InterMat Staff

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Big Ten dual between No. 4 Ohio State and No. 11 Rutgers, scheduled for tomorrow at noon inside St. John Arena, has been postponed. It is rescheduled for Monday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m., also at St. John Arena. Ohio State is coming off a 23-15 victory last night at No. 17 Wisconsin to improve to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten. Rutgers, meanwhile, edged No. 12 Illinois 19-17 and is 7-1 overall (2-0 in the Big Ten). The Buckeyes return to action next Sunday, Jan. 15, when they host Illinois beginning at 2 p.m.

Wartburg defeated Augsburg to win the NCAA Division III title (Photo/Sara Levin) FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- College wrestling's dual dynasties remained intact Friday afternoon when Wartburg, Grand View, Clackamas and King University each went through the seemingly annual routine of joining each other in the line for first-place photos before heading out the door with title trophies at the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals. Wartburg claimed its seventh consecutive Division III title, Grand View seized its sixth straight NAIA crown and Clackamas (NJCAA) and King University (WCWA) ran their championship streaks to four while St. Cloud State regained its grip on the Division II gold trophy inside Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Brackets, Results & Live Streaming: Men's Divisions | Women's Division Ticket and Event Information: NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals Top-ranked Wartburg piled up 34 match victories in 40 bouts over the course of the two-day tournament, outscoring its four opponents by a combined 133-18. Those figures hardly sound like ones belonging to a team that had its fortitude challenged, but the Knights had to grit through turbulent starts in their two duals Friday. Wartburg fell behind early in the semifinals against Johnson & Wales, but Cross Cannone pulled out a 4-2 overtime win at 141 and returning national champion Kenny Martin rallied from a 6-0 deficit to beat D.J. Tirelli 11-7 at 149. The Knights won three more matches by a collective nine points on their way to a 30-4 win in the dual. Wartburg had to regain its footing again in the finals. Augsburg took the first two matches before the Knights reeled off five consecutive victories on their way to a 31-9 dual win. "We knew we were going to have to outfight people and that's what we did," Wartburg coach Eric Keller said. "I'm really, really proud of this group. They fought their butts off every single dual. They fought for everything." Grand View ripped the NAIA bracket, winning 33 of its 40 matches and posting a 17-3 mark with 12 bonus-point victories on the tournament's final day. The Vikings handled No. 2 Indiana Tech 30-8 in the championship dual, using a 13-0 major decision at 133 from Jacob Colon against Mitch Pawlak in a battle of returning national champions to set the tone. Grand View registered four major decisions and a technical fall in the finals. "We talk a lot about not just trying to win," Grand View coach Nick Mitchell said. "It's not just trying to be the best team, it's trying to find out how good we can be. Obviously, we're happy about winning the title here. We're proud of these guys and the work they put in. There's not a lot of times you get to sit back and feel good about the work you put in, so they should feel good about it now, but knowing that there was three matches (we lost) today, so we've got plenty to work on. And it's not just those guys. "Every single guy's got something (to work on) right now, so it's a matter right now of how much better can we be between now and March? We can definitely feel good about this, but it doesn't mean we have to take time off and feel good about it. Feel good and get back to work feeling good at the same time." Sixth-ranked Clackamas toppled No. 2 Iowa Central and No. 1 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in succession Friday to win another junior college title. A 12-1 major decision at 125 from David Campbell against No. 2 Logan Terrill launched the Cougars on a string of five victories in the first six matches in the finals. Clackamas cruised to a 23-9 win. The fourth straight Clackamas title matches Iowa Central's record run from 2007 to 2010 in NJCAA, an impressive feat in a division where programs deal with constant roster turnover. Coach Josh Rhoden's lineup featured just two wrestlers who were on last year's title squad. He chalked up his program's success to "recruiting hard." "It's a lot of that," he said. "And then the other piece is buying into the idea of what we're doing and it cultures winning. Guys are believing in what we're talking about, what we're showing, what we're teaching and the belief of getting better every day. Truthfully, that's what it is." King grabbed another crown in the women's division, downing McKendree 24-19 in the finals. The Tornado picked up technical falls from Regina Doi, Marina Doi and Breonnah Neal and a fall from Hanna Grisewood before McKendree went on a run sparked by King transfer Megan Black's pin at 130 against her former roommate, Olympian Haley Augello, who was wrestling up two weight classes. The fourth straight title moves King within one of the record set by Oklahoma City. "We wrestled really, really well," King coach Jason Moorman said. "Our whole goal was not to feel like we were defending anything. We've been talking about it throughout our training because we have so many new faces in our program. … This is a brand new experience for all of us. We've never experienced it with each other. We took that and we rode with it. We've had a little bit of adversity the first semester. We lost a couple people from the team and we had a couple injuries and we didn't even have a full lineup. We had to move around to try to get the job done. I was real proud of them." Top-ranked St. Cloud State ended upstart Wheeling Jesuit's title bid in Division II. The unranked Cardinals toppled No. 8 Findlay and No. 3 Maryville on Thursday and downed No. 21 Colorado State-Pueblo by criteria in Friday's semifinals. The Cinderella story spilled into the finals when Jacob Donahue knocked off returning national champion Brett Velasquez 6-2 at 125. But St. Cloud State squashed the Wheeling Jesuit moment after that, winning eight of the final nine bouts and picking up three falls and two major decisions along the way, rolling to a 35-6 win. It was the third National Duals title in six years for coach Steve Costanzo's program, which outscored its four opponents 136-35 in this year's tournament. "The scores indicated a landslide in a lot of those duals, but they were a lot closer than the score indicated," Costanzo said. "We had some matches that went right down to the wire and we had to keep wrestling for seven minutes. Because of that, we ended up winning those matches. A lot of them weren't very pretty, but our guys got the job done."

MADISON, Wisc. -- Fourth-ranked Ohio State won six of 10 matches and kicked off the 2017 calendar year with a 23-15 win over No. 17 Wisconsin on Friday night at the UW Field House in Madison. With the victory, the Buckeyes stay unbeaten on the year at 6-0 and also improve to 2-0 in the Big Ten. THE SHORT STORY Key bonus point wins came from the foursome of Bo Jordan, Myles Martin, Kollin Moore and Nathan Tomasello while true freshman Luke Pletcher picked up a key 8-4 decision over 14th-ranked Cole Martin at 141 pounds that gave Ohio State all the distance it would need in the team score. After falling behind 3-0 to start the dual, Ohio State won the next three matches - all by bonus points - to surge ahead 13-3. JORDAN GETS THE SCARLET AND GRAY GOING Redshirt sophomore Cody Burcher fought third-ranked Isaac Jordan tough but lost 4-1 at 165 pounds to open the dual, but Isaac's cousin, Bo, responded with a third period flurry to resulted in a 15-7 major decision at 174 pounds over Ryan Christensen. Jordan scored a reversal and three takedowns while tacking on riding time for the bonus points. MARTIN, MOORE LOOK SHARP Martin returned to his usual form at 184 pounds, scoring 12 first-period points (three takedowns, one reversal, one four-point near fall) and then eight more in the second before finishing off the 22-6 technical fall early in third period. Martin improved his record to 18-3 on the year. In the only match of the night that featured two ranked wrestlers, Moore, No. 5 nationally, beat 13th-ranked Ricky Robertson 12-3. It was Moore's second win over Robertson this year. The redshirt freshman broke open a close match in the third period with a takedown and four point near fall while also adding 1:18 of riding time. TOMASELLO WINS BIG, PLETCHER CLINCHES DUAL Wisconsin picked up wins at 285 and 125 pounds to cut Ohio State's lead to 13-12, but second-ranked Tomasello scored early and often against Michael Cullen at 133 pounds and picked up an 18-5 major decision to make the score 17-12. Tomasello led 8-2 after the first period and then tacked on three more points in the second to extend his lead to 11-3. The Buckeyes' biggest win of the night occurred at 141 pounds when Pletcher, unranked in some services, toppled 14th-ranked Cole Martin, 8-4, giving Ohio State a commanding 20-12 lead in the dual. For Pletcher (18-2), it was his second win this year over a top 20 opponent. He fell behind 2-0 in the first but escaped and got two takedowns before the first period was over. Ahead 5-4 in the second, he took Martin down, rode him out for the remainder of the period and then escaped to start the third. Micah Jordan was the sixth and final Buckeye to earn a win on the evening, as he improved to 20-0 with an 8-2 decision over Andrew Crone. Jordan took Crone down three times, scored an escape point and also totaled well over 1:00 of riding time to stay unbeaten on the year. WHAT'S NEXT The Buckeyes return to action on Sunday, Jan. 8, when they host No. 11 Rutgers (7-1, 2-0) inside St. John Arena at noon. The dual will be televised live on BTN and tickets can be purchased by clicking here. Rutgers defeated No. 12 Illinois on Friday, 19-17. Results: 165: #3 Isaac Jordan (UW) decision over Cody Burcher 4-1 | UW 3, OSU 0 174: #1 Bo Jordan (OSU) major decision over Ryan Christensen (UW) 15-7 | OSU 4, UW 3 184: #10 Myles Martin technical fall over Jacob Stilling 22-6 | OSU 9, UW 3 197: #5 Kollin Moore (OSU) major decision over #13 Ricky Robertson (UW) 12-3 | OSU 13, UW 3 HWT: #2 Conner Medbery (UW) technical fall over Josh Fox 15-0 | OSU 13, UW 8 125: Johnny Jimenez (UW) major decision over #9 Jose Rodriguez 14-2 | OSU 13, UW 12 133: #2 Nathan Tomasello (OSU) major decision over Michael Cullen (UW) 18-5 | OSU 17, UW 12 141: Luke Pletcher (OSU) decision over #14 Cole Martin (UW) 8-4 | OSU 20, UW 12 149: #5 Micah Jordan (OSU) decision over Andrew Crone (UW) 8-2 | OSU 23, UW 12 157: TJ Ruschell (UW) decision over Jake Ryan (OSU) 6-2 | OSU 23, UW 15

FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota State University raced out to a fast start, but needed a strong finish to shut the door for a 29-16 win over the University of Northern Colorado in a Big 12 Conference dual on Friday, Jan. 6, before 452 spectators in the Scheels Center at the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. It was the sixth straight dual win of the season for the Bison. NDSU improved to 7-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big 12. The Bison host Boise State (1-2, 0-0 Pac 12) in a non-conference dual at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, in the Scheels Center. The Broncos lost 37-3 at South Dakota State on Friday night. The Bison won four of the first five matches to build a 16-4 lead, but Northern Colorado (0-3, 0-2 Big 12) stormed back with a pair of pins from Keilan Torres and Dylan Gabel to close the deficit to 20-16 with two matches remaining. That's where North Dakota State 197-pounder Cordell Eaton and 285 Ben Tynan took over. Eaton, a redshirt freshman from Iowa, grinded out a 4-1 decision over UNC's Jamarcus Grant, while senior Tynan recorded his third fall of the season at 5:30 over Jack Kuck to snuff out the Bears threat. Eaton is now 8-7 overall and 3-5 in duals, while Tynan has won 10 of 11 matches this season including 7 of 8 duals. North Dakota State's No. 4-ranked 125-pound senior Josh Rodriguez hooked up with a former Western Wrestling Conference foe in Trey Andrews and fashioned a hard-fought 13-4 major decision. Rodriguez improved to 11-0 overall and 8-0 in duals. It was his first major decision of the season to go along with six tech falls and three pins. It would be a preview of things to come as five of the seven Bison wins came via bonus points, major decision, tech fall or fall. Collectively, NDSU finished with 17-minutes and 43-seconds of riding time during the dual including 5:31 from Rodriguez. North Dakota State upped its lead to 7-0 as 133-pound redshirt freshman Cam Sykora outlasted Rico Montoya 8-3. Sykora, a redshirt freshman from Wheaton, Minn., became eligible at the break and improved to 3-2 overall. Northern Colorado's No. 18-ranked Timmy Box recorded a 13-3 major decision over Taylor Nein to trim the deficit to 7-4, but the Bison answered in a big way with 149 Mitch Friedman's 16-1 tech fall over Ben Polkowske and No. 16-ranked 157 Clay Ream's 16-5 major decision over Taylor Kinn to stretch the lead to 16-4. Friedman is now 9-5 overall and 3-2 in duals, while Ream stands at 13-2 overall including 8-0 in duals. North Dakota State 174-pound redshirt sophomore Dylan Urbach interrupted UNC's rally with an impressive 17-3 major decision over Dalton Robertson. It was the first dual showing for Urbach, who improved to 6-3 overall. Results: 125: #4 Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) major dec Trey Andrews (UNC), MD 13-4 / Bison 4-0 133: Cam Sykora (NDSU) dec Rico Montoya (UNC), 8-3 / Bison 7-0 141: #18 Timmy Box (UNC) major dec Taylor Nein (NDSU), MD 13-3 / Bison 7-4 149: Mitch Friedman (NDSU) tech fall Ben Polkowske (UNC), TF 16-1 / Bison 12-4 157: #16 Clay Ream (NDSU) major dec Tyler Kinn (UNC), MD 16-5 / Bison 16-4 165: Keilan Torres (UNC) fall Nick Mergen (NDSU), Fall 3:13 / Bison 16-10 174: Dylan Urbach (NDSU) major dec Dalton Robertson (UNC), MD 17-3 / Bison 20-10 184: Dylan Gabel (UNC) fall Tyler McNutt (NDSU), Fall 2:13 / Bison 20-16 197: Cordell Eaton (NDSU) dec Jamarcus Grant (UNC), 4-1 / Bison 23-16 285: Ben Tynan (NDSU) fall Jack Kuck (UNC), Fall 5:40 / Bison 29-16

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The second period was winding down in the 157-pound bout between John Van Brill and Illinois' Kyle Langenderfer, and the Rutgers wrestler faced a 7-0 deficit in the defensive position. But on the restart the bout -- and the match -- swung in the Scarlet Knights' favor. No. 19-ranked Van Brill hit a reversal and stuck Langenderfer at the 4:46 mark, igniting the 2,552 fans at the Rutgers Athletic Center and giving No. 11 Rutgers a 13-6 lead at intermission. The momentum carried RU through the second half of the dual and into a pair of wins to close the match, as heavyweight Razohnn Gross scored a takedown with 18 seconds left to give RU a 19-17 win over No. 12 Illinois (1-1, 0-1). The bout victory - the first of Gross' career in his RAC debut - helped Rutgers to 2-0 in Big Ten Conference competition and 7-1 overall on the year as the Scarlet Knights approach a showdown at No. 4 Ohio State (6-0, 2-0) Sunday at noon on Big Ten Network. "He's dangerous. He's never out of a match, we knew that," said head coach Scott Goodale of John Van Brill. "He fell down 7-0 and it was deflating on the bench. That's a match we think we should win. He's one of the better kids in the country, and their kid's third in the Big Ten two years ago. On paper, we're hoping to get that one. He's down 7-0, but he's dangerous. We preach it every day: keep wrestling and good things will happen. You never know. And he's capable of hitting those kind of moves." While Van Brill's (15-6, 6-1 duals) pin favorably shifted momentum and Gross (6-6, 1-4 duals) sealed the deal, it was the true freshman duo of Brandon Paetzell (125 Pounds) and Matthew Correnti (197 Pounds) that came up big in high pressure spots. Wrestling in his first RAC match and kicking off the action, Paetzell (10-3, 2-0 duals) showed no signs of nerves against fellow rookie Travis Piotrowski of Illinois. The Phillipsburg, New Jersey, native escaped to tie the match with 40 seconds remaining in the third period, but Piotrowski held the riding time advantage. Time ticked away, as Paetzell got around on a takedown with just one second remaining for a thrilling 3-2 decision to start the dual. "Paetzell -- we call him the roadrunner. It's constant, it's nonstop, and that's the way he wrestled. He's got to do a better job of getting to his attacks because he can do more. He's going to be really, really good down the road, and I feel the same way about Matt Correnti." Correnti (9-6, 4-2 duals) came out on the attack against Illinois' Andre Lee, building an 11-3 period after three minutes of wrestling. Starting the second period on bottom, Lee fired back, escaping and converting two takedowns to make it a 12-8 Correnti advantage. In the end, Correnti escaped with a gutsy 16-12 decision, which made the Illinois lead 17-16 and set Gross up for the walk-off win a match later. "What a story, right? What a story. First dual meet at the RAC and it comes down to him," Goodale said of Gross. "Everything he's been through and all the years with DJ Russo and Billy Smith and then here comes Razohnn in a big spot. Good for him. That's a gutty win." RU's other win on the night came from No. 6 Anthony Ashnault at 141 pounds. The two-time All-American accumulated 5:03 of riding time in a 10-0 major decision to improve to 15-3 overall and 7-1 in dual competition. At 133 pounds, Scott DelVecchio (13-6, 3-1 duals) fell, 9-7, in a hard-fought match against No. 4 Zane Richards. DelVecchio reversed Richards with time winding down but could not make up the points in time to tie things up. Getting the nod at 149 pounds, redshirt sophomore Anthony Giraldo (15-6, 2-2 duals) dropped a close one, 5-3, against Eric Barone. Barone took Giraldo to the mat in the final minute and rode him out for the victory. Two-time national champion Isaiah Martinez topped Willie Scott (12-6, 4-2 duals) by a 24-8 tech fall coming out of intermission, bringing the match to 13-11 with four to go. The Fighting Illini distanced themselves in the next two matches with sudden victory decisions, appearing to take control of the dual by amassing a 17-13 lead. 174-pounder Phillip Bakuckas (10-4, 4-3) fell in a 3-1 match against No. 12 Zac Brunson, and a match later No. 11 Nicholas Gravina (12-3, 5-2 duals) suffered the same fate in an 8-6 decision against No. 14 Emery Parker. But Correnti rose to the roars of the Rutgers Athletic Center, and Gross did the rest at heavyweight. "I felt Correnti could win this bout. He's a blue chip recruit and one of the better kids in the country last year who's just getting a feel of this," Goodale said." This is hard on him. First semester of school, cutting weight, getting down. He wrestled 220 in high school. This has been hard for him. It's been tough, but it's nights like tonight that get you over the hump." Rutgers travels to face No. 4 Ohio State on Sunday at noon at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The match will be televised live on Big Ten Network. Results: 125: Brandon Paetzell (RU) dec. over Travis Piotrowski (ILL), 3-2; Rutgers leads, 3-0 133: No. 4/4/4 Zane Richards (ILL) dec. over Scott DelVecchio (RU), 9-7; Dual tied, 3-3 141: No. 6/6/6 Anthony Ashnault (RU) major dec. over Mousa Jodeh (ILL); Rutgers leads, 7-3 149: Eric Barone (ILL) dec. over No. NR/NR/19 Anthony Giraldo (RU), 5-3; Rutgers leads, 7-6 157: No. 19/13/17 John Van Brill (RU) wins by fall over Kyle Langenderfer (ILL), 4:46; Rutgers leads, 13-6 165: No. 1/1/1 Isaiah Martinez (ILL) tech fall over Willie Scott (RU), 24-8; Rutgers leads, 13-11 174: No. 12/10/12 Zac Brunson (ILL) dec. over Phillip Bakuckas (RU), 3-1 (SV); Illinois leads, 14-13 184: No. 14/13/14 Emery Parker (ILL) dec. over No. 11/11/10 Nicholas Gravina (RU), 8-6 (SV); Illinois leads 17-13 197: Matthew Correnti (RU) dec. over Andre Lee (ILL), 16-12; Illinois leads, 17-16 HWT: Razohnn Gross (RU) dec. over Deuce Rachal (ILL), 3-2; Rutgers wins, 19-17

AMES, Iowa -- The Sun Devil Wrestling program overcame an inauspicious start on Friday evening, coming from behind to defeat Iowa State, 25-14, in ASU's first victory over the Cyclones in Ames, Iowa since 1989. The Devils - currently ranked in the Top-20 of all major wrestling polls - immediately found themselves digging out of a hole after a pin and major decision from Iowa State (1-4) put ASU (2-1) at a 10-0 deficit through just two bouts in the team's first dual of 2017. Arizona State's resolve never wavered, however, and it was all Sun Devils from that moment on. Sophomore Nikko Villarreal sparked the comeback at 141 pounds as he rode out John Meeks in the second period to earn the riding point victory in a 3-2 decision to get ASU on the board. No. 20 Josh Maruca shook off a shaky start and an early 4-1 hole at 149 pounds, as he ripped of 18 consecutive points for a huge tech fall victory. Maruca picked up a late take down in the first period followed by two near falls in the second to take a commanding 10-4 lead over Chase Straw into the third. It was all Maruca from there as he reeled off an escape, a takedown and two more near falls for the 19-4 victory to cut the Cyclone lead to 10-8. It wasn't easy for seventh-ranked Josh Shields at 157 pounds, as he fended off a late takedown attempt at the buzzer to hold on to a 4-3 victory over Colston DiBlasi to give ASU its first lead at 11-10 and setting the table for the Valencia brothers. It was business as usual for Anthony and Zahid with the former absolutely crushing Logan Breitenbach in an 18-1 tech fall victory before Zahid knocked off top-10 ranked Lelund Weatherspoon for the third time this season, 5-2. After a major decision at 184 pounds cut ASU's lead to 19-14, Austyn Harris picked up his second victory of the season in a big way at 197 pounds as he knocked off Marcus Harrington with a late escape in the 3-2 decision to seal the victory for ASU and give the Sun Devils their first victory in Ames since 1989 - a year that Zeke Jones donned the maroon and gold singlet at 118 pounds. No. 4 Tanner Hall capped things off with a business-like 2-1 victory over Quean Smith to set the final score at 25-14. The Sun Devils will travel home on Saturday before getting right back to action in the team's Pac-12 opener against Cal Poly on Sunday at 2 p.m. MT in Tempe. The contest will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network Arizona and will mark ASU's annual Green Match at Wells Fargo Arena to support Sun Devil Athletics' green initiatives to drive sustainability at Arizona State. Results: 125: Markus Simmons (ISU) WBF Michael Nguyen (ASU), 1:30. 133: Earl Hall (ISU) maj. dec. Ted Rico (ASU), 14-4 (1:05 RT). 141: Nikko Villarreal (ASU) dec. John Meeks (ISU), 3-2. 149: Josh Maruca (ASU) tech. fall Chase Straw (ISU), 19-4. 157: Josh Shields (ASU) dec. Colston DiBlasi (ISU), 4-3. 165: Anthony Valencia (ASU) tech. fall Logan Breitenbach (ISU), 18-1. 174: Zahid Valencia (ASU) dec. Lelund Weatherspoon (ISU), 5-2. 184: Patrick Downey (ISU) maj. dec. Conner Small (ASU), 19-7 (3:46 RT). 197: Austyn Harris (ASU) dec. Marcus Harrington (ISU), 3-2. 285: Tanner Hall (ASU) dec. Quean Smith (ISU), 2-1.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (5-0, 1-0 B1G) dominated No. 9 Minnesota (3-2, 2-1 B1G) in its Big Ten opener in Minneapolis. The Nittany Lions won eight of ten bouts to roll to a 33-6 win in the first of two Big Ten road duals this weekend. Penn State put the dual away early, bolting out a 24-0 halftime lead before cruising to the win. With the dual beginning at 149, Penn State got pins in three of the first half's five bouts and had the dual capped off with senior Jimmy Gulibon's (Latrobe, Pa.) strong victory at 141. Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, pinned Carson Brolsma at the 2:28 mark of the first period. Sophomore Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, followed that up by pinning No. 9 Jake Short in the second period (3:44). Red-shirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 165, put Penn State up 15-0 with a strong 7-4 victory over No. 14 Nick Wanzek. Senior Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.) got the nod at 174 and dominated Gopher Chris Pfarr, posting a strong 5-2 decision. Sophomore Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 2 at 184, closed out the first half by pinning Gopher Bobby Stevenson at the 2:36 mark of the first period. Junior Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 197, took on No. 2 Brett Pfarr in one of the dual's marquee match-ups to start the second half. McCutcheon nearly notched the upset with a late takedown attempt, but Pfarr was able to defend long enough to kill the clock and post the hard-fought 3-2 win over the Lion junior. Sophomore Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 5 at 285, dominated No. 8 Michael Kroells, rolling to a 4-0 win with 2:28 in riding time, including a third period ride out. Nevills' win clinched the dual for the Nittany Lions. True freshman Nick Suriano (Paramus, N.J.), ranked No. 3 at 125, took on No. 6 Ethan Lizak in a much anticipated match-up. Suriano's offense stole the show as the Lion freshman remained unbeaten with an 8-6 victory, thanks to four takedowns (including three in the first period). With No. 13 Jered Cortez (Carol Stream, Ill.) held out for one more dual, sophomore George Carpenter (Chapel Hill, N.C.) stepped in at 133 and nearly pulled off a major upset, falling to No. 16 Mitch McKee 2-1. Senior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 12 at 141, posted perhaps the dual's most impressive win, dominating No. 9 Tommy Thorn on his way to a strong 6-3 victory. The Gulibon win gave Penn State a final 33-6 margin in the dual. Penn State dominated the dual from start to finish, winning eight of ten bouts. Penn State posted a 22-5 takedown margin and picked up nine bonus points off its three early pins. Retherford has now won 45 straight matches dating back to the end of the 13-14 season. He is 10-0 with nine pins and a tech. Retherford now tied for 15th on Penn State's all-time pins list with 28. Nolf is 10-0 with seven pins and three techs and has 22 career falls. Nickal is 9-0 with eight pins and a major this season and has 16 career falls. Nevills and Suriano both remain unbeaten with 9-0 records as well. The Nittany Lions are now 5-0 on the year, 1-0 in the Big Ten, and have won 22 straight duals dating back to the end of the 2014-15 campaign. Minnesota falls to 3-2, 2-1 B1G. The win broke a string of three straight losses for Penn State as the two teams tied 18-18 here in Minnesota back on Feb. 13, 2011 (the victory was Penn State's first over the Gophers in 14 meetings). Penn State will visit No. 6 Nebraska in its second Big Ten road dual of the weekend on Sunday, Jan. 8. Action in Lincoln, Neb., begins at 3 p.m. Eastern. Penn State's next home dual is set for Friday, Jan. 13, when Rutgers invades Rec Hall for a 7 p.m. Big Ten dual. All Rec Hall dual meets are sold out, but a very limited number of Standing Room Only tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-NITTANY. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. The 2016-17 Penn State wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. Results: 149: #1 Zain Retherford PSU pinned Carson Brolsma MINN, WBF (2:28) / 6-0 157: #1 Jason Nolf PSU pinned #9 Jake Short MINN, WBF (3:44) / 12-0 165: #5 Vincenzo Joseph PSU dec. #14 Nick Wanzek MINN, 7-4 / 15-0 174: Geno Morelli PSU dec. Chris Pfarr MINN, 5-2 / 18-0 184: #2 Bo Nickal PSU pinned Bobby Stevenson MINN, WBF (2:36) / 24-0 197: #2 Brett Pfarr MINN dec. #11 Matt McCutcheon PSU, 3-2 / 24-3 285: #5 Nick Nevills PSU dec. #8 Michael Kroells MINN, 4-0 / 27-3 125: #3 Nick Suriano PSU dec. #6 Ethan Lizak MINN, 8-6 / 30-3 133: #16 Mitch McKee MINN dec. George Carpenter PSU, 2-1 / 30-6 141: #12 Jimmy Gulibon PSU dec. #9 Tommy Thorn MINN, 6-3 / 33-6 Attendance: 2,831 Records: Penn State 5-0, 1-0 B1G; Minnesota (3-2, 2-1 B1G) Up Next for Penn State: at #6 Nebraska, Sunday, Jan. 8, 3 p.m. Eastern / 2 p.m. Central BOUT-BY-BOUT: 149: Junior Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, faced off against Minnesota freshman Carson Brolsma. Retherford scored quickly, taking Brolsma down and cutting him twice to an early 4-2 lead. Retherford totaled four takedowns before turning the Gopher's shoulders to the mat for a quick first period pin. Retherford's fall came at the 2:28 mark and was his ninth of the year (in ten bouts). 157: Sophomore Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, met Minnesota junior Jake Short, ranked No. 9. Nolf was furious off the opening whistle, taking Short down three times in the first minute to open up a sizeable 6-3 lead. The Lion sophomore bulled through a high double for a fourth takedown and nearly pinned the ranked Gopher with a toss and four near fall points at the buzzer. Trailing 14-4, Short chose down to start the second period. Nolf made him pay by quickly turning Short to his back, adjusting on top once and getting the pin at the 3:44 mark. The pin was Nolf's seventh in ten bouts this year. 165: Red-shirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 165, met Gopher junior Nick Wanzek, ranked No. 14. The duo battled evenly until Joseph got in on a solid single. Wanzek called for an injury timeout, giving Joseph the chance to choose position on the reset. He chose down and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. The Lion freshman then turned another low single into a takedown and a 3-1 lead with :30 left (after a Wanzek escape). Joseph chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 4-1 lead. Joseph worked offense for the entire period but Wanzek was able to play defense on the edge of the mat for the full two minutes. Trailing 4-1, Wanzek chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 4-2 score. Wanzek worked a high single into a takedown and Joseph led 5-4 with :55 on the clock after a quick escape. Joseph then bulled through a high double to up his lead to 7-4. He then controlled the action from the top position, killing the clock with a strong ride and posting a solid 7-4 win. 174: Senior Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.) took to the mat at 174 to face Chris Pfarr. Morelli took a couple solid high doubles but Pfarr was able to defend each shot in the first period's opening minute. Morelli then switch to a high single and finished off the takedown to open up a 2-0 lead at the 1:22 mark. Morelli then built up a :49 riding time edge before Pfarr escaped to a 2-1 score. Morelli chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. Morelli and Pfarr battled evenly for the next minute plus, with the Lion senior taking numerous shots that Pfarr was able to step back from. Morelli slipped around Pfarr for a late takedown and led 5-1 after two periods. Pfarr chose down to start the third period and cut the Morelli lead to 5-2. Morelli nearly scored on another solid single but Pfarr was able to defend the shot. Morelli's offensive pressure kept Pfarr from mounting any offense and the Lion posted the 5-2 win. 184: Sophomore Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 2 at 184, met Gopher Bobby Stevenson. Nickal wrapped Stevenson up at the chest and took him down at the 1:00 mark to open up an early 2-0 lead. Nickal controlled the action from the top position, building up over 1:00 in riding time before Stevenson escaped to a 2-1 Nickal lead. A fast low double by Nickal put the Lion up 4-2. He then took Stevenson down again, locked up the cradle, and got the fall at the 2:36 mark. The pin was Nickal's eighth in nine matches this year. 197: Junior Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 197, took on No. 2 Brett Pfarr. The duo battled evenly for over a minute with McCutcheon taking fast shots that Pfarr was able to move away from. The Lion junior then got in on a low single, forcing a scramble on the edge of the mat with 1:20 on the clock. Pfarr forced a scramble that lasted for :20 before action slid out of bounds with :44 left in the period. Action moved to the second period tied 0-0 and Pfarr chose down to start the second stanza. A quick escape gave the Gopher a 1-0 lead. Pfarr gained control of a low single that McCutcheon fought off for a bit before the Gopher got the takedown to up his lead to 3-0. McCutcheon worked his way to an escape and a 3-1 score with :40 left in the period. McCutcheon gained control of another low single that Pfarr scrambled long enough to kill the clock. Trailing 3-1, McCutcheon chose down to start the third period and steadily worked his way to an escape and a 3-2 score. The Lion junior worked low on another single and Pfarr once again scrambled his way to a stalemate with :45 on the clock. McCutcheon worked his way into a final low single and once again Pfarr's defense was able to kill the clock. Pfarr walked away with a hard-fought 3-2 win. 285: Sophomore Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 5 at 285, faced off against Minnesota senior Michael Kroells, ranked No. 8. The duo battled through two-plus minutes of scoreless action with neither wrestler mounting a serious scoring threat. Kroells took a quick shot with :40 left that Nevills was able to step back from and action moved to the second period tied 0-0. Nevills chose down to start the second period worked his way to an escape and a 1-0 lead after :30. Nevills connected on a high single at the 1:00 mark and then went to work on top. Nevills controlled the action for the rest of the period and led 3-0 with :28 in time after two. Kroells chose down to start the third period and Nevills once again dominated action from the top. The Lion sophomore built up over 1:00 in riding time while trying to turn the Gopher senior for back points. Nevills spent the entire period in the top position working for turns. And while not getting any back points, the Lion rode Kroells out and posted a dominant 4-0 win with 2:28 in riding time. 125: True freshman Nick Suriano (Paramus, N.J.), ranked No. 3 at 125, battled Minnesota sophomore Ethan Lizak, ranked No. 6. Suriano took Lizak down quickly, opening up a 2-1 lead after a strong double leg and cut to an escape. Suriano added a second takedown at the 1:40 mark and led 4-2. Suriano added a third takedown with another high shot and then spent time building up a riding time edge. The Lion freshman nearly turned Lizak but the Gopher rolled through trouble. Suriano rode the Gopher out and led 6-2 with 1:35 riding time after one. Suriano chose down to start the second period, testing himself against Lizak's strong ride. After a reset with 1:30 on the clock, Suriano rolled himself into a standing position and nearly reversed the Gopher. Lizak was able to maintain control, however, and a stalemate was called with :45 left in the period. Lizak was able to stay on top for the entire period. With Suriano leading 6-2, Lizak chose neutral to start the third period, only to be taken down yet again by a quick Suriano shot. Lizak escaped to an 8-3 score. Suriano looked to score again, but Lizak countered and notched a counter takedown with :45 on the clock. He picked up another point on a Suriano stall. Suriano's dominant offense led the freshman to an 8-6 win. 133: Sophomore George Carpenter (Chapel Hill, N.C.) stepped in for No. 14 Jered Cortez at 133 and took on No. 16 Mitch McKee. McKee took Carpenter down early in the first period to open up a 2-0 lead. The ranked Gopher controlled the action from the top position for the remainder of the period and led 2-0 with over 2:300 in riding time after the opening three minutes. Leading 2-0, McKee chose down to start the second stanza. Carpenter was strong on top, maintaining control for over 1:00 while trying to turn McKee for back points. McKee was able to fight off Carpenter's turn efforts but Carpenter rode McKee out. Trailing 2-0 but sensing an opportunity to turn McKee, Carpenter chose top to start the third period. The Lion sophomore once again controlled, dominating from the top position. With :30 left, Carpenter gained control of McKee's arm and worked for one last chance to turn the Gopher for the win. But McKee was able to fight off Carpenter's efforts. Carpenter did pick up a point on 1:26 in riding time as he spent the entire second and third periods in the top position. But McKee's first period takedown gave the ranked Gopher the hard-fought 2-1 win. 141: Senior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 12 at 141, met Tommy Thorn, ranked No. 9. Thorn drew first blood , sliding behind Gulibon and finishing off a low double to lead 2-0 midway through the opening period. Gulibon escaped to a 2-1 lead with 1:05 left in the period and then connected on a high single for a takedown and a 3-2 lead. Gulibon then rode Thorn out and carried that slim lead into the second period. Gulibon chose down to start the second period. Thorn controlled the action for the first minute-plus before Gulibon escaped to a 4-2 lead (Thorn had a 1:41 riding time edge). Thorn chose down to start the third period and it was Gulibon' s turn to work from the top position. Gulibon maintained control until the 1:26 mark before Thorn escaped to a 4-3 Gulibon lead (Thorn maintained 1:08 in riding time). With 1:00 on the clock, Gulibon worked a swift low single into another takedown and a 6-3 lead at the :46 mark. Gulibon worked Thorn's riding time edge below 1:00 and then spent the rest of the period in control on top. Gulibon's strong offense gave the Lion a 6-3 win.

South Dakota State won nine of 10 matches, including five with bonus points, to defeat Boise State, 37-3, in non-conference wrestling action Friday night at Frost Arena. The 20th-ranked Jackrabbits improved to 5-2 in duals this season, while Boise State dropped to 1-2. Dating back to December 2015, SDSU has won 18 of its last 21 duals. Nate Rotert, the eighth-ranked wrestler at 197 pounds, set the tone with a 21-9 major decision over Harley DiLulo in the opening bout of the dual. Starting with a forfeit win by Ben Gillette at 125 pounds, SDSU picked up bonus points in four consecutive matches. Sixth-ranked Seth Gross improved to 15-1 this season as he notched a first-period fall over Josh Newberg at 133 pounds. Backup 141-pounder Isaac Andrade wrestled his way to a 12-4 major decision over Rami Haddadin and Alex Kocer posted his seventh win by technical fall this season, blanking Dakota Wall, 15-0, in the 149-pound bout. SDSU also won the final four matches of the night by decision, with Logan Peterson, Luke Zilverberg, David Kocer and Martin Mueller all victorious. Zilverberg gave up a takedown late in the third period that allowed Demetrius Romero to tie the match at 3-all, but came up with a takedown midway through the first overtime period to pull out a 5-3 sudden victory. Boise State's lone win came in the second match of the night as Gabriel Gonzalez held off Jackrabbit heavyweight Alex Macki for an 11-9 decision. With the win, SDSU improved to 4-0 all-time against Boise State. The Jackrabbits close out their weekend homestand by hosting Northern Colorado at 2 p.m. Sunday. Results: 197: #8 Nate Rotert (SDSU) major dec. Harley DiLulo (BSU), 21-9 285: Gabriel Gonzalez (BSU) dec. Alex Macki (SDSU), 11-9 125: Ben Gillette (SDSU) won by forfeit 133: #6 Seth Gross (SDSU) def. Josh Newburg, by fall 1:32 141: Isaac Andrade (SDSU) major dec. Rami Haddadin (BSU), 12-4 149: Alex Kocer (SDSU) tech. fall Dakota Wall (BSU), 15-0 (5:16) 157: Logan Peterson (SDSU) dec. Fred Green (BSU), 9-2 165: Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) dec. Demetrius Romero (BSU), 5-3 (SV-1) 174: David Kocer (SDSU) dec. Austin Dewey (BSU), 8-2 184: Martin Mueller (SDSU) dec. Kadyn Del Toro (BSU), 5-2

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio wrestling team (4-3, 2-1 MAC) defeated Eastern Michigan, 20-12, taking six of the 10 matches, including a technical fall victory from redshirt junior Cullen Cummings (Woodridge, Ill.), on the road at Ypsilanti, Mich. on Friday (Jan. 6). The dual started at 285 pounds. Redshirt sophomore Zack Parker (Felton, Del.) got the Bobcats off to a hot start with a 7-2 victory by decision over Gage Hutchinson. Redshirt sophomore Shakur Laney (Canal Winchester, Ohio) continued Ohio's momentum in the 125-class match with a 4-1 decision over Noah Gonser. In the 133-class, redshirt senior Kevon Powell (Romeoville, Ill.) fell to Shayne Wireman in a 10-3 decision. In the 144-class, redshirt junior Noah Forrider (Marysville, Ohio) took down Kyle Springer with decision victory (4-1). Redshirt freshman Kade Kowalski (Nashport, Ohio) wrestled at 149-pounds for Ohio. Nick Barber took the matchup over Kowalski in an 8-2 decision. In the 157-class, redshirt junior Cullen Cummings (Woodridge, Ill.) dominated James Wolfe with a shutout in a technical fall victory (19-0). Cummings won the lone bonus points in the dual. Redshirt sophomore Austin Reese (Urbana, Ohio) fell in the 165-class to Devan Marry (10-4 Dec.). Ohio went on to take the next two matches. Redshirt sophomore Arsen Ashughyan (Vanadzor, Armenia) took the 174-pound match over Kayne MacCallum (6-3 Dec.), while redshirt freshman Dontae McGee (Marion, Ohio) took a 12-9 decision over Mitch Malott in the 184-class. In the final match of the night at 197-pounds, redshirt freshman Bailey Faust (Lexington, Ohio) fell in a narrow 4-3 decision against Derek Hillman as Hillman scored a takedown late in the third period. Results: 285: Zack Parker (Ohio) over Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan) (Dec 7-2) 125: Shakur Laney (Ohio) over Noah Gonser (Eastern Michigan) (Dec 4-1) 133: Shayne Wireman (Eastern Michigan) over Kevon Powell (Ohio) (Dec 10-3) 141: Noah Forrider (Ohio) over Kyle Springer (Eastern Michigan) (Dec 4-1) 149: Nick Barber (Eastern Michigan) over Kade Kowalski (Ohio) (Dec 8-2) 157: Cullen Cummings (Ohio) over James Wolfe (Eastern Michigan) (TF 19-0 6:36) 165: Devan Marry (Eastern Michigan) over Austin Reese (Ohio) (Dec 10-4) 174: Arsen Arshughyan (Ohio) over Kayne MacCallum (Eastern Michigan) (Dec 6-3) 184: Dontae McGee (Ohio) over Mitch Malott (Eastern Michigan) (Dec 12-9) 197: Derek Hillman (Eastern Michigan) over Bailey Faust (Ohio) (Dec 4-3) Up Next: Ohio is back in action on Sunday (Jan. 8) as they take on Mid-American Conference foe Central Michigan at the Convocation Center. Action is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Sparked by senior David Bergida's major decision at 165 pounds, the Virginia Tech wrestling team won five-consecutive bouts in the upperweights as the No. 6 Hokies topped Princeton, 30-11, in Di! llon Gymnasium on Friday evening. The Tigers fall to 4-5 overall while Tech improves to 6-1 on the season. North Carolina awaits the Hokies in Chapel Hill for their ACC opener at 6:30 on Sunday. Clinging onto a 2-1 lead at the start of the second period, Bergida allowed Princeton's Joe Tavaso to escape but registered a takedown that put made his advantage 4-2. It was only a two-point cushion but it was all Bergida needed as 3:50 of riding time pushed his winning margin to 12-2. Redshirt junior Zach Epperly followed with an MD of his own that broke an 11-11 tie in the match and put the Hokies ahead, 15-11. Another major from redshirt sophomore Zack Zavatsky paved the way for a pin from redshirt junior Jared Haught, who trailed 4-3 late in the second period, at 4:50. Senior Ty Walz was given a scare early on at heavyweight where he trailed 6-4 to No. 20 Ray O'Donnell but he finished him off with an impressive 27-11 win. No. 2 Joey Dance started the off the match with his second major decision of the season at 125 that gave Tech an early 4-0 lead. The Tigers picked up wins at 133 and 141 but No. 7 Solomon Chishko stopped the bleeding with a workman like 27-12 tech fall at 7:00. A victory at 157 for Princeton's Mike DiAngelo put the Tigers in front, 11-7, heading into intermission before Bergida's MD at 165 sparked the rally. Sunday's ACC dual at 6:30 p.m. between the Tar Heels and Hokies will be streamed live on the WatchESPN platform. Tomorrow Franklin & Marshall Open gets underway tomorrow at 9 a.m. with live stats shown on Track Wrestling. Results: 125: No. 2 Joey Dance MD Matteo DeVincenzo, 10-2 133: Pat Darcy dec. Dominic Latona, 6-3 141: Matthew Kolodzik TF Brendan Ryan, 27-12 (7:00) 149: No. 7 Solomon Chishko dec. No. 17 Jordan Laster, 9-3 157: Mike DiAngelo dec. Ryan Blees, 4-0 165: David Bergida MD Joe Tavoso, 12-2 174: No. 2 Zach Epperly MD No. 17 Jonathan Schleifer, 12-4 184: No. 4 Zack Zavatsky MD Ian Baker, 10-2 197: No. 3 Jared Haught FALL No. 12 Brett Harner (4:50) HWT: No. 3 Ty Walz TF Ray O'Donnell, 27-11

ANN ARBOR, Michigan -- One All-American returned to the lineup and three more scored bonus points to lead the University of Iowa wrestling team to a 31-7 win at No. 15 Michigan on Friday in front of a sold-out crowd Cliff Keen Arena. Sammy Brooks (184) won by technical fall in 5:19, Thomas Gilman (125) and Brandon Sorensen (149) both earned major decisions, and Cory Clark (133) shutout seventh-ranked Stevan Micic, 2-0, in his first action since Nov. 27. Clark never got to his offense in the match, but he escaped to start the third and added 1:55 of riding time in an appearance that could be described as progress. "My best wrestling comes out when I get time on the mat," Clark said. "I'm not necessarily someone who can step on the mat and be at my very best right away. "I wanted to wrestle and win by as many points as I could. It may not have looked that way because I didn't pull the trigger. I was pretty disappointed right after the match, but I usually am. I'm not going to be too hard on myself, I'm just going to move forward right away." Clark was one of five Hawkeyes to earn wins before intermission. Gilman scored nine takedowns and scored bonus points for the 14th time in 15 matches this season. Sorensen used two takedowns, two nearfall points, and 1:56 of riding time to earn his team-best eighth major decision, and Topher Carton (141) and Michael Kemerer (157) both won by decision over ranked opponents. Carton scored two takedowns in the final period to defeat Sal Profaci, 8-4, and Kemerer outscored 10th-ranked Brian Murphy 4-1 in the third to win, 6-3. Michigan rattled off consecutive wins at 165 and 174 after the break before Iowa closed the dual with three straight wins. Brooks used six takedowns and eight nearfall before his match was terminated, 20-4, 19 seconds into the third period. Cash Wilcke scored five points in the third period to win 5-2 at 197, and Sam Stoll recorded a fall in 2:22 in his first dual appearance of the season. Stoll nearly gave up a takedown before going out of bounds, and responded by taking Dan Perry to his back seconds after a restart. "I felt alright," Stoll said. "I have to do a better job of coming ready to go." The Hawkeyes owned a 25-11 advantage in total takedowns, and in their four wins by decision, Iowa outscored the Wolverines 15-3 in the third period. "There was some good stuff, but I'm not going to paint a rosy picture," Brands said. "Even though it is 2017 and we're supposed to be positive reinforcement minded because everybody is so sensitive, there are some things in that locker room that we have got to iron out. We're running out of time. Those things have to be addressed now." Iowa (6-0, 2-0) returns to the mat Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT) at Michigan State. The dual is streamed live at BTN2Go. NOTES: Attendance was 1,800, a sell-out… Iowa's 24-point victory was its largest over Michigan since winning 36-0 in 2010… Iowa has won 19 straight conference duals on the road, and 23 straight Big Ten dual overall… the Hawkeyes are 2-0 against ranked opponents… Clark improved to 17-10 all-time against top 10 opponents, he has won eight of his last nine… Carton's win was the first in his career against a ranked opponent… Sorensen improved to 19-0 all-time in Big Ten duals… Meyer lost for the first time in 15 Big Ten duals. Results: 125 -- #1 Thomas Gilman (IA) major dec. Austin Assad (M), 20-7; 4-0 133 -- #1 Cory Clark (IA) dec. #8 Stevan Micic, 2-0; 7-0 141 -- Topher Carton (IA) dec. Sal Profaci (M), 8-4; 10-0 149 -- #2 Brandon Sorensen (IA) major dec. Zac Hall (M), 10-1; 14-0 157 -- #2 Michael Kemerer (IA) dec. #10 Brian Murphy (M), 6-3; 17-0 165 -- #2 Logan Massa (M) major dec. Joey Gunther (IA), 16-6; 17-4 174 -- #9 Myles Amine (M) dec. #13 Alex Meyer (IA), 6-5; 17-7 184 -- #6 Sammy Brooks (IA) tech. fall Ernest Battaglia (M), 20-4; 22-7 197 -- Cash Wilcke (IA) dec. Jackson Striggow (M), 5-2; 25-7 285 -- #6 Sam Stoll (IA) pinned Dan Perry (M), 2:22: 31-7

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A quartet of 3-0 performances lifted North Carolina to a sweep of the American Duals Friday evening at AU's Bender Arena. Carolina opened the day with a 25-6 victory over Army West Point before a nearly identical 25-7 win over Wyoming. The Tar Heel grapplers closed out the event with a 26-10 triumph over the host Eagles that improved UNC to 4-2 on the year in dual action. No. 5 Joey Ward, No. 7 Ethan Ramos, Troy Heilmann and Cory Daniel each won all three of their matches on the day to lead Carolina ahead of its ACC opener Sunday vs. Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels led wire to wire in the opening dual against Army West Point. After a pair of high-scoring decisions from James Szymanski and Nicholas Lirette, Ward avenged one of his two losses on the year with a 5-2 victory over No. 15 Logan Everett. Heilmann then added a 14-2 major decision at 149 pounds, and UNC rolled to a 25-6 win. The Wyoming dual featured the most anticipated match of the day as Ward met 2016 NCAA finalist Bryce Meredith. Ward built a lead through two periods only to have No. 8 Meredith rally to force overtime. Entering extra time tied at 6-6, Ward came up with a takedown in the sudden victory period to score another top-10 win. Heilmann and Joey Moon added ranked wins of their own at the next two weights - Heilmann beat No. 11 Cole Mendenhall 9-5 before Moon topped No. 12 Archie Colgan 7-2. Ramos added the lone bonus point win of the dual for UNC with a 13-5 major over Kyle Pope at 174. Again it was Ward who helped Carolina rally from an early deficit in the nightcap against AU. After the hosts took a 7-0 lead, Ward's 12-0 major over Jack Mutchnik pulled UNC within three and improved Ward to 17-2 on the season. Wins by Heilmann and Moon put the Tar Heels in front before Devin Kane made his dual debut in impressive fashion. The true freshman scored a 9-1 major over Michael Eckhart before Ramos' first-period pin. The six-pointer, Ramos' fourth of the year, came in just 1:14 and pushed his record to 12-4. Daniel closed out the competition with a 2-1 win over Brett Dempsey at 285. The redshirt sophomore improved to 15-6 on the year with his three wins Friday. Carolina turns its attention to ACC foe Virginia Tech Sunday evening at 6:30 at Carmichael Arena. Admission for all fans is free. North Carolina 25, Army West Point 6 125: James Szymanski (UNC) dec. Trey Chalifoux (ARMY), 12-9 - UNC leads 3-0 133: Nicholas Lirette (UNC) dec. Austin Harry (ARMY), 10-9 - UNC leads 6-0 141: #5 Joey Ward (UNC) dec. #15 Logan Everett (ARMY), 5-2 - UNC leads 9-0 149: Troy Heilmann (UNC) maj. dec. Matthew Kelly (ARMY), 14-2 - UNC leads 13-0 157: #18 Russell Parsons (ARMY) dec. Joey Moon (UNC), 6-2 - UNC leads 13-3 165: Jack Clark (UNC) dec. Andrew Mendel (ARMY), 4-2 - UNC leads 16-3 174: #7 Ethan Ramos (UNC) dec. Ben Harvey (ARMY), 5-3 - UNC leads 19-3 184: Samson Imonode (ARMY) dec. Elijah Kerr-Brown (UNC), 4-1 - UNC leads 19-6 197: Daniel Chaid (UNC) dec. Rocco Caywood (ARMY), 7-5 - UNC leads 22-6 285: Cory Daniel (UNC) dec. Trevor Smith (ARMY), 5-3 - UNC wins 25-6 North Carolina 25, Wyoming 7 125: Drew Templeman (WYO) tech fall James Szymanski (UNC), 17-0 (3:38) - WYO leads 5-0 133: Nicholas Lirette (UNC) dec. Gunnar Woodburn (UNC), 3-1 - WYO leads 4-3* 141: #5 Joey Ward (UNC) dec. #8 Bryce Meredith (WYO), 8-6 (SV-1) - UNC leads 6-4 149: Troy Heilmann (UNC) dec. #11 Cole Mendenhall (WYO), 9-5 - UNC leads 9-4 157: Joey Moon (UNC) dec. #12 Archie Colgan (WYO), 7-2 - UNC leads 12-4 165: #16 Branson Ashworth (WYO) dec. Jack Clark (UNC), 3-0 - UNC leads 12-7 174: #7 Ethan Ramos (UNC) maj. dec. Kyle Pope (WYO), 13-5 - UNC leads 16-7 184: Elijah Kerr-Brown (UNC) dec. Chaz Polson (WYO), 4-3 - UNC leads 19-7 197: Daniel Chaid (UNC) dec. Luke Paine (WYO), 7-3 - UNC leads 22-7 285: Cory Daniel (UNC) dec. Sam Eagan (WYO), 5-3 - UNC wins 25-7 *Wyoming deducted one team point North Carolina 26, American 10 125: #17 Josh Terao (AU) dec. Tyrone Klump (UNC), 6-4 - AU leads 3-0 133: Esteban Gomez-Rivera (AU) maj. dec. Nicholas Lirette (UNC), 12-4 - AU leads 7-0 141: #5 Joey Ward (UNC) maj. dec. Jack Mutchnik (AU), 12-0 - AU leads 7-4 149: Troy Heilmann (UNC) dec. Michael Sprague (AU), 4-3 - Tied 7-7 157: Joey Moon (UNC) dec. Cole Moseley (AU), 8-3 - UNC leads 10-7 165: Devin Kane (UNC) maj. dec. Michael Eckhart (AU), 9-1 - UNC leads 14-7 174: #7 Ethan Ramos (UNC) pinned Nicholas Carey (AU), 1:14 - UNC leads 20-7 184: Elijah Kerr-Brown (UNC) dec. Jason Grimes (AU), 4-3 - UNC leads 23-7 197: Jeric Kasunic (AU) dec. Daniel Chaid (UNC), 21-16 - UNC leads 23-10 285: Cory Daniel (UNC) Dec. Brett Dempsey (AU), 2-1 - UNC leads 26-10

Bloomsburg, PA -- Freshman Vinny Vespa recorded a second period pin at 133 to lead the Hofstra Pride to a 30-9 non-conference victory over the Huskies of Bloomsburg University at Nelson Field House Friday night. The Pride evened their season record to 2-2 while the Huskies fell to 3-7 on the year. Vespa recorded his second win by fall of the season with a pin of Bloomsburg's Matt Noble at the 4:39 mark of their 133-pound match. Vespa's win, which evened his season record at 8-8, gave the Pride a 9-0 lead after Jacob Martin's 8-4 decision win over Willy Girard at 125. Martin improved to 8-12 on the season. Hofstra won the next two matches in the contest to build an 18-0 lead as Connor Burkert (7-9) won by forfeit at 141 and Ryan Burkert posted an 8-3 win over Nate Newberry at 149. Ryan Burkert is now 10-9 on the season. Bloomsburg got on the board with consecutive wins at 157 and 165. Kevin Laubach defeated Jake Kaminsky (10-11) at 157, 11-4 and Reid Stanley topped Bobby Fehr (3-7) at 165, 3-1 to close the deficit to 18-6. But Hofstra's Sage Heller recorded his fifth consecutive victory with a 9-3 decision over Trevor Allard at 174, 9-3. Heller is 18-7 in his freshman season. The Huskies notched their third and final win of the contest at 184 as Kyle Murphy edged Michael Oxley (7-11), 3-2 on the riding time point. But Nezar Haddad (6-7) won by forfeit at 197 and brother Omar Haddad (4-10) posted a takedown near the end of the sudden victory period to post a 3-1 win over Bo Spiller for the 30-9 final. The Pride return to action on Sunday, January 8 when they compete in Long Island Wrestling Day at the LIU Post Duals in Brookville, NY. Hofstra will face Duke University at 11 a.m. and East Stroudsburg University at 12:30 p.m. Results: 125- Jacob Martin (HU) dec. Willy Girard (BU), 8-4 133- Vinny Vespa (HU) WBF Matt Noble (BU), 4:39 141- Connor Burkert (HU) won by forfeit 149- Ryan Burkert (HU) dec. Nate Newberry (BU), 8-3 157- Kevin Laubach (BU) dec. Jake Kaminsky (HU), 11-4 165- Reid Stanley (BU) dec. Bobby Fehr (HU), 3-1 174- Sage Heller (HU) dec. Trevor Allard (BU), 9-3 184- Kyle Murphy (BU) dec. Michael Oxley (HU), 3-2 197- Nezar Haddad (HU) won by forfeit 285- Omar Haddad (HU) dec. Bo Spiller (BU), 3-1 in SV

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- The George Mason wrestling team won the first four bouts of the day, bolting out to a 16-0 lead over the Wildcats on the way to an impressive 30-6 victory on Friday at the Belk Arena in Davidson, N.C. Mason (2-7, 1-1 EWL) won its second road dual of the season, surpassing last year's road win total. The Patriots claimed victories in eight of the 10 bouts against the Wildcats on Friday, with Mason dropping the other two matches in overtime. The match began at 184-pounds and the Patriots claimed victories in the first four matches of the day, earning bonus points in three. Sophomore Austin Harrison (1-5) took a 2-0 advantage over Wildcats junior Konner Pritchard into the third period before putting the bout away with a quick escape, scoring four points in the final frame for a 6-0 decision at 184-pounds to give the Patriots a 3-0 match score lead. "With Austin going out and getting that win at 184 was definitely a great sign for us," Mason assistant coach Mark Weader said. "He's been working hard and it was great for him to get that win. That victory really set the tone for us." Harrison earned his first win of the season. "It feels great because I have put a lot of work in," Harrison said. "I'm usually not the first person to wrestle. Coach Joe Russell talks about momentum and setting the pace for everyone that follows. It was time to take advantage of the opportunity." Senior Matt Meadows (2-7) notched his second win of the season. He led 6-0 after the first period and recorded a convincing 15-2 major decision over junior Ryan Devlin at 197-pounds. Sophomore Matthew Voss (11-8) had a one-point lead after the first period against Davidson junior Will Cooley. Voss would go on to record his first major decision of the season, with a 12-4 win at heavyweight. "The match did start off a bit slow but I made sure I was pushing the pace the entire time," said Voss. "As the match went on, it helped me open the door to score more points to get that major." Voss was one of four Patriots to earn a major decision against the Wildcats. "We worked as hard as we could and it was a good win," Voss said. "We scored a lot of bonus points, which is always great to see in a match. That means we went out and gave it 100 percent, which is what we aim to do as a team." Junior Ibrahim Bunduka (7-0), who won a tournament title at the Lock Haven Classic a week ago, built a commanding 12-1 lead in the first period and won by technical fall over Wildcats sophomore Camden Bertucci at 125-pounds to increase the Mason match score lead to 16-0. Freshman Logan Harvich (5-6) stormed to an 8-0 lead in the first period and claimed his second major decision of the season, defeating Davidson freshman Hunter Costa 9-0 at 141-pounds. Senior Sahid Kargbo (17-1) picked up his eighth major decision of the season, winning his bout at 149-pounds. Junior Daniel Mika (5-6) claimed a decision at 165-pouunds and senior Patrick Davis won by decision at 174-pounds. The Patriots won four bouts by major decision, one by technical fall and three by decision. The only two matches that the Patriots dropped were in overtime. Mason has won its last three duals against Davidson. "It's always good to get a win and we had some dominating individual wins," Weader said. "For us, it's no surprise that Sahid, Ibrahim and Matt are having great years. They are extremely hard workers and do the right thing on and off the mat. It's good to see that they are getting those results." Last season, Mason jumped out to a 17-0 lead over Davidson on the way to a 33-12 victory over the Wildcats at the Recreation and Athletic Complex in Fairfax. Harrison recorded a win at 197-pounds, while Bunduka, Anthony, Davis and Voss also earned victories against Davidson in last year's matchup. The Patriots are back in action on Saturday in a Tri-Meet, facing SIU Edwardsville at 12 p.m. and VMI at 2 p.m. at Cormack Hall in Lexington, Va. Results: 184 | Austin Harrison (Mason) decision over Konner Pritchard (DAV), 6-0 | 3-0 197 | Matt Meadows (Mason) major decision over Ryan Devlin (DAV), 16-2 | 7-0 HWT | Matthew Voss (Mason) major decision over Will Cooley (DAV), 12-4 |11-0 125 | Ibrahim Bunduka (Mason) tech. fall over Camden Bertucci (DAV), 18-2 | 16-0 133 | Dustin Runzo (DAV) SV over Lio Quezada (Mason), 7-5 | 16-3 141 | Logan Harvich (Mason) major decision over Hunter Costa (DAV), 10-0 | 20-3 149 | Sahid Kargbo (Maso) major decision over Aidan Conroy (DAV), 12-4 | 24-3 157 | Tony Palumbo (DAV) SV over Matthew Raines (Mason), 3-1 | 24-6 165 | Daniel Mika (Mason) decision over Noah Satterfield (DAV), 3-2 | 27-6 174 | Patrick Davis (Mason) decision over Conor Fenn (DAV), 2-1 | 30-6

Dean Heil edged George DiCamillo in the Southern Scuffle semifinals (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) The Southern Scuffle ended last week with Penn State true freshman Mark Hall capturing the 174-pound championship with a combination of dazzling offense and upperclassman composure. While Hall's performance has State College interested in pulling his redshirt, there was another moment -- perhaps less glorious and somewhat controversial -- which also sparked discussion: The 141-pound semifinal match between George DiCamillo (Virginia) and Dean Heil (Oklahoma State). The match was 3-1 in favor of Heil with about 30 seconds remaining in the third period when a scramble caught fire sending the pair into the ever-familiar exchange of funk rolls. Heil ended the match on his back, but somehow remained in neutral, winning the match and leaving some scratching their heads. As an alumnus I have an inherent bias towards the University of Virginia, but this entry is to discuss what to do about the recent proliferation of stop, drop, and roll. To help carry us along, I'm going to start with a brief historical guide to scholastic wrestling rules, then discuss why we are in our current rule set, and finally analysis on some possible changes that could improve the situation while also moving the sport forward. History and inspiring principles for scholastic wrestling Modern collegiate wrestling is a direct descendent of the "Collar and Elbow" style of wrestling brought over and popularized by Irish farmers in the 1850s. Those most-hardy of recent immigrants would pass time at harvest meetings with wrestling matchups between competitive families and farms. The gatherings were popular throughout the northeast and, coincidentally, held each March. The rules varied, but wrestlers began with their hands gripping their opponent's collar and elbow (today's collar tie -- this stuff doesn't come from nowhere!) with the aim of winning via pin, submission from a painful lock or an opponent conceding due to exhaustion. Matches would sometimes last days, but despite these growing time slots were soon drawing interest from non-farmers. For many years, there was no way to win a wrestling match but to deliver one of the simple outcomes. Over time that, and much more, would change. (Note: Volumes have been written on this topic. This is a simplified, 10k-foot view of the wrestling landscape. For more information check out Wikipedia entries on the classic styles.) As these competitions grew nationwide two things began to happen: money began to play a primary a role in promotion/matchmaking, and wrestlers began to improve. Money and skill improvement would end up creating a significant impact on wrestling at the turn of the century. On March 21, 1903, Columbia and Yale became the first intercollegiate schools to host a dual meet where two pins were necessary per weight to prove a winner. From Bill Stienman, longtime Columbia SID, "Intercollegiate wrestling began quietly, with a challenge delivered in February 1903 from Columbia's students to Yale, published in the Yale News. The men from New Haven accepted and agreed to two matches, the first at Columbia, the second at Yale, to take place the following month. Rules were agreed upon, four weight classes with two falls required to win, and a gold medal was donated by Columbia to go to the winning team." As the college kids kicked around pride, fans of barnstorming saw a massive professionalization in their operation. Throughout the first two decades of the 20th century professional wrestling was the most popular sport in America, but with attention came more money and a need to deliver entertainment. This growth would prompt larger-than-life personas, costumes, and eventually pre-determined outcomes. (There were also those still interested in traditional barnyard wrestling, known today as catch-as-catch-can whose ruleset also briefly appeared in the Olympics.) OK, so what does this all have to do with NCAA wrestling in 2017? In 1906 several schools got together and formed the NCAA. This brought the sport of wrestling into the realm of education, and presumably, fair play. The institutions were now in charge of directing the sport of wrestling. The sport was also in the Olympics and a unified rule set within collegiate wrestling was sought. It was evident to many that the pin-only format for wrestling needed some changes towards a "sport" model popularized in other sports. Simply put a sport model would create a point system for a variety of maneuvers which resembled the control, namely takedowns. (Jiu-jitsu is currently going through this growing pain, with submissions harder to find, rule sets have been developed. Currently there are more than a half dozen popular competition rule sets.) For the next 50 years wrestling rules at the collegiate level would be tweaked and refined. Many of the changes were a variety of point allocations given to incentivize the aggression of wrestlers. Positional advantages were given at the start of each period, back points were added, stalling points, and riding time were all brought into the sport to help spur action. Some ideas worked well, but as athletes and coaches began to game the system many of these were tweaked, replaced or removed. The perfect storm Sometime in the mid-1990's Fresno State (and others) began to negotiate the variety of risks coming from exposing one's back to defend takedowns and possibly score a takedown in the resulting scramble. There is no question that these series of moves, known colloquially as "funk" were innovative and exciting. Throughout the next two decades wrestlers nationwide began to work with this "funk" series and develop new ways to score points from countering offense. Perhaps the most successful of the funk practitioners was Missouri's Ben Askren, who won two NCAA titles largely from the confusion he created for opponents during these risky exchanges. Still, there were hundreds more (myself included) who were also effective at using this counter-based approach to build successful wrestling careers. As it happens the funk, once an outlier during technique sessions, became the must-have stuff. Soon, the prevention and defense to funky wrestling also became required technique. This of course spawned a new counter-offense, and subsequently the layers upon layers of technical minutia that now goes into defending and attacking during these exchanges. In a vacuum this type of spaghetti wrestling can be entertaining, often resembling a highly active jiu-jitsu match sans the consequence of such leg entanglements (toe holds, knee bars and heel hooks). However, recently the result has more often been a whole lot of nothing with stalemates, out-of-bounds, and dangerous holds replacing back points, falls, takedowns and other forms of match progression. Not insignificant is the fact that many of these exchanges become complex, almost theoretical exercises in what "control" means and how to award for such positions. Fans, wrestlers, coaches and wrestlers are in constant disagreement about where control occurs within these exchanges. The primary theoretical difference between Olympic-style wrestling and collegiate wrestling is that the former awards points based on technique while the latter is based on control. This difference is best seen in analyzing points awarded for throws from the feet. Olympic style wrestling awards the act of throwing and exposing a back to the mat, while collegiate style awards holding the position for takedown control (2 points) and back points (2-4 points). The way you travel to the mat is inconsequential. So how does this history inform us about actions to take regarding wrestlers who self-expose their backs during a match? Possible solutions There are a multitude of possible solutions, here are the top three: 1. Award back points even if the position is not definitely controlled. 2. Award takedown and back points if two swipes are started. No takedown needed to start swipes. 3. Re-write the rules of a takedown to include these situations directly. 4. Leave it alone and educate the referees on existing rule set. The first solution would create the most havoc, but likely also help wrestlers find even more creative solutions for fighting out of single and double leg attempts (or sprawl). By curtailing the number of inconsequential exchanges, you change the risk-reward evaluation of the wrestler. You also start creating more consequential action -- fewer 30-second scrambles ending with panting wrestlers and zero points. The wrestlers would be incentivized to look for "next level" techniques with their defense (sprawl) and if necessary to funk, which could progress into finding moments of control and subsequently, points. Awarding takedowns would be the right answer since you are then taking a scramble situation and handing out 4 or 6 points for a mistake. Two seems like a number that gets wrestlers to re-think strategy both from the offensive and defensive side. Final thoughts Scrambling is not the only thing amiss with the rule set in 2017. If we all agree that TO PIN IS TO WIN, then we also need refigure the incentives for riding versus looking for a fall. If you want to stay inspired by the sport's roots then it's obvious there is far too much tilting, and not enough pinning combinations. Ask yourself if a four-second hold from a cheap tilt be valued at four points, but a 37-second scramble with multiple back exposures be a scoreless void? We are kidding ourselves if we think the motivation for a cheap tilt is the same as one for a wrist-and-half, one is for points and one is for pinning. I'm interested to see if the NCAA rules committee addresses these issues. There is certainly an abundance of ideas on how to improve the rules, but with many also supporting a firm out-of-bounds and the elimination of ride time it'll come down to how they all intersect and what that will mean for the gamesmanship of the next generation of wrestlers and coaches. Oh, and as currently defined, no takedown should have been awarded to DiCamillo ... and that's a rub.

Stevan Micic was a runner-up at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) No. 10 Michigan hosts No. 2 Iowa tonight at Cliff Keen Arena. The dual meet is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network and streamed live on BTN2Go. Below are five matchups to watch in the dual meet. 133: No. 8 Stevan Micic (Michigan) vs. No. 1 Cory Clark (Iowa) The undefeated and top-ranked Clark has not competed since Nov. 27, but Coach Brands indicated that he will be returning to the lineup this weekend. He has not faced a ranked wrestler in seven matches this season, and if he does return against Michigan, he will face a very tough test against No. 8 Micic. The Michigan freshman reached the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational where he lost narrowly to Ohio State's Nathan Tomasello, a 2015 NCAA champion and two-time All-American. Micic enters the dual meet with a season record of 11-2. 141: Sal Profaci (Michigan) vs. Topher Carton (Iowa) While neither wrestler is ranked, this has the makings of a very competitive match. Carton, a senior, is coming off a solid Midlands performance where he placed seventh. Profaci, a redshirt freshman, has some quality wins this season. He hammered NCAA qualifier Mike Longo of Oklahoma 12-4, and also notched a victory over Navy's Jared Prince, who was ranked earlier this season. 149: Zac Hall (Michigan) vs. No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) Sorensen, a returning NCAA runner-up, captured his second straight Midlands title last week and remains undefeated on the season. After dominating victories in his first five matches in Evanston, Sorensen was pushed in the Midlands finals by returning All-American Justin Oliver of Central Michigan, but prevailed in sudden victory. Hall, a sophomore, was a highly ranked recruit coming out of St. Johns (Mich.) High School. He was a four-time state champion with a record of 198-2. Hall has started this season 8-4, and has convincing wins over No. 12 Davion Jeffries of Oklahoma and No. 19 Joey Delgado of Oregon State. 157: No. 10 Brian Murphy (Michigan) vs. No. 2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) The freshman Kemerer recently ascended to No. 2 in the rankings after winning a Midlands title and improving his record to 16-0. After dominating past NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis in the Midlands semifinals, Kemerer won a tight battle over Nebraska's Tyler Berger in the finals. Murphy, a senior, has had a successful Wolverine career despite battling injuries during his time in Ann Arbor. He was an All-American in 2015 and has qualified for the NCAAs three times. After winning his first five matches to start the season, Murphy has dropped his last three. His most notable win this season came over No. 8 Andrew Atkinson of Virginia. Two of his three losses have come to wrestlers ranked below him. 174: No. 9 Myles Amine (Michigan) vs. No. 13 Alex Meyer (Iowa) Amine, a redshirt freshman, shined in the first two months of the season. He placed third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, with his only loss at the event coming by one point to freshman sensation Zahid Valencia of Arizona State. Meyer is a returning All-American, placing eighth last season. He entered the Midlands undefeated and seeded No. 2, but suffered two losses, including one Iowa State's Lelund Weatherspoon, a wrestler he beat earlier this season. Dual Meet Prediction: Iowa 23, Michigan 14

One of the nation's best juniors, Josiah Rider (Grand Junction, Colo.) verbally committed to the University of Nebraska on Thursday evening. The Super 32 Challenge and Walsh Jesuit Ironman runner-up is the initial component to the Cornhuskers 2018 recruiting class. The returning state champion is currently ranked No. 7 in the country at 145 pounds, and is the No. 27 overall Class of 2018 wrestler. Rider projects to compete as a 157 pound wrestler in college.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Sean Doyle squirmed in his matside chair Thursday afternoon -- at least during the moments when he wasn't almost on his belly shouting instructions as Wheeling Jesuit closed in on the biggest victory in the young history of its program. The Cardinals have only been wrestling for four years, but they've never experienced better times than what they had on the opening day of the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals. Brackets, Results & Live Streaming: Men's Divisions | Women's Division Ticket and Event Information: NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals A year after going winless inside Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, unranked Wheeling Jesuit produced a stunning return by toppling No. 8 Findlay and No. 3 Maryville in succession to set up a Cinderella showdown with No. 21 Colorado State-Pueblo in Friday's semifinals. Doyle's Cardinals used overtime wins from freshman Greg Brusco (157) and Nic Skonieczny (165) before Maxwell Lacey wiggled off his back in a heartstopping heavyweight bout that put the lid on Wheeling Jesuit's 18-17 win against Maryville in the Division II quarterfinals. "It's been kind of a crazy month," Doyle said. "We had our first Top 10 win in Vegas (at the Desert Duals) when we knocked off Cal Baptist. We lost a tie to Wartburg, which was a big dual, fun dual. We learned a lot. We had Findlay first round here, who's another Top 10 team and then we had Maryville. "Our guys are obviously pumped right now. We were 0-3 here last year and we went home kind of like, 'This is part of the process of learning what it means to compete at a big national event.' This is the biggest win we've had." The Wheeling Jesuit win set the stage for a Friday morning dual with the other other surprise semifinalist in Division II. Colorado State-Pueblo advanced to the semifinals (Photo/Sara Levin) Colorado State-Pueblo went 2-11 in duals last year, but three All-Americans and a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Championships gave the Thunderwolves a jolt that carried into this season. "Did I see it coming? No," coach Dax Charles said. "We just put work in every day. … We've got a lot of good things and things have fallen into place We're a long way from being done. A long way." But Thursday was quite a start for the Thunderwolves. A fall from heavyweight Augustine DeSantis launched CSU-Pueblo to a 27-20 win against No. 6 Mercyhurst in the opening round and the Thunderwolves continued their blaze through the bracket by taking out No. 2 Notre Dame College 18-17 in the quarterfinals. CSU-Pueblo won three bouts by a combined five points, but the tipping point might have been at 165 when No. 3 JaCobi Jones pinned No. 7 Isaiah White in overtime. "The kids want to wrestle for each other," Charles said. "When you have team unity and you have kids who train hard, push themselves to do it for the team, you get these type of results." The upsets weren't contained just to Division II. Baker knocked off No. 6 Oklahoma City and No. 7 Southern Oregon on its way to the NAIA semifinals. The Wildcats got pins from Zane Baugh (125) and Colby Watters (133) in Baker's first two bouts and coach Cody Garcia's squad rode the wave of bonus points throughout the day. The Wildcats collected five pins and two major decisions in their 10 wins, including a fall from heavyweight David Dow that clinched a 23-18 win against Southern Oregon. "Our theme this year is ignite your passion," Garcia said. "You've got to have some fire starters in the beginning to kind of ignite the rest of the lineup and have a performance that inspires the next guy who steps on the mat. Not only the effort and attitude they're bringing to the mat, but to have that lead, I think that's important for us." Baker faces the ultimate measuring stick in NAIA on Friday when the Wildcats wrestle No. 1 Grand View, which outscored its first two opponents by a combined 79-12 count in its pursuit of a sixth straight title. "It's something you've got to embrace," Garcia said. "I'm excited about it. I think these guys are ready for it. We kind of talked about chasing the lion all week and we've got a lion in front of us right now. You've got to be excited about that." Life University and Indiana Tech advanced to the other semifinal in NAIA. The tournament's top seeds marched along Thursday with little trouble. Grand View coach Nick Mitchell was less than impressed with his team's performance, even though the Vikings won 16 of their 20 matches and racked up nine pins in the process. No. 1 St. Cloud State outscored its two opponents 74-17 en route to a Division II semifinal dual with Wisconsin-Parkside. Wartburg got off to a great start in its pursuit of a seventh straight Division III title. The Knights won 18 of their 20 bouts Thursday. The Knights will face Johnson & Wales in the semifinals. Augsburg will clash with Ithaca in the other Division III semifinal. No. 1 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M cruised into the junior college semis with a 31-15 win against Western Wyoming College. Iowa Central ripped through the bottom side of the bracket, winning 19 of its 20 bouts Thursday to set up a semifinal against Clackamas. Top-ranked King University registered six pins and two technical falls on its way to a 43-7 victory against Life University in the women's quarterfinals. The Tornado will take on Campbellsville, which clipped University of the Cumberlands 23-21. McKendree will face Oklahoma City in the other semifinal.

Fredy Stroker lost 6-4 to Anthony Collica of Oklahoma State on Nov. 27 (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) Fredy Stroker, a redshirt freshman at the University of Minnesota, announced on Thursday that he will be leaving the Gopher wrestling program. He posted the following message on Twitter: After much thought, I have decided to transfer from University of Minnesota and will be looking to make an impact for another D1 program at 157 pounds. A new chapter of my life is about to begin, and I'm excited for the opportunities in the future. I appreciate everything the staff and my teammates at Minnesota have done for me up until this point. Thank you for everyone who has and continues to support me in my journey. Peace and Love Stroker has a 7-9 record this season competing at 149 pounds. Earlier this week he went 0-2 at the Southern Scuffle. As a redshirt in 2015-16, Stroker compiled a 25-4 record. He was three-time state champion and four-time state finalist for Bettendorf (Iowa) High School. Stroker finished his prep career with a career record of 196-4. He captured a Junior National freestyle title in Fargo in the summer of 2015.

The 2016 Olympics are one for the history books ... and not just because they concluded more than four months ago. As with any epic sporting event, there were surprises galore. Some heart-wrenching, some heart-warming ... and a couple that were jaw-dropping for the wrong reasons, such as the Mongolian wrestling coaches who stripped off most of their clothes while on the mat to protest an official's call. One pleasant surprise may well have been how smoothly the 2016 Olympics went overall. A year ago, there were serious concerns about the Summer Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ... summed up by an InterMat article in April 2016 titled "Is Rio ready for wrestlers?" that outlined a long list of pre-event fears: a murderous crime rate, the Zika virus, political instability, a crashing economy, and the classic issue of "will the Olympic Village and sports facilities be ready for the athletes?" There was even talk of relocating the 2016 Olympics back to London (host of the 2012 Games) or Tokyo (which was reportedly already ready for the 2020 Games). Ahead of the 2016 Olympics, some American wrestling fans may have been concerned that the U.S. was sending its smallest number of wrestlers to the Olympics in over six decades, having failed to qualify wrestlers in a total of five classes for the Rio Games. Despite having the fewest number of wrestlers at any Olympics since 1952, Sports Illustrated remained optimistic, predicting Team USA would claim a total of six medals, including gold for Adeline Gray and Jordan Burroughs. The magazine was right about the number of U.S. gold medals in wrestling ... but was wrong about the recipients. Gray and Burroughs experienced heartbreak in Rio, having their dreams of gold -- or any Olympic medal -- dashed. Instead, the two US wrestlers to earn gold medals in Rio were Helen Maroulis and Kyle Snyder... ... while J'den Cox earned a bronze medal. Final tally: two men's freestyle medals, one for the women's freestyle team, and none for U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers. Helen Maroulis stunned Saori Yoshida in Rio (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Helen Maroulis made history by becoming the first Team USA women's freestyle wrestler to win an Olympic gold medal since women's competition first took place at the 2004 Olympics ... and she did it by defeating one of the all-time greats in Saori Yoshida of Japan who was going for her fourth consecutive Olympic championship. Like a true champion, the 24-year-old Maryland native expressed awe and respect for her legendary rival in the gold medal match at 53 kilograms/116.5 pounds. "I've been dreaming about wrestling Saori for so long," Maroulis, a first-time Olympian, said. "She's a hero. She's the most decorated wrestler in the sport. It's such an honor to wrestle her." "When you watch that much video of an opponent, you want to think of that person as the enemy," said Maroulis. "But with Yoshida, I didn't feel that way. You could see the love she felt for wrestling pour out of her. You could see how much she put into the sport. I felt in awe of her. It's hard to explain ... I felt inspired by her." Kyle Snyder with the American flag after winning gold (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Kyle Snyder earned his place in the history books in a number of ways. The 20-year-old Snyder is now the youngest U.S. man to win Olympic gold in wrestling. (Henry Cejudo earned his gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games at age 21.) What's more, Snyder became the 50th U.S. men's wrestler to have earned an Olympic gold medal. He was the first Ohio State wrestler to compete at an Olympics since 1992, and the first Olympic wrestling champion for the Buckeyes since Harry Steel brought home gold from the 1924 Olympics in Paris. Winning the gold medal at 97 kilograms/213 pounds at the 2016 Rio Olympics capped off an incredible 12 months for Snyder. In that time frame, the Marylander earned a World Championships title last fall in Las Vegas ... then, in March, he won an NCAA title, defeating the defending heavyweight champ, Nick Gwaizdowski of North Carolina State, thus snapping the Wolfpack big man's 88-match win streak. In fact, the last U.S. wrestler to rack up World, Olympic and national collegiate titles in the same amount of time was John Smith, six-time World and Olympic champion, who is now head coach at Oklahoma State. "Every time the national anthem is played, I think about the sacrifices people have had to make before I was even alive for me to compete," Snyder said in an interview with NBC after winning the gold medal. "I think about my family and my friends who have done so much for me. There's no way I could be where I am without them ... I am grateful for everything I have." Meanwhile, Snyder is back on the mat for Ohio State, in pursuit of a second NCAA championship -- and third finals appearance -- this March. J'den Cox with U.S. freestyle coach Bill Zadick (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) J'den Cox, now in his senior year as a wrestler at the University of Missouri, had never wrestled in international competition until last summer. However, that lack of experience was not an impediment, as none of his opponents managed to score a takedown on him as he worked towards earning a bronze medal in men's freestyle at 86 kilograms/189 pounds during the 2016 Olympics. The last match of the day for Cox, a 21-year-old from Columbia, Mo., had an ending that would have to rank as one of the strangest in seven days of wrestling in Rio. In the bronze-medal bout vs. Reineris Salas Perez of Cuba, Cox had a 1-0 lead well into the second period and was placed on the shot clock with just over one minute to go. The Mizzou Tiger secured a double leg on the Cuban as the shot clock expired. Initially, Salas Perez was awarded the go-ahead point with six seconds remaining in the match. After an official review, Cox was awarded a takedown and a 3-0 lead. Salas Perez realized he was resuming the match with a deficit, and signaled he was not going to wrestle, despite pleas from his coach. He started down the steps off the raised mat platform. Because he did not finish the match out of protest, Salas Perez was disqualified. The final score was a win for Cox by disqualification at 5:54. "It was awesome to know that I accomplished a great feat," Cox said after winning the bronze. "That wasn't my goal. I am not going to say that I accomplished my goal because my goal was to win gold. I am not bitter about it. I am happy. I accomplished a great feat, and so many people never get the chance to even come close to taste it. I got to taste it. I enjoy it and am very happy about it."

The newest documentary on the oldest and greatest sport is now available. "The History of Bradley Central High School Wrestling" DVD -- capturing the story of one of the nation's top prep mat programs -- goes on sale this Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. at Bradley High School during the school's dual meet vs. crosstown rival Walker Valley High. In addition, a special program that evening will recognize former Bradley wrestlers, including a tribute to the late Matt Keller, four-time Tennessee high school state champion wrestler at BCHS who went on to compete at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, then earned NCAA All-American honors at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Wrestling fans unable to attend the Thursday dual meet in Cleveland, Tenn. can go to the Bradley Central Wrestling page on Facebook or send an email to bradleyfolks@aol.com to learn how to order copies of the DVD for $20 each. The 57-minute documentary explores the reasons behind the success of the Bradley Central program from its humble beginning in 1973 through the current years. Among the individuals featured in the film: Alan Morris, the first wrestler to step on the mat representing the Bradley Central wrestling program in 1973, now head coach at Walker Valley ... current Bradley High head wrestling coach Ben Smith ... as well as Heath Eslinger, University of Tennessee-Chattanooga head wrestling coach, all who wrestled for the Bradley Bears. "The History of Bradley Central High School Wrestling" documentary features dozens of wrestling movie clips including Steve Logsdon's 1984 Tennessee state championship win --Bradley's first individual state champion -- along with photos of all 44 BCHS wrestlers who won individual state titles, numerous team photos and countless action shots as well. Since the program's inception, the Bradley Central Bears have grabbed 24 state championship trophies, with 178 BCHS wrestlers having earned medals at the state tournament, including 67 individual championship medals having been won by 44 different Bears. Despite that impressive tally of honors, the Bradley Central wrestling program got off to a rugged start back in the early Seventies. "We have the first coach, Jerry Frazier, talking about how he knew absolutely nothing about wrestling," said Debbie Moore, co-producer of the documentary. "He talks about how the other coaches in the community came forward and helped him." "What I want the public to know about the documentary is just how special a wrestling community we have as a whole," Debbie Moore continued. "We are one of the most successful programs of any kind in the state in any sports program. That doesn't come just by hard work. It doesn't come just by knowing Xs and Os. It comes by the culture and tradition we have developed over the years, and the family atmosphere we have had for so many years."

For those keeping score, the year 2016 proved to be brighter for college wrestling fans in terms of overall growth in intercollegiate wrestling programs compared to 2015. This past year, InterMat reported that 14 brand-new or reinstated programs had been officially announced (compared to eleven the previous year). On the downside, one college wrestling program was axed in 2016 ... while sad, not as terrible as the four programs announced for elimination the previous year. New programs This year's crop of newly-announced college wrestling programs represents geographically diverse locations throughout the United States ... and one beyond our nation's shores. At least two of the new programs are located in schools in the southeast U.S. Virginia's Averett University has announced it will be adding a men's wrestling program to its roster of intercollegiate sports -- along with men's and women's lacrosse -- thanks to the support of an anonymous donor. All three are scheduled to begin NCAA Division III competition during the 2017-18 academic year at the school which describes itself as a four-year, fully accredited, private, co-educational college with a traditional residential campus and an enrollment of approximately 1,000 students. The Reinhardt University wrestling team comes together before a dual meet against Allen University Meanwhile, Georgia's Reinhardt University has expanded its sports roster to include men's wrestling -- along with men's and women's bowling -- which will all compete in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics). Located straight north of Atlanta, Reinhardt describes itself as a rapidly-growing four-year school affiliated with the United Methodist Church, with an enrollment that has more than doubled in a dozen years to 500 students. A new-from-scratch wrestling program has come to the traditional wrestling hotbed of New Jersey. Jersey Coast Academy put out the word in 2016 that it was seeking a head wrestling coach "to lead a new junior collegiate wrestling team with the goal of developing a 2017/18 model NJCAA program." The school, located in Toms River, New Jersey, appeared to be eager to get the position filled, stating it wanted an individual who was available immediately. Oklahoma is another state with a rich tradition of wrestling. Seeking to make the most of that heritage, Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville, Okla. announced it would be adding a new NAIA wrestling program for the 2017-18 academic year. The four-year school located about 45 miles north of Tulsa describes itself as "an evangelical Christian university of The Wesleyan Church" with approximately 1,300 students. Kansas -- a state that has seen considerable growth in the number of schools offering the oldest and greatest sport in recent years -- has welcomed a trio of brand-new college wrestling programs. The University of Saint Mary, a private liberal arts university of approximately 1,000 students in Leavenworth, Kansas, announced it would be launching both men's and women's programs for 2016-17, and had already hired Chuck Kearney to coach both NAIA programs. McPherson, Kansas-based Central Christian College revealed it was starting a men's varsity wrestling program in fall 2016, and had welcomed Tom Carr, assistant coach at George Mason University, as the new program's head coach. The four-year private college's mat program will compete in the NAIA. In October, Cowley County Community College made it official: after months of research, the two-year public college in Arkansas City, Kansas added intercollegiate wrestling to its sports roster starting in fall 2017. The school, founded in 1922, has approximately 5,000 students; the new wrestling program will compete in the NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association). Most of the schools that are establishing brand-new programs see wrestling as a way to boost enrollment by offering a sport not on the roster at similar schools ... while appealing to local wrestlers who would like to continue their education closer to home. One last new wrestling program is about as far away from the U.S. heartland as possible: Jamaica's G.C. Foster College for Physical Education and Sport, which has produced some of the Caribbean island nation's most outstanding athletes and coaches in various disciplines, is adding wrestling to its roster of sports. The idea: to educate future coaches for the sport, who then can bring wrestling to schools throughout Jamaica. G.C. Foster College and Future Champs of Texas have signed a three-year memorandum of understanding, and plan to conduct additional wrestling workshops over the life of that contract. Programs returning from the dead A number of intercollegiate wrestling programs were resurrected after years away from the mat ... along with a program that was left for dead at one college, only to be given a new lease on life at another nearby school. After an eight-year absence, Moorpark College -- a two-year, public junior college in Ventura County just outside of Los Angeles -- will bring back wrestling in the fall of 2017, along with sand volleyball, which is joining the sports roster at the California junior college in 2018. Moorpark's wrestling program will compete in the NJCAA. Wrestling has already returned to Northeastern Junior College, a two-year, public residential college located in Sterling, Colo. near the Colorado-Nebraska border. The newly revived program, which came back to the mat this past fall as a NJCAA sport, had a successful run from the 1950s into the 1980s, claiming what remains to be the school's only national sports championship. Two colleges in the state of Illinois are welcoming the return of their long-absent wrestling programs. Judson University in Elgin -- a four-year, private school founded as a religious seminary a century ago -- is bringing back its wrestling program after more than four decades. The Judson Eagles, which last took to the mats in 1970, will start up again for the 2017-2018 school year, competing as a NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) program. Meanwhile, Joliet Junior College -- another school located just outside of Chicago, and the nation's oldest two-year public college -- celebrated its 115th birthday by reinstating its intercollegiate wrestling program which had been eliminated nearly 30 years ago. The school's Board of Trustees approved the establishment of a NJCAA wrestling program in fall 2017, if wrestling advocates raise the $30,000-$35,000 needed to relaunch the program by April 2017. In New York State, SUNY Ulster has brought back a wrestling program that had been gone for 40 years, and hired Justin Signorelli as head coach. Also known as Ulster County Community College, SUNY Ulster is a public two-year college located in the Hudson River Valley, supported by Ulster County, New York, and the State University of New York, with a main campus located in Ulster, N.Y. The school has a total enrollment of approximately 3,800 students. Now, here's a story of how one Kentucky college saved the wrestling program of another school in the Bluegrass State that was about to go out of business. Louisville-based Bellarmine University came to the rescue of the wrestling program at St. Catharine University, a tiny college located in central Kentucky which had announced it was closing its doors at the end of summer. Bellarmine stated it will be "essentially absorbing the former Saint Catharine College team" -- wrestlers as well as coaching staff. The new Knights wrestling program, which took to the mats this past fall, competes in NCAA Division II, making it the first school in the Bluegrass to have a wrestling program in that division. Grand Canyon falls into the abyss ... Now for the bad news: In early March, Grand Canyon University announced it would be eliminating its intercollegiate wrestling program effective at the end of the 2016 season. (The school will still have a wrestling club.) GCU, a private, for-profit, four-year Christian university located in Phoenix, Arizona, was in the third year of a four-year plan to move the Antelopes wrestling program from NCAA Division II to Division I. The school's terse, 100-word announcement did not provide any details; however, the Arizona Republic reported that Grand Canyon University had "attempted to become a non-profit school, but the Higher Learning Commission recently denied its request." According to the East Valley Tribune, GCU wrestlers and coaches were ushered into a meeting with the compliance department to learn their fate. "They were simply told the program was being cut but their scholarships would be honored," said the father of a freshman wrestler at GCU. "No real discussion of a reason." The program was established in 2007 as an NCAA Division II program, with R.C. LaHaye serving as head coach from the start before he was abruptly dismissed in the summer of 2014. In the final four years with LaHaye at the helm, Grand Canyon compiled a 62-23 overall record, with four individual national champions, and 13 NCAA All-American honors. One of the program's brightest stars, heavyweight Tyrell Fortune, had been named NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year in 2013. (Since then, Fortune signed a contract with Bellator MMA, and had a successful professional debut in November 2016.) St. Cloud State wrestling's brush with death Just days before the 2016 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, Minnesota's St. Cloud State University called athletes from all varsity sports for a major announcement concerning potential cuts to athletic programs. When the meeting was over, student-athletes learned that SCSU would eliminate men's and women's tennis, women's Nordic skiing, men's cross country and men's indoor/outdoor track and field at the end of the school year ... while the Division II team title-winning wrestling program was one of four men's sports forced to make roster reductions. The St. Cloud Times reported the SCSU wrestling program would lose 14 roster spots, for a total of 38 roster spots for the 2016-17 season. By comparison, the average Division II wrestling program has 33 on its roster, according to SCSU Athletics Director Heather Weems. The school located northwest of Minneapolis-St. Paul made clear the cutbacks were not caused by Title IX, but by declining enrollments and a $9 million budget shortfall. Wrestling coach Steve Costanzo, whose program brought St. Cloud its first national title in any sport, said it had been "rumored for a while" that his roster would be taking a hit. "The hardest part is the team is so close," said Costanzo. As SCSU wrestler Clayton Jennissen said after the meeting, "It's better than getting cut, like some of the other teams." The St. Cloud State Huskies not only survived the death scare, but also successfully defended their team title at the 2016 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships held that weekend in Sioux Falls, S.D.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- In a return to the dual wrestling portion of the schedule, CSU Bakersfield edged West Virginia 19-18 Wednesday night. Competing in a dual for the first time since Nov. 11, the night began for the 'Runners at 141 pounds where No. 11 Russell Rohlfing earned a major decision (13-3) over Joe Wheeling. Christian Monserrat put the Mountaineers into the lead at 149 when he pinned Coleman Hammond at 3:34. Jacob Thalin would return the advantage for good to the Roadrunners with his 8-3 victory at 157 pounds against Dayton Garrett. At 165 pounds, Lorenzo De La Riva, ranked 13th by Track Wrestling defeated the previously undefeated Dylan Cottrell 9-6. Cottrell is ranked fourth in both the Intermat and Track Wrestling polls. At 174, Matt Penyascek earned an 8-2 decision over Ty Millward to increase the CSUB lead to 10. At 184, the Roadrunners' Bryan Battisto and West Virginia's Park VonEgidy combined for four reversals in the third period before Battisto earned the final scoring opportunity. Battisto's reversal with three seconds remaining put him up 7-6 before a 1:01 riding time advantage made it the final 8-6. The 197-pound bout featured a pair of wrestlers ranked in the Intermat top 20 as WVU's Jacob A. Smith (No. 6) defeated Matt Williams (No. 18) by a 6-2 count. The heavyweight match looked as if the Roadrunners would fall behind the Mountaineers. CSUB's Alex Encarnarcion-Strand was leading Brandon Nagti 3-0 to begin the third period when his right knee appeared to have caught in the mat on a Nagti takedown. Encarnarcion-Strand used 1:27 of his allotted 1:30 of injury time before deciding to continue. This decision paid off for the Roadrunners as the redshirt senior would gut out a 6-4 victory and give CSUB a 19-9 lead. The Roadrunners' Sean Nickell (ranked 17th by the Amateur Wrestling News) and WVU's Devin Brown would end regulation tied at four. Brown earned the victory with a takedown 22 seconds into overtime. This decision clinched the dual victory for the Roadrunners. With CSUB leading 19-12, Cory Stainbrook pinned Carlos Herrera with five seconds remaining in the first period to make it the final 19-18 score. "We had some mixed results tonight," said CSUB head coach Manny Rivera. "Giving up two wins is very disappointing in a couple of the matches that I thought we were favored. In my opinion we should have won by a lot more. We have to stay ready and get better for Sunday with a much better Stanford team coming in. We have to wrestle better than this." The Roadrunners (3-1) host No. 15 Stanford (2-1) in the Pac-12 opener for both schools Sunday at 5 p.m. in the Icardo Center. West Virginia falls to 0-7 in dual competition this season. Results: 141 Russell Rohlfing (CSUB) def. Joe Wheeling, 13-3 149 Christian Monserrat (WVU) pinned Coleman Hammond, at 3:34 157 Jacob Thalin (CSUB) def. Dayton Garrett,8-3 165 Lorenzo De La Riva (CSUB) def. Dylan Cottrell, 9-6 174 Matt Penyacsek (CSUB) def. Ty Millward, 8-2 184 Bryan Battisto (CSUB) def. Parker VonEgidy (WVU), 8-6 197 Jacob A. Smith (WVU) def. Matt Williams, 6-2 285 Alex Encarnarcion-Strand (CSUB) def. Brandon Nagti, 6-4 125 Devin Brown (WVU) def. Sean Nickell, 6-4 (SV) 133 Cory Stainbrook (WVU) pins Carlos Herrera, at 2:55

As the Cheesehead Invitational celebrates its nineteenth edition this weekend, it has parlayed a number of factors into becoming an excellent regional/national high school wrestling tournament. These include a unique format enabling all wrestlers to get multiple matches, an attractive mid-season event date, location within a region passionate about wrestling, and an excellent tournament management team that is well-connected in the wrestling community and on the cutting edge in terms of coverage and technology. This year's 31-team field feature squads from seven states (Alabama, Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin). Six of the teams are nationally ranked: No. 24 Lockport (Ill.), No. 26 Kasson-Mantorville (Minn.), No. 27 Montini Catholic (Ill.), No. 33 Apple Valley (Minn.), No. 35 Southeast Polk (Iowa), and No. 48 Kaukauna (Wis.) Additional notable teams include Chicago Mt. Carmel, Marmion Academy, and Carl Sandburg who are all ranked inside the top ten in Class 3A per Illinois Matmen; Stoughton, Milton, Pewaukee, Freedom, Two Rivers, and Fennimore are all ranked inside the top five within their division statewide per Wisconsin Wrestling Online; Waverly-Shell Rock is ranked inside the top five in Iowa Class 3A by multiple outlets; St. Michael-Albertville and Simley are ranked inside the top four of their class in Minnesota per The Guillotine; Platte County is ranked third in Class 3 per MissouriWrestling.com; while Thompson, Ala. was top five in their state tournament last year. From an individual competitor standpoint, there are 20 wrestlers in this tournament field that won a state title last year and/or appear in the InterMat national high school wrestler rankings. Three wrestlers seek to repeat as champions at the Cheesehead this year: No. 14 Patrick McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), No. 9 Jacob Raschka (Pewaukee, Wis.), and No. 1 Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.); another pair of wrestlers seek a third consecutive title, No. 8 Real Woods (Montini Catholic, Ill.) and No. 1 Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.); while No. 4 Austin O'Connor (St. Rita, Ill.) is after a fourth consecutive tournament title at the Cheesehead. Fans will assuredly be treated to an excellent showcase of wrestling over both days of competition, foremost in a pair of weight classes where multiple nationally ranked wrestlers are present. At 160 pounds, it's a trio, including those ranked first and second nationally: Brady Berge, Jake Allar (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), along with No. 19 Trevell Timmons (Lockport, Ill.); while three ranked wrestlers are present at 195 pounds: No. 2 Patrick Brucki (Carl Sandburg, Ill.), No. 9 Jacob Raschka, and No. 10 Daniel Kerkvleit (Simley, Minn.) In addition to those already mentioned, five other nationally ranked wrestlers are present in the field: No. 12 Joey Melendez (Montini Catholic, Ill.) at 113 pounds, No. 11 Will Lewan (Montini Catholic, Ill.) at 145, No. 17 Jackson Hemauer (DeForest, Wis.) at 182, and No. 19 Noah Ryan (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) at 220. With many weight classes having close to ten wrestlers ranked inside the top eight of their state tournament classification in the bracket, there is guaranteed to be an extremely intense level of competition from first to last whistle over two days in Kaukauna, Wis. at the 19th edition of the Cheesehead Invitational.

A mid-season showcase for the best of the best on the west coach comes this Friday and Saturday at Clovis High School near Fresno, Calif. Among the 106 schools sending full or partial squads to the Doc Buchanan Invitational are six of the seven nationally ranked teams that reside in the Rocky Mountains or west of them, as well as 20 nationally ranked individuals in eleven weight classes. The loaded field is anchored by a pair of top ten teams in local rivals, No. 2 Buchanan (Calif.) and No. 6 Clovis (Calif.). Other nationally ranked teams in the field include No. 21 Pueblo County (Colo.), No. 22 Pomona (Colo.), No. 30 Gilroy (Calif.), and No. 50 Roseburg (Ore.). Eight of the other nine California teams ranked by The California Wrestler in the top 12 for state tournament strength are also in the field: Bakersfield, Clovis North, De La Salle, Del Oro, Oakdale, Rancho Bernardo, Selma, and St. John Bosco. From Colorado, there are a pair of additional teams ranked within the top five for their respective classification per the most recent On the Mat rankings: Greeley Central and Poudre. Below is a weight-by-weight overview for a tournament field that features a pair of wrestlers ranked second nationally, three more ranked third nationally, and another pair ranked fourth nationally in their respective weight classes. 106 pounds: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers anchor this weight class in No. 2 Antonio Lorenzo (Del Oro) and No. 13 Brendon Garcia (Pueblo County, Colo.); Lorenzo placed at state last year and was a Super 32 Challenge runner-up this fall, while Garcia was a state champion last season and a Junior National double finalist this summer in Fargo. Others to watch in this weight class include returning state qualifiers Cole Reyes (Bakersfield Frontier) and Eric Sanchez (Silver Creek), along with freshmen Giano Petrucelli (Clovis) and Wyatt Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.) 113: Three nationally ranked wrestlers lead the way in what is a most excellent weight class, No. 3 Nico Aguilar (Gilroy), No. 9 Jesse Vasquez (St. John Bosco), and No. 17 (at 120) Matthew Olguin (Buchanan); Aguilar was a state runner-up last year and a Junior National freestyle champion this summer, the freshman Vasquez was finished runner-up at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, while Olguin won state last season upending Aguilar in the state final. Others to watch in this weight class include two-time state finalist Josiah Nava (Pueblo County, Colo.), state champion Hunter Sparks (Roseburg, Ore.), and state medalist Justin Pacheco (Pomona, Colo.) 120: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers lead the way in this weight class, No. 15 (at 126) Ethan Leake (Buchanan) and No. 20 Ian Timmins (Wooster, Nev.); Leake was state champion last year, and comes off a Clash Duals where he beat a pair of nationally ranked wreslters on day two, while Timmins is a Flo Nationals champion and three-time state champion. Others to note in this weight class include Cadet National freestyle champion Coltan Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.); state placers in Nathan Bonham (Pueblo County, Colo.), Gregory Viloria (Merrill West), Eric Rivera (Clovis North), Alex Nunez (Alta Loma), and Wyatt Cornelison (Clovis); along with state qualifiers Sidney Flores (Bishop Amat), Patrick Ramirez (De La Salle), and Christian Nunez (St. John Bosco). 126: Four high profile wrestlers anchor this weight class, including a pair that are nationally ranked, No. 4 Justin Mejia (Clovis) and No. 12 Andrew Alirez (Greeley Central, Colo.); Mejia is a three-time state champion, while Alirez won state as a freshman and was runner-up at the Super 32 Challenge in the 120 pound weight class this fall. The other two high profile names are state runner-up Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo), who also was a Cadet National freestyle runner-up this fall, and three-time state placer Robert Garcia IV (Selma). Others to watch include three-time state placer Isaiah Palomino (Bellarmine Prep), state placers Izaak Olejnik (Bakersfield) and Job Greenwood (Poudre, Colo.), as well as New Mexico state champion Tyler Deen (Buchanan). 132: Three nationally ranked wrestlers lead the way in this weight class, No. 12 Theorius Robison (Pomona, Colo.), No. 14 Hunter Willits (Pueblo County, Colo.), and No. 15 Gary Joint (Lemoore, Calif.). Robison won state as a freshman and was a Cadet Greco-Roman champion this summer before winning the Reno Tournament of Champions last month, Willits placed at the Super 32 Challenge this fall and is a two-time state champion, while Joint was a Junior National freestyle All-American and is a three-time state placer. Others to watch in this weight class include Junior National folkstyle champion Chris Deloza (Clovis North), state placers Adam Velasquez (Pittman) and Ricky Torres (Oakdale), along with multi-time state placers in Cole Polluconi (Monarch, Colo.) and Zeke Alirez (Greeley Central, Colo.) 138: While this weight class is lacking in a nationally ranked wrestler, it is not lacking for credible talent. Leading the way here are two-time state placers Alex Felix (Gilroy) and Zander Silva (Alta Loma), two-time state champion and two-time Preseason Nationals champion Jacob Greenwood (Poudre, Colo.), 2015 state placer J.J. Figueroa (Bakersfield), state champions Bennett Mesa (Roseburg, Ore.) and Justin Davis (Pueblo County, Colo.), state placers Brett Villarreal (Buchanan) and Tony Mendoza (Selma), state runner-up Erik Contrears (Mountain View, Colo.), and impact freshman Sonny Santiago (St. John Bosco). 145: Back to nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class with a pair present, No. 4 Navonte Demison (Bakersfield) and No. 10 Jaden Enriquez (Mission Oak); Demison was a state champion last season and is a two-time Junior National folkstyle champion, while five-time Fargo All-American Enriquez placed at state as a freshman and sophomore before missing out last year due to injury during the state series. Others to watch include Cadet Greco-Roman world team member Peyton Omania (De La Salle), a pair of Buchanan state qualifiers in Tristan Zamilpa and Chris Gaxiola, along with state placers Chris Fasano (Pueblo County, Colo.) and Parker Benekas (Ponderosa, Colo.) 152: Headlining the field in this weight class is No. 9 Hunter Willits (Pueblo County, Colo.), a Junior National freestyle All-American, Super 32 Challenge placer, and three-time state champion. Others to watch include two-time state runner-up Jason Romero (Pomona, Colo.), state placers Joel Romero (Buchanan) and Noah Blake (Del Oro), Junior National freestyle All-American David San Miguel (Bellarmine Prep), and National Prep placer John Manning (Villanova Prep, Ontario). 160: Leading the field here is University of Michigan commit Layne Van Anrooy (Roseburg, Ore.), the three-time state champion is ranked No. 3 nationally in this weight class. Among the challengers are a pair of state placers from Clovis in Brandon Martino and Luis Enloe; Flo Nationals placer Aaron Olmos (Mater Dei Catholic); NHSCA Freshman Nationals chamion Joseph Barnes (Gilroy); as well as state qualifiers Ricky Gonzalez (Bakersfield), Bronson Harmon (Oakdale), and Mark Caldwell (Monarche). 170: Another weight class with a single nationally ranked headliner in No. 7 Anthony Mantanona (Palm Desert), a Flo Nationals and Junior National Greco-Roman champion this past off-season. Others to watch include 2015 state placer Abel Garcia (Oakdale), state runner-up Andrue Rojas (Greeley Central, Colo.), along with state qualifiers Victor Vargas (Clovis) and Christian Rodriguez (Selma). 182: Bereft a nationally ranked wrestler, the clear favorite in this weight class is Anthony Montalvo (Buchanan), a state runner-up and NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion. Others to watch include state champion Dante Garcia (Pueblo County, Colo.), two-time state placer Sam Loera (Bakersfield), Walsh Ironman placer Angel Solis (Lemoore), and state placer Austin Harris (Roseburg, Ore.) 195: The third of three weight classes in this tournament without a nationally ranked wrestler does feature a quartet of returning California state placers. Leading the way is a pair of two-time state medalists, NHSCA Junior Nationals runner-up Chasen Blair (Rancho Bernardo) and Danny Salas (St. John Bosco); the others are Adrian Godinez (Foothill) and NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion Ryan Reyes (Clovis West). Others to watch include state placers Donovan Rincon (Pueblo County, Colo.) and Cameron Campbell (Roseburg, Ore.), along with state qualifiers Trevor Ervin (Buchanan) and Ruger Wyneken (Clovis). 220: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class, No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) and No. 16 Darryl Aiello (De La Salle); Schultz is the nation's top overall sophomore and a two-time Fargo champion, while two-time state placer Aiello is a two-time Junior National All-American. Other contenders include three-time state champion Haydn Maley (Roseburg, Ore.) and state medalist Cade Belshay (Buchanan). 285: Leading the pack here is two-time state champion Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), who is ranked No. 2 nationally in this weight class and only a junior. Other “contenders” include a pair of state medalists in Pablo Miller (Del Oro) and Jesus Flores (Delhi).