InterMat Staff

Chris Bentley, head wrestling coach at Pennsylvania's Trinity High School, died Thursday. He was 46. Chris Bentley (Photo/Sean Simmers, PennLive)According to the school's athletic director, Gary Bricker, Bentley was at work at Clarks America when he collapsed and could not be resuscitated. Bricker told PennLive.com cause of death appears to have been a heart attack. "He was a wonderful individual and outstanding leader to our program, and he was a great role model to our kids," Bricker told The Sentinel. "Coach Bentley was a much loved and respected husband, father, friend, and coach to everyone who knew him," Trinity principal John Cominsky said in an email to the school community. "He was a man of deep faith." Bentley is survived by his wife Lara, and two sons, Devin and Caleb, both who wrestled for their father at Trinity. Bentley played football and wrestled in high school and college. He was named head coach of the Trinity Shamrocks just weeks before the start of their inaugural season in 2010-11. Although that first season was a bit of struggle for the team -- having compiled a 0-3 record -- there were high points for Trinity throughout Bentley's coaching career. That first season, Adam Geiger won the program' first District 3 Class AA individual championship. One year later, Ryan Diehl claimed the Shamrock's first individual Pennsylvania state title. Bentley's influence spread beyond Trinity. "He was a great coach and I think that's how a lot of people will remember him, as a coach, but I think it's also equally important to remember that he was a father and a husband and I ultimately feel for those people that were left behind," said Dave Heckard, Cumberland Valley wrestling coach. "I feel for us and the wrestling community, who are a close group and a tight knit bunch." "Coach Chris was much more than a wrestling coach," according to Cole Forrester, Shippensburg rising senior and wrestler. "He was a mentor and hero to me and many other wrestlers who got to wrestle under him. For my freshman year at Trinity, he took me under his wing and treated me like a son. Coach was truly invested in all of his athletes and the sport. I can't thank him enough for all he has done for me and for help shaping me into the man I am today." Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.

The NCAA this week passed two significant new rules: Challenge brick replaces the challenge flag Scrambles are now scrutinized for control The first part is obvious. The challenge flag was hokey and after the 2014 Junior World Championships the challenge blocks dressed as Angry Birds were too popular to be suppressed. As for the new scrambling rules? This is common sense! In the world of traditional wrestling, martial arts, and combat sports this makes total sense. You do not "expose your belly to the Gods." Wrestling is about control, not about who can lie on their back and game some odd system. Maybe it was United World Wrestling's direction, maybe it was the fans, but finally the NCAA Rules Committee has moved the sport forward. To your questions … Q: What is going on with Oklahoma State recruiting? Usually by now they have a couple of highly regarded recruits committed. -- @Jferg24 Foley: Only two weeks have passed since coaches can contact recruits, but I see your point. Most schools have their top recruits lined up for July 1 and you'd expect a few Oklahoma State commits in this first blitz. While odd, I don't think it's a symptom of any larger problem, but more of waiting for the right athlete. John Smith isn't rushed for much, and certainly not holding himself accountable to the whims of a 17-year-old wrestler. Jesse Jantzen looks for near fall points against Hofstra's James Strouse (Photo/TheMatSlap.com) Q: Who is the most underappreciated American wrestler of this generation? -- Mike C. Foley: I'm not sure which generation we are in, or where to draw the line, but over the past 20 years I think it's probably Jesse Jantzen. Jantzen was a four-time New York state champion who could've gone anywhere to wrestle in college, but chose Harvard, where he also wrestled. Remember that in the early 2000s, guys were still lining up three and four deep across the Big Ten thinking that was their best way to win an NCAA championship. Jantzen was one of the first that viewed wrestling as the opportunity for more than on-the-mat and trusted himself to win regardless of the location. Technically speaking, his half ride series is still in use today. Though variations always existed his techniques have filtered down to today's athletes and have made the sport more exciting to watch. Q: There are a lot of rumors of Nick Suriano potentially leaving Penn State. Do these rumors have any legs? -- Mike C. Foley: I don't think he'd leave, but he definitely wants to go 133 pounds, so maybe that is causing some friction. Q: I saw some American wrestling fans bitching on social media about UWW's seeding process for the World Championships. It seems like an improvement from what we had before. What has the feedback been around the world? -- Mike C. Foley: First, there is some distance between how American wrestling fans define/view seeding and how the rest of the world defines/views seeding. Here in the states seeding is by committee. There are pre-seeds and the meetings are controlled by some sort of leadership, but overall an objective analysis is performed, some coloring-in occurs as needed and voila there are seeds. At the international level seeding is an objective, point-based system. That's for judo, taekwando, tennis, table tennis -- sports seeds are an objective system of numbers based on outcomes from a system whose rules are defined before the season. There is no cajoling, and I doubt that anyone would ask for that to ever be the case. Wrestling is adopting a seeding process and that takes time. The sport needed to have the system ready for the 2017 season because it was the first year of the 2020 cycle and we needed to inform the IOC of our intention to make the improvement. However, because it was the first year of the seeding system and wasn't adopted until the week after the Olympic Games, there was a limited amount that the Technical Commission could pass. For example, this year's seeds are comprised of points coming out of only three tournaments: 2016 Olympic Games, 2016 World Championships and the 2017 Continental Championships. As you know, many wrestlers have changed weight classes for the 2020 cycle and left the weight class where they earned points at the Olympic Games. That's their prerogative, but the rules clearly stated that points don't travel with a wrestler to a new weight class. Why? Because they don't want wrestlers earning points up a weight class and then moving into a new weight at the World Championships. The sport needs stars and it needs them to compete at an identifiable weight class. To make the season feel more like a season will be something like 7 point-scoring tournaments in 2018, allowing for larger separations in points and criteria for tied wrestlers. This year, with only two inputs, there was resistance to digging down to find wrestlers to place in the top four of a weight class. Argument being the ninth-place Olympic finisher who didn't compete at the continental championships shouldn't be rewarded with a seed by default. The system is young and the IT department and sport department are taking notes on how best to adapt moving forward. The Technical Commission will also evaluate the success of the system and give recommendations on improvements. Yes, there are some that will never be happy, but this is solid progress for the sport and an important first step to getting worldwide buy-in for wrestling's first-ever seeded Olympic Games in 2020. Q: If Paris gets the Olympics in 2024, would the wrestling venue be the same one used for this year's World Championships? -- Mike C. Foley: Yes and no. Yes, it will be at AccorHotels Arena, but it will be in Arena 2, which holds roughly 8,000 compared with 16,000 for Arena 1. Q: What benefits do wrestlers get from signing with clubs like Sunkist Kids or Titan Mercury Wrestling Club? The club members train in different cities across the country, often with wrestlers and coaches from other clubs. For example, Helen Maroulis is with Sunkist Kids when her coach is TMWC and so is her training partner Elena Pirozhkova. Jordan Burroughs and James Green are in separate clubs as well, yet both train in Lincoln. Is the club relatively meaningless? -- Aaron P. Foley: While they are not teams in the traditional sporting sense, clubs are vital to American wrestling. The clubs are financed by wealthy individuals who provide top wrestlers the money necessary for training, travel and other incidentals. In return the athlete wears the club gear and promotes their brand in competitions around the world. Q: When wrestling was readmitted to the Olympics, it wasn't permanent. It was only for Rio (2016) and Tokyo (2020). What is the status of wrestling at the Olympics beyond that? Will we have to fight to stay in the games again? Wrestling is not on the list of core sports last I checked. -- Aaron P. Foley: Wrestling will always be part of the Olympic Games. There might be changes, but sport removal is not something the sport will face. However, there is always work to be done and the sport is looking to make sure it's fan friendly and captures the new and younger audience so desired by the IOC. Q: A few years back, I was an assistant wrestling coach at my old high school. One day, a kid approached me and asked me if he should try out for wrestling. He said he was asking because he was gay. I told him, "Sure." A few days later, the head coach pulled me aside and asked me if I had told that kid to try out. I said, "Yeah." And he told me not to encourage kids like that to try out. And he didn't let the kid join the team. So, my question is this: how difficult is it for a gay kid to get on a wrestling team in high school or college? Is it really a big deal? Would a division I coach turn down a talented prospect just because he's gay? Do you have any feel for how that might work out? -- John G. Foley: How difficult? Unimaginable. Kids are mean, but high school kids can be evil when it comes to treating those who think and act differently. I think Mike Pucillo's journey helped curb some of the stereotypes in our community, and I've been thrilled to see the support he's received from our community. We can never do enough to welcome young people to our sport, no matter their religion, gender, race or sexual orientation. Wrestling is an egalitarian sport and should keep its doors open to all who want to test their mettle. Tell the head coach that the wrestling community has plenty of gay wrestlers. Not all of them are out, but there are MANY more than Mike Pucillo, and that's a wonderful thing. Q: Do the presenters and/or camps receive royalties from Flowrestling for technique videos? -- Robert G. Foley: Was once a flat fee. Not sure if they still compensate Q: Big 12 wrestling certainly improved with the addition of Northern Iowa and Fresno State to their conference tournament, but with the Oklahoma's head coaching carousel, Iowa State recovering slowly, and South Dakota State showing some promise, in your opinion, who will be the first to dethrone Oklahoma State for the conference title? How long till that happens? -- Sean M. Foley: I have to think Northern Iowa is in the best position. Doug Schwab has been an incredible leader for the program and the moment that Oklahoma State slips up in recruiting, or underperforms at the conference tournament, you can be certain that Coach Schwab's team will be there to capitalize.

In previous years, it was "best for last" as the Junior National freestyle tournament was held at the end of the Fargo week. However, this year the two main attractions of the week-long event are at the beginning of the week with Cadet freestyle kicking off tomorrow and Junior freestyle starting on Sunday. The Junior freestyle finals will be held Tuesday afternoon from Fargo, North Dakota. Yet again it is a star-studded field, especially for the rising seniors, with 45 of the top 100 class of 2018 wrestlers registered to compete. Information about participation in terms of being expected to compete and at what weight class is blended together from what has been published on Flo Arena and what USA Wrestling released in articles on TheMat.com. Below is a weight-by-weight analysis of the tournament. 100: State medalist Daniel Kimball (Iowa) is after the second leg of the Junior Triple Crown, having won the folkstyle title at this weight class in early April. The lone returning Junior freestyle All-American in this weight class is Brenden Chaowanapibool (Washington). Other notable contenders include returning Cadet double All-Americans Andrew Chambal (Michigan) and Sam Latona (Alabama), state runner-up Cruz Aguilar (Oklahoma), Junior folkstyle runner-up Devin Harmison (Iowa), and 2016 state medalist Jacob Moran (Indiana). 106: Brendon Garcia (Colorado), a two-time state champion, was a double finalist at the Junior Nationals last year in Fargo winning the Greco-Roman title. However, the favorite in this weight class is state champion Justin Cardani (Illinois), a semifinalist at the UWW Cadet freestyle tournament last month competing at 50 kilos. Others to note include 2016 state medalist David Stepanian (Michigan), state runner-up Jarod Kadel (Iowa), and state champion Steele Dias (Nevada). 113: Returning Junior freestyle All-American Cody Phippen (Missouri) will be after the second leg of his Triple Crown, having won the folkstyle title in early April. A pair of Junior freestyle All-American finishers who outplaced him last year at 106 pounds are in this field: Brandon Kaylor (Washington), a Super 32 Challenge and FloNationals placer, and three-time state champion Ty Smith (Nevada). Another pair of returning Junior freestyle All-Americans are Cevion Severado (Missouri) and state champion Riley Weir (Oklahoma). The lone grade ranked wrestler in this weight is arguably its favorite, Aden Reeves (Iowa), a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American ranked No. 41 in the Class of 2019. Additional contenders include a trio of Super 32 Challenge placers in Ben Kamali (Michigan), Logan Agin (Ohio), and Matthew Cardello (Ohio); Kamali was a Cadet freestyle All-American last year. Some more direct threats to Reeves include returning Cadet freestyle champion Corey Gamet (Michigan), returning Cadet freestyle runner-up Jace Koelzer (Kansas), and two-time state champion Kyle Biscoglia (Iowa). Others in the field meriting attention include Junior folkstyle runner-up Blake Mateu (Louisiana); returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans Angelo Rini (Ohio), Dylan Ryder (New York), and Eric Barnett (Wisconsin); state champions Kai Orine (Missouri) and Doug Zapf (Pennsylvania); two-time state medalist Dante Mininno (New Jersey), and state medalist Anthony Molton (Illinois). 120: Starting to finally get into the meat of the tournament, though the 113 weight class served as a nice appetizer. This field includes nine grade-level ranked wrestlers, four of whom are returning Junior freestyle All-Americans. Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio), ranked No. 28 in the Class of 2019, is a three-time Fargo finalist (2015 Cadet freestyle champion) and a 2015 Cadet World Team member. Also a rising junior is No. 30 Michael Colaiocco (New Jersey), a National Prep champion. Rising seniors Tommy Hoskins (Ohio) and Patrick McKee (Minnesota) are ranked No. 46 and No. 53 respectively; Hoskins was eighth in this Junior freestyle weight last year, while McKee was third down at 113. Three other ranked rising seniors are in this field, No. 20 Patrick Glory and No. 56 Antonio Mininno, both from New Jersey, though each is much more a folkstyle wrestler; as well as No. 67 Joey Melendez (Illinois). Glory was a Super 32 Challenge champion in the fall, and is a three-time state finalist (2017 state champ); Mininno placed fourth at the Super 32 and was a state champ in 2016-17; while Melendez is a two-time state champion coming off an excellent Junior Duals where one of his wins came over D'Emilio. The other two grade ranked wrestlers are four-time state champion Connor Brown (Missouri), ranked No. 70 among graduated seniors, and Walsh Jesuit Ironman champion Gabriel Tagg (Ohio), ranked No. 39 in the Class of 2019. Four additional wrestlers in this weight class were Junior freestyle All-Americans last year, including two-time Fargo freestyle runner-up Rayvon Foley (Michigan). He's joined by a trio of placers from last year's 113 pound weight class in Dominic LaJoie (Michigan), Mike Madara (Pennsylvania), and Clayton Singh (Missouri). Yet more contenders include UWW Cadet freestyle All-Americans Joseph Heilmann (New Jersey) and Kyle Gollhoffer (Georgia), two-time Cadet freestyle runner-up Ridge Lovett (Idaho), and two-time Junior Greco-Roman champion Dack Punke (Illinois). 126: Six grade level ranked wrestlers head the field in this weight, led by defending Junior freestyle champion Gavin Teasdale (Pennsylvania), who ranks fourth among the rising senior class. Two contenders in this weight seek the second leg to a Triple Crown, as they won folkstyle titles in April, Paul Konrath (Indiana) and Jake Gliva (Minnesota). Konrath ranks No. 86 among graduated seniors and was a Junior freestyle runner-up in this weight last year, while two-time state champ Gliva ranks No. 84 among rising seniors. Two additional members of this six-person group were Junior freestyle All-Americans last year, Alex Thomsen and Bryce West from Iowa, Thomsen is ranked No. 30 in the Class of 2018 while West is ranked No. 81 in the Class of 2017. Also ranked in his grade is Super 32 and UWW Cadet freestyle placer Jakob Camacho (Connecticut), sitting at No. 77 in the Class of 2018. There are two others in the field that were Junior freestyle All-Americans last year, both at 120, in Michigan enrollee Drew Mattin (Ohio) and Oklahoma State enrollee Jet Taylor (Oklahoma). Others to watch include two-time state champions Brock Henderson (Iowa), Jack Skudlarczyk (Texas), Corbin Nirschl (Kansas), and Chase Bittle (Illinois); state champions McGwire Midkiff (Iowa), also a UWW Junior freestyle All-American, and Ryan Moore (Kentucky); returning Junior Greco-Roman runner-up Austin Macias (Illinois); two-time state placer Robbie Precin (Illinois); and NHSCA Senior Nationals runner-up Tyler Kreith (Missouri). 132: Even with three grade-level ranked wrestlers present, this weight class is soft relative to the weight classes immediately above and below it. Leading the way is UWW Junior freestyle placer Andrew Alirez (Colorado), ranked No. 9 in the Class of 2019 and also a Super 32 Challenge runner-up. The other pair of ranked wrestlers are rising seniors No. 72 Jackson Henson (West Virginia) and No. 99 Andrew Wert (Pennsylvania); Henson was eighth at 60 kilos in April's UWW Junior freestyle tournament. Another direct contender is four-time state champion Brent Jones (Minnesota), a returning Junior freestyle All-American. Others to watch include four-time state champion Dalton Young (Washington); four-time state placers in 2014 state champ Drew West (Iowa) and 2015 state champ Rylee Molitor (Minnesota); three-time state placers Chase Zollman (California) and Gauge Perrien (Iowa); state placers Tyler Deen (California), Josh Breeding (Ohio), and Caleb Morris (Pennsylvania); along with Coltan Williams (Texas) and state champion Trevor Mansfield (South Carolina). 138: It's back to regularly scheduled programming for Junior freestyle with seven grade level ranked wrestlers in a highly robust weight class led by a pair of graduated seniors, and four-time state champions, in No. 20 Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma) and No. 37 Ben Freeman (Michigan); Oklahoma State enrollee Gfeller placed third in Junior freestyle in 2015, while Michigan enrollee Freeman was a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American. There are two other top 100 graduated seniors in this weight class, No. 57 Parker Filius (Montana) and No. 85 Denton Spencer (Georgia); Filius was the Junior folkstyle champion in this weight class in April and is a returning All-American in this weight class. The three other grade ranked wrestlers are a pair of rising juniors in No. 11 Jaden Abas (California) and No. 22 Jason Kraisser (Maryland), along with Jack Davis (Pennsylvania), who is No. 55 in the Class of 2018; Abas was a Cadet freestyle runner-up last year, while Davis was a Cadet double All-American in 2015. Another pair of notable credentialed wrestlers in this weight class are Junior folkstyle runner-up Jake Bergeland (Minnesota) and returning Junior freestyle All-American Jeremy Schoenherr (Wisconsin). Additional contenders from this field include state champion Jaden Enriquez (California), two-time state champions Nate Keim (Oklahoma) and Michael Millage (Iowa), three-time state champion Jacob Greenwood (Colorado), and four-time state champion Dakota Galt (South Dakota). Sammy Sasso (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) 145: A mass of talent has assembled in this weight with eight grade ranked wrestlers, including seven among the rising senior Class of 2018. Leading that group would be No. 11 Sammy Sasso (Pennsylvania), a two-time Cadet freestyle finalist (2015 champion), two-time UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up, two-time FloNationals champion, also in 2016-17 picking up a Super 32 and state title. Next from the rising seniors is No. 16 Brayton Lee (Indiana), a two-time state champion and two-time Super 32 placer. Ranked No. 23 in the Class of 2018 is Junior folkstyle champion Alex Lloyd (Minnesota), seventh in this Junior freestyle weight class last year. Three-time state champion Brock Hardy (Utah) is ranked No. 33 among rising seniors, and beat Sasso for a Cadet freestyle title last year to avenge defeat from the 2015 final. Ranked No. 49 is Brock Mauller (Missouri), a three-time state champion who beat Hardy on the way to a Junior folkstyle runner-up finish this spring. No. 81 Justin McCoy (Pennsylvania) and No. 98 Kasper McIntosh (Indiana) were both UWW Cadet freestyle All-Americans, with each having three state placements but McCoy earning the state gold this March. The lone ranked graduated senior in this weight is No. 78 Brik Filippo (Oklahoma), a four-time state finalist and two-time champion. Also notable among college bound members of this weight is Zach Barnes (Iowa), a returning All-American in this weight and having won his Junior folkstyle title this summer by beating Mauller in the final. Additional contenders include two-time state placer Anthony Ulaszek (Colorado), who was undefeated at the Junior Duals; state runners-up Bernard Truax (California), Kiernan Shanahan (New York), and Kendall Coleman (Illinois); 2016 state champion Garrett Model (Wisconsin); state champions Jacob Mariakis (Georgia) and Jake Benner (New Jersey); along with two-time state champions Mason Phillips (Washington) and Roderick Mosley (Oklahoma). 152: Another eight grade ranked wrestlers reside in this weight class, with six of them coming from the rising senior group. It is headlined by returning Junior freestyle champion Anthony Artalona (Florida) and UWW Cadet Nationals double champion Will Lewan (Illinois), who are ranked No. 27 and No. 18 respectively in the Class of 2018. Additional ranked rising seniors are No. 24 Peyton Robb (Minnesota), No. 45 Justin Ruffin (Georgia), No. 76 Jared Franek (North Dakota), and No. 93 Joshua Kim (California). Two-time state champion Robb lost to Lloyd in the state final this year, lost to Lewan in the UWW Cadet freestyle final, but won gold medals in both styles at the Cadet Pan-Am tournament last week; Super 32 placer Ruffin was undefeated at the Junior Duals last month; Franek was a Cadet freestyle champion last summer; while two-time state placer Kim was third in Junior folkstyle up a weight class. The other grade level ranked wrestlers are Cameron Amine (Michigan) and Ryan Leisure (Iowa). Amine is No. 32 in the Class of 2019 and was a Cadet double All-American last year, while Iowa State enrollee Leisure is ranked No. 94 in his grade and was a three-time state champion. Others to watch include state champion Zach Axmear (Iowa); state medalist Brian Meyer (New Jersey), a returning Cadet freestyle All-American; and state champion Ashton Habeil (Florida). 160: An absurd nine grade ranked wrestlers are slated to compete in this absolutely filthily talented weight class, one that is led by a pair of rising senior stars in No. 7 David Carr (Ohio) and No. 15 Joe Lee (Indiana); Carr beat Lee to earn the Cadet World Team spot last year at 69 kilos, where he would go onto earn world silver, but Lee beat Carr at the UWW Junior Nationals in the semifinal round this spring. It may be lost in the midst of a potential Carr vs. Lee showdown, but last year's champion in this weight class is back, and his name is Jake Allar (Minnesota); the Golden Gopher signee finished as the No. 35 overall ranked wrestler in the Class of 2017. Also caught in the robust Class of 2018 noise will be that three-time state placer Austin Yant (Iowa) seeks the second leg of a Junior Triple Crown after earning the folkstyle title in April. The other ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers are No. 38 Andrew Merola (New Jersey), a two-time National Prep champion; No. 75 Braeden Redlin (Texas), a three-time state champion; No. 80 Markus Hartman (Illinois), a two-time state placer and returning Cadet freestyle runner-up; No. 82 Tyler Dow (Wisconsin), a two-time Cadet National and UWW Cadet National double All-American; and No. 92 Jaryn Curry (Oklahoma), a two-time state champion and 2015 Cadet freestyle runner-up. Two-time state placer Noah Blake (California) is ranked No. 50 in the Class of 2019. Other notable rising juniors include UWW Cadet freestyle All-American Carson Kharchla (Ohio), returning Cadet freestyle All-American Baylor Fernandes (Illinois), state champion Edmond Ruth (Pennsylvania), and Alex Cramer (Illinois). Additional contenders include three-time state champion Jaron Chavez (Idaho), along with state champions Kenny O'Neil (Minnesota) and Danny Braunagel (Illinois). 170: Four of the top 100 rising seniors headline the field in this weight class, one that is led by returning Cadet world bronze medalist Travis Wittlake (Oregon). Wittlake is ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2018 and was a Cadet Triple Crown winner last year after winning folkstyle and Greco-Roman titles in 2015. Two-time Super 32 placer Trent Hidlay (Pennsylvania) is ranked No. 22 among rising seniors and a returning Junior freestyle All-American. Ranked No. 85 is Billy Higgins (Nebraska), who was undefeated at the Junior Duals; while returning All-American in this weight class Josh Ramirez (Louisiana) is ranked No. 100, and was also the Junior folkstyle runner-up in this weight. Two graduated seniors were Junior freestyle All-Americans last year, Max Wohlabaugh (Florida) was runner-up at 160 to Allar, while Jackson Hemauer (Wisconsin) was third in this weight class. Three other notable Class of 2017 wrestlers are Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada), Brit Wilson (Missouri), and Hayden Hastings (Wyoming). Additional contenders include UWW Cadet freestyle All-American Jeremiah Kent (Missouri); returning Cadet double All-American Josh Stillings (Pennsylvania); state champion and Cadet freestyle All-American Zach Braunagel (Illinois); state champions Daniel Butler (Kansas), David Crawford (Ohio), and Tate Samuelson (Colorado); two-time state placers Ben Sarasin (Iowa) and Colt Yinger (Ohio); along with multi-time placer Leo Tarantino (New Jersey). 182: A group of six nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class, including a pair of graduated seniors in No. 54 Max Lyon (Iowa) and No. 76 Matthew Waddell (Georgia). The Purdue enrollee Lyon won Junior folkstyle in this weight back in April, while Oklahoma enrollee Waddell is a returning All-American in this weight class. The other four are rising seniors: No. 31 Jack Jessen (Illinois), No. 40 Anthony Montalvo (California), No. 43 Aaron Brooks (Maryland), and No. 86 Tyler Barnes (New York). Jessen was runner-up to Lyon in Junior folkstyle, is a two-time state runner-up, and a returning Junior freestyle All-American; Montalvo won state this past year and is a two-time finalist; Brooks was runner-up to Wittlake at UWW Cadet freestyle this spring, and was a Cadet National double champion last summer; while state champion Barnes was runner-up to Wittlake in both styles last summer in Fargo. Additional notable rising seniors include three-time state placer Anthony Sherry (Iowa); state runner-up Lucas Davison (Indiana), a Cadet freestyle runner-up last year; two-time state placer Victor Marcelli (Ohio), the only wrestler to beat Wittlake in Fargo; two-time state runner-up Easton Rendleman (Oklahoma); state medalist Hunter DeJong (Iowa), a returning Cadet double All-American; and state champion Caden Steffen (Minnesota). Other notable graduated wrestlers include state champions Myles Wilson (Colorado), Cameron Caffey (Illinois), and Jake Lanning (Illinois); as well as state runner-up Mac Southard (Iowa). 195: Five more grade ranked wrestlers make the field in this weight class, headlined by Iowa enrollee Jacob Warner (Illinois), ranked No. 7 overall in the Class of 2017. Warner ended the 2016-17 season ranked No. 1 in this high school weight class after earning bronze at Cadet Worlds last summer. Two other ranked from the graduated senior group are No. 24 Jake Woodley (Pennsylvania) and No. 79 Colton Wolfe (Nebraska); Woodley, an Oklahoma enrollee is a returning Junior freestyle All-American, while Wolfe is headed for Nebraska. It's a pair of ranked wrestlers from the rising senior group, No. 21 Brandon Whitman (Michigan) and No. 51 Joel Shapiro (Iowa); Whitman was double fifth at Junior Nationals last summer and fifth at the Super 32 Challenge, with Shapiro an undefeated state champ in high school while also going undefeated at both the Disney Duals and Junior Duals last month. Other contenders include returning Junior freestyle All-American Samuel Grove (North Dakota), two-time state champion Bear Hughes (Oklahoma), state champion Kendall Elfstrum (New York), state runners-up Cody Howard (Ohio) and Logan Schumacher (Iowa), along with state medalist Sergio Villalobos (Illinois). 220: A pair of top 70 rising seniors anchor this weight class in No. 66 Francis Duggan (Iowa) and No. 69 Zach Elam (Missouir); Duggan placed third in this Junior freestyle weight last year, while Elam was runner-up in Junior folkstyle this April. The third grade ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 44 overall rising junior Tyler Curd (Missouri), a state champion and returning Cadet freestyle third place finisher. Other contenders include Chris Kober (Pennsylvania), UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up Jace Punke (Illinois), returning Junior Greco-Roman champ Haydn Maley (Oregon), along with two-time state champions in Sam Peterson (Washington), Max Darrah (Missouri), and Chase Trussell (Utah). 285: The four wrestlers that ended the 2016-17 high school season ranked nationally in this weight class are the headline figures in this field, led by Junior folkstyle champion Anthony Cassioppi (Illinois). The Iowa commit is ranked No. 32 in the Class of 2018, the returning runner-up in this weight class, was undefeated last month at the Junior Duals, and beat Metz on the way to a semifinal appearance at the UWW Junior Nationals in April. North Dakota State enrollee Brandon Metz (North Dakota) finished his career ranked No. 32 in the Class of 2017 and was third in Junior freestyle last summer; Iowa enrollee Aaron Costello (Iowa) was runner-up to Cassioppi in Junior folkstyle, and finished as the No. 75 overall wrestler in the Class of 2017; while Chattanooga enrollee Sammy Evans (Tennessee) was a four-time state champ and runner-up at the NHSCA Senior Nationals this spring. A fourth grade ranked wrestler in this weight is two-time state placer Spencer Trenary (Iowa), No. 49 in the Class of 2019 and a Cadet Greco-Roman champion last year. Other contenders include returning Junior freestyle All-American Zach Muller (Illinois); FloNationals placer Brandon Reed (Kentucky); three-time state champion Brian Barnes (Oregon); two-time state placers Jon Spaulding (Ohio) and Jake Levengood (California); last year's Cadet freestyle champion Montana Phillips (Oklahoma); Super 32 placers Sammy deSeriere (Colorado), Keaton Kluever (Wisconsin), and Paul Robinson (Georgia); UWW Cadet freestyle champion Jordan Earnest (Wadsworth); along with state runners-up Austin Emerson (Michigan) and John McConkey (Iowa).

Joe Colon (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) FRESNO, Calif. -- Fresno State wrestling head coach Troy Steiner announced the addition of volunteer assistant coach Joe Colon to the Bulldog coaching staff on Thursday. A 2014 graduate of Northern Iowa, Colon arrives in Fresno State after spending a year at NAIA Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa. "I am exited to have Joe Colon join our staff as a volunteer assistant coach," said Steiner. "Joe was a fierce competitor in college and brings an exciting style to this team. He is still competing in freestyle at the senior level which will help provide leadership in this aspect as well. I am always looking for guys on this staff that want to be apart of building a program and are hungry for the challenge that lies ahead. I see this is Joe and look forward to working with him in this venture," added Steiner. Getting the opportunity to coach his younger brother, Jacob, in his senior season at Grand View, Colon helped Jacob win his second consecutive national championship at 133 pounds. Grand View won its sixth-straight NAIA title and set a new scoring record of 234.5 points as the Vikings became the first NAIA wrestling program to win six-consecutive national titles and only the fourth at any level (NAIA, NJCAA, NCAA) to accomplish the feat. The Vikings had five national championships as they dominated the field as the second place team, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), finished with 74.5 points. "I am excited to part of a brand new program that is coming back and am looking forward to helping make this program elite," said Colon. Familiar with coach Steiner along with assistant coaches Israel Silva and Jason Chamberlain, Colon is excited to join the new coaching staff and work with the Bulldog student-athletes, ""It is going to fun and exciting and it will be a great learning experience for me. I'm going to try to learn as much as I can and help out the team as much as I can. I want to strive to be the best and help all these student-athletes reach their goals," said Colon. On the mat, Colon brings outstanding credentials to the Bulldog wrestling room. The Clear Lake, Iowa native was a two-time state champion in high school at Clear Lake High School capturing titles as a sophomore in 2007 and a senior in 2009 while finishing third as a junior in 2008. After high school, Colon moved on to Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge where he won the 2010 NJCAA national championship at 125 pounds and was named the NJCAA Tournament Outstanding Wrestler as the Tritons won the national championship. After his time in the junior college ranks, Colon made his way to Cedar Falls where he compiled a 62-6 overall mark in his two seasons competing for the Panthers and head coach Doug Schwab. He went 27-4 as a redshirt sophomore in 2011-12 advancing to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships falling one match shy of becoming an All-American. After sitting out the 2013 season, Colon came back as a senior in 2013-14 and went 35-2 overall as he finished his career first in Panther program history in career winning percentage (.911) and his senior season winning percentage of .946 ranked third-best for a single-season in UNI history. He finished his career a perfect 24-0 in duals and gave up bonus in only one of his 68 career matches. Moving on to compete post collegiately with the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club, Colon won the Bill Farrell International championship, finished fourth at the World Team Trials and fifth at the U.S. Open in 2014. The following year, Colon punched his ticket on to Team USA finishing second at the U.S. World Team Trials, third at the Cerro Pelado International meet and fourth at the U.S. Open. Continuing to strive to reach that elite international level again, Colon plans to continue to train during his time with the Bulldogs and hopes to have a positive influence on the current Fresno State student-athletes and show the proper ways to train at an elite level. "Not being that far removed from college myself, I hope I can build a relationship with the athletes and can guide them and show them what I did as a student-athlete that made me successful and I can help them believe in the process," added Colon. Colon File 2016-17 - Coach, Grand View University (Iowa) 2014-15 - Athlete, USA Wrestling 2011-14 - Student-Athlete, Northern Iowa 2009-10 - Student-Athlete, Iowa Central Community College

ASHLAND -- Southern Oregon University Director of Athletics Matt Sayre announced Wednesday that Tony Champion has resigned as the Raiders' head women's wrestling coach. Mike Ritchey, entering his 23rd year as the SOU head men's coach in 2017-18, will also guide the women's program during the upcoming season. When SOU announced it would establish a women's team starting with the 2015-16 season, Ritchey was named the director of wrestling. He also serves as an assistant athletic director within the department. "We appreciate Coach Champion's work in establishing this program as a national player," Ritchey said. "His impact will be felt for years to come and we wish him great success in his future." Champion, the program's first head coach, oversaw five individual All-America performances in his two seasons. He led the Raiders to 11th place as a team at the WCWA Championships in 2016 and 10th place in 2017.

The Cascade Collegiate Conference has added men's wrestling as an official sport, and welcomed four new schools with wrestling programs as associate members, the Oregon-based organization announced Wednesday. Wrestling becomes the CCC's seventh official men's sport, and the first to be added in a decade. The four new associate members sponsoring wrestling are Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Prescott, Ariz.), Menlo College (Atherton, Calif.), Montana State University-Northern (Havre, Mont.), and Simpson University (Redding, Calif.). These new members join Eastern Oregon University, Southern Oregon University, University of Providence (formerly University of Great Falls), and Warner Pacific College to form Cascade Collegiate Conference wrestling. The expansion is effective for the 2017-18 season. The inaugural season will conclude with the first-ever CCC Men's Wrestling Championships on Feb. 18, 2018 at Southern Oregon. That event will serve as a qualifier for the 2018 NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Wrestling Championships in Des Moines. "We are very excited to take the next step in conference offerings with men's wrestling," stated CCC Commissioner Robert Cashell. "The sport continues to see growth at the NAIA level and providing a conference home for our current western United States institutions, as well as, the opportunity to recognize outstanding student athletes academically and athletically is important to the long-term stability of the sport."

ROCHESTER, NY -- RIT head wrestling coach Jason Bovenzi announced the appointment of Jasen Borshoff as an associate coach for the 2017-18 season on Wednesday, July 12. Jasen BorshoffBorshoff comes to RIT after spending the last seven years as an assistant coach at Binghamton University. While at Binghamton, he coached two NCAA All-Americans, nine NWCA Academic All-Americans and 21 NCAA Championship Qualifiers. Borshoff helped the Bearcats achieve their highest finish at the 2012 NCAA Tournament, placing 14th. While at Binghamton, Borshoff was Tournament Director of the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open, one of the premier multi-division wrestling tournaments in the country. In addition, Borshoff was director of the Bearcat Wrestling Club for youth and high school wrestlers. His wrestlers combined for 11 New York State Championships and eight high school All-American honors. "I am very excited about the addition of Jasen Borshoff to our staff," said Bovenzi. "Jasen is the type of person we want mentoring our student athletes. He understands the rigors of achieving at a high level athletically while balancing the academic challenges of an institution such as RIT. While at Binghamton, Jasen was involved in all day-to-day operations. That experience, coupled with the surge of energy in our program ranging from prospective athletes to alumni, will help RIT wrestling ascend to where we expect to be, among the nation's finest." Borshoff was a two-time Academic All-American on the mats at American University. He also qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and was a four-time EIWA place-winner. In the classroom, Borshoff boasted a 3.6 grade-point average, received his bachelor's degree in health promotion in 2008 and master's degree two years later. He was a six-time Dean's List honoree and helped the Eagles produce the highest wrestling GPA in the nation two times and second-highest another year. Originally from the Rochester suburb of Pittsford, Borshoff competed on the mats at the scholastic level for Bovenzi before graduating from Pittsford Sutherland High School in 2005. "I am excited to be back in my hometown of Rochester and join the RIT community," said Borshoff. "I look forward to working with one of my mentors in coach Bovenzi, while helping RIT's student-athletes achieve their goals on the mat and in the classroom."

The 2017 edition of Fargo week kicks off on Saturday with the start of the Cadet freestyle competition, whose championship will be held on Monday afternoon. Below is an overview of the key wrestlers within each weight class. Information was obtained from a combination of entrants per Flo Arena as well as the released state rosters from USA Wrestling as published on TheMat.com. 88: Chance Lamer (Oregon), ranked No. 3 overall among Junior High wrestlers, was champion in Cadet folkstyle at this weight class and is favored to claim this second leg of the Triple Crown. He also was runner-up at the UWW Cadet Nationals in the 42 kilo weight class, and went undefeated at the Cadet Duals in freestyle. Others to watch include UWW Cadet freestyle placers Drake Ayala (Iowa) and Tommy Curran (Illinois), Super 32 Middle School division champion Brandon O'Brien (Iowa), and Nathan Rubino (Nebraska). 94: A pair of nationally ranked incoming freshmen anchor this weight class, No. 19 Jett Strickenberger (Colorado) and No. 25 Cooper Flynn (Tennessee). Each placed at the UWW Cadet Nationals in freestyle, Strickenbeger was third at 42 kilos, Flynn eighth at 46. Another pair of UWW Cadet freestyle placers are in this weight as well, Alex Almedya (New Jersey) and Blake Noonan (Michigan), who placed fourth and sixth at 42 kilos respectively. Other contenders include a pair of Cadet folkstyle runners-up in Ronan Schuelke (Illinois) and Kase Mauger (Idaho), Mauger also the UWW Cadet champion in Greco-Roman at 42 kilos, as well as Carter Young (Oklahoma). Jeremiah Reno (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) 100: Two-time UWW Cadet National freestyle runner-up Jeremiah Reno (Missouri) is the strong favorite in this weight class, which would be back-to-back Fargo freestyle titles for him. Others in the field include a pair of nationally ranked incoming freshmen are present in this weight class, No. 15 Yusief Lillie (Washington) and No. 16 Richard Figueroa (California), who placed fifth and seventh respectively at the UWW Cadet Nationals in the 46 kilo freestyle competition. The most direct threat to those three would be Andrew Chambal (Michigan), a 2016 double placer at both the UWW Cadet and (Fargo) Cadet Nationals, who also finished third in high school state this season. Other contenders include another returning Cadet double All-American in Paxton Creese (Minnesota), returning Junior freestyle All-American Brenden Chaowanapibool (Washington), Cadet folkstyle champion Eli Griffin (Oklahoma), state placers Riley Bettich (Michigan and Breyden Lowery (Indiana), as well as Kyle Rowan (Ohio). Isaac Salas (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) 106: The anchor of this weight class is Cadet folkstyle champion Isaac Salas (California), who is ranked No. 6 overall among incoming freshmen and was runner-up at the UWW Cadet Nationals in freestyle competing at 50 kilos. Two additional UWW Cadet freestyle All-Americans pose the most direct challenge to Salas, Dylan Ragusin (Illinois) and Cullan Schriever (Iowa), both of whom are ranked nationally in the Class of 2020. Ragusin was champion in Greco-Roman at the UWW Cadet Nationals and is ranked No. 45 in that group, having also earned medals last year at both the UWW Cadet Nationals and Cadet Nationals; while state champion Schriever is ranked No. 47 after winning a Cadet freestyle title last year at 88 pounds and losing to Ragusin in the consolation finals of the UWW Cadet freestyle tournament this year at 46 kilos. Four wrestlers join Salas as nationally ranked members of the Class of 2021: No. 11 Vincent Zerban (Illinois); No. 18 Caleb Rathjen (Iowa), third in Cadet folkstyle at 106; No. 21 Zeke Escalera (Kentucky), a high school state champion this year; and No. 23 Brock McMillen (Pennsylvania). Other contenders int his weight class include returning Cadet freestyle All-Americans Caden McCrary (Georgia) and Kaden Kuenzi (Oregon), NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion Ryan Miller (Pennsylvania), and Matthew Ramos (Illinois); Ramos was a Cadet double All-American last year and a 2016 UWW Cadet freestyle All-American. 113: Based on present composition, this is a thin weight class compared to those immediately above and below. The most accomplished wrestler here would be returning Cadet freestyle All-American Anthony Clark (New Jersey), who won state as a freshman and is ranked No. 30 in the Class of 2020. Other prime contenders include returning Cadet freestyle All-American Dylan Shawver (Ohio) and Cadet folkstyle champion Noah Surtin (Illinois), who also placed sixth at the UWW Cadet freestyle tournament in the 50 kilo weight class. Also in the field are state champions Adam Allard (Iowa) and Nick Masters (Georgia), state placer and Cadet folkstyle placer Khyler Brewer (Missouri), along with state medalists T.J. Long (Oklahoma) and Trey Crawford (Missouri). 113: Lots of congestion in this field, which would on the surface be anchored by National Prep champion Trevor Mastrogiovanni (New Jersey), who is ranked No. 10 in the Class of 2020; he is a returning Cadet freestyle All-American and was third at 50 kilos in the UWW Cadet Nationals. However, he lost in dominant fashion at the Cadet Duals to two-time state placer Ryan Sokol (Minnesota), who is ranked No. 3 among rising freshman; Sokol ultimately went undefeated in that event. Mastrogiovanni is joined by another pair of nationally ranked rising sophomores in No. 17 Dominick Serrano (Colorado), a state champion this past season; and No. 43 Mick Burnett (Ohio), who was undefeated at the Cadet Duals. Other high school state champions in this field include Bret Minor (Kansas), Cael Happel (Iowa), Caleb Tanner (Oklahoma), Jackson DiSario (Georgia), Phillip Moomey (Nebraska), and Jacob Lindsey (Illinois). Also to watch in this field are state medalists Aaron Nagao and Cole Reyes (California), two-time state runner-up Jake Svihel (Minnesota), state runner-up and returning Cadet Greco runner-up Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma), state runner-up Dominic Zaccone (Illinois), returning state medalist Luke Odom (Illinois), and Wyatt Henson (West Virginia). Carson Manville (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) 126: Arguably the best overall Cadet wrestler anchors this weight class in Carson Manville (Minnesota), the top rising freshman in the country. Manville was runner-up in the 58 kilo weight class at the UWW Cadet freestyle tournament. Two of the most direct threats to Manville are Travis Mastrogiovanni (New Jersey) and Joshua Saunders (Missouri). Mastrogiovanni is the No. 2 overall rising freshman, and was the only wrestler to score on Manville at the Cadet freestyle duals; he also was champion at the Super 32, Tulsa Kickoff Classic, and Tulsa Nationals in his junior high competition this year. Saunders is the No. 7 overall Class of 2020 wrestler and a returning Cadet freestyle semifinalist; he was a Super 32 Challenge and FloNationals placer this high school season, while also winning a state title and placing fourth at the UWW Cadet freestyle tournament in the 58 kilo weight class. Two additional wrestlers in this weight carry a grade level ranking, Cadet folkstyle runner-up Ryan Franco is No. 8 among rising freshmen, while state runner-up Fabian Lopez (Illinois) is No. 21 among rising sophomores. Others to watch in this field include multi-time state champions Gabe Hixenbaugh (Alabama), Charlie Pickell (Minnesota), and Jordan Hamdan (Michigan); Hamdan is a returning champion in Cadet Greco-Roman. In addition, you have state champion Alec Viduya (Indiana), state runner-up Bryce Hepner (Ohio), Cadet folkstyle champion Mark Shaeffer (Michigan), along with Colton Camacho (Pennsylvania). 132: This is another weight that is relatively less congested compared to the one immediately above and below, based on present composition. It's a wide open weight class with just two wrestlers carrying a grade-level ranking, Frankie Tal-Shahar (Florida) and Victor Voinovich (Ohio). Two-time state placer Tal-Shahar is No. 25 among rising sophomores, while FloNationals (high school) placer Voinovich is No. 7 among rising freshmen. Among lead contenders, two wrestlers won state this past season, Stockton O'Brien (Utah) and Aidan Medora (Wisconsin); O'Brien was also fourth in this weight at Cadet folkstyle. Winning the Cadet folkstyle in this weight class, with an upset over Beau Bartlett, was state medalist Dawson Sihavong (California). Another placer in this Cadet folkstyle weight class was Josh Edmond (Michigan), a state runner-up, who placed third behind Sihavong. The other seven notable wrestlers in this weight were all state medalists this past season: Alex Mosconi (Indiana), who upset Davenport at Cadet Duals; two-time state placer Lucas Revano (New Jersey); Matt Lee (Indiana); Spencer Schrickram (Oklahoma); state runner-up Noah Villarreal (Illinois); Trevor Chumbley (Illinois), who beat Voinovich at Cadet Duals; and 2016 state champion Bryce Andonian (Ohio). 138: The slightest of favorites in this weight would be returning Cadet freestyle All-American Kevon Davenport (Michigan), a two-time state champion who is ranked No. 27 overall in the Class of 2019; he also placed fourth at the UWW Cadet freestyle Nationals in a similar sized weight to this and was a bronze medalist at the Pan-Am Championships. Four other wrestlers in this weight class carry a grade level ranking. Padraic Gallagher (Ohio) is No. 4 among rising freshman, having placed eighth at the UWW Cadet freestyle tournament in the 63 kilo weight class. State runner-up Cade Devos (Iowa) is No. 47 in the Class, placing sixth right between Davenport and Gallagher at UWW Cadets. Cadet folkstyle runner-up Manzona Bryant (Indiana) is No. 31 among rising sophomores, while Walsh Ironman placer Alfonso Martinez (Arizona) is ranked No. 40 in that grade level. Additional wrestlers to watch include Cadet folkstyle placer Luka Wick (California), returning Cadet freestyle All-American Jacob Dado (Illinois), two-time state medalists Colby Njos (Minnesota) and Lance Runyon (Iowa), state fourth place finishers Ethan Basile (Florida) and Robert Garcia (New Jersey), with Delaware state champion Jackson Dean (New Jersey), along with Michael Kistler (Pennsylvania). 145: Another highly robust weight class, which features five grade level ranked wrestlers. Leading the group is probably Cadet folkstyle champion Michael Weber (Montana), a two-time state champion ranked No. 24 in the Class of 2019. Fidel Mayora (Illinois) is ranked No. 13 among rising sophomores, and was seventh in both styles at 63 kilos in last month's UWW Cadet Nationals. Another Cadet folkstyle champion is Alex Facundo (Michigan), ranked No. 5 among rising freshmen and coming off an undefeated Cadet freestyle Duals. Also ranked among rising freshmen are No. 20 Cole Rees (Pennsylvania) and No. 22 Hudson Hightower (Ohio), Rees was undefeated at the Cadet Duals. Others to watch in this field include two-time National Prep placer Benny Baker (Pennsylvania), Cadet folkstyle runners-up Jace Luchau (Calfiornia) and Drew Eller (Georgia), two-time state champion Frankie Almaguer (Washington), and Connor O'Neil (New Jersey), who missed placement at the Super 32 this fall by one match in the high school division. 152: This is another one of those thinner weights between two stronger weight classes. Leading this field is Cadet folkstyle champion Aaron Gandara (Arizona), who is ranked No. 16 overall among rising sophomores. Other contenders include two-time state champion McKay Foy (Utah), 2016 state champion Cade Lindsey (Kansas), 2016 state runner-up Donnel Washington (Illinois), Cadet folkstyle placer Jayden Terronez (Illinois), state placer Colton Hawks (Missouri), and state qualifier Chris Donathan (Ohio). 160: The slight favorite in this weight class would be one of the biggest rankings risers of the 2017 calendar year in UWW Cadet freestyle placer Carter Starocci (Pennsylvania), who is now ranked No. 20 overall in the Class of 2019; he also was third at the FloNationals and a state runner-up during the high school season. Two others in this weight class carry a grade level ranking, both are rising sophomores that went undefeated at the Cadet Freestyle Duals: No. 15 Nevan Snodgrass (Ohio) and No. 19 David Ferrante (Illinois); each placed fourth at state, while Snodgrass was eighth at the UWW Cadet freestyle tournament last month. Additional wrestlers to watch include state champion David Key (Georgia) as well as state medalists Gage Hockett (Oklahoma) and Robert Kanniard (New Jersey). 170: Given how high up the weight classes for the Cadet level this one is, the present composition takes the word loaded to another level. Six wrestlers carry a grade level ranking, led by a pair of top five rising sophomores: No. 3 A.J. Ferrari (Texas) and No. 5 Patrick Kennedy (Minnesota); Kennedy also placed third at the UWW Cadet freestyle tournament in the 76 kilo weight class, with both wrestlers winning state this past season. A joint tri-favorite in this weight would be returning Cadet freestyle All-American Chris Foca (New Jersey), who is ranked No. 19 in the Class of 2019, and placed third at state this high school season and was a placer at the Super 32 Challenge. Three others here are ranked among rising sophomores: No. 11 Gerrit Nejenhuis and No. 42 Luke Nichter were both Pennsylvania big-school division state placers, while No. 35 Jacob Lagoa (Ohio) was a small-school division state champion. Two other state champions in this weight are Julian Broderson (Iowa) and Talon Borrer (Oklahoma). A pair of wrestlers placing in Cadet folkstyle were state placer Brian Boyd (Missouri) and two-time state runner-up Troy Fisher (Kansas). Yet others to watch include returning Cadet double All-American Abe Assad (Illinois), National Prep placer Garrett Kappes (Maryland), two-time state runner-up Gabriel Lee (Georiga), and two-time state third Ryan Ringler (Michigan). 182: The pre-tournament favorite would have to be returning Cadet National double All-American Devin Winston (Missouri), the No. 42 overall Class of 2019 wrestler, and this calendar year also a state champion and UWW Cadet freestyle placer at 85 kilos. The lone other grade level ranked wrestler in this weight is No. 49 risings sophomore Gabe Christenson (Iowa). Other contenders include Cadet folkstyle runner-up Gavin Carter (Kansas), state champions Jonathan Fagen (Idaho) and Connor Bourne (Nevada), two-time National Prep placer Nicholas Florschutz (Pennsylvania), National Prep placer Darrien Roberts (Pennsylvania), state placer Jaden Glauser (Illinois), along with state qualifiers Grant Parrish (Minnesota) and Trevor Swier (Illinois). 195: The lone grade level ranked wrestler in this weight is Cadet folkstyle champion Ashton Sharp (Missouri), who is No. 50 among rising sophomores, and also was the UWW Cadet Greco-Roman champion. Yet the lone returning Cadet freestyle All-American is state champion Santos Cantu (Oregon). Others to note include state champion Konner Doucet (Oklahoma) along with state qualifiers Matthew Cover (Ohio) and Peter Christenson (Illinois). 220: Braxon Amos (West Virginia) was a Cadet National double champion last summer at 195 pounds, but missed all of his freshman season due to an injury sustained in September while training for the Super 32 Challenge. Ranked No. 4 overall in the Class of 2020, this is his first competition since returning to the mats in mid-May. The other grade ranked wrestler in this weight is returning Cadet freestyle All-American Luke Luffman (Illinois), who is ranked No. 43 in the Class of 2019; he was a state champion this past season, a Cadet folkstyle runner-up, and a UWW Cadet double All-American. Additional wrestlers include returning Cadet freestyle All-american Cabe Dickerson (Oklahoma), state runner-up Josh Heindselman (Oklahoma), and state champion Tarik Sutkovic (Arizona). 285: The obvious favorite in this weight class is Roland Tucker (Illinois), a returning Cadet freestyle runner-up and ranked No. 46 overall in the Class of 2019. Additional contenders include Eli Pokorney (Indiana), a returning Cadet freestyle All-American and runner-up at the UWW Cadet freestyle tournament last month, along with two-time West Virginia state runner-up Louden Haga (Ohio).

The 2017 InterMat JJ Classic, a premier preseason high school wrestling tournament, will take place on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017, at the UCR Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minn. The event is open to wrestlers in grades 7 through 12. More information on the 2017 InterMat JJ Classic will be released in the coming weeks. Multiple-time JJ Classic champions Five-time JJ Classic champion: Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) 2011-2015 Three-time JJ Classic champions: Alex Lloyd (Shakopee, Minn.) 2014-2016 Justin Portillo (Clarion-Goldfield, Iowa) 2013-2015 Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) 2012-2014 Two-time JJ Classic champions: Israel Navarro (Willmar, Minn.) 2015-2016 Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa) 2011, 2014 Dayton Racer (Apple Valley, Minn.) 2012-2013 Nathan Rose (Sibley East, Minn.) 2012-2013 Josh Alber (Dakota, Ill.) 2011-2012 Coyte Kuefner (Owatonna, Minn.) 2010-2011 Past JJ Classic champions * Denotes Outstanding Wrestler 2016: 100: Isaac Klinkhammer (Brandon Valley, S.D.) 106: Reid Ballantyne (Stillwater, Minn.) 113: Keegan O'Toole (Arrowhead, Wis.) 120: Israel Navarro (Willmar, Minn.) 126: Garrett Vos (Waconia, Minn.) 132: Christopher Deloza (Wrestling Prep) 138: Nate Larson (Apple Valley, Minn.) 145: Alex Lloyd (Shakopee, Minn.)* 152: Austin Braun (Woodbury, Minn.) 160: Alexander Crowe (Shakopee, Minn.) 170: Jake Leicht (Bloomington Kennedy, Minn.) 182: Connor Williams (La Crosse Central, Wis.) 195: James Huntley (Stillwater, Minn.) 220: Alchan Robbs (Bloomington Kennedy, Minn.) 285: Spencer Trenary (Clarion-Goldfield-Dows, Iowa) 2015: 100: Corey Gamet (Western, Mich.) 106: Israel Navarro (Willmar, Minn.) 113: Justin Portillo (Clarion-Goldfield, Iowa) 120: Paul Bianchi (Two Rivers, Wis.) 126: Markus Hartman (Barrington, Ill.) 132: Jaden Van Maanen (La Crosse Central, Wis.) 138: Alex Lloyd (Shakopee, Minn.) 145: Cayd Lara (Fort Dodge, Iowa) 152: Colton Clingenpeel (Thomas Jefferson, Iowa) 160: Devin FitzPatrick (Mahtomedi, Minn.) 170: Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.)* 182: Lucas Jeske (STMA, Minn.) 195: Tyler Buesgens (Scott West, Minn.) 220: Blake Zalapi (Hononegah, Ill.) 285: Anthony Cassioppi (Hononegah, Ill.) 2014: 100: Curtis LeMair (Prior Lake, Minn.) 106: Justin Portillo (Clarion-Goldfield, Iowa) 113: Dominic LaJoie (Gaylord, Mich.) 120: Nathan Smith (Mukwonago, Wis.) 126: Alex Lloyd (Shakopee, Minn.) 132: Sam Bennyhoff (Mound-Westonka, Minn.) 138: Colton Clingenpeel (Thomas Jefferson, Iowa) 145: Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa)* 152: Carson Brolsma (Osseo, Minn.) 160: Colten Carlson (Willmar, Minn.) 170: Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) 182: Tim Christenson (Albert Lea, Minn.) 195: Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) 220: Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) 285: Aaron Moore (Minnetonka, Minn.) 2013: 100: Justin Portillo (Toledo Central Catholic, Ohio) 106: Tucker Sjomeling (Delano, Minn.) 113: Nolan Hellickson (Southeast Polk, Iowa) 120: Kyle Akins (Sycamore, Ill.) 126: Tommy Thorn (St Michael-Albertville, Minn.) 132: PJ Klee (Wrestling Prep)* 138: Ben Brancale (Eden Prairie, Minn.) 145: Matthew Rundell (OPRF, Ill.) 152: Owen Webster (Shakopee, Minn.) 160: Dayton Racer (Apple Valley, Minn.) 170: Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) 182: Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) 195: Nicholas Pegelow (Eastview, Minn.) 220: Nathan Rose (Sibley East, Minn.) 285: George Weege (Winona, Minn.) 2012: 100: Drew West (Highland, Iowa) 106: Mason Smith (Clio, Mich.) 113: Alijah Jeffery (Linn Mar, Iowa) 120: Josh Alber (Dakota, Ill.) 126: Zac Hall (St Johns, Mich.) 132: Logan Ryan (Bettendorf, Iowa) 138: Taner Trembley (LCWM, Minn.) 145: Kasey Caelwaerts (Pulaski, Wis.) 152: Dayton Racer (Apple Valley, Minn.) 160: Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) 170: Bobby Steveson (Merrillville, Ind.) 182: Miles Hammerlund (Delano, Minn.) 195: Nathan Rose (Sibley East, Minn.)* 220: Paul Cheney (Apple Valley, Minn.) 295: Jason Callanan (Rochester Mayo, Minn.) 2011: 106: Dante' Rodriguez (Grand Island, Neb.) 113: Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa) 120: Josh Alber (Dakota, Ill.) 126: Seth Gross (Apple Valley, Minn.) 132: Sam Brancale (Eden Prairie, Minn.)* 138: Marcus Peterson (Clarion Goldfield, Iowa) 145: Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) 152: Brandon Kingsley (Apple Valley, Minn.) 160: Justin Koethe (Iowa City West, Iowa) 170: Cody Anderson (White Bear Lake, Minn.) 182: Lance Benick (Totino Grace, Minn.) 195: Alex Gray (Maple Grove, Minn.) 220: Coyte Kuefner (Owatonna, Minn.) 285: Michael Kroells (Scott West, Minn.) 2010: 103: Tristan Manderfeld (Foley, Minn.)* 112: Nate Jozsa (Mount Zion, Ill.) 119: Keith Thell (Foley, Minn.) 125: Derek Scott (Apple Valley, Minn.) 130: Hayden Rouser (ACGC, Minn.) 135: Matt Tlougan (Byron, Minn.) 140: Jacob Anderson (River Valley, Minn.) 145: Travis Leiskau (Klein Oak, Texas) 152: Trey Hable (Albert Lea, Minn.) 160: Ben Sullivan (Apple Valley, Minn.) 171: Jake Waste (Apple Valley, Minn.) 189: Chad Matthees (ZM, Minn.) 215: Coyte Kuefner (Owatonna, Minn.) 285: Sam Stoll (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.)

Check out this week's Takedown TV, featuring … Freestyle World Team Interviews from World Team Camp One-on-one with Gabe Dean on his move to Greco-Roman Hall of Fame Feature on Cary Kolat One-on-one with Olympic Gold medalist and UFC flyweight superstar Henry Cejudo Watch online or on these cable networks/channels: Cablevision: Sundays at 4 p.m. Charter Cable: Thursday at 6:30 p.m., Friday 11:30 p.m. and Monday 2:30 p.m. Comcast Cable: Friday at 5 p.m. Cox Cable: Sunday 9:30 a.m. Fight Network HD: Sundays at 4 p.m. KCWI 23: Saturday 4 p.m. KWEM Stillwater, Oklahoma: Tuesday 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Long Lines Cable: Daily at 5:30 p.m. Mediacom Cable: Sundays at 10:30 a.m. MidCo Sports Network: Saturday 10 a.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m. SECV8: Friday at 5 p.m. Suddenlink Cable: Check your local listings. Multiple air times. Time Warner Cable Sports: Saturday at 12 p.m. Western Reserve Cable: Tuesday at 11 p.m., Friday at 5:30 p.m., Saturday at 10 p.m.

Last month, InterMat ran the headline "IOC punts decision for 2024, 2028 Olympic sites" when the Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee deferred a decision as to which cities -- Paris or Los Angeles -- would host the Summer Games in 2024 and 2028. Today was the day many expected that decision to be announced. Instead, the IOC board basically handed off that decision to the two contenders, saying, "OK, you two decide between yourselves." Actually, IOC members voted unanimously to seek a consensus three-way deal between the two bid cities and the IOC executive board after deciding Tuesday it could award the rights for both the 2024 and 2028 Olympics at the same time, going against more than a century of tradition of naming only one Olympic host city at a time since the first Modern Olympics in 1896. The general consensus is that Paris will get the nod to host the 2024 Games, and Los Angeles will welcome the 2028 Olympics. If the two bid cities and the IOC fail to come to an agreement this summer before the next IOC meeting Sept. 13, only the 2024 Olympics host city will be named.

PHILADELPHIA -- Two-time NCAA All-American Chase Pami, who recently finished third at the US Open Freestyle Championships at 70kg, has been added to the Penn Wrestling coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach as announced by head coach Roger Reina today. Chase Pami“We are very excited to announce that Chase is joining the Penn Wrestling coaching staff,” said Reina. “He has achieved high levels of success in both folkstyle and freestyle wrestling, and has represented the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center proudly in both domestic and international competitions. Chase believes in the direction of our program and I have great confidence in his ability to develop our student-wrestlers at Penn.” Pami has trained with the Pennsylvania RTC since 2015, recently finishing third at the U.S. Open in Las Vegas to qualify for the World Team Trials where he finished fourth in the Challenge Tournament at 70kg. In January, Pami won gold at the Paris International. Pami had a tremendous 2012 cycle, wining gold at the NYAC International, finishing second at the Dave Schultz Memorial and qualifying for the Olympic Team Trials where he finished fourth. A member of the 2012 and 2013 USA World Cup teams, Pami was fourth at the 2013 World Team Trials. “I am honored to have this opportunity to step into a coaching role with such a tremendous collegiate wrestling program,” said Pami. “Over the past year, I have had the privilege or working with many of the Penn student-athletes as we've trained together with the Pennsylvania RTC under Roger Reina and Brandon Slay. There is a big vision happening at Penn, a dedication to our sport, and a strong desire to achieve in each member of this team. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to assist in this program in unlocking its fullest potential.” Before transitioning to the international scene, Pami competed collegiately at Cal Poly where he was a two-time All-American. In 2010, Pami was runner-up at NCAAs at 157 pounds for the Mustangs. Pami has collegiate coaching experience from a stint as volunteer assistant at the Air Force Academy during the 2015-16 season. While training at the Illinois Regional Training Center from 2013-15, Pami coached at multiple club and high school programs. Pami joins assistant coaches Mike McMullan and Bryan Pearsall on head coach Roger Reina's staff entering the 2017-18 season.

Dylan Peters battles Darian Cruz in the opening round of the NCAAs (Photo/UNI Sports Information) MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Former Northern Iowa standout Dylan Peters has joined coach Tom Borrelli's Central Michigan wrestling coaching staff. Peters, a two-time All-American at UNI, will serve as a volunteer assistant, replacing Joe Roth. Peters earned a bachelor of arts in movement and exercise science in May from UNI, where he was a four-time NCAA Championships qualifier and the 2014 Mid-American Conference champion at 125 pounds. He was a four-time MAC finalist, was three times named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic Team, and a two-time Academic All-MAC pick. Peters, who hails from Denver, Iowa, completed his collegiate wrestling career in 2017, finishing with an 85-26 record at Northern Iowa. His 38 career pins rank fifth all-time in UNI history.

The 2017 edition of Fargo -- now officially titled as the U.S. Marine Corps Junior and Cadet National Championships -- commences this Saturday and will conclude one week from Saturday. This year's program features a significant change from previous years, with the freestyle events moving to the front end of the week, as opposed to previous years where Greco-Roman led off and freestyle followed. Given such a significant change, it will be interesting to see what -- if any -- impact it has on the overall number of participants across the tournaments. Below is a chart showing the number of competitors in each of the four major events during the Fargo week over the five previous years. Tournament Schedule The following is the schedule of events for all the tournaments during the Fargo week (all times Eastern): Cadet freestyle Saturday 7/15 -- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday 7/16 -- second weigh-in, (quarterfinal round) 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., (semifinal round) 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday 7/17 -- (medal matches) 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Junior freestyle Sunday 7/16 -- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday 7/17 -- second weigh-in, (quarterfinal round) 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., (semifinal round) 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday 7/18 -- (medal matches) 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Cadet women Monday 7/17 -- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., (quarterfinal round) 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday 7/18 -- (semifinal round) 10 a.m. to Noon, (medal matches) 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Cadet Greco-Roman Wednesday 7/19 -- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., (round of 16) 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday 7/20 -- second weigh-in, (quarterfinal round) 4 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Friday 7/21 -- (semifinal round) 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., (medal matches) 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Junior women Wednesday 7/19 -- 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday 7/20 -- second weigh-in, (round of 16) 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., (quarterfinal round) 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday 7/21 -- (semifinal round) 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., (medal matches) 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Junior Greco-Roman Thursday 7/20 -- 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday 7/21 -- second weigh-in, (round of 16) 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., (quarterfinals) 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday 7/22 -- (semifinals) 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., (medal matches) 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Junior women's duals Friday 7/21 -- 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday 7/22 -- 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Cadet and Junior World Championships participants Moving on to the potential participants, a chunk of Fargo-eligible wrestlers will be on the United States' Cadet and Junior world teams in freestyle and Greco-Roman toward the end of the summer. The Junior-level events will be held in Finland at the beginning of August, while the Cadet-level events are slated for Athens, Greece in the beginning of September. More often than not, these athletes have not competed in Fargo in recent years, and it would not surprise me if that pattern continued this year. Below is a list of those that qualified for the World Championships later this summer. Kase Mauger (Idaho) -- Cadet Greco-Roman, 92 pounds Cole Skinner (Ohio) -- Cadet freestyle, 92 pounds Dylan Ragusin (Illinois) -- Cadet Greco-Roman, 101 pounds Kurt McHenry (Virginia) -- Cadet freestyle, 101 pounds Lucas Byrd (Ohio) -- Cadet Greco-Roman, 110 pounds Julian Tagg (Ohio) -- Cadet freestyle, 110 pounds Cevion Severado (Missouri) -- Junior Greco-Roman, 110 pounds Malik Heinselman (Colorado) -- Junior freestyle, 110 pounds Ridge Lovett (Idaho) -- Cadet Greco-Roman, 119 pounds Robert Howard (New Jersey) -- Cadet freestyle, 119 pounds Daton Fix (Oklahoma) -- Junior freestyle, 121 pounds Malik Johnson (Missouri) -- Cadet Greco-Roman, 127 pounds Jordan Decatur (Ohio) -- Cadet freestyle, 127 pounds Dalton Young (Washington) -- Junior Greco-Roman, 132 pounds Mason Phillips (Washington) -- Cadet Greco-Roman, 138 pounds Jacori Teemer (New York) -- Cadet freestyle, 138 pounds Dominick Demas (Ohio) -- Junior Greco-Roman, 145 pounds Will Lewan (Illinois) -- Cadet Greco-Roman and freestyle, 152 pounds; it is unknown if he will compete in one or both styles at worlds, and which style that is; Mason Reiniche (Tennessee) was runner-up in Greco-Roman Jake Hendricks (Pennsylvania) -- Cadet Greco-Roman, 167 pounds Travis Wittlake (Oregon) -- Cadet freestyle, 167 pounds Ashton Sharp (Missouri) -- Cadet Greco-Roman, 187 pounds Gavin Hoffman (Pennsylvania) -- Cadet freestyle, 187 pounds Cohlton Schultz (Colorado) -- Cadet Greco-Roman, 220 pounds; Junior Greco-Roman, 264 pounds Daniel Kerkvliet (Minnesota) -- Cadet freestyle, 220 pounds Gable Steveson (Minnesota) -- Junior freestyle, 264 pounds Returning champions Many wrestlers that won weight class titles in last year's Junior and Cadet Nationals can return for this year's event, though the vast majority of the Cadet champions will be moving up to the Junior level in next week's competitions. As a result, the Cadet National tournaments become a breeding ground for emerging stars and names to watch for in the upcoming seasons of scholastic wrestling. Cadet champions who can repeat at the Cadet level this coming year (listed by weight class in which they won their title last year): Cullan Schriever (Iowa) -- 88 pounds, freestyle Jeremiah Reno (Missouri) -- 94 pounds, freestyle Dylan Ragusin (Illinois) -- 94 pounds, Greco-Roman Julian Tagg (Ohio) -- 100 pounds, freestyle Jordan Hamdan (Michigan) -- 113 pound, Greco-Roman Braxton Amos (West Virginia) -- 195 pounds, freestyle and Greco-Roman Cadet champions that move up to the Junior level: Sam Latona (Alabama) -- 88 pounds, Greco-Roman Ridge Lovett (Idaho) -- 100 pounds, Greco-Roman Corey Gamet (Michigan) -- 106 pounds, freestyle Jace Koelzer (Kansas) -- 106 pounds, Greco-Roman Colton Yapoujian (Colorado) -- 113 pounds, freestyle Jordan Decatur (Ohio) -- 120 pounds, freestyle Theorius Robison (Colorado) -- 120 pounds, Greco-Roman Nick Raimo (New Jersey) -- 126 pounds, freestyle and Greco-Roman Jacori Teemer (New York) -- 132 pounds, freestyle Mason Phillips (Washington) -- 132 pounds, Greco-Roman Brock Hardy (Utah) -- 138 pounds, freestyle Will Lewan (Illinois) -- 138 pounds, Greco-Roman Jared Franek (North Dakota) -- 145 pounds, freestyle Dawon Andrews (Arizona) -- 145 pounds, Greco-Roman Frankie Gissendanner (New York) -- 152 pounds, freestyle James Rogers (Washington) -- 152 pounds, Greco-Roman Aaron Brooks (Maryland) -- 160 pounds, freestyle and Greco-Roman Travis Wittlake (Oregon) -- 170 pounds, freestyle and Greco-Roman Ryan Karoly (New Jersey) -- 182 pounds, freestyle and Greco-Roman Cohlton Schultz (Colorado) -- 220 pounds, freestyle Tyler Curd (Missouri) -- 220 pounds, Greco-Roman Montana Phillips (Oklahoma) -- 285 pounds, freestyle Spencer Trenary (Iowa) -- 285 pounds, Greco-Roman Junior champions whom are eligible to compete again: Malik Heinselman (Colorado) -- 100 pounds, freestyle Brendon Garcia (Colorado) -- 100 pounds, Greco-Roman Jason Holmes (Arizona) -- 106 pounds, freestyle Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania) -- 106 pounds, freestyle Nico Aguilar (California) -- 113 pounds, freestyle Dack Punke (Illinois) -- 113 pounds, Greco-Roman Gavin Teasdale (Pennsylvania) -- 120 pounds, freestyle Austin Gomez (Illinois) -- 126 pounds, freestyle Nick Lee (Indiana) -- 138 pounds, freestyle Anthony Artalona (Florida) -- 145 pounds, freestyle Jake Allar (Minnesota) -- 160 pounds, freestyle Anthony Mantanona (California) -- 160 pounds, Greco-Roman Thomas Brackett (Tennessee) -- 170 pounds, Greco-Roman Haydn Maley (Oregon) -- 195 pounds, Greco-Roman Brandon Metz (North Dakota) -- 285 pounds, Greco-Roman Rising freshmen to watch in Cadet Nationals As mentioned earlier in this article, the Cadet Nationals serve as proving ground for many an emerging star. Yes, that does include incoming ninth graders. Last summer, five wrestlers combined to win six stop signs at the Cadet Nationals before stepping on the high school mats. Among the top Class of 2021 wrestlers, some of the more likely to capture a stop sign include: No. 1 Carson Manville (Minnesota): He has already demonstrated clear ability to compete against wrestlers older in age, as seen by winning a high school state title in Minnesota's big-school division as an eighth-grader. Furthermore, he was second in freestyle and third in Greco-Roman at the UWW Cadet Nationals in Akron, a competition that adds the birth year right before those that are Fargo Cadet eligible. In USA Wrestling level Cadet competition, Manville won double titles at three different regional tournaments, and was undefeated in both Greco-Roman and freestyle at the Cadet duals last month. No. 2 Travis Mastrogiovanni (New Jersey): He was the only wrestler to keep it remotely competitive with Manville between the regional tournaments and the Cadet Duals, as he led 6-0 early in freestyle at the Cadet Duals, before losing by technical fall. Should he stay below Manville in weight class, Mastrogiovanni would be a favorite for gold. 2016-17 was an excellent year for him in Junior High age group competition winning titles at the Super 32 Challenge, Tulsa KOC and Tulsa Nationals while going undefeated at the VAC event. No. 3 Ryan Sokol (Minnesota): Already a two-time state placer in high school varsity competition, he went undefeated at the Cadet Duals in freestyle with a pair of high quality wins over state champion Jacob Lindsey (Illinois) and National Prep champion Trevor Mastrogiovanni (New Jersey). No. 4 Padraic Gallagher (Ohio) and No. 5 Alex Facundo (Michigan): It would not at all be a surprise to see both these wrestlers competing in the same weight class in Cadet freestyle; Facundo is likely to attempt a double in Fargo, while Gallagher is likely to be "freestyle only". While Gallagher placed eighth in the UWW Cadet freestyle tournament competing at 63 kilos, one could argue Facundo had the higher quality results in the tournament. The wrestlers split folkstyle matches at major tournaments this year, Gallagher won at Tulsa, while Facundo won at the Tulsa KOC. It should be noted that Facundo was a champion in Cadet folkstyle, and is in the hunt for a Triple Crown, and was undefeated in both styles at the Cadet Duals last month. No. 6 Isaac Salas (California): Already earned the first leg of the Cadet Triple Crown with a folkstyle national title, which included wins over a pair of returning Cadet National freestyle champions (Schriever and Reno). He was also runner-up in freestyle at the UWW Cadet Nationals last month competing at 50 kilograms. Salas would be a joint or slight favorite at either 106 or 113 pounds (presuming Julian Tagg does not compete at 113, so he can focus on the World Championships in Athens at the beginning of August). How to follow the event Due to the change in structure of the media rights with USA Wrestling, FloWrestling now has control of both the streaming and bracketing rights. As a result, the tournament will no longer be on Trackwrestling for bracketing, which means to follow the proceedings on Flo Arena; while continue to go to Flowrestling for the streaming broadcast. Fargo coverage Keep your eye glued onto InterMat for Fargo coverage throughout the coming week including some event-specific previews and recaps, and well as a broad recap of the whole group of tournaments after the festivities are complete.

Three-time state placer, 2015 state champion, Gerard Angelo (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) verbally committed to Cornell late on Monday afternoon. The No. 96 overall Class of 2018 wrestler was a Cadet freestyle All-American last summer placing fourth at 138 pounds. He finished second at state this past season, third as a sophomore, and was champion as a freshman. Angelo projects to compete collegiately as a 149/157.

A fire caused significant damage to the Blackman (Tenn.) wrestling building A fire caused "significant damage" to the building used by one of the top wrestling programs in Tennessee Sunday night. The freestanding building contained mats, weights and other equipment used by the wrestling program at Blackman High School in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Murfreesboro firefighters responded to the school shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday. When crews arrived, they found heavy black smoke in a detached metal building behind the school. There was extensive damage to the building but no injuries, the Daily News Journal reported Monday. Here's how the website for the Blackman High School wrestling team -- ironically named the Blaze -- reported on the fire: "On Sunday, July 9th, the Blackman Wrestling building caught fire and suffered significant damage. We are heartbroken. Thanks to everyone for your words of encouragement and support. We will assess our options and in the coming days, we will develop a plan for rebuilding and heart mending! Go Blaze!" The fire remains under investigation. Since Blackman High School first opened in 2000, the Blaze wrestling program has made its mark in Tennessee, with 26 state medalists, four runners-up and five state champions. Murfreesboro is located southeast of Nashville. Update 7/11/17 According to Tuesday's Daily News Journal, the fire was accidental, and appears to have been caused by a defective exhaust fan. The building and its contents were declared a total loss. The building had been used by four wrestling teams which will now need a new facility. There are some encouraging aspects to come out of the loss. For starters, brand-new wrestling mats, recently delivered, were stored in another location and were undamaged... and Blackman assistant wrestling coach Eric Sacharczyk reported that the school is already hearing from wrestling programs around the country, offering support. A GoFundMe page has been established to help Blackman wrestling rebuild its facility and replace contents destroyed by the recent fire.

Two-time state runner-up Matthew Grippi (Fox Lane, N.Y.) verbally committed to North Carolina State on Monday afternoon. The No. 88 overall Class of 2018 wrestler joins No. 77 Jakob Camacho (Danbury, Ct.) and No. 86 Tyler Barnes (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) to make it three top 100 commits for the Wolfpack so far in this class. The 2016 class brought in by head coach Pat Popolizio and staff - featuring five top 100 recruits - was the nation's No. 1 recruiting class. Grippi has also placed seventh at the 2016 Flo Nationals, and was one match away from placing at the Super 32 Challenge this past October. He projects to compete collegiately as a 165 pound wrestler.

Two-time state champion and three-time state finalist Real Woods (Montini Catholic, Ill.) verbally committed to Stanford early Monday afternoon. Ranked No. 26 overall in the Class of 2018, Woods won state titles as a freshman and junior, while also winning the 2015 Walsh Jesuit Ironman in December of his sophomore season. Woods is has also won USA Wrestling Preseason Nationals titles each of the last two years, and represented the United States at the Cadet World Championships in Greco-Roman last year. He projects to compete collegiately as a 133/141 pound wrestler, and joins No. 18 Shane Griffith (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) as a Cardinal commit in this recruiting class.

Bill Zadick with Tony Ramos at the Beat the Streets Gala (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Bill Zadick and J.J. Dillon will be guests for the "On The Mat" broadcast this Wednesday, July 12. Zadick, 1996 NCAA champion for the University of Iowa, is currently U.S. freestyle wrestling national team coach. James J. Dillon, former pro wrestling manager of the Four Horsemen, and the 2016 recipient of the Lou Thesz World Heavyweight Championship Award, given to an individual in wrestling who has taken the skills of the sport into the realm of public service. "On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa this Wednesday at 5 p.m. Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on mattalkonline.com.

The high school wrestling program that produced Damion Hahn is fighting for its life. At Lakewood, Damion Hahn won three state championships, compiled a career record of 131-3 and was named New Jersey's Wrestler of the Century by the The Star-LedgerWrestling at New Jersey's Lakewood High School is about to be eliminated unless the Lakewood Board of Education can come up with funds to save it. "For me, wrestling was a platform to get me where I am," Hahn, associate head wrestling coach at Cornell University, told the Asbury Park Press Friday. Hahn is arguably the most successful wrestler to come out of Lakewood in the more than a half-century of Piner wrestling. He was a three-time New Jersey state champion for Lakewood High from 1997-99 who went on to become a two-time NCAA champion at the University of Minnesota, a four-time NCAA All-America and an alternate on the 2008 United States Olympic Wrestling Team. "Any time the sport gets cut, it hurts, but even more so here because this is where I grew up -- the place I wrestled," Hahn said. "It hurts." The Lakewood Piners wrestling program isn't the only interscholastic sport to find itself in a predicament. When students return to Lakewood High this fall, baseball, softball, basketball and wrestling teams will be dissolved, as the district continues to struggle financially. The school board refused to approve the budget for the 2017-18 school year; however, state monitor David Shafter overruled board members' objections and adopted the $143 million spending plan. While that might seem like a lot, it's about $30 million less than the previous school year. The one sport that escaping these budget cuts unscathed is football. The Lakewood Township Committee has pledged to pay $84,000 to ensure the high school will have a football program this fall. It's not just sports that are taking the hit. Among the other budget cuts: there will be six fewer librarians at Lakewood High. In the big scheme of things, wrestling takes up a tiny fraction of the school district's overall budget. The high school program runs on about $35,000 and the middle school program has a budget of $17,000, which adds up to just over $50,000 out of $143 million budget. The final decision regarding the budget is expected to be made at the Lakewood Board of Education on July 19.

You're about to witness the birth of a new sports league for the first real sport, wrestling. In the past few days, you may have seen references to PROWL in social media. There have been photos of top amateur wrestlers, online polls asking fans to cast votes for cities within states that are wrestling hotbeds ... with no real explanation. This writer first came across PROWL at Xander Schultz's Twitter account. Xander is considered to be a key member of the wrestling community. Only son of beloved Olympic gold medalist Dave Schultz and Nancy Schultz who has maintained her late husband's memory by continuing with the wrestling club that bears his name. Nephew of Mark Schultz, Olympian champ and author of the "Foxcatcher" book which inspired the Oscar-nominated film of the same name. Xander Schultz is an entrepreneur who has launched multiple ventures in Silicon Valley. Now he's putting that entrepreneurial experience to work for the sport that is very much a part of his family. A couple months ago, Schultz has joined Mike Novogratz, a major figure in USA Wrestling, and his brother Matt who have been working the past nine months to create a venture which Xander described as "unique in wrestling, and unique in all sports." That venture is PROWL. "Our mission is two-fold," Schultz told InterMat. "First of all, PROWL will allow wrestlers to be true professional athletes that can solely focus on being the absolute best they can be. Secondly, PROWL is going to make it a ton more exciting and fun to be a wrestling fan." "What we are developing is a bigger, grander vision than might have ever been attempted in the past, both in terms of production, and in its structure." As Schultz sketched out the framework of PROWL, this writer immediately thought of past attempts to grow wrestling and provide wrestlers with an opportunity to continue in the sport and make a living at it ... specifically asking about some of those ventures from recent times as well as those from a decade or more ago. "If you're thinking Real Pro Wrestling or other more recent ventures, you're not thinking big enough," Schultz replied. "Nothing against those ventures, but we are taking a different approach than what's been tried in the past." "We want to bring matches that matter to the people in wrestling hotbeds. There's something amazing about the shared experience of taking in a sporting event in person with fellow fans." "We want to make wrestling awesome for fans. We want wrestling fans to have a great experience for their sport, with the same kind of excitement and production elements that fans of other sports already enjoy." "Our focus is on individual wrestlers -- who are modern-day samurais -- rather than on teams or leagues," Schultz continued. "We love how the NBA has taken an athlete-first approach. We have some of the best athletes and role models in the world, and want to put them front and center in our promotion." While Schultz and the Novogratz brothers seek to incorporate elements from other sports that have proven successful with fans, they are working to make PROWL uniquely appropriate to wrestling. "Authenticity is key to wrestling," Schultz said to InterMat. "What we're creating is truer to the ethos of wrestling." "We're putting together something that wrestlers, fans and the entire wrestling community can get behind. Something that will ultimately generate more exposure and interest for the sport, and help grow participation and interest in wrestling at all levels, especially high school and college." "It matters to me that we create something that helps the sport succeed and sustain itself over time." Specifics of PROWL will be revealed over the next few months. However, Xander Schultz is confident that wrestling fans will like what he and Mike and Matt Novogratz are working on. "If you're an authentic wrestling fan, you'll love the product we're developing." For the latest information, readers interested in PROWL can enter their email at www.prowl.tv and follow PROWL on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Yoel Romero, world-class wrestler who won a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics, lost a unanimous decision to Robert Whittaker in the headline event at UFC 213 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night. All judges scored the five-round bout 48-47 for Whittaker, who now holds the UFC interim middleweight (185-pound) title. Yoel RomeroMultiple media reports indicate that the 40-year-old Cuban native was in control in the first two rounds, appearing to have injured Whittaker's left knee with a series of side kicks in the first round, then using his wrestling expertise in the second. "All his work came at a price," reported Sherdog.com. "Romero's pace slowed to a crawl over the third, fourth and fifth rounds, his muscle-bound frame starved for oxygen. Even wounded, Whittaker managed to capitalize. He ripped into Romero with a punishing jab, mean left hooks upstairs and front kicks to the body." According to MMAFighting.com, "When Romero got him to the mat, Whittaker popped back to his feet each time. He picked up the pace in the third and began throwing frequent kicks with his right leg. This threw off Romero's timing, and Whittaker picked up the pace over the third and fourth rounds." In the fifth round, Whittaker knocked down Romero, then took top position, wearing down the Olympian with strikes. After the bout, the two combatants offered their analysis of the action. Referring to his injured knee, Whittaker said, "It definitely was impacting my game. I was trying to establish the jab. It was pretty bad, but champions are made of this stuff." "I think he's the champ," Whittaker added. "I think he's a veteran and tough and a champ for a reason." "It was very close," Romero said. "But he won the fight. It happens for a reason." With the win, Whittaker -- a 26-year-old from New Zealand -- not only claimed the interim middleweight title, but earned his eighth straight victory to compile a 19-4-0 pro MMA record ... while Romero, who was on an eight-match win streak, is now 13-2-0 overall. Prior to launching his MMA career in December 2008, Yoel Romero was one of the most powerful freestyle wrestlers in his weight class. The chiseled Cuban was a two-time Olympian, winning the silver at the 2000 Sydney Games (losing to Adam Saitev in the finals), and placing fourth in Athens in 2004. During his freestyle career, Romero defeated three different Olympic gold medal winners, and five different world champions. Among those he beat: Cael Sanderson and Les Gutches.

Marcus Cobbs ATCHISON -- Benedictine College Athletic Director Charlie Gartenmayer has announced the hiring of Marcus Cobbs to become the next head wrestling coach at Benedictine. "We are excited to have Marcus join the staff at Benedictine," Gartenmayer said. "He has been around NAIA wrestling as both a coach and student-athlete and knows what it takes to excel in the classroom and on the mat. We look forward to where he will take the Raven wrestling program moving forward." Coach Cobbs comes to Benedictine from Truett McConnell University in Cleveland, Ga., where he served as the head coach from April of 2014. While at Truett McConnel, Coach Cobbs guided the program to 14 All-Academic Conference selections, eight Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athlete selections and two top five finishes in team GPA on the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Academic team, which included a top finish at the end of the 2015 season. "Benedictine College has a strong tradition of not only successful athletics but succesful academics," Coach Cobbs said. "The strong faith base and the opportunity it allows students to grow in their faith and to spread the gospel is an important quality to me." Prior to Truett McConnell, Coach Cobbs spent time as an assistant coach at Cumberland University while also serving as the interim head coach at Concordia (Neb.) University. In his time at Cumberland and Concordia, he helped coach a combined 21 national qualifiers, a two-time NAIA Champion, and nine NAIA All-Americans while also helping guide the programs to high academic all-conference marks and team GPA recognition by the NWCA. "We're going to build on the pillars within the mission of the school both athletically and academically," Coach Cobbs said. "I also look forward to building a connection with the campus community and the Atchison community. "I would to thank Mr. Gartenmayer, President Minnis and the Benedictine community for the opportunity to become the next wrestling coach." Coach Cobbs has a Bachelor's in Physical Education with an emphasis in Strength & Conditioning from fellow Heart member William Penn University. He received his Master's in Sports Management from Cumberland. He will begin his duties as head coach immediately. Founded in 1858, Benedictine College is a Catholic, Benedictine, residential, liberal arts college nestled in the bluffs of the Missouri River in Atchison, Kan., Raven Athletics competes in the NAIA as a member of the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

Logan Luft, a wrestler who was to enter high school in Charles City, Iowa, died this week after sustaining a serious brain injury from an ATV accident on Tuesday, July 4. He was 15. Logan LuftAs a designated organ donor, Luft was kept on life support at Mayo Clinic-St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Minn. until Friday as his recipients were being chosen. "We know that God has a plan and has had a plan for him his whole life but maybe, just maybe, he has another plan for somebody else," Logan's mother Wendy Luft told KAAL-TV. In an interview with the Des Moines Register, Wendy Luft described the two passions that defined her eldest son: fishing and wrestling. She added that Logan was incredibly committed to everything from wrestling to school, saying, "He was a very dedicated person." In that same newspaper, Heath Grimm, head wrestling coach at Upper Iowa University and family friend of the Lufts, used the words "smile," "determination" and "energy" as major aspects of Logan Luft that he will remember, describing him as a wrestler who was "second to none." Logan Luft was a top-flight wrestler, as demonstrated by this post to his Facebook page on May 11: "Last weekend I qualified to represent the state of Iowa at Fargo Nationals and Cadet duals in Pennsylvania. Would you be willing to support me on my trip? I'm selling raffle tickets for either cash prize or an all-inclusive trip to Mexico. Thank you for your support!!" The Facebook page for IAWrestle.com -- a website that covers the sport within the state of Iowa -- featured this tribute: "We are incredibly saddened to hear about the passing of young wrestler Logan Luft who would have been a freshman next season at Charles City. He was a very good wrestler and by all accounts an even better young man! Gone too soon but not forgotten." The citizens of Charles City paid tribute to Logan Luft with a twilight vigil which concluded with the lighting of a Chinese lantern. The wrestling community plans to honor Logan with a "Funk, Flash and Throws" benefit wrestling camp to be held Monday, July 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the West Gym at University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. The already-scheduled camp promises that "every dime" will go to the Luft family. Online registration is available. Update 07/10/17 The Mason City (Iowa) Globe-Gazette reported Monday that five individuals have received organs from Logan Luft. Others will benefit from tissue donations in the future. A visitation for Logan Christian Luft will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 at the new Charles City Middle School competition gym. The Celebration of Life service will take place immediately following the visitation at 2 p.m. Burial will follow at Riverside Cemetery. Everyone is welcome for a celebration of Logan's life with fellowship and food at the Enrichment Center at the Floyd County Fairgrounds following the burial. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.hauserfh.com.

Funeral services have been announced for William "Chipper" Grogg, a wrestler at Sandy Valley High School in eastern Ohio who was killed in a one-car crash Thursday morning. He was 15. William "Chipper" GroggVisitation will take place Sunday, July 9, 2017 from 1-3 p.m. in the Kreighbaum-Sanders Funeral Home on South Cleveland Ave. in Canton, Ohio. Grogg was a passenger in a car that crashed on State Route 171 in Carroll County, Ohio, according to the Canton Repository. William G. "Chipper" Grogg II was born May 26, 2002 in Canton, Ohio. He was about to start his junior year at Sandy Valley High where he played football and wrestled. "We're gonna miss him," said Sandy Valley Superintendent David Fischer. "Whether you saw him out there wrestling ... or as No. 35 on the football field, he's going to be missed." The Sandy Valley wrestling team posted this message on its Facebook page: "I sorrowfully report that one of our brothers has passed. SV Wrestler and Football player Chipper Grogg passed away last evening due to injuries sustained from a car accident. Our program sends out prayers and condolences to all of his family and friends. Chipper will be dearly missed by everyone in our program. I cannot explain how unique of an individual he was. Everyone knew Chipper and Everyone loved Chipper. He had a huge heart and if you are one of the individuals to experience knowing Chipper you are very lucky. The SV Wrestling Community loves you to the fullest and you will never be forgotten. REST IN PEACE CHIPPER GROGG!!!!" A GoFundMe page has been established to help the Grogg family with funeral expenses for their son.