InterMat Staff

The 54th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships take place today (Thursday) and tomorrow at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the campus of Northwestern University. All sessions will be live streamed on BTN2Go. The finals will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network on Friday at 7 p.m. CT. Below are five questions entering the Midlands. ASU's Zahid Valencia enters the Midlands as the favorite at 174 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Which freshmen will shine? The Midlands field includes several highly ranked freshmen. Among those ranked in the top 12 in their respective weight classes: Princeton's Matthew Kolodzik (141), Iowa's Michael Kemerer (157), as well as Arizona State's Anthony Valencia (165) and Zahid Valencia (174). Kolodzik, Kemerer and Zahid Valencia are all undefeated, while Anthony Valencia is 12-3 this season. There are several other freshmen looking to take the next step with a strong Midlands performance. How will three-time Division III champion Riley Lefever fare? Riley Lefever of Wabash College is a dominant force at the Division III level. He will be looking to capture his fourth NCAA Division III title in March. He has already proven that he can compete with the nation's best regardless of division. Earlier this season he notched a win over Nebraska's Aaron Studebaker, who is ranked No. 8 in Division I, on his way to winning the Harold Nichols Open. He also finished second at the Eastern Michigan Open competing against Division I competition. Lefever enters the Midlands as the No. 2 seed at 197 pounds -- behind Nathan Rotert of South Dakota State. If the seeds hold, Lefever and Studebaker will meet for the second time this season in the semifinals. Will Jason Tsirtsis return to form? Tsirtsis, a 2014 NCAA champion and two-time All-American, is coming off the most difficult year of his life. His sister passed away, as did his childhood best friend. He also battled injuries, and failed to reach the All-American podium for the first time in his college wrestling career. Tsirtsis transferred to Arizona State this season after he was put on academic probation and released from Northwestern. He is redshirting this season in Tempe, and competing up a weight class at 157 pounds. He returns to Evanston this week to compete at the Midlands, and is the No. 3 seed. He was a Midlands champion in 2015, and finished runner-up last year. Ohio State's Myles Martin, a returning NCAA champion, is the No. 2 seed (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Who will win the loaded 184-pound weight class? The 184-pound weight class is loaded with talent. It includes a dozen ranked wrestlers, including NCAA champion Myles Martin of Ohio State and NCAA runner-up T.J. Dudley of Nebraska. While those two are the top seeds (Dudley No. 1, Martin No. 2), it's far from a given those two will meet in the finals on Friday night. Returning All-Americans Pete Renda of NC State, Sam Brooks of Iowa and Nate Jackson of Indiana are also entered and capable of winning the bracket. Is Sam Stoll healthy and ready to make an impact? Iowa heavyweight Sam Stoll is making his season debut after recovering from a knee injury. Last season he looked to be on a track to reach the All-American podium before suffering an injury that hindered his performance greatly. He is currently ranked No. 5 and was given the No. 3 seed at the Midlands. He will look to improve on last year's third place finish at the Midlands. His performance this week should answer some questions on his health and potential impact this season.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Midlands Championship Committee released the official brackets and seeding Wednesday night for the 54th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. #Midlands54 begins tomorrow morning, Dec. 29, at 9:30 a.m. and runs through the finals on Friday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. The championship round will air live on Big Ten Network. Top seeds include: Thomas Gilman, Iowa (125); Zane Richards, Illinois (133); Matthew Kolodzik, Princeton (141); Brandon Sorensen, Iowa (149); Tyler Berger, Nebraska (157); Isaiah Martinez, Illinois (165); Zahid Valencia, Arizona State (174); TJ Dudley, Nebraska (184); Nate Rotert, South Dakota State (197); Connor Medbery, Wisconsin (285). Link: Brackets

Jason Bryant will be the sole guest on this week's edition of the On the Mat wrestling broadcast on Wednesday, Dec. 28. Bryant wears many hats in his involvement in wrestling. He is an award-winning journalist (recipient of the 2007 Dellinger Award as wrestling writer of the year by Amateur Wrestling News) as well as Ed Aliverti Golden Microphone Award-winning announcer of wrestling action at the NCAAs and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. On the Mat is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday at 5 p.m. Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on mattalkonline.com.

Live Blog Midlands Championships

EVANSTON, Illinois ­-- University of Iowa head wrestling coach Tom Brands and associate head coach Terry Brands will be inducted into the Midlands Hall of Fame on Friday. The Brands brothers have combined for 10 Midlands championships as wrestlers and coaches. Tom won the 1990 title as a competitor, while Terry brought home titles in 1991 and 1997. As Hawkeye coaches, they have led Iowa to seven team titles since 2007. Iowa has won 22 individual championships since Tom Brands' first year in 2006. They are the ninth and 10th members of the Midlands Hall of Fame affiliated with Iowa wrestling and the 50th and 51st members overall. Tom and Terry Brands will be recognized before the finals on Friday, Dec. 30. Director of Midlands Tim Cysewski will present the Brands brothers with their Hall of Fame plaques at center mat.

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY -- The United World Wrestling bureau met earlier this month at the 2016 World Championships in Budapest, passing several major improvements, including changes to the refereeing process and the appointment of new commission members. To increase the efficacy of the referee assignment procedure, the bureau approved a new IT system developed to randomly assign referees to matches during competition. The system, as approved by the bureau, takes into accounts several factors before assignment including current nationality, nation of origin, and rating among many more. A test version of the assignment program was launched at the 2016 World Championships with positive feedback from coaches, athletes and the referees. The bureau also approved a referee education course to be overseen by the development department. The head of referees and the Referee Commission will also now report to the United World Wrestling Sport department. The position of “Supervisor” has also been removed, leaving the referee delegate and the mat chairman to form the jury for challenges. A discussion around a new ranking and competition system was also started during the bureau meeting, but no decisions for immediate changes were made and the item was given to the Technical Commission for further suggestions. The Technical Commission will also discuss aligning senior and junior weight categories during their meeting early next month. Wrestling Body Reforms Referee Oversight, Appoints Commission Members, More United World Wrestling Press // Getty Images CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (December 27) – The United World Wrestling bureau met earlier this month at the 2016 World Championships in Budapest, passing several major improvements, including changes to the refereeing process and the appointment of new commission members. To increase the efficacy of the referee assignment procedure, the bureau approved a new IT system developed to randomly assign referees to matches during competition. The system, as approved by the bureau, takes into accounts several factors before assignment including current nationality, nation of origin, and rating among many more. A test version of the assignment program was launched at the 2016 World Championships with positive feedback from coaches, athletes and the referees. The bureau also approved a referee education course to be overseen by the development department. The head of referees and the Referee Commission will also now report to the United World Wrestling Sport department. The position of “Supervisor” has also been removed, leaving the referee delegate and the mat chairman to form the jury for challenges. A discussion around a new ranking and competition system was also started during the bureau meeting, but no decisions for immediate changes were made and the item was given to the Technical Commission for further suggestions. The Technical Commission will also discuss aligning senior and junior weight categories during their meeting early next month. The bureau accepted a new regulation across age divisions limiting the treatment of blood during a match to four (4) minutes, which will be kept on the score clock. In looking to improve the quality and competitiveness of the Veteran's division the bureau also approved a recommendation to realign their age divisions, set an age limit of 60 and require wrestlers to complete a thorough medical exam before competition. Tzeno TZENOV (BUL) was appointed the executive committee and elevated to the position of vice president. Tsenov has served on the bureau for more than 20 years and replaces Ahmet AYIK (TUR) who resigned from the bureau this year after a Hall of Fame career of service on and off the mat. Tsenov joins President Nenad LALOVIC (SRB), Secretary General Michel DUSSON (FRA), and Vice Presidents Stan DZIEDIC (USA), Natalia YARIGUINA (RUS), Michael MAMIASHVILI (RUS), Ahkrold RUZIEV (AZE) on the executive committee. Commission members for the 2016-2020 cycle were also nominated by national federations, with final lists certified by President Lalovic this week and circulated back to national federations. Nominations for the Athlete's Commission were extended until February. The full list of commission members can be found online at https://unitedworldwrestling.org/organization/commission/. United World Wrestling is the international governing body of wrestling and is headquartered in Corsier-­‐Sur-­‐ Vevey, Switzerland. To learn more about United World Wrestling and the activities of its 179 national federations, please visit: www.UnitedWorldWrestling.org, Facebook or Twitter.

Imagine stepping into a time machine and traveling back to 1936 to a high school wrestling event. Today's wrestlers, coaches and fans may be startled at how different prep wrestling was 80 years ago, compared to what we see nowadays. While we don't have access to time travel, InterMat can provide an idea of what high school wrestling was like in one high school in Minnesota eight decades ago. In the December issue of The Guillotine -- the monthly publication that covers amateur wrestling in the state of Minnesota -- long-time "View from the Matbird Seat" columnist Bruce Bartels shared information from documents he recently discovered for the first season of wrestling at Osakis High School in Osakis, Minn., a town of approximately 1,700 located just off I-94 about halfway between the Twin Cities and Fargo, N.D. A handout for a 1936 wrestling event at Osakis featured this startling request: "In all fairness to the contestants, the audience is asked to refrain from cheering any of the boys during the bout." The rules from 80 years ago may be equally startling to today's wrestlers and fans. For starters, championship bouts were ten minutes, while all others lasted six ... unless, of course, they ended in a fall. As for pins ... "a fall takes place when an opponent's shoulders are held in contact with the mat for an appreciable length of time." (Who determines what's "appreciable"? The referee? Or the poor kid who's in the pinning predicament?) As in college wrestling at the time, there was no system for awarding points for escapes or takedowns or other specific action. According to the Okasis wrestling event program, "If no fall takes place, the wrestler showing the greater wrestling ability will be awarded the match by a decision of the referee." Bartels' column also provided a list of "legal" and "illegal" holds from 1936. Among the legal holds: half Nelson and crotch, three-quarter Nelson, hammer lock, double-arm lock, hook scissors, and grapevine and underarm. Illegal holds included the twisting hammer lock, over scissors, full Nelson, strangle hold, and body slams. The 1947 Perry (Oklahoma) High School wrestling team, pictured here, wore uniforms like those worn by the Osakis (Minnesota) High School wrestling team team 80 years agoIn addition, Bartels mentioned that the Osakis treasure-trove from the 1930s included some team photos. None of these images appeared with his column; however, he provided a description of their uniforms: "The wrestlers were shirtless and wore bottoms closely resembling Speedo swimming trunks, no tights." While these wrestling uniforms may seem odd now, wrestlers at a number of high schools and colleges wore the trunks/no tights/no shirts look onto the mat right up to World War II ... including Oklahoma State three-time NCAA champ Stanley Henson, who celebrated his 100th birthday at the end of November. (For photos and info on old-school wrestling uniforms before today's singlet, check out this InterMat feature.) Despite all the changes in rules and uniforms since 1936, thankfully, one thing that hasn't changed: Osakis High School still has a wrestling program. Thanks to Bruce Bartels and The Guillotine for unearthing this fascinating look back at one high school wrestling program from eight decades ago. To subscribe to The Guillotine, visit their website.

The 15th edition of The Clash: National High School Wrestling duals features yet another most excellent field. It is anchored by three teams ranked within the top five nationally: No. 2 Buchanan (Calif.), No. 3 St. Edward (Ohio), and No. 4 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.). Six additional teams that are nationally ranked will compete in the 32-team event come Friday and Saturday from the Rochester (Minn.) Community and Technical College. Those teams would be No. 21 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), No. 24 Park Hill (Mo.), No. 26 Washington (Ill.), No. 37 Roseburg (Ore.), and No. 50 Anoka (Minn.) Competition on Friday is split up into four brackets featuring eight teams each. Each team will get three matches on day one. Teams that win their first dual will finish first through fourth, while those losing in the opening round will finish fifth through eighth. Come day two, there will be eight pools of four teams each, with each team competing in dual meets against the other squads finishing in the same place that they did in bracket competition on day one. On Friday, Brackets "A" and "B" will compete in the morning session, with matches starting at 9:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 1:00 p.m. Central Time; while teams in Brackets "C" and "D" will compete in the afternoon session, with matches starting at 4:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., and 8:00 p.m. Come Saturday, teams competing in the fifth through eighth pools will compete in the morning, while those in the first through fourth pools compete in the afternoon. Opening round matches in Bracket "A": No. 2 Buchanan (Calif.) vs. Bismarck Century (N.D.) Hastings (Minn.) vs. Tahoma (Wash.) No. 50 Anoka (Minn.) vs. Glenbard North (Ill.) Zumbrota-Mazeppa (Minn.) vs. No. 37 Roseburg (Ore.) Opening round matches in Bracket "B": No. 3 St. Edward (Ohio) vs. Foley (Minn.) Prior Lake (Minn.) vs. Commerce (Ga.) Providence Catholic (Ill.) vs. Owatonna (Minn.) Pierre (S.D.) vs. No. 34 Apple Valley (Minn.) Opening round matches in Bracket "C": No. 4 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) vs. Thompson (Ala.) Vacaville (Calif.) vs. Simley (Minn.) Wasatch (Utah) vs. Corona del Sol (Ariz.) Kenyon-Wanamingo (Minn.) vs. No. 26 Washington (Ill.) Opening round matches in Bracket "D": No. 21 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.) vs. Plattsmouth (Neb.) Hermiston (Ore.) vs. St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.) De La Salle (Calif.) vs. Albert Lea (Minn.) Pewaukee (Wis.) vs. No. 24 Park Hill (Mo.) Wrestlers to watch in each weight class (27 nationally ranked, including two ranked first nationally): 106 - No. 10 Ryan Chauvin (Lake Highland Prep), Angelo Rini (St. Edward), Trey Crawford (Park Hill), Sam Latona (Thompson), Christian Goin (Washington) 113 - No. 12 Matthew Olguin (Buchanan), P.J. Ogunsanya (Oak Park River Forest), Kelvin Eblen (Park Hill), Jacob Lindsey (Providence Catholic), Bryce Hepner/Scott Richter (St. Edward), Jeron Matson (Kenyon-Wanamingo), Hunter Sparks (Roseburg), Austin Michalski (Tahoma) 120 - No. 15 Patrick McKee (St. Michael-Albertville), No. 18 Bryce Andonian (St. Edward), No. 19 Dack Punke (Washington), Ethan Leake (Buchanan), Austin Kolvek (Park Hill), Colby Njos (Anoka), Noah Castillo (Lake Highland Prep), Will Turman (Pierre) 126 - No. 3 Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep), No. 6 Anthony Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest), No. 14 Weston DiBlasi (Park Hill), No. 15 Matt Kazimir (St. Edward), Curtis LeMair (Prior Lake), Tyler Delaware (Washington), Dylan Droegemuller (Anoka), Andrew Nielsen (Plattsmouth), Patrick Ramirez (De La Salle, Calif.), Gabe Hixenbaugh (Thompson) 132 - No. 7 Jason Renteria (Oak Park River Forest), No. 10 Allan Hart (St. Edward), Mason Wohltman (Lake Highland Prep), Zak Kohler (Wasatch), Josh Steele (Park Hill), Sebas Swiggum (Apple Valley), Adam McSorley (Hastings), Josh Ramos (Providence Catholic), Nick Whitehead (Tahoma) 138 - No. 2 Austin Gomez (Glenbard North), Tyler Eischens (Anoka), Sam Dover (St. Edward), Brett Villarreal (Buchanan), Kyle Rathman (Apple Valley), Bennett Mesa (Roseburg), Dominick Ambrose (Providence Catholic); Jamie Hernandez (Oak Park River Forest) will be nationally ranked if/when he returns to competition 145 - No. 18 Peyton Robb (Owatonna), Joel Romero (Buchanan), Peyton Omania (De La Salle, Calif.), Brandon Konecny (Corona del Sol), Kai Bele (Lake Highland Prep), Nate Larson (Apple Valley), Garrett Aldrich (Albert Lea), Abe Assad (Glenbard North), Juan Bazaluda (Provience Catholic), Corbin Smith (Wasatch), Lawrence Saenz (Vacaville) 152 - No. 14 Jake Brindley (Lake Highland Prep), Calvin Germinaro (Anoka), Thomas Lisher (Park Hill), Cole Smith (Providence Catholic), Vincent Dolce (Corona del Sol), Owen Brown (Commerce), Jaylen Thul (Apple Valley) 160 - No. 2 Jake Allar (St. Michael-Albertville), No. 3 Layne van Anrooy (Roseburg), No. 18 Erich Byelick (Lake Highland Prep), Mike Carpenter (St. Edward), Jakob Discher (Wasatch), Valen Wyse (Hermiston), Anthony Marre (Glenbard North) 170 - No. 6 Bryce Rogers (Lake Highland Prep), Kenny O'Neil (Prior Lake), Devin Winston (Park Hill), Trevor Swier (Providence Catholic), Chase Forrester (Commerce) 182 - No. 20 Anthony Montalvo (Buchanan), Tyler Stepic (St. Edward), Caden Steffen (Zumbrota-Mazeppa), Ritchie Heywood (Wasatch), Trey Rogers (Hastings), Jacob Rader (Bismarck Century) 195 - No. 1 Jacob Warner (Washington), No. 9 Jacob Raschka (Pewaukee), No. 11 Daniel Kerkvleit (Simley), No. 13 Brandon Moen (Owatonna), Kione Gill (Tahoma), Cody Howard (St. Edward), Cole Chancey (Commerce), D.J. Cohen (Wasatch), Cameron Campbell (Roseburg) 220 - No. 5 Jared Campbell (St. Edward), No. 14 Darryl Aiello (De La Salle, Calif.), No. 20 Hadyn Maley (Roseburg), Ben Goldin (Lake Highland Prep), Cade Belshay (Buchanan), Evan Foster (St. Michael-Albertville), Jackson Schichel (Hastings), Tanyi Besong (Apple Valley), Chris Middlebrooks (Oak Park River Forest), Jace Punke (Washington), Saylor Schmit (Foley), Knox Allen (Commerce), John-Henry Line (Hermiston) 285 - No. 1 Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.), Blaze Beltran (Pewaukee), Cade Ridley (Commerce), Jake Levengood (Vacaville), Seth Braun (Bismarck Century)

The "50 teams for 50 years" edition of the Powerade Wrestling Tournament is a most excellent event featuring six nationally ranked teams, 25 nationally ranked individuals, and 12 of 14 weight classes with at least one nationally ranked wrestler. In all, his event hold south of Pittsburgh at Canon-McMillan High School features the best of wrestling in Western Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, and the country as a whole. No. 13 Wyoming Seminary seeks to repeat as tournament champions. However, breathing on their heels will be No. 8 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) and No. 19 Lockport (Ill.). Other ranked teams include No. 40 Kiski Area, No. 42 St. Paul's (Md.), and No. 44 North Allegheny. Additional contenders include Bound Brook (N.J.) and Reynolds. Below is a weight-by-weight overview of the field. 106: UWW Cadet freestyle world champion Kurt McHenry (St. Paul's, Md.) ranked second nationally in this weight class, and is the clear favorite. A couple of other contenders include Cadet National double All-American Matthew Ramos (Lockport, Ill.) and freshman Drew Munch (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 113: Freshman Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) is the lone ranked wrestler in this weight class, coming in at No. 6 nationally after a runner-up finish at the Super 32 Challenge. Others to watch include multi-time national champion Mosha Schwartz (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), Walsh Ironman placer Jacob Dunlop (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.), returning Powerade placer Brandon Kassis (Parkland, Pa.), and state champion Brandon Wittenberg (Battlefield, Pa.), along with possibly four other Pennsylvania state placers. 120: A pair of top five wrestlers, both in this weight class and for their respective grade level anchor this weight class. No. 1 Gavin Teasdale (Jefferson Morgan) has yet to lose a high school match in two-plus seasons, but freshman phenom Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary) - ranked fifth nationally in this weight class - could change that narrative. Others to watch in this weight class include another freshman phenom in Sam Hillegas (North Hills), Super 32 placer Logan Macri (Canon-McMillan), along with state runner-up Louis Newell (Seneca Valley). 126: Yet another national No. 1 is Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional). The Iowa commit is the nation's best high school wrestler. Also in this weight class are No. 17 Jack Davis (Wyoming Seminary), three-time National Prep placer Daniel Planta (St. Paul's, Md.), as well as two-time state placers in Levi Englman (Colonial Forge, Va.), Hunter Baxter (Pine Richland), and Carmen Ferrante (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) 132: One of two weights without a nationally ranked wrestler. Leading contenders include two-time state champions Quincy Monday (Carrboro, N.C.) and River Curtis (Battlefield, Va.), three-time state/National Prep placer Jake Riegel (Wyoming Seminary), two-time state placer Abdullah Assaf (Lockport, Ill.), state champion Marc Garofalo (Colonial Forge, Va.), along with state placers in Ricky Torres (Oakdale, Calif.) and Job Chishko (Penn Trafford). 138: Three nationally ranked wrestlers, all among the better juniors in the country, lead the way in this weight class - No. 12 Cole Matthews (Reynolds), No. 15 Gerard Angelo (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), and Josh Humphreys (St. Alban's, W.Va.). Other contenders include state placers Robert Cleary (Bound Brook, N.J.) and Luke Kemerer (Hempfield Area, Pa.), along with freshman Alfonso Martinez (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 145: No. 2 Jarod Verkleeren (Hempfield Area) seeks many elusive things during his senior high school season before headed to Iowa State, the most current among them is a Powerade title, something he'll be favored to do come Friday night. Challengers include two-time state placers in Jake Hinkson (North Allegheny), John Pipa (Bishop McDevitt), Joe Casey (Bound Brook, N.J.), Zach Hartman (Belle Vernon), Justin McCoy (Chestnut Ridge), and Benny Baker (Wyoming Seminary); plus 2015 state placer and Super 32 Challenge placer Joe Blumer (Kiski Area). 152: Returning Powerade champion Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford), ranked second nationally, is among four top ten nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class. Those others are No. 5 Stephan Glasgow (Bound Brook, N.J.), No. 8 Shane Griffith (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), and No. 9 Frankie Gissendanner (Penfield, N.Y.). Others to watch include two-time state placer Kody Komara (Freedom), National Prep placer Bailey Thomas (Good Counsel, Md.), and freshman star Gerrit Nijenhuis (Canon-McMillan). 160: A pair of top ten wrestlers anchor the proceedings in this weight class, No. 7 Mekhi Lewis (Bound Brook, N.J.) and No. 10 Trevell Timmons (Lockport, Ill.). Also in this weight class are Super 32 placer Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), along with two-time state placers Jared Lough (Colonial Forge, Va.) and Jared McGill (Chestnut Ridge). 170: No. 4 Trent Hidlay (Mifflin County), runner-up in this tournament last year and a two-time Super 32 Challenge placer among other numerous distinctions, is the clear favorite in this weight class. Other contenders include three-time state champion Jacob Hart (Independence, W.Va.), National Prep runner-up Dale Tiongson (St. Paul's, Md.), 2015 state placer Abel Garcia (Oakdale, Calif.), Ironman placer Gavin Wilkerson (Reynolds), and Cadet National double All-American Jake Hendricks (Wyoming Seminary). 182: No. 3 Nino Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park) is the favorite to win this weight class after finishing runner-up at 170 pounds last year. Others to watch include two-time state placers Anthony Walters (Bishop McCort, Pa.) and Hunter DeLong (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) along with state placers George Walton (Bound Brook, N.J.), Cody Mulligan (Saegertown), and Austin Cooley (Wyoming Seminary). 195: An absolutely loaded behemoth of a weight class with six nationally ranked wrestlers. No. 5 Brandon Kui (DePaul Catholic, N.J.) won the Powerade down a weight class last year by beating No. 8 Jake Woodley (North Allegheny) in the final, but Woodley upset Kui last week in the semifinal round at the Beast of the East. No. 4 Gavin Hoffman (Montoursville) and No. 14 Cole Nye (Bishop McDevitt) were both state champions last year in Pennsylvania's Class AA division, also both finished as runners-up at the Super 32 Challenge two months ago. Rounding out the ranked wrestlers are No. 12 Noah Bushman (Cave Spring, Va.), a returning Powerade placer, and No. 20 Josh McKenzie (Bergen Catholic, N.J.). Also in this weight class is Colin McCracken (Waynesburg), who placed at both Powerade and the state tournament last year. 220: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers anchor this weight class in No. 4 Noah Adams (Independence, W.Va.) and No. 7 Francis Duggan (Good Counsel, Md.). Others to watch include National Prep placer Brady Daniel (Good Counsel, Md.), Super 32 Challenge placer Joe Soreco (DePaul Catholic, N.J.), and state runner-up Josiah Jones (Bishop McCort). 285: Bereft a nationally ranked wrestler this weight class is anchored by returning Powerade champion Ronald Tucker, Jr. (Lockport, Ill.) and Super 32 Challenge champion Brendan Furman (Canon-McMillan). Others to watch include state placers Isaac Reid (Kiski Area), Kavaun Deboe (Cathedral Prep), and Evan Sweesey (Freedom).

While some states are in a "mandatory rest period" between Christmas and New Year's Day, the rest of the high school wrestling country is moving full speed ahead with competition during the coming week. The following is a list of the Fab 50 teams and their upcoming competitions from now through Tuesday, January 3. No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. - travels to Mt. St. Joseph's, Md. for Mount Mat Madness on Thursday and Friday No. 2 Buchanan, Calif. - travels to Rochester, Minn. for The Clash National High School Wrestling Duals on Friday and Saturday No. 3 St. Edward, Ohio - travels to Rochester, Minn. for The Clash National High School Wrestling Duals on Friday and Saturday No. 4 Lake Highland Prep, Fla. - travels to Rochester, Minn. for The Clash National High School Wrestling Duals on Friday and Saturday No. 6 St. Paris Graham, Ohio - competes in the GMVWA Tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday at Wright State University No. 7 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. - hosts the Tony Iasello Memorial Christmas City Tournament on Thursday and Friday No. 8 Bergen Catholic, N.J. - travels to Canon-McMillan, Pa. for the Powerade Wrestling Tournament on Thursday and Friday No. 9 Malvern Prep, Pa. - competes in the Easton (Pa.) Wrestling Invitational Duals on Friday No. 10 Olentangy Liberty, Ohio - competes in the Brecksville (Ohio) Holiday Invitational Tournament on Thursday and Friday No. 11 Detroit Catholic Central, Mich. - competes in the Medina (Ohio) Invitational Tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday No. 12 Nazareth, Pa. - competes in the Bethlehem (Pa.) Holiday Wrestling Classic at Liberty High School on Wednesday and Thursday No. 13 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. - travels to Canon-McMillan, Pa. for the Powerade Wrestling Tournament on Thursday and Friday No. 14 Poway, Calif. - competes in the Cerritos (Calif.) Tournament of Champions on Thursday and Friday No. 15 Elyria, Ohio - competes in the Brecksville (Ohio) Holiday Invitational Tournament on Thursday and Friday No. 17 Allen, Texas - hosts the Texas Outlaw Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 18 Sand Springs, Okla. - hosts Ponca City (Okla.) for a dual meet on Tuesday 1/3 No. 19 Lockport, Ill. - travels to Canon-McMillan, Pa. for the Powerade Wrestling Tournament on Thursday and Friday No. 21 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. - travels to Rochester, Minn. for The Clash National High School Wrestling Duals on Friday and Saturday No. 24 Park Hill, Mo. - travels to Rochester, Minn. for The Clash National High School Wrestling Duals on Friday and Saturday No. 25 Brownsburg, Ind. - competes in the Mooresville (Ind.) Tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday No. 26 Washington, Ill. - travels to Rochester, Minn. for The Clash National High School Wrestling Duals on Friday and Saturday No. 28 Montini Catholic, Ill. - travel to Palatine, Ill. for the Berman Holiday Classic on Tuesday and Wednesday; travel to Brother Rice (Ill.) for a quad against the hosts, Oak Park Fenwick (Ill.), and St. Rita (Ill.) No. 29 Brecksville, Ohio - hosts the Brecksville Holiday Invitational Tournament on Thursday and Friday No. 30 Shakopee, Minn. - travels to Fargo, N.D. for the Rumble on the Red on Thursday and Friday No. 31 Gilroy, Calif. - travels to Alta Loma, Calif. for a dual meet on Wednesday No. 32 Camden County, Ga. - travels to Osceola, Fla. for the Knockout Christmas Classic on Thursday and Friday No. 33 Long Beach, N.Y. - competes in the Massapequa (N.Y.) Tournament on Wednesday No. 34 Apple Valley, Minn. - travels to Rochester, Minn. for The Clash National High School Wrestling Duals on Friday and Saturday No. 37 Roseburg, Ore. - travels to Rochester, Minn. for The Clash National High School Wrestling Duals on Friday and Saturday No. 38 Don Bosco Prep, N.J. - competes in the Bergen County Coaches Association Tournament on Wednesday and Thursday, hosts Hanover Park (N.J.) for a dual meet on Saturday No. 40 Kiski Area, Pa. - travels to Canon-McMillan, Pa. for the Powerade Wrestling Tournament on Thursday and Friday No. 42 St. Paul's, Md. - travels to Canon-McMillan, Pa. for the Powerade Wrestling Tournament on Thursday and Friday No. 44 North Allegheny, Pa. - travels to Canon-McMillan, Pa. for the Powerade Wrestling Tournament on Thursday and Friday No. 45 Goddard, Kansas - competes in the Allen (Texas) Outlaw Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 46 Delbarton, N.J. - travels to Chatham (N.J.) for a dual meet on Tuesday 1/4/17 No. 47 Lowell, Mich. - competes in the Brecksville (Ohio) Holiday Invitational Tournament on Thursday and Friday No. 50 Anoka, Minn. - travels to Rochester, Minn. for The Clash National High School Wrestling Duals on Friday and Saturday No competitions scheduled: No. 6 Clovis (Calif.), No. 16 Tuttle (Okla.), No. 20 Choctaw (Okla.), No. 22 Pueblo County (Colo.), No. 23 Pomona (Colo.), No. 27 Kasson-Mantorville (Minn.), No. 35 Southeast Polk (Iowa), No. 36 West Des Moines Valley (Iowa), No. 39 New Hampton (Iowa), No. 41 Fort Dodge (Iowa), No. 43 Hilton (N.Y.), No. 48 Broken Arrow (Okla.), No. 49 Kaukauna (Wis.)

Since the Indiana High School Athletic Association does not sanction a state championship in wrestling based on dual meets, the IHSWCA (state coaches association) took on that mantle with a mid-season invitational event. Prior to the 2012-13 season, the IHSAA sanctioned both an individual bracket state tournament - which was unscored - and a dual meet tournament. However, starting with that season, the IHSAA only has an indivudal bracket state tournament, which became scored. With that coming into force, the IHSWCA established the "state duals" as an invitational event. Unlike the state duals sanctioned by the IHSAA, which was a single class event, the IHSWCA team state duals are held in a classed format (3A, 2A, and 1A). However, in Indiana there is a singificant inequity between the classes, with virtually all the power found in the big-school division. Friday's Class 3A team state tournament was a most excellent event. It started with four pools of three teams each. The champion in each pool would advance to the semifinals. Winning pools were No. 22 Brownsburg, Perry Meridian, Avon, and Portage. In the two round-robin dual meets, Brownsburg went 23-5, Perry Meridian went 21-7, while Avon went 19-9. However, Portage was extended to a very tight dual meet with Evansville Mater Dei in order to reach the semifinal, as the Indians won 28-27 with the teams splitting bouts at seven apiece. Interestingly in that dual meet, the defeated squad won all three of the matches decided by two points or less. The semifinal matches saw Brownsburg take on Portage and Perry Meridian take on Avon. Brownsburg blew Portage out by a 42-9 score, winning eleven matches. Starting at 145 pounds, the first four matches were all close and split by the teams. No. 7 Brayton Lee (Brownsburg) won the opening match of the dual meet 5-3 over returning state runner-up Kasper McIntosh, while Zach Meyers extended the Bulldogs dual meet lead to 6-0 with a 6-4 decision over Zach Nugent. Drake Guerrero stopped the bleeding with a 7-3 decision over Donny Marcus, and state qualifier Ismael Cornejo tied the dual meet 6-6 with a 2-1 overtime decision at 170 pounds. Two-time state placer Nathan Walton secured a pin in 1:29 to start a match-sealing nine bout win streak for Brownsburg. Included in that stretch was five Brownsburg wins by three points or less, a pair of which were 1-0 decision victories. In the opposite semifinal, Perry Meridian won the last three bouts of the dual meet to upend Avon 28-24, a match in which each team won seven weight classes. Starting at 138 pounds, Perry Meridian held an 18-7 lead after six weight classes, keyed by a 4-3 upset victory at 160 pounds; a match in which Christian Warren upended returning state placer Jacob Clark (Avon). Avon would counter with five consecutive victories to earn a 24-18 lead after 113 pounds, going into the last three bouts. Included in that stretch were decision victories of 2-1, 3-1 in overtime, 4-3 in the ultimate tiebreaker, and a 3-1 win by defending state champion Asa Garcia. Perry Meridian would win the dual meet's last three bouts, including a winner take all match at 132 pounds. The 120 pound match was a 1-0 victory for state placer Sammy Fair over Camden Chatterton, while the final match at 132 was a 2-1 win for Jack Servies over 2015 state qualifier Mason Miranda. This would set up a championship match between Brownsburg and Perry Meridian; it should be noted that Brownsburg beat Avon 28-23 in a dual meet two weeks ago, one in which the Bulldogs won eight bouts. As expected, this championship match would be close as well. Starting at 152 pounds, Perry Meridian opened up a 10-0 lead after three bouts. Included in that were 3-1 and 3-2 decisions after state placer Noah Warren opened the dual with a 12-3 major decision. Brownsburg countered with their own three match run to take 13-10 lead, which included Isaac McCormick's 3-1 overtime victory at 195 pounds. A 2-1 win for Steven Woolbright at 285 pounds leveled the match for Perry Meridian at 13-13 headed towards the turn for home. There was a trade of victories at 106 and 113, so the match was tied 16-16 going to the 120 pound showdown, one that two-time state placer Ty Mills won for Brownsburg with a 3-1 decision over Sammy Fair. State placer Blake Mullkey pushed the lead to 23-16 with a 13-2 major decision. Consecutive decisions for Perry Meridian shrinked the deficit to 23-22, before Brayton Lee wielded the final hammer for Brownsburg securing the pin at 2:34 The third place match saw Avon upend Portage 28-25, as the teams also split the individual matches at seven apiece. Seven of the bouts were decided by three points or less, Avon won four of them.

Robert Patnesky ERIE, Pa. -- Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, has selected Robert Patnesky to become the second head wrestling coach in program history. Patnesky spent the last 12 season as the head coach at Division I Davidson College in Mooresville, North Carolina. He will leave the program ranked second in career victories, mentored five national championship qualifiers and four Southern Conference Champions for the Wildcats. Patnesky will remain Davidson's head wrestling coach through the 2016-17 season. "We are excited to have Coach Patnesky as the lead of our wrestling program," said Director of Athletics Brian Streeter. "His previous experiences will benefit the department as we begin to grow a team once again. Patnesky is a proven coach who understands the academic standards in which to recruit." Davidson was consistently one of the top wrestling programs in the country for academics under Patnesky's tutelage. The Wildcats were ranked in the NWCA's Division I All-Academic Top 30 for five consecutive years (2006-10), earning the fifth-best team grade-point average in 2009 and 2010, and also ranking 12th in 2012. Patnesky spent two seasons as an assistant coach before being named interim head coach in 2004-05. He led the Wildcats to an 8-7 overall record, their first winning campaign in over 10 years. Prior to Davidson, he served as an assistant coach at Ohio University while earning his master's degree in recreation and sports sciences. Patnesky was a three-year starter for the wrestling team at West Virginia, where he earned his bachelor's degree in Communication in 2001. The three-time NCAA qualifier is the all-time winningest wrestler in his weight class at West Virginia. Patnesky was the 2000 Eastern Wrestling League champion, helping his team win the EWL crown and a sixth-place finish in the country. He was a three-time Jr. National All-American, a national finalist, individually ranked among the top 12 wrestlers in the country for three years and finished his college career with more than 100 victories. He also competed for the U.S. on a tour of France and Poland in 1999 and earned NWCA Academic All-American accolades. Patnesky takes over a wrestling program that has been absent for 38 years. Penn State Behrend offered NCAA wrestling from 1967 until 1978, using Erie Hall for practices and home matches. Wrestlers will again use that space beginning in the fall of 2017.

With Christmas only two days away, many readers are no doubt stressed about spending time with family and getting in their last-minute shopping. As such, I'll make the mailbag short so you can go help your parents in your kitchen, or go hop in line with some strangers at a department store. One note from this last week of wrestling was the impressive run Vicky Anthony put together at the U.S. Open. The young grappler looked sensational in her gold-medal run at 48 kilograms, winning her finals match by pin, though setup by an even more impressive foot sweep. Anthony and the other wrestlers who competed should be commended. The Olympics aren't that far in the rearview and already many of them are looking forward to making national teams and maybe even earning a spot in the 2020 Games. No matter what the season, or the reason, the commitment of athletes like Anthony should be recognized. Congrats! To your questions … Virginia freshman Jack Mueller is 10-0 and ranked No. 11 at 125 pounds (Photo/Sam Janicki, SJanickiPhoto.com) Q: I have been impressed by what I've seen in the early part of the season from Jack Mueller of Virginia. Do you see him as a potential All-American this season at 125 pounds? -- Mike C. Foley: An undefeated freshman with wins over a pair of top twenty opponents? Not shabby! I think that he certainly can't be counted out of contention. He's winning with a lot of points on the board, stays aggressive and doesn't rely on any gimmickry. When I look at a wrestler I usually try to find their one gaping hole, and with the matches I've seen from Mueller he doesn't have any major deficiencies. Better still the coaching staff sees him as a leader and someone training and living his life the right way. As an alumnus it's certainly encouraging to see his early season success. Boo Lewallen topped MSU's Javier Gasca in the Reno TOC semifinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: What do you make of Oklahoma State's third-string 141-pounder Boo Lewallen winning the Reno Tournament of Championships and earning OW? He beat NCAA finalist Bryce Meredith! -- Mike C. Foley: Ahh, gimmickry. John Smith knows a thing or two about shutting down the styles of opposing wrestlers. Like many of today's funkier wrestlers there are ways to limit the effectiveness of their counterattacks -- usually through superior position and patience. Meredith has a very specific game and when faced with someone ready to tackle his creativity with solid technique he's put into trouble. (In watching the tape it seems that Meredith also had a banged up right knee, which could very well have come as a result of too much bending and twirling during shot defense.) As for the actual match, from the first whistle you could see that Lewallen was cued into a double leg and quick, solid finishes. There was little climbing up Meredith's back, at least until he could secure the two points. And when Meredith's hips got loose Lewallen chose the correct time to bail. The second takedown was a misdirection low single finished off to a low double. On Meredith's bad side there was little he could do to stop the attack, or launch a counter. He repeated it again at the end, earning a third and final takedown. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Best takedowns of 2016 Link: Senegalese wrestling on CNN Q: Any idea why Penn State is not competing in the Southern Scuffle? The Nittany Lions have been a staple there. -- MC Foley: Coach Cael answered the question during Penn State's media day, telling reporters that he really enjoys the Scuffle, but that he couldn't manage that tournament and a turnaround to two major Big Ten dual meets. Still, he ended his response with an important side note: that he wants his guys to stay "healthy and happy" … which is indicative of a new approach some programs are taking to the holiday season tournaments. From my vantage points there has been a push in recent years to limit the amount of wrestling done over break, and instead give some family time back to the athletes. The Scuffle and Midlands have felt too good to pass up, but the benefits of rest and relaxation seem to also be significant. Many wrestlers have a shared experience of coming back to campus on December 26 to train for an upcoming tournament. While at the time I remember feeling like I was investing more through that sacrifice of time without family, I wish I'd have reimagined my value system and placed that family time higher than some extra training. Penn State's schedule is tough enough without the Scuffle. No question they'll get all the matches they need from their current 16-date calendar. Q: What happened to Fox Baldwin? -- Nick M. Foley: I don't think anything happened. He's just in redshirt for the season. Baldwin placed third at the Mat Town Invitational wrestling at 174 pounds. He pinned all of his opponents, but lost (via pin) to Chance Marstellar. Last year he started off hot with an impressive 9-0 start before his season was cut short by injury. Comment of the Week By Coolbeans Since wrestling is a sport that often requires weight cutting, I am shocked to see wrestlers that eat the GMO meat, soda, pesticide-laced fruit, vegetables, bread and food. Many people say, "I eat healthy," yet they don't consume all organic food. The public doesn't seem to realize that consuming poisoned food is like putting kerosene in your car. What fuel that you feed your body is EXTREMELY important, especially if weight cutting. Furthermore, meat and dairy are actually bad for humans, which are really wired for vegetarian. Many say that "I need meat for protein." Totally false. The primates are mainly vegetarian and are four times stronger than humans. Long-term true studies prove vegan is the best diet for humans … I mean studies that are not funded by the doctors (who want customers and money) as well as the meat and dairy industries.

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. -- It's not uncommon to see lights on at the Hatcher Wrestling Complex in the dark of the early morning hours. The Ouachita Tigers' wrestling team spends their practice time on the mat working to make themselves better, stronger and more unified as a squad. This season, the team carried that mentality into the community as well. Head coach Todd Allen and his team logged over 1,800 hours of service activities as a group this past semester in Arkadelphia and central Arkansas. For coach Allen, saying it was time well spent would not do it justice. "As a coach, my responsibility goes beyond making them better wrestlers," coach Allen said. "I also want to help them grow as men in their faith and in how they treat others. It's important that they learn to use their gifts as means to help those around them." The Tigers participated in several local service activities in Arkadelphia. Ouachita wresters were involved in the bi-annual Tiger Serve Day, where they cleaned garages, yards, and built decks around the community of Arkadelphia. Their annual entry in the Arkadelphia Christmas Parade helped raise awareness for the Junior Badger Youth Wrestling Club. The team also hosted free clinics for area kids, youth and high school coaches from across the state. The team also was active with the Arkadelphia Schools FCA chapter, speaking to junior high and high schools kids about their faith. They also volunteered their time to assist with the Arkansas State Fair and the Amplified Music Fest in Little Rock. For freshman Jarhett Lee, the two events that had the biggest impact on him were a block party held at the Arkadelphia Human Development Center (ADHC) and leading Backyard Bible Clubs. Lee shared that the team really enjoyed their time at the ADHC where they played games and interacted with the members there. It was the first time Lee had interacted with the people there. "It really opened my eyes to see what kind of things people struggle with daily," Lee said. "It also made me realize that you can't make assumptions before you really get to know people. I wasn't sure what all we'd be doing when we first got there, but we had so much fun playing games, laughing and just really getting to talk with the people there." The Backyard Bible was the most special for Lee. He shared that it allowed him to be involved in a program that helped kids that had a similar background to his. The team spent the afternoons sharing Bible stories and playing games with children living in government housing. "I grew up in a pretty poor area," Lee shared. "I remember thinking it was always cool when older kids would want to talk to you or do something with you. It's really nice to be able do that now and hope that we are making some kind of an impact and being a good influence on their lives. I'm glad I got an opportunity to come to college and wrestle, but also try and be a positive impact on kids and share with them what I was able to do."

RICHMOND, Va. -- The Cavaliers got bonus points early to build a lead and continued to add to the advantage as No. 24 Virginia (5-2) defeated George Mason (1-7) by a score of 27-10 on Wednesday night (Dec. 21) at the Rumble on the River hosted at St. Christopher's School. Virginia picked up bonus points in four of the first six matches of the night to build the insurmountable lead. The Cavaliers got wins at seven weight classes on the way to the victory over the Patriots. The wins came from freshman Jack Mueller (Dallas, Texas), redshirt seniors Will Mason (Virginia Beach, Va.) and George DiCamillo (Highland Heights, Ohio), redshirt junior Andrew Atkinson (Lynchburg, Va.), senior Ray Bethea (Trenton, N.J.), redshirt junior Drew Hull (Gasport, N.Y.) and redshirt sophomore Chance McClure (Commerce, Ga.). "We are really excited about all of our fourth and fifth-year leaders finishing the semester together in this match," said Virginia head coach Steve Garland. "The highlight of the dual match for me was Drew Hull bumping up for the team and winning at 184 pounds. He started the year at 165 pounds, so that was big. I'm also happy to see our guys continuing to commit to scoring points and being relentless. We need to keep this up." Mueller, ranked No. 11 in the nation at 125 pounds, started things off with a tech fall. It was his seventh tech fall of the season and ninth victory with bonus points on the way to an 11-0 mark this season. It was followed up by a major decision from Mason at 133 pounds and a decision from 10th-ranked DiCamillo at 141 pounds to put the Cavaliers on top by 12 points. Atkinson, the nation's No. 18 ranked wrestler at 157 pounds, added bonus points with his major decision. Bethea then tacked on a tech fall at 165 pounds to continue adding bonus points for the Cavaliers. Hull then cemented the victory with his win at 184 pounds, building a big lead early and holding on for the decision. McClure then capped the scoring for Virginia with a decision at 197 pounds. "I've said it before, but this is a different group with a different mindset from last year," Garland said. "They are really listening and putting into practice what we are going over in practice in the wrestling room. Coaches Jordan Leen, Shelton Mack and Mark Ellis have been doing such a good job with the guys. I'm grateful for them and the work they do for this program" Virginia will return to action in January, opening the new year at the Southern Scuffle. The two-day event hosted by Chattanooga begins on Sunday, Jan. 1. Results: 125: No. 11 Jack Mueller (UVA) def. Trevor Mello, TF, 18-1 (3:37); UVA 5, GMU 0 133: Will Mason (UVA) def. Lio Quezada, Major Dec., 12-3; UVA 9, GMU 0 141: No. 10 George DiCamillo (UVA) def. Tejon Anthony, Dec., 16-9; UVA 12, GMU 0 149: Sahid Kargbo def. Chris Yankowich (UVA), Major Dec., 12-4; UVA 12, GMU 4 157: No. 18 Andrew Atkinson (UVA) def. Matt Raines, Major Dec., 14-6; UVA 16-4 165: Ray Bethea (UVA) def. Mike Sicola, TF, 24-8; UVA 21, GMU 4 174: Patrick Davis def. M.J. Roberson (UVA), Dec., 3-1; UVA 21, GMU 7 184: Drew Hull (UVA) def. Austin Harrison, Dec., 8-7; UVA 24; GMU 7 197: Chance McClure (UVA) vs. Matt Meadows, Dec., 8-3; UVA 27, GMU 7 HWT: Matt Voss def. Chuck Boddy (UVA), Dec., 5-1; UVA 27, GMU 10

Austin Gomez claimed a Junior freestyle title in Fargo this past summer (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) Over recent years, the Al Dvorak Memorial Invitational has positioned itself as the biggest and best regular season wrestling tournament in Illinois. While the event lacks that "big ticket" out-of-state team as defending champion Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) is not returning to the tournament, and four of five in-state teams ranked within the Fab 50 are not in the field, there is a plethora of excellent teams and individuals present. Anchoring the field is No. 40 Chicago Mt. Carmel. Other notable in-state teams include Providence Catholic, Crystal Lake Central (ranked second to Washington in Class 2A), and Dakota (ranked first in Class 1A). Also in the field are a pair of ranked Wisconsin teams, Milton (fourth in Division 1) and Luxemburg-Casco (second in Division 2); and a team ranked top ten in Ohio's big-school division, Mason. The 35 schools in the field come from five states. Wrestling starts at 9:30 a.m. CT on Thursday, with competition going through the quarterfinals on the front side. Friday morning competition resumes at 9 a.m. with the consolation round of 12 followed by the semifinals. After the consolation semifinals, there will be a brief break, then the consolation medal matches, followed by championship finals conducted two weights at a time. Below is a weight-by-weight list of wrestlers to watch in the field. 106: No. 17 Eric Barnett (Hortonville, Wis.), Enzo Silva (Planfield South), Pacey Nasdusak (Mason, Ohio), Mason Dutcher (Milton, Wis.), Lucas Joniaux (Luxemburg-Casco, Wis.) 113: Jacob Lindsey (Providence Catholic), Anthony Pisciotta (Timberland, Mo.), Luke Odom (Edwardsville), Tyler Podnar (Wheaton North), Marcus Nasdusak (Mason, Ohio) 120: No. 8 Tommy Hoskins (Legacy Christian, Ohio), No. 10 Michael McGee (Plainfield East), Josh Stenger (Huntley), Colin Schuster (Mason, Ohio), Cameron Spires (Timberland, Mo.), Bryce Bosman (Luxemburg-Casco, Wis.), Rehan Uribe (Chicago Mt. Carmel), Noah Surtin (Edwardsville), Dalton Shea (Milton, Wis.) 126: Dylan Burnoski (Bolingbrook), Anthony Zamora (Plainfield East), Caleb Guzior (Chicago Mt. Carmel), Aaron Schulist (Mukwonago, Wis.), Jamien Hood (Mason, Ohio), Caleb Conedera (Timberland, Mo.), Zach Spencer (Huntley), A.J. Warner (Legacy Christian, Ohio), Jacob Dado (Marist), Isaac Figueroa (Sterling), Alex Porter (Dakota) 132: No. 5 Zack Donathan (Mason, Ohio), Frankie Indelli (Wheaton North), Josh Ramos (Providence Catholic), Aaron Leppert (Hononegah), Jacob Barnett (Hortonville, Wis.) 138: No. 2 Austin Gomez (Glenbard North), Kendall Coleman (Chicago Mt. Carmel), Lenny Petersen (Crystal Lake Central), We Rachal (Chicago Washington), Chris Donathan (Mason, Ohio), Dominick Ambrose (Providence Catholic) 145: Yahya Thomas (Chicago Mt. Carmel), Duncan Nelson (Wheaton North), Abe Assad (Glenbard North), Juan Bazaldua (Providence Catholic), Nathan Lichtfuss (Hortonville, Wis.) 152: No. 4 Austin O'Connor (St. Rita), No. 19 Nelson Brands (Iowa City West, Iowa), Cole Smith (Providence Catholic), Jack Stein (Mason, Ohio), David Ferrante (Huntley), Dillon Hoey (Chicago Mt. Carmel), Anthony Marre (Glenbard North), Mason Sauseda (Bishop McNamara) 160: Devin Donovan (Wheaton North), Jack Mulay (Chicago Mt. Carmel), Pat Schoenfelder (Antioch), Josh McKinney (Midwest Central), Carter Rohweder (Iowa City West, Iowa) 170: No. 4 Jack Jessen (Willowbrook), David Riojas (Chicago Mt. Carmel), Andrew Wenger (Dakota), Trevor Swier (Providence Catholic), Elliott Luker (Hortonville, Wis.), Eric Vermillion (Mason, Ohio), Major Dedmond (Freeport) 182: Billy Pitzner (Milton, Wis.), Adrian Cervantes (Plainfield South), Jordan Shahrikian (Hononegah), Dalton Smercheck (Luxemburg-Casco, Wis.) 195: Dalton Hambrock (Machesney Park Harlem), Isaiah Herrera (Bolingbrook), Seamus O'Donnell (Crystal Lake Central), Jacob Dykes (Iowa City West, Iowa) 220: Diata Drayton (Marist), Blake Zalapi (Hononegah), George Bessette (Antioch), Maverick McPeek (Dakota), Aric Bohn (Mukwonago, Wis.), Nate Lloyd (Luxemburg-Casco, Wis.), Jordain Buckland (Iowa City West, Iowa) 285: No. 6 Anthony Cassioppi (Hononegah), Phil Rasmussen (Luxemburg-Casco, Wis.)

Alli Ragan at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 2016 World medalists Alli Ragan and Logan Stieber will be guests on this week's edition of the On the Mat wrestling broadcast on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Ragan won a silver medal in women's freestyle competition at 58 kilograms/128 pounds at the recent 2016 World Championships in Budapest. She was a four-time finalist at the Women's College Nationals, winning the WCWA title in 2013 and 2014 for King College. Stieber won a gold medal in men's freestyle at 61 kilograms/134 pounds at the Worlds. Stieber was a four-time Ohio high school state champ, and four-time NCAA Division I champion for Ohio State, becoming only the fourth wrestler to achieve that accomplishment. On the Mat is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday at 5 p.m. Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on mattalkonline.com.

United World Wrestling, the international wrestling federation, has awarded the 2018 Freestyle World Cup to USA Wrestling, which will host the event at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa, April 21-22. The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championships, and features the top eight men's freestyle wrestling teams in the world. It is one of the most prestigious and important international wrestling events held each year, and will feature many of the top freestyle stars in the world. The local organizing committee will be the same group of leaders who hosted the highly-successful 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The local organizing committee is led by the University of Iowa Athletics and the Iowa City/Coralville Convention & Visitors Bureau and includes leaders from the City of Iowa City, City of Coralville and City of North Liberty. “USA Wrestling is extremely pleased that the Freestyle World Cup is returning to the United States in 2018. We are excited to partner with our hosts at the University of Iowa and in the Iowa City community, who have been leaders in presenting the two most successful U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling in history. The Freestyle World Cup is a fabulous competition which fans will enjoy. Iowa City is one of the greatest wrestling cities in the world and Carver-Hawkeye Arena is a historic location that will be a spectacular showcase for our sport,” said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director. The sold-out 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials smashed the attendance record for a U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling, with a two-day total of 54,766 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials was equally successful, with the second-largest attendance total in event history. “For that past few Olympic years, we have been front and center to the nation with our hosting of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Now, in April of 2018, the world very clearly gets to see why Iowa City is one of the sport's most hallowed capitals,” said Josh Schamberger, President of the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It is a thrill to once again welcome the top wrestlers in the world to the University of Iowa,” said UI director of athletics Gary Barta. “The Iowa City community, Hawkeye wrestling fans, and wrestlers from all over the country have shown over and over again that there is no better wrestling venue than Carver-Hawkeye Arena. We were privileged to host the 2012 and 2016 United States Olympic Wrestling Team Trials, and are excited to share our passion for the sport with United World Wrestling and the top international wrestlers from around the world.” This will be the 30th time the United States has hosted the event, the most of any nation. Iowa City will be the ninth U.S. city to host the Freestyle World Cup. U.S. wrestling leaders created this event in Toledo, Ohio in 1973, and it has developed into a showcase for Olympic wrestling. The 2017 Freestyle World Cup will be hosted in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 16-17, and the United States will be among the participating nations. The most recent host city in the USA was Los Angeles, Calif., which successfully held the event for three straight years in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and was held at the world-famous Forum. The other U.S. cities which have hosted the World Cup include Toledo, Ohio (17 times); Chattanooga, Tenn. (twice); Spokane, Wash.(twice); Stillwater, Okla. (twice); Baltimore, Md.; Fairfax, Va. and Boise, Idaho. The field for the 2017 Freestyle World Cup will be determined based upon the men's freestyle team results of the 2017 World Wrestling Championships, which will be held in Paris, France, August 21-26.

As frigid winter weather descends on much of North America and wrestling season kicks into high gear, some warm thoughts concerning the sport from this past summer ... Just four months ago, two wrestlers -- Helen Maroulis, and Kyle Snyder -- won gold medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, becoming the 49th and 50th U.S. athletes to win gold medals in Olympic freestyle wrestling. A reader recently asked -- which states can claim the most of these gold-medal-winning Olympic wrestlers? This information is not as readily available as one might hope ... especially for wrestlers from the early 20th century. That said, here's a list of the gold medalists, their birthplace, and what colleges/universities they attended: 1904 -- St. Louis Robert Curry -- light flyweight: New York City George Mehnert -- flyweight: Newark, New Jersey Isador Niflot -- bantamweight: Russia Benjamin Bradshaw -- featherweight: New York City Otto Roehm -- lightweight: Canada Charles Ericksen -- welterweight: Norway Bernhoff Hanson -- heavyweight: Norway 1908 -- London George Mehnert -- bantamweight: Newark, New Jersey George Dole -- featherweight: Ypsilanti, Michigan 1912-1918 (No Olympic freestyle wrestling) 1920 -- Antwerp Charles Ackerly -- featherweight: Cuba, New York 1924 -- Paris Robin Reed -- featherweight: Pettigrew, Arkansas/Oregon State Russell Vis -- lightweight: Grand Rapids, Michigan John Spellman -- light-heavyweight: Middletown, Connecticut/Brown University Harry Steel -- heavyweight: East Sparta, Ohio/Ohio State 1928 -- Amsterdam Allie Morrison -- featherweight: Marshalltown, Iowa/University of Illinois 1932 -- Los Angeles Bobby Pearce -- bantamweight: Cushing, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State Jack VanBebber -- welterweight: Perry, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State Peter Mehringer -- light heavyweight: Kinsley, Kansas/University of Kansas 1936 -- Berlin Frank Lewis -- welterweight: Cushing, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State 1948 -- London Glen Brand -- middleweight: Clarion, Iowa/Iowa State Henry Wittenberg -- light heavyweight: Jersey City, New Jersey/City College of New York 1952 -- Helsinki Bill Smith -- welterweight: Portland, Oregon/University of Northern Iowa 1956 -- Melbourne (No gold medals for U.S. freestyle wrestlers) 1960 -- Rome Terry McCann -- bantamweight: Chicago, Illinois/University of Iowa Shelby Wilson -- lightweight: Ponca City, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State Doug Blubaugh -- welterweight: Ponca City, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State 1964 -- Tokyo (No gold medals for U.S. freestyle wrestlers) 1968 -- Mexico City (No gold medals for U.S. freestyle wrestlers) 1972 -- Munich Dan Gable -- lightweight: Waterloo, Iowa/Iowa State Wayne Wells -- welterweight: Abilene, Texas/University of Oklahoma Ben Peterson -- light heavyweight: Barron County, Wisconsin/Iowa State 1976 -- Montreal John Peterson -- middleweight: Cumberland, Wisconsin/University of Wisconsin-Stout 1984 -- Los Angeles Bobby Weaver -- light flyweight: Easton, Pennsylvania/Lehigh Randy Lewis -- featherweight: Rapid City, South Dakota/University of Iowa Dave Schultz -- welterweight: Palo Alto, California/Oklahoma State, University of Oklahoma Mark Schultz -- middleweight: Palo Alto, California/UCLA, University of Oklahoma Ed Banach -- light heavyweight: Sussex County, New Jersey/University of Iowa Lou Banach -- heavyweight: Sussex County, New Jersey/University of Iowa Bruce Baumgartner -- superheavyweight: Haledon, New Jersey/Indiana State John Smith1988 -- Seoul John Smith -- featherweight: Midwest City, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State Kenny Monday -- welterweight: Tulsa, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State 1992 -- Barcelona John Smith -- featherweight: Midwest City, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State Kevin Jackson -- middleweight: Highland Falls, New York/Iowa State Bruce Baumgartner -- superheavyweight: Haledon, New Jersey/Indiana State 1996 -- Atlanta Kendall Cross -- bantamweight: Hardin, Montana/Oklahoma State Tom Brands -- featherweight: Omaha, Nebraska/University of Iowa Kurt Angle -- heavyweight: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania/Clarion University 2000 -- Sydney Brandon Slay -- welterweight: Amarillo, Texas/University of Pennsylvania 2004 -- Athens Cael Sanderson -- middleweight: Salt Lake City, Utah/Iowa State 2008 -- Beijing Henry Cejudo -- bantamweight: Los Angeles 2012 -- London Jordan Burroughs -- welterweight: Camden, New Jersey/University of Nebraska Jake Varner -- heavyweight: Bakersfield, California/Iowa State 2016 -- Rio de Janeiro Helen Maroulis -- 53 kilograms: Rockville, Maryland/Missouri Baptist University, Simon Fraser University Kyle Snyder -- heavyweight: Woodbine, Maryland/Ohio State So ... which states can claim to be the home to the most U.S. Olympic freestyle gold medal-winning wrestlers? By this writer's count, 20 states can claim to be the birthplace of gold medalists ... with Oklahoma being home to seven, followed by New Jersey with six, and California and New York each with four. Which schools have produced the most Olympic freestyle gold? Oklahoma State has nine wrestlers who won gold medals on the mat, while Iowa State has six. UPDATE: Readers, please note: I'm aware that there are some wrestlers who may have been born in one state but are thought of with another. (Prime example: No one thinks of Robin Reed = Arkansas, even though that's where he was born; the wrestling community of Oregon thinks of Reed as theirs.) To be consistent, I focused on BIRTHPLACE, rather than "where he grew up" because birth location info is more readily available. This is not to slight anyone or any state's wrestling heritage. -- Mark

In an early season showdown between the two best teams in Iowa, there was no real loser. Both teams brought it strong on Tuesday night, the fans packed the gym at Southeast Polk High School, and recognition/fundraiser for first responders certainly accomplished its goal. Like last year's state championship dual meet between the two teams, the dual meet outcome was in doubt all the way through the last bout. The dual meet on Tuesday night started at 126 pounds, which was right in the wheelhouse area of the lineup for No. 35 Southeast Polk. Three-time state placer Adam Brown opened the evening for the Rams with a 4-0 victory over two-time state alternate (district 3rd place finisher) Spencer Hutchinson. Consecutive second pins from Cade Devos, who is ranked No. 2 in his weight class for Class 3A by IAwrestle.com, and two-time state placer Nathan Lendt pushed the Southeast Polk lead to 15-0. No. 37 West Des Moines Valley stopped the bleeding at 145 pounds, when state champion Grant Stotts earned an 11-3 major decision. In some ways, this was a small victory for Southeast Polk, as they send out backup Nathan Marchand. For the next match, the Rams bumped up two-time state placer Zach Barnes to 152 pounds. The returning Junior National freestyle All-American scored a 6-2 decision over state qualifier Joel Nicholson. West Des Moines Valley countered with a 7-2 decision victory from two-time state placer Joel Shapiro at 160 pounds. The score was 18-7 in favor Southeast Polk at the intermission. After the break, state qualifier Gavin Babcock got the Rams right back on track with a pin in 40 seconds to push the lead to 24-7. A crucial swing bout was next between a pair of excellent young wrestlers. Southeast Polk freshman Gabe Christenson came through with a 5-3 decision over Beau Lombardi at 182 pounds. Three straight Tigers wins in the upper-weight classes shrunk their deficit down to 27-24 with three bouts remaining. It was a 24-7 technical fall by state medalist Connor Corbin at 195 pounds, followed by a 33 second pin from No. 11 Rocky Lombardi at 220, and then a pin in 1:48 from Carter Lawrence. The Michigan State quarterback recruit Lombardi is now 16-1 on the season with 14 pins, 10 of which have occurred in the first minute of the match. Ryan Strickland stopped the bleeding for Southeast Polk with a pin at the 4:20 mark over Brendan Nielsen at 106 pounds. Countering with a pin for the Tigers at 113 was normal 106 pound starter Nick Oldham, who is a returning state runner-up; he defeated state alternate Mark Ames in 1:31. This result cut the Southeast Polk lead to 33-30 with one bout remaining, and that would come at 120 pounds between the Rams' two-time state placer Gauge Perrien and 2015 state qualifier Noah Hughes-Reilly for the Tigers. Perrien scored a first period takedown to set the bout's tone, and the bout would end in a 5-1 decision for the home-standing Southeast Polk squad. The teams will see each other three times during the month of January. They are in the same gym for a multi-team dual meet event at West Des Moines Valley on the 14th (not sure if they will wrestle each other), compete in the Ed Winger Invitational at Urbandale on the 21st, and then in the CIML meet on the 27th. It should be noted that Southeast Polk also won the regular season dual meet last season, which was in mid-January. However, West Des Moines Valley came through with the 31-26 victory in the state final on the strength of a last match pin by Joel Shapiro.

NORFOLK, VA. -- The 10th ranked NC State wrestling team got bonus point wins in three of its first four individual wins, and the Wolfpack (4-1) came away with a 25-13 road win at Old Dominion (1-4) Tuesday night. The Pack won the first three matches to jump out to a 14-0 lead, and 18-3 at the midway point. On the night, NC State won six of the 10 bouts, with four wins being for bonus points. Starting the dual at 125 pounds, the Pack picked up a quick six points as freshman Tommy Cox earned an injury default just 0:29 into his bout. No. 19 Sean Fausz followed with an 11-5 decision at 133 pounds, and No. 5 Kevin Jack added a dominating 16-0 tech fall win at 141 pounds to give the Pack the early 14-0 lead just three matches in. Freshman Thomas Bullard scored an 8-0 major decision at 157 pounds, to give NC State the 18-3 lead at the intermission. Fellow freshman Nick Reenan picked up his eighth straight win, 10-4 at 174 pounds. Redshirt senior Mike Kosoy closed out the dual with a 10-2 major decision at 285 pounds. Results: 125: Tommy Cox (NCSU) injury default over Brandon Jeske; 0:29 - 6-0 133: #19 Sean Fausz (NCSU) dec. Alex Madrigal; 11-5 - 9-0 141: #5 Kevin Jack (NCSU) tech fall Kenan Carter; 16-0 - 14-0 149: Michael Hayes (ODU) dec. Beau Donahue; 13-10 - 14-3 157: Thomas Bullard (NCSU) major dec. Shane Jones; 8-0 - 18-3 165: #17 Seldon Wright (ODU) dec. Brian Hamann; 12-7 - 18-6 174: Nick Reenan (NCSU) dec. Antonio Agee; 10-4 - 21-6 184: #12 Jack Dechow (ODU) dec. #15 Mike Macchiavello; 7-4 - 21-9 197: #12 Kevin Beazley (ODU) major dec. Tyler Johnson; 10-0 - 21-13 285: Mike Kosoy (NCSU) major dec. Will Hilliard; 10-2 - 25-13 Up Next: The Pack will return to action, traveling to Evanston, Ill., and competing in the annual Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- No. 5 Mizzou Wrestling walked away from the Hearnes Center with wins in 16 of 20 bouts as the Tigers defeated Kent State, 34-4, and No. 21 Appalachian State, 23-14, on Tuesday afternoon. Mizzou recorded bonus points in seven matches, including two technical falls from senior 197-pounder J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) and two major decisions from redshirt junior Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.). Cox posted technical fall wins over Kent State's Stephen Suglio (18-3, 7:00) and Appalachian State's Randall Diabe (18-3, 6:40) to move into a tie with former Mizzou All-American Alan Waters for the second-most career technical falls in program history with 17. Cox also recorded career wins 116 and 117 to move into 10th place all-time in career wins. Mizzou jumped out to a 10-0 lead on Kent State following a 19-8 major decision win for Lavallee over Casey Sparkman and a first period fall for redshirt sophomore 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) over Ben Heyob. After a win from Kent State at 174 pounds, the Tigers rattled off eight consecutive wins to take the dual, 34-4. Redshirt junior 125-pounder Barlow McGhee (Rock Island, Ill.) made his season debut in the dual against Cory Simpson, recording a 3-2 win. At 133 pounds, redshirt freshman Jaydin Eierman (Columbia, Mo.) defeated No. 19-ranked Anthony Tutolo, 11-7, while redshirt senior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.) recorded a major decision win over Tim Rooney, 10-2. The major decision was Mayes' 26th of his career, moving him into a tie for fourth-most in program history with Shaon Fry. Against Appalachian State, the Tigers got another quick start from Lavallee and Lewis, jumping out to a 7-0 lead after a major decision from Lavallee and a 6-4 win over No. 23-ranked Forrest Przybysz from Lewis. Mizzou was up 15-3 following wins from redshirt senior 184-pounder Matt Lemanowicz (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and Cox, but quickly found the Mountaineers vaunting a comeback as the score closed to 18-13 with two matches remaining. With the score tight, redshirt senior 141-pounder Zach Synon (Cary, Ill.) stepped onto the mat for the Tigers against Trvin Enriquez. Synon trailed, 4-3, heading into the third period, but scored an escape and a takedown in the final period, as well as an additional point for riding time to win the match, 7-5, and clinch the dual for Mizzou. Mayes defeated No. 15 Matt Zovistoski, 13-10, to cap the scoring at 24-13. Mizzou will next compete in the Southern Scuffle, Jan. 1-2, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The next dual competition for Mizzou is slated Jan. 8, against No. 18 Oklahoma. For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling). Mizzou 34, Kent State 4 157: No. 3 Joey Lavallee (MIZ) maj. dec. Casey Sparkman (KENT): 19-8 165: No. 4 Daniel Lewis (MIZ) fall Ben Heyob (KENT): 0:38 174: Jairod James (KENT) maj. dec. Taylor Watkins (MIZ): 14-1 184: Matt Lemanowicz (MIZ) dec. Shane Mast (KENT): 4-0 197: No. 1 J'den Cox (MIZ) tech. fall Stephen Suglio (KENT): 18-3 (7:00) HWT: Austin Myers (MIZ) dec. Devin Nye (KENT): 6-2 125: No. 7 Barlow McGhee (MIZ) dec. Cory Simpson (KENT): 3-2 133: No. 8 Jaydin Eierman (MIZ) dec. No. 19 Anthony Tutolo (KENT): 11-7 141: No. 7 Matt Manley (MIZ) dec. Chase Driscoll (KENT): 2-1 149: No. 3 Lavion Mayes (MIZ) maj. dec. Tim Rooney (KENT): 10-2 Mizzou 24, App State 13 157: No. 3 Joey Lavallee (MIZ) maj. dec. Gavin Londoff (APP): 12-1 165: No. 4 Daniel Lewis (MIZ) dec. No. 23 Forrest Przybysz (APP): 6-4 174: No. 20 Nick Kee (APP) dec. Taylor Watkins (MIZ): 8-2 184: Matt Lemanowicz (MIZ) dec. David Peters-Logue (APP): 6-4 197: No. 1 J'den Cox (MIZ) tech. fall Randall Diabe (APP): 18-3 (6:40) HWT: No. 7 Denzel Dejournette (APP) maj. dec. Austin Myers (MIZ): 10-1 125: No. 7 Barlow McGhee (MIZ) maj. dec. Vito Pasone (APP): 11-3 133: Colby Smith (APP) fall No. 8 Jaydin Eierman (MIZ): 9:24* 141: Zach Synon (MIZ) dec. Irvin Enriquez (APP): 2-1 149: No. 3 Lavion Mayes (MIZ) dec. Matt Zovistoski (APP): 13-10 *-Mizzou deducted a team point following conclusion of the bout due to throwing of the head gear

EVANSTON, Ill. --Northwestern wrestling and the Midlands Championships committee have announced the list of top contenders for the 54th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. The two-day event will be held Dec. 29-30 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. 71 ranked wrestlers will take to the mats at the Midlands. 38 competitors are ranked in the top-10 at their respective weight classes. The 184 lbs. class looks to be the most high profile with 10 ranked wrestlers, seven of which are in the top-12. Tickets to the event are available now online at NUsports.com or by calling 888-GO-PURPLE. Fans are encouraged to join the conversation via social media by using the hashtag #Midlands54. The list of contenders is in alphabetical order and is not reflective of seeding. Official brackets will be released the week of the tournament. Top Contenders (Rankings from InterMat as of Dec. 19) 125 Sponsored by Tadaaki Hatta Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) Brent Fleetwood (Central Michigan) No. 1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) No. 20 Brandon Jeske (Old Dominion) No. 8 Tim Lambert (Nebraska) No. 19 Elijah Oliver (Indiana) No. 14 Freddie Rodriguez (SIU-Edwardsville) No. 5 Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State) Anthony Rubinetti (Northwestern) No. 16 Josh Terao (American) 133 Sponsored by the Paul Scott Family No. 1 Cory Clark (Iowa) Tyson Dippery (Rutgers) Sean Fausz (North Carolina State) No. 7 Dom Forys (Pitt) No. 11 Tyler Goodwin (Maryland) No. 6 Seth Gross (South Dakota State) No. 10 Earl Hall (Iowa State) Cameron Kelly (Ohio) No. 4 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) No. 2 Zane Richards (Illinois) 141 Sponsored by Dr. Robert Conlon No. 6 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) No. 5 Kevin Jack (North Carolina State) No. 3 Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) Michael Longo (Oklahoma) No. 11 Colton McCrystal (Nebraska) Gabe Moreno (Iowa State) Joey Palmer (Oregon State) Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) Kyle Springer (Eastern Michigan) 149 Sponsored by Gary Sagui No. 12 Alfred Bannister (Maryland) No. 10 Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois) Andrew Crone (Wisconsin) No. 19 Joey Delgado (Oregon State) No. 13 Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma) No. 17 Jordan Laster (Princeton) No. 6 Justin Oliver (Central Michigan) Christian Pagdilao (Arizona State) No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) No. 15 Ken Theobold (Rutgers) 157 Sponsored by Peter Karampelas No. 8 DaWaylon Barnes (Oklahoma) No. 5 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) No. 17 B.J. Clagon (Rider) No. 12 Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan) Colin Holler (South Dakota State) No. 4 Michael Kemerer (Iowa) Richie Lewis (Rutgers) No. 7 Clay Ream (North Dakota State) Max Rohskopf (North Carolina State) No. 20 Josh Shields (Arizona State) 165 Sponsored by Dr. Russ Schneider No. 11 TeShan Campbell (Pitt) No. 7 Clark Glass (Oklahoma) No. 3 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) Tyler Marinelli (Gardner-Webb) No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) Austin Reese (Ohio) Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) No. 13 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) No. 10 Chad Walsh (Rider) Tyrel White (Columbia) No. 15 Seldon Wright (Old Dominion) 174 Sponsored by Robert C. Rowell No. 12 Zac Brunson (Illinois) Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin) No. 18 David Kocer (South Dakota State) No. 7 Alex Meyer (Iowa) Matt Reed (Oklahoma) No. 19 Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) No. 5 Zahid Valencia (Arizona State) No. 9 Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) 184 Sponsored by Robert Artoe Ian Baker (Princeton) No. 8 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) No. 11 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) No. 7 Patrick Downey (Iowa State) No. 3 TJ Dudley (Nebraska) No. 14 Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan) No. 19 Hunter Gamble (Gardner-Webb) No. 12 Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers) Corey Griego (Oregon State) No. 10 Nate Jackson (Indiana) No. 17 Michael Macchiavello (North Carolina State) No. 5 Myles Martin (Ohio State) Mitch Sliga (Northwestern) 197 Sponsored by Dru Goodman No. 10 Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion) James Benjamin (Buffalo) Jacob Berkowitz (Northwestern) No. 9 Brett Harner (Princeton) No. 19 Brad Johnson (Oklahoma) Jeric Kasunic (American) Riley Lefever (Wabash College) No. 4 Nate Rotert (South Dakota State) No. 11 Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois) No. 8 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) No. 12 Ryan Wolfe (Rider) 285 In memory of Bob & Liz Schnarr No. 10 Brooks Black (Illinois) No. 4 Tanner Hall (Arizona State) No. 16 Collin Jensen (Nebraska) No. 12 Ross Larson (Oklahoma) No. 2 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) No. 20 Ray O'Donnell (Princeton) Garrett Ryan (Columbia) No. 15 Ryan Solomon (Pitt) No. 5 Sam Stoll (Iowa)

Services have been announced for Maynard Aungst, two-time Pennsylvania state wrestling champion for Lock Haven High School, who died Saturday. He was 76. Maynard Aungst (Photo/pawrsl.com)Visitation will be held Wednesday from 2-6 p.m. at the Bond-Davis Funeral Home, 107 E. Steuben St., Bath, N.Y. A funeral service will be held following calling hours at 6 p.m. Wednesday. In lieu of flowers, those wishing may contribute in his memory to the Campbell-Savona Booster Club, P.O. Box 414, Savona, N.Y. 14879. Born in Lock Haven, Pa. on June 7, 1940, Maynard Luther Aungst was a three-time PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) finalist as a wrestler at Lock Haven High School. He was a two-time state champ, winning the 95-pound title in 1956, and the 103-pound crown in 1957. In addition, Aungst was three-time District 6 Champion and three time Central NW Regional Champion. After graduating from Lock Haven High in 1958, Aungst wrestled for one year at Bloomsburg University, posting a 16-2 record. His only losses came at the hands of eventual three-time NCAA champ Gray Simons of Lock Haven University. Aungst went on to compete for the Lock Haven YMCA, winning seven state and two national YMCA titles. He was named the state's Outstanding Wrestler five times and was named the National YMCA Outstanding Wrestler in 1960. Once Aungst's competitive career was over, he continued his involvement with wrestling, serving as a coach in Savona, Campbell and Hammondsport, N.Y. Tom Elling, former Lock Haven wrestler and author of the annual "Pennsylvania Wrestling Handbook", shared with InterMat a couple stories about Aungst. The first is a story that Aungst shared with Elling about Arthur "Bucky" Maughan, Pennsylvania high school wrestler who later became a NCAA champ for Morehead State University then long-time head coach at North Dakota State University until his retirement in 2011. "After (Aungst) had defeated Bucky Maughan in 1957, Bucky asked him how he set up his fireman's carry. Maynard willingly showed him. "The next year they met in the state semis and Maughan had figured a way to stop the 'carry'..." "He didn't say this, but I'd bet he'd do it all over again. That was just the kind of guy Maynard Aungst was." The second story involves current Penn State coach, 2004 Olympic gold medalist, and four-time NCAA champ for Iowa State, Cael Sanderson. "(Aungst) told me one of his prized possessions was a photo I took of him with Cael Sanderson at one of our wrestling breakfasts. He had hoped to get it autographed this coming spring. That will never happen now, but I am sure Coach Sanderson will smile knowing how much another great wrestler thought of him." Aungst was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2008 and the West Branch Valley Chapter Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year.

LAS VEGAS -- In the farthest west the four-year program has ever competed, the Cardinals shined in the Christmas season in Sin City. The Wheeling Jesuit wrestling team upset No. 8 Cal Baptist and tied Division III's No. 1 rated Wartburg between solid victories over Warner Pacific and traditional top 10 Minnesota State Moorhead Monday. After winning seven matches, the Cardinals (5-1) started the morning with a 28-9 victory over NAIA Warner Pacific. In the second morning session, heavyweight Maxwell Lacey's third-period takedown propelled him to a 7-3 win and sealed WJU's upset 22-17 win over Cal Baptist. Building a 21-6 advantage, WJU was unable to hold it as DIII's No. 1 Wartburg won the final four bouts for a 21-21 tie and win on criteria. The Cardinals took out their third-match frustrations against the Dragons, 34-6, in an eight-win dual. "Today was a big step for our program. To go 3-1, beat a top 10 team, a top 25 team in the country and lose on criteria to a powerhouse Wartburg program, it says a lot about our guys," said WJU head coach Sean Doyle. "We planned this trip to thank our seniors for the commitment to start this program and it's incredible to see how far we've come. Our guys were behind each other all day and battled extremely hard in every position. Wartburg ran a fantastic event. We were happy to be part of it." One of the Cardinals seniors, 149-pounder Dominick Nania could not be stopped. He posted an impressive day with three tech falls and one fall in his four matches. The senior won his opening matches 15-0 and 16-1, before he pinned the No. 6-ranked DIII wrestler Cross Cannone in 1:15. Nania finished his day with an 18-0 shutout tech fall. Dustin Warner (133) won a decision and added a fall (5:37) in his two matches, while both Greg Brusco (157) and Daniel Romero (141) recorded 3-1 days. After a first match forfeit, Brusco registered a tech fall (16-0) versus Cal Baptist and wrapped up the day with a fall in 3:58 over Minn. State Moorhead. The freshman battled hard, but fell to the top 157-pounder in DIII Logan Thomsen by a 12-5 decision. T.J. Smith (165), Nate Starkey (184) and Terrance Fanning (197) were all 2-2 in four bouts. Starkey had a fall in 3:48 and Fanning a 17-1 tech fall against their Moorhead foes. WJU now had off until Jan. 5-6 when it takes part in the National Duals in Indianapolis. No. 20 Wheeling Jesuit 28, Warner Pacific 9 125: Joshua Johnson (WP) dec. Jake Donahue (WJU), 8-2 -- WP 3-0 133: Dustin Warner (WJU) dec. Alex Ursua (WP), 4-3 -- Tied 3-3 141: Daniel Romero (WJU) dec. Baylen Cooper (WP), 11-6 -- WJU 6-3 149: Dominick Nania (WJU) tech fall Eric Luna (WP), 15-0 (5:32) -- WJU 11-3 157: Greg Brusco (WJU) forfeit -- WJU 17-3 165: Blake Cooper (WP) dec. T.J. Smith (WJU), 6-3 -- WJU 17-6 174: Reyse Wallbrown (WJU) dec. Miguel Simon (WP), 4-1 -- WJU 20-6 184: Nate Starkey (WJU) maj. dec. Alex Cruz (WP), 13-5 -- WJU 24-6 197: Terrance Fanning (WJU) maj. dec. Brandon Morgan (WP), 12-4 -- WJU 28-6 285: Stephen Wilbert (WP) dec. Logan Bowman (WJU), 3-2 -- WJU 28-9 No. 20 Wheeling Jesuit 22, No. 8 Cal Baptist 17 125: Jake Donahue (WJU) forfeit -- WJU 6-0 133: Nolan Whitely (WJU) dec. Trent Smith (CB), 10-7 -- WJU 9-0 141: Peter Cunningham (CB) dec. Daniel Romero (WJU), 7-0 -- WJU 9-3 149: Dominick Nania (WJU) tech fall Daxton Gordon (CB), 16-1 -- WJU 14-3 157: Greg Brusco (WJU) tech. fall Jacob Cooper (CB), 16-0 (4:44) -- WJU 19-3 165: Dominic Kincaid (CB) dec. T.J. Smith (WJU), 5-1 -- WJU 19-6 174: Austin Klient (CB) dec. Reyse Wallbrown (WJU), 3-1 -- WJU 19-9 184: Nick Fiegener (CB) tech. fall Nate Starkey (WJU), 17-1 -- WJU 19-14 197: Jake Waste (CB) dec. Terrance Fanning (WJU), 7-1 -- WJU 19-17 285: Maxwell Lacey (WJU) dec. Paul Head (CB), 7-3 -- WJU 22-17 No. 1 DIII Wartburg 22, No. 20 Wheeling Jesuit 21 -- 22-21 on criteria 125: Arnulfo Olea (WB) dec. Jacob Donahue (WJU), 6-1 -- WB 3-0 133: Dustin Warner (WJU) fall Dusten Reed (WB), 5:37 -- WJU 6-3 141: Daniel Romero (WJU) tech fall Tanner Terry (WB), 23-6 (7:00) -- WJU 11-3 149: Dominick Nania (WJU) fall Cross Cannone (WB), 1:15 -- WJU 17-3 157: Logan Thomsen (WB) dec Greg Brusco (WJU), 12-5 -- WJU 17-6 165: Anthony Smith (WJU) maj. dec. Brady Meyer (WB), 16-5 -- WJU 21-6 174: Eric DeVos (WB) maj dec Keegan Driscoll (WJU), 21-8 -- WJU 21-10 184: Bryan Levsen (WB) tech fall Nate Starkey (WJU), 18-2 -- WJU 21-15 197: Kyle Fank (WB) dec Terrance Fanning (WJU), 4-2 -- WJU 21-18 285: Kaleb Staack (WB) dec Maxwell Lacy (WJU), 3-1 -- Tied 21-21 *WB wins on criteria 22-21 No. 20 Wheeling Jesuit 34, RV Minnesota State Moorhead 6 125: Jake Donahue (WJU) dec. Jared Goldsmith (MSM), 5-1 -- WJU 3-0 133: Blake Bosch (MSM) dec. Nolan Whitely (WJU), 6-3 -- Tied 3-3 141: Daniel Romero (WJU) dec. Kristian Vazquez (MSM), 7-5 -- WJU 6-3 149: Dominick Nania (WJU) tech. fall Dylan Connell (MSM), 18-0 -- WJU 11-3 157: Greg Brusco (WJU) fall Isaac Novacek (MSM), 3:58 -- WJU 17-3 165: T.J. Smith (WJU) dec. Brayden Kuntz (MSM), 12-5 -- WJU 20-3 174: Reyse Wallbrown (WJU) dec. Adam Blees (MSM), 11-6 -- WJU 23-3 184: Nate Starkey (WJU) fall Logan Rhode (MSM), 3:48 -- WJU 29-3 197: Terrance Fanning (WJU) tech fall Cody Anderson (MSM), 17-1 -- WJU 34-3 285: Nader Abdullatif (MSM) dec. Corey Siegfried (WJU), 3-0 -- WJU 34-6