InterMat Staff

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- For the second time this season, the University of Wyoming (13-3, 7-2 Big 12) wrestling team won its sixth-consecutive dual after a dominating 37-3 victory at Air Force on Friday night. The win was the 100th for head coach Mark Branch, as he becomes the fourth coach in the history of Wyoming wrestling to win at least 100 duals at the helm of the program. "My confidence in this team is continuing to grow and it is certainly has been the last few duals," Branch said. "We have guys working every day, so to see Ben (Hornickle) go out there and start off the way he did was not really a surprise, but definitely a great way to get us going. With it being the 100th win as coach, it was exciting for me to be able to celebrate with this team. I'm certainly glad it happened at the end of this season and I know it's pretty special. Now we move on to the next thing, which is Big 12s. We'll have to stay healthy, clean up a few things and make adjustments with a few little details, but that is just a reminder that we need to be ready heading into the tournament." Wyoming earned its 13th dual victory of the year, which is tied for fourth most in a single season in Cowboy history. Additionally, Wyoming's .813 winning percentage is the sixth-best team-winning percentage in one season. In his first dual action of the season, sophomore Ben Hornickle put the Brown and Gold on the board almost immediately in the 149 bout. Hornickle impressively pinned Dane Robbins in just over 2:30 to give UW a 6-0 lead. It was Hornickle's fifth pin of the 2017-18 season. At 157 pounds, senior Archie Colgan was up next against Alex Mossing. It was the second time this season Colgan had faced Mossing, as Colgan earned a 3-2 decision at the Reno Tournament of Champions in December. The first period went scoreless but Colgan came alive in the second. Behind a takedown and four point nearfall, he jumped out to a 7-1 advantage to begin the final frame. Colgan made true to his No. 9 ranking and held on for an 8-3 decision for his fifth-straight win. Junior Branson Ashworth, the No. 13th ranked wrestler at 165 pounds, used a first-period takedown to jump out to a 2-0 lead against Alex Lopouchanski at 165 pounds. Ashworth tacked on another takedown late in the second to begin the final period in charge, 4-0. He would score on one more takedown, an escape and a stalling point for the 9-0 major. It was his 22nd bonus-point victory of the year. Senior Kyle Pope and Michael Billingsley gave the fans an exciting first period at 174 pounds. Both wrestlers would score a takedown and escape in the opening period. Pope broke the 3-3 tie in the second period with another escape. He would add to his lead in the third with two more takedowns before taking the bout with an 8-5 decision. After the first four matches, Wyoming had a 16-0 lead. Senior Chaz Polson picked up right where he left off from last weekend. Coming off the biggest win of his season against No. 18 Dylan Gabel of Northern Colorado, Polson made things look easy against Zen Ikehara at 184 pounds on Friday night. After a takedown and four point nearfall, Polson continued to control the entire match. The two began the third period with Polson out in front, 8-0. He cruised to a 13-0 victory to move UW's lead to 20-0 halfway through the dual. At 197 pounds, Luke Paine followed suit with a 10-1 major over Casey Jumps. The Billings, Mont., native picked up two takedowns in the first period and added another quickly in the second. Paine entered the final period with a 6-1 cushion and continued on the offensive. He would add an escape, takedown and riding time point to secure his third-straight victory. At heavyweight, junior Sam Eagan and Matt Wagner came down to the wire but Wagner held out for the 3-2 decision. At 125 pounds, sophomore Drake Foster used a first-period takedown for an early lead. He would add another plus an escape to further his lead in the second period. He held on for the 6-3 decision. His win gave UW a 27-3 lead with two bouts remaining. Redshirt freshman Montorie Bridges picked up a victory at 133 pounds after a forfeit from Air Force. Senior Bryce Meredith, No. 1 at 141 pounds, faced Alex Opal to close out the dual. Meredith and Opal each scored a takedown and an escape in the opening period. The top ranked wrestler used a takedown and four point nearfall to distance himself in the second period. Meredith held a 9-3 lead after two and went on to win with a 13-5 major. After tonight, both Bridges and Meredith will enter the Big 12 Championships with a perfect conference record. Meredith is 16-0, while Bridges has a 15-0 mark. The Pokes will next make their mark in Tulsa, Okla., for the Big 12 Championships. The event will take place from the BOK Center on March 3-4. UW Coaches with 100 Wins Everett Lantz (1936-43, '46-52, '53-65): 141-73-8 Steven Suder (1989-2008): 127-136-2 Joe Dowler (1973-87): 104-64-1 Mark Branch (2008-present): 100-49 Results: 149: Ben Hornickle fall Dane Robbins, 2:32 | UW 6, AF 0 157: Archie Colgan dec. Alex Mossing, 8-3 | UW 9, AF 0 165: Branson Ashworth major Alex Lopouchanski, 9-0 | UW 13, AF 0 174: Kyle Pope dec. Michael Billingsley, 8-5 | UW 16, AF 0 184: Chaz Polson major Zen Ikehara, 13-0 | UW 20, AF 0 197: Luke Paine major Casey Jumps, 10-1 | UW 24, AF 0 285: Matt Wagner dec. Sam Eagan, 3-2 | UW 24, AF 3 125: Drake Foster dec. Drew Romero, 6-3 | UW 27, AF 3 133: Montorie Bridges win via forfeit Air Force | UW 33, AF 3 141: Bryce Meredith major Alex Opal, 13-5 | UW 37, AF 3

MADISON, Wis. -- Wins from No. 11 Richie Lewis (165) No. 12 Nicholas Gravina (184) and John Van Brill (157), along with a pin from rookie Shane Metzler (125) propelled No. 21 Rutgers wrestling (7-7, 3-6) to a 24-12 win over No. 18 Wisconsin (7-4, 4-4) Friday night in Madison. The Scarlet Knights won seven of 10 bouts against the Badgers, as No. 20 Scott DelVecchio (133), No. 11 Eleazar DeLuca (149) and Razohnn Gross (HWT) all contributed to the final score. It marked the first win over Wisconsin in program history. "I'm super proud of these guys," said head coach Scott Goodale. "We have been battling hard all year competing against some great programs and facing some adversity. We had huge wins from John Van Brill, Nick Gravina, Richie Lewis and Shane Metzler. I feel good for our entire team staying the course, but we need to finish Sunday at Princeton." Metzler made a statement in his varsity debut for RU. Leading off the match against Johnny Jimenez and in an early 2-0 hole, Metzler landed a reversal with 2:20 remaining in the match. Metzler then got Jimenez on his back for the pin, giving Rutgers a 6-0 lead. Decisions from DelVecchio and DeLuca followed, as the Scarlet Knights sprung to a quick 12-3 lead after four bouts. DelVecchio produced two takedowns in his match with Jens Lantz for a 6-1 decision, while DeLuca worked a 6-2 result over former NCAA qualifier Cole Martin. With the commanding team lead, Van Brill contributed one of his best performances this season against No. 14 Andrew Crone. Crone landed a reversal in the closing seconds of period two to make it a 2-2 score, but Van Brill spun him around for the reversal of his own. Van Brill would tack on an escape and the riding time point for the 6-2 decision over Krone, giving Rutgers a 15-3 lead at intermission. Lewis continued the momentum for the Scarlet Knights with his bout against No. 11 Evan Wick. With just a 1-0 lead after two periods, Lewis erased Wick's riding time and road out Wick to put the point in his favor. The senior let Wick out in the closing seconds, but held on for the 2-1 decision. Lewis has now captured wins in eight of his last nine outings dating back to Midlands, which includes victories over five ranked foes. During that span, Lewis has outscored his opponents, 80-29, with three majors and a tech fall. After a tight 2-1 loss from Joseph Grello (174) to two-time NCAA qualifier Ryan Christensen, Gravina faced three-time NCAA qualifier and consensus No. 9 Ricky Robertson. With no scoring for the majority of the opening period, Gravina worked a takedown to make it a 2-1 score after one. After Robertson landed a reversal, Gravina was able to swing him around for a 4-3 lead. An escape from Gravina at the 1:10 mark in period three secured a 5-3 decision, his second win over a top-10 opponent in 2017-18. Gross closed out the match with a strong 5-3 decision over Ben Stone. After an early escape gave Gross a 3-2 lead at the start of the final period, Stone worked a shot on Gross at the 48-second mark in the period. Gross quickly fought Stone off, flipping around for two points and sending RU back to New Jersey with a 24-12 team win over Wisconsin. Rutgers closes out its dual season on Sunday with its match at Princeton at 1 p.m. Knight Notes • The win was the first over Wisconsin in program history. Rutgers is now 1-3 all-time against the Badgers. • The win also marked the 160th of Goodale's career at Rutgers. He now needs just seven more to surpass John Sacchi for the most in program history. • Gravina's 5-3 decision over No. 9 Ricky Robertson was his second top-10 victory over the season. Gravina also defeated then-No. 7 Tyler Venz of Nebraska by decision, 9-3, on Jan. 21 in Lincoln. • Lewis has now captured wins over five ranked foes since moving to 165 pounds. Lewis owns wins over No. 11 Evan Wick (Wisconsin), No. 8 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), No. 11 Isaiah White (Nebraska), No. 11 Te'Shan Campbell (Ohio State) and No. 13 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State). • DelVecchio picked up his 80th-career varsity win, which makes him tied for 32nd in program history. • Van Brill now owns wins over four ranked foes this season, which includes victories over No. 14 Andrew Krone (Wisconsin), No. 11 Luke Zilverberg (South Dakota State) and No. 19 Larry Early (Old Dominion). Van Brill also has a medical forfeit over No. 1 Jason Nolf of Penn State, which counts as a win towards his overall record. Results: 125: Shane Metzler (RU) fall (0:59) Johnny Jimenez (UW) | RU 6, WISC 0 133: No. 20/16/17 Scott DelVecchio (RU) decision Jens Lantz (UW), 6-1 | RU 9, WISC 0 141: Eli Stickley (UW) decision Michael Van Brill (RU), 3-2 | RU 9, WISC 3 149: No. 11/11/9 Eleazar DeLuca (RU) decision Cole Martin (UW), 6-2 | RU 12, WISC 3 157: John Van Brill (RU) decision No. 14/15/8 Andrew Crone (UW), 6-2 | RU 15, WISC 3 165: No. 7/5/8 Richie Lewis (RU) decision No. 11/7/10 Evan Wick (UW), 2-1 | RU 18, WISC 3 174: Joe Grello (RU) decision Ryan Christensen (UW), 2-1 | RU 18, WISC 6 184:No. 12/13/12 Nicholas Gravina (RU) decision No. 9/9/9 Ricky Robertson (UW), 5-3 | RU 21, WISC 6 197: Hunter Ritter NR/NR/18 (UW) fall (2:53) Anthony Messner (RU)| RU 21, WISC 12 HWT: Razohnn Gross (RU) decision Ben Stone (UW), 5-3 | RU 24, WISC 12

Led by technical fall victories from two-time NCAA qualifiers David Kocer and Seth Gross, the South Dakota State wrestling team closed out the dual season with a 22-12 victory over rival North Dakota State before 2,324 fans Friday night at Frost Arena. In retaining the Border Bell traveling trophy, the 12th-ranked Jackrabbits ran their dual winning streak to 14 matches in improving to 14-2 overall. SDSU also finished undefeated in Big 12 Conference duals for the first time with an 8-0 record. NDSU dropped to 7-10 overall in duals and 1-7 in the Big 12. Trailing 6-0 through two matches, Kocer put the Jackrabbits on the board with a 16-1 technical fall over Dylan Urbach in the 174-pound match. Ranked 10th and a Wagner native, Kocer scored a two-point near-fall in the first period and added four more back points after his second takedown of the match in the second period for a 10-0 lead. Martin Mueller followed with an 11-5 decision over Charley Popp to give SDSU the lead for good. Nate Rotert, ranked 11th at 197 pounds, scored on a takedown in the closing seconds to edge Cordell Eaton, 3-1, to up the Jackrabbit lead to 11-6 at the halfway mark of the dual. After NDSU drew to within 11-9 on a win at heavyweight by Dan Stibral, the Jackrabbits put together another three-match winning streak in the lower weights to seal the dual. Connor Brown came through with an 11-5 decision over Paul Bianchi at 125 pounds, while Gross lived up to his top billing at 133 pounds with a 16-0 technical fall over Cam Sykora. Gross led 6-0 after one period with a takedown and four-point near-fall, then notched another takedown and pair of four-point near-falls to win in four minutes. Henry Pohlmeyer secured the victory with a dominant 5-0 blanking of McGwire Midkiff in the 141-pound match, racking up more than four and a half minutes of riding time. NDSU got out to its early lead by winning the lone match between ranked wrestlers. Eighth-ranked Clayton Ream outlasted 13th-ranked Luke Zilverberg, 7-5, with a takedown in the second sudden-victory overtime period. Andrew Fogarty followed with a 6-3 decision over Logan Peterson at 165 pounds, but the Bison could not come up with any bonus-point victories on the night. UP NEXT Both teams will be off from competition until the Big 12 Wrestling Championship March 3-4 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Results: 157: #8 Clayton Ream (NDSU) dec. #13 Luke Zilverberg (SDSU), 7-5 [SV-2] 165: Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) dec. Logan Peterson (SDSU), 6-3 174: #10 David Kocer (SDSU) tech. fall Dylan Urbach (NDSU), 16-1 [6:13] 184: Martin Mueller dec. Charley Popp (NDSU), 11-5 197: #11 Nate Rotert (SDSU) dec. Cordell Eaton (NDSU), 3-1 285: Dan Stibral (NDSU) dec. Alex Macki (SDSU), 5-0 125: Connor Brown (SDSU) dec. Paul Bianchi (NDSU), 11-5 133: #1 Seth Gross (SDSU) tech. fall Cam Sykora (NDSU), 16-0 [4:00] 141: Henry Pohlmeyer (SDSU) dec. McGwire Midkiff (NDSU), 5-0 149: Kyle Gliva (NDSU) dec. Colten Carlson (SDSU), 7-4 NOTES * NDSU leads the all-time series, 42-21-1, although the Jackrabbits have won the last four matchups * SDSU improved to 22-3 in duals against Big 12 Conference opponents since joining the league as an affiliate member at the start of the 2015-16 season * Kocer recorded his 101st career victory to tie Mike Engels (101-14-1 record from 1971-74) for 13th place on the SDSU career victories chart * Rotert moved into a tie with Zilverberg for 18th place on the Jackrabbit career wins list with 93 * Gross improved to 21-0 in 133-pound matches this season

DEKALB, Ill. -- Seven Golden Flashes had their hands raised Friday night in Kent State's decisive 24-9 win over Northern Illinois at Victor E. Court. Sophomore Tim Rooney set the tone early with a pin in just 20 seconds to start the dual off. Rooney slipped an underhook in and put Anthony Rubino on his back with a cow-catcher. With a quick 6-0 team lead, the Flashes never trailed throughout the dual. In his final career dual meet, senior Chance Driscoll filled in for a banged up Nick Monico at 149 and claimed a 7-1 decision. In the final 20 seconds of the first period, Driscoll turned a shot into leg turk for a takedown and two near fall. "Tim got us off to a really good start," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said. "And then Chance stepped in for us like he has a few other times this season and wrestled really well. When you go on the road, it really helps when you can jump out to a lead like that and those two got us going." In an unorthodox way to win, junior Isaac Bast stayed aggressive in overtime and earned a stalling point for a 4-3 victory. Redshirt freshman Dylan Barreiro extended the team lead to 15-3 with a 6-5 decision over veteran Quinton Rosser. Barreiro wasted no time getting an opening takedown in the first five seconds and converted on another single leg shot in the first. Junior Kyle Conel (197) stayed in control throughout his match, earning a 7-2 win. Conel countered a Max Ihry shot in the first with an underhook for a takedown. A double leg shot in the second led to another takedown. "Kyle's been wrestling well and I think he's done enough now to bring an NCAA qualifying spot to the MAC tournament," Andrassy said. Reigning MAC Wrestler of the Week Stephen Suglio (285) continued his roll with an 8-3 decision over Caleb Gossett. "Stephen's key as a lighter heavyweight is conditioning and he needs to continue to out-work guys like he did tonight," Andrassy said. Junior Anthony Tutolo closed out the night with yet another match-deciding takedown in the third period. Tutolo got in on single leg shot to make the difference in a 3-2 victory. With wins in their final two duals, the Flashes finish the regular season 13-9 overall. Kent State will be among eight teams at the Mid-American Conference Championships March 3-4 at Central Michigan. Results: 141 lbs | Tim Rooney (KSU) over Anthony Rubino (NIU) Pin 0:20 149 lbs | Chance Driscoll (KSU) over Nolan Baker (NIU) Dec. 7-1 157 lbs | Caden McWhirter (NIU) over Casey Sparkman (KSU) over Dec. 7-2 165 lbs | Isaac Bast (KSU) over Andrew Scott (NIU) Dec. 4-3 SV1 174 lbs | Dylan Barreiro (KSU) over Quinton Rosser (NIU) Dec. 6-5 184 lbs | Bryce Gorman (NIU) over Shane Mast (KSU) Dec. 4-3 197 lbs | Kyle Conel (KSU) over Max Ihry (NIU) Dec. 7-2 285 lbs | Stephen Suglio (KSU) over Caleb Gossett (NIU) Dec. 8-3 125 lbs | Brock Hudkins (NIU) over Jake Ferri (KSU) Dec. 7-2 133 lbs | Anthony Tutolo (KSU) over Alijah Jeffrey (NIU) Dec. 3-2

RALEIGH, N.C. -- On NC State's Senior Night, the 2018 ACC dual championship came down a battle of ranked heavyweights. NC State's No. 19 Sr. Michael Boykin scored the bout's lone takedown 20 seconds into OT and propelled the No. 6 Wolfpack (15-1, 5-0 ACC) to a 19-15 win over No. 8 Virginia Tech (14-3, 4-1) as the Pack claimed the 2018 ACC regular season title. NC State finished undefeated in ACC dual action for the first time since 2000, and claimed the ACC dual championship for the first time since 2004. The Wolfpack also snapped Virginia Tech's 19-match ACC winning streak which dates back to the 2014 season. The dual started at 125 pounds, and No. 5 R-Jr. Sean Fausz dominated and scored five team points with a 15-0 tech fall. Fausz scored a takedown and a four-point near fall in each of the first two periods, and his takedown eight seconds into the third end the match. Virginia Tech got on the board with a hotly contested battle between a pair of top-20 foes at 133 pounds, winning 9-7. The Pack scored its second tech fall of the night at 141 pounds, as No. 2 Kevin Jack pitched another 15-0 shutout. Jack scored a takedown and four-point near fall in both the second and third periods, and a third stall call ended it in the third. The win put NC State up 10-3. No. 13 R-Sr. Beau Donahue made it two in a row, as he scored a takedown 25 seconds into the OT period and came away with a 6-4 win over No. 16 Ryan Blees. No. 3 R-Fr. Hayden Hidlay made it three straight for the Pack as he scored an 8-4 decision over two-time All-American Solomon Chishko at 157 pounds. The Pack won four of the five before the break, and held a 16-3 lead. The Hokies claimed four straight decisions at 165, 174, 184, and 197 pounds to pull within 16-15 going into the final bout. Up Next: NC State will make a quick turnaround and host No. 2 Ohio State this Sunday at 4:30 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum in the final dual of the season. Results: 125: #5 Sean Fausz (NCSU) tech fall Kyle Norstrem; 15-0 - 5-0 133: #18 Dennis Gustafson (VT) dec. #13 Tariq Wilson; 9-7 - 5-3 141: #2 Kevin Jack (NCSU) tech fall Brent Moore; 15-0 - 10-3 149: #13 Beau Donahue (NCSU) dec. #16 Ryan Blees; 6-4 (SV1) - 13-3 157: #3 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) dec. Solomon Chishko; 8-4 - 16-3 165: #4 David McFadden (VT) dec. Brian Hamann; 6-2 - 16-6 174: #15 Hunter Bolen (VT) dec. Daniel Bullard; 5-3 - 16-9 184: #8 Zack Zavatsky (VT) dec. #3 Pete Renda; 3-2 - 16-12 197: #2 Jared Haught (VT) dec. #7 Michael Macchiavello; 2-1 - 16-15 285: #19 Michael Boykin (NCSU) dec. #18 Andrew Dunn; 3-1 (SV1) - 19-15

ANNAPOLIS, Md. --The Army West Point wrestling team picked up a thrilling 18-15 victory over service-academy rival Navy in the Star Match on Saturday evening at Alumni Hall. The Black Knights close out the regular season at 3-6 overall and 2-3 in EIWA matches, while the Midshipmen dropped to 8-3 overall and 3-2 in conference duals. Additionally, Army improved to 9-6-2 in the 2017-18 Star Series presented by USAA. Trey Chalifoux opened the match with a comeback 6-5 win at 125 pounds after trailing 3-1 at the start of the third period. The Mids won the next three matches, capped by a Corey Wilding pin at 149 pounds to send the home squad to a 12-3 advantage. The Cadets had the heart of their lineup show up in a major way at that point, pulling three upsets to draw even in the dual. Sophomore Lucas Weiland, who picked up his first-career dual win last week at Bucknell, earned a 5-1 upset victory over No. 26 Zack Davis at 157 pounds to get the rally started for Army. Senior co-captain Andrew Mendel followed that with a 6-3 win over 19th-ranked Drew Daniels at 165 to set up Ben Harvey for the match of the year. Harvey entered the 174-pound bout with Army trailing by three points, 12-9. On top of that, he had never beaten Navy's Jadaen Bernstein in their first four meetings. A scoreless first period preceded a scoring frenzy in the middle frame. The two wrestlers battled to a 5-5 tie heading into the third with Bernstein starting on bottom. The senior Navy grappler escaped to take a one-point advantage, forcing Harvey to go on the offensive. The sophomore from New Palestine, Ind., did just that, picking up the match-deciding take down with 16 seconds remaining. He rode out the eighth-ranked 174-pounder in the nation to once again bring the Black Knights even in the dual. The Black Knights were forced to win the final two matches after dropping a 4-0 decision at 184 pounds as the Mids recaptured the lead, 15-12. Rocco Caywood finessed his way to a 2-1 victory in the 197-pound bout by using the ride time point to force a winner-takes-all scenario at heavyweight. Rookie Bobby Heald versus senior Austin Faunce. The two were scoreless after the first period, with Heald escaping after being on bottom in the second period and Faunce doing the same in the third. With the score at 1-1, the Star would be decided in overtime. After neither was able to manage the match-winning take down in the first sudden victory period, the Mids heavyweight started on bottom for the first tiebreaker period. Faunce nearly escaped Heald's grasp multiple times, but was never able to get out from under his grasp. With the dual on the line, Heald fought his way out and escaped with 17 seconds and waited out the oncoming attacks to send the Black Knights home with a 2-1 win in his bout. ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES Army defeated Navy in back-to-back years for the first time since winning three straight from 1960-62. It was Army's second-ever dual win at Navy and first since 1961. Head coach Kevin Ward tied LeRoy Alitz for the most victories over Navy in program history with three. Ward became the first coach in program history to win three of his first four Star Matches. In all three of Army's dual wins this season, the Black Knights have erased a deficit of nine or more. Chalifoux recorded his 10th-career dual victory tonight. The Nashville, Tenn., native improved to 3-0 all-time in matches versus Navy wrestlers. Weiland won his second career dual match and has now won eight of his last nine bouts. The Barnhart, Mo., native notched his second victory over a ranked opponent in his first-career match against Navy. Mendel documented his 15th-career dual victory with his first win over a ranked opponent this season at 165 pounds. The senior co-captain orchestrated his fifth-career win over Navy and finished his career 3-0 in Star Matches. Harvey upset No. 8 Bernstein for the first time in his career. Harvey set a new personal best with his sixth dual victory. It was his 15th win of the season and third this season over a ranked opponent. The win over Bernstein was Harvey's second over a top-10 opponent this year. Caywood improved to 3-0 in his career against Navy wrestlers. Heald picked up his first-career win over a Navy wrestler to clinch the victory for the Black Knights. Results: 125: Trey Chalifoux dec. over Aslan Kilic, 6-5 (Army leads, 3-0) 133: Cody Trybus dec. over Lane Peters, 6-2 (Tied, 3-3) 141: #17 Nicholas Gil dec. over Austin Harry, 7-3 (Navy leads, 6-3) 149: #24 Corey Wilding pinned Will Lucie at 4:33 (Navy leads, 12-3) 157: Lucas Weiland dec. over #26 Zack Davis, 5-1 (Navy leads, 12-6) 165: Andrew Mendel dec. over #19 Drew Daniels, 6-3 (Navy leads, 12-9) 174: #27 Ben Harvey dec. over #8 Jadaen Bernstein, 7-6 (Tied, 12-12) 184: #17 Michael Coleman dec. over #30 Noah Stewart, 4-0 (Navy leads, 15-12) 197: #30 Rocco Caywood dec. over Steban Cervantes, 2-1 (Tied, 15-15) 285: Bobby Heald dec. over Austin Faunce, TB-2, 2-1 (Army leads, 18-15) COACHES CORNER Head Coach Kevin Ward – "I'm so proud of all of our guys. Weiland, Mendel and Harvey were all underdogs on paper and just went out on the mat believing they should win. This team shows the power of believing in yourself and respecting your abilities against any odds." "I can't say enough about how proud I am of the team. They are fighters and they had to fight like crazy to win this one. They broke a barrier for this program and should be very proud of themselves." UP NEXT The Black Knights will compete at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships at Hofstra on March 3-4.

The University of Minnesota (10-8, 4-5 Big Ten) finished the regular season on a high note with a 32-12 victory over Rider (12-5) on the road on Friday night in Lawrenceville, N.J. at Alumni Gymnasium. The Gophers picked up four bonus point wins, which included three pins from No. 12 Mitch McKee, Brandon Krone and Dylan Anderson. No. 6 Ethan Lizak also had his third straight tech fall victory at 125-pounds. “I was impressed with the intensity from the guys today,” head coach Brandon Eggum said after the victory. “The guys did good things in all three areas today, and I think our guys continued what they have done in the past few weeks, and that is to strike first.” The Gophers struck first at 125-pounds, with Ethan Lizak taking on J.R. Wert. Lizak and Wert. Lizak and Wert ended the first period scoreless, and Wert chose neutral to begin the second. Lizak would finally strike in the second, and started to pressure Wert while on top. Lizak collected one turn in the second, and chose top in the third and would turn Wert two more times to pick up the 15-0 tech fall. After the strong start from Lizak, McKee took the mat and kept the intensity high. McKee took just moments to earn a takedown in the opening period, and would proceed to get a tight grip around Anthony Cefelo, and would pick up his team-leading eighth pin of the season in the first period, giving the Gophers an 11-0 lead after two matches. After a loss at 141-pounds, Miles Patton took the mat at 149-pounds for the third time this season. Patton would be taken down first, but hung with it, earning a quick escape and would take the lead at the end of the first with a takedown of his own. Patton opened the second with an escape, and then took a big 6-3 lead after a second takedown. Patton would go on to earning another takedown, and winning his first career dual match, 10-6. “It feels really good to get that first win out of the way,” Patton said after the dual. “I think the biggest thing is that it gives me confidence going forward and I hope to build off that and continue to score points for this team in the future.” In a huge match at 157-pounds, No. 16 Jake Short took on B.J. Clagon, an All-American back in 2015. Short ran corner in the first period to earn a 2-0 lead after Clagon's takedown attempt was denied. In the second, Short stood to his feet with Clagon clinging to his side, and eventually was called for stalling. After the stall call, Short capitalized and picked up a reversal, taking a 4-0 lead in the second. With riding time on his side, Short continued to work Clagon. He cut him loose in the third, and earned a second takedown. Clagon was then called for stalling once again, and Short went on to pick up the decision, 8-2. “I was excited to go out and wrestle against a guy who beat me last year,” Short said. “I was confident in my conditioning, and I knew that if I pushed the pace and wrestled like I know I can, I would beat him. That's what I did, and it was a great team win overall today.” After a pair of tough losses at 165 and 174-pounds, the Gophers led just 17-12 against the Broncs. It was then Brandon Krone and Dylan Anderson time. With the match scoreless midway through the first period, it appeared as if Krone would attempt to do damage on top as he has for the past few duals for the Gophers. With a scramble at the end of the first though, Krone managed to put Michale Fagg-Daves on his back, and locked him down at 2:59 for his first career pin at 184-pounds. With a 23-12 lead after eight bouts, Dylan Anderson looked to put the dual away for the Maroon and Gold. Anderson wrestled Wayne Stinson to a scoreless first portion of the first period, but Anderson saw an opening. With short time in the period, Anderson would pick up his sixth pin of the season, and his first at 197-pounds for the Gophers, sealing the victory at 29-12. With the win in hand, the Gophers looked to Rylee Streifel to end the dual on a positive note. The redshirt sophomore not only started the first period with good pace, he ended the first with good pace. He would ride out Ryan Cloud, and put riding time at over one minute after the first period. In the second, Streifel escaped, and would earn a second takedown with a minute to go in the second to take a 5-0 lead. Streifel was hit with an illegal move in the second, but in the third he kept his aggressiveness. He sealed the win with a third takedown, and gave the Gophers their third largest dual victory of the season. The Gophers will take a weekend off and try to become as healthy as possible before the Big Ten Tournament in East Lansing, Mich. on March 3-4. Be sure to stay tuned for links, updates and more about the Big Ten Tournament as it quickly approaches. You can follow the Gopher Wrestling team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram so you do not miss any postseason action. Results: 125: No. 6 Ethan Lizak tech fall J.R. Wert, 15-0 | Minnesota leads, 5-0 133: No. 11 Mitch McKee fall (2:11) Anthony Cefolo | Minnesota leads, 11-0 141: Tyson Dippery dec Ben Brancale, 6-2 | Minnesota leads, 11-3 149: Miles Patton dec. Jesse Rodgers, 10-6 | Minnesota leads, 14-3 157: No. 16 Jake Short dec B.J. Clagon, 8-2 | Minnesota leads, 17-3 165: No. 6 Chad Walsh fall (6:10) No. 7 Nick Wanzek | Minnesota leads, 17-9 174: Dean Sherry dec Chris Pfarr, 3-2 | Minnesota leads, 17-12 184: Brandon Krone fall (2:59) Michale Fagg-Daves | Minnesota leads, 23-12 197: Dylan Anderson fall (2:39) Wayne Stinson | Minnesota leads, 29-12 285: Rylee Streifel dec Ryan Cloud, 8-2 | Minnesota wins, 32-12

PITTSBURGH -- Seven Panthers earned victories en route to Pitt's dominant 28-9 win over Virginia Friday night at the Petersen Events Center. With the victory, the Panthers move to 4-10 on the season and 2-3 against ACC foes, while the Cavaliers drop to 4-10 overall and 0-5 in conference competition. Seven Pitt wrestlers recorded wins on the night in redshirt senior Ryan Solomon (285), senior Dom Forys (133), redshirt senior Nick Zanetta (141), junior Robert Lee (149), redshirt sophomore Taleb Rahmani (157), redshirt freshman Gregg Harvey (184) and redshirt sophomore Kellan Stout (197). The dual started at 285 pounds, where Solomon earned a win in his last home match for the Panthers, picking up an 8-0 major decision over Tyler Love. Solomon used two takedowns, an escape, two penalty points and a point for riding time to earn the bonus-point win. The victory gave the Panthers a 4-0 advantage to start the match. Next up was 125 pounds, where a contentious battle saw Virginia's No. 15 Louie Hayes win in a 5-1 decision over junior LJ Bentley in overtime. The two went into the second period scoreless before Hayes escaped. Bentley evened up the score in the third period with an escape of his own, sending the match into overtime. Hayes captured four points via takedown and two-point nearfall to earn the sudden victory decision. The loss brought the score to 4-3 in favor of the Panthers. Forys, ranked 11th in the nation, extended Pitt's lead to 9-3 with a dominating victory over Sam Brook. Forys earned a 22-5 technical fall over Book in just the second period. The Panthers continued their strong day in the 141 pound bout, where Zanetta earned a 3-1 decision against Virginia's Sam Martino. Martino took the first point in the match via an escape in the second period before Zanetta earned a takedown to go into the third period with a 2-1 advantage. Zanetta then earned another point off an escape from bottom in the third period to take the 3-1 decision and push the Panthers lead to 12-3. Lee continued Pitt's strong night with an 8-3 decision over Jake Keating. Lee's points in the match came from three takedowns, an escape and a riding time point. The victory increased Pitt's lead to 15-3. Next up was 157 pounds, where Rahmani pinned Virginia's Fred Green in 4:09 to give the Panthers a commanding 21-3 lead. Rahmani held a 6-2 advantage in the second period before completing the pin. The Cavaliers earned their second overtime victory of the night at 165 pounds. Andrew Atkinson took the 9-7 decision over redshirt freshman Jake Wentzel to move the score to 21-6 in Pitt's favor. Atkinson earned a takedown late in the third period to tie the score before completing another takedown in overtime for the sudden victory decision. Virginia earned its second consecutive victory at 174 pounds, after Will Schany won in a 7-2 decision over redshirt freshman Austin Bell, cutting Pitt's lead to 21-9. Harvey got the Panthers back on track after picking up an 11-3 major decision over Drew Peck, giving Pitt a 25-9 lead heading into the last match of the night. The Panthers finished the night strong at 197 pounds, where Stout earned a 6-1 decision over Virginia's Jay Aiello, giving Pitt the dominant 28-9 victory. Pitt resumes action Sunday, Feb. 18 at Lehigh. The final dual of the year is slated to begin at 2 p.m. Results: 285: Ryan Solomon (UP) major dec. Tyler Love (UVA), 8-0 – Pitt leads 4-0 125: No. 15 Louie Hayes (UVA) dec. LJ Bentley (UP), SV-1 5-1 – Pitt leads 4-3 133: No. 11 Dom Forys (UP) tech. fall Sam Book (UVA), 22-5 – Pitt leads 9-3 141: Nick Zanetta (UP) dec. Sam Martino (UVA), 3-1 – Pitt leads 12-3 149: Robert Lee (UP) dec. Jake Keating (UVA), 8-3 – Pitt leads 15-3 157: Taleb Rahmani (UP) pins Fred Green (UVA), 4:09 – Pitt leads 21-3 165: Andrew Atkinson (UVA) dec. Jake Wentzel (UP), SV-1 9-7 – Pitt leads 21-6 174: Will Schany (UVA) dec. Austin Bell (UP), 7-2 – Pitt leads 21-9 184: Gregg Harvey (UP) major dec. Drew Peck (UVA), 11-3 – Pitt leads 25-9 197: Kellan Stout (UP) dec. Jay Aiello (UVA), 6-1 – Pitt wins 28-9

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- No. 9 Lehigh kicked off the final weekend of the dual season with a 31-4 win over Oklahoma Friday night inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Mountain Hawks won nine of 10 bouts on the night, surviving several close calls in the first half of the dual before responding with five quality wins in the second half. Junior Ryan Preisch posted his first pin of the season at 184, while freshman heavyweight Jordan Wood closed the dual with a major decision win as Lehigh improves to 11-3 on the dual season. Oklahoma was wrestling its final dual of the season and sets its sights on the Big 12 Tournament after an 8-11 dual season. "In the first five we won the point battle but didn't win the fight battle," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "That's probably a little more important at this time of year, winning the fight battle. The second half guys wrestled really well, but overall, we'll need to be better on Sunday. Decisions from returning All-Americans Darian Cruz (125) and Scott Parker (133) staked the Mountain Hawks to an early 6-0 lead. Cruz struck late in the first period for a takedown and added four near fall points on a cradle to lead 6-0 against Christian Moody. A stalling point gave Cruz a 7-0 lead after two, but Moody opened the third with a surprising four point near fall off a tilt and eventually rode out the period while earning a stalling point of his own as Cruz settled for a 7-5 decision. The only points of Parker's 3-0 decision over Jacob Rubio came on a second period reversal and subsequent 1:37 ride out. Oklahoma's lone win came at 141 as Mike Longo upset 11th-ranked freshman Luke Karam with an 8-0 major decision. Longo escaped early in the second and then was awarded a takedown late in the second period off a scramble after implementation of the new "danger" rules. Longo was also able to ride out the third period, adding a four point near fall and riding time to complete the major. Junior Cortlandt Schuyler got Lehigh back on track and started a string of seven straight wins to close out the dual with an 8-7 decision over Davion Jeffries at 149. Jeffries scored the first takedown, but Schuyler responded with the next three, including a key score that beat the first period buzzer. Leading 8-4 in the third, Schuyler gave up a stalling point and a late takedown but held on for the one point victory. A 7-2 decision by junior Ian Brown over Justin Thomas at 157 put Lehigh up 12-4 at intermission. Brown scored takedowns in the first and second periods and held riding time advantage but gave up a third period takedown while bidding for a major decision. Junior Gordon Wolf opened the second half of the dual with a solid 5-1 decision over Dawaylon Barnes at 165. After a scoreless first period, Wolf scored a reversal and then a takedown in the second and added a penalty point for unnecessary roughness. "He always keeps wrestling," Santoro said of Wolf. "You never worry about him not wrestling hard. He was in control a little bit more. He didn't go near his back. He was pretty upset the last two weekends, but he made the adjustment tonight and that made the difference." The second of two bouts pitting top 20 wrestlers against one another came at 174 where fourth-ranked sophomore Jordan Kutler blanked No. 10 Yoanse Mejias 6-0. After a scoreless first period, Kutler scored an escape and takedown in the second and added an insurance takedown plus riding time in the third to secure his 19th victory of the season. "That was a battle," Santoro said. "Those two guys are really good. It was really good to see Jordan go out and get that win because Mejias is really talented. We knew that would be a tight match." Preisch made the most of his first Grace Hall appearance since November with his first period pin over Matt Waddell clinching the dual for the Brown and White. After a takedown, Preisch used a half nelson for four near fall points, then went back to the half late in the period, getting the fall at 2:54 to put Lehigh up 24-4 with two bouts remaining. "Any time he's been on the mat it's good for him to get back into it," Santoro said of Preisch. "He hit some new things tonight that he hasn't done in a while and was able to get the pin." At 197, freshman Chris Weiler edged Andrew Dixon 5-4, with Weiler scoring three escapes and a second period takedown to counter a pair of second period reversals by Dixon. Wood broke open a 4-2 match with a big third period that featured one escape, two stalling points and three takedowns to complete a 14-4 major decision over Connor Webb. The Mountain Hawks will close out the dual season on Sunday when they host Pitt on Senior Day with match time set for 2 p.m. from Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. A tickets are still available and can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com. Results: 125 - Darian Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Christian Moody (OU) 7-5 133 - Scott Parker (Lehigh) dec. Jacob Rubio (OU) 3-0 141 - Mike Longo (OU) major dec. Luke Karam (Lehigh) 8-0 149 - Cortlandt Schuyler (Lehigh) dec. Davion Jeffries (OU) 8-7 157 - Ian Brown (Lehigh) dec. Justin Thomas (OU) 7-2 165 - Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) dec. Dawaylon Barnes (OU) 5-1 174 - Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) dec. Yoanse Mejias (OU) 6-0 184 - Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) Fall Matt Waddell (OU) 2:54 197 - Chris Weiler (Lehigh) dec. Andrew Dixon (OU) 5-4 285 - Jordan Wood (Lehigh) major dec. Connor Webb (OU) 14-4

BOILING SPRINGS -- Senior Night was a success for Gardner-Webb wrestling, as the Runnin' Bulldogs rolled to a 27-12 win over Davidson to wrap up the regular season. The Runnin' Bulldogs (3-10, 3-4 SoCon) put five seniors on the mat Friday, and got pins from Philip Anderson (133) and Brett Stein (165) to kick start the team win. Christian Maroni (174) and Cole Graves (184) also picked up emotional wins, as part of a five-match stretch that put the evening on ice for the home team. After Davidson (3-10, 1-6 SoCon) took an early 6-0 lead after a forfeit at 125 pounds, Anderson evened the match by pinning Zamir Ode late in the first period. The Wildcats surged in front 12-6 after a sudden victory win by Dustin Runzo (6-4) at 141 pounds and a narrow 5-4 decision by Aidan Conroy at 149 – but Gardner-Webb had its big rally in store. Tyler Marinelli handled Tony Palumbo for a 10-4 decision at 157 to cut the lead to 12-9 and Stein dominated from the first whistle at 165 pounds to swing momentum decisively in Gardner-Webb's favor. The Woodbridge, Va., senior pinned Tien Hunter early in the second period (3:29) to give Gardner-Webb a 15-12 lead. Maroni followed with a 7-6 decision at 174 and Graves pushed through for his 11-7 decision at 184 to put the match out of reach. Freshman Anthony Perrine took a 5-2 decision at 197 pounds to push the lead to 24-12 and Lathan Bumgarner picked up a takedown in the third period – and held a healthy riding time edge to secure a 6-3 decision to cap the match. Gardner-Webb will now turn its attention to the postseason, traveling to Charleston, S.C., for the 2018 Arby's Southern Conference Wrestling Championships on Saturday, March 3 at The Citadel. Results: 125: Michael McClelland (DAV) win by forfeit 133: Philip Anderson (GWU) pinned Zamir Ode (DAV); 2:30 141: Dustin Runzo (DAV) dec. Denton Spencer (GWU); 6-4 (SV-1) 149: Aidan Conroy (DAV) dec. Joby Armenta (GWU); 5-4 157: Tyler Marinelli (GWU) dec. Tony Palumbo (DAV); 10-4 165: Brett Stein (GWU) pinned Tien Hunter (DAV); 3:29 174: Christian Maroni (GWU) dec. Noah Satterfield (DAV); 7-6 184: Cole Graves (GWU) dec. Conor Fenn (DAV); 11-7 197: Anthony Perrine (GWU) dec. Konnor Pritchard (DAV); 5-2 285: Lathan Bumgarner (GWU) dec. Will Cooley (DAV); 6-3

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell wrestling team won all the close matches early and added some bonus points late to earn a 32-6 win over No. 24 North Carolina on Friday evening at a sold-out Friedman Wrestling Center. The Big Red closed out dual season with a 13-2 record, while the Tar Heels fell to 9-11. Cornell won three one-point decisions in the first four contested bouts after the home team gained a forfeit to begin the match at 125. The early lead wasn't necessary in the end, as Cornell won seven of the nine contests and earned bonus points in the final two to earn its ninth straight win. Results: 125: Noah Baughman (C) won by forfeit 133: Chaz Tucker (C) won by decision over Zach Sherman (UNC), 4-3 141: #4 Yianni Diakomihalis (C) won by decision over #19 A.C. Headlee (UNC), 7-6 149: #8 Troy Heilmann (UNC) won by decision over Will Koll (C), 10-7 157: Fredy Stroker (C) won by decision over #15 Kennedy Monday (UNC), 4-3 165: #18 Jon Jay Chavez (C) won by major decision over Clay Lautt (UNC), 10-1 174: #16 Ethan Ramos (UNC) won by decision over Brandon Womack (C), 6-3 184: #11 Max Dean (C) won by decision over #17 Chip Ness (UNC), 8-2 197: #3 Ben Darmstadt (C) won by fall over #15 Danny Chaid (UNC), 2:31 285: Jeramy Sweany (C) won by major decision over Andrew Gunning (UNC), 14-4

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team went 1-1 as it wrapped up dual action with a tri-dual at Michigan State University Friday, Feb. 16. After coming up short, 18-12, against Clarion University, EMU (8-8, 3-4 MAC) spoiled Senior Day for MSU (6-11, 1-9 B1G) with a come-from-behind, 21-19, win. Redshirt sophomores Noah Gonser (Grand Blanc, Mich.-Grand Blanc), and Zac Carson (Akron, Ohio-Lake), and redshirt senior Gage Hutchison (Buchanan, Mich.-Buchanan) all had 2-0 days to lead Eastern, including pins from both Gonser and Carson in the MSU bout, which proved to be the difference maker in the final team score. Eastern Michigan 12, Clarion 18 Eastern Michigan began the afternoon with a tightly contested, 18-12, setback at the hands of Clarion (10-6, 4-2 EWL). EMU won four matches, as all 10 bouts resulted in decisions, including one sudden victory for CU. To start the dual, EMU dropped the 125 pounds match in a thrilling triple overtime bout. After going back-and-forth the entire match, Clarion's wrestler secured a decisive takedown in sudden victory number two. EMU answered back at 133 lbs. with Gonser. He led 2-0 after one with an early takedown. He picked up a stalling point into the third and held on in the neutral position in the third to get Eastern on the board with the 3-0 decision. Clarion retook the lead at 141 lbs. as their undefeated nationally ranked grappler won by 9-5 decision, putting it at 6-3 after three. The Eagles looked they were going to spring ahead at 149 lbs. as redshirt senior Kyle Springer (New Boston, Mich.-Davenport Assumption (Indiana)) put on another clinic, racking up the points on his way to a 16-6 lead into the third period. Clarion's wrestler battled back though, getting a bunch of near fall points in the third, to take the match, 22-17, and extend Clarion's lead to 9-3 in the dual. After a late takedown at 157 lbs. pushed Eastern Michigan's deficit to 12-3, Carson got the Eagles back on track. Using a pair of first-period takedowns and a third period escape, Carson won his fifth straight match with a 5-2 decision at 165 lbs. Clarion's lead grew to 15-6 with a back-and-forth 12-9 decision at 174 lbs, but redshirt junior Kayne MacCallum (Green Oaks, Ill.-Libertyville) bounced back with a win at 184 lbs. Fighting off shots, MacCallum made the most of his own, yielding just one escape en route to a 6-1 decision. A third-period rally by redshirt junior Derek Hillman (Woodhaven, Mich.-Woodhaven) fell short in the 197 lbs. match, putting the dual out of reach, 18-9, with the heavyweight bout to go. Redshirt senior and No. 21-ranked Gage Hutchison (Buchanan, Mich.-Buchanan) got to work quickly in the final bout, jumping out to a 7-2 lead as he overpowered Clarion true freshman Toby Cahill through the first two periods. Cahill worked for an escape in the third, but Hutchison responded with a takedown with 30 seconds remaining. Tacking on a riding point after having racked up nearly three minutes on top, Hutchison wrapped up a 10-3 decision as EMU dropped the dual, 18-12. Eastern Michigan 21, Michigan State 19 Eastern Michigan spoiled Senior Day for Michigan State, using a pair of pins to knock off the Spartans, 21-19. EMU and MSU split the bouts 5-5, but falls at 133 lbs. and 165 lbs. gave Eastern the win. Gonser picked up his second win of the day at 133 lbs. Controlling the match from the start, he turned what looked to be a decision into a pin in the third period, just his second of the season and first in dual action this year, to put EMU in front, 6-5. The win completed his dual record at 8-6 for the season. Michigan State reclaimed the lead with back-to-back decisions at 141 lbs. and 149 lbs. and a technical fall at 157 lbs., to make the score 16-6 with five bouts in the books. Eastern Michigan came out of the break with a bang as Carson registered his fourth fall of the season. After racking up near fall points, Carson flipped MSU's Austin Hiles to his back and held him for the pin at 165 lbs. The win cut Michigan State's lead to 16-12 heading into the 174 lbs. match. The win completed Carson's dual season at a sterling 12-4, as he moved to 19-10 on the season with his sixth straight victory. Redshirt sophomore Andrew McNally (Uniontown, Ohio-Lake) cut into the Spartans lead even more, using a two-point near fall in the second period to secure an 8-5 decision. McNally's 16th win of the season pulled EMU within one, 16-15, with three bouts to go. MSU regained control of the team score at 184 lbs., 19-15, but redshirt junior Derek Hillman (Woodhaven, Mich.-Woodhaven) battled at 197 lbs. to once again bring EMU within one, 19-18. Racking up riding time, Hillman took a 2-1 lead into the second period. Despite extending his lead in the second, a third-period rally by MSU's Nick May evened the score at five apiece. Ultimately, it was Hillman's early riding time that proved to be the difference, as he took the match by decision, 6-5. In the decisive match with the dual on the line, a stalling call gave Michigan State's Christian Rebottaro a 1-0 lead into the third. Beginning the final period in the down position with riding time in his favor, Hutchison escaped almost immediately to even the score at one. From there, the Buchanan, Mich. native fought off shot after shot to take the match, 2-1, and give EMU a 21-19 come-from-behind dual win. The win capped Hutchison's dual career, as he finished 17-6 (11-3) on the season, and his career dual mark at 39-21. With the dual season complete, Eastern Michigan turns its sights toward the Mid-American Conference Championships, March 3-4, in Mount Pleasant, Mich. Eastern Michigan 12, Clarion 18 125: Gavin Park (Clarion) over Tomas Gutierrez (EMU) (SV-2 8-6) 133: Noah Gonser (EMU) over Roshaun Cooley (Clarion) (Dec 3-0) 141: No. 5 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) over Sa'Derian Perry (EMU) (Dec 9-5) 149: Taylor Ortz (Clarion) over No. 29 Kyle Springer (EMU) (Dec 22-17) 157: Mac Tanner (Clarion) over J.J. Wolfe (EMU) (Dec 5-4) 165: Zac Carson (EMU) over Max Wohlabaugh (Clarion) (Dec 5-2) 174: Dom Rigous (Clarion) over Andrew McNally (EMU) (Dec 12-9) 184: Kayne MacCallum (EMU) dec. Taylor Cahill (Clarion) (Dec 6-1) 197: Dustin Conti (Clarion) over Derek Hillman (EMU) (Dec 9-5) HWT: No. 21 Gage Hutchison (EMU) over Toby Cahill (Clarion) (Dec 10-3) Eastern Michigan 21, Michigan State 19 125: No. 17 Rayvon Foley over Tomas Gutierrez (EMU) (TF 19-3) 133: Noah Gonser (EMU) over Logan Griffin (MSU) (Fall 6:45) 141: No. 23 Javier Gasca (MSU) over Sa'Derian Perry (EMU) (Dec 5-2) 149: Austin Eicher (MSU) over No. 29 Kyle Springer (EMU) (Dec 7-0) 157: Jake Tucker (MSU) over J.J. Wolfe (EMU) (TF 19-4) 165: Zac Carson (EMU) over Austin Hiles (MSU) (Fall 4:29) 174: Andrew McNally (EMU) over Logan Ritchie (MSU) (Dec 9-5) 184: Shwan Snadaia (MSU) over Kayne MacCallum (EMU) (Dec 13-8) 197: Derek Hillman (EMU) over Nick May (MSU) (Dec 6-5) HWT: No. 21 Gage Hutchison (EMU) over Christian Rebottaro (MSU) (Dec 2-1)

A popular wrestling coach originally from Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley was among the 17 individuals killed in a school shooting in southern Florida Wednesday. Chris HixonChris Hixon, mat coach and athletic director at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was among those shot and killed in the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. in Broward County just north of Miami. Hixon was confirmed dead early Thursday morning. The native of Easton, Pa. and Pleasant Valley High School alum was 49. Just last year Hixon had been named Broward County Athletic Association's athletic director of the year. Hixon was previously South Broward High's athletic director before taking over at Stoneman Douglas High School. In 2007, his stint with the Bulldogs was put on hold as he had been ordered for deployment to Iraq as a U.S. Naval Reservist. Stoneman Douglas head football coach Willis May said Hixon and assistant football coach Aaron Feis both served as school security guards. May labeled both coaches as heroes because they ran toward the scene to try to help others to safety, saying, "when something goes down, they are the first ones to rush in." Coaches and administrators from other nearby high schools offered praises for Chris Hixon. "Chris is such a great guy," Coral Springs High School athletic director Dan Jacob, who, like Hixon, is also the school's wrestling coach, told the Sun-Sentinel, a newspaper serving southern Florida. "Chris is probably the nicest guy I have ever met. He would give you the shirt off his back. He does so much. That is terrible that it would happen to anybody. It is so senseless." Allen Held, Cypress Bay wrestling coach when Hixon was AD at the school, said "Chris was a super human being. The kind of person who would do anything for anyone. "If you needed something he was the first one there. He would do anything as an athletic director to make your program better and he was a better person than athletic director. We used to talk wrestling all of the time and make fun of each other because that's what we do. To me, he was a great friend and a brother in life." Cypress Bay athletic director Scott Selvidge offered this perspective on working with Hixon: "As a younger athletic director, he always made himself available to answer my questions and help. He was well respected among his peers and always willing to go the extra mile. It is just devastating." A native of northeastern Pennsylvania, Chris Hixon last visited Easton in May 2016. He returned to his hometown to visit his dad Russ and spend time with his 92-year-old grandmother Florence. "We were up last night late," Dave Hixon told Easton Express-Times from his home on Centre Street on Easton's South Side, just one door away from his brother -- and Chris' dad -- Russ. "At 1:30 in morning, we found out he passed." Chris Hixon lived on South Ninth Street in Easton until his mid-teens, his uncle said. He went to elementary and middle school in the city before moving with his mother to Monroe County and playing sports at Pleasant Valley High School, Dave Hixon said. Chris joined the Navy after high school, Dave Hixon said. Chris then went into the Naval Reserve, and was sent to Iraq in 2007. Chris went to college after his first stint in the service and got into coaching and athletic administration in Florida, his uncle said. Although originally from the Lehigh Valley, Chris Hixon had strong roots within south Florida. Hixon's father was a wrestling coach at Boyd Anderson High School. Chris Hixon's career as an athletic director began at Blanche Ely High before going to South Broward, then Marjory Stoneman Douglas. Chris Hixon studied at Broward College, and was a member of a Roman Catholic church in Hollywood, Fla. He is survived by his wife Debra, and two children. Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old former student, is charged with killing 17 people, including Chris Hixon, on Wednesday afternoon in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a four-year public high school in the Broward County school district. Established in 1990 and named after an Everglades environmentalist, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 students. NOTE: A GoFundMe page has been set up for the Chris Hixon family.

Iran's Alireza Karimi-Machiani claimed a bronze medal at the 2015 Worlds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland -- The United World Wrestling Disciplinary Chamber this week passed down its decision regarding freestyle wrestler Alireza KARIMACHIANI and coach Hamidreza JAMSHIDI following their actions at the U23 World Championships November 23, 2017 in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The chamber found that Karimachiani, on instruction of his coach Jamshidi, willfully lost his 1/8 finals match against Alikhan ZHABRILOV (RUS). Both wrestler and coach were found to have acted in direct violation of the International Wrestling Rules (Article 15) and the UWW Disciplinary Regulations (Articles 3, 7.2, 9.2). Karimachiani is banned from competition six months from the date of infraction and eligible to compete on May 23, 2018. Coach Jamshidi is banned for two years and eligible to coach on November 23, 2019.

The American wrestling community was shocked this week when Adam Coon defeated Olympic champion and two-time world champion Kyle Snyder 3-1 during a dual meet in Ann Arbor. Much was posted about the match and what the falling of Snyder meant for the NCAA team race, the abilities of Coon and the future of weight distribution at the NCAA level. There is no doubt that after their first encounter this season it'll be Coon who is the favorite heading into Big Tens, and a win there would make him the runaway favorite in Cleveland. Snyder, for better or worse, is now the underdog. But what does Snyder's loss mean to NCAA wrestling? Overall, not that much. Fans know that giving up 65 pounds is less than ideal, but most also recognize that adding another weight class is a nonsense response to a single wrestler's two-point loss. That said, there could be some discussion about moving 197 pounds up to something like 205 pounds, which would be more in line with international freestyle weight (213 pounds) and allow some more power in the penultimate division. Either way, the only weighty issue here is Snyder ceding the tonnage in protection of his international weight. Congrats to Coon, it'll be a difficult task to best Snyder twice and an even loftier achievement to beat him three times. To your questions … Q: Almost every year there seems to be a surprise wrestler who makes the finals at NCAAs? What's your out-on-a-limb prediction for such a wrestler at the NCAA finals? -- Ryan P. Ryan Deakin battling Zain Retherford at the Keystone Classic (Photo/Juan Garcia) Foley: Ryan Deakin. Q: How can you want so much importance placed on dual meets when no team has any depth? Penn State and Iowa don't even have decent backups when someone is hurt. There are only about ten teams that actually budget for wrestling in the country. Most don't care or if they do, don't have the finances. Look at Edinboro. -- Steve M. Foley: I'm not sure how you are qualifying "decent" backups? There are plenty of wrestlers on rosters who don't get the opportunity to compete because the starter takes all the action. That doesn't mean they're incapable or non-existent. Explain to me why it would it be detrimental to have a back-up wrestle? If Nick Foles can win a Super Bowl and Jesse Whitmer an NCAA title, I feel good about the backup 157-pound wrestler from N.C. State being a gap solider for The Skip during some parallel universe where duals matter to the NCAA title. The future is duals. Tournament formats are confusing for casual fans, and even diehards struggle with tight scheduling, which also hinders promotion. Those opposed should compare the recent gates (and levels of promotion) of recent Big Ten duals against that of Midlands and Southern Scuffle. No contest. Q: Missouri will likely finish the regular season with a dual meet record of 19-0. Do you think there is any chance the Tigers would beat Penn State in a dual meet? -- Mike C. Foley: No, I don't think that they match up well. But I also think your question illustrates the larger point, which is people are interested in meaningful team competitions, not just tournament scoring. Q: One of the criticisms of NCAA wrestling is that the dual meets don't really count. In fact, other than qualifying your spot, nothing really matters. The Ohio State-Penn State dual is exciting to many of us, but it's hard to draw in new fans when the narrative is "win or lose, so what until March?" I'm not sure how to fix this, but do know that the Freestyle World Cup will be in Iowa City in a couple of months, and having followed that the past few years, this format is exciting. I realize we're not long from wrestling fighting for its life in the Olympics, but what are your thoughts on the idea of an Olympic team competition? The Olympics are two weeks long, with the wrestling competition taking place near the end of the second week. My proposal would be to move the individual competition up close to the start of the Olympics, with a team tournament in week two. Take the top 8 ranked teams going in, so three duals on successive nights. Each team's alternates are eligible to compete, giving different wrestlers rests and chances, giving coaches a chance to play around with the lineup. You could combine the men's and women's teams into one dual squad. It may never happen, but I think it would be great to tell stories and create drama, and to sell the sport to new viewers. Your thoughts? -- Brennan B. Foley: Yes. The International Olympic Committee bids out the Games with a fixed number of entries. This helps organizers budget, and the IOC then has the ability to shift that number around as they see fit. Just yesterday it was announced that some established sports were going to be asked to cut the number of qualifiers in their events to help with the addition of more events. That doesn't impact your model directly, except to say that qualification spots are tight. Assuming you could get past that hurdle the obvious fix would be to have a mixed-gender team for the Olympics. Judo is already experimenting with the format at their World Championships and finding it to be wildly successful. Wrestling may want to do the same, but has more work to do in promoting women's wrestling in more countries. As of now freestyle teams would be limited to a select number of countries competitive in both styles: USA, Japan, Russia, Turkey, India, Canada, Mongolia, China, Nigeria, Belarus and even that list is thin. The World Cup is an incredible event and one that attracts a disproportionate number of casual fans. I'm guessing that the interest comes from the easy-to-sell storylines ripped from current events and longstanding geo-political strife, which helps propel the sport into the modern narrative. I also think that it's much easier to sell the nouns Iran and Russia than it is to sell Yazdanicharati and Gazimagomedov. Simple, but it plays a role. Overall, I'm hopeful for a team format in the coming years and would lobby hard to make it happen at the World Championships or elsewhere. But keep in mind that travel is also a big consideration when calculating the feasibility of any new plan. It's inexpensive to fly a team around the country, especially when compared to flying teams around the world (and acquiring passports, etc.). Q: NCAA RPI and Coaches rankings were released (Friday Feb. 9) and there were a lot of big names missing on the RPI list (no Vincenzo Joseph, Isaiah Martinez, Alex Marinelli, Logan Massa or Richie Lewis at 165 in the RPI). I understand that in order to be on the RPI list you must have wrestled 17 matches, but if a wrestler does not get 17 matches by the Feb. 22 list (that is the basis for allocations) does the conference/weight class miss out on an automatic qualification spot for the NCAA Championships? Example: Kyle Snyder will not reach 17 matches by Feb. 22. Will the Big Ten lose out on an allocation for heavyweight? I am sure this does not happen often, but with what seems to be a trend of guys getting less matches in a season due to international competition, unforeseen injuries and resting matches during conference duals, will it play a factor in where allocations go? -- Hylnder133 Foley: The automatic bid will be missing, though in the case of Big Ten wrestlers you might assume -- with some rationale -- the spot is being absorbed by another Big Ten wrestler otherwise nestled between 34-40 in the RPI. I don't think an adjustment should be made for the international competitors, or those missing out due to injury or sitting out. The system isn't asking too much with 17 matches and those who do miss the auto-qualification should find it very easy to qualify in the allotment of their conference. Certainly, a risk should they get injured in the tournament, but of no greater significance than the risk being taken by the wrestler who competed 17-plus times in a season. Q: Do you think we will ever see an NCAA Women's Wrestling Championships? -- Gregg Y. Foley: Yes. Because progress is human nature and female wrestlers are total bad asses. The only thing holding back the NCAA is conservative thought about the role of women. With that "skirt bias" disappearing women are finally getting their chance to show wrestling fans their sport. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Directed and produced this short film on Cuban wrestling. Be sure to give it a watch! Q: After Kyle Snyder's loss to Adam Coon I have seen a lot of people commenting that there should be another weight added between 197 and heavyweight. I understand that Snyder is giving up weight, but he gave up weight the last two years. Nick Gwiazdowski, David Zabriskie and Tony Nelson all gave up weight. Light heavyweights have been winning. The only recent full heavyweight to win was Zack Rey. Guys that wrestle at 230-250 are quicker than the big boys and that's part of the excitement. Why do we need a change? -- Ryan R. Foley: We don't. Q: Does UWW, USA wrestling or the NCAA release when they do drug testing? Seems after Yarygin a certain wrestler has not looked very good and I'm sorry to say in this day and age with Lance and MLB everyone is suspect. -- Steve M. Foley: I don't know which wrestler you are referring to, but all those bodies do some sort of drug testing both at tournaments and in-home. USA Wrestling tends to catch drug infractions before they happen at the international stage, much like universities screen athletes before the NCAA Championships. You should always be a little skeptical, but I think that in wake of the recent scandals we've seen -- at least in the short term -- a cleaning out of international sport. Q: Have you ever seen this before? What happened that the dual needed to be canceled? Old Dominion 13, Ohio 6 125: Michale Mcgee (ODU) maj. dec. Trevor Giallombardo (Ohio), 16-4 133: Caleb Richardson (ODU) dec. Cameron Kelly (Ohio), 5-2 141: Alex Madrigal (ODU) dec. Mario Guillen (Ohio), 6-2 149: Kade Kowalski (Ohio) dec. Kenan Carter (ODU), 5-1 157: Larry Early (ODU) dec. Cullen Cummings (Ohio), 4-1 165: Joe Terry (Ohio) dec. over Luke Drugac (ODU), 7-6 *The dual was canceled after an injury during the 174-pound match. -- Frank S. Foley: The 174-pound wrestler went unconscious during the match and had to be resuscitated by paramedics on the mat. Officials chose to cancel the rest of the dual. Q: What are the odds Jason Nolf is done for the season due to his knee injury? Last season Cael said Nick Suriano would be competing at Big Tens and NCAAs after his ankle injury and we saw that was not the case. We seem to be getting a similar message from Cael this time around with Nolf. -- Sammy T. Foley: I couldn't make odds, but I think you are on to something. While watching Penn State's post-dual celebration following their win over Ohio State I noticed that Nolf was on crutches. He is much younger than I am and a better athlete, but at no time in my life have I gone from crutches to mat-ready in a month. Limp to 50 percent? Maybe. But in seeing his crutches I lost some hope that we will have the full, if any, of the Jason Nolf experience. Q: Hope you had less of a miserable time traveling back from Africa than I have had in the past. Got a question for you. This weekend I coached a high school team in our section tournament and was consistently frustrated by the lack of consistency in calls (stalling, out of bounds, what is control, etc.). I'm not too far removed from college wrestling, so I may be biased towards more of the black/white rules the NCAA uses. While I agree the rules aren't perfect, I do think that regardless there should be some alignment between what is considered control/out of bounds. Do you think there should be alignment with high school and college rules? Just some I think contribute to better wrestling: College out of bounds No reaction time for takedowns **Both of these just make the refs job easier. When one wrestler goes out of bounds, it's a mandatory stalling call. I understand this inserts some subjectivity, but I really had some thought about this. As a wrestler if I got called for stalling I always blamed myself and couldn't rationalize getting worked up about it. However, if I felt I was doing all the work in the match and didn't get a stalling call, I'd be frustrated. For that reason, I think stalling calls should be more prevalent. Riding time I agree can be left out. Any others you think? (4-point nearfall, dropping to leg 5 counts?) -- CP Foley: I don't get to watch a lot of high school wrestling, but it's always surprised me that the same style of wrestling would have different rule interpretations. I get that a shorter period might be in effect, but what is the point in having variable rule sets? The fact that you don't earn riding time until college stands out as one of the oddest rule changes. The reason probably stems from quality control, and the inability for many schools to provide the right equipment to track riding time. But really, that's only a guess. One suggestion to make it easier for everyone … switch to freestyle! Q: Much will be written about Adam Coon upsetting Kyle Snyder, but I want to ask your thoughts on the most important and under-reported aspect: Coon unbuckles his headgear, spins it around sideways resting on his forehead and walks around the mat to get his hand raised. I have seen guys do that for years and think it looks totally ridiculous. Not illegal, not unsportsmanlike, just a cheesy habit that bugs me. It ruined the glory of the moment. What wrestling habit like that bugs you or readers of the mailbag? -- Dave B. Foley: If I'm being honest, I have to say that these exact words came out of my mouth. Not sure why I don't like the headgear turn -- and Coon has always done it -- but I've always found it off putting. I don't "care" per se, and I don't find it unsportsmanlike, I just don't find it aesthetically pleasing. Q: In a previous mailbag, you replied, "Lord, no" when asked if Adam Coon could beat Kyle Snyder. Now that it has happened, what are your thoughts? Do you see Coon beating Snyder in March? -- Mike C. Foley: Heckle me for a wrong call and then ask me to make two more … c'mon, man! Yes, I see Snyder winning any/both rematches. SIDENOTE OF THE WEEK It was reported this week that Martin Floreani has been asked to step aside from his role as CEO of FloSports. While no details were made public, it'll be interesting to see what, if any, impact the move will have on FloWrestling.

Preston Lehmann picked up a pin at 197 pounds (Photo/Breana Orlando) MOORHEAD, Minn. -- The Minnesota State University Moorhead wrestling team finished their NSIC dual schedule with a 27-10 win over the Minot State Beavers on Thursday night at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse. The Dragons were led by junior Adam Blees and sophomore Preston Lehmann, who both won their matches via fall. Prior to the dual, the Dragons honored their lone senior Tommy Walton. A native of Fargo, N.D., Walton is 5-2 on the season, and was the lone Dragon to make the second day of the Midwest Classic back in December. Injury cut short Walton's 2017-18 campaign. The dual started at 125 pounds, where freshman Cole Jones won a 7-3 decision over Minot's Dean Arevalo. "Cole wrestled great," MSUM head coach Kris Nelson said. "He came out and set the tone, and the guys fed off that tonight." At 133 pounds, redshirt freshman Seth Hutchison won an 8-6 decision over Marco Ramirezlazos, while Zach Scott followed that up with a 10-5 win over Jered Sublet. Sophomore Joe Schumacher won his match over Tanner Crissler in overtime, 4-2 at 149. Minot picked up a win at 157 pounds when Zach Berry won a major decision over Patrick Freeman, but junior Weston Dobler came back and won a 3-2 decision at 165 pounds for MSUM.. Blees picked up six bonus points with a pin of Parker Osterman, while Preston Lehmann also won by pin at 197 pounds to help ice the dual for MSUM. This was the final home dual for the Dragons, who will next turn their attention to the Super Region 3 tournament next weekend, which is being hosted by St. Cloud State. The top four finishers in the region at each weight class will advance to the national tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Results: 125 - Cole Jones (MSUM) dec. Dean Arevalo, 7-3 133 - Seth Hutchison (MSUM) dec. Marco Ramirezlazos, 8-6 141 - Zach Scott (MSUM) dec. Jered Sublet, 10-5 149 - Joseph Schumacher (MSUM) dec. Tanner Crissler, 4-2 (TB-1) 157 - Zach Berry (MINOT) maj. dec. Patrick Freeman,10-2 165 - Weston Dobler (MSUM) dec. Carlos Toledano, 3-2 174 - Adam Blees (MSUM) fall Parker Osterman, 6:45 184 - Keegan Berry (MINOT) dec. Mitchell Kotschevar, 8-2 197 - Preston Lehmann (MSUM) fall Briley Crissler, 4:33 285 - Mitchell Eull (MINOT) dec. Jordan Magnuson, 4-1

FloSports founder and CEO Martin Floreani is reportedly "stepping away" from the company, a professional wrestling website reported this week. The pro wrestling website PWTorch.com stated that it had learned from multiple sources that FloSports employees were told that Floreani would no longer be at the helm of the media company which counts among its holdings FloWrestling (which covers amateur wrestling) and FloSlam, with a focus on professional wrestling. PWTorch.com also went on to claim that it had been told Floreani "was ultimately forced out of the company." PWTorch.com went on to offer a possible explanation as to why Floreani had stepped away from the media company he had established a dozen years ago, citing a lawsuit between FloSports and World Wrestling Network (WWN), a professional wrestling governing body and streaming and video-on-demand service. "Floreani was heavily involved in the lawsuit between WWN and FloSports over the PPV (pay per view) buyrate data that FloSlam was given on a spreadsheet by WWN owner Sal Hamoui before they struck a deal to air all WWN content in October of 2016," PWTorch.com reported this week. FloSports alleges that WWN was sent fraudulent business records that increased their chances of striking a deal with the company, according to Fightful.com. The author of the PWTorch.com news story, olumnist Sean Radican, wrote, "Nearly everyone involved with FloSlam has been let go from FloSports, which is crazy to think about given the promise the platform seemed to have in 2016 with WWN being potentially surrounded by major companies like NJPW, ROH, and PWG." "It will be interesting to see if the FloSports strategy in handing their lawsuit against WWN changes course with Floreani out of the picture," Radican continued. "He was a hands-on CEO who was intimately involved in the lawsuit." As PWTorch.com and Fightful.com both point out, since the split between FloSports and WWN, FloSlam has been largely inactive, with no content presented in months, and most of the staff laid off. The FloSlam website was last updated in late November 2017. FloSports was launched by brothers Martin and Mark Floreani in May 2006. As Inc. Magazine told the story in 2017, the brothers set to establish a website that would cover the sports each participated in - wrestling for Martin, running for Mark - "with the same obsessive detail and drama that ESPN bestows on the NFL and NBA." INC went on to describe FloSports as "one of the most surprising successes in the rapidly shifting sports-media landscape" with more than 250 employees working for the company which offers 25 Web video channels, including FloWrestling. "Industry giant ESPN is bleeding subscribers at an alarming rate (reportedly averaging more than 300,000 per month); FloSports' subscriptions (which currently cost $150 annually) doubled in the past year, and it's currently adding 30,000 subscribers each month. Its backers include Bertelsmann, Discovery Communications, and World Wrestling Entertainment."

St. Cloud, Minn. -- The No. 1 ranked St. Cloud State University wrestling team (19-0, 9-0 NSIC) celebrated Senior Day with a 34-3 win over visiting Augustana (11-4, 6-2 NSIC) on Thursday, Feb. 15 at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, Minn. The win gave SCSU its seventh NSIC Wrestling Conference Championship. St. Cloud opened the match with four straight decisions by No. 5 Brett Velasquez over Brandon Carroll at 125, Adam Hedin over Brayden Curry at 133, No. 3 Jarred Oftedahl over Keaten Schorr at 141 and No. 1 James Pleski over Oscar Ramirez-Hernandez Jr. at 149 to go up 12-0. The lead increased to 18-0 as No. 1 Larry Bomstad earned a 6-0 win over Bailey Neises at 157 as injury caused the Augustana wrestler to not be able to continue. SCSU's No. 6 Travis Holt then picked up a 13-1 major decision over Regan Bye at 165 to increase the margin to 22-0. At 174, No. 3 Kolton Eischens earned a thrilling 4-3 decision over Lukas Poloncic to push the lead to 25-0. Augustana's lone points of the night came next with No. 7 Aero Amo picking up an 11-7 decision over Tyree Overton at 184 to put the score at 25-3. At 197, No. 6 Vince Dietz earned a 7-2 decision over Clayton Wahlstrom to increase the margin to 28-3. In the last match of the evening at 285, No. 10 Lawrence Phillips recorded a fall over Luke Nohns to make the final score 34-3. St. Cloud State's wrestling program next hosts the NCAA DII Super 3 Region from Feb. 23-24 at Halenbeck Hall. Results: 125 - #5 Brett Velasquez (SCS) (22-2) Over Brandon Carroll (AU) (Dec. 5-2) 133 - Adam Hedin (SCS) (15-6) (SCS) Over Brayden Curry (AU) (Dec. 7-5) 141 - #3 Jarred Oftedahl (SCS) (24-2) Over Keaten Schorr (AU) (Dec. 4-1) 149 - #1 James Pleski (SCS) (22-1) Over Oscar Ramirez (AU) (Dec. 8-2) 157 - #1 Larry Bomstad (SCS) (22-2) Over Bailey Neises (AU) (6-0 Inj. 0:16) 165 - #6 Travis Holt (SCS) (21-3) Over Regan Bye (AU) (MD 13-1) 174 - #3 Kolten Eischens (SCS) (26-3) Over Lukas Poloncic (AU) (Dec. 4-3) 184 - #7 Aero Amo (AU) (9-2) Over Tyree Overton (SCS) (10-6) (Dec. 11-7) 197 - #6 Vince Dietz (SCS) (27-2) Over Clayton Wahlstrom (AU) (Dec. 7-2) 285 - #10 Lawrence Phillips (SCS) (25-4) Over Luke Nohns (AU) (TF 0:00)

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Binghamton wrestling team (12-5, 6-1 EIWA) is heading home with a 22-14 win over the Buffalo Bulls to finish out its regular season. The Bearcats won six out of ten bouts in the victory, which featured bonus point wins by No. 28 Vincent DePrez and Anthony Lombardo to help seal the deal. "This was a great way to end our regular season," head coach Kyle Borshoff said. "We're carrying a lot of momentum right now heading into the postseason which will really help us in the EIWA tournament. I'm really proud with the way the guys have wrestled over the past few months; we're wrestling hard and we're winning those really tough matches. At the end of the day, if we can keep winning those close matches and taking bonus point victories when we can at the EIWA's and nationals, we're going to go a long way in the postseason." Holding a tight 9-6 lead over the Bulls after the first five bouts, the pounding began as No. 28 DePrez earned his fourth bonus point win in the past five matches. At 165 pounds, DePrez took shot, after shot at Noah Grover, taking a 12-1 lead after the first period. Hitting hard and fast, DePrez walked away with a 17-2 tech (4:37) to earn his sixth consecutive win, moving to 23-8 overall on the season. With an eight point cushion (14-6) heading into 174 pounds, Lombardo took the mat with the same assertive presence. The redshirt junior finished the first period with six near fall and two takedowns over Derek Holcomb, fueling an 18-2 tech (5:43). Back to back bonus point victories pushed the Bearcats to a 19-6 lead with only three bouts to go. At 125 pounds, No. 23 Joe Nelson had an impressive showing, taking an 8-5 decision over nationally ranked Kyle Akins. Akins, sitting at No. 16 in the latest RPI rankings, led Nelson 5-4 through the second period. Nelson continued to fight, earning an escape and a takedown in the third en route to his victory. At 149 pounds, Frankie Garcia secured his fourth straight victory with a 2-1 decision over Nicholas Palumbo. Trailing Palumbo 1-0 through the first, Garcia started up for the second. Palumbo desperately trying to escape, Garcia racked up over two minutes of ride time in the second period as he rode him out into the third. Garcia earned his go ahead point with an escape in the third, combined with ride time to get his hand raised. Tristan Rifanburg won a close match at 157 pounds, breaking the stand still with an escape in the second period. Holding a 1-0 lead over Eric Fasnacht, Rifanburg earned two points for stall calls in his favor securing a 3-0 decision. Fittingly enough, the Bearcats final win of the day came from No. 13 Steven Schneider, who took the mat in a dual match for the last time in his collegiate career. Schneider worked fast, earning two takedowns and an escape on his way to an 8-6 victory over Brett Perry. The senior got his hand raised for his 12th straight win, finishing with a 12-1 dual record and advancing to 16-4 overall. Up next, the Bearcats get ready to roll into postseason competition at the EIWA tournament which will be held at Hofstra on Saturday, March 3 and Sunday, March 4. Results: 125 – Joe Nelson (BU) won by decision over Kyle Akins (UB), 8-5 133 – #15 Bryan Lantry (UB) won by decision over Jacob Nicholson (BU), 4-3 141 – Jason Estevez (UB) won by decision over Joe Russ (BU), 9-3 149 – Frankie Garcia (BU) won by decision over Nick Palumbo (UB), 2-1 157 – Tristan Rifanburg (BU) won by decision over Eric Fasnacht (UB), 3-0 165 - Vincent DePrez (BU) won by technical fall over Noah Grover (UB), 17-2 (4:37) 174 – Anthony Lombardo (BU) won by technical fall over Derek Holcomb (UB), 18-2 (5:43) 184 - #13 Steve Schneider (BU) won by decision over Brett Perry (UB), 8-6 197 – Joe Ariola (UB) won by major decision over Alex Melikian (BU), 16-5 285 – #20 Jake Gunning (UB) won by major decision over Sean Dee (BU), 17-7

The Basics • Score: Johns Hopkins-24, Elizabethtown-21 • Records: Johns Hopkins (8-3), Elizabethtown (6-6) • Location: Elizabethtown, PA (Thompson Gymnasium) • The Short Story: In the Battle of the Blue Jays, it was the visiting Johns Hopkins wrestling team topping home-standing Elizabethtown, 24-21, as JHU used three victories by fall to fuel a win in the final dual meet of the season for both teams. Vallis, Reyes, Gilliam Score Wins by Fall Senior Christian Vallis (125), freshman Dominick Reyes (157) and junior Miles Gilliam (174) all picked up wins by fall to provide three of JHU's five wins and 18 of the team's 24 team points in the victory. Vallis opened the match with a second-period pin of Austin Jones to give JHU an early 6-0 lead with a fall in 4:35. The match was tied at 9-9 when Reyes stepped on the mat at 157. He needed nine seconds less than Vallis to give JHU its second win by fall as he decked Chad Rosenbergr in 4:26 to give JHU a 15-9 lead. The pin was Reyes' team-high 11th of the season. After Etown had pulled within 15-13 with a win by major decision at 165, it was Gilliam scoring his ninth fall of the season with a pin of Dan Jerrems in 2:42 at 174 to push the lead out to 21-13. Morales, Cavallo Continue Winning Ways While the three wins by fall were crucial to Johns Hopkins winning the match, it was a pair of decisions that added six additional points in the narrow victory. Junior Ricky Cavallo methodically knocked off Josh McLaughlin at 133, 7-1, and Morales added Hopkins' final win of the night, a 5-4 decision over Quinn Ruble at 184, to secure what proved to be the decisive points. Streaking The win for Morales was his 15th in a row and improves his record this season to 33-9. His 15-match winning streak is the longest by a Johns Hopkins wrestler since Paul Bewak won 22 in a row during the 2013-14 season. What it Means • Johns Hopkins finishes the dual-meet portion of the season with a record of 8-3. The team's .727 winning percentage this season is the highest for a JHU wrestling team since 1968-69, when the Blue Jays also finished 8-3. Inside the Box Score • The pin for Vallis is the 19th bonus-point victory of his career. • Morales is now just three wins shy of Paul Bewak's JHU single-season record for wins in a season (36 / 2013-14). Up Next • The Blue Jays will return to action on February 23-24 when they compete in the NCAA East Regional Championships. Results: 125 - Christian Vallis (JHU) pinned Austin Jones (EC), 4:35 133 - #NR/CT Ricky Cavallo (JHU) dec. Josh McLaughlin (EC), 7-1 141 - #5/6 Joe Ghione (EC) pinned Lucas Escobar (JHU), 4:50 149 - Dan Smith (EC) dec. Connor Joyce (JHU), 9-7 (SV1) 157 - #NR/HM Dominick Reyes (JHU) pinned Chad Rosenberger (EC), 4:26 165 - Chris Kummerer (EC) maj. dec. Nathan Wertheimer (JHU), 9-1 174 - Miles Gilliam (JHU) pinned Dan Jerrems (EC), 2:42 184 - #NR/HM Isaac Morales (JHU) dec. Quinn Ruble (EC), 5-4 197 - Rocco Hladney (EC) tech fall Karl Tayeb (JHU), 22-6 (6:03) 285 - Eric Eckstein (EC) dec. Henri Behaeghel (JHU), 4-2 EXHIBITION 165 Dane Morgan (JHU) pinned Eli Perry (EC), 6:12

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Falls by Jeric Kasunic, Brett Dempsey and Kizhan Clarke were part of five bonus-point victories and nine wins overall, as American University earned a 38-3 victory at George Mason in a dual wrestling match on Thursday. The win lifted the Eagles to a 7-6 record overall, while the Patriots fell to 3-13. Kasunic, an Eagle senior who is ranked 10th in the nation, pinned Eli Spencer in 2:23. He earned the 96th win of his career, as he is on track to become only the eighth AU wrestler to earn 100 victories. His 37th career pin ranks second all-time at AU. Kasunic improved to 29-3 on the season and 12-0 in dual matches. Dempsey, ranked 26th at heavyweight, won his seventh straight match by pinning Devin Rolon in 2:20. He dominated the first period, amassing a 14-4 lead at the time of his third pin of the season. At 141, Clarke rolled to a 14-2 lead in the first period and needed just 38 seconds in the second to pin Trevor Mello. It was his second fall of the season and was the eighth victory in his last 10 bouts. "We were very happy with the total team effort tonight," said AU head coach Teague Moore. "We got dominant performances from Kasunic, Dempsey, Josh Terao, Clarke and Eric Hong. We also had great wins by Anthony Wokasch, Michael Eckhart, Conner Allshouse and Gage Curry. Even Elijah Murphy, in his second start, gave a great fight. "We will enjoy the win tonight but must refocus tomorrow for a tough Ohio dual at home on Saturday. We need to take our seniors out with a great victory." Thursday's dual started at 165 pounds, with redshirt freshman Wokasch taking a 4-2 win over Garrett Griffith. Wokasch earned his second dual-match victory by taking a 3-2 lead into the third period, earning an escape and holding on for the win. Eckhart held 2-1 and 4-2 leads after the first two periods at 174, scoring an escape and riding-time point to take a 6-2 win over Levko Higgins. Redshirt freshman Allshouse also got his second dual-match win of the season at 184, scoring all three of his points in the final period to take a 3-2 victory. Curry earned a 5-2 lead over Ibrahim Bundika and held on for a 6-4 win at 125 pounds before Terao, ranked 9th, scored 16 points in the opening period at 133 on his way to an 18-2 (3:09) tech fall over Talha Farooq. The Patriots' lone victory came at 149 pounds, with Justin Yorkdale winning 6-0 over Murphy, a redshirt freshman who was wrestling only the second dual of his collegiate career. Hong finished the night with an 11-2 major decision at 157, extending a 5-1 lead with a six-point third period. American has its final dual match of the season at home on Saturday night when it hosts Ohio University at 7 p.m. The Eagles will honor Kasunic, Dempsey and Eckhart in Senior Night festivities before the match. Tickets for all AU wrestling home duals can be purchased online by clicking here. Results: 165 - Anthony Wokasch (AMER) over Garrett Griffith (GEMA) (Dec 4-2) 174 - Michael Eckhart (AMER) over Levko Higgins (GEMA) (Dec 6-2) 184 - Connor Allshouse (AMER) over Austin Harrison (GEMA) (Dec 3-2) 197 - Jeric Kasunic (AMER) over Eli Spencer (GEMA) (Fall 2:23) 285 - Brett Dempsey (AMER) over Devin Rolon (GEMA) (Fall 2:20) 125 - Gage Curry (AMER) over Ibrahim Bunduka (GEMA) (Dec 6-4) 133 - Josh Terao (AMER) over Talha Farooq (GEMA) (TF 18-2 3:09) 141 - Kizhan Clarke (AMER) over Trevor Mello (GEMA) (Fall 3:38) 149 - Justin Yorkdale (GEMA) over Elijah Murphy (AMER) (Dec 6-0) 157 - Eric Hong (AMER) over Ryan Yorkdale (GEMA) (MD 11-2)

EDINBORO, Pa. -- The Edinboro wrestling team honored eight seniors prior to this evening's match with West Virginia at McComb Fieldhouse, then went out and handed the Mountaineers a 21-15 defeat. With the win Edinboro improved to 7-5, while West Virginia, now members of the Big 12, fell to 5-7. The Fighting Scots have won five of the last six meetings with the Mountaineers. The Fighting Scots wrap up the regular season on Saturday, February 17, wrestling at Cleveland State. Edinboro looks for a share of the EWL regular season crown with a win over the Vikings. Edinboro is 4-1 in EWL action while Rider finished at 5-1. Sean Russell won a 6-4 decision in sudden victory at 125 lbs., career win number 90. Eight seniors were honored prior to the match: Terrence Cheeks, Jensen Lorea, Austin Matthews, Tony Recco, Ty Schoffstall, Gordon Truesdale, Zaal Zafari, and Sam Ziff. The first match of the evening pitted a pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers at 125 lbs., as tenth-ranked Sean Russell squared off with Zeke Moisey, ranked 14th. A spirited first period saw the two exchange takedowns and escapes for a 3-3 tie. The lone scoring in the second period was a Moisey escape. Russell would knot the match at 4-4 with an escape, and the two headed into sudden victory tied at 4-4. Russell would claim the 6-4 decision with a takedown with 27 seconds remaining. He improved to 25-5 and now has 90 career wins, while Moisey fell to 19-8. Korbin Myers followed with a 6-0 decision at 133 lbs. over Matthew Schmitt. Ranked 17th, Myers entered the third period with a 1-0 lead thanks to a second-period escape. The redshirt sophomore added four near-fall points early in the third period and would ride Schmitt the entire period. Myers is now 23-9 while Schmitt dropped to 17-10. West Virginia would knot the match at 6-6 with wins at 141 and 149 lbs. Nate Hagan (10-17) battled Christian Monserrat (16-13) at 141 lbs., ultimately losing 2-1 thanks to riding time. WVU's Tyler Rea (13-11) followed with a 4-1 decision over Jensen Lorea, one of the eight seniors honored before the match. Lorea is now 4-11. Senior Ty Schoffstall celebrated Senior Night with a 12-4 major decision. Edinboro ran off wins in the next three bouts to take a seemingly safe 18-6 lead. Andrew Shomers got things going with a dominating performance at 157 lbs. After an early takedown, he turned Hunter Jones (10-13) three times, each for four points, for a 14-0 lead after one period. He finished the technical fall with a takedown 26 seconds into the second period for the 16-0 technical fall. Ranked 20th by FloWrestling, Shomers improved to 26-5. Fritz Hoehn boosted his season ledger to 13-12 with a 6-4 decision over Nick Kiussis at 165 lbs. Hoehn used takedowns in each of the first two periods for a 4-2 advantage. An escape to start the third made it 5-2, but Kiussis closed to 5-4 with a takedown with 40 seconds remaining. A Hoehan escape provided the final margin. Redshirt senior Ty Schoffstall thrilled the senior night crowd with a 12-4 decision at 174 lbs. over WVU's Parker VonEgidy. He led 5-1 after two periods thanks to a pair of takedowns, then registered three more in the final period. He is 18-2 on the year, while VonEgidy dropped to 13-11. The match would get interesting as West Virginia picked up wins at 184 and 197 lbs. In an all freshmen matchup, Brenden McRill (9-13) handed Zach Ancewicz (10-13) a 5-0 defeat at 184 lbs. Jacob A. Smith was awarded a forfeit win at 197 lbs., and suddenly Edinboro's lead was just 18-15. It was Miller time for the Fighting Scots! Billy Miller claimed career win number 75 with a 4-0 decision over Brandon Ngati (3-18) at heavyweight. Ranked 14th, Miller got off to a sluggish start with a scoreless first period. An escape and takedown with eight seconds left in the period gave the redshirt junior a 3-0 advantage, and he added a point for riding time as he rode Ngati the entire third period. Miller improved to 14-4 with the victory. Results: 125 - #10 Sean Russell (EU) dec. #14 Zeke Moisey (WVU), 6-4 sv 133 - #17 Korbin Myers (EU) dec. Matthew Schmitt (WVU), 6-0 141 - Christian Monserrat (WVU) dec. Nate Hagan (EU), 2-1 149 - Kyler Rea (WVU) dec. Jensen Lorea (EU), 4-1 157 - Andrew Shomers (EU) tech. fall Hunter Jones (WVU), 16-0 (3:26) 165 - Fritz Hoehn (EU) dec. Nick Kiussis (WVU), 6-4 174 - Ty Schoffstall (EU) maj. dec. Parker VonEgidy (WVU), 12-4 184 - Brenden McRill (WVU) dec. Zach Ancewicz (EU), 5-0 197 - Jacob A. Smith (WVU) won by forfeit Hwt - # 14 Billy Miller (EU) dec. Brandon Ngati (WVU), 4-0

DANVILLE, Va. -- The Averett University wrestling team defeated Washington and Lee University on Thursday night, 27-19. Averett (2-7) jumped out to an early 18-0 lead in the dual, receiving three forfeits at 125, 133 and 141 pounds. Washington and Lee (9-6) would get on the board in the next bout as freshman William Merritt dropped his bout at 149 pounds, 11-4, to bring the team score line to 18-3. Freshman Caleb Harmon won his match at 157 pounds over William Medick, 6-4. Medick scored an early takedown in the first period to grab the lead, but Harmon was able to get a reversal before the end of the period to tie the bout at two. Another reversal in the second period and a takedown in the third proved to be enough as the Chatham, Virginia native held on for the 6-4 decision. Washington and Lee went on to win the next four bouts, collecting two decisions, a major decision and a fall to cut Averett's team score advantage to 21-19. A forfeit at 285 pounds propelled the Cougars to 27 team points where the dual would end with Averett ahead, 27-19. Averett is back in action on Friday, Feb. 23, as the Cougars head to Ferrum, Virginia to compete for their spots in the national tournament at the NCAA Southeast Regional. Results: 125 – Samuel Braswell (AU) won by forfeit [6-0] 133 – Brandon Woody (AU) won by forfeit [12-0] 141 – Joshua Linkous (AU) won by forfeit [18-0] 149 – Michael Dik (W&L) d. William Merritt (AU); 11-4 [18-3] 157 – Caleb Harmon (AU) d. William Medick (W&L); 6-4 [21-3] 165 – Andrew Taylor (W&L) d. Jake Phelps (AU); 9-0 [21-7] 174 – Patrick Hofstedt (W&L) d. Corbin Ryder (AU); 5-4 [21-10] 184 – Colby Boudreau (W&L) d. Triston Kechter (AU); Fall 6:42 [21-16] 197 – William Kuenne (W&L) d. Seth Wilson (AU); 10-3 [21-19] 285 – Dia Gray (AU) won by forfeit [27-19]

Luther wrapped up its dual meet schedule with a 50-4 victory over St. Olaf College tonight in the Regents Center. The win gives Luther a dual meet record of 10-7. The Oles were open at 125, 141, 165 and 285. Gilbert Valadez (149), Izzac Suarez (157) and Austin Hansen (184) all won by fall. Kyle Clough (133) posted a tech fall (17-1, 5:17) and Hunter Weaver (197) won by decision (11-6). Luther returns to action on Feb. 24-25 when it will travel to Dubuque, Iowa for the NCAA III Lower Midwest Regional. The two-day tournament will be held at the Five Flags Center. Results: 125 Connor Murphy (LC) (WB Forfeit) 6 - 133 Kyle Clough (LC) over Luke Wallace (SO) (TF 17-1, 5:17) 5 - 141 Tyler Menegay (LC) (WB Forfeit) 6 - 149 Gilbert Valadez (LC) over Charles Gieser (SO) (Fall 4:36) 6 - 157 Izzac Suarez (LC) over William Collins (SO) (Fall 5:36) 6 - 165 Billy Poray (LC) (WB Forfeit) 6 - 174 Frankie Lee (SO) over Chris Barrett (LC) (MD 12-4) - 4 184 Austin Hansen (LC) over Benjamin Keillor (SO) (Fall 1:35) 6 - 197 Hunter Weaver (LC) over Sebastian Hyta (SO) (Dec. 11-6) 3 - 285 Keenan Feldpausch (LC) (WB Forfeit) 6 -

LANCASTER, Pa. -- With convincing wins in the final two bouts, Franklin & Marshall's wrestling team retained the Rupp Cup for the eighth consecutive season with a strong 24-15 win over Millersville on Thursday evening in the Mayser Center gym. The Diplomats improved to 3-11 with their second straight dual win while the Marauders evened their season record at 7-7. A flurry of action at 125 opened with match with F&M's Edgar Garcia and Millersville's Connor Sheehan trading takedowns and reversals through the first two periods. Tied at 9-9 late in the third, Garcia earned an escape with just 19 seconds remaining and held off the Marauder grappler to deliver three points to the Diplomats. After Millersville responded with an 8-4 decision at 133 pounds, Brett Kulp made short work of his opponent at 141 pounds with a takedown, followed by the ensuing pin in the opening minute of the first frame to put F&M in front at 9-3. The Marauders' Eric Fuentes secured a second-period pin in the 149-pound match to once again tie the team score at 9-9. At 157, Emmett LiCastri scored a takedown and four nearfall points in the waning seconds of the second period to take a commanding 9-4 lead into the final frame. LiCastri kept up the pressure in the third period with an early takedown and rolled to the 11-4 decision. A strong second period kept Jacob Conners neck-to-neck with Division II's No. 9 ranked 165-pounder Shane Ruhnke. However, Ruhnke held on for the 12-7 decision win to pull Millersville within one. During the 165-pound match, a penalty point was docked from Millersville's team total due to controlling the mat, making the team score 12-11 in favor of the Diplomats. Josh Young rolled at 174 pounds, capping off a 22-7 tech. fall victory in the final seconds of the third. The senior notched a total of seven takedowns in his dominant performance. Millersville kept the contest close with a 17-5 major decision at 184, pulling the overall score within two at 17-15. However, it was all F&M in the final two matchups as Philip Robilotto (197 pounds) and No. 31 ranked Antonio Pelusi (285 pounds) cruised to commanding wins. Robilotto went ahead 8-0 after the first and totaled three takedowns and six nearfall points for the 15-4 major. Pelusi did his part in the night's final match, registering three first-period takedowns en route to a 7-4 decision. The Diplomats return to the mat on Saturday for the final dual of the regular season when F&M hosts Sacred Heart at 6:30 p.m. Before the match, the Diplomats will honor their four-member senior class of Sam Butler, Edgar Garcia, Danny Martoccio, and Josh Young. Results: 125: Edgar Garcia (F&M) over Conner Sheehan (MILL) (Dec 10-9) 133: Alex Baider (MILL) over Dan Martoccio (F&M) (Dec 8-4) 141: Brett Kulp (F&M) over Kevin Constantine (MILL) (Fall 0:59) 149: Eric Fuentes (MILL) over Sam Butler (F&M) (Fall 4:52) 157: Emmett LiCastri (F&M) over Seth Decker (MILL) (Dec 11-4) 165: Shane Ruhnke (MILL) over Jacob Conners (F&M) (Dec 12-7) Note: (MILL docked -1.00 for Controlling the mat) 174: Joshua Young (F&M) over Kyle Narber (MILL) (TF 22-7 6:48) 184: Evan Morrill (MILL) over Steven Mercadante (F&M) (MD 17-5) 197: Philip Robilotto (F&M) over Jared Fetterman (MILL) (MD 15-4) 285: Antonio Pelusi (F&M) over Zachary Yackenchick (MILL) (Dec 7-4)