InterMat Staff

David Bolyard Cleveland, Ohio -- The Mid-American Conference announced today three wrestling postseason awards for the 2018 season. Eastern Michigan's David Bolyard was named MAC Coach of the Year, while Missouri's Jaydin Eierman was selected as MAC Wrestler of the Year and Old Dominion's Michael McGee was named MAC Freshman of the Year. All three awards were voted on by the conference's head wrestling coaches following the conclusion of the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Tournament. The 2017-18 campaign was David Bolyard's most successful season at Eastern Michigan as the Eagles finished with an 8-8 dual record, including 3-5 in the MAC and perfect 3-0 mark at home. Eastern Michigan proceeded to tear up the MAC Championships, as they took third place, finishing behind nationally ranked Missouri and Central Michigan. The third-place finish was the best for the Eagles since 2012. Bolyard coached four grapplers into the finals of their respective weight classes, including an individual title for Kayne MacCallum at 184 lbs., Eastern Michigan's first individual champion since 2009. In addition, the Eagles qualified five total grapplers into the 2018 NCAA Championships, tying a program record set 1989 and matched in 1996. At the NCAA Championships, Bolyard capped off the momentous year by guiding 141 pounder Sa'Derian Perry to All-American status, as the redshirt sophomore took eighth place at the weight class. It was Eastern Michigan's fifth All-American in program history and first since 1999. Missouri sophomore Jaydin Eierman wrestled to a fourth-place finish at 141 pounds at the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Championships to earn his second consecutive All-America honor. Eierman won his second MAC title at the MAC Championships, and recorded a 32-3 record over the season, as two of his three defeats came to the NCAA finalists at 141 pounds. Eierman was a bonus point machine in his second season, as he won 24 matches by bonus points, including 16 falls, which rank ninth all-time in program history for falls in a season. A native of Columbia, Mo., Eierman was a perfect 16-0 in duals this season, as his 79 points ranked second while his eight falls in dual competition ranked tied-for-first. Overall, Eierman defeated 10 ranked wrestlers in 2017-18, including a 9-6 win over eventual National Champion Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell at the South Beach Duals on Dec. 30, and a pin over two-time defending National Champion Dean Heil of Oklahoma State in a Jan. 27 dual to help the Tigers beat No. 5 Oklahoma State. Eierman's win over Heil helped him earn MAC and NCAA Wrestler of the Week honors. Old Dominion true freshman Michael McGee won the 125-pound 2018 MAC Championship. McGee routed his opponents by a 24-7 margin on the way to the title. In the finals, the Illinois native avenged his only MAC loss of the season in an overtime battle to Brock Hudkins of NIU. After earning an automatic berth into the NCAA Championship, McGee took the fifth seed into overtime in the first round of the tournament as an unseeded wrestler. A native of Bolingbrook, Ill., McGee finished his freshman campaign with a 29-10 overall record. Throughout the regular season, McGee appeared in the national rankings several times, ranking as high as No. 20. In the regular season, McGee had just eight losses, four of those losses coming to nationally ranked opponents.

Michael Macchiavello after his victory in the NCAA semifinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) GREENSBORO, N.C. -- NC State senior Michael Macchiavello, Virginia Tech freshman Hunter Bolen and NC State head coach Pat Popolizio were named the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler, Freshman and Coach of the Year, the league announced Wednesday. All three awards were determined by a vote of the ACC's six wrestling head coaches. Macchiavello, a fifth year senior from Monroe, North Carolina, capped an outstanding senior season by winning the national championship at 197 pounds. Macchiavello finished the year with a 22-3 record, including 11-2 in duals. He defeated Virginia Tech's Jared Haught, 3-1, in the NCAA Championship finals to claim the title. Macchiavello, the NCAA fourth seed in the championship, and Haught, who was seeded third, became the first pair of ACC wrestlers to meet in the NCAA finals. Macchiavello's national title was the 18th by an ACC wrestler and the first since former NC State standout Nick Gwiazdowski won the heavyweight crown in 2015. “We are very proud of what Michael has accomplished, both on the mat and in the classroom,” said Popolizio. “He exemplifies the mentality, work ethic, and lifestyle needed to be successful and has reaped the benefits of trusting the process. “He came to NC State in the early stages of building the program, when he and our team were facing tremendous growth challenges. From having a losing record as a freshman to winning an NCAA title as a senior, Michael demonstrated what is possible with complete buy-in and goal-oriented focus. He leaves NC State with an undergraduate degree in business management and is currently finishing his master's degree. Michael embodies everything that our program stands for and what we look for in prospective student-athletes.” Bolen, a freshman from Christiansburg, Virginia, posted a 21-12 overall record on the year in the 174-pound weight class. He reached the finals of the ACC Championships and earned All-ACC honors and was 4-0 in ACC competition during the regular season. In all, Bolen notched six wins over other NCAA qualifiers. “Hunter put a lot of effort and hard work in this past season and we're happy to see him earn this award,” said Virginia Tech head coach Tony Robie. “The best part about Hunter is that his best wrestling is still ahead of him and we're all excited to see him progress on the mat.” Eligibility for the ACC Freshman of the Year award is limited to true freshmen. Popolizio, in his sixth season as head coach of the Wolfpack, led NC State to a fourth-place finish in the NCAA Championships, tying the highest finish by an ACC team, which had been set in 2016 by Virginia Tech. The Wolfpack posted a 15-2 overall record, including a 5-0 mark in the ACC, taking the regular season title for the first time since 2004. NC State finished the regular season ranked sixth nationally in the NWCA Coaches poll and sixth by InterMat in both its tournament and dual meet rankings. NC State was the first ACC ream to have two wrestlers in the NCAA Championship finals in the same year in Macchiavello and redshirt freshman Hayden Hidley. In all, the Wolfpack had four All-Americas in Macchiavello, Hidlay, redshirt freshman Tariq Wilson, who finished third at 133, and senior Kevin Jack, who finished sixth at 141. “This was certainly an exciting year for our squad, setting many new program firsts,” said Popolizio. “All the hard work that started all the way back in the preseason came to fruition on our sport's biggest stage with NC State's first team trophy a national champion, and a school record four All-Americans. “There are so many people behind the scenes that continue to elevate our program. Without their hard work and dedication to seeing our student-athletes excel, we would not be where we are at today. I am both humbled and honored not only for this award, but for all the resources we have as a program.” Popolizio becomes the first NC State coach to be voted the ACC Wrestling Coach of the Year award since Carter Jordan in 2007. It also marked the eighth time an NC State coach was so honored as former Wolfpack head coach Bob Guzzo was named six times. The honor also broke a five-year streak of Virginia Tech head coaches being named ACC Wrestling Coach of the Year.

Sean Bormet coaching Adam Coon in the NCAA finals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics Warde Manuel announced today (Tuesday, March 27) the appointment of Sean Bormet as head coach of the wrestling program. Bormet, himself a former Michigan All-American, spent seven years as the Wolverines' top assistant, including the last four as associate head coach. Bormet becomes the 10th head coach in Michigan program history, dating back to 1922, and the fourth U-M alumnus at the helm, joining Rick Bay (1971-74), Bill Johannesen (1975-78) and Joe McFarland (2000-18). "I'm honored to become the 10th head wrestling coach at the University of Michigan and am thrilled for the opportunity to lead a program with such a rich tradition of excellence on and off the mat," said Bormet. "I want to thank our athletic director, Warde Manuel, and our athletic administration for their continued confidence in me. "My commitment and passion for the University of Michigan and Michigan Athletics runs very deep. As a former student-athlete and alumnus, I can say with great confidence this is the best place to coach and enrich the lives of student-athletes. Joe McFarland had an incredible impact on me as an athlete and coach and did an outstanding job over the last 19 years as head coach. I am ready to build on the success of this last season and have very high expectations for the future of Michigan wrestling." "I am delighted that Sean will lead our wrestling program following his tremendous contributions both as an associate head coach and as a former U-M student-athlete," said Manuel. "Following a thoughtful search, it was plainly obvious that the best candidate was already here at U-M. I was greatly impressed by Sean's approach throughout the interview process and with his plan to further elevate our program. "Sean's accolades and abilities are widely known throughout the collegiate and international wrestling communities and reach far beyond his numerous coaching awards. Michigan wrestling could not have a better coach to lead us into the future." Bormet takes over a Michigan program that recently claimed fourth place at the NCAA Championships -- its third straight top-10 finish -- behind five All-Americans and a pair of finalists. The Wolverines posted an 11-3 dual-meet record in 2017-18, including a 7-2 mark in Big Ten duals, and placed third at the Big Ten Championships with two individual champions. Since returning to his alma mater, Bormet has helped mentor 14 different Wolverine All-Americans, with Michigan earning 16 All-America citations -- from 10 different wrestlers -- over the last four seasons. He was in Kellen Russell's corner when Russell captured his second NCAA title and fourth Big Ten title to finish a stellar collegiate career in 2012. A skilled recruiter, Bormet has contributed to six top-10 recruiting classes, including the nation's consensus No. 1 class in 2013, and will bring another heralded class to Ann Arbor next fall. image 29As a Wolverine student-athlete (1991-94), Sean Bormet was a two-time NCAA All-American at 158 pounds, placed second as a senior (1994) and third as a junior (1993), and earned back-to-back Big Ten 158-pound titles (1993, '94). Bormet is a three-time winner of the Terry McCann Award as the USA Wrestling Freestyle Coach of the Year (2006, '08, '10) and serves on USA Wrestling's Executive Coaches Council. He was a member of the coaching staff for three U.S. World Championship Teams (2006, '09, '10) as well as the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Teams and 2010 World Cup Team. Among his most decorated post-collegiate wrestlers are 2008 Olympian Andy Hrovat (84 kg), 2009 World silver medalist and 2012 Olympian Jake Herbert (84kg) and 2006 World bronze medalist Donny Pritzlaff (74kg). Bormet was also named the 2004 USA Wrestling Developmental Coach of the Year for his coaching achievements with age-group wrestlers and programs. He coached the Illinois Junior Freestyle Team to four dual national titles (2006, '07, '08, '10) and two national freestyle titles (2007, '10). He has coached numerous age-group national champions and All-Americans as a coach for the Illinois Junior and Cadet freestyle national teams. As the owner and founder of the Overtime School of Wrestling in Naperville, Illinois, Bormet molded the training center into the nation's premiere wrestling club, producing numerous champions and All-Americans at all age levels since its opening in 2001. Alumni of the Overtime School of Wrestling include World medalists, Olympic and World team members, NCAA champions and All-Americans, USA Wrestling Junior and Cadet national champions and more than 150 Illinois and Indiana state champions. Prior to founding the Overtime School of Wrestling, Bormet served as an assistant coach at Wisconsin (1995-99) and Michigan (1999-2000). He worked with two-time NCAA champion Donny Pritzlaff and three-time All-American Eric Jetton during his tenure at Wisconsin and All-Americans Otto Olson, Damion Logan and Andy Hrovat while at Michigan. As a Wolverine student-athlete (1991-94), Bormet was a two-time NCAA All-American at 158 pounds, and placing second as a senior (1994) and third as a junior (1993). He garnered the prestigious Gorriaran Award at the 1993 event, registering three falls in a combined 8:58. He captured back-to-back Big Ten 158-pound titles (1993, '94) and won the prestigious Midlands at 158 pounds in 1993. Bormet posted a 125-21 career record, including a 33-2 mark as a senior, to rank 13th among Michigan's all-time winningest wrestlers. He accumulated 44 career falls, leading the team with 15 during his junior season and 14 as a senior, to list fourth on the program's all-time pins list. A two-time team captain, Bormet twice was named the Wolverines' Cliff Keen Award winner as the team's most outstanding wrestler. In addition to his collegiate success, Bormet also excelled in freestyle wrestling, placing second at 76kg at the 1999 U.S. Senior National and third at 74kg (163 pounds) in 1996. He took third place at the 1996 Olympic Team Trials and 1999 World Team Trials. While at Michigan, Bormet competed in the 1991 Espoir World Championships after claiming the Espoir national championship at 74kg. He participated in several international tours, claiming gold medals in Italy (1993), Greece (1996), Montreal (1997) and Poland (1998, 2000). A native of Frankfort, Illinois, Bormet graduated from Michigan in 1994 with a degree in sport management. He and his wife, Teri, have a daughter, Zoe, and live in Ann Arbor.

Zain Retherford won his second straight Dan Hodge Trophy (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) For only the fourth time in the 24-year history of college wrestling's top award, Penn State's Zain Retherford has been named the WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy winner for a second consecutive year. The three-time NCAA champ got 35 out of 48 first-place Hodge votes from a dominant group of Hodge finalists. "To win the award that symbolizes dominance in college wrestling two years in a row means a lot to me. It's awesome," Retherford said. "Coming into college my first year, I really wasn't that dominant. I would ride just to ride and would squeak out a few wins. Throughout wrestling at Penn State, I learned to look for more points and expand matches a little bit." The Hodge Trophy, presented annually by ASICS Wrestling, was created by WIN founder Mike Chapman in 1994. It is named after the former University of Oklahoma wrestler who won three NCAA titles (1955-57), never allowed a takedown in his career and pinned 36 of 46 foes. Hodge is still the only wrestler ever to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Penn State coach Cael Sanderson said it's Retherford's consistency of effort in striving for excellence in every area of his life which makes the two-time Hodge winner unique. "Zain is very consistent. That's one of the keys to him being who he is. His consistency is his best every second. And that's very rare," Sanderson said. Retherford dominated his 149-pound peers during his senior season, winning titles at the Keystone Classic, Southern Scuffle and Big Ten Championships leading into the NCAA Championships. Finishing his Nittany Lion career at 126-3, Retherford scored bonus points in all but five matches this year, racking up 17 pins, 5 technical falls and 4 major decisions. His bonus-point percentage on the year was 83.9%. The Benton, Pa., native joins the elite group of multiple-time Hodge winners. Penn State coach Cael Sanderson captured wrestling's version of the Heisman Trophy three times, from 2000-2002 and won four NCAA titles at Iowa State. Penn State's 2014 team captain David Taylor also won the award twice: in 2012 and then as a senior in 2014. Missouri's Ben Askren was the final multi-year winner, taking home the Hodge 2006 and 2007. Nittany Lion Bo Nickal, the 184-pound junior who sealed the team title for Penn State with his dramatic NCAA finals pin against Ohio State's Myles Martin, finished second in the Hodge voting with six first-place votes. South Dakota State's Seth Gross tallied four first-place votes after winning the 133-pound title. Arizona State's Zahid Valencia (174) earned the other three first-place votes. The Hodge Voting Committee is made up of all past winners of the award, national wrestling media and select retired college coaches from different regions of the country. The final two first-place official Hodge votes are awarded to the Fan Vote winner from a nation-wide poll on WIN's website the week after the NCAA Championships. Retherford easily won that voting as well, getting 52 percent of the over 25,000 unique votes. Gross came in second with 22 percent and just over 5,500 votes. All four Hodge finalists had very dominant seasons. Nickal (31-0) was only one pin behind Retherford with 16 falls, and also added a tech fall and six majors in his 31-0 season. Gross finished 29-1 with his only loss coming in a February dual meet when he moved up to 141 to face No. 1 Bryce Meredith of Wyoming. The Jackrabbit had 12 pins, seven technical falls and five major decisions. Valencia finished 32-0 with nine pins, seven tech falls and nine major decisions in winning his first NCAA title. After settling for fifth place as a 141-pound true freshman in 2014 and redshirting in 2015, Retherford ended his collegiate career on a 95-match winning streak in winning three straight titles at 149 pounds. Like Taylor, Retherford also helped lead the Lions to four national championships as a team. The only year Penn State didn't win the title in his five seasons in State College was the two-time Pennsylvania state champ's redshirt season. Retherford said he doesn't think about the legacy he leaves on college wrestling any more than simply hoping people enjoyed watching him wrestle and that young wrestlers got something technically from him. The business major said he's most proud of who he has become as a college student-athlete. "Win or lose a match, I think I became a better person being at Penn State and made the most of it. The thing I'm most proud of is the person I've become," Retherford said. Sanderson said his "low-key" senior is one of kind who didn't change once he had high-level success. "When he won the Hodge (in 2017), it really didn't change him. He's still the nice Zain. But when he competes, he's tenacious and competes to score points and do what it takes. He's low-key, but he's competitive and wants to be a World and Olympic champion," the Nittany Lion coach said. The primary criteria for the award are record, number of pins, dominance and quality of competition. Secondary criteria used to separate finalists with similar stats are past credentials, sportsmanship/citizenship and heart. Retherford will be presented the award publically on Sunday, April 15 at the Penn State wrestling banquet. And then as is tradition with the Hodge, he'll be publicly presented the award again in front of the larger Penn State athletic community at a home football game this fall.

Nurislam Sanayev has twice placed fifth at the Worlds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The wrestling federation of Kazakhstan has provided its lineup for the 2018 Freestyle World Cup at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on April 7-8 at the University of Iowa. The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championships featuring eight of the top men's freestyle wrestling teams in the world. The team is led by three Olympians, Nurislam Sanayev at 61 kg, Mamed Ibragimov at 97 kg and Daulet Shabanbay at 125 kg. Sanayev competed in the 2016 Olympic Games. He was fifth in the 2014 and 2015 Senior World Championships and was a 2018 Asian champion. He started his career wrestling for Russia under the name Artas Sanaa. Ibragimov, a 2016 Olympian, was fifth in the 2017 Senior World Championships. He was third in the 2015 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia, considered the toughest open freestyle event each season. Shabanbay, who was fifth in the 2012 Olympics, also competed in the 2016 Olympic Games. Shabanbay was seventh at the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas. The team also features a number of athletes with major age-group achievements. Meizhan Ashirov, a 2016 University World champion and 2012 Junior World bronze medalist, is competing at 70 kg. Bolat Sakaev, a 2016 University World bronze medalist, will enter at 74 kg. Kuat Amirtaev, entered at 61 kg, was a 2017 U23 World silver medalist. Iliskhan Chilaev, a 2015 Junior World bronze medalist, wrestles at 92 kg. Iliyas Zhumay, a 65 kg entry, won a Cadet World bronze medal in 2011. Mukhamed Kuatbek, a 2014 Youth Olympic Games champion, will compete at 57 kg. Ticket opportunities for the World Cup include a Gold all-session package ($225), a Black all-session package ($150), and standard all-session tickets ($75/$50). Tickets are now available on the University of Iowa Athletics website. Visit worldcupiowacity.com for more information on the event. Kazakhstan Freestyle World Cup Team Roster 57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Mukhambed Kuatbek 61 kg/134 lbs. - Kuat Amirtayev 61 kg/134 lbs. - Nurislam Sanayev 65 kg/143 lbs. - Sayatbek Okassov 65 kg/143 lbs. - Iliyas Zhumay 70 kg/154 lbs. - Meirzhan Ashirov 74 kg/163 lbs. - Daniyar Kaisanov 74 kg/163 lbs. - Bolat Sakayev 79 kg/174 lbs. - Saken Aitzhanov 86 kg/189 lbs. - Nurdaulet Kokteubayev 92kg/203 lbs. - Iliskhan Chilayev 97 kg/213 lbs. - Mamed Ibragimov 125 kg/275 lbs. - Daulet Shabanbay 125 kg/275 lbs. - Oleg Boltin Kazakhstan World Cup Bios 57 kg/126 lbs. - Mukhambed Kuatbek 2014 Youth Olympic Games champion… Third at 2014 Cadet World Championships… Third at 2017 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Tenth at Intercontinental Cup (Russia)… Second at the 2015 Junior Asian Championships… Third at 2016 Junior Asian Championships… 2014 Cadet Asian champion… Born January 2, 1997… Age: 21 61 kg/134 lbs. - Kuat Amirtayev Second at 2017 U23 World Championships… Third at 2017 Alexander Medved Prizes (Belarus)… Tenth at 2018 International Ukrainian Tournament… 61 kg/134 lbs. - Nurislam Sanayev (previously Artas Sanaa) Fifth at 2014 and 2015 World Championships… 2016 Olympian… Three-time World Team member…2018 Asian champion… Second at 2017 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakshtan)… Fifth at 2017 Alany Tournament (Russia)… 2017 Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial (Poland)… Third at 2017 Asian Championships… Fifth at 2016 Ali Aliev Tournament (Russia)… 2015 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament champion (Kazakhstan)… Fifth at 2015 President Cup of Kazakhstan… Second at 2012 Ramzan Kadyrov Cup (Russia)… Born February 9, 1991… Age: 27 65 kg/143 lbs. - Sayatbek Okassov Two-time Kazakhstan World Team member… Fifth at the 2010 Junior World Championships… Eighth at 2015 and 2016 Intercontinental Cup (Russia)… Third at 2015 President Cup of Kazakhstan… Third at 2015 Ali Aliev Tournament (Russia)… 2014 Alexander Medved Prizes champion (Belarus)… Third at 2013 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Seventh at 2013 Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial (Poland)… Third at 2012 Golden Grand Prix… Eighth at 2011 Dmitri Korkin Tournament (Russia)… Fifth at 2011 Alexander Medved Prizes (Belarus)… 2009 Junior Asian champion… Born July 7, 1991… Age: 26 65 kg/143 lbs. - Iliyas Zhumay Third at 2017 Alexander Medved Prizes (Belarus)… Third at 2017 Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial (Poland)… Third at 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games… Third at 2016 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakshtan)… Seventh at 2016 Junior World Championships… 2015 Junior Asian champion… Third at 2015 Olympia Tournament (Greece)… Fifth at 2014 Junior World Championships… Third at 2014 Junior Asian Championships… Third at 2013 Cadet Asian Championships… Fifth at 2012 Cadet World Championships… Third at 2011 Cadet World Championships… Born January 16, 1996… Age: 22 70 kg/154 lbs. - Meirzhan Ashirov 2017 Kazakhstan World Team member… Third at 2018 Asian Championships… Third at 2012 Junior World Championships… Third at 2012 Junior Asian Championships… Second at 2011 Junior Asian Championships… Third at 2015 and 2017 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Eighth at 2017 Intercontinental Cup (Russia)… Third at 2017 Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial (Poland)… Ninth at 2017 Asian Championships… Third at 2017 Dan Kolov Tournament (Bulgaria)… Fifth at 2016 Golden Grand Prix… 2016 World University champion… Ninth at 2016 Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial (Poland)… Seventh at 2016 Alexander Medved Prizes (Belarus)… Fifth at 2014 and 2015 Intercontinental Cup (Russia)… 2015 President Cup of Kazakhstan champion… Fifth at 2015 Ali Aliev Tournament (Russia)… Eighth at 2015 Yasar Dogu (Turkey)… 2014 Miners' Fame Tournament champion (Russia)… Tenth at 2014 Alexander Medved Prizes (Belarus)… Tenth at 2014 Takhti Cup (Iran)… Tenth at 2013 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Seventh at 2013 Grand Prix of Germany… Third at 2012 Grand Prix of Spain… January 30, 1992… Age: 26 74 kg/163 lbs. - Daniyar Kaisanov Eighth at 2013 Junior World Championships… Third at 2018 Asian Championships… Seventh at 2017 Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial (Poland)… Seventh at 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games… Second at 2016 Intercontinental Cup (Russia)… Third at 2016 Mongolia Cup… Seventh at 2015 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Second at 2014 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Seventh at 2013 Junior Freidenfelds Cup (Latvia)… 74 kg/163 lbs. - Bolat Sakayev Third at 2016 World University Championships… Fifth at 2018 Takhti Cup (Iran)… Second at 2017 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Third at 2017 Vladimir Semenov Tournament (Russia)… Third at 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games… Second at 2017 Dan Kolov Tournament (Bulgaria)… Fifth at 2016 World University Championships… Fifth at 2016 Dmitri Korkin Tournament (Russia)… 2015 President Cup of Kazakhstan champion… Second at 2015 Mongolia Open… Third at the 2014 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakshtan)… Fifth at 2014 Ali Aliev Tournament (Russia)… Fifth at 2014 Takhti Cup (Iran)… Seventh at 2013 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… 2013 Junior Asian champion… Second at 2013 Junior Freidenfelds Cup (Latvia)… Second at 2012 Junior Asian Championships… 79 kg/174 lbs. - Saken Aitzhanov Two-time Kazakhstan World Team member… Sixth at 2017 Akhmat Kadyrov Cup… Eighth at 2016 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Russia)… Third at 2016 President Cup of Buryatia Republic (Russia)… 2016 Mongolia Open champion… Fifth at 2014 Alexander Medved Prizes (Belarus)… Third at 2013 Junior Asian Championships… 2013 Junior Freidenfelds Cup champion (Latvia)… Ninth at 2012 Grand Prix of Spain… Second at 2011 Junior Asian Championships… 2010 Cadet Asian champion… Born January 1, 1993… Age: 25 86 kg/189 lbs. - Nurdaulet Kokteubayev Third at 2017 Takhti Cup (Iran)… Third at 2014 Miners' Fame Tournament (Russia)… Fifth at 2014 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan) 92kg/203 lbs. - Iliskhan Chilayev Third at 2015 Junior World Championships… Third at 2015 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Second at 2015 Junior Asian Championships… Fifth at 2012 Cadet Asian Championships… 97 kg/213 lbs. - Mamed Ibragimov 2016 Olympian… Fifth at 2017 World Championships... Fifth at 2018 Asian Championships… 2017 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament champion (Kazakhstan)… Second at 2017 Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial (Poland)… Third at 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games… Fifth at 2017 Dan Kolov Tournament (Bulgaria)… Third at 2017 Takhti Cup (Iran)… Seventh at 2016 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Third at 2016 Grand Prix of Germany… Third at 2016 Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial (Poland)… Second at 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournament… Ninth at 2016 Alexander Medved Prizes (Belarus)… Second at 2015 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Third at 2015 Olympia Tournament (Greece)… Third at 2015 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix (Russia)… Third at 2014 Asian Games… Tenth at 2014 Golden Grand Prix… Tenth at 2014 Ali Aliev Tournament (Russia)… Third at 2014 Mongolia Open… Fifth at 2014 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix (Russia)… Third at 2011 Junior Asian Championships… Third at 2008 Cadet Asian Championships… Born June 9, 1992… Age: 25 125 kg/275 lbs. - Daulet Shabanbay Fifth at 2012 Olympic Games… Seventh at 2015 World Championships… Five-time Kazakhstan World Team member… Two-time Olympian… Sixth at 2017 Akhmat Kadyrov Cup (Russia)… Fifth at 2017 Asian Indoor Games… Tenth at Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial (Poland)… Second at 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games… Fifth at 2017 Dan Kolov Tournament (Bulgaria)… Second at 2016 Grand Prix of Germany… Second at 2016 Olympic Qualification Tournament… Second at 2016 Asian Championships… Fifth at 2015 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… 2015 President Cup of Kazakhstan champion… Third at 2015 Yasar Dogu (Turkey)… Eighth at 2015 Alexander Medved Prizes (Belarus)… Second at 2014 Asian Games… Fifth at 2014 Ali Aliev Tournament (Russia)… Third at 2014 Asian Championships… Fifth at 2014 Alexander Medved Prizes (Belarus)… Second at 2014 Takhti Cup (Iran)… 2014 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament champion (Kazakhstan)… 2013 Grand Prix of Germany champion… Third at 2012 Waclaw Ziolkowski Memorial (Poland)… Fifth at 2011 International Ukrainian Tournament… Third at 2011 Asian Championships… Ninth at 2010 Golden Grand Prix… Third at 2008 and 2009 Asian Championships… Fifth at 2009 Nikola Petrov Tournament (Bulgaria)… Born August 9, 1983… Age: 34 125 kg/275 lbs. - Oleg Boltin Tenth at 2013 Junior World Championships… Seventh at 2018 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix (Russia)… Third at 2017 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Fourth at 2017 Dave Schultz Memorial International… Third at 2017 Alexander Medved Prizes (Belarus)… Tenth at 2016 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Eighth at 2015 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Fifth at 2014 International D. A. Kunaev Tournament (Kazakhstan)… Second at 2013 Asian Championships… Second at 2013 Freidenfelds Cup (Latvia)… Third at 2012 Asian Championships… Born February 10, 1993… Age: 25

Ed Ruth is 4-0 in his MMA career (Photo/Bellator) Less than one week after Ed Ruth signed on for a welterweight bout at Bellator 196 in Budapest, Hungary, the former Penn State superstar wrestler has learned his has a new opponent, and will be fighting in a different weight class, according to multiple media reports Monday. After original Bellator 196 foe Laszlo Furko withdrew from the 170-pound match due to injury, Ruth will now face Ion Pascu in a 175-pound catchweight bout at Bellator 196 on Saturday, April 6 at the same location. The 27-year-old Ruth, who is 4-0 in his professional mixed martial arts career, was originally intended to mark his debut at 170 pounds after previously competing at middleweight (185 pounds). Instead, Ruth will meet Pascu somewhere in the middle, at 175 pounds. Pascu, 35, is an MMA veteran from Bucharest, Romania. He is 17-7 in his pro career he launched in October 2006. Nine of his wins are by KO/TKO, four by submission, and four by decision. Pasco has had nine of his bouts go the distance ... while Ruth has never experienced a full three-round fight, having ended all four of his matches within the first two rounds. Another potential concern for some fans of "EZ Ed": Having to prep for a new opponent. However, Ruth told MMA Fighting that the opponent switch is of little concern to him and his team, having experienced this situation in his college career. "Sometimes at dual meets, they would have somebody wrestle at a certain weight class all year long and then all of a sudden they switch the guy right before you're about to step out there," Ruth told MMA Fighting. "Even when you're weighing in on the scales, you'll see them weigh in two guys so you don't know which one of those guys you're going to wrestle. "There were times at the Penn State dual meets where I had to shake hands with, like, three guys that were out there on the mat and I didn't know which one I was going to wrestle." That be-ready-for-anything mentality that served the first-ever three-time NCAA champ for the storied Penn State wrestling program is still at work in his Bellator MMA career. "We're never just preparing for one guy," said Ruth. "They know that I'm not just trying to be good at boxing or kickboxing, I'm not just trying to take the guy down and just be a wrestler, I want to go out there and compete against someone in the disciplines that they're good in. "Going forward with this new guy Ion Pascu, the training and everything is still the same. I'm just trying to get better with my standup striking, my wrestling, and all my transitions, and my jiu-jitsu." Ruth is one of the most decorated wrestlers to come out of Penn State wrestling program. The Harrisburg, Pa. native was a four-time NCAA All-American, becoming the first three-time NCAA champ for the Nittany Lions, winning the 174-pound title in 2012, and back-to-back championships at 184 in 2013 and 2014.

JaMarr Billman While most of the amateur wrestling community was focused on the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Cleveland -- and post-event coverage -- there have been new developments regarding JaMarr Billman and his position as head wrestling coach at his high school alma mater, as wrestlers, the local chapter of the NAACP, and local newspapers have weighed in on his behalf. First, some background. Billman had been head coach at Easton Area High School for the past two years until being told his contract -- along with the rest of his coaching staff -- had not be renewed on Tuesday, March 15. However, by the end of the week, the three-time NCAA All-American wrestler at Penn State and Lock Haven announced he would remain coach of the Red Rovers. Friday night (May 16), Billman posted on Facebook saying that Easton school district Superintendent John Reinhart had overturned the athletic director's decision and will recommend that Billman return next season. LehighValleyLive.com reported that Billman had met with Reinhart that Friday afternoon to discuss his job. He got word about 10:30 p.m. Friday that the superintendent wanted him back. "We're ecstatic, happy, proud, just overwhelmed," Billman said on the Facebook live broadcast announcing his return. As head coach at Easton, Billman compiled an overall record of 24-13 overall, 13-5 in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference. The Red Rovers claimed two District 11 Class 3A champions this past year: Jonathan Miers (132 pounds) and Jonathan Pineda (285). However, the traditional powerhouse mat program went without a state medalist for the second straight season for the first time since 1967. Neither Billman nor the administrators acknowledged why Billman was not invited back to coach. The decision came four days after an Easton wrestler -- Jonathan Miers -- failed to make weight for the finals and was disqualified from the state championships. Students, wrestlers, then NAACP protest Billman's situation Prior to the announcement that coach Billman had been reinstated, students had protested on the coach's behalf, with a number of Easton wrestlers placing their jerseys and other sports apparel on the doorstep of the office of the school's Athletic Director Jim Pokrivsak. Then, at a meeting of the Easton school board on Tuesday, March 20, representatives from the Easton branch of the NAACP called for the firing of Easton Area High School's AD along with principal Kyle Geiger for their alleged roles in the dismissal of varsity wrestling coach JaMarr Billman the previous week. Marvin Boyer, political action chairman for Easton's NAACP, provided details of an incident March 10 involving Billman being attacked verbally and physically by family members of a wrestler who failed to make weight on the last day of the 2018 PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) Wrestling Championships, the Morning Call reported. According to Boyer, some members of that wrestler's family "became enraged" and started calling Billman names, swearing at him. "The wrestler's grandfather went so far as to choke Mr. Billman, used racial epitaphs, called him [the N-word], threatened his life. "Throughout the verbal and physical assault, Billman remained calm and reported the incident to his direct supervisor, the athletic director, shortly after the incident." According to Boyer, Billman had shouldered the blame when the wrestler failed to make weight. Boyer claimed that Pokrivsak and Geiger did not provide school district Superintendent John Reinhart and Chief Operating Officer Michael Simonetta with full details of the event. Billman met with Reinhart and Simonetta the previous Friday after being informed his contract was not being renewed, and reportedly shared details of the incident with the two administrators. A few hours later, Reinhart reinstated Billman. Boyer went on to say that Billman nor his assistants and all the witnesses [to the March 10 events] were never interviewed by the athletic director or principal before the decision regarding Billman's future was made. "It can be inferred that [Geiger's and Pokrivsak's] actions were deceptive, which lends credence to Billman's claim that he has a hostile work environment and is being discriminated against," Boyer told the school board. "The NAACP believes Billman's job will remain in jeopardy as long as he reports to the current athletic director and principal." "I hope that the [Easton school board] terminates the athletic director and principal considering their egregious actions," Boyer concluded. Boyer was not the only individual to speak on Billman's behalf. A number of Easton wrestlers who witnessed the reported incident at the state championships at Hershey's Giant Center also spoke to the school board. Local media weighs in on Billman situation In recent days, local newspapers have offered opinions on what happened to JaMarr Billman. Here is a portion of the editorial in the Express-Times: www.lehighvalleylive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2018/03/firing_rehiring_of_easton_wres.html "The abrupt firing and reinstatement of JaMarr Billman as Easton Area High School's wrestling coach was nothing short of a wild 'scramble' -- the situation in which two wrestlers are jockeying for control, the action gets unpredictable and tensions run high in the stands. That can be fun and instructive on the mat, but it's no way for school administrators to make personnel decisions. "Billman and the rest of the coaching staff were informed after this year's PIAA state tournament that their contracts would not be renewed for 2018, on the heels of a state tournament in which Easton wrestlers failed to make the medals stand, despite having two District XI champions. "The other part of the story is that an Easton wrestler failed to make weight at the state tourney, for which Billman accepted responsibility, rightly or wrongly. "But that's hardly the end of the controversy. After the wrestler was ruled ineligible, Billman allegedly was attacked, verbally and physically, by a relative of the wrestler. That exchange reportedly included a racial epithet directed at Billman, who is black…" "The reversal (of the decision not to renew Billman's contract) didn't settle the issue for members of the Easton chapter of the NAACP and others, who gave the school board an earful Tuesday night, questioning whether Billman's hasty firing was influenced by racism. "Neither Billman nor administrators have commented publicly on the issue, but it's apparent that fan and parental pressure influenced a rash decision. In contrast, Billman acted with restraint and calmness in a trying situation -- and in fact, was a victim if he was assaulted. "A personnel decision at this level -- especially in the emotional cauldron of a disappointing postseason -- requires thoughtfulness and a consensus among top administrators. That it didn't follow that process is a breakdown in leadership. The person or persons responsible should be held accountable..." "Regardless of the high bar of expectation in Easton's storied wrestling program, this was a disgraceful rush to judgment of an honorable man and coach. At least it was rectified." Tom Housenick of the Morning Call shared his account of the situation, then weighed in with his assessment. "… There is no doubt the school board has a tremendous task ahead of it in the coming days and weeks. "One thing is clear, though: It must send a message to the community that it will not tolerate the actions, or in some cases, the inaction of administrators whose responsibility it is to protect its employees. "After (Jonathan) Miers did not make weight the morning of March 10, Billman took full responsibility with the wrestler's parents. "There may have been confusion regarding the weight allowances. "For decades, there have been only two 1-pound weight allowances granted at the PIAA Wrestling Championships. Those allowances usually are on the second and third days of the event, but because the weather forecast closed many schools on Wednesday, March 7, and thus wrestlers couldn't practice, the allowances were on the first and second days. "If Billman and his staff did not remind Miers of these rules, it is their mistake. "It is, however, in no way a fireable offense. "It certainly does not justify verbal or physical abuse from anyone, if that occurred as alleged…" "On Wednesday, March 14, (Easton AD) Jim Pokrivsak informed Billman that his contract and those of his staff were not being renewed. This decision was made without any Easton administrator interviewing Billman, his staff or other witnesses to the alleged incidents on March 10, Boyer said at the school board meeting. "On March 16, Billman met with school district Superintendent John Reinhart and Chief Operating Officer Michael Simonetta. A few hours later, Billman and his staff were reinstated. "The NAACP , many of Billman's wrestlers and the community demanded more action during Tuesday's school board meeting. "They deserve more if the details of the events earlier this month are accurate. "First, Miers' grandfather, if he is guilty of what is alleged, should be banned from future Easton athletic events. "As a parent, I understand the emotions that swell inside when children and grandchildren are competing. "Parents can have conversations with their children's coaches, but it can never escalate to what is alleged here. "Easton school officials need to make it clear to coaches that they have their full support. "Miers is known as a tough-as-nails wrestler on the mat. He also is well-respected by his teammates, his coaches as well as opponents and other area coaches. "I'm sure Billman is hopeful Miers and all of Easton's underclassman wrestlers can return to normalcy, and likewise the entire Easton program. "Getting to know Billman the last two years, I think his goal for all Easton wrestlers is to help make them become better young men. "The two-time PIAA champion and three-time Division I college All-American and his staff know they are employed to improve the athlete's wrestling skills, but they see their roles are significantly more important than that."

This season saw two true freshmen win NCAA titles in Cleveland, Iowa's Spencer Lee (125) and Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis (141). Next season many other Class of 2017 graduates will make their collegiate debuts after redshirting, while a new crop of true freshmen will enter the college ranks. Let's examine the 10 most anticipated collegiate debuts next season. Gable Steveson defeated Cadet world champion Daniel Kerkvliet this season (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Gable Steveson (Minnesota, 285) Steveson, the nation's No. 1 recruit, has already won three age-group world titles before graduating from high school. Last year the heavyweight from Apple Valley (Minn.) won his first Junior world title while still being a Cadet-eligible wrestler. Steveson recently finished his high school career with a 173-match winning streak and the best winning percentage in state history (212-3). He will join his older brother Bobby at the University of Minnesota later this year. He is expected to step in Minnesota's lineup immediately and contend for the NCAA title at heavyweight as a true freshman. Daton Fix after winning the gold medal at 55 kilograms (Photo/Richard Immel) Daton Fix (Oklahoma State, 125) Fix was one of the nation's top recruits in the Class of 2017, finishing his prep career as a four-time undefeated state champion in Oklahoma. As a redshirt, he won the Reno Tournament of Champions, which included victories over Oregon State's Ronnie Bresser and NC State's Sean Fausz. However, it's not just his success in folkstyle wrestling that has many people believing that he can contend for an NCAA title in 2019. His success in freestyle is even more eye-opening. Fix dominated his competition at the Junior World Championships in August, outscoring his opponents 53-1. It was third age-group medal. Three months later, Fix defeated Ohio State's Nathan Tomasello in two straight matches to make the U23 World Team. He topped Spencer Lee three years ago UWW Cadet Nationals. Bot have come a long way since then. Look for the Lee-Fix rivalry to continue at the college level and possibly beyond. Vito Arujau (Photo/Josh Conklin) Vito Arujau (Cornell, 133) Arujau, the son of two-time freestyle world champion and Olympic medalist Vogar Oroudjov, finished his high school wrestling career riding a massive winning streak. The 2017 high school graduate won his last 174 high school wrestling matches and finished his high school with a career record of 216-1. The lone blemish on his record came against Yianni Diakomihalis, who recently claimed an NCAA title as a true freshman at Cornell. After greyshirting this past season, Arujau will join Diakomihalis in the Big Red lineup next season. Jacob Warner (Iowa, 197) Warner, a three-time Illinois state champion and a 2016 Cadet world bronze medalist, compiled a record of 15-4 as a redshirt. The win that had the wrestling world buzzing was his 16-7 major decision over multiple-time All-American Willie Miklus of Missouri at the Lindenwood Open. He came back to earth at the Midlands in late December where he took three losses and placed sixth. One of those losses came to Hawkeye teammate Cash Wilcke. Next season Warner will likely step into the Hawkeye lineup at 197 pounds, while Wilcke slides down to 184 pounds. Spencer Lee, who lives with Warner, recently said he could see Warner making a title run as a redshirt freshman. Mikey Labriola (Nebraska, 174) The Pennsylvania native Labriola finished his high school career in 2017 as the nation's top-ranked 170-pounder. He had a dominant senior season at Bethlehem Catholic, going 44-0 and winning titles at the Walsh Ironman and Beast of the East. Labriola redshirted this season at Nebraska and compiled a record of 18-2. He had some notable wins during his redshirt season, beating All-Americans David Kocer of South Dakota State and Jacobe Smith of Oklahoma State. Labriola placed fourth at the Midlands where he took his only losses of the season, both to Purdue's Dylan Lydy, a round of 12 finisher. Kaden Gfeller celebrates after winning the Southern Scuffle title (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma State, 141/149) Gfeller, like Fix, arrived at Oklahoma State as a four-time undefeated state champion. He did not disappoint in his first year in Stillwater as a redshirt. Gfeller captured a Southern Scuffle title in early January with a victory over Penn State's Nick Lee. The Cowboys have a logjam in the first five weight classes next season, so it remains to be seen where Gfeller fits in, but it would be surprising if he's not in the lineup contending for a high finish on the podium in Pittsburgh. Mekhi Lewis (Virginia Tech, 165/174) Lewis, a two-time New Jersey state champion, was very impressive as a redshirt, winning 28 of 30 matches. His only losses came against All-American Chance Marsteller of Lock Haven at the Southern Scuffle. Lewis notched wins over multiple NCAA qualifiers as a redshirt. With two-time 165-pound All-American David McFadden returning to Blacksburg for his junior season, Lewis will likely have to move up a weight class to find a spot in Virginia Tech's lineup next season. Austin Gomez (Iowa State, 133) Coach Kevin Dresser's first year leading the Cyclones was filled with ups and downs, as expected. The Cyclones qualified just one wrestler for the NCAAs, Jarrett Degen, who finished 3-2 in Cleveland. Gomez, one of the nation's top recruits in 2017, is expected to play a key role in helping Iowa State's wrestling program return to national prominence. After sitting out the first half of the season, Gomez was a perfect 8-0 in three events as a redshirt. He won four Fargo titles -- two in freestyle and two in Greco-Roman -- before arriving in Ames. Brady Berge gets in on a shot against Pat Lugo at the Junior World Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Brady Berge (Penn State, 149) With three-time NCAA champion Zain Retherford graduating, Berge is the likely starter at 149 pounds for the Nittany Lions. The No. 8 recruit in the Class of 2017, Berge was a four-time state champion in Minnesota, finishing his prep career with a career record of 282-5. He saw limited action as a redshirt in Happy Valley, competing only in the Princeton Open in November where he placed third at 157 pounds. Jarod Verkleeren, another highly ranked recruit from the Class of 2017, could battle Berge for the spot. Chase Singletary (Ohio State, 285) Like Berge, Singletary finds himself in the position of succeeding a three-time NCAA champion. He is expected to be Ohio State's starter at heavyweight next season with Olympic champion Kyle Snyder graduating. Singletary was the nation's No. 1-ranked 220-pounder as a senior. After a strong redshirt season in which he posted a 21-3 record, expectations are high for the former Blair Academy standout. Others to watch: Brandon Courtney (Arizona State, 125), Austin O'Connor (North Carolina, 149), Jarod Verkleeren (Penn State, 149), Cam Coy (Virginia, 149/157), Anthony Mantanona (Oklahoma, 165/174), Louie DePrez (Binghamton, 184), Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt, 184), Jake Woodley (Oklahoma, 197)

Wrestlers on the autism spectrum -- and other grapplers who support them -- will now have a new event to compete in this spring. The first-ever West Virginia Wrestle Against Autism event will take place Saturday, May 19 at Parkersburg High School at 2101 Dudley Ave. in Parkersburg, W.Va. The event will take place outdoors under the lights at the Parkersburg High football stadium, with four wrestling mats spread out on the field. (In case of rain, the action will take place inside Parkersburg High School Fieldhouse.) Wrestling begins at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Weigh-ins will take place from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday, May 19. There is an entry fee of $30 per wrestler. A printable registration form is available at www.wvmat.com/youth/youth.htm. Wrestlers must register in advance by one of the following: By mail: Send to Scooter Myers, 1307 19th Street, Vienna, WV 26105 By email: kevinemmitt22@gmail.com By phone: (304) 482-2086 All participants must register in advance; no walk-ins. Registrations must be received by 9:00 p.m. Eastern Monday, May 13. Who can compete The inaugural West Virginia Wrestle Against Autism event is open to all wrestlers; one does not have to be diagnosed with autism to participate. There are unique sets of weight classes for each age group (age as of 1/1/18): Ages 6 and under: 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 70 pounds and heavyweight Ages 7-8: 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80 pounds and heavyweight Ages 9-11: 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 86, 93, 100, 115 pounds and hwt. Ages 12-14: 80, 88, 95, 103, 110, 114, 122, 128, 134, 142, 150, 160, 172, 205, 245 pounds Grades 9-12: 105, 113, 120, 135, 140, 145, 152, 160, 170, 190, 220, 285 pounds Open: 145, 155, 170, 185, 205, 235, and unlimited Rules Individual matches for wrestlers age 12 and under will consist of three one-minute periods. Scholastic rules will apply, with sudden death overtime. All seeds will be a blind draw. Five or fewer wrestlers in a bracket will wrestle in a round-robin. Fans may purchase tickets at the event for just $3 per person. To get a registration form, visit wvmat.com www.wvmat.com/youth/htm and scroll down to the Wrestle Against Autism section for a printable PDF file. To learn more about this event, check out the 1st Annual West Virginia Wrestle Against Autism page on Facebook. Want to know more about wrestling and autism? Check out this May 2017 InterMat feature article "Many diagnosed with autism have found wrestling is right sport."

Last September a Blue Ribbon Task Force proposed multiple changes to the NCAA Division I wrestling season. The biggest alternation would come with the introduction of an official dual meet championship tournament. The Task Force envisioned a 16-team dual meet tournament composed of conference dual champions and at-large selections, which would take place following the individual NCAA championship. It remains to be seen if the proposal will ever come to fruition. However, it is certainly interesting food for thought. Let's take a look at what a dual meet championship might actually look like if the system had been in place for this year. Qualification Under the proposed system all conference champions would automatically qualify for the tournament. That means the following teams would automatically qualify: Penn State (Big Ten Conference) North Carolina State (Atlantic Coast Conference) Missouri (Mid-American Conference) Arizona State (Pac-12 Conference) Appalachian State (Southern Conference) Cornell (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) Rider (Eastern Wrestling League) Oklahoma State* (Big 12 Conference) *Oklahoma State and South Dakota State both went undefeated in conference and did not wrestle in the regular season. For the purpose of this hypothetical scenario, Oklahoma State takes the automatic qualifier spot due to having the higher InterMat dual meet ranking. With the conference champions automatically entered into the field, that leaves eight at-large spots open. For this exercise, the highest ranked non-automatic qualifiers in the InterMat dual meet rankings earn bids to the tournament. The following teams would qualify: No. 2 Ohio State (Big Ten) No. 5 Michigan (Big Ten) No. 7 Iowa (Big Ten) No. 9 Virginia Tech (ACC) No. 10 Lehigh (EIWA) No. 12 South Dakota State (Big 12) No. 13 Nebraska (Big Ten) No. 14 Wyoming (Big 12) Under the new system, a committee would likely decided the at-large participants based on record, RPI and a coaches ranking, much like the current individual selection process. Seeding The Blue Ribbon Task Force proposal does not include seeding criteria. For the creation of the following hypothetical brackets, seeds came from the InterMat dual meet rankings. However, it is hard to imagine how teams jockeying for seeding position in a dual meet season would not create more excitement and focus around the dual meet season. Results The proposal outlines that the top eight seeds would host dual meets on the tournament's first weekend. Then, the top remaining seed after the first weekend would host the remaining eight-team field. Using a mixture of most recent result and predictions, the following is how the bracket plays out. Obviously, anything can happen in wrestling and that is exactly what would make a dual tournament that much more interesting. Per this prediction, the finals would be a rematch of one of the best duals of the year with Penn State and Ohio State facing off. Penn State won the last match thanks in large part to an upset of then-number-one Kollin Moore by Anthony Cassar. Since then Shakur Rasheed has taken over the starting spot at 197. However, in this hypothetical scenario, Penn State would have multiple-time NCAA Jason Nolf back in the lineup. While the final match would be a rematch per this projection, this scenario would also result in 85 individual matches that have never occurred before. The proposal seems to be a long way from happening. However, in theory, the new season structure would put an emphasis on duals and give the wrestling community another marquee event at the Division I level.

Frank Molinaro (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) National Freestyle Coach Bill Zadick has finalized the United States' roster set to compete at the 2018 Freestyle World Cup at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on April 7-8 at the University of Iowa, April. The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championship that features the top eight men's freestyle wrestling teams in the world. USA Wrestling previously announced one athlete in each of the 10 international weight class. Those wrestlers who are considered the starting lineup for the U.S. team. Included in the initial group of World Cup team members are seven athletes from the 2017 U.S. Senior World Team; the team that won the title at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships in Paris, France last August. Each team is permitted to enter as many as two athletes per weight class on their World Cup roster, all who are eligible to compete for their team in any of the dual meets during the World Cup event. The USA has added one additional athlete per weight class. The second group of U.S. World Cup team members is a very talented group of athletes, all who have considerable achievements in international wrestling and on the U.S. college scene. Leading the new set of American stars on the team is 2016 Olympian Frank Molinaro (Blackburg, Va./Titan Mercury WC/Southeast RTC) at 70 kg/154 lbs. Molinaro competed in the last two Freestyle World Cups for the USA. In 2016, he won a gold medal, going 4-0 at 65 kg in the USA dual meets. In 2017, had a 1-3 record at 65 kg at the World Cup in Iran. His career World Cup record is 5-3. He was an NCAA champion at Penn State. The other addition to the roster with past World Cup experience is Alex Dieringer (Stillwater, Okla./Titan Mercury WC) at 79 kg/174 lbs. Dieringer had a 2-2 record at the 2016 World Cup in Los Angeles. A three-time NCAA champion at Oklahoma State, Dieringer is also a past Junior World silver medalist. Two of the new team members have an Iowa connection, as Joe Colon (Fresno, Calif./Titan Mercury WC/Valley RTC) at 61 kg/134 lbs. was an All-American for Northern Iowa, and Kyven Gadson (Ames, Iowa/Sunkist Kids/Cyclone WC) at 97 kg/213 lbs. was an NCAA champion for Iowa State. Both have been National Team members. Dom Bradley (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC), a past Junior World champion who has made numerous U.S. Freestyle National Teams, is on the roster at 125 kg/275 lbs. Competing at 92 kg/202.5 lbs. is Hayden Zillmer (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm), the former North Dakota State star, who is a member of both the men's freestyle and Greco-Roman National Teams this year. Also on the team is veteran lightweight Frank Perrelli (Charlottesville, Va./Titan Mercury WC/Cavalier RTC) at 57 kg/125.5 lbs. Three of those joining the team were stars at the recently completed NCAA Division I Championships in Cleveland. Two-time NCAA champions Isaiah Martinez (Leemore, Calif./Titan Mercury WC/Illini WC) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas/Nittany Lion WC) at 86 kg/189 lbs. have been named to the squad. Martinez was a four-time NCAA finalist for Illinois, and Nickal has won NCAA titles the last two years for Penn State. Also on the squad is Joey McKenna (Towaco, N.J./Lehigh Valley WC/Ohio RTC) at 65 kg/143 lbs. McKenna was an All-American for Ohio State and Stanford. All three collegians have been on past U.S. age-group World Teams. McKenna has won World medals on the Junior and U23 levels. Overall, this U.S. World Cup team has claimed three Olympic medals, 13 Senior World medals, eight age-group World medals and 30 NCAA Div. I national titles. Ticket opportunities for the World Cup include a Gold all-session package ($225), a Black all-session package ($150), and standard all-session tickets ($75/$50). Tickets are now available on the University of Iowa Athletics website. Visit worldcupiowacity.com for more information on the event. FREESTYLE WORLD CUP At Iowa City, Iowa, April 7-8 U.S. men's freestyle roster 57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Thomas Gilman, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) 57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Frank Perrelli, Charlottesville, Va. (Titan Mercury WC/Cavalier RTC) 61 kg/134 lbs. - Kendric Maple, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) 61 kg/134 lbs. - Joe Colon, Fresno, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC/Valley RTC) 65 kg/143 lbs. - Logan Stieber, Columbus, Ohio (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) 65 kg/143 lbs. - Joey McKenna, Towaco, N.J. (Lehigh Valley WC/Ohio RTC) 70 kg/154 lbs. - James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC/Nebraska WTC) 70 kg/154 lbs. - Frank Molinaro, Blackburg, Va. (Titan Mercury WC/Southeast RTC) 74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC) 74 kg/163 lbs. - Isaiah Martinez, Leemore, Calif. (Titan Mercury WC/Illini WC) 79 kg/174 lbs. - Kyle Dake, Ithaca, N.Y. (Titan Mercury WC/Finger Lakes WC) 79 kg/174 lbs. - Alex Dieringer, Stillwater, Okla. (Titan Mercury WC) 86 kg/189 lbs. - David Taylor, State College, Pa. (Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC) 86 kg/189 lbs. - Bo Nickal, Allen, Texas (Nittany Lion WC) 92 kg/202.5 lbs. - J'den Cox, Columbia, Mo. (Titan Mercury WC/Missouri WF) 92 kg/202.5 lbs. - Hayden Zillmer, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm) 97 kg/213 lbs. - Kyle Snyder, Woodbine, Md. (Titan Mercury WC/Ohio RTC) 97 kg/213 lbs. - Kyven Gadson, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids/Cyclone WC) 125 kg/275 lbs. - Nick Gwiazdowski, Raleigh, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC/Wolfpack WC) 125 kg/275 lbs. - Dom Bradley, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC) National Freestyle Coaches - Bill Zadick, Kevin Jackson and Joe Russell (Colorado Springs, Colo.) Honorary Coaches - Dan Gable (Iowa City, Iowa), J Robinson (Minneapolis, Minn.), Mike Duroe (Marion, Iowa) Note: New additions to lineup marked in bold World Cup Team, by university they competed for: Ohio State (Stieber, Snyder, McKenna), Penn State (Molinaro, Taylor, Nickal), Missouri (Cox, Bradley), Nebraska (Green, Burroughs), Cornell (Dake, Perrelli), Iowa (Gilman), Oklahoma (Maple), Northern Iowa (Colon), Illinois (Martinez), North Dakota State (Zillmer), Iowa State (Gadson), NC State (Gwiazdowski), Stanford (McKenna), Oklahoma State (Dieringer) Frank Molinaro's previous World Cup results 2017 World Cup, Kermanshah, Iran, Feb. 16-17 WIN Iveriko Julakidze (Georgia), 10-1 LOSS Chermen Valiev (Russia), 4-4 LOSS Haji Aliyev (Azerbaijan), 4-1 LOSS Meisam Nasiri (Iran), 5-4 2016 World Cup, Los Angeles, Calif, June 11-12 WIN Rajneesh (India), 5-0 WIN Magomed Muslimov (Azerbaijan), 4-1 WIN Sayed Mohammadi (Iran), 4-3 WIN Zurab Iakobishvili (Georgia), 4-4 Alex Dieringer's previous World Cup results 2016 World Cup, Los Angeles, Calif, June 11-12 LOSS Parveen Rana (India), 4-4 WIN Ashraf Aliyev (Azerbaijan), 8-0 LOSS Hassan Yazdanicharati (Iran), 10-0 WIN Yakob Makarashvili (Georgia), 10-1

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Sunday afternoon saw the conclusion of the three-day NHSCA (grade-level) Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va. Champions were crowned in each weight class of the four high school grade level divisions, along with a middle school division. Below are the results of the championship bouts. Brackets are available on FloArena. Seniors 113: Jared Kosman (Fitch, Ct.) dec. Ryan Chauvin (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 5-4 120: No. 4 Nico Aguilar (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Cole Laya (East Fairmont, W.Va.), 8-5 126: Justin Vines (Wantagh, N.Y.) dec. Hunter Sparks (Roseburg, Ore.), 4-1 132: Colin Gerardi (Powhatan, Va.) dec. Ryan Moore (Walton Verona, Ky.), 7-2 138: No. 1 (at 132), Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) dec. Taylor Jeffries (Thunder Basin, Wyo.), 12-6 145: Kasper McIntosh (Portage, Ind.) dec. Peter Enos (Francis Howell, Mo.), 9-4 152: No. 2 Jacori Teemer (Long Beach, N.Y.) dec. Jake Hart (Fort Mill, S.C.), 3-1 160: No. 9 Ryan Thomas (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) tech. fall Mason Smith (Walton Verona, Ky.), 18-3, 5:44 170: No. 1 (at 182), Aaron Brooks (North Hagerstown, Md.) pinned Cole Moody (Bingham, Utah), 1:23 182: No. 18 (at 195), Jonathan Loew (Wantagh, N.Y.) dec. No. 15 Zac Braunagel (Althof Catholic, Ill.), 3-1 195: No. 6 Tony Andrade (Gilroy, Calif.) pinned Gage Braun (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), 4:00 220: Dalton Hoover (Martins Ferry, Ohio) dec. No. 14 Joey Daniel (Santa Ana, Calif.), 5-2 285: No. 12 Austin Emerson (Bedford, Mich.) pinned No. 8 Deonte Wilson (Amityville, N.Y.), 4:48 Juniors 106: No. 17 Jacob Moran (Portage, Ind.) dec. Brendan Chaowanapibool (Bonney Lake, Wash.), 3-2 113: No. 20 Matthew Ramos (Lockport, Ill.) dec. Destin Summers (Snake River, Idaho), 5-3 120: No. 14 Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) maj. dec. Earl Blake (Linganore, Md.), 8-0 126: No. 17 Malyke Hines (Osceola, Fla.) dec. Shannon Hanna (Lake Gibson, Fla.), 7-0 132: No. 10 Connor McGonagle (Timberlane, N.H.) pinned Bryce Nickel (Corona del Sol, Ariz.), 2:26 138: No. 19 Coltan Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.) dec. Devin Schwartzkopf (Francis Howell Central, Mo.), 5-3 145: McKay Foy (Altamont, Utah) dec. No. 10 Michael Weber (Forsyth, Mont.), 7-1 152: No. 8 Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.) dec. Donnell Washington (Portage, Ind.), 5-1 160: No. 8 (at 170), Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) dec. No. 11 Mason Reiniche (Baylor School, Tenn.), 2-1 170: Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.) dec. Alex Cramer (Grayslake Central, Ill.), 8-2 182: Gary Wokojance (Barberton, Ohio) dec. No. 20 Jack Parr (St. Paul's, Md.), 7-2 195: No. 14 Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) dec. Christian Knop (Alexandria, Ala.), 6-1 220: Yaraslau Slavikouski (Northfield Mt. Herman, Mass.) dec. Jacob Bullock (Cahokia, Ill.), 3-1 285: Jack DelGarbino (Girard, Ohio) dec. Louden Haga (Parkersburg South, W.Va.), 8-6 Sophomores 106: Dominic Chavez (Arlington Martin, Texas) dec. No. 19 Nick Babin (Emerson-Park Ridge, N.J.), 6-2 113: Tristan Lujan (Selma, Calif.) dec. Killian Delaney (W.C. Henderson, Pa.), 4-2 120: Kysen Terukina (Kamehameha-Kapalama, Hawaii) dec. Bretli Reyna (South Dade, Fla.), 6-3 126: Patrick Noonan (Stroudsburg, Pa.) dec. Kenny Herrmann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), 6-2 132: Chase Saldate (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Willie McDougald (Niagara Falls, N.Y.), 10-8 138: Andrew Cerniglia (Nazareth, Pa.) dec. John Martin Best (Parkersburg, W.Va.), 3-0 145: Cole Handlovic (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) dec. A.J. Tamburrino (William Tennent, Pa.), 3-1 152: Clayton Ulrey (Lower Dauphin, Pa.) dec. Connor O'Neill (DePaul Catholic, N.J.), 4-3 160: Graham Calhoun (Plymouth, Ind.) dec. John Poznanski (Colonia, N.J.), 6-5 170: Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) dec. Ashton Habeil (Lake Gibson, Fla.), 11-5 182: Gaige Garcia (Southern Columbia, Pa.) dec. Chase Stegall (Northwest Cedar Hill, Mo.), 3-2 195: Cody Goodman (Deerfield, Ill.) pinned Jackson Filipowicz (Blessed Trinity, Ga.), 5:35 220: Hunter Catka (Sun Valley, Pa.) pinned Cody Fleming (Ninety Six, S.C.), 3:59 285: Craig Orlando (Verndale, Minn.) pinned Curtis Ruff (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), 4:44 Freshmen 106: Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.) dec. Jordan Titus (Center Moriches, N.Y.), 5-2 113: Jayden Gomez (Gilroy, Calif.) dec. Koen Kish (St. Clairsville, Ohio), 7-6 120: Ethen Miller (Park Hill, Mo.) dec. Caden McCrary (Woodland, Ga.), 6-3 126: Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) pinned Edward Hummel (Roselle Park, N.J.), 1:58 132: Justin Mastroianni (New Canaan, Ct.) dec. Jaeger Condomitti (Northampton, Pa.), 1-0 138: Joshua Swan (South Dade, Fla.) dec. Jack Janda (Camden Catholic, N.J.), 8-4 145: Maxwell Wilner (Fountain Valley, Calif.) maj. dec. Jack Spahn (Islip, N.Y.), 19-7 152: Trey Kibe (Mifflin County, Pa.) dec. Cole Spencer (Pine Richland, Pa.), 2-1 160: Cole Rees (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Ben Vanadia (Brecksville, Ohio), 5-2 170: Landon Foor (Fred T. Foard, N.C.) dec. Dominic Falcone (Easton, Pa.), 8-7 182: Trent Joles (Boyceville, Wis.) by medical forfeit over Michael Mistia (St. Augustine, N.J.) 195: Peyton Craft (Blair Academy, N.J.) maj. dec. Brandon Hoselton (Prairie Central, Ill.), 10-2 220: Kyonte Hamilton (Georgetown Prep, Md.) pinned Nathaniel Deasey (Chandler, Ariz.), 1:31 285: Dylan Fairchild (West Forsyth, Ga.) pinned Cross Henderson (Elkin, N.C.), 1:49

Team USA PITTSBURGH -- The 44th annual Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic (formerly known as the Dapper Dan) took place Sunday late afternoon into the evening on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. Yet again it was a strong crowd for an electric wrestling program at the Fitzgerald Fieldhouse. The event never disappoints, as the Keystone State seniors seem always to come out strong and pull off some unexpected wins. No. 1 senior recruit Gable Steveson picked up OW honors for Team USA The main event dual started out par for the course for the United States as No. 4 Zach Elam (Staley, Mo.) beat No. 6 Anthony Walters (Bishop McCort) 3-0 at 220 pounds and No. 1 Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) earned a 17-8 major decision over No. 5 Isaac Reid (Kiski Area). Steveson was named the Outstanding Wrestler for the United States team. With the United States up 7-0, things took a turn towards the unexpected in favor of the Keystone State when Jaret Lane (Southern Columbia) reversed No. 5 Kyle Biscoglia (Waukee, Iowa) to secure an early third period pin at the 4:20 mark in the first of two 120 pound bouts. The other 120 pound bout saw No. 5 (at 126) Patrick McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) knock off the other Pennsylvania state champ at 120 Logan Macri (Canon-McMillan) 6-4. Team USA led 10-6 after four bouts. The 126 pound bout was held back for the featured match, so the program went on to 132 pounds where No. 3 Real Woods (Montini Catholic, Ill.) earned a decisive 9-2 victory over No. 20 Kyle Davis (Wyoming Seminary). Pennsylvania would come through with two big wins in the next two matches to shrink the deficit to one after seven matches. First, it was No. 10 Cole Matthews (Reynolds), who was able to take an early lead then fend off the late attacks of No. 1 Quinn Kinner (Kingsway, N.J.) to win 5-4 at 138 pounds. Then, No. 1 Sammy Sasso (Nazareth) used a late reversal to outlast No. 3 Brock Hardy (Box Elder, Utah) in a 9-8 barn burner at 145. Next up for the United States were three national No. 1 ranked wrestlers, and all three come through with victories that enabled Team USA to earn yet another Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic victory. At 152 pounds it was David Carr (Massillon Perry, Ohio), who beat 160 pound state runner-up Zach Hartman (Belle Vernon Area) 14-8. At 160 it was Shane Griffith (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) beating small-school state champion Caleb Clymer (Northwestern Lehigh) by 12-4 major decision). While at 170 it was Travis Wittlake (Marshfield, Ore.) knocking off No. 2 Trent Hidlay (Mifflin County) 5-2. Pennsylvania would cut the streak of United States wins at three with a mild upset at 182 pounds, as a 5-2 win from No. 7 Cody Mulligan (Saegertown) over No. 2 Jack Jessen (Willowbrook) cut the dual meet deficit to 23-15. The deficit was further cut when No. 1 Gavin Hoffman (Montoursville) upended No. 3 (at 220) Brandon Whitman (Dundee, Mich.) 3-1 at 195. The main event of the dual meet was the 126 pound match with Pennsylvania needing a pin to win the dual. Gavin Teasdale was named Outstanding Wrestler for PA Though the Keystone State did not get a pin, it did get a lasting upset as No. 8 Gavin Teasdale (Jefferson Morgan) avenged a preseason all-star match defeat, getting a takedown inside the last 20 seconds to beat No. 1 Patrick Glory (Delbarton, N.J.) 5-4. That performance yielded Teasale the Outstanding Wrestler honor for the Pennsylvania squad. The undercard featured the WPIAL (southwestern Pennsylvania) all-stars against seniors from the state of Iowa. For four matches it was a good dual meet as the score was tied 6-6. However, nine wins later, the Iowa group came home with a 36-6 victory. USA 23, Pennsylvania 21 220: Zach Elam (USA) dec. Anthony Walters (PA), 3-0 285: Gable Steveson (USA) major dec. Isaac Reid (PA), 17-8 120: Jaret Lane (PA) pinned Kyle Biscoglia (USA), 4:20 120: Patrick McKee (USA) dec. Logan Macri (PA), 6-4 132: Real Woods (USA) dec. Jack Davis (PA), 9-2 138: Cole Matthews (PA) dec. Quinn Kinner (USA), 5-4 145: Sammy Sasso (PA) dec. Brock Hardy (USA), 9-8 152: David Carr (USA) dec. Zach Hartman (PA), 14-8 160: Shane Griffith major dec. Caleb Clymer, 12-4 170: Travis Wittlake (USA) dec. Trent Hidlay (PA), 5-2 182: Cody Mulligan (PA) dec. Jack Jessen (USA), 5-2 195: Gavin Hoffman (PA) dec. Brandon Whitman (USA), 3-1 126: Gavin Teasdale (PA) dec. Pat Glory (USA), 5-4 Iowa 36, WPIAL 6 126: No. 14 (at 132) Drew Bennett (Fort Dodge, Iowa) dec. Caleb Morris (Waynesburg), 8-4 132: No. 17 Zach Price (Johnston) dec. Noah Levett (Kiski Area), 9-8 138: Tyler Griffiths (Southmoreland) dec. No. 8 Michael Blockhus (New Hampton, Iowa), 7-5 145: Luke Kemerer (Hempfield Area) dec. Ryan Steffen (Crestwood, Iowa), 8-2 152: Grant Stotts (West Des Moines Valley, Iowa) dec. Corey Christie (Burrell), 2-0 160: No. 19 Josh Ramirez (Dubuque Walert, Iowa) dec. Seth Gates (Burrell), 8-2 170: No. 15 Ben Sarasin (Cedar Rapids Kennedy, Iowa) dec. Jesse Quatse (Greensburg Salem), 6-2 182: No. 4 Joel Shapiro (West Des Moines Valley, Iowa) dec. No. 19 Tim Wallace (Albert Gallatin), 4-3 195: No. 16 Bryce Esmoil (West Liberty, Iowa) pinned Nate Ansell (Connellsville), 3:20 220: No. 11 Boone McDermott (Dubuque Wahlert, Iowa) dec. Ian Edenfield (Laurel Highlands), 6-3 285: No. 11 Caleb Sanders (Glenwood, Iowa) dec. Gearld Brown (West Mifflin), 3-2 113: Grayson Kesterson (Williamsburg, Iowa) dec. Frank Bonura (Moon Township), 5-2 120: No. 14 (at 132) Drew Bennett (Fort Dodge, Iowa) dec. Louis Newell (Seneca Valley), 9-5

Saturday was a busy day of wrestling at the NHSCA (grade-level) Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va. Championship quarterfinal and semifinal matches were contested to set up championship bouts that will be contested at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. In addition, it was a marathon day of consolation wrestling, as no consolation bouts were contested on Friday, but matches for third, fifth, and seventh in each division will be contested at 8 a.m. Below are the championship matches for each division. Seniors 113: Ryan Chauvin (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) vs. Jared Kosman (Fitch, Ct.) 120: No. 4 Nico Aguilar (Gilroy, Calif.) vs. Cole Laya (East Fairmont, W.Va.) 126: Justin Vines (Wantagh, N.Y.) vs. Hunter Sparks (Roseburg, Ore.) 132: Colin Gerardi (Powhatan, Va.) vs. Ryan Moore (Walton Verona, Ky.) 138: No. 1 (at 132) Joey Silva (Lake HIghland Prep, Fla.) vs. Taylor Jeffries (Thunder Basin, Wyo.) 145: Kasper McIntosh (Portage, Ind.) vs. Peter Enos (Francis Howell, Mo.) 152: No. 2 Jacori Teemer (Long Beach, N.Y.) vs. Jake Hart (Fort Mill, S.C.) 160: No. 9 Ryan Thomas (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. Mason Smith (Walton Verona, Ky.) 170: No. 1 (at 182) Aaron Brooks (North Hagerstown, Md.) vs. Cole Moody (Bingham, Utah) 182: No. 15 Zac Braunagel (Althof Catholic, Ill.) vs. No. 18 (at 195) Jonathan Loew (Wantagh, N.Y.) 195: No. 6 Tony Andrade (Gilroy, Calif.) vs. Gage Braun (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) 220: No. 14 Joey Daniel (Santa Ana, Calif.) vs. Dalton Hoover (Martins Ferry, Ohio) 285: No. 12 Austin Emerson (Bedford, Mich.) vs. No. 12 Austin Emerson (Bedford, Mich.) Juniors 106: No. 17 Jacob Moran (Portage, Ind.) vs. Brendan Chaowanapibool (Bonney Lake, Wash.) 113: No. 20 Matthew Ramos (Lockport, Ill.) vs. Destin Summers (Snake River, Idaho) 120: Earl Blake (Linganore, Md.) vs. No. 14 Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) 126: No. 17 Malyke Hines (Osceola, Fla.) vs. Shannon Hanna (Lake Gibson, Fla.) 132: No. 10 Connor McGonagle (Timberlane, N.H.) vs. Bryce Nickel (Corona del Sol, Ariz.) 138: Devin Schwartzkopf (Francis Howell Central, Mo.) vs. No. 19 Coltan Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.) 145: No. 10 Michael Weber (Forsyth, Mont.) vs. McKay Foy (Altamont, Utah) 152: No. 8 Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.) vs. Donnell Washington (Portage, Ind.) 160: No. 8 (at 170) Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) vs. No. 11 Mason Reiniche (Baylor School, Tenn.) 170: Alex Cramer (Grayslake Central, Ill.) vs. Jackson Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.) 182: No. 20 Jack Parr (St. Paul's, Md.) vs. Gary Wokojance (Barberton, Ohio) 195: No. 14 Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) vs. Christian Knop (Alexandria, Ala.) 220: Yaraslau Slavikouski (Northfield Mt. Herman, Mass.) vs. Jacob Bullock (Cahokia, Ill.) 285: Louden Haga (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) vs. Jack DelGarbino (Girard, Ohio) Sophomores 106: Dominic Chavez (Arlington Martin, Texas) vs. No. 19 Nick Babin (Emerson-Park Ridge, N.J.) 113: Tristan Lujan (Selma, Calif.) vs. Killian Delaney (W.C. Henderson, Pa.) 120: Bretli Reyna (South Dade, Fla.) vs. Kysen Terukina (Kamehameha-Kapalama, Hawaii) 126: Kenny Herrmann (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) vs. Patrick Noonan (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 132: Willie McDougald (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) vs. Chase Saldate (Gilroy, Calif.) 138: John Martin Best (Parkersburg, W.Va.) vs. Andrew Cerniglia (Nazareth, Pa.) 145: Cole Handlovic (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) vs. A.J. Tamburrino (William Tennent, Pa.) 152: Clayton Ulrey (Lower Dauphin, Pa.) vs. Connor O'Neill (DePaul Catholic, N.J.) 160: John Poznanski (Colonia, N.J.) vs. Graham Calhoun (Plymouth, Ind.) 170: Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) vs. Ashton Habeil (Lake Gibson, Fla.) 182: Gaige Garcia (Southern Columbia, Pa.) vs. Chase Stegall (Northwest Cedar Hill, Mo.) 195: Jackson Filipowicz (Blessed Trinity, Ga.) vs. Cody Goodman (Deerfield, Ill.) 220: Hunter Catka (Sun Valley, Pa.) vs. Cody Fleming (Ninety Six, S.C.) 285: Curtis Ruff (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) vs. Craig Orlando (Verndale, Minn.) Freshmen 106: Cooper Flynn (McDonogh, Md.) vs. Jordan Titus (Center Moriches, N.Y.) 113: Jayden Gomez (Gilroy, Calif.) vs. Koen Kish (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 120: Caden McCrary (Woodland, Ga.) vs. Ethen Miller (Park Hill, Mo.) 126: Shayne Van Ness (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. Edward Hummel (Roselle Park, N.J.) 132: Jaeger Condomitti (Northampton, Pa.) vs. Justin Mastroianni (New Canaan, Ct.) 138: Joshua Swan (South Dade, Fla.) vs. Jack Janda (Camden Catholic, N.J.) 145: Maxwell Wilner (Fountain Valley, Calif.) vs. Jack Spahn (Islip, N.Y.) 152: Cole Spencer (Pine Richland, Pa.) vs. Trey Kibe (Mifflin County, Pa.) 160: Cole Rees (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. Ben Vanadia (Brecksville, Ohio) 170: Landon Foor (Fred T. Foard, N.C.) vs. Dominic Falcone (Easton, Pa.) 182: Trent Joles (Boyceville, Wis.) vs. Michael Mistia (St. Augustine, N.J.) 195: Peyton Craft (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. Brandon Hoselton (Prairie Central, Ill.) 220: Kyonte Hamilton (Georgetown Prep, Md.) vs. Nathaniel Deasey (Chandler, Ariz.) 285: Cross Henderson (Elkin, N.C.) vs. Dylan Fairchild (West Forsyth, Ga.)

Chris Bono has been named head coach at Wisconsin MADISON, Wis. -- Chris Bono, the 2017 Big 12 Coach of the Year, has been named the 16th head coach in Wisconsin wrestling history, Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez announced Saturday. Bono spent the last six seasons as the head coach at South Dakota State, establishing the Jackrabbits as a national contender and a powerhouse in the Big 12, coaching three conference champions in the program's three years in the league. The Jackrabbits are coming off their best season under Bono. Two-time All-American Seth Gross won the program's first national title at 133 pounds while the team placed 12th in the NCAA tournament, the highest finish of any Big 12 team. Bono has coached five All-Americans at South Dakota State, including three from last season. He produced two the year before, marking the first All-Americans for South Dakota State at the Division I level. Bono had at least one NCAA Qualifier since taking the reins of the program and had a school-record seven in the most recent tournament. Bono leaves SDSU with a 64-41 overall record, a total of 24 NCAA qualifiers, five All-Americans and one national champion. A four-time NCAA qualifier and three-time All-American for Iowa State, Bono ranks fifth in ISU history with 130 career wins and was the 150-pound NCAA champion as a junior. He went on to coach as an assistant at his alma mater for nine years and was named the National Wrestling Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year in 2002. Bono then spent three seasons as the head coach at Chattanooga and led the Mocs to three Southern Conference titles, coaching two All-Americans and 19 NCAA qualifiers from 2006-09. In national and international competition, Bono is a two-time United States National Champion, took first at the World Cup in both 2002 and 2003 and is a three-time World Team member.

Kyle Snyder celebrates after beating Abdulrashid Sadulaev of Russia (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) ORLANDO, Fla. -- Kyle Snyder is a finalist for the AAU James E. Sullivan Award, honoring the country's most outstanding amateur athlete, for the second straight year. Snyder is one of eight individuals still vying for the title of top amateur athlete, which will be put to vote this week. The other 88th Sullivan Award finalists are: Maia and Alex Shibutani, Angela Peavy, Annika Albrecht, Kelly Hunter, Joel Berry II and Erin Finn. Snyder is the only American to ever leave college with three national championships, an Olympic gold medal and two World titles. He was recognized as both U.S. Male Olympic Athlete of the Year and Ohio State Male Athlete of the Year in 2017. He won what was dubbed the Match of the Century, defeating Olympic champion and two-time world champion Abdulrashid Sadulaev of Russia in the World Finals, giving Team USA its first world team title in 22 years. "It is an honor to be one of the finalists for the 2018 AAU James E. Sullivan Award," Snyder said. "I am thankful that I was able to experience this event last year and I am excited to be a member of this year's finalist award class as well." The AAU Sullivan Award has been presented annually since 1930 to the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. Past winners include decorated Olympians Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1986), Michael Phelps (2003) and Shawn Johnson (2008). Former UCLA basketball star Bill Walton (1973), University of Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning (1997) and Ezekiel Elliott (2014) have also earned the prestigious honor. "We are proud to have athletes representing such a wide array of sports as finalists for this year's AAU James E. Sullivan Award," said Dr. Roger J. Goudy, President/CEO of the AAU. "The AAU is the largest multi-sport organization in the world, so we are thrilled to provide a venue for this elite class of athletes to compete for the title of top amateur athlete." Voting for the award is open to the public at www.aausullivan.org. Finalist voting is open now and will close on Thursday, March 29 at 11:59 p.m. The winner will be announced at the AAU James E. Sullivan Award Ceremony on April 17 at the New York Athletic Club in Manhattan. This year's event will be hosted by 1981 AAU Sullivan Award winner Carl Lewis.

Day one of the NHSCA Junior Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va. set up the championship bracket quarterfinals. Consolation wrestling will start up tomorrow, along with the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on the championship side as a prelude to the finals on Sunday afternoon. Below are the quarterfinal pairings. 106 pounds No. 17 Jacob Moran (Portage, Ind.) vs. Gabriel Leo (Roselle Park, N.J.) Blake Jackson (Millard South, Neb.) vs. Dylan Lesueur (Thompson, Ala.) Jacob Gonzales (Centennial, Colo.) vs. Zaderian Toney (Bob Jones, Ala.) Riley Parker (First Colonial, Va.) vs. Brendan Chaowanapibool (Bonney Lake, Wash.) 113 pounds No. 20 Matthew Ramos (Lockport, Illl.) vs. Carson Sauriol (Poway, Calif.) Jayden Carson (Wildwood Lafayette, Mo.) vs. Logan Ashton (Buford, Ga.) Axel Giron (Parkdale, Md.) vs. Destin Summers (Snake River, Idaho) Will Edmiston (Lake Norman, N.C.) vs. Quinn Melofchik (Belvidere, N.J.) 120 pounds Earl Blake (Linganore, Md.) vs. Jack Darling (Masconomet, Mass.) Hunter Watts (Jimtown, Ind.) vs. Mark Montgomery (Roselle Park, N.J.) Cole Reyes (Bakersfield Frontier, Calif.) vs. Josh Blatt (North Henderson, N.C.) Joe Chavez (Alamosa, COlo.) vs. No. 14 Kai Orine (Seckman, Mo.) 126 pounds No. 17 Malyke Hines (Osceola, Fla.) vs. Jackson Muldrew (Steubenville, Ohio) Jackson Currier (Colstrip, Mont.) vs. Colton Camacho (Franklin Regional, Pa.) Nathan Bonham (Pueblo County, Colo.) vs. Kyle Fields (Danbury, Ct.) Austin Almaguer (Kamaikin, Wash.) vs. Shannon Hanna (Lake Gibson, Fla.) 132 pounds No. 10 Connor McGonagle (Timberlane, N.H.) vs. No. 13 (at 120) Kyle Gollhofer (Woodland, Ga.) Marcos Polanco (Bishop Amat, Calif.) vs. Martin Wilkie (Havre, Mont.) Garrett Kloeppel (Parkway South, Mo.) vs. Ryan Garlitz (St. John's Prep, Mass.) Bryce Nickel (Corona del Sol, Ariz.) vs. Jeffrey Boyd (Erie McDowell, Pa.) 138 pounds Devin Schwartzkopf (Francis Howell Central, Mo.) vs. Mosha Schwartz (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) Spencer Leonhardt (Freedom, N.C.) vs. Connor Gimson (Jimtown, Ind.) Daniel Vizcarra (Gilroy, Calif.) vs. Chase Runfola (Letchworth, N.Y.) Devon Britton (Northampton, Pa.) vs. No. 19 Coltan Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.) 145 pounds No. 10 Michael Weber (Forsyth, Mont.) vs. Wyatt McCarthy (Newton, N.J.) Kiernan Shanahan (Shenendehowa, N.Y.) vs. Ezekial Williamson (Jerome, Idaho) Daniel Manibog (Katy, Texas) vs. K.J. Kearns (Coronado, Colo.) McKay Fox (Altamont, Utah) vs. Nick Barnhart (Avon Grove, Pa.) 152 pounds No. 8 Brevin Balmeceda (South Dade, Fla.) vs. Tristen Cabinta (Salem, N.H.) Ein Carlos (North Salem, Ore.) vs. Anthony Asatrian (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) Hunter Shaut (Central Valley Academy, N.Y.) vs. Kekena Fouret (Columbia, Idaho) Desmond Bowers (Green Valley, Nev.) vs. Donnell Washington (Portage, Ind.) 160 pounds No. 8 (at 170) Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) vs. Corey Connolly (Rocky Point, N.Y.) Christian Minto (Cape Coral, Fla.) vs. Hayden Wyke (Hibriten, N.C.) Todd Perry (South Dade, Fla.) vs. Benny Baker (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) Samuel Mora (Amarillo Tascosa, Texas) vs. No. 11 Mason Reiniche (Baylor School, Tenn.) 170 pounds No. 13 Zane Coleman (Choctaw, Okla.) vs. Alex Cramer (Grayslake Central, Ill.) Jared McGill (Chestnut Ridge, Pa.) vs. Troy Fisher (Goddard, Kansas) Jackston Turley (St. Christopher's, Va.) vs. Trent Tracy (Bakersfield Frontier, Calif.) Christian Rodriguez (Selma, Calif.) vs. No. 16 Edmond Ruth (Susquehanna Township, Pa.) 182 pounds No. 20 Jack Parr (St. Paul's, Md.) vs. Logan Andrew (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) Shane Noonan (Hazleton, Pa.) vs. Liam McIntyre (Westhampton Beach, N.Y.) Jonathan Fagen (Fruitland, Idaho) vs. Gary Wokojance (Barberton, Ohio) Nick Mihajlovich (Lincoln-Way East, Ill.) vs. Damen Moyer (Bethlehem Liberty, Pa.) 195 pounds No. 14 Jacob Cardenas (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) vs. Anthony Burburija (Countryside, Fla.) Michael Doggett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. Kevin Makosy (Urbana, Md.) Christian Knop (Alexandria, Ala.) vs. Terren Swartz (Thunder Basin, Wyo.) Hudson Jump (Grandview Hts, Ohio) vs. Braden Morgan (El Dorado, Kansas) 220 pounds Yaraslau Slavikouski (Northfield Mt. Herman, Mass.) vs. Noah Price (Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic, Ohio) Josh Heindselman (Piedmont, Okla.) vs. Jacob Slinger (Upper St. Clair, Pa.) Jacob Bullock (Cahokia, Ill.) vs. Kyle Cornwell (Elwood, Ind.) Tarik Sutkovic (Ironwood, Ariz.) vs. Lewis Fernandes (Voorhees, N.J.) 285 pounds Michael Kramer (Wilson Central, Tenn.) vs. Levi Malcolm (Billings West, Mont.) John Oxce (Southwest Guilford, N.C.) vs. Louden Haga (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) Jeremy Sistrunk (Bound Brook, N.J.) vs. Christian Bryant (Eleanor Roosevelt, Md.) Elijah Baisden (Damascus, Md.) vs. Jack DelGarbino (Girard, Ohio)

Wrestling on Friday at the NHSCA Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va. took the field down to the quarterfinals in each weight class. There was no consolation wrestling on Friday, so all wrestlers remain alive for a top eight placement finish entering Saturday's competition. On the championship side, the quarterfinals and semifinals will be wrestled, as the finals are slated for Sunday afternoon. Below are the quarterfinal pairings - note there is no 106 pound weight class for the seniors' competition. 113 pounds Ryan Chauvin (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) vs. Jon Charles (Central Valley Academy, N.Y.) Elijah Hicks (Sullivan East, Tenn.) vs. Jack Wrocklage (Seckman, Mo.) No. 8 (at 106) Jonathan Prata (Downey, Calif.) vs. Jarod Kosman (Fitch, Ct.) Chris Delisle (Islip, N.Y.) vs. Kyle Randall (Newton North, Mass.) 120 pounds No. 4 Nico Aguilar (Gilroy, Calif.) vs. Andrew Lucero (Pueblo East, Colo.) Brandon Orum (Camden County, Ga.) vs. Anthony New (Salem, Va.) Jacob Brasseur (Lexington, S.C.) vs. Cole Laya (East Fairmont, W.Va.) Michael Gonyea (Columbia, N.Y.) vs. Michael Spangler (Kapaun Mt. Carmel, Kansas) 126 pounds Weston DiBlasi (Park Hill, Mo.) vs. Caleb Brooks (Circleville, Ohio) Antonio Saldate (Las Vegas, Nev.) vs. Justin Vines (Wantagh, N.Y.) Melquis Ortiz (New Milford, Ct.) vs. Levi Englman (Colonial Forge, Va.) Corey Cabanban (St. Louis, Hawaii) vs. Hunter Sparks (Roseburg, Ore.) 132 pounds Colin Gerardi (Powhatan, Va.) vs. Rashad Stratton (Sussex Central, Del.) Zach Schmitt (Cave Spring, Va.) vs. Riley Gurr (Frenchtown, Mont.) Gray Hart (St. Christopher's, Va.) vs. Noah Young (Coventry, R.I.) Colin Poynter (Portage, Ind.) vs. Ryan Moore (Simon Kenton, Ky.) 138 pounds No. 5 Marshall Keller (Christiansburg, Va.) vs. Trent Johnson (John Hardin, Ky.) Seth Koleno (Bald Eagle Area, Pa.) vs. No. 1 (at 132) Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) Jacob Butler (Elgin, Okla.) vs. Nathan Swartz (Hollidaysburg, Pa.) Trevor Jeffries (Thunder Basin, Wyo.) vs. Kris Rumph (Portage, Ind.) 145 pounds Kasper McIntosh (Portage, Ind.) vs. Brad Wiggs (Central Valley, Wash.) Stephen Carder (Parkersburg, W.Va.) vs. Patrick Ryan (New Trier, Ill.) Izaak Olejnik (Bakersfield, Calif.) vs. Brian Borden (Minico, Idaho) Crew Fullerton (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) vs. Peter Enos (Francis Howell, Mo.) 152 pounds No. 2 Jacori Teemer (Long Beach, N.Y.) vs. Robert Morales (Central-Phoenix City, Ala.) Michael Vernagallo (Cape Fear, N.C.) vs. Andrew Piedrahita (Westford Academy, Mass.) Ryan Luth (Foran, Ct.) vs. Dustin Gross (Dearborn Heights Annapolis, Mich.) Jake Hart (Fort Mill, S.C.) vs. John Manning (Villanova Catholic, Ontario) 160 pounds No. 9 Ryan Thomas (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. Allan Swanson (Oswego, Ill.) Austin O'Hearon (Springport, Mich.) vs. Jake Silverstein (Hauppauge, N.Y.) Michael Petite (Piscataway, N.J.) vs. Jackson Allen (Show Low, Ariz.) Mason Smith (Walton Verona, Ky.) vs. Danny Braunagel (Althof Catholic, Ill.) 170 pounds No. 1 (at 182) Aaron Brooks (North Hagerstown, Md.) vs. Drew Hoselton (Prairie Central, Ill.) Noah Clary (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) vs. Reed Williams (Holmen, Wis.) Cole Moody (Bingham, Utah) vs. Kyle Kretzer (Clear Springs, Texas) Dazjohn Casto (Fort Dorchester, S.C.) vs. Jordan Florence (Bealeton Liberty, Va.) 182 pounds No. 15 Zac Braunagel (Althof Catholic, Ill.) vs. D'Angelo DeWitt (Hoover, Ala.) Blake Barrick (Big Spring, Pa.) vs. Chase Hamlin (Northwest Carrabus, N.C.) David Crawford (Canfield, Ohio) vs. Tommy Wrzesien (Chariho, R.I.) Adam Henderson (Blue Ridge, Ariz.) vs. No. 18 Jonathan Loew (Wantagh, N.Y.) 195 pounds No. 6 Tony Andrarde (Gilroy, Calif.) vs. Breylon Douglas (Austintown Fitch, Ohio) Miles Nuessle (Liberty, Ariz.) vs. Tyler Houghton (Weddington, N.C.) Gage Braun (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. Dylan McBride (Fort Morgan, Colo.) Bobby Striggow (Orono, Minn.) vs. No. 11 Luke McGonigal (Clearfield, Pa.) 220 pounds No. 14 Joey Daniel (Santa Ana, Calif.) vs. Jaeger Clark (Huntsville, Ala.) Cole Haile (Chapin, S.C.) vs. Porter Fox (South Summitt, Utah) Ty Boeck (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) vs. Mason Lancaster (Putnam City, Okla.) Dalton Hoover (Martins Ferry, Ohio) vs. Andrew Marshall (Lincoln Sudbury, Mass.) 285 pounds Brian Sidle (St. Joseph Montvale, N.J.) vs. Randy Gonzalez (Lakewood, Calif.) No. 12 Austin Emerson (Bedford, Mich.) vs. Joshua Isaac (Potomac, Va.) Calvin Hayford (Mt. Anthony Union, Vt.) vs. No. 8 Deonte Wilson (Amityville, N.Y.) Logan Church (Delta, Colo.) vs. Derek Eldrod (Ashtabula St. John, Ohio)

Ben Stehura (Photo/CSU Athletics) CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland State University Director of Athletics Mike Thomas announced the resignation of head wrestling coach Ben Stehura on Friday afternoon. "We want to thank Coach Stehura for his numerous years of service to Cleveland State University and the Viking wrestling program," Thomas said. "We wish him well in his future pursuits." Over his 10 seasons as head coach at Cleveland State, Stehura has coached Viking student-athletes to five Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) titles and nine NCAA Championships berths. In each of his final two seasons, Stehura guided a Viking grappler to a noteworthy individual achievement. Evan Cheek won an EWL title this past season by topping an undefeated competitor in the final and subsequently earned Outstanding Wrestler of the Championships honors. In the 2016-17 season, Nick Corba earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships and posted a pair of bonus-point wins at the event. Stehura also guided Riley Shaw to a trio of NCAA Championships appearances and a pair of EWL titles as a Viking while Ben Willeford also competed at NCAA's twice under Stehura. "I have really appreciated my time at Cleveland State University," Stehura said. "I feel the time is right to move on now that the program is back on solid footing and progressing back toward competitiveness. It's a good time for me to move onto something better for my family and myself." A national search will begin immediately for the fourth head coach in Cleveland State wrestling history. Assistant coach Josh Moore will lead the day-to-day operations of the program while the search for a new head coach is conducted.

Ronnie Perry (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- All-American and national finalist Ronnie Perry has been named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Athlete of the Year and LHU head coach Scott Moore has been named the PSAC Coach of the Year. Perry capped a remarkable 2017-18 run in the national finals at 149 pounds and Moore led the Bald Eagles to a historic season. For Perry, the season capped a brilliant Bald Eagle career. The Bald Eagles' redshirt-senior won a PSAC and Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) title, before finishing as an All-American and NCAA Division I finalist. On the way to becoming LHU's first finalist since 1997, Perry took down the No. 2 seed, a returning NCAA champion and - in all - he knocked off three returning All-Americans at the NCAA DI tournament. He also became the first No. 15 seed in NCAA tournament history to make the finals. Perry's win in the EWL finals marked the 100th of his career. Perry became the 20th member of LHU's 100-win club. Perry closed the season with a 32-4 record and finished with a 104-32 career record. The 104 wins are tied for the 13th most in school history. The 2017-18 season will go down in history as it marked Lock Haven's return to college wrestling's national scene, behind Moore's leadership. The nationally-ranked LHU wrestling team crowned three individual champions and nine Bald Eagles placed as LHU powered its way to the 2018 EWL team title. It marked the second EWL championship in school history and the first since the Bald Eagles won the title in 1997. Perry, Alex Klucker and Corey Hazel all claimed individual EWL titles, while Chance Marsteller and Thomas Haines both placed second. The three individual EWL champions were the most since the Bald Eagles also had three in 2001. Perry's title marked the second straight season he claimed an individual title. LHU finished the regular season at 12-4 with the 12 wins marking the most in a single season in 15 years. Lock Haven went 4-2 in EWL action with wins over local-rival Bloomsburg, George Mason, Cleveland State and Clarion. Also highlighting the regular season was the Bald Eagles PSAC Championship. Behind five individual PSAC champs, the Bald Eagles rolled to their first PSAC title in 17 seasons. The title marked Lock Haven's 20th PSAC title, the most of any conference school. Perry is the Bald Eagles' first PSAC Wrestler of the Year since Cary Kolat in 1997. Moore takes home PSAC Coach of the Year honors for the first time since 2002 when Carl Poff was named PSAC Coach of the Year. PSAC Athlete of the Year: Ronnie Perry, Lock Haven PSAC Freshman of the Year: Eric Bartos, Mercyhurst PSAC Coach of the Year: Scott Moore, Lock Haven

Jim Gibson (Photo/Marc Hagemeier) LEXINGTON, Va. -- Virginia Military Institute Athletics Director Dr. Dave Diles announced Friday that James Gibson has accepted the position of head wrestling coach. Gibson comes to the Institute by way of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where he served the past six years as the head assistant wrestling coach and recruiting coordinator for the Bison. On top of coaching, Gibson was tasked with scouting and evaluating prospective student-athletes across the country, developing a competitive schedule every year, managing team travel and accommodations, and overseeing and determining the best use of the program's financial aid and scholarship budget. In addition, Gibson monitored the academic standards and progress of the team's 35 student-athletes, planned and implemented on- and off-campus recruiting activities, aided the regulation of the team's yearly operating budget and cultivated potential donors to assist in reaching the team's yearly fundraising goals. Gibson helped coach the 2014-15 Bison wrestling squad that went 15-4, reaching its highest ever national ranking at No. 22 and setting Bucknell's record for single season dual meet wins. The team placed third at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championship in both 2015 and 2016. "VMI is a school with a lot of history and tradition and the wrestling program has had some great wrestlers throughout the years," Gibson said. "I am excited to work with the current cadet-athletes to assist them with their goals in the sport and to bring high-caliber recruits into the program. "I couldn't be more excited for this opportunity. I would like to thank Dr. Diles, Lenny Brown, Jamie Severns and everyone else involved in the selection process. Their faith in me is greatly appreciated." Other highlights from Gibson's time at Bucknell include three nationally ranked All-Academic teams (2014-16), 26 EIWA placewinners and the program's 100 percent Graduation Success Rate for three consecutive years. Since 2015 Gibson has served as the co-owner and director of the Bison System Wrestling Camp in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, overseeing its daily operations, managing funds and directing 20 camp counselors and four clinicians. "In Jim Gibson we have found a highly experienced coach with impeccable credentials," Diles said. "He had an outstanding competitive career and is a high achiever in coaching and recruiting at a prestigious institution. Most importantly, he articulated a vision and plan for moving our wrestling program forward that was compelling. Jim distinguished himself throughout our review process for having the most detailed recruiting plan and had done an extensive assessment of our program and VMI. He's the leader we need." Gibson began his coaching tenure at Clarion as a graduate assistant coach from 2007 to 2012 for a program that produced two All-Americans, 11 NCAA qualifiers, six PSAC champions, three EWL gold medal winners and four Academic All-Americans. The Golden Eagles placed 18th at the 2012 NCAA Championship. A four-year starter at Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, Gibson qualified for the NCAA Championships as a senior in 2007 after earning an Eastern Wrestling League runner-up finish at 197 pounds and was a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion. He started at the 197-pound weight class on two NCAA Top 10 teams while at Edinboro. After college, Gibson qualified for the 2009 world team trials and was the champion of the 2009 Northeast Regional qualifier. In 2008 he placed fourth at the Northeast Regional qualifier and finished in the top eight at the 2008 U.S. National Championship's Challenge Tournament to qualify for the 16-man U.S. National Championships. Gibson graduated from Edinboro in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in health and physical education with a concentration in health promotion. He went on to earn his master's in education with an emphasis in athletic coaching from Clarion in 2009. He married his wife, Sarah, in May 2009. The couple has one son, James.

Kanen Storr wrestling at the UWW Junior World Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Kanen Storr is heading home. Storr announced his decision to attend Michigan and compete for the Wolverines Friday on Twitter. "I chose Michigan for many reasons," Storr told IAwrestle.com. "First, I trust the staff. I grew up training with them for freestyle events while I was coming out of high school, so I know what they are about, and on top of that their results speak for themselves. They just came out of the national tournament with five All-Americans, were the fourth place team, and are only going to build off of that." A native of Leslie, Mich., Storr spent the 2016-17 season and more than half of the 2017-18 season at Iowa State. As a redshirt, Storr compiled a 25-5 record. This past season he was 15-7 and ranked No. 18 at 141 pounds. On, Jan. 23, Storr, a three-time Michigan high school state champion at Leslie High School, asked for -- and was granted -- a transfer out of Iowa State. The school issued a statement that appeared to be standard in every way. "'Kanen (Storr) requested permission to transfer to another institution,' Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser said in a statement. 'I am going to honor that request and allow him the one-time transfer exception. We wish him the best.'" Storr's departure from Iowa State was well publicized. In January, ISU head coach Kevin Dresser reiterated that there weren't any hard feelings between Storr and his staff. "It's never fun when there's an athlete that is upset," Dresser said . "It's never fun, but I can tell you this: He's a great kid. He's going to figure out where he wants to go and where he wants to be. At the end of the day, that's what life's all about. "I'm a parent. I've got a 16-year-old, basically, an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old. And if they come home and say, 'Dad, you know what, I'm not happy here,' wherever that is, I want them to be happy. I want my kids to be happy, and I want Kanen Storr to be happy."

Eastern Michigan head wrestling coach David Bolyard (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) The decision to eliminate the Eastern Michigan University wrestling program Tuesday has generated comments from Eagles coaching staff, protests from wrestlers, and outrage from the wrestling community far beyond the school's hometown of Ypsilanti. EMU -- the second-oldest public university in the state of Michigan, with a student enrollment of 20,000 -- announced on March 20 that it was axing its NCAA Division I wrestling program, along with three other intercollegiate sports programs: softball, women's tennis, and men's swimming and diving. EMU wrestlers to stage protest Eastern Michigan wrestlers will be able to make their case for saving their wrestling program as part of a protest scheduled to take place at the Michigan Youth Wrestling Association state championships Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, Mich. Approximately 7,000-10,000 people are expected to be in attendance for the state championships, protest organizer David Dean, who also is a wrestling coach at Lowell High School, told MLive.com. "We are bringing them (EMU wrestlers) out and having the kids tell their story in front of the whole crowd," Dean said. "It ought to be pretty interesting. "I connected with them and said, 'Hey why don't you guys come on down for this? You have a story to tell. They wanted to come down, so we are doing it." "Eastern Michigan is very tied into the fabric of this state," Dean continued. "They fully miscalculated. It is emotional and its personal. It's personal to me, and I didn't even go to Eastern. I just supported them because of the quality of the people who were there. People like Dean Rockwell (World War II veteran and EMU alumnus) and (current head coach) Dave Bolyard and so many of the other folks." "I was completely shocked about it," former wrestler Anthony Abro said of when he heard the program was cut. "I think it's terrible. If you have ever met the coaches, or Dave (Bolyard), you know they do everything for those student-athletes. They don't deserve something like this." Coaches, wrestlers speak out Some of the individuals on the front lines of the Eastern Michigan wrestling program -- wrestlers and coaches -- shared their reaction to the news their mat program had been given the axe last week. "I didn't know this past weekend was going to be my last match, so that makes me really sad," Kayne MacCallum, a senior wrestler, told the Eastern Echo student paper. "We were all blind sided." Redshirt freshman Mason Kaufmann had a similar reaction. "We saw the president of the school and the athletic director come in, and we knew it wasn't going to be good," Kaufmann said. "And he just broke the news to us. There were a lot of people crying and getting upset. It was a shock." EMU head wrestling coach David Bolyard tweeted the following message early Thursday evening, just a couple days after the decision had been made public: "I know there are a lot of frustrated people out there in the wrestling community and they are looking for someone to take their frustrations out there. The easy and most accessible person to direct these emotions to is our Athletic Director [Scott Weatherbee]. I get it; I understand that he is our leader and that is part of his job. I just want you to know that I truly think that this (decision) was (made) above him. I have gotten to know Scott and his family over the last year and they are great people. He doesn't deserve being attacked and disrespected. That will not get us what we want. We have a lot going for us in this fight. We have facts, we have numbers, we have passion, and we have some key people that are going to bat for us. We can win this fight with class and dignity. Please continue to let him see the amazing support for our program. #SaveEMUWrestling." In a phone interview with InterMat Tuesday afternoon, coach Bolyard said, "We're trying to figure out ways to maintain opportunities for our student-athletes here at Eastern Michigan wrestling. We intend to fight this. We're working towards a solution." Luke Smith, an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan, shared his thoughts on the school's decision to axe the Eagles mat program with the Chippewa Herald, the newspaper in his hometown in Wisconsin. "We were completely shocked," Smith said of the news coming just after returning from the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Cleveland with the school's first All-American since 1999 in Sa'Derian Perry, who placed eighth at 141 pounds. "We knew there were some budget issues with the school, but we thought that across the board all athletic programs would have budget cuts." The next morning, the coaching staff broke the news to the wrestlers. "It was one of the hardest things to do to talk to them. You don't know what to do in that moment," Smith said. "It was tough, because being here you work so hard to recruit and coach these guys. Anyone who's been part of a team knows it's like a family," Smith said. "How do you tell your family that we're going to have to break up?" "The good thing about us is that we have a lot of alumni support. They're trying everything they can to save the program," Smith said. "It's been an unbelievable push not just from our alumni but the wrestling world. It's been amazing to see the outpouring of support." Smith went on to cite some of the ways EMU wrestlers are winners off the mat -- the highest APR of any men's program at the school, four Academic All-Americans this year, and one of the highest percentages of scholar-athletes to be the first from their families to attend college. "It really is more than a sport, it's an opportunity for a better life for these people. That's part of why the wrestling community is fighting so hard for us," he said. Smith also questioned the school's reason for cutting wrestling based on financials. "The thing that doesn't quite make sense is that they say it's budgetary, but it's an enrollment-driven school. On our team, the roster cap is 30, and we have nine scholarships. So the rest (of the roster) is tuition going back to the school," he said. NWCA weighs in The National Wrestling Coaches Association is not taking Eastern Michigan's decision to axe its wrestling program lying down. The NWCA posted this message on its Twitter account: "EMU had their 1st All-American since 1999 just days ago, & now they have announced the wrestling program will be cut. It's time to come together and work to save this program!!" In an audio interview with Jason Bryant of Mat Talk Online this week, NWCA head Mike Moyer said, "The coach is doing everything right" citing the strong academic performance of the Eagles wrestlers. Moyer also addressed the budget-enrollment issues cited earlier by EMU assistant coach Luke Smith. "EMU is an enrollment-driven school," said Moyer. It makes no sense to drop sports because that hurts enrollment along with tuition income." "Figure a typical roster of 30 wrestlers paying $20,000 a year in tuition. That's approximately $600,000 revenue generated for the school each year just from the wrestling program." "EMU should be leveraging sports to grow enrollment." Moyer is not about to throw in the towel. "I like our chances of saving wrestling at Eastern Michigan. We're just getting started." What fans can do The wrestling community beyond the state of Michigan can make its feelings known on the decision to axe Eastern Michigan's mat program. Fans can sign an online petition to reinstate EMU wrestling. As of this writing, approximately 24,500 individuals have signed the petition which is seeking 25,000 names. In addition, wrestling fans can offer financial support for the Eagles wrestling program by contributing to a GoFundMe page to #SaveEMUWrestling.

Dan Gable statue outside Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa announced Friday that food and beverage vendors will occupy "Gable's Garden" at the 2018 UWW World Cup at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on April 7-8. 7G Distributing headlines an outdoor "Gable's Garden" that includes non-alcoholic beverages, beer, wine, and food from local vendors. "Gable's Garden" is open Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. outside the North Entrance of Carver-Hawkeye Arena, near the Dan Gable statue. Admission to "Gable's Garden" is included with the purchase of a World Cup ticket. Fans will be able to purchase food and beverages at "Gable's Garden" and take those items into the arena. To experience the World Cup, an international dual tournament featuring eight of the top countries around the world, visit WorldCupIowaCity.com. All-session ticket packages start at $75. Black all-session packages are available for $150, and Gold all-session packages are $225.

With the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships wrapping last Saturday night in Cleveland, fans of the sport had more than a few favorite moments to take into the summer: the arrival of NC State's shot-happy Tariq Wilson, Bo Nickal's championship-nabbing fall over Myles Martin, Kyle Snyder's third title, and the surprisingly heart-warming weekends of Kyle Conel and Chance Marstellar. For me, watching from a computer in Takasaki during the Women's World Cup, what most stuck out was the behavior of the wrestlers during and after matches. Yes, Austin DeSanto made a fool of himself with some extracurricular activity, but what's compelling is that his behavior stood alone. Not only did it stand alone it stood in juxtaposition to what was a tournament filled with moments which showcased a more approachable form of the sport. Spencer Lee and Nick Suriano's fathers wish each other luck before their sons wrestle There was Iowa Hawkeye freshman Spencer Lee entering to Pokemon. The star of the most intimidating program of the past 50 years didn't enter to AC/DC, Tool, or other metal band. He instead chose the theme song to a popular kids game. Add on to that entry a backstory with him and Nick Suriano that was filled with handshakes and respectful commitments to "give fans a good show." Mark Hall, after a crushing defeat to Zahid Valencia, was the first out of the tunnel to congratulate Bo Nickal for sealing up Penn State's seventh title in eight years. Adam Coon, on the cusp of going 2-out-of-3 with the Olympic champion, gave a gracious post-match interview. South Dakota State coach Chris Bono could be seen backstage hugging Terry Brands after his program's first national championship. Hell, even Cael Sanderson showed some emotions when he lifted Nickal into the air after his finals victory. All told there were dozens of stories that were filled with genuine moments of sportsmanship. For me, this was the NCAA tournament that proves wrestling can (and should be) fun. The style that wins is the style that allows these student-athletes to wrestle wide-open and express themselves. To manage the stresses of their season through friendship, comradery and a commitment to action rather than simply aggression. Some rules still need to be altered, but the sport's soul seems intact and healthy. The wrestlers this weekend proved that goodwill towards their competitors strengthens the spirit of our sport and that should give all of us the confidence to continue making bold changes for the betterment of the on-the-mat product. To your questions … Spencer Lee after winning the NCAA title at 125 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: I get I'm an Iowan and as such, biased, but how was Spencer Lee not OW of the NCAAs? True Freshman, two techs (fastest of the tournament), two falls (over top six opponents) and a decisive win over an undefeated wrestler who hadn't surrendered a takedown to that point (Lee got two), didn't surrender a single offensive point (only gave up four points on escapes). Bo Nickal had one major, three regular decisions and one fall (albeit in the finals to clinch the team title). He's a returning champ and was favored to win it. As far as dominating the tournament I can't see the argument for Nickal winning it. Is it that Lee has years left to win the award? Is it just the fact that the pin clinched the team title? Is it the easy pick because it's a wrestler for PSU and they're "so hot right now" (Will Ferrell voice from Zoolander)? -- Confused Hawkeye Foley: Nickal winning the Outstanding Wrestler had a lot to do with his ability to pin his opponent in the finals. Though he wasn't as dominant across the three days, I think your logic was correct in that they awarded him the OW for the drama of the moment. Spencer Lee is my wrestler of the year. I'm smitten. He wrestles with determination, purpose and is incredibly active start-to-finish. I've said all season how much I like watching him wrestle, but I was even more taken at the NCAA tournament when he manhandled NATO, who is not only an NCAA champion but a massive 125-pound wrestler. Were I still a coach, Lee is everything I'd want in my wrestler. Heck, I'd be happy if they were 80 percent like him. I'm obsessed with his never-die attitude that blends with a quirky, smiley kid who loves the sport. I said in a mailbag a few months ago that the decision to pull Lee's redshirt could inspire the Hawkeyes to a team trophy. In the end, it did. I will now predict that the Hawkeyes will win an NCAA team title before Lee graduates. He's as a generational talent and someone who the Hawkeyes can use to build a new-look program. Also, love the Zoolander reference. Q: Just wanted to say when the chips are down, Spencer Lee just wins baby. -- Dustin K. Foley: High-five emoji. Q: My question is, who do you forecast moving weights next year? Will Zahid Valencia who looks like a big 174 move up to 184 and challenge Bo Nickal? Will Myles Martin move up to 197? Any other big moves that your crystal ball sees as possibilities? -- Rick B. Foley: Tough to forecast too many of the weight class changes since the incoming classes have yet to report. The success of the freshman class over the past several years has meant that even established starters may have to shift in order to make way for new teammates. While that won't be the case for Martin or Valencia, the shift from below may have an effect. With Martin, I don't see him growing into 197 pounds, but again I don't know where he is in his growth cycle or how large his family members have grown. Kollin Moore also returns for the Buckeyes at 197 pounds. I remember several conversations with wrestling folks regarding David Taylor's bump up to 86 kilograms. The consensus there was that he hadn't finished growing and that if you looked at his family members and his frames he could easily carry the weight. Martin does have a large frame, so maybe it's possible to see him go up. Q: What are your thoughts on the NWCA? Their mission statement claims to be about promotion and growing the sport, but it seems they are relentless in their narrow-minded picture of things. Cael was not the best coach this year. Last year he had five champs and won by 40 points. All five returned this year, won four titles and PSU won by eight points. How does Cael win the award this year? Pop led NC State to their first-ever top-four finish, Bono led SDSU to three AA and their first ever Division I champ. These are big deals in our sport and show its growth. Those coaches should have been rewarded and those communities should have been rewarded. One of those coaches should have that award as a recruiting tool to get other wrestlers such as Seth Gross, Nick Gwiazdowski and Michael Macchiavello to look at the non-traditional powers as a place to succeed and win titles. Now that is something that would help the grow the sport. I say come on NWCA stick to your mission statement and see the big picture. What do you say? -- J.F. Foley: The NWCA is hard at work and while their name is attached to several awards, I don't know that it's an institutional failure that Cael was awarded the Coach of the Year honors. That written, I agree that Pat Popolizio was the CLEAR favorite for Coach of the Year and I agree with your premise that the sport should do more to spread around the accolades, especially to programs like NC State since their turnaround story could be bolstered by this type of coach-saves-program type of storyline. Success via leadership is like catnip to athletic directors. Dynamic personalities that draw in fans and donations means one less worry for AD's stretching dollars, and their attention spans. The same is true of South Dakota State. More attention needs to be paid to the success that coaches in theses non-traditional programs are achieving. However, I would go a step further and say that the "non-traditional" should be amended to something like "emergent power" since that adds some much-needed flare and robustness to the nomenclature around programs going through improvement phases. Overall, the shift to schools with coaches who draw in talent through inspiration and cult of personality, while also allowing for individual freedoms and a positive atmosphere are CLEARLY winning the day in the sport and the NWCA and all other organizations should embolden more schools to take up the change and find these types of hires. Q: Are you surprised more wasn't made about two-time national champ Dean Heil not becoming an All-American this year? Heil gets a bad rap (since his match scores this year don't necessarily support that label) as a defensive wrestler and I wonder if that is part of the reason his national tournament didn't surprise anyone. -- Merris S. Foley: I'm not surprised, because I think most fans saw this coming and he's so well-liked by those in the wrestling world that there wasn't much incentive to celebrate his failures (though there should never be that incentive, schadenfreude is a real thing). Overall, I think Heil's 2018 performance comes as a consequence of the new scrambling danger rule. The inability to latch on fundamentally changed Heil's outlook, and once he lost his two-time NCAA champions confidence it was too difficult to get back. What an amazing career and I hope he continues in the sport as a coach and/or athlete. He seems like a well-liked, intelligent young man. Austin DeSanto and Stevan Micic exchange some words after their match (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: What is Austin DeSanto's future? What is going to happen betwen him and Coach Azevedo after the end of the Michigan match and then yelling at his coaches after he lost to Rutgers? Did the Rutgers wrestler jump into the arms of the Drexel staff after he beat DeSanto? -- Frank S. Foley: I met DeSanto two years ago in New York and was impressed with his drive. The pressure might have gotten to him a bit and his emotions got a little scrambled. It'd be good for him (like many athletes) to see a sports psychologist and look to optimize his performance mindset. He's a good kid and I think that he'll be back stronger than ever in 2019. Q: As a high school wrestling coach, lately I have come across more instances of parents holding their kids back (sometimes multiple years) from entering high school. The result, we have kids that enter high school competition as freshmen at 16 years of age (I can recall at least one high profile example of this occurring this year with a nationally ranked middle weight), and graduating high school at age 20. Think about that; we have a possibility of 20-year-old MEN (masquerading as high school seniors) wrestling 14-year-old freshmen. From a sportsmanship, fairness, and safety perspective, this is grossly negligent and shows lack of respect and awareness from parents encouraging it and governing bodies allowing it. My proposed rule change for state high school wrestling institutions: institute a cutoff date (my proposed date is Aug. 31 as Sept. 1 unofficially marks the first day of school in the U.S.) where wrestlers born before or after that date are required to compete in that "class" regardless of what "grade" they are in. Next, allow junior high wrestlers to compete in senior high state tournaments (some states like New York and Minnesota do this already, but institute exemption rules in states that do not yet allow it, like Pennsylvania). This way, should a child be held back for academic reasons, their high school eligibility can technically start in eighth grade in line with their actual age. Hypothetically, this means that a wrestler's high school eligibility could end during their junior or sophomore season (whenever they turn 18). This would not upset the balance of collegiate sports however; which I view as grown men competing against other grown men. What this rule would do is prevent parents from gaming the system from a competitive standpoint. Thoughts? -- Coach O Foley: I might be mistaken, but I feel like the state of Virginia has a 19-year-old cap on high school athletes. Do any readers know the guidelines in your states? I'm torn on what to do with age "stacking." On a personal level I would have benefited from staying back a year to grow a little more before entering high school. On the first day of class I was 95 pounds, barely pubescent and completely out of my depth on the football field and wrestling mat. My father floated the idea of a year back, but I resisted. In retrospect, I would have gotten better grades, had more opportunities in sports and possibly improved my chances at a scholarship. (I was a walk-on at Virginia.) However, I do not think it's ever a good idea for a 20-year-old fully developed man to be on the mat and in competition with a 14-year-old. You might be on to something with the addition of some extra parameters by which schools and state athletic organizations must abide. But I'm fearful that the politics of these choices are often punitive against individual programs who have been labeled (rightly or wrongly) as age stackers. Simply put: How pervasive is the problem, and are any proposed solutions possible to have unintended consequences worse than age stacking? Q: As a fan, I thought Saturday night's finals matches were the best in recent memory. One of the things that helped was that all of the coaches had already used their allotment of challenges. Challenges slow down the action, award ticky-tacky points, and are misused as lung or momentum-stopping time outs. The finals flowed and had emotion as a result of the absence of these challenges. The sessions on Thursday seemed to drag on because of all the challenge bricks being thrown. It seemed like Ohio State was throwing them like beads at a Mardi Gras parade and actually benefitted from some of them. But, ironically, Ohio State was out of challenges when they needed them most (end of the McKenna/Meredith semifinal stood out as one instance). Perhaps the NCAA should reconsider the implementation of coach's challenges as they currently exist. Perhaps a lost challenge should result in the loss of a team point. Or, perhaps they should exist only for a score-keeping errors. What say you? -- DD Foley: I think you should get one challenge per match and if you lose the challenge you give up a team point. Why would the NCAA rules allow for opponents to choose positions after an injury time, but not also apply some standard of risk for throwing a challenge brick? The other thing is that the replays need to be visible to the fans and the athletes! It's crazy to me that nobody gets to see what it being reviewed. Also, making it visible adds to the drama of the moment. Q: Sean Bormet a lock to get the Michigan job? Mike C. Foley: Lock? Almost never a lock in college sports, but with his relationships and credentials I have to imagine he's the first guy being offered the job. Q: Who would you like to see Wisconsin hire to lead the program? Could they entice Chris Bono from SDSU? -- Mike C. Foley: Part of me thinks Bono could bolt for a big name-brand school, but the other part thinks it would be foolish. He's creating a legacy that is now and forever going to be tied to his coaching. There is also less chance of institutional headaches in a place like South Dakota State where he is among that school's top coaches. At Wisconsin, Bono would be (by default) treated as lesser coach on their internal totem pole, fighting to get guys into school with new admission officers and facing a newer and larger bureaucracy meant to serve the for-profit programs first. I'd like to see Bono stay put. Top choices have to be Damion Hahn and Donny Pritzlaff, with some serious consideration as well for Glen Lanham. Casey Cunningham could find a job as he wishes, but so far doesn't seem motivated to leave State College. I also think Mark Perry could be a top choice, but I'm not sure if he's looking to move again. Q: We always hear about a push to save a wrestling program after it's dropped. That is happening with Eastern Michigan. Do you think there is any chance the program is saved? On a related note, what kind of crowds do they draw for home dual meets? -- Mike C. Foley: I'd like to see Eastern Michigan save its program, but there are host of complications in their quest to get back on the mats. The primary hurdle facing EMU and other schools is the new law, which has restricted what is and is not considered a tax-deductible gift. For example, premier seating for football games was once an allowable donation, but has since been eliminated as a perk. This along with a bevy of other restrictions has meant that non-revenue sports are being choked out by the need to send support dollars to the larger programs. Without donor money coming through to programs in massive chunks, many middling programs will struggle to meet their fundraising goals -- a major source of cost off-setting in college sports. I don't want to push my "liberal agenda" on readers every week, but after watching last weekend's Women's World Cup and this week's Women's Development Camp in Tokyo I can tell you that these women need to be part of the collegiate wrestling atmosphere. They are well past the point of "deserving the opportunity." It's a shame that we haven't made room for them in our collegiate programs. Also, as a matter of practicality men's wrestling would be cut a ton less if there were a women's team to offset male roster numbers. Q: Will we ever see wrestling programs at Florida State, Miami, Clemson (again) or any of the SEC schools again? -- Jared W. Foley: Not without women's wrestling.