InterMat Staff

BOILING SPRINGS -- Gardner-Webb erased an early 10-0 deficit, getting back-to-back pins from Ryan Hull and Chris Vassar, and won the final five weight classes to close out a 29-13 win over VMI to open SoCon action Friday night. The Runnin' Bulldogs (3-2, 1-0 SoCon) have won five conference dual matches in a row, dating back to last season -- when GWU shared the regular season title. VMI (0-4, 0-2 SoCon) got a 12-1 major decision from Dalton Henderson at 125 pounds to open in style, then saw Michael Hulcher turn a 6-3 deficit in his favor, reversing Philip Anderson into a pin with 2:23 off the clock - pushing the Keydets up 10-0. Hull returned the favor at 141 pounds, falling in a deep hole to Darren Ostrander before turning the tables quickly with 8:42 off the clock for a late pin to trim the team deficit to 10-6. Vassar followed suit with a dominant effort, pinning Stevan Smith in 2:05 to give Gardner-Webb the lead. A hard-fought bout between Ryan Mosley and Neal Richards at 157 pounds gave VMI the lead back, as Richards took down Moseley for a sudden victory (6-4, SV-3). Tyler Marinelli took a comfortable, 10-4 decision over Blake Hohman at 165 pounds, beginning a string of five-straight wins to seal the match. Austin Trott was in control from the opening moments at 165, using several four-point near falls to take a 14-0 lead after one period. He secured a tech fall (15-0) with 5:10 gone off the clock on a stall by the Keydets. Hunter Gamble, Payton Mills and Boyce Cornwell each followed with decisions for the final margin. Gardner-Webb will step out of conference until January, traveling to face Kent State on December 16 in Ohio. The Runnin' Bulldogs will participate in the Cleveland State Open on December 17 and will travel to the annual Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn., on January 1-2. Results: 125: Dalton Henderson (VMI) major dec. Landon LoAlbo (GWU) - 12-1 133: Michael Hulcher (VMI) pinned Philip Anderson (GWU) - (2:23) 141: Ryan Hull (GWU) pinned Darren Ostrander (VMI) - (8:42) 149: Chris Vassar (GWU) pinned Stevan Smith (VMI) - (2:05) 157: Neal Richards (VMI) dec. Ryan Mosley (GWU) - 6-4 (SV-3) 165: #12 Tyler Marinelli (GWU) dec. Blake Hohman (VMI) - 10-4 174: Austin Trott (GWU) tech. fall Shabaka Johns (VMI) - 15-0 (5:10) 184: #19 Hunter Gamble (GWU) dec. Christopher Beck (VMI) - 8-1 197: Payton Mills (GWU) dec. Taylor Thomas (VMI) - 8-5 285: #21 Boyce Cornwell (GWU) dec. Sam Bouis (VMI) - 5-3

BALTIMORE, Md. -- The Navy wrestling team claimed wins in six-of-10 matches to defeat EIWA foe American (2-1), 24-17, Friday evening at Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore. The Midshipmen, who are now 5-0 on the year, claimed their sixth consecutive win in the series. "The most important part of tonight's event was that we improved from last week to this week," said third-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. "The guys did a better job of wrestling the Navy way which is line-to-line and whistle to whistle. "Tactically we learned from some mistakes even in matches that we won. Our wrestlers want to be the best and a key trait of that is expecting excellence. Winning is not the goal, rather victory by the largest margin possible is what 10 guys are expecting every dual meet." Navy scored bonus points in three bouts, including 17th-ranked Jadaen Bernstein's (Jr / Glen Gardner, N.J.) ninth extra-point victory of the season by way of a 19-3 win over American redshirt sophomore Joe Salvi at 174 pounds. "Following a tough competition in Las Vegas, Jadaen demonstrated the character of a champion with a dominant performer tonight." Nicholas Gil (So / Crystal Lake, Ill.), a 2016 NCAA qualifier, took advantage of the starting nod at 141 pounds, earning an opening-period pin (1:48) over sophomore James Giaccia. "Nick Gil stepped right in and did not miss a beat at 141 and that's the heart this team needs," Sharratt pointed out. "You know he is preparing every day for the opportunity to wear the Blue and Gold." Meanwhile, rookie 157-pound Zach Elvin (Harrisburg, Pa.) earned the Mids' third bonus-point victory of the match via a 16-4 win against redshirt senior Cole Moseley. Navy fell behind early in the match when 19th-ranked Josh Terao dealt the Mids' Brant Leadbeter (Jr / Owings, Md.) a loss by technical fall, 18-0, at 125 pounds. The Mids won back-to-back matches, including Gil's win by fall that gave Navy the lead for good. After taking a 13-point lead (21-8) seven bouts into the match, the Eagles were able to get within seven (21-14) following Jason Grimes' win by fall over Navy team captain Ryan Harman (Sr / West Linn, Ore.) at 184 pounds. However, a hard-fought 3-2 victory by junior 197-pound Steban Cervantes (Chula Vista, Calif.) over Jeric Kasunic, would clinch the team victory for the Mids. Sophomore 133-pound Cody Lambert (Tulsa, Okla.) and junior 165-pound Drew Daniels (Overland Park, Kan.) also came away victors at their respective weights for Navy. "I would be remiss if I did not thank the many Naval Academy fans who were in town for tomorrow's big Army-Navy football game who came out to lend their support to our wrestlers this evening." Navy will step aside from the mat over the next few weeks to focus on final exams and observe the holidays before returning Jan. 1-2 for the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn. Results: 125 - #19 Josh Terao (A) tech. fall Brant Leadbeter, 18-0; 0-5 133 - Cody Lambert (N) dec. Angelo Barberio, 4-1; 3-5 141 - Nicholas Gil (N) fall James Giaccia, 1:48; 9-5 149 - Michael Sprague (A) dec. Corey Wilding, 6-5; 9-8 157 - Zach Elvin (N) major dec Cole Moseley, 16-4; 13-8 165 - Drew Daniels (N) dec. Michael Eckhart, 6-1; 16-8 174 - #17 Jadaen Bernstein (N) tech. fall Joe Salvi, 19-3 (5:40); 21-8 184 - Jason Grimes (A) fall Ryan Harman, 1:24; 21-14 197 - Steban Cervantes (N) dec. Jeric Kasunic, 3-2; 24-14 285 - Brett Dempsey (A) dec. Ethan Stanley, 7-1; 24-17

VESTAL, N.Y. -- The Binghamton wrestling team won 7 out of 10 bouts on Friday night and posted a work-man like 21-11 win over long time rival Hofstra. The win gives a good start to the Bearcats long weekend, where they will face two nationally ranked teams over the next two days. BU will travel to No. 19 Princeton on Saturday before heading to wrestle at No. 2 Penn State on Sunday. Steve Schneider (17-3), currently ranked No. 13 by Intermat this week, won his match against Hofstra's Michael Oxley 10-3. The 184 pound junior had a takedown in the first period with six seconds left to give him an early 4-1 lead. Building over a minute of ride time going into the second period, Schneider tallied on three more takedowns to top Oxley and win the match, giving the Bearcats a 10 point lead with two matches left in the dual. To start the night, Steven Bulzomi came out strong with a win in the 125 weight division. Leading 4-1 after the first period, the sophomore got a takedown over Hofstra's Jacob Martin and won by a score of 10-6, giving BU an early 3-0 lead. Hofstra answered back, but an 11-4 win by Parker Kropman at 149 got the Bearcats back in the running. At 157, a 7-3 win by Tristan Rifanburg nudged Binghamton ahead 9-8 before twin brothers Vincent and Anthony DePrez added on back to back match wins. Vincent DePrez won his 165 match 8-2 against Hofstra's Bobby Fehr before Anthony DePrez tallied two takedowns and won 7-0 for the 174 weight class, sending the Bearcats into the end of the dual with a comfortable lead. Heavyweight Connor Calkins sealed the deal with a 5-3 match win over Omar Haddad, giving the Bearcats their final team points to win the dual 21-11. This marks the third consecutive year that Binghamton has topped the Hofstra Pride. The Bearcats go right back at it to face No. 19 Princeton on Saturday, December 10th at 1 p.m. before traveling to No. 2 Penn State on Sunday for a 2 p.m. start time. Results: 125: Steven Bulzomi (BU) (10-6) dec. Jacob Martin (H) (5-10), 10-6 133: Vinny Vespa (H) (6-6) TF Carlos Aucancela (BU) (1-5), 6:19 141: Connor Burkert (H) dec. Dylan Caruana (BU) (7-7), 7-5 149: Parker Kropman (BU) (5-7) dec. Ryan Burkert (H) (5-8), 11-4 157: Tristan Rifanburg (BU) (4-3) dec. Jake Kaminsky (H) (7-8), 7-3 165: Vincent DePrez (BU) (12-4) dec. Bobby Fehr (H) (2-4), 8-2 174: Anthony DePrez (BU) (4-4) dec. Sage Heller (H) (13-7), 8-0 184No. 13 Steve Schneider (BU) (17-3) dec. Michael Oxley (H), 10-3 197: Nezar Haddad (H) (5-5) dec. Mark Tracy (BU) (5-7), 3-2 Hwt: Connor Calkins (BU) (10-5) dec. Omar Haddad (H) (2-8), 5-3

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- No. 18 Minnesota (2-1, 1-0) rallied in their Big Ten opener on Friday night, erasing a halftime deficit in East Lansing by winning four the last five matches, including the final three, to knock off Michigan State (2-4, 0-1), 20-17. The strength of Minnesota's upper-weights was again on display at Jenison Field House, with wins in the four heaviest weight classes. That foursome - No. 16 Nick Wanzek, Bobby Steveson, No. 2 Brett Pfarr and No. 6 Michael Kroells - has gone undefeated in both of Minnesota's dual victories this season. "The thing we talked about at the break was that sometimes a match feel like you have no momentum, but you can't let that impact the way that you wrestle," said head coach Brandon Eggum. "We told the upper-weights to focus on the things they could control. Those guys did a good job of scoring points early and changing momentum. It was a tough position they were in there, closing out the dual, but they did a great job." After drawing weights, Friday's match began where most duals end, at heavyweight. Kroells took the opportunity to stake the Gophers an early 3-0 lead in a decision over Jacob Cooper that required a good deal of patience from Kroells, as his opponent slowed the pace and fought to keep scoring low. While he accomplished that goal, it was Kroells who ultimately benefited and picked up the 1-0 decision. Resetting to the lower-weights, the two teams began trading victories, as Michigan State leveled the match at three thanks to a 9-3 decision from Logan Griffin over Skyler Petry. Minnesota answered at 133 pounds when No. 17 Mitch McKee, after earning his first career ranking following a strong showing at the Cliff Keen Invitational last weekend, picked up his first career dual win and his first career Big Ten win in a single effort. McKee raced out to a 6-0 lead over Austin Eicher and used that strong start to power a 9-3 victory. As the Gophers had, the Spartans answered with a ranked wrestler of their own, No. 12 Javier Gasca. The 141-pounder picked up an 11-1 major decision over Gannon Volk to put Sparty ahead for the first time, 7-6. Teammate Nick Trimble followed with a major decision over James Berg, 12-4, at 149 pounds to give Michigan State an 11-6 halftime lead. No. 12 Jake Short put a stop to the Spartans' run following the intermission, picking up an early takedown and showcasing strong defense - two of Short's hallmarks - in a 4-2 decision over Austin Thompson at 157 pounds. The 165-pound bout seemed likely to end in a fall one way or another as both teams trotted out pinners, and it did. It was Drew Hughes getting the better of Brandon Kingsley during a second-period scrambling and scoring the fall at 4:51. The lightning-quick call from the official that Kingsley had been pinned drew complaints from the Minnesota corner, but the call stood, as did the six points for the Spartans, which extended their lead to 17-6. The Gophers no longer had room for error. A loss in any of the three remaining matches would seal the dual for Michigan State. As they did in a comeback win over No. 20 South Dakota State earlier in the season, the upper-weights showed they could be counted on when it mattered most. The push began at 174 pounds, where Wanzek gave up the match's opening takedown but then scored 14 of the final 15 points in his bout with Logan Ritchie. Wanzek was relentless over the final two periods, adding takedowns and near-falls to earn a 14-3 major. Next up, Steveson picked up where Wanzek had left off, flying off the opening whistle with heavy hand-fighting and taking down Shwan Shadaia three times in the opening two minutes. Those three takedowns held up throughout the match, as Steveson defeated Shadaia, 8-5. In the night's final contest, Pfarr delivered his sixth straight bonus-point win for the Gophers, once again showcasing the signature elements of his style. Pfarr took down Matt Okaiye on a series of single-leg shots, as well as a counter off Okaiye's best shot of the match, on his way to a 16-5 victory. Friday's was the seventh straight match where Pfarr has not conceded a takedown to his opponent. Friday's win marked the 11th time in the past 12 seasons that the Maroon and Gold has won its Big Ten opener. It was also the Minnesota's ninth straight in its series against Michigan State, and its 20th in the last 21 against the Spartans. The Gophers will not have much time to enjoy the victory in their conference-opener. They will head across the state to Ann Arbor tomorrow to prepare for a Sunday matinee against No. 10 Michigan (3-0, 0-0). That match is set to begin at Cliff Keen Arena at 1 p.m. Central and will be livestreamed on BTN Plus. GopherSports.com is your home for all Gopher Wrestling news throughout the 2016-17. Whether you're looking for a dual recap, match previews, features on the wrestlers you're seeing on the mat each week or team stats, we will have it all for you right here. Be sure to follow Gopher Wrestling on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest updates. Results: 285: No. 6 Michael Kroells (Minn) dec Jacob Cooper (MSU), 1-0 | Minn 3 -- MSU 0 125: Logan Griffin (MSU) dec Skyler Petry (Minn), 9-3 | Minn 3 -- MSU 3 133: No. 17 Mitch McKee (Minn) dec Austin Eicher (MSU), 9-3 | Minn 6 -- MSU 3 141: No. 12 Javier Gasca (MSU) maj dec Gannon Volk (Minn), 11-1 | Minn 6 -- MSU 7 149: Nick Trimble (MSU) maj dec James Berg (Minn), 12-4 | Minn 6 -- MSU 11 157: No. 12 Jake Short (Minn) dec Austin Thompson (MSU), 4-2 | Minn 9 -- MSU 11 165: Drew Hughes (MSU) fall (4:51) Brandon Kingsley (Minn) | Minn 9 -- MSU 17 174: No. 16 Nick Wanzek (Minn) maj dec Logan Ritchie (MSU), 14-3 | Minn 13 -- MSU 17 184: Bobby Steveson (Minn) dec Shwan Shadaia (MSU), 8-5 | Minn 16 -- MSU 17 197: No. 2 Brett Pfarr (Minn) maj dec Matt Okaiye (MSU), 16-5 | Minn 20 -- MSU 17

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – In its first home dual in nearly a month, No. 11 Lehigh took advantage of an undermanned Princeton squad, winning nine of 10 bouts in a 34-3 victory Friday inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. The Tigers were down four starters, including two ranked wrestlers, and the Mountain Hawks capitalized with three technical fall victories and four total bonus point wins. The victory improves Lehigh's record to 4-1 overall and 2-0 against EIWA foes. Princeton falls to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in the EIWA. The 34-3 final margin matched the score of last year's Lehigh win over Princeton in New Jersey. "Overall it was a good effort," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "They had four starters out which hurt them, obviously, but our effort was really good from all our guys. Guys were looking for bonus points and trying to score in the third period." Lehigh started fast as junior Darian Cruz used a cradle and four point near fall plus two more four-point turns to lead Matteo DeVincenzo 14-0 after one period at 125. A second period takedown clinched a 16-0 technical fall and gave Lehigh an early 5-0 lead. Sophomore Scott Parker followed with a solid 10-3 decision over Pat D'Arcy. Parker totaled four takedowns and registered 2:20 of advantage time, narrowly missing a major decision. The featured bout of the dual matched third-ranked senior Randy Cruz against fourth-ranked Matthew Kolodzik at 141. Cruz opened the scoring with a takedown, just missing on a potential cradle and building up more than two minutes of advantage time to lead 2-0 after one period. Kolodzik came back with takedowns in the second and third periods, with Cruz netting two escapes, but Kolodzik was able to erase the riding time advantage. The match went to sudden victory tied 4-4 before Kolodzik secured the winning takedown to claim a 6-4 win. Kolodzik's win would be the only one of the night for Princeton as Lehigh claimed the final seven bouts. Senior Laike Gardner started the run with a 14-3 major decision over Max Rogers, who was subbing for Jordan Laster at 149. Freshman Kent Lane then posted his first career dual meet win at 157, downing Mike D'Angelo 10-5 to give the Mountain Hawks a 15-3 lead at intermission. At 165, junior Drew Longo gave up the first takedown against Francesco Fabozzi but dominated from there, racking up takedown after takedown, while also earning three penalty points for stalling. The end result was a 26-11 technical fall, which extended the Mountain Hawks' lead to 20-3. "Drew always sets the example of how you want everybody to wrestle," Santoro said. "He goes hard for seven minutes and is always trying to put 20-plus points on the board each time out. He's fun to watch." The bout at 174 was the second of three matching ranked wrestlers with sophomore Ryan Preisch scoring an early takedown and using a strong ride to set the tone against Jonathan Schleifer. Preisch added a second period escape and a third period takedown plus riding time to claim Lehigh's fourth straight win, 6-1. Freshman Kyle Gentile proved that if there's time on the clock there's time to come back and win, in his bout with No. 17 Ian Baker at 184. Baker scored a takedown in the first period and proceeded to ride Gentile for 4:01, through the end of the second period. Gentile chose neutral to begin the third and scored a takedown to tie the bout at 2-2. He then used a tight waist tilt for a four point near fall to go in front 6-2. Gentile held on from there, yielding just the riding time point in a 6-3 victory. "If there's time on the clock you can score points," Santoro said. "He wasn't out of it. You could see his focus was still there. We were trying to tell him to cut (Baker) but he felt like he could turn him, and he did. That's good awareness from a freshman." At 197, senior Ben Haas delivered Lehigh's third technical fall victory, defeating Troy Murtha 20-5 in 6:11. Murtha was subbing for EIWA Champion and All-American Brett Harner. The final bout of the dual matched ranked heavyweights as senior Doug Vollaro met Princeton's Ray O'Donnell. Tied 1-1 in the third, Vollaro scored the first regulation takedown in three dual meetings between the two grapplers. Leading 3-2 late, he picked up a second takedown to close out the dual with a 5-2 decision. The Mountain Hawks will close out the fall semester on Sunday when they welcome No. 24 Drexel to Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace hall for a 2 p.m. match. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at LehighTickets.com or prior to the match at Grace Hall. Results: 125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) tech fall Matteo DeVincenzo (Princeton) 16-0, 3:31 133 – Scott Parker (Lehigh) dec. Pat D'Arcy (Princeton) 10-3 141 – Matt Kolodzik (Princeton) dec. Randy Cruz (Lehigh) 6-4, sv 149 – Laike Gardner (Lehigh) major dec. Max Rogers (Princeton) 14-3 157 – Kent Lane (Lehigh) dec. Mike D'Angelo (Princeton) 10-5 165 – Drew Longo (Lehigh) tech fall Francesco Fabozzi (Princeton) 26-11, 6:55 174 – Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) dec. Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) 6-1 184 – Kyle Gentile (Lehigh) dec. Ian Baker (Princeton) 6-3 197 – Ben Haas (Lehigh) tech fall Troy Murtha (Princeton) 20-5, 6:11 285 – Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) dec. Ray O'Donnell (Princeton) 5-2

FAIRFAX, Va.-- North Dakota State University 125-pounder Josh Rodriguez and 157 Clay Ream both stayed perfect on the season as the Bison turned back the University of Maryland 22-12 and host George Mason University 31-7 on Friday, Dec. 9, at the Recreation and Athletic Complex. Rodriguez and Ream each improved to 10-0 overall and 7-0 in duals. North Dakota State (6-1, 1-1 Big 12) is scheduled to compete at the Midlands Championships on Dec. 29-30 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Rodriguez, a senior from Guadalupe, Calif. (Righetti H.S.), posted a 24-9 tech fall over Maryland's Michael Beck and won by fall over George Mason's Trevor Mello. The No. 5-ranked Rodriguez recorded his team-leading sixth tech fall of the season to go with three pins. Ream, a junior from Wentzville, Mo. (Holt H.S.), grinded out a 5-1 decision over Justin Alexander to stop the Terrapins, who won three straight matches to take a 9-5 lead in the first dual. Then against host George Mason, No. 9-ranked Ream recorded his team-leading fifth pin of season. Ream was one of four double-winners for North Dakota State from 157 to 184 pounds and one of six Bison wrestlers to take two during the afternoon. Andrew Fogarty, a 165-pound redshirt freshman from Jordan, Minn., posted a pair major decisions, 174-pound redshirt freshman Carter Nielsen got back on the winning track winning a pair of decisions, and 184 redshirt junior Tyler McNutt won by major decision and decision. The No. 19-ranked Fogarty ran his record to 10-1 overall, 6-1 in duals, Nielsen improved to 3-4 overall (all duals), and McNutt is now 7-3 overall and 4-3 in duals. North Dakota State 285-pound senior Ben Tynan pounded out a pair of winning decisions. Tynan improved to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in duals this season. A pair of NDSU wrestlers ended losing streaks. Redshirt junior 133 Albert Landeros snapped a six-match losing streak as he rallied for a 6-5 win over George Mason's Lio Quezada, while redshirt freshman 197 Cordell Eaton broke a five-match skid with a 9-3 decision over GMU's Matt Meadows. Landeros is now 3-8 overall, 1-6 duals. Eaton improved to 5-5 overall, 2-5 in duals. North Dakota State 22, Maryland 12 125: #5 Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) tech fall Michael Beck (Maryland), TF 24-9 / Bison 5, Maryland 0 133: Jhared Simmons (Maryland) dec Albert Landeros (NDSU), 12-8 / Bison 5, Maryland 3 141: Billy Rappo (Maryland dec Taylor Nein (NDSU), 10-3 / Maryland 6, Bison 5 149: #12 Alfred Bannister (Maryland) dec Kyle Gliva (NDSU), 3-2 / Maryland 9, Bison 5 157: #9 Clay Ream (NDSU) dec Justin Alexander (Maryland), 5-1 / Maryland 9, Bison 8 165: #19 Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) major dec Josh Ugalde (Maryland), MD 12-3 / Bison 12, Maryland 9 174: Carter Nielsen (NDSU) dec Sam Rowell (Maryland), 6-2 / Bison 15, Maryland 9 184: Tyler McNutt (NDSU) major dec Idris White (Maryland), MD 11-2 / Bison 19, Maryland 9 197: David-Brian Whisler (Maryland) dec Cordell Eaton (NDSU), 8-5 / Bison 19, Maryland 12 285: Ben Tynan (NDSU) dec Youssif Hemida (Maryland), 7-3 / Bison 22, Maryland 12 North Dakota State 31, George Mason 7 125: #5 Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) fall Trevor Mello (GMU) / Bison 6, George Mason 0 133: Albert Landeros (NDSU) dec Lio Quezada (GMU), 6-5 / Bison 9, George Mason 0 141: Tejon Anthony (GMU) major dec Taylor Nein (NDSU), MD 13-4 / Bison 9, George Mason 4 149: Sahid Kargbo (GMU) dec Mitch Friedman (NDSU), 5-3 / Bison 9, George Mason 7 157: #9 Clay Ream (NDSU) fall Mike Sicola (GMU) / Bison 15, George Mason 7 165: #19 Andrew Fogarty (NDSU) major dec Garrett Tingen (GMU), MD 9-1 / Bison 19, George Mason 7 174: Carter Nielsen (NDSU) dec Patrick Davis (GMU), 4-0 / Bison 22, George Mason 7 184: Tyler McNutt (NDSU) dec Daniel Mika (GMU), 4-0 / Bison 25, George Mason 7 197: Cordell Eaton (NDSU) dec Matt Meadows (GMU), 9-3 / Bison 28, George Mason 7 285: Ben Tynan (NDSU) dec Matt Voss (GMU), 5-1 / Bison 31, George Mason 7

Day 1 of the Walsh Jesuit Ironman began at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. There are eighteen teams of the national Fab 50 in the field, five wrestlers ranked first in the country, and about 70 individuals ranked nationally in their weight class. Today's wrestling will set up the quarterfinals slated to start at a.m. Saturday, and pare the field down to 16 total wrestlers in each weight class. Wrestlers in consolation need two wins to place, while those in the quarters need one win before two losses. No. 1 in the nation Blair Academy, N.J. leads the way with NINE quarterfinalists. Next in line is No. 4 Lake Highland Prep, Fla. with six and No. 3 St. Edward, Ohio with five. Team Scores (quarterfinalists/consolation in parentheses): 1) No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. 76 (9/2) 2) No. 3 St. Edward, Ohio 68.5 (5/4) 3) No. 4 Lake Highland Prep, Fla. 62 (6/4) 4) No. 6 St. Paris Graham, Ohio 58.5 (3/6) 5) No. 9 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. 56.5 (3/3) (tie) No. 8 Malvern Prep, Pa. (3/4) 7) No. 12 Olentangy Liberty, Ohio 53 (4/3) 8) No. 14 Poway, Calif. 48 (3/3) 9) No. 16 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. 45.5 (3/3) 10) No. 30 Montini Catholic, Ill. 40.5 (3/2) 11) No. 33 Brecksville, Ohio 38.5 (2/3) 12) Massillon Perry, Ohio 37 (2/5) 13) Mason, Ohio 35.5 (1/4) 14) No. 11 Nazareth, Pa. 34 (2/2) (tie) No. 21 Pueblo County, Colo. (4/1) (tie) Reynolds, Pa. (2/2) Other nationally ranked teams: (18) No. 23 Washington, Ill. 32 (3/0), (20) No. 18 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. 31.5 (2/2), (23-tied) No. 15 Elyria, Ohio 28 (3/0), (25-tied) No. 24 Pomona, Colo. 27 (2/2), (30-tied) No. 45 Broken Arrow, Okla. 18 (1/1) Quarterfinal pairings (and notes): 285 - No. 4 Kevin Vough (Elyria, Ohio) vs. Jordan Earnest (Wadsworth, Ohio), Mason Giordano (Canfield, Ohio) vs. Trenton Lieurance (Broken Arrow, Okla.); No. 19 Niko Camacho (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) vs. Jake Levengood (Vacaville, Calif.), Jon Spaulding (Lakota East, Ill.) vs. No. 8 Seth Janney (Malvern Prep, Pa.) 220 - No. 1 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. Jace Punke (Washington, Ill.), No. 20 Ben Goldin (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) vs. No. 13 Ben Sullivan (National Trail, Ohio); No. 6 Jared Campbell (St. Edward) vs. Brady Daniel (Good Counsel, Md.), Jeffrey Allen (Amherst County, Va.) vs. No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) Schultz was extended to the tiebreakers, but advanced with a 7-2 victory over Christopher Middlebrooks (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 195 - No. 1 Jacob Warner (Washington, Ill.) vs. Kavan Sarver (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), Sam Stoll (Milan Edison, Ohio) vs. Danny Salas (St. John Bosco, Calif.); Aaron Naples (Brunswick, Ohio) vs. Angel Solis (Lemoore, Calif.), Cody Howard (St. Edward, Ohio) vs. Nick Mosco (Blair Academy, N.J.) Howard rallied from a big deficit to beat state champion Zach Marcheselli (Broken Arrow, Okla.) in overtime. 182 - No. 1 Michael Beard (Malvern Prep, Pa.) vs. Austin Cooley (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), Trevor Nichelson (Ashland-Greenwood, Neb.) vs. J.T. Brown (Elyria, Ohio); No. 5 Travis Stefanik (Nazareth, Pa.) vs. Jared Ball (Hilliard Darby, Ohio), Kaden Russell (St. Ignatius) vs. No. 20 Chasen Blair (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) 170 - No. 2 Michael Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) vs. Trevor Lawson (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio), Gavin Wilkerson (Reynolds, Pa.) vs. No. 14 Casey Cornett (Simon Kenton, Ky.); No. 5 Bryce Rogers (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) vs. No. 20 Joey Baughman (Wadsworth, Ohio), Emil Soehnlen (Massillon Perry, Ohio) vs. No. 7 Ryan Karoly (Malvern Prep, Pa.) Baughman survived in the tiebreaker, 6-5 against 2015 state champion Michael Battista (Broad Run, Va.). Soehnlen and Karoly both won one point decisions. 160 - No. 7 Max Wohlabaugh (Winter Springs, Fla.) vs. Ryan Thomas (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), No. 17 Nick Kiussis (Brunswick, Ohio) vs. No. 12 Andrew Merola (Blair Academy, N.J.); No. 10 Luke Troy (Martin Luther King, Calif.) vs. No. 16 Georgio Poullas (Canfield, Ohio), No. 20 Erich Byelick (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) vs. Cody Surratt (Wadsworth, Ohio) Surratt upset No. 5 Hunter Bolen (Christiansburg, Va.) 2-1 in the round of 16. 152 - No. 1 David Carr (Massillon Perry, Ohio) vs. Bryce Marcus (St. Thomas Aquinas, Fla.), No. 13 Hunter Willits (Pueblo County, Colo.) vs. No. 7 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.); No. 10 Anthony Artalona (Tampa Prep, Fla.) vs. No. 15 Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio), Jason Romero (Pomona, Colo.) vs. No. 3 Quentin Hovis (Poway, Calif.) 145 - No. 3 Dom Demas (Dublin Coffman, Ohio) vs. Quinn Devaney (McDonogh, Md.), Trey Grenier (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) vs. No. 8 Josiah Rider (Grand Junction, Colo.); No. 10 Will Lewan (Montini Catholic, Ill.) vs. No. 17 Jake Brindley (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), Kevon Freeman (Lake Catholic, Ohio) vs. No. 4 Sammy Sasso (Nazareth, Pa.) Grenier upset No. 12 Gus Solomon (Franklin Regional, Pa.) 4-1 in the round of 16. 138 - No. 18 Cole Matthews (Reynolds, Pa.) vs. Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio), Gage Grunden (Defiance, Ohio) vs. Anthony Cheloni (Marmion Academy, Ill.); No. 9 Grant Aronoff (St. Thomas Aquinas, Fla.) vs. Malcolm Robinson (Blair Academy, N.J.), Moises Guillen (Perrysburg, Ohio) vs. No. 7 Corey Shie (LaSalle, Ohio) Grunded upset No. 20 Jacob Greenwood (Poudre, Colo.) 6-5 in the round of 16 with a late escape. 132 - No. 3 Mitch Moore (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. Chris Deloza (Clovis North, Calif.), Gary Joint (Lemoore, Colo.) vs. No. 9 Allan Hart (St. Edward, Ohio); No. 8 Zach Sherman (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. No. 16 Grant Willits (Pueblo County, Colo.), No. 12 Zack Donathan (Mason, Ohio) vs. No. 6 Jason Renteria (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 126 - No. 1 Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, Pa.) vs. Hunter Kosco (Canal Fulton Northwest, Ohio), No. 8 Anthony Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) vs. No. 9 Real Woods (Montini Catholic, Ill.); No. 6 Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) vs. Chase Zollman (Poway, Calif.), No. 15 Chris Cannon (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. No. 4 Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) Kosco pinned No. 14 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) in the round of 16 at the 4:58 mark, while Zollman beat No. 12 Jack Davis (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 5-0 in that same round. Madrigal and Woods both won narrow matches in the round, Madrigal 3-2 over freshman Cole Handlovic (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) and Woods upended Matt Kazimir (St. Edward, Ohio) 2-0. 120 - No. 9 Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. Logan Heil (Brunswick, Ohio), Dack Punke (Washington, Ill.) vs. Lukus Stricker (Akron Hoban, Ohio); No. 19 Coltan Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.) vs. No. 16 Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), Nathan Bonham (Pueblo County, Colo.) vs. Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio) Andonian pinned No. 15 Mike Madara (Blair Academy, N.J.) in the round of 16 at the 5:51 mark. He was up by a major decision margin at the time. 113 - No. 12 Jesse Vasquez (St. John Bosco, Calif.) vs. Jacob Dunlop (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.), Brakan Mead (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) vs. No. 16 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.); No. 14 Joey Melendez (Montini Catholic, Ill.) vs. Gabe Tagg (Brecksville, Ohio), Josiah Nava (Pueblo County, Colo.) vs. No. 7 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) Vasquez pinned No. 18 Nate Keaton (Circleville, Ohio), the tournament's champion last year at 106 pounds in just over a minute in the round of 16. Dunlop upended Super 32 placer Matthew Cardello (CVCA, Ohio) in that same round by a 4-3 score. Also in that round, Colaiocco beat freshman phenom Andrew Cerniglia (Nazareth, Pa.) 4-2, and Tagg beat National Prep runner-up Shane Hanson-Ashworth (Malvern Prep, Pa.) 2-1. 106 - No. 3 Mosha Schwartz (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. Mick Burnett (Elyria, Ohio), No. 13 Jacob Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) vs. No. 6 Julian Tagg (Brecksville, Ohio); No. 8 Lucas Byrd (LaSalle, Ohio) vs. Jacob Allen (Poway, Calif.), Nick Incontera (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. No. 12 Ryan Chauvin (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) Big result there was Allen upsetting No. 16 Angelo Rini (St. Edward, Ohio) 6-5 in the round of 16. Some of the top teams had key wrestlers not part of their lineups: -St. Paris Graham missing two-time state champion Rocky Jordan (152) and state medalist Jordan Crace (113/120) -Olentangy Liberty missing three-time state champion Kyle Lawson (160), along with two other middle-weights, one a state qualifier and the other a former Cadet freestyle All-American. -Oak Park River Forest was without two-time state medalist Jamie Hernandez (138/145) and another state placer -Pueblo County was without Junior National double finalist Brendon Garcia (106) and another state champion -Pomona was missing Cadet National double All-American Theorius Robison (138), two other placers, and a state qualifier due to their state football runner-up finish last weekend -Broken Arrow was missing returning state champion Skyler Haynes (195/220)

For all its wonders, the Internet's most prized role is that of receptacle for the self-righteous to deposit (and absorb) fake outrage. Last week Louisville women's basketball head coach Jeff Walz unleashed what would become an incredibly popular riff on the "epidemic of participation trophies" after his team suffered an unexpected loss. His outrage was misplaced and mostly false making it a perfect fit for Internet stardom. Like most of what some learn on the Internet -- and later come to BELIEVE -- the idea that participation trophies are handed out with consistency among all children, and that they poison our youth by staining their concept of winning, is a theory that's both bogus in actuality and predicted outcome. While Montessori schools and progressive neighborhoods may not keep score during kickball games, the overwhelming majority of youth sports leagues DO keep score and announce a winner at the end of the competition. Still, Coach Walz proclaims that the "problem" with this generation is that they get too many participation trophies. This weakens them, he says. This weakens, you guessed it, America. Trophies for young athletes are meant as a means of congratulating them for effort, not propping up a fake victory. Does this guy even know a 9-year-old? They aren't dumb. They know who wins and who loses. Just because they are tinier versions of grown-ups (save Limp Bizkit inspired facial hair) doesn't mean they are self-delusional because they were handed a $3.25 piece of plastic after losing 13-5 in youth soccer. Like you and me kids don't enjoy being manipulated and fight hard to distinguish themselves from each. THEY ARE ALWAYS KEEPING SCORE. And if they do get something shiny for their efforts, so be it. Trophies for 9-year-old semi-professional tee-ball players at the tail end of a highly stressful, parent-driven season might be the one actual thing they have to show for their time spent handling an over active mom and dad. (Side note: Say it is happening at an epidemic level? Who does Coach Walz think is handing out the trophies? His generation, not 18-22 year olds on his girl's basketball team having to suffer through his shortsighted public lashing.) Maybe it's best for Coach Walz to think of a participation trophy like he does his college degree. Let's not-so-boldly assume that Coach was not top in his class. Let's say he wasn't in the top ten percent. Does he still get a degree? Should we withhold his degree because he didn't "win" at school? Acknowledging effort isn't weakening sports or culture any more than printing a degree for someone who I'm certain consistently confuses irony and coincidence. (Irony being that he blamed his kids for not taking responsibility for their play, by -- as a coach -- not taking responsibility for the loss. ) After writing this on Monday I read what a former wrestler and educator had to say about the incident and found it enlightening. The idea of participation trophies being the downfall of our generation (or the next one, I'm not sure how what I count as exactly) is a canard. I've never encountered any child (aside from the VERY young) who liked receiving a participation trophy. Most of them were in fact keenly aware that they were being patronized. I don't think this has affected their moral fiber. On the other hand, some of the most deplorable and entitled human beings I have met have been highly successful athletes; who would have thought that being glorified for your athletic success from a young age would lead to this? I digress however; and this is hardly the case for the majority of such people. Whenever you throw around the participation trophy rhetoric and try to generalize "big life lessons"; you are using language that has been specifically coded to make you feel like a big, tough, man and to reinforce the idea that you are competition with everyone around you for everything. This Hobbesian conception of life is, in fact, not at all to your benefit. It's to the benefit of the people who are really running this world and getting rich off of your labor. To your questions … Mason Manville works to lift Tarrence Williams at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Iowa City (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) Q: I was looking at the Penn State roster and noticed Mason Manville is not enrolled. Did I miss something? -- Dave D. Foley: This year Mason has been training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He competed at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Greco-Roman in April, where he finished 2-2 in Greco-Roman at 75 kilograms. He plans to head to Penn State next summer and wrestle for the Nittany Lions. Q: How do you think Alex Marinelli (assuming he doesn't redshirt) and Michael Kemerer will fare this year for the Hawkeyes? -- Jack E. Foley: Michael Kemerer is already ranked in the top five at 157 pounds and scoring some early season wins. He doesn't need to win the NCAA championship in November or December -- just stay consistent and train up for the second half of the season. A finals appearance may be a reach, but he can certainly get on the podium. Assuming Alex Marinelli comes out of redshirt, I'd guess he would compete within the top ten at 165 pounds. Winning the weight class seems highly unlikely, so I'm not sure that we can expect more than a low All-American finish from him in his first season. In some ways I think the duo's performance could be a nice barometer for fans to judge the developmental process within the Iowa room. We've seen some great starts from the Penn State and Ohio State freshmen over the past few years. Can we expect the same from Iowa's heavy hitters? What will this tell us about Spencer Lee and his freshman campaign? MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Coach Walz has a raspy voice! Listen to that man! I'm kidding. Of course you shouldn't listen to him and his archaic ill-informed ideas on modern society and how to coach. 70-kilogram World Championships weight class preview Q: What will be wrestling's "second story?" -- Zach A. Foley: I think we need to start with defining what wrestling's first story was, or has been. My mind immediately traveled to Title IX and the loss of collegiate programs over the past 40 years. No matter what you think of Title IX, the law itself has defined the sport of wrestling, twisting and turning it in ways that have been complicated to understand, but consistently discussed. Losing hundreds of programs, the setbacks for the women's sport and the millions of dollars spent fighting the legislation and its effects have dominated that larger social discussion around the sport for at least the last three decades. I'm in Budapest right now (just landed, no sleep) preparing to cover the Non-Olympic Weight World Championships. That proximity and my role in helping to rebrand and promote international wrestling certainly inform my opinion on a second conversation. My initial thought was the rise in popularity of the Olympic styles. All the controversies aside, the sport is exponentially more a part of the sport's landscape (as in actual exponential increases in viewership, interest and discussion) than ever before. I think the styles and what they offer in terms of enjoyment are something being batted around a lot more since 2013. Ignoring that as a possibility, I think wrestling's second discussion is almost certainly women and their massive popularity in the sport. It's sometimes hard to see the impact of women on the sport, but if you look back at the last two years of press regarding the sport of wrestling it was absolutely dominated by women. They were in major national and international publications, there were TV appearances and endorsement deals. There were also important firsts including the first African medalist, first Indian medalist and first Grand Prix champion from Africa. How we greet, treat and discuss the inclusion of women in the sport is likely to dominate the discussion around our sport for the next several years. For now we are doing many of the right things. Maybe not fast enough, or well enough, but as a group we are all looking for improvement and equal opportunity in the sport and women are at that forefront. Q: What if Worlds were held this way every year, as in splitting up the weight classes into two tournaments? You could even add 86 kilograms into the second tournament for a little parity in non-Olympic years. My reasoning is that the split championships have made these weight classes more exciting domestically with lots of guys moving up, some moving down and with most competing in both the Olympic trials and the Farrell. It makes for great storylines and for matchups we wouldn't get to see normally, plus some guys get two chances to make a World Team. -- Timmy B. Foley: As the sport grows at the international level and interest begins to drive more investment there is a great chance we will see an increase in meaningful matchups. The World Championships are currently the prize, but with more professional leagues popping up there could be room for these types of tournaments with a combination of cash value and intrinsic value that will force the types of storylines you enjoy as a fan!

MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Winning six straight bouts after an early deficit, the Augsburg College wrestling team rallied for a 25-12 dual-meet victory over Minnesota State University-Moorhead on Thursday evening at Alex Nemzek Hall. THE BASICS FINAL SCORE: Augsburg 25, MSU-Moorhead 12 LOCATION: Alex Nemzek Hall, Moorhead, Minn. RECORDS: Augsburg 5-0 overall, MSU-Moorhead 1-2 overall HOW IT HAPPENED • Trailing 8-4 after three bouts, Augsburg's middleweights turned the momentum around, scoring six straight victories, including three major-decision wins, to clinch the dual-meet victory. • Alex Wilson (SO, Oak Grove, Minn./St. Francis HS), ranked No. 10 in the latest Division III national rankings at 149 pounds, started the Auggie rally with a 9-4 victory, improving to 9-0 in the process. • Grant Parker (SR, Onalaska, Wis.), ranked No. 10 nationally at 157, scored an 8-0, major-decision win, followed by a 12-2 major-decision win by Brady McFarland (SO, Windlake, Wis./Muskego HS) at 165 to give the Auggies a 15-8 advantage. Parker and McFarland are both 7-2 overall. • Austin Boniface (SR, Wyoming, Minn./Forest Lake HS) scored a 4-0 win at 174, and Owen Webster (FY, Shakopee, Minn.) clinched the dual victory with a 14-4, major-decision win at 184. The Auggie rally was capped by a 6-0 win by Logan Hortop (SR, Faribault, Minn.) at 197. • Victor Gliva (FY, Farmington, Minn.) opened the match with a 12-1, major-decision victory for the Auggies at 125 pounds, improving to 8-1 on the season. • Augsburg outscored MSU-Moorhead by a 70-50 margin in winning the dual meet and improving to 5-0 overall. BEYOND THE BOXSCORE • Augsburg is ranked No. 8 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national poll, while MSU-Moorhead is tied for the No. 25 spot in the preseason Division II national rankings. • Against opponents from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 305-47-1 in dual meets since the 1989-90 season. Augsburg has lost just 43 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 season. • Augsburg claimed its 17th straight dual-meet victory over MSU-Moorhead and is now 18-1 in the all-time series against the Dragons, dating to the 1984-85 season. It was the first time the teams have met in a dual since the 2013-14 campaign. FOR THE FOES • In the only meeting of ranked wrestlers, MSU-Moorhead's Blake Bosch, ranked No. 4 in the Division II national rankings at 133, scored a second-period, 19-3 technical fall of Augsburg's Sam Bennyhoff (SO, Mound, Minn./Mound-Westonka HS), ranked No. 4 in Division III. • Kristian Vazquez scored a 9-2 win over Mike Hayes (SO, Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) at 141, and Nader Abdullatif claimed a 12-0, major-decision win over Ethan Hofacker (FY, Spring Valley, Wis.) at heavyweight. UP NEXT • Augsburg competes at the St. Cloud State Husky Open on Saturday (12/10) at 9 a.m. • MSU-Moorhead competes at the Vegas Duals on Dec. 19 in Las Vegas, Nev. Results: 125 -- Victor Gliva (AUG, 8-1) maj. dec. Jared Goldsmith (MSUM, 10-6) 12-1 (Augsburg 4-0) 133 -- No. 4 (D-II) Blake Bosch (MSUM, 14-1) tech. fall No. 4 (D-III) Sam Bennyhoff (AUG, 7-2) 19-3 at 4:32 (MSUM 5-4) 141 -- Kristian Vazquez (MSUM, 5-3) dec. Mike Hayes (AUG, 4-5) 9-2 (MSUM 8-4) 149 -- No. 10 (D-III) Alex Wilson (AUG, 9-0) dec. Dylan Connell (MSUM, 8-6) 9-4 (MSUM 8-7) 157 -- No. 10 (D-III) Grant Parker (AUG, 7-2) maj. dec. Isaac Novacek (MSUM, 9-7) 8-0 (Augsburg 11-8) 165 -- Brady McFarland (AUG, 7-2) maj. dec. Brayden Kuntz (MSUM, 3-7) 12-2 (Augsburg 15-8) 174 -- Austin Boniface (AUG, 5-3) dec. Adam Blees (MSUM, 8-4) 4-0 (Augsburg 18-8) 184 -- Owen Webster (AUG, 8-1) maj. dec. Logan Rhode (MSUM, 5-7) 14-4 (Augsburg 22-8) 197 -- Logan Hortop (AUG, 4-4) dec. Cody Anderson (MSUM, 5-6) 6-0 (Augsburg 25-8) HWT -- Nader Abdullatif (MSUM, 10-5) maj. dec. Ethan Hofacker (AUG, 3-6) 12-0 (Augsburg 25-12)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Five bonus points wins - including a dual-ending pin by Olympic champion Kyle Snyder in his first appearance at St. John Arena since winning gold last August - punctuated fourth-ranked Ohio State's convincing 30-9 triumph over No. 5 Missouri in front of nearly 3,000 fans on Thursday evening. THE SHORT STORY The Buckeyes were bolstered by wins in seven of 10 matches, starting with redshirt freshman Jose Rodriguez's 3-1 decision at 125 to open the dual and ending with Snyder's pin of Austin Myers in 4:32. In between, fans were treated to victories from true freshman Luke Pletcher, redshirt sophomore Micah Jordan, redshirt juniors Nathan Tomasello and Bo Jordan and sophomore Myles Martin. RODRIGUEZ'S HOME DEBUT At 9-2, Rodriguez was coming off the biggest performance of his rookie season - a runner-up showing last weekend at the CKLV Invitational. His match-up with Missouri's Aaron Assad was ultimately decided on a first period takedown with just 38 seconds remaining in the period. The only points that were scored the rest of the way were escapes. Rodriguez, ranked No. 10 nationally, improves to 10-2. TOMASELLO'S MAJOR MAKES IT 7-0 In one of the premier match-ups coming into the dual, Tomasello made his St. John Arena debut at 133 pounds and looked as strong as ever, taking control of the match and ninth-ranked Jaydin Eierman in the second period with a takedown and four-point near fall to go ahead 8-0. PLETCHER MOVES TO 9-0 In his first appearance in the varsity lineup, Pletcher used timely takedowns at the end of the first and second periods and strong third period defense to register a 6-4 decision over Zach Synon. Pletcher improves to 9-0 on the year (he won his previous eight matches in open tournaments wrestling at 133 lbs.) and his win gave Ohio State a 10-0 lead. JORDAN BROTHERS EARN BONUS POINTS M. Jordan (18-0) came into Thursday night's dual leading the Buckeyes in nearly every offensive category, including takedowns and total points scored. He added to both of those in a big way, taking down Alex Butler eight times while also adding a four-point near fall in his 23-7 technical fall. His older brother Bo wrestled in his first varsity match of the season and looked to be in midseason form, scoring third takedowns in the second and two more in the third for a 14-6 major decision. MARTIN WINS EASY, MOORE PUSHES COX Martin rolled up 16 first-period points on Matthew Lemanowicz at 184 lbs. and finished off his technical fall with a four-point near fall early in the second period, setting the stage for one of the most entertaining matches of the night. Sixth-ranked Moore gave No. 1 J'den Cox, the defending national champion and reigning bronze medalist, all he could handle at 197 lbs. Moore took Cox down twice in the third period to pull to within one, 5-4, but can out of time to score the tying takedown (Cox added a point of riding time). SNYDER FINISHES IT OFF Snyder, competing in Columbus for the first time since making history at the Rio Olympic Games last August, took Missouri's Austin Myers down four times in the first period and four more times in the second before closing it out with a fall at the 4:32 mark of the match. It was Snyder's fourth pin of the season (he had one in his first two seasons combined). WHAT'S NEXT The Buckeyes return to action next Sunday, Dec. 18, when they take on Northwestern at Wadsworth High School. The dual is slated to begin at noon. POSTMATCH QUOTES Head coach Tom Ryan On what he told the team before the match "Well I think the most important thing for our team tonight was to continue to find value in scoring points. I think what we're seeing with this team is a good combination of leadership and some of the younger guys. Overall, it was a good performance from us." On Cody Burcher "I think what we need to continue to see from Cody is that he is not satisfied with close loses. Close loses and wins are worlds apart. He's definitely made some great gains though. We want to see his philosophy of attacking no matter the score to continue." Junior Kyle Snyder On balancing his international and collegiate schedule "I rely on people I know that care about me to help me out. I can't do it myself, that would be too hard. I have great coaches and friends and family that help me and are really supportive. At the same time, I love what I am doing and wouldn't want it any other way." On wrestling at St. John Arena "People wouldn't think I would get nervous wrestling here, but I do still get a little nervous. I care about what I am doing and I want to do well. The comparison is pretty hard to say but I do always get excited to wrestle here." Rs.-Junior Nathan Tomasello On the start of his season "Patience has been very important for me thus far. I dealt with an injury that made it hard to train the way I wanted to this summer. But I have gotten a lot of support from the training staff to make it to this point to come back better than I was before." On wrestling up a weight class "I feel like I have more energy and more strength. I don't have to worry about my weight too much anymore or the stress of weight management. So I have just been able to come out firing and attack." Results: 125: #10 Jose Rodriguez (OSU) decision over Aaron Assad (MIZZU) 3-1 | OSU 3, MIZZU 0 133: #3 Nathan Tomasello (OSU) major decision over #9 Jaydin Eierman (MIZZU) 12-2 | OSU 7, MIZZU 0 141: Luke Pletcher (OSU) decision over Zach Synon (MIZZU) 6-4 | OSU 10, MIZZU 0 149: #5 Micah Jordan (OSU) technical fall over Alex Butler (MIZZU) 23-7 | OSU 15, MIZZU 0 157: #6 Joey Lavallee (MIZZU) decision over Jake Ryan 12-5 | OSU 15, MIZZU 3 165: #4 Daniel Lewis (MIZZU) decision over Cody Burcher 6-1 | OSU 15, MIZZU 6 174: #1 Bo Jordan (OSU) major decision over Dylan Wisman 14-6 | OSU 19, MIZZU 6 184: #5 Myles Martin (OSU) technical fall over Matthew Lemanowicz (MIZZU) 21-5 | OSU 24, MIZZU 6 197: #1 J'den Cox decision over #6 Kollin Moore (OSU) 6-4 | OSU 24, MIZZU 9 285: #1 Kyle Snyder (OSU) fall over Austin Myers (MIZZU) 4:32 | OSU 30, MIZZU 9

Bryce Brill gets in on a shot against Stanford (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) EVANSTON, Ill. -- Injuries have brought an end to Northwestern redshirt-sophomore Bryce Brill's wrestling career. "Wrestling has always been a big part of my life," Brill said. "I have been doing it since I was 5 years old, and I have never really imagined my life without it. I have done everything I could in order to stay on the mat, but sometimes things just don't work out how you have always dreamed. I think the worst thing is not being able to accomplish the things I knew I was capable of. "It is time to move on from competing. I plan to give back to the sport in any way that I can. I have always known wrestling would come to an end at some point and that I would need an education to fall back on. That is part of the reason that I came to Northwestern, so that I could set myself up after wrestling. I would like to thank the Northwestern athletic training staff and physicians for doing everything possible to keep me on the mat and for always giving me the best guidance for my long-term health and well-being. I also want to thank Northwestern, Coach Storniolo and the rest of the NU staff for giving me the opportunity to compete at such a great place. I am glad that I was able to wear a Northwestern singlet, and I will always be a Wildcat." The 157-pounder is 10-0 in his Northwestern career but had his first two seasons cut short by injury. He came to Northwestern in 2014 on the heels of back-to-back unbeaten Illinois state championship seasons during his junior and senior years of high school. Brill was the No. 1 ranked wrestler at his weight class after winning three state titles overall. He is majoring in learning and organizational change. "I am deeply saddened by Bryce's career coming to an end," head coach Matt Storniolo said. "He is one of the most talented athletes to ever wear a Northwestern singlet. There is no doubt in my mind that Bryce would have won multiple NCAA titles. It gives me solace to know that he will leave Northwestern with one of the best degrees in the world. What he will accomplish in life will outshine anything he has or would have done on a wrestling mat."

This week's Takedown TV serves up a diverse menu of wrestling-related features. Among this week's features: Titan Mercury World Clubs Cup recap Cliff Keen Invitational recap Iowa tops South Dakota State Penn State rolls over Lehigh Mike Larson feature from the University of Missouri Take 10 with USA Wrestling One-on-one with North Carolina State head coach Pat Popolizio Watch this week's episode here ... or at the Takedown Wrestling's YouTube Channel. In addition, Takedown Wrestling TV is aired on these television networks. All air times are Central. Cablevision: Sundays at 4 p.m. Charter Cable: Thursday at 6:30 p.m., Friday 11:30 p.m. and Monday 2:30 p.m. Comcast Cable: Friday at 5:00 p.m. Cox Cable: Sunday 9:30 a.m. Fight Network HD: Sundays at 4:00 p.m. KWEM, Stillwater, Oklahoma: Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Long Lines Cable: Daily at 5:30 p.m. Mediacom Cable: Sundays at 10:30 a.m. MidCo Sports Network: Saturday 10:00 a.m. and Sunday at 9:00 a.m. SECV8: Friday at 5:00 p.m. Suddenlink Cable- Check your local listings. Multiple air times. Time Warner Cable Sports- Saturday at 12:00 p.m. Western Reserve Cable- Tuesday at 11:00 p.m., Friday at 5:30 p.m., Saturday at 10:00 p.m.

Oklahoma Wesleyan University will be adding men's wrestling to its intercollegiate sports roster, the Bartlesville, Okla. school announced Tuesday. The new wrestling program is expected to take to the mats during the 2017-18 academic year. "We are excited to offer this sport to the students attending Oklahoma Wesleyan," said Director of Athletics Mark Molder. "This a great sport and aligns directly with what we are looking to do within our athletic department by growing kids spiritually, providing an amazing education, and putting quality athletics on the playing field." Oklahoma Wesleyan has already begun a national search for wrestling coach. Applications are available online. Wrestling will be the 17th intercollegiate sport offered at Oklahoma Wesleyan, joining men's soccer, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, cross country, and track and field, and women's volleyball, soccer, basketball, softball, golf, tennis, cross country, track and field, and cheer. Existing sports programs compete as the Eagles in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Located in Bartlesville about 45 miles north of Tulsa, Oklahoma Wesleyan University can trace its roots back to 1909. At its website, here's how Oklahoma Wesleyan describes itself: "As an evangelical Christian university of The Wesleyan Church, OKWU models a way of thought, a way of life, and a way of faith grounded in these four pillars (Christ. Scripture. Truth. Wisdom.). We are a place of serious study, honest questions, and critical engagement, all in the context of a liberal arts community that feels like family." The four-year school has approximately 1,300 students, with about half of them at the Bartlesville campus.

Spencer Lee will be looking to win his third Walsh Ironman title in three tries (Photo/Robbert Wijtman‎) The 23rd edition of the Walsh Jesuit Ironman sponsored by The Chevy Network and Marhoffer Chevrolet comes this Friday and Saturday in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Competition starts at 1 p.m. (ET) on Friday with wrestling up to the quarterfinal round. Saturday's quarterfinal round starts at 10 a.m. with the semifinals to follow; while consolation rounds up to the consolation finals, as well as seventh place matches, occur in that same session. Matches for first, third, and fifth place commence from 6:00 p.m. on Saturday night. Without a doubt the nation's best in-season high school wrestling tournament, this field features eighteen nationally ranked teams and 71 nationally ranked wrestlers. Included in that is an absurd ten of the nation's top 15 teams and fifteen of the top 24 in the rankings, as well as five individuals ranked number one in the country and six others ranked within the top three at their weight class. From the standpoint of the team race, No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.) is the strong favorite to return to the team championship at the Walsh Ironman after a two-year hiatus. Should the Buccaneers win the title, it would be their 13th title in 23 editions of the tournament. They feature seven nationally ranked wrestlers, as well as ten top eight seeds in total. In terms of top eight-to-ten seeds, No. 4 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) has the next most with seven, while No. 2 St. Edward (Ohio), No. 6 St. Paris Graham (Ohio), and No. 21 Pueblo County (Colo.) have five each; No. 12 Olentangy Liberty (Ohio), No. 16 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), and No. 30 Montini Catholic (Ill.) have four each. The following represents a weight-by-weight breakdown based on wrestlers entered in the field as of Wednesday afternoon. Link to preliminary seeds - http://intermatwrestle.com/articles/17166 106: Six nationally ranked wrestlers anchor the field in this weight class, and they are the top six seeds. In order of preliminary seeding position: No. 3 Mosha Schwartz (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), No. 12 Ryan Chauvin (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), No. 8 Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), No. 6 Julian Tagg (Brecksville, Ohio), No. 13 Jacob Decatur (CVCA, Ohio), and No. 16 Angelo Rini (St. Edward, Ohio); Schwartz placed fourth in this weight class last year at the Ironman. Others to watch include a trio of Cadet National freestyle All-Americans in Dylan Ragusin (Montini Catholic, Ill.), Wyatt Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.), and Tim Levine (St. John Bosco, Calif.); as well as Preseason Nationals champion Mick Burnett (Elyria, Ohio). 113: The top four preliminary seeds are nationally ranked, along with all having placed within the top five at last year's Ironman at 106 pounds, listed in seed order: No. 18 Nate Keaton (Circleville, Ohio), No. 7 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio), No. 14 Joey Melendez (Montini Catholic, Ill.), and No. 16 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.). In last year's Ironman, Keaton upset D'Emilio for the tournament title, while Melendez and Colaiocco placed third and fifth respectively. Also ranked nationally in this weight class is freshman Jesse Vasquez (St. John Bosco), No. 12 in the rankings but a lower weed in this tournament. Two other wrestlers in this weight class return from placing last year at the Ironman in the 106 pound weight class, Jacob Dunlop (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.) and state runner-up Gabe Tagg (Brecksville, Ohio). Others to watch include a quartet of two-time state medalists in Brakan Mead (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio), Josiah Nava (Pueblo County, Colo.), Caleb Yates (Anthony Wayne, Ohio), and Matthew Cardello (CVCA, Ohio); National Prep runner-up Shane Hanson-Ashworth (Malvern Prep, Pa.); Preseason Nationals placer P.J. Ogunsanya (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.); Cadet National freestyle All-American Dylan Shawver (Elyria, Ohio); and top 25 overall freshman Andrew Cerniglia (Nazareth, Pa.). 120: In testimony to the overall elite quality of this tournament, the presence of just four nationally ranked wrestlers puts it in the lower third in terms of high-end quality. With that being said, there is an excellent and balanced field present, led by the nation's best overall freshman Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), who is the top seed and ranked No. 9 nationally in this weight class. Additional nationally ranked wrestlers are seeded second, third, and sixth at present: No. 15 Mike Madara (Blair Academy, N.J.), No. 19 Coltan Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.), and No. 16 Ryan Anderson (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.). Four returning Ironman placers also populate this weight class: Christian Nunez (St. John Bosco, Caif.), two-time Junior National Greco champion Dack Punke (Washington, Ill.), Julian Sanchez (Genoa, Ohio), and Lukus Stricker (Akron Hoban, Ohio); Nunez was at 106 last year, while the other were at 113. Additional state champions in this weight class include Brandon Fenton (Elyria, Ohio), Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio), Noah Castillo (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), and Joseph Otero (Montini Catholic, Ill.); while another wrestler meriting attention is top 50 overall sophomore Jordan Crace (St. Paris Graham, Ohio). 126: Along with the 160 pound weight class, this is the most robust weight class of the tournament, as it features eight nationally ranked wrestlers. Among those is the nation's best high school wrestler Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, Pa.), who won this tournament as a freshman and sophomore before missing out last season due to injury. Ranked No. 1 in the nation at this weight, he is a three-time UWW world freestyle champion at 50 kilograms, winning as a Cadet in 2014 and a Junior the last two years. Other nationally ranked wrestlers going in seed order from second through eighth include No. 4 Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), No. 6 Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio), No. 9 Real Woods (Montini Catholic, Ill.), No. 8 Anthony Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), No. 12 Jack Davis (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), No. 15 Chris Cannon (Blair Academy, N.J.), and No. 14 Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.); Silva is a two-time Super 32 Challenge champion, Decatur a two-time Cadet National freestyle champion, and Woods won the Ironman last year at 113 pounds. While the presence of this many nationally ranked wrestlers kind of limits the attention for others in the field, they do bring strong credentials to the table. Among the wrestlers to earn Cadet National freestyle All-American honors are three-time state placer Hunter Kosco (Canal Fulton Northwest, Ohio), Ryan Moore (Walton-Verona, Ky.), and two-time state champion Alex Cruz (Orting, Wash.). Chase Zollman (Poway, Calif.) is a two-time state placer and UWW Cadet freestyle All-American, while a trio of potential bracket busting freshmen are Cole Handlovic (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), Elan Heard (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), and Dustin Morgillo (Genoa, Ohio). 132: Six nationally ranked wrestlers anchor this weight class, and all reside among the top seven seeds. The top four seeds are each nationally ranked, listed in seed order: No. 3 Mitch Moore (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), No. 6 Jason Renteria (Oak Park River Forest Ill.), No. 8 Zach Sherman (Blair Academy, N.J.), and No. 9 Allan Hart (St. Edward, Ohio); Moore was champion at the Ironman in 2014, while Renteria finished runner-up in 2013. Also ranked nationally in this weight class are No. 12 Zack Donathan (Mason, Ohio) and No. 16 Grant Willits (Pueblo County, Colo.). Other notables in this weight class include Junior National freestyle All-American Gary Joint (Lemoore, Calif.), multi-time state champions Mason Wohltman (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.) and Marshall Keller (Christiansburg, Va.), two-time Junior National folkstyle runner-up Chris Deloza (Clovis North, Calif.), and top 25 overall freshman Fidel Mayora (Montini Catholic, Ill.). 138: Four nationally ranked wrestlers anchor this weight class, including the top three seeds, listed in seed order: No. 18 Cole Matthews (Reynolds, Pa.), No. 7 Corey Shie (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), and No. 9 Grant Aronoff (St. Thomas Aquinas, Fla.); Matthews finished runner-up at 126 pounds in last year's Ironman, while Aronoff placed fourth in this weight class. Seeded fifth is No. 20 Jacob Greenwood (Poudre, Colo.). Others notables in this weight class include returning Ironman placer Anthony Cheloni (Marmion Academy, Ill.), also a two-time state placer; three-time state placers Moises Guillen (Perrysburg, Ohio), Brady Barnett (Milan Edison, Ohio), and Justin Davis (Pueblo County, Colo.); two-time National Prep placer Malcolm Robinson (Blair Academy, N.J.); top 50 overall sophomore Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio); along with top 25 overall freshmen in Alfonso Martinez (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) and Sonny Santiago (St. John Bosco, Calif.). 145: Six nationally ranked wrestlers anchor this weight class, and they are the top six seeds, listed in seed order: No. 3 Dom Demas (Dublin Coffman, Ohio), No. 4 Sammy Sasso (Nazareth, Pa.), No. 10 Will Lewan (Montini Catholic, Ill.), No. 8 Josiah Rider (Grand Junction, Colo.), No. 12 Gus Solomon (Franklin Regional, Pa.), and No. 17 Jake Brindley (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.); Lewan was Ironman runner-up down at 138 last year, while Solomon has placed at Ironman the last two years. Others to note in this weight class include three-time National Prep placer Quinn Devaney (McDonogh, Md.); two-time state placers Sandro Ramirez (Wauseon, Ohio) and Zach Hartman (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.); returning state placers Trey Grenier (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) and Jake Marsh (Marysville, Ohio); along with top 25 overall freshman Nevan Snodgrass (Kettering Fairmont, Ohio). 152: Seven nationally ranked wrestlers lead the way in this weight class, including defending champion David Carr (Massillon Perry, Ohio), who is seeded first and ranked No. 1 in the country. The other six nationally ranked wrestlers, listed in seed order: No. 3 Quentin Hovis (Poway, Calif.), No. 10 Anthony Artalona (Tampa Prep, Fla.), No. 7 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.), No. 12 Rocky Jordan (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), No. 13 Hunter Willits (Pueblo County, Colo.), and No. 15 Connor Brady (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio); Jordan and Ramirez also placed at the Ironman last year. Others to note in this weight class include two-time state finalists Jason Romero (Pomona, Colo.) and Nick Giantonio (Christiansburg, Va.), state runner-up Brock Wilson (Nazareth, Pa.), and National Prep placer Bailey Thomas (Good Counsel, Md.). 160: Eight nationally ranked wrestlers make this an absurdly talented weight class, and those wrestlers occupy the top eight seed positions, in seed order: No. 4 Kyle Lawson (Olentangy Libety, Ohio), No. 7 Max Wohlabaugh (Winter Springs, Fla.), No. 5 Hunter Bolen (Christiansburg, Va.), No. 10 Luke Troy (Martin Luther King, Calif.), No. 12 Andrew Merola (Blair Academy, N.J.), No. 17 Nick Kiussis (Brunswick, Ohio), No. 16 Georgio Poullas (Canfield, Ohio), and No. 20 Erich Byelick (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.); Wohlabaugh was a runner-up in both styles at Junior Nationals this summer in Fargo, while Kiussis is the only returning Ironman placer in this weight class. Others to watch in this weight class include Preseason Nationals runner-up Ryan Thomas (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), a two-time state placer; two-time state champion Ben Gore (Orting, Wash.); two-time state placers Mason Smith (Walton Verona, Ky.) and Luke Sorboro (Rootstown, Ohio); Super 32 Challenge placer Tristan Brady (Elyria, Ohio); and Flo Nationals placer Aaron Olmos (Mater Dei Catholic, Calif.). 170: Five nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class, including the top four seeds. Those top four seeds, in seed order: No. 2 Mikey Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), No. 7 Ryan Karoly (Malvern Prep, Pa.), No. 5 Bryce Rogers (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), and No. 14 Casey Cornett (Simon Kenton, Ky.); Karoly was a Cadet National double champion this summer and is the lone returning Ironman placer in this weight class, while Rogers was champion at the Super 32 Challenge. Also ranked nationally is two-time state placer Joey Baughman (Wadsworth, Ohio), at No. 20 in the country. Others to watch include multi-time state placers Thomas Lambiotte (Parkersburg South, W.Va.), Leonardo Tarantino (Blair Academy, N.J.), and David Crawford (Canfield, Ohio); state runner-up Trevor Lawson (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio); Super 32 Challenge placer Emil Soehnlen (Massillon Perry, Ohio); 2015 state champion Michael Battista (Broad Run, Va.); along with Cadet National double All-American Jake Hendricks (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.). 182: As is normal on a year-to-year basis, the concentration of nationally elite wrestlers in the upper-weights tends to be less than in the lower and middle-weights. No exception this year in this weight class, as just three nationally ranked wrestlers are among the field. They occupy the top three seed lines, in order of seed: No. 1 Michael Beard (Malvern Prep, Pa.), No. 20 Chasen Blair (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.), and No. 5 Travis Stefanik (Nazareth, Pa.); Beard and Blair are two of four wrestlers in this weight class field that also placed last year in this weight class. Joining those two as returning Ironman placers are two-time state placer J.T. Brown (Elyria, Ohio) and returning state placer Tyler Stepic (St. Edward, Ohio). Others to watch include two-time state champion Trevor Nichelson (Ashland Greenwood, Neb.), two-time state placer Hunter DeLong (Parkersburg South, W.Va.), state champion Kaden Russell (St. Ignatius, Ohio), state placers Jared Ball (Hilliard Darby, Ohio) and Gage Braun (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), Cadet National freestyle All-American Austin Cooley (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), and National Prep placer Carter Davis (St. Christopher's, Va.). 195: Returning Ironman runner-up Jacob Warner (Washington, Ill.) is a UWW Cadet World freestyle bronze medalist. The University of Iowa early signee is one of the nation's best Class of 2017 wrestlers, and is ranked first nationally in this weight class. However, he is the lone ranked wrestler in this field, which makes him an almost prohibitive favorite. Others to note in this weight class include three-time state/National Prep placer Nick Mosco (Blair Academy, N.J.), returning Walsh Ironman placer Aaron Naples (Brunswick, Ohio), two-time state placers Danny Salas (St. John Bosco, Calif.) and Tony Banister (Wauseon, Ohio), state champions Josiah Gittman (St. Thomas Aquinas, Fla.) and Zach Marcheselli (Broken Arrow, Okla.), along with state placers Kavan Sarver (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) and Cody Howard (St. Edward, Ohio). 220: Five nationally ranked wrestlers are the top seeds in what is a rather deep weight class, especially for upper-weights at the Walsh Ironman. Listed in seed order they are No. 1 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy, N.J.), No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.), No. 6 Jared Campbell (St. Edward, Ohio), No. 13 Ben Sullivan (National Trail, Ohio), and No. 20 Ben Goldin (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.). Singletary was Ironman champion last year at 195; Schultz was runner-up in this weight class last year as a freshman, and is also the top overall sophomore in the country; while Campbell is also a returning Ironman placer. Others to watch include two-time state/National prep placer Brady Daniel (Good Counsel, Md.); two-time state champion Jeffrey Allen (Amherst County, Va.), a Junior National double All-American this summer; returning state placers Johnny Shafer (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), Quinton Mincy (Walnut Hills, Ohio), and Jace Punke (Washington, Ill.). 285: A trio of nationally ranked wrestlers are present in this weight class, while occupying the top three seed positions, listed in seed order: No. 4 Kevin Vough (Elyria, Ohio), No. 8 Seth Janney (Malvern Prep, Pa.), and No. 19 Niko Camacho (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.); Vough was champion of the Ironman in 2014, while Janney placed at 220 pounds in last year's tournament. Others to watch include 2014 Ironman placer Trenton Lieuance (Broken Arrow, Okla.), a two-time state placer; state runner-up Wade Wheeler (Amherst County, Va.) and Louden Haga (Pakersburg South, W.Va.); state placers Jake Levengood (Vacaville, Calif.) and Jon Spaulding (Lakota East, Ohio); National Prep placer P.J. Mustipher (McDonogh, Md.); and 2014 Ironman placer D.T. Badley (St. Christopher's, Va.).

Nathan Tomasello won his second Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title last weekend (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Tonight Ohio State hosts Missouri at 7 p.m. ET. Both programs are ranked in the top five, and both have Olympic medalists in their lineup. Olympic champion Kyle Snyder competes at heavyweight for the Buckeyes, while Olympic bronze medalist J'den Cox is the 197-pounder for the Tigers. Both wrestlers are returning NCAA champions. Tonight's meeting marks the third meeting in three seasons between these two college wrestling powers. Missouri has won the last two meetings. Last year the Tigers claimed a 26-17 victory over the Buckeyes in Columbia. Will the Buckeyes get revenge in front of their home crowd? Or will the Tigers extend their winning streak to three over the Buckeyes? Tune in tonight live on the Big Tent Network and BTN2Go. Visit BTN's wrestling page. Below are five matchups to watch. 125: No. 10 Jose Rodriguez (Ohio State) vs. No. 7 Barlow McGhee (Missouri) or Aaron Assad The matchup at 125 pounds could see a battle of top 10 wrestlers if McGhee is given the nod. The Tiger junior competed at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 5 (lost 3-2 to Campbell's Nathan Kraisser), but an injury has kept him sidelined since. Last season McGhee was a MAC champion and reached the round of 12 at the NCAAs. Rodriguez, a redshirt freshman, had a breakthrough tournament in Las Vegas, reaching the finals before losing a tight match to Virginia Tech's Joey Dance. He enters the dual meet with a 9-2 record, but still does not have a signature win over a top 10 wrestler. A win over McGhee would solidify him as an All-American contender at 125 pounds. 133: No. 3 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) vs. No. 9 Jaydin Eierman (Missouri) Tomasello, a 2015 NCAA champion and two-time All-American, made his debut at 133 pounds this past weekend at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and put together a strong performance in winning the title, but was pushed in the process. He had four decisions in five matches, and narrowly beat Michigan's Stevan Micic 3-2 in the finals. Eierman is coming off a successful redshirt season in which he posted a 22-2 record. He enters tonight's dual meet with a 5-0 record, which includes a tournament title at the UNI Open. However, he has not yet faced a ranked opponent this season. 141: Luke Pletcher (Ohio State) vs. Zach Synon (Missouri) This week Ohio State announced that redshirt freshman Ke-Shawn Hayes, ranked No. 12, was lost for the season because of an injury, and highly-touted true freshman Pletcher, a three-time Pennsylvania state champion, was being pulled off redshirt. Pletcher won two tournament titles in the first month of his college wrestling career and compiled a perfect 8-0 record, but all of his matches have come at 133 pounds. It remains to be seen what kind of impact he will have wrestling up a weight class in the Big Ten. With No. 8 Matt Manley sidelined, the Tigers have called on Synon, a two-time returning NCAA qualifier at 133 pounds who moved up a weight class for his senior season. He comes into the dual meet with a 9-3 record this season. 149: No. 5 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) vs. No. 4 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) If a Jordan-Mayes match materializes, it will be the premier matchup of the dual meet. However, Mayes, a two-time All-American, has wrestled only two matches this season and is recovering from a concussion. He has not competed since Nov. 20. Jordan, who reached the round of 12 last season at 141 pounds, moved up a weight class and has been dominant in the early part of the season. He is 17-0 with 12 bonus point victories. Last weekend he won his second consecutive title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. 197: No. 6 Kollin Moore (Ohio State) vs. No. 1 J'den Cox (Missouri) The early returns on the redshirt freshman Moore have been positive. He has won 15 of his first 16 matches this season and has steadily climbed the rankings at 197 pounds. His lone blemish came in the semifinals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational last weekend to No. 2 Brett Pfarr of Minnesota. Moore will face a tall task tonight when he meets J'den Cox, an Olympic bronze medalist and two-time NCAA champion. Cox enters the match with a 5-0 record this season with win over two wrestlers ranked in the top 10, Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) and Kevin Beazley (Old Dominion). Dual Meet Prediction: Ohio State 24, Missouri 12

Ed Ruth wrestling Deron Winn at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) One month after winning his pro MMA debut, former Penn State wrestling champ Ed Ruth has agreed to a second bout with just five days' notice in Italy this weekend. Ruth will be fighting fellow middleweight Emanuele Palombi at Bellator 168 at Nelson Mandela Forum in Florence, Italy this Saturday. The former Nittany Lion mat star posted this message on his Twitter account Wednesday afternoon: "Ed Ruth has accepted the challenge to come over and fight Emanuele Palombi from Rome," Bellator president Scott Coker told ESPN.com. "It's the second opportunity to see Ed fight in MMA. We saw how he responded to the nerves of his first fight, in front of lots of family and friends. This is another test and we'll see how he does." "Ed's development, from his wrestling background at Penn State University, has drawn a lot of interest," Coker said. Ruth's first pro MMA fight was at Bellator 163 on Nov. 4, where the Harrisburg, Pa. native scored a TKO by strikes over Dustin Collins-Miles at 3:19 of the first round of their scheduled three-round middleweight (185-pound) bout. Palombi, 30, will be making his first appearance at a Bellator event. A product of Rome, Palombi launched his pro MMA career in June 2015. He now has 5-2 record, winning his last three fights this year in the first round. Ruth, who signed with Bellator in summer 2015, is now 1-0 in his professional MMA career. He was the first three-time NCAA Division I wrestling champ in the more than a century of Penn State wrestling, winning the 174-pound crown at the 2012 NCAAs, then back-to-back titles at 184 in 2013 and 2014 after placing third at the Nationals in 2011. As a Nittany Lion, Ruth was a four-time NCAA All-American and four-time Big Ten conference champ, compiling an impressive 140-3 record.

The 22-team field at Saturday's Clovis West Shootout features some of California's most talented teams and individuals, including a pair of nationally ranked teams in No. 5 Clovis and No. 32 Gilroy. Three other teams in the top 12 of the preseason rankings published by The California Wrestler feature in the field: Del Oro, Bakersfield, and Clovis North; it should be noted that the best wrestler for Clovis North will be competing at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman this weekend. Below is a list of individuals to watch in the field this weekend, sorted by weight class (unless noted, the wrestler is from Calfiornia). 106 - No. 3 Antonio Lorenzo (Del Oro) 113 - No. 5 Nicolas Aguilar (Gilroy), Brandon Paulson (Clovis) 120 - Eric Rivera (Clovis North), Alex Nunez (Alta Loma), Wyatt Cornelison (Clovis), Izaak Olejnik (Bakersfield) 126 - No. 2 Justin Mejia (Clovis) 132 - No. 14 Alex Felix (Gilroy) 138 - No. 6 J.J. Figueroa (Bakersfield), Zander Silva (Alta Loma) 145 - No. 5 Navonte Demison (Bakersfield), Nathan Villarreal (Gilroy) 152 - Luis Enloe (Clovis), Noah Blake (Del Oro), Joseph Barnes (Gilory) 160 - Brandon Martino (Clovis), Juan Villarreal (Gilroy), Ricky Gonzalez (Bakersfield) 170 - Sam Loera (Bakersfield) 182 - Ryan Reyes (Clovis West), Drake McAdow (Damonte Ranch, Nev.) 195 - Adrian Godinez (Foothill) 220 - Nathaniel Holloway (Clovis North), Hunter Halverson (Del Oro) 285 - No. 2 Seth Nevills (Clovis), Pablo Miller (Del Oro)

A pair of nationally ranked teams, No. 19 Choctaw and No. 26 Sand Springs, anchor a rather solid field at the Perry (Okla.) Tournament of Champions this Friday and Saturday. Also in the field are Kansas state runners-up Arkansas City, along with six Oklahoma teams that finished within the top five at the state tournament in their respective classification: Blackwell, Catoosa, Lawton McArthur, Perry, Stillwater, and Tulsa Union. From an individual standpoint, the field is anchored by one of the nation's most talented wrestlers, Daton Fix (Sand Springs), who is ranked No. 1 in the country at 132 pounds. Below is a list of other individuals to watch, listed by weight class (wrestlers are from Oklahoma unless noted): 106 – Riley Weir (Sand Springs), Dylan Avery (Perry) 113 – Colt Newton (Choctaw), Wyatt Adams (Lawton McArthur) 120 – Cale Betchan (Perry) 126 – Drew Wilson (Midwest City), Marcus Robinson (Arkansas City, Kansas), Blake Sargent (Sand Springs) 132 – Conner Holman (Choctaw) 138 – Jaxen Gilmore (Yukon), Jack Karstetter (Sand Springs), Dillon Rowland (Lawton McArthur), Jake Beeson (Arkansas City, Kansas) 145 – Beau Bratcher (Sand Springs), Kendon Lee (Stillwater) 152 – Hunter Jump (Lawton McArthur), Chase Vincent (Yukon) 160 – Jaryn Curry (Choctaw), Jace Brownlee (Stillwater) 170 – Zane Coleman (Choctaw), Christian Bahl (Stillwater), Nick Mahan (Lawton McArthur) 182 – Easton Rendleman (Choctaw) 285 – Tyler Shannon (Arkansas City, Kansas), Montana Phillips (Lawton McArthur), Dayne Thomason (Blackwell)

No. 42 Apple Valley (Minn.) will seek to repeat as champion of the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Wrestling Classic on Friday and Saturday at the Mid-America Center. Last year's runner-up Fort Dodge (Iowa), which is currently ranked No. 41 nationally, will post the most direct threat to the Eagles this weekend. For those interested in following the event this weekend, the brackets and results will be on Track Wrestling, while IAwrestle.com will be providing a broadcast stream of the semifinals and final round on Saturday. Below is a weight-by-weight list of wrestlers to watch in this tournament (unless otherwise noted, the wrestlers are from Iowa). 106 – Jeremy Ayala (Fort Dodge) 113 – No. 13 Kyle Biscoglia (Waukee), Drew Bennett (Fort Dodge), Jake Svihel (Totino-Grace, Minn.) 120 – No. 9 Brody Teske (Fort Dodge), Carter Cox (Atlantic), Jace Koelzer (Olathe South, Kansas), Tyler Flood (Olathe North, Kansas), Jack Huffman (Millard West, Neb.), Zach Thompson (Perry, Iowa), Phillip Moomey (Kearney, Neb.) 126 – No. 9 Alex Thomsen (Underwood), McGwire Midkiff (Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson), Jevon Parrish (Olathe North, Kansas), Damond Lockner (Fort Dodge), Camden Russell (Millard West, Neb.) 132 – Brayden Curry (Sergeant Bluff-Luton), Corbin Nirschl (Basheor-Linwood, Kansas), Sebas Swiggum (Apple Valley, Minn.) 138 – Triston Lara (Fort Dodge) 145 – Nate Larson (Apple Valley, Minn.), Kaleb Popplewell (Maysville, Mo.), Gabriel Kjelgaard (Lewis Central), Kyler Rieck (Spirit Lake Park) 152 – No. 20 Nelson Brands (Iowa City West), Jon Trowbridge (Basheor-Linwood, Kansas), Cayd Lara (Fort Dodge), Terrell Galloway (Olathe North, Kansas) 160 – D.J. Coleman (Millard North, Neb.), Carter Rohweder (Iowa City West) 170 – No. 9 Marcus Coleman (Ames), Sammy Cokeley (St. James Academy, Kansas), Nathan Haynes (Missouri Valley), Nick Jouret (Olathe South, Kansas), Mac Southard (Lewis Central) 182 – No. 12 Clay Lautt (St. James Academy, Kansas), Anthony Sherry (Glenwood), Jared Florell (Totino-Grace, Minn.), Doug Vawter (Millard West, Neb.) 195 – Dylan Prince (Pittsburg, Kansas), Zac Stork (Atlantic) 220 – Tom Rief (Missouri City, Iowa) 285 – No. 1 Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 15 Kayne Hutchison (Pittsburg, Kansas), Caleb Sanders (Glenwood)

The second weekend of the wrestling season is here in many states, while for a couple of states (Michigan and Pennsylvania, most notably) it is opening weekend. The following is a list of the Fab 50 teams updated as of Wednesday, December 7th and their competitions for the upcoming week (12/7 through Tuesday 12/13). No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 2 Buchanan, Calif. - split squad for Chuckchansi Invitational at Madera South (Calif.) on Friday and Saturday, as well as the Curt Mettler Invitational at Elk Grove (Calif.) on Saturday No. 3 St. Edward, Ohio - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 4 Lake Highland Prep, Fla. - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 5 Clovis, Calif. - compete in the Clovis West (Calif.) Shootout on Saturday No. 6 St. Paris Graham, Ohio - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 8 Malvern Prep, Pa. - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 9 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 10 Detroit Catholic Central, Mich. - host Grandville (Mich.) in dual meet today, compete in John Glenn (Mich.) Rocket Duals on Saturday No. 11 Nazareth, Pa. - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 12 Olentangy Liberty, Ohio - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 13 Brownsburg, Ind. - host Avon (Ind.) in dual meet on Thursday, compete in the Zionsville (Ind.) Invitational on Saturday No. 14 Poway, Calif. - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 15 Elyria, Ohio - compete in tri-meet Thursday at Euclid (Ohio) along with Shaker Heights (Ohio), compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 16 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 17 Allen, Texas - compete in the Bristow (Okla.) Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 18 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 19 Choctaw, Okla. - travel to Carl Albert (Okla.) for dual meet on Thursday, compete in Perry (Okla.) Tournament of Champions on Friday and Saturday No. 20 Lockport, Ill. - host H-F (Ill.) in dual meet on Friday; host quad meet against Lyons Township (Ill.), Wheaton North (Ill.), and Hononegah (Ill.) on Saturday No. 21 Pueblo County, Colo. - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 22 Tuttle, Okla. - travel to Piedmont (Okla.) for dual meet on Thursday, compete in Mid-America Nationals at Enid (Okla.) on Friday and Saturday No. 23 Washington, Ill. - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 24 Pomona, Colo. - most of team will host Columbine (Colo.) for dual meet on Thursday, while part of team will compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 25 Goddard, Kansas - travel to Maize South (Kansas) for dual meet on Thursday No. 26 Sand Springs, Okla. - travel to Owasso (Okla.) for dual meet on Thursday, compete in the Perry (Okla.) Tournament of Champions on Friday and Saturday No. 27 Camden County, Ga. - compete in the Graves Invitational at Brandon (Fla.) on Friday and Saturday No. 28 Long Beach, N.Y. - host dual meet against McArthur (N.Y.) tonight, compete in Garden City (N.Y.) Duals on Saturday No. 29 Anoka, Minn. - host tri-meet against Champlin Park (Minn.) and Forest Lake (Minn.) on Friday, compete in the Woodbury (Minn.) Duals on Saturday No. 30 Montini Catholic, Ill. - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 31 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. - host Kasson-Mantorville Invitational on Saturday No. 32 Gilroy, Calif. - compete in the Clovis West (Calif.) Shootout on Saturday No. 33 Brecksville, Ohio - compete in the Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 34 Shakopee, Minn. - host dual meet against Lakeville South (Minn.) on Friday, host Shakopee Invitational on Saturday No. 35 Southeast Polk, Iowa - travel to Dowling Catholic (Iowa) for dual meet on Thursday No. 36 West Des Moines Valley, Iowa - travel to Ottumwa (Iowa) for dual meet on Thursday, compete in Johnston (Iowa) Invitational on Saturday No. 37 Roseburg, Ore. - compete in the Army Strong Coast Classic at North Bend (Ore.) on Friday and Saturday No. 38 New Hampton, Iowa - compete in tri-meet on Thursday at Waukon (Iowa) along with Olewein (Iowa), compete in South Winneshiek (Iowa) Tournament on Saturday No. 39 Mount Carmel, Ill. - compete in tri-meet on Friday at St. Rita (Ill.) along with Marian Catholic (Ill.), compete in Downers Grove (Ill.) South Duals on Saturday No. 40 North Allegheny, Pa. - compete in the Eastern Area Wrestling Tournament at Gateway (Pa.) on Friday and Saturday No. 41 Apple Valley, Minn. - travel to Rosemount (Minn.) for dual on Thursday, compete in Council Bluffs (Iowa) Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 42 Fort Dodge, Iowa - host Ankeny (Iowa) in dual meet on Thursday, compete in Council Bluffs (Iowa) Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 43 Hilton, N.Y. - travel to Fairport (N.Y.) for dual meet tonight, compete in Pioneer Duals at Arcade (N.Y.) on Friday and Saturday No. 44 Park Hill, Mo. - host Park Hill (Mo.) South in dual meet on Tuesday 12/13 No. 45 Broken Arrow, Okla. - travel to Akron (Ohio) SVSM for dual on Thursday, compete in Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 47 Lowell, Mich. - compete in Allegan (Mich.) Southwest Classic on Saturday No. 48 Cumberland Valley, Pa. - host Cumberland Valley Kickoff Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 50 Wasatch, Utah - host the Wasatch Intermountain Duals on Friday and Saturday No competitions scheduled: No. 7 Bergen Catholic (N.J.), No. 46 Don Bosco Prep (N.J.), and No. 49 Delsea Regional (N.J.)

The sixteen seeded wrestlers in each weight class for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, which starts on Friday afternoon, were posted on the tournament website Wednesday morning. Link to seeds - http://walshjesuitironman.com/2016-seeds/ Below is the list of the seeded wrestlers. National ranking per InterMat (as of Wednesday, December 7) is noted in parentheses after the wrestler. 106 pounds 1. Mosha Schwartz - Wyoming Seminary, PA (ranked 3rd nationally) 2. Ryan Chauvin - Lake Highland, Prep (12th nationally) 3. Lucas Byrd - Cincinnati LaSalle, OH (8th nationally) 4. Julian Tagg - Brecksville, OH (6th nationally) 5. Jacob Decatur - CVCA, OH (13th nationally) 6. Angelo Rini - St. Edward, OH (16th nationally) 7. Tucker Windland - Parkersburg South, WV 8. Jacob Allen - Poway, CA 9. Dylan Ragusin - Montini Catholic, IL 10. Mick Burnett - Elyria, OH 11. Wyatt Yapoujian - Pomona, CO 12. Tim Levine - St. John Bosco, CA 13. Oscar Sanchez - Genoa Area, OH 14. Dalton Harkins - Malvern Prep, PA 15. Andrew Smith - Nazareth, PA 16. Blake Saito - Olentangy Liberty, OH 113 pounds 1. Nate Keaton - Circleville, OH (ranked 18th nationally) 2. Dylan D'Emilio - Genoa Area, OH (7th nationally) 3. Joey Melendez - Montini Catholic, IL (14th nationally) 4. Michael Colaiocco - Blair Academy, NJ (16th nationally) 5. Brakan Mead - Olentangy Liberty, OH 6. Gabriel Tagg - Brecksville, OH 7. Josiah Nava - Pueblo County, CO 8. Jacob Dunlop - Belle Vernon Area, PA 9. Caleb Yates - Anthony Wayne, OH 10. Matthew Cardello - CVCA, OH 11. Shane Hanson-Ashworth - Malvern Prep, PA 12. Beau Bayless - Reynolds, PA 13. PJ Ogunsanya - Oak Park-River Forest, IL 14. Dylan Shawver - Elyria, OH 15. Ben Buhler - Tampa Prep, FL 16. Jesse Vasquez - St. John Bosco, CA (12th nationally) 120 pounds 1. Beau Bartlett - Wyoming Seminary, PA (ranked 9th nationally) 2. Mike Madara - Blair Academy, NJ (15th nationally) 3. Colton Yapoujian - Pomona, CO (19th nationally) 4. Lukus Stricker - Akron Hoban, OH 5. Dack Punke - Washington, IL 6. Ryan Anderson - Bethlehem Catholic, PA (16th nationally) 7. Tyler Lawley - Broken Arrow, OK 8. Alex Cruz - Orting, WA 9. Xander Whitehurst - Christiansburg, VA 10. Ronnie Pietro - Vandalia Butler, OH 11. King Sandoval - St. Mary's Ryken, MD 12. Brendon Fenton - Elyria, OH 13. Colin Schuster - Mason, OH 14. Julian Sanchez - Genoa Area, OH 15. Bryce Andonian - St. Edward, OH 16. Christian Nunez - St. John Bosco, CA 126 pounds 1. Spencer Lee - Franklin Regional, PA (ranked 1st nationally) 2. Joey Silva - Lake Highland Prep, FL (4th nationally) 3. Jordan Decatur - CVCA, OH (6th nationally) 4. Real Woods - Montini Catholic, IL (9th nationally) 5. Anthony Madrigal - Oak Park-River Forest, IL (8th nationally) 6. Jack Davis - Wyoming Seminary, PA (12th nationally) 7. Chris Cannon - Blair Academy, NJ (15th nationally) 8. Jaden Abas - Rancho Bernardo, CA (14th nationally) 9. Hunter Kosco - Canal Fulton Northwest, OH 10. Ryan Moore - Walton-Verona, KY 11. Chase Zollman - Poway, CA 12. Mario Ybarra - Scottsbluff, NE 13. Matt Kazimir - St. Edward, OH 14. Tyler Delaware - Washington, IL 15. Luke Martin - Parkersburg South, WV 16. Jeffrey Thomas - St. Paris Graham, OH 132 pounds 1. Mitch Moore - St. Paris Graham, OH (ranked 3rd nationally) 2. Jason Renteria - Oak Park-River Forest, IL (6th nationally) 3. Zach Sherman - Blair Academy, NJ (8th nationally) 4. Allan Hart - St. Edward, OH (9th nationally) 5. Gary Joint - Lemoore, CA 6. Grant Willits - Pueblo County, CO (16th nationally) 7. Zack Donathan - Mason, OH (12th nationally) 8. Mason Wohltman - Lake Highland Prep, FL 9. Chris Deloza - Clovis North, CA 10. Derek Fisher - Pleasant Grove, UT 11. Marshall Keller - Christiansburg, VA 12. Dylan Martinez - Grand Junction, CO 13. Cole Polluconi - Monarch, CO 14. Job Greenwood - Poudre, CO 15. Lamonte Chapman - Fremont Ross, OH 16. Scott Kiyono - Poway, CA 138 pounds 1. Cole Matthews - Reynolds, PA (ranked 18th nationally) 2. Corey Shie - Cincinnati LaSalle, OH (7th nationally) 3. Grant Aronoff - St. Thomas Aquinas, FL (9th nationally) 4. Anthony Cheloni - Marmion Academy, IL 5. Jacob Greenwood - Poudre, CO (20th nationally) 6. Malcolm Robinson - Blair Academy, NJ 7. Moises Guillen - Perrysburg, OH 8. Sam Dover - St. Edward, OH 9. Brady Barnett - Milan Edison, OH 10. Justin Davis - Pueblo County, CO 11. Nicholas Taylor - Broad Run, VA 12. Gage Grunden - Defiance, OH 13. P.J. Crane - Malvern Prep, PA 14. Carson Kharchilava - Olentangy Liberty, OH 15. Blaize Punke - Washington, IL 16. Joe Romero - Lemoore, CA 145 pounds 1. Dom Demas - Dublin Coffman, OH (ranked 3rd nationally) 2. Sammy Sasso - Nazareth, PA (4th nationally) 3. Will Lewan - Montini Catholic, IL (10th nationally) 4. Josiah Rider - Grand Junction, CO (8th nationally) 5. Gus Solomon - Franklin Regional, PA (12th nationally) 6. Jake Brindley - Lake Highland Prep, FL (17th nationally) 7. Ben Rodriguez - Scottsbluff, NE 8. Quinn Devaney - McDonogh, MD 9. Sandro Ramirez - Wauseon, OH 10. Kevon Freeman - Lake Catholic, OH 11. Zach Hartman - Belle Vernon Area, PA 12. Josh Wyland - Benedictine College Prep, VA 13. Trey Grenier - Olentangy Liberty, OH 14. Benny Baker - Wyoming Seminary, PA 15. Dalton Jensen - Washington, IL 16. Joey Sanchez - St. Paris Graham, OH 152 pounds 1. David Carr - Massillon Perry, OH (ranked 1st nationally) 2. Quentin Hovis - Poway, CA (3rd nationally) 3. Anthony Artalona - Tampa Prep, FL (10th nationally) 4. Julian Ramirez - Blair Academy, NJ (7th nationally) 5. Rocky Jordan - St. Paris Graham, OH (12th nationally) 6. Hunter Willits - Pueblo County, CO (13th nationally) 7. Connor Brady - Olentangy Liberty, OH (15th nationally) 8. Jason Romero - Pomona, CO 9. Nick Giantonio - Christiansburg, VA 10. Bryce Marcus - St. Thomas Aquinas, FL 11. Brock Wilson - Nazareth, PA 12. Bailey Thomas - Good Counsel, MD 13. Kyle Goin - Washington, IL 14. Jake Huston - Oak Harbor, OH 15. Matthew Ortiz - Montini Catholic, IL 16. Brock Godzin - Belle Vernon, PA 160 pounds 1. Kyle Lawson - Olentangy Liberty, OH (ranked 4th nationally) 2. Max Wohlabaugh - Winter Springs, FL (7th nationally) 3. Hunter Bolen - Christiansburg, VA (5th nationally) 4. Luke Troy - Martin Luther King, CA (10th nationally) 5. Andrew Merola - Blair Academy, NJ (12th nationally) 6. Nick Kiussis - Brunswick, OH (17th nationally) 7. Georgio Poullas - Canfield, OH (16th nationally) 8. Erich Byelick - Lake Highland Prep, FL (20th nationally) 9. Ryan Thomas - St. Paris Graham, OH 10. Ben Gore - Orting, WA 11. Mason Smith - Walton Verona, KY 12. Caleb Wise - Broken Arrow, OK 13. Luke Sorboro - Rootstown, OH 14. Nate Jimenez - Marmion Academy, IL 15. Joe Koontz - Massillon Perry, OH 16. Mike Carpenter - St. Edward, OH 170 pounds 1. Mikey Labriola - Bethlehem Catholic, PA (ranked 2nd nationally) 2. Ryan Karoly - Malvern Prep, PA (7th nationally) 3. Bryce Rogers - Lake Highland Prep, FL (5th nationally) 4. Casey Cornett - Simon Kenton, KY (14th nationally) 5. Thomas Lambiotte - Parkersburg South, WV 6. Joey Baughman - Wadsworth, OH (20th nationally) 7. Leonardo Tarantino - Blair Academy, NJ 8. David Crawford - Canfield, OH 9. Trevor Lawson - Olentangy Liberty, OH 10. Emil Soehnlen - Massillon Perry, OH 11. Michael Battista - Broad Run, VA 12. Jake Hendricks - Wyoming Seminary, PA 13. Nolan Krone - Pomona, CO 14. Keysean Amison - Sandusky Perkins, OH 15. Brendan Price - Elyria, OH 16. Michael Baker - Cincinnati LaSalle, OH 182 pounds 1. Michael Beard - Malvern Prep, PA (ranked 1st nationally) 2. Chasen Blair - Rancho Bernardo, CA (20th nationally) 3. Travis Stefanik - Nazareth, PA (5th nationally) 4. J.T. Brown - Elyria, OH 5. Trevor Nichelson - Ashland Greenwood, NE 6. Hunter DeLong - Parkersburg South, WV 7. Tyler Stepic - St. Edward, OH 8. Kaden Russell - St. Ignatius, OH 9. Austin Cooley - Wyoming Seminary, PA 10. Carter Davis - St. Christopher's, VA 11. Jared Ball - Hilliard Davidson, OH 12. Gage Braun - St. Paris Graham, OH 13. Erik Eva - Christiansburg, VA 14. Zach Blackiston - Massillon Perry, OH 15. Mark Kimbrell - Kettering Fairmont, OH 16. Nathan Tausch - Poway, CA 195 pounds 1. Jacob Warner - Washington, IL (ranked 1st nationally) 2. Nick Mosco - Blair Academy, NJ 3. Aaron Naples - Brunswick, OH 4. Danny Salas - St. John Bosco, CA 5. Tony Banister - Wauseon, OH 6. Donovan Rincon - Pueblo County, CO 7. Josiah Gittman - St. Thomas Aquinas, FL 8. Zach Marcheselli - Broken Arrow, OK 9. Kavan Sarver - St. Paris Graham, OH 10. Ty Kwak - Christiansburg, VA 11. Cody Howard - St. Edward, OH 12. Angel Solis - Lemoore, CA 13. Sam Stoll - Milan Edison, OH 14. Jody Crouse - Bethlehem Catholic, PA 15. Jaret Lester - Akron SVSM, OH 16. Flynn Leaf - Malvern Prep, PA 220 pounds 1. Chase Singletary - Blair Academy, NJ (ranked 1st nationally) 2. Cohlton Schultz - Ponderosa, CO (2nd nationally) 3. Jared Campbell - St. Edward, OH (6th nationally) 4. Ben Sullivan - National Trail, OH (13th nationally) 5. Ben Goldin - Lake Highland Prep, FL (20th nationally) 6. Brady Daniel - Good Counsel, MD 7. Jeffrey Allen - Amherst County, VA 8. Johnny Shafer - St. Paris Graham, OH 9. Jace Punke - Washington, IL 10. Quinton Mincy - Walnut Hills, OH 11. Clay McComas - Wadsworth, OH 12. Isaiah Jones - Benedictine College Prep, VA 13. David Aranda - St. John Bosco, CA 14. Dillon Thorp - Oak Harbor, OH 15. Christopher Middlebrooks - Oak Park Rive Forest, IL 16. Billy Korber - Belle Vernon Area, PA 285 pounds 1. Kevin Vough - Elyria, OH (ranked 4th nationally) 2. Seth Janney - Malvern Prep, PA (8th nationally) 3. Niko Camacho - Bethlehem Catholic, PA (19th nationally) 4. Trenton Lieurance - Broken Arrow, OK 5. Wade Wheeler - Amherst County, VA 6. Jake Levengood - Vacaville, CA 7. Jon Spaulding - Lakota East, OH 8. Louden Haga - Parkersburg South, WV 9. P.J. Mustipher - McDonogh, MD 10. DT Badley - St. Christopher's, VA 11. Austin Gillham - Sultana, CA 12. Mason Giordano - Canfield, OH 13. Zach D'Anna - Brecksville, OH 14. Adam Robison - Washington, IL 15. Jalen Lea - Good Counsel, MD 16. Mike McNicholas - Montini Catholic, IL

Cody Gardner was Ohio State's 197-pounder during the 2008-09 season (Photo/Jim Davidson) A memorial service was held Tuesday for Cody Gardner, former Virginia Tech and Ohio State wrestler, whose body was discovered Friday morning, Dec. 2 at a home in southwest Virginia, the Roanoke Times reported Tuesday. He was 28. The home where Gardner was found is in Shawsville, between Blacksburg -- home to the Virginia Tech campus -- and Roanoke. The Montgomery County sheriff's office told the Roanoke Times that Gardner's death appeared to have been caused by a drug overdose. Foul play is not suspected. The body was transported to the Medical Examiner's Office in Roanoke; the autopsy report had not yet been completed as of Tuesday evening. Gardner, a native of New Jersey who moved with his family to Christianburg, Va. in eighth grade, had been living in his home state in recent years, but returned to Virginia a couple weeks ago for a visit. Mark Berman of the Roanoke Times described Gardner as "one of the greatest high school wrestlers in Timesland history," going on to describe the wrestler as "someone who was as soft-spoken off the mat as he was ferocious on it." "He was truly a gentle giant," Virginia Tech wrestling coach Kevin Dresser, who coached Gardner at Christiansburg High School and in college, told the Times. "He was a pretty special guy." The stats would back that up. At Christianburg, Gardner built a 182-6 overall record, with a perfect record in his final two seasons. He was a Virginia Group AA state champ at 215 pounds in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Gardner was ranked as the No. 1 wrestler in the nation in his weight class as junior and senior, and, in fact, was the top-ranked overall recruit in the nation in any weight class as a senior. He earned the Junior Hodge Trophy as nation's best high school wrestler in 2007. For all these reasons, the Roanoke Times named him Timesland Wrestler of the Year three times. "Cody was probably the best wrestler/athlete combination I ever coached in 18 years of high school coaching at either Grundy or Christiansburg," said Dresser, who coached Gardner for his first three years of high school before becoming the Hokies' coach. "He was very athletic for a big guy. He really worked in the weight room, so he made himself very strong. "He beat guys in holds that big guys aren't supposed to hit, which made him such a rock star. … I spent a lot of time with him one-on-one in the offseason because … pinning is an art and he really wanted to master that art. He was a pinner." Gardner was 6-1 at Virginia Tech before leaving the Hokies in Dec. 2007. He then transferred to Ohio State, where he compiled a 14-11 record during the 2008-09 season. After one year with the Buckeyes, Gardner headed east to Delaware Valley University, an NCAA Division III school in Pennsylvania, where he wrestled in six matches in the 2010-11 school year, his only year with that program. Dresser told the Roanoke Times that Gardner "started to struggle with" drugs in college. "He did all the things you have to do to try to beat a disease," Dresser said. "He went to the rehabs, he took the classes. He just had a disease." Dresser said Gardner had been "struggling a little bit with life" in recent years. "Growing up's hard sometimes. And growing up was probably a little bit harder for Cody than the average guy," Dresser said. Former Virginia Tech teammate Matt Epperly said he spoke to Gardner on the phone last week. "He seemed excited about life," Epperly said. "He told me, 'Through the good and the bad times, you've always been here for me. He said, 'I love you, man.'" Award-winning wrestling journalist Jason Bryant weighed in with his thoughts on Cody Gardner on Facebook Friday. "Hard to fathom hearing about the loss of Cody Gardner," Bryant wrote. "When this kid burst on to the scene in Virginia, I was amazed. He battled some of the best early then became one of the best upper weights high school wrestling had ever seen. Three Beast of the East titles, four VA HS state championships, a Fargo title." "In 2006, Cody won his third Beast of the East title. He accidentally left his medal and bracket at the event. Organizers figured since I was from VA, I'd see him before any of them. I've had it ever since. About a month ago, he added me on Facebook and I got his address. That bracket and medal is sitting in my office, ready to be sent. Only wish I'd have sent it out sooner. "Rest in peace bud, you were one of the best big guys I've ever gotten the pleasure of watching. Now you and Jared Platt can resume your rivalry up there." (Platt, a Blair Academy and Penn State wrestler, lost his battle with Stage 4 cancer earlier this year. He was 26.)

Just in time for holiday gift-giving: the heavyweight champ of wrestling history books, now available at a much-reduced price. For one week only, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is offering the hardcover edition of The History of Collegiate Wrestling: A Century of Excellence for just $19.95 each -- a savings of 60 percent off the regular cover price. This classic 2005 book by late wrestling historian Jay Hammond provides a year-by-year look at U.S. college wrestling in text and photos, along with special profiles of some of the all-time greats of the sport, along with additional features such as analyses of rules, teams, and conferences from some of the nation's top wrestling writers. The original History of Collegiate Wrestling weighs in at 381 pages; this offer also includes a 72-page addendum which provides coverage of each college wrestling season from 2006 up through 2016. "This book is the most comprehensive guide to the history of collegiate wrestling and readers will experience and relive the glory of college wrestling through stunning photographs and timeless stories," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. "I have not seen any other publication that fully showcases the wrestlers, coaches and teams that have made their mark in the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. It is a must-have for serious wrestling fans." Proceeds from History of Collegiate Wrestling benefit the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. This special holiday offer of $19.95 each (plus $4 each for shipping and handling) for the hardcover edition of History of Collegiate Wrestling is available now through Thursday, Dec. 8 for online orders through the National Wrestling Hall of Fame only. To order, click here. Prefer an e-book format? An updated edition of Jay Hammond's History of Collegiate Wrestling book for your tablet or other electronic device is also available from a number of online retailers. Click here for more information.

Harvard NCAA champs Jesse Jantzen and John Harkness The two oldest living NCAA wrestling champions -- Oklahoma State's Stanley Henson, and John Harkness of Harvard -- each celebrated their 100th birthdays last week. Henson, a three-time national champ for the Cowboys (1937-1939), turned 100 on Wednesday, Nov. 30, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame announced on social media that day. Harkness, who won his title at 175 pounds at the 1938 NCAAs, also reached the century mark that same day, according to his bio at the Archinform website. At least one website has claimed Henson is the oldest living NCAA champ in any sport. If that statement is true, that would mean that Harkness would also share that distinction. In addition to becoming NCAA wrestling champs nearly 80 years ago, both men served during World War II -- Henson in the Navy, on board the USS San Francisco in the Pacific, Harkness, in the American Field Service as an ambulance driver on the battlefields of Europe. What's more, both mat champs went on to successful professional careers beyond the sport -- Henson in medicine, Harkness in architecture. Stanley Henson The son of a man who labored in the oil fields of Oklahoma, Stanley Willard Henson, Jr. first made a name for himself on the wrestling mat at Tulsa Central High School, a nationally respected prep wrestling power of that era. While at Tulsa Central, Henson won two Oklahoma high school state titles. He was coached by Art Griffith, who later became head coach at Oklahoma State from 1940 to 1957. (Griffith later said that Henson was the best wrestler he coached at Tulsa Central, which is saying a lot, as the coach tutored eight future NCAA champs during his time at the high school.) Stanley HensonHenson then headed west to Stillwater to wrestle at what was then called Oklahoma A&M for the all-time great head coach Ed Gallagher. As a Cowboy, Henson posted a near-perfect 31-1 record, with 12 pins. He was a three-time NCAA champ, winning the 145-pound crown at the 1937 and 1938 NCAAs, then the title at 155 in 1939. Henson was named Outstanding Wrestler at the 1937 NCAAs, the first sophomore to earn that honor. He was also one of the wrestlers featured in a 1939 Life magazine photo-spread for the Oklahoma State wrestling program. Charlie Mayser, legendary coach at Iowa State in the 1930s, said, "(Henson) is positively the greatest wrestler to come along in generations, and I've seen some of the best." The Cyclone coach later said, "That Henson -- he's just not human!" Contemporary wrestling historian Mike Chapman said this of Henson: "All the old-timers I talk to consider him -- without exception -- one of the top four or five wrestlers of all time." After five years as a physical instructor and wrestling assistant at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Henson attended medical school at University of Maryland and trained at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. for four years before moving to Fort Collins, Colo. to work as a surgeon, becoming the first doctor to perform open-heart surgery at the local hospital. In addition, he was a pioneer in the field of sports medicine. He still resides in Colorado with his wife of more than 75 years, Thelma. Henson was welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1978. John Harkness John Cheesman "Chip" Harkness was born in New York City, the son of an architect. The younger Harkness wrestled at Harvard University, becoming that school's first NCAA mat champ in March 1938 when he defeated Marshall Word of the University of Oklahoma for the 175-pound title. (In fact, Harkness was Harvard's only NCAA champ until 2004, when Jesse Jantzen won the title at 149. Harkness was present in St. Louis to see Jantzen crowned champ; the two of them posed for photos.) John HarknessThe same year Harkness won the national title, the Crimson captain also claimed the EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) title. He was named the EIWA's Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 1938 championships. In 1945, John Harkness and his wife Sarah P. Harkness were among the founding partners in the formation of The Architects Collaborative, a major architectural design firm based in Cambridge, Mass. Among their most famous works included the Pan Am Building (now MetLife) in midtown Manhattan; CIGNA insurance company headquarters in Connecticut, the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Federal Building in Boston, and the U.S. embassy in Athens, Greece. Although most of The Architects Collaborative work was in the northeast U.S., they also designed a number of school and university buildings throughout the world, including the Harvard Graduate School, the University of Baghdad, and two school buildings in Columbus, Ind. Harkness was welcomed into the EIWA Hall of Fame in 2014. His wife and business partner preceded him in death in 2013 at age 99. UPDATE: As stated in the comments below, John Harkness died two days before reaching his 100th birthday. Here is the link to InterMat's tribute to the first Harvard mat champ: https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/17772

Zeke Jones took over as ASU's head wrestling coach in 2014 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Mike Ironside and Zeke Jones will be guests on this week's edition of the On the Mat wrestling broadcast on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Mike Ironside, storied wrestler for the University of Iowa in the mid-1990s, is a two-time NCAA champion, four-time Big Ten titlewinner, and Dan Hodge award winner. Zeke Jones, Olympic silver medalist in men's freestyle at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, became head wrestling coach at Arizona State in 2014 after serving as head men's freestyle coach for USA Wrestling for a half-decade. 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.