InterMat Staff

Kyle Snyder at the NCAAs (Photos/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) For Kyle Snyder, it's a matter of wrestle, receive awards, repeat. For the second straight year, the Buckeye big man -- who capped off the 2016-17 college wrestling season with his second Big Ten and NCAA Division I titles on the heels of winning an Olympic gold medal - has been named 2017 Ohio State Male Athlete of the Year, the Columbus-based Big Ten school announced Tuesday. Snyder, who won the award in 2016, is the fourth wrestler in a row to receive the Male Athlete of the Year award, with Logan Stieber being the recipient in 2014 and 2015. In addition, J Jaggers -- past Ohio State mat champ and current assistant wrestling coach -- was named Male Athlete of the Year in 2009. Francesca Di Lorenzo of the women's tennis team was named Ohio State Female Athlete of the Year for the 2016-17 school year. Snyder just completed his junior year at Ohio State in spectacular style, compiling a 17-0 record, with 13 of those victories resulting in bonus points. The Maryland native finished the season by claiming his second NCAA heavyweight title, defeating Wisconsin's Connor Medbury in the finals. Prior to returning to the Ohio State campus last fall, Snyder made history in his freestyle wrestling career by becoming the youngest World champion, then Olympic gold medalist at 96 kilograms/211 pounds at the 2016 Rio Games this summer. Snyder was also a finalist for two major national awards: the AAU James E. Sullivan Award, given annually to the nation's top amateur athlete, and Dan Hodge Trophy, considered the Heisman of collegiate wrestling. Snyder and Di Lorenzo are now in the running for the Big Ten Athlete of Year honors.

Olympic wrestler. Three-time NCAA All-American at Penn State. Well-known for the wrestling camps and training center that bear his name. Those are just some of the best-known highlights of Ken Chertow's career in wrestling. Now the West Virginia native long associated with the sport throughout the nation can add another element to his already impressive wrestling resume as he launches a brand-new wrestling program as inaugural head coach at Queens University in Charlotte. Located in North Carolina's largest city, Queens is a private, four-year university founded in 1857 as a school for women. Queens is now coed, and has a student enrollment of 2,300. The school boasts of an average class size of 14 students, and a student/teacher ratio of 9:1, according to its official website. Queens' sports teams -- now numbering 24 with the addition of wrestling -- compete in NCAA Division II under the name Royals. Wrestling comes to Queens In March, Queens University announced that it was launching an intercollegiate wrestling program ... and had selected Ken Chertow to head up that new program which would take to the mats during the 2017-18 school year. "Ken will make an immediate impact on our new wrestling program," said Queens Director of Athletics Cherie Swarthout in the announcement issued by the school in March. "There is not a better person to start this effort and to foster an environment of excellence. Ken has been successful in all of his endeavors and we look forward to him leading our program and building a strong foundation." Ken Chertow"I am excited to be starting a wrestling program at Queens," Chertow is quoted in the announcement. "Queens is clearly committed to building champions in the classroom, athletics and life. When my wife Laurie and I toured the beautiful campus we were very impressed with the new athletic facilities, environment, and the many supportive people we talked to. I would like to especially thank Athletic Director Cherie Swarthout, Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance and Student Services Tim Burke, and Vice President James Bullock for the opportunity to launch and lead the Queens wrestling program at their outstanding university." In a recent interview with InterMat, Chertow offered further explanation about the birth of wrestling at Queens University. "The idea of starting a wrestling program at Queens got great support from school administrators," Chertow said in June. "The vice president wrestled in high school." "He reached out to the NWCA and Mike Moyer (chairman of the National Wrestling Coaches Association) to help them establish a program," Chertow continued. "Moyer recommended they talk to me." Making the move to Queens How did Chertow come to take on this new challenge of building a wrestling program at Queens? "I've long considered returning to college coaching," the former assistant coach at Penn State and Ohio State told InterMat. "I had thought about heading up an existing program but liked the idea of starting a new program, building it from scratch." "My wife (Laurie) and I thought it was a good fit," Chertow continued. "Our kids are in college, and we've been talking about moving to the South." "In fact, taking the head coaching job at Queens takes care of at least three things on my 'bucket list': 1. Move to the South; 2. Return to college coaching; 3. Start a new program." Beyond answering three elements on Ken Chertow's ultimate "to do" list, what makes Queens University so attractive? Chertow pointed out to InterMat that ten schools in the state of North Carolina offer intercollegiate wrestling. Yet he brought up a number of aspects that help differentiate Queens University and its new wrestling program from other schools -- public and private -- within the Tar Heel State. "It's a school with high-quality academics," said Chertow. "It's comparable to Davidson, Duke, Northwestern." (Davidson is a private university in North Carolina, located just outside Charlotte. Its wrestling program competes in NCAA Division I.) "Queens has a paid internship program, that offers students hands-on learning opportunities in a real-world environment. Over 95 percent of students get jobs in their chosen fields." "There are incredible cultural opportunities in Charlotte." Chertow also cited Queens University's rich tradition of successfully bringing together athletics and academics. "Thirty percent of students at Queens are athletes," Chertow continued. "There's a focus on Olympic sports. There's no football program." "The school prides itself on offering students the opportunity to excel in academics and athletics. It offers personalized instruction in the classroom, and I plan to offer the same attention to our wrestlers." Chertow is already reaching out to potential athletes from across the country. "Because Queens is a private school, we have a national recruiting reach." "We already have at least 15 scholarship-athletes signed up." "I'm excited to work with top-notch guys," Chertow told InterMat. "Guys focused on a clean lifestyle and academic success." "I want to recruit clean-cut, hard-working and smart young men who want to be a part of a very special culture," Chertow said in a feature article in the June 15, 2017 issue of Amateur Wrestling News. "We've already signed some state champions and several guys who placed at their respective state tournaments." Chertow to continue with wrestling camps Ken Chertow has earned a nationwide reputation for his wrestling camps which he established two decades ago ... and plans to continue those ventures in his new capacity as Queens University head wrestling coach. In late April, Queens hosted a Brawl on the Border freestyle and Greco-Roman tournament in Fort Mill, S.C., where Chertow conducted a training session prior to the tournament. For young wrestlers who want to experience Queens University in person, Chertow will be holding his Gold Medal Training Camp at Queens the week of July 2-6, with 2-5 day camp options available for this event as well as group discounts and team camps. Chertow will also conduct additional wrestling camps this summer, starting with a Gold Medal Training Camp at West Liberty University in West Virginia on June 21-24 ... in State College, Pa. at the Ramada Inn Convention Center July 16-29 ... and Shore Regional High School in West Long Branch, N.J. July 29-30. Details on Chertow's camps available at his official camps website. www.kenchertow.com Queens = beginning of a new chapter Ken Chertow being named first-ever head coach of the brand-new wrestling program at Queens University is the beginning of a new chapter in his life and career ... and, hopefully, help to fuel growth of the sport, especially in smaller schools and in regions of the country with few options for student-athletes to continue their educational and wrestling careers. Ken Chertow working as a broadcaster for the Pac-12 Network at the 2017 Pac-12 Wrestling Championships in Palo Alto, Calif. (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)"Our nation is hungry for more college wrestling programs and I am glad to know Queens wants a successful program and has a commitment to succeed in wrestling and school," Chertow told Amateur Wrestling News. "The southeast, in particular, needs more college wrestling programs and Queens is an ideal location to build a national powerhouse in the sport ..." "This is a special and exciting opportunity for me to give back to the wrestling community and the sport that I have dedicated my life to," Chertow added. "I am excited to be able to give more wrestlers the opportunity to compete and help them live their dreams." "There's an effort to get more Division II and III programs added," Chertow told InterMat. "There's more momentum in smaller schools to add the sport." "If I can do well here, it can serve as a model for other schools to add wrestling."

Thomas Gilman and Rei Higuchi (Photos/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) World Team member Thomas Gilman issued a statement on his references to Olympic silver medalist Rei Higuchi of Japan at the Freestyle World Team Trials this past weekend. "I meant no disrespect when referencing Japanese wrestler Rei Higuchi," said Gilman. "The context of my comment was intended to pay respect to one of the top wrestlers in the world, but my choice of words contradicted that message. It was a mistake and I apologize."

Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com While the wrestling community was immersed in the action at this past weekend's World Team Trials in Lincoln, Neb., the sport took a hit at the hands of the International Olympic Committee. Lost amid the coverage of the IOC's announcement late Friday of new sports being added to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics -- including 3-on-3 basketball and BMX freestyle cycling -- some traditional Olympic sports learned they will have fewer athletes competing at the Summer Games in three years. Wrestling is among those sports, with 56 fewer places available for competitors in Tokyo than at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Wrestling isn't the only sport to be affected. A total of 285 athlete places will be lost compared to last summer's Olympics, with track and field losing 105 spots, weightlifting giving up 64 slots, sailing and shooting will each lose 30 and swimming will have 22 fewer. Competitive opportunities for wrestlers in 2020 At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there will be a total of 288 slots for wrestlers in a total of 18 competitions -- six in men's freestyle, six in women's freestyle, and six in Greco-Roman. This translates to 16 wrestlers per weight class. To compare to the 2016 Rio Olympics... there were 18 competitions, but a total of 344 wrestlers at last year's Games, for a loss of 56 available slots comparing 2020 vs. 2016. The six Olympic men's freestyle weight classes are 57 kilograms/125.4 pounds; 65 kilograms/143 pounds; 74 kilograms/163 pounds; 86 kilograms/183 pounds; 97 kilograms/213 pounds; and 125 kilograms/275 pounds. The six weight classes for women's freestyle wrestling are 48 kilograms/105.6 pounds; 53 kilograms/116.6 pounds; 58 kilograms/127.6 pounds; 63 kilograms/138.6 pounds; 69 kilograms/152 pounds; and 75 kilograms/165 pounds. The six Olympic Greco-Roman weight classes: 59 kilograms/130 pounds; 66 kilograms/145 pounds; 75 kilograms/165 pounds; 85 kilograms/187 pounds; 98 kilograms/216 pounds; and 130 kilograms/286 pounds. Wrestling's loss at the expense of new sports Over the past decade or so, the IOC has had a goal of approximately 10,500 athletes competing in the Summer Games. The target for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is 10,616 athletes in 28 core sports. Even while trying to maintain this total number of participants, the IOC has expanded its roster of sports for the Summer Games which take place in three years. On Friday, the IOC announced the addition of 3-on-3 basketball and BMX freestyle cycling for 2020. These are in addition to these sports the IOC added in August 2016 for the next Summer Olympics: baseball-softball, karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing. In addition, there are some new specific events added to existing sports, such as men's and women's Madison racing for track cycling, while swimming will add men's 800-meter freestyle and women's 1,500-meter freestyle. There will also be new mixed gender competitions, including a 4x100-meter mixed medley relay for swimming, and a 4x400 mixed relay on the track. According to the IOC, these changes are being made to make the Olympics more equitable in terms of gender participation (the IOC expects women to make up 48.8 per cent of all athletics at the 2020 Olympics), along with an attempt to make the Summer Games more appealing to a wider segment of the population by adding sports designed to attract young, urban athletes and fans. "I am delighted that the Olympic Games in Tokyo will be more youthful, more urban and will include more women," IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement issued Friday announcing changes for the 2020 Olympics. Why the cuts? Why is wrestling -- which can trace its roots to ancient times, and has been a part of the Summer Games since the first modern Olympics in 1896 -- losing 56 slots at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics? Websites covering other Olympic sports offered possible reasons. Yahoo! Sports weighed in with this explanation: "The IOC is pushing for more gender balance among its sports and made several adjustments to the number of both events and athletes to do so. 2020 Tokyo will feature 285 fewer athletes than Rio. Weightlifting and wrestling were hit the hardest with a total of 120 athletes 'reduced' to 'reach gender balance.'" BallinEurope.com, a website covering amateur and professional basketball in Europe, offered an explanation as to why 3-on-3 basketball was added at the apparent expense of other sports, such as wrestling, which had been eliminated from the Olympics by the IOC Executive Committee in February 2013 but restored later that year. "One of the sports set for the chop was wrestling and the movement that followed in order to save Olympic wrestling (and rightly so, the Olympics have enough issues without dumping a sport that fires what remains of its soul) led to a change of tact from the IOC," according to BallinEurope.Com. "Instead of reducing sports, the goal would be to increase the total number of sports while reducing the number of events per sport." To see the full list of sports and the number of athletes that can compete in each event for each sport at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, click here.

Princeton wrestling coaches Sean Gray and Joe Dubuque Entering his 12th year at the helm of the Princeton wrestling program, head coach Chris Ayres recognizes two of the driving forces who have helped bring the Tigers back to national prominence within the sport. He was happy to announce that both Sean Gray and Joe Dubuque have been promoted to associate head coaches as the team enters the 2017 season. "Coaches Joe Dubuque and Sean Gray have been incredible for our program, and they really have the experience and skills necessary to be head coaches, but they just have not had the opportunity to be recognized more formally in that role," Ayres said. "I am thankful that we are able to change their titles to Associate Head Coach, as they have certainly earned it. For the past few years I would pitch to recruits that they should come here because it is really 'like' being coached by three head coaches (Dubuque, Gray and myself), and these new titles show how much I believe that." Both Gray (entering his seventh season) and Dubuque (entering his sixth season) have helped push Princeton back to the elite tier of programs in the EIWA, and they have helped Princeton develop a pair of All-Americans in the last two years. This past season, Princeton sent a program-record seven Tigers to the NCAA Championships, where the team finished in the Top 25 for the sixth time in school history. Princeton finished third at EIWAs, won two individual titles, and it returned to the Ivy League championship match for the second straight year. "I want to thank Coach Chris Ayres, Mollie Marcoux Samaan, and the Friends of Princeton Wrestling for the promotion of Associate Head Wrestling Coach at Princeton," Gray said. "More than anything else, I think this says a lot about who Chris Ayres is and how far along he has brought the program. I feel blessed every day to work alongside two of the best coaches in country, and I am really excited for both myself and Joe. I look forward to seeing how far we can take the program in the future." Focusing on the future has been one of the most significant successes of both Gray and Dubuque, as they have consistently brought in nationally ranked recruiting classes to Princeton. While the Tigers will be led by sophomore All-American Matthew Kolodzik next season, Princeton does have its fourth straight Top 25 class coming in for the 2017-18 season. "I am honored that Chris Ayres, Mollie Marcoux Samaan, and the Friends of Princeton Wrestling were confident in my abilities to give me the distinction of Associate Head Coach," Dubuque said. "I will attack my new set of responsibilities with even more passion and commitment that will result in the consistent production of All-Americans, national champions and Top 10 team finishes." Princeton saw eight of its 10 starters named to the 2017 All-Ivy League team, while eight also placed at the EIWA Championships. Princeton finished third in the event with 113 team points, and the Tigers were only 4.5 points behind Lehigh for second place.

When Kyle Dake and David Taylor met in the 2013 NCAA finals in Des Moines, it featured a matchup of two of the best college wrestlers we've ever seen. Both wrestlers won the Hodge Trophy and both looked to have promising futures ahead on the international level. Both guys have excelled in freestyle, and beaten Olympic and world champions in international tournaments. But neither wrestler had made a U.S. World or Olympic team on the senior level. That trend appeared to be ending when Dake and Taylor looked sharp in winning their first matches of the best-of-three finals series at the Freestyle World Team Trials on Saturday night in Lincoln, Neb. But Olympic gold medalist and three-time world champion Jordan Burroughs rallied to win two matches against Dake at 163 pounds while Olympic bronze medalist J'den Cox came back to win twice against Taylor at 189. That's how tough the Trials were this year. The event, which is one of the most underrated on the schedule, always features outstanding wrestlers with a small field that only includes the very best this country has to offer. 2017 U.S. World Team (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The eight champions at the Trials qualified for August's World Championships in Paris, France. Point blank, this may be the best team the United States will enter at the World Championships since it last won the world team title in 1995. The Americans have a legitimate shot at bringing home the gold team trophy in France. Here are 10 takeaways from what will go down as an exciting and memorable event in Lincoln: Logan ready for another run It wasn't as easy as many people, including me, expected it to be. But Logan Stieber is ready to take a shot at repeating as world champion at 134 pounds. Stieber swept past NCAA champion Kendric Maple, earning a hard-fought win in the first bout of the best-of-three finals. Stieber is a stud who is hungry to make his mark again on the world stage. No ice cream this time Reigning Olympic and world champion Kyle Snyder was thrown and pinned in the 2015 NCAA finals by Kyven Gadson, who famously declared in an ESPN interview that he just wanted some ice cream immediately following the match. There would be no repeat in Lincoln. Snyder rolled to a pair of decisive wins over Gadson, who is a very strong freestyler. Snyder is just on a whole other level, and looks poised to win another world title at 213 pounds this year. Can we please add overtime? It happened again. The hometown crowd stood and cheered as their guy roared back to tie a match. That's what Jordan Burroughs did in the first match of his finals series with Kyle Dake. Burroughs came back to tie it 6-6, but Dake won on criteria because he scored with a four-point move. It is ridiculous this keeps happening. No athletic event should end with a tie score. Have an overtime, and make someone legitimately win the match. United World Wrestling is worried overtime will make tournaments too long, and some of that makes sense, but no athlete should have their hand raised when they don't outscore their opponent. It's just silly and downright dumb to not have an overtime. Please come up with a way to add overtime. Nick Gwiazdowski comes out for his finals match at the Freestyle World Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Gwiz ready to make an impact American wrestling fans love the way heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski wrestles. He's an aggressive wrestler who can attack the legs and score points. He's also very big and very mobile. He's a tough matchup for foreigners who want to slow down the pace. Gwiz still isn't overly experienced internationally, but he's a fast learner who can definitely win some matches on the world stage. U.S. big man Tervel Dlagnev won a bronze medal at his first worlds in 2009. Please put the World Team Trials on television No offense to the NCAA tournament, an event I love dearly, but the quality of wrestling at the World Team Trials is far superior to college wrestling's showcase event. So why isn't this event on television for everyone to see? Why do people have to pay to watch a stream of it on the Internet? The entire NCAA tournament is shown live on ESPN. It's sad that a lot of people missed out on the Trials because it isn't as accessible as it should be. Get this event on TV, and market it and promote it. These guys are too good to not be seen by more people. There has to be some sponsors out there who would be willing to pay to put this event on TV. It is difficult to grow the sport unless your big events are showcased better. James Green defeated Jimmy Kennedy to make his third straight World Team (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Veteran Green is no longer green James Green owns the 154-pound weight class in the U.S. now. He made his third straight world team and has an excellent chance to improve on his bronze-medal performance from the 2015 worlds. Green is lethal with his leg attacks, but he's also very stingy defensively. He's also very tough mentally, and he wrestles with sound tactics and techniques. He is another American who could hear the Star-Spangled Banner being played in late August. Zain Train powers down the tracks Zain Retherford is a Cadet world champion, NCAA champion and Hodge Trophy winner. His progression continued with a tough, gritty win over Olympic fifth-place finisher Frank Molinaro, who is a very physical wrestler who competes with a style similar to many Europeans. This day was going to come for Retherford and it may have arrived earlier than expected since he is still in college. But that doesn't mean the Zain Train won't excel at 143 pounds in France. He's another star in the making out of the loaded Penn State program. Thomas Gilman and Tony Ramos shake hands after the finals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Gilman finally walked the walk Thomas Gilman even admits it. He is not afraid to speak his mind or call out an opponent. But the ultra-confident Gilman fell short at the NCAA tournament as the top seed was upset by eventual champion Darian Cruz of Lehigh in the semis. Gilman ended his college career with a third-place finish this year after losing to Nico Megaludis in the 2016 finals. The good news for Gilman is he's better at freestyle than folkstyle. He avenged both of those losses in an unreal and unlikely performance at the Trials. Gilman rolled past Cruz in his first match and dominated Megaludis in the semis. He also beat No. 1 seed Tyler Graff in the quarterfinals of the challenge tournament and then downed Nathan Tomasello in the finals. He then swept another guy who likes to talk, two-time World Team member and former Iowa teammate Tony Ramos, in two straight matches to make his first senior world team. Gilman also has made Cadet and Junior world teams for the U.S. Gilman's magical day included five wins over NCAA champions, plus he beat an NCAA runner-up in Graff. It was an amazing showing for the No. 8 seed at 125 pounds, but it wasn't completely unexpected. 'Underdog' J'den Cox 'upsets' Taylor Virtually nobody was picking J'den Cox to make his first world team before the Trials started. Even though Cox won an Olympic medal in Rio and had a bye into the finals of the Trials, David Taylor was the guy who was going to finally break through. Taylor had beaten two Olympic champs at the World Cup and has had a tremendous season. That continued when he handled Cox in the first match at 189 pounds. But Cox dug down, made some adjustments and won the next two bouts. Injured late in the final bout, with a knee injury, Cox still gutted it out to win the series. If he is healthy, Cox is a legitimate contender for world gold. Let's hope his injury isn't as serious as was originally feared. He's a tough matchup with his speed, power and amazing resolve. The good news for the U.S. is that if Cox can't go at the World Championships, the U.S. would still have a very strong entry in Taylor. It is too bad the Americans can only enter one guy per weight class in Paris because the U.S. has some studs who didn't qualify for Worlds. Jordan Burroughs works to secure a takedown against Kyle Dake in their third match (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Burroughs vs. Dake did live up to the hype Unlike the U.S. Open finals, the Jordan Burroughs-Kyle Dake matchup at 163 pounds did live up to the hype at the Trials. The two stars had three exciting matches as Burroughs' home crowd of Nebraska Cornhusker faithful cheered him on. Burroughs came back like the great champion he is to win the final two bouts to make his fifth straight world team. He previously won world titles in the odd-numbered years of 2011, 2013 and 2015. It's 2017 now, and that obviously could be a good omen. Not to mention the fact Burroughs is eager to bounce back from losing twice at the 2016 Olympics. Burroughs returned to his aggressive ways that have made him a legend in this sport. If he stays in that mode in Paris, he will definitely be in the mix to win his fourth world title. The key is to not let defensive-minded foes slow the pace of matches down and keep Burroughs from getting to his attacks.

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.