InterMat Staff

Stephen Abas (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) Stephen Abas, three-time NCAA wrestling champion and 2004 Olympic silver medalist, will be a contestant on the season premiere of NBC's "American Ninja Warrior" Monday, June 12. The wrestler/coach posted this message on his Abas Flow Wrestling Facebook page: "June 12th Monday on NBC 8/7c. Check out Fresno's Stephen Abas taking on the Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course!" "American Ninja Warrior," which returns for its ninth season, describes itself as an "action-packed series follows competitors as they tackle a series of challenging obstacle courses in both city qualifying and city finals rounds across the country." The NBC show is based on a popular series from Japan that is now in its 33rd season. Contestants vie for an ultimate grand prize of $1 million. Abas, 39, was a four-time NCAA All-American at Fresno State, compiling a 144-3 record during his mat career with the Bulldogs from 1998-2002. Abas then wrestled freestyle, where he earned a gold medal at the 2003 Pan-American Games, and a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens at 55 kilograms/121 pounds. He had a brief career in professional mixed martial arts in 2010-11, compiling a 3-0 record.

Mike Mena, four-time NCAA All-American for the University of Iowa, has been named head wrestling coach at Lincoln College, the Illinois-based school announced this week. Mike MenaMena replaces Daryl Thomas, former University of Illinois wrestler, who accepted an assistant coaching position at Old Dominion University in Virginia after just one year at the helm at Lincoln. Mena brings to Lincoln College varied collegiate coaching experience, most recently having served as head assistant coach at University of Dubuque, an NCAA Division III program in northeast Iowa, for the past five seasons. Prior to that, Mena worked as an assistant to the coaching staff at two Division I programs, starting at Indiana University, then at Cal State University Bakersfield. Before launching his coaching career nearly two decades ago, Mena made a name for himself on the mat. At Sterling Newman Catholic High School, Mena became the first wrestler to win four state titles at the Illinois state championships with an undefeated record. He then headed west to wrestle for the Iowa Hawkeyes, where he was a four-time NCAA All-American and NCAA finalist for legendary head coach Dan Gable. Mena graduated from Iowa in 1997. Mena takes the helm of a program that earlier this year placed fourth in the final team standings at the 2017 NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) National Wrestling Championships, with five Lynx wrestlers earning All-American honors out of ten weight classes. "I am very excited about Mike being our next coach," said Lincoln College Athletic Director Dave Klemm. "Mike possesses outstanding coaching and recruiting skills that should lead to the continued success of the Lynx wrestling program here at Lincoln College." "I am humbled and honored to serve as head wrestling coach at Lincoln College, a school that has a legacy of academic and athletic excellence," Mena said. "I would like to thank President Gerlach, Athletic Director Dave Klemm, and the board of trustees for this wonderful opportunity and for believing in me. Additionally, I would like to thank my family for all their love and support. I am looking forward to working closely with the administration, faculty, staff and student-athletes on a daily basis to execute the mission and values of Lincoln College." Located in Lincoln, Ill., Lincoln College is a private college that describes itself as a hybrid, offering both two- and four-year degree programs. Founded in 1865, Lincoln is the only institution named for President Abraham Lincoln during his lifetime. The college has an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students.

Jordan Burroughs made his seventh straight U.S. team (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LINCOLN, Neb. -- Two Olympic medalists -- one a gold medalist and one a bronze medalist -- found themselves on the brink of defeat at the Freestyle World Team Trials on Saturday night. Both wrestlers, Jordan Burroughs and J'den Cox, dug deep and found a way to win. The 28-year-old Burroughs, wrestling in front of his home crowd in Lincoln, Nebraska, came from behind to beat Kyle Dake in the finals at 74 kilograms and punch his ticket to August's World Championships in Paris, France. Attendance for the final session was 4,622. Finals Results 57 kilograms: Thomas Gilman defeated Tony Ramos, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Gilman dec. Ramos, 4-3 Match 2: Gilman dec. Ramos, 7-2 61 kilograms: Logan Stieber defeated Kendric Maple, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Stieber dec. Maple, 9-8 Match 2: Stieber tech. fall Maple, 10-0 65 kilograms: Zain Retherford defeated Frank Molinaro, 2 matches to 1 Match 1: Molinaro dec. Retherford, 7-6 Match 2: Retherford dec. Molinaro, 6-0 Match 3: Retherford dec. Molinaro, 7-4 70 kilograms: James Green defeated Jimmy Kennedy, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Green dec. Kennedy, 6-0 Match 2: Green dec. Kennedy, 8-5 74 kilograms: Jordan Burroughs defeated Kyle Dake, 2 matches to 1 Match 1: Dake dec. Burroughs, 6-6 Match 2: Burroughs dec. Dake, 8-4 Match 3: Burroughs dec. Dake, 5-3 86 kilograms: J'den Cox defeated David Taylor, 2 matches to 1 Match 1: Taylor dec. Cox, 9-3 Match 2: Cox dec. Taylor, 4-3 Match 3: Cox dec. Taylor, 6-2 97 kilograms: Kyle Snyder defeated Kyven Gadson, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Snyder tech. fall Gadson, 10-0 Match 2: Snyder tech. fall Gadson, 13-2 125 kilograms: Nick Gwiazdowski defeated Dom Bradley, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Gwiazdowski dec. Bradley, 5-0 Match 2: Gwiazdowski dec. Bradley, 3-1

Thomas Gilman defeated Nathan Tomasello to reach the finals at 57 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LINCOLN, Neb. -- Thomas Gilman's college wrestling career didn't end how he wanted in March when he fell short of reaching the NCAA finals as the top seed. On Saturday, Gilman showed his resolve by bouncing back from his college wrestling setback to reach the finals of the Freestyle World Team Trials at 57 kilograms. The eighth-seeded Gilman, who qualified through the Last Chance Qualifier, opened his tournament by avenging his NCAA semifinal finals loss against Darian Cruz, 9-0. He then edged top-seeded Tyler Graff 1-1, before dominating Nico Megaludis 11-0 in the semifinals. In the challenge tournament finals, Gilman squared off against longtime rival Nathan Tomasello. Gilman scored first off a step out, but Tomasello responded with a takedown to grab a 2-1 lead. The score remained that way until the final 30 finals when Gilman scored a point off the shot clock to make the score 2-2, but still trailed on criteria. The two continued to battle, and with short time on the clock Gilman was able to get in on a shot and convert for takedown to win in the closing seconds. World No. 6 David Taylor advanced to the finals at 86 kilograms (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) World No. 6 David Taylor was pushed hard by Nick Heflin in the challenge tournament finals, but prevailed 13-9 to advance to the finals at 86 kilograms. Heflin used a four-point throw in late in the first period to take a 9-4 lead. Taylor poured it on in the second period, scoring a four-point move of his own early in the period to cut the deficit to 9-8. He added two more takedowns to win by four. Taylor will now wrestle Olympic bronze medalist J'den Cox for a chance to make his first U.S. World Team. Cox is currently ranked No. 5 in the world by United World Wrestling. Kyle Dake reached the finals at 74 kilograms by beating Isaiah Martinez and Alex Dieringer (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Kyle Dake advanced to the finals at 74 kilogorams where he will face Jordan Burroughs in highly-anticipated final. Dake handled two-time NCAA champion Isaiah Martinez 9-2, and then grinded out a 2-1 victory over three-time NCAA champion Alex Dieringer in the challenge tournament finals. A first-period takedown by Dake was the difference in the match. U.S. Open champion Kendric Maple cruised to the finals at 61 kilograms. He opened with a technical fall over Chris Dardanes, and then blanked fellow Sooner alum Cody Brewer 8-0. He then met Brandon Wright in the challenge tournament finals. Wright scored first to take a 1-0 lead, but Maple responded with a takedown off a double leg before securing a leg lace, which he used to rack up six more points and take an 8-1 lead. Maple held on for a 10-4 victory. He will now face returning world champion Logan Stieber in tonight's finals. Zain Retherford was unchallenged en route to reaching the finals at 65 kilograms. He picked up three technical falls in three matches, including a 10-0 shutout in the challenge tournament finals against B.J. Futrell. At 70 kilograms, Jimmy Kennedy, who moved up from 65 kilograms, came through the challenge tournament as the top seed, beating Dylan Ness, Jason Nolf and Nazar Kulchytskyy. Against Nolf, Kennedy found himself in a 4-0 hole early, but battled back to win 8-6. He then blanked Kulchytskyy 7-0. Kennedy will now meet world No. 2 James Green, a 2015 world bronze medalist. Kyven Gadson cruised to the finals at 97 kilograms, and will now face Kyle Snyder (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Kyven Gadson cruised to the finals at 97 kilograms with victories over Hayden Zillmer, Nathan Burak and Micah Burak. Tonight he will battle Olympic champion Kyle Snyder. Dom Bradley took out Bobby Telford and Tony Nelson to reach the finals at 125 kilograms. He will face U.S. Open champion Nick Gwiazdowski in the finals tonight. The finals are slated for 6 p.m. CT. Challenge Tournament Finals Results 57 kilograms: Thomas Gilman dec. Nathan Tomasello, 6-2 61 kilograms: Kendric Maple dec. Brandon Wright, 10-4 65 kilograms: Zain Retherford tech. fall B.J. Futrell, 10-0 70 kilograms: Jimmy Kennedy dec. Nazar Kulchytskyy, 7-0 74 kilograms: Kyle Dake dec. Alex Dieringer, 2-1 86 kilograms: David Taylor dec. Nick Heflin, 13-9 97 kilograms: Kyven Gadson tech. fall Micah Burak, 10-0 125 kilograms: Dom Bradley dec. Tony Nelson, 8-1 Finals Matchups 57 kilograms: Tony Ramos vs. Thomas Gilman 61 kilograms: Logan Stieber vs. Kendric Maple 65 kilograms: Frank Molinaro vs. Zain Retherford 70 kilograms: James Green vs. Jimmy Kennedy 74 kilograms: Jordan Burroughs vs. Kyle Dake 86 kilograms: J'den Cox vs. David Taylor 97 kilograms: Kyle Snyder vs. Kyven Gadson 125 kilograms: Nick Gwiazdowski vs. Dom Bradley

2017 Junior World Team (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LINCOLN, Neb. -- On Friday, Mark Hall moved one step closer in his quest to repeat as a junior world champion. The 20-year-old Penn State wrestler dominated Alex Marinelli in the best-of-three finals at the UWW Junior World Team Trials at 74 kilograms. Hall, an NCAA champion as a true freshman, took the opening match 10-0 and the second match 8-3. Mark Hall defeated Alex Marineilli in two consecutive matches (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) He will now look to join former junior world teammate Spencer Lee as a two-time junior world champion. The Junior World Championships will take August 1-6 in Tampere, Finland. Daton Fix handled Brandon Courtney in the finals at 55 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Another returning junior world medalist, Daton Fix, earned a spot on this year's Junior World Team at 55 kilograms with two technical falls over Brandon Courtney. Fix, a bronze medalist at last year's Junior Worlds, was unscored upon in the first match, winning 12-0, before going on to win the second match 15-4. Two-time cadet world champion Gable Steveson, the nation's top wrestler in the Class of 2018, will get his first crack at a junior world title after beating past cadet world silver medalist Jordan Wood in two straight matches to earn a spot on the Junior World Team at 120 kilograms. Zahid Valencia gets his hand raised after defeating Nick Reenan in the finals at 84 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Zahid Valencia made his third straight Junior World Team by topping NC State wrestler Nick Reenan in consecutive matches at 84 kilograms. Valencia, an All-American for Arizona State, outscored Reenan 23-1. Mitchell McKee won a hard-fought, three-match battle over Austin Gomez to claim the title at 60 kilograms. McKee, a runner-up at last year's Junior World Team Trials, cruised to a technical fall shutout over Gomez in the opening match. But Gomez came out strong in the second match and scored eight points in the first period to grab an 8-3 lead. McKee battled back in the second period, but Gomez held on for an 8-3 victory to force a third and deciding match. In the third match, Gomez once again jumped out early, scoring with a headlock and putting McKee in serious danger. McKee would fight off his back, but Gomez grabbed a 5-2 lead. McKee battled back, scoring five unanswered points to win 7-5. Kollin Moore was dominant en route to winning the title at 96 kilograms (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Kollin Moore, an All-American for Ohio State, made his second straight Junior World team at 96 kilograms. He punched his ticket to Finland by claiming two straight technical falls over Andrew Marsden. Ohio State commit Malik Heinselman, who will be entering his senior year of high school, captured the title at 50 kilograms, beating Cevion Severado, 7-4 and 10-0. Heinselman was twice a member of the Cadet World Team. Northwestern wrestler Ryan Deakin earned a spot on the Junior World Team at 66 kilograms, beating Patricio Lugo in two consecutive matches, 9-2 and 10-0. Finals Results 50 kilograms: Malik Heinselman defeated Cevion Severado, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Heinselman dec. Severado, 7-4 Match 2: Heinselman tech. fall Severado, 10-0 55 kilograms: Daton Fix defeated Brandon Courtney, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Fix tech. fall Courtney, 12-0 Match 2: Fix tech. fall Courtney, 15-4 60 kilograms: Mitchell McKee defeated Austin Gomez, 2 matches to 1 Match 1: McKee tech. fall Gomez, 10-0 Match 2: Gomez dec. McKee, 11-8 Match 3: McKee dec. Gomez, 6-5 66 kilograms: Ryan Deakin defeated Patricio Lugo, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Deakin dec. Lugo, 9-2 Match 2: Deakin tech. fall Lugo, 10-0 74 kilograms: Mark Hall defeated Alex Marinelli, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Hall tech. fall Marinelli, 10-0 Match 2: Hall dec. Marinelli, 8-3 84 kilograms: Zahid Valencia defeated Nick Reenan, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Valencia tech. fall Reenan, 11-0 Match 2: Valencia tech. fall Reenan, 12-1 96 kilograms: Kollin Moore defeated Andrew Marsden, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Moore tech. fall Marsden, 13-2 Match 2: Moore tech. fall Marsden, 20-8 120 kilograms: Gable Steveson defeated Jordan Wood, 2 matches to 0 Match 1: Steveson tech. fall Wood, 10-0 Match 2: Steveson tech. fall Woods, 13-2

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The seeds have been released for the Freestyle World Team Trials. The event takes place on Saturday at the Bob Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb. One wrestler in each of the eight weight classes receives an automatic berth in the best-of-three finals on Saturday night. Those wrestlers are Tony Ramos (57 kilograms), Logan Stieber (61 kilograms), Frank Molinaro (65 kilograms), James Green (70 kilograms), Jordan Burroughs (74 kilograms), J'den Cox (86 kilograms), Kyle Snyder (97 kilograms) and Nick Gwiazdowski (125 kilograms). Wrestling gets underway at 10 a.m. CT on Saturday. The challenge tournament seeds are below. 57 kilograms: 1. Tyler Graff 2. Nahshon Garrett 3. Nathan Tomasello 4. Nico Megaludis 5. Zach Sanders 6. Frank Perrelli 7. Alan Waters 8. Thomas Gilman 9. Darian Cruz 61 kilograms: 1. Kendric Maple 2. Brandon Wright 3. Josh Kindig 4. Cody Brewer 5. Jayson Ness 6. Joe Colon 7. Seth Gross 8. Chris Dardanes 65 kilograms: 1. Zain Retherford 2. Bernard Futrell 3. Evan Henderson 4. Kellen Russell 5. Nick Dardanes 6. Mario Mason 7. Dean Heil 8. Jaydin Eierman 70 kilograms: 1. Jimmy Kennedy 2. Nazar Kulchytskyy 3. Chase Pami 4. Jason Nolf 5. Alec Pantaleo 6. Jason Chamberlain 7. Tommy Gantt 8. Dylan Ness 74 kilograms: 1. Kyle Dake 2. Alex Dieringer 3. Anthony Valencia 4. Isaiah Martinez 5. Kevin LeValley 6. Chance Marsteller 86 kilograms: 1. David Taylor 2. Richard Perry 3. Nick Heflin 4. Patrick Downey 5. Kyle Crutchmer 6. Austin Trotman 7. Josh Asper 8. Joe Rau 97 kilograms: 1. Kyven Gadson 2. Dustin Kilgore 3. Micah Burak 4. Nathan Burak 5. Kallen Kleinschmidt 6. Ty Walz 7. Blaize Cabell 8. Nikko Reyes 9. Hayden Zillmer 10. Matt Williams 125 kilograms: 1. Zack Rey 2. Dom Bradley 3. Bobby Telford 4. Tony Nelson 5. Justin Grant 6. Nathan Butler

Ted Bredehoft, wrestler at Cornell College in the 1950s who became head wrestling coach at Arizona State throughout the 1960s, has died, Arizona State announced Thursday. Bredehoft passed away in a hospice in Wichita, Kan. on May 20 at age 84. Ted Bredehoft with Curley CulpTheodore "Ted" Cornell Bredehoft was born in Lincoln, Neb. and adopted by his parents, Walter and Hilda Bredehoft. He attended Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa in the mid-1950s where he was a member of the Purple wrestling team before earning his bachelor's degree. Bradehoft later earned his Master's at University of Washington, and his Ph.D. at Arizona State University. It was at ASU where Bredehoft made a name for himself as a wrestling coach for eleven years throughout the 1960s and into the early 1970s. His Sun Devil wrestling teams won the WAC (Western Athletic Conference) championship in 1965, and placed in the top three for five straight seasons. ASU placed sixth in the team standings at the 1965 NCAA championships, and eighth at the Nationals in 1967, the year when future NFL Hall of Famer Curley Culp won the heavyweight title as the first wrestling champ for the Sun Devils. In addition to serving as head wrestling coach, Bredehoft was also tennis coach and an assistant athletic director. "Bredehoft's most visible traits were his bottomless well of energy and his incessant desire to grow his program," according to the tribute to the former ASU coach at the official Sun Devil wrestling website. "He held outdoor wrestling matches in front of the old ASU library, setting up mats on ground that wasn't quite level, thereby adding an interesting variable for the contestants." "We would run up A-Mountain, doing calisthenics and he'd have a photographer up here to get pictures of us because he was always promoting the wrestling program," said Glenn McMinn, who placed second at 115 pounds at the 1965 NCAAs, and third in 1967 for Arizona State. "I remember he had a convertible and a few us -- Charlie Tribble loved it -- drove around campus with big signs promoting our match. "Ted was like a ball of fire. You just couldn't stop him. He had so much nervous energy." In 1972, Bredehoft left Arizona State to become athletic director at Wichita State University in Kansas, where he served until 1982. He later became an oil-company executive. In 2000, Bredehoft and his wife, Susan, started the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Network of Kansas after the death of his 6-month-old granddaughter. Funeral services have already taken place. A memorial has been established to honor Ted Bredehoft at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 1321 N. Stratford Lane, Wichita, KS 67206. Those wishing to share tributes online may do so at www.dlwichita.com.

Wrestlers and fans hoping to make travel plans right now for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics will have to wait a few more weeks. The Executive Committee of the International Olympic Committee announced Friday in Lausanne, Switzerland a proposal to pick the host cities for the 2024 and 2028 Summer Games at the same time later this year. There had been speculation earlier this week that the IOC would announce specific host cities for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics at today's meeting. Los Angeles and Paris had been finalists for the 2024 Olympics, with some media reports in advance of today's announcement stating that Paris would be awarded the 2024 Games, and Los Angeles would get the nod for 2028. Even though specifics about which city would host the Olympics first were not addressed Friday, it does appear that both cities will be awarded a Summer Games this year, thus saving the IOC having to make a similar decision four years from now regarding the 2028 Olympics, and assuring host cities will have been selected for the next decade. (Tokyo had already been awarded the 2020 Games.) The IOC has never named more than one host city for the Summer Games in a single announcement since 1896, the start of the Modern Olympic era. "This represents a golden opportunity for the Olympic Games and for the IOC," IOC President Thomas Bach said of the Executive Committee's decision at a news conference Friday. The full IOC membership will be meeting one month from now in Lausanne to ratify the Executive Committee's request. In the meantime, it's possible that Paris and Los Angeles could work together to determine which city hosts the 2024 Olympics, and present that result at the IOC meeting on July 11-12. A final vote to confirm the July decision is expected to take place on Sept. 13 in Lima, Peru, at the already-scheduled IOC annual meeting. Last month, Paris and Los Angeles welcomed IOC members to tour intended venues for their proposals for hosting the Games. Both cities plan to use existing facilities for wrestling. In its proposal for the 2024 Olympics, Paris plans to conduct all wrestling events at Bercy Arena II, an 8,000-seat venue which will also host some preliminary basketball games as well. Los Angeles' Olympic proposed venue for wrestling is Pauley Pavilion, home to UCLA's basketball program. The arena, built in 1965 but substantially upgraded in 2012, has approximately 13,800 permanent seats. IOC President Bach praised Los Angeles and Paris as "two such great cities, two such great countries, having two candidatures who are really enthusiastic." Both cities have hosted the Summer Olympics twice. Paris welcomed the Games in 1900 and 1924… while Los Angeles held the event in 1932 and 1984. Paris and Los Angeles had been the last two finalists for hosting the 2024 Olympics. At least three other cities had dropped out of contention for the 2024 Games: Budapest, Hungary; Hamburg, Germany; and Rome, Italy.

Danny Irwin has been named head coach at Wheeling Jesuit University, the NCAA Division II school announced Thursday. Danny IrwinIrwin comes to WJU from Indiana's Wabash College, where he has served as assistant coach for the past nine seasons. He replaces Sean Doyle, who established the Wheeling Jesuit wrestling program four years ago, and is now Director of Undergraduate Admissions at the West Virginia school. At Wabash, Irwin helped the Little Giants wrestlers to four NCAA Division III Top 10 finishes, three NCAA Team Trophies, and seven Top 30 Academic Team performances. He also served as the Wabash program's director of recruiting with a high percentage being state qualifier level wrestlers. In addition, Irwin was responsible for the Wabash wrestling team's award-winning social media promotions. The Little Giants have been ranked among the top-25 programs in all NCAA and NAIA divisions in their use of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and other outlets. Prior to joining the staff at Wabash, Irwin served as assistant wrestling coach and head coach at Bluffton High School in Indiana. Irwin wrestled at Manchester University, where he was a two-time NCAA Division III championships qualifier, compiled a 99-43 overall record and served as team captain at the Indiana school. "The Cardinal Athletics Department is extremely excited to welcome Danny Irwin and his family to Wheeling and to the Wheeling Jesuit University Athletics Department," said Kevin Forde, the school's AD. "Danny brings a wealth of experience that will allow him to hit the ground running. His passion combined with his wrestling knowledge will allow our program to continue to make great strides in becoming one of the best wrestling programs in the country. He understands what coaching young men at a mission driven university is all about and will always have the student-athletes best interest at the forefront of his mind. We are eager for him to get to campus to start the next chapter of Cardinal Wrestling." Irwin expressed his eagerness to take the helm at WJU. "I am excited for the opportunity to lead the Wheeling Jesuit wrestling program and would like to thank Kevin Forde along with the rest of the search committee for entrusting the program to me," said Irwin. "I was impressed with everyone I had a chance to meet with on my visits to campus and I believe in the university's mission. I am looking forward to working with our coaching staff so that every one of our student-athletes have a first-class experience on-and-off the mat." Wheeling Jesuit University is a private, four-year school located in Wheeling, W.Va. Established in 1954, WJU has approximately 1,600 students.

The Freestyle World Team Trials are Saturday and the drama started early with Thursday night's announcement that Jordan Oliver had tested positive for a banned substance. The alleged positive test means that Frank Molinaro is the U.S. Open champion will have a bye to the finals of the World Team Trials at 65 kilograms. The World Team Trials still has more drama in store with plenty of extended intrigue and, yes, you got it … face mushing. To your questions … David Taylor and J'den Cox trained together leading up to the 2016 Olympics (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: How do you see the (potential) David Taylor vs. J'den Cox matches playing out this weekend? Competitive? Will it go three matches? -- Mike C. Foley: Before we delve into who wins and by what rationale, let us first acknowledge that David Taylor needs to wrestle past a field of opponents during the World Team Trials challenge tournament. (Wiping hands) Great, now that's out of the way … I'm taking David Taylor in three matches. 1. David Taylor has beaten everyone he's faced in 2017 and most of those victories have been by technical fall or fall. His closest match was with Richard Perry at the Paris Invitational. He has wins over two Olympic champions. 2. Whatever conditioning issues plagued Taylor in sizing up for last year's tournament is no longer an issue. He's physically capable of fueling his body for full matches and has shown himself to often be in better shape than his opponents. 3. Scrambling positions tend to favor Taylor in general and he's gotten savvy at putting his opponents in those positions. 4. Where Taylor has been exposed most is hand fighting with Yazdani. However, this is not an area where Cox has a discernible advantage. 5. Cox's flub at the Olympic Games where he failed to see he was losing can be explained many ways, but one place it hints is that he still lacks a ton of senior level freestyle match experience. Taylor now has gobs of gamesmanship he can tap into while in the heat of battle. That'll be vital to his success. Q: Patrick Duggan announced that he's transferring out of Lock Haven and to Iowa. He blasted the Lock Haven coaches on his way out. What do you make of his comments? -- Mike C. Foley: Patrick Duggan was released from the Lock Haven wrestling team after failing to meet many of the coaching staff's well-reasoned and clear objectives. Duggan, who transferred into Lock Haven, proved to be unreliable in attending and finishing workouts and didn't want to be an active member of the team. I was teammates with Scott Moore at Virginia. He's smart and kind and all that stuff, but more importantly he's 100 percent honest, trustworthy and fair. When comparing the career of Scott Moore and the commitment he's shown to his wrestlers at Virginia and Lock Haven to that of twice transferred Patrick Duggan, it's clear that this complaint is sour grapes magnified by the megaphone of this online resource. Wrestling success has no shortcut and part of what makes it an incredible sport is that when you fail the first and only person you should blame is the one staring back at you in the selfie cam. Q: Can folkstyle youth wrestling organize nationally like soccer with uniform, age-appropriate rules for each developmental level? #progress -- @caroten_158 Foley: My major frustration with the sport of wrestling is how poorly we prepare our young athletes for the next level of competition. We currently treat every age bracket as though the stakes of winning and losing are the same as though they were in the Olympics. I firmly believe we shouldn't organize any large scale competitions for wrestlers younger than 12 years old. Before that we should be building an athletic base, learning techniques and being introduced to competition in a non-tournament format. Tulsa makes me cringe. Q: I want David Taylor to beat J'den Cox this weekend. Will I drink because I'm happy or because I'm sad? -- John G. Foley: Happy. When you drink you should try an Old Fashioned Q: Why is wrestling unlike other sports where it is rare to see coaches climb levels? For example, Division II to Division I, or high school to college. -- Tanner G. Foley: Because I'm a contrarian at heart, I'd have to at least point out the cases where we've seen a jump: Kevin Dresser from Christiansburg to Virginia Tech (now Iowa State) and Steve Martin from Great Bridge to Old Dominion. One reason they were capable of making the jump was proximity to an existing university in need of a coach. Both lived in the same city as their future college employers. Both were also successful Division I wrestlers at the University of Iowa. Take those factors away and I agree it would be difficult to imagine the head wrestling coach at Buchanan High School being offered the Minnesota job. Also, I think that most hires are in some ways self-selecting. Not many non-Division I coaches would apply for these jobs since they seem to be premier. Lastly, those who do apply need to overcome any biases that might exist about their coaching level based on current school. Still, I'd like to think that if they apply the most talented coaches will get access to opportunities at other colleges and universities. Q: I saw that both Kaori Icho and Saori Yoshida won't compete at the World Championships this year. It feels like Yoshida is done competing and focusing on coaching, but about Icho? Will she go for a fifth Olympic title in Tokyo? -- Mike C. Foley: Tough to confirm Icho's retirement until she does, but I'd think it is highly unlikely we'd see Icho in her fifth Olympics. As for Yoshida, she also leaves the door open, but as you can tell in the interview below, she has all but retired and began her career as a coach and TV personality. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Saori Yoshida is back on the mats Mike Pucillo on organ and tissue donation Q: How about an article on added head protection in wrestling? -- @LDRRich Foley: Innovation is vital to the growth of many markets. From automotive to housing, energy to tourism, industries rely on new technologies to create sellable upgrades to previously existing items -- often with a benefit. In sport there is a reduced, but important place for technological innovation. Sports like golf, cycling and sailing rely on technological innovations to provide a competitive advantage to those who utilize the gains. Technological improvements for athletes (not the consumption of sports, ie live streaming) has also been introduced to many other sports, which traditionally didn't require much of a tech edge to find peak performance. Baseball bats, football helmets and running shoes have all become tech-driven products. Wrestling has been absent from technological change in part because it doesn't require much equipment. In most countries, where freestyle and Greco-Roman are the recognized styles, personal equipment is limited to shoes and a singlet. Shared equipment includes a mat and potentially training equipment like Bulgarian Bags and dummies. In the United States there has -- for the last 50 years -- been a requirement to also wear equipment to protect ears from cauliflower ears. The technology there has grown a bit over the years to allow for better hearing, air circulation and comfort but has otherwise remained consistent. Most of the headgear being worn today looks like the headgear worn 50 years ago. Recently there has been a push by American companies, including LDR, to create a headgear which protects wrestlers from head injuries, specifically concussions. The ear protection thus morphed from simple ear coverings into a full helmet with a look more closely associated with football and NASCAR than with wrestling. While technological innovation is always encouraged, the inclusion of these wrestling helmets on high school or college mats would be incredibly harmful to both the health of the individual athletes and the numbers of wrestlers encouraged to compete in the sport. There are several issues with these helmets, which need to be understood before any school, individual or association looks to approve their use. First, the helmet lends to a wrestler feeling a sense of invincibility. The cushion provided means that athletes will be MORE encouraged to use their head in competition and in practice. As has been proven in football (as opposed to helmetless rugby), the protection of the head turns it into a weapon in the field of play. That increase in major and minor impacts is proven to be bad for the developing brain. Second, the appearance of the helmet tells parents, schools, associations and the general public that wrestling is a sport where head-to-head contact is often seen and where it has become a major issue. While concussion rates for wrestling remain far too high, the focus on improving those numbers should be in setting tough penalties for the use of the head in competition, not in creating a mechanism by which those head-to-head contacts are bound to increase. Third, the high cost of these helmets will restrict wrestlers from joining the sport. Wrestling is low to mid income sport and requiring a $100-$150 helmet for participation will stunt the sport's growth. Fourth, history has shown us that less is more. Allowing the human body to function inside its original design is the most beneficial thing we can do. The problems of football stem from it being a completely non-natural format for human competition. Wrestling has been in existence since the start of human history and until the 1960's didn't even require ear covering, much less a helmet. Innovation is wonderful, but in wrestling simplicity is the brand, not gear. There is money to be made in creating new youth-friendly two-piece uniforms, updating the wrestling surface, or making better shoes. However, there should be no market for the creation and sale of unnecessary and harmful products. Ours is the oldest sport in the world because it's a part of who we are as people -- conflict, toil, skill sharpening, survival. That spirit requires no innovation or extraneous equipment. RANT OF THE WEEK By Nick H. You know why wrestling is never going to be primetime in U.S.? Because racists, sexists will never allow for broader public appeal. Unsolicited opinions from white dudes on how people of color and women should behave in society are not good recruitment/retention strategies. Sadly, lots of strong opinions, often unwelcoming ones, come from people associated with the sport. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but nobody should be surprised when opinions that alienate the potential athlete/fan bases are publicly volunteered & folks avoid the sport. I love wrestling, but wading through hateful, old-fashioned opinions even wears out the existing fans. How about teenagers and their parents? Show me a sport with overly-opinionated pundits like wrestling. I'll show you a cult sport with limited growth/public appeal.

2016 Olympian Frank Molinaro (Blacksburg, Va./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC) has been named 2017 U.S. Open champion at 65 kg/143 lbs. in men's freestyle wrestling. Frank Molinaro after winning the Olympic Team Trials title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)As such, Molinaro advances directly to the best-of-three Championship Series at the 2017 U.S. World Team Trials at his weight class, which will be held at the Bob Devaney Center in Lincoln, Neb. on June 10. Molinaro had placed second behind Jordan Oliver (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) in the U.S. Open finals in Las Vegas, Nev. in April. However, USA Wrestling has been made aware of an alleged anti-doping violation concerning Jordan Oliver. Oliver tested positive for a stimulant at the U.S. Open. Oliver is exercising his rights to a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes through USADA. USA Wrestling has faith that a fair and reasonable conclusion will be reached. Jordan Oliver requests that he be given time to complete his investigation as to what might have caused this positive test, and as a consequence, he will not be making any comments at this time. According to United World Wrestling procedures, Oliver's result from the U.S. Open will be vacated. The UWW rule states that "in the case of positive doping control, the wrestler will be disqualified." In addition, the UWW rule also indicates that "wrestlers will move up in placing according to the ranking system." USA Wrestling's World Team Trials World Team Trials procedures are based on "UWW rules and regulations as presently known and understood." A specified by the UWW rules, Frank Molinaro moves up one place and is the U.S. Open champion at 65 kg. According to USA Wrestling's World Team Trials procedures, in the event that there is not a 2016 World medalist or 2016 Olympic medalist in the weight class, the U.S. Open champion advances directly to the Championship Series at the World Team Trials. Molinaro is now placed in the best-of-three Championship Series and all other U.S. Open placewinners up one placement. According to the World Team Trials procedures, the top seven athletes in each weight class from the U.S. Open qualify for the World Team Trials. Mario Mason (Morristown, N.J./Lehigh Valley WC), who had placed eighth at the 2017 U.S. Open, now moves up to seventh place at the U.S. Open and qualifies for the World Team Trials through the U.S. Open. Mason also won the Last Chance World Team Trials Qualifier at this weight class in Minnesota in May. Since Mason now qualified for the World Team Trials at the U.S. Open, the runner-up from the Last Chance Qualifier earns a berth in the World Team Trials, who was Jaydin Eierm an (Columbia, Mo./Missouri Wrestling Foundation). Eierman will compete in the World Team Trials at 65 kg/143 lbs.

The InterMat staff writers have made their predictions for the 2017 Freestyle World Team Trials. The event will take place Saturday in Lincoln, Neb. Tom Franck 57: Tyler Graff over Tony Ramos 61: Logan Steiber over Kendric Maple 65: Zain Retherford over Frank Molinaro 70: James Green over Jason Nolf 74: Kyle Dake over Jordan Burroughs 86: David Taylor over J'den Cox 97: Kyle Snyder over Kyven Gadson 125: Nick Gwiazdowski over Zack Rey Richard Mann 57: Tony Ramos over Nahshon Garrett 61: Logan Stieber over Kendric Maple 65: Zain Retherford over Frank Molinaro 70: James Green over Jason Nolf 74: Jordan Burroughs over Kyle Dake 86: David Taylor over J'den Cox 97: Kyle Snyder over Kyven Gadson 125: Nick Gwiazdowski over Zack Rey T.R. Foley 57: Tony Ramos over Nahshon Garrett 61: Logan Stieber over Jayson Ness 65: Zain Retherford over Frank Molinaro 70: James Green over Jason Nolf 74: Jordan Burroughs over Kyle Dake 86: David Taylor over J'den Cox 97: Kyle Snyder over Kyven Gadson 125: Zack Rey over Nick Gwiazdowski Craig Sesker 57: Nahshon Garrett over Tony Ramos 61: Logan Stieber over Joe Colon 65: Zain Retherford over Frank Molinaro 70: James Green over Dylan Ness 74: Jordan Burroughs over Kyle Dake 86: David Taylor over J'den Cox 97: Kyle Snyder over Kyven Gadson 125: Nick Gwiazdowski over Bobby Telford Andrew Hipps 57: Tony Ramos over Nahshon Garrett 61: Logan Stieber over Jayson Ness 65: Frank Molinaro over Zain Retherford 70: James Green over Dylan Ness 74: Jordan Burroughs over Kyle Dake 86: David Taylor over J'den Cox 97: Kyle Snyder over Kyven Gadson 125: Nick Gwiazdowski over Dom Bradley Josh Lowe 57: Tony Ramos over Nahshon Garrett 61: Logan Stieber over Kendric Maple 65: Jimmy Kennedy over Frank Molinaro 70: James Green over Jason Nolf 74: Jordan Burroughs over Kyle Dake 86: David Taylor over J'den Cox 97: Kyle Snyder over Dustin Kilgore 125: Nick Gwiazdowski over Zack Rey Devin Hurst 57: Tony Ramos over Nathan Tomasello 61: Logan Stieber over Kendric Maple 65: Zain Retherford over Frank Molinaro 70: James Green over Jimmy Kennedy 74: Kyle Dake over Jordan Burroughs 86: David Taylor over J'den Cox 97: Kyle Snyder over Kyven Gadson 125: Nick Gwiazdowski over Zack Rey Steve Elwood 57: Nahshon Garrett over Tony Ramos 61: Logan Stieber over Jayson Ness 65: Zain Retherford over Frank Molinaro 70: James Green over Jason Nolf 74: Jordan Burroughs over Kyle Dake 86: David Taylor over J'den Cox 97: Kylen Snyder over Kyven Gadson 125: Nick Gwiazdowski over Zack Rey

Joe Rau gets his hand raised after a victory at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) It's 11 at night and Elmhurst College's Division III national champion Joe Rau is on the phone with three-time U.S. Greco-Roman World Team member Jordan Holm. The college senior wants to train in Greco with the Minnesota Storm after graduation. Holm suggests he come out to practice. The next morning. At 6 a.m. That's a nearly six-hour drive. And it's snowing, hard. But Rau doesn't hesitate. He jumps in his Volkswagen Golf. "I drove through a blizzard in April. I almost died," said Rau. It turns out the 6 a.m. practice was just a basketball game. The real practice, the one where he would be able to show his best wrestling to the Minnesota Storm coaches, was not until 3:30 p.m. Rau remembers that practice well. "I was so tired I didn't have to think at all, I just wrestled. I had an unbelievable practice." The coaches apparently thought so too. They presented him with team sweats and asked if he would wrestle for the Minnesota Storm. Rau's answer: "Heck yeah." That story from 2013 shows the essence of Joe Rau. He's a guy with an unquenchable thirst to wrestle, a laser-focused direction and an openness to follow any and all opportunities that come his way. Joe Rau talks to Minnesota Storm coach Dan Chandler at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) Now he'll take that moxie to the Freestyle World Team Trials in Lincoln, Nebraska, this weekend. He'll compete at 86 kilograms after winning the Last Chance World Team Trials Qualifier in Rochester, Minnesota, in May. That a wrestler who is one of the top Greco athletes in the country -- Rau just missed making the World Team, finishing second at the Greco trials -- would go to and win a freestyle qualifier might surprise some people, but not those who know Rau. Joe Rau was a Division III national champion wrestler at Elmhurst College"It didn't surprise me at all because Joe loves to wrestle," said Steve Marianetti, head wrestling coach at Elmhurst College and NCAA champion. "He loves it and he loves to compete." In the finals of the Last Chance Qualifier Rau teched an NCAA Division I All-American. That didn't surprise Marianetti either. "Just because he's been focused on Greco that gives him some unique skill sets to go against some of these guys." But going against the freestyle guys was more of a whim than a plan. He and Minnesota Storm teammate Hayden Zillmer, NCAA All-American from North Dakota State, decided only four or five days before the tournament to enter it. "It really was just for fun and I had no pressure. As matches went on I started feeling more and more comfortable with freestyle again," said Rau. Rau's first freestyle coach was Mike Powell, who coaches at Oak Park River Forest High School and is an NCAA All-American. Powell took notice of Rau when he lost to one of Powell's best high school wrestlers. "He was getting his butt kicked and he didn't give up," said Powell. Rau remembers the match too. "He beat me up pretty bad. He beat me by 14 points, but I almost scored on him and I didn't get teched and Powell invited me to come wrestle Greco after the season." According to Powell, Rau is "freakishly strong and he has great endurance. He has an incredible work ethic." But that doesn't mean success came easily or early for Rau. Joe Rau during his youth wrestling daysRau's been wrestling since he was 6 years old. He has a brother who is three years older and Rau remembers getting teased and trying to fight the older boys. His neighbor saw it and convinced Rau's parents to let him wrestle. That neighbor was eventually deported to his native Poland. "I never saw him again until after I made the World Team when I was 22. I went out to visit him in Poland … I feel like I owe him a lot because he got me into this sport that's guided my life." But don't think that life is all work. Rau is known for his playful side as well. He's even trying his hand at stand-up comedy. In true Rau fashion he only does stand-up when there's a lull in his wrestling schedule, but he's performed in the Twin Cities, Chicago and elsewhere. One of his Minnesota Storm coaches, Olympic silver medalist Brandon Paulson, hasn't seen him perform because he's worried it might make Rau too nervous, but he said, "I might just have to sneak in one night." Marianetti credits Rau with creating a culture at Elmhurst, one of serious training, but one where he and his teammates had fun and kept things light. Marianetti recalls a trip to Nashville for a competition. When they stopped at a gas station Rau came out of the store with a six-foot-long white tiger stuffed animal. Something Marianetti said Rau just had to have. "That goofiness, that spontaneity, that randomness was so Joe," Marianetti said. Powell calls Rau a "unique character" when it comes to his personality and a "self-made man" when it comes to his wrestling. And Rau agrees. "It was all just me figuring it out for myself. I would go to the library and rent wrestling books and I'd read all the books they had on wrestling that Mike Chapman wrote or anybody that would write on technique or about wrestling or wrestling history." Along with seeking out knowledge he also sought out competition, anywhere he could find it. Joe Rau gets interviewed by Shane Sparks after winning a title at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) But there were naysayers. Those who thought all the time and money spent on wrestling was a waste. "I've been told that over and over again. I've been laughed at over and over again and I had a lot of guys on teams that were better than me and they thought that it was funny how hard I tried." But he kept trying. Now Rau, the sometimes-pudgy kid who didn't like to lose, the one-time Illinois state tournament qualifier, is among the country's best at Greco and freestyle. And he'll show it to the naysayers and supporters alike in Lincoln. Marianetti has a prediction about how that will go. "He's going to crush some dreams." This story also appears in the June 9 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.

Check out this week's Takedown TV, featuring… One-on-one with Bellator MMA's Aaron Pico University Nationals recap plus interviews Highlights and interviews from the 41st National Wrestling Hall of Fame Honors Weekend Catching up with former Olympian Heath Simms 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 5:00 p.m. Cox Cable: Sunday 9:30 a.m. Fight Network HD: Sundays at 4:00 p.m. KCWI 23: Saturday 4:00 p.m. KWEM Stillwater, Oklahoma: Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Long Lines Cable: Daily at 5:30 p.m. Mediacom Cable: Sundays at 10:30 a.m. MidCo Sports Network: Saturday 10:00 a.m. and Sunday at 9:00 a.m. SECV8: Friday at 5:00 p.m. Suddenlink Cable: Check your local listings. Multiple air times. Time Warner Cable Sports: Saturday at 12:00 p.m. Western Reserve Cable: Tuesday at 11:00 p.m., Friday at 5:30 p.m., Saturday at 10:00 p.m.

Ed Ruth wrestling Deron Winn at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Penn State wrestling champs-turned-MMA stars Ed Ruth and Phil Davis could return to their college alma mater for an on-campus Bellator MMA event, according to multiple media reports. On Monday, Brett Okamoto, who covers mixed martial arts for ESPN, posted this message on Twitter: "This is neat. Per @ScottCoker, talks underway for a live event at Penn State campus in 2017. Would feature PSU alums Phil Davis and Ed Ruth." (Scott Coker is President of Bellator MMA, the organization where Davis and Ruth now compete.) Okamoto also tweeted: "Coker said Penn State is very interested in having @PhilMrWonderful and @EdwardLeeRuth back on campus to compete. Hope to do it this year." Penn State did not immediately return a message seeking comment, according to the Centre Daily Times, adding that no potential time, date and location have yet been announced as talks are still underway. The Onward State website which covers Penn State sports speculates that Bryce Jordan Center -- the school's 15,000-seat arena -- would be the site of the event, although it has never hosted an MMA event in its 21-year history. Onward State went on to report that Bellator has fights booked through August 25, so any possible Bellator event in Happy Valley would presumably take place no earlier than this fall. Davis and Ruth are among the most accomplished Penn State wrestling alums to find success in pro MMA. The 32-year-old Davis, currently Bellator MMA's light-heavyweight champ (205 pounds), was a four-time NCAA All-American for the Nittany Lions, winning the 197-pound title at the 2008 NCAAs. Later that year, Davis launched his professional MMA career, where he now sports an overall record of 17-3-1, with three knockouts, five submissions, and nine victories by decision. Since signing with Bellator MMA just two years ago, Ruth, 26, has compiled a perfect 3-0 pro record as a middleweight (185 pounds), with all wins by TKO. Prior to entering MMA, Ruth became the first three-time NCAA Division I champ in the long history of Penn State wrestling, winning the 174-pound championship in 2012, and back-to-back titles at 184 in 2013 and 2014.

Penn State commit Seth Nevills is ranked No. 2 in the Class of 2018 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The month of June is upon us. It is a big month for high school wrestlers, in particular those in the Class of 2018. At least three significant events are on the calendar: UWW Cadet Nationals, which just happened; AAU Scholastic Duals (aka Disney Duals); and Junior National Duals. These serve as key evaluation opportunities prior to July 1, which marks the first date coaches can officially contact prospective student athletes in the Class of 2018. That being said, lots of unofficial contact has already been taking place, with a bunch of key evaluations being made. Both by schools, in terms of which student-athletes to offer and bring in, and the student-athletes in terms of which schools they are interested in attending. The trend across all sports is that the decision making process has shifted earlier and earlier by the year. Already here in the first week of June, only 11 of the current top 25 Class of 2018 prospects remain uncommitted. Similarly, only 25 of the top 50 prospects are uncommitted. Let's examine the top recruiting classes so far. Penn State The obvious winner in early Class of 2018 recruiting is Penn State. National champions in back-to-back years, and clear favorites to make it a three-peat, the Nittany Lions are well on their way to making sure this dynasty -- currently at six titles in the last seven years -- is further extended. They already have verbal commitments from wrestlers ranked second through sixth in the class, plus the No. 16 overall prospect. No. 2 Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) No. 3 Travis Wittlake (Marshfield, Ore.) No. 4 Gavin Teasdale (Jefferson-Morgan, Pa.) No. 5 Roman Bravo-Young (Sunnyside, Ariz.) No. 6 Michael Beard (Malvern Prep, Pa.) No. 16 Joe Lee (Evansville Mater Dei, Ind.) The rest of the country is out there trying to put on their best face and procure top-end talent of their own so they can maintain and/or improve their program's standing. Two schools currently have verbal commitments from three top 50 Class of 2018 prospects respectively. Ohio State The only school to interrupt Penn State's national title winning in the last seven seasons, and runners-up to the Nittany Lions each of the last two years, the Buckeyes are continuing to position themselves among the elite in the nation. Three elite commitments, one a middle weight, one an upper weight, and one a lower weight continue that momentum: No. 13 Jaden Mattox (Grove City Central Crossing, Ohio), No. 17 Gavin Hoffman (Montoursville, Pa.), and No. 47 Malik Heinselman (Castle View, Colo.). Northwestern While the deck is stacked against the Wildcats with a tight roster quantity cap, which makes it tough to create depth on the roster, they have been able to procure some good individuals on their rosters over the years. The recent coaching transition, along with some hard luck on injuries, set the program back slightly. However, this upcoming recruiting class seems positioned to provide a positive reboot. So far verbal commits from No. 25 Ryan Karoly (Malvern Prep, Pa.), No. 29 Jack Jessen (Willowbrook, Ill.), and No. 33 Anthony Cassioppi (Hononegah, Ill.). The back third of the lineup has been addressed … and to think if Beard didn't de-commit from this class just over two months ago. Four other programs have landed a pair of top 50 verbal commits already at this point in the process. Missouri It's a pair of in-state wrestlers in middleweight Jarrett Jacques (Father Tolton Catholic) and lower-weight Malik Johnson (Christian Brothers College). Johnson recently qualified for the Cadet World team in Greco-Roman at 58 kilograms. The Tigers also have a verbal commit from another in-state middle-weight in Brock Mauller (Father Tolton Catholic), who is very likely to be a top 100 prospect when that list comes out towards the end of this month. Nebraska Coach Mark Manning always does a solid job both in terms of recruiting and in terms of roster development. The Cornhuskers always have balance up-and-down the lineup with competitive wrestlers in each and every weight class. Their two out-of-state verbal commits, something that has been key for Manning with the home state not being the most talented for scholastic wrestling, are most excellent. No. 15 Josiah Rider (Grand Junction, Colo.) projects as a middleweight, while career undefeated No. 28 Alex Thomsen (Underwood, Iowa) projects as a lower-to-middleweight. Rutgers Head coach Scott Goodale has made in-state recruiting a priority in positioning the Scarlet Knights as a nationally ranked and nationally competitive program. They already have verbal commitments from No. 42 Malcolm Robinson (Blair Academy) and No. 48 Billy Janzer (Delsea Regional), plus another from state champion Jake Benner (Ocean Township), though he is more of a bubble prospect for a top 100. South Dakota State There's something special going on with the Jackrabbits, who saw Seth Gross make the national finals this past season with an additional All-American finisher in David Kocer. Head coach Chris Bono also nabbed a pair of top 100 recruits in his 2017 class, Connor Brown from Missouri and Kevin Vough from Ohio. This year, it's already a pair of top 50 commits coming from Minnesota in best buddies No. 41 Alex Lloyd (Shakopee) and No. 43 Peyton Robb (Owatonna); Robb was runner-up at the UWW Cadet Nationals in freestyle this past weekend. Additional programs with multiple impact 2018 commits include: Iowa State: Weston DiBlasi (Park Hill, Mo.) and Ben Kamali (Detroit Catholic Central, Mich.) Minnesota: No. 1 Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Patrick McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) Wisconsin: Jared Krattiger (Waterford, Wis.) and Tyler Dow (Stoughton, Wis.) Below are the top 13 uncommitted recruits in the Class of 2018: No. 7 Sammy Sasso (Nazareth, Pa.) No. 8 David Carr (Massillon Perry, Ohio) No. 9 Mason Parris (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) No. 11 Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) No. 18 Brayton Lee (Brownsburg, Ind.) No. 19 Patrick Glory (Delbarton, N.J.) No. 21 Trent Hidlay (Mifflin County, Pa.) No. 22 Real Woods (Montini Catholic, Ill.) No. 23 Anthony Artalona (Tampa Prep, Fla.) No. 24 Anthony Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) No. 26 Will Lewan (Montini Catholic, Ill.) No. 30 Brody Teske (Fort Dodge, Iowa)

Dick Shiels, long-time wrestling coach at Minnesota's Faribault High School, has passed away at age 86. Services for Shiels -- who was welcomed into the Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association Dave Bartelma Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1990, and the Minnesota Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006 -- were held May 31. He died May 21 at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Dick Shiels (right) with son Tim (Photo/Jill Schmidt)Richard John Shiels was born in September 1930 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He graduated from Waterloo West High School in Iowa, then earned his bachelor's degree Iowa State Teachers College (now University of Northern Iowa), later earning a Master's in Counseling and his Principal Licensure from Mankato State University in Mankato, Minn. Shiels launched his teaching career in Iowa before relocating his family to Faribault in 1960, where he spent the rest of his career. He was a wrestling coach at Faribault High School from 1960-1983. In addition, he was a social studies and English teacher, a guidance counselor, and, ultimately, a principal at Faribault Middle School until 1993. In addition to being inducted into the previously mentioned halls of fame, Shiels was also an honoree of the Faribault Athletic Hall of Fame, Minnesota High School Hall of Fame, and Region One High School Hall of Fame in Rochester. "He was the main coach that really put Faribault wrestling kind of on the map," former Fairbault High wrestling coach Tim Tousignant told the Faribault Daily News in a tribute published after Shiels' passing. "He made it one of the sports that Faribault is traditionally tough in." "Obviously he was a very good coach," said longtime assistant coach Dave Kinney. "Very prepared. But also he was quite competitive. He tried to figure out ways that Faribault could end up on top in the final score. He was very well organized. The kids respected him. That was the main thing. For Faribault, wrestling was a good sport." Dick Shiels' legacy at Faribault lives on in other ways as well. "He hasn't been in coaching for a number of years, but every year we award scholarships that he and his family donate back to our kids," said current Faribault High head coach Jesse Armbruster. "Kids are able to get scholarships in his name and that's really cool. All sports have a history. But you walk in our room, our tournament is in his name; those kinds of things are pretty cool." "I think his greatest strength was that he didn't see himself as special," said Dick Shiels' son Tim, is now the National Coordinator for Officials for the NCAA. "Other people did. He was a great listener. He had the ability to connect with people. It didn't matter your age. It didn't matter if you were male or female. It didn't matter your race. Dad's strength was that if you worked hard and took pride in what you did, he respected you."

Toghrul Asgarov wrestles Frank Molinaro at the Olympic Games in Rio (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Two wrestlers -- freestyle competitor Toghrul Asgarov of Azerbaijan, and Russia's Greco-Roman wrestler Aslan Visaitov -- have been suspended by United World Wrestling following violations of the organization's anti-doping policy, UWW announced Monday. Asgarov -- a two-time Olympic medalist who won gold at the 2012 London Olympics at 60 kilograms/132 pounds, then a silver medal at 65 kilograms/143 at the 2016 Rio Games -- has been banned for 12 months after testing positive for Higenamine, a substance often found in supplements, and on the World Anti-Doping Agency's 2017 Prohibited List. According to UWW records, no therapeutic use exemption was delivered by UWW to justify the presence of Higenamine in Asgarov's system. UWW did not announce any changes in medal awards in the 2012 and 2016 Olympic competitions featuring Asgarov. He will be eligible to compete again in April 2018. Visaitov has been suspended for four years after traces of Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor agonists -- a hormone and metabolic modulator on WADA's 2017 Prohibited List -- were found in a test he gave at the Under-23 European Championships in Hungary. Visaitov was forced to surrender the silver medal he won in Greco at 66 kilograms/145 pounds at the Under-23 European Championships, and will not be able to participate in international wrestling competition until April 2021.

Mike Ottinger battles Te'Shan Campbell at the NCAAs in 2016 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Mike Ottinger, two-time Mid-American Conference champ for Central Michigan University, is expected to be named wrestling coach at Parkland High School in Pennsylvania, the Express-Times reported at its LehighValleyLive.com website Monday. "Multiple sources have confirmed to LehighValleyLive.com that Mike Ottinger will be the new head wrestling coach at Parkland subject to school board approval," according to the website. Ottinger's name has been submitted for the position, pending approval at the board's next meeting June 20. It would be a homecoming for Ottinger, who won the PIAA 3A championship at 160 pounds for Parkland in 2011, his senior year. Ottinger would replace Ryan Nunamaker, his coach at Parkland, who announced in late March his retirement from coaching after 13 years. A 2016 graduate of Central Michigan, Ottinger built a successful career as a Chippewa. In addition to winning back-to-back MAC titles at 165 pounds in 2012 and 2013, Ottinger was a four-time NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships qualifier.

Lars Jensen (far right) has been affiliated with San Francisco State for four decades (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Lars Jensen, who has been affiliated with San Francisco State University as a wrestler and coach for four decades, is no longer at the helm of the Gator wrestling program, the long-time head coach at the NCAA Division II program confirmed to InterMat Monday afternoon. "The athletic director Charles Guthrie and Vice President for Advancement Robert Nava came into my office for my evaluation," said Jensen. "They basically said, 'We're opening up the position and you're welcome to apply.'" "I handed them my resume and qualifications, and said I wanted to re-apply for the job." The job opening for head wrestling coach at SFSU has been posted at an NCAA jobs website, and Jensen's bio was deleted from the official coaches' listing at the official Gators wrestling website for the 2017-18 season. The current coaches' page only provides a link to the bio for Isaiah Jimenez, listed as "wrestling coach." When contacted by InterMat last Friday for confirmation of Jensen's dismissal, Charles Guthrie issued the following statement via email: "SFSU has nothing to report. If something changes -- we'll let you know." "I am very embarrassed for the school," said Jensen, who first came to San Francisco State as a wrestler in 1977, having transferred after two years of wrestling at College of San Mateo, then, after serving as an assistant coach, was promoted to head coach at the beginning of the 1983-84 season. "Only one other coach who was here three years ago is still here." When asked if opening up his position might be SFSU administrators' first step to axing wrestling, Jensen replied, "The school has assured me that this is not a prelude to the elimination of the program here." (That said, at another point in the interview, Jensen disclosed that the school had tried to drop the program back in 1994, "but that lasted less than eight hours.") Jensen is heartened by the support he has received in recent days. "There's been a tremendous outpouring of support from fans, alumni and the wrestling community," said Jensen. "Many -- especially among our wrestling alumni -- are upset." "I want to be sure to thank all my athletes and assistant coaches who I've had the honor to work with over the years," Jensen added. "I have been blessed by the quality of the individuals I've worked with in this position." Lars Jensen ranks as one of the longest-serving college wrestling coaches in the nation. During his time at the helm, Jensen became the only coach in any sport to bring a national title to SFSU (in 1997). In more than 33 years as head coach, Jensen could claim ten NCAA Division II individual champions and 62 NCAA All-Americans. In addition to on-the-mat success, Jensen coached 65 wrestlers to All-Academic honors. Jensen has been enshrined in at least a half-dozen halls of fame, including the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame, the California Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the San Francisco State University Athletics Hall of Fame. Founded in 1899, San Francisco State has a total enrollment of 39,000 students. Wrestling is one of a dozen intercollegiate sports competing in NCAA Division II.

Kerry Regner MILLERSVILLE, Pa. -- Millersville University Director of Athletics Miles Gallagher has announced Kerry Regner as the Marauders' new wrestling coach. Regner, the 10th coach in the program's 70 years, comes to Millersville after leading the Williams Baptist College program since 2014. "Coach Regner was an accomplished wrestler, and now as a coach, he has shown the ability to get the best out of his student-athletes and build a successful team," said Gallagher. "He is going to bring leadership and a new direction to our wrestling program. We are excited for him to get started." Regner, a two-time American Midwest Conference Coach of the Year, built the NAIA affiliated Williams Baptist program from the ground up and seemingly overnight turned it into a nationally-relevant team. Not only did his teams win back-to-back American Midwest Conference titles in 2015-16 and 2016-17, but in just three seasons, he developed 23 national qualifiers, six All-Americans and a 2016 national champion. In 2016-17 his club reached a No. 3 national ranking -- the highest of any team in the history of Williams Baptist Athletics. That team went on to finish fourth at the NAIA Championships. In all three seasons his teams finished in the NAIA's top 25. "I am honored to be selected as the next head wrestling coach at Millersville University," said Regner. "I would like to express my appreciation to Miles Gallagher and the search committee for giving me this opportunity. It is a privilege to lead a program with a history such as Millersville. I look forward to assisting each student-athlete to develop as leaders of quality character on and off the mat. My family and I are excited to call Millersville home." Regner is no stranger to the wrestling landscape of Pennsylvania. After graduating from Northern Michigan in 2010 and a run as a wrestler at the Olympic level of Greco-Roman wrestling, Regner became the varsity and junior high wrestling coach at Beaver High School in Western Pennsylvania. He inherited a roster of five wrestlers and quickly recruited students and broke the school record for dual meet wins and regional qualifiers. He then landed a role as the graduate assistant coach at Division I Clarion University where he coached four national qualifiers and an All-American, directed summer camps and assisted in recruiting a top-10 recruiting class according to FloWrestling. As a wrestler, Regner was a resident of the United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Mich., from 2003-10. He also trained in Boise, Idaho, and at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., before retiring from competitive wrestling. He was a member of the U.S. Senior National Team at 60 kilograms in 2007-08 and competed in the 66 kilograms weight class at the 2010 University World Championships. He was a four-time placewinner at the U.S. Open and placed at tournaments in Cuba, France, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Regner received bachelor's degree in communication studies from Northern Michigan and a master's degree in mass media and journalism from Clarion in 2014. He, his wife Sarah and son Jack plan to reside in Millersville.

Randy Lewis, 1984 Olympic champion and two-time NCAA wrestling champion for Iowa, goes "On the Mat" on Wednesday, June 7. Born on June 7, 1959, Lewis celebrates his 58th birthday on the show. "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. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments.

Ohio State's Kyle Snyder, Penn State's Cael Sanderson and Zain Retherford, Minnesota prep star Gable Steveson and Trackwrestling.com's Andy Hamilton each earned honors in the WIN (Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine) 2017 Awards issue published June 1. Snyder collected the Mike Chapman Impact Award -- named for wrestling historian/writer Mike Chapman -- for all his on-the-mat accomplishments in his young career. The 21-year-old compiled a perfect 179-0 high school record and state titles in his native Maryland, garnered two NCAA titles as an Ohio State heavyweight, and captured gold medals at the 2015 Worlds and 2016 Olympics. Sanderson earned the Dan Gable Coach of the Year honor for the third time in the past seven years. In 2017, Sanderson led his Nittany Lions to a second straight NCAA team championship and sixth title in the past seven years. What's more, five of his wrestlers left St. Louis with individual championships; four were underclassmen. Retherford earned the Schalles Award as the nation's top collegiate pinner for a second straight year, scoring 17 falls this past season. This honor is named for past prolific pinner Wade Schalles of Clarion State (Pennsylvania) in the early 1970s. (Immediately after winning the 149-pound title at the 2017 NCAAs, Retherford won the WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy as most dominant college wrestler of the year ... as well as InterMat's Wrestler of the Year for the second consecutive year.) Winning the Junior Schalles Award as the top high school pinner in the nation was Gable Steveson. The three-time Minnesota state champion from Apple Valley High School and a two-time Cadet World freestyle champion pinned 33 of his 35 opponents victims in an undefeated high school heavyweight season. Gable Steveson will be wrestling at the University of Minnesota. Andy Hamilton of Trackwrestling.com was named WIN's Journalist of the Year. The long-time wrestling writer, who has covered the sport for 19 years, was awarded the same honor in 2011 as a writer for the Des Moines Register.

Jeremy Spates coach at the NCAAs (Photo/SIU Edwardsville Sports Information) #RestoreTheGlory. That hashtag -- featured prominently at the official website and in social media promoting the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's wrestling program -- has been a driving force propelling the Cougars to recent accomplishments that build upon past successes. Now that trajectory may continue climbing, thanks to last week's announcement that SIUE wrestling will be moving from the Southern Conference to the Mid-American Conference as an affiliate member, effective in the 2018-19 season. Jeremy Spates, head wrestling coach at SIUE since July 2013, sees a number of potential benefits for his Cougars as they transition to the MAC, with recruiting being first of the items the Cougar coach mentioned in an interview with InterMat. "The move to the MAC will ultimately help our recruiting efforts," Spates said. "First, when you're talking about the conference tournament, we'll have the opportunity for more qualifiers for the NCAAs," according to Spates. The numbers back up the coach's claim: the MAC ranked third in terms of the number of the wrestlers it sent to the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, behind the Big Ten and Big 12. By welcoming SIUE, the MAC will become even bigger -- and presumably, have even more of an impact at the NCAAs -- with a total of nine wrestling programs. Six are from full MAC membership schools: Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Northern Illinois and Ohio… while three are affiliate members: Missouri, Old Dominion, and now, SIUE. Over the years, the Mid-American Conference has grown not just in terms of number of member schools, but also in its geographical reach, expanding beyond its original "Great Lakes states" roots to include schools in Missouri, Virginia and New York state. And that means an even larger geographical pool from which to draw top high school mat talent. "We're going into a conference with schools located in strong wrestling states -- Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, to name a few," Spates added. "We'll be wrestling in front of more kids in states where there's greater numbers of talented wrestlers. That will help us attract different kids to look at us and consider wrestling for us." "We're already in a strong wrestling area, here in the St. Louis area," said Spates. "We have tended to concentrate on recruiting wrestlers from Missouri and Illinois in the past. However, we already have wrestlers from a number of other states such as Michigan, and think being in the MAC will help widen that net and make us even more attractive to potential recruits." "What's more, the move to the MAC is good publicity for our program." Spates then shared some results from the 2016-17 season that demonstrate that the Cougars are indeed succeeding in their efforts to #RestoreTheGlory. SIUE wrestling had its highest placement in the Southern Conference championships, with three Cougars qualifying for the NCAAs… then placed 29th in the team standings at the 2017 NCAA championships, the program's highest since becoming a Division I program in 1987. And, the Edwardsville school could claim its first NCAA All-American in its 30 years of D1 competition: Jake Residori, who placed eighth at 174 pounds. "Our program was a power in Division II in the past," said Spates. "Now, our efforts to get stronger in Division I are paying off." "When I got here four years ago, sometimes we'd encounter kids who really didn't know who we were," said Spates, who had previously been an assistant at Cornell University in upstate New York. "Last year, I coached Team Illinois at Fargo, and saw kids with SIUE shirts. The awareness is growing." When asked about the process of moving from the Southern Conference to the Mid-American Conference, Spates said, "There's been talk for years about us going to the MAC. However, the first really serious discussions started right after the 2017 NCAAs." "All that said, I must make clear that we're very grateful for our time in the Southern Conference," Spates added. What does SIUE offer for a high school wrestler looking to continue in the sport in college? "I think recruits will immediately be attracted to the school, once they see the campus and meet the people," Spates told InterMat. "SIUE is strong in a number of academic programs, including engineering and business. We have corporate partnerships with major St. Louis-area companies such as Boeing." "Edwardsville is a beautiful town. And we're just 30 minutes from downtown St. Louis." "What's more, we have great facilities for wrestling. For example, we've just expanded our weight room." The move to the MAC looks like a good move for SIUE wrestling continue on its quest to #RestoreTheGlory.

Nasser Givehchi, silver medalist for Iran at the 1952 Olympics, has died, United World Wrestling announced May 31. He was 84. Nasser GivehchiGivehchi died May 15 after a long illness in his home in Tehran, according to Iran Press TV. At age 19, Givehchi placed second in featherweight freestyle competition at 63 kilograms/138.5 pounds at the 1952 Summer Games in Helsinki, Finland, losing to Turkey's Bayram Sit in the gold-medal match. The bronze medal was awarded to Josiah Henson of the United States. Four years later, Givehchi wrestled for Iran at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, placing sixth in the same weight class. In 1958, Givehchi won a gold medal at the Asian Games in Tokyo. After concluding his wrestling career, Givehchi moved into coaching, serving as the head coach of Iran's national Greco-Roman wrestling teams. He was also an international wrestling referee.