InterMat Staff

125: Louie Hayes (Virginia) dec. Lorenzo Bentley (Pittsburgh), 3-1 SV Sean Fausz (NC State) dec. Kyle Norstrem (Virginia Tech), 9-3 133: Jack Mueller (Virginia) dec. Dom Forys (Pittsburgh), 6-0 Dennis Gustafson (Virginia Tech) dec. Tariq Wilson (NC State), 7-5 141: Kevin Jack (NC State) dec. Nick Zanetta (Pittsburgh), 2-0 Brent Moore (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. A.C. Headlee (North Carolina), 11-2 149: Troy Heilmann (North Carolina) dec. Sam Krivus (Virginia), 3-0 Ryan Blees (Virginia Tech) dec. Beau Donahue (NC State), 6-4 157: Hayden Hidlay (NC State) dec. Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh), 6-4 SV Mitch Finesilver (Duke) dec. Kennedy Monday (North Carolina), 6-0 165: David McFadden (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Jake Wentzel (Pittsburgh), 13-4 Zach Finesilver (Duke) dec. Andrew Atkinson (Virginia), 8-3 174: Hunter Bolen (Virginia Tech) dec. Daniel Bullard (NC State), 7-4 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) dec. Matt Finesilver (Duke), 11-5 184: Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Gregg Harvey (Pittsburgh), 15-3 Pete Renda (NC State) dec. Chip Ness (North Carolina), 4-2 197: Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Alec Schenk (Duke), 13-4 Michael Macchiavello (NC State) dec. Daniel Chaid (North Carolina), 5-3 285: Jacob Kasper (Duke) by injury default over Ryan Solomon (Pittsburgh) Cory Daniel (North Carolina) dec. Michael Boykin (NC State), 3-2

125: Nick Suriano (Rutgers) dec. Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 9-2 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) dec. Sebastian Rivera (Northwestern), 3-2 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) maj. dec. Luke Welch (Purdue), 14-3 Spencer Lee (Iowa) pinned RayVon Foley (Michigan State), 2:43 133: Stevan Micic (Michigan) maj. dec. Ben Thornton (Purdue), 10-2 Jason Renteria (Nebraska) dec. Scott Delvecchio (Rutgers), 3-1 Mitch McKee (Minnesota) dec. Corey Keener (Penn State), 9-4 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) dec. Dylan Duncan (Illinois), 4-3 141: Joey McKenna (Ohio State) dec. Vince Turk (Iowa), 4-0 Nate Limmex (Purdue) dec. Chad Red (Nebraska), 6-4 Michael Carr (Illinois) dec. Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), 8-6 Nick Lee (Penn State) maj. dec. Cole Weaver (Indiana), 13-3 149: Zain Retherford (Penn State) maj. dec. Steve Bleise (Minnesota), 14-1 Ke-Shawn Hayes (Ohio State) dec. Colton McCrystal (Nebraska), 7-6 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) maj. dec. Eleazar Deluca (Rutgers), 11-1 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. Alfred Bannister (Maryland), 4-3 157: Michael Kemerer (Iowa) maj. dec. John Van Brill (Rutgers), 15-5 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) dec. Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 4-3 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) dec. Andrew Crone (Wisconsin), 7-3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) maj. dec. Jake Short (Minnesota), 15-2 165: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) dec. Isaiah White (Nebraska), 7-4 Richie Lewis (Rutgers) dec. Evan Wick (Wisconsin), 6-4 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) maj. dec. Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), 18-10 Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. Alex Marinelli (Iowa), 8-6 SV 174: Mark Hall (Penn State) pinned Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin), 0:47 Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) dec. Dylan Lydy (Purdue), 2-1 Myles Amine (Michigan) dec. Devin Skatzka (Indiana), 9-5 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) dec. Joey Gunther (Iowa), 8-3 184: Bo Nickal (Penn State) pinned Brandon Krone (Minnesota), 1:25 Emery Parker (Illinois) dec. Nick Gravina (Rutgers), 5-2 Dom Abounader (Michigan) dec. Tyler Venz (Nebraska), 6-4 Myles Martin (Ohio State) tech. fall Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin), 23-8 197: Kollin Moore (Ohio State) dec. Eric Schultz (Nebraska), 10-4 Kevin Beazley (Michigan) pinned Hunter Ritter (Wisconsin), 6:29 Christian Brunner (Purdue) dec. Cash Wilcke (Iowa), 8-2 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) dec. Zack Chakonis (Northwestern), 11-8 285: Adam Coon (Michigan) maj. dec. Rylee Streifel (Minnesota), 12-2 Sam Stoll (Iowa) dec. Youssif Hemida (Maryland), 8-1 Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. Conan Jennings (Northwestern), 5-0 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) maj. dec. Shawn Streck (Purdue), 17-6

View all the results from the NCAA Division I conference tournaments. . Big Ten Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 Venue: Jack Breslin Student Events Center (East Lansing, Mich.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates | Pick 'Em Contest Big 12 Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 Venue: BOK Center (Tulsa, Okla.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates MAC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 Venue: McGuirk Arena (Mount Pleasant, Mich.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EIWA Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 - Sunday, March 4 Venue: David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex (Hempstead, N.Y.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates ACC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 Venue: Carmichael Arena (Chapel Hill, N.C.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EWL Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 Venue: McComb Fieldhouse (Edinboro, Pa.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates SoCon Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 3 Venue: McAlister Field House (Charleston, S.C.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates Pac-12 Wrestling Championships Date: Sunday, February 25 Venue: Gill Coliseum (Corvallis, Ore.) Event Website | Results

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DES MOINES, Iowa -- (Brackets | Team Scores |

The brackets have been released for the 2018 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, which take place Saturday-Sunday in Tulsa, Okla. Link: Brackets

The brackets have been released for the 2018 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The event takes place Saturday-Sunday at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan. Link: Brackets

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Rasoul Khadem (left) coaching Hassan Yazdani Cherati at the Olympics (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The head of Iran's wrestling federation has resigned after criticizing the authorities for letting athletes be punished because of his nation's ban on facing Israeli opponents, according to multiple media reports. Rasoul Khadem, an Olympic gold medalist for Iran who was reelected as president of the wrestling federation just two months ago, wrote a letter published on the organization's website, suggesting he had been forced from the job, stating "apparently it is not going to work out" because of "my awkward mentality." "I cannot lie. Sometimes the best way to take a stand is not to stand," he also wrote. Upon learning of Khadem's resignation, the councils for freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling said they were resigning en masse, the semiofficial ISNA Iranian news agency reported. These resignations are a product of an incident at the 2017 U23 World Senior Wrestling Championship in Poland last November, in which Iran's Alireza Karimi-Machiani, 23, was wrestling Alikhan Zhabrailov of Russia when a sideline coach told him to lose the match so that he would not have to wrestle an Israeli opponent in the next round. Iran does not recognize the state of Israel and forbids its athletes from competing against Israelis at international sports events.

The conference tournaments are this weekend around the country and important pilgrimages are being made by fans from Fresno to Pittsburgh. More than the NCAA tournament this weekend gets the loyal fan bases, families and friends to engage with wrestling in a community-driven, competitive atmosphere. Though a lot of attention is paid to who qualifies for the NCAA tournament in Cleveland the conference tournament weekend has several traditions and rivalries for athletes and fans to celebrate. Regionalism, tribalism and even clannism are at the heart of traditional sports contests. Which tight association of people are better at a certain game or skill has for centuries been the chosen non-violent form of local rivalry. For much of human history it was wrestling that defined which tribe was the strongest, and even which leaders were chosen to take men into combat. Today we see that regional conflict at the conference level more than the national, which helps connect us to the athletes and memories of the sport. Wrestling always been an important measuring stick for tribes to settle rivalries. Today those tribes are schools and the only real association among the team members is what they create for themselves behind the banner of their school colors. In modern American sport these conference championships are symbolic of that regionalized tradition to compare ourselves to our neighbors. It's special and should be distinguished as much as the more glamorous national tournament. Whether you're an ACC wrestling fan, Big Ten wrestling follower, or a lifelong MAC enthusiast, I wish you a weekend filled with close friends and compelling competition. To your questions … Jason Nolf (Photo/Juan Garcia) Q: What did you make of Jason Nolf's interview this week? Do you see him winning the Big Ten title this weekend? -- Mike C. Foley: The initial question Nolf was asked in that video isn't audible, but it seemed his response was that he hadn't been cleared for competition. That might just be an oversight, or maybe not necessary, but if I were a Penn State die-hard fan it would concern me that this box isn't checked. I think there is a one percent chance that he wins the Big Ten title, because I don't think he will finish out the tournament. He'll likely make his way to the quarterfinals and default. Q: Would you rather see a takedown be worth 3 points or allow the top wrestler to choose to go back to neutral during a natural stoppage (out of bounds, stalemate, etc.) without awarding a point since it would not be an "escape." #maketakedownsgreatagain -- @WallyBach Foley: I don't know that we need to give points for escapes, but what informs my opinion is likely just an outsized love for the current freestyle rules. The real root of the problem is riding time. Why would we want to slow down the pace of these matches all for a single point? Of course, if you eliminated riding time then you'd also have to find a new criterion for tied matches that go past double overtime. The current system keeps track of riding time, but more than keep track it places people into a literal "ride out." Sticking with today's historical opening, I can tell you that ride outs trace back to the Catch-as-Catch-can origins of American wrestling, but in light of new information (the wild successes of freestyle) I wonder if the other great American tradition (adopting new and better things) won't eventually inform a better opinion on how to solve these tied matches. Certainly, we can all agree that draping your body on an opponent shouldn't be the ultimate determinant of wrestling greatness. But what is the other option? Will American wrestling fans see the power of criteria to drive action and eliminate the need for costly overtime? I'm doubtful, but then again, we are a nation of change so no idea should be left unconsidered. Q: Riding time/top wrestling. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I don't hate top wrestling and riding time the way others seem to hate it. Maybe my perspective is different, but I find it impressive when someone like Spencer Lee completely dominates a wrestler the caliber of Nathan Tomasello while on top. Not everything has to be so fast paced. I love watching a hammer on top eventually wear a wrestler down while working for turns even if it never ends in a turn; and if he has hammered him for 5 minutes, I'm OK with that wrestler earning a point. Thoughts? -- Jared W. Foley: I was a top wrestler, but I can no longer support riding time. While I agree that there is an element of domination with staying on someone's back, I don't think that it's a compelling argument for dominance unless the bottom man has face-to-face attacks, a la jiu-jitsu. What if we cut the difference and gave 30 seconds to work and then put them back on their feet with one point going to the wrestler who is released from bottom. Add to that that if one wrestler can accumulate 2 minutes of riding time then you can allow for a point. That should disincentive the riding time point while still allowing for a point to be given to the wrestlers who display real top dominance. Q: What do you make of the decision to move the Beat the Streets event from Times Square to the newly-renovated Pier 17 at South Street Seaport? -- Mike C. Foley: Moving an event indoors will allow for a much better fan experience, while maybe sacrificing some of the shock Times Square seemed to generate. Overall, this should allow for better crowd control, seating assignment and fan experience. The venue is supposed to be nice and I'm sure that Brendan Buckley and his staff are prepared to make this into another impact event for the sport of wrestling! Q: Guessing you get hundreds of emails a day, but it would be greatly appreciated if you could answer a question for me and settle a long standing debate. In your opinion, what are the top 3 toughest weights for NCAA in order? I think 125 is the toughest followed by 174, 141, 165 (has got increasingly better as year went on). -- Kevin C. Foley: Dozens. Hundreds would prompt me to set my eyebrows on fire. I'm prone to conflate "best" with "most intriguing," but either way the weight classes are those with the most compelling storylines: 125, 141 and 165. The number of guys who can win at each of these weights, and the uncertainty behind seeding prompts a lot of healthy fan discussion. 125 storylines: Can Spencer Lee really win this thing in his true freshman year? Can he stop NATO, who is on a quest for his fourth Big Ten title? If Lee wins this weekend, can he do it again in March? Would that upset be enough to generate a surprise Iowa comeback? I'm affirmative on all my own questions, but then again, we haven't event talked about the defending NCAA Champion (Darian Cruz) and the possibility that the top seed Nick Suriano could steamroll everyone. 141 storylines: Bryce Meredith vs. Kevin Jack in the semifinal of all semifinals. Will two-time NCAA champion Dean Heil come back to life in Cleveland, or does he slip away during his senior season? Will Yianni do like many Cornell wrestlers before him and deliver a virtuoso performance on the national stage? Oh, wait … what about Jaydin Eierman and Joey McKenna? 165 storylines: Imar looks for his third and to get revenge on Cenzo Joseph. "The Bull" Alex Marinelli looks to make Iowa Great Again, while Chance Marstellar lurks in the background, able to knock off any wrestler at any time. Layers on layers here. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Beautiful Watch, then read ... I've flown more than half a million miles in the past five years, visiting some 50-plus countries and spending an average of 200 days on the road. You can be certain that I have recommendations for how to pack. However, my real passion is poo-poo'ing obnoxious packing tips provided by 24-year-old listicle creators at Buzzfeed ripoffs. The above video is terrible. The pioneer of packing stupidity who dreamed up these complicated how-to's was either muling drugs as a previous profession, or was locked away in Brazilian jail and given limited access to toiletries. They say the best part of adventure travel is the panning and the stories told afterward, but spending four days in a workshop in the hopes of MacGyver'ing an empty glue bottle to hold tampons on hundred dollar bills is time poorly spent. Also, the level of preparation put into packing for a Mexican beach vacation seems to have inspired way too much time watching TAKEN and not enough time looking at actual crime statistics or using the side of your brain with the ability to rationalize danger. I wish that instead of crappy, uplifting, free-to-use jingles there was a narrator explaining where this person was headed. In my experience you don't want to go anywhere that requires you to hide money. I hid money once leaving a country. That was South Sudan and it was during the start of that country's current civil war and it was something like $7,000. I hid it under a bag of chocolate in my backpack and you know what? It worked. The shakedown came (as expected) but once the soldier saw chocolate he was off-task and snatched my bag of Hershey's instead of the seven grand. Anyway, has this person thought through what would happen if a TSA agent decided to open your zip-tied bag and found hundred-dollar bills stuffed in a variety of heath care products and everyday items. They would be certain to pull you off the plane and ask about the items in your bag. This person drilled a hole in a bar of soap and slipped in a $100! WHAT THE HELL! Traveling overseas is not a Jason Bourne exercise in preparing to take out a Nigerian leader on his yacht in the middle of the ocean. Traveling overseas is about not being an idiot and how to apply a modicum of discipline and restraint when inundated with new, stimulating inputs. I've been mugged, but it was because I got careless about my location (favela) and time of night (late) -- not a home invasion where I was left for dead but was saved by the $20 in my soap-on-a-rope. Real travel advice isn't that appealing: Don't drink too much, don't take unnecessary risks and call your bank before you leave. Add in the common sense stuff like trying not to cross dark streets in tourists districts and you're 90 percent of the way to a happy holiday. Oh, and when packing just do less and carry less. Put your wallet, phone and keys exactly where you do when you are in the states. Why in the good hell -- with everything else going on around you -- would you want to constantly be patting yourself down looking for where you hid your burner cell? The only function that serves is to tip off would-be robbers where to find valuables. Hiding money is stupid. A good money tip is to keep small local currency loose in your pocket. This way you don't pull out $900 each time you go to pay a street vendor $1 for a bottle of water. The other piece of advice is to never (not ever) pack a small plastic bag for each day of the week you are traveling. This little tidbit in the video is deliciously dumb. What if it's cold on a Tuesday? Rains on Wednesday? Will you dip into that rolled-up clothing to find the long sleeve shirt? What chaos will that cause! This person also has about 37 plastic bags. Why? Is it raining in their Eagle Creek? The only useful tip in this insufferable video is to cover your liquids with Saran Wrap. That's smart. The other stuff, like hiding money in a pack of gum or half-eaten can of Pringles (what the hell, people?!) is a sure way to donate $200 to a Parisian landfill. Delete this video. The Internet is infuriating. Rasoul Khadem coaching at the Freestyle World Cup (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: Were you surprised that Rasoul Khadem stepped down as head of Iran's wrestling federation? -- Mike C. Foley: The body politic in Iran is not my specialty, and I think that even those who report on the nation find it infuriating as it's both idealistic and corrupt (much like our system). What Rasoul seemed to do was take a stand that it wasn't fair to punish athletes or force them to lie, when the government could just state as national policy that it wouldn't compete against Israel. Rasoul wanted high-level clarity, got none, and as a man of principle he made good on a promise to step aside. Terrible for the sport of international wrestling, but I'm hopeful that this too will get resolved and we'll see Rasoul back in the federation soon.

Yianni Diakomihalis of Cornell is pre-seeded No. 1 at 141 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The pre-seeds for the 2018 EIWA Championships at Hofstra University have been determined. Here are the weight-by-weight results. All wrestlers who received votes are shown. 125: 1. Darian Cruz, Lehigh 2. Trey Chalifoux, Army West Point 3. Gage Curry, American 4. Zack Fuentes, Drexel 5. Joe Nelson, Binghamton 6t. Noah Baughman, Cornell 6t. Nolan Hellickson, Harvard 8. Aslan Kilic, Navy 9. Matteo DeVincenzo, Princeton 10. Trey Keeley, Brown 133: 1. Austin DeSanto, Drexel 2. Scott Parker, Lehigh 3. Josh Terao, American 4. Chaz Tucker, Cornell 5. Lane Peters, Army West Point 6. Gianni Ghione, Pennsylvania 7. Cody Trybus, Navy 8. Jacob Nicholson, Binghamton 9. Hunter Kosco, Brown 10. Ryan Friedman, Harvard 11. Chris Scorese, Columbia 141: 1. Yianni Diakomilhalis, Cornell 2. Tyler Smith, Bucknell 3. Luke Karam, Lehigh 4. Nicholas Gil, Navy 5. AJ Jaffe, Harvard 6. Joe Russ, Binghamton 7. Kizhan Clarke, American 8. Austin Harry, Army West Point 9. Pat D'Arcy, Princeton 10. Brett Kulp, Franklin & Marshall 11. Julian Flores, Drexel 149: 1. Matthew Kolodzik, Princeton 2. Will Koll, Cornell 3. Cortlandt Schuyler, Lehigh 4. Jared Prince, Navy 5. Michael Sprague, American 6. Hunter Ladnier, Harvard 7. Trevor Elfvin, Drexel 8t. Jacob Macalolooy, Columbia 8t. Joe Oliva, Pennsylvania 10. Frank Garcia, Binghamton 157: 1. Mike D'Angelo, Princeton 2. Markus Scheidel, Columbia 3. Justin Staudenmayer, Brown 4. Fredy Stroker, Cornell 5t. Garett Hammond, Drexel 5t. Ian Brown, Lehigh 7. Zack Davis, Navy 8. Lucas Weiland, Army West Point 9. Eric Hong, American 10t. Joe Velliquette, Pennsylvania 10t. Paul Klee, Sacred Heart 12. Tristan Rifanburg, Binghamton 165: 1. Jon Jay Chavez, Cornell 2. May Bethea, Pennsylvania 3. Jonathan Schleifer, Princeton 4. Gordon Wolf, Lehigh 5. Drew Daniels, Navy 6. Vincent DePrez, Binghamton 7. Andrew Mendel, Army West Point 8. Ebed Jerrell, Drexel 9. DJ Hollingshead, Bucknell 10. Tyler Tarsi, Harvard 11. Jon Viruet, Brown 174: 1. Jordan Kutler, Lehigh 2. Jadaen Bernstein, Navy 3. Ben Harvey, Army West Point 4. Brandon Womack, Cornell 5. Tyrel White, Columbia 6. Josef Johnson, Harvard 7. Sage Heller, Hofstra 8. Anthony Lombardo, Binghamton 9. Austin Rose, Drexel 10. Nick Stephani, Bucknell 11. Josh Young, Franklin & Marshall 184: 1. Max Dean, Cornell 2. Ryan Preisch, Lehigh 3. Steve Schneider, Binghamton 4. Alex DeCiantis, Drexel 5. Christian LaFragola, Brown 6. Michael Coleman, Navy 7. Joe Heyob, Pennsylvania 8. Drew Phipps, Bucknell 9. Noah Stewart, Army West Point 10. Kanon Dean, Harvard 11. Kevin Parker, Princeton 197: 1. Ben Darmstadt, Cornell 2. Patrick Brucki, Princeton 3. Frank Mattiace, Pennsylvania 4. Chris Weiler, Lehigh 5. Jeric Kasunic, American 6. Stephen Loiseau, Drexel 7. Rocco Caywood, Army West Point 8. Steban Cervantes, Navy 9. Nezar Haddad, Hofstra 10. Tucker Ziegler, Brown 285: 1. Mike Hughes, Hofstra 2. Jordan Wood, Lehigh 3. Garrett Ryan, Columbia 4. Jeramy Sweany, Cornell 5. Brett Dempsey, American 6. Antonio Pelusi, Franklin & Marshall 7t. Ian Butterbrodt, Brown 7t. Christian Araneo, Princeton 9. Tyler Hall, Pennsylvania 10. Andrew Piehl, Navy 11. Robert Heald, Army West Point The coaches will meet tomorrow afternoon at Hofstra to review the pre-seeds and make adjustments. The seeds will remain preliminary until locked in at weigh-ins on Saturday morning. Eight wrestlers will be seeded in each weight class.

This weekend seven of the eight NCAA Division I conferences host their conference tournaments. These tournaments determine not only the conference champions but also who will end up at the NCAA tournament. In addition to qualification, many of the bouts will help clear up the seeding picture for the championship tournament. There are many anticipated matchups for this weekend. It is impossible to predict what matches will end up happening. However, the following is a look at the most anticipated match from each conference tournament. Big Ten: No. 1 Adam Coon (Michigan) vs. No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) at 285 For the third consecutive season, many expected Snyder to plow through the competition at heavyweight. This seemed like an extremely likely scenario until he suffered an upset against Coon in last month's dual meet. These two faced off in the Big Ten final two years ago with Snyder winning via 7-4 decision. This year's final is likely to be a rematch and a preview of the upcoming NCAA final. Bryce Meredith defeated Dean Heil in December (Photo/Troy Babbitt) Big 12: No. 1 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) vs. No. 7 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) at 141 Prior to this season, Heil had won four straight matches against Meredith. However, when the two met back in December, Meredith took home the 2-1 victory in overtime. Since then Meredith has gone undefeated, while Heil has uncharacteristically struggled at times. Of their five matches, four have been decided by two points or less. No matter what happens this match will likely be close and dramatic. EIWA: No. 6 Austin DeSanto (Drexel) vs. No. 10 Scotty Parker (Lehigh) at 133 If this match ends up happening it will be a first time bout. Parker did not wrestle in the Lehigh-Drexel dual meet. DeSanto has come in as a true freshman and gone 23-4. Since the Southern Scuffle, he has won seven straight matches with three technical falls. Parker is the returning EIWA champion at this weight, but he has been out of the lineup with injuries. This bout would be an interesting match between an experienced veteran and an energetic true freshman. MAC: No. 3 Grant Leeth (Missouri) vs. No. 4 Justin Oliver (Central Michigan) at 149 Since a tough showing at the Lindenwood Open, Leeth has moved his way up the rankings and knocked off multiple ranked wrestlers including Oliver. The two met in late January, and Leeth won a 3-1 decision. They previously wrestled during the 2015 season, and Oliver won via major decision This is one of the highest ranked potential matchups in the MAC, and it could end up having major seeding implications for the NCAA tournament. ACC: No. 1 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 3 Mike Macchiavello (North Carolina State) at 197 Haught finished his regular season with a one-point victory over Macchiavello. The season did not end for Macchiavello with that match. He returned two days later and defeated No. 4 Kollin Moore (Ohio State). Now both wrestlers are ranked in the top three and considered contenders for the NCAA title. Their first match was a tight affair, and a rematch appears to be similarly close. EWL: No. 5 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) vs. No. 6 Chad Walsh (Rider) In late January, Marsteller handed Walsh his only loss of the season. Since the loss, Walsh has gotten back on the winning track with six straight wins including a fall over No. 8 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota). Marsteller has been strong all season. He holds a 37-1 record on the season with his only loss coming against the redshirting Bryce Steiert (Northern Iowa). These two are two of the three highest ranked wrestlers in the EWL and just happen to be in the same weight class. SoCon: No. 20 Forrest Przybysz (Appalachian State) vs. Andrew Morgan (Campbell) Przybysz is one of only three ranked SoCon wrestlers. He went 20-7 on the season, and he did not lose a SoCon match. In January, he faced off against Morgan in the dual meet, and the two put on quite the show. Przybysz ended up taking the decision victory, but they combined for 24 points in the match. If these two meet again at the SoCon tournament, they could end up running up the score once again.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- (Official Brackets | Live Video Stream) Official brackets for the 2018 NAIA Wrestling National Championships have been released. Session I action inside the Jacobson Exhibition Center starts at 10 a.m. CST. The 61st event consists of four sessions, concluding Saturday with the championship finals at 7 p.m. All matches at the national championships will be stream live via Trackcast. To access that stream, click here. Additionally, the championship session will also be distributed on ESPN3 (www.watchespn.com). Official brackets were verified and approved by the NAIA-Wrestling Coaches Association Bracketing Committee Wednesday afternoon. Championship Notes • Fifty-three teams are represented at this year's national championships. • There will be 46 All-Americans in action, including three-time honorees Jake Sinkovics of Cumberlands (Ky.) (133 pounds) and Dean Broghammer of Grand View (Iowa) (285 pounds). • Five national champions from 2017 return for the 2018 event - Josh Wenger of Grand View (Iowa) (141 pounds), Grand Henderson of Grand View (165 pounds), Lawton Benna of Grand View (174 pounds), Evan Hansen of Grand View (197 pounds) and Brandon Weber of Montana State-Northern (157 pounds). • Grand View (Iowa) enters the national championship looking for a seventh-straight team title. If the Vikings are victorious, they will become only program in NAIA history to accomplish the feat and only the fourth program in collegiate wrestling history. The other programs to do so are NCAA Division I Iowa (nine-straight 1978-86), NCAA Division I Oklahoma State (seven-straight 1937-1949) and then-NCAA Division II Cal Poly (seven-straight 1968-1974). • Grand View and Missouri Valley both bring a full roster of 12 individuals to the national championships. Cumberlands, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Williams Baptist (Ark.) are next with 11 wrestlers competing. • There have been 19 programs to previously claim the team title. Former NAIA members Adams State (Colo.) and Central State (Okla.) each took home eight, which is the most in the 61-year history of the event. Of the current NAIA programs, Grand View and Montana State-Northern are tied for the lead with six each. • Former NAIA member Simon Fraser (B.C.) boasts the most individual champions with 39, while Southern Oregon is second with 36, followed by Montana State-Northern with 30. • In 2017, Grand View set a new national championship team scoring record with 234.5 points. The previous mark was 210.

Grand Junction, Colo. -- Colorado Mesa University today announced the addition of women's wrestling to its portfolio of 28 varsity teams that compete at the Division II level. The Mavericks will field an all-female team beginning fall 2018. CMU is the first university in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference to institute a varsity women's wrestling program, one of only 15 in the West and fewer than 50 who offer the program in the U.S. "We believe in the transformative power of athletics to propel women into positions of power in the future," said CMU President Tim Foster. In fact, 96 percent of women who are senior managers and executives played sports at some level during their education according to an Ernst and Young survey. "We know that the leadership skills, confidence and self-esteem gained as a student-athlete has a powerful impact on young women long after their time as student-athletes is finished. We're in this for the long-game," Foster said. The addition of a women's team marks a new era for one of CMU's longest standing sports programs. Initiated in 1939, CMU grapplers won nine conference championships from 1947 to 1988. The program was dropped in 1992, reinstated in 2006 and, in 2015, James Martinez earned CMU's first NCAA national championship. "As Mavericks, we pride ourselves on not settling for the status quo," said Kris Mort, co-athletic director and senior women's administrator at CMU. "The addition of women's wrestling enables CMU to continue to be a leader in higher education and Division II athletics," Mort said. The addition of the women's program will not affect the existing men's program. "We are and will become an even more sought-after wrestling program by diversifying our program and offering a female team that provides access and opportunities to young women that few other colleges do," said Chuck Pipher, head men's wrestling coach. "I am thrilled for this expansion of our program and the growth of popularity of a sport I dearly love," he said. A search for the inaugural head coach opened February 28.

What do college wrestlers do when they're about to trade in their singlet for a business suit and enter the world of work and careers? Finding a great professional opportunity that makes the most of your knowledge, skills and passions can be as daunting and challenging as any opponent you've faced on the mat. Now there's a new tool to help wrestlers and athletes in other sports put those skills to work for them in finding a great career position -- and help employers find top talent. It's called InXAthlete. InXAthlete was developed by two former college athletes for Lehigh University -- Max Wessell, an NCAA All-American wrestler and EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) champ, and Cody Ferraro, lacrosse player for the Mountain Hawks. Max Wessell Wasn't Wessell supposed to wrestle in the WWE? Loyal InterMat readers may remember an article at this website back in Sept. 2016, announcing that the former Lehigh heavyweight had reportedly signed a developmental deal with WWE to become a professional wrestler. "I was offered a contract but never signed," Wessell told InterMat in the conference call to discuss InXAthlete. "Instead, Cody and I formed InXAthlete while we were in college together." And so what appears to be the WWE's loss is a gain for student-athletes as well as for organizations seeking individuals with job skills gained from participating in collegiate sports. Cody Ferraro The inception of InXAthlete "I was a lacrosse player, and a former wrestler myself," said Cody Ferraro. "I blew out my wrist. That was the end of my athletic career. "It occurred to me that my athletic career helped me build skills that are appropriate for business," Ferraro continued. "I couldn't help but notice how many companies and organizations were seeking former student-athletes." "However, there was no direct link to finding all possible positions seeking ex-student-athletes," according to Ferraro. "We started InXAthlete while we were in college. It went official in October 2017." Matching student-athletes and the companies that seek to hire them InXAthlete is unique in that it seeks to match former student-athletes seeking a career beyond sports with employers actively seeking candidates who bring the benefits of a sports career to their organization. "For student-athletes, InXAthlete provides 'one-stop shopping' convenience for career opportunities for current athletes, recent grads, or those whose sports careers were in the past," said Wessell. "When an athlete signs up, you indicate the type of employment you're seeking -- full-time job, internship, whatever." "As soon as an athlete fills out the form and sets up a profile, your profile is immediately available for all employers within the system to see." "Companies can set up their search function to meet their specific needs," according to Ferraro. "You can customize search criteria to be as specific as 'seeking former wrestler with a finance degree.' Or you can simply post your job listing without any parameters." "We wanted to make sure the website and software worked seamlessly," said Wessell. "We came up with the idea, and with the guidance of mentors and software development professionals, the idea is now totally functional as InXAthlete." Max Wessell wrestled at Lehigh Providing student-athletes with competitive advantages InXAthlete is designed to serve as a tool to help student-athletes and employers make a connection ... in an efficient, effective way that understands the time constraints of both. "Forbes (business magazine) said that a typical student-athlete spends about 40 hours a week on their sports career -- practice, training, workouts, as well as games or matches," said Ferraro. "That's in addition to 40 hours each week spent on academics -- not just in-class time, but homework, research, writing papers, etc. That's like having two full-time jobs." "Every day, student-athletes are conditioned to excel in terms of goal-setting, determination, being a team player, and other attributes that most employers view as positive," Ferraro continued. "That kind of hard work -- not to mention effective time-management -- is greatly appreciated by large numbers of potential employers," said Wessell. "Many employers value student-athletes for all the hard work they've put in at college." "In the past, student-athletes didn't always have time to attend job fairs or to use other traditional ways college students use to connect with prospective employers," the former Lehigh All-American wrestler added. "However, with InXAthlete, a student-athlete goes from being at a disadvantage to gaining a distinct advantage." InXAthlete: Beautifully simple InXAthlete is designed to be simple and easy to use, for both student-athletes, and for businesses seeking student-athletes. "InXAthlete delivers simplicity in its platform that benefits time-strapped student-athletes," according to Wessell. "We wanted the sign-up process to be quick and easy. For most users, it takes only 5-10 minutes." "What's more, InXAthlete makes it easy for student-athletes to upload a 60-second profile video, allowing them to emphasize unique skills for potential employers." All these benefits are available to student-athlete users of the InXAthlete service ... at absolutely no charge. There's no upfront fee, no finder fees, no per-use charges. Organizations seeking student-athletes to fill available positions will also find a lot to like about InXAthlete. "For businesses, drop-down menus -- not word-search menus -- make it easy for employers to custom-tailor search requests to specific needs," said Wessell. "It's easy, one-step job posting." InXAthlete offers employers two options for payment: pay by job search, or with a monthly fee. InXAthlete is a unique service that is a win-win for both student-athletes, as well as for employers seeking the unique skill-sets available from those who participated in sports in college. To learn more about InXAthlete, visit their website. If you're a student-athlete or former college athlete seeking a career position or an internship, you can sign up for free here. Businesses seeking student-athletes to fill available career opportunities within their organizations can get on board with InXAthlete's online registration.

Two of the very few single class state championships in the United States are being held this weekend, as California and New Jersey conduct their state tournaments. Both states also happen to be among those that produce the most scholastic wrestling talent in the country. With that being the case, it comes as no surprise there are some absolutely stacked brackets at each competition. The New Jersey state tournament starts with a 32-man bracket in each weight class, four wrestlers qualifying from each of eight regions. The top three finishers at each region are eligible to be seeded first through 24th per a set procedure that is based on previous state tournament performance, head-to-head results, and regional finish; those who finish fourth at the regional are the bottom eight seeds. Wrestling starts at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Friday evening, and concludes with the finals on Sunday afternoon. In the Golden State, competition starts from a 40-man bracket with qualifiers allocated to each section per state athletic association guidelines. The top 16 competitors were seeded based on merit, with remaining competitors bracketed per procedures related to separating competitors from the same section, etc. Competition starts on Friday morning at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield, with the finals slated for Saturday night. Four weight classes in each of the two state tournaments feature at least three nationally ranked wrestlers. Below is an overview of those weight classes. New Jersey 106 The opening weight this year in the Garden State is most strong with four wrestlers appearing in the national rankings, all outside the top ten, as well as two other competitors that have been ranked during the course of this season. Based on the national rankings, and being the highest returning place-finisher (third last year), No. 12 Nick Kayal (Bergen Catholic) would be the favorite. However, he enters as the sixth seed. The lone "in-state" loss for Kayal this season is to No. 20 Nick Nardone (Delbarton), who is the fifth seed, though the wrestlers have split matches this season. Nardone has two additional "in-state" losses, falling to No. 16 Joey Olivieri (Hanover Park) during the regular season and Quinn Melofchik (Belvidere) in the regional semifinal. Olivieri is the top seed with all three of his losses coming to 113 pound wrestlers ranked within the top ten nationally, while fourth seeded Melofchik has lost to Olivieri in the district and regional finals. In addition, Melofchik lost to third seed Brett Ungar (Hunterdon Central) in mid-January; the lone loss for Ungar came the following to No. 15 Nick Babin (Emerson-Park Ridge) the following week. Babin, who also was a Super 32 placer prior to the season, is undefeated so far this year and the tournament's second seed. An additional key win for Ungar came in the regional final when he beat previously undefeated Dean Peterson (St. John Vianney), who entered last week nationally ranked. The other returning placer in this weight is Justin Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep), the eighth seed. He lost to Peterson in the regular season and has two post-season losses to Babin, and has missed chunks of the season with injury. One sleeper type in this weight class by seed is C.J. Composto, the eleven, though he is a Super 32 placer whose lone loss came this season came to nationally ranked 113 Dylan Cedeno. Based on seeds: Olivieri-Bierdumpfel, Melofchik-Nardone; Ungar-Kayal (Composito), Babin, Peterson Richard Figueroa defeated Jonathan Prata at the Doc Buchanan (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) California 106 The lightweights are always strong out in California, this year proving to be no exception with three nationally ranked wrestlers present across a diversity of age groups. Entering as the top seed is No. 4 Richard Figueroa (Selma). The freshman is undefeated in the state of California with his lone losses coming at the Ironman to Ohio wrestlers ranked first and seventh nationally. Also a Super 32 runner-up, Figueroa beat defending state champion Jonathan Prata (Downey) in the semifinals of the Doc Buchanan. Prata enters the tournament as the fourth seed, though he is ranked No. 9 nationally. Along with losing to Figueroa in the semifinals at Doc Buchanan, he lost the next round to Carlos Negrete (Clovis North). That result places Prata in a position where he will have to clear Figueroa in the semifinal round. Negrete enters as the third seed after placing seventh at the Ironman and fourth at the Doc Buchanan, where his two losses were to Wyatt Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.), who is not a nationally ranked wrestler. In addition to those four losses, he lost to Figueroa in the Central masters final, he lost to No. 19 Blake Fredrickson (Windsor) in the Mid-Cals final, and he has a 2-1 mark against sixth seed Ramiro Castillo (Central). Fredrickson is the second seed in this event, and was a Junior National double All-American this past summer. New Jersey 113 Five nationally ranked wrestlers in this field make it a mess of a weight class. The group is led by last year's 106 pound finalists, No. 5 Anthony Clark (Delbarton) and No. 6 Samuel Alvarez (St. Joseph Montvale). Returning state champion Clark has a pair of losses this season, those coming against national No. 1 Trevor Mastrogiovanni; while Alvarez has only one loss in a contested match this season, that coming to Julian Tagg in the 120 pound Beast of the East semifinal, after he upset Robert Howard in the quarterfinal round. Those are your top two seeds. The next two seeds are a pair of returning state medalists, No. 19 Dante Mininno (Gateway Regional) and Hunter Gutierrez (Lacey). Two-time state placer Mininno is undefeated this season, including a 6-4 win over Gutierrez three weeks ago; while Gutierrez had two additional losses during the season's opening week when competing at 120. Seeded fifth is No. 12 Dylan Cedeno (Fair Lawn), who enters the state tournament undefeated but failed to place last year at state, losing to Gutierrez by fall in the consolation match to place; those two could meet in a quarterfinal come Saturday. The other nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 15 Eddie Ventresca (Pope John Paul XXIII), a returning state placer. However, he enters the tournament seeded seventh due to last week's loss by injury default in the semifinal against Logan Mazzeo (Emerson-Park Ridge), who will be the sixth seed. Mazzeo -- a returning state qualifier in this weight class -- has five losses on the season, two to Alvarez, one to Cedeno, and two that are rather clunky. New Jersey 120 The group of lower weights this year in the Garden State is absolutely stacked, with the first three brackets having 13 nationally ranked wrestlers present in total. The quartet nationally ranked in this weight class has wrestled 140 bouts this year to the tune of just one loss, that being from No. 1 Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic) in the Beast of the East quarterfinals. On the other hand, Howard has four wins over nationally ranked opponents this year, including three against those residing in the top ten (Michael Colaiocco, Nico Aguilar, and Joey Melendez). The other three nationally ranked wrestlers have zero matches combined against returning New Jersey state medalists. Seeded first in this weight is 2016 state champion Joe Manchio (Seneca), who is ranked No. 11 nationally; Manchio lost in the quarterfinal last year to Howard, won his next match, and then defaulted down to eighth place. The second seed is returning state champion No. 10 Antonio Mininno (Gateway Regional), who beat Howard in last year's state final, but has no previous state placements. Howard is seeded third, so we could have a state finals rematch in the semifinal round; while the fourth seed is No. 16 Mitchell Polito (East Brunswick), who placed third last year at 113. The other previous place-winner in this weight class is fifth seed Richie Koehler (Christian Brothers Academy), who placed sixth in the 2015 state tournament. California 132 Nationally ranked wrestlers occupy the top three seeds in this weight class. No. 4 Jesse Vasquez (Santiago Corona) won state last year as a freshman at 113, and has been superb this "season"; he was runner-up in that brutal 132 weight class at the Super 32, beat Carson Manville in the quarters at the Ironman, and picked up a win over nationally ranked Chase Zollman to win the Battle for the Belt. Three-time state medalists No. 12 Zollman (Poway) and No. 13 Alex Felix (Gilroy) are the second and third seeds in this weight class. Zollman has state tournament finishes of seventh, third, and fifth; while Felix has finished third, fourth, and third. Zollman has the head-to-head win over Felix in the finals at the Mid-Cals, that coming by 3-2 decision in the tiebreaker. Two other returning state medalists populate this weight class, fourth seed Elijah Palacio (Edison) was eighth at state last year, while seventh seed Tyler Deen (Buchanan) finished seventh; Palacio was champion last year at the NHSCA Junior Nationals, while Deen added a Junior National freestyle All-American finish. The fifth seed in this weight is Marcos Polanco (Bishop Amat), who was one match away from placing in the 2016 state tournament, and has lost to Palacio seemingly too many times to count this season; they could meet in the quarterfinal. Seeded sixth is two-time previous state qualifier Robert Areyano (Selma), while the ninth seed is Anthony Chavez (Central), who was one match from placing at state in 2016. New Jersey 132 Even though No. 6 Nick Raimo (Hanover Park) is the clear favorite as a two-time state finalist, returning state champion, and one of the best juniors in the country -- this is an overall interesting weight class with two other nationally ranked wrestlers, another pair of wrestlers that have medaled at the state tournament before, and a closely packed challenge pack. Seeded first, Raimo is undefeated on the season with titles at the Beast of the East and Escape the Rock. The other two nationally ranked wrestlers are No. 17 Kyle Slendorn (Howell) and No. 19 Carmen Ferrante (Bergen Catholic), the second and third place finishers in the state weight class that Raimo won last year. However, the pair are projected to meet in the quarterfinal round as the third and sixth seeds. Slendorn was upset 2-1 in the regional final by Bryan Miraglia (Delran), who inherits the second seed despite not making last year's state tournament; the lone loss for Miraglia on the season came to nationally ranked 138 pound wrestler Jojo Aragona. Despite six wins over state medalists from out of state (CA/PA/OH), including one over the nationally ranked Jack Davis, Ferrante drops down to the six seed due to losses at the Beast of the East to returning state placer Lucas Revano (Camden Catholic) and state qualifier Jake Rotunda (Pope John XXIII), who are seeded fourth and fifth respectively. Revano is actually a two-time state placer, placing seventh at the Beast even with that win over Ferrante (losses to Raimo and Rotunda); Revano would avenge that loss to Rotunda the next week, while other two losses came at the Powerade (Joey Silva and splitting matches against a Pennsylvania wrestler. Two of Rotunda's three additional losses were to nationally ranked opposition at the Beast, while his remaining loss came to Patrick Glory on the same day he lost to Revano. A likely "rubber match" for the season between Revano and Rotunda looms in the quarterfinal round on Saturday. The other previous medalist in this weight is Hunter Graf (Hunterdon Central), the tenth seed and an eighth-place finisher in 2016. Another very dangerous wrestler in this weight is returning state qualifier Russell Benson (Raritan), the ninth seed as a regional champion. California 138 Four nationally ranked wrestlers populate this weight class, led by No. 4 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.). The junior, a two-time state medalist (2nd/3rd), was runner-up at the Super 32 prior to the season and runner-up at the Ironman to start the season. He is the top seed in this weight class. Seeded second is returning state fourth place finisher Lawrence Saenz (Vacaville), who is ranked No. 13 nationally, with his two losses on the season coming to nationally ranked 145 pound wrestlers. The third seed is No. 14 Matthew Olguin (Buchanan), state champion at 106 as a freshman two years ago and third at 113 last year; while returning state sixth place finisher Dawson Sihavong (Bullard), ranked No. 17 nationally, is the fourth seed. Olguin has beaten Sihavong the last two weeks for divisional and masters titles. Though Olguin missed chunks of the season, he has just one loss, and that is to the fifth seed in this event, sophomore Sonny Santiago (St. John Bosco). Santiago was runner-up at the Doc Buchanan, beating Olguin in that tournament, as well as another nationally ranked wrestler in Coltan Yapoujian. He could face an interesting round of 16 match against freshman Luka Wick (San Marino), the 12th seed; the pair split matches at the Battle for the Belt, while Santiago out-placed Wick in winning the southern section masters this past weekend. That of course presumes Wick clears returning state placer Joe Romero (Lemoore) in the round of 32. Three other returning state placers populate this weight class. Dalton Lakmann (Foothill) was seventh at state last year and is the sixth seed, Enrique Landeros (Orland) placed sixth at state two years ago and is the seventh seed, while two-time state placer Ricky Torres (Oakdale) is the ninth seed. Lakmann beat Landeros to win the northern section masters title, while Torres was the San Joaquin section runner-up to Saenz. Seeded eighth is returning state qualifier Luis Ramos (Selma), returning state quarterfinalist Ryley Boutain (Benician) is the tenth seed, two-time state qualifier Gabriel Cortez (Northview) is the eleventh seed, and the dangerous Michael Mello (Oak Ridge) is the 13th seed; Mello is a two-time state qualifier and pinned Sihavong at the Zinkin Classic in December. California 195 The three ranked wrestlers in this weight class all reside in the top ten of the national rankings, and have established a clear chasm between themselves and the rest of the statewide field. The seeds happen to go in order of the national rankings: No. 7 Colbey Harlan (Oakdale), No. 9 Tony Andrade (Gilroy), and No. 10 Ryan Reyes (Clovis West). Harlan -- last year's runner-up at 182 pounds -- enters as the clear favorite, as he is 3-0 against the two other contenders in this weight. Harlan beat Reyes in both December and January, 2-1 in the Reno TOC final and 3-1 in the Doc Buchanan final; while he beat Andrade 5-1 in the Battle for the Belt final. Andrade and Reyes were second and third respectively last year in this state tournament weight class, and have split matches during the season; Reyes winning 3-2 in the Doc Buchanan final, and Andrade winning 2-1 in the tiebreaker in the Mid-Cals final. Both wrestlers also have losses to out of state opposition; Andrade getting pinned by Jaylen Woodruff in the Doc Buchanan third place match, while Reyes lost to nationally ranked Jake Thompson in the Powerade semifinal.

Hayden Bronne of Tiffin leads NCAA Division II wrestling in falls with 15 (Photo/Tiffin Athletics) INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has released updated standings for the 2018 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the respective Division I, II and III Wrestling Championships. The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. For falls and tech falls to be counted they must come against opponents in the same division. Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time. This week's Most Dominant Wrestler award standings requires a 17-match minimum in the division to qualify. Last year's winner, Zain Retherford of Penn State, has put himself in a strong position to repeat by increasing his average to 5.57 team points per match, which leads all divisions. Penn State is in good position to bring home the trophy, regardless, as Retherford leads four Nittany Lions in the top five. Nick Becker of Wisconsin-Parkside has taken a big lead in Division II after a strong regional performance with an average of 4.95 points at 174 pounds. Pittsburgh-Johnstown 157-pounder Cody Law is second with 4.52 team points per match. Ithaca 184-pounder Jake Ashcraft maintains his lead in Division III with 5.32 points, .12 ahead of Wartburg 165-pounder Mike Ross with 5.20 points. The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. Points per match are awarded as follows. Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss) Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss) Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss) Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss) Hofstra heavyweight Mike Hughes maintains his hold on the Division I lead with 17 falls, which is one more than Retherford and two more than Penn State's Jason Nolf. In Division II, Tiffin 184-pounder Hayden Bronne has ascended to the lead with 15 falls, while Lawrence Phillips of St. Cloud State and Mason Thompson of Central Oklahoma each have 14. Division III features three wrestlers with 21 falls, led by Wesleyan (Connecticut) 197-pounder Devon Carrillo with an aggregate time of 33:19, while heavyweights Jake Evans (Waynesburg) and Isaiah Bellamy (Wesleyan (Connecticut)) are more than 10 minutes behind. Kyle Shoop has staked his claim to the award for technical falls in Division I with 12 at 141 pounds for Lock Haven, two more than NC State's Jamel Morris and North Dakota State's Cam Sykora. Nick Vandermeer of Lake Erie and Connor Craig of Wheeling Jesuit each have nine tech falls in Division II. Vandermeer has increased his significant lead in aggregate time to more than 18 minutes. Johnson & Wales (Rhode Island) 125-pounder Jay Albis has taken sole possession of first place in Division III tech falls with 16, while Messiah's Kyle Koser has 15 followed by Millikin's Bradan Birt and Messiah's Ben Swarr with 14. Awards Standings

With the regular season complete, the only thing left for the NCAA wrestling season are the conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament. The question becomes which wrestlers who finished the regular season at No. 1 will run the table and become NCAA champions? The following is a look at who is most and least likely to accomplish that feat. Zain Retherford (Photo/Juan Garcia) 1. 149: Zain Retherford (Penn State) Other Contenders: No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), No. 3 Grant Leeth (Missouri), No. 5 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern). For the past three seasons, Retherford has basically been a sure thing. He has gone undefeated over those seasons and captured a pair of NCAA titles. This season has been more of the same. He has won all 23 of his matches and scored bonus in 91 percent of those matches. He holds a 5-0 career record against No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) and majored No. 5 Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) back in November. He will clearly be the biggest favorite heading into this year's NCAA tournament. 2. 133: Seth Gross (South Dakota State) Other Contenders: No. 2 Stevan Micic (Michigan), No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State), No. 4 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) Gross finished one match short of an NCAA title last season as he lost to Cory Clark (Iowa) in the finals. This season, he has put together an undefeated 21-0 record at 133 pounds. He did bump up in weight to 141 pounds and dropped a match against No. 1 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming). He claimed a 7-1 decision over Stevan Micic (Michigan) at the NWCA All-Star Classic in November, but has not yet faced No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State). 3. 174: Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) Other Contenders: No. 2 Mark Hall (Penn State), No. 3 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) Valencia lost only one match last year. He dropped a one-point match against No. 2 Mark Hall at the NCAA tournament and ended up finishing third. This season both Valencia and Hall are officially undefeated, but Valencia did defeat Hall in an exhibition match at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Another possible contender at this weight is No. 3 Daniel Lewis (Missouri). He has gone undefeated with an 85 percent bonus rate in his first year at 174. However, he has never faced Valencia or Hall. Bo Nickal (Photo/Juan Garcia) 4. 184: Bo Nickal (Penn State) Other Contender: No. 2 Myles Martin (Ohio State) When it comes to Nickal, it is always important to mention No. 2 Myles Martin (Ohio State). The two wrestlers have one of the best rivalries in the sport. However, in their most recent match Nickal dominated and ended up winning a 10-2 major decision. If the Penn State wrestler has finally gotten over the Martin hurdle there should be no stopping him at the national tournament. 5. 157: Jason Nolf (Penn State) Other Contenders: No. 2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), No. 3 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) Without an injury, Nolf would be much higher up this list. He suffered a knee injury against No. 18 John Van Brill (Rutgers) in January and has not returned to the mat. If Nolf competes at this weekend's Big Ten tournament and looks good, he could be a lock to make his third NCAA final and pick up his second NCAA title. No. 2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) has gone undefeated this season, but historically he has struggled against Nolf. No. 3 Hayden Hidlay (NC State) is a bit of a wild card. He has gone undefeated and appears to have made strides coming off his redshirt season. 6. 165: Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) Other Contenders: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa), No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) No. 2 Alex Marinelli (Iowa) knocking off No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) allows Martinez to move back into the No. 1 spot at 165. So far this season, he has not gotten a chance to avenge his loss to Joseph in last year's NCAA final. The winner of the upcoming Big Ten Championships, should be the favorite at the NCAA tournament. However, at this point, it would be hard to bet on Martinez without seeing the rematch against Joseph. 7. 141: Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) Other Contenders: No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri), No. 3 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell), No. 4 Joey McKenna (Ohio State), No. 5 Kevin Jack (NC State), No. 7 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State), No. 8 Nick Lee (Penn State) For the last few seasons, No. 7 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) has lorded over this division. This year, he has looked extremely vulnerable and dropped four matches. Meredith started the slide for Heil with an overtime victory back in December. The Wyoming wrestler also holds wins over No. 2 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) and No. 5 Kevin Jack (NC State), but on the other hand, he dropped a match against No. 3 Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell). This ranking says less about Meredith's ability as a wrestler and more about the wide open nature of 141 pounds this season. 8. 125: Nick Suriano (Rutgers) Other Contenders: No. 2 Darian Cruz (Lehigh), No. 3 Spencer Lee (Iowa), No. 4 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) Suriano went undefeated in his sophomore season, but he has been out of action since the first weekend of February. Reports are that he was out with an illness, and he will be back at this weekend's Big Ten Championships. However, with that much of a layoff, nobody knows what to expect from the New Jersey native. While he does hold a win over No. 2 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) last season he has never faced No. 3 Spencer Lee (Iowa) or No. 4 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) in his collegiate career. If he is not at one-hundred percent, he could struggle against any of those three wrestlers. Adam Coon (Photo/David Peterson) 9. 285: Adam Coon (Michigan) Other Contender: No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) Coon did what appeared to be impossible when he defeated world and Olympic champion No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State). With the win, he moved into the No. 1 ranking. However, it is hard to not consider Snyder the favorite. While he has been virtually unbeatable at the collegiate level, he has suffered losses on the international circuit. Despite those losses, he has still turned it on and taken home championships. Coon has had a great career, but Snyder is likely still the favorite at heavyweight. 10. 197: Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) Other Contenders: No. 2 Ben Darmstadt (Cornell), No. 3 Mike Macchiavello (NC State), No. 4 Kollin Moore (Ohio State), No. 5 Willie Miklus (Missouri), No. 6 Shakur Rasheed (Penn State), No. 7 Preston Weigel (Oklahoma State) No. 4 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) held the No. 1 ranking for most of the season. However, he suffered a pair of late season losses against Anthony Cassar (Penn State) and No. 3 Mike Macchiavello (NC State) that knocked him off the perch. Haught stepped into the spot despite having been pinned by Moore at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Haught is the deserving No. 1 wrestler, but this weight is wide open. Even after the conference tournaments, it will be hard to determine a favorite.

Chance Marsteller is pre-seeded No. 1 at 165 pounds (Photo/ Tim Barnhart, LHU Athletics) EDINBORO, Pa. -- The Eastern Wrestling League today announced its pre-seeds for the upcoming EWL Championships on Saturday, March 3. Edinboro University is hosting the championships at McComb Fieldhouse. The official list of seeds and brackets for Saturday's EWL Championships will be announced on Friday night. The NCAA previously announced that the EWL has 18 qualifier allocations this year. Here are the pre-seeds as determined by the pre-seed committee. 125: 1. Sean Russell, Edinboro 2. JR Wert, Rider 3. Willy Girard, Bloomsburg 4. Luke Werner, Lock Haven 5. Ibrahim Banduka, George Mason 133: 1. Korbin Myers, Edinboro 2. Anthony Cefolo, Rider 3. Andy Schutz, Bloomsburg 4. DJ Fehlman, Lock Haven 141: 1. Brock Zacherl, Clarion 2. Tyson Dippery, Rider 3. Evan Cheek, Cleveland State 4. Kyle Shoop, Lock Haven 149: 1. Ronnie Perry, Lock Haven 2. Gary Dinmore, Rider 3. Taylor Ortz, Clarion 4. Ryan Ford, Cleveland State 5. Tejon Anthony, George Mason 157: 1. Andrew Shomers, Edinboro 2. BJ Clagon, Rider 3. Alex Klucker, Lock Haven 4. Avery Shay, Clarion 165: 1. Chance Marsteller, Lock Haven 2. Chad Walsh, Rider 3. Nate Newberry, Bloomsburg 4. Georgio Poullas, Cleveland State 174: 1. Ty Schoffstall, Edinboro 2. Dom Rigous, Clarion 3. Dean Sherry, Rider 4. Jared Siegrist, Lock Haven 184: 1. Corey Hazel, Lock Haven 2. Nick Corba, Cleveland State 3. Greg Bulsak, Clarion 4. Trevor Allard, Bloomsburg 197: 1. Ethan Laird, Rider 2. Dustin Conti, Clarion 3. Tristan Sponseller, Lock Haven 4. Dylan Reynolds, Edinboro 285: 1. Billy Miller, Edinboro 2. Thomas Haines, Lock Haven 3. Matt Voss, George Mason 4. Toby Cahill, Clarion