InterMat Staff

Nebraska's Isaiah White will meet No. 16 Demetrius Romero of Utah Valley (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) It is only the second week of the NCAA wrestling season, but there are already some important and intriguing individual matches. The following is a preview of a featured bout in each of the ten weight classes. The list of competitors includes eight top-ten ranked wrestlers, a returning NCAA champion and a showdown between the top two wrestlers at 197 pounds. 125: No. 6 Zeke Moisey (Nebraska) vs. No. 7 Louie Hayes (Virginia) After a surprising runner-up finish in his freshman season at West Virginia, Moisey was able to make his way back on the podium for the first time since last season. In the offseason, he transferred to Nebraska, where he will look to become a three-time All-American. He will make his debut here since he did not compete at the Daktronics Open like many of the veteran Nebraska wrestlers. Hayes is looking to build on a strong first season, but his sophomore campaign has already hit a road bump of sorts. He reportedly missed weight Virginia's opening dual against Indiana. The Cavaliers went on to win, but Hayes also did not compete at the Hokie Open. Last season, he went 31-8 and qualified for the NCAA tournament. Even though he failed to place, Hayes did pick up one of his best wins on the season in the NCAA bracket. He defeated No. 8 Sean Fausz (NC State) in overtime. Hayes had previously lost ot Fausz at the ACC tournament 12 days prior. If Hayes is able to get his weight under control he should be able to take this match. Moisey might come out more aggressively with a new training environment. However, Hayes should be able to control the pace of the match and score when he needs to. Prediction: Hayes (Virginia) dec. Moisey (Nebraska) 133: Brian Courtney (Virginia) vs. No. 8 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming) Courtney joined the Virginia squad last season as a heralded recruit. During his redshirt season, he went 21-9 at 141, and he won both the Appalachian Open and the National Collegiate Open. This year, he will likely get the opportunity to hold down the 133 spot. In his season debut, Courtney defeated Indiana's Garrett Pepple via a 4-2 score. Bridges was a little bit under the radar last year until he knocked off Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) in late December. This year, he will not be sneaking up on anyone. He finished eighth at the NCAA tournament to become an All-American and defeated the likes of No. 10 John Erneste (Missouri), No. 13 Josh Terao (American), No. 12 Rico Montoya (Northern Colorado) and No. 4 Tariq Wilson (NC State). Last weekend, Bridge won four straight matches to take home the Cowboy Open title. This match should be Bridges' wheelhouse. His offensive arsenal should give Courtney a lot of trouble. When the Virginia wrestled faced ranked competition during his redshirt season he struggled to keep up against gifted offensive wrestlers. Prediction: Bridges (Wyoming) maj. dec. Courtney (Virginia) 141: No. 3 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) vs. No. 7 SaDerian Perry (Old Dominion) After finishing fourth at last year's NCAA tournament, Eierman certainly wrestled like a man who lost his last match over the summer in freestyle. He competed at Final X in the true-third match where he defeated Andy Simmons to take a spot on the U.S. National Team. A few months later, he picked up perhaps the biggest win of his career as he pinned world silver medalist Beka Lomtadze of Georgia at the Poland Open. He begins this season ranked third and is certainly a finals contender. Last season, Perry made an unlikely run through the NCAA tournament and became Eastern Michigan's first All-American since 1999 and only their fifth ever. In a cruel twist of fate, EMU dropped their wrestling program following the season and left Perry without a team. After several high-profile recruiting visits, he signed with ODU and will compete for them at 141. Perry got off to a strong start of the season at the Princeton open. He defeated Thomas Miers (Columbia) and Garrett Lambert (Hofstra) before pulling out of the field. Eierman proved himself to be one of the best wrestlers in the country at this weight last year, and his summer showed that he is continually making improvements. Perry had a strong NCAA tournament, but he took his lumps in the regular season. The winner here should be able to set the tone for the rest of their season. Prediction: Eierman (Missouri) tech. fall Perry (Old Dominion) 149: No. 16 Austin O'Connor (North Carolina) vs. Tanner Smith (UTC) Things got off to a strong start last year for O'Connor as he defeated teammate and All-American Troy Heilmann in the wrestle-offs. During his redshirt season, O'Connor went 20-3 with two of those loses coming against former NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis (Arizona State) and No. 10 Pat Lugo (Iowa). This season, many expect him to make an impact at 149. Although he dropped a match against No. 8 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) at the Hokie Open, he also defeated Josh Heil (Campbell), who came in second at the Southern Scuffle last season. Like Perry, Smith had to find a new home after Eastern Michigan dropped their program. He redshirted last season in Ypsilanti and put together an undefeated 22-0 record. Smith did not face the toughest competition, but he did win the Michigan State Open, Eastern Michigan Open, Cleveland State Open, Alma Open and the Edinboro Open. There is a good chance he will end this season in the rankings. Smith remains a bit of a wildcard. He had a strong season, but his level of opposition leaves a lot of questions. O'Connor showed flashes of being an All-American contender, but he also dropped some matches as well. After spending his redshirt year adjusting to the college style, he should be able to take this match dominantly. Prediction: O'Connor (North Carolina) maj. dec. Smith (UTC) 157: No. 15 Kaleb Young (Iowa) vs. Nick Monico (Kent State) For his first two years in Iowa, Young has bounced around between 165 and 174. This season, he will come down and get the chance to regularly start at 157. Iowa has not competed yet this season, but Young did defeated teammate Jeremiah Moody in the wrestle-offs. Moody had a strong season wrestling freestyle and won a UWW Junior National title. Monico went 20-12 last year with his best showing probably coming at the Navy Classic where he finished fifth. Despite not having the best overall record, he proved to be a tough competitor who could keep it close with some of the best in the division. Monico dropped matches against Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State), Grant Leeth (Missouri) and Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) all by regular decision. Young has defeated better wrestlers in his career, so he should be able to pick up the victory here. The real question is how he will look at the new weight. It is possible that he will be able to open up with his leg attacks against smaller wrestlers, but at the same time, he might struggle after cutting weight. This match will be a good preview of his season at 157. Prediction: Young (Iowa) maj. dec. Monico (Kent State) 165: No. 9 Isaiah White (Nebraska) vs. No. 16 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley) White transferred to Nebraska last season after winning a Division II NCAA title at Notre Dame (Ohio). He qualified for the NCAA tournament in his first year at Nebraska, but 165 was a grinder division. White went 2-2 at the tournament and failed to place. The path through 165 does not get much easier this year, but White does hold wins over No. 17 Andrew Fogarty (North Dakota State), No. 11 Branson Ashworth (Wyoming) and No. 2 Evan Wick (Wisconsin). Romero went 26-9 last season with a perfect 11-0 record in duals. He qualified for the NCAA tournament but went 1-2 and fell out of the field. During the year, the former Boise State competitor defeat many now-graduated ranked wrestlers and Forgarty. These two last met in the first round of the NCAA tournament. White won that match via 9-4 decision. As previously stated, the 165 division is not getting any easier this year. The winner of this match should be on track to end up on the podium, while the loser will certainly have things to work on. White's ability to score at distance on the feet makes his a strong favorite. Prediction: White (Nebraska) dec. Romero (Utah Valley) 174: No. 12 Mikey Labriola (Nebraska) vs. Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley) As a redshirt last season, Labriola went 18-2 with both of his losses coming against No. 10 Dylan Lydy (Purdue). However, during his exhibition season, he also defeated Joey Gunther (Illinois), Jacobe Smith (Oklahoma State) and No. 13 Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern). Last weekend, Labriola ran through the field at the Daktronics open where he defeated No. 20 Devin Skatzka (Minnesota) and picked up four other bonus-point victories. Bastian placed fifth in the Big 12 to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament last season. He failed to place at the tournament, but he did score an upset victory over No. 20 Brandon Womack (Cornell). Earlier in the season, Bastian had an impressive showing at the Reno Tournament of Champions where he finished second. This match might end up closer than a lot of people expect. Bastian has done a good job in the past of slowing matches down and giving a scare against higher ranked wrestlers. He is unlikely to break through and defeat Labriola, but it might end up being a close one. Prediction: Labriola (Nebraska) dec. Bastian (Utah Valley) 184: No. 12 Cash Wilcke (Iowa) vs. Andrew McNally (Kent State) For the last two seasons, Wilcke has filled a need for the Hawkeyes at 197. This season, he gets to come down to a much more natural weight. Last season, he won his first 13 matches and held a top-ten ranking. However, the weight was very strong in the Big Ten, and he picked up multiple losses. He qualified for the NCAA tournament and went 3-2. He was eliminated in the consolation bracket after a loss against No. 3 (197) Kollin Moore (Ohio State). McNally went 18-16 as a redshirt freshman last year. He failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament, but he is off to a strong start this year. McNally has already built a 9-0 record. Last weekend he won the Clarion open with three falls, a major decision and an overtime victory over Trevor Allard (Bloomsburg). Wilcke should be a big favorite in this bout. Hawkeye fans are likely very excited to see what Wilcke can do at a lower weight this year. McNally is likely a borderline qualifier, but he should also serve as a good early season test for Wilcke. Prediction: Wilcke (Iowa) maj. dec. McNally (Kent State) 197: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Kyle Conel (Kent State) Nickal will be looking to pick up his third straight NCAA title, but he will be looking to do it at a new weight. He will move up to 197 this season after spending his previous two at 184. Over the past three seasons, Nickal has gone 90-3 with two of those losses coming against Myles Martin (Ohio State). Conel comes into this season as the second-ranked wrestler at 197. Oddly enough, he entered the last NCAA tournament entirely unseeded. He went on a magical run through the tournament, which included a pair of wins over No. 3 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) as well as wins over No. 4 Jacob Holschlag (Northern Iowa) and No. 6 Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State). As will be the case for almost all of his matches this season, Nickal will be the favorite going into this bout. However, there are two major factors, which make this meeting interesting. First, nobody knows for sure how Nickal will look up 13 pounds from last season. Second, Conel has rightfully earned the reputation as an upset threat. Prediction: Nickal (Penn State) maj. dec. Conel (Kent State) 285: Demetrius Thomas (Pittsburgh) vs. Jacob Sieder (CSU Bakersfield) Thomas transferred to Pittsburgh after spending his first two seasons at Williams Baptist. While there, he was a two-time NAIA finalist and one-time champion. In his two seasons at the NAIA level he won 67 matches including multiple wins over NCAA Division I competitors such as Austin Myers (Missouri) and No. 17 Trent Hillger (Wisconsin). Last weekend, he won the Clarion Open and along the way defeated top recruit Seth Nevills (Penn State). This match should be a rout for Thomas. Sieder has gone 10-15 in three seasons for the Roadrunners, and he is probably best at 197. However, for a lot of fans, it will be the first time seeing Thomas, who could end up being a player in the heavyweight division. Prediction: Thomas (Pittsburgh) by fall over Sieder (CSU Bakersfield)

Yianni Diakomihalis battling Jaydin Eierman in the NCAA semifinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The 2018-2019 college wrestling season kicked off earlier this month and already there are major and sustained complaints about the application of rules and interpretations added in the off-season. The rule drawing the most criticism is the penalization of a wrestler's use of hands to his/her opponent's face. The penalty may or may not be preceded by a warning, but has caused quite the uproar as coaches are seeing the rule applied in tightly contested bouts across the country. Several club-level coaches (NCAA coaches often refrain from commenting on rules and referees) have been displeased with the rule, equating it to the NFL's stringent rules about quarterback protection and vagaries about the wimpification of America. However, outside of just the simple logic that it's unnecessarily combative, there is a standard to follow. The rule has been in the United World Wrestling handbook for several years. While I see the appeal of bemoaning the direction of the nation based on a rule clarification, it should be said that hands to the face is not a technique, hold, maneuver, or any type of point-acquiring tactic in any type of wrestling -- freestyle, folkstyle, kushti, or otherwise. Dinging someone on the head is not a point, nor is it remotely related to the fundamentals of the sport. Eliminating hands to the face is not equivalent to getting rid of a high crotch, headlock or two-on-one. The rule is an attempt to focus the energy of the competing athletes on wrestling techniques rather than low-grade barbarism meant to distract or annoy an opponent into a subpar position. Hands to the face has been utilized in recent years as a way to open up wrestlers who are either in full crouch position, wrestling from one knee, or who are otherwise blocking off action on their feet. While I've often taken issue with low, defensive stances, the referees and the rule commission are one-hundred percent correct in deterring wrestlers from contact with the forehead and eyes. The logical next step is for the various rules commissions to look at the problem of defensive postures that limit access to leg attacks, not to adjust or decrease penalties for hands to the face. To your questions … Q: Did you watch the AWL draft? What are your thoughts on the league? Are you intrigued by any of the matchups for the first event? -- Mike C. Foley: I did not watch the draft, though it drives me insane that they continue to steal photographs and videos from content creators around the sport. Tony Rotundo and I tweeted at them to stop or at least credit the people who spend time, money, and effort curating these images. The AWL has solid funding and has aimed for a decent location in Cedar Rapids. When the league was announced I reached out to see how I could help, but nothing much came of the interactions. The livestream is being carried by Trackwrestling and from I've been told will have an outside producer create the event. We'll see what that entails once the whistle blows. As for the structure, I think that like many fans I'm not sure the next steps, nor am I even clear on the rule set they will be using for the events. My guess is that they will attempt to amend the freestyle rules to "create more action" or to "add overtime" but in my estimation it's misplaced work. The freestyle rules are great, fans and athletes understand them, and it adds additional legitimacy to the event. Again, we'll see if any changes are made. The structure going forward may be to allow for new teams to develop, or for the organization to choose more locations for additional events. Also, the rosters each include two wrestlers, but it's unclear when the decision will be made by each team as to who is competing. Speaking broadly about leagues, I'm always interested if the idea is to drive interest and appeal to the community, or to the common folk. Real Pro Wrestling attempted to use wrestling's stars to appeal to the masses via an adapted rule set, while events like AGON seemed focused on the wrestling community itself. With AWL I'm not sure where the focus will be after Nov. 30. Myles Amine defeated Jacobe Smith at the NWCA All-Star Classic (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Q: What were your thoughts of the NWCA All-Star Classic's lack of premier matchups for Division I college wrestling? Did it have something to do with Denver as the location? The event seemed to peak in 2013. While there have been some great matchups since then, this year's showcase appeared to take a significant step back. -- Mitchell M. Foley: A few months ago, I answered the question about why the NWCA chose Denver. The organizers of the event it (Wrestlers in Business Network) directly supports and plans the event and had reason to believe placing it in Denver would engage a new community of supporters. I agree with the idea of expanding opportunities and I believe that the wrestling community would prefer for our network to grow nationwide. Where I think there should be some check on location is in determining if the location will detract from the overall product on the mat either through lack of attendance or lack of participation. As I've learned over the past five years working events internationally, the location and timing of a tournament is key to understanding its potential for success. I remember going to Finland for the 2014 European Championships and being sure of small crowds and general disinterest. Instead it was a huge hit, leaning on a number of smaller factors: community which was home to former wrestling stars; easily accessible from Helsinki by train; an arena well-suited for 5,000 spectators; and hockey season hadn't quite started so people were ready to be entertained. Choosing timing and location for any event has to ensure that there are several factors serving towards its future success and in reviewing the NWCA All-Star Classic I think it's a fair criticism to say that the best time and location to ensure a marketable, well-attended, much-discussed tournament was not achieved. There is a lot in play each year, but I hope that the event can bounce back once again and be the type of must-see attraction that it was with Kyle Dake and David Taylor in 2013! Q: What are your thought on filming camera's directly overhead? I hate this view and hope they go back to a traditional mat side view whenever it occurs. -- Robert G. Foley: The overhead shot, as has been used by the TV crew for United World Wrestling at the 2017 and 2018 World Championships, is one of several angles given to viewers during a match. The motivation comes from producers and show directors wanting to keep our easily distracted minds on the action. By having an additional camera, it adds a new cut, which by default will keep our minds more engaged on the action. I'd agree that any long held overhead shot serves to be annoying, or distracting. There is little value outside of some distraction, and what I consider to be a beautiful image. For wrestling fans looking to examine holds and forward motion, the angle provides very little in the way of information and I would agree should be limited. We will continue to see the angle, but I don't expect we'll ever see it used for long stretches, outside of a pinning situation, or something else where we can see the competitors faces better from that angle. Q: Any takeaways from the early part of the college wrestling season? -- Mike C. Foley: Step out rule is needed. The athletes, fans and coaches have all seen a superior product with freestyle wrestling and they can't be asked to forget how much some of the rules utilized there (namely step out) have improved action. My other takeaway is that the number of various back points options is confusing for fans and ultimately doesn't achieve the desired outcome of more action. Yes, it creates more POINTS, but there is a false connection being made between POINTS and ACTION. Holding someone down for three and a half minutes after getting a two-point or three-point tilt is not dynamic for audiences. Fans want to see wrestling, not buck 'em bronco. Q: Your alma mater beat a Big Ten team (Indiana) to start the season. How do you see Virginia doing at the Northeast Duals this weekend against Nebraska and Wyoming? Take the homerism out of it. ;) -- Mike C. Foley: Indiana is going through a leadership transition, which I think can account for a subpar opening season performance. Virginia wrestled well, but will need to come ready to scrap for Nebraska and Wyoming, teams that are well-conditioned, well-coached, and who compete hard for the W. Wahoowa!

GOLDEN, Colo. -- Falls by Keenan Willits and TJ Shelton and a couple of last-second wins helped Colorado School of Mines defeat Northeastern JC 32-6 at Steinhauer Fieldhouse on Thursday. The Orediggers improved to 2-0 on the young season with wins in eight of the 10 bouts, including four with bonus points. In addition to Willits' and Shelton's pins, Noah Ottum and Robert Gambrell picked up major decisions. The Plainsmen (1-1) got off to a good start as Cian Apple picked up a 6-5 win over Matt Lavengood at 125 pounds, with Apple picking up a third-period near-fall four to make the difference. Lavengood mounted a comeback with a late reversal and a stalling point, but came up two seconds short of earning riding time to send it to overtime. One of the top matches of the night came at 133 as #6 Noah Au-Yeung hit a four-point tilt with less than 20 seconds remaining to come back and beat Quintel Fuchs, 5-2. NJC got points back at 141, though, as #1 Sam Eckhart won 10-4 over Lukas Erickson. Mines would not lose after that as Ottum sparked a run with his 14-2 major over Maverick Keigher, and Skyler Lykins dominated Sebastian Robles for a 13-6 victory at 157. Willits' 4:15 fall over Josh Betts blew the team score open and Gambrell added four more with a 12-2 win at 174 over Dillon Thomas. The upper weights were all victorious starting with TJ Shelton, who led 8-1 before pinning Breason Lewis at 2:54 in the 184-pound bout. Jake Feldman used a seven-point second period to break open a scoreless match at 197, ultimately beating Logan Malouff 11-6, and Weston Hunt put the perfect punctuation on the dual with a last-second victory at 285. Trailing 2-1 but ready to take his match into sudden victory with riding time, Hunt instead exposed Oscar Soto for a four-nearfall at the buzzer to win 6-2 in regulation. The Orediggers return to action Nov. 17 at the UNK Open in Kearney, Neb. Results: 125: Cian Apple (NEJC) over Matthew Lavengood (MINES) (Dec 6-5) 133: #6 Noah Au-Yeung (MINES) over Quintel Fuchs (NEJC) (Dec 5-2) 141: #1 Sam Eckhart (NEJC) over Lukas Erickson (MINES) (Dec 10-4) 149: Noah Ottum (MINES) over Maverick Keigher (NEJC) (MD 14-2) 157: Skyler Lykins (MINES) over Sebastian Robles (NEJC) (Dec 13-6) 165: Keenan Willits (MINES) over Josh Betts (NEJC) (Fall 4:15) 174: Robert Gambrell (MINES) over Dillon Thomas (NEJC) (MD 12-2) 184: TJ Shelton (MINES) over Breason Lewis (NEJC) (Fall 2:54) 197: Jacob Feldman (MINES) over Logan Malouff (NEJC) (Dec 11-6) 285: Weston Hunt (MINES) over Oscar Soto (NEJC) (Dec 6-2)

BISMARCK, ND -- The University of Mary wrestling team welcomed in-state rivals Minot State to the McDowell Activity Center tonight for the Marauders home opener. UMary put on a show for the home crowd in the first dual of the season dominating the Beavers by a score of 31-12. The Marauders improve to 1-0 on the season in front of the electrifying crowd. Nate Humann started the night out for the Marauders scoring six points. The senior trailed Arevalo of Minot State 5-2 entering the third period but Humann turned the tides pinning Arevalo at 5:57 in the third period to win the 125 lbs weight class. The defending NSIC wrestler of the year Tate Barnhardt showed exactly why he won this prestigious award tonight. The UMary wins leader dominated the whole match leading 19-3 before winning by technical fall in the second period. The 133 lbs senior gave the Marauders five points to increase their lead to 11-0. Hunter Eckert continued to command the dual for the Marauders taking down Michael Rangel in the third period by technical fall, 17-1. The Marauders led 16-0 after the first three weight classes dominated their duals. At 149 lbs Max Bruss battled hard against his Minot State Foe. The freshman improved to 1-0 on the season taking the win by a 6-3 decision. The Wisconsin native gained the Marauders an additional three points. Isaac Berger gave the Marauders a 25-0 lead heading into intermission. The 157 lbs freshman held a narrow lead going into the third period but he put his foot on the gas and pin the Beavers Max Miller at the 5:42 mark. Austin Eichmann came out after intermission and gave the Marauders their sixth straight weight class win. The junior of Hastings, Minnesota would come out victorious by a 9-3 decision. Minot State, determined not to get shut out, came out and took the next three battles. The first two came by decision in the 174 and 184 classes followed by a pin in the 197 lbs weight class to give the Beavers 12 points on the day. Emmitt Brooks put a cap on the Marauders terrific day. Behind the support of a thunderous crowd the sophomore would bring home an overtime victory by a 5-3 decision to give the Marauders a 31-12 victory. The Marauders return to open competition this weekend at the Dakota Wesleyan Open. The meet will take place on Saturday, November 10. UMary will host their next home dual on January 11, 2019 at 7 PM against MSU Moorhead. Results: 125 Nate Humann (Mary) over Dean Arevalo (Minot State (N.D.)) (Fall 5:57) 6 0 133 Tate Barnhardt (Mary) over William Horton-Hayden (Minot State (N.D.)) (TF 19-3 5:24) 5 0 141 Hunter Eckert (Mary) over Michael Rangel (Minot State (N.D.)) (TF 17-1 5:28) 5 0 149 Max Bruss (Mary) over Tanner Crissler (Minot State (N.D.)) (Dec 6-3) 3 0 157 Isaac Berger (Mary) over Max Miller (Minot State (N.D.)) (Fall 5:42) 6 0 165 Austin Eichmann (Mary) over Tyler Sharron (Minot State (N.D.)) (Dec 9-3) 3 0 174 Parker Osterman (Minot State (N.D.)) over Jacob Green (Mary) (Dec 10-8) 0 3 184 Keegan Berry (Minot State (N.D.)) over Lance Jarrett (Mary) (Dec 8-6) 0 3 197 Je-Mario Jones (Minot State (N.D.)) over Ryan Stottler (Mary) (Fall 2:42) 0 6 285 Emmitt Brooks (Mary) over Jacob Belland (Minot State (N.D.)) (SV-1 5-3) 3 0 Team Score: 31 12

Aberdeen, S.D. -- In their 2018-19 season opener, the Northern State University wrestling team defeated Concordia Moorhead 23-14. The Wolves battled from behind, improving to 1-0 on the year. NSU was down 8-0 heading into the third match of the evening. Senior Kaden Campbell got the ball rolling for the Wolves with a 10-2 major decision win over Nick Gravdahl. Campbell scored early and often recording a takedown in each of the three periods, as well as escapes in the second and third. He sealed the major with a penalty point and riding time point in the third. Diego Gallegos continued to chip away at the Concordia lead in the 197-pound match, defeating Jacob Arends. Gallegos took a quick 3-point lead in the first with an awarded penalty point and a takedown. Arends answered with two escapes in the first and second, cutting the lead to one. The sophomore chose down to begin the third, and extended his lead with a takedown, ultimately taking the match 4-2. The Wolves were within one heading into the 285-pound bout, however the Cobbers extended their team score lead with a decision victory. Following the 5-minute intermission, freshman Dayne Morton grabbed his first collegiate victory with a 6-5 win over Jake Nohre. It was a back and forth battle through three periods with Morton scoring three points in the first, one in the second, and two in the third. His third period takedown sealed the win, and brought the Wolves within one as the scoreboard read 11-10 Concordia. NSU fell by decision in the 133-pound match, but rallied back in the 140-pound weights with back-to-back wins by freshmen Kolton Roth and Caden Moore. Roth recorded the team's second extra point win of the dual, defeating Bret Wilson 10-2. The wrestlers with tied heading into the third after a takedown by Roth in the first, and reversal by Wilson in the second. Roth took things into his own hands starting the third period on bottom. He was awarded a penalty point and rallied from there with a takedown and four point nearfall. He added a point of riding time after accumulating over 4-minutes through the first two periods, sealing the major decision win. The two teams were tied at 14-all heading into the final two weights of the evening. Moore took a 2-1 lead over Ty Johnson through the first period and chose down to begin the second. He broke through with an escape at the 1:20 mark, extending his lead to 3-1. Moore road Johnson out through a majority of the third, and despite giving up an escape, came away with the 3-2 win and what ended up being the decisive match for the Wolves. Walker Carr took the 6-point forfeit victory in the 157-pound match as the Cobbers decided to wrestle open. Northern returns to the mat this Saturday for the DWU Open from Mitchell. Competition is set to begin at 9 a.m. from the Christen Family Athletic Center. Results: 165: Travis Deegan (COMO) over Tanner Wiese (NOST) (TF 16-0 7:00) 174: Kaden Spindler (COMO) over Jake Flakus (NOST) (Dec 4-2) 184: Kaden Campbell (NOST) over nick gravdahl (COMO) (MD 10-2) 197: Diego Gallegos (NOST) over Jacob Arends (COMO) (Dec 4-2) 285: Noah Carter (COMO) over Caleb Lefferdrink (NOST) (Dec 4-2) 125: Dayne Morton (NOST) over Jake Nohre (COMO) (Dec 6-5) 133: Benjamin Bogart (COMO) over Robert Coyle (NOST) (Dec 9-3) 141: Kolton Roth (NOST) over Bret Wilson (COMO) (MD 10-2) 149: Caden Moore (NOST) over ty johnson (COMO) (Dec 3-2) 157: Walker Carr (NOST) over (COMO) (For.)

Ashland University's wrestling team opened its 2018-19 home schedule on Thursday (Nov. 8) night at Kates Gymnasium vs. Lourdes, and the No. 13-ranked Eagles toppled the Gray Wolves, 43-6. "I thought we looked good," said Ashland head coach Josh Hutchens. "Where we ended the last dual, we worked on some things, we saw some improvement, and that's really where we wanted to get." Prior to Thursday's dual, the Eagle program's three most recent NCAA Division II national champions – Michael Labry (2017) and Bret Romanzak and Luke Cramer (2018) – received their championship rings from Ashland President Dr. Carlos Campo and AU Director of Athletics Al King. "That was a great start, with those guys getting their rings," said Hutchens, "and of course, it never turned back." After that, the winning continued, as Ashland went 7-0 in matches not forfeited. The last three were by technical fall – Romanzak 22-4 at 165 pounds, freshman Daniel Beemer 17-1 at 184 and sophomore Tristen Weirich at 285. The last two of those came in just one period. "One's a freshman, he comes in, he's just aggressive, looking great," Hutchens said. "Of course, Tristen, he's an athlete, and he's starting to believe it now." Freshman Luke Wymer took a 10-1 major decision at 133 pounds, junior Chandler Minnard won 5-0 at 141, sophomore Carson Speelman earned a pin in 3:41 at 149, and junior Christian Price won 6-1 at 174. Ashland won't compete at home again until Jan. 12 at 1 p.m. vs. Notre Dame College. It is a quick turnaround for the Eagles, now 5-0 in duals on the young season, as they will compete on Sunday (Nov. 11) at the Ohio Intercollegiates in Cleveland. "There's not a lot of rest. We've just got to stay focused," Hutchens said. "It's going to be a tough tournament on Sunday." Results: 125 – Bryce Davis (AU) wins by forfeit 6-0 AU 133 – Luke Wymer (AU) maj. dec. Tyler Roberts (L), 10-1 10-0 AU 141 – Chandler Minnard (AU) dec. Tyler Sarreshteh (L), 5-0 13-0 AU 149 – Carson Speelman (AU) pin Garret Anderson (L), 3:41 19-0 AU 157 – Cody Woods (AU) wins by forfeit 25-0 AU 165 – Bret Romanzak (AU) tech. fall Tyler Gates (L), 22-4 30-0 AU 174 – Christian Price (AU) dec. Noah Clary (L), 6-1 33-0 AU 184 – Daniel Beemer (AU) tech. fall Hunter Jacks (L), 17-1 38-0 AU 197 – Noah Nuno (L) wins by forfeit 38-6 AU 285 – Tristen Weirich (AU) tech. fall Layton Mitchell (L), 21-5 43-6 AU

FARGO, N.D. -- The 22nd-ranked North Dakota State University Bison welcomed the Northern Illinois Huskies to Fargo for an early season non-conference dual. NDSU came in riding high, coming off of a season opening 26-17 win over Big Ten foe Northwestern. NDSU would keep that momentum rolling, and win nine of ten matches en route to a 35-4 victory over the Huskies. At 125, NDSU's Brent Fleetwood squared off against Northern Illinois' Bryce West. Fleetwood, a former Central Michigan standout, was able to get on his offense early and take a 4-0 first period lead. West would battle back behind some strong riding and mat wrestling. Fleetwood was able to find another gear and finish off the match with a third period takedown, to secure the 7-1 win. 133 pounds saw No. 20 Cam Sykora take on Alijah Jeffery. Sykora had a solid season opening win against Northwestern's Colin Valdiviez while Jeffery is coming off of a third-place finish at the Michigan State Open. These two met last year, with Sykora rolling to a technical fall. This year was more of the same. On the strength of two takedowns, an escape, and three tilts, Sykora secured the second-period tech. fall. Sykora was No. 2 in the NCAA in terms of technical falls last year. 141 pounds brought Anthony Cheloni and Gavin Sutton together. Both are 2017 high school graduates from the state of Illinois, who are just beginning to cut their teeth in the Division I world as starters. Cheloni is a transfer from Wisconsin Parkside, where he starred last season. Cheloni came into the match with a 5-1 record while Sutton is 0-1. Sutton fired off an immediate attack to take a 2-0 lead in the first 15 seconds of the match. Sutton would keep the pressure on from neutral throughout the match and secured the only two takedowns in the match. Cheloni continually created action on the mat and wound up scoring from a number of flurries while on bottom to keep the match very tight. However, behind the two takedowns, Sutton was able to secure his first career win in the NDSU lineup 7-4. 149 featured high-octane redshirt freshman Jaden Van Maanen and McCoy Kent. Van Maanen came into the match after winning an exhilarating match over Northwestern's Shane Oster. Kent, opened the season with a solid performance at the Michigan State Open. After a scoreless first period, Van Maanen would take over with a takedown, turn, stalling point, and riding time en route to an 8-4 win. Mason Kauffman, formerly of Eastern Michigan, squared off with Nick Knutson at 157 pounds. Knutson used a high pace, a slick hi-c takedown, and big mat returns to secure a 3-2 win. The win was his first win of the season. With Brock Hudkins out at 125 pounds, 165pounds brought the marquee matchup of the dual. No. 17 Andrew Fogarty was pitted against Kenny Moore, who won the Michigan State open last weekend. Moore would score the only takedown in the match yet fall. Fogarty used a pair of escapes and a third-period rideout to secure the 3-2 victory. 174 pounds brought standout Northern Illinois redshirt freshman Brit Wilson and former NCAA qualifier Lorenzo De La Riva to the mat. De La Riva, a transfer from CSU Bakersfield, dropped a hard-fought match against Johnny Sebastian and was looking for his first win as a Bison. Wilson already knocked off one former NCAA qualifier this year in Michigan State's Drew Hughes, and would add another to his resumé tonight. Wilson showed a very good hi-c over and over and was able to race to a 15-4 major decision and get the Huskies on the board. 184 pounds would give fans an interesting battle between Tyler McNutt and Caden McWhirter. McWhirter lost a one-point decision to teammate Kenny Moore last week at 165 pounds. In an effort to get him in the lineup, the coaching staff sent McWhirter out at 184 pounds. McWhirter was significantly smaller than McNutt, but he was in this match. After a scoreless first period, the wrestlers would trade takedowns in the second, with McNutt securing his in the final five seconds to take the lead. McNutt was able to ride out in the third period for the hard-fought 4-2 win. Cordell Eaton was coming off possibly his best career win, a victory over Northwestern's Zach Chakonis, and would look to keep his early season momentum going with a match against Ross Sealby at 197 pounds. Eaton hit beautiful sweep singles in each of the first two periods, with the second one leading to a second period fall. Early in the season, Eaton has looked like a significantly improved wrestler. In the final match of the night, Colby Gossett would take on highly touted redshirt freshman Brandon Metz. Metz was coming off a disappointing loss to Conan Jennings and came out with some fire. A quick takedown led to a near side cradle and a 21 second fall for the hometown Metz. With the win, NDSU improves to 4-2 all-time against Northern Illinois, while moving their early season record to 2-0. Northern Illinois drops to 0-1 early in the season. Results: 125: Fleetwood (NDSU) dec. West (NIU), 7-1, 3-0 NDSU 133: Sykora (NDSU) tech. fall Jeffery (NIU), 15-0, 8-0 NDSU 141: Sutton (NDSU) dec. Cheloni (NIU), 7-4, 11-0 NDSU 149: Van Maanen (NDSU) dec. Kent (NIU), 8-4, 14-0 NDSU 157: Knutson (NDSU) dec. Kauffman (NIU), 4-2, 17-0 NDSU 165: Fogarty (NDSU) dec. Moore (NIU), 3-2, 20-0 NDSU 174: Wilson (NIU) maj. dec. De La Riva (NDSU), 15-4, 20-4 NDSU 184: McNutt (NDSU) dec. McWhirter (NIU), 4-2, 23-4 NDSU 197: Eaton (NDSU) pinned Sealby (NIU), 4:33, 29-4 NDSU 285: Metz (NDSU) pinned Gossett (NIU), 0:21, 35-4 NDSU

Ben Askren (Photo/ONE Championship) The groundbreaking "trade" which saw Ben Askren leave ONE Championship for UFC may break new ground for the former University of Missouri wrestling champ in yet another way: He doesn't plan to talk trash about Robbie Lawler, who he will be facing in the Octagon at UFC 233 in January. Askren plans to make his UFC debut against Lawler, a former welterweight (170 pound) champ, at UFC 233 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on Jan. 23, 2019, according to UFC president Dana White. The "trade" -- reported by InterMat two weeks ago -- is a done deal, with Askren making the move from ONE to UFC, while UFC flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson now on the roster at ONE. As ESPN.com's Brent Okamoto wrote Wednesday, "In the past two weeks, Ben Askren has called out nearly every welterweight on the UFC roster." But apparently not former champ Lawler. "He's probably the guy in the top five with the best opportunity to beat me," Askren told ESPN. "He has pretty good wrestling and he's obviously a heavy striker. If you want someone to beat me, that's probably the best you'll find." So why does the former Mizzou mat champ -- not to mention past titleholder in both ONE and Bellator MMA promotions -- think the UFC would want to see him lose in his debut? "Come on, man," said Askren. "It's obvious. They don't want me to win. [UFC president Dana White] will deny it, but he should just come out and say, 'I don't like Ben Askren. I think he's a jackass and I want to see him get beat up.' "That'd be cool, and I would take no offense to that whatsoever." Askren, 34, brings a perfect 18-0 professional MMA record to the UFC ... along with an impressive amateur wrestling resume as a four-time NCAA finalist and two-time champ, and member of the U.S. men's freestyle wrestling team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Like Askren, the 36-year-old Lawler has some amateur mat experience, having earned all-state honors at Bettendorf High School in Iowa. However, after graduation, Lawler concentrated on MMA training. In a career going back to April 2001, Lawler has built a 28-12 record, with 20 knockouts. Since losing his last bout in Dec. 2017, Lawler has been out with a torn ACL.

Matt Lindland at a press conference prior to the Olympic Games (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling coach Matt Lindland joins The MatBoss Podcast for Episode 10. Host Chad Dennis talks to Coach Lindland about the World Championships, training, growing Greco-Roman in the United States and much more. 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

LANCASTER, Pa. -- Former Franklin & Marshall wrestling legend Art Helf '54 passed away last week at the age of 86. One of the top grapplers in program history, Helf was inducted to the F&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994. Art HelfA celebration of life is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 11 from 3-6 p.m. at West Sayville Funeral home in Sayville, N.Y. More information can be found here. Helf was one of the Diplomats' 17 All-America honorees after placing fourth at 123 pounds to garner the distinction in 1953. His only defeat at the NCAA Championships came against four-time national champion John Perry of Pittsburgh by a narrow 2-1 score. A recipient of the "Uncle Charlie" Mayser Award, presented to the outstanding wrestler in that year's team, Helf finished with a 20-9 record during a three-year career with the program, while also competing for the cross country team. He earned his Bachelor's degree in geology in 1954 and went on to receive a Master's of Education from Hofstra University. In lieu of flowers, Helf's family requests donations to be made to the Art Helf-Tommy Riglin Annual Scholarship Fund, which rewards outstanding Long Island athletes who demonstrate leadership, athletic achievement, respect and most importantly kindness.

BetDSI released betting odds on 20 matchups this weekend. Looking to win some money betting on NCAA wrestling? Below are my four best bets for this weekend. Friday Wisconsin-Kent State Over 34.5 Date/Time: Friday/5:30 p.m. ET The arrival of Chris Bono in Madison has Badger fans excited about the present and future of the program. Bono and his staff will look to build a winning culture at Wisconsin and put an exciting product on the mat. The Badgers opened their season last week with a 25-12 win over a solid, well-coached Buffalo squad. Kent State, led by returning NCAA All-American Kyle Conel (197), opened its season by going 3-1 at the Kent State Duals, with the loss coming to Ashland. Wisconsin should win the dual meet easily. The total of 34.5 is too low with the number of mismatches in this dual meet. Wisconsin has six ranked wrestlers, while Kent State's lone ranked wrestler is Conel. With the minimum points scored in a dual meet meeting 30, there needs to be just five additional bonus points scored for it to go over 34.5. Saturday Wyoming -3.5 vs. Edinboro Date/Time: Saturday/2 p.m. ET The Mark Branch-led Wyoming Cowboys are coming off a strong showing at the Cowboy Open where they crowned six champions in the Elite division. The team is led by returning All-American Mantorie Bridges at 133 pounds. He is one of three returning NCAA qualifiers for Wyoming. Edinboro will likely go through some growing pains this season after the departure of head coach Tim Flynn along with several accomplished wrestlers, including Sean Russell, Korbin Myers, Dakota Geer and Billy Miller. Wyoming is significantly better than Edinboro this season and should not have any trouble winning by four or points. Sam Krivus battles Zain Retherford in the Southern Scuffle semifinals (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Sam Krivus (Virginia) +4.5 vs. Chad Red (Nebraska) at 141 pounds Date/Time: Saturday/2 p.m. ET It's a good buy-low spot for the two-time NCAA qualifier Krivus. After competing at 149 pounds the last two seasons, the Pennsylvania native dropped to 141 pounds for his senior season. He made his season debut last season and struggled in a 10-3 loss to Indiana's Paul Konrath. That loss led to a slightly inflated betting line this week. Krivus should be better adjusted to the lower weight class when he competes this weekend. While Nebraska competed at the Daktronics Open last weekend, Red did not compete. The returning 141-pound All-American is expected to make his season debut this weekend at the Northeast Duals. Red enters the match ranked No. 6, while Krivus is unranked. Red should beat Krivus, but this one should be competitive. I'll take the 4.5 and bet Krivus to cover. Sunday Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) -6.5 vs. Sa'Derian Perry (Old Dominion) at 141 pounds Date/Time: Sunday/1 p.m. ET It's a battle of returning 141-pound All-Americans. These two met last season in a dual meet, with Eierman winning by fall. Both have made significant gains since that meeting. Perry went on to become a surprise, unseeded All-American for Eastern Michigan, a program that was dropped after the season. He has found a home at ODU and is currently ranked No. 7. Eierman reached the NCAA semifinals last season before losing in overtime to eventual NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell. The Mizzou Tiger wound up placing fourth. But it was his performance on the senior level in freestyle this year that had the college wrestling world buzzing. He knocked off 2016 world champion Logan Stieber en route to reaching the finals of the U.S. Open before losing to Ohio State's Joey McKenna. Although he came up short of making the U.S. team in freestyle, his future in the international style looks bright. Last weekend, Eierman found himself down 8-4 heading into the third period against Michael Carr of Illinois before storming back to win in overtime. Perry competed in last weekend's Princeton and won a couple matches before medical defaulting. Eierman just has so many ways to blow a match open or even get another pin.

The online sportsbook BetDSI has released college wrestling betting odds for this weekend's slate (Nov. 9-11). 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 $60 wager at -120 that wins would profit $50 and return a total of $110. Note: Betting odds are subject to change.

Blair Academy wrestling coach Brian Antonelli coaching at the Walsh Ironman (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Like in modern era college football where Alabama is the bluest of the blue bloods and seemingly has an ironclad grip on the top position of the rankings, there is a similar dynamic in high school wrestling with Blair Academy (N.J.). The Buccaneers start the season on top of the Fab 50 rankings for an eighth straight year, while they seek a seventh national title in that stretch of time. The last year they were not ranked preseason No. 1 was in 2010-11 when Apple Valley (Minn.) was ranked No. 1 in the preseason and also held that through the duration of the season; Blair was the preseason No. 2 and would finish the season in that position. Like many in the college football punditry are citing this Alabama team as the best of their decade long run on top of the game, one could make the same argument for this year's Blair Academy wrestling team. The Buccaneers will start the season with an absurd 11 nationally ranked wrestlers, including six ranked within the top four of the country. That group of six wrestlers is equivalent to the total number of wrestlers that No. 3 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) has ranked in total; while the nine wrestlers that Blair Academy has ranked inside the top ten is one more than the eight that No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) has ranked in total. Anchoring this year's Buccaneers squad is A.J. Ferrari, the top overall junior, who is ranked No. 1 nationally at 195 pounds; ranked second nationally is Michael Colaiocco (126), Trevor Mastrogiovanni (120) and Julian Ramirez (170) are ranked third, while Anthony Ferrari (113) and Dominic Mata (160) are ranked fourth. The top three teams will all be attending the Beast of the East on the campus of the University of Delaware right before Christmas. Blair Academy is also scheduled to be in a common tournament with Wyoming Seminary two weeks before, the Walsh Ironman, and will travel to face the Blue Knights in a Jan. 18 dual meet. Bergen Catholic is not scheduled to dual against Wyoming Seminary, but will take on Blair Academy in a January 26th dual meet at Lehigh University. From an individual perspective, Wyoming Seminary is led by two-time National Prep champion Beau Bartlett, who is ranked No. 3 at 132 pounds; while the Blue Knights also have three others ranked inside the top ten. Half of Bergen Catholic's six ranked wrestlers reside inside the top three at their weight class: No. 3 Alex Almeyda (106), No. 1 Robert Howard (126), and No. 2 Jacob Cardenas (195). Rounding out the top ten are five teams that were ranked within the top nine nationally to end last season, with the other two pretty close by. Starting the season No. 4 will be Cincinnati LaSalle (Ohio), which ended last season ranked No. 16 in the country. The Lancers feature five ranked individuals -- fourth most of any team this season -- led on an individual perspective by Super 32 champion Lucas Byrd, who is No. 4 at 120 pounds. Perennial Ohio power St. Edward, winner of the last eight big-school state individual state tournaments, is ranked No. 5 to start the season. The Eagles have an excellent core of middle-weights led by three ranked in the top ten nationally, including Junior freestyle champion Bryce Andonian; he is ranked No. 2 at 145 pounds to start the season. With four ranked individuals, No. 6 Montini Catholic (Ill.) has the fifth most individuals ranked out of any team nationally; Junior freestyle runner-up Peter Christensen is the highest ranked of that group, No. 4 at 195 pounds. No. 7 Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) and No. 8 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) each feature three nationally ranked individuals. California powers Buchanan and Gilroy each feature a pair of ranked individuals, and will round out the top ten (Gilroy ended last season ranked No. 12 in the country). Each of the Golden State teams has an individual ranked within the top three to start the season -- Matthew Olguin is No. 2 at 160 for Buchanan, while Ryan Reyes is No. 3 at 195 for Gilroy. Blair Academy is one of seven teams ranked from New Jersey, while the other six will compete against one another throughout the New Jersey state tournament series. Bergen Catholic is joined by No. 22 St. Joseph Montvale and No. 41 Delbarton as non-public schools; while No. 19 Paulsboro, No. 35 South Plainfield, and No. 40 Howell will battle in the various public school divisions for dual team crowns. Ohio and California each feature six teams in this initial national ranking. Cincinnati LaSalle and St. Edward will be battling it out for the Division I (big-school) state title this year with three other nationally ranked teams in the periphery -- No. 16 Elyria, No. 25 Wadsworth, and No. 39 Brecksville. No. 26 St. Paris Graham has had an iron clad grip on the Division II (medium-school) crown, winning eighteen in a row; however, in the first year of the Travis McIntosh era (Jeff Jordan stepped down as head coach), they lack a nationally ranked individual to start the season. In the single-class California state series, Buchanan and Gilroy will be joined by four other ranked teams. No. 17 Clovis and No. 43 Clovis North exit the Central section along with Buchanan, Gilroy exits the Central Coast section, No. 23 St. John Bosco exists the Southern section, while No. 45 Poway exist the San Diego section. Two other states feature four nationally ranked teams, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Wyoming Seminary joins Blair Academy and a pair of ranked teams from Maryland (No. 28 Mount St. Joseph's and No. 34 McDonogh) in competing at the National Prep tournament, while No. 15 Bethlehem Catholic and No. 24 Erie Cathedral Prep are both Class AAA (big-school) and No. 37 Reynolds in Class AA (small-school). The other three ranked teams in Illinois are Class 3A (big-school), as is Montini; No. 30 Marmion Academy, No. 33 Chicago Mt. Carmel, and No. 49 Oak Park River Forest. Two other states feature three ranked teams, Michigan and Minnesota. In Michigan, all three teams are Division 1 (big-school), Detroit Catholic Central along with No. 18 Brighton and No. 29 Davison. In Minnesota, No. 21 Simley and No. 31 Kasson-Mantorville are Class 2A (medium-school) and No. 42 Apple Valley is Class 3A (big-school). States with a pair of ranked teams are as follows, along with Maryland: Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Texas. In all eighteen states have teams in the national rankings.

With the major preseason tournaments all but done, and official scholastic season practices either having started already or about to start, it is now time for the presentation of the preseason national high school weight class rankings. The top-20 wrestlers in each weight class are recognized, with the most elite wrestler named as the No. 1 wrestler in the country. Below are profiles on each of the 14 preseason top-ranked wrestlers. 106 pounds: Richard Figueroa (Selma, Calif.) The sophomore won the single-class California state title in this weight class as a freshman, with his lone blemish coming in a Walsh Ironman semifinal loss to end of season number one Jacob Decatur. During the spring/summer period, Figueroa won the UWW Cadet Nationals in freestyle at 48 kilos and would go on to earn world silver at that weight class. Then at the end of last month, he won the Super 32 Challenge up at 113 pounds, one year after earning runner-up honors in that tournament at 106. 113 pounds: Jacob Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) In eighty matches over the last two seasons, Decatur has amassed a record of 78-2 on the way to winning two state titles. The two losses came in December of 2016 by 3-2 scores (one of which was in the ultimate tiebreaker) to 2017 Cadet World freestyle team member Julian Tagg. Decatur has razor tight defense that precludes almost all opponents from scoring offensive points, and during the 2017-18 season won multiple tournaments at 106 and 113, including the Walsh Ironman at 106. 120 pounds: Eric Barnett (Hortonville, Wis.) The senior University of Wisconsin verbal commit is 91-0 on the way to state titles the last two high school seasons, with his most recent of three high school career losses coming in a 1-0 state semifinal defeat during his freshman season. Barnett bookended the 2017-18 scholastic season with runner-up finishes at the Super 32 Challenge and Junior Folkstyle Nationals tournaments. This summer saw Barnett win a Junior National freestyle title at 120 pounds. 126 pounds: Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) The two-time state finalist has amassed a record of 68-4 in two seasons of high school competition, with the only loss of his sophomore state title season coming by a 4-3 score in the quarterfinal round of the Beast of the East. Each of the last two springs, Howard has qualified for the Cadet world team in freestyle by beating a returning world team member during the course of that tournament (Aaron Cashman in 2017 at 54 kilos, Julian Tagg in 2018 when competing at 55 kilos). 132 pounds: Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) The Ohio State verbal commit is a two-time state champion headed into his senior year of high school. Decatur comes off a summer in which he won a third Fargo freestyle title, this time at the Junior level; the only year he did not win a Fargo freestyle title was in 2017 when he qualified for the Cadet world team. During the spring, he was runner-up at the UWW Junior Nationals in freestyle at 61 kilos. 138 pounds: Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) Three times has the Stanford commit finished in the top three of the single-class California state tournament, this past year a state champion at 138 pounds after finishing third as a sophomore and runner-up as a freshman. Additional major event success includes being a two-time Super 32 Challenge finalist at 138 pounds, earning the title last month; plus a pair of top three finishes in Fargo freestyle, including third at the Junior level this summer. 145 pounds: Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) Now a three-time Super 32 Challenge placer, including beating Abas to win the title last year at 138 pounds, Anderson won his first state title this past season after placing third as a sophomore. He is also a two-time placer at the Walsh Ironman, including a runner-up finish his sophomore year, and added a runner-up finish at the Beast of the East in that sophomore season. The Iowa State commit also was undefeated this summer at the Disney Duals. 152 pounds: Andrew Alirez (Greeley Central, Colo.) This spring Alirez performed excellently at the UWW Junior Nationals and Junior World Team Trials in freestyle at 65 kilos. He placed third at the Junior Nationals, beat NCAA All-American Nick Lee to win the WTT challenge tournament, and then lost the best-of-three trials final in three matches. In three years of scholastic competition, Alirez has three state titles along with a career record of 120-1, the lone loss coming 1-0 to Abas in the semifinals of the Doc Buchanan Invitational his sophomore year. The Northern Colorado commit is also a two-time Super 32 Challenge placer, including a runner-up finish in 2016. 160 pounds: Alex Facundo (Davison, Mich.) Just ready to enter the scholastic season of his sophomore year, Facundo already has a career worth of accomplishments. Before even enrolling in high school, he already was a Cadet National folkstyle and freestyle champion. During the 2017-18 school year, Facundo was a semifinalist at the Super 32 Challenge (placing fourth), a state champion (having to beat a two-time state champion to win his title), a Junior National folkstyle champion (while still Cadet eligible), and a UWW Cadet Nationals champion in freestyle at 70 kilos. This summer he was a Cadet World bronze medalist, and last month he was champion at the Super 32 Challenge. 170 pounds: Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) Since the end of the 2016-17 scholastic season, Kharchla has been on an extraordinary run. He was a UWW Cadet freestyle All-American, fourth in Junior freestyle, and third at the Super 32. During the past season, Kharchla won a state title going 38-2, including a dominant 7-2 state semifinal victory over a returning state champion. This summer the Ohio State commit ran the gauntlet in Fargo, earning shutout technical fall victories in five of six matches during his Junior National freestyle title run. 182 pounds: Parker Keckeisen (Nicolet, Wis.) The Northern Iowa commit finished his junior season an undefeated state champion at 170 pounds with a 31-0 record. Before that season, he was champion at the Preseason Nationals; while during this summer he placed third in Junior freestyle, the lone loss coming to Kharchla while beating four extremely high-end opponents. Keckeisen was runner-up at state as a sophomore, fifth as a freshman, and has a career mark of 110-11. 195 pounds: A.J. Ferrari (Blair Academy, N.J.) The nation's top overall junior had but one loss in two state title winning seasons, while competing at Allen High School just outside of Dallas. During his sophomore season, Ferrari was champion at the Walsh Ironman and Reno Tournament of Champions, while his lone career loss came in the Reno TOC final as a freshman. Last summer, he was a Cadet National freestyle champion and this spring he was a Junior National folkstyle champion; while the pinnacle of the resume is a Cadet World bronze medal in freestyle at 92 kilos this summer. 220 pounds: Braxton Amos (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) Despite missing his freshman year of high school due to an injury sustained during preseason training, the third overall ranked junior nationally has a very robust resume. It includes a pair of double Cadet National titles in Fargo, two Super 32 Challenge titles, a 48-0 sophomore season that included titles at the Walsh Ironman and Powerade, as well as a third-place finish at the UWW Cadet Nationals in freestyle at 92 kilos. 285 pounds: Greg Kerkvliet (Simley, Minn.) In his last two high school seasons, the nation's top overall senior has amassed around 95 wins to just two defeats, those coming against Jacob Warner in 2016-17 and up a weight against Gable Steveson this past season. The Ohio State commit is a three-time state champion with just four losses in those seasons compared to over 140 wins. His freestyle exploits are even more impressive, as Kerkvliet has been in the Cadet World finals each of the last two years, winning gold at 100 kilos in 2017 and finishing runner-up this summer at 110 kilos. In addition, he dominated Junior World silver medalist at 97 kilos Zach Elam in three meetings this spring (three technical falls in a combined 4:22) but did not compete at the world tournament in Slovakia due to injury.

STEVENS POINT, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point athletic department announced today (Nov. 6) the addition of a women's wrestling program to its sport offerings. Women's wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country and UWSP will be the first public institution in the Midwest to offer the sport. "I think this is a tremendous opportunity for our campus to be the first public institution in the Midwest to add women's wrestling," stated UWSP Athletic Director Brad Duckworth. "Our University goals include increasing enrollment and improving retention of our students and this is another way our athletic department can help. I am confident that Coach Johnson will do a great job leading the program." UWSP men's wrestling coach Johnny Johnson will also coach the women's program, which is scheduled to begin competition in 2019-2020. The UWSP women's program intends to join and compete in the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA), the governing body of women's college wrestling. "I am very excited about the addition of women's wrestling at UW-Stevens Point," said Johnson. "I think this is a positive move for UWSP, our athletic department, and the women wrestlers in the Midwest looking for collegiate wrestling opportunities." Women's wrestling has grown from around 800 participants in high school in 1994 to more than 16,000 this year. In the U.S., 13 states sponsor a high school state championship in women's wrestling. "We are grateful to the UWSP administration to have them be pioneers in women's wrestling," said Michael Moyer at the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). "Wisconsin is clearly an area with history and tradition in the sport of wrestling. The NWCA has helped establish 215 wrestling programs since 2000 to provide a cost-effective way to bolster enrollment with quality students." Since 2004, women's wrestling has been a recognized Olympic sport. The NWCA is currently in the process of pursuing emerging sports status for women's wrestling in the NCAA. Upon acceptance, the Pointers would be the 50th member of the WCWA. UWSP's program will be open to current and prospective students.

Jaydin Eierman and Sa'Derian Perry met last season and could meet again on Sunday (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Note: All times listed are Eastern (ET). The 2018 NCAA Championships were eight months ago. College coaches and wrestlers were itching to knock off the rust when November's opening week rolled around. Though it's hard to believe, that week has already come and gone, and we're heading into the second week of the season. Though the second week will see 20 of InterMat's top-25 teams in action, there won't be any top- 25 dual meets this weekend. But that's not to say that we won't be treated to some great matchups, as several top tier teams will be wrestling at the same open tournaments. I like to call the first month of the season "open season" because it's rare to see coaches waste a calendar date on a dual meet where the win potential is one as opposed to an open tournament that gives wrestlers an opportunity to rack up multiple wins and build their resumes before conference dual season rolls around. Friday Frenzy at the Field House (4 p.m.) Kent State hosts the Frenzy at the Field House on Friday starting at 4 p.m. The Golden Flashes will open with CSU Bakersfield, then face Wisconsin and conclude with Iowa at 7 p.m. Returning NCAA champion Spencer Lee (125) will be in action for the Hawkeyes. Look for a potential matchup at 197 pounds between returning All-American and fan-favorite Kyle Conel (Kent State) and Jacob Warner (Iowa). Saturday No. 11 Nebraska vs. Utah Valley (10 a.m.) and Virginia (2 p.m.) The 11th-ranked Huskers head to the Northeast Duals. They meet Utah Valley on Saturday morning, and we'll be treated to a pair of middleweight ranked matchups. First up at 165 pounds where Nebraska's ninth-ranked Isaiah White will take on No. 16 Demetrius Romero (Utah Valley). Right after that, at 174 pounds, it'll be No. 12 Mikey Labriola taking on Utah Valley's 14th-ranked Kimball Bastian. The Huskers will also take on Virginia later in the day on Saturday. Of the 10 matchups, the most intriguing match of the dual meet comes at 125 pounds where two-time All-American and NCAA finalist Zeke Moisey (Nebraska) could meet No. 7 Louie Hayes (Virginia). That is a hard "could" because last weekend Virginia's Louie Hayes missed weight at 125 pounds, forcing the Cavilers to forfeit the weight in their first dual of the season against Indiana. Virginia ended up winning the dual, but if Hayes can't make the weight, the Cavaliers may have to throw in true freshman Ben Kamali. Kamali finished last weekend with a 4-2 record and left the Hokie Open with a sixth-place finish.. Sunday Journeymen Collegiate Classic (9 a.m.) This weekend's premier tournament is Sunday's Journeymen Collegiate Classic in Troy, N.Y. The field includes 14 NCAA Division I teams, highlighted by No. 8 North Carolina State and No. 10 Lehigh. Individually, there will be 30 top-20 wrestlers competing in their respective weight classes, with at least two ranked wrestlers scrapping at each weight. Even more impressive, 133 pounds and 157 pounds both have four wrestlers who currently sit in InterMat's top 20. Though there's talent at each weight class, the Journeymen Collegiate Classic bracket to pay attention to has to be 133 pounds. This weight class features three returning All-Americans who bring a top-10 ranking into the weekend. They are No. 4 Tariq Wilson (NC State), No. 7 Scott Parker (Lehigh), and No. 8 Montorie Bridges (Wyoming). Wilson nearly stunned eventual champion Seth Gross of South Dakota State in the NCAA semifinals, but lost in overtime and finished the NCAA tournament in third place. Parker defeated Bridges 5-2 in the seventh-place bout. Another wrestler to keep an eye on in the weight class is Matt Schmitt (WVU). Returning NCAA finalist Hayden Hidlay (NC State, 157) and previous All-Americans No. 7 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh, 174), No. 6 Justin Oliver (NC State, 149), and No. 14 Connor Schram (Lehigh, 125) will also compete at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic this weekend. Aside from open tournaments, there will be a few duals that I'll be looking forward to. No. 10 Missouri at Old Dominion (1 p.m.) Missouri heads to the East Coast on Sunday looking for their 21st consecutive dual meet win when they take on the Monarchs of Old Dominion in Norfolk, Virginia. The feature matchup of the dual is between returning All-Americans Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) and Sa'Derian Perry (Old Dominion) at 141 pounds. This will be the second time these two have met. In their previous meeting, the two-time All-American Eierman stuck Perry in the second period. No. 8 Arizona State at South Dakota State (2 p.m.) Reigning NCAA champions in Seth Gross (South Dakota State) and Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) will be wrestling in the same dual meet on Sunday (1 p.m.) in Sioux Falls (.S.D.) when the eighth-ranked Sun Devils take on South Dakota State. SDSU first-year head coach Damion Hahn will look to get his first win and beat a ranked team in the process. No. 6 Michigan at Central Michigan (2 p.m.) As a Michigan native, I selfishly want to see the sixth-ranked Wolverines head to Central Michigan to take on the Chippewas because there's a bunch of questions surrounding both teams. For Central Michigan, who is going to step up into that leadership role in their first home dual without sixth-ranked Justin Oliver who transferred to North Carolina State and Mason Smith? And for the Wolverines, there are two weights that I'll be paying attention to. The first will be at 157 pounds. The reason being, last weekend at the Michigan State Open, Michigan's true freshman Will Lewan beat teammate and two-time All American Alec Pantaleo in the finals to claim his first college open title. Does that Michigan State Open finals win raise questions for the Michigan coaching staff about who should start at this weight class? Though it's a promising win, I doubt think they've thought about pulling Lewan's redshirt when they have a guy like Pantaleo in the lineup. Another weight class I'll be watching in this dual meet is 285 pounds. Michigan has true freshman Mason Paris who is coming off a win at the Michigan State Open. Unlike 149 pounds, Michigan does not have much of an option at 285 pounds aside from Paris. I don't really think it's the question is 'Will Michigan pull Paris' redshirt this season? But more likely, 'When will Michigan pull Paris' redshirt?' The sample size for college success is only one tournament, so I doubt they do it this early, but don't be surprised if they do it.

Pennsylvania state wrestling champ. Four-time EIWA conference championships medalist for Lehigh. Groundbreaking eye surgeon. National Wrestling Hall of Fame honoree. All of these accomplishments describe Kenneth Joseph Faust, MD, who achieved much in his 85 years before passing away Oct. 31 in Florida. Ken Faust lifting weights at LehighBorn in Shamokin, Pa. in 1933, Faust wrestled at Shamokin High School, where he was a two-time Pennsylvania state wrestling champ, and a Middle Atlantic States AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) champion. After graduating from Shamokin in 1951, Faust enrolled at Lehigh University, where he was captain of the Lehigh varsity wrestling team. He was a four-time placer at the EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) conference championships at 130 and 137 pounds. Upon graduating from Lehigh with honors in 1955, Faust earned his doctorate degree at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1959, then served in the U.S. Navy. It was at this time Faust decided to focus on the eye, becoming a renowned ophthalmologist who did pioneering work in the treatment of cataracts. Faust was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame in 1997, and welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as Outstanding American in 1999. A memorial service for Faust will be held at noon Thursday, Nov. 15 at St. James Episcopal Church in Leesburg, Fla. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions made in Dr. Faust's memory to either St. James Episcopal Church or the Alzheimer's Association. Online condolences may be left at www.beyersfuneralhome.com.

Brent Metcalf (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) WATERLOO, Iowa -- Three individual NCAA champions, two state championship high school coaches, and a record setting high school wrestling team will be inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa on Friday, June 7, 2019. Located inside the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, the Glen Brand Hall of Fame was established in 2002 to honor those individuals who have made an impact on the sport on a national level, or who have done extraordinary work in the State of Iowa. The hall recognizes native-born Iowans, and those who achieved their fame while wrestling or coaching for an Iowa school. The Class of 2019 is Bob Kenny, Dave Martin, Steve Mocco, Brent Metcalf, Gene Doyle and the 2008 Waverly Shell-Rock wrestling team. Blake Williams will be presented with the Bob Siddens Iowa High School Coaching Excellence Award and Marti and Jerry Roling will receive the Russ Smith Community Impact Award. A banquet honoring all inductees and award winners will be held at Prairie Links Golf & Event Center in Waverly on Friday, June 7. For more information contact the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum at (319) 233-0745 or dgmstaff@nwhof.org. Bob Kenny led Emmetsburg/Armstrong/Ringsted to eight state team wrestling championships -- six traditional (2000-03, 2005-06) and two dual (2002-03) -- during nine seasons as head coach from 1998-2007. Kenny coached at Holbrook (Arizona), Maquoketa Valley, Osage and Estherville before coaching at Emmetsburg. Kenny's teams combined for a 289-123-1 dual meet record with 88 state qualifiers and 56 state place winners, including 12 state championships and 24 finalists. He wrestled in high school for Osage and in college for Buena Vista. Dave Martin was an NCAA champion, two-time NCAA championship finalist, and three-time runner-up at the Big 12 championships for Iowa State. Martin placed second at the NCAA championships in 1969 and first in 1970, both at 158 pounds. The Cyclones placed first as a team each of Martin's final two seasons at Iowa State. Led by his father, Leon "Champ" Martin, 2009 inductee into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa, Dave won individual state wrestling championships in 1965 and 1966 at Algona High School in Algona, Iowa. Brent Metcalf was a two-time NCAA champion, three-time NCAA championship finalist, and a two-time Big 10 champion for the University of Iowa at 149 pounds with a career college record of 108-3. He placed first at the NCAA championships as a sophomore in 2008, second in 2009, and first in 2010. Metcalf was a member of U.S. freestyle World championship teams in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2015 and was a two-time freestyle national champion. He was a four-time undefeated state wrestling champion (228-0) for Davison High School in Michigan, from 2002-05, and is currently an assistant wrestling coach at Iowa State. Steve Mocco was an NCAA champion and two-time NCAA championship finalist for the University of Iowa at heavyweight. Mocco was a runner-up at the NCAA tournament as a true freshman in 2002 and was an NCAA champion the following year in 2003. After redshirting in 2004, he transferred to Oklahoma State where he picked up another NCAA title in 2005 and another appearance in the finals in 2006. In all, Mocco reached the finals of the NCAA championships four times, winning twice. He was also a Big Ten champion and a two-time Big 12 champion. The former Hawkeye star was a member of the 2008 Olympic team at 120 kg. In high school, Mocco won four national prep titles -- two for St. Benedicts Prep and two for Blair Academy. Gene Doyle, who died in 2018, led Cedar Falls High School in Cedar Falls, Iowa, to three traditional state team wrestling championships (1993, 97-98) and one state dual team title (1993) during 15 seasons as head coach from 1985-2000. His overall high school record was 251-52, including 10 individual state championships, 43 state place winners, and six top five finishes. Although he never wrestled competitively, Keith Young and Bill Dotson, both members of the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa, mentored Doyle prior to his tenure as Cedar Falls head wrestling coach. The 2008 Waverly-Shell Rock High School wrestling team will be the sixth team inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa and the first high school team inducted. The Go-Hawks won the 3A Iowa High School State championship with a record-setting performance. Waverly-Shell Rock set the all-time point record at the Iowa High School State Wrestling Tournament with 225 points. Thirteen of the 14 members of the team qualified for state, including four state champions. It was the second of five traditional state team championships during Rick Caldwell's tenure as head wrestling coach. The starting line-up for their 2008 state championship team was Jordan Rinken (fourth at 103), Cody Caldwell (fourth at 112), Jake Ballweg (first at 119), Matthew Kittleson (third at 125), A.C. Campbell (fourth at 130), Mark Ballweg (first at 135), Cory Nolte (SQ at 140), Justin Denner (145), Kyle Cox (third at 152), Reed Kahler (fourth at 160), Lee Averhoff (third at 171), Dylan Wrage (first at 189), Cody Krumweide (sixth at 215), Eric Thompson (first at HWT). Assistant coaches were Mike Schwab, Eric Whitcome, Williams Soesbe, Josh Meier, and Alain Djoumessi. Blake Williams will receive the Bob Siddens High School Coaching Excellence Award. Williams was an assistant coach at Center Point-Urbana before earning his first head coaching position at Solon High School. Following four years at Solon, which included taking the Spartans to their first state dual appearance, Williams began his coaching career at Cedar Rapids Prairie High School in 2003. During his 12 seasons at Prairie, he led his teams to nine state dual berths, including a runner-up finish and four top four finishes. He moved back to Solon in 2015 where he led the Spartans to their first state championship in school history in 2017, as well as a runner-up state dual finish that same year, and a sixth place dual finish in 2018. The 2018-19 season will be his 20th as a head coach. Marti and Jerry Roling will receive the Russ Smith Community Impact Award, which is presented to an individual or individuals who demonstrate exceptional local impact on wrestling in Iowa. Beginning in 1992, the Rolings were instrumental in building support for the Wartburg wrestling program, which led to 14 NCAA team championships and 26 consecutive Iowa conference championships. The Rolings were instrumental in bringing the Dan Gable Celebrity Golf Tournament to Waverly, Iowa, and growing the event to its most successful tenure. They also created the celebrity/sponsor social prior to the Dan Gable Celebrity Golf Tournament. Both remain involved with the Wartburg and the University of Northern Iowa athletic programs, and are monetary supporters of the Waverly-Shell Rock wrestling program. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum is a non-profit organization based out of Waterloo, Iowa. The mission of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is to preserve history, recognize excellence, and inspire future generations.

Jim Miller and Dan Gable will coach a youth dual meet on Thursday Waterloo, Iowa -- one of the nation's top amateur wrestling hotbeds -- will be the site of a special youth wrestling dual meet featuring two legendary wrestling coaches with deep roots in Waterloo wrestling: Dan Gable, and Jim Miller. The Team Gable vs. Team Miller dual meet will take place this Thursday, Nov. 8 at Waterloo East High School. The dual starts at 6 p.m., immediately following a free youth clinic at 5 p.m. Admission to the youth clinic and the dual are free. No advance registration is required. Dan Gable, a Waterloo West graduate, coached the University of Iowa to 15 NCAA Division I team titles ... while Jim Miller, a Waterloo East grad, guided Wartburg College wrestling to ten NCAA Division III team championships. Each of these legendary coaches will guide an already selected team of young wrestlers (grades K-8) in what Kyle Klingman of Waterloo-based National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum describes as "a battle for local wrestling supremacy." Adding to the local flavor: Hall of Fame referee -- and Waterloo native -- Mike Allen will be the mat official for this unique event. The dual features 20 folkstyle matches in a 1-1-1 format. Wrestlers are pre-selected and assigned to a team. A live stream of the dual will be available for free on thepredicament.com.

Adeline Gray and David Taylor won world titles (Photos/Larry Slater) COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The United States Olympic Committee today announced finalists for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of October, which recognize the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes from last month. Fans are invited to vote for their favorite athletes and teams at TeamUSA.org/Awards through midnight Tuesday, Nov. 6. World champion wrestlers Adeline Gray and David Taylor are among the finalists for the Award program. Gray is nominated for the Female Athlete of the Month and Taylor is nominated for the Male Athlete of the Month. Fans can vote online through Tuesday, November 6 at: Awards.TeamUSA.org. Please remember that you can vote multiple times. Wrestling fans are encouraged to vote often and share this opportunity with their family, friends and acquaintances. Gray won the gold medal at 76 kg at the World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary on October 24. It was her fourth career World gold medal, matching the record for the most by an American wrestler, tied with John Smith, Tricia Saunders and Jordan Burroughs. Gray was victorious in one of the most challenging weight classes in the tournament, winning four matches against top stars on the way to victory at an Olympic weight class. Gray opened with a 10-0 technical fall over 2015 World bronze medalist Epp Mae of Estonia, avenging a loss from earlier in the year. In the second period, she pinned 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Elmira Syzdykova of Kazakhstan. In the semifinals, Gray defeated 2016 Olympic champion Erica Wiebe of Canada, 3-1. In the gold-medal finals, Gray scored an impressive 13-1 technical fall over 2017 World champion Yasemin Adar of Turkey. Gray has now won six World medals in her amazing career. She was also a member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team. Gray was one of four U.S. women wrestlers to win medals in Budapest, helping lead Team USA to a World trophy by placing third in the team standings. Taylor won a gold medal at 86 kg in men's freestyle at the 2018 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary, October 21. Taylor was competing in his first Senior World Championships, and captured gold in an Olympic weight class. He opened with a tremendous 11-6 win over 2016 Olympic champion and 2017 World champion Hassan Yazdani Charati of Iran. In the second round, he stopped European Junior champion Hajy Rajabau of Belarus in a 10-0 technical fall. His quarterfinal win was an 8-0 victory over Pan American champion Yurieski Torreblanca of Cuba. In the semifinals, he defeated 2017 European champion Dauren Kurugliev of Russia, 7-5. In the gold-medal finals, he scored a dominant 12-2 technical fall over No. 1 seed Fatih Erdin of Turkey. Taylor was one of three U.S. men's freestyle champions and seven U.S. World medalists, helping lead the USA to second place in the men's freestyle team standings. A total of 10 sports - including archery, beach volleyball, figure skating, rugby sevens, surfing, taekwondo, tennis, track and field, weightlifting and wrestling - are represented among the 13 finalists across men's, women's and team categories. The finalists' collective accomplishments tell the inspiring story of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes year-round. In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK'S Sporting Goods and USG. OTHER OCTOBER FINALISTS Male Athlete of the Month Nathan Chen (Salt Lake City, Utah), Figure Skating Won his second straight Skate America title with 280.57 points, landing three quad jumps in his nearly perfect free skate to top the field by 41.06 points - the largest margin in Skate America history. Trenton Cowles (Tarzana, California), Archery Went undefeated to earn the gold medal at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, where he also captured the bronze medal in the mixed country team event. Bjorn Fratangelo (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Tennis Captured his first pro singles title in more than two years at the ATP Challenger event in Fairfield, California. Jerome Smith (St. Louis, Missouri), Weightlifting Placed fourth in the 69 kg. weight class at the Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, marking the best finish by a U.S. men's weightlifter in the event's history. Female Athlete of the Month Courtney Conlogue (Santa Ana, California), Surfing Won her second World Surf League title in as many months at the Roxy Pro France, scoring 14.76 points to continue her strong comeback after missing the first half of the season due to a foot injury. Ilona Maher (Burlington, Vermont), Rugby Sevens Scored seven tries - including a hat trick - at the HSBC USA Women's Sevens Series stop in Glendale, Colorado, making her the second highest try scorer of the tournament and leading Team USA to the silver medal. Grace Stark (White Lake, Michigan), Track and Field Won the gold medal in the women's 100-meter hurdles at the Summer Youth Olympic Games, earning the distinction as Team USA's flagbearer for the Closing Ceremony. Anastasija Zolotic (Largo, Florida), Taekwondo Secured the silver medal in the 49 kg. division at the Summer Youth Olympic Games, while competing with a broken hand that she sustained in her quarterfinal match. Team of the Month April Ross and Alix Klineman, Beach Volleyball Won gold medals and garnered points toward 2020 Olympic qualification at the NORCECA Beach Tour Final and the FIVB World Tour four-star event with final wins over teams from Canada and Brazil. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, Figure Skating Earned back-to-back Grand Prix gold medals at Skate America and Skate Canada International, earning their fourth straight Grand Prix Final berth and continuing their medal streak at 11 consecutive Grand Prix Series events. U.S. Women's National Team, Rugby Sevens Won the silver medal at the HSBC USA Women's Sevens Series tournament in Glendale, Colorado, including a victory over the 2016 Olympic champion, Australia, and silver medalist, New Zealand. SELECTION PROCESS Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per sport discipline. An internal nominating committee selects finalists to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50 percent of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via Awards.TeamUSA.org.

ROANOKE, Va. -- Virginia Tech redshirt freshman Mekhi Lewis and freshman Mitch Moore won titles at their respective weight classes at the Hokie Open on Sunday held at the Berglund Center in Roanoke. Overall, 15 Hokies placed and eight reached the finals at the that tournament officially opened the 2018-19 season for Tech. Lewis, the 2018 Junior World champion at 74 kg, went 4-0, headlined by an 8-6 decision over No. 18 Bryce Martin of Indiana in the finals. Moore defeated two opponents from NC State and pinned Virginia's Gray Hart at 1:19 in the semifinals en route to winning the title in his first collegiate action. The Hokies return to action on Nov. 16 when they travel to Missouri before heading to Northwestern on Nov. 18. Complete results can be found at the top right hand corner of the story. Here are some more highlights: Ryan Blees, ranked 14th in the country at 149, racked up two major decisions and a decision in the semis before dropping a 6-1 decision to No. 8 Mitch Finesilver of Duke. Both Zack Zavatsky and Hunter Bolen, who wrestled unattached, reached the final match at 184 but chose not to compete in the finals. Bolen's run featured a win in the semifinals over No. 7 Chip Ness from North Carolina. Joey Prata, Collin Gerardi and Josh Baier were all finalists at their weights in the freshman/sophomore division.

There was no shortage of excitement surrounding the arrival of highly touted recruit Patrick Glory to the Princeton wrestling room, and it didn't take very long to see why. Glory tore through the 125-pound weight class at the Tiger Open, including a Top-20 win major decision over Purdue's Devin Schroder, to join teammates Patrick Brucki and Kevin Parker as individual winners for Princeton. Mike D'Angelo, a multiple-time NCAA qualifier for Princeton, also won his respective weight class, though he did so as a representative of the New Jersey Regional Training Center. The 2018 co-captain and EIWA finalist is taking a year off, but is set to return to the Tigers for the 2019-20 season. While Glory had a victory over the 16th-ranked Schroder, the highest-ranked win of the day came by Brucki, the 197-pound sophomore captain who made his NCAA Championships debut last year. Brucki defeated 18th-ranked Rocco Caywood of Army on his way to the final, where he faced 7th-ranked Nathan Trexler of Stanford. Brucki stayed perfect in Jadwin Gym -- he had a dominant win during the 2017 Lehigh dual -- with an 8-5 win in the final. Brucki may have been well known entering the tournament, but Parker likely turned some heads on his way through to the 184-pound title. He was as dominant as anybody inside Jadwin Gym on Sunday; he opened with a pair of technical falls, and he clinched the title with a 19-2 technical fall. Parker's growth from last season may have been most evident in his 9-2 semifinal win over Rider's Michael Fagg-Daves, as Parker had dropped a 9-8 match to him during the Rider dual last season. Glory, a two-time reigning New Jersey state champion, remained perfect in the Garden State in 2018, and he did so in impressive fashion. He won his bracket with a pair of falls -- including one in the final over Rider's Jonathan Tropea, and he added a pair of major decisions, including a 9-0 shutout of Schroder. D'Angelo had an impressive 6-2 win over Larry Early of Old Dominion to win the 157-pound title. The 11th-ranked Early had a challenging semifinal match against another one of Princeton's highly touted freshmen, Quincy Monday, though he held on for a 4-2 win in that one. Another Princeton newcomer who impressed Sunday was 174-pounder Travis Stefanik, who lost in the semifinal to 10th-ranked Dylan Lydy of Purdue. Stefanik won a pair of tight matches early, and then he gave eventual champion Lydy his closest match of the day. There was no team scoring in a loaded tournament that featured the likes of Purdue, Stanford, Army, Lehigh, Maryland, Columbia, Old Dominion, and several others. You can find all the results on TrackWrestling. There was one other Top-10 victory for Princeton this weekend, though it came in unofficial fashion. Two-time All-American Matthew Kolodzik, ranked #1 at 149 pounds to open the season, defeated #9 Mitch Finesilver of Duke in the main event of the 2018 NWCA All-Star Classic Friday night in Denver. Kolodzik became the first Princeton wrestler to ever win during the main draw of the All-Star Classic, and he did so in impressive fashion. Princeton is now off for two weeks before opening its dual season in one of the most anticipated collegiate matches of November, a Nov. 17 showdown at Iowa that could include a potential 125-pound showdown between Glory and reigning NCAA champion Spencer Lee.

The University of Minnesota wrestling team started their season by claiming seven titles at the Daktronics Open in Brookings, S.D. Sunday. "I was happy with the effort from the team today," head coach Brandon Eggum said. "Our energy was good when we wrestled. I thought that the guys had good passion and it looked like they were having fun out there." The Gophers won seven out of ten weight classes at the tournament and placed 17 in top-3 places at the open. Sean Russell, Ethan Lizak, Mitch McKee, Steven Bleise, Carson Brolsma, Dylan Anderson and Gable Steveson all took first-place in their respective weight classes. Ethan Lizak won his third Daktronics title while finishing first at 133-pounds. After moving up a weight class in the off season, Lizak scored 52 points and conceded only three while gaining three technical falls at the tournament. Lizak rounded out his 4-0 record with a fall in 1:28 in his opening match. The senior now has 92 career wins, moving him into 49th on the all-time wins record for the Gophers. Sean Russell and Gable Steveson each won a title in their first tournament donning the Maroon & Gold for Minnesota. Russell finished 3-0 with a tech fall at 125-pounds while Gable Steveson won the heavyweight bracket with three wins of his own. Steveson looked in control throughout the tournament, picking up a 12-6 major decision in his first match and a 12-6 decision in the semifinals. The 285-pound final was an all Gopher affair with Steveson ultimately gaining an 8-6 decision over redshirt junior Rylee Streifel. Bleise, Brolsma and Anderson all wrestled tough and won their championship matches by narrow margins. Bleise had his 149-pound final decided by riding time as the Chelsea, Mich. native rode tough throughout the match and gained the victory by a score of 8-7. Brolsma claimed a sudden victory takedown to defeat fellow Gopher Jake Allar in dramatic fashion at 165-pounds. Brolsma and Allar took their match into overtime after finishing 1-1 after seven minutes on the mat, where Brolsma defended an Allar takedown and scrambled for two. Anderson stepped up to 197-pounds and wrestled confidently throughout the day. Anderson posted two falls early in the tournament and reached the final on the back of an 18-3 technical fall. In the final, Anderson scored a third period takedown and defended a last ditch effort to win the 197-pound bracket. Mitch McKee went 3-0 in Brookings on his way to the 141-pound championship. McKee gained two falls and received a forfeit in the final to win his second Daktronics title in two seasons. Seven Gophers finished second in South Dakota. Skyler Petry, Hunter Marko, Tommy Thorn, Jake Allar, Devin Skatzka, Owen Webster and Rylee Streifel all took second in their respective weight classes. Minnesota additionally had ten wrestlers place at the tournament: Patrick McKee (Third), Steve Polakowski (Fourth), Jake Gliva (Sixth), Brent Jones (Third), Brayton Lee (Third), Ryan Thomas (Fifth), Kasper McIntosh (Sixth), Bailee O'Reilly (Third), Caden Steffen (Third) and Garrett Joles (Fifth). Minnesota will next travel to Colorado to take on Air Force in their first daul of the season on Friday, Nov. 9 at 8:00 p.m.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Oklahoma State wrestlers brought home nine individual titles from the Oklahoma City University Open on Sunday afternoon at the team's first event of the 2018-19 season. In addition to those titles, four Cowboys fell to teammates in the finals bouts and another finished third. Chandler Rogers pinned his way to a title at 174 pounds and didn't spend more than four minutes on the mat for any of his matches. The Cowboy pinned Wayland Baptist's Tommy Rosen-St. John in 3:56, UNT's Drake Dudley in 1:44 and University of Central Oklahoma's Miguel Barreras in 1:36. Redshirt junior Nick Piccininni nabbed the Cowboys' first title of the day in a round-robin bracket at 125 pounds. The Cowboy notched a fall in 2:30 over University of the Ozarks' Corey Muniz then defeated New Mexico Highlands' Dominic Rivera by technical fall, 19-4. Daton Fix defeated teammate Andrew Nieman in a 19-4 technical fall in the 133-pound finals. Fix advanced in the first round by forfeit and knocked off Oklahoma's Kristofer Hudson, 19-4, to reach the final. Nieman went 2-1 on the day with a 9-6 decision over University of Central Oklahoma's Rio Zamora and a 2:37 fall over unattached Mike Jones. It was an all-Cowboy bout as Kaden Gfeller upended teammate Mike Magaldo in a 6-1 decision in the finals. Gfeller went 5-0 to win the 141-pound freshman/sophomore division a year ago and repeated this season in the open, defeating Si Nhamnhouane (Ozarks) by fall in 1:42 and unattached Conner Ward, 10-1. Magaldo pinned unattached Brice O'Hara in 2:40 to advance to the finals. Boo Lewallen made his way to a second-straight OCU Open title at 149 pounds pinning unattached Michael Triplett in 4:58 and then notching a technical fall against Wayland Baptist's Joseph Rios. At 157 pounds, Jonce Blaylock picked up decisions over Ouachita Baptist's Tyler Mann and unattached Mario Rodriguez before meeting Wyatt Sheets in the finals. Blaylock defeated Sheets in a 7-5 decision after Sheets collected a fall in 1:07 over University of North Texas' Scott Akers to make the finals. Transfer Dakota Geer went 3-0 on the day to take first at 184 pounds. Geer pinned his first two oppenents before collecting a 10-2 major decision over Oklahoma's Matthew Waddell in the finals. Bear Hughes also competed at the weight, garnering a third-place finish. Senior Preston Weigel collected the Cowboy's seventh top finish of the day when he defeated Andrew Marsden 4-0 in the finals. Weigel recorded a fall over New Mexico Highlands' Chris Collins and a technical fall against Riley Williams of Wayland Baptist earlier in the day. Marsden topped teammate Austin Harris 6-3 en route to his second-place finish. Wrestling unattached in the freshman/sophomore division, Travis Wittlake and Colton Denney brought home first-place finishes. All but one of Wittlake's matches came with bonus points. He topped OCU's Chase Vincent in the finals, 13-3. Denney took on fellow Cowboy Gavin Stika in his finals bout and won a 5-2 decision. Freshman Anthony Montalvo also made the podium with a third-place fall against unattached Ivan Balavage. The Cowboys return to the mat for regular-season competition when they travel to South Dakota State on Nov. 17 and Minnesota Nov. 18.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Drexel Wrestling team opened the 2018-19 season with two dual victories at Dragon Duals hosted at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Dragons defeated Wheeling Jesuit, 28-9, and Keystone College, 59-0, to open the season 2-0 (0-0 EIWA). In the closest match of the Dragon Duals tri-meet, Drexel fought to a 28-9 win over Wheeling Jesuit. Freshman Ty Smith got the Dragons on the board at 133 pounds with an 11-2 major decision over Jacob Donahue. Trailing after the 141-pound match, the Dragons stepped on the gas and took control of the match. At 149 pounds, Trevor Elfvin earned a 9-4 decision over Tyler Alberts, followed by a dominant Evan Barczak technical fall with riding time added, 22-7, at 157 pounds. The Dragons turned in back-to-back major decisions at 165 and 174 pounds, as Ebed Jarrell beat out Keegan Driscoll, 10-2, followed by Bryan McLaughlin earning the 13-5 victory. At 197 pounds, Stephen Loiseau coasted to a first-period technical fall over Dalton Hoover, 18-0, while Joey Goodhart outlasted the reigning DII national champion Terrance Fanning, 4-2, to close out he Dragons' 28-9 win. The Dragons' cruised to a 59-0 victory in their first match of the day against Keystone College, which is coached by former Dragon standout, Steve Mytych. Drexel received forfeits at 125, 133, 174 and 197 pounds, then won five of the remaining six matches by fall. Julian Flores finished off a first-period pin of Colby Bronzburg in 1:56 at 141 pounds, while Elfvin pinned Jason Jones 19 seconds into the second period for the win. Barczak earned a 22-7 technical fall victory over Thomas Michaels at 157 pounds followed by Jarrell's first period pin of Alex Talanca in 2:18 at 165 pounds. Closing out the match, Owen Brooks needed only 31 seconds to pin JJ Hooper at 184 pounds, before Goodhart pinned Cameron Smith in 2:03 at heavyweight. Wheeling Jesuit won the first match of the day over Keystone College, 51-3. The Dragons return to the mat on Saturday, Nov. 10 when they head to New York for Northeast Duals with matches against The Citadel, Purdue and Nebraska. Drexel 59, Keystone College 0 125: Antonio Mininno (DU) by forfeit 133: Ty Smith (DU) by forfeit 141: Julian Flores (DU) WBF Colby Bronzburg (KC), 1:56 149: Trevor Elfvin (DU) WBF Jason Jones (KC), 3:19 157: Evan Barczak (DU) TF Thomas Michaels (KC), 22-7 165: Ebed Jarrell (DU) WBF Alex Talanca (KC), 2:18 174: Bryan McLaughlin (DU) by forfeit 184: Owen Brooks (DU) WBF JJ Hooper (KC), 0:31 197: No. 9 Stephen Loiseau (DU) by forfeit HWT: No. 14 Joey Goodhart (DU) WBF Cameron Smith (KC), 2:03 Drexel 28, Wheeling Jesuit 9 125: Cole Laya (WJU) DEC Antonio Mininno (DU), 6-3 (RO3/4) 133: Ty Smith (DU) MAJ Jacob Donahue (WJU), 11-2 141: Jared Donahue (WJU) DEC Nick Widmann (DU), 12-8 149: Trevor Elfvin (DU) DEC Tyler Alberts (WJU), 9-4 157: Evan Barczak (DU) TF Colt Rutter (WJU), 22-7 (w/ riding time) 165: Ebed Jarrell (DU) MAJ Keegan Driscoll (WJU), 10-2 174: Bryan McLaughlin (DU) MAJ Connor Craig (WJU), 13-5 184: Aidan Pasiuk (WJU) DEC Owen Brooks (DU), 6-3 197: No. 9 Stephen Loiseau (DU) TF Dalton Hoover (WJU), 18-0 HWT: No. 14 Joey Goodhart (DU) DEC Terrance Fanning (WJU), 4-2 Wheeling Jesuit 51, Keystone College 3 125: Cole Laya (WJU) by forfeit 133: Tyler Warner (WJU) by forfeit 141: Jared Donahue (WJU) WBF Colby Bronzburg (KC), 2:27 149: Tyler Albers (WJU) DEC Jason Jones (KC), 7-4 157: Thomas Michaels (KC) DEC Blake Miller (WJU), 8-4 165: Keegan Driscoll (WJU) WBF Alex Talanca (KC), 3:35 174: Connor Craig (WJU) by forfeit 184: Aidan Pasiuk (WJU) WBF JJ Hooper (KC), 1:55 197: Dalton Hoover (WJU) WBF Donald Stewart (KC), 0:27 HWT: Terrance Fanning (WJU) WBF Cameron Stewart (KC), 1:18