InterMat Staff

Texas, one of the first states to have separate wrestling competition for girls and boys, may change rules that would allow girls to wrestle boys, opening the possibility of inclusion of transgender athletes in competition, the Dallas News reported Thursday. The potential change may be the product of Texas transgender high school wrestler Mack Beggs, a young athlete transitioning from female to male who won two girls state championships in 2017 and 2018 ... but wanted to wrestle boys. However, Texas' University-Interscholastic League required Beggs to wrestle opponents that were the same gender as listed on his or her birth certificate. The UIL met this past weekend to consider a UIL Legislative Council proposal which states, "Girls may try out for, and if selected, participate on any boys' team regardless of the fact that there may be a girls' team in the same sport." Note that the UIL already allows girls to try out for boys' teams if there's not a corresponding alternative -- such as football -- or enough participation to field girls' soccer or basketball squads. However, in Texas, there are separate competitions in wrestling for boys and girls at the high school level. In fact, a line in the proposal also addresses wrestling: "Girls may try out for and, if they are selected, wrestle on a boys' wrestling team and wrestle boys." While the proposed rule does not specifically address transgender athletes such as Mack Beggs, it is hoped that it would open up new competitive opportunities to transitioning athletes. Meanwhile, Mack Beggs has graduated from high school. The 19-year-old is enrolled at Life University in Marietta, Ga. just outside Atlanta. Beggs is now a member of the school's men's intercollegiate wrestling program. UPDATE 10/22/18 The UIL's policy committee on Sunday declined to pass language that would have allowed females to participate on male sports teams. The Dallas News reported that, after less than three minutes of discussion Sunday among the policy committee members, the group decided not to send the proposal to the full legislative council Monday for a vote... meaning that all athletes -- including wrestlers -- must compete against opponents who match the sex listed on their birth certificate, per a rule approved by UIL member schools in 2016.

David Taylor with the American flag after winning a world title at 86 kilograms (Photo/Larry Slater) BUDAPEST, Hungary -- It was another impeccable day for the American wrestling team. Sunday at the 2018 World Championships was arguably one of the greatest days in USA Wrestling history. The team won a gold medal, pushed two wrestlers to gold medal matches tomorrow and won three bronze medals. USA leads in the team race after two days of competition and has the most medalists with five. David Taylor, competing in his first World Championships, captured the gold medal in dominant fashion at 86 kilograms, beating Fatih Erdin of Turkey 12-2. Taylor got his offense going early to take a 6-2 lead going into the break. He used more offense to get the technical fall shortly into the second period. "This gold medal means everything to me and my wife," Taylor said. "I wouldn't be where I am without her, my coaches, my training partners. I have the best training in the world I'm so thankful for that." Kyle Dake and J'den Cox convincingly won their semifinal matches. Each will wrestle for the gold medal. Joe Colon, Jordan Burroughs and Nick Gwiazdowski captured bronze medals. Kyle Dake throws Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov of Russia in the semifinals (Photo/Larry Slater) Dake advanced to the gold-medal match at 79 kilograms by beating Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov of Russia. Dake used a colossal throw on the edge of the mat in front of the American fans to go up 4-0. He added a few more to points to go up 8-0 at the break. Dake then used a stupendous throw, causing the American fans to break out in chants of U-S-A, U-S-A. It was almost as if Dake was trying to out due the other throw, this one for a five-point move securing the technical victory 13-0. Dake has not been scored on this tournament. "To beat a guy like that I had to stay in positions I knew I could win," Dake said. "I couldn't be happier for tonight. I have another big one tomorrow and I'm here to put on a show for sure." Dake will wrestle Jabrayil Hasanov of Azerbaijain in the gold-medal match. J'den Cox advanced to the gold-medal match by beating Iran's Alireza Karimimachiani (Photo/Larry Slater) In Cox's semifinal match, he beat world bronze medalist Alireza Karimimachiani of Iran. It was a match that started slowly before Cox opened up with some offense for a 5-2 victory. "It feels amazing," Cox said. "I had to [change] a lot of things in my life to get here now. I moved, I left my family, I got with a dietitian and I eat vegetables which is a very hard transition." This is how Cox responded when asked about his emotions on making the finals, "Honestly after the initial thing now I kind of feel pretty chill," Cox said. "We have to come back and take out Russia." Cox will wrestle Ivan Yankouski of Belarus in the gold-medal match. Jordan Burroughs edged Frank Chamizo for a bronze medal at 74 kilograms (Photo/Larry Slater) In a back-and-forth match between Burroughs and Chamizo, the American wrestling great found a way to win 4-4 on criteria. It was exactly what fans would expect from two multiple world champions who were wrestling for the third time this year, this match being the rubber match. "I never thought I'd be this happy to win bronze," Burroughs said. "Things don't always go the way you plan them to. I think that's part of God's elaborate plan for each and every one of us as individuals. Sometimes you forget how awesome it is to savor the small victories when you win so many big ones." Joe Colon gets his hand raised after winning a bronze medal (Photo/Larry Slater) At 61 kilograms, Joe Colon captured his bronze medal beating Mohammadbagher Yakhkeshi of Iran 13-2, using a gut wrench to lock up the technical victory. "I'm feeling great," Colon said. "I don't think it's set in yet, but it's an amazing opportunity and I had to take advantage of it." Colon was a late replacement for Nahshon Garrett, who was injured and unable to wrestle. "I got the call about 17, 18 days ago," Colon said "Nahshon got hurt it's unfortunate, but a new life [for me] and all my hopes and dreams that have always been there." It was a tough semifinal round for Thomas Gilman as he was never able to get his offense going. His opponent Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan was persistent with concise attacks, building a 2-0 lead at the break. Sanayev opened up to a 11-0 technical victory after. He will now wrestle for a bronze medal. Logan Stieber was eliminated from competition when Akhmed Chakaev of Russia failed to make the finals. "It's tough when you don't accomplish your goals," Stieber said. "But I'm still cheering on my teammates." USA freestyle head coach Bill Zadick is proud of his guys and is trying to stay focused. "I'm so happy for David (Taylor)," Zadick said. "I'm excited for Kyle (Dake) and his opportunity tomorrow. It's just awesome to see when they get what they're really searching for. [Today] was good, I try to stay focused on the individuals and help them get their jobs done and I know if they get their jobs done the team takes care of itself."

J'den Cox was one of three Americans to advance to the semifinals on Sunday (Photo/Martin Gabor, UWW) BUDAPEST, Hungary -- The Americans had a strong start to Day 2 at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Thomas Gilman (57 kilograms), Kyle Dake (79 kilograms) and J'den Cox (92 kilograms) wrestled their way to the semifinals. Gilman, a returning world silver medalist began his day against Givi Davidovi of Italy. Gilman got to his attacks with a few takedowns and built a 5-0 heading into the break. He coasted to a 6-3 victory. In his second match, Gilman wrestled Giorgi Edisherashvili of Azerbaijan. It was a match that showed Gilman's great position and strength as he successfully scored on four step outs for a decisive 4-0 victory. In the semifinals he will face Nurislam Sanayev of Kazakhstan. Kyle Dake, known as Kid Dynamite, wrestled exceptionally well in both of his matches in the opening session. He dominated Martin Obst of Germany by the score of 11-0 to move into the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Dake was dominant yet again, winning by the same score, 11-0, over Davit Khutishvili of Georgia. This time Dake used a few takedowns to a snug gut wrench to turn Khutishvili for the technical victory, prior to the end of the first period. Notwithstanding, Dake has yet to be scored on this tournament and will face a tough competitor in Akhmed Gadzhimagomedov of Russia, in the semifinals. Cox, an Olympic and world bronze medalist, got off to a sluggish start in his opening match against world medalist Dato Marsagishvil, of Georgia. Cox was losing 2-0 at the break, but turned up his offense in the second period and was able to reach Marsagishvil's legs for three consecutive takedowns to build a commanding lead, 6-2, which would be the final score. Cox put on a takedown clinic in his second match against Nicolai Ceban of Moldova, scoring three takedowns to breeze to a 6-0 victory. He will face Alireza Karimimachiani of Iran in the semifinals. It was a tough day for 2016 world champion Logan Stieber as he opened with Akhmed Chakaev, of Russia. Stieber found himself losing 4-0, before using an enormous four-point throw to even the score and giving Stieber the lead on criteria. But Chakaev would rebound and take a 6-4 into the break, before winning 7-5. Chakaev won his quarterfinal match, keeping Stieber alive. If Chakaev wins his semifinal match, Stieber will be pulled back into repechage. Each American who competed on Saturday will compete for a medal tonight. Yesterday David Taylor advanced to the gold-medal match at 86 kilograms, while Joe Colon secured a spot in the bronze-medal match at 61 kilograms. In Sunday's first session, Jordan Burroughs, a four-time world champion and 2012 Olympic champion, won his repechage match convincingly over Miroslav Kirov of Bulgaria. Burroughs stayed offensive and was able to build a commanding lead to win 9-0. He will face world champion Frank Chamizo of Italy in the bronze-medal match at 74 kilograms. It will mark the third meeting between the two, with each winning a match. Nick Gwiazdowski claimed a victory in his repechage match over Amar Dhesi of Canada 7-0 at 125 kilograms. Although he represents Canada, Dhesi wrestled collegiately for Oregon State, while Gwiazdowski wrestled for North Carolina State.

Cael Swensen of Wayzata was named Outstanding Wrestler at the InterMat Classic (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) EDINA, Minn. -- The ninth edition of the InterMat Classic was held for the first time at Edina High School in suburban Minneapolis. As has been the case in the previous eight events, it had a very strong in-state flavor. This year saw 12 of 15 champions won by Minnesota wrestlers. Two of the three out-of-state champions came from national power St. Paris Graham in Ohio. Sophomore Nick Moore and senior Jeffrey Thomas, both state finalists as freshmen, earned titles on Saturday afternoon at 138 and 145 pounds respectively. Sophomore Nick Moore was one of two champs for St. Paris Graham (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Moore, the nation's No. 49 sophomore, upended 2017 state champion Blake Legred (United South Central, Minn.) by 4-2 decision in the finals after surviving a pair of 3-1 overtime victories earlier in the tournament, most notably in the semifinals against two-time state placewinner Tanner Kroells (Delano, Minn.). Thomas, a two-time Ohio State placewinner, knocked off Illinois state qualifier Giovanni Cassioppi (Hononegah, Ill.) 5-2 in the finals after beating two-time state placewinner, returning state runner-up Brady Gross (Apple Valley, Minn.) 3-1 in the semifinals. Nolan Craine cruised to a title with a 9-0 victory in the finals (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) The other out-of-state title was earned by sophomore Nolan Craine (Goddard, Kansas), last year a state third-place finisher. He earned gold in the 160-pound weight class with a 9-0 major decision victory over Tayte Harazin (Redwood-River Valley, Minn.). Two other high schools joined St. Paris Graham in producing multiple InterMat Classic champions, Owatonna and Northfield. The pair of winners from Owatonna were state placewinner Blake West and state champion Cade King at 106 and 182 pounds, while those from Northfield were state runner-up Drew Woodley and Antonio Carter at 132 and 285 pounds. Drew West defeated Pierson Manville in overtime at 106 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) In his championship match, West upended seventh-grader Pierson Manville (Shakopee, Minn.) 11-6 in overtime, while for King it was a 16-6 major decision over state qualifier Carl Leuer (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.). For Woodley in his title bout it was a 5-3 decision over fellow state runner-up Drew Steidler (Bismarck St. Mary's, N.D.), while Carter won a five-person round robin at 285 pounds; most notably it was a 3-2 victory over Ryan Fitz (Mound Westonka, Minn.) in the last of five round-robin rounds. There were four pins among the 15 championship bouts in the afternoon program, including the one earned by tournament Outstanding Wrestler Cael Swensen (Wayzata) at 113 pounds. Swensen, a Fargo Greco-Roman All-American, ecked returning state runner-up Landon Parent (Princeton, Minn.) at the 3:32 mark. In the semifinals, he beat top-seeded Ryan Henningson (Winona, Minn.) 4-3, while in the quarterfinal it was a 3-2 decision over returning state champion Kelby Armstrong (Minot, N.D.). Christian Noble pinned his way to a title at 100 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Earning pins in all four tournament bouts was 100-pound champion Christian Noble (Big Lake), a state qualifier last season. His finals match pin came at the 3:36 mark over Matt Hogue (East Ridge, Minn.). Other championship bout pins came from Chase DeBlaere (Simley) and Seth Brossard (Kenyon-Wanamingo) at 120 and 152 pounds. Chase DeBlaere picked up a pin in the finals at 120 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) DeBlaere placed third at the North Dakota state tournament last year as an eighth grader, and pinned state medalist Brandon Psyk (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) at the 4:37 mark of his final bout, while 2017 state placewinner Brossard pinned Wisconsin state runner-up Jake Baldwin (Coleman) at the 3:03 mark in his bout. Ezayah Oropeza topped 2017 state champion Cole Fibranz (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Additional weight class champions were state placewinner Nic Cantu (Albert Lea) at 126 pounds, state placewinner Wyatt Lidberg (St. Michael-Albertville) at 170, state qualifier Jagger Greenwood (Hibbing) in a four-person round-robin at 195, and state runner-up Ezayah Oropeza (Rosemount) at 220. Of most note was the 5-3 finals win for Oropeza over 2017 state champion Cole Fibranz (Sartell-St. Stephen). Placewinners 100: 1st: Christian Noble (Big Lake) pinned Matt Hogue (East Ridge), 3:36 3rd: Parker Kratochvill (LAW) pinned Jore Volk (Lakeville North), 4:21 5th: Brendan Howes (Anoka) pinned Shane Corrigan (De Pere), 1:28 106: 1st: Blake West (Owatonna) dec. Pierson Manville (Shakopee), 11-6 SV 3rd: Teagan Block (Prior Lake) dec. Joey Novak (New Prague), 2-1 5th: Dylan Enriquez (Sartell) pinned Thomas Matteson (Hazelton), 3:16 113: 1st: Cael Swensen (Wayzata) pinned Landen Parent (Princeton), 3:32 3rd: Ryan Henningson (Winona) maj. dec. Kelby Armstrong (Minot), 9-0 5th: Cody Minor (Ashwaubenon) dec. Jaden Verhagen (Kaukauna), 4-0 120: 1st: Chase DeBlaere (Simley) pinned Brandon Psyk (St. Michael-Albertville), 4:37 3rd: Mitchell Mesenbrink (Arrowhead) pinned Kanin Hable (Owatonna), 0:59 5th: Nick Novak (New Prague) won by forfeit over Javon Taschuk (Stillwater) 126: 1st: Nic Cantu (Albert Lea) dec. Jake FitzPatrick (Mahtomedi), 5-3 3rd: Jordan Driscoll (Blaine) dec. Ryan Scherber (Buffalo), 7-5 5th: Bryce Dagel (Eden Prairie) pinned Brady Kasprick (Thief River Falls), 7:30 132: 1st: Drew Woodley (Northfield) dec. Drew Steidler (St Marys), 5-3 3rd: Ryder Rogotzke (East Ridge) pinned Samuel Kulseth (St. James), 1:47 5th: Cole Becker (St. Michael-Albertville) maj. dec. Gabe Bellefeuille (Perham), 14-6 138: 1st: Nick Moore (St. Paris Graham) dec. Blake Legred (United South Central), 4-2 3rd: Tanner Kroells (Delano) dec. Kieler Carlson (Forest Lake), 9-2 5th: Cade Lundeen (Thief River Falls) dec. Jack Ganos (Arrowhead), 6-2 145: 1st: Jeffrey Thomas (St. Paris Graham) dec. Giovanni Cassioppi (Hononegah), 5-2 3rd: Sebas Swiggum (Apple Valley) dec. Brady Gross (Apple Valley), 7-2 5th: Ben Durocher (Wrightstown) dec. Bryce FitzPatrick (Mahtomedi), 10-8 152: 1st: Seth Brossard (Kenyon-Wanamingo) pinned Jake Baldwin (Baldwin), 3:03 3rd: Gavin Nelson (Simley) pinned Adam Sylvester (Totino Grace), 2:33 5th: Roman Rogotzke (East Ridge) won by injury default over Matthew Pettis (Kasota) 160: 1st: Nolan Craine (Goddard) maj. dec. Tayte Harazin (Redwood Falls), 9-0 3rd: TJ Turinske (White Bear Lake) dec. Dylan Fudge (Perham), 5-1 5th: Moses Madimba (Coon Rapids) by forfeit over Hayden LeMonds (St. Michael-Albertville) 170: 1st: Wyatt Lidberg (St. Michael-Albertville) dec. Ian Frenzel (Blackduck), 6-4 3rd: Marques Fritsche (Tomah) dec. Mitchell Nowlan (Andover), 10-7 5th: Logan Collins (Forest Lake) dec. Eric Thomas (St. Paris Graham), 10-8 182: 1st: Cade King (Owatonna) maj. dec. Carl Leuer (St. Michael-Albertville), 16-6 3rd: Ben Schmalz (Mound Westonka) tech. fall over Danny Reynolds (Andover), 19-4 5th: Isaiah Thompson (Eden Prairie) dec. Rowan Jungling (Anoka), 10-4) 195: 1st: Jagger Greenwood (Hibbing) dec. Mason Smid (Blackduck), 12-10 3rd: Bram Fitzsimonds (Waconia) dec. Muktar Ali (Hastings), 4-3 220: 1st: Ezayah Oropeza (Rosemount) dec. Cole Fibranz (Sartell), 5-3 3rd: Chase McCleish (Newman Catholic) pinned Brennan Rutt (New Prague), 3:22 5th: Tanner Schultz (Linn Mar) pinned Vincent Johnson (Andover), 2:19 285: 1st: Antonio Carter (Northfield) dec. Ryan Fitz (Mound Westonka), 3-2 3rd: Denis Tokin (Woodbury) pinned Nick Lopez (Northfield), 4:45

David Taylor (Photo/Martin Gabor, UWW) BUDAPEST -- Resilience! That is the word to describe the Magic Man, David Taylor, at the 2018 World Championships. Taylor trailed in two out of three matches, on day one of the championships. But it was his resilience that allowed him to make the finals. "I just got to create," Taylor said. "I don't know if I'm wrestling my best, but I continue wrestling always. That's where I pride myself on as an athlete and a person, to always wrestle and fight through positions." Trailing 5-1 at the break, in the semifinals, Taylor kicked into another gear, scoring three takedowns in a row to defeat Dauren Kurugliev of Russia 7-5. "These guys wrestle hard to score early because they know I'm going to keep coming," Taylor said. "So, I just have to keep coming early, late whatever it may be." To make his comeback even more incredible, Taylor was kicked in the face as Kurugliev kicked out to prevent a takedown. Taylor went down with an apparent injury and might possibly have had a concussion. "He kicked me in the face," Taylor said. "But I'll trade a kick in the face to be in the world championship, tomorrow. I'm one match away from being a world champion which is something I've dreamt about for a really, really long time, so I don't care how I feel I'm ready to roll for tomorrow." Coach Cunningham called the comebacks Taylor's ability to adjust to change in his matches. "David does a really good job of adjusting in all of his matches he adjusted," Cunningham said. "I don't think (being behind in the match) bothers him, he's going to wrestle six minutes hard, so someone's got to be ready to wrestle six minutes. Obviously, he would like to be up, but if he's down he's ok with that because he knows he's going to score a bunch of points in the second period." Taylor will wrestle Fatit Erdin of Turkey for the gold. In the other semifinal match, Joe Colon didn't fair too well. He found himself losing 5-0 at the break to Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez of Cuba. That deficit increased to 9-0, before Colon would get on the scoreboard. He did get some offense going, but it was a little too late as time expired with the score 9-4, in favor of Bonne Rodriguez. Colon will find out tomorrow who he faces to advance to the bronze medal round. In great news for the Americans, both Jordan Burroughs and Nick Gwiazdowski received repechage matches and get an opportunity to wrestle for Bronze. Burroughs was pulled back in when Zaurek Sidakov defeated two-time world champion Frank Chamizo of Italy, to advance to the finals. Burroughs will find out his opponent tomorrow as he attempts to wrestle back for a bronze. Gwiazdowski was awarded a repechage match when Zhiwei Deng of China defeated Sumit Malik of India. Gwiazdowski will learn who his opponent is during the course of tomorrow's opening session. Wrestling will begin 10:30 a.m local time and 4:30 a.m. ET.

David Taylor knocked off Olympic champion Hassan Yazdanicharati (Photo/Robbert Wijtman) BUDAPEST -- Day 1 of the World Championships was full of excitement and anticipation. How would team USA, the returning team champions perform, specifically with the newcomers? The American fans didn't have to wait very long to see. All four Americans competing on Day 1 were victorious in their opening bouts, with Joe Colon and David Taylor punching tickets to the semifinals. David "Magic Man" Taylor ignited the engine coming from behind to defeat Olympic and world champion Hassan Yazdanicharati of Iran at 86 kilograms. Yazdanicharati led 6-2 at the break, building a lead from a series of takedowns. But after the break, it was all the Taylor. He quickly scored a takedown to cut the deficit to 6-4 and another to tie it at 6. Taylor added a takedown, showing his resilience, to make the score the 8-6 with 1:05 left. A step out and a takedown in the last thirty seconds made the final score 11-6 in favor of Taylor much to the delight of the American fans in attendance. The Magic Man came into his own in his second match, opening up some offense against Hajy Rajabau of Belarus. Taylor overwhelmed Rajabau with a mix of takedowns and step outs and even a turn to complete the technical victory 10-0, shortly before the final buzzer. He will face Dauren Kurugliev of Russia in the semifinals. Joe Colon, a newcomer on the scene, began his inaugural championship vs Ivan Bileichuk of Ukraine and found himself trailing 6-4, at the break at 61 kilograms. Colon responded right out the gate with a step out to close the gap 6-5. A takedown gave Colon a 7-6 lead that he would not relinquish. Another takedown with 5 seconds remaining improved his lead to 9-6. In his second bout, Colon scored early and often. A combination of offense allowed him to end the bout early 10-0, punching his ticket to the semifinals. He will face 2016 world silver medalist Beka Lomtadze of Georgia. Jordan Burroughs, the four-time world champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, received a forfeit in his opening bout because his opponent did not show at weigh ins. Burroughs would give the American fans a scare in his next bout vs Mostafa Hosseinkani of Iran 2016 world bronze medalist. Burroughs was put on the passivity clock and went down 1-0, but would tie the match at 1, with a step out. Burroughs scored a takedown and lead 3-1 at the break, but Hosseinkani responded with a takedown of his own and was winning on criteria with 1:16 left in the match. During the process of Hosseinkani's takedown he went for a leg lace and it seemed Burroughs who slow to get up was injured. In true Jordan Burroughs fashion, he scored a step out with 17 seconds left to calm the nerves of the American fans for the final score of 4-3. In Burroughs next bout, he faced Zaurbek Sidakov of Russia. In a back-and-forth match that saw a few lead changes, ended in a 5-5 tie as Sidakov scored a step out as time expired. That step out would give him the victory on criteria, however the Americans did challenge and the call was upheld. Burroughs will wait to hear if he receives a repechage match. Nick Gwiazdowski, returning bronze medalist, met Zolboo Natsagsuren of Mongolia in his opening match and his consistent defense and counter offense allowed him to build a 3-2 lead at the break. A few more takedowns made a final score of 9-4 for Gwiazdowski. In his next match, Gwiazdowski faced Deng Zhiwei of China and led 2-0 at the break. A big four-point throw allowed Deng to go up 5-2. Gwiazdowski would respond with a takedown, but it wasn't enough making the final score 5-4. He will wait to hear if he receives a repechage match.

Joey McKenna (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) MANHEIM, Pa. -- Joey McKenna has been one of college wrestling's most consistent winners throughout his career. Kaid Brock has developed a reputation for toppling decorated opponents. The two-time All-Americans will tangle on Nov. 2 at 141 pounds at the NWCA All-Star Classic in Denver. The event will be streamed live on Trackwrestling. McKenna, a senior at Ohio State, has compiled a 79-8 record at 141 during his first three college seasons. He placed third at the 2016 NCAA Championships as a freshman at Stanford and placed third again last year during his first season with the Buckeyes. The Towaco, New Jersey, native is also a three-time conference champion, a 2017 U23 World bronze medalist, a 2014 Junior World silver medalist, and he's currently second on the United States men's freestyle ladder at 65 kilograms. Brock immediately established himself as a national title threat three years ago when he debuted in an Oklahoma State singlet with a 42-second fall against returning NCAA champion Cody Brewer. Over the course of the last two seasons, the Stillwater, Oklahoma native, has compiled a 59-9 record with 10 wins against All-Americans, including a victory against 2017 national champion Cory Clark. Those results occurred at 133 pounds. The junior is taking on a new challenge at 141. This is one of two 141-pound matches on the All-Star Classic bout card. The other one features two of last year's top finishers at 133 -- returning NCAA champion Seth Gross of South Dakota State against All-American Tariq Wilson. ANNOUNCED MATCHUPS Men 141: Seth Gross (South Dakota State) vs. Tariq Wilson (North Carolina State) 141: Joey McKenna (Ohio State) vs. Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) 149: Mitch Finesilver (Duke) 174: Myles Amine (Michigan) 184: Max Dean (Cornell) vs. Taylor Venz (Nebraska) 285: Derek White (Oklahoma St.) Women 109: Charlotte Fowler (Campbellsville) 123: Gabriela Ramos-Diaz (Wayland Baptist) 130: Erika Mihalca (Missouri Baptist) 143: Nicole Joseph (King) 170: Brittany Marshall (Wayland Baptist) vs. Mariah Harris (Campbellsville)

Carson Kharchla won a Fargo freestyle title this past summer (Photo/Jim Thrall) On Friday, Ohio State added to an already strong recruiting class with the addition of Carson Kharchla (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio), one of the nation's top seniors. He announced his commitment to Ohio State on Twitter. Kharchla is ranked as the nation's No. 5 overall senior recruit. He becomes the fifth top-100 commit for the Buckeyes in the Class of 2019, joining Greg Kerkvliet, Dylan D'Emilio, as well as Jordan and Jacob Decatur. Ohio State has now landed three of the nation's top five recruits in the Class of 2019. Kharchla won a state title this past season and carried the momentum into the summer as he won a Junior National freestyle title in Fargo.

The 2018 InterMat Classic takes place on Saturday at Edina High School in Edina, Minn. It marks the ninth year of the event, but first year in the Twin Cities. The event was previously held in Rochester, Minn. Wrestlers from nine different states are entered in this year's event. Wrestling is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. CT. Trackwrestling.com will be providing a live stream and results. Links: Live Results | Purchase Subscription Let's examine a few storylines to watch at this year's InterMat Classic. Cole Fibranz, a 2017 state champion, will look to repeat as InterMat Classic champion at 220 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Five returning finalists back Five finalists from last year's InterMat Classic return this year. The group is headlined by returning champion Cole Fibranz (Sartell, Minn.). Fibranz, a state champion in 2017 and third-place finisher last season, is competing at 220 pounds, the same weight class he won a Classic title in last year. This past summer, Fibranz became a Junior freestyle All-American by placing sixth in Fargo. Also in the 220-pound weight class is another returning finalist, Ezayah Oropeza (Rosemount, Minn.). Last year he competed in the heavyweight division at the InterMat Classic, losing in the finals to Anthony Cassioppi. Oropeza was a state runner-up last season. At 100 pounds, Brendan Howes (Anoka, Minn.) is back in the same weight class in which he finished as a runner-up last year. Howes had bonus-point victories in his first four matches at last year's Classic before falling in the finals. He was a state qualifier at the high school level, as well as a MN/USA Triple Crown winner and folkstyle All-American. Ryan Henningson posted a 44-2 record last season (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Ryan Henningson (Winona, Minn.) will look to capture his first InterMat Classic title after finishing as a runner-up a year ago. He posted a 44-2 record last season and finished third in the state tournament. Henningson was a quarterfinalist in the Junior freestyle competition in Fargo this past summer. Sebas Swiggum was an InterMat Classic runner-up last year and placed third in 2016 (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Junior National folkstyle finalist Sebas Swiggum (Apple Valley, Minn.), a University of Minnesota commit, was a runner-up at last year's InterMat Classic after placing third in the event in 2016. He will attempt to climb one more spot and bring home a title as a senior. Junior high rising stars The InterMat Classic has seen junior high wrestlers make their mark against high school competition. In 2011, Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) became the first junior high wrestler to win an InterMat Classic title when he accomplished the feat as an eighth-grader. He would go on to become a five-time InterMat Classic champion. In 2016, two eighth-graders, Isaac Klinkhammer (Brandon Valley, S.D.) and Reid Ballantyne (Stillwater, Minn.), won titles. Last year, eighth-grader Logan Vaughan (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) won the title at 100 pounds. So who are the junior high wrestlers to watch at this year's event? Below are three wrestlers to keep an eye on. Ryder Rogotzke, ranked as the nation's No. 7 junior high wrestler by InterMat, is entered at 132 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Ryder Rogotzke (East Ridge, Minn.): Rogotzke, an eighth-grader, is ranked No. 7 among all junior high wrestlers in the country by InterMat. As a seventh-grader competing at the high school level, Rogotzke compiled a 47-6 record with 39 pins. He won a USA Wrestling folkstyle national title this year, going 5-0 with five pins. He was also a national runner-up in Greco-Roman and placed third in freestyle. He is competing at 132 pounds on Saturday. Pierson Manville (Shakopee, Minn.): Pierson Manville, like his older brothers Mason and Carson, won multiple national titles at the youth level. He claimed a Schoolboy national title this year in freestyle and finished as a runner-up in Greco-Roman. In 2017, Pierson won national titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. He will look to become the first Manville to win a title at the InterMat Classic. Mason placed third in 2011 as an eighth-grader, while Carson was a runner-up as a seventh-grader in 2015. He is entered at 106 pounds. Gavin Nelson (Simley, Minn.): Nelson, who is competing at 152 pounds, won a Schoolboy national title this year in Greco-Roman and finished third in freestyle. He was a 2018 Minnesota/USA Triple Crown winner, claiming state titles in all three styles. Last season, Nelson compiled a 23-7 record as a seventh-grader competing at the high school level. St. Paris Graham makes InterMat Classic debut St. Paris Graham (Ohio) has one of the nation's most storied high school wrestling programs. The program consistently produces nationally ranked high school wrestlers, NCAA All-Americans and Olympic hopefuls. This year, for the first time ever, St. Paris Graham will be represented at the InterMat Classic. Ohio state finalists Nick Moore and Jeffrey Thomas, along with sophomore Eric Thomas, will be making the trip to Minnesota to compete against top wrestlers from the Midwest. Moore, who has two older brothers on the Virginia Tech wrestling team, finished as a state runner-up last season as a freshman. He is ranked among the nation's top-50 sophomores by InterMat. He has been a finalist at the Super 32 Challenge in the middle school division. Moore will compete at 138 pounds, a weight class that includes state champion Blake Legred (United South Central, Minn.), state finalist Jack Ganos (Arrowhead, Wis.) and multiple-time state placer Tanner Kroells (Delano, Minn.), among others. Jeffrey Thomas, the younger brother of Minnesota Gopher freshman Ryan Thomas, was a state runner-up as a freshman and NHSCA All-American in 2016. He was a state third-place finisher as a sophomore, and last season was unable to compete due to injury. He will compete at 145 pounds, while sophomore Eric Thomas will wrestle at 170 pounds.

The 2018 World Championships begin Saturday in Budapest, Hungary, with wrestling kicking off on Saturday morning with competition at 61, 74, 86 and 125 kilograms. For the American squad it's a mixed bag of talent, from unproven Joe Colon to Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs and all the in-betweens. David Taylor, arguably the hottest wrestler in the world at the moment, could help ignite a three-day run of finalists for the United States. Having seen his results against the world's best it's tough to see anything but a head-to-head matchup with Hassan Yazdanicharati. Like the NCAA Championships, the World Championships are a celebration of a wrestler's hard work. It's everyone's job around them (even mine) to make sure they have the best experience possible. The tournament -- the challenge of the event -- is the reward. Tonight, I watched as members of the Russian team stretched, ran laps, and did sit-ups in full sweat gear -- each hoping to wrench out those last pounds of sweat. Despite the sunken cheek bones and gaunt expressions, anticipation was in every technique practiced and a slight intensity beneath every friendly handshake among opposing nations. While Paris was the start of the 2020 Olympic cycle, many of the wrestlers consider the post-Olympic year a throwaway season. Some choose that year to start families, while others relax and enjoy time with friends and family. Not Budapest. For everyone not named Mijain Lopez (who is waiting until the 2019 World Championships to compete), the Budapest Championships are the start of the Olympic 2020 journey. There will be hundreds of matches over the next several days and some with bad officiating, or poor sportsmanship, and maybe even some criteria. But I'm predicting that in total the product we see on the mat will be the best the sport has ever seen. I hope you'll join me and the rest of the world in watching, and discussing, everything that happens during #BudaWrestle2018. To your questions … In lieu of questions I thought I'd provide helpful links for fans who want to watch and follow along this weekend. Fan and Press Guide: This has EVERYTHING you need to get caught up to speed on the World Championships. Social media accounts to follow, past champions, who to watch, and links to about 300 matches from the top competitors. Entry lists: Always fun to give these a run-through. Please take the time (10 minutes) to watch the first episode of Wrestling 360: "From Many, One" which takes an inside look at the United States' men's freestyle team's historic 2017 team championship and previews their attempt to repeat. I'm producing several more episodes in the coming year, with the next one scheduled to be on Dagestan and released later this year, or in early 2019. Other links: Jason Bryant's Buda Facts | World Championship Event Page InterMat will be providing session recaps from Budapest. Event Schedule NBC Olympics Schedule on NBCSN and Olympic Channel

Al Fontes, state editor of The California Wrestler since 1995 -- and a wrestling writer for nearly four decades -- has been named by Amateur Wrestling News as recipient of its 2018 Dellinger Award, presented each year to the nation's top wrestling writer since 1960. The award was announced in the Oct. 15, 2018 print edition of AWN. Al FontesIn addition to his work for The California Wrestler, Fontes has served as a contributing editor for a number of wrestling publications and websites, including InterMat, Wrestling USA magazine, Amateur Wrestling News, WIN magazine, and TheMat.com. Fontes has earned a number of awards for his writing, including Wrestling USA Editor of the Year in 2001, WUSA Person of the Year in 2001, and was an Irv Oliner Award recipient for his contributions to wrestling in the state of California. If that weren't enough, Fontes coached wrestling for 25 years at a number of schools and wrestling clubs in the Golden State. For all his contributions to the sport, Al Fontes was welcomed into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016. Fontes brings actual on-the-mat experience to his wrestling writing. He wrestled for Livermore High School in the early 1980s, then at Chabot College before graduating from the University of San Francisco. When he's not writing stories, sharing historical information or compiling statistics about wrestling in California, Fontes works at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Bob Preusse, long-time high school writer for Amateur Wrestling News, said, "Al is the man I turn to when I need advice or info on the California wrestling scene. He's a great guy who loves the sport, and is always willing to lend his expertise. I've quoted him often in my column over the last 23 years." California Wrestler's Pablo DiMaria weighed in with his thoughts on Al Fontes. "Al Fontes IS California Wrestler," DiMaria told InterMat. "We have been blessed to have him on the staff as he is an almanac when it comes to records and stats. It is an honor to get to work with such an outstanding individual on a daily basis." Al Fontes with Buvaisar SaitievHere's what Al Fontes told InterMat about his latest honor: "Wrestling has been an integral part of my life since middle school (40 years now). I've competed on mat, coached, and promoted the sport for many years ... I can only give back to something that has taught me so much about life." The Dellinger Award, first established in 1960, is named for the late Bob Dellinger, long-time sports writer and editor for "The Daily Oklahoman" newspaper based in Oklahoma City. In addition, he collaborated with his wife Doris in writing two books on the history of the Oklahoma State wrestling program: "Ride 'Em Cowboys" and "The Cowboys Ride Again". Dellinger was also the first director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Editor's note: Among the past recipients of the Dellinger Award: Mike Finn, Jason Bryant, Andy Hamilton, Tom Elling, Brian Brakeman, AWN writers Don Sayenga, Jim Kalin and Ron Good, author Jamie Moffatt, late historian and "The History of Collegiate Wrestling" book author Jay Hammond, and Mark Palmer, InterMat senior writer.

Curtis LeMair won the InterMat Classic title in 2014 (Photo/The Guillotine) Curtis LeMair, a past InterMat classic champion and freshman wrestler at Northern State University, was found dead in his residence hall room early Wednesday morning, the South Dakota-based school announced Wednesday. He was 18. Local police in Aberdeen, S.D. are working with the university to investigate LeMair's death. Right now, authorities say that foul play is not suspected. LeMair, who attended Prior Lake High School in Minnesota, won the InterMat Classic title at 100 pounds in 2014. LeMair was a two-time state placewinner, placing third at 113 pounds in 2016, and a fifth place finish in 2017 at 126 pounds at the Minnesota's state wrestling tournament. In addition, LeMair was a three-time Minnesota Christmas Tournament place winner, a two-time Fargo All-American in Greco-Roman, and a Folkstyle All-American. He trained at PINnacle, a wrestling club run by Olympic silver medalist Brandon Paulson and Jared Lawrence, during his youth and high school career. NSU is making counselors available to teammates, fellow students and others at the school. Founded in 1901, Northern State University is a four-year public university located in Aberdeen, S.D. The school has an enrollment of approximately 2,700 students. NSU sports teams -- including wrestling -- participate in NCAA Division II. UPDATE 10/20/18 Initial autopsy reports released to the media this weekend indicate that LeMair likely died from an undetected genetic heart condition.

STAMFORD, Conn. -- NBC Olympics will showcase the UWW World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary, with nearly 30 hours of coverage, including more than 20 hours of live coverage on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA. Event coverage begins with men's freestyle finals this Sunday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m. ET on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA. In addition, NBCSN will provide same-day encore coverage of most of the events throughout the tournament. Trackwrestling, an NBC Sports Group company, will live stream complete coverage of the UWW World Wrestling Championships across desktops, mobile devices, tablets and connected televisions. Users can visit http://www.trackwrestling.com/uww to watch every match live, and for live scoring and on-demand coverage, beginning this Saturday, Oct. 20, at 4:30 a.m. ET. The World Wrestling Championships will include 30 total weight classes, 18 of which are Olympic weight classes. The U.S. men's freestyle team, led by 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs (74kg/163 lbs) and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder (97kg/213.75 lbs), is looking to defend its 2017 world team title with a second consecutive win in Budapest. Helen Maroulis (57kg/125.5 lbs), who in 2016 became the first American woman to win an Olympic wrestling gold medal, and three-time world champion Adeline Gray (76kg/167.5 lbs) will look to help the U.S. women improve upon last year's second-place finish. JORDAN BURROUGHS SEEKING SIXTH WORLD OR OLYMPIC TITLE 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs is aiming for his sixth world or Olympic title, which would tie him for most all-time among American wrestlers with John Smith, who won two Olympic gold medals and four world titles between 1987 and 1992. Burroughs is expected to compete on Sunday, October 21. NBC Olympics' eight-day presentation of the World Championships begins this Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA and concludes Sunday, Oct. 28, at 11 p.m. on NBCSN, with same-day delay coverage of Greco-Roman finals. Coverage on NBCSN will be streamed via authentication on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app. Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA content will be streamed via authentication on NBCSports.com, OlympicChannel.com, the NBC Sports app, and the Olympic Channel app. In addition, all matches will be streamed, live and on-demand, on Trackwrestling.com. An event subscription can be purchased here for $29.99. As part of its extensive coverage, Trackwrestling will provide pre and post-session shows, as well as live commentary of all U.S. and top international matches. The following is a schedule of events on NBCSN & Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA: Date Time (ET) Event Network Sunday, Oct. 21 1 p.m. Day 1 - Men's Freestyle Finals Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA 12 a.m. Day 1 - Men's Freestyle Finals* NBCSN Mon., Oct. 22 12 p.m. Day 2 - Men's Freestyle Finals Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA Tues., Oct. 23 12 p.m. Day 3 - Men's Freestyle & Women's Finals Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA 6 p.m. Day 3 - Men's Freestyle & Women's Finals* NBCSN Wed., Oct. 24 12 p.m. Day 4 - Women's Finals Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA 12:30 a.m. Day 4 - Women's Finals* NBCSN Thurs., Oct. 25 12 p.m. Day 5 - Women's Finals Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA 6 p.m. Day 5 - Women's Finals* NBCSN Friday, Oct. 26 12 p.m. Day 6 - Greco-Roman Finals Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA 6 p.m. Day 6 - Greco-Roman Finals* NBCSN Sat., Oct. 27 12 p.m. Day 7 - Greco-Roman Finals Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA 9:30 p.m. Day 7 - Greco-Roman Finals* NBCSN Sun., Oct. 28 10:30 a.m. Day 8 - Greco-Roman Finals Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA 11 p.m. Day 8 - Greco-Roman Finals* NBCSN *Same-day delay The following is a schedule of events on Trackwrestling.com: Date Session Weight Classes Time (ET) Sat., Oct. 20 Session I Qualification rounds Men's Freestyle - 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, and 125 kg 4:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Session II Semifinals Men's Freestyle - 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, and 125 kg 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Sun., Oct. 21 Session I Qualification rounds Men's Freestyle - 57 kg, 65 kg, 79 kg, and 92 kg Repechage Men's Fresstyle - 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, and 125 kg 4:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Session II Semifinals Men's Freestyle - 57 kg, 65 kg, 79 kg, and 92 kg 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 a.m. Finals Finals Men's Freestyle - 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, and125 kg 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Mon., Oct. 22 Session I Qualification rounds Men's Freestyle - 70 kg and 97 kg Qualification rounds Women's Freestyle - 55 kg and 59 kg Repechage Men's Fresstyle - 57 kg, 65 kg, 79 kg, and 92 kg 4:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Session II Semifinals Men's Freestyle - 70 kg and 97 kg Semifinals Women's Freestyle - 55 kg and 59 kg 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Finals Finals Men's Freestyle - 57 kg, 65 kg, 79 kg, and 92 kg 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Tues., Oct. 23 Session I Repechage Men's Freestyle - 70 kg and 97 kg Repechage Women's Freestyle - 55 kg and 59 kg Qualification rounds Women's Freestyle - 65 kg, 68 kg, 72 kg and 76 kg 4:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Session II Semifinals Women's Freestyle - 65 kg, 68 kg, 72 kg and 76 kg 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Finals Finals Men's Freestyle - 70 kg and 97 kg Finals Women's Freestyle - 55 kg and 59 kg 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Wed., Oct. 24 Session I Qualification rounds Women's Freestyle - 50 kg, 53 kg, 57 kg, and 62 kg Repechage Women's Freestyle - 65 kg, 68 kg, 72 kg and 76 kg 4:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Session II Semifinals Women's Freestyle - 50 kg, 53 kg, 57 kg, and 62 kg 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Finals Finals Women's Freestyle - 65 kg, 68 kg, 72 kg and 76 kg 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Thurs., Oct. 25 Session I Qualification rounds Greco-Roman - 55 kg, 63 kg, 72 kg, and 82 kg Repechage Women's Freestyle - 50 kg, 53 kg, 57 kg, and 62 kg 4:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Session II Semifinals Greco-Roman - 55 kg, 63 kg, 72 kg, and 82 kg 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Finals Finals Women's Freestyle - 50 kg, 53 kg, 57 kg, and 62 kg 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 26 Session I Qualification rounds Greco-Roman - 60 kg, 67 kg, and 87 kg Repechage Greco-Roman - 55 kg, 63 kg, 72 kg, and 82 kg 4:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Session II Semifinals Greco-Roman - 60 kg, 67 kg, and 87 kg 11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Finals Finals Greco-Roman - 55 kg, 63 kg, 72 kg, and 82 kg 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Sat., Oct. 27 Session I Qualification rounds Greco-Roman - 77 kg, 97 kg, and 130 kg Repechage Greco-Roman - 60 kg, 67 kg, and 87 kg 4:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Session II Semifinals Greco-Roman - 77 kg, 97 kg, and 130 kg 11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. Finals Finals Greco-Roman - 60 kg, 67 kg, and 87 kg 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Sun., Oct. 28 Session I Repechage Greco-Roman - 77 kg, 97 kg, and 130 kg 8:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Finals Finals Greco-Roman - 77 kg, 97 kg, and 130 kg 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. ABOUT NBC OLYMPICS A division of NBC Sports Group, NBC Olympics is responsible for producing, programming and promoting NBCUniversal's Olympic Games coverage. It is renowned for its unsurpassed Olympic heritage, award-winning production, and ability to aggregate the largest audiences in U.S. television history. NBCUniversal owns the U.S. media rights on all platforms to all Olympic Games through 2032. ABOUT UNITED WORLD WRESTLING United World Wrestling is the international governing body for the sport of wrestling and is headquartered in Corsier-­Sur-­Vevey, Switzerland. To learn more about United World Wrestling and the activities of its 180 national federations, please visit: www.UnitedWorldWrestling.org, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The 2018 U.S. World Wrestling Teams in the three Olympic disciplines have set high goals for the 2018 World Wrestling Championships, set for the Papp Laszlo Sports Arena in Budapest, Hungary, October 20-28. The United States was the 2017 World Team Champions in men's freestyle, and will be seeking to win back-to-back World titles for the first time in history. Last year was only the third time ever, and the first time in 22 years, that Team USA won the World Team title in men's freestyle wrestling. The team was led by two champions and six individual medalists. The U.S. women's freestyle team placed a strong second at the 2017 World Championships, one of its greatest performances ever. The 2017 team featured three medalists, including a World champion. The USA is seeking to win the World Team title in women's freestyle for only the second time, with its previous team title in 1999. The U.S. Greco-Roman program, led by a group of young talents, is poised to challenge for individual medals and improve upon its team finish from recent World Championships. The USA has won one Greco-Roman World Team title in 2007. The U.S. team in men's freestyle and women's freestyle were determined through the Final X series over three weekends in June. The U.S. Greco-Roman team was set at the Greco-Roman World Team Trials in Tulsa, Okla. in June. The final U.S. World Championships lineup has included three injury replacements, one in each style, which occurred during training for the event. The World Team in each style had a series of training camps during the summer in preparation for the World Championships. Each team had a final overseas acclimation camp prior to arriving in Budapest, with men's freestyle at Ramstein AFB in Germany, women's freestyle in Ostia, Italy and Greco-Roman in Tata, Hungary. The competition begins with men's freestyle, which will be held October 20-23. The team is led by a pair of Olympic gold medalists, 2012 Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs at 74 kg and 2016 Olympic champion Kyle Snyder at 97 kg. Burroughs owns four World Championship gold medals (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017), while Snyder has also won two World Championship gold medals (2015, 2017). Also on the team is 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and 2017 World bronze medalist J'den Cox at 92 kg, as well as 2016 World champion Logan Stieber at 65 kg. James Green, a 2017 World silver medalist and 2015 World bronze medalist, holds down 70 kg. Add in 2017 World silver medalist Thomas Gilman at 57 kg and 2017 World bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski and the 2018 lineup has seven past medalists. The three freestylers in their first Senior Worlds are already successful internationally, Joe Colon at 61 kg, Kyle Dake at 79 kg and David Taylor at 86 kg. Colon replaces the injured Nahshon Garrett in the lineup. Five U.S. men's freestyle wrestlers have received seeds in Budapest through the UWW Ranking Series standings: Gwiadowski (No. 1), Gilman (No. 2), Taylor (No. 2), Colon (No. 4) and Dake (No. 4). "Having won last year, we have a huge target on our backs and the rest of the world will be coming at us even more fiercely than they have in the past, so we're using that to strengthen our own resolve and our own determination. It's an amazing opportunity. I think we have a very skilled and talented team, and ultimately the determination and fight that they step onto the mat with will decide our destiny," said National Freestyle Coach Bill Zadick. The women's freestyle competition is held next from October 22-25. Team USA is led by 2016 Olympic champion, two-time World champion (2015 and 2017) and five-time World and Olympic medalist Helen Maroulis at 57 kg, plus three-time World champion (2012, 2014, 2015) and Olympian Adeline Gray at 76 kg. In addition to her gold medals, Maroulis has won a 2012 World silver medal and a 2014 World bronze medal. In addition to her gold medals, Gray won World bronze medals in 2011 and 2013. Competing on her fourth U.S. Senior World team is Whitney Conder at 50 kg. On their second U.S. Senior World teams are Sarah Hildebrandt at 53 kg, Jenna Burkert at 59 kg, Mallory Velte at 62 kg, Tamyra Mensah-Stock at 68 kg and Erin Clodgo at 72 kg. The first-time World Team members are Jacarra Winchester at 55 kg and Forrest Molinari at 65 kg. Burkert replaces the injured Alli Ragan on the World Team. Five U.S. women's freestyle wrestlers have received seeds in Budapest through the UWW Ranking Series standings: Hildebrandt (No. 1), Molinari (No. 2), Mensah-Stock (No. 2), Gray (No. 2) and Conder (No. 3). "We are there. We just have to perform. Last year, as a second-place team, I don't think we had a great performance. Who's going to step up and perform on the days of the World Championships? We have a team right now that is capable of that. But we are going to have to do it. We have to get in there and do the things we need to do to be successful. We need to get to the World Championships and let it fly," said National Women's Coach Terry Steiner. The Greco-Roman team includes three past Olympians. At the 2012 Olympics, Ellis Coleman competed in Greco-Roman and Sam Hazewinkel competed in freestyle. In Budapest, Coleman will be at 67 kg and Hazewinkel will wrestle Greco-Roman at 55 kg. Jesse Thielke, now competing at 63 kg, was a 2016 Olympian. Coleman will compete in his third World Championships, Thielke in his second World Championships, while Hazewinkel will be wrestling in his first Senior World Championships. Competing in his third Senior World Championships is Patrick Martinez at 87 kg. G'Angelo Hancock is wrestling in his second straight Senior World Championships. Five of the team members in Greco-Roman are on their first Senior World Team: Dalton Roberts at 60 kg, RaVaughn Perkins at 72 kg, Kamal Bey at 77 kg, Geordan Speiller at 82 kg and Adam Coon at 130 kg. Perkins replaced the injured Jon Jay Chavez on the U.S. team. "I am super thrilled with the talent. I've said the same narrative for a while. It will be younger athletes who will be getting medals for us soon. We have had tough veterans keeping these young guys at bay for a while, and these guys have now stepped up," said National Greco-Roman Coach Matt Lindland. The entire U.S. group includes three Olympic champions, five World champions (who have won a combined 12 World gold medals), four Olympic medalists, nine World medalists (with a combined 22 World medals) and eight Olympians. There are 19 athletes who have competed in at least one previous Senior World Championships, and another 11 who will be wrestling in their first Senior World Championships. Included on the roster are seven past NCAA Div. I champions (with a combined 20 NCAA titles) and six past WCWA women's college national champions (with a combined 13 WCWA titles). The combined U.S. World Team includes 16 different athletes who have won age-group World medals, amassing 22 total medals. There are six age-group World champions on the roster: Adeline Gray (Junior and University), Kyle Snyder (Junior), Whitney Conder (Junior), Sam Hazewinkel (University), Kamal Bey (Junior) and Adam Coon (Cadet). All nine days of the 2018 World Wrestling Championships will be streamed live in the United States by TrackWrestling. Budapest time is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time zone. Trackwrestling will donate to U.S. athletes through the Living the Dream Medal Fund each time the promo code WINUSA is used at checkout on Trackwrestling.com for a UWW Streaming Season Pass now until October 31, 2018. The UWW Season Pass provides customers with access to watch the upcoming Junior, Senior, and U23 World Championships. USA Wrestling will provide complete daily coverage from the 2018 World Championships on its website TheMat.com (http://www.TheMat.com), and through all of its social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. You can get updated content from USA Wrestling in its World Championships Special Section. Additional coverage will also be provided by United World Wrestling, the international governing body, as well as by USA Wrestling broadcast partners FloWrestling and Trackwrestling. 2018 U.S. SENIOR WORLD WRESTLING TEAMS At Budapest, Hungary, October 20-28 Men's freestyle 57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Thomas Gilman, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) 61 kg/134 lbs. - Joe Colon, Fresno, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC/Valley RTC) 65 kg/143 lbs. - Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) 70 kg/154 lbs. - James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) 74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC) 79 kg/174 lbs. - Kyle Dake, Ithaca, N.Y. (Titan Mercury WC/New York RTC) 86 kg/189 lbs. - David Taylor, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC) 92 kg/202.5 lbs. - J'den Cox, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Titan Mercury WC/OTC) 97 kg/213.75 lbs. - Kyle Snyder, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) 125 kg/275 lbs. - Nick Gwiazdowski, Raleigh, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack RTC) National Team Coaches - Bill Zadick, Joe Russell, Kevin Jackson (Colorado Springs, Colo.) World Team Coach - Tervel Dlagnev, Columbus, Ohio Team Leader - Jamie Dinan, New York, N.Y. Women's freestyle 50 kg/110 lbs. - Whitney Conder, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP) 53 kg/116.5 lbs. - Sarah Hildebrandt, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC/OTC) 55 kg/121 lbs. - Jacarra Winchester, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Titan Mercury WC/OTC) 57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Helen Maroulis, New York, N.Y. (Sunkist Kids/NYCRTC) 59 kg/130 lbs. - Jenna Burkert, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP) 62 kg/136.5 lbs. - Mallory Velte, Sacramento, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC) 65 kg/143 lbs. - Forrest Molinari, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Titan Mercury WC/OTC) 68 kg/149.75 lbs. - Tamyra Mensah-Stock, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Titan Mercury WC/OTC) 72 kg/158.5 lbs.- Erin Clodgo, Richmond, Vermont (Sunkist Kids) 76 kg/167.5 lbs. - Adeline Gray, Kingston, Pa. (New York AC) National Team Coaches - Terry Steiner, Clarissa Chun (Colorado Springs, Colo.) World Team Coaches - Troy Steiner, Fresno, Calif. and Coleman Scott, Chapel Hill, N.C. Team Leader - Jim Bennett, Stamford, Conn. Greco-Roman 55 kg/121 lbs. - Sam Hazewinkel, Guthrie, Okla. (Sunkist Kids) 60 kg/132 lbs. - Dalton Roberts, Fowlerville, Mich. (New York AC/USOEC) 63 kg /138.75 lbs. - Jesse Thielke, Beresford, S.D. (New York AC/Legends of Gold) 67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Ellis Coleman, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP) 72 kg/158.5 lbs. - RaVaughn Perkins, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) 77 kg/169.5 lbs. - Kamal Bey, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids/OTC) 82 kg/180.5 lbs. - Geordan Speiller, Oviedo, Fla. (Florida Jets) 87 kg/191.5 lbs. - Patrick Martinez, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC/OTC) 97 kg/213.75 lbs. - G'Angelo Hancock, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) 130 kg/286 lbs. - Adam Coon, Fowlerville, Mich. (New York AC/Michigan RTC) National Team Coaches - Matt Lindland, Momir Petkovic, Gary Mayabb (Colorado Springs, Colo.) World Team Coaches - Spenser Mango, Colorado Springs, Colo. and Zac Dominguez, Papillion, Neb. Team Leader - Christina 'Kiki' Kelley, Minneapolis, Minn. Referees - Zach Errett, Plainfield, Ind.; Umberto Fasolino, Cutchogue, N.Y., Casey Goessl, Omaha, Neb., Sammy Julian, Schuylkill Haven, Pa. National Teams Staff - Les Gutches, Cody Bickley, Jaimie McNab Doctor - Dr. Jason Holm Athletic Trainers - Corey James (FS), Carrie Moore (W), Robert Rodriguez (GR) Nutritionist - Rob Skinner Massage Therapists - Cyrus Poitier, Amy Murry Event Schedule (Budapest is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time) Saturday, October 20 Men's freestyle - 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 125 kg (preliminaries through semifinals) Sunday, October 21 Men's freestyle - 61 kg, 74 kg, 86 kg, 125 kg (repechage and finals) Men's freestyle - 57 kg, 65 kg, 79 kg, 92 kg (preliminaries through semifinals) Monday, October 22 Men's freestyle - 57 kg, 65 kg, 79 kg, 92 kg (repechage and finals) Men's freestyle - 70 kg, 97 kg (preliminaries through semifinals) Women's freestyle - 55 kg, 59 kg (preliminaries through semifinals) Tuesday, October 23 Men's freestyle - 70 kg, 97 kg (repechage and finals) Women's freestyle - 55 kg, 59 kg (repechage and finals) Women's freestyle - 65 kg, 68 kg, 72 kg, 76 kg (preliminaries through semifinals) Wednesday, October 24 Women's freestyle - 65 kg, 68 kg, 72 kg, 76 kg (repechage and finals) Women's freestyle - 50 kg, 53 kg, 57 kg, 62 kg (preliminaries through semifinals) Thursday, October 25 Women's freestyle - 50 kg, 53 kg, 57 kg, 62 kg (repechage and finals) Greco-Roman - 55 kg, 63 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg (preliminaries through semifinals) Friday, October 26 Greco-Roman - 55 kg, 63 kg, 72 kg, 82 kg (repechage and finals) Greco-Roman - 60 kg, 67 kg, 87 kg (preliminaries through semifinals) Saturday, October 27 Greco-Roman - 60 kg, 67 kg, 87 kg (repechage and finals) Greco-Roman - 77 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg (preliminaries through semifinals) Sunday, October 28 Greco-Roman - 77 kg, 97 kg, 130 kg (repechage and finals) Colleges attended by World Team members as undergrads Northern Michigan (Conder, Burkert, Clodgo, Roberts, Coleman), Daymar (Bey, Hancock), King (Hildebrandt, Molinari), Missouri Baptist (Maroulis, Molinari), Nebraska (Green, Burroughs), Ohio State (Stieber, Snyder), Simon Fraser (Maroulis, Velte), UCCS (Burkert, Gray), Binghamton (Gwiazdowski), Central Florida (Speiller), Cornell (Dake), Devry (Gray), Ellsworth CC (Perkins), Iowa (Gilman), Iowa Central (Colon), Michigan (Coon), Missouri (Cox), Missouri Valley (Winchester), NC State (Gwiazdowski), Nebraska-Kearney (Martinez), Northern Iowa (Colon), Oklahoma (Hazewinkel), Wayland Baptist (Mensah-Stock), Wisconsin (Thielke), Wyoming (Martinez)

Deron Winn battles J'den Cox at the U.S. Open (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Deron Winn -- who divides his time between his professional mixed martial career, amateur wrestling competition, and as a high school coach in California -- will be concentrating on the MMA aspect in the coming weeks as he takes on UFC veteran Tom "Filthy" Lawlor at Golden Boy Promotions' MMA event Saturday, Nov. 24 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. Here's what Winn wrote on his Facebook page: "Happy to announce I'll be fighting on Golden Boy Boxing first MMA card on November 24 against UFC vet Tom Lawlor. Chuck Liddell & Tito "The People's Champ" Ortiz are the main event. I'll be on the main card fighting live on PPV which is held in LA @ the forum. This is my first TV card and absolutely thrilled to show the world what I'm truly about. It's finally time for my takeover. Let's goooooo!" Winn brings a perfect 4-0 pro MMA record -- a string of first-round TKO victories -- in a career he launched in March 2017. Lawlor, who started his pro career 10 years before Winn, is 10-6 in MMA, with approximately ten years of competing in UFC. Lawlor has not fought professionally in two-and-a-half years. Winn has impressive amateur wrestling credentials. He was a three-time Missouri state wrestling champ for Liberty High School outside Kansas City. Winn then enrolled at St. Louis Community College, Meramec where he was a two-time NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) champ. At the 2008 NJCAA Nationals, Winn was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the championships. In addition, Winn has also wrestled freestyle for USA Wrestling at 98 kilograms/189 pounds. He is now a wrestling coach at Gilroy High School in central California. The Winn-Lawlor bout is on card headlined by former UFC champs Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz in their third fight. And, in case you were wondering, yes, Golden Boy Promotions was founded in 2002 by former boxing champ Oscar de la Hoya, aka "the Golden Boy."

Harry Lester Harry Lester, a 2012 Olympian and two-time world bronze medalist in Greco-Roman, joins The MatBoss Podcast for Episode 9. Lester now serves as head wrestling coach St. Vincent-St. Mary High School (Ohio). Host Chad Dennis talks with Lester about his wrestling journey, coaching philosophy, Team USA's potential at the Worlds 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

Taylor Venz defeated Max Dean at the NCAAs (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) Nebraska's Taylor Venz and Cornell's Max Dean established themselves last season as up-and-coming 184-pound stars when the freshmen earned All-America honors. Their path to podium in Cleveland included a head-to-head consolation battle. Venz scored a pair of first-period takedowns and maintained control of the bout on his way to an 11-6 victory. But Dean will get a rematch on Nov. 2 in Denver when he takes on Venz in the 184-pound bout at the NWCA All-Star Classic. The event will be streamed live on Trackwrestling.com. Venz compiled a 29-9 record last season. After suffering a second-round loss at the NCAA Championships, he reeled off five consecutive consolation victories on his way to a fourth-place finish. Dean went 32-6 as a freshman. He gave two-time national champion Bo Nickal one of his toughest battles of the NCAA Championships. He pulled within a takedown in the final minute before Nickal pulled away for a 13-7 win. Dean will try to duplicate his older brother's All-Star success. Two-time NCAA champion Gabe Dean was the last Cornell wrestler to participate in the event. He won All-Star matches in 2015 and 2017. Venz is Nebraska's first All-Star representative in three years. James Green and Robert Kokesh each posted victories for the Huskers in the 2015 All-Star Classic. This is the second announced pairing on the men's card for the All-Star Classic. NCAA champion Seth Gross of South Dakota State is slated to take on North Carolina State All-American Tariq Wilson at 141 pounds. What: 53rd NWCA All-Star Classic hosted by RMNevents, Nuway, and the University of Northern Colorado. Presented by, ARMS Software and Denver Chapter WIBN When: Friday, November 2, doors open at 4 p.m. Where: National Wrestling Complex, 4655 Humboldt St, Denver, CO 80216 Tickets: $20 (matside tables available) Click Here! Social Media: #allstarclassic Watch: www.trackwrestling.com Info: www.goallstarclassic.com ANNOUNCED MATCHUPS Men 141: Seth Gross (South Dakota State) vs. Tariq Wilson (North Carolina State) 141: Joey McKenna (Ohio State) 174: Myles Amine (Michigan) 184: Max Dean (Cornell) Vs. Taylor Venz (Nebraska) Women 109: Charlotte Fowler (Campbellsville) 123: Gabriela Ramos-Diaz (Wayland Baptist) 130: Erika Mihalca (Missouri Baptist) 143: Nicole Joseph (King) 170: Brittany Marshall (Wayland Baptist)

In 2017, the United States men's freestyle team came together to win the nation's first team title in 22 years. "From Many, One" is the story of the American style of wrestling and how it helped drive these eight wrestlers to win one of the most intense and memorable team titles in the world.

Robert Howard celebrates after winning gold BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- With an inspiring finals performance, Robert Howard of Cranford, N.J. won a gold medal at 55 kg in men's freestyle on the final day of wrestling at the Youth Olympic Games. Howard opened up his offense on the way to a 17-6 second-period technical fall over two-time Pan American Cadet bronze medalist Hernan David Almendra of host Argentina in the championship finals. A two-time U.S. Cadet World Team member, Howard came out on fire, jumping to a 11-2 lead after the first period, scoring a variety of different scoring techniques, including takedowns and turns. In the second period, Almendra hit a four-point headlock to attempt to stay close, but Howard scored three more two-point moves, ending the match with the technical fall. "The Argentinian crossed over from Greco-Roman to freestyle, and hit two headlocks, catching Robbie in them. Three times, Robert had a nine-point lead, working for the tech. It was a great crowd, a huge home advantage for the Argentinian. We talked about that, and he knew what to expect. Robbie embraced the moment. He did a great job with that. He wrestled his match. He had an unbelievably tough tournament. He did a fantastic job down here, bouncing back from a disappointing Worlds. This is a huge boost for him and for USA Wrestling," said U.S. Youth Olympic Games coach Sam Barber. Howard, a two-time Cadet World Team member for the United States, finished his Group B pool competition with a perfect 2-0 record. He opened with an impressive 13-2 technical fall over 2018 Cadet World silver medalist Hayato Fujita of Japan. To clinch the pool, he stopped 2018 European Cadet champion Vladyslav Ostapenko of Ukraine, 10-5. Howard had lost to Ostapenko at the 2017 Cadet World Championships in Athens, Greece by technical fall. "I wrestled better than I had in my entire life. In the pool, I beat the kid who was second in the World in my weight class. There has been only one kid who teched me, and that happened at Worlds in Athens, Greece last year. I beat him today, 10-5. I hold myself to a high standard. It was great to get over the hump today. It was a tough finals. The place was loud. But, I wasn't going into this to lose. I hated to be the guy to take it from him, but I had a job to do. It was an amazing experience and something I will never forget," said Howard. Carson Manville of Kingston, Pa. finished fourth at 65 kg, after falling to 2017 Asian Cadet silver medalist Inayat Ullah of Pakistan in the bronze-medal match, 6-2. Ullah scored first to go up 2-0, but Manville answered to tie up the bout at the break, 2-2. In the second period, Ullah scored four unanswered points to secure the decision and win the bronze medal. On Sunday morning, Manville completed his Pool B competition with a 1-1 record. He opened with a 12-3 decision over 2018 African Cadet champion Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia Ismail of Egypt. In his second pool match, he was defeated by 2018 Cadet World bronze medalist Mohammad Baghi Karimiseifabad of Iran, in a 10-0 technical fall. "Carson never really got his offense going. He is capable of wrestling very well at this level. This tournament showed that it is important for him to grow his offense, to get points when he needs them, and to wrestle with focus for the entire match," said Barber. Manville was eighth in the 2018 Cadet World Championships in freestyle. He competes for Wyoming Seminary in Pennsylvania, where he was a 2018 Prep National champion. He is the second athlete from his family to compete at the Youth Olympic Games, as his older brother Mason Manville won a silver medal at 69 kg in Greco-Roman at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. Team USA finished with two Youth Olympic Games wrestling gold medals this year. On Saturday, Emily Shilson of Maple Grove, Minn. became the first U.S. wrestler to win a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games with her victory at 43 kg in women's freestyle. The U.S. coach, Sam Barber of Colorado Springs, Colo., is the head coach at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He had considerable help with other members of the USA Wrestling delegation, which led to a successful weekend. "We had a great team effort. All four athletes competed to the best of their ability. It was a great effort by all. They carried themselves like the professional athletes that they will become. With one coach down here, I couldn't get it done without that team effort. I want to thank the parents, Kelly Howard, Susan Manville, Chad Ikei and Chad Shilson, for stepping in as part of the team. Everyone came together, and the result was a great trip to Argentina," said Barber. YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES At Buenos Aires, Argentina U.S. Men's freestyle wrestling performance 55 kg/121 lbs. - Robert Howard, Cranford, N.J., gold medal WIN Hayato Fujita (Japan), tech. fall 13-2 WIN Vladyslav Ostapenko (Ukraine), 10-5 WIN Hernan David Almendra (Argentina), tech. fall, 17-16 65 kg/143 lbs. - Carson Manville, Kingston, Pa., 4th place WIN Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia Ismail (Egypt), 12-3 LOSS Mohammad Baghi Karimiseifabad (Iran), tech. fall 10-0 LOSS Inayat Ullah (Pakistan), 6-2 Men's Freestyle Medal Matches 48 kg Gold - Umidjon Jalolov (Uzbekistan) dec. Giorgi Gegelashvili (Georgia), 8-2 Bronze - Halil Gokdeniz (Turkey) pin Diego Zuluaga Cuevas (Colombia) 5th - Fernando Booysen (South Africa) 6th - Daiziel Detudamo (Nauru) Gold bout - Jalolov dec. Gegelashvili, 8-2 Bronze bout -Gokdeniz pin Zuluaga Cuevas 55 kg Gold - Robert Howard (USA) Silver - Hernan David Almendra (Argentina) Bronze - Vladyslav Ostapenko (Ukraine) 4th - Oussama Laribi (Algeria) 5th - Hayato Fujita (Japan) 6th - Gavin Sablan Whitt (Guam) Gold bout - Howard tech. fall Almendra, 17-6 Bronze bout - Ostapenko tech. fall Laribi, 10-0 65 kg Gold - Turan Bayramov (Azerbaijan) Silver - Mohammad Baghi Karimiseifabad (Iran) Bronze - Inayat Ullah (Pakistan) 4th - Carson Manville (USA) 5th - Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia Ismail (Egypt) 6th - Westerly Ainsley (New Zealand) Gold Bout - Bayramov dec. Karimiseifabad, 6-1 Bronze Bout - Ullah dec. Manville, 6-2 80 kg Gold - Akhmedkhan Tembotov (Russia) Silver - Fateh Benferdjallah (Algeria) Bronze -Mukhammadrasul Rakhimov (Uzbekistan) 4th - Carson Lee (Canada) 5th - Ryan Marshall (New Zealand) 6th - Valentine Yairegpie (Federated States of Micronesia) Gold Bout - Tembotov tech. fall Benferdjallah, 10-0 Bronze Bout -Rakhimov tech. fall Lee, 10-0 110 kg Gold - Sergei Kozyrev (Russia) Silver - Amir Hossein Abbas Zare (Iran) Bronze - Ahmed Mahmoud Elsayed Khalil (Egypt) 4th - Luis Orozco Cortez (Mexico) 5th - Thomas Barns (Australia) 6th - Dragan Velinov (Macedonia) Gold Bout - Kozyrev dec. Zare, 6-5 Bronze Bout -Khalil dec. Orozco Cortez, 6-2

Fedor Emelianenko defeated Chael Sonnen (Photo/Bellator) In a battle of battle-tested mixed martial arts veterans, 42-year-old Fedor Emelianenko scored a first-round TKO of former collegiate wrestler Chael Sonnen, 41, at Bellator 208 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale on Long Island, New York Saturday night. "The finish came when Sonnen curled up in the fetal position on the floor, as Emelianenko dropped hammerfists from the top," according to ESPN.com ... while Sherdog.com said that Sonnen was hit with "a tidal wave of punches" in the closing seconds of their bout. Some fans claimed Sonnen had fixed the fight when he rolled out of a potential submission attempt from back mount on Fedor and got finished seconds later. Sonnen later claimed he made a mistake attempting the move. "The dive roll, I was going to lose that position anyway," Sonnen said. "I was falling over the top so I tried to tuck his chin and go. I used to do that move all of the time in college and I always got it. But I missed it tonight. I rolled right over." Emelianenko, who launched his career in May 2000, is now 38-5... while Sonnen, who was an NCAA All-American for the now-defunct wrestling program at University of Oregon, falls to 30-16. His pro MMA career goes back more than two decades. With the victory at 4:46 of Round 1, the Russian advances to the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix finals, where he will face Ryan Bader, NCAA All-American for Arizona State, for the big man title in Inglewood, Calif. on Jan. 25. (Bader got a unanimous decision over Matt Mitrione at Bellator 207 Friday night)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- It was a historic day for USA Wrestling, as Emily Shilson of Maple Grove, Minn. became the first U.S. wrestler to win a gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games with her victory at 43 kg on Saturday at the Asian Pavillion. Shilson, who was a Cadet World champion earlier this summer, defeated 2017 Cadet World bronze medalist Simran Simran of India in the Youth Olympic Games gold-medal finals, 11-6. Shilson jumped out to a big 9-2 lead at the break, then closed out the victory in the second-period. This is the second time this year that Shilson had beaten Simran, to go along with a 10-0 technical fall in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Cadet World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia. "I felt I started well today. I set a game plan and was able to stick with it throughout the tournament. In the finals, I lost my focus a little bit. But that is OK, because I know that I still have a lot of stuff to work on going forward. It meant a lot to win ," said Shilson With the victory, Shilson became the first member of Team USA in any sport to win a gold medal at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games, another tremendous milestone on day six of the competition. "It is cool representing the wrestlers on Team USA. For a wrestler to win the first gold medal for the United States is a great honor. The Youth Olympics has been a great experience. There are so many different countries and sports here. Everyone here has similar goals as I have, to be the best in the world," said Shilson. Shilson won all four of her Group B matches on Saturday morning to qualify for the championship finals. Included in her pool victories was a third-round 12-1 technical fall over 2018 Cadet World silver medalist Shahana Nazarova of Azerbaijan, a rematch of the Cadet World finals also won by Shilson. Her other pool victories included a pin of 2018 Youth African Games champion Christianah Tolulope Ogansanya of Nigeria, a technical fall over Heloisa Elena Martinez of Brazil and a 5-0 decision over 2018 European Cadet bronze medalist Justine Fanny Vigouroux of France. Shilson is a high school senior this year. "She came into this event with a target on her back, having won the World Championships in Croatia. She made several adjustments and dealt with many adjustments from her opponents. In the finals, the girl from India made some nice adjustments, and Emily wrestled through those positions and scored. It was an outstanding world-class effort by Emily and we are very proud of her," said U.S. Youth Olympic Games coach Sam Barber. Coming into today's finals, the USA has won five previous Youth Olympic Games medals. Included were four silver medals, won by Mason Manville (Greco-Roman 69 kg in 2014), Cade Olivas (men's freestyle 46 kg in 2014), Daton Fix (men's freestyle 54 kg in 2014) and Jordan Rogers (men's freestyle, 76 kg in 2010). At the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, Jenna Burkert won a bronze medal in the YOG Beach Wrestling tournament. "It was a great team effort here today, with Tiare Ikei also competing very well. Emily's father Chad is an outstanding coach and helped with the team today. Clarissa Chun is also here and part of our team effort working with our wrestlers," said Barber. 2018 World bronze medalist Tiare Ikei of Honolulu, Hawaii finished sixth at 49 kg, after dropping her fifth-place match to 2018 European Cadet silver medalist Roza Szenttamasi of Hungary, 3-0. Szenttamasi led 1-0 at the break, and added two more second-period points to secure the win. A 2016 Cadet World bronze medalist, Ikei finished her Group A competition on Saturday morning with a 2-2 record. She scored victories over 2018 Pan American Cadet silver medalist Maria Jose Mosquera Rojas of Venezuela and 2018 Asian Cadet bronze medalist Nilufar Raimova of Kazakhstan. Her losses were to 2018 Cadet World bronze medalist Natalia Varakina of Belarus and 2018 Asian Cadet silver medalist Shokina Akhmedova of Uzbekistan. Ikei, also a high school senior, is currently a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The USA has two men competing in freestyle on Sunday, by Robert Howard of Cranford, N.J. at 55 kg/121 lbs. and Carson Manville of Kingston, Pa. at 65 kg/143 lbs. Their draw in pool competition was set on Friday. YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES At Buenos Aires, Argentina, October 13 U.S. Women's freestyle performances 43 kg/94.5 lbs - Emily Shilson, Maple Grove, Minn., gold medal WIN Justine Fanny Vigouroux (France), 5-0 WIN Heloisa Elena Martinez (Brazil), tech. fall 10-0 WIN Shahana Nazarova (Azerbaijan), tech. fall 12-1 WIN Christianah Tolulope Ogansanya (Nigeria) pin WIN Simran Simran (India), 11-6 49 kg/108 lbs. - Tiare Ikei, Honolulu, Hawaii, 6th place WIN Maria Jose Mosquera Rojas (Venezuela), tech. fall 12-2 LOSS Natalia Varakina (Belarus), 6-0 LOSS Shokina Akhmedova (Uzbekistan), pin WIN Nilufar Raimova (Kazakhstan), 8-0 LOSS Roza Szenttamasi (Hungary), 3-0 Women's freestyle results 43 kg Gold - Emily Shilson (USA) Silver - Simran Simran (India) Bronze -Shahana Nazarova (Azerbaijan) 4th - Enkhzul Batbaatar (Mongolia) 5th - Justine Fanny Vigouroux (France) 6th - Maria Leorda (Moldova) 7th - Sara Fouda Farouk Mahmoud (Egypt) 8th - Heloisa Elena Martinez (Brazil) 9th - Christianah Tolulope Ogansanya (Nigeria) 10th - Ella Mae Derry (New Zealand) Gold bout - Shilson dec. Simran, 11-6 Bronze bout - Nazarova dec. Batbaatar, 7-6 49 kg Gold - Emma Jonna Malmgren (Sweden)' Silver - Shokhida Akhmedova (Uzbekistan) Bronze - Natalia Varakina (Belarus) 4th - Zineb Ech-Chaki (Morocco) 5th - Roza Szenttamasi (Hungary) 6th - Tiare Ikei (USA) 7th - Maria Jose Mosquera Rojas (Venezuela) 8th - Paulina Jean Duanas (Guam) 9th - Nilufar Raimova (Kazakhstan) 10th - Sopealai Sim (Cameroon) Gold Bout -Malmgren pin Akhmedova Bronze Bout - Varakina tech. fall Ech-Chaki, 12-1 57 kg Gold - Nonoka Ozaki (Japan) Silver - Anna Hella Szel (Hungary) Bronze - Anastasia Blayvas (Germany) 4th - Irina Ringaci (Moldova) 5th - Andrea Lopez Martinez (Mexico) 6th -Mayra Parra Alvarez (Venezuela) 7th - Hala Wael Imbabi Ahmed (Egypt) 8th - Mansi Mansi (India) 9th - Kaetlyn-Rae Quintanilla (Guam) 10th - Lydia Todia (Cameroon) Gold bout - Ozaki tech. fall Szel, 10-0 Bronze bout - Blayvas dec. Ringaci, 6-3 65 kg Gold - Xinru Zhou (China) Silver - Oksana Chudyk (Ukraine) Bronze - Oyun-Erdene Tamir (Mongolia) 4th - Sunmisola Idowu Balogun (Nigeria) 5th - Viktoria Vesso (Estonia) 6th - Amina Capezan (Romania) 7th - Zaineb Sghaier (Tunisia) 8th -Yetzis Ramirez Marquez (Cuba) 9th - Sandra Escamilla Menchaca (Mexico) 10th - Natacha Veronique Nabaina (Cameroon) Gold bout - Zhou tech. fall Chudyk, 10-0 Bronze bout -Tamir tech. fall Balogun, 15-4 73 kg Gold- Milaimys Marin Potrille (Cuba) Silver - Linda Marilina Machuca (Argentina) Bronze -Yuka Kagami (Japan) 4th - Kseniya Szibuk (Belarus) 5th - Julia Fridlund (Sweden) 6th - Svetlana Oknazarova (Uzbekistan) 7th - Khadija Jlassi (Tunisia) 8th - Anika White (Canada) 9th - Vahide Nur Gok (Turkey) 10th - Iona Ludgate (American Samoa) Gold bout - Marin Potrille (Cuba) pin Marilina Machuca Bronze bout - Kagami dec. Szibuk, 8-0

Ryan Bader (Photo/Bellator) Ryan Bader, two-time NCAA All-American wrestler at Arizona State, came out on top of Matt Mitrione in the top-of-the-card event at Bellator 207 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Friday night. The 35-year-old Bader, Bellator light-heavyweight champ, defeated Mitrione, 40, by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-24) in a semifinals event in Bellator's Heavyweight Grand Prix. The former ASU mat star will now face the winner of Fedor Emelianenko vs. Chael Sonnen in a finals match slated for Jan. 2019. BloodyElbow.com and FrontProofMedia.com both described "Darth" Bader's victory as "dominant." "Three rounds of Bader's dominant wrestling mixed in with some ground and pound was more than enough to secure his position as the man waiting to fight for the heavyweight title," according to FrontProofMedia.com. "Mitrione was noticeably bigger than Bader, he had a size and reach advantage as well as some concerning speed as a heavyweight. None of it would matter as Bader was able to enforce his wrestling since the first bell. There was a moment in round two where it seemed Mitrione could have put together a chain of strikes that may have helped but a simple slip from Bader would open up a takedown that pretty much dictated the entire fight." BloodyElbow.com reported, "It took about 15 seconds for Bader to shoot in and put Mitrione on his back. When Mitrione did scramble up to his feet, Bader took him right back down, forcing his foe to carry his weight. Several heavy ground strikes landed from the top for Bader, and then a few landed on the feet before the round ended. "Mitrione came out swinging in the second round, but was again quickly put on his back. Bader did a sound job of pinning one of Mitrione's arms with his arm, allowing himself to punch freely. From side control, Bader nearly hit a Kimora, but Mitrione hung tough and escaped the hold. This was another round that Mitrione was unable to do anything other than survive. Bader immediately shot in on Mitrione to get a takedown in the opening moments of the final round. More of the same from Bader as Mitrione had zero answers for the wrestling of Bader." With the win, Bader is now 25-6 in his pro career launched in 2007 (and still in the running for the Bellator heavyweight title) while Mitrione falls to 13-6. Bader brought an impressive amateur wrestling background to his MMA career. He was a two-time Nevada high school state champion who continued that success as a Sun Devil. In addition to earning All-American honors for Arizona State in 2004 and 2006 at 197 pounds, Bader was a three-time Pac-10 conference champion.

Stevan Micic gets his hand raised after a win at the NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan senior/junior Stevan Micic has been forced to withdraw from the 2018 World Wrestling Championships due to injury. Micic, previously a junior world bronze medalist, was set to make his senior world debut at 57kg/125 pounds wrestling for Serbia. "Our staff and team are obviously very disappointed for Stevan," said head coach Sean Bormet. "He worked very hard, made a lot of improvements and had a lot of international success this spring and summer. He was right on track to peak at the World Championships. Stevan, our medical staff and our coaching staff did everything possible so he might still have an opportunity to wrestle in Budapest, but unfortunately time was just not on his side. Stevan is one of the most positive and optimistic young men that I have ever coached. He has handled this situation like a champion and will be back in good health soon. We look forward to his return to our lineup sometime this semester." "I've had time to process it, but it's definitely something that I've been down about and upset to miss this opportunity," said Micic. "I was really confident in my training and my ability to compete with the best. My mindset was to go in there and get gold. But with missing so much mat time over the last month, I didn't want to go if I wouldn't be as prepared as I should or be able to wrestle to my full ability. I don't want to make this worse. So, I'm not going to regret it. I'm excited to win an NCAA title this year. That's my focus now, and I'm very motivated." Micic suffered the injury in the semifinals at the Poland Open in early September. He finished out the tournament, however, earning a 10-0 technical superiority win over Italy's Givi Davidovi in the 57kg championship bout for his first international gold medal. Micic also took bronze at the 2018 European Championships in May, earning Serbia its first ever European medal in freestyle wrestling, and up at 65kg at the Mediterranean Games in June. Micic is a two-time NCAA All-American for Michigan, claiming runner-up honors last season after taking fourth place as a freshman in 2017. He captured the Big Ten 133-pound title last year and has two collegiate seasons remaining.

Wrestling at the Youth Olympic Games starts Friday in Buenos Aires with 30 Greco-Roman competitors in five weight classes competing for gold. While the brackets aren't full of the absolute best Cadet-level wrestlers from around the world, the Youth Olympic Games is still an important quadrennial event for the sport. It's at tournaments like these that a lot of the leadership skills present in future national programs are being taught and those lessons lead to improved institutional knowledge of things like anti-doping education and proper sportsmanship. Beyond the positive internal impact on the Olympic movement and its partners, the event itself feels uniquely joyful for participants, media, and the stakeholders. The wins and losses matter, but the atmosphere is always forward-looking and optimistic -- losses are moments to learn, wins are moments to reflect. At this point I've covered well more than 50 of these international tournaments and still the 2014 YOG remains one of my all-time favorites. Not only does the IOC know how to host an event, the faces of the competitors remind me of how we all felt about the Olympic movement in our teens, before the recent scourge of scandals pockmarked the brand, assisted in no small part by our middle age glum. These wrestlers seem hopeful and carefree, like the solo baseball player taking swings in his backyard reciting "It's the bottom of the ninth ..." The Games bring us a combination of nostalgia and hope that even the most curmudgeon of sports fan doesn't want to swat away. If you're interested in watching (and maybe gaining a little inspiration), head over to the Olympic Channel or check out the United World Wrestling updates on the website, Instagram and Twitter. To your questions … Q: If you watch the video, you will see that McGregor punched Khabib's trainer before anyone else punched McGregor. I really don't blame Khabib and his crew much for the attacks after the conclusion of the fight last Saturday. But I do blame Dana White for letting the taunting go way to far just to build up hype and money. McGregor, although, very talented goes way overboard with very personal verbal attacks towards his opponent. I am not a big fan of all the taunting and trash talk. It turns the sort into a spectacle like pro wrestling. Maybe on your column you should talk about sportsmanship? Win, lose or draw it is all your own responsibility! Never blame the ref for your loss. -- Ibraoul Foley: As the story of UFC 229 progresses to the end of its first full week, the media coverage of the event has been hyperbolic, breathless and determined to capture every angle. "Who is to blame? Who threw the first punch? Why? What were the real motivations? Where does the UFC go from here? … " To fans of professional wrestling the plotlines from following UFC 229 feel familiar. In the WWE writers work hard to create characters who are consumable at face value. From Hulk Hogan to Iron Sheik to Jinder Mahal, professional wrestling is geared towards a simple form of high school cafeteria tribalism: us, them and others. That baseline difference making was present throughout the hype for 229 with Conor calling out Khabib's religion, homeland and family members. All leading to the ultimate storyline carryover, the unsanctioned out-of-cage fight with a new, unexpected character. Now, with the UFC careening towards this vacuous money-first, divisive promotional model, it's time for the wrestling community to ask if it really wants its sport to "be more like MMA." And if so, what elements? Wrestling, which at all levels bans needless aggression and striking, is by its character different in nature than MMA. Wrestling requires restraint and the mutual contract between both parties to not escalate their physical tete-a-tete into something more than a mettle testing endeavor. Harm comes from that lack of constraint, any action meant to break out of norms and rules in order to be proven more masculine, or macho. Wrestling is not that. Wrestling is steeped in restraint and discipline, not lavished in self-indulgence and grandiosity. As such, the wrestling community should look at Saturday night's event and know for certain that it should look to preserve its differences with MMA, not draw a closer comparison. That's not to say that our athletes shouldn't enjoy their careers or boast of their achievements. Our community benefits when wrestlers speak with confidence about upcoming matches, or their invincibility on the mat. Such is a warrior's mindset. What goes down poorly is the type of regional and ethnic tension being brought forward during the hype up to UFC 229. On a path that mirrors that of the UFC and WWE it would only be a matter of time until wrestlers began speaking of their nation's differences rather than promoting their confidence, while still cuddling up to the cross-border unity that has defined our sport. Jordan Burroughs with Sadegh Goudarzi of Iran after their gold-medal match at the 2012 Olympic Games Wrestling's most media-ready images of late have been those with back stories told through the lens of sportsmanship and an apolitical outlook on competition and competitors. Jordan Burroughs with his arm draped on Sadegh Goudarzi, or reaching into the stands to shake hands with Iranian fans in Tehran. Kiki Kelley as a Team Leader during the Greco-Roman World Cup. A Chinese wrestler carrying his opponent off the mat after a loss. As an aside, this is the exact behavior that Khabib Nurmagomedov displayed in most of his fights previous to Conor McGregor. But stoked by the ethnic tension, insults about his father and that bus attack he seemed ill-equipped to allow those insults to roll off his back. Our sport can remain above the fray. It can be something inspirational. If our world champions and Olympic heroes want to speak trash about their opponents, they are welcome to step off the mat and into the cage. In the meantime, let's keep spectacles like the ones witnessed at UFC 229 divorced from our sport and focus on the ideals of sportsmanship and fair play. Q: With the NCAA announcing seeding all the seeds at the NCAA tournament, would it be prudent for established rankings like InterMat to move to the top 30 or 35 in each weight class? -- Ken K. Foley: The short answer is no. InterMat's NCAA Division I wrestling rankings committee has its own rankings process to determine the top 20 wrestlers in every weight class each week. InterMat's rankings process is unrelated to the Division I Wrestling Committee's seeding process. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME The United States men's freestyle team came together in 2017 to win their first team title in 22 years. Will they repeat in 2018? Or will Sadulaev and Team Russia get their revenge? Find out more about Team USA's journey on Oct. 15 with the release of "From Many, One" the first short film in the Wrestling 360 documentary series. Q: My 8-year-old has expressed interest in wrestling this winter. I started looking at the local youth club's webpage and the fees associated with being a part of the club. The club has a regular fee, as they should to cover various costs. What bothered me was in order to register for the club, my 8-year-old would have to be a member of USA Wrestling, which is another $40, I think. The registration states that the membership to USA Wrestling is for insurance purposes but at the bottom of the registration you have to sign a statement saying that the coaches and the club are not responsible for any injuries. So my question is, why does an 8-year-old need to create a profile and be a member of USA Wrestling to figure out if they want to give the sport a try? I would rather pay the USA Wrestling fee to the local program, so I could see firsthand where the money is going. I'm not against supporting USA Wrestling, but I would rather do it on my own terms. Is this common practice in the sport now, and how does the wrestling club benefit from having all the wrestlers become members of USA Wrestling, because I find it hard to believe that this is for insurance purposes. If I'm being too petty feel free to tell me. Thanks. -- Mark M. Foley: Insurance is a major reason for the USA Wrestling card. Local programs would never be able to insure their programs and limit personal liability were it not for USA Wrestling's large membership pool. Though not all $40 goes into that insurance, it's a small individual price to pay for the secondary coverage it can provide to an injured wrestler. However, also some of that $40 does help fund various age-level national tournaments and supports the staffing necessary to ensure that there is a youth program. That said, I get your frustration in terms of signing up to try a sport and needing to create a whole profile and pay the extra money. Though to be fair the money also goes into ensuring every coach is SafeSport certified, which adds a few extra layers of protection for you child when entering the sport. Best of luck to you and your little one!

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. -- Delaware Valley University has announced that Caitlyn Baker of Lansdale, Pennsylvania has been selected as the first head coach in Aggie women's wrestling history. Caitlyn BakerBaker joins DelVal less than a month after the University announced the addition of women's wrestling as an intercollegiate sport. She will hit the ground running with recruiting and organizing the program with the intention to a field a team in the 2019-20 season. "I'm really excited about the opportunity to start the women's wrestling program at DelVal," Baker said. "DelVal is in a great location and women's wrestling has grown so much and I'm excited to see what we can do here." Baker has been a coach for Team Pennsylvania Women's Wrestling and Contender Elite in nearby Telford, Pennsylvania since 2015. During that time, she has also flown out to Colorado Springs, Colorado to be a clinician for the Wrestle Like A Girl program. Baker's coaching experience also includes being a National Team Coach, first for Missouri in 2009-10, later for Illinois in 2014-15 and then recently for Pennsylvania in 2017-18. Baker shined on the wrestling mat herself with 20 years of experience. She was four-time high school All-American, a three-time junior national freestyle champion and a two-time Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) All-American. In 2013, she was a college national finalist as well as an Academic All-American. Baker has been a world team trials qualifier on multiple occasions in both high school and college and was a fifth-place finisher at the 2004 Olympic Trials. Baker graduated from Missouri Baptist University with a bachelor of arts degree in public relations in 2014. "We are thrilled to have someone of Caitlyn's stature in wrestling to join us in starting the Aggie women's wrestling program," DelVal director of athletics Steve Cantrell said. "Her success on and off the mats speaks for itself and her connections in the sport are at all levels throughout the country. Our new program is in great hands."