Columbia, 22-12) HWT: Danny Conley TF (4:51) Tre Momon, 16-0 (Columbia, 27-12)

The Princeton wrestling team dug itself out of an early hole and put forth some impressive performances Saturday afternoon to claim a 28-15 win at Virginia. A dramatic first-period fall by 5th-ranked Patrick Brucki over the 11th-ranked wrestler in the nation, as well as a Top-20 win for Virginia native Marshall Keller, highlighted Princeton's second dual win of the season. After decisions by both Travis Stefanik and Kevin Parker drew Princeton even with the Cavaliers at 6-6, Brucki came out on a mission against Jay Aiello. One day after he posted a win over Virginia Tech's 17th-ranked Tom Sleigh, Brucki took control of Aiello immediately and put his shoulders to the mat only 65 seconds into the match. Sophomore Kendall Elfstrum moved up a weight and gained some momentum for Princeton by limiting Quinn Miller to a decision, and 14th-ranked Patrick Glory got those points (and more) right back with a forfeit win at 125. Keller capped his dream weekend with a second-period pin of Scott Kiyono at 141 pounds, which clinched the dual win for Princeton. Top-ranked Matthew Kolodzik stayed perfect on the season with a 12-1 major decision to cap the match. Princeton will be off this week, and will make its home debut Thursday, Dec. 20, against Rider in a match streamed live on ESPN+. Results: 157: Jake Keating (V) dec. Quincy Monday 10-4 165: Cam Coy (V) dec. Dale Tiongson 6-3 174: Travis Stefanik (P) dec. Robert Patrick 7-5 184: Kevin Parker (P) dec. Will Schany 5-2 197: #5 Patrick Brucki (P) WBF #11 Jay Aiello 1:05 285: Quinn Miller (V) dec. Kendall Elfstrum 12-7 125: #14 Patrick Glory (P) wins by forfeit 133: Brian Courtney (V) WBF Jacob Adkins 0:55 141: Marshall Keller (P) WBF Scott Kiyono 4:17 149: #1 Matthew Kolodzik (P) mdec. Sam Martino 12-1

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- The 25th edition of the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman came to a conclusion on Saturday afternoon near Akron. Below were the results. Team Standings: 1- No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.), 276.5 2- No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), 176.5 3- No. 15 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.), 90 (tie) No. 4 Cincinnati La Salle (Ohio) 5- No. 8 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), 82.5 6- No. 5 St. Edward (Ohio), 81 7- No. 29 Parkersburg South (W.Va.), 73.5 8- No. 6 Montini Catholic (Ill.), 73 (tie) St John Bosco (Calif.) 10- No. 32 Elyria (Ohio), 71 (tie) No. 10 Gilroy HS (Calif.) (tie) Selma (Calif.) Other Fab 50 Teams 14- No. 16 Allen (Texas), 67 15- No. 31 Poway (Calif.), 65 17- No. 27 Marmion Academy (Ill.), 55.5 18/T- No. 30 Chicago Mt. Carmel (Ill.), 55 20- No. 11 Park Hill (Mo.), 52 21/T- No. 37 Brecksville (Ohio), 47 No. 25 Mt. St. Joseph's (Md.) No. 36 Reynolds (Pa.) 26/T- No. 24 Wadsworth (Ohio), 44.5 No. 34 St. Paris Graham (Ohio) 35- No. 12 Broken Arrow (Okla.), 38 45/T- No. 47 Arlington Martin (Texas), 26 48/T- No. 38 Pomona (Colo.), 25 Medal match results: 106: 1st: No. 6 Kyle Rowan (Perry-Lake County, Ohio) dec. No. 3 Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas), 4-3 3rd: No. 20 Gary Steen (Reynolds, Pa.) dec. No. 8 Diego Sotelo (Marmion Academy, Ill.), 6-2 5th: Richard Fedalen (McDonogh, Md.) dec. Evan Holloway (New Kent, Va.), 5-4, ultimate tiebreaker 7th: Andre Gonzales (Poway, Calif.) dec. Daniel Wask (Blair Academy, N.J.), 8-1 113: 1st: No. 1 Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) dec. Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Seneca Valley, Pa.), 2-1 3rd: No. 8 Troy Spratley (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Timothy Levine (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 3-2 5th: Ryan Miller (Blair Academy, N.J.) over No. 2 Jacob Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) by forfeit 7th: No. 9 Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.) dec. No. 18 Colton Drousias (Chicago Mt. Carmel, Ill.), 5-2 120: 1st: No. 3 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 4 Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), 6-5 3rd: No. 5 Ryan Crookham (Notre Dame-Green Pond, Pa.) dec. Lachlan McNeil (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 3-1, overtime 5th: No. 8 Matthew Ramos (Lockport, Ill.) dec. No. 7 Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 3-2 7th: No. 13 Kysen Terukina (Kamehameha, Hawaii) dec. Carson Sauriol (Poway, Calif.), 6-4 126: 1st: No. 13 Reece Witcraft (Broken Arrow, Okla.) dec. No. 2 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.), 8-5 3rd: No. 7 Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) dec. No. 8 Travis Ford-Melton (Marian Catholic, Ill.), 3-2 5th: No. 16 Dylan Shawver (Elyria, Ohio) dec. Drew Munch (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 8-2 7th: No. 9 Dylan Ragusin (Montini Catholic, Ill.) dec. Mosha Schwartz (Ponderosa, Colo.), 5-2 132: 1st: No. 7 Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 15 Frankie Tal-Shahar (American Heritage, Fla.), 5-1 3rd: No. 1 Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) dec. No. 2 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio), 3-2 5th: No. 3 Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Mick Burnett (Elyria, Ohio), 3-2 7th: No. 18 Kenny Herrmann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) over Henry Porter (Oakdale, Calif.) by medical forfeit 138: 1st: No. 1 Joshua Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) dec. Chris Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 3-0 3rd: No. 7 Chase Saldate (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Trent Dooley (Allen, Texas), 5-2 5th: Matt Lackman (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) dec. Jackson Dean (Caesar Rodney, Del.), 1-0 7th: No. 10 Peyton Hall (Oak Glen, W.Va.) pinned Jaden Le (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), 4:28 145: 1st: No. 2 Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) maj. dec. No. 1 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), 11-1 3rd: Cael Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.) dec. No. 13 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.), 4-1 5th: No. 7 Michael North (Wadsworth, Ohio) over No. 3 Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio) by forfeit 7th: No. 18 Trevor Chumbley (Marmion Academy, Ill.) dec. No. 16 Fidel Mayora (Montini Catholic, Ill.), 2-0 152: 1st: No. 8 Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio) dec. No. 2 Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.) 5-2 3rd: No. 13 Aaron Gandara (Poway, Calif.) dec. Nick Incontera (Blair Academy, N.J.), 3-2 5th: Reece Heller (Marian Catholic, Ill.) pinned Benny Baker (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 3:49 7th John Martin Best (Parkersburg, W.Va.) dec. Cole Handlovic (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), 5-4 160: 1st: No. 2 Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) dec. No. 6 Jace Luchau (Selma, Calif.), 7-0 3rd: Kyle Mosher (South Side, N.Y.) pinned No. 5 Dominic Mata (Blair Acaemy, N.J.), 1:10 5th: Noah Blake (Del Oro, Calif.) over No. 7 Thayne Lawrence (Frazier, Pa.) by forfeit 7th: Todd Perry (South Dade, Fla.) maj. dec. Tyler Stoltzfus (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.), 10-2 170: 1st: No. 1 Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) dec. No. 3 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.), 5-2 3rd: No. 18 Nevan Snodgrass (Kettering Fairmont, Ohio) dec. Ashton Habeil (Lake Gibson, Fla.), 7-2 5th: Christian Rodriguez (Selma, Calif.) dec. No. 19 Jake Stefanowicz (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 4-3 7th: Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio) dec. Blake Hopson (Park Hill, Mo.), 3-0 182: 1st: No. 10 Darrien Roberts (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. No. 8 Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.), 4-2 3rd: No. 4 Devin Winston (Park Hill, Mo.) dec. Anthony D'Alesio (Canfield, Ohio), 3-2 5th: Trey Sizemore (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) dec. No. 19 Sam Fisher (Fauquier, Va.), 4-2 7th: No. 16 Peyton Craft (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. Nathan Haas (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 11-4 195: 1st: No. 1 A.J. Ferrari (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 4 Peter Christensen (Montini Catholic, Ill.), 13-7 3rd: No. 3 Ryan Reyes (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Nathan Dugan (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 6-4 5th: Ethan Hatcher (Brecksville, Ohio) dec. Michael Doggett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 5-3 7th: Kolby Franklin (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.) dec. Jack Wimmer (McDonogh, Md.), 3-2 220: 1st: No. 1 Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) dec. No. 2 Owen Trephan (Blair Academy, N.J.), 4-2 3rd: No. 8 Jacob Kaminski (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) maj. dec. No. 14 Andy Smith (Christiansburg, Va.), 9-0 5th: Kade Carlson (Corner Canyon, Utah) dec. Matthias Ervin (Union County, Ky.), 5-1, overtime 7th: No. 12 Tyler Stein (Canfield, Ohio) over Jarin Curtis (Massillon Perry, Ohio) by forfeit 285: 1st: No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) dec. No. 10 Jonathan Birchmeier (Broad Run, Va.), 6-0 3rd: Nicholas Villarreal (Gilroy, Calif.) maj. dec. No. 20 Louden Haga (Parkersburg South, W.Va.), 9-1 5th: Johnny Shafer (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) dec. Max Millin (Massillon Perry, Ohio), 8-3 7th: Andrew Johnson (Poway, Calif.) dec. Caden Hill (Ashland Crestview, Ohio), 5-1

FAIRFAX, Va. -- The University at Buffalo wrestling team took down George Mason, 26-7, at the George Mason Field House on Saturday afternoon. The win completed the Bulls' road trip sweep after defeating Binghamton on Thursday night. The Bulls won the first three matches to take a commanding 11-0 lead in the dual. Kyle Akins, coming off a pin in the Binghamton match, started things off with an 18-3 technical fall over Talha Farooq at 125. Derek Spann kept rolling with an 11-10 decision at 133. The Bulls sophomore rallied from a 10-5 deficit to pull out the one-point win and improve to 6-0 in duals on the season. At 141, John Arceri won his first dual as a Bull, defeating Julio Alegria, 5-2. The Bulls won five of the next six matches and four of those matches were decided in overtime. Alex Smythe won by sudden victory over Kolby Ho, 7-5, at 157. Jake Lanning followed with a 6-4 decision over Cornelius Schuster at 174. Logan Rill earned a 3-1 overtime win over Paul Pierce at 184. Sam Schuyler followed with a 3-1 sudden victory over Eli Spencer at 197. In the final bout, Jake Gunning upset Matthew Voss, ranked eighth in the nation. Gunning got the takedown in overtime for the win. "First, hats off to Coach Beasley and his staff. I have known him for 20 years and he had his team ready for a dog fight," head coach John Stutzman said. "Secondly, I'm proud of my team. They have been through a lot to get to this point in the year. This was a hard road trip and we came out 2-0." The Bulls will hit the mats for the first time against a conference foe next Sunday when the travel to Missouri. Results: 125 - Kyle Akins (Buffalo) technical fall over Talha Farooq (Mason), 18-3 | 5-0 Buffalo 133 - Derek Span (Buffalo) decision over Mel Ortiz (Mason), 11-10 | 8-0 Buffalo 141 - John Arceri (Buffalo) decision over Julio Alegria (Mason), 5-2 | 11-0 Buffalo 149 - Tejon Anthony (Mason) major decision over Jason Estevez (Buffalo), 12-3 | 11-4 Buffalo 157 - Alex Smythe (Buffalo) decision over Kolby Ho (Mason), 7-5 SV-1 | 14-4 Buffalo 165 - Colston DiBlasi (Mason) decision over Noah Grover (Buffalo), 12-6 | 14-7 Buffalo 174 - Jake Lanning (Buffalo) decision over Cornelius Schuster (Mason), 6-4 | 17-7 Buffalo 184 - Logan Rill (Buffalo) decision over Paul Pierce (Mason), 3-1 SV-1| 20-7 Buffalo 197 - Sam Schuyler (Buffalo) decision over Eli Spencer (Mason), 3-1 SV-1 | 23-7 Buffalo 285 - Jake Gunning (Buffalo) decision over Matthew Voss (Mason), 3-1 SV-1 | 26-7 Buffalo

DEKALB, Ill. -- Fighting Illini wrestling picked up its first dual victory of the 2018-19 season Friday, defeating Northern Illinois 24-9 at the NIU Convocation Center in DeKalb. Redshirt sophomore Dylan Duncan picked up six points for the Orange and Blue by pinning Alijah Jeffery in the 133-pound match to give Illinois an early 9-0 advantage. In his first career start, redshirt junior Carver James upset No. 17 Brit Wilson in a 4-3 decision. This is the 20th all-time victory against NIU for Illinois, and the Illini now hold a 20-9 advantage in the all-time series with the Huskies. "That was a tremendous win for Carver James tonight against a very good opponent," said head coach Jim Heffernan. "I also need to mention Emery Parker winning tonight after working out for just one day in the last two weeks prior to the dual. He showed a lot of the leadership and selflessness. We're going to head back to campus and will give these guys a couple days off and let them prepare for final exams." Junior Travis Piotrowski made his first start of the season on Friday, facing a tough challenge from NIU's Bryce West who entered the match 4-1. Piotrowski picked up a quick takedown to take and early 2-0 lead, but West responded with an escape to make the score 2-1 heading into the second. Piotrowski picked up another two points and conceded one to lead 4-2 going into the final period. West came up with a takedown to tie the match at four, but Piotrowski was able to respond late in the period with an escape point with 24 seconds left that proved to be the difference. Piotrowski earned his first dual victory of the season to put the Illini up 3-0. Redshirt sophomore Dylan Duncan got his first start of the season against NIU and made quick work of opponent Alijah Jeffery. Duncan was able to get Jeffery on his back and come away with the pin at 2:07 into the match. The pin was the fastest fall Duncan has recorded in his career and his second victory by fall this season. The pin gave the Illini a six-point pickup and a 9-0 advantage two matches into the dual. The Illini came up short in their next two matches, with redshirt freshman Abdullah Assaf and junior Christian Kanzler dropping their matches against Anthony Cheloni and McCoy Kent at 141-pounds and 149-pounds, respectively. Assaf lost in a 5-3 decision to Cheloni, while Kanzler dropped a heartbreaker in a 3-1 triple overtime decision to Kent. The Huskies picked up six points to make it a 9-6 Illini advantage. Redshirt junior Eric Barone got the Illini back on track in the 157-pound bout by getting out to a quick 2-0 advantage over Mason Kauffman on an early takedown. After leading 2-1 to start the second period, Barone added on to his lead early in the second period with an escape followed by a takedown which put him ahead 5-2. Barone never looked back and was able to close out the matchup with Kauffman with an 8-4 decision victory, putting Illinois ahead of NIU, 12-6. Redshirt junior Joey Gunther had a battle against Kenny Moore in the 165-pound matchup. Moore took the early 2-0 lead in the first after a takedown. Gunther acheived an escape to trail 2-1 heading into the second. After no scoring in the second period, Gunther made another escape to tie the match at two early in the third. Late in the third Gunther had Moore on the ropes, and Moore was called for stalling to give Gunther the late 3-2 lead. Gunther received a point for riding time to end the match, and earned the come-from-behind win in a 4-2 decision. Illinois led 15-6 after the victory by Gunther. Redshirt junior Carver James made his first career start against FloWrestling nationally-ranked No. 17 Brit Wilson in the 174-pound match. After a scoreless first period, James jumped out in front in the second period with an escape and a takedown to take a 3-0 lead. Wilson was able to get a reversal to cut James's lead to 3-2. A key escape by James nearing the end of the second period gave him a 4-2 advantage going into the final period. After an early escape by Wilson to make it 4-3, James was strong defensively the rest of the way and closed out a 4-3 upset decision victory over No. 15 Wilson. The win was the first by James against a ranked opponent, and the victory put the Illini in front 18-6. In his first action since the Lindenwood Open, Emery Parker jumped out to an early 6-0 lead over Will Feldkamp. Parker never relinquished the lead and defeated Feldkamp in the 184-pound matchup in an 8-4 decision to put the Illini ahead 21-6. Parker remains perfect with tonight's win, improving to 7-0 on the season. Redshirt senior Andre Lee picked up the last Illini victory of the evening against Max Ihry in the 197-pound match. The two battled into overtime with the score tied at one a piece. Lee was able to get the takedown in overtime to win a 3-1 decision and give the Illini a 24-6 lead over the Huskies. The win was Lee's team-leading 10th victory of the season. Deuce Rachal would drop a close 2-0 decision to Caleb Gossett in the heavyweight bout, but the Illini had done enough to earn the victory over the Huskies, winning the match 24-9. Tomorrow: Several Illini will compete at the UNI Open tomorrow hosted by Northern Iowa the the UNI Dome at 9 a.m. CT. Wrestling for the Illini will be Mousa Jodeh, Johnny Mologousis, Nick Gasbarro, Tim McCarthy, Jake DiBenedetto, Brian Burns and Matt Wroblewski. Illini wrestlers competing unattached include Justin Cardani, Kenny Kerstein and Zac Braunagel. Results will be posted on Twitter (@illiniwrestling) at the conclusion of the tournament. Looking ahead: After tomorrow, the next action for Illini wrestling will be at the end of the month at the annual Midlands Tournament at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, Ill. on December 29 and 30. Tournament matches begin at 9 a.m. CT on both days. Results: 125: No. 13 Travis Piotrowski (ILL) dec. Bryce West (NIU), 5-4 133: No. 17 Dylan Duncan (ILL) fall Alijah Jeffery (NIU), 2:07 141: Anthony Cheloni (NIU) dec. Abdullah Assaf (ILL), 5-3 149: McCoy Kent (NIU) dec. Christian Kanzler (ILL), 4-2 3OT 157: No. 14 Eric Barone (ILL) dec. Mason Kauffman (NIU), 8-4 165: No. 14 Joseph Gunther (ILL) dec. Kenny Moore (NIU), 4-2 174: Carver James (ILL) dec. No. 17 Brit Wilson (NIU), 4-3 184: No. 2 Emery Parker (ILL) dec. Will Feldkamp (NIU), 8-5 197: Andre Lee (ILL) dec. Max Ihry (NIU), SV-1 3-1 OT 285: Caleb Gossett (NIU) dec. Duece Rachal (ILL), 2-0

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Navy wrestling team (1-1, 0-0 EIWA) won eight of the 10 bouts en route to a 31-6 victory over Maryland (0-2) Friday evening at XFINITY Center in College Park. The Midshipmen have now won seven in a row against the Terps, including each of the last four wrestled in College Park. "This a group of wrestlers who went out and competed hard and had a lot of fun in what was our second dual against a Big Ten opponent this season," said fifth-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "As a team, we are still improving our wrestling IQ. The strategy and tactics we faced tonight by a smart Maryland team will help our guys grow and develop. It's critical our youth continue to have fun, learn and hone their skills tactically and strategically every day over the course of the season." The Highlights • The 25-point victory marked the largest margin of victory by either team in the series since 2005 when the Mids earned a 35-6 win (+29) over Maryland in College Park. • Navy won the first three matches of the evening to jump out to a 12-0 lead and never looked back. The closest Maryland would get was to within nine (12-3) following Alfred Bannister's victory in the fourth match of the night. • Among Navy's eight individual wins, five were bonus-point victories including a win by fall (5:24) at 133 pounds by sophomore Casey Cobb over Orion Anderson. Tanner Skidgel (165), 18th-ranked Spencer Carey (174), Joshua Roetman (197) and Thomas Ott (285) all earned wins by major decision at their respective weight classes. • Navy's two losses on the evening were by a combined two points. 18th-ranked Alfred Bannister of Maryland edged Navy junior Jared Prince, ranked 19th, by a 5-4 mark at 149 pounds. Kyle Jasenski bested Navy senior Anthony Cable, 3-2, at 184 pounds. • Earning their first collegiate dual victories were sophomores Quentin Hovis at 157 pounds and Tanner Skidgel at 165 pounds and junior Spencer Carey at 174 pounds. Hovis dealt Maryland's Adam Whitesell a 4-2 loss in what was his first career dual appearnce, while Skidgel earned a 13-2 major decision over Idris White in just his second career dual match (lost 3-2 vs. Kaleb Romero of Ohio State in the opener). Carey, meanwhile, went 0-1 in dual action a year ago, but produced a 16-4 victory over the Terps' Philip Spadafora. • 125-pound Jacob Allen and 197-pound Joshua Roetman are the only two Navy wrestlers to go 2-0 in dual action this season. Allen, a freshman, scored a 3-1 victory over Maryland's Brandon Cray in the opening match of the evening, while Roetman shut out the Terps' Niko Cappello en route to an 11-0 major decision. • Senior team captain Nicholas Gil, ranked 18th at 141 pounds, inched his way closer to the 100-win milestone by posting a 3-2 victory over Maryland's Michael Doetsch to improve to 91-36 over his four seasons. What's Ahead • The Midshipmen will step away from the competition mat for the remainder of the month before gearing up to take part in the Southern Scuffle held in Chattanooga, Tenn. on Jan. 1-2. Results: 125 | Jacob Allen (NAVY) dec over Brandon Cray, 3-1 (MD 0, NAVY 3) 133 | Casey Cobb (NAVY) fall over Orion Anderson, 5:24 (MD 0, NAVY 9) 141 | #18 Nicholas Gil (NAVY) dec over Michael Doetsch, 3-2 (MD 0, NAVY 12) 149 | #18 Alfred Bannister (MD) dec over #19 Jared Prince, 5-4 (MD 3, NAVY 12) 157 | Quentin Hovis (NAVY) dec over Adam Whitesell, 4-2 (MD 3, NAVY 15) 165 | Tanner Skidgel (NAVY) major dec over Idris White, 13-2 (MD 3, NAVY 19) 174 | #18 Spencer Carey (NAVY) major dec over Phillip Spadafora, 16-4 (MD 3, NAVY 23) 184 | Kyle Jasenski (MD) dec over Anthony Cable, 3-2 (MD 6, NAVY 23) 197 | Joshua Roetman (NAVY) major dec over Niko Cappello, 11-0 (MD 6, NAVY 27) 285 | Thomas Ott (NAVY) major dec over Mansur Abdul-Malik, 13-3 (MD 6, NAVY 31)

BLACKSBURG -- The No. 14 Virginia Tech wrestling team used four straight wins from 157 pounds through 184 to defeat Princeton, 24-16, in front of 1,782 in Cassell Coliseum on Friday night. The Hokies (1-2) had four bonus point wins over the Tigers (1-3) in their home opener. Virginia Tech has now won 16 consecutive duals in Cassell with its last loss coming at the hands of Penn State on Nov. 15, 2015. MATCH NOTES As the visiting team, Princeton decided to draw and the bout selected randomly was 149 pounds. Redshirt senior Ryan Blees was able to hold first-ranked Matthew Kolodzik to an 8-2 decision. That set the stage for a toss-up bout between redshirt sophomore B.C LaPrade and freshman Quincy Monday at 157 pounds. With the match tied at 4-4 at the end of regulation and the first sudden victory overtime period, LaPrade was able to ride out Monday in the first tiebreaker period and escape in the second to take the 5-4 decision and tie the match up at 3-3. Redshirt freshman Mekhi Lewis continued Tech's run with a 17-4 major decision, followed by redshirt junior David McFadden's first appearance of the season 174 that resulted in a 5-0 decision. Redshirt senior Zack Zavatsky's major at 184 extended the Hokie lead to 14-3. The evening also saw Billy Miller's first action of the season at heavyweight. The redshirt senior over-powered Kendall Elfstrom to the tune of a 10-2 major decision. Redshirt junior Korbin Myers clinched the match at 133 pounds with a win by fall in 3:41 secured on a roll through cradle in the second period. The Hokies will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 19, when they travel to Morgantown to take on West Virginia. Results: 149: No. 1 Matthew Kolodzik (Princeton) dec. Ryan Blees (VT), 8-2 157: B.C. LaPrade (VT) dec. Quincy Monday (Princeton), 5-4 (TB-2) 165: No. 8 Mekhi Lewis (VT) MD Dale Tiongson (Princeton), 17-4 174: No. 5 David McFadden (VT) dec. Travis Stefanik (Princeton), 5-0 184: No. 8 Zack Zavatsky (VT) MD Kevin Parker (Princeton), 14-6 197: No. 5 Patrick Brucki (Princeton) dec. Tom Sleigh (VT), 8-3 285: No. 7 Billy Miller (VT) MD Kendall Elfstrom (Princeton), 10-2 125: No. 14 Patrick Glory (Princeton) TF Joey Prata (Virginia Tech), 18-2 (4:40) 133: No. 16 Korbin Myers (VT) WBF Jake Adkins (Princeton), 3:41 141: Marshall Keller (Princeton) TF Dominic Latona (VT), 22-3 (6:51)

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –After falling behind early due to a forfeiture right out of the gates, Virginia (4-2) rallied and then used a pair of bonus-point victories to take a 22-18 victory over Central Michigan (0-2) on Friday night. The Cavaliers got decisions from Brian Courtney (Sayre, Pa.) at 133 pounds, No. 17 Sam Krivus (Greensburg, Pa.) at 141 pounds, Will Schany (Blair, Neb.) at 174 pounds, and No. 11 Jay Aiello (Chantilly, Va.) at 197 pounds. Seventeenth ranked Cam Coy (Jeannette, Pa.) and Robby Patrick (Ligonier, Pa.) provided the bonus-point wins, with Coy notching a pin in 1:37 at 165 pounds and Patrick recording a major decision at 174 pounds. "I want to praise Cam Coy and Will Schany," said Virginia head coach Steve Garland. "They are the reason we won tonight. Cam's pin was huge and the way Schany wrestled is exactly the way we want all of our team to wrestle." "We got a good win against Central Michigan, a program that's been great for a long time under Tom Borelli who is one of the best coaches in the sport and is an icon. We should have wrestled better, because people say 'a win is a win' but we want to be better than that. Princeton, a team who just knocked off a top 10 team last week, comes in here tomorrow (Saturday) and we will have to be a lot better." The match opened with Central Michigan taking a 6-0 lead in the overall score as Virginia forfeited at 125 pounds to start the night. The Cavaliers then pulled even in the match with back-to-back wins from Courtney and Krivus. After a scoreless first period, Courtney pulled away from Brock Bergelin with a 6-2 decision to get Virginia on the scoreboard. Krivus followed that up with a tight 3-2 decision, using an escape with three seconds left on the clock in the third period to notch the win. Central Michigan moved back in front, recording consecutive decisions at 149 and 157 pounds with a total of three points providing the difference in the two bouts. Coy again pulled Virginia even in the overall match score with his pin of Bret Fedewa in the first period. The dual score sat at 12-12 following the 165-pound match. Virginia took its first lead of the night with Patrick's major decision at 174 pounds as the freshman controlled the match early on the way to an 11-3 victory over Collin Lieber. Schany extended the lead with his 12-6 decision over Jordan Atienza, rallying with a flurry of points down the stretch in the second period and throughout the third. Aiello iced the match at 197 pounds, posting a 9-4 decision over Landon Pelham to put the Cavaliers on top by 10 points with the heavyweights remaining. Central Michigan cut the final margin of victory to four points as No. 19 Matt Stencel recorded a pin in the final bout of the night. Virginia will return to action on Saturday afternoon, hosting Princeton at 4 p.m. at Memorial Gym. Results: 125:Drew Hildebrandt (CMU) by forfeit – CMU 6, UVA 0 133:Brian Courtney (UVA) dec. Brock Bergelin (CMU), 6-2 – CMU 6, UVA 3 141:No. 17 Sam Krivus (UVA) dec. Drew Marten (CMU), 3-2 – UVA 6, CMU 6 149:Dresden Simon (CMU) dec. Michael Murphy (UVA), 5-4 – CMU 9, UVA 6 157:Logan Parks (CMU) dec. Jake Keating (UVA), 8-6 – CMU 12, UVA 6 165:No. 17 Cam Coy (UVA) pinned Bret Fedewa (CMU), 1:37 – UVA 12, CMU 12 174:Robby Patrick (UVA) major dec. Collin Lieber (CMU), 11-3 – UVA 16, CMU 12 184:Will Schany (UVA) dec. Jordan Atienza (CMU), 12-6 – UVA 19, CMU 12 197:No. 11 Jay Aiello (UVA) dec. Landon Pelham (CMU), 9-4 – UVA 22, CMU 12 HWT:No. 19 Matt Stencel (UVA) pinned Quinn Miller (UVA), 2:57 – UVA 22, CMU 18

PHILADELPHIA -- The Army West Point wrestling team opened its dual season with an 29-5 victory against Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) foe Drexel at the John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center on Friday evening. After splitting the first two matches, the Black Knights rattled off seven consecutive victories with bonus point wins from Beau Guffey (149 lbs.), Cael McCormick (165 lbs.) and 20th-ranked Noah Stewart (184 lbs.). Army secured the victory with Stewart's 15-0 technical fall. Results: 125 lbs.: Trey Chalifoux dec. over Antonio Mininno, 12-8 (Army leads, 3-0) 133 lbs.: Ty Smith dec. over Lane Peters, SV-1, 6-4 (Tied, 3-3) 141 lbs.: Corey Shie dec. over Julian Flores, 7-4 (Army leads, 6-3) 149 lbs.: Beau Guffey maj. dec. over Trevor Elfvin, 12-2 (Army leads, 10-3) 157 lbs.: #17 Lucas Weiland dec. over Evan Barczak, 9-5 (Army leads, 13-3) 165 lbs.: Cael McCormick tech. fall over Mike Manley, 22-7 (Army leads, 18-3) 174 lbs.: #13 Ben Harvey dec. over Bryan McLaughlin, 5-2 (Army leads, 21-3) 184 lbs.: #20 Noah Stewart tech. fall over Owen Brooks, 15-0 (Army leads, 26-3) 197 lbs.: #9 Rocco Caywood dec. over #19 Stephen Loiseau, SV-1, 4-3 (Army leads, 29-3) 285 lbs.: #16 Joey Goodhart dec. over Ben Sullivan, 4-2 (Army leads, 29-6) ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES The Black Knights snapped a four-match losing skid to Drexel, defeating the Dragons for the first time since 2013-14. This is the first time under head coach Kevin Ward that Army earned a victory over Drexel. The Cadets start 1-0 in EIWA duals for the sixth time in the last seven years. Army captured a victory in its first dual of the season for the first time since 2013-14. Rookies Corey Shie and Ben Sullivan made their collegiate dual debuts against the Dragons. Trey Chalifoux earned his 10th win of the season. Guffey notched the 10th bonus point victory of his career. The Tuttle, Okla., native recorded his first-career dual victory. McCormick documented his first technical fall of the season and third of his career. Stewart orchestrated his team-leading fourth technical fall of the year. UP NEXT The Black Knights return to action at the Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern, on Dec. 29-30.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State Wrestling kicked off Big Ten conference action on Friday, December 7, pulling away with a 16-5 victory over Indiana. MSU improves to 2-0 on the young dual season and is 1-0 in the Big Ten. Indiana dropped to 2-2 overall with a loss on Friday. This is the first time the Spartans have opened the Big Ten slate with a victory since the 2004-05 season in which they upset a No. 15-ranked Penn State, 19-12. Against the Nittany Lions, MSU got wins from Max Lossen, Nick Simmons, Andy Simmons, Darren McKnight, Bryan Harney and R.J. Boudro. No. 8-ranked Rayvon Foley started things off on the right foot for Michigan State earning a 12-5 victory over Liam Cronin to improve to 10-0 on the season. The Hoosiers responded by winning two consecutive decisions at 133 and 141 pounds to take a 6-3 lead over MSU. Redshirt freshman Jaden Enriquez improved to 2-0 in duals at 149 pounds with a 5-3 win over IU's Breydon Bailey. Indiana responded by taking decisions at 157 and 165 pounds to maintain a 12-6 advantage over the Spartans at the intermission. Redshirt sophomore Drew Hughes scored crucial bonus points for Michigan State at 174, scoring an 11-0 major decision over Jake Hinz to pull the score to 12-10 in favor of Indiana. At 184 pounds, redshirt freshman Cameron Caffey gave MSU the lead for good with a 9-5 decision to defeat Norman Conley. Caffey is now 10-0 on the season and 2-0 in duals. This past week, Conley was ranked No. 20 at 184 pounds by FloWrestling. Brad Wilton expanded the Spartans lead to 16-12 earning his first career dual victory in a match against Jake Kleimola. Indiana took the heavyweight division by a decison, but the points weren't enough to force a criteria decision for the dual. Results: 125: Rayvon Foley (MSU) dec. Liam Cronin (IU), 12-5, MSU leads 3-0 133:Garrett Pepple (IU) dec. Anthony Tutolo (MSU), 5-0, Tied 3-3 141: Cole Weaver (IU) dec. Austin Eicher (MSU), 5-3, IU leads 6-3 149: Jaden Enriquez (MSU) dec. Breydon Bailey (IU), 5-3, Tied 6-6 157: Jake Danishek (IU) dec. Jake Tucker (MSU), 6-2, IU leads 9-6 165: Bryce Martin (IU) dec. Logan Ritchie (MSU), 8-3, IU leads 12-6 174: Drew Hughes (MSU) major dec. Jake Hinz (IU), 11-0, IU leads 12-10 184: Cameron Caffey (MSU) dec. Norman Conley (IU), 9-5, MSU leads 13-12 197: Brad Wilton (MSU) dec. Jake Kleimola (IU), 7-3, MSU leads 16-12 285: Fletcher Miller (IU) dec. Christian Rebottaro (MSU), 7-4, MSU wins 16-15

Day one of the Walsh Ironman has concluded from just outside of Akron, Ohio. Wrestling will resume on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET with one round of consolation wrestling, and then the semifinals in a mixed round with the consolation round of 12 to determine backside placers and then the consolation quarterfinals. Team Standings 1. No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.) 162.5 - 9 semis 2. No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) 101.5 - 4 3. No. 8 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) 68.5 - 2 4. No. 5 St. Edward (Ohio) 67 - 2 5. No. 4 Cincinnati La Salle (Ohio) 64.5 - 1 6. No. 15 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) 62 - 2 7. No. 6 Montini Catholic (Ill.) 57 - 1 8. No. 30 Chicago Mt. Carmel (Ill.) 53 - 0 9. No. 29 Parkersburg South, WV 52 - 2 10. No. 32 Elyria (Ohio) 50 - 0 Other Fab 50 Teams T-11. No. 22 St. John Bosco (Calif.) 48 - 0 semis No. 31 Poway (Calif.) - 1 13. No. 25 Mt. St. Joseph (Md.) 47 - 0 16. No. 27 Marmion Academy (Ill.) 42.5 - 0 T-17 No. 16 Allen (Texas) 41 - 1 No. 10 Gilroy (Calif.) - 2 T-20. No. 11 Park Hill (Mo.) 40 - 1 No. 36 Reynolds (Pa.) - 1 25. No. 35 St. Paris Graham (Ohio) 35.5 - 0 26. No. 37 Brecksville (Ohio) 34 - 0 29. No. 24 Wadsworth (Ohio) 31.5 - 0 38. No. 47 Arlington Martin (Texas) 26 - 0 T-42. No. 12 Broken Arrow (Okla.) 23 - 0 T-62. No. 44 Clovis North (Calif.) 11 - 0 Quarterfinal results 106: No. 3 Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas) maj. dec. Sean Seefeldt (St. Edward, Ohio), 10-1 Evan Holloway (New Kent, Va.) dec. No. 17 Dylan Chappell (Seneca Valley, Pa.), 2-1 No. 20 Gary Steen (Reynolds, Pa.) pinned No. 8 Diego Sotelo (Marmion Academy, Ill.), 0:17 No. 6 Kyle Rowan (Perry - Lake County, Ohio) dec. Daniel Wask (Blair Academy, N.J.), 12-6 113: No. 1 Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) pinned No. 18 Colton Drousias (Chicago Mt. Carmel, Ill.), 3:10 No. 8 Troy Spratley (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Tim Levine (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 2-1 Ryan Miller (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 9 Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.), 3-1 OT Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Seneca Valley, Pa.) dec. No. 2 Jacob Decatur (CVCA, Ohio), 3-0 120: No. 3 Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. Beau Bayless (Reynolds, Pa.), 10-5 No. 7 Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) pinned No. 8 Matthew Ramos (Lockport, Ill.), 5:31 No. 5 Ryan Crookham (Notre Dame - Green Pond, Pa.) maj. dec. Chris Barnabae (Mt. St. Joseph's, Md.), 12-1 No. 4 Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) dec. Dominic Chavez (Arlington Martin, Texas), 8-5 126: No. 2 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.) maj. dec. No. 14 Devin Murphy (Clovis North, Calif.) No. 7 Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) tech. fall Jason Miranda (Poway, Calif.), 15-0, 5:31 No. 8 Travis Ford-Melton (Marian Catholic, Ill.) dec. No. 16 Dylan Shawver (Elyria, Ohio), 5-2 No. 13 Reece Witcraft (Broken Arrow, Okla.) dec. No. 13 Reece Witcraft (Broken Arrow, Okla.), 16-9 132: No. 1 Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) dec. No. 18 Kenny Herrmann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), 10-4 No. 7 Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. No. 16 Justin Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 5-2 No. 15 Frankie Tal-Shahar (American Heritage, Fla.) dec. Nick Moore (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), 7-2 No. 2 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) maj. dec. No. 20 Cleveland Belton (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 5-4 138: No. 1 Joshua Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) dec. Mike Madara (Blair Academy, N.J.), 8-4 Matt Lackman (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) dec. No. 10 Peyton Hall (Oak Glen, W.Va.), 7-0 Chris Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) dec. No. 7 Chase Saldate (Gilroy, Calif.), 2-2 ultimate TB RO Jackson Dean (Caesar Rodney, Del.) dec. No. 6 Luke Baughman (Wadsworth, Ohio), 11-4 145: No. 2 Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) dec. No. 18 Trevor Chumbley (Marmion Academy, Ill.), 4-2 No. 13 Travis Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) dec. Cael Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 4-3 No. 1 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) dec. No. 11 Chris Donathan (Mason, Ohio), 4-1 No. 3 Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio) dec. No. 16 Fidel Mayora (Montini Catholic, Ill.), 8-1 152: No. 2 Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.) dec. Cole Handlovic (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), 42 No. 13 Aaron Gandara (Poway, Calif.) maj. dec. Enrique Munguia (Elyria, Ohio), 9-1 No. 8 Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio) maj. dec. Reece Heller (Marian Catholic, Ill.), 12-4 Benny Baker (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Kevin Contos (Genoa, Ohio), 4-3 160: No. 2 Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) dec. Todd Perry (South Dade, Fla.), 6-2 Kyle Mosher (South Side, N.Y.) dec. No. 7 Thayne Lawrence (Frazier, Pa.) No. 6 Jace Luchau (Selma, Calif.) dec. No. 15 Kai Bele (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 4-2 No. 5 Dominic Mata (Blair Academy, N.J.) tech. fall Tyler Stoltzfus (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.), 16-0, 5:24 170: No. 1 Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) tech. fall David Cumberlege (Ashtabula St. John, Ohio), 17-2, 2:29 Christian Rodriguez (Selma, Calif.) dec. No. 19 Jake Stefanowicz (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 5-3 No. 18 Nevan Snodgrass (Kettering Fairmont, Ohio) dec. Ashton Habeil (Lake Gibson, Fla.), 10-5 No. 3 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.) maj. dec. Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio), 14-3 182: No. 4 Devin Winston (Park Hill, Mo.) dec. Anthony D'Alesio (Canfield, Ohio), 10-3 No. 8 Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.) dec. No. 16 Peyton Craft (Blair Academy, N.J.), 7-3 No. 19 Sam Fisher (Faquier, Va) maj. dec. Nathan Haas (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 13-5 No. 10 Darrien Roberts (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Trey Sizemore (La Salle, Ohio), 10-4 195: No. 1 A.J. Ferrari (Blair Academy, N.J.) pinned Ethan Hatcher (Brecksville, Ohio), 4:40 Nathan Dugan (Lake Norman, N.C.) dec. No. 13 Michael Baker (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), 7-2 No. 4 Peter Christensen (Montini Catholic, Ill.) pinned Jack Wimmer (McDonogh, Md.), 0:46 No. 3 Ryan Reyes (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Michael Doggett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), 3-1 220: No. 1 Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) pinned Wyatt Owen (Reynolds, Pa.), 4:32 No. 14 Andy Smith (Christiansburg, Va.) dec. No. 12 Tyler Stein (Canfield, Ohio), 8-1 No. 8 Jacob Kaminski (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) pinned Jarin Curtis (Massillon Perry, Ohio), 3:29 No. 2 Owen Trephan (Blair Academy, N.J.) maj. dec. Matthias Ervin (Union County, Ky.), 5-1 285: No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) pinned Max Millin (Massillon Perry, Ohio), 0:40 No. 20 Loudon Haga (Parkersburg SOuth, W.Va.) maj. dec. Elijah Anthony (Blair Academy, N.J.), 9-1 No. 10 Jonathan Birchmeier (Broad Run, Va.) Andrew Johnson (Poway, Calif.), 12-5 Nicholas Villareal (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Johnny Shafer (Graham, Ohio), 3-2 OT

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Earning bonus points in five matches, the Old Dominion (1-2) wrestling team downed No. 11 Northwestern (1-2) on the road by a 30-10 score. The last time ODU defeated a nationally ranked program was a 25-9 win over Ohio during the 2014-15 season. "I thought our team wrestled extremely well against No. 11 Northwestern," said head coach Steve Martin. "We have had a rough dual meet schedule to start off the year having top ranked teams in Missouri, NC State. Each week we have seen substantial improvements since not being as competitive against Missouri, to almost beating NC State and today scoring bonus in five matches. I was extremely happy to see four techs and one major decision." In the opening bout of the match, Michael McGee earned a technical fall over Matthew Vinci to earn bonus points and get on the board first as a team. At 133, Killian Cardinale dropped a 4-2 decision to NCAA Qualifier Colin Valdivez. Adding bonus points for the squad at 141, No. 13 Sa'Derian Perry defeated Yahya Thomas by major decision. At 149, Kenan Carter defeated Shayne Oster in overtime to extend the ODU lead. In a match that featured two highly touted wrestlers, No. 3 Larry Early dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 2 Ryan Deakin. This was Early's first loss of the season. Earning the first of three straight technical falls, Shane Jones scored 20 points over Anthony Petrone to put the Monarchs up 17-6 with four bouts left. At 174 pounds, Seldon Wright added another five team points to the board with a 20-6 victory over Braxton Cody. Logging the last bonus-point win for ODU was Antonio Agee, who earned a 26-11 win over Brendan Devine at 184 pounds. At 197 pounds, Tim Young earned his first dual win of the season with a 8-6 decision over Zack Chakonis. Closing out the dual at 285 pounds, Will Hilliard battled two-time All-American No. 18 Conan Jennings, but ultimately fell by a 12-2 major decision. "Hats off to McGee he looked good on his feet, on top and wrestled hard coming off a one hour weigh-in. He was looking forward to wrestling No. 2 Sebastian Rivera but unfortunately he was injured. Hopefully we will get that opportunity at the Midlands in a couple of weeks. Perry did a great job having lost to the same wrestler last year at Midlands. Carter avenged an earlier loss last season and switched it around. It was good to see him pull off the win in overtime. Jones looked very good with a lot of takedowns and back points. Wright was very good also earning a lot of back points. Agee got the technical fall at the buzzer, which was the last technical fall for us. Tim Young had a great one making the adjustment from JUCO with this big win over Chakonis, a big guy for Northwestern. The main thing to take away from this match was that we beat the No. 11 team in the country and all this will do is prepare us more for the end of the year." Results: 125: #16 Michael McGee (ODU) TF over Matthew Vinci (NU), 22-6 133: Colin Valdivez (NU) dec. over Killian Cardinale (ODU) 4-2 141: #13 Sa'Derian Perry (ODU) MD over Yahya Thomas (NU), 10-2 149: Kenan Carter (ODU) dec. over Shayne Oster (NU), SV-1 7-5 157: #2 Ryan Deakin (NU) dec. over #3 Larry Early (ODU), 6-1 165: Shane Jones (ODU) TF over Anthony Petrone (NU), 20-4 174: #15 Seldon Wright (ODU) TF over Braxton Cody (NU), 20-6 184: Antonio Agee (ODU) TF over Brendan Devine (NU), 26-11 197: Tim Young (ODU) dec. over Zack Chakonis (NU), 8-6 285: #18 Conan Jennings (NU) MD over Will Hilliard (ODU), 12-2 Up Next ODU will travel to Nevada to wrestle in the Reno Tournament of Champions on December 20. Voucher Books The ODU Monarchs wrestling team wants you at their home matches this season! With the $25 2018-2019 Wrestling Voucher book, fans can use any of the 10 ticket vouchers included, for admission to any of the regular season matches at the Ted Constant Center. For More information or to purchase a season Ticket Voucher Book, please visit ynottix.com, the official online ticketing home of Old Dominion Athletics.

Jake Hager Jake Hager, NCAA All-American wrestler for the Oklahoma Sooners before becoming Jack Swagger in WWE, will be making his debut as a professional mixed martial artist at Bellator 214 in late January. Hager will be on the card at "Bellator 214: Fedor vs. Bader" at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 26, taking on J.W. Kiser in a heavyweight (265-pound) bout. The 41-year-old Kiser brings a 0-1 pro MMA record to what will be his Bellator debut as well. In his first pro bout, the Leavenworth, Kan. fighter lost to Antonio Martinez by TKO in 24 seconds of Round 1 in May 2018. Prior to his pro debut six months ago, Kiser had amassed a 1-3 record in amateur competition going back to April 2014. Hager, 36, is five years younger than Kiser, with a seven-inch height advantage. The Hager-Kiser heavyweight bout is on the same card as the finals of the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix, featuring the main event between Fedor Emelianenko (38-5, 1 NC) vs. current Bellator Light Heavyweight champion (and former Arizona State All-American wrestler) Ryan Bader (26-5) to determine Bellator's new Heavyweight champion. Most MMA fans may only know Hager from his WWE career as Jack Swagger. However, Jake Hager brings impressive amateur wrestling credentials to MMA. Wrestling for the storied Perry High School wrestling program in Oklahoma, Hager was a two-time state finalist, winning the 215-pound title as a junior. Hager then headed south to the University of Oklahoma, where he was a runner-up at the 2006 Big 12 conference championships, then earned All-America honors a couple weeks later at the 2006 NCAAs, placing seventh in the 285-pound weight class. That year, Hager set a Sooner record for the most pins in one season, with 30. After graduating from Oklahoma in 2006, Hager launched his career in professional wrestling. He was a former WWE World Heavyweight champion and U.S. champion before being granted his release in March 2017. Hager signed with Bellator in November 2017.

The Walsh Ironman is taking place at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Tweets by JoshMLowe

The College Football Playoff selection committee announced its top four teams for its playoffs this week, choosing undefeated Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and one-loss Oklahoma for their four-team playoff. Teams that missed the selection but thought they warranted a ticket were: Ohio State (one loss), UCF (undefeated), and Georgia (who looked excellent against Alabama in the SEC championship game). Michigan wouldn't argue that they should be in the playoffs, but they more or less round out the top eight programs in the nation. While you probably know all of this from watching a lot of college football, I only know these things through some type of sports osmosis. I never sought out that information, watched more than a minute of any game, or read an article on the College Football Playoff. Football is huge in America, but what drives the story are the names of the schools and their traditions. Alabama, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma all have attached to them something that fans can understand because of generations of support and coverage. The same is true in wrestling, but for most non-wrestling fans the lingo remains Dan Gable, Cael Sanderson, Iowa wrestling and Penn State. There are more, but everyday sports guy "Hank" knows those people and that's where we need to start in order to have the broader discussion about how to improve wrestling's footprint in the college sports world. Dual meets. You get more attraction by having dual meet tournaments, dual meet events, and a dual meet national championship. While it's wonderful that someone may win a national championship at the individual tournament (and I don't advocate for eliminating it), I think wrestling can make a sizable cultural impact through a well thought out dual meet national championship. Go back to football. They used to rely on a poll for crowning the national championship. Eventually people started to realize that polling was a lackluster, anticlimactic solution and the sport was leaving money and attention on the table. But it wasn't super easy to convince the old school football fans of a national championship game. To them there was only a new set of problems, like how to choose teams, where to host, what happens to the existing bowl games. The Bowl Championships Series was formed, which found creative ways to solve the issues raised by the old school football people while also advocating for a championships game. Few more years and some heartbreak gave us a four-team system. Now, looking at the teams that are out and who is in, can anyone really deny that this system will expand to eight? Of course not, because football schools know that this is their best chance to win a national title and create more income for themselves and their conferences. Cinderella stories like seen in March will start to be told in December and January. Wrestling can do the same. We can create a dual meet championship (with much more ease than football's expansion) and create a groundswell of support from schools around the country. No, I don't think that old guard will like it, but eventually they'll give in and agree -- we just need to start the process before it's too late. To your questions … Isaiah Martinez shoots on Alex Dieringer at AWL I (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Q: What did you think of the first AWL? There was a lot of talk during the event, but not much since. Do you think AWL will have a second show? -- V.T. Foley: I'm currently in India shooting a series of docu-shorts with some of the country's biggest stars. The AWL event was on the night before I left, so I only saw bits and pieces but did monitor the social media imprint. Overall, I think that wrestling community was intrigued by some of the matchups, though maybe not so much that they were hammering the purchase key on Trackwrestling. At $14.99 it was a steep commitment for someone like me who had split attention for the evening, but it did seem that a good number of Twitter people were watching. Also, I was happy to see that there was some solid effort made to deliver a quality show. There are always things to improve and change, but for a first effort I think they hit most of the high notes. The big issue faced by wrestling organizations looking to turn a profit on these shows or maintain any sort of sustainable footprint is a lack of carry-over from event-to-event and there hasn't been a sustained post-match buzz. The investment can't stand alone with one event, and it can't be limited to the mat. The wrestling fans need to attach themselves to the brand and the idea behind that brand. The wrestling at any event may or may not end up being spectacular, but that's rarely in the control of the organizers. Getting to know the athletes, knowing they will compete again on X date, and maybe some at-home content would help drive these promotions out of their one-and-done model. That's something the promotion can control and help fans connect with. Let see how the next few weeks ago. The wrestling community has a very short memory and I'd like to see AWL II announced soon so that they can keep their momentum. Chris Ayres coaching at the NWCA All-Star Classic (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Q: I have been super impressed with what Chris Ayres is doing with the program at Princeton. I think it's great to see Princeton doing so well. He seems like a nice fit there. Ayres' name will certainly come up with virtually every Division I head coaching opening in the coming years. Do you think he will stay at Princeton for many more years? Or could you see him hopping to the Big Ten or a more traditional wrestling power? -- Mike C. Foley: There is no question that Chris Ayres is doing everything right at Princeton. With a top-ranked wrestler and a win over Lehigh, the Tiger program feels like one of the hottest in the nation. While Princeton has enjoyed individual success in the past, most notably Greg Parker's journey to the NCAA finals in 2002, they didn't maintain that success or build it up over consecutive years. Now, with Matthew Kolodzik the top-ranked 149-pound wrestler in the nation and the team coming in at No. 13 in InterMat's tournament rankings, there is a lot to celebrate if you're a Princeton alumnus. Can things continue to build? Will Ayres get snatched away by another school? That's to be seen, but for now I think that fans of the Ivy League can appreciate that what's going on has taken a considerable amount of hard work to build and maintain. To keep him in town I'm sure that the Princeton alumni will need to show support, but there might be more at play for Coach Ayres to balance. Sometimes the best fit isn't where others think you can win an NCAA championship, but where you and your family feel comfortable and where there are still professional challenges to tackle. Q: Question for your bag. Besides your daughter's Iowa onesie, is there anything more fabulous in wrestling right now than Jacob Kasper's sapphire shoes? -- @Tony_Rotundo Foley: The shoes are a hoot. Kasper seems to have a wonderful persona. Given his size and likability I'd wonder what's keeping the WWE or other professional wrestling organization from scooping him up. Could be a big get for one of those promotions! Q: Amar Dhesi is returning to Oregon State and expected to make his season debut in January. It should make the heavyweight class even more exciting. He's the highest returning All-American at heavyweight. Do you see him as the favorite? Or do you favor Gable Steveson? Anthony Cassar? -- Mike C. Foley: Not sure why you didn't mention top-ranked Sam Stoll, but yes, I think Dhesi is a strong opponent who is long in the tooth when it comes to high-level competition. While Cassar and Steveson are making waves early in the season, I think Dhesi will have a notable impact on the weight class come March. But again, you forgot about Stoll! Will he win? I don't know. Something tells me that a hyped-up Steveson and well-coached Cassar might be a lot for the weight class to overcome. Still, Dhesi's size and familiarity with competing at the NCAA tournament are sure to add some value to the likelihood that he'll make a run at the title. Steveson, for what it's worth, could maybe benefit from a couple fewer People's Elbows to the back of opponent's head. The competition is fierce and I enjoy his intensity and celebration, which is why I'm concerned that left unchecked these types of actions could one day boil over into something more easily defined as illegal and cost him a significant match.

Anthony Robles It's official: Anthony Robles now owns the record for the most pull ups in one minute. As InterMat reported on Nov. 9, Robles, who won the 125-pound title for Arizona State at the 2011 NCAAs despite being born with just one leg, set about to set a new record at halftime of an NFL game between the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills. Robles did it. And now the Guinness World Records organization has verified the feat. Here's the official wording straight from the folks at Guinness World Records: "The most pull ups in one minute is 62, and was achieved by Anthony Robles (USA) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, on 11 November 2018." The previous record was 61 pull ups in one minute. Upon being notified by the folks at Guinness World Records that he had indeed set a new record, Robles posted the good news on his Facebook page late last week … which was confirmed to InterMat by Guinness today. Earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records is just the latest achievement for Robles. The three-time NCAA All-American wrestler and recipient of two ESPY Awards who is now a motivational speaker, celebrated his 30th birthday this summer... and that was the impetus for setting his sights on breaking the pull-ups-in-one-minute record. It was also announced this year that Robles would be appearing in a new movie version of his life story, as told in his 2012 book "Unstoppable: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion." The film is now in pre-production.

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. -- Duke scored bonus points in six matches and won eight of the 10 to cruise to a 36-9 victory over Gardner-Webb in non-conference wrestling action Thursday night at Paul Porter Arena. The win sends the Blue Devils into 2019 with a 1-0 mark. Duke picks up the dual victory in its lone match of the 2018 calendar year, while the Bulldogs fall to 2-2. Highlighting the evening was season-debuts for a quartet of Blue Devils, including sophomore Ben Anderson getting his first victory in a Blue Devil singlet. “We don't normally wrestle in the first semester, but they wanted to and I was happy with our performance,” said head coach Glen Lanham. “We had three guys not normally in the lineup and then Zach back. It was a good performance overall.” After Duke and Gardner-Webb traded forfeits at 125 and 133 pounds to start the action all square 6-6, sophomore Josh Finesilver quickly doubled the Blue Devils' lead to 12-6 with a fall in the second period against Blake Mulkey. The pin was the fifth of the season for 141-pounder, four more than he had in his entire rookie season. The Blue Devils continued to add bonus points to their total as Mitch Finesilver went on the attack immediately and quickly scored the 16-1 technical fall for his 13th victory of the campaign. It was his fourth tech fall of the season and increased Duke's team lead to 17-6. Wrestling in a Duke singlet for the first time in his career, sophomore Ben Anderson scored a solid 8-3 decision over Christian Trimble. Leading 4-3 after two periods, Anderson quickly escaped in then added a takedown for his first collegiate victory. Holding a 20-6 advantage at the halfway point of the match, Zach Finesilver only extended to the Duke lead with a 13-2 major decision. In his first match since March of 2018, Zach built an early advantage en route to his 52nd career victory. “[Zach] came back tonight and rushed a few things, but once he settled down he got into his rhythm and scored. I was happy to see that. He worked really hard this summer and it was really great to see him out there. Duke didn't miss a beat over the next two bouts as Matt Finesilver registered an 11-1 major decision at 174 pounds and Kaden Russell added five more points to the team score with an 18-2 technical fall. The victory was the 10th of the year for Matt and the ninth for Russell. Gardner-Webb picked up a decision at 197 before Duke's Araad Fisher closed out the match with an 8-2 victory. In his first match of the season and wrestling up a weight class, Fisher turned in a solid second period of riding to garner the win and send Duke into 2019 1-0. The Blue Devils will prepare for exams and the winter break before returning to the mat Jan. 1-2 at the Southern Scuffle. Results: 125 : Harrison Campbell (Duke) wins by forfeit – Duke 6, GWU 0 133: Brandon Bright (GWU) wins by forfeit – Duke 6, GWU 6 141: Josh Finesilver (Duke) fall Blake Mulkey, 4:49 - Duke 12, GWU 6 149: Mitch Finesilver (Duke) tech fall Austin Reames, 16-1, Duke 17, GWU 6 157: Ben Anderson (Duke) decision Christian Trimble, 8-3, Duke 20, GWU 6 165: Zach Finesilver (Duke) major dec. Evan Schenk (GWU), 13-2, Duke 24, GWU 6 174: No. 20 Matt Finesilver (Duke) major dec. Kyle Homet (GWU), 11-1, Duke 28, GWU 6 184: Kaden Russell (Duke) tech fall Chase Emory (GWU), 18-2, Duke 33, GWU 6 197: Anthony Perrine (GWU) dec. Louis Castellano (Duke), 5-2, Duke 33, GWU 9 HWT: Araad Fisher (Duke) dec. Jack Troutman III (GWU), 8-2, Duke 36, GWU 9

VESTAL, NY -- The University at Buffalo wrestling team went on the road and earned a dominant 29-10 road win at Binghamton on Thursday night. Kyle Akins started things off with a pin at 125 and Derek Spann followed with a first-period tech fall at 133 to set the early tone. Akins earned his first fall of the season with a pin of Steve Bulzomi midway through the second period. Derek Spann wasted little time taking care of Jason Javier, earning a 17-0 tech fall, in the first period, to improve to 5-0 on the season. The Bulls led 11-0 after just two matches. After dropping a decision at 141, Jason Estevez got the Bulls back on track with a 13-7 decision over Matt Swanson at 149 to increase the UB lead to 14-3. Alex Smythe got the Bulls' second pin of the night with a first-period pin of Dylan Wood. Smythe needed only 1:54 to get the win and extend the Buffalo lead to 20-3. Troy Keller earned his first dual win with the Bulls in come-from-behind fashion. The junior transfer from Niagara County Community College trailed 4-0 before coming back to win a 7-6 decision. Brett Perry earned a 5-1 decision at 197 to extend the lead to 26-10 and Jake Gunning capped off the win with a 7-4 decision at 285. Gunning earned three points in the third period for the victory. "It was a great win," head coach John Stutzman said. "Akins and Spann started it off. Keller came back from being down, 4-0. It was a great team win, top to bottom." The Bulls improved to 4-2 in duals. They will next wrestle at George Mason on Saturday. Results: 125 - Kyle Akins (UB) won by fall over Steve Bulzomi (BU), 4:37 133 - Derek Spann (UB) won by technical fall over Jason Javier (BU), 17-0 (3:00) 141 - Anthony Sparacio (BU) won by decision over Kyle Todrank (UB), 8-3 149 - Jason Estevez (UB) won by decision over Matt Swanson (BU), 13-7 157 - Alex Smythe (UB) won by fall over Dylan Wood (BU), 1:54 165 - Troy Keller (UB) won by decision over Aidan Monteverdi (BU), 7-6 174 - Vincent DePrez (BU) won by major decision over Jake Lanning (UB), 14-4 184 - Lou DePrez (BU) won by decision over Logan Rill (UB), 7-0 197 - Brett Perry (UB) won by decision over Anthony DePrez (BU), 5-1 285 - Jake Gunning (UB) won by decision over Joe Doyle (BU), 7-4

NORMAN -- The Oklahoma wrestling team's home dual with South Dakota State, originally scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m., has been postponed due to inclement weather and poor travel conditions. The match will be rescheduled for a later date. Tickets for Friday's contest will be honored at the rest of the Sooners' home duals this season. OU will travel to Stillwater, Okla., Sunday for a 12:30 p.m. clash with No. 4 Oklahoma State. The match will be televised nationally on ESPNU.

Jim Makovsky is in his 26th season as Minnesota State's head wrestling coach (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Jim Makovsky's Minnesota State wrestling program remains one of the best at the NCAA Division II level. His Maverick teams have finished in the top 10 in the country 17 times, including a pair of NCAA runner-up team finishes. He's coached 10 national champions and 89 All-Americans. Makovsky, 52, a member of the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame, has started his 26th season in Mankato with another strong team. The Mavericks are ranked sixth nationally in Division II. Minnesota State is led by senior George Farmah, a returning NCAA runner-up who is ranked No. 1 at 133 pounds. Junior Zach Johnston is ranked fourth at 174 and senior Seth Elwood is fifth at 165. Sophomore Kyle Rathman is ranked 11th at 149 pounds. InterMat caught up with Makovsky while he was out on the recruiting trail recently. How is your team progressing during the first few weeks of competition? Makovsky: We're progressing pretty well. We have a good group of young guys who bring a lot of energy to our team. We're excited about the group that we have. We have some good depth. We had an opportunity to have a great season last year, but we had a few guys come up short of qualifying for the national tournament. We were in a real tough regional last year and we are again this season. We did suffer a significant setback early this season. We lost our 197-pounder, Matt Blome, to a season-ending injury. He was an All-American two seasons ago and he was a match away from placing last year. Matt will have more two seasons left for us after this season. Losing Matt definitely hurt us. We have some guys we're looking at to step in there at 197, but we're still 3.5 months away from the national tournament. We still have some time before our starting lineup is settled. Tell me a little bit about George Farmah and what he brings to your lineup? Makovsky: George Farmah is one of the quickest guys I've ever had. He could play tennis by himself, that's how fast he is. He is a funny guy who helps keep the team loose. He brings a little flavor to the team. He's a tough wrestler, who is very tough on top. He can score a lot of points when he opens up and goes. We're looking for big things out of George this season. He is a senior who transferred here from Iowa Lakes Community College. He took third at junior college nationals and he had good credentials coming in here. He is going to get his degree in law enforcement. It's a great story and we're really proud of George. How important have the contributions of returning All-Americans Zach Johnston and Seth Elwood been to your team? Makovsky: Having those two guys back-to-back in our lineup is big for us. Zach is coming off a very good season. He's really progressed for us and taken it to the next level. Seth was unseeded going into regionals last year and he had a great tournament. He won a regional title and he was named outstanding wrestler. Seth really came on for us late in the year. They are both pretty tough kids. We are excited to have them back in our lineup. What are your thoughts on the new qualifying format for the Division II national tournament? Makovsky: I'm not a big fan of it. They added 20 wrestlers overall to the total number of national qualifiers and that's good, but it's still going to be extremely difficult for us to qualify. The top three guys in each weight class qualify from each region now. We added two regions in Division II this year and now we have six regions. Three of the top six teams in the country are in our region with us, top-ranked St. Cloud State and No. 5 Upper Iowa. Plus, we have Wisconsin-Parkside, who is very good, in our region. It's going to be very tough in our region just to qualify for nationals. I thought they could have kept the regions the same and stayed with four regions. They could've taken the top four finishers in each weight class from each region. Then you could look at all of the fifth-place finishers and pick from them based on the season they had to determine the final 20 qualifiers. I wish we could've done that. I obviously am in favor of having more wrestlers qualify for nationals, but I don't like the way they did it. But it is what it is. It's exciting to have great competition, but you want it to be as fair as possible. You want representation at nationals from different parts of the country, but you also want the best kids competing at the national tournament. How do you see the national team race shaping up this season? Makovsky: We are on the outside looking in. It looks like St. Cloud State, Nebraska-Kearney and Notre Dame are up there, and then Upper Iowa is right there as well. That's what we are shooting for, to win a national title. We obviously want to get back up there and win a team trophy. The level of competition in Division II is the best it's ever been. It's really, really good. We have a lot of programs that are committed to wrestling. The depth at this level is the best I've seen with 60 teams in DII now. The overall quality at this level is excellent. What impact has Ty Eustice made as an assistant coach for your team? Makovsky: Ty had coached with me before from 2006-08, and I'm really happy to have him back on my staff. It's like having another head coach on our staff. I've had a good run of assistant coaches who have gone on to become head coaches. Ty wrestled for the University Iowa, and he brings that passion and intensity. He's all in with the guys. He brings a vibe that relates well to the athletes. I was excited to get him back. He can still roll around with the guys and wrestle with them. He was an NCAA runner-up for Iowa. Ty just gets it and he know what it takes to excel. He understands what goes into running a successful program. He was a good hire, that's for sure. He's made a big impact here. What are your thoughts on starting your 26th year at Mankato? Makovsky: I feel really good. I'm 52 years old, but I feel like I'm a lot younger. At least that's what I tell people. Somebody asked me recently, 'What keeps you going?' It's really simple -- I love the kids on my team and I love working with them. That part hasn't changed one bit. Seeing the light come on in their head, and seeing them grow and develop as wrestlers and people is really gratifying for me. When I talk to employers out there who are looking to hire people, they love to hire wrestlers. They love the work ethic they gain from being involved in wrestling. Wrestlers are loyal and take a lot of pride in what they do. If you wrestled in college, and stuck it out even if you weren't a starter, you graduated with a lot thicker skin than you came in with. You get knocked down and you have to get up again a lot in wrestling. You learn so many life lessons from the sport. You have that fortitude and persistence. A college wrestling room is a tough environment -- there is nowhere to hide. If you can survive in there, you can survive just about anywhere. If you've wrestled, you are resilient and you can handle just about any adversity that comes your way. It's such a great sport in that respect. What do you like about being a part of the Minnesota State community? Makovsky: First of all, it's a great place to work. The school has really upped its profile in the last 10 years. And the community of Mankato is really supportive of the school, which is really important. Mankato is a great place to live. The school has the flavor and appeal of a Division I school. It's an easy sell when you are recruiting young men to come here. The school has really grown and evolved in recent years. Our athletes receive a lot of support. It's a strong academic school with a lot of different areas and fields that they can study. The school has a good blend of kids from the Twin Cities and kids from smaller schools and towns. I really like what I do and I'm very fortunate to work at a great school like Minnesota State. It's just an enjoyable place to be. Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year. This story also appears in the Dec. 7 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.

Oklahoma State's Kaid Brock is expected to face Oklahoma's Dom Demas on Sunday in the Bedlam dual Last weekend's tournaments and matches gave the wrestling world some insight into the top contenders. Now, the season marches on. There are no marquee tournaments this weekend, but there are plenty of solid dual meets that include some of the nation's top wrestlers. The following is a preview of the featured match in every weight class this weekend. 125: No. 14 Patrick Glory (Princeton) vs. No 16 Louie Hayes (Virginia) Outside of a loss against No. 1 Spencer Lee (Iowa), Glory has won all of his matches so far this year. In his first tournament of the season, he picked up a ranked victory over No. 17 Devin Schroder (Purdue). Last weekend, he helped the Tigers pick up their upset victory over Lehigh with a 17-2 technical fall over Luke Resnick. Hayes' ranking took a tumble after a rough weekend at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. His ranking fell from No. 6 all the way down to No. 16 thanks to a pair of losses against Colby Smith (Missouri) and Brent Fleetwood (NDSU). Prior to the tournament, Hayes had been undefeated, but all of his matches were against unranked opposition. Before last weekend, a lot of people would have probably reflexively taken Hayes in this match. However, he seems to be struggling to get to his best offense and perhaps having some cardio issues as well. Glory is not the best opponent to get right against. His scrambling ability on the feet makes him a tough out and a pain to wrestle. Look for Glory to cause multiple stalemates before scoring some counter takedowns. Prediction: Glory (Princeton) dec. Hayes (Virginia) 133: No. 19 Cam Sykora (NDSU) vs. No. 13 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming) If this match happens it will be a rematch of a one-point consolation match at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. In that bout, Bridges prevailed with a 6-5 victory. Sykora scored the first takedown, but Bridges scored takedowns in the first and second periods. He escaped after taking down to start the third and held on for the final 96 seconds for the one-point victory. Sykora is off to a strong start to his junior season with an 11-2 record, but he is still looking for his first victory over a ranked wrestler. Bridges has already lost six matches this season after only going down seven times all last season. However, he did pick up a trio of ranked victories in Las Vegas over Sykora, No. 16 Korbin Myers (Virginia Tech) and No. 18 Ben Thornton (Purdue) Bridges showed in their first match this season that he has the more diverse offensive attack, but at the same time, Sykora showed that he is not going away. Look for Bridges to get to his offense first in this rematch and hold on for a close decision win. Prediction: Bridges (Wyoming) dec. Sykora (NDSU) 141: No. 16 Dom Demas (Oklahoma) vs. No. 6 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational was a mixed bag for Demas. He picked up his second fall of the season over Nate Limmex (Purdue) and he scored a pair of decision victories over No. 17 Sam Krivus (Virginia). When Demas stepped up in competition he dropped matches against No. 8 Kanen Storr (Michigan) and No. 2 Joey McKenna (Ohio State). Brock has had an abbreviated run so far this season. He dropped a match against his rival No. 5 Mitch McKee (Minnesota), but he has also picked up victories over Rylee Molitor (South Dakota State) and Sam Turner (Wyoming). In some ways, he still appears to be figuring it out at this weight after spending his entire collegiate career prior to this season at 133. The Cowboy should be the clear favorite in this rivalry match. His experience and fundamentals should be more than enough to turn back a challenge from Demas. However, strange things happen in rivalry matches. A few years ago, Brock upset returning All-American Cody Brewer via 42-second fall in this Bedlam series. Prediction: Brock (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Demas (Oklahoma) 149: No. 18 Alfred Bannister (Maryland) vs. No. 19 Jared Prince (Navy) Five years ago, Bannister was one of the top recruits to come out of Maryland for some time, and he chose to stay home and wrestle for the Terps. He is coming off back-to-back trips to the NCAA tournament, but he has not been to break through and become an All-American. He began his senior season with five straight victories and a first-place finish at the Princeton Open. In his last match, he fell in sudden victory against No. 17 Anthony Artalona (Penn) for his first loss of the season. Prince had to win a tough intrasquad battle last year to earn a shot in the postseason. He finished second at the EIWA tournament, but he went 0-2 at the NCAA tournament. So far this season, Prince has gone 3-5 to start, but he has faced a very tough schedule. On a positive note, he did defeat Malik Amine (Michigan) on his way to an eighth-place finish in Las Vegas. Despite the proximity and rivalry between these two schools, Bannister and Prince have surprisingly not wrestled. The story is always the same for Bannister, he has a limited offensive arsenal due to his lack of height and reach. If he can get to his underhook series, he should be able to score. Otherwise, Prince should have the advantage in a close match. Look for the Navy wrestler to score a takedown and take the bout. Prediction: Prince (Navy) dec. Bannister (Maryland) 157: No. 3 Larry Early (Old Dominion) vs. No. 2 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) Last weekend, Early picked up the biggest win of his collegiate career as he knocked off returning NCAA finalist No. 4 Hayden Hidlay (NC State). In their only previous meeting, Hidlay had dominated the match scored a 16-5 major decision. The upset victory is only one element of Early's solid start to the season. He is also 11-0 with an unofficial loss at the Princeton Open. Hidlay's loss coupled with a first-place performance at the Cliff Keen tournament propelled Deakin all the way to the No. 2 spot in the rankings. Already this season, he has defeated No. 9 Griffin Parriott (Purdue), No. 11 Kennedy Monday (North Carolina) and No. 20 Hunter Willits (Oregon State). This match got a lot more interesting with Early upsetting Hidlay and thrusting himself into the top three. However, on paper, Deakin should still be the favorite. In terms of common opponents, he has a pretty sizable edge. Plus, he has a wider variety of offensive attacks on the feet. Anything could happen in this match, but the smart money remains with the Wildcat. Prediction: Deakin (Northwestern) dec. Early (Old Dominion) 165: No. 16 Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) vs. No. 9 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) North Dakota State has started their dual season 3-0, and Fogarty has been a big contributor to those victories. So far this season, he has won all three of his dual-meet matches against Tyler Morland (Northwestern), Kenny Moore (Northern Illinois) and Jacob Wright (Fresno State). Fogarty then picked up a second-place finish at the Roadrunner Open. He did not compete in Las Vegas, so his status for dual against Wyoming is up in the air. Ashworth has faced a very tough schedule already this year, and he has more than held his own. His record currently sits at 14-3, and he has defeated No. 6 Isaiah White (Nebraska), No. 10 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State), No. 12 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa), No. 13 Connor Flynn (Missouri) and No. 17 Cam Coy (Virginia). This is an interesting match. Ashworth has been picking up the big wins recently, but this is a very tight and real personal rivalry. Ashworth has the edge 3-2 in the five-match series between the two. However, Forgarty has won two of the last three. In their last meeting, Fogarty scored a 3-1 victory over Ashworth. Clearly, it is a tight bout, and it seems like the Cowboy has momentum for this one. Prediction: Ashworth (Wyoming) dec. Fogarty (NDSU) 174: No. 9 Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin) vs. No. 11 Te'Shan Campbell/Ethan Smith (OSU) Christensen is a great example of a guy who is learning and improving on the job. In his redshirt freshman season, he went 18-20, but now, as a senior, he has built an 11-2 record and is currently ranked in the top 10. He has already picked up ranked victories over No. 10 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) and No. 19 Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley). Ohio State has used both Smith and Campbell in the lineup this season at 174. Campbell is currently ranked, but he dropped a match against Smith last month. That might be Smith's best win of the season so far. He has gone 10-4, but he has struggled against top competition and went only 1-2 in Las Vegas. Whoever goes for Ohio State, this should be an interesting match. Not only is Christensen ranked inside the top 10, but he is also one of eight wrestlers in the Big Ten at the moment. If Ohio State wants to give Penn State a bit of a challenge, they will need points at this weight class. A match like this can determine how realistic of a possibility that is. Prediction: Christensen (Wisconsin) dec. Smith (Ohio State) 184: No. 6 Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) vs. No. 14 Cash Wilcke (Iowa) Preisch has not wrestled very much this season, and he might not compete against Iowa. In his only event this season, he went 2-1 at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic with victories over Trevor Allard (Bloomsburg) and No. 17 Corey Hazel (Lock Haven) against a loss versus No. 5 Nick Reenan (NC State). Last season, Preisch spent the entire season ranked and entered the NCAA tournament as the third seed. However, he fell in the blood round against No. 2 Emery Parker (Illinois) and failed to place. The storyline for Wilcke is that he finally get the opportunity to compete at his optimal weight this season. For the last two years, he competed at 197, and fell in the round of 12 both years. Things got off to a good start year, but he fell last weekend against No. 18 Samuel Colbray (Iowa State). In the match, Wilcke was hanging on to a one-point lead. He chose to shoot to salt the match away. Colbray used the opportunity to spin behind and scored the go-ahead takedown with five seconds left. A tactical lapse like the one Wilcke suffered against Colbray could really hurt him against a wrestler like Preisch. He is really at his best when he is slowing the match down and nullifying his opponent. Wilcke might have a speed advantage, but he will struggle to score against Preisch. If this match happens, Preisch should be the favorite, but at the same time it is hard to know where he is at with such a limited schedule so far. Prediction: Preisch (Lehigh) dec. Wilcke (Iowa) 197: No. 9 Rocco Caywood (Army) vs. No. 19 Stephen Loiseau (Drexel) Caywood might be the Black Knights' best shot at an All-American this season. Army has yet to wrestle in a dual, but Caywood has been outstanding at the Princeton Open, the Journeymen Collegiate Classic and the SIEU Invitational. His only loss this season came against No. 5 Patrick Brucki (Princeton), and he has knocked off No. 15 Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley) and No. 18 Malik McDonald (NC State). Loiseau surprised some people last season with a strong year and qualifying for the NCAA tournament. So far this season, he has gone 12-3 with all his losses coming against ranked competition including the nation's leading wrestler at 197 No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State). These two wrestled in a dual meet between the two teams last year, and Loiseau came out with the 4-3 victory. This will likely be another close match with whoever breaks through for the takedown first winning the match. Look for the Loiseau to get out to a lead and hold it. Prediction: Loiseau (Drexel) dec. Caywood (Army) 285: No.1 Sam Stoll (Iowa) vs. No. 6 Jordan Wood (Lehigh) Last weekend, Stoll made a dramatic entrance into his senior season, and the video of him talking coach Tom Brands into letting him wrestle went viral. The Hawkeyes ended up needing his points in their razor thing victory over rival Iowa State. Stoll currently holds the No. 1 ranking, but many expect him to fall back down to earth during the year. The road gets tough almost immediately here against Wood. Wood won his first five matches to start this season. The former Junior World Team member had two majors and a fall, but then he ran into former 197-pounder No. 5 Anthony Cassar (Penn State), who is quickly becoming a buzzsaw at his new weight. Wood won the EIWA tournament last year and came up only one match short of becoming an All-American at the NCAA tournament. Obviously, Stoll is going to have a big size advantage in this match. However, Wood has proven in the past that he can overcome larger opponents. The story for this match will be Stoll's ability to move Wood on the feet. If he can get to a body lock and bully Wood around the mat, he should be able to win this one. However, there is cause for concern for the Hawkeyes. The Stoll that wrestled against Iowa State is clearly not the best iteration of the heavyweight. He will need to get right quickly. Prediction: Stoll (Iowa) dec. Wood (Lehigh)