InterMat Staff

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)

Michael Colaiocco is one of six wrestlers looking to repeat as a champion at the Walsh Ironman (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) The Walsh Jesuit Ironman is this weekend, which means that the scholastic wrestling season is in full swing. The nation's best in-season tournament is arguably better than it has ever been. At this point in time, 93 nationally ranked wrestlers are slated to take to the mats in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio come Friday afternoon; this is approximately one-third of the 280 total wrestlers with a national ranking right now. Seven of the 14 weight classes are anchored by the top-ranked wrestler in the country. Leading that list is top overall junior A.J. Ferrari (Blair Academy, N.J.), who is competing in the 195-pound weight class. Other national No. 1's include Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) at 113, Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) at 132, Joshua Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) at 138, Jaden Abas (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) at 145, Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) at 170, and Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.). A pair of weight classes feature the top two ranked wrestlers nationally. At 113 pounds, Jacob Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) joins Figueroa, while Owen Trephan (Blair Academy, N.J.) joins Amos in the 220-pound weight class. Another pair of weight classes feature the top three ranked wrestlers nationally. Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) and Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) join Jordan Decatur at 132, while Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) and Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio) join Abas at 145. Further indicating the breadth of quality in this field is that among the seven weight classes not featuring a national No. 1, four of them are headlined by the No. 2 ranked wrestler, two by the No. 3, and one by the No. 4 in the weight class. The high-water marks for ranked wrestlers in a weight class are the eleven at 145 pounds and the ten at 132; while 285 pounds features the least with just three ranked wrestlers in the field, and it's just four in the rankings present at 170 and 195. With the presence of so many elite individuals in the field, it goes without saying there are elite teams. Nine of the nation's top twelve teams are present at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, with two of the others precluded by state association start date or travel/opposition bylaw from competing. Exactly one half of the InterMat Fab 50 nationally ranked teams will have full or partial entries present in the tournament. As a result, it becomes kind of hard to use this event in analyzing a team's overall strength for the rest of the season's competitions, but for the very top few teams in the rankings. The Fab 50 teams competing at the Walsh Ironman are listed below. No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.) No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) No. 4 Cincinnati LaSalle (Ohio) No. 5 St. Edward (Ohio) No. 6 Montini Catholic (Ill.) No. 8 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) No. 10 Gilroy (Calif.) No. 11 Park Hill (Mo.) No. 12 Broken Arrow (Okla.) No. 15 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) No. 16 Allen (Texas) No. 22 St. John Bosco (Calif.) No. 24 Wadsworth (Ohio) No. 25 Mt. St. Joseph's (Md.) No. 27 Marmion Academy (Ill.) No. 29 Parkersburg South (Ill.) No. 30 Chicago Mt. Carmel (Ill.) No. 31 Poway (Calif.) No. 32 Elyria (Ohio) No. 34 St. Paris Graham (Ohio) No. 36 Reynolds (Pa.) No. 37 Brecksville (Ohio) No. 38 Pomona (Colo.) No. 44 Clovis North (Calif.) No. 47 Arlington Martin (Texas). Heading into the event, if every team was at full strength, it was going to be next to impossible for anyone to maintain meaningful contact with Blair Academy. The Buccaneers have won the tournament each of the previous two years and 14 out of the 24 times the event has been contested. This year's edition of the squad features nationally ranked wrestlers at ten weight classes. On paper, the most direct challenge to No. 1 Blair Academy is expected to come from No. 2 Wyoming Seminary. They have eight wrestlers in the national rankings, but will be down one of those competitors with Jonathan Miers (No. 9 at 138) out of the lineup. No. 4 Cincinnati LaSalle is down two wrestlers, 2017 Cadet World team member Cole Skinner (106) is ineligible for the first half of the season and 2017 state placer Garrett Bledsoe (220) is also not wrestling. No. 5 St. Edward is missing two key starters as well in No. 9 Padraic Gallagher (160) and state medalist Seamus O'Malley (220). With so many nationally elite wrestlers in the field, it is probably easiest to provide a link to the tournament pre-seeds. This link has each wrestler's national ranking in the body of the article. Below is some analysis of each weight class in the tournament. 106: Eight nationally ranked wrestlers are in this weight class, with nationally ranked wrestlers occupying the top seven seed lines. The exception is No. 16 Paul Garcia (Scottsbluff, Neb.), who is seeded 14th. The top two seeds in this weight class, No. 3 Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas) and No. 5 Jordan Williams (Collinsville, Okla.) met in a quarterfinal match of the Super 32 Challenge, Brown won that bout 7-4. This is normally a very freshman laden weight class, such is the case this year with seven of the sixteen preliminary seeds being freshmen. Outside of the seeded wrestlers, a freshman to watch for is Donovan Whitted (Arlington Martin, Texas). A non-seeded wrestler from outside of Ohio meriting attention is Junior National double All-American Bryce Cockrell (Broken Arrow, Okla.). 113: As noted, the top two wrestlers in the country are present at this weight class; Decatur beat Figueroa in the semifinal round last year on the way to his title at 106 pounds, while Figueroa earned the victory when the two met in the Who's Number One all-star exhibition two months ago. Returning 106-pound runner-up Ryan Miller (Blair Academy, N.J.) is the third seed, while the wrestler he beat last year in the semifinals, Logan Agin (Lancaster, Ohio), is the fourth seed. Five other ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class, and the nine ranked wrestlers happen to be the top nine seeds. Outside the seeded wrestlers, keep an eye on freshman Brock Bobzien (Poway, Calif.) and National Prep placer Tim Levine (St. John Bosco, Calif.); for the local crowd, state medalist Richard Delsanter (St. Edward) and freshman Nic Willingham (Aurora) are the most notable of the non-seeds. 120: There are seven nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class, and they occupy the top seven seed lines. Five of the nation's top eight in this weight class are in the field, and they are the top five seeds. Of interest is that the nation's top two overall freshmen will be here, Ryan Crookham (Notre Dame (Green Pond), Pa.) and Nic Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.). The other highly ranked wrestlers are returning Ironman champion Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.), Super 32 champion Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), and Cadet World champion Matthew Ramos (Lockport, Ill.). Outside the seeded wrestlers, keep an eye on freshman Kal Miller (Park Hill, Mo.), a Cadet National freestyle All-American; state placer and FloNationals placer Peyton Kellar (Vincent Warren, Ohio); and Nate Lackman (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), who displaced a returning state medalist from the lineup. 126: Nine wrestlers in this weight class are nationally ranked, including the top eight seeds. Returning Ironman champion Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.) and Junior National freestyle runner-up Reece Witcraft (Broken Arrow, Okla.) are the top two seeds; Colaiocco also beat Witcraft in that Junior freestyle final over the summer. Some impact freshmen in this weight class include Daniel Cardenas (Pomona, Colo.), who is ranked No. 19 nationally and the 11th seed in this weight class, Brendon Abdon (Lake Gibson, Fla.), Brandon Chlestos (Notre Dame (Green Pond), Pa.), Logan Ours (Beaver Local, Ohio), and Gavin Brown (Legacy Christian, Ohio). Additional non-seeded wrestlers meriting attention include Cadet Greco-Roman champion Davin Rhoads (Louisville, Ohio), NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion Ethen Miller (Park Hill, Mo.), and two-time state placer Angelo Rini (St. Edward, Ohio). 132: An absurd ten nationally ranked wrestlers are present in this weight class, including the top three wrestlers in the country. With only eight wrestlers making the podium in each weight, it is a guarantee that two nationally ranked wrestlers will not place; and that's before considering the possibility of upsets. Beyond Decatur, D'Emilio, and Bartlett, you also have Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy) as a potential field anchor; Van Ness won the Super 32 Challenge this fall at 126, where he beat three-time defending champion Adam Busiello in the quarterfinal round. The top seven seeds in this weight class are nationally ranked, and all ten nationally ranked wrestlers are among the top eleven seeds. A couple unseeded wrestlers to watch are impact freshman Nick Vafiadis (New Kent, Va.) and returning state medalist Casey Wiles (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio). 138: For it being a middle-weight at the Walsh Ironman, one has to be surprised to see only five nationally ranked wrestlers in the field. Tangentially, this weight class is also one that is rather weak nationally in relation to its neighboring weights. The five ranked wrestlers hold the top five seed positions, while national No. 1 Josh Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) has to be viewed as one of the strongest favorites to win a title across this tournament field. Two pairs of wrestlers in this field met in placement matches at last year's Walsh Ironman; No. 10 Peyton Hall (Oak Glen, W.Va.) beat No. 16 Bryce Hepner (St. Edward, Ohio) 4-0 for seventh at 126, while Matt Lackman (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) beat Alek Martin (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) 1-0 for seventh t 120. Hall and Hepner are seeded fourth and fifth, with Lackman and Martin positioned 12th and 13th. A pair of unseeded wrestlers to watch are NHSCA Junior Nationals placer Jackson Muldrew (Steubenville, Ohio) and sophomore Connor Gaynor (Chicago Mt. Carmel, Ill.). 145: It is this weight class with the top three ranked wrestlers in the country that is the tournament's deepest with eleven nationally ranked wrestlers. Those eleven wrestlers also occupy the top eleven seed lines. National No. 1 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) was runner-up at 138 pounds last year in this tournament, and is the third seed. The top seed is No. 2 Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), who was third last year at 132, beating Saunders in the consolation final; while Junior National freestyle champion Bryce Andonian (St. Edward) is the second seed. Three Ohio wrestlers that have placed at state two times are among the unseeded wrestlers -- Marco Regalbuto (Brecksville), Jeffrey Thomas (St. Paris Graham), and Skyler Lasure (Beaver Local). Another Ohio wrestlers -- returning state placer Andy Garr (Aurora) -- would be considered higher ranked than them, and is still unseeded. Another wrestler to watch here is freshman Jonathan Conrad (Carrollwood Day School, Fla.), who won a high school state title last year in eighth grade. 152: There are eight nationally ranked wrestlers in this field, and they occupy the top eight seed lines. Leading that group is 2017 Super 32 Challenge champion Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.), who has also won NHSCA grade-level titles as a freshman, sophomore, and junior. Returning Ironman placers in the field include Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio), Jake Stiles (Montini Catholic, Ill.), and Elan Heard (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio); who are seeded third, fifth, and sixth. Three non-seeded wrestlers to keep an eye on are freshman Mario Danzi (Allen, Texas), two-time state placer Jax Leonard (Louisville, Ohio), and senior Nick Montalbano (Seneca Valley, Pa.). 160: Just five nationally ranked wrestlers are present in this field, though four of them occupy the top seven positions are the rankings; those four wrestlers are also the top four seeds, a group led by Super 32 champion Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio). Returning Ironman placer Kai Bele (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) is ranked No. 15 nationally and the seventh seed, while the other returning placer in this weight class is fifth-seed James Limongi (Genoa, Ohio). Among non-seeded wrestlers, a name to watch is two-time state qualifier Nathan Villarreal (Gilroy, Calif.). 170: As the tournament moves into the upper weight classes, the overall depth starts to fade. Just four nationally ranked wrestlers populate this field, and it'll be a two-person battle for the title between No. 1 Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) and No. 3 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.). Ramirez beat Kharchla in the consolation semifinal round of last year's tournament, while Kharchla beat Ramirez when the two met at the Who's Number One all-star exhibition two months ago. Fifth seed Christian Rodriguez (Selma, Calif.) placed eighth in this weight class last year. Looking for somewhat of a sleeper in this weight for maybe a low placement, non-seeded freshman Jack Darrah (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) might fit the bill. 182: It's a pretty balanced proceeding here in this weight class, the only one of the tournament that does not feature a wrestler ranked in the top three nationally at their weight class. The group of five ranked wrestlers is led by No. 4 Devin Winston (Park Hill, Mo.), a Junior National freestyle All-American this summer. Winston is the top seed, and the other four ranked wrestlers occupy seed lines two through five; two of those are returning Ironman placers Darrien Roberts (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) and Peyton Craft (Blair Academy, N.J.). Among the un-seeded wrestlers, a name to watch is sophomore Emmanuel Skillings (Broken Arrow, Okla.), who won a title at the Gardner Edgerton (Kansas) tournament last week. 195: National No. 1 A.J. Ferrari (Blair Academy, N.J.) is one of six returning Walsh Ironman champions, while there is a seventh wrestler that won the Ironman in a previous year. Three other nationally ranked wrestlers are present in this field, and along with Ferrari, occupy the top four seed lines. No. 4 Peter Christenson (Montini Catholic, Ill.), No. 13 Michael Baker (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), and Jack Wimmer (McDonogh, Md.) join Ferrari as wrestlers to return as placers from last year's tournament. 220: The five nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight occupy the top four seeds and five of the top six seed lines. Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) is yet another defending champion, and is joined by No. 2 Owen Trephan (Blair Academy, N.J.) as a returning Ironman placer in this weight class. No. 8 Jacob Kaminski (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) was a Cadet World bronze medalist in Greco-Roman this summer. 285: Returning tournament champion Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) seeks to make it four trips to the Ironman finals, as he also finished runner-up in this tournament during his freshman and sophomore campaigns. While it as noted that Saunders was one of the biggest favorites to win his weight class in the tournament, it can be argued that No. 2 overall senior Schultz is the biggest favorite. Just two other wrestlers in this weight class are ranked nationally, while two additional wrestlers -- Johnny Shafer (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) and Max Millin (Massillon Perry, Ohio) are returning tournament placers.

Don Maurey, three-time PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) wrestling champion for Clearfield High School who also earned an EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) title and NCAA All-America honors at Penn State, has died. He passed away Saturday, Dec. 1 in Hollidaysburg, Pa. at age 88. Donald L. Maurey was born on Oct. 12, 1930 in Clearfield, Pa. to Edward and Floyd (Beers) Maurey. He was part of a wrestling family which included older brother Jim (1945 PIAA champ who went on to coach at Millersville State Teachers' College) and younger brother Jerry (four-time PIAA champ in 1947-50 who coached at Clearfield High). Don MaureyDon Maurey wrestled for the late, legendary coach Art Weiss at Clearfield High School, where he was a four-time PIAA finalist, placing second at 112 pounds in 1946, then earning three PIAA state titles at 120 pounds in 1946 and 1947, and at 127 pounds in 1948 after placing second at the 1945 state finals. After graduating from Clearfield, Don Maurey enrolled at Penn State, where he wrestled for yet another coaching icon, Charlie Speidel, in the early 1950s. Maurey won the 137-pound crown at the 1951 EIWA Championships, and earned All-American honors at the 1951 NCAA Championships in the same weight class. While at Penn State, Don Maurey compiled a 26-7-1 record, with 8 falls. "The name Maurey is legendary in Pennsylvania wrestling history," Tom Elling, historian for wrestling in the Keystone State, told InterMat. "Don was a humble man, never bragged. He loved to talk wrestling but would have a listening ear in any and every discussion." Beyond his accomplishments in wrestling, Don Maurey served in the U.S. Air Force, then had a long career with John Hill Realty. Maurey is survived by a son, Stephen E. Maurey of Altoona, Pa. (who was a 1974 PIAA state champ for Altoona High); a daughter, Susan M. Katz of Altoona; three grandchildren: Courtney Piper of Orlando, Fla., Anna Shaw of New Kent, Va., and David Katz of Arlington, Va.; and two brothers: James (Jim) Maurey of Lancaster, Pa. and Gerald (Jerry) Maurey of Tallahassee, Fla. He was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, the former Patricia Robinson, and their son, Ashley G. Maurey. Visitation and funeral service will both take place Saturday, Dec. 8 at E. Merrill Smith Funeral Home, 2309 Broad Ave., Altoona, with the Rev. Douglas McGaffin officiating. Friends will be received from 10 a.m. until the funeral service which begins at noon. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions in Don's memory be made to Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675-8517.

Robert Howard gets his hand raised after his finals victory at UWW Cadet Nationals (Photo/Sam Janicki,SJanickiPhoto.com) On Wednesday, three-time defending national champion Penn State received a verbal commitment from Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), the nation's No. 2 wrestler in the Class of 2020. Howard is a two-time Cadet World Team member in freestyle, Youth Olympic Games gold medalist and New Jersey state champion. He projects as a 133-pounder in college.

The online sportsbook BetDSI has released college wrestling betting odds for this weekend's slate (Dec. 7-9). How betting works: When betting matches/dual meets with point spreads, a minus (-) sign indicates the favorite, while a plus (+) sign indicates the underdog. -120 means that for every $1.20 wagered, the bettor would profit $1. So a $24 wager at -120 that wins would profit $20 and return a total of $48. Note: Betting odds are subject to change. To create a BetDSI account, click here.

Nathaniel Brown as an NCAA finalist and multiple-time All-American for Lehigh (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Throughout the storied history of Hill School wrestling, the program has had no shortage of masterful coaches. Beginning with Frank Bissell, the architect of 17 National Prep champion teams and a 2012 National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee, Hill School wrestlers have always been instructed by coaching staffs possessing an intimate knowledge of the sport's fundamentals, techniques, and strategies. When Dave Hoffman left his coaching position at The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga to return to The Hill, his high school alma mater, as head coach, he immediately sought to surround himself with as highly qualified of a coaching staff as possible. Using his extensive network within the wrestling community, Hoffman succeeded in achieving his goal. Joining Hoffman is highly talented staff of six assistant coaches who bring a plethora of experiences and accolades to the mat: Nate Brown, TJ Demetrio, Zach Doll, Dan Hoffman, Kevin Tkachuk, and Ty Willman. One of the most decorated athletes in Lewisburg High School history, Nathaniel Brown finished his high school career with a record of 149 wins and just 13 losses, winning 95 bouts by fall. Brown was a three-time state place winner and the 2011 AA state champion at 171, capping an undefeated season. In 2011, Brown, who also was a standout on the gridiron and the track, was named "Athlete of the Year" by the Sun Gazette newspaper. Brown was a three-time Fargo All-American and was the national champion during his sophomore year. Continuing his wrestling career for perennial power Lehigh University, Brown was a four-time EIWA place winner, winning the EIWA championship at 174 as a sophomore. He qualified for the NCAA tournament three times, finishing as runner-up at 184 in 2015. Brown graduated from Lehigh as a two-time NCAA All-American and a NHSCA national champion. Another three-time NCAA Tournament qualifier, Zach Doll is another newcomer to The Hill staff this year. Doll attended The Hill for four years, from 1996 until 2000, graduating as a member of the 100-win club. Doll finished as runner-up in the PA Independent School State Tournament as a freshman before winning his weight class in each of his final three years. A four-year qualifier for the National Prep tournament, Doll finished as runner-up in each of his first three years before finally breaking through and winning National Preps at 160 as a senior. After graduating from The Hill, Doll attended The University of Pittsburgh, where he compiled a career record of 77-40. In addition to qualifying for the NCAA Tournament three times, Doll finished third in his weight class at the EWL Championship three times. Returning to The Hill staff in 2018 is TJ Demetrio. A 2011 graduate of Pottsgrove High School, Demetrio compiled a career high school record of 108 wins and 41 losses. He was a four-year Sectional qualifier, three-year District qualifier, two-time Regional qualifier, and two-time State qualifier in high school. In his junior year, Demetrio was the Regional champion at 152, and as a senior he was the Sectional champion at 160 and placed 6th in the AAA State Tournament. After graduating from Pottsgrove, Demetrio attended and wrestled for York College of Pennsylvania for three years before finishing his college career at Millersville University. Dan Hoffman attended The Hill from 2000-2003. In his three seasons at The Hill, Hoffman reached the final of the PA Independent School State Tournament three times, finishing as runner-up in 2001 and 2002 before winning in 2003. Hoffman also was a three-time National Prep qualifier, placing fourth in 2002 at 130 and fifth at 135 in 2003. Hoffman transferred to Owen J. Roberts High School for his senior year, where he was both a Section and District champion. Born and raised in Manitoba, Kevin Tkachuk wrestled while growing up but made a name for himself internationally as a rugby player, representing both the Canadian National Team and the Glasgow Warriors of Scotland. Tkachuk earned 34 caps for Canada, serving as a team captain for five matches. His professional career spanned eight seasons, and in 2006 he was named the Warriors "Player of the Year." Along with Dave Hoffman, Ty Willman is one of just five wrestlers in event history to place five times at the National Prep Tournament. Willman came to The Hill School as an eighth grade student in 1990-91 and immediately embarked on one of the most storied careers in program history. He won the first of four PA Independent School State Tournament championships that year, also winning in 1993, 1994, and 1995; Willman was named the OW of the 1995 tournament. At National Preps, Willman placed eighth in 1991, second in 1992, and fourth in 1993 before winning National Prep Championships in 1994 and 1995. After graduating from The Hill, Willman wrestled at Penn State University. The Hill opens the 2018-2019 season on Saturday, December 1 at The Battle at Germantown. Shifting the schedule to largely tournaments for this season, the team also will compete in the Springside Chestnut Hill Academy Invitational, Xcalibur Invitational, Howdy Duncan Classic, Delcastle Classic, Bissell '33 Hill Tournament, Warpath Invitational, PAISAA Cup, MAPL Duals, and Cardinal Classic. A Dec. 5 dual meet with Westtown School rounds out the regular season schedule. Postseason competitions include the PA Independent School Wrestling Tournament and the National Prep Tournament.

During the upcoming week of Dec. 5-11 the obvious main event is going to be the Walsh Jesuit Ironman. That tournament -- held on Friday and Saturday (Dec. 7-8) in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio -- will feature about half of the nationally ranked teams with either full or partial entries present. Below is a list of the nationally ranked schools with wrestlers slated to compete in the Walsh Jesuit Ironman: No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.), No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), No. 4 Cincinnati LaSalle (Ohio), No. 5 St. Edward (Ohio), No. 6 Montini Catholic (Ill.), No. 8 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), No. 10 Gilroy (Calif.), No. 11 Park Hill (Mo.), No. 12 Broken Arrow (Okla.), No. 15 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.), No. 16 Allen (Texas), No. 22 St. John Bosco (Calif.), No. 24 Wadsworth (Ohio), No. 25 Mt. St. Joseph's (Md.), No. 27 Marmion Academy (Ill.), No. 29 Parkersburg South (Ill.), No. 30 Chicago Mt. Carmel (Ill.), No. 31 Poway (Calif.), No. 32 Elyria (Ohio), No. 34 St. Paris Graham (Ohio), No. 36 Reynolds (Pa.), No. 37 Brecksville (Ohio), No. 38 Pomona (Colo.), No. 44 Clovis North (Calif.), and No. 47 Arlington Martin (Texas) The following are the additional competition schedules for the nationally ranked teams this week. No. 7 Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) -- hosts Hartland (Mich.) in a dual meet today, competes in the Westland (Mich.) John Glenn Rocket Duals on Saturday No. 9 Buchanan (Calif.) -- splits their squad between the Chuckchansi Invitational at Madera South (Calif.) on Friday and Saturday, and the Clovis West (Calif.) Shootout on Saturday No. 11 Park Hill (Mo.) -- will also travel to Liberty North (Mo.) for a tri meet with Lee's Summit (Mo.) on Tuesday 12/11 No. 12 Broken Arrow (Okla.) -- travels to Akron (Ohio) SVSM for a dual meet on Thursday before the Walsh Ironman on Friday/Saturday No. 13 Tuttle (Okla.) -- hosts Perry (Okla.) for a dual meet on Tuesday 12/11 No. 14 Southeast Polk (Iowa) -- travels to Des Moines (Iowa) Lincoln for tri-meet with Ankeny (Iowa) on Thursday, competes in the Webster City (Iowa) Invitational on Saturday, travels to Waukee (Iowa) for dual meet on Tuesday 12/11 No. 17 Brighton (Mich.) -- hosts No. 26 Davison (Mich.) in a dual meet on Friday, competes in the Warren Woods Tower (Mich.) Duals on Saturday No. 19 Clovis (Calif.) -- competes in the Clovis West (Calif.) Shootout on Saturday No. 20 Simley (Minn.) -- competes in a multi-team event at Prior Lake (Minn.) on Saturday No. 26 Davison (Mich.) -- travels to Bay City Western (Mich.) today for a multi-team dual, travels to No. 17 Brighton (Mich.) for a dual meet on Friday No. 28 Kasson-Mantorville (Minn.) -- hosts Goodhue (Minn.) in a dual meet on Friday, competes in the Andover (Minn.) Invitational on Satuday, travels to Lake City (Minn.) for a tri-meet with Cannon Falls (Minn.) on Tuesday 12/11 No. 35 Indianapolis Cathedral (Ind.) -- travels to New Palestine (Ind.) for a dual meet today, competes in the Traicoff Invitational at Calumet (Ind.) on Saturday, hosts Greenfield Central (Ind.) in a dual meet on Tuesday 12/11 No. 39 Goddard (Kansas) -- travels to Maize South (Kansas) for a dual meet on Thursday No. 42 Apple Valley (Minn.) -- hosts Lakeville North (Minn.) in a dual meet on Thursday, competes in the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Wrestling Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 43 Don Bosco (Iowa) -- hosts tri-meet against Aplington-Parkersbug (Iowa) and Denver (Iowa) on Thursday, competes in the Keith Vry Invitational at Aplington-Parkersbug (Iowa) on Saturday, hosts North Linn (Iowa) in a dual meet on Tuesday 12/11 No. 44 Clovis North (Calif.) -- will send remaining wrestlers (i.e. those not competing in the Walsh Jesuit Ironman) to the Clovis West (Calif.) Shootout on Saturday No. 45 Waverly-Shell Rock (Iowa) -- hosts Charles City (Iowa) in a dual meet on Thursday, hosts multi-team dual meet event on Saturday No. 46 Millard South (Neb.) -- competes in the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Wrestling Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 48 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.) -- hosts Proviso West (Ill.) in a dual meet on Thursday, travels to Lyons Township (Ill.) for dual meet on Friday, hosts quad meet on Saturday No. 49 Staley (Mo.) -- travels to No. 45 Waverly-Shell Rock (Iowa) for the Go-Hawk Duals on Saturday, travels to St. Joseph Central (mo.) for dual meet on Tuesday 12/11 No. 50 Stoughton (Wis.) -- hosts Monroe (Wis.) in a dual meet on Friday, competes at the Dells Duals Tournament in Wisconsin Dells (Wis.) on Saturday Finally, schools in the New Jersey state athletic association (NJSIAA) do not start until next weekend, which means these teams have yet to start their season: No. 3 Bergen Catholic, No. 18 Paulsboro, No. 21 St. Joseph's Montvale, No. 33 South Plainfield, No. 40 Howell, and No. 41 Delbarton. One last note is that No. 23 Erie Cathedral Prep (Pa.) is delaying the start of their season one extra week beyond their state's start date.

Two coaches at the St. Edward High School wrestling program -- ranked No. 5 in the nation by InterMat -- are credited with saving the life a 15-year-old wrestler during practice last week at the Lakewood, Ohio school, WJW-TV, the Fox affiliate in Cleveland reported Monday. St. Ed assistant wrestling coach Mark Jayne told WJW, "The student-athlete was gasping, could not breathe, there was like long gaps in between, so I know that does not count as breathing and he wasn't responding.” Jayne, a three-time Ohio state champ for St. Ed who now teaches CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) in his health class at his high school alma mater, began using an AED (automatic external defibrillator) that another coach had brought to where the wrestler had collapsed, and applied the pads as directed to revive the student-athlete. Jayne, who is a certified instructor in using CPR, told WJW that AED machines automatically guide the user step-by-step through the process of reviving a patient. "You've got to look at the picture. It tells you exactly where to put it, so even though your adrenaline is running high, you know where to go," said Jayne. Thanks to the quick response of Coach Jayne and his colleagues -- as well as having easy access to the AEDs located throughout the St. Ed campus -- the teenager was breathing when paramedics arrived. The unidentified wrestler was taken to a nearby hospital where he was discovered to have a previously undiagnosed heart condition. He had a pacemaker implanted to regulate his heartbeat, and is now recovering at home. Jayne, who went on to wrestle at the University of Illinois before returning to teach and coach at St. Ed, emphasized the need for individuals to be trained in CPR and the use of lifesaving equipment such as AEDs. "It saved his life so knowing how to do this," said Jayne. "I mean you just don't know, it could be in the practice room, out in public, in school anywhere; you just don't know so it's always good to be ready, be trained." St Edward High School is an all-male, private Catholic high school located in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood. The school -- home to the nationally-ranked Eagles wrestling program -- has a total enrollment of approximately 950 students.

Stanford University has cleared an employee of sexual harassment allegations from incidents reported by some Cardinal wrestlers prior to 2010 in the school's locker room and shower area used by wrestlers but at that time also accessible to others. The five-month investigation of alleged incidents from 2002-2010 was launched after a former wrestler of that era brought his concerns to Stanford's Title IX office this summer. These latest allegations reportedly mirrored those raised by other student-athletes before 2010 which were investigated at the time. Here's how the report, issued by Stanford's Title IX office late last week, described the situation: "The allegations focused on an individual, an employee at the university, who was alleged to have showered in unnecessarily close proximity to members of the wrestling team in the locker room that was open to the Stanford community, and to have engaged in other non-physical interactions, such as staring, that made some wrestlers uncomfortable." "Some, but not all, of the allegations regarding the individual were first raised in 2010, when they were brought to the attention of the university's Sexual Harassment Policy Office. The university investigated the 2010 allegations promptly after they were raised. The investigation at that time concluded that the university's policies on sexual harassment had not been violated, but the individual agreed to take certain precautions to preclude further concerns." The report went on to state, "The university has heard no allegations, at any time, of inappropriate physical contact with students or others. There is no allegation that the individual touched any wrestler or said anything sexually inappropriate to any wrestler. Also, the university has received no concerns about the individual or any related issues from families affiliated with the Cardinal Wrestling Club, which is an independent youth wrestling club that uses Stanford facilities." At the time of the alleged incidents, the Stanford wrestling team used a locker room that was also open to other members of the Stanford community who used the university's recreational facilities. That changed in 2014, when the team moved to a student-athlete-only locker room, which the team continues to use today. According to the latest report, the Title IX office interviewed at least 30 witnesses who are former and current wrestlers and coaches during the investigation into the wrestlers' claims. The Stanford situation has some parallels to incidents reported by some Ohio State wrestlers from the mid-1970s into the 1990s, where Buckeye wrestlers have reported being ogled by some non-athletes in the university community in a shower room/locker room area that was in a building which housed intermural athletics in addition to wrestling facilities. That building has since been torn down. That situation -- as well as cases involving a medical doctor on the Ohio State staff accused of inappropriate touching of students during medical exams -- continue to be investigated by the school, the Ohio Attorney General, and a major Columbus law firm.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The No. 7 NC State Wrestling team won the first eight matches of the night, and defeated visiting Appalachian State 29-9 in Reynolds Coliseum. With the bout starting at 125 pounds, NC State got into the win column with a bonus point win as R-Fr. Zurich Strom scored a 16-3 major decision. Storm got an early takedown, then proceeded to get a four-point and then two-point near fall in the first for an 8-0 lead after the opening period. NC State then reeled off three straight decisions by a trio of ranked wrestlers: #4 Tariq Wilson with a 5-2 win at 133 pounds, No. 12 Jamal Morris with a 10-4 win at 141, and No. 4 Justin Oliver 6-3 at 149. The second bonus win of the win for the Pack was No. 4 Hayden Hidlay with a 10-2 major decision at 157 pounds after a final takedown in the last 10 seconds. At the break, NC State was up 17-0. Back-to-back Bullard decisions at 165 and 174 pounds. First No. 18 Thomas with a 10-4 win followed by Daniel with a 7-5 decision. No. 5 Nick Reenan scored a pin at 184 pounds, as he got a headlock and converted it into a fall at the 1:02 mark. The Mountaineers closed the dual with a win at 197 pounds and a pin at heavyweight. Up Next: The Wolfpack will next host No. 11 Nebraska on Sun., Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum. Results: 125: Zurich Storm (NCSU) major dec. Andy Richard; 16-3 – 4-0 133: #4 Tariq Wilson (NCSU) dec. Codi Russell; 5-2 – 7-0 141: #12 Jamal Morris (NCSU) dec. Enriquez; 10-4 – 10-0 149: #4 Justin Oliver (NCSU) dec. Matt Zovistoski; 6-3 – 13-0 157: #4 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) major dec. Angel Najar; 10-2 – 17-0 165: #18 Thomas Bullard (NCSU) dec. Michael Elliott; 10-4 – 20-0 174: Daniel Bullard (NCSU) dec. Thomas Flitz; 7-5 – 23-0 184: Nick Reenan (NCSU) WBF Alan Clothier; 1:02 – 29-0 197: Randall Diabe (APP) dec. #18 Malik McDonald; 3-2; 29-3 285: Cary Miller (APP) WBF Deonte Wilson; 5:54 - 29-9

Amar Dhesi placed third at the NCAAs last season (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) CORVALLIS -- Two-time All-American heavyweight Amar Dhesi is returning to the Oregon State wrestling program as announced by head coach Jim Zalesky on Tuesday. Dhesi returns to Oregon State after taking the first quarter off of school to train for the 2018 World Wrestling Championships which were held in Budapest, Hungary in October. He will rejoin his collegiate teammates in Corvallis for the second quarter at OSU and compete in his final year of NCAA eligibility. The two-time Pac-12 Champion recorded a third place finish at the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships in Cleveland, the highest placing for an Oregon State wrestler since 1998. The Surrey, B.C. native returns to Corvallis with an 84-19 career record after tying for a team-high in wins last season with 25. Dhesi currently sits in the top 50 in the OSU record books for career pins (21) and career winning percentage (.816).

Old Dominion's Larry Early defeated NC State's Hayden Hidlay this past weekend (Photo/ODU Athletics) This weekend's college wrestling landscape looks completely different than last weekend's schedule, which was dominated by the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite. Now that the CKLV is behind us, and with only weeks left until the Midlands and Southern Scuffle, it's time we start shifting our attention towards the bulk of the dual meet schedule. This weekend's dual meet schedule is littered with matches that consist of both in-conference and out-of-conference duals, and it all begins on Friday night. Friday Old Dominion at No. 12 Northwestern (1 p.m.) The Monarchs of Old Dominion will head to Big Ten Country to take on coach Matt Storniolo's Northwestern Wildcats. Without a doubt, not only the biggest match of this dual but arguably the biggest weekend match in college wrestling comes at 157 pounds when Northwestern's second-ranked Ryan Deakin takes on Old Dominion's third-ranked Larry Early. Just days ago, Early handed 2018 NCAA runner-up Hayden Hidlay of North Carolina State his first-ever regular season loss after he compiled 24 straight regular-season victories. Hidlay came into last weekend's matchup in Norfolk, Virginia as the second-ranked wrestler in the nation. This weekend, Ryan Deakin moved into the No.2 spot, meaning Early has the opportunity to knock off back-to-back second-ranked wrestlers in the country. Though this will be the first time these two have met, it won't be the first time that either has faced a wrestler from the opposing team. Early owns a perfect 2-0 record against Wildcats, while Deakin won his lone match against a Monarch opponent. Other ranked matches: 125: No. 2 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) vs. Michael McGee (ODU) Saturday UNI Open (10 a.m.) The UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls will host one of the best open tournaments of the year, the UNI Open. Year in and year out loads of young talent are in attendance at the UNI Open, and they're expected to show up again this year. In addition to host UNI, the Iowa State Cyclones are also likely to bring their full team. No. 15 Lehigh at No. 4 Iowa (8:30 p.m.) Coach Tom Brands and the Iowa Hawkeyes, who escaped the No. 23 Iowa State Cyclones last weekend, 19-18, welcome their second straight top-25 opponent to Carver-Hawkeye Arena when the No. 15 Lehigh Mountain Hawks soar into Iowa City. Both teams are coming off forgettable performances. The Hawks squeaked out a win over their in-state rivals, while the Mountain Hawks got blanked by No. 1 Penn State when they traveled to Happy Valley. In addition to the duo of top-ranked wrestlers in Spencer Lee (125) and Sam Stoll (285), this dual could feature a quartet of top-20 matchups. However, both teams are battling injuries so it remains to be seen who competes. At heavyweight, Lehigh's No. 6 Jordan Wood could take on his second straight top-five opponent when he wrestles the nation's top-ranked heavyweight, No. 1 Sam Stoll. Stoll made his emotional return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena last weekend after suffering a gunshot wound to the leg this summer. In his Carver-Hawkeye return, Stoll defeated Iowa State's Gannon Gremmel 5-2. This dual is also scheduled to host a pair of No. 6 vs. No. 14 matchups. At 184 pounds, Lehigh's sixth-ranked Ryan Preisch could lace up against No. 14 Cash Wilcke (Iowa), while No. 14 Jake Jacobsen (Lehigh) will take on sixth-ranked Jacob Warner (Iowa) at 197 pounds. At 133 pounds, No. 9 Scott Parker (Lehigh) has not been competing, but could take the mat against No. 12 Austin DeSanto (Iowa). Sunday Oklahoma at No. 2 Oklahoma State (1:30 p.m.) The second-ranked Cowboys welcome Coach Lou Rosselli and the Oklahoma Sooners to Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Okla. for the annual Bedlam contest. The Cowboys have won the last eight meetings and scored over 30 points in the previous five meetings. The Sooners will be looking for their first overall Bedlam win since December 1, 2013, when they outlasted the Cowboys, 16-15. They'll also be looking for the first Bedlam win in Stillwater since 1995 when they beat the Cowboys, 19-18. The Sooners will have to upset a Cowboy's roster that features ten ranked wrestlers if they hope to give coach Roselli his first Bedlam win since taking over the program three years ago. Oklahoma will rely on No. 16 Dom Demas, who is coming off a 141-pound fourth-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, as he squares off against Oklahoma State's two-time All-American and sixth-ranked Kaid Brock. Demas brings a 13-3 record into Stillwater, while Brock is 2-1 during his redshirt junior campaign. Bedlam results since Oklahoma's last victory … 2017-18: Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Stillwater), 31-6 2016-17: Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Norman), 33-3 Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Stillwater), 37-3 2015-16: Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Norman), 37-3 Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Stillwater), 26-11 2014-15: Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Norman), 25-9 Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Stillwater), 25-11 2013-14: Oklahoma df. Oklahoma State (in Norman), 16-15 Oklahoma State df. Oklahoma (in Stillwater), 29-9 No. 10 Wisconsin at No. 3 Ohio State (4 p.m.) Chris Bono and his 10th-ranked Badgers have matched Wisconsin's largest dual meet win streak since they won six straight during the 2014-15 season. They'll be looking for their seventh win when they travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on coach Tom Ryan and the third-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes have come out on top of two of the past three meetings, yet the Badgers will be looking for the first dual meet win over the Bucks since the 2013-14 season. Wisconsin was victorious 22-15 in that 2013-14 dual meet. Ranked matchups: 149: No. 20 Cole Martin (Wisconsin) vs. No. 3 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) 174: No. 9 Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin) vs. No. 11 Te'Shan Campbell (Ohio State) 285: No. 8 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin) vs. No. 17 Chase Singletary (Ohio State)

Wrestling fans can now invite Dan Gable into their home, office or wrestling room ... with a new poster that captures the iconic wrestler/coach/goodwill ambassador for the sport. Famed sports artist Mike Kupka -- best known for his images of professional baseball and football superstars -- has turned his attention to Dan Mack Gable in striking new image available in various formats sure to please the wrestling fan and Gable aficionado on your holiday gift list. Titled "The Art of the Fight", Kupka's latest work -- his first for the sport of wrestling -- features at its center the iconic image of Dan Gable as University of Iowa head coach, making a stalling call against one of his own wrestlers, knowing that once the referee would call the Hawkeye matman for stalling, he would be more aggressive. (That image also served as the basis for the statue of Gable outside of Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.) Among the other images within Kupka's "The Art of the Fight" include Gable wrestling Ruslan Ashuraliev of the Soviet Union for the gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics, along with that medal earned by Gable (its shape echoed by the border of a wrestling mat) ... the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in his hometown of Waterloo, Iowa ... the Campanile at Iowa State, where Gable wrestled for the Cyclones ... and the Old Capitol on the campus of University of Iowa, where Gable coached. The original painting is oil on canvas, measuring 3 feet wide by 4 feet tall. Wrestling fans may purchase their own "Art of the Fight" portrait of Dan Gable in a variety of formats: > Poster, measuring 18" x 24", unsigned and unframed, $30 > Fine art print, 18" x 24", printed on high-quality paper, framed, unsigned, $295 > Limited edition (just 1,972 copies) on canvas, 18" x 24", unframed, signed by artist Mike Kupka, $795 > Limited edition (just 181 copies) on canvas, 30" x 40", signed by the artist and by Gable, $2,995. All prices include free shipping. A portion of the proceeds will go to a 501(c)3 charity of Dan Gable's choice. To place your order, visit Mike Kupka's website or call 1-800-507-3007. Want to know more? Check out the online brochure explaining "The Art of the Fight" which provides greater detail on this incredible artwork. Born in Waterloo, Iowa on Oct. 25, 1948, Dan Gable has achieved greatness at every level. Wrestling for legendary coach Bob Siddens at Waterloo West High School, Gable crafted a perfect 64-0 record with three Iowa state titles. He then headed west to Iowa State, where he was 117-1 for coach Harold Nichols. At the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, Gable won the gold medal in men's freestyle without having a single point scored upon him. He then launched his coaching career at the University of Iowa, where his Hawkeyes earned 15 NCAA team titles and a 355-21-5 record. Gable coached 45 NCAA champs, 152 NCAA All-Americans, 106 Big Ten champs, and 12 Olympians. He retired from coaching in 1997 but continues to serve the sport as a motivational speaker and goodwill ambassador.

Preliminary seeds at each of the fourteen NFHS weight classes have been released for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, which will start on Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, with finals slated for Saturday afternoon. Approximately one half of the teams in the InterMat Fab 50 national high school team rankings will either have full or partial entries in the field. The seeds below are subject to pre-event scratches and weight changes, along with other situations where the wrestler does not end up competing. National rankings will be edited into the seedings during the day Wednesday, when the rankings are updated. 106 pounds 1. Braxton Brown (Allen, Texas) - national rank No. 3 2. Jordan Williams (Collinsville, Okla.) - national rank No. 5 3. Kyle Rowan (Perry (Lake County), Ohio) - national rank No. 6 4. Diego Sotelo (Marmion Academy, Ill.) - national rank No. 8 5. Dylan Chappell (Seneca Valley, Pa.) - national rank No. 17 6. Nick Fea (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) - national rank No. 12 7. Gary Steen (Reynolds, Pa.) - national rank No. 20 8. Daniel Wask (Blair Academy, N.J.) 9. Sean Seefeldt (St. Edward, Ohio) 10. Peyton Fenton (Elyria, Ohio) 11. Richard Fedalen (McDonogh, Md.) 12. Kenneth Crosby (Akron SVSM, Ohio) 13. Nolan Gessler (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) 14. Paul Garcia (Scottsbluff, Neb.) - national rank No. 16 15. Ryan Luna (St. Francis, Calif.) 16. Dante Frinzi (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) 113 pounds 1. Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) - national rank No. 1 2. Jacob Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) - national rank No. 2 3. Ryan Miller (Blair Academy, N.J.) - teammate Anthony Ferrari is ranked No. 5 nationally 4. Logan Agin (Lancaster, Ohio) - national rank No. 6 5. Troy Spratley (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) - national rank No. 8 6. Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.) - national rank No. 9 7. Dustin Norris (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) - national rank No. 14 8. Vince Cornella (Monarch, Colo.) - national rank No. 15 9. Colton Drousias (Chicago Mt. Carmel, Ill.) - national rank No. 18 10. Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (Seneca Valley, Pa.) 11. Rocky Stephens (Collinsville, Okla.) 12. Garrett Lautzenheiser (Louisville, Ohio) 13. Dayton Delviscio (Malvern Prep, Pa.) 14. Jaydin Gomez (Gilroy, Calif.) 15. Jackson Cockrell (Broken Arrow, Okla.) 16. Jack Stanley (Brecksville, Ohio) 120 pounds 1. Trevor Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) - national rank No. 3 2. Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) - national rank No. 4 3. Ryan Crookham (Notre Dame (Green Pond), Pa.) - national rank No. 5 4. Matthew Ramos (Lockport, Ill.) - national rank No. 8 5. Nick Bouzakis (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) - national rank No. 7 6. Kysen Terukina (Kamehameha, Hawaii) - national rank No. 13 7. Antonio Lorenzo (St. John Bosco, Calif.) - national rank No. 14 8. Dominic Chavez (Arlington Martin, Texas) 9. Lachlan McNeil (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 10. Beau Bayless (Reynolds, Pa.) 11. Carson Sauriol (Poway, Calif.) 12. Chris Barnabae (Mt. St. Joseph's, Md.) 13. Oscar Sanchez (Genoa, Ohio) 14. Joey Cruz (Clovis North, Calif.) 15. Michael Jaffe (Marmion Academy, Ill.) 16. Nain Vasquez (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 126 pounds 1. Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.) - national rank No. 2 2. Reece Witcraft (Broken Arrow, Okla.) - national rank No. 13 3. Travis Ford-Melton (Marian Catholic, Ill.) - national rank No. 8 4. Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) - national rank No. 7 5. Anthony Molton (Lockport, Ill.) - national rank No. 6 6. Dylan Shawver (Elyria, Ohio) - national rank No. 16 7. Dylan Ragusin (Montini Catholic, Ill.) - national rank No. 9 8. Devin Murphy (Clovis North, Calif.) - national rank No. 14 9. Mosha Schwartz (Ponderosa, Colo.) 10. Drew Munch (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 11. Daniel Cardenas (Pomona, Colo.) - national rank No. 19 12. Jason Miranda (Poway, Calif.) 13. Zack Witmer (St. Joseph's Academy, Pa.) 14. Caleb Tanner (Collinsville, Okla.) 15. Antoine Allen (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) 16. Brandon Wittenberg (Battlefield, Va.) 132 pounds 1. Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) - national rank No. 1 2. Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) - national rank No. 2 3. Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) - national rank No. 3 4. Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) - national rank No. 7 5. Justin Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) - national rank No. 16 6. Ryan Franco (Clovis North, Calif.) - national rank No. 11 7. Bretli Reyna (South Dade, Fla.) - national rank No. 17 8. Henry Porter (Oakdale, Calif.) 9. Kenny Herrmann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) - national rank No. 18 10. Cleveland Belton (St. John Bosco, Calif.) - national rank No. 20 11. Frankie Tal-Shahar (American Heritage, Fla.) - national rank No. 15 12. Justin Pacheco (Pomona, Colo.) 13. Mick Burnett (Elyria, Ohio) 14. Nick Moore (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) 15. Vincent Zerban (Christian Brothers, Mo.) 16. Richie Markulics (Notre Dame (Green Pond), Pa.) 138 pounds 1. Joshua Saunders (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) - national rank No. 1 2. Luke Baughman (Wadsworth, Ohio) - national rank No. 6 3. Chase Saldate (Gilroy, Calif.) - national rank No. 7 4. Peyton Hall (Oak Glen, W.Va.) - national rank No. 10 5. Bryce Hepner (St. Edward, Ohio) - national rank No. 16 6. Chris Rivera (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) 7. Jackson Dean (Caesar Rodney, Del.) 8. Shannon Hanna (Lake Gibson, Fla.) 9. Mike Madara (Blair Academy, N.J.) 10. Jake Niffenegger(Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) 11. Elijah Blake (Del Oro, Calif.) 12. Matt Lackman (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) 13. Alek Martin (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) 14. Joshua Swan (South Dade, Fla.) 15. Dustin Morgillo (Genoa, Ohio) 16. Trent Dooley (Allen, Texas) 145 pounds 1. Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) - national rank No. 2 2. Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio) - national rank No. 3 3. Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) - national rank No. 1 4. Michael North (Wadsworth, Ohio) - national rank No. 7 5. Travis Mastrogiovanni (Blair Academy, N.J.) - national rank No. 13 6. Chris Donathan (Mason, Ohio) - national rank No. 11 7. Fidel Mayora (Montini Catholic, Ill.) - national rank No. 16 8. Manzona Bryant IV (Hudson WRA, Ohio) - national rank No. 17 9. Trevor Chumbley (Marmion Academy, Ill.) - national rank No. 18 10. Dawson Sihavong (Bullard, Calif.) - national rank No. 12 11. Luka Wick (San Marino, Calif.) - national rank No. 19 12. Andrew Cerniglia (Notre Dame (Green Pond), Pa.) 13. Cael Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.) 14. Caleb Dowling (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.) 15. Wyatt Henson (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) 16. Connor Kievman (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 152 pounds 1. Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.) - national rank No. 2 2. Sonny Santiago (St. John Bosco, Calif.) - national rank No. 10 3. Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio) - national rank No. 8 4. Jake Stiles (Montini Catholic, Ill.) - national rank No. 5 5. Victor Voinovich (Brecksville, Ohio) - national rank No. 9 6. Elan Heard (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) - national rank No. 12 7. Aaron Gandara (Poway, Calif.) - national rank No. 13 8. Baylor Fernandes (Lockport, Ill.) - national rank No. 16 9. John Martin Best (Parkersburg, W.Va.) 10. Cole Handlovic (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) 11. Benny Baker (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 12. Reece Heller (Marian Catholic, Ill.) 13. Kyle Prewitt (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) 14. Jacob Conrad (Carrollwood Day School, Fla.) 15. Walker Heard (Marysville, Ohio) 16. Nicholas Incontera (Blair Academy, N.J.) 160 pounds 1. Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) - national rank No. 2 2. Domonic Mata (Blair Academy, N.J.) - national rank No. 5 3. Jace Luchau (Selma, Calif.) - national rank No. 6 4. Thayne Lawrence (Frazier, Pa.) - national rank No. 7 5. James Limongi (Genoa, Ohio) 6. Kyle Mosher (South Side, N.Y.) 7. Kai Bele (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) - national rank No. 15 8. Noah Blake (Del Oro, Calif.) 9. Todd Perry (South Dade, Fla.) 10. Luca Frinzi (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) 11. Tyler Stoltzfus (St. Joseph's Academy, Pa.) 12. Peter Ferraro (Marmion Academy, Ill.) 13. Eric Two Lance (Arlington Martin, Texas) 14. Brenden Severs (Beaver Local, Ohio) 15. Will McGhee (Aurora, Ohio) 16. Will Edgar (Christian Brothers College, Mo.) 170 pounds 1. Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) - national rank No. 1 2. Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.) - national rank No. 3 3. Nevan Snodgrass (Kettering Fairmont, Ohio) - national rank No. 18 4. Jake Stefanowicz (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) - national rank No. 19 5. Christian Rodriguez (Selma, Calif.) 6. Ashton Habeil (Lake Gibson, Fla.) 7. Blake Hopson (Park Hill, Mo.) 8. David Cumberledge (Ashtabula St. John, Ohio) 9. Micah Ervin (Union County, Ky.) 10. Jake Evans (Elyria, Ohio) 11. Nathan Warden (Christiansburg, Va.) 12. Beau Smith (Beaver Local, Ohio) 13. Michael Garcar (St. Edward, Ohio) 14. Patrick Daum (Marmion Academy, Ill.) 15. Dom Loparo (Wadsworth, Ohio) 16. Isaiah DeJesus (Notre Dame (Green Pond), Pa.) 182 pounds 1. Devin Winston (Park Hill, Mo.) - national rank No. 4 2. Darrien Roberts (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) - national rank No. 10 3. Sam Fisher (Fauquier, Va.) - national rank No. 19 4. Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.) - national rank No. 8 5. Peyton Craft (Blair Academy, N.J.) - national rank No. 16 6. Nathan Haas (St. John Bosco, Calif.) 7. Trey Sizemore (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) 8. Anthony D'Alesio (Canfield, Ohio) 9. Dan Benoit (Chicago Mt. Carmel, Ill.) 10. Trevor Swier (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 11. Nicholas Florschutz (Malvern Prep, Pa.) 12. Cole Hivnor (Lake Catholic, Ohio) 13. Franklin Cruz (Pomona, Colo.) 14. Justin Henry (Mt. St. Joseph's, Md.) 15. Evan Anderson (Aurora, Ohio) 16. Ben Vanadia (Brecksville, Ohio) 195 pounds 1. A.J. Ferrari (Blair Academy, N.J.) - national rank No. 1 2. Ryan Reyes (Gilroy, Calif.) - national rank No. 3 3. Peter Christensen (Montini Catholic, Ill.) - national rank No. 4 4. Michael Baker (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio) - national rank No. 13 5. Nathan Dugan (Lake Norman, N.C.) 6. Jack Wimmer (McDonogh, Md.) 7. Michael Doggett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 8. Ethan Hatcher (Brecksville, Ohio) 9. Kolby Franklin (St. Joseph's Catholic, Pa.) 10. Nick Crawford (Canfield, Ohio) 11. Ty Kwak (Christiansburg, Va.) 12. Brent Paulus (Louisville, Ohio) 13. Colin McNamara (Aurora, Ohio) 14. Logan Andrew (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) 15. Jaiden Patterson (St. John Bosco, Calif.) 220 pounds 1. Braxon Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) - national rank No. 1 2. Owen Trephan (Blair Academy, N.J.) - national rank No. 2 3. Jacob Kaminski (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) - national rank No. 8 4. Andy Smith (Christiansburg, Va.) - national rank No. 14 5. Garrett Kappes (McDonogh, Md.) 6. Tyler Stein (Canfield, Ohio) - national rank No. 12 7. Kade Carlson (Corner Canyon, Utah) 8. Matthias Ervin (Union County, Ky.) 9. Kenneth Crouse (South Dade, Fla.) 10. Wyatt Owen (Reynolds, Pa.) 11. Simon Tesfamarian (Park Hill, Mo.) 12. Jarin Curtis (Massillon Perry, Ohio) 285 pounds 1. Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) - national rank No. 2 2. Jonathan Birchmeier (Broad Run, Va.) - national rank No. 11 3. Nicholas Villarreal (Gilroy, Calif.) 4. Isaac Righter (Mt. St. Joseph's, Md.) 5. Louden Haga (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) - national rank No. 20 6. Johnny Shafer (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) 7. Kevin Hudson (Caesar Rodney, Del.) 8. Mike McNicholas (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 9. Max Millin (Massillon Perry, Ohio) 10. Andrew Johnson (Poway, Calif.) 11. Jase Crouse (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.)

Dominic DiSabato Dominic DiSabato joins The MatBoss Podcast for Episode 12. DiSabato spent 19 seasons as the head wrestling coach at Hilliard Davidson High School in Ohio before retiring after the 2017-18 season. He was a three-time Ohio state champion and NCAA qualifier at Ohio State University. About MatBoss: Created by coaches for coaches, MatBoss for iPad® integrates wrestling stats directly into the video you record for each match, completely replacing the need for labor-intensive pencil and paper scoring systems. It's the wrestling stats app our sport has been waiting for. Focus on coaching, not busy work Improve through video analysis Make data an advantage Eliminate scoring errors Increase exposure Become a digital coach For more information, visit MatBossApp.com. Follow MatBoss on Twitter and subscribe to the show @MatBossApp | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Spreaker | Google Play Music | RSS

A former high school wrestler in Massachusetts was one of three servicemen killed in a military explosion in Afghanistan last week. Eric EmondArmy Sgt. 1st Class Eric Michael Emond, 39, was one of three killed on Tuesday, Nov. 27 when an explosive device detonated during combat operations in the Ghazni province, according to the Department of Defense. Emond, who had most recently lived in Brush Creek, Washington, had wrestled at BMC Durfee High School, a public 9-12 high school in Fall River, Massachusetts, until his family moved to Arkansas after he had completed his sophomore year. "Sgt. Emond had a strong track record of academic success throughout his tenure in the Fall River Public Schools and was a member of the Durfee High School wrestling team," Fall River Schools Superintendent Matthew Malone told WPRI. Malone said he knew Emond personally from Emond's work in the veterans' community, including the co-founding of the Massachusetts Fallen Heroes organization that supports Gold Star families and veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Malone described Emond as a warrior and a gentleman, exemplifying the mottoes of the United States Marine Corps, "Semper Fidelis" (Always Faithful) and the U.S. Army Special Forces, "De Opresso Liber" (To Free the Oppressed). Emond was killed last week -- along with Capt. Andrew Ross and Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan Elchin -- when the vehicle they were riding in was struck by an improvised explosive device in Andar, about 70 miles from the Pakistani border in an area where the Taliban have been resurgent. The Department of Defense said Emond had more than 21 years of service between the Marine Corps and Army, and was on his seventh overseas tour. Emond's awards and decorations include three Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, two NATO Achievement Medals, four Afghanistan Campaign Medals, a NATO Medal, an Army Good Conduct Medal, a Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, two Overseas Service Ribbons, a National Defense Service Medal, Special Forces and Ranger tabs, a Combat Infantry Badge and a Combat Action Badge In addition, Emond was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal. Emond is survived by his wife and three children. Funeral arrangements have yet to be made public.

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- Behind 12 total placers, nine of which advanced to semifinals, as well as three first-placers and three second-placers, No. 9 Arizona State wrestling came away with the team crown at the inaugural SIU Edwardsville Cougar Clash. No. 5 Ryan Millhof (125), No. 20 Christian Pagdilao (157), and No. 1 Zahid Valencia (174) earned first-place finishes while No. 10 Josh Maruca (149), No. 5 Josh Shields (165), and No. 14 Kordell Norfleet (184) finished second in their respective weight classes. Pagdilao and Valencia both downed ranked opponents in their respective finals, a 2-0 decision over No. 12 Luke Weiland from Army for Pagdilao and a 13-5 major decision vs. No. 10 Ryan Christensen of Wisconsin for Valencia. As a team, Arizona State tallied 136 points for the team title ahead of Army (127.5), Wisconsin (127.5), Chattanooga (93.5), SIUE (55), Kent State (49.5), and Cleveland State (48). The Sun Devils now prepare for arguably their biggest dual of the season, the first part of a home-and-home over the next two seasons with No. 1 Penn State. ASU travels to State College, Pa. for a dual on Friday, Dec. 14, which is slated for 6 pm ET/4 pm MT on ESPN2.

PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania wrestling team opened up the home portion of its 2018-19 dual meet season in a "Big" way, dominating off Big Ten opponent Maryland, 26-6. The Quakers (1-1) won eight of ten matches to knock off the Terrapins (0-1) in The Palestra. A new-look Quakers team sporting a surprise third singlet took a newly-designed Palestra setup, and the Quakers gave the crowd plenty to cheer about as Penn won six in a row to turn a 3-0 deficit into a 20-3 lead which the Terps could not overcome. Six Penn freshmen won their Palestra dual meet debuts, and sophomore Evan DeLuise picked up his first career dual meet win via a 3-1 overtime decision in the penultimate match. Penn's eight winner was also doing something for the first time, as fifth-year senior Patrik Garren picked up his first win at his new weight of 187 pounds. The only meeting of two ranked wrestlers went Penn's way as No. 20 Anthony Artalona scored a winning takedown with 0:18 remaining in overtime to knock off No. 18 Alfred Bannister, 5-3. Artalona led, 1-0, after two periods, but Bannister took a 3-1 lead after an escape and a takedown early in the third. Artalona quickly escaped to close within one, and he forced overtime after drawing a second stall warning on Bannister with 0:20 remaining in the match. He would go on to power through in overtime and improve his record to 10-1. Artalona was the capper to Penn's six-match run to take a commanding lead. Garren started the run with an 8-3 decision over David-Brian Whisler at 197 pounds. Garren had the only three takedowns in the match, scoring two of them in the first period to pull away. After Garren's win, the Quakers had five true freshmen in a row win their Palestra dual debuts. Ben Goldin pushed the pace all match long against Mansur Abdul-Malik, drawing four stall warning (and three points) while adding two takedowns in a 9-3 decision. At 125, Carmen Ferrante picked up a 10-1 major decision over Brandon Cray, using a four-point turn in the second period to pull away from the two-time N.J. state champion and pick up his ninth win of the season. Doug Zapf followed with a major decision of his own, belting Orion Anderson, 12-2. Zapf wrestled perfectly on the edge, scoring four takedowns on the perimeter of the mat on his way to his first career dual meet victory. Our of halftime, Grant Aronoff scored a takedown and added two nearfall in the first period, and that lead was enough to hold off Michael Doetsch, 4-1. Artalona followed with his overtime win over Bannister and the Quakers led, 20-3. Other winners for Penn included Evan DeLuise, who gutted out a 3-1 win in overtime against Phil Spadafora at 165 pounds for his first career dual meet win. DeLuise won a scramble in the extra period, finally securing the takedown with 0:14 to go. Freshman Jake Hendricks followed with a 2-1 decision to close the dual, knocking off Josh Ugalde. Hendricks escaped in the second period and added his second point when Ugalde connected with an inadvertent head butt in the middle frame. Ugalde escaped in the third, and was close to a takedown at the buzzer, but time ran out. Even the two matches that didn't go Penn's was showed the spirit of the squad. Ryan Farber trailed, 4-1, early at 184 to Kyle Jasenski but was inches away from a tying takedown late in a 7-5 decision. His effort resonated with the bench as Penn won the next six. With Penn leading, 20-3, after Artalona's win, the Terrapins needed bonus points in all three remaining bouts to even try to come back. Adam Whitesell came out firing in the first period of the 157-pound match against Penn's Joe Oliva, scoring three takedown and six points of nearfall for a 12-3 lead after one period. From there, it was all Oliva as the senior captain clawed back within two points in a 12-10 decision. Rather than allow the bonus points, Oliva scored four points in the second period to close within five. In the third, he drew three stall warnings from top position and added riding time. The Quakers won the takedown battle, 14-6, and had the opening takedown in six of nine matches. Penn is off until the 2018 Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern in Chicago December 29-30. Results: 184: Kyle Jasenski (Maryland) DEC Ryan Farber (Penn), 7-5 Maryland leads, 3-0 197: Patrik Garren (Penn) DEC David-Brian Whisler (Maryland), 8-3 Match Tied, 3-3 285: Ben Goldin (Penn) DEC Mansur Abdul-Malik (Maryland), 9-3 Penn leads, 6-3 125: Carmen Ferrante (Penn) MD Brandon Cray (Maryland), 10-1 Penn leads, 10-3 133: Doug Zapf (Penn) MD Orion Anderson (Maryland), 12-2 Penn leads, 14-3 141: Grant Aronoff (Penn) DEC Michael Doetsch (Maryland), 4-1 Penn leads, 17-3 149: #20 Anthony Artalona (Penn) DEC #18 Alfred Bannister (Maryland), 5-3 (SV) Penn leads, 20-3 157: Adam Whitesell (Maryland) DEC Joe Oliva (Penn), 12-10 Penn leads, 20-6 165: Evan DeLuise (Penn) DEC Phil Spadafora (Maryland), 3-1 (SV) Penn leads, 23-6 174: Jake Hendricks (Penn) DEC Josh Ugalde (Maryland), 2-1 Penn leads, 26-6

No. 1 Penn State (3-0, 0-0 B1G) rolled to its first-ever shutout win over No. 10 Lehigh (0-3) in front of yet another Rec Hall sellout crowd on Sunday. The Nittany Lions won all ten bouts in a 42-0 victory over a short-handed Mountain Hawk squad to remain unbeaten on the year. Penn State got impressive ranked wins from Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.) and Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.). The Nittany Lions did not give up a takedown in the dual. The dual began at 197 where senior Nickal, ranked No. 1 nationally, dominated No. 15 Jake Jakobsen. Nickal controlled the action from start to finish and rolled to a 19-4 technical fall at the 5:31 mark. Senior Cassar, ranked No. 5 at 285, followed that up with a big win the dual's marquee match-up. Cassar dominated No. 6 Jordan wood on his way to an impressive 12-3 major with 2:21 in riding time, putting Penn State up 9-0 early. Sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) picked up his second straight dual win at 125, and his first in Rec Hall, with a 6-1 win over Luke Resnick and Penn State led 12-0. True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.) then dominated Brandon Paetzell at 133, rolling to a 13-5 major with over 3:00 in riding time. Sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 4 at 141, closed out the first half with an impressive 23-10 major over Lehigh's Ryan Pomrinca and Penn State led 20-0 at the halftime break. Redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) got the nod at 149 and started the second half and kept Penn State's shutout hopes alive with a hard-fought 5-3 win over Lehigh's Jimmy Hoffman. Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, kept the Lions rolling by pinning Josh Humphrey's at the 6:19 mark. The fall was the sixth in seven matches for Nolf. Junior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, made it two straight pins by getting a fall at the 4:47 mark over Mountain Hawk Trey Cornish to put Penn State up 35-0. The fall was Joseph's sixth in seven bouts this year. Hall, ranked No. 2 at 174, walked away with a convincing win in another of the dual's most anticipated match-ups. Hall posted the bout's only takedowns in a 6-2 win over No. 7 Jordan Kutler. Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 4 at 184, closed out the dual in dominating fashion, posting an 11-2 major with 3:53 in riding time over Lehigh's Andrew Price. Rasheed's win gave the Nittany Lions the 42-0 shutout victory. The Nittany Lions rolled to a 47-0 takedown advantage and tallied 12 bonus points off two pins (Nolf and Joseph), one tech (Nickal), and four majors (Cassar, Bravo-Young, Lee and Rasheed). Penn State has now won 48 straight dual meets dating back to the end of the 2014-15 season. The sellout crowd of 6,529 was the 43rd straight sellout in Rec Hall and Penn State's 47th in its last 49 home duals, including four of six in the near-16,000 seat Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State is now 3-0 overall while Lehigh falls to 0-3. The Nittany Lions host No. 12 Arizona State in its next action. The Lions welcome the Sun Devils to Rec Hall for the first time ever on Friday, Dec. 14, for a 6 p.m. dual that will air live nationally on ESPN2. Arizona State last visited Happy Valley during the 2001 National Duals in an event hosted in the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. Results: 197: #1 Bo Nickal PSU tech fall #15 Jake Jakobsen LEH, 19-4 (TF; 5:31) 5-0 285: #5 Anthony Cassar PSU maj. dec. #6 Jordan Wood LEH, 12-3 9-0 125: Devin Schnupp PSU dec. Luke Resnick LEH, 6-1 12-0 133: Roman Bravo-Young PSU maj. dec. Brandon Paetzell LEH, 13-5 16-0 141: #4 Nick Lee PSU maj. dec. Ryan Pomrinca LEH, 23-10 20-0 149: Jarod Verkleeren PSU dec. Jimmy Hoffman LEH, 5-3 23-0 157: #1 Jason Nolf PSU pinned Josh Humphreys, WBF (6:19) 29-0 165: #1 Vincenzo Joseph PSU pinned Trey Cornish LEH, WBF (4:47) 35-0 174: #2 Mark Hall PSU dec. #7 Jordan Kutler LEH, 6-2 38-0 184: #4 Shakur Rasheed PSU maj. dec. Andrew Price LEH, 11-2 42-0 Attendance: 6,529 (43rd straight Rec hall sellout; 47th of 49 including 4 of 6 in BJC) Records: Penn State (3-0); Lehigh (0-3) Up Next for Penn State: home vs. #12 Arizona State, Friday, Dec. 14, 6 p.m. on ESPN2 BOUT-BY-BOUT: 197: Senior Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 197, faced off against No. 15 Jake Jakobsen. Nickal worked the center of the mat, looking to force Jakobsen's shoulders down to the mat. The Lion pushed his foe's head down, swung around quickly on the edge of the mat and took a 2-1 lead at the 2:20 mark. He quickly added a second takedown and led 4-1 before a minute had passed. Nickal cut Jakobsen loose to a 4-2 score and added a third takedown a minute later to lead 6-2. Nickal spent the rest of the period controlling the action from the top position and turned Jakobsen for four near fall points to lead 10-2 after one. Jakobsen chose top to start the second period but Nickal quickly escaped to an 11-2 lead. A quick low shot in front of the Lehigh bench led to a takedown and a 13-2 lead for the Lion All-American. Nickal cut Jakobsen loose at the 1:00 mark and immediately set up another scoring opportunity. He used a strong high double to score with 0:13 on the clock and led 15-3 with 1:43 in time after two. Nickal skipped around a slight Jakobsen shot for a takedown, cut him loose and then quickly ended the bout with another takedown, posting the 19-4 tech fall at the 5:31 mark. 285: Senior Anthony Cassar (Rocky Hill, N.J.), ranked No. 5 at 285, met No. 6 Jordan Wood in the dual's marquee match-up. The duo battled evenly for nearly two minutes before Cassar used a strong high double to lift Wood off the mat and send him down for a takedown and a 2-1 lead. Cassar was lightening quick in the final seconds, notching a second takedown with :05 on the clock to lead 4-1 after one. The Lion chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped for a 5-1 lead. Continuing to dominate, Cassar shot low and notched his third takedown at the 1:10 mark, upping his lead to 7-1. A strong ride gave the Lion over 1:00 in riding time. The Lion was able to force Wood flat and rode the Mountain Hawk out. Trailing 7-1, Wood chose neutral to start the third period. Cassar's pace was relentless. The Lion junior continued to pace around the middle of the mat, looking for another opening to score. With the riding time point clinched, Cassar moved to the side of a low Wood shot and got a takedown to up his lead to 9-1 with :45 on the clock. Cassar would add one more takedown and a riding time point to roll to the impressive 12-3 major decision. 125: Sophomore Devin Schnupp (Lititz, Pa.) took on Lehigh's Luke Resnick at 125. Schnupp was the aggressor early, keeping action in the center circle while trying to gain control of Resnick's shoulders. The Lion sophomore worked Resnick to the mat twice but the Mountain Hawk was able to defend each effort, forcing stalemates. With :30 left, Schnupp shot low, forcing a scramble in the middle of the mat. The sophomore was not able to come up under for the takedown before the period ended and the match moved to the second period scoreless. Schnupp chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Schnupp instigated another scramble in the middle of the mat with :45 on the clock, but Resnick was once again able to force a stalemate. On the reset, however, Schnupp shot low, connected on the shot and scored with :15 left to lead 3-0 after two periods. Resnick chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 score. Not content with a slim lead, Schnupp used shoulder control to force Resnick's shoulders to the mat and worked his way behind the Mountain Hawk to take a 5-1 lead with :50 left in the bout. The Lion sophomore put together a strong ride and finished off the bout in control. With a 1:11 riding time edge, Schnupp rolled to the 6-1 decision. 133: True freshman Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.) met Brandon Paetzell at 133. Bravo-Young scored quickly, taking a 2- 0 lead and building up over 1:00 in riding time before cutting Paetzell loose after a reset with 1:25 ono the clock. The Arizona native continued his fast pace and used a quick shot to notch his second takedown to lead 4-1 with :55 left in the opening period. A ride-out gave the Lion freshman a 4-1 lead with 2:22 in riding time after one period. Paetzell chose down to start the second stanza and escaped to a 4-2 score. Paetzell connected on a low single with :55 on the clock and Bravo-Young thrilled the sold out Rec Hall crowd, jumping out of control, sliding behind Paetzell and notching the counter takedown as the period ended to lead 6-3 with 2:39 in time after two periods. Leading by three, Bravo-Young chose neutral to start the third period. Bravo-Young turned a fast low shot into a scramble and finished off the takedown with :55 on the clock to lead 8-3 with a clinched riding time point. Looking for bonus points, Bravo-Young cut Paetzell loose to an 8-4 score. The Lion quickly took Paetzell down and cut him to a 10-5 lead with :22 on the clock and finished off the major with a takedown at the :09 mark. A 3:07 riding time edge gave Bravo-Young the 13-5 major decision. 141: Sophomore Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 4 at 141, met Ryan Pomrinca. Lee was hot out of the gates, picking up two takedowns in the first sixth seconds to lead 4-2 early. The Lion sophomore used a nifty low single upped his lead to 6-2 with a third takedown at the opening period's midway point. He cut Pomrinca loose to a 6-3 score and then added a fourth takedown and cut. Looking to finish the period on top, Lee shot low, worked control of one foot into a fifth takedown and finished on top to lead 10-4 with 1:19 in time after one. Lee chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to an 11-4 lead. He notched his sixth takedown shortly after that and led 13-4 with 1:32 left in the second stanza. The Lion continued to pour on the offense, adding two more quick takedowns to lead 17-7 with 1:51 in riding time after two periods. Pomrinca chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 17-8 score. Lee picked up a stall point and then another takedown to lead 20-9 with :40 left. Lee took a 22-9 lead with :22 left and rolled to a 23-10 major decision with 2:44 in riding time. 149: Redshirt freshman Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) got the nod at 149 for Penn State and took on Jimmy Hoffman. The duo battled evenly for over a minute with neither wrestler breaking through. The Lion stepped back from a solid Hoffman shot with :50 on the clock and tried to counter but Hoffman was able to keep the pressure on and force action out of bounds with :35 left in the opening period. Tied 0-0, Verkleeren chose down to start the second period and took advantage. With action moving toward the outside circle, Verkleeren worked his way out of control and finished off a reversal with 1:31 on the clock to take a 2-0 lead. Verkleeren maintained control for :40 before Hoffman escaped to a 2-1 score. Trailing 2-1, Hoffman chose down to start the second period. Verkleeren maintained control long enough to build his riding time edge up over 1:00 before a reset was called with 1:39 on the clock. Verkleeren continued to maintain control until Hoffman escaped to a 2-2 tie with 1:22 left to wrestle. Verkleeren had 1:16 in time. Hoffman shot low but Verkleeren countered the move for another takedown and a 4-3 lead after a quick Hoffman escape. Verkleeren fought off Hoffman's late scoring efforts and, with 1:34 in riding time, posted a 5-3 win. 157: Senior Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, faced off against Lehigh's Josh Humphreys. Nolf wasted no time taking the lead. The Lion posted two takedowns in the opening 1:30 to lead 4-2. He then forced a scramble with a low shot, picked up a third takedown and led 6-2 at the 1:10 mark. Humphreys was able to finish with his feet and Nolf led 6-3 with 0:34 left. The Lion scrambled to a late takedown but the call was overturned on review and Nolf led 6-3 after one period. Nolf chose down to start the second period, steadily worked his way to his feet and, after forcing a stall warning, escaped to a 7-3 lead. He fought off a solid Humphreys shot and then another as the period ended to lead 8-3 after two periods. Humphreys chose down to start the third period and picked up a stall point before Humphreys escaped to a 9-4 Nolf lead. Nolf added another takedown and led 11-5 before locking up a cradle to get the fall at the 6:19 mark. 165: Junior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, battled Trey Cornish. Joseph took an early 2-0 lead, taking Cornish down with 2:15 on the clock. He then controlled action from the top position, building up :37 in time before cutting the Hawk loose. He quickly took Cornish down again and led 4-2, turned in off the escape and added a third takedown right away and led 6-3 with 1:05 on the clock. Joseph picked up a stall point and then notched a fourth takedown. He turned Cornish for four back points before the period ended and led 13-3 with 1:39 in riding time after one period. Joseph chose neutral to start the second period and Joseph continued his offensive onslaught. The Lion used a fast low trip to take a 15-3 score just :20 into the middle stanza. He tacked on one more takedown and then finished off the match by turning Cornish to his back and getting the fall at the 4:47 mark. 174: Junior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 2 at 174, met No. 7 Jordan Kutler. The ranked duo battled evenly for the first minute with Hall shooting consistently and Kutler's defense equal to the task. The Lion junior could not break through to score and the first period ended in a 0-0 tie. Hall chose down to start the second period and deftly escaped to a 1-0 lead at the 1:35 mark. Hall then connected on a fast high single and bulled his way to a takedown and a 3-0 lead with 1:08 on the clock. Hall then controlled the action from the top position for the remainder of the period to carry the 3-0 edge, and :47 in riding time, into the third period. Kutler chose down to start the third period and Hall continued to dominate the action from the top position. Hall's riding time ballooned to 1:31 before Kutler escaped to a 3-1 score. Hall shot high to Kutler's right leg again, forcing a scramble that led to another takedown and a 5-2 lead after a quick Kutler escape. But the damage was done and Hall, with 1:38 in riding time, rolled to the 6-2 win. 184: Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 4 at 184, took on Andrew Price. Rasheed spent a minute looking for a chance to score and took a 2-0 lead with a takedown at the 2:10 mark. Rasheed cut Price loose and then quickly took him down again to lead 4-1. The Lion senior then built up a solid riding time edge while looking for a chance to turn the Hawk for back points or more. Price was able to fight off Rasheed's turning efforts but the Lion finished on top to lead 4-1 with 2:14 in riding time after one. Rasheed chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. He picked up his third takedown at the 1:17 mark and led 7-1. After a reset sent action back to the center circle, Rasheed continued his dominant ride and led 7-1 with 3:29 in time after two periods. Price chose neutral to start the final period but Rasheed was undaunted. The Lion senior continued to press Price, forcing the Mountain Hawk into giving up a stall point and then taking him down to open up a 10-1 lead with :44 left to wrestle. Rasheed went on to post the dominant 11-2 major with 3:53 in riding time.

Services for Lowell Lange, three-time NCAA wrestling champion for Cornell College of Iowa who later served as coach at his college alma mater then at Georgia Tech, have been announced. Lowell Lange (Photo/NWHOF)The memorial service for Lange will take place Saturday, Jan. 5 at 2 p.m. at Canton First United Methodist Church, 930 Lower Scott Mill Road, Canton, Georgia. Visitation will take place immediately after the memorial from 3-5 p.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts to honor Lange be sent to Cornell College, Attn.: Wrestling, 600 First Street SW, Mount Vernon, IA 52314, or Creekview Wrestling Takedown Club, 1550 Owens Store Rd., Canton, GA 30115. Lange passed away near his home in Georgia on Nov. 19 at age 90. As a member of the Cornell College "Dream Team" which won the NCAA team title at the 1947 NCAA championships, Lowell "Tiger" Lange claimed three individual NCAA titles at 136 pounds in 1947, 1949 and 1950 … along with individual national AAU (American Athletic Union) titles those same year. After graduating, Lange served as head wrestling coach at Cornell of Iowa for one year. He later headed south to Georgia, where he coached wrestling at Georgia Tech for 30 years.

Pat Lovell, wrestler for Cal Poly in the late 1950s who was a member of the Greco-Roman wrestling team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, passed away Thursday, Nov. 29 in Santa Cruz, Calif., the university in San Luis Obispo announced Nov. 30. He was 81. Born in Richmond, Calif. on Nov. 1, 1937, Patrick Lovell started his athletic career at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, Calif. He wrestled for the Cal Poly Mustangs in the late 1950s, where he was a four-year starter, earning three Pacific Coast Intercollegiate heavyweight wrestling titles. (As member of the Mustang football team, Lovell played right tackle alongside college roommate -- and future NFL Hall of Fame honoree -- John Madden.) In addition to competing in folkstyle wrestling in high school and at Cal Poly, Lovell made a name for himself in both freestyle and Greco-Roman competition. In addition to being a multi-time placer at National AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) championships, Lovell earned a place on the U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling squad for the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. The 6'0" Lowell competed at light heavyweight (214 pounds/97 kilograms) but did not place, according to Olympic Sports-Reference. After graduation, Lovell started coaching at James Lick High School in San Jose, where he coached, among others, future NFL quarterback Jim Plunkett. Staying in California, Lovell then moved to Monte Vista High School and then Cabrillo Community College where he coached both wrestling and football. He officiated wrestling meets and tournaments for over 40 years, including officiating at 17 NCAA and 17 U.S. National Championships. Lovell received numerous honors for his long and distinguished career in sports. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as an official in 1995, the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame in 1989, and the California Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2000. In addition to his involvement as an athlete, coach and official, Lowell also served as commissioner of the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League for nearly three decades until his retirement a year ago. "He's one of the greatest all-time at Cal Poly for what he has done, the Olympics, national teams and his coaching," said former Mustang wrestling coach Lennis Cowell. "He exemplifies what a great Cal Poly guy he was. He definitely will be missed by all." "He never grew up," Duane Morgan, commissioner of the California Interscholastic Federation's Central Coast Section and a former wrestling official with Lovell, told Jim Seimas of the Santa Cruz Sentinel. "He saw happiness in everything. He loved the kids. What a great life that is." Pat Lovell is survived by his wife of 51 years, Joy; son, Bobby; two daughters, Sarah and Allison; and several grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending.

It was a rough night for two of the three former amateur wrestlers competing at Bellator 210 at WinStar Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. Friday night, with two-time U.S. Olympic freestyle alternate Shawn Bunch defeating former Greco-Roman mat champ Joe Warren in their bout ... while Chris Honeycutt, two-time NCAA All-American for Edinboro, came out on the losing end of a split decision. In the battle of former international wrestlers, Bunch struck Joe Warren into submission at 1:42 of the first round of their bantamweight (135-pound) bout. In addition to his freestyle wrestling accomplishments, Bunch -- like Honeycutt -- was a two-time NCAA All-American at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Here's MMAmania.com's brief live-action write-up on this equally short match: "Bunch is single minded in landing a right cross over and over. Bunch backs Warren up to the fence and starts landing combos and hurts Warren badly with a left that causes Warren to turn and physically surrender. It is ALL OVER. Warren is holding the left side of his neck and just said 'I can't feel my hands.' He's still standing but that's scary to hear from a fighter." With the win, the 35-year-old Bunch improves his mixed martial arts record to 8-3 in a career he launched six years ago ... while Warren, seven years' older than Bunch, is now 15-8 in a pro career going back nearly a decade. In a middleweight (185-pound) match-up, Chris Honeycutt -- a 2012 NCAA finalist for the Fighting Scots -- lost a split decision to Costello van Steenis, with one judge giving it to "the Cutt" while the other two awarded the decision to "the Spaniard", 28-29, 29-28, 29-28. As a possible indicator as to how close the bout was ... in its live play-by-play coverage, MMAmania.com had awarded two of the three rounds to Honeycutt. The 30-year-old Honeycutt -- who started his pro MMA career in June 2013 -- is now 11-3 ... while van Steenis, 26, has built an 11-1 record since turning pro in April 2014.

In a field that featured four nationally ranked teams among the sixteen in the event, it was No. 14 Southeast Polk (Iowa) using their proven formula of depth augmented by high end talent to win the season-opening Gardner Edgerton Invitational in Kansas on Saturday. The three best wrestlers on the Rams' roster all won titles, No. 11 (at 160) Lance Runyon at 152 pounds, No. 14 (at 152) Cade Devos at 160, and two-time state placer Gabe Christenson at 195. Of particular note was the finals win over Devos, coming via 5-2 decision over Junior folkstyle All-American Bubba Wilson (Manhattan, Kansas). Eight other Rams wrestlers won preliminary pool titles to enusre a top four finish. Earning runner-up honors were Cameron Baarda (132), Ryan Strickland (145), and Connor Brown (285); freshman Joel Jesuroga (120) finished third; while Devin Harmison (113), Nathan Marchand (138), Deveyon Montgomery (170), and Kaleb Runyon (220) placed fourth. The other three wrestlers all had "odd" finishes, two placed fifth, while the other finished seventh; all in all, Southeast Polk amassed 250 points for the tournament. Runners-up in the tournament were No. 20 Allen (Texas), who had nine wrestlers finish in the top four. The Eagles were led by a pair of weight class champions in No. 4 Braxton Brown (106) and Preseason Nationals champion Trent Dooley (138). Finishing as runners-up were Gabe Martinez (126), freshman Mario Danzi (152), and Nate Dooley (182); Noah Yeamans (132) and Alejandro Cavazos (145) finished third; while Elise Brown Ton (160) and Zane Davis (195) were fourth. The four other Eagles wrestlers that competed on Saturday were in the second bracket, one in fifth, two in sixth, and the other in seventh. Missing from the lineup was their 285 pound starter, state runner-up Johnny Green, who is part of their playoff football team. Allen scored 230 points, which was 20 behind Southeast Polk; it would have been very close in the standings if Green was available. Significantly short-handed due to their state playoff football run was No. 12 Broken Arrow (Okla.), who was without five starters, including a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in No. 15 Gavin Potter (195) and No. 9 Zach Marcheselli (220); the pair are linebackers, and will be playing for Big XII colleges next year. The Tigers had a tournament-high four weight class champions in Jackson Cockrell (113), Jared Hill (120), No. 15 Reece Witcraft (132), and Emmanuel Skillings (182); Bryce Cockrell (113) finished as runner-up; while Blazik Perez (126), Diego Maturino (170), and Marlin Welty (285) finished third. It should be noted that Maturino and Welty were in the lineup instead of football players. Broken Arrow finished the tournament with 227 points. Along with the eight top three placers, they had three others in the second bracket, two in fifth and one in sixth place. The tournament's fourth nationally ranked team was No. 47 Goddard (Kansas), who finished with 191 points, placing six in the top four. They were led by a pair of champions in Cayleb Atkins (145) and No. 6 Troy Fisher (170). The lone runner-up was Jason Henschel (126), Trevor Dopps (160) and Cayden Atkins (182) finished third, while Lucas Glover (120) placed fourth. Four wrestlers finished in fifth place. Rounding out the weight class champions were Keegan Slyter (Olathe North, Kansas) at 126 pounds, Cade Lautt (St. James Academy, Kansas) at 220, and Evan Darville (Dodge City, Kansas) at 285.

Ohio State captured its third straight title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LAS VEGAS -- Led by champions Joey McKenna (141), Myles Martin (184) and Kollin Moore (197), the Ohio State Buckeyes captured their third straight title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Saturday. It's Ohio State's sixth Las Vegas team title since 2009 and eighth straight top-five finish in the event. The Buckeyes amassed 148 points and finished 32.5 points ahead of runner-up Missouri. Nebraska finished third with 105 points, while Northern Iowa (84.5) and Michigan (82.5) finished fourth and fifth respectively. Martin and Moore were the lone repeat champions. Martin, a three-time All-American who is currently ranked No. 1 at 184 pounds, rolled to an 11-5 victory in the finals over Nebraska's Taylor Venz. He was named Outstanding Wrestler of the event. Moore, ranked No. 3, topped unranked Eric Schultz of Nebraska 8-3 in the championship match at 197 pounds. Ohio State's Joey McKenna defeated Jaydin Eierman of Missouri in the finals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) McKenna, a two-time All-American and returning Big Ten champion, won the title at 141 pounds by defeating Missouri's Jaydin Eierman 6-2 in one of the event's most anticipated matchups. Minnesota true freshman Gable Steveson, ranked No. 2, won the heavyweight title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Minnesota true freshman Gable Steveson, a three-time age-group world champion in freestyle, won the title at heavyweight. The 18-year-old Gopher capped off his tournament with a 12-4 major decision over No. 16 Tate Orndorff of Utah Valley. Steveson was dominant throughout the weekend, picking up bonus points in four of his five matches. Rutgers had a pair of champions in Nick Suriano (133) and Anthony Ashnault (149). Suriano, an NCAA runner-up last season at 125 pounds, was pushed in the semifinals by Missouri's John Erneste but prevailed 3-2. He then cruised to an 11-3 major decision in his finals match against No. 13 Micky Phillippi of Pitt. No. 2 Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers defeated No. 3 Micah Jordan of Ohio State in the finals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Ashnault, ranked No. 2 by InterMat, faced No. 3 Micah Jordan of Ohio State in the finals at 149 pounds. The Rutgers senior came out strong, picking up a takedown in the first 10 seconds of the match. He would get a pair of four-point nearfalls to grab a commanding 10-1 lead. Jordan would battle back, but Ashnault held on for a 14-10 victory. Michigan crowned a champion as Myles Amine topped Missouri's Daniel Lewis 10-7 in the finals at 174 pounds. It was a rematch of the third-place match at last year's NCAA Championships, also won by Amine. No. 2 Sebastian Rivera celebrates after beating Oregon State's Ronnie Bresser in sudden victory (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Sebastian Rivera (125) and Ryan Deakin (157) won titles for Northwestern. Rivera won in sudden victory over Oregon State's Ronnie Bresser in the finals. The Northeastern sophomore trailed late before picking up a takedown off a leg attack with just under a minute remaining to take a 4-3 lead. Bresser would get an escape to send the match to sudden victory. In sudden victory, Bresser fired off an attack and was close to securing a takedown, but Rivera countered and scored a takedown for the victory. Deakin, ranked No. 5, came through to win the title at 157 pounds with an 8-2 victory over surprise finalist Griffin Parriott of Purdue. Nebraska's Isaiah White claimed the title at 165 pounds, beating No. 14 Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech 2-0 in the finals. White, ranked No. 10, was the lowest ranked wrestler to win a title in Las Vegas. Placewinners Note: InterMat ranking listed, not tournament seed. 125: 1st: No. 2 Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern) dec. No. 3 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State), 6-4 SV 3rd: No. 5 Sean Russell (Minnesota) dec. Brent Fleetwood (North Dakota State), 4-0 5th: No. 17 Drew Mattin (Michigan) dec. No. 12 Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 3-2 7th: No. 9 Zeke Moisey (Nebraska) dec. No. 15 Devin Schroder (Purdue), 4-3 133: 1st: No. 3 Nick Suriano (Rutgers) maj. dec. No. 13 Micky Phillippi (Pittsburgh), 11-3 3rd: No. 5 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. No. 7 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota), 5-4 5th: No. 9 John Erneste dec. No. 11 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming), 10-4 7th: No. 15 Chas Tucker (Cornell) by medical forfeit over No. 19 Cam Sykora (North Dakota State) 141: 1st: No. 2 Joey McKenna (Ohio State) dec. No. 3 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri), 6-2 3rd: No. 20 Kanen Storr (Michigan) dec. No. 18 Dom Demas (Oklahoma), 5-2 5th: No. 8 Josh Alber (Northern Iowa) by medical forfeit over No. 7 Michael Carr (Illinois) 7th: Sam Krivus (Virginia) dec. Sam Turner (Wyoming), 5-3 149: 1st: No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. No. 3 Micah Jordan (Ohio State), 14-10 3rd: No. 9 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) by injury default over No. 8 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) 5th: No. 7 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) dec. No. 19 Josh Heil (Campbell University), 9-4 7th: No. 6 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) dec. Jared Prince (Navy), 12-6 157: 1st: No. 5 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) dec. Griffin Parriott (Purdue), 8-2 3rd: No. 3 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) dec. No. 7 Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State) 5th: No. 8 Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 6 Kennedy Monday (North Carolina), 9-2 7th: Eric Barone (Illinois) dec. No. 19 Hunter Willits (Oregon State), 4-0 165: 1st: No. 10 Isaiah White (Nebraska) dec. No. 14 Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech), 2-0 3rd: No. 15 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley) dec. No. 5 Logan Massa (Michigan), 9-6 5th: No. 6 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) by medical forfeit over No. 9 Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa) 7th: No. 13 Connor Flynn (Missouri) dec. No. 12 Joey Gunther (Illinois), 4-0 174: 1st: No. 3 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. No. 4 Daniel Lewis (Missouri), 10-7 3rd: No. 9 Taylor Lujan (Northern Iowa) by medical forfeit over No. 11 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) 5th: Spencer Carey (Navy) by medical forfeit over No. 13 Dylan Lydy (Purdue) 7th: No. 20 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) dec. No. 18 Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley), 9-4 184: 1st: No. 1 Myles Martin (Ohio State) dec. No. 3 Taylor Venz (Nebraska), 11-5 3rd: No. 10 Drew Foster (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 5 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech), 9-5 5th: No. 18 Lou DePrez (Binghamton) dec. No. 9 Max Dean (Cornell), 5-3 SV 7th: No. 13 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) maj. dec. Will Schany (Virginia), 14-3 197: 1st: No. 3 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) dec. Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 8-3 3rd: Jay Aiello (Virginia) dec. No. 8 Nathan Traxler (Stanford), 4-2 5th: No. 13 Christian Brunner (Purdue) by medical forfeit over Greg Bulsak (Clarion) 7th: No. 14 Tom Sleigh (Virginia Tech) by medical forfeit over Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley) 285: 1st: No. 2 Gable Steveson (Minnesota) maj. dec. No. 16 Tate Orndorff (Utah Valley), 12-4 3rd: No. 20 Zach Elam (Missouri) dec. Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh), 3-1 SV 5th: No. 13 Cory Daniel (North Carolina) by medical forfeit over Chase Singletary (Ohio State 7th: Brian Andrews (Wyoming) by medical forfeit over No. 15 Joey Goodhart (Drexel)